Archive by Author

College Board revises African American studies class after DeSantis criticism

The College Board on Wednesday released a revised version of an Advanced Placement African American studies course following criticism from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who refused to allow the program to run in the state’s schools. 

In a new framework for the course reviewed by The Hill, Black writers and scholars associated with critical race theory have been scrubbed from the curriculum, as have those who touch on the Black queer experience and Black feminism. Other topics, like Black Lives Matter, are now optional. 

The Board also added “Black conservatism” as a potential research topic. 

David Coleman, the head of the College Board, told The New York Times that these changes were not made to bow to political pressure.

 “At the College Board, we can’t look to statements of political leaders,” Coleman said. The changes, he said, came from “the input of professors” and “longstanding A.P. principles.”

But last week, when changes were first announced, DeSantis’s administration took credit for the move. 

“Thanks to @GovRonDeSantis’ principled stand for education over identity politics, the College Board will be revising the course for the entire nation,” press secretary Bryan Griffin said on Twitter last week.

DeSantis’s administration rejected the original course because “the content of this course is inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value.”

The administration specifically named topics of intersectionality, Black queer studies, the Black Lives Matter movement, Black feminist literary thought, the reparations movement, and the Black study and Black struggle in the 21st century as key concerns.

It also identified writings by Kimberlé Crenshaw, the “founder” of intersectionality; Angela Davis, a “self-avowed Communist and Marxist”; Roderick Ferguson; Leslie Kay Jones; bell hooks; and Robin D.G. Kelly as problematic. 

At a press conference defending his decision, DeSantis said queer theory had nothing to do with Black history and added his administration believes in “teaching kids facts and how to think,” not political agendas. 

“We want education, not indoctrination,” he said. “If you fall on the side of indoctrination, we’re going to decline. If it’s education, then we will do.”

The NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund said Tuesday that Black Americans “are multifaceted individuals.” 

“We can identify with multiple communities,” it added. “We can be both Black *and* LGBTQ+.”

DeSantis’s actions have been met with backlash across the nation. 

“Gov. DeSantis’ whitewashing of history and book bans are his latest assault on American history and our First Amendment rights,” Florida state Sen. Shevrin Jones (D), the state’s first openly gay senator, said in a statement. 

“Horrifyingly, it is our vulnerable and underrepresented students who will suffer the most as a result.”

Last week, three students threatened to file a lawsuit against the governor if the course was kept from schools. 

Meanwhile, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) sent a letter to the College Board stating he expects any AP African American studies course to “include a factual accounting of history, including the role played by black queer Americans.”

Source: TEST FEED1

The Hill's Morning Report — Debt ceiling looms over Biden, McCarthy meeting

Editor’s note: The Hill’s Morning Report is our daily newsletter that dives deep into Washington’s agenda. To subscribe, click here or fill out the box below.

President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will sit down today for a high stakes meeting on the debt ceiling, putting to the test a fairly new and uncertain partnership. As The Hill’s Brett Samuels and Alex Gangitano report, Biden and McCarthy have had few in-person interactions since McCarthy became Speaker, and while the White House has issued frequent statements criticizing him and his members, McCarthy’s conference has moved ahead with investigations into Biden and his family. But Wednesday’s meeting will serve as a starting point in debt ceiling talks as the two aim to avoid economic disaster, and it may signal whether they can form a working relationship for the next couple of years. 

“Both men are obviously demanding that the other make the first move, so we’ll see how it plays out,” said Jim Manley, a former aide to the late Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), adding he expects “very little of substance to come out of this meeting.”

The two lawmakers do share a history; when Biden was vice president, he and McCarthy would have breakfast at the Naval Observatory, the vice president’s residence, where they were often joined by other Republican leaders. In a Tuesday interview, McCarthy said that as vice president, Biden was “always eager to sit down and talk” and “a person who would like to try to find solutions, work together.”

But Biden hasn’t signaled similar open-ended hospitality as newly emboldened House Republicans court a risky debt ceiling showdown — led in part by the very hard-right detractors who forced McCarthy to accept several concessions in exchange for the Speakership vote. Biden told reporters Tuesday that McCarthy is “a decent man” but “he made commitments that are just absolutely off the wall” to win the gavel (ABC News).

Ahead of today’s meeting, Biden has drawn a hard line against entertaining spending cuts pushed by House Republicans amid their brinkmanship on raising the country’s borrowing allowance, though congressional leaders are in general agreement that the nation won’t reach the point of defaulting. But the debt ceiling’s horizon is rapidly approaching, and Congress is facing about seven weeks’ worth of breaks between now and June, when the Treasury Department forecasts the “extraordinary measures” it is employing to avoid a default will expire.

Biden’s strict opposition to spending cuts reflects a broader administration strategy. When GOP lawmakers reveal the domestic programs they’re looking to cut, the White House is counting on the move proving so unpopular that House Republicans will abandon their demands for Congress to act (USA Today).

▪ The Washington Post: Biden to press McCarthy on debt default threat, spending cuts.

▪ The New York Times: In debt limit fight, Republicans won’t say what spending cuts they want.

▪ Politico: House GOP sets its expectations low for McCarthy-Biden debt meeting.

House Blue Dog Democrats want Biden and McCarthy to negotiate on the debt ceiling impasse. “It is our hope that these conversations result in good faith negotiations that avoid the partisan standoffs of the past,” the group, led by Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine) and Jim Costa (D-Calif.), wrote in a letter shared first with Politico. “Such political brinkmanship has proven to rattle markets, damage the economy, and hurt the American people.”

Meanwhile, the White House will release its budget proposal for next fiscal year on March 9, officials said Tuesday, as they urged McCarthy to release a detailed budget of his own outlining House Republicans’ spending plans. “Show me his budget,” Biden told reporters Tuesday (The Hill). In response, McCarthy called the White House memo “political games” (The Hill).

As the debt ceiling fight heats up at the White House and on Capitol Hill, House Democrats are eyeing an end-around strategy to bypass McCarthy — and the conservative budget hawks driving his agenda — to avoid a federal default later in the year. The Hill’s Mike Lillis writes that Democratic leaders have already begun discussions about using a discharge petition to force a debt limit hike to the floor without the steep cuts McCarthy is demanding — the same “clean” bill Biden is urging. The discharge petition — an obscure procedural gambit empowering House lawmakers to pass bills the Speaker refuses to consider — is almost never successful, but this year may be different. 

