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Jordan demands docs from Jan. 6 panel in face of subpoena
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), one of five Republican members subpoenaed by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, is asking the panel to turn over the bulk of the information it has collected on him as he weighs how to respond to the compulsory request for his testimony.
In a six-page letter, Jordan berates the committee on a number of points before asking that they “provide all documents, videos, or other material in the possession of the Select Committee that you potentially anticipate using, introducing, or relying on during questioning.”
Jordan was subpoenaed earlier this month alongside four other members who, like the Ohio congressman, had previously been asked to voluntarily sit with the committee’s investigators.
The subpoena notes that Jordan was in contact with former President Trump on Jan. 6, 2021, and also participated in several calls discussing strategy for the day.
The lengthy letter repeats a number of talking points the GOP has long relied on in attacking the committee: that it was not properly composed, doesn’t have a valid legislative purpose and is overtly political. Jordan also accuses the panel of having “misrepresented” his actions.
He also expressed frustration that the committee failed to respond to a Jan. 9 letter in which he followed up on the committee’s request to voluntarily speak with him.
“As I detailed in my January 9 letter to you, I have no relevant information that would advance any legitimate legislative purpose. I had no responsibility for the security of the Capitol Complex on January 6, and I cannot explain why a concern about ‘optics’ contributed to the limited security posture,” Jordan writes.
Jordan was one of the Republican members initially assigned to serve on the committee before Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) rejected most of the GOP’s picks, leading the party to largely boycott the panel.
Jordan has made frequent appearances in its work. Depositions released by the committee in court cases indicate Jordan attended numerous meetings with White House staff to discuss plans for Jan. 6, including Congress’s role in certifying the election results.
He was also revealed to be the sender of a text to Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows promoting the theory that Vice President Mike Pence could reject the election results – something Jordan later said was a text forwarded by a constituent.
“Mr. Jordan forwarded the text to Mr. Meadows, and Mr. Meadows certainly knew it was a forward,” Russell Dye, a spokesperson for Jordan, said at the time.
The letter likewise asks for “all documents, communications, testimony, and other material in the possession of the Select Committee in which my name appears or in which I am referenced.”
He also asks that they “provide all legal authorities and legal analyses…pertaining to the constitutionality of a non-ethics congressional subpoena to a Member of Congress.”
The Jan. 6 committee did not immediately respond to request for comment.
While Congress’s ethics committees have subpoenaed members before, the demand for testimony from the five members was a remarkable step.
The committee has continually asserted that it plans to introduce legislation to prevent anything like Jan. 6 from happening again – something that could include limitations on its own branch. It’s a detail key to their argument that they do have the authority to issue subpoenas from fellow members.
While members of Congress can be protected from subpoena by the “speech and debate clause,” experts have previously said there is no reason members of Congress can’t face subpoena for actions taken outside of their official duties.
“There’s no reason on God’s green earth, it seems to me, that a congressional committee investigating the circumstances surrounding insurrection aren’t entitled to get information from any source,” Jeff Robbins, an attorney now in private practice who has served as both a federal prosecutor and a Senate investigative counsel, previously told The Hill.
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Student arrested at Texas high school with pistol, rifle in his vehicle
Texas police reported on Wednesday that a high school student had been arrested after having what appeared to be a pistol and rifle in his vehicle just one day after an elementary school in the state became the scene of a mass shooting that left 19 children and two adults dead.
Police in Richardson, Texas, located roughly 15 miles northeast of Dallas, said in a Facebook post they launched a search at Berkner High School following a call just before 11 a.m. local time reporting a male who looked like he was holding a rifle and had last been seen walking toward the school.
“Based on the information provided and in collaboration with Richardson ISD, officers were able to identify the male suspect as a juvenile student of Berkner High School. The suspect was located inside Berkner High School, but no weapons were found,” police said.
“Further investigation led to the discovery of a vehicle used by the suspect in the parking lot of 1551 East Spring Valley Road. Inside the vehicle, officers observed what appeared to be an AK-47 style pistol and a replica AR-15 style Orbeez rifle.”
Police did not release the name of the suspect but said he had been arrested and charged with unlawfully carrying weapons in a weapon-free school zone.
