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Former Pence adviser expected to appear during Jan. 6 panel hearings: report

The retired judge who advised former Vice President Mike Pence ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol is expected to be among those who will testify as hearings begin next week, according to Axios. 

J. Michael Luttig, a former Fourth Circuit appeals court judge appointed by George H. W. Bush, wrote ahead of the attack that the vice president’s role in certifying the election is only “to faithfully count the electoral college votes as they have been cast.”

Axios notes that official invitations to testify have not yet been sent, but Luttig previously told CBS News that he would be willing to speak before the House panel investigating Jan. 6, when supporters of former President Trump stormed the Capitol as lawmakers were certifying President Biden’s win. 

“If invited by the Congress, I would of course be glad to testify,” he said in a statement in April. 

According to Axios, Luttig is expected to provide remarks on the gravity of Jan. 6 for American democracy. He will also relay many of the same legal arguments he provided Pence, reviewing requirements under both the Constitution and the Electoral Count Act. 

The committee’s public hearings kick off next Thursday after months of work behind closed doors, although witnesses have not yet been publicly announced. 

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Uvalde mayor says effort to reach gunman during school shooting failed

The mayor of Uvalde, Texas, on Wednesday said in an interview that an effort to reach the suspect who opened fire at an elementary school last week failed as officials seek to learn new details about the deadly shooting.

Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin (R) told The Washington Post and Telemundo San Antonio in an interview that a negotiator who was at a funeral home across from Robb Elementary School tried to contact the 18-year-old suspect.

While the gunman was inside the school, children contacted police for help, but McLaughlin said in his interview that he does not think the negotiator knew this at the time. Additional details about the identity of the negotiator were not immediately clear.

“His main goal was to try to get this person on the phone,” McLaughlin said. “They tried every number they could find,” adding that the person was unsuccessful.

The mayor’s remarks come as officials seek to learn new details about law enforcement’s response to the school shooting that left 19 children and two adults dead.

Authorities’ response to the school shooting has been criticized for the amount of time it took for officials to enter the school and engage and kill the suspect, which was over an hour after the gunman went into the school, according to The Associated Press. 

Officials have also offered conflicting statements on whether Uvalde school district Police Chief Pete Arredondo has been communicating with officials following the shooting, with an official from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) telling NBC News that a request for a follow-up interview had not been responded to by Arredondo.

Arredondo told CNN on Wednesday that he was communicating with DPS “daily.” 

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Watch live: House Judiciary Committee votes on gun control packages

The House Judiciary Committee will vote Thursday morning on the proposed gun control bill H.R. 7910, titled the “Protecting Our Kids Act.”

Proceedings are scheduled to start at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Watch the live video above.

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Progressive Rep. Ro Khanna says Biden needs 'bolder' inflation plan

California Rep. Ro Khanna (D) wrote in an opinion piece published on Thursday calling for President Biden to have a “bolder” plan to address inflation.

“I support the president’s efforts, but we need a bolder vision and faster action,” Khanna wrote in a New York Times opinion piece not long after Biden presented a plan to address inflation in the country. 

“To meet the moment, Mr. Biden should convene an emergency task force empowered to lower prices and address shortages. We need an all-out mobilization, not just a few ad hoc initiatives reacting to headlines,” he added.

Khanna specifically addressed the need to bring down prices on everyday items like food and fuel.  

The representative proposed that the Department of Agriculture could purchase essential items when their prices are low during dips in the market and then resell them at a low cost to Americans. He suggested the Department of Energy do the same with petroleum.

Khanna also addressed the nationwide baby formula shortage and suggested that the U.S. “purchase surplus baby formula in large quantities from Europe and create a mutual recognition system.”

“There is no patience for incrementalism or political spin about economic numbers in these times,” he said, adding that “Democrats can’t just blame the Republicans for lacking a plan.” 

Khanna’s remarks come after Biden presented a three-part plan to address inflation earlier this week. 

Biden said he would first acknowledge that the Federal Reserve “has a primary responsibility to control inflation.” 

He also said he would aim to make goods more affordable zeroing in on high gas prices. Biden blamed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for the spike in costs. The president also highlighted the release from global oil reserves and urged Congress to pass clean energy tax credits.  

Lastly, Biden said he would reduce the federal deficit through “common-sense reforms to the tax code.”

Earlier this week, Biden met with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday to discuss tactics to address high inflation.

The president has received criticism from Republicans who have blamed him, his fiscal policy and the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan for contributing to inflation.  

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Impose limits on gun access — and term limits on Congress

The only good news coming out of two unspeakable tragedies — in Buffalo, N.Y., where 10 people died in a racially-motivated shooting, and Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and two teachers were killed by an 18-year-old gunman at Robb Elementary School — is that they have brought home to Americans the absolutely irrefutable idea that we must do something to try to stem the use of firearms that can kill many people in a single incident. 