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) is gaining a profile as the new leader of a panel consumed with hot-button investigations of the Biden administration and the Biden family, writes The Hill’s Emily Brooks. But he has a delicate task ahead of him to find substance in the spectacle, particularly with a committee stacked with firebrand GOP personalities. Even as he becomes a frequent face on Fox News, Comer has warned the committee will work to back its facts up. The grandson of local political leaders has had a long career in Kentucky politics since his youth and is brushing off barbs from left-wing groups with a “bless-your-heart” attitude.

▪ Roll Call: McCarthy names GOP members to House Ethics Committee.

▪ Politico: Democrats name new members to combat GOP investigations — including Rep. Adam Schiff (Calif.).

▪ Roll Call: House Democrats cry foul over elimination of civil rights panel.

▪ The Hill: These members of the 117th Congress left for gigs at lobbying firms and advocacy groups. It’s common these days for lawmakers to leverage their connections and experience to earn a payday from corporate clients once they leave office. 

Truth & Consequences? Another day, another headline about Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.).

On Tuesday, he recused himself from business on two committees during his ongoing controversies, which involve campaign finance reporting issues. One source told The Hill that Santos called himself a “distraction.” The House Republican Steering Committee, the panel of GOP leaders who assign committees, had assigned Santos to the Small Business Committee and the Science, Space and Technology Committee earlier this month. Santos declined to comment on Tuesday, telling reporters that “what happens in conference stays in conference” (The Hill).

▪ The New York Times: Santos’s treasurer has resigned. So, who’s handling the money?

▪ Politico: Sixteen hours with Santos: Dunkin’ Donuts, 27,000 steps and a scolding.

House Republican leaders are prepared to hold a vote as soon as Wednesday to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from the Foreign Affairs Committee. McCarthy has vowed to keep her off the panel — though he may not have the votes to do so (The Hill).

The Hill: GOP’s Santos, Omar battles collide.

The U.S. farm bill — a sweeping piece of legislation that contains provisions for food stamps, disaster aid and agricultural subsidies — is up for renewal this year. Farm bills cover a variety of programs affecting agriculture, rural development and conservation, impacting not only the livelihoods of farmers and ranchers but also how economically viable it is to produce food in the U.S. NPR outlines what’s at stake.

The Biden administration is committed to shoring up small and midsize farm operations, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Monday, laying out a vision for a more competitive agriculture economy as Congress begins debate over the nation’s largest farm spending bill. Since 1987, the percentage of cropland managed by large farms, those with 2,000 or more acres, has risen to 41 percent from 15 percent, according to Department of Agriculture data. “We believe there’s a better alternative than go big or go out,” Vilsack said, speaking to members of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, an advocacy group (Reuters).

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: Arkansas lawmakers, including Sen. John Boozman (R), ranking member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, are confident they can pass a farm bill amid a split Congress.

Related Articles

▪ The Hill: Wage growth slows as the Federal Reserve gets set to ease up on rate hikes.

▪ The Hill: Americans see a brighter economy ahead as the Fed shrinks rate hikes. 

▪ The Hill: The Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes by the numbers. 

▪ The Hill: Seven ex-lawmakers make quick shifts to the private sector.

LEADING THE DAY

➤ POLITICS

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is widely seen as organizing a campaign-in-waiting for the GOP presidential nomination in 2024, has tangled with targets large and small to gain national attention: Disney World, COVID-19 restrictions, asylum-seekers, “wokeness” in public K-12 curricula and he’s about to pull off what his detractors describe as a “hostile takeover” of Florida’s respected honors liberal arts college.

Notably, the governor has not publicly brawled with former President Trump (The Hill). He has acknowledged Trump’s attacks by pointing to his own reelection — a strategy that many Republicans say is intended to cast the governor as the more even-keeled alternative in a possible head-to-head primary contest.

Republican senators rallied to DeSantis’s defense after Trump said a presidential bid by his rival would be “a great act of disloyalty.” The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports that GOP senators are disposed to heed former President Reagan’s maxim as the 2024 field shakes out: “Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.”

The instinct to wait is notable among prominent Republicans in early voting states, such as Iowa and South Carolina, The Hill’s Julia Manchester adds.

DeSantis at a Tuesday press conference called for diversity programs to be dismantled at Florida’s colleges and universities, escalating efforts by the governor and many conservatives to root out what they see as liberalism and indoctrination in higher education (The Washington Post). 

▪ The New York Times: DeSantis takes on the education establishment, and builds his own brand.

▪ CNN: DeSantis says he will work with the state legislature to ban university spending on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in hopes they will “wither on the vine.”

Hours later, trustees at New College of Florida, six of whom DeSantis recently appointed, replaced the school’s president and directed staff to draft a policy that would shutter diversity offices at the respected liberal arts honors college in Sarasota.

The college’s new trustees also moved forward to replace the general counsel with a DeSantis loyalist. The governor wants $15 million in recurring funds to remake faculty recruitment and student admissions at the college, originally founded in 1960 as a private institution modeled after New College of Oxford.

The board at its Tuesday meeting terminated New College President Patricia Okker —a scholar in 19th-century American literature and women’s writing — who was hired in 2021. They voted to replace her with DeSantis ally Richard Corcoran, the former Florida GOP House Speaker and former state education commissioner, who will become “interim” president beginning in March. Trustees also took steps to name Bill Galvano, a former GOP state Senate president from Bradenton, Fla., as the college’s new general counsel (Sarasota Herald-Tribune and ABC7).

▪ NBC News: DeSantis-picked trustees seek to change progressive New College of Florida.

▪ The Atlantic: Florida has a right to destroy its universities. If DeSantis wants to gut Florida’s public colleges, that’s up to Floridians.

Under DeSantis’s state university plan, which he will ask the Florida legislature to take up in March, Florida would defund diversity, equity and inclusion programs, which are common in higher education. The governor also wants more stringent statewide faculty reviews, saying at his press conference that tenured professors should be subject to employment scrutiny at any time, a proposal that stirred immediate concerns about academic freedom, the Post reported.