For close to an hour, Berkner High School was placed on lockdown until police gave the all-clear, according to a spokesperson from Richardson Independent School District, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
The development comes as the nation is still reeling after the deadly Uvalde, Texas, shooting that took place on Tuesday. Uvalde is located more than 300 miles southwest of Richardson.
The Hill has reached out to the Richardson Independent School District for comment.
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NotedDC — School shooting hits close to home for lawmakers
Shortly after Tuesday’s mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) begged for an answer to a question that has plagued him for nearly a decade: “What are we doing?”
Murphy became one of the Senate’s most outspoken gun control activists following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., in December 2012, just a month after he was elected to the upper chamber.
“I want people to really understand what a little kid’s body looks like when it is riddled with holes from an AR-15,” Murphy said Wednesday.
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) told NotedDC the tragedy is a reminder of political battles that lie ahead, saying his daughter — born a year after the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in the Denver suburb of Littleton, Colo. — “lives in a country where the United States Congress is refusing to even vote on this.”
Pleading with his Republican colleagues to work with him on passing gun control legislation, which he has introduced before, Murphy told reporters Wednesday that he “is a sucker for compromise on gun issues.”
He said he has been talking with Sen. John Cornyn on what such a bill could look like, saying the Texas Republican is “a good man and his heart is breaking.”
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer is less optimistic that any sort of bill could reach 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster, saying Wednesday he will wait until Murphy and other Democrats are successful in negotiations.
“If we fail — and we failed before — then certainly this ultimately becomes a choice for the voters,” Murphy said.
Welcome to NotedDC: Your guide to politics, policy and people of consequence in D.C. Have some news, behind-the-scenes insight or other insider info? Send us tips: Elizabeth Crisp and Kelsey Carolan.
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What comes next on gun control legislation
A bipartisan bill addressing gun control could appear on the Senate floor “in the next week or so” if negotiations with Republicans prove successful, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) told reporters Wednesday.
On the House side, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Wednesday the House will pass Rep. Lucy McBath’s (D-Ga.) red flag bill “to establish extreme risk protection orders nationwide, which will help keep guns out of the hands of those who pose a threat to themselves or others.”
The Hill’s Emily Brooks and Mike Lillis break down some gun bills stalled in Congress that may appear on the floor:
- The Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021: Passed by the House in March 2021, it would strike the provision that allows some sales to proceed without a background check if the screening is not complete within three days
- Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021: Also passed by the House in March 2021, it would expand background checks for all gun sales and transfers
Worth noting: Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), a key swing vote, signaled Wednesday afternoon that red flag laws are likely to be on the table.
Stakes raised for Biden’s ATF nominee
President Biden’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Steve Dettelbach, is facing questions from members of both parties, even as a string of mass shootings inject a sense of urgency into the confirmation fight.
Democrats’ biggest hurdle comes with securing the votes of Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.), both of whom were skeptical of Biden’s first ATF nominee, David Chipman, who withdrew in September amid strong GOP opposition.
Tester’s spokesperson told NotedDC the senator will be “closely reviewing Mr. Dettelbach’s record” to ensure he would support law enforcement and the Second Amendment, while a spokesperson for Manchin did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Wednesday’s hearing swayed him either direction.
One Democratic defection would sink the confirmation.
One bit of good news for Democrats: Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), who reportedly opposed Chipman, told CNN’s Manu Raju after Wednesday’s hearing that he is “inclined to support” Dettelbach.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) preemptively slammed Republicans for opposing Dettelbach’s confirmation, describing it as “the one law enforcement agency that we have Republicans wanting to defund and strangle.”
Dettelbach would be the first permanent ATF director since 2015.
BIDEN TURNS TO POLICE REFORM
It’s been two years since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, with no meaningful action from Congress on police reform efforts.
Now, President Biden is marking the two-year anniversary of Floyd’s death calling for a national database of officers who have been fired for misconduct and requiring federal agencies to update their policies on use of force.
The database of disciplinary records will apply to federal officers and state and local jurisdictions that partner with the federal government on joint task forces.
The order bans federal officers from using chokeholds except in limited instances and curbs federal law enforcement’s use of no-knock warrants.
Ben Crump, the attorney who has represented Floyd’s family, told NotedDC that the order signals “incremental progress.”