Even before these mass shootings, polls showed strong support for “red flag laws” and universal background checks, and it appears that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will allow the Republicans who are meeting with Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) to fashion some action regarding firearms access. They probably will try to enact universal background checks, red flag laws, and continued investment in improving mental health services. In the understandable desire to do something, Murphy, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and the Democratic Caucus seem eager to agree on a bill — even if it includes just these three things. McConnell is keenly aware that agreeing to such a bill would take gun access off the table and eliminate what could be a game-changing issue for Democrats in this fall’s elections.

The problem is that, although each of these ideas could help to combat mass killings, none would do anything to take the weapons of war with which these killers are often equipped off the market. A good step forward would be to include the three things that Congress is likely to agree upon along with a ban on the sale of “assault-style” weapons and magazines that carry more than 10 bullets. These restrictions could make it more difficult for a gunman to kill several people in split seconds.

Now, I know many Republicans probably will say that we don’t need restrictions on magazines or certain weapons; we just need improvements in mental health access and to harden attractive targets such as schools. That argument is ridiculous. From 2009 to 2018, America experienced 288 mass shootings. Mexico was the country with the second-highest number of mass shootings — with eight. Most other developed countries have had five or fewer over that 10-year period. As they often say in the advertising industry, “That is no accident.”

What distinguishes America from other developed countries is the almost limitless availability of and access to firearms of all types. Unless we begin to restrict these weapons, deranged people will continue to enter schools, stores, festivals, places of worship and other places where people congregate, equipped with high-powered weapons and hundreds of bullets to carry out their crime.

There is understandable hue and cry over the fact that law enforcement reportedly waited 47 minutes before entering the Uvalde classroom to neutralize the shooter. I am sure the investigation will include reasons that this occurred, but if the police chief is honest, he will say that he felt they were outgunned by a man armed with a high-powered rifle, high-capacity magazines, and body armor. Simply put, he and his officers were afraid that at least four or five of them would have died in an effort to bring down the shooter. The truth is, such fear and hesitancy say all we need to know about why we should ban assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines. If trained police officers are hesitant in the face of them, it is a clear indication that these firearms have killing power that should be reserved for use by the military during conflicts and wars. 

I would hope that the Democrats would at least try to add a ban on high-capacity magazines, which seems less objectionable to the gun lobby than a ban on assault-style rifles. That would still be a significant step forward.

But there is one more thing we could do to reduce most of the hesitancy to vote for commonsense gun legislation in Washington: impose term limits on Congress. If there were reasonable term limits for members of the House and Senate, most of the hesitancy to pass sensible limits on gun access would fade away. Term limits are not the solution to all problems, but they could free members of Congress from the fear of losing their jobs — because none of their jobs would be long-term careers. Some members might be inclined to vote for a bill they know would be beneficial, but they don’t vote for it because that might cause them to lose a primary election. But if you are serving, say, your seventh year of a 10-year term, the loss wouldn’t be a career, just two years in D.C.  

As it is now, Washington remains almost paralyzed to act on important legislation that is the least bit controversial, and Americans are becoming increasingly despondent. So, I would hope that we can reach a reasonable compromise to limit firearms access — but I suspect we won’t go far enough. It’s time to seriously consider imposing term limits on members of Congress. In the end, it may be the only thing that has an impact on the environment of inaction in our nation’s capital.

Edward G. Rendell was the 45th governor of Pennsylvania. He is a former mayor of Philadelphia and former district attorney in that city. He served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee during the 2000 presidential election. Follow him on Twitter @GovEdRendell.

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Texas Democrats, unions call on Interior to protect workers' rights in offshore wind leasing

A coalition of Texas unions and members of Congress are calling on the Biden administration to ensure workers’ rights are protected in the buildout of offshore wind infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico. 

In a letter sent out Thursday morning, Democratic Reps. Al Green, Lloyd Doggett, Sylvia Garcia, Marc Veasey, Veronica Escobar and Vicente Gonzalez, who all represent districts in Texas, called on the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to ensure that Gulf-based wind power projects are built by union labor.

The representatives noted that due to organizing obstacles at the state level, union membership among workers is about one-third the national rate in Texas.  

In the letter, the members called on BOEM to ensure that leasing terms for wind projects in the Gulf include a requirement for a project labor agreement (PLA), or a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement between construction unions and contractors. 

The members also called for the use of a community workforce agreement, a PLA with a goal of hiring low-income workers for construction projects. 

