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Five takeaways from the last primary night of the year

Primary night in New Hampshire, Delaware and Rhode Island — the last primaries of the year — proved to be a good night for incumbents and former President Trump, and a difficult one for many establishment favorites.

While Govs. Dan McKee (D) of Rhode Island and Chris Sununu (R) of New Hampshire won their respective primaries, Tuesday night also saw several key wins for Trump-aligned candidates.

Retired Army Gen. Don Bolduc, considered a far-right candidate, was set to win the Republican nomination to take on Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) in the fall. And other similarly controversial, Trump-aligned candidates won elsewhere in the Granite State, throwing into question how successful Republicans will be in what is considered a purple state.

Here’s five takeaways from Tuesday’s primaries.

A far-right victory puts a flippable Senate seat at risk for GOP

Bolduc, a controversial hard-right candidate, looked set to prevail in New Hampshire’s Republican Senate primary and take on Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) in November, putting one of Republicans’ best chances of flipping a Senate seat at risk. 

Bolduc beat back a challenge against state Senate President Chuck Morse (R), considered the establishment favorite with endorsements from key figures like Gov. Chris Sununu (R). The retired Army general, in contrast, was considered more aligned with former President Trump. He has previously falsely claimed Trump won the 2020 election. 

Sununu last month called Bolduc a “conspiracy theorist-type candidate” and warned Republicans would have a harder time competing in the Senate race if he were to win.

To be sure, Hassan is still considered one of the most vulnerable Democratic senators up for reelection. She won her last election in 2016 by a tenth of a percentage point and the nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates her seat “lean Democrat.”

But Bolduc’s nomination likely handed her a lifeline given that Republicans say it’s unclear whether the far-right candidate can demonstrate that he can shift his campaign to appeal to a wider set of voters in the general election.

Trump scores more wins

While former President Trump didn’t wade into any of Tuesday’s primaries, the former president still has reason to celebrate.

Two of the most closely watched Republican primaries in New Hampshire saw Trump-aligned candidates prevail in their respective primaries: Retired Army Gen. Don Bolduc won the GOP Senate primary to go head-to-head with Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) this fall, while former Trump White House aide Karoline Leavitt won her primary to take on Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) in the state’s 1st Congressional District.

In both cases, the Trump-aligned candidates beat out challengers with high-profile backers of their own. New Hampshire state Senate President Chuck Morse (R) had the support of Gov. Chris Sununu (R) in the GOP Senate primary. And Matt Mowers (R), a former State Department official, had endorsements from the likes of House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif) and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.).

Both Bolduc and Leavitt have echoed Trump’s claims about the 2020 election and won their primaries against more establishment-aligned favorites.

But the Republican nominees could pose headaches for their party’s prospects in November, especially in a state like New Hampshire, which has a Republican governor and GOP-led state legislature but whose congressional delegation are all Democrats. 

Sununu has a mixed night

On one hand, New Hampshire’s popular Republican Gov. Chris Sununu had a good night,  easily gliding through his primary and setting up a likely fourth term as chief executive of the Granite State. But on the other hand, he also suffered a high-profile defeat in the proxy battle that was the state’s GOP Senate primary.

Sununu’s last-minute endorsement of state Senate President Chuck Morse (R) did little to push the Senate challenger over the finish line in the primary to take on Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.).

Instead, Sununu and other Republicans must contend with Bolduc, who has referred to the governor as a “Chinese community sympathizer,” as their best hope of flipping the Senate seat. 

While Sununu last weekend said he would end up supporting whoever won the Senate primary, Bolduc’s win will likely be a source of frustration for the governor, who said last month that Bolduc was a “conspiracy theorist-type candidate” who would make it harder for the GOP to flip the Senate seat in November. 

Dem meddling pays off 

Democrats’ involvement in multiple GOP primaries in New Hampshire has appeared to pay off, though critics argue it carries risks for November.

The Senate Majority PAC, which is aligned with Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), spent $3.2 million on an ad campaign against state Senate President Chuck Morse (R) in the GOP Senate primary, part of an effort to give his hard-right challenger, Don Bolduc, an edge. Republicans are doubtful Bolduc will be able to pull off a win as easily in November. 

Meanwhile, in the state’s 2nd Congressional District, a Democratic PAC reportedly spent money looking to boost Republican candidate Robert Burns, a former 2016 Trump delegate. While Burns hasn’t won the race as of early Wednesday morning, he looks poised to beat his chief Republican rival, Keene, N.H., Mayor George Hansel, who was backed by Sununu.