“While this action does not have the long-term impact that we had hoped for with the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, it does represent incremental progress, and we need to commit ourselves to making progress every day because the safety of our children is worth the fight,” Crump and co-counsels Antonio Romanucci and Jeff Storms said in a statement to The Hill after Biden signed the order. “This is a start that should serve as a model for law enforcement everywhere.”
Remember: The federal government has grappled with police reform for years. Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) had tried to broker a bipartisan agreement on policing reform legislation, but those talks fizzled last year.
Former President Trump, after a private meeting with families of victims and after viewing the video of Floyd’s death, in June 2020 unveiled an executive order that was intended to set up a national police misconduct database, among other measures.
Read more on what Biden’s order does — and doesn’t — do, from The Hill’s Brett Samuels
NRA convention moves forward
Several high-profile Republicans are planning to still attend the National Rifle Association‘s (NRA) annual leadership forum in Houston this week, which Democrats have urge be scrapped or moved following the mass shooting in Uvalde.
Former President Trump on Wednesday released a statement defending his decision to still speak at the event on Friday. “In the meantime, we all continue to pray for the victims, their families and for our entire nation — we are all in this together,” he said, referring to the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, about 85 miles west of San Antonio.
A spokesperson for the NRA didn’t immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment on potential changes for the convention following the shooting.
Other Republicans slated to attend the event include Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz. All three took part in a news conference Wednesday providing an update on the elementary school shooting and expressing sympathy to the families of the 19 children and two teachers who were killed.
Abbott called the shooting “horrible,” but added that “it could have been worse.”
Flashback: In November, NPR reported on a leaked recording of a discussion that NRA leaders had after the deadly school shooting at Columbine. Their convention, scheduled to be held in Denver just days later in 1999, went ahead in a scaled-back format.
Read more from The Hill’s Karl Evers-Hillstrom on the status of the NRA event
White House official says inflation No. 1 priority
As Republicans continue to slam President Biden on record levels of inflation, White House officials say fixing it is their number one priority.
During The Hill’s Advancing America’s Economy event Wednesday, the White House National Economic Council deputy director David Kamin touted Biden’s four-point plan, which includes releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and lowering daily costs for Americans.
While the Federal Reserve is tasked with handling inflation — and has been criticized for waiting too long to raise interest rates — Biden has been unable to effectively deflect the blame, with it now polling as one of the top issue for voters.
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) admitted that “the bad news is people are very concerned about inflation” but said there is strong economic growth.
Not swaying from what Republicans see as their strongest message, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) said the Biden administration has been unable “to actually tackle the issue and bring relief to the American people.”
Watch the rest of Wednesday’s event here
Stay with TheHill.com for the latest and recommend NotedDC to others: thehill.com/noted. See you tomorrow.
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Defense & National Security —Biden heads to Alabama to tout response to Russia
President Biden’s lead negotiator on nuclear talks with Iran has given a dim outlook for prospects of a return to the deal, telling a Senate panel it was “tenuous at best” despite nearly a year of talks to revive the agreement.
We’ll break down the Biden administration’s consensus plus the latest on the Ukraine-Russia war and newly announced military drills from China.
This is Defense & National Security, your nightly guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. For The Hill, I’m Ellen Mitchell. A friend forward this newsletter to you? Subscribe here.
Biden’s Iran envoy: Return to nuclear deal ‘tenuous’
U.S. Special Representative for Iran Rob Malley — Biden’s lead negotiator on nuclear talks with Tehran — on Wednesday told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the U.S. would continue to reject Iranian demands that go beyond the terms of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
He also said the U.S. is “fully prepared to live with and confront that reality” of moving forward without a return to the deal, and said that Biden has “taken no action off the table,” in a veiled reference to possible military action, in coordination with Israel, to take out Iran’s nuclear program.
No illusions: Malley said the administration is under no “illusion” that Iran’s government would not be a threat even with a return to the deal vacated by the Trump administration. But he said the Biden government does see the deal as imposing real constraints on Iran’s activities, and that without it Iran is more likely to become a nuclear power.
“Without those constraints, Iran has been accumulating sufficient enriched uranium and made sufficient technological advances to leave the breakout time is short as a matter of weeks, which means Iran could potentially produce enough fuel for bomb before we can know it, let alone stop it,” Malley said.