The letter follows a public comment submitted in February by the Texas Climate Jobs Project, a coalition of labor unions in the Lone Star State that aims to bridge the gap between addressing climate change and the needs of workers. The group cites what it says is endemic wage theft in the construction business in Texas, and called on BOEM to incorporate local working conditions into its environmental analysis. 

“What we’re asking for is when they do issue those leases, that that those leases have requirements in there for job quality, for the ability of workers to come together … and community benefits so that even as we build this renewable capacity, we’re making sure that working people, and people who have historically been disadvantaged by the way energy has been produced in Texas, have a real seat at the table,” Rick Levy, president of the Texas AFL-CIO, said in an interview with The Hill Wednesday. 

Levy described offshore wind as the ideal project to assuage what he said was unease among parts of organized labor about renewable energy’s effect on jobs. 

“The reason we got involved in this project was to make sure that number one, it happens, and number two, when it does happen, that we make sure that these are good jobs and that people have a voice in these jobs and that the jobs really benefit the whole community,” he said. 

The Biden administration has set a broader goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity deployed by 2030, but has yet to formally announce lease sales in the Gulf. Last June, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced the department would explore opportunities for renewable development in the area.  

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White House to pay interns for first time

The White House will pay its interns when its internship program is relaunched in the fall, calling the development a “significant milestone” to provide opportunities to low-income students and increase diversity.

“Too often, unpaid federal internships have been a barrier to hardworking and talented students and professionals, preventing them from contributing their talents and skills to the country and holding them back from federal career advancement opportunities,” the White House said in a statement.

The White House’s internship program will relaunch in the fall after going on hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic. Interns will be required to attest to their COVID-19 vaccination status under White House policy.

Interns will be paid through a provision in a government funding bill President Biden signed into law earlier this year.

They will work in the office of the president and the office of the vice president, “supporting the work of the White House and furthering the priorities of the Biden-Harris Administration.”

The Biden administration has repeatedly talked about making equity a priority and increasing opportunities for low-income Americans and minorities.

Organizations across different industries have faced pressure to pay interns in recent years with advocacy groups and workers arguing unpaid internships disproportionately favor wealthy individuals who can afford to go without pay.

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Mayors urge Senate to pass House-passed gun bills

The U.S. Conference of Mayors on Thursday wrote to Senate leaders urging them to pass two gun safety bills already approved by the House, reissuing a letter sent in August of 2019.

The letter, first obtained by Politico, cited the recent mass shootings in Uvalde and in Buffalo. It was signed by a bipartisan group of over 250 mayors.

“The same two bills passed the House more than one year ago and are again pending in the Senate: H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Check Act and H.R. 1446, the Enhanced Background Checks Act,” the letter said, asking then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) for action.

“The tragic events in El Paso and Dayton this weekend are just the latest reminders that our nation can no longer wait for our federal government to take the actions necessary to prevent people who should not have access to firearms from being able to purchase them,” the original letter from 2019 said. 

The two bills mentioned in the letter, H.R. 8 and H.R. 1112, would require background checks for all gun sales and would extend the review period for background checks respectively.

Since the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, left 19 children and two adults dead and another in Buffalo, N.Y., killed 10 people at a grocery store last month, the issue of gun reform has been revitalized from lawmakers to public figures. 

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr made an impassioned plea to lawmakers after the Texas school shooting, directly referencing H.R. 8. 

“There’s a reason they won’t vote on it: to hold on to power,” he said of the senators who have yet to vote on the bill. “So I ask you, Mitch McConnell, I ask all of you senators who refuse to do anything about the violence and school shootings and supermarket shootings … I ask you, are you going to put your own desire for power ahead of the lives of our children, and our elderly and our churchgoers?”

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Two words explain why Trump won't run in 2024

Whenever two or more politically active people engage in conversation, invariably someone asks, “Will Donald Trump run in 2024?”

My standard answer is always “I have no idea” — until last week when Trump’s much-ballyhooed vendetta campaigns to defeat Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger ended in embarrassing anti-Trump failures. 

Reportedly, Trump was “stunned” by the results and headlines such as the Washington Post’s, “Trump rebuked with stinging losses in Georgia GOP contests.” But they’re not surprising since the former president’s primary challengers – former Sen. David Perdue and Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.) – were Trump stand-ins specifically chosen to promote the “Big Lie” — his perpetual mantra about the “stolen” 2020 election.

Trump’s repudiation in Georgia has Republicans speculating about his declining kingmaking powers, openly defying him as he loses his “vice-like grip on the party” and potentially endangering his frontrunner status. So, circling back to the most-asked question, my new answer is “Trump won’t run in 2024” — based on personality traits rooted in the words “fear” and “fight.” 