The Dem meddling in the primaries has been criticized by as well as some Democrats, who warn the strategy runs the risk of giving controversial candidates a shot at winning office. The tactic could prove safer in New Hampshire given the state’s purple political leanings, though both races have been considered some of the most competitive for this cycle.

A nail-biter in Rhode Island

Gov. Dan McKee (D) eked out a win in the Democratic primary for the Rhode Island gubernatorial race after fending off four other competitors, including former CVS executive Helena Foulkes, who only trailed the incumbent by single digits as of late Tuesday night.

McKee was first elevated to the position of governor in the state last year when then-Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) left her position to serve under the Biden administration as Commerce secretary. 

Among some of his fellow Democratic contenders were Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea, physician Luis Daniel Muñoz and former state Secretary of State Matt Brown. While recent polling showed McKee holding a narrow lead over his Democratic contenders, it also showed Gorbea polling much more competitively in the primary. 

The night’s results meant McKee narrowly dodged becoming the first incumbent governor since 2018 to lose a primary; Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer (R) was the last state executive to be ousted in a primary.

McKee will take on Republican candidate Ashley Kalus in the general election. 

Should McKee prevail in November, which appears likely given that his race has been rated by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report as “solid Democrat,” he’s on track to secure his first full-term as governor. 

Source: TEST FEED1

Jan. 6 panel weighs options in final leg of marathon probe

The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol huddled on Tuesday to game out the final weeks of its marathon probe, but deferred decisions about witnesses and hearings to later in the week.

Speaking with reporters after the panel’s first in-person meeting following the August recess, Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said the panel would likely hold its next hearing in late September, with its work stretching into the fall and even into the lame duck session.

“At this point, the goal is the 28th [of September] for the first hearing and we’re in the process of deciding on a topic,” he said.

“We need to meet or exceed hearings that we’ve had in the past….it won’t be a repeat of any earlier hearings. And we’re trying to be as strategic as we can in not repeating ourselves.”

“Whatever we do will be new information. Some of it we continue to collect on almost a daily basis,” he said.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), another member of the select committee, had one early suggestion. 

“There’s a symphony of different ideas about what needs to be built into that final hearing to complete the story,” Raskin said Tuesday. “And what I’m most interested in is seeing that we explain how a lot of the threats that were manifest on Jan. 6 are still out there today. Some of them have expanded in nature.”

Thompson said an additional October hearing is “not off the table” and that the panel could “absolutely” continue its work past the midterms.

Thompson said any number of topics are still ripe for exploration.

In recent weeks the committee has interviewed a number of former Trump Cabinet secretaries, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, though Thompson said they have not spent considerable time asking about a 25th Amendment discussion to remove former President Trump from office.

The committee is also still reviewing why a number of Department of Homeland Security texts over Jan. 6, including among Secret Service officers, have gone missing.

Thompson said they have not been able to secure an interview with Tony Ornato, who recently retired from the Secret Service after being alleged to have told White House staff Trump lunged at his security detail.

“If he had stayed an employee of the service we would have had an opportunity to talk, but now he’s a private citizen,” Thompson said, though the panel has asked to speak with a number of former government officials.

Thompson also said the committee has been in contact with Newt Gingrich’s attorney about their request for a voluntary interview with the former House speaker.

“We’re in the process of working through a response. It hadn’t been turned down, but it’s a process. Well at least there’s an acknowledgement that he’s aware, through his attorney, that the committee is interested in hearing from him,” he said. 

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), one of the committee’s two Republicans, said the panel has “no updates” on whether it will reach out to Trump or former Vice President Mike Pence.

The Justice Department is also separately investigating the events of Jan. 6, including the role played by Trump and those in his inner circle leading up to the rampage. As part of that probe, the department recently subpoenaed roughly 40 members of Trump’s team or close associates to the former president.

That’s led to questions about how — or even if — the House select committee will share the evidence it’s gathered over the course of its 15-month probe with the DOJ.

Raskin suggested Tuesday that the panel has shared no information to date. 

“They’re looking at specific crimes; we obviously have come across a lot of crimes and tried to make that information available to the public through our hearings,” Raskin said. “And the DOJ also has obviously had access to that information.” 

Mychael Schnell contributed.

Source: TEST FEED1

Nevada Senate, governor races in dead heat: poll

The races for Nevada’s Senate seat and governor’s mansion are neck-and-neck roughly two months out from Election Day, according to an 8 News Now/Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey released on Tuesday.

