Justice Clarence Thomas: the Supreme Court’s influencer
By Ariane de Vogue, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas took his seat on the far end of the bench in 1991 feeling — he once said — “beat up” by the workload. A bitter confirmation battle marked by allegations of sexual harassment by Anita Hill was over, but liberals still lamented the fact that a 43-year-old conservative would take the place of retired civil rights icon Justice Thurgood Marshall. Flash forward to 2021 and the most momentous term in recent history. The justices are poised to decide a major abortion case as well as broaden gun rights in a dispute out of New York. Thomas,
Family members of Americans detained abroad call on Biden administration to do more
By Jennifer Hansler, The families of roughly two dozen US citizens and legal permanent residents detained abroad penned a letter to President Joe Biden on Monday urging him to do more to secure the release of their loved ones. “Every day we wonder how much longer our loved ones must endure their captivity, not knowing when they will return home, and not being able to fully understand the efforts the United States government is undertaking to secure their freedom,” the families wrote in the open letter, which was distributed by the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation. The signatories, including those with family members
A key Cabinet role isn’t filled nine months into Biden’s presidency. Here’s why that matters
By Kate Sullivan, Nine months after taking office, President Joe Biden still doesn’t have a permanent director of a critical agency in his administration. The last Cabinet-level position that hasn’t been filled is the director of the Office of Management and Budget — an agency that not many Americans are familiar with but is an incredibly powerful part of the federal government. Shalanda Young has been serving as the acting director since March, after the White House pulled Neera Tanden’s nomination for the role because she didn’t have enough support in the Senate. Tanden was named as the White House staff secretary on Friday. “When you’re
The quotable words of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas
By Joan Biskupic, Justice Clarence Thomas‘ unconventional ideas, daring rhetoric and booming baritone have distinguished him from his Supreme Court colleagues over the past 30 years. From the start, his image at the 1991 Senate confirmation hearings went beyond the world of the law. The 73-year-old Thomas remains a cultural icon, especially on issues of race and sex. He is an enduring subject of books, movies and all manner of political debate, related to Anita Hill’s accusations of sexual harassment, the expectations of civil rights leaders and Thomas’ own views of racial stereotypes and constitutional conservatism. Thomas himself has vividly filled in
Biden says US facing an inflection point in the battle for the soul of America
By Betsy Klein, President Joe Biden cast the fight for voting rights in sweeping terms Thursday after the Senate failed to advance a bill on the matter this week, casting blame on Republicans for stymieing the effort in the Senate. During an event commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial, Biden said, “We now face an inflection point in the battle, literally, for the soul of America” over voting rights, specifically calling out former President Donald Trump’s efforts to subvert democracy. “Today, the right to vote and the rule of law are under unrelenting assault from Republican governors, attorneys general, secretaries
Texas GOP consolidates power in new congressional maps as Senate again fails to act on voting rights
By Eric Bradner, With Texas Republicans bolstering their congressional majorities in new maps they approved this week, Senate Republicans in Washington, DC, on Wednesday blocked yet another voting rights bill that would crack down on those kinds of gerrymanders. The maps that Texas state legislators approved this week under the once-a-decade redistricting process would consolidate the power of White voters and eliminate political competition in the state’s rapidly changing suburbs. The number of majority-White districts would increase, even though the growing Hispanic population is almost entirely responsible for Texas gaining two seats in the US House in the reapportionment process. Under the maps
How Biden’s infrastructure bill could help prevent the next supply chain crisis
By Katie Lobosco, There’s no quick fix for the current pandemic-induced supply chain crisis, but the bipartisan infrastructure bill currently held up in Congress would help prepare the complicated system to handle the next disruption. The legislation calls for major federal investments in each step of the US freight network: Inland waterways and rail used for transporting goods and produce, highways and bridges traveled heavily by truck drivers as well as the nation’s seaside ports, the biggest of which is currently facing a record backlog of shipping containers sitting on scores of ships waiting off the coast. Altogether, the bill would provide up to $78 billion over
White House under pressure to act on voting rights, but it’s not ready to blow up the filibuster
By Jeremy Herb, Kevin Liptak and Fredreka Schouten, The White House is under mounting pressure to get results on voting rights legislation, but sources tell CNN the Biden administration still isn’t ready to try to jam it through the Senate by force — even though the Senate’s latest voting bill is expected to falter yet again on Wednesday. Instead of using their slim majority to force the bill through by changing the rules, the current White House plan is for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to step up the public-facing part of their campaign — either to gain enough
Biden discusses $1.9 trillion top line for economic package and tells Democrats free community college is out
By Manu Raju, Phil Mattingly and Kaitlan Collins, President Joe Biden informed House progressives Tuesday afternoon that the final bill to expand the social safety net is expected to drop tuition-free community college, a major White House priority, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. And the President discussed a $1.75 to $1.9 trillion price tag for the sweeping spending package, according to a person familiar with the talks. While the number is not finalized, it is far closer to West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin’s $1.5 trillion top line than progressives’ number, which was $3.5 trillion. Moreover, he indicated that the
Kamala Harris came in to solve issues in Central America. But the problem is now much bigger.
By Priscilla Alvarez, When President Joe Biden tapped Vice President Kamala Harris to address the reasons people migrate to the US southern border, her focus was on addressing problems in Central America. But seven months later, it’s migrants arriving from even farther away in South America who are overwhelming the administration, leaving the White House with a larger problem that officials are still looking for ways to solve. The recent surge of Haitians into Del Rio, Texas, underscored the immense challenge of tackling migratory flows that are constantly changing. As efforts were launched in the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras to set