A continued threat: Malley said that Iran remains a threat to the U.S. and allies, in particular Israel, acknowledging criticisms from lawmakers opposed to the JCPOA that the agreement does not address Tehran’s support for terrorism, ballistic weapons program, attacks on American forces in the region, detaining American and dual-nationals for political purposes and human rights atrocities at home.
New sanctions: Malley also announced new sanctions will be imposed on an “international smuggling and money-laundering network” that he said provides hundreds of millions of dollars to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force (IRGC), which the former Trump administration designated as a terrorist organization and that President Biden has reportedly decided to maintain despite requests from Iran to lift the designation.
“As we have throughout the negotiations, we will continue to strongly push back” on Iran’s threatening behavior, Malley said in announcing the sanctions.
Zelensky: ‘Situation in Donbas is extremely difficult’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday said the status of the Donbas region of the country is “extremely difficult” after months of Russian attacks in the area.
In a speech marking three months since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, Zelensky said “all the strength” of the Russian army has been concentrated on the region with the goal to “destroy everything there.”
Ongoing fighting: Russian-backed separatists have fought Ukrainian forces in the Luhansk and Donetsk provinces, part of the Donbas, since 2014. United Kingdom intelligence reported earlier on Tuesday that the Russian military is specifically trying to encircle three cities in and around Luhansk, but they are facing stiff Ukrainian resistance.
Russia has turned its attention toward the Donbas region as the full-scale invasion in Ukraine lingered longer than Russian President Vladimir Putin originally planned and Russian forces failed to capture cities in western Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv.
More pleas for weapons: Zelensky said he is grateful to Ukraine’s allies for the assistance they have provided, but the longer the war goes on, the greater the costs will be to Ukraine and the rest of the world. He said other countries sending weapons to Ukraine is the “best investment” in keeping stability throughout the world.
He added that Ukrainian leaders are working to ensure it receives “security guarantees” for after the war.
ZELENSKY: UKRAINE WILL FIGHT UNTIL IT REGAINS ALL ITS TERRITORIES
Zelensky also said during the World Economic Forum on Wednesday that Ukraine would fight until it regained all of its territories — comments that come after former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger remarked that Ukraine’s borders should remain as they were prior to the start of the Russian invasion.
“When Ukraine says that it will fight until it regains all its territories, it means only one thing: that Ukraine will fight until it regains all its territories. This is about independence and sovereignty,” Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian president’s comments came after Kissinger, who spoke at the World Economic Forum on Monday, suggested a different outcome: That Ukraine potentially cede territory to Russia. Moscow seized Crimea in 2014 and forces have battled over the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.
Kissinger’s earlier remarks: “In my view, movement towards negotiations and negotiations on peace need to begin in the next two months so that the outcome of the war should be outlined. But before it could create upheaval and tensions that will be ever-harder to overcome, particularly between the eventual relationship of Russia, Georgia and of Ukraine towards Europe. Ideally, the dividing line should return the status quo ante,” Kissinger said in reference to Ukraine’s borders.
China announces war games near Taiwan
China announced on Wednesday that it conducted military drills near Taiwan amid President Biden’s comments that the U.S. would defend the island if Beijing invaded.
Col. Shi Yi, a spokesperson for the Eastern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army, said in a statement that the drills were a “solemn warning to the recent US-Taiwan collusion activities.”
The statement didn’t specify exactly where the drills were held, but it did say that the command performed “multi-service joint combat readiness patrols” and “actual combat drills” in the sea and airspace around Taiwan.
Why it matters: The drill underscores the fallout of Biden’s comments from Monday, when he answered “yes” when asked whether he was willing to get the U.S. involved militarily to defend Taiwan if China were to attempt to take it by force.
The White House quickly walked back Biden’s comments, saying that he wasn’t announcing a policy change.
Increasing instances: China has stepped up its provocations toward Taiwan, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked concerns that Beijing might soon launch an incursion against Taiwan.
China and Russia flew nuclear-capable bombers in a joint military exercise as the president wrapped up his trip to Asia.
ON TAP TOMORROW
- Secretary of State Antony Blinken will deliver an address outlining the administration’s China policy at an Asia Society hosted event at George Washington University.
