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Pence aide says he has no evidence Ron Johnson was involved in fake elector scheme

Marc Short, former Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff who was in the role on Jan. 6, said he had no reason to believe that Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) was personally involved in attempts to hand a list of fake electors to Pence in order to overturn election results the vice president was overseeing.

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack displayed a text exchange during one of its public hearings last week showing that Johnson’s chief of staff texted Chris Hodgson, Pence’s then-director of legislative affairs, on that day saying Johnson had an alternate slate of electors for Michigan and Wisconsin and needed to give them to Pence.

Short told CBS “Face the Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan that the scheme was a staff-to-staff conversation, reiterating comments Johnson made on the matter himself.

“I have no reason to believe that the senator was directly involved,” Short said, adding that he advised Hodgson to ensure the list would not be delivered to Pence. 

The incident has embroiled Johnson in controversy as he faces questions about how much he knew of the scheme. 

Hours after the revelation, the senator said on Tuesday that he was “basically unaware” of the scheme but the next day declined to say whether he authorized his aide to hand the list of electors to Pence or whether he knew of his aide’s plan beforehand. 

A spokeswoman for Johnson said on Tuesday the senator “had no foreknowledge” that the elector list was going to be delivered to his office. 

“I have no reason to know that Ron Johnson was behind that or not,” Short said on CBS. “It was a staff-to-staff conversation.”

But Short added that the Senate parliamentarian has received fake elector lists in past elections, and it was not “necessarily shocking at that stage of events.”

“This happens every cycle, the members send in separate fake sets of electors every time, every four years,” Short said. “But they come into the archives of the parliamentarian, and they dismiss them if they’re not certified. It’s kind of meaningless.”

Source: TEST FEED1

Will we be able to avoid a re-run of 2020?

2024 is likely to be an extremely unusual presidential campaign. The two frontrunners for their parties’ nominations, Joe Biden and Donald Trump, are the most unpopular figures in American politics. In the June YouGov-Yahoo News poll, 53 percent of voters said they have an unfavorable opinion of Biden. And Trump? Exactly the same: 53 percent unfavorable. In trial heats for the 2024 election, the two have been running neck-and-neck all year; as of mid-June, Biden averages 42.8 percent support and Trump 42.4 percent.

Several wild-card issues could have unpredictable consequences. The Supreme Court decision striking down Roe v. Wade may rally progressive voters. You can’t take away rights that Americans have had for 50 years without provoking a backlash. The three justices nominated by President Trump created the anti-Roe majority. 

The gun safety measure passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden may provoke a backlash among Second Amendment activists. Republican House members voted 193 to 14 against it. It’s a far weaker measure then Democrats wanted, but pro-gun activists are super sensitive to anything that threatens their gun rights.

Then there’s the possibility of a criminal indictment of Trump for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. The evidence is mounting that Trump knew, or should have known, that the 2020 election was not rigged or stolen; nevertheless, he and his allies actively sought to disrupt a constitutional process. Attorney General Merrick Garland could appoint a special prosecutor to pursue criminal charges against Trump, a process that could take two years and blow the 2024 presidential campaign wide open.

A majority of Americans don’t want to see either Biden or Trump run for president again. In the YouGov-Yahoo poll, 55 percent of voters said they don’t want Trump to run again; 64 percent said Biden shouldn’t run. Only 43 percent of his fellow Democrats want Biden to run again. One factor clearly is age. Biden will be 82 years old in 2024. Trump will be 78. Either would be the oldest president ever elected. 

The result is a lot of whispering and nudging in both parties about finding alternatives. The obvious alternatives would be the candidates’ chosen vice presidents. But Kamala Harris did not show much strength when she ran for the Democratic nomination in 2020. And her job ratings are no better than Biden’s. On the Republican side, Mike Pence has clearly been damaged by charges of disloyalty to President Trump. Pence committed the unpardonable sin of abiding by his constitutional obligation and presiding over the certification of Biden’s victory.

Instead, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a culture war champion of the right, is becoming the leading alternative to Trump. Interestingly, DeSantis has not asked for Trump’s endorsement in his re-election campaign for governor this year. And Trump has questioned why DeSantis refuses to say that he won’t challenge Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination. DeSantis is positioning himself for 2024 as the non-Trump, not the anti-Trump. He is raking in contributions from Trump donors.

By refusing to acknowledge his defeat in 2020, Trump is aiming to make 2024 a rerun of the last election. That’s likely to be a costly mistake. The 2020 election was a referendum on President Trump. Trump’s flaws of character were the main issue — his coarseness, his abusiveness and especially his divisiveness. Biden’s basic decency offered a telling contrast. At least for Democrats, what defines Biden’s legacy more than anything else is his defeat of Trump in 2020.