In the race for the state’s Senate seat, 42 percent of likely voters said they supported Republican candidate Adam Laxalt, while 41 percent said they supported Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.). Eleven percent said they were undecided and four percent said they planned to vote for someone else. 

Laxalt’s narrow lead falls within the poll’s plus or minus three percentage points margin of error, but the poll appears to show him making gains. A July KLAS TV-The Hill-Emerson College poll founnd Cortez Masto had 44 percent support to Laxalt’s 41 percent. That result also fell within the poll’s margin of error.

However, Tuesday’s poll was not all bad news for the incumbent Democrat. 

“Cortez Masto holds a 19-point lead among Hispanic voters and 27-point lead among Black voters, whereas Laxalt leads White voters by nine,” Spencer Kimball, the executive director of Emerson College Polling, wrote. 

And despite Laxalt’s lead, 54 percent of respondents said they expected Cortez Masto to win, while 46 percent of respondents said they expected Laxalt to win. 

The race for Nevada’s governor’s mansion is also a tie, with forty percent of likely voters saying they planned to vote for Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) and Republican nominee Joe Lombardo, respectively. Twelve percent said they were undecided and four percent said they planned on voting for another candidate. 

Like Cortez Masto, a majority of voters said they expected Sisolak to win reelection. Fifty-two percent predicted Sisolak would win, while 48 percent said the same about Lombardo. 

And like the Senate race, the latest poll shows Lombardo making gains. The July poll showed Sisolak receiving 44 percent support, while 40 percent said they would vote for Lombardo. The lead was within the poll’s margin of error.

The state is also home to a number of highly contested House races, including in the 1st, 3rd, and 4th congressional districts. Tuesday’s poll showed Republicans leading Democrats on the generic ballot 46 percent to 43 percent. 

President Biden’s approval in the state remains low at 37 percent, while 53 percent said they disapprove of him. In a head-to-head matchup with former President Trump, Biden trails Trump 43 percent to 40 percent. 

The 8 News Now/Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey was conducted on September 8-10, 2022 among 1,000 somewhat or very likely voters. The margin of error is plus or minus three percentage points. 

Source: TEST FEED1

DOJ seeks to call Trump bluff on declassification claims

The Justice Department sought to call the bluff of former President Trump’s statements about declassifying the records found at his Florida home, criticizing his legal team for insinuating – but failing to fully assert – the claim.

The response came after Trump’s attorneys on Monday repeatedly noted that Trump had the power to declassify records but stopped short of saying he actually did so despite a month of the former president airing the excuse.

“Plaintiff principally seeks to raise questions about the classification status of the records and their categorization under the Presidential Records Act (“PRA”). But plaintiff does not actually assert—much less provide any evidence—that any of the seized records bearing classification markings have been declassified,” the Justice Department wrote in its latest brief.

“Such possibilities should not be given weight absent plaintiff’s putting forward competent evidence.” 

Though presidents have broad power to declassify records, doing so sets off a chain of events as the intelligence agencies that manage such records must take additional steps. 

Trump’s legal team on Monday argued that just because a document taken during the search at Mar-a-Lago was labeled classified, it does not mean that status was maintained. All told, authorities have recovered more than 300 classified records from the property since January.

“The government’s stance assumes that if a document has a classification marking, it remains classified irrespective of any actions taken during President Trump’s term in office,” Trump’s legal team wrote.

“There is no legitimate contention that the chief executive’s declassification of documents requires approval of bureaucratic components of the executive branch.”

DOJ argued that Trump’s team sought to “change the subject by holding out the possibility that he could have declassified some of the seized records.”

“Even if plaintiff had declassified any of these records while he was president—a proposition that plaintiff does not specifically assert in any of his filings in these proceedings, in a sworn declaration, or through any evidence—any record bearing classification markings was necessarily created by the government and, therefore, is not plaintiff’s personal property,” they write.

Trump’s desire to keep them would also not outweigh the government’s need to review them both for national security purposes and as part of its broader criminal investigation.

The government also offered one of its most concise rejections yet of Trump’s claim that he could maintain any sort of executive privilege over the government records he stored at his home.

“Plaintiff offers no response to the government’s multiple arguments demonstrating that he cannot plausibly assert executive privilege to prevent the executive branch itself from reviewing records that executive branch officials previously marked as classified,” DOJ wrote.