Christopher Rufo, a conservative activist and writer appointed by DeSantis early last month as a New College of Florida trustee, accompanied the governor during his Tuesday announcements. Rufo is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, a conservative think tank based in New York. He lives and works in Washington state.

▪ NBC News: Candidate Trump is strapped for campaign cash following the mid-November launch of his 2024 presidential campaign. Trump pulled in about $9.5 million over the final six weeks of last year through his campaign and a joint fundraising committee, according to NBC. In a sign that Trump understands he’ll need to raise more money faster for what promises to be a competitive GOP primary race, his campaign is revamping its fundraising operation.

▪ The Washington Post and The Charleston Post and Courier: Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R), who served as Trump’s United Nations ambassador, will signal her upcoming campaign for president in a video release, possibly as early as this week. Haley plans to officially announce her run in Charleston on Feb. 15.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee, the GOP’s Senate campaign arm, endorsed Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) on Tuesday, marking an official departure from the committee’s policy in the 2022 cycle and making clear that the committee will play in primary contests in an attempt to win back the upper chamber, reports The Hill’s Al Weaver.  

The Hill: West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) this week said he is seriously considering a 2024 bid for a Senate seat as centrist Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) mulls whether he will seek reelection. “I’m probably leaning that way,” Justice told WTRF 7News. 

IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES

➤ INTERNATIONAL

After the U.S. and its partners reached a major breakthrough in delivering heavy weapons to Ukraine, Kyiv’s top law enforcement official is pushing allies to show similar determination to punish Russia in the courtroom.

“The instruments of delivering justice should be as strong as weapons we receive in order to fight for our independence,” Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin told The Hill. He is visiting Washington this week for meetings with his counterpart, Attorney General Merrick Garland, other administration officials and lawmakers to push for further U.S. support in Ukraine’s legal battles against Russia.

▪ Mediaite: Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson praises enthusiastic “bipartisan support” from U.S. leaders for Ukraine.

▪ The Wall Street Journal: Ukraine braces for a major Russian offensive.

▪ Reuters: U.S. readies $2 billion-plus Ukraine aid package with longer-range weapons.

Spiraling violence between Israelis and Palestinians and fierce opposition on the Israeli street to proposed judicial reforms are overshadowing a unique moment of alignment between Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding Iran. As The Hill’s Laura Kelly writes, the administration has effectively ceased diplomacy with Tehran to rein in its nuclear program, making coordination between the U.S. and Israel — which could include a military option — to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon more urgent. Netanyahu is also pushing for the U.S. to be at the center of opening relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, the pathway to which is increasingly clear as the Biden administration has toned down criticism of the kingdom over its positions on oil production and human rights concerns.  

▪ The New York Times: U.S. and India launch high-level defense and tech initiative.

▪ The New York Times: “Terrorism has returned”: Pakistan grapples with attack that left 101 dead.

▪ The Wall Street Journal: Iran’s deadly street protests are replaced by quiet acts of rebellion.

▪ CNN: Missing radioactive capsule found on remote road in Australia.

Pope Francis arrived Tuesday in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. One of the most populous and most Catholic nations in Africa, it has extensive natural riches and conflict (The New York Times). The pontiff will spend three days there and then visit South Sudan later this week (The New York Times).

OPINION

■ DeSantis wants to erase Black history. Why? by Janai Nelson, guest essayist, The New York Times. https://nyti.ms/3jopUjN 

■ Why free speech advocates should be rooting for Google, by Paul M. Barrett, opinion contributor, The Hill. https://bit.ly/3WU4hW0

WHERE AND WHEN

📲 Ask The Hill: Share a news query tied to an expert journalist’s insights: The Hill launched something new and (we hope) engaging via text with Editor-in-Chief Bob Cusack. Learn more and sign up HERE.

The House will convene at 10 a.m. The House Judiciary Committee at 10 a.m. will hold a hearing focused on immigration and security of the U.S. southern border, as well as GOP arguments to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

The Senate meets at 10 a.m. 

The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 9 a.m. Biden will meet with the administration’s Competition Council at 1:15 p.m. in the East Room and announce a proposed rule to reduce credit card late fees and app fees, among other consumer-focused initiatives (The Hill and Reuters). Biden will meet in the Oval Office with the Speaker at 3:15 p.m. The president will host a 5 p.m. reception in the East Room to thank outgoing White House chief of staff Ron Klain and to welcome his successor, Jeff Zients.

The vice president will head to Memphis, Tenn., where she will attend the funeral of Tyre Nichols at 10:30 a.m. CT. Also representing the administration will be White House aides Keisha Lance Bottoms, Mitch Landrieu, Tara Murray and Erica Loewe. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet at 1 p.m. with Indian national security adviser Ajit Doval at the State Department.

The White House daily press briefing is scheduled at 2 p.m.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will answer news media questions about interest rates, inflation and the economy at 2:30 p.m. at the conclusion of the central bank’s two-day meeting.

“News Shapers” who are scheduled to speak between 8 and 9 a.m. today during Axios’s live (and live streamed) event in Washington: Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairwoman Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.); House Assistant Democratic Leader Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.); Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). Information HERE.

ELSEWHERE

➤ TRAVEL 

🛬 More than a thousand domestic flights were canceled on Tuesday morning as the South braced for a significant ice storm. According to the flight tracker FlightAware, about 1,200 flights had been canceled and an additional 1,600 flights were delayed.

Three Texas airports are bearing the brunt of the impact, as more than 500 departing flights and more than 400 arriving flights have been canceled so far at Dallas-Fort Worth International, Austin-Bergstrom International and Dallas Love Field.

The cancellations come as a winter storm sweeps across the South, bringing ice, sleet and freezing rain, affecting portions of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia. The storm is expected to continue through at least Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service (Dallas News and The Hill).

▪ CNN: More than 1,000 U.S. flights canceled as winter weather snarls travel.

▪ The Hill: Winter weather cancels flights, leads to death in Texas.

➤ PANDEMIC & HEALTH

Americans after May 11 are likely to face costs for COVID-19 testing and treatment as a result of Biden’s decision to end emergency health declarations at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic. The government’s declared emergency was backed by federally funded COVID-19 tests, treatments and vaccines in an effort to slow the spread of the virus beginning in 2020. 