Biden told ABC News in December, “Why would I not run against Donald Trump if he were the [Republican] nominee? That would increase the prospect of running. I’d be very fortunate if I had that same man running against me.” Especially given the revelations about Trump’s efforts to sabotage the 2020 election.

Trump seems to be stuck in 2020. The former president has made “the Big Lie” a test of Republican identity. To be a loyal Republican, you have to believe that the 2020 election was stolen — an assertion for which there is no valid evidence. “It is time to move on,” a Republican operative told the Washington Post. That’s true for every Republican but Donald Trump.    

2024 is supposed to be about Joe Biden and his record as president. But Biden could look like a bystander if Trump runs again. Trump’s problem is character. Biden’s problem is weakness. To voters of a certain age, Biden comes across as another Jimmy Carter — weak, hapless and ineffectual. Asked this month whether they see Biden as “a strong or a weak leader,” 61 percent said “weak” and 39 percent said “strong.” The issue that did Carter in? Inflation, particularly gas prices. The current inflation rate is the highest since 1981, the year Carter left office. 

Donald Trump has been called many things, but “weak” is not one of them. The risk for Democrats is something Bill Clinton warned about after 9/11, when George W. Bush was president and Democrats unexpectedly lost seats in the 2002 midterm. Clinton’s assessment: Strong and wrong beats weak and right.

Bill Schneider is an emeritus professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University and author of “Standoff: How America Became Ungovernable” (Simon & Schuster).

Source: TEST FEED1

Biden commits $200 billion to global infrastructure plan meant to counter China

President Biden on Sunday relaunched a global infrastructure initiative meant to counter China’s growing influence, saying the U.S. would commit $200 billion to the effort in public and private financing to boost projects in developing and middle-income countries.  

Describing the globe as at an inflection point, Biden said the initiative by the Group of Seven (G7) nations would help set the world on a strong path for the future by investing in sustainable projects that are “grounded in our shared values.” 

“It’s built using the global best practices – transparency, partnership, protections for labor and the environment,” Biden said in a speech from the G7 summit in Germany on Sunday.  

“We’re offering better options for countries and or people around the world to invest in critical infrastructure that improves … their lives, all of our lives and delivers real gains for all of our people,” he continued.  

In addition to U.S. commitments, Biden said the G7 countries collectively would aim to mobilize $600 billion for the partnership by 2027. The $200 billion in funding the U.S. is committing over the next five years is a combination of federal financing, grants and private sector investment, according to a White House fact sheet distributed ahead of Biden’s remarks.

The plan, called the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, is a rebranding of the “Build Back Better World” initiative that Biden unveiled at last year’s G7 summit. The partnership was initially named after Biden’s sweeping domestic policy agenda, which has since stalled in Congress.  

The White House fact sheet said that Biden administration officials had traveled to nations over the past year to hear from countries how the initiative can meet their needs, improved coordination with other G7 nations and “closed game-changing deals.” 

Biden on Sunday highlighted a handful of projects that the initiative is already funding, like a new plant in Senegal that will produce vaccines for COVID-19 and other diseases.  

The initiative focuses on four pillars: addressing climate change and investing in clean energy; building a secure and open internet and information systems; advancing gender equity and equality; and upgrading health infrastructure.  

While Biden did not make explicit mention of China in his remarks on Sunday, the initiative is widely viewed as an effort to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative launched in 2013 that aims to invest in infrastructure development in dozens of countries. 

Biden argued Sunday that the investments would have concrete benefits for Americans and other G7 nations and said the initiative presented an opportunity for democracies to prove that they can deliver over autocracies.  

“I want to be clear — this isn’t aid or charity. It’s an investment that will deliver returns for everyone, including the American people and the people of all our nations. It will boost all of our economies and it’s a chance for us to share our positive vision for the future and let communities around the world see themselves and see for themselves the concrete benefits of partnering with democracies,” Biden said.  

“When democracies demonstrate what we can do – all that we have to offer – I have no doubt that we’ll win the competition every time,” he said. 

Source: TEST FEED1

Doctors who perform abortions will be targeted for prosecution, South Dakota governor says

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) on Sunday said doctors who perform abortions will be targeted for prosecution in her state after a new trigger law went into effect following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade on Friday.

Noem told CBS’ “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan that while South Dakota would charge doctors who violate the abortion ban, the state will not prosecute mothers.