We begin with “fear,” indirectly drilled into young Donald Trump’s psyche by Fred, his authoritarian father, who demanded that his son always win and show strength but never weakness. Fred taught Donald that he could lie or twist the truth but never back down. Consequently, Trump developed an unnatural fear of losing or being called “a loser.”

Those grueling family dynamics were chronicled in Mary Trump’s book “Too Much and Never Enough,” subtitled “How my family created the world’s most dangerous man.” Donald Trump’s niece is a Ph.D. clinical psychologist whose best-seller was published in July 2020. Then, during a television appearance on Dec. 3, 2020, Mary explained, “It’s ‘impossible’ for Trump ‘to believe that he lost’ the election.”

That inability is why Trump can’t let go of 2020 and will tease a 2024 run for as long as possible. But, ultimately, Trump’s fear of losing is likely stronger than his willingness to take the risk. Moreover, during a second reelection campaign, the former president would be hard-pressed to use the same predictive excuse first heralded in a May 25, 2020, Politico headline: “Trump sees a ‘rigged election’ ahead. Democrats see a constitutional crisis in the making.”

And again, on Aug. 17, 2020, a Hill headline quoted the president’s losing rationale: “Trump: ‘The only way we’re going to lose this election is if the election is rigged.'” 

Then, amazingly, on Tuesday, May 31, Trump activated his go-to playbook, writing his followers, “‘Something Stinks In Georgia,’” explaining why his nemesis, Gov. Brian Kemp, won 73.7 percent of the primary vote. Stay tuned for that explosion.

Furthermore, Trump’s fear of running and losing reelection a second time is not assuaged by presidential history. In 1892, Grover Cleveland was the first and only former president to win the office non-consecutively. But there is a striking political difference between Trump and Cleveland’s win-loss record.

Cleveland, a Democrat, was first elected in 1884 after winning the popular vote and Electoral College. In his 1888 reelection defeat, Cleveland lost the Electoral College but still won the popular vote. Then in his second reelection campaign, Cleveland won the Electoral College and the popular vote for the third time. By comparison, Trump has never won the popular vote — a fact that must haunt his ego and heighten his fear of 2024.

And now, since I don’t believe that Trump will run again, it’s a good time to solicit Roger Stone’s opinion. Stone, a colorful political operative, is Trump’s longtime consultant and confidant who received a presidential pardon in 2020. In a text message, he wrote:

“I think he [Trump] wants to run, is inclined to run, has not made a decision to run. If he chooses to, I don’t think he could be stopped for the nomination, and I would be for him. This is a precisely accurate reflection of my conversation with him on this topic.”

But between the lines in Stone’s message, I read, “fear.” Why else would Trump have excessively teased his run and still “not made a decision”? Of course, the “Big Tease” has been an effective fundraising platform, banking over $100 million for Trump’s PACs while solidifying his duel status as king of the GOP and MAGA world. And is there any difference between the two? “Yes,” is the answer that brings us to “fight” — the second word explaining why Trump will not run in 2024.

Usually, the 45th president loves fighting, but fighting for his party’s nomination is now beneath his stature and shows weakness. Thus, King Trump wants and believes he deserves the 2024 crown delivered to his Mar-a-Lago palace on a blue satin pillow.

Meanwhile, a fighting bench is forming with numerous former and current officeholders unlikely to bow to Trump’s crowning demands. Most prominent is former Vice President Mike Pence, who is actively “campaigning” focusing on “the future.”

Meanwhile, in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis’s recent fundraising email was ostensibly for his reelection campaign but packed with poll-tested, red-meat phrases to gin up the national MAGA base without its baggage-laden founder. I firmly believe that the Republican version of “the future” is “Trumpism without Trump” — anticipating the next generation of leadership, and DeSantis, age 43, fits the bill.

To recap: Trump won’t run because he fears losing and does not want to fight for the nomination. But here is why I could be wrong:

I asked Mark McKinnon, the co-host of Showtime’s “The Circus” and the last presidential strategist to win the reelection of a Republican president — George W. Bush in 2004. McKinnon replied:

“Trump will never concede the stage or the spotlight to anyone else unless he’s in prison or a hospital. He’s not licking his wounds, he’s licking his chops. Every defeat is someone else’s fault. Every victory is his alone. The notion that he would simply exit stage left because of some political reality, self-reflection, or awareness flies in the face of everything we’ve learned about him.”  

It is fitting to conclude with a favorite Trump quote: “We’ll see what happens.”  

Myra Adams writes about politics and religion for numerous publications. She is a RealClearPolitics contributor and served on the creative team of two GOP presidential campaigns in 2004 and 2008. Follow her on Twitter @MyraKAdams.

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