“People will have to start paying some money for things they didn’t have to pay for during the emergency,” Jen Kates, senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation, told CNN. “That’s the main thing people will start to notice.”

CNN rounded up pandemic benefits expected to end as part of the conclusion of emergency declarations.

▪ Politico: Pfizer reports record revenue, expects COVID-19 vaccines to be commercialized later this year.

▪ Forbes: Three modest COVID-19 policies to help high-risk people.

Information about the availability of COVID-19 vaccine and booster shots can be found at Vaccines.gov.

Total U.S. coronavirus deaths reported as of this morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (trackers all vary slightly): 1,107,646. Current U.S. COVID-19 deaths are 3,756 for the week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (The CDC shifted its tally of available data from daily to weekly, now reported on Fridays.)

Barbara Stanley, an influential suicide researcher, died at 73. As The New York Times reports, her simple idea for patients to write down a plan that would help them weather a suicidal crisis was widely adopted in clinical settings.

THE CLOSER

And finally … Today marks the first day of Black History Month and the anniversary of former President Lincoln’s 1865 signature on the Constitution’s 13th Amendment, which outlawed slavery. Barring the ownership of enslaved people was among a trio of Civil War amendments that expanded Americans’ civil rights (National Archives).

Black History Month, also known as African American History Month, grew out of “Negro History Week,” the brainchild of noted historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent Black Americans. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month (History). In this year’s proclamation, Biden said part of celebrating the legacy of Black Americans means acknowledging that the U.S. has never lived up to its promise that all people should be treated equally.

“The struggles and challenges of the Black American story to make a way out of no way have been the crucible where our resolve to fulfill this vision has most often been tested,” Biden said in a statement on Tuesday (The Hill).

The National Museum of African American History & Culture: Celebrate Black History Month 2023.

Stay Engaged

We want to hear from you! Email: Alexis Simendinger and Kristina Karisch. Follow us on Twitter (@asimendinger and @kristinakarisch) and suggest this newsletter to friends!

GOP moves to stop unelectable Senate candidates

The Senate GOP campaign arm’s endorsement of Rep. Jim Banks in the Indiana Senate Republican primary on Tuesday marks an official departure from the committee’s policy in the 2022 cycle and makes clear it will play in primary contests in an attempt to win back the upper chamber. 

After a midterm cycle that saw candidates backed by former President Trump sail through primaries before suffering stinging general election defeats, Tuesday’s announcement was music to the ears of many Republicans. 

“I think we’ve seen what happens when we nominate people who can win a primary but can’t pivot toward a general election and get the broad support you need to win,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who oversaw the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s (NRSC) efforts in the 2010 and 2012 cycles, said. “You don’t get to govern if you can’t win an election. Winning is the first important step.”

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), the former chairman, declined to put his finger on the scale for various candidates in primary races in 2022. 

But the NRSC’s decision to back Banks came mere minutes after former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) announced that he would not seek the seat being vacated by Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.). In a lengthy statement, Daniels declared that being a senator is “just not the job for me … and not the life I want to live at this point,” giving the committee the opening to supporting Banks. 

Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), chairman of the committee, said he is “looking forward to working with” Banks, whom he labeled “one of our top recruits this cycle.” 

One source with knowledge said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Banks met last week, adding it “went very well.” 

Banks also received an instant shot in the arm when Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) endorsed him shortly after. 

The NRSC’s quick support for Banks was viewed as an opening salvo of sorts. 

Some Republican operatives also believe the endorsement was a warning shot in an attempt to keep whom they consider unelectable candidates from hijacking primaries. 

“There is no more welcome sight than the committee activating again and indicating their interest in delivering success for Senate Republicans in 2024 after the cycle we just went through with a committee that seemed more interested with the chairman’s campaign for president than the GOP’s campaign for Senate,” one GOP operative involved in Senate races told The Hill. “It’s just nice to have a team in charge that puts Senate Republicans ahead of themselves.”

While Daniels was considered a formidable candidate by senators and operatives, he hails from a red state that has a deep bench of possible contenders, headlined by Banks. 

But Republicans are hoping to pick up seats in 2024 by defeating Democrats running in otherwise red or purple states like Ohio, West Virginia, Montana, Arizona and Pennsylvania — and they’re looking for formidable candidates.

They’re also looking at 2022 as a cautionary tale of sorts. 

In New Hampshire and Arizona, two purple states, Gov. Chris Sununu (R) and then-Gov. Doug Ducey (R) decided against running. Don Bolduc and Blake Masters, political newcomers who tied themselves to Trump, advanced to the general election and were handily defeated.

Scott declined to comment directly on the committee’s decision to reinsert itself in primaries, saying, “It’s a choice they get to make.” 

The decision reverts the NRSC back to 2014, when it first made the decision to play in primaries after a spate of candidates cost the party in winnable contests.

“We certainly were willing to help anyone who won a primary, but we tried to encourage good people to be in a primary — good people just being good candidates,” said Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), the NRSC chairman during the 2014 cycle that snatched the Senate majority for the GOP.

With the parallels between 2014 and 2024 clear, whether the GOP can replicate the success of its majority-winning year remains an open question — but many Republicans are confident they can avoid the pitfalls.

In Ohio, Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) and state Sen. Matt Dolan (R), who lost the 2022 primary to Vance, are considered strong general election candidates, while David McCormick is the preeminent name mentioned in Pennsylvania against Sen. Bob Casey (D). 

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R), who said he is leaning toward running for the Senate, Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.) and state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (R) are angling for a match-up against Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). Finally, in Montana, Reps. Ryan Zinke (R) and Matt Rosendale (R) both may run to potentially face Sen. Jon Tester (D). Tester defeated Rosendale in 2018.

Casey, Manchin and Tester have yet to announce their reelection plans. 

“It demonstrates in the clearest possible terms that the NRSC is not a building full of disinterested observers,” the GOP operative said. “That they want to win, and if you as a candidate have a history of losing, you’ll have an uphill climb to win their trust.”