“We’ll continue to have those debates on how we can support these mothers and what it means to really make sure we are not prosecuting mothers ever in a situation like this,” she said. “It will always be focused toward those doctors who knowingly break the law to perform abortions in our state.”

With Roe overturned, states can now enforce bans or increase restrictions on abortions. South Dakota has a trigger law that immediately went into effect that banned abortions in the state following the lifting of the precedent.

In South Dakota, abortions are illegal and performing the operation is now a felony unless it will save the life of the mother. There are no exceptions for rape or incest.

Noem also said she would seek to ban telemedicine appointments for abortions, looking to stop abortion care providers from shipping abortion pills to women after an online consultation.

The governor on Sunday defended her state’s new restrictions on abortions, arguing “every life is precious” and that new technology showed how cruel the abortion procedure is for the unborn.

“We know so much more using technology and science than we did even 10, 15 years ago about what these babies go through and the pain they feel in the womb,” she said. “We’re putting resources in front of these women and walking alongside them, getting them the healthcare, the mental health counseling services they need.”

Source: TEST FEED1

Amid deepening divisions, US no longer seen as beacon of light around the world

People care about their image, how others perceive them. So do nations.

Every nation extends its values and interests onto the world stage, generating public opinion. How citizens and governments respond to a nation (positively or negatively) can impact that nation’s power and influence, both real and perceived. That, in turn, affects policy and people — how we live within the global community. In short, what others think of you matters.

Into that complex public opinion vortex comes a new report from Pew Research Center, which has been measuring international attitudes for decades. The findings of this new Pew survey on international perceptions of the United States,  Europe and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) include critical data for all of us, especially Americans.

Pew’s data were collected from February of this year through the third week of May — a critical window when things were changing across the globe.

On Feb. 24, Russia began a full-scale military assault on Ukraine leading to a massive refugee and humanitarian crisis and an urgent need for military equipment and troops from the West.

President Biden had just entered his second year in office, having endured a painful evacuation of American troops from Afghanistan in August. The COVID-19 pandemic, with its deep divisions over masks and vaccines, was still raging.

Jan. 6was barely in the rearview mirror and divisive congressional hearings would be underway by spring. Against that backdrop, how did America fare?

First, the good news: International public opinion of the United States remains positive in the 18 developed countries surveyed, according to the report. Most global citizens say that the U.S. is a reliable partner, and ratings for President Biden are mostly positive. NATO’s image is positive and improving even among countries such as Sweden, which is not (yet) a member.

Unsurprisingly, the view of Russia, which we have blamed for the troubles in Europe, is negative and falling. In 10 countries, 10 percent or less of those polled expressed a favorable opinion of Russia. Positive views of Russian President Vladimir Putin are in single digits in more than half of the nations polled.

And our strategic competitor China is not held in high regard. Chinese President Xi Jinping gets mostly low ratings, except among people in Singapore and Malaysia.

But there is a corollary to the story about America, and the devil is in the details:

Over the past couple of years, advanced nations have found reason to be very concerned about the health of American democracy. In 2021, more than half of people in most nations surveyed said democracy in the U.S. “used to be a good example for other nations to follow” but no longer is. Large majorities in nearly all nations polled believe that there are strong conflicts in America among supporters of different political parties.

And although Biden is still well-liked around the world, his approval ratings have slipped since 2021, with confidence in his leadership dropping significantly in 13 countries —falling 20 percentage points or more in Italy, Greece, Spain, Singapore and France. (Biden’s drop is bigger that what Obama experienced in his second year.) Some of that drop may reflect disappointment over the way the U.S. evacuated from Afghanistan, how we handled COVID-19 and the U.S. economy.

It should be noted that America received historically low international ratings during President Trump’s tenure, and global attitudes toward Trump were overwhelmingly negative.

Within the United States, Trump divided Republicans and Democrats more than any incoming president in the previous 30 years — a gap that only grew after he took office, according to earlier Pew reports.

What’s the takeaway from this new survey, and what can we do about it?

The headline, in my view, is that America’s internal divisions over race, policy and politics are visible to many around the world. As the famous saying goes, “You can run, but you can’t hide.”

Nor should we. America needs other countries and other countries need us.

But as a beacon of light for democracies, we are a bit dimmed. Our cracks and fissures are showing, and that does not bode well for competing in the world and certainly not for making arguments in favor of democracy over authoritarianism.

We need to find ways to address our divisions and pull ourselves together. The Pew survey is a warning light that our engine needs to be checked — and fast.

Tara D. Sonenshine is the Edward R. Murrow Professor of Practice in Public Diplomacy at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Source: TEST FEED1

Giving a wedding gift? Here's how much to spend — plus 4 other etiquette tips

(NEXSTAR) – Summer is here and with it comes wedding season. And with wedding season comes another difficult task: gift-giving.