Source: TEST FEED1

Democrats celebrate inflation reduction bill as stocks tumble on latest data

President Biden on Tuesday hosted a White House celebration to mark the passage of the sweeping Inflation Reduction Act against an unhappy backdrop:  a tumbling stock market that fell on the news that consumer prices rose in August.

Biden, in remarks to a crowd of more than 1,000 people, called the bill the “single most important legislation passed in the Congress to combat inflation, and one of the most significant laws in our nation’s history, in my view.”

“With this law, the American people won, and special interests lost,” Biden declared.

It was a jovial mood on the South Lawn, where lawmakers, activists and administration allies gathered and musician James Taylor performed before Biden took the stage. Taylor called it a “hopeful moment” in a break between songs and urged collaboration to fight climate change.

But the party-like atmosphere masked the reality that Biden must still manage a precarious economy that threatens his positive message heading into the midterms.

The consumer price index (CPI), a closely watched gauge of inflation, rose 0.1 percent in August after staying flat in July, according to data released Tuesday by the Labor Department.

Economists expected the steady decline in gas prices throughout last month to lead to a 0.1 percent decline in monthly inflation, but prices for food, electricity and other products kept rising.

The worse than expected inflation numbers sent the stock market tumbling. The Dow Jones dropped more than 1,200 points, while the S&P 500 had its worst day since June 2020.

Inflation has for months been a thorn in the side of Biden and Democrats, providing fodder for Republican attacks and sinking Biden’s approval ratings. But with the passage of the $740 Inflation Reduction Act with all Democratic votes and months of falling gas prices, Biden and his party have finally felt like they can run on good economic news.

“We’re making progress,” Biden said in high inflation, touting that gas prices have decreased. “We’re getting other prices down as well.”

The legislation has already been used as a top achievement that Democrats are pointing to on the campaign trail ahead of the midterms. 

“Inflation Reduction Act, so beautifully named for all it does,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said. 

Democratic lawmakers in the audience included Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and, Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), as well as Reps. Pramila Jayapal (Wash.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), and Sean Patrick Maloney (N.Y.), head of the democratic congressional campaign arm.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a briefing Tuesday prior to Biden’s speech that the inflation data shows how “critical” it is that the White House host the IRA event on Tuesday. She stressed that the bill is a “huge historic win” and called it a win for consumers.

Asked if the White House was concerned about a disconnect between the celebratory mood on the South Lawn and the rising prices that are a problem for many Americans, Jean-Pierre argued the focus should be on how Democrats were able to take on pharmaceutical companies to lower drug costs and bring down energy costs for families.

“That is why Democrats and this president have to do the hard work to lower costs in health care to lower cost of prescription drugs and also energy costs as well,” she said.

Republicans, for their part, took aim.

“Biden and Democrats throwing themselves a party for raising taxes on families during a recession proves just how out-of-touch they are,” GOP chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement.

“After ramming through the Bidenflation Scam bill under the guise of reducing inflation it is clear Democrats don’t care about lying to the American people, they only care about power,” McDaniel said. “This November, voters will be the ones celebrating when Democrats are voted out.”

Biden officially signed the bill at a smaller event at the White House last month, during which the president handed the first pen off to Manchin. The bill was passed via the reconciliation process, garnering zero Republican votes in either chamber of Congress.

Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) called out Republicans for not voting for the bill, accusing them of focusing on abortion issues as opposed to high inflation, which drew ‘boo’s!’ from the audience. 

“That’s the difference between the two parties in a nutshell,” the leader said. 

Biden also called out Republicans for not voting for this legislation, despite bipartisan efforts on other bills like the infrastructure law and the CHIPs act. 

The legislation, which was over a year in the making, was significantly slimmed down from the original $3.5 trillion package some envisioned last fall, but nevertheless represents an undeniable win for Biden and Democrats in Congress that includes some of Biden’s key campaign promises.

By 2030, the law is expected to bring U.S. planet-warming emissions down to lower than they were in 2005 through many of its provisions to promote the deployment of clean energy. It also contains provisions that boost fossil fuels, which were included to secure the support of Manchin.

Additionally, it will allow Medicare to negotiate prices for some drugs and shore up health insurance subsidies, giving Democrats a victory over a pharmaceutical industry that has long opposed such measures.

Source: TEST FEED1

McConnell throws shade on Graham’s proposed national abortion ban

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday made clear that Senate Republicans are not eager to debate Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) proposal to ban abortions nationwide after 15 weeks of pregnancy, telling reporters that most GOP senators want to leave the issue to states.  

