Major 6-3 rulings foreshadow a sharper Supreme Court right turn
by Ariane de Vogue All term long the Supreme Court has been the target of political players as members of Congress called for a “legislative solution,” the Biden administration launched a commission to study court reform and progressive groups claimed that court packing measures were necessary to “save” the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, conservatives relished the possibility of a swift right turn with their new 6-3 majority after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died last September and Amy Coney Barrett joined the bench the next month. By the last day of the term, the justices finally issued their own verdict. They handed out a pair of decisions
The House takes a revealing vote on Confederate statues
by Nicole Hemmer During the insurrection in January, a rioter hoisted a Confederate flag over his shoulder, letting it furl out behind him as he marched through the Capitol. It was an outrageous sight: not even during the Civil War had insurrectionists breached the halls of Congress with the battle flag. Yet there it was, flapping alongside Trump flags and America First flags as rioters — and some Republicans in Congress — tried to stop the certification of the presidential election. While the Confederate flag in the Capitol may have been staggering, it also was not out of place in a building
House to vote on $715 billion transportation and water infrastructure bill
By Clare Foran The House is expected to vote on Thursday to approve a $715 billion transportation and water infrastructure bill focused on improving and repairing roads, bridges, transit and rail and ensuring clean drinking water. House Democrats say the bill — known as the INVEST in America Act — will deliver on key priorities in President Joe Biden‘s American Jobs Plan, and they hope the legislative text can be used to negotiate with the Senate and the White House to determine what specific policy proposals can be included as part of the recently announced bipartisan infrastructure framework. Democratic Rep. Peter DeFazio
NYC Board of Elections throws mayoral primary into chaos by counting test ballots
By Gregory Krieg, Ethan Cohen and Adam Levy The campaign to become New York City’s next mayor has come in for another twist. On Tuesday, the City Board of Elections released new numbers that suggested Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams’ lead in the Democratic primary had narrowed in the first set of tabulated ranked-choice voting results. Former Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, in this preliminary count, had nearly closed the gap, giving Adams a two-point lead. But within hours of the new figures coming online, the board backtracked — following questions from the Adams campaign and others — and acknowledged a “discrepancy” in
Biden announces 5th wave of judicial nominees as Democrats aim to maintain quick pace of confirmations to federal bench
By Phil Mattingly President Joe Biden announced eight new federal judicial nominations on Wednesday as the White House seeks to maintain its rapid pace of nominations — and confirmations — to the federal bench. The announcement, which marked Biden’s fifth wave of judicial nominees, includes his intent to nominate two circuit court selections and comes as Democrats are pressing to quickly fill openings across the federal judiciary with their slim majority in the US Senate. It’s a central priority for Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat who has already shepherded seven judicial nominees through to confirmation, including two high-profile
House to vote to remove Confederate statues and replace Roger B. Taney bust
By Alex Rogers The House will vote Tuesday on a resolution to expel Confederate statues and replace the Capitol’s bust of Roger B. Taney, the chief justice who wrote the Dred Scott decision, with one honoring Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Supreme Court Justice. The House passed a similar resolution last year on a bipartisan, 305-113 vote but it stalled after Republicans in the Senate argued that the states should decide which statues they’d like to display in the Capitol. The legislation has a better chance to pass now that Democrats hold the Senate majority. The mass protests following George Floyd’s death last year
DOJ to launch task force to address rise in threats against election officials
By Evan Perez and Christina Carrega The Justice Department announced on Friday that it is launching a task force to address the rise in threats against election officials, according to a memo sent to all federal prosecutors and the FBI. “The Department of Justice has a long history of protecting every American’s right to vote, and will continue to do so. To that end, we must also work tirelessly to protect all election workers—whether they be elected officials, appointed officials, or those who volunteer their time—against the threats they face,” according to the memo written by Deputy Attorney General Lisa
Biden’s frantic weekend saves infrastructure deal but leaves him on thinner political ice
Analysis by Stephen Collinson That Joe Biden’s cherished bipartisan infrastructure plan was nearly destroyed by a few of his own ill-chosen words highlights both the fragility of the deal and his own hopes for a productive domestic presidency. Biden’s extraordinary weekend effort to walk back his own remark on Thursday, interpreted as a threat to veto the bill if it did not arrive at his desk alongside a multi-trillion dollar Democratic spending plan, appears, for now, to have succeeded. Republican senators publicly accepted that his comment linking the two bills — “If this is the only thing that comes to me, I’m not
Justice Department suing Georgia over voting restrictions
By Devan Cole, Christina Carrega, Fredreka Schouten, Evan Perez, Ariane de Vogue and Dianne Gallagher The Justice Department is suing Georgia over new voting restrictions enacted as part of Republican efforts nationwide to limit voting access in the wake of President Donald Trump’s election defeat. The state law imposes new voter identification requirements for absentee ballots, empowers state officials to take over local elections boards, limits the use of ballot drop boxes and makes it a crime to approach voters in line to give them food and water. Republicans had cast the measure as necessary to boost confidence in elections after the 2020 election
Farmer Nakita Hemingway to run for Georgia Agriculture Commissioner seat
By Clayton News Daily Staff Nakita Hemingway, a Gwinnett farmer and entrepreneur, formally announced her run for Commissioner of Agriculture for the state of Georgia in Troup County on Saturday. Hemingway, a cut-flower farmer, Realtor, and mother of four, chose to announce her candidacy on Juneteenth, a commemoration of the official end of slavery more than 2 1/2 years after President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Hemingway, a Georgia native, has ancestors who were brought here as slaves and became rice farmers in coastal Georgia and South Carolina. Hemingway said she believes that agriculture is the key to growing Georgia’s