“Weddings are one of the few social conflicts or social events where, when we receive an invitation, it creates an obligation of a guest, regardless of whether you go,” explained Lizzie Post, co-president and author at the Emily Post Institute, an organization focused on providing etiquette advice.

If you don’t have a knack for gift-giving or a reasonable registry to work off of, bringing the perfect gift for the newlyweds may be a challenge. Record-breaking inflation may even add to the pressure: A 2020 survey by The Knot, a wedding planning website, found the average guest spent $120 on a gift in 2019.

Post, too, acknowledged that being invited to multiple weddings in the same year can “start to get taxing on people, especially during really hard financial times.”

“I’ve seen so many crazy registries. Like, you’re asking for thousand-dollar items.” Post told Nexstar. Among those registries was one in which there were no items under $75.

When it does come to giving a wedding gift, there are a few things you should know. First, whether you’re in the wedding party or a regular guest, there is no etiquette standard on how much you should spend on the gift. Instead, Post said, it should depend on your budget and comfort level. You also don’t need to stick to the registry.

“If you look at that registry and you’re not down with the items that are left on it, or everything is not within your budget, or you just start feeling really inspired elsewhere, it’s fine to go off-registry,” Post explained. “Registries are suggestions, they are not a checklist for the couple to obtain.”

For those putting together a wedding registry, Post suggested making it both accessible and inclusive. This means adding gifts that are more affordable for guests with tighter budgets. Some registries also allow guests to crowdfund contributions toward a larger item, or contribute to the honeymoon fund.

If you, as a wedding attendee, have a tighter budget, you may want to buy an off-registry gift for the happy couple, rather than give a gift card or cash. Smaller gift amounts, like $5 or $10, “tend to be better gifted,” Post explains.

If you aren’t attending the wedding, Post recommended sending “something that’s more of a token or an appreciation.”

There may, however, be some gifts you’d be better off avoiding.

“I do think that where people can get into trouble is when they really try to go for the shock and awe — especially the awe — factors,” Post explained. Instead, the gift should be focused on the couple. “You want to think about what are their interests, what are their joys in life, and what could you get?”

Ultimately, the gifts you choose to give are up to you — and likely dependent on the situation, Post said.

“It’s really up to your budget, what you choose to give, and also your comfort level.”

An average guest may be invited to five weddings this year alone, according to The Wedding Report. With hotel costs, gas prices, and many other related costs (like some gifts) on the rise, guests could end up spending much of their savings to attend just one wedding in 2022.

Source: TEST FEED1

$8.1B in student loan relief has been approved under revamped program: Do you qualify?

(NEXSTAR) – Roughly 145,000 federal student loan borrowers have received $8.1 billion in relief thanks to changes to a federal loan forgiveness program, the latest data from the Education Department shows.

The Wall Street Journal reports that $8.1 billion in debt relief has been approved since October when the Education Department rolled out a number of changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, or PSLF, was created in 2007 with the intention of helping employees with nonprofit and government agencies have their student loans forgiven after ten years of payments (120 total payments). The overall approval rate among applicants has been low – just 1 in 5 of the 1.3 million borrowers pursuing debt discharge through PSLF were on track to see relief by 2026, according to a September 2021 report from The Washington Post.

In 2021, the U.S. Department of Education announced a change that temporarily waives specific PSLF requirements to grant borrowers credit toward loan cancellation regardless of their federal loan type or if they had been enrolled in a specific payment plan. This waiver is currently set to expire after October 31, 2022.

A recent report from the Student Borrower Protection Center found over nine million public service workers likely qualify for debt cancellation through the PSLF program, but have yet to file the paperwork to start the process. California, Texas, Florida, and New York have the most public service workers with student loan debt, according to SBPC.

PSLF qualifications

As explained above, PSLF is intended to give eligible public service employees debt forgiveness after a set number of payments are made.

Eligible borrowers must:

• Be employed by a U.S. federal, state, local, or tribal government or not-for-profit organization (federal service includes U.S. military service)
• Work full-time for that agency or organization
• Have Direct Loans (or consolidate other federal student loans into a Direct Loan)
• Make 120 qualifying payments

Under the current PSLF waiver, eligible borrowers can receive credit for payments made on other loan types, under any payment plan, before consolidation, or after the due date. Those who received Teacher Loan Forgiveness can apply the period of service that led to their eligibility toward PSLF, if they can certify PSLF employment for that period.