- A Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee will hold a hearing on the Ninth Summit of the Americas at 9 a.m.
- The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing to consider the nomination of Gen. Christopher Cavoli to be head of U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe, at 9:30 a.m.
- The Middle East Institute will host a discussion on “The War in Ukraine and Its Impact on Russia-Iran Relations,” at 10 a.m.
- A Senate Appropriations subcommittee will hold a hearing on “Fiscal Year 2023 Funding Request and Budget Justification for the Navy and Marine Corps,” with Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger, Chief of Naval Operations Michael Gilday and Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro, at 10 a.m.
- The Government Executive Media Group and Defense One will host an event on cloud computing trends in defense at 11:30 a.m.
- A House Appropriations subcommittee will hold a hearing on “Defense Environmental Restoration,” at 12 p.m.
- The House Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing on “The State of the Transportation Security Administration,” at 2:30 p.m.
WHAT WE’RE READING
- South Korea says North Korea launched at least three ballistic missiles
- FBI director: Texas shooting highlights concern over lone actors
- ‘Red flag’ legislation emerges as leading option in the Senate following shootings
- Soros: Invasion of Ukraine possibly the beginning of ‘Third World War’ that ends civilization
- Ukrainian ambassador on Texas school shooting: ‘Should not happen in US’
- New details emerge on Texas school shooting suspect
That’s it for today. Check out The Hill’s Defense and National Security pages for the latest coverage. See you tomorrow!
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On The Money — Fed minutes shed light on bank’s recession outlook
New minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting paint the picture of a cautiously optimistic central bank. We’ll also look at Democratic divides over inflation and trouble for the railroad industry boosting inflation.
But first, a recap of Tuesday’s primaries.
Welcome to On The Money, your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line. For The Hill, we’re Sylvan Lane, Aris Folley and Karl Evers-Hillstrom. Someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.
Fed saw strong economy facing inflation risks
Federal Reserve officials saw the economy holding strong despite high inflation and rising threats to the global economic outlook before hiking interest rates earlier this month, according to minutes released by the central bank Wednesday.
- During the May 3 and May 4 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the Fed panel responsible for setting interest rates and other monetary policy tools, officials voiced confidence in the resilience of the U.S. economy as the central bank ramps up its battle against inflation.
- Even so, Fed officials also saw several risks to the U.S. economy and the bank’s bid to bring inflation down without causing a recession looming on the horizon, according to minutes from the meeting.
The background: The FOMC capped off the May meeting with a 0.5 percentage point interest rate hike, twice the size of a typical increase, after raising its baseline interest rate range by 0.25 percentage points in March. The FOMC and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who spoke to reporters after the meeting, also said the Fed was likely to consider further 0.5 percentage point hikes at upcoming summits in June and July.
- The minutes from the May meeting align largely with Powell’s message of cautious optimism in the strong but overheated economy and the bank’s ability to tame it.
- While Powell has warned the U.S economy could experience “pain” as borrowing costs rise, he and Fed officials believe a strong labor market and consumer spending can hold sturdy.
TRADING BLOWS
Democrats divided on tariffs amid woes over inflation
Faced with mounting inflation and bad poll numbers, Democratic lawmakers are divided over whether to get rid of Trump-era tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars in goods imported from China, which some Democrats think would lower costs for consumers.
Vulnerable Democratic senators from two key battleground states, Arizona and Nevada, are worried in particular that the administration may wind up slapping penalties on Chinese manufacturers of solar panels that have expanded their operations into Southeast Asia.
But tariffs on foreign imports are popular with labor unions and with voters in key presidential swing states such as Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania — states that could decide who controls the White House after the 2024 election.
The Hill’s Alexander Bolton has more here.
HIRE AND HIRE
7 in 10 say it’s a good time to find a quality job: Gallup
Most Americans feel it is a good time to find a quality job, a new Gallup poll finds, despite high inflation and some fears of a potential recession in the near future.
- Seventy-one percent of Americans in a Gallup poll released Wednesday said they believe it is a good time to find a quality job. That’s near the 21-year high of 74 percent that Gallup recorded last October.