McConnell also said Graham’s proposal is the South Carolina senator’s own initiative and not something being pushed at the leadership level.  

“With regard to his bill, you’ll have to ask him about it. In terms of scheduling, I think most of the members of my conference prefer that this be dealt with at the state level,” he told reporters.  

McConnell and his leadership team wants to focus instead on President Biden’s handling of the economy and inflation, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday increased 8.3 percent over the past year.  

Yet Graham held a press conference earlier in the day to introduce legislation that would ban abortions nationwide after 15 weeks of pregnancy and subject doctors who violate the ban to sentences of up to five years in prison. 

Graham admitted that he did not consult with McConnell before making his push for a 15-week abortion ban.  

He said he introduced the legislation with the support of several prominent anti-abortion rights groups such as the National Right to Life Committee, March for Life and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.  

McConnell said it’s up to the Republican candidates in various Senate battleground races to explain how they view the hot-button issue.  

“I think every Republican senator running this year in these contested races has an answer as to how they feel about the issue and it may be different in different states. So I leave it up to our candidates who are quite capable of handling this issue to determine for them what their response is,” he said.  

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who is running for reelection this year, says she supports women’s reproductive freedoms and favors codifying national abortion rights that were established by the Supreme Court in 1973 in Roe v. Wade.  

The high court reversed its decision in Roe v. Wade earlier this year in its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.  

Anticipating the Dobbs decision, which leaked before it was formally announced, McConnell said in May that there are not 60 votes in Congress to pass major abortion law at the federal level and said the issue should be left to states.  

“Historically, there have been abortion votes on the floor of the Senate. None of them have achieved 60 votes,” he said at the time.  

“I think it’s safe to say there aren’t 60 votes there at the federal level, no matter who happens to be in the majority, no matter who happens to be in the White House,” he added.  

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Congress prepares to act on rail strike amid fears of ‘economic catastrophe’

Lawmakers are under pressure to avert a rail worker strike as soon as this week that would batter the nation’s economy just before November’s midterm elections.  

Republican senators introduced a resolution to impose a new contract if negotiations between railroads and unions collapse, while Democrats say they would pass legislation to block a rail shutdown if necessary.  

More than 115,000 rail workers will be legally allowed to strike on Friday.  

The cooling-off period expires 30 days after the White House-appointed Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) released contract recommendations that call for 24 percent raises, back pay and cash bonuses.  

The two largest railroad unions say their members won’t vote for a contract based on those guidelines, which don’t address concerns about strict attendance policies. Railroads haven’t budged from their push to ratify the PEB proposal, arguing that it’s a fair compromise. 

The stalemate raises the odds of a strike, which would bring the transport of grain, fuel, lumber, car parts and other key products to a halt, likely damaging the nation’s fragile supply chains and sending prices soaring.  

Some railroads are already shutting down their operations in advance of Friday’s deadline — a move that forced Amtrak to cancel some routes — putting pressure on lawmakers to intervene sooner than expected.  

President Biden, who has pushed the parties to strike a deal, is attempting to craft a contingency plan to transport goods if railroads shut down.  

“We are working with other modes of transportation, including shippers and truckers, air freight, to see how they can step in and keep goods moving in case of this rail shutdown,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday. 

Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) on Monday night unveiled a joint resolution that would impose the PEB contract recommendations, the outcome railroads and their customers are pushing for.  

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Monday that Congress would “pass legislation if needed” to stop a strike. 

Some Democrats have privately floated proposals that would enact a more worker-friendly contract, according to people with knowledge of the discussions, but party leaders are hoping Congress won’t have to intervene at all. 

Democrats face a familiar dilemma: Any resolution would require 60 votes to pass the Senate, meaning 10 Republicans would need to sign on to the deal, and some GOP lawmakers have already signaled that they’ll side with railroads. 

“The PEB recommendations are a fair and appropriate solution to a years-long negotiation process, but labor unions are continuing to hold the entire nation’s rail system hostage as they demand more,” Burr said in a statement.  

Congress last voted to end a railroad strike 30 years ago. If they cannot agree on contract terms, lawmakers could simply extend the cooling off period to prevent a walkout.  

Ten of 12 rail unions have reached tentative agreements with railroads, or are close to doing so, to implement the PEB recommendations.  