Source: TEST FEED1

Biden, McCarthy meet for high stakes debt showdown

President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will sit down Wednesday for a high-stakes meeting amid tensions over what each man characterizes as playing politics with a potential economic disaster.

They will have to come up with a deal to avoid the country defaulting on its debt as some Republicans threaten to not be on board without the promise of spending cuts and the White House asserting it would take no “hostages” or negotiate terms of the matter.

Biden and McCarthy have had few in-person interactions so far at the White House. Since McCarthy became Speaker in January — a 15-vote process Biden at one point called “embarrassing” — the White House has issued frequent statements criticizing him and GOP House members, while McCarthy’s conference has moved ahead with congressional investigations into Biden and his family.

But Wednesday’s meeting will serve as a starting point to Biden and McCarthy’s one-on-one working relationship since the GOP took over the House and may signal whether the two can form any sort of partnership for the next two years.

“One of the problems I see is there’s no established relationship yet between the president and the Speaker. But probably more importantly, I think that it’s going to take a while for House Republicans to agree on strategy,” said Jim Manley, a former aide to the late Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

“Both men are obviously demanding that the other make the first move, so we’ll see how it plays out,” Manley said, adding he expects “very little of substance to come out of this meeting.”

Speaking to reporters Monday, Biden said his message to McCarthy at the meeting would be: “Show me your budget and I’ll show you mine.”

The next day, the White House said in a memo that it would press McCarthy for a firm commitment to avoid a default — a notion the California Republican told CBS on Sunday he was dedicated to. Biden said he would urge Republicans to release a budget proposal on March 9, the same day the president plans to release his fiscal 2024 plan.

“Mr. President: I received your staff’s memo. I’m not interested in political games. I’m coming to negotiate for the American people,” McCarthy said in response to the memo.

All barbs aside, Biden and McCarthy will likely raise other issues during their discussion, but much of the focus will be on the debt ceiling. Congress must agree to lift the debt limit by roughly June, or the U.S. government will default and potentially send the economy into a tailspin.

Hard-line conservatives who prevented McCarthy from winning the Speaker’s gavel until a 15th round of voting may put him in a difficult bargaining position over the debt limit where he can only afford to lose four votes.

Biden on Tuesday called McCarthy a “decent man” but criticized the Speaker to a group of Democratic donors in New York City for making “off-the-wall” promises to Republicans to secure the Speakership.

Some House Republicans have said debt talks should be used to secure assurances on spending cuts, even as the party remains divided over whether defense spending and programs like Medicare or Social Security should be under consideration.

John Stipicevic, McCarthy’s former floor director, noted that the Speaker is known for bringing together multiple factions of the House Republican Conference

“He’s the leader you can look to to get an outcome. He will bring some conservatives to the table. He has always been the convener,” Stipicevic said.

“I suspect McCarthy is pleased the meeting is happening and is going into this with a conservative-first strategy, but is a realist as well,” Stipicevic said.

The White House’s relationship with the top Republican in the House is markedly different from its approach with the GOP leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell (Ky.).

Biden has spoken frequently throughout his term about his decades-long relationship with McConnell and their willingness to work together despite policy differences. The president and the Kentucky senator attended an event together earlier this month to tout funding for bridge improvements in McConnell’s home state, and the two rode together in the presidential limousine during the visit.

In comparison, Biden acknowledged in November that he hadn’t had much reason to talk to McCarthy prior to the GOP winning the House. White House aides have issued frequent statements since he became Speaker accusing him of making back-room deals, being held hostage by his party’s most extreme members and of misleading the public with comments about Social Security and Medicare.

“[Biden] does have great relationships across the aisle, but unfortunately when it comes to the Speaker there’s not much there, at least not yet,” Manley said. “Whether they can develop one remains to be seen.”

Mike Lillis contributed to this report.

Source: TEST FEED1

GOP senators rally to defend DeSantis from Trump attacks 

Republican senators are rallying to defend Ron DeSantis from former President Trump’s attempt to keep the popular Florida governor out of the 2024 presidential race.

At the same time, Trump is picking up more formal endorsements within the Senate Republican Conference as his feud with DeSantis intensifies, an early signal that the 2024 Republican presidential primary will divide GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill.  

Republican senators who view Trump as a drag on candidates in last year’s midterm elections, say it’s up to DeSantis to decide whether to run for the White House and he doesn’t owe any special deference to Trump, who claimed it would be “great act of disloyalty” to challenge him for the party’s nomination.  

“He ran an impressive reelection campaign for governor from an important state. It looks to me like he’s polling well. I think we need some new blood and I think he’d probably qualify,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said of DeSantis’s possible bid for the White House.  

Cornyn barely stifled a laugh when asked about Trump’s assertion that DeSantis would commit a great act of disloyalty by running against him.  

“No, no, I don’t think so,” he said.  

Republican senators also argued Trump’s 2018 endorsement of DeSantis that helped propel him to Florida’s governor’s mansion is no reason for DeSantis not to challenge Trump.

“I expect to see a number of Republican candidates for president and a number of them had President Trump’s endorsement so I don’t see it as an act of disloyalty to run for president, even people on the president’s cabinet may get in this race,” Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) said. House bid.  

“So, it’s not a matter of disloyalty,” she added. “The person who best articulates a future agenda for the country will emerge from Republican primary and it’s not a foregone conclusion who that will be.”  

Members of Trump’s administration weighing presidential bids include former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.  

Thus far, Trump is the only Republican to announce a 2024 candidacy.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who himself is viewed as a potential presidential candidate in 2024, said “anybody can run.”  

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said it’s “healthy” to have “lots of folks considering the race.”  

He said it’s up to DeSantis to decide if he owes it to Trump to stay out of the race, adding “Gov. DeSantis can speak for himself in that regard.”  

DeSantis fired back at Trump when asked about his criticism during a news conference on higher education reform Tuesday, reminding reporters that he won his reelection race, unlike the former president.  

“Well, look, what I would just say is this: I roll out of bed, I have people attacking me from all angles,” he said, highlighting his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida. “If you take a crisis situation like COVID, the good thing about it is when you’re an elected executive, you have to make all kinds of decisions, you got to steer that ship.”  