- The percentage of U.S. adults who said it was a good time to find a quality job dropped significantly at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, from 68 percent in January 2020 to 22 percent in April 2020, but it has since recovered and remained above 70 percent since last August.
The U.S. unemployment rate currently stands at 3.6 percent and has remained below 5 percent since last September.
The background: While the job market and consumer spending have remained strong over the start of 2022, high inflation has taken a toll on household budgets and voters’ views on President Biden’s handling of the economy.
The Hill’s Jared Gans fills us in here.
TROUBLE ON THE TRACKS
Freight railroad slowdowns under microscope amid supply crunch
Freight railroads are failing to keep pace with consumer demand, putting additional strain on the nation’s supply chains that have been plagued by trucker shortages and congested ports, among other challenges.
Trade groups representing energy and agricultural producers say that rail service disruptions are delaying shipments of raw materials and driving up prices that consumers pay for food, gas and other products.
They chiefly blame railroads for understaffing their operations. Over the last six years, the leading freight carriers laid off 45,000 employees, or nearly 30 percent of their combined workforce, according to the Surface Transportation Board. Most of the layoffs came before the pandemic, which ushered in a huge demand for shipped items.
- The National Grain and Feed Association testified before the board that service disruptions cost the grain industry more than $100 million due to lost revenues and additional freight expenses in the first quarter of 2022.
- The American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers said that service disruptions and lack of competition in the railroad industry contribute to rising gas prices, stating that transportation and distribution costs account for 11 percent of the cost consumers pay.
Good to Know
Tuesday’s devastating mass shooting is thrusting the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) annual meeting in Houston, Texas, this weekend into the spotlight.
The pro-gun lobbying group’s convention, located roughly 300 miles from the Uvalde, Texas, elementary school where at least 19 children were shot and killed, is set to feature remarks from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and former President Trump on Friday.
Here’s what else we have our eye on:
- Hyundai has recalled 239,000 vehicles nationwide out of concern that certain seat belt pretensioners could explode and send metal fragments throughout the vehicle.
- More than a dozen global companies in the oil and gas industry are uniting for the first time to promote cyber resilience amid growing cyber threats.
That’s it for today. Thanks for reading and check out The Hill’s Finance page for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you tomorrow.
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White House pushes for swift confirmation of ATF nominee after Texas shooting
The White House is pushing the Senate to quickly confirm President Biden’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives in the wake of the Texas elementary school shooting.
Biden on Wednesday urged the Senate to confirm Steve Dettelbach, a former federal prosecutor from Ohio who he nominated to lead ATF earlier this year, calling it a “modest step” the body could take to address gun violence in the wake of the shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left at least 19 children and two teachers dead.
“The Senate should confirm him without delay, without excuse. Send the nomination to my desk,” Biden said during an event marking the two-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder. “It’s time for action.”
Dettelbach sat for his first confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, a meeting that was shadowed by the school shooting that happened the day before.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre praised Dettelbach in a statement following the hearing and said it showed “why the Senate should move quickly to confirm him to lead” ATF.
The White House views the ATF nominee as a way to make progress on Biden’s gun control agenda at a time when other legislative items like bills to expand background checks remain stalled.
“As we saw with the tragic shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo – where ATF agents have played a key role in the investigations – and with daily gun violence plaguing too many of our communities, now is the time to provide ATF the leadership it needs to redouble its work to enforce our gun laws and make our communities safer,” she said.
There has not been a confirmed nominee atop ATF for several years. Biden was forced to withdraw his first nominee, David Chipman, from consideration last fall after it became clear he lacked 50 votes in the Democrat-controlled Senate to get him confirmed.
Dettelbach will need to secure support from all 50 Democrats if Republicans unanimously oppose his nomination.
Dettelbach has won support from bipartisan mayors and law enforcement groups, and the White House is hopeful that ultimately his nomination will succeed.
Sen. Angus King (I-Me.), who did not support Chipman, told reporters earlier Wednesday that he was likely to support Dettelbach.
It’s unclear how quickly the Senate will move on his nomination. The Judiciary panel needs to first vote to advance the ATF nominee so he can receive a floor vote.
