Obama says GOP gerrymandering is ‘not how democracy is supposed to work’
By Paul LeBlanc and Kelly Mena, Former President Barack Obama on Wednesday said “the stakes could not be higher” for democracy as he skewered Republican redistricting efforts and attempts to codify voting restrictions in state laws. Speaking at a virtual fundraiser benefiting the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, Obama lamented Republican-led state legislatures for “passing laws designed to prevent American citizens from exercising their right to vote. And drawing congressional maps that drown out the voice of ordinary people.” Following the 2020 Census, state-level Republicans have sought to draw favorable congressional maps while imposing new restrictions on voting, which could potentially tilt the landscape
10 things you didn’t know are in the Democrats’ Build Back Better bill
By Katie Lobosco and Tami Luhby, A sweeping $1.9 trillion spending plan, known as the Build Back Better bill, is making its way through Congress and could make a key part of President Joe Biden’s economic agenda a reality. A majority of the funding is focused on transforming the nation’s social safety net by reducing the cost of child and health care, as well as combating climate change. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the legislation would increase the deficit by $367 billion over the next 10 years. But the White House has worked to make the case that the bill will be fully paid
House passes bill authorizing $770 billion in Pentagon funding and setting Defense policy
By Ellie Kaufman and Annie Grayer, The National Defense Authorization Act, the annual must-pass legislation that sets the policy agenda and authorizes almost $770 billion in funding for the Department of Defense, passed in the House of Representatives on Tuesday night. The bill now moves to the Senate, where it will likely be voted on later this week, before it can be signed into law by President Joe Biden. The bill passed with strong bipartisan support, with a final vote of 363-70, with 169 Democrats and 194 Republicans voting for the bill, while 51 Democrats and 19 Republicans voted against it. House
What Stacey Abrams’ announcement means for Georgia and America
By Peniel E. Joseph Stacey Abrams’ 2022 campaign for Georgia governor represents a generational opportunity for Black women in American politics. It’s a potential game-changer for parts of the South that continue to rely on voter suppression to retain power. Abrams, who announced on her candidacy Wednesday on Twitter, is easily the highest-profile Black female political leader in the country who does not currently hold elected office. Abrams’ brilliance as a service-oriented leader, former elected official and voting-rights advocate places her in a long unbroken line of Black women organizers and activists who have sought to reimagine American democracy. While she may not
Abrams defends lack of concession after 2018 gubernatorial loss
By Dan Merica, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams defended herself from criticism that she never conceded her loss to Gov. Brian Kemp in 2018 on Friday, addressing what Republicans have already used against her in her newly announced 2022 rematch against Kemp. Abrams, in the wake of her 2018 loss to Kemp by 1.4 percentage points, acknowledged that Kemp, who then worked as Georgia secretary of state, would be the governor of Georgia. But she specifically said in her final speech that she was not concede due to persistent voter suppression allegations, adding that conceding would mean acknowledging “an action is right, true
Congress averts shutdown after party leaders resolve GOP standoff over vaccine mandate
By Clare Foran, Manu Raju, Ted Barrett and Ali Zaslav, Congress averted a government shutdown Thursday evening when both chambers voted to pass a stopgap bill to extend funding through mid-February after party leaders brokered a deal to overcome GOP brinkmanship over vaccine mandates. The final tally in the Senate was 69-28. Passage of the stopgap bill ahead of a Friday at midnight deadline ended a standoff that had threatened to trigger a shutdown when a small number of Republican senators who object to President Joe Biden’s vaccine requirements had held out the possibility of holding up a quick vote on the funding bill.
City Councilman Andre Dickens will become Atlanta’s next mayor
By Rachel Janfaza, City Councilman Andre Dickens will become Atlanta’s next mayor, CNN projects, defeating City Council President Felicia Moore in a runoff election to determine who will hold the city’s top post. Dickens and Moore had advanced to the runoff after no candidate in a wide field received a majority of the vote earlier this month. The sitting mayor, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, had announced in May she would not seek reelection. Leading up to Tuesday, polls suggested the contest was close with a large swath of the electorate still undecided. Dickens, a former businessman and nonprofit leader, has served on
Supreme Court hears oral arguments on Mississippi law banning abortions after 15 weeks and the future of Roe v. Wade
By Ariane de Vogue, The conservative-leaning Supreme Court will take up the most important abortion case in 30 years Wednesday as the justices consider Mississippi’s request to overturn Roe v. Wade and uphold a state law that bars the procedure 15 weeks after conception. The dispute represents the culmination of a decades-long effort on the part of critics of the landmark opinion that legalized abortion nationwide to return the issue to the states, a move that would almost immediately eviscerate abortion rights in large swaths of the South and the Midwest. The very fact that the current court, with its solid six-member
House could vote on stopgap funding bill to avert shutdown Wednesday
By Clare Foran and Kristin Wilson, The House of Representatives could vote as soon as Wednesday to approve a stopgap measure to prevent a government shutdown at the end of the week when funding runs out Friday at midnight. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, told reporters on Tuesday that he plans to bring a stopgap funding bill, known as a continuing resolution, to the House floor for a vote as soon as Wednesday. “I expect to bring to the floor a continuing resolution as early as tomorrow to keep the government funded,” Hoyer said during his weekly
Biden says new Omicron variant is ’cause for concern, not a cause for panic’
By Kaitlan Collins and Kate Sullivan, President Joe Biden on Monday said the new Omicron coronavirus variant is “a cause for concern, not a cause for panic,” as federal health officials brace for the first cases of the new variant to be detected in the US. “Sooner or later we’re going to see cases of this new variant here in the United States. We’ll have to face this new threat just as we face those who have come before it,” Biden said, speaking from the White House. The President noted scientists and officials are learning more every day about the new variant. He