“The good thing is the people are able to render a judgment on that, whether they re-elect you or not,” he added. “I’m happy to say in my case, not only did we win reelection, we won with the highest percentage of the vote that any Republican governor candidate has in the history of the state of Florida.” 

Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.) said any question of what DeSantis owes Trump is “going to be between the two of them” but added that “if people feel compelled or called to run for” president, “that’s their prerogative, it’s a free country.” 

But Trump still has several senators backing him.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) argued at a Trump campaign event over the weekend that Republicans need to give Trump more credit for his accomplishments in office and can’t just blithely say they like the former president’s policies but have reservations about the man himself.  

“How many times have you heard: ‘We like Trump policies, but we want somebody new?’” Graham told the crowd. “There are no Trump policies without Donald Trump.”  

Trump’s allies point out that DeSantis was trailing then-Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam by 15 points in Florida’s gubernatorial primary in June of 2018 when Trump endorsed him enthusiastically. 

Within weeks of that endorsement, DeSantis raced ahead to a 12-point polling lead, which he never relinquished. He thanked Trump at his general election victory speech, acknowledging he was given little chance of winning at the start of the race.  

Now there appears to be little love between Trump and DeSantis, who are widely viewed as the two strongest Republican candidates heading into next year’s primary. 

The former president got a boost Tuesday when freshman Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) endorsed his presidential campaign in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.

“Mr. Trump did more than simply keep the peace. He brokered the Abraham Accords, a historic agreement between Israel and Sunni Arab states providing the best hope of a long-term counterbalance to Iran,” he wrote. 

“He began the long, slow process of decoupling the U.S. from its economic reliance on China. He opened diplomatic talks with North Korea after a half century of stagnation,” he added. 

Freshman Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) also announced this week his support for Trump in next year’s primary, telling Politico: “He’s very popular in Missouri.”  

Trump took a public relations hit after Republicans underperformed expectations in last year’s midterm election, picking up fewer House seats than many GOP lawmakers and pundits expected and failing to win the Senate majority.  

Some polls showed Republican primary voters shifting away from Trump and toward DeSantis after the November election, in which DeSantis won a second term with nearly 60 percent of the vote, a whopping margin the governor emphasized at his press conference Tuesday.  

But more recent polls show Trump remains a formidable candidate in next year’s primary. 

A Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey conducted this month showed 48 percent of Republican voters would back Trump in an eight-way presidential primary while 28 percent they would support DeSantis.  

A CBS News/YouGov poll published earlier this month showed that more than two-thirds of Republican voters said they want the party to show some loyalty to Trump with 35 percent of registered Republicans saying that staying loyal to Trump is very important.  

Source: TEST FEED1

Progressives alarmed over Biden's new chief of staff

White House chief of staff Ron Klain’s forthcoming departure from office has concerned liberals who have come to know him as a crucial ally in President Biden’s Washington.

Klain, one of Biden’s oldest confidants, has worked to ease the Democratic Party’s divide, serving as connective tissue between progressives and the establishment figures closest to the president, while often offering a sympathetic ear to the left. 

Progressives now fear his impending exit, and the entrance of his successor, Jeff Zients, could break the critical link between their flank and moderates as they adjust to being in the minority in Congress and have to rely more on the executive branch to get things done.   

“‘Skeptical’ only begins to describe the reasonable and widespread view of Zients that’s shared by many progressive Democrats,” said Norman Solomon, who co-founded the digital activist support network RootsAction.org. 

“Replacing Klain with him is a step backward and rightward for a White House orientation that has deteriorated during the last two years,” he said. 

Solomon’s sentiments are shared by much of the left’s most activated grassroots population. Last week, after Biden announced that Zients would replace Klain — a worst-kept secret after news of Klain’s anticipated leave broke earlier this month — some progressives were already raising concerns about his ideological fitness for the role.

Zients, a veteran of the public-private dance, is well regarded for his work shepherding the administration’s COVID-19 effort, one of Democrats’ most significant areas of focus after Biden took office. He has earned praise from top scientific experts like Anthony Fauci, as well as Democratic Govs. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Gavin Newsom of California, who have for years dealt with the realities of the pandemic from the front lines. And on Capitol Hill, some of Biden’s closest allies praised Zients as a strong choice.

Beyond steering the coronavirus response, the incoming chief of staff is best known for his career in the private sector, working in a variety of fields from health care to consulting and private equity. He’s worked for Bain Consulting — a bullet point that garnered the headline from the conservative-leaning Washington Free Beacon: “Finally: A Bain Man Makes it to the White House” — and had a recent position on the board of Facebook. He even helped fund the bagel shop Call Your Mother, a favorite of Washington politicians and residents alike. 

That’s not to say his impact has been felt mostly out of government. Zients has also had ample public sector experience, dating back to former President Obama’s administration, where he worked in the ​​Office of Management and Budget and on the National Economic Council as its director. 

While there are plenty of Democrats who view his résumé favorably, no one is as satisfied with his track record as the president himself. In announcing Zients, Biden ticked off a list of credentials that he believes will be well suited to tackle some of the biggest challenges moving into the next phase of office, where the party is expected to face new hurdles advancing their agenda in a divided Congress.

“He helped manage our Administration’s transition into office under incredibly trying circumstances,” Biden said in a statement from the White House. “Thanks to Jeff, we had a historically diverse team in place on Day 1 ready to go to work.”

Biden’s vote of confidence is reassuring to many Democrats who anticipate tough times ahead. They see a still-present pandemic and a list of priorities that will be harder to achieve now that Republicans are in control of the House. And they are eyeing a 2024 election cycle where the GOP is expected to throw everything but the kitchen sink at the Biden administration.

But not everyone is as enthused about a corporate sector pro entering the same White House that liberals have worked to make more progressive since Biden was inaugurated two years ago.

Some progressives concede they are willing to wait and see how Zients handles the new role, while others have taken a more critical and even adversarial stance around Biden’s selection.     

For those in the waiting camp, the initial reaction is more about allowing time for the initial sting from Klain’s upcoming departure to ease a bit. Many on the left came to know Klain personally and have expressed a deep fondness for him. 

“Ron Klain is a national treasure,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus. “He was deeply respectful of both the strength and the power of the Progressive Caucus and the progressive movement.”