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Energy & Environment — Biden deals another hit to Alaska mining project
The Biden administration is proposing to protect a salmon fishery, dealing a blow to a proposed mine, while Massachusetts’s lawsuit against ExxonMobil has been allowed to move forward.
This is Overnight Energy & Environment, your source for the latest news focused on energy, the environment and beyond. For The Hill, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk. Someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.
EPA proposes protections for Alaska salmon fishery
The Biden administration is moving toward protections for a major sockeye salmon fishery in Alaska — at the expense of a proposed gold and copper mine.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a decision that would protect the Bristol Bay watershed, dealing yet another blow to the imperiled Pebble Mine project.
A long time coming: The issue has been ongoing for years and has pitted environmentalists, tribes and fishing interests against mining interests.
The EPA under former President Trump had allowed the mine to move forward, but the Army Corps of Engineers denied a permit for the project after prominent conservatives including Fox News host Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump Jr. rallied against the move.
The Biden administration had previously indicated that it was likely to protect the watershed.
In its latest decision on Wednesday, the administration said that the mine’s construction and operation would result in waste discharges into waters, which would result in a loss of fish habitat.
“The Bristol Bay watershed is a shining example of how our nation’s waters are essential to healthy communities, vibrant ecosystems, and a thriving economy,” EPA administrator Michael Regan said in a statement.
“EPA is committed to following the science, the law, and a transparent public process to determine what is needed to ensure that this irreplaceable and invaluable resource is protected for current and future generations,” he added.
Not everybody’s happy: The mine’s developer, the Pebble Partnership, condemned the EPA’s proposal as “political.”
“As we are still actively working through the established permitting process via our appeal of the Army Corps of Engineers permit denial, we oppose any action that is outside of that process. This preemptive effort is clearly a political conclusion to attempt to block our ability to work through that established process,” Pebble Partnership CEO John Shively said in a statement.
Shively also argued that the decision runs counter to the administration’s clean energy goals.
“The Pebble Project remains an important domestic source for the minerals necessary for the Biden Administration to reach its green energy goals and if it blocks Pebble it will have to seek minerals to meet its goals from foreign sources who simply do not have the same environmental standards as we do,” he said.
Read more about the decision here.
Mass. high court allows Exxon lawsuit to proceed
Massachusetts’s highest court on Tuesday declined to strike down Attorney General Maura Healey’s (D) lawsuit accusing ExxonMobil of knowingly misleading shareholders and the public about the relationship between its products and climate change.
The energy giant had argued the lawsuit ran afoul of Massachusetts’s anti-strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP) law. However, the panel ruled that the state law did not apply to civil actions by the attorney general’s office.
Quote the ruling: “Construing the anti-SLAPP statute to apply to the Attorney General would place significant roadblocks to the enforcement of the Commonwealth’s laws,” the ruling says.
Such an interpretation would have “a substantial effect on the investigation and enforcement of illegal activity, which is a critical function of the government,” Justice Scott Kafker wrote.
SLAPP statutes are generally intended to protect people and entities from nuisance lawsuits from private citizens, rather than government agencies, he added.
“Once again, Exxon’s attacks on my office and our case have been rejected by the courts. Today’s ruling is a resounding victory in our work to stop Exxon from lying to investors and consumers in our state. Exxon’s repeated attempts to stonewall our lawsuit have been baseless, and this effort was no different,” Healey said in a statement.
“We look forward to proceeding with our case and having our day in court to show how Exxon is breaking the law and to put an end to the deception once and for all.”
An Exxon spokesperson told The Hill the company is “reviewing the decision and evaluating next steps.”
Read more about the ruling here.
Oil, gas companies join pledge for cyber resilience
More than a dozen global companies in the oil and gas industry are uniting for the first time to promote cyber resilience amid growing cyber threats.
The energy companies announced their commitment on Wednesday at the annual global conference of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.
The pledge aims to encourage global firms to collaborate and take collective steps to strengthen cyber resilience across the industry. The initiative was led by the WEF’s cyber resilience in oil and gas initiative, which seeks to incentivize the oil and gas industry to adopt cyber resilience practices.
“The Cyber Resilience Pledge is a landmark step as it signals recognition of the complexities of building a cyber-resilient industry ecosystem and a commitment towards collective action to achieve it,” said Alexander Klimburg, head of cybersecurity at the WEF.