How to determine if you qualify

The first step in determining your eligibility is visiting the FSA’s website and logging into your account. You’ll be able to search your employer within the FSA’s database and add information about your employment. Once you find your employer, you’ll be able to see whether it qualifies under PSLF.

Next, according to SBPC’s walkthrough guide, you’ll want to determine which type of federal student loans you have. Direct Loans are eligible for PSLF while other loans need to be consolidated into a Direct Consolidation Loan. Until the end of October 2022, previous qualifying payments you’ve made on a non-Direct Loan will count for the necessary 120 payments PSLF requires for forgiveness.

Once you’ve completed the steps above, you’ll need to confirm your employment. You should then be able to submit your PSLF form.

The FSA has created a help tool to guide borrowers through completing the form.

Who qualifies for the already-approved student loan forgiveness?

While widespread student loan forgiveness hasn’t yet become a reality, some U.S. borrowers have already received some debt relief. Roughly 1.3 million borrowers have seen $25 billion in student debt forgiveness since President Biden took office.

In addition to the thousands of borrowers that have received debt cancellation under the revamped PSLF program, another 690,000 borrowers have had a total of $7.9 billion in student loans erased through discharges due to borrower defense and school closures. Over 400,000 borrowers have received more than $8.5 billion in debt forgiveness through total and permanent disability discharge.

Last week, the Biden administration agreed to cancel $6 billion in federal student debt for roughly 200,000 borrowers as part of a proposed class-action settlement. The borrowers claim their college defrauded them and their applications for relief from the Department of Education were delayed for years.

Biden is expected to announce his plans regarding more widespread student debt forgiveness in July or August.

Source: TEST FEED1

Whitmer says 'no common ground' with Republican-controlled Michigan legislature on abortion

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) said on Sunday that it is a “scary moment” for women as Republicans in her state push to ban abortion after Friday’s Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.

“What I’m trying to fight for is the status quo in Michigan, and there are reasonable restrictions on that,” Whitmer told CBS “Face the Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan. “With the current legislature that I have, there is no common ground, which is the sad thing.” 

But later in the interview, Whitmer did say some “compromise was possible” as she referred to Republican efforts as a “radical agenda.”

A 1931 Michigan law had banned abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest, but the Roe decision decades later made the law unconstitutional.

As the Supreme Court weighed a challenge to Roe in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, eventually overturning the landmark case on Friday, a judge last month granted a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking the decades-old Michigan law.

Abortion remains legal in Michigan as long as the injunction remains in place, and Whitmer on Friday filed a motion asking the Michigan Supreme Court to recognize a right to abortion under the state’s constitution.

Meanwhile, the GOP-controlled Michigan legislature asked a court earlier this month to reconsider its decision granting a preliminary injunction, the Detroit Free Press reported.

“They’ve all endorsed the 1931 law, as [have] all of the Republican people running for governor,” Whitmer told Brennan on Sunday. “They want abortion to be a felony, no exceptions for rape or incest. That’s the kind of legislature that I’m working with. That’s the kind of matchup I’m going to have this fall.”

Whitmer is up for reelection in November, and multiple Republicans will face off in an August primary in their bid to challenge her.

“We’re pulling out all the stops,” Whitmer said. “This is a fight like hell moment.”

Source: TEST FEED1

Ocasio-Cortez says conservative justices lied under oath, should be impeached

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y) on Sunday said conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices who “misled” Americans during their confirmation hearings about whether or not they supported overturning Roe v. Wade should be impeached and face “consequences” for lying under oath.

Ocasio-Cortez told NBC’s “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd the Supreme Court “dramatically overreached its authority” and created a “crisis of legitimacy” that President Biden should address.

“If we allow Supreme Court nominees to lie under oath and secure lifetime appointments to the highest court of the land and then issue — without basis, if you read these opinions — rulings that deeply undermine the human civil rights of the majority of Americans, we must see that through,” the lawmaker said.

“There must be consequences for such a deeply destabilizing action and the hostile takeover of our democratic institutions,” she added.

The Supreme Court on Friday overturned the 1973 precedent Roe v. Wade in a 6-3 decision, giving states the ability to decide abortion laws for the first time in roughly 50 years.

Conservative justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — who each voted in the majority to overturn Roe — were criticized for dodging the question of overturning the precedent during their respective confirmation hearings or saying they would not support overturning the case.

Ocasio-Cortez on Sunday said lying under oath is an impeachable offense and there should be consequences to deter it from happening again.

“What makes it particularly dangerous is that it sends a blaring signal to all future nominees that they can now lie to duly elected members of the United States Senate in order to secure a Supreme Court confirmation,” she said.

Source: TEST FEED1