One of Klain’s central roles as chief of staff was to foster strong relations with different corners of the party, and progressives in particular liked to work with him directly. From lawmakers to activists, many expressed an appreciation for his willingness to hear out their concerns on everything from wish-list items to personnel decisions. Several had his number on hand and used it regularly.

Indeed, it wasn’t exactly a secret that progressives wanted Klain to stay on. Many influential liberals in Congress were hopeful that he would stick it out through the second campaign cycle, following a midterm season that went well for the party and where progressives saw some traction and areas for more advancement. Even though Democrats lost the House in November, many on the left, including Jayapal, were looking ahead to possible executive actions that they could do with Klain’s buy-in. 

“We’ve seen powerful, progressive governance from the Biden Administration and Ron was critical to making so much of that happen,” said Jayapal, who also expressed optimism about working with Zients as well.

Biden’s own relationship with Klain spans over three decades and two years in this role. His relationship to Zients, on the other hand, is still young by comparison. For progressives, that Zients is a sort of unknown quantity has raised questions about how he’ll operate.

One progressive campaign strategist who’s worked with high profile liberal candidates and lawmakers conceded he doesn’t “know much about Zients,” but stressed that he’ll miss Klain’s unique style. “The coalition partners I work with really do like Ron because of his open door policy,” the source said.

Others have expressed stronger opposition to the change, directing anger toward Biden.

“Waiting for Joe Biden to do something progressive or bold is a fool’s errand,” said Cenk Uygur, host of popular left-wing program The Young Turks. “Of course he’s going to hire a corporatist chief of staff, because that’s who he is.”

Like Uygur, some on the left are disappointed in what they view as the administration’s hesitation and unwillingness to take on progressives’ more ambitious policies like “Medicare for All,” the Green New Deal and other populist reforms with big price tags. 

To moderates, that middle-ground approach is what saved critical seats in the midterms and prevented more bleeding in the House and Senate than what Democrats ultimately sustained. 

But to progressives, it’s entirely unnecessary. Now, many are dispirited by the GOP control of the lower chamber and by a Supreme Court that they see as another potential barrier to some of their biggest goals, like student loan relief, which Klain played a role in advancing.

And some see Zients’s history and professional priorities as more evidence that the administration will keep moving toward a centrist posture, rather than as a bridge builder for the left.   

“It doesn’t matter who he would have hired,” Uygur speculated about Biden’s new chief of staff. “There is a zero-percent chance Biden is going to do anything progressive going forward.”

Source: TEST FEED1

House Dems eye discharge petition as escape hatch on debt ceiling 

As the debt ceiling fight heats up on Capitol Hill, House Democrats are eyeing an end-around strategy to bypass Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) — and the conservative hawks driving his agenda — to avoid a federal default later in the year.

Democratic leaders have already begun talks about tapping a procedural tool, known as a discharge petition, to force a debt-limit hike to the floor without the accompanying cuts McCarthy is demanding, according to sources familiar with the closed-door discussions. That would align House Democrats with President Biden, who is insisting on a “clean” debt-ceiling increase absent any other budget changes.

“We’ve had some preliminary conversations about that, and we’ll do what we have to do to prevent economic catastrophe,” said a member of Democratic leadership, who spoke anonymously to discuss private talks. 

“The question is, if we were to have somebody file something, what’s the best timing to do that in order for it to get ripe at the moment when we need [it]?”

The discharge petition — an obscure mechanism empowering 218 lawmakers to pass bills the Speaker refuses to consider — is almost never successful, because it requires members of the ruling party to defy their own leadership. But this year may be different.

Already, some moderate Republicans are signaling a willingness to join Democrats to force a debt-limit vote if McCarthy, pressured by his right flank, refuses to do so.

“A discharge petition would only take myself and four of my colleagues on the GOP side to sign with Democrats, if that’s necessary,” Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), a co-chairman of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, told CNN earlier in the month.

Congress is not expected to vote on the debt-ceiling until the summer, when the Treasury Department is slated to exhaust its debt-paying options and the country faces an unprecedented federal default. But the debate launches in earnest this week, with a high-stakes meeting on Wednesday between Biden and McCarthy at the White House.

The president has insisted he won’t negotiate on the issue, noting that raising the debt limit merely allows the government to make good on past obligations. And his House allies are backing him up, particularly when it comes to their defense of the major entitlement programs. 

“They have said there are cuts they want to make to Social Security and Medicare,” said Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.). “Democrats will never agree to that.”

Heading into the meeting, McCarthy is insisting Republicans are focused elsewhere — “We take Social Security and Medicare off the table,” he said Sunday — but is also amplifying demands for steep cuts to unspecified programs.

“We cannot continue just to spend more money and leverage the debt of the future of America,” he said on CBS News’s “Face the Nation” program. “We’ve got to get to a balanced budget.”

The debate highlights an early consequence of the concessions McCarthy made to his conservative detractors in order to win the Speaker’s gavel earlier this month, which included a vow to keep the debt ceiling off the floor unless it came with efforts to slash federal spending. McCarthy also agreed to empower a single lawmaker to launch the process of ousting the Speaker — a change that’s now looming over the debt ceiling debate. 

“Our obligation, to me, is first and foremost: hold in check this bloated, woke, weaponized, wasteful government,” said Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who was among the McCarthy holdouts who forced the changes to weaken the Speakership. “Shrink Washington; grow America.”

The resulting partisan impasse has heightened the fears of a default and elevated the notion that a discharge petition may eventually be the best chance of avoiding one. 

“They’re the majority party, they ought to have a bill on the floor that raises the debt ceiling and meets our obligations, period,” Cicilline said. “If they don’t do that, we have to be prepared to do whatever we can to protect the country and the economy of this country.”

Others were even more emphatic. Asked if he’d endorse a discharge petition, Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) didn’t hesitate. 

“If it’s a clean debt ceiling — in a heartbeat,” he said. 

Washington compiles deficits when incoming revenues — largely from tax receipts — fall short of the costs to run the federal government. The current debt, at roughly $31.4 trillion, represents the accumulation of annual deficits registered by administrations of both parties over the course of decades.  