The energy corporations participating in the pledge include Galp, Petronas, Occidental Petroleum and Aker BP.
Organizers behind the pledge said the initiative is in response to major cyber breaches that occurred in the past two years, highlighting the vulnerabilities of critical sectors.
In 2020, Russian state-sponsored hackers exploited the vulnerabilities in software updates from tech company SolarWinds. The hackers were then able to penetrate the networks of nine federal agencies and at least 100 private sector organizations for nearly a year.
The following year, Colonial Pipeline was hit by a destructive ransomware attack, forcing it to shut down for nearly a week. The incident caused gas shortages in several states as fuel prices spiked.
Read more from The Hill’s Ines Kagubare.
ON TAP TOMORROW
The House Appropriations Subcommittee will hold a hearing on defense environmental restoration
WHAT WE’RE READING
- California, Long Leery of Nuclear Power, Joins Bid to Save it (Bloomberg)
- EPA denies air pollution permit for south Alabama factory (AL.com)
- Shell consultant quits and accuses firm of ‘extreme harms’ (BBC)
- U.S. releases environmental study about new Idaho test reactor (KTVB)
And finally, something off-beat but on beat: That’s one way to gift?
That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill’s Energy & Environment page for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you tomorrow.
Source: TEST FEED1
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Twitter to pay $150 million over allegations it improperly sold user data
Twitter is set to pay $150 million to settle a privacy lawsuit brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Justice Department.
The settlement, made public Wednesday, concerns allegations that the platform improperly collected user data between 2014 and 2019. The settlement requires a court approval before being finalized.
According to the complaint, Twitter asked users for phone numbers and email addresses to secure their accounts and then let advertisers use that information to target ads.
The platform misrepresented what the information was being collected to do, per the complaint, allegedly violating a previous settlement from 2011 and the FTC Act.
“As the complaint notes, Twitter obtained data from users on the pretext of harnessing it for security purposes but then ended up also using the data to target users with ads,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a statement. “This practice affected more than 140 million Twitter users, while boosting Twitter’s primary source of revenue.”
Twitter apologized for using information collected for security purposes for advertising in 2019, saying the data had “inadvertently” been moved into ad targeting information.
Damied Kieran, the platform’s chief privacy officer, acknowledged Wednesday that personal information “may have been inadvertently used for advertising.”
“Keeping data secure and respecting privacy is something we take extremely seriously, and we have cooperated with the FTC every step of the way,” he added in a blog post.
The complaint made public Wednesday alleges that Twitter was also falsely saying it complied with the US-European Union and US-Swiss Privacy Shield Frameworks, which had rules about repurposing user data.
In addition to the fine, Twitter would be required to maintain a “comprehensive” privacy and information security program, notify users whose information was misused, limit employee access to personal data and offer multi-factor authentication options that don’t require phone numbers.
Source: TEST FEED1
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Texas official says all victims in Uvalde school shooting were in one classroom
A spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety said in an interview on Wednesday that all of the victims in the Uvalde elementary school shooting were in one classroom.
During an interview with CNN’s John Berman, Lt. Chris Olivarez was asked about reports that all of the injuries and fatalities had occurred in one classroom.
“That’s correct,” Olivarez confirmed.
“So it was a classroom setting. [The shooter] was able to make entry into that classroom, barricaded himself by locking the door, and just started shooting children and the two teachers that were inside that classroom,” he added.
“It just goes to show you the complete evil from this shooter,” he added.
Olivarez said officials had so far confirmed that the 18-year-old suspect had one rifle on him when he entered the school and that “he was in possession of multiple magazines or multiple numerous rounds of ammunition.”
Officials are learning new details about a shooting that took place at Robb Elementary School on Tuesday, leaving 19 children and two adults dead. The suspect was killed during the attack.
The shooting has left the nation reeling less than two weeks after a mass shooting in a Buffalo, N.Y., left 10 people dead and three others wounded. Eleven of the 13 victims were Black.
The shooting in Uvalde — a largely Hispanic community about 85 miles west of San Antonio — is the worst elementary school shooting since the Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, Conn., and the worst overall school shooting since the Parkland, Fla., shooting in 2018.
Source: TEST FEED1