Raising the debt limit does not authorize or allocate new federal spending, but simply allows the Treasury to borrow additional funds to cover expenditures already approved by Congress. The vote was once routine — President Reagan raised the limit almost 20 times — but has become controversial more recently as conservatives have sought to leverage their votes to rein in federal spending. 

“The people who are in control here make me nostalgic for Newt Gingrich,” said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.). 

Not all Democrats are ready to endorse the discharge petition strategy. Some are demanding that Republicans release a specific budget plan, confident that, once revealed, the proposed cuts would spark such a public backlash that GOP leaders would be forced to abandon them before the debt ceiling vote hits the floor. 

“We have to show the American people what they really are about. And hopefully that’s enough,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), head of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Both sides are guilty of some degree of hypocrisy when it comes to the debt limit debate. 

While serving as a senator in 2006, Biden had opposed a debt ceiling hike to protest the policies of then-President Bush, which included a series of tax cuts that piled trillions of dollars onto federal deficits. 

“My vote against the debt limit increase cannot change the fact that we have incurred this debt already, and will no doubt incur more,” Biden said at the time. “It is  a statement that I refuse to be associated with the policies that brought us to this point.”

More recently, GOP leaders raised little protest when President Trump raised the debt limit three times in four years, while adding almost $7.8 trillion to the debt. And in 2021, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) supported the concept of the debt-limit hike, but said he’d vote against it. The responsibility, he said at the time, was that of the party in power. 

“The debt ceiling will need to be raised,” he said. “But who does that depends on who the American people elect.”

This year, the minority Democrats are promising a different approach. While endorsing a discharge petition might bail out McCarthy, they acknowledge, the more important consideration is preventing an economy-shaking default. 

“We’re preventing economic failure, and Kevin McCarthy will have been on the side of catastrophe,” said Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.). “So if we bail him out it’s because the country needs us to take action.”

Rep. Bill Pascrell (N.J.) echoed that message. 

“It’d be a good time to show him,” Pascrell said, “that there’s something more important than him.”

Source: TEST FEED1

Nikki Haley expected to announce 2024 bid on Feb. 15: reports

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley will announce her candidacy for president next month, according to multiple reports. 

Multiple outlets reported on Tuesday that Haley, who is also a former Republican governor of South Carolina, will declare she is running on Feb. 15, which could make her the first official challenger to former President Trump for the GOP nomination. 

The Post and Courier, which was the first to cover the news, reported that an invitation to an event for her announcement will soon be sent to her supporters. The event will reportedly happen at the Charleston Visitor Center in the state’s largest city. 

A member of Haley’s inner circle confirmed her plans to The Post and Courier. 

The Hill has reached out to Haley’s Stand with America PAC for confirmation. 

Haley has on multiple occasions hinted that she might run for president despite saying in 2021 that she would not run if Trump ran again in 2024. 

She said at a meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition, which featured speeches from several rumored potential GOP presidential candidates, that she has “never lost” an election and was seriously considering running. 

She said in an interview on Fox News earlier this month that she would be running to oust President Biden from office and bring in a “young generation” of leaders to Washington, D.C. if she chooses to do so. 

Haley reportedly called Trump during the weekend to tell him that she was considering running for president. 

Haley is one of several former Trump administration officials who may jump in the race, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Vice President Mike Pence. 

Recent polls have shown Trump to be a clear favorite in hypothetical GOP primary polls. Haley tied for fourth with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) with 3 percent in a Harvard CAPS-Harris poll earlier this month.

Source: TEST FEED1

House GOP plans vote to remove Omar from Foreign Affairs as soon as Wednesday

House Republican leaders are prepared to hold a vote as soon as Wednesday to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from the Foreign Affairs Committee. 

Plans to move ahead on the vote come after compromise language was included in a resolution to strip her from the panel, causing Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) to drop her opposition to removing Omar from the panel.

In addition to Spartz, two more House Republicans — Reps. Nancy Mace (S.C.) and Ken Buck (Colo.) — had said that they would not support kicking Omar off the committee, creating a math problem for the slim House GOP majority that needs a majority of the whole house to remove Omar from the panel.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said Tuesday night that Democrats still need to formally submit a resolution outlining their picks to populate the Foreign Affairs Committee. But assuming they do that on Tuesday evening or Wednesday, they are ready to bring up the resolution Wednesday, a spokesperson said.

The resolution released on Tuesday outlines a number of controversial statements from Omar, including some that Republicans say are antisemitic. Omar in 2019 apologized for some of her statements, including one suggesting that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee was buying political support, saying that she was unaware of tropes about Jewish people and money.

It also describes a process for a member to “bring a case before the Committee on Ethics as grounds for an appeal to the Speaker of the House for reconsideration of any committee removal decision.”

But Democrats said that the language did not formally create such a process because it was under the “whereas” section rather than the “resolved” section.

“Frankly, the notion this resolution has any due process is simply bullshit,” House Rules Committee ranking member Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) said of the resolution during an emergency committee meeting to consider the resolution.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said that the resolution, though, did more for Omar than Democrats did when they stripped Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) from committee assignments in 2011.

“It has a vanishingly small amount — almost an infinitesimally amount — of latent due process. But that’s more than the resolutions you all had,” Massie told the Democrats on the committee.

Spartz announced opposition to removing Omar from the panel last week, arguing that the decision to remove Omar, like the moves to remove Greene and Gosar, had no due process. But she dropped her objection on Tuesday due to the new language. 

“I appreciate Speaker McCarthy’s willingness to address legitimate concerns and add due process language to our resolution. Deliberation and debate are vital for our institution, not top-down approaches,” Spartz said in a statement.

“As to my fellow conservatives, I think setting a precedent of allowing an appeal process for the Speaker’s and majority-party removal decisions is particularly important to freedom-loving legislators who usually are on the receiving end of issues like this,” she added. 

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Tuesday said he’s still undecided on whether he will vote to remove Omar. Gaetz on Monday expressed concern about censorship of opposing views and suggested that Omar be subject to a House Ethics Committee review if there is reason to believe she has brought discredit on the House.

The technical process for removing Omar, Scalise clarified on Tuesday, would be to approve a resolution outlining each party’s committee picks and then bring up a separate resolution to strip Omar from her slot on the Foreign Affairs panel.

Source: TEST FEED1