But the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the SMART Transportation Division, which together represent 57,000 conductors and engineers, are holding out for better terms.  

They’re demanding that the contract allows workers to take unpaid time off for routine medical appointments or family emergencies without being penalized under railroads’ attendance policies. Workers have complained for years that they struggle to secure time off and are subject to unpredictable schedules. 

The unions say that railroads are refusing to negotiate over the issue, knowing that Congress would likely give railroads the terms they want in the event of a strike. They’re accusing railroads of disrupting service before a strike has been approved to force Congress’s hand. 

“Our unions will not cave into these scare tactics, and Congress must not cave into what can only be described as corporate terrorism,” the railway unions said in a statement. 

The Association of American Railroads said in a statement that workers are not penalized if they maintain adequate availability and noted that the PEB report advised workers and supervisors to address scheduling issues on a local level rather than in a national contract. 

The railroads group estimates that a national rail shutdown would cost the U.S. economy $2 billion per day, adding that trucks and other forms of transportation do not have the capacity to make up for the loss of railroads.  

A separate analysis from the Michigan-based Anderson Economic Group found that a shutdown would inflict serious damage on the auto manufacturing, food and energy industries if it lasts for more than a few days but downplayed the impact of a short-lived strike. 

Lobbying groups from all corners of corporate America are pushing Congress to intervene and implement the PEB recommendations this week.  

Business Roundtable CEO Joshua Bolten said Tuesday that the big business group is “deeply concerned about the potential for economic catastrophe” if talks are not resolved by Thursday night.  

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce wrote in a letter to congressional leaders that it is “not confident” that additional time to negotiate will lead to a breakthrough between unions and railroads.  

“The negative impact of uncertainty is already being felt, and even a short strike or disruption would be disastrous,” said Brian Dodge, president of the Retail Industry Leaders Association, which represents big box stores. “Jobs will be lost, and costs will go up as shortage of raw materials and consumer goods ripples throughout the economy — it will be a double whammy.” 

Source: TEST FEED1

Four takeaways from the Twitter whistleblower hearing

Former Twitter security chief Peiter “Mudge” Zatko testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday alleging widespread security deficiencies at the social media platform, expanding on his bombshell whistleblower disclosure made public in reports last month. 

During a two-and-a-half hour hearing, Zatko alleged Twitter lacked a framework to protect user data or log who was accessing the information — to the extent that he said an “employee could take over the accounts of all the senators in this room.” 

The hearing also led to calls for restructuring Twitter management, revamping U.S. regulatory agencies, and passing bipartisan bills targeting tech giants that have struggled to get across the finish line.

Here are four takeaways from the hearing. 

Twitter lacks framework for protecting user data 

Zatko accused Twitter of failing to prioritize user safety and data protection in a way that threatened national security. 

“What I discovered when I joined Twitter was that this enormously influential company was over a decade behind industry security standards,” he said. 

Zatko said Twitter doesn’t know “what data they have, where it lives, or where it came from.” 

“So unsurprisingly, they can’t protect it,” he said. 

He said employees have “too much access to too much data,” and that Twitter lacks systems in place to keep a log of who is accessing the data and when. 

For the average user, Twitter has sensitive data including the user’s geolocation, contact information, and emails associated with the accounts, Zatko said. The information is available to roughly half of Twitter’s staff, about 4,000 employees, to search for, since engineers are given access by default, he said. 

“Those employees would be in a position then, if they wanted to, to get this information and dox Twitter users?” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) asked Zatko. 

“That is a concern I have, yes,” Zatko said. 

A Twitter engineer with knowledge of the system could also tweet as any user, including as elected officials, he said. 

Zatko’s testimony also raised the risk of foreign agents gaining access to Twitter’s data. Part of his disclosure alleged that the Indian government forced Twitter to hire specific individuals who were government agents who would have access to “vast amounts of sensitive data.” 

“I am reminded of one conversation with an executive where I said, ‘I am confident that we have a foreign agent, and their response was ‘Since we already have one, what does it matter if we have more? Let’s keep growing the office’,” Zatko told the committee. 

Twitter has pushed back on Zatko’s allegations. 

A company spokesperson said “today’s hearing only confirms that Mr. Zatko’s allegations are riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies.” 

According to a Twitter spokesperson, the company’s hiring process is independent of any foreign influence.

Twitter’s access to data is also managed through measures such as background checks, access controls, and monitoring and deceptions systems, according to the spokesperson. 

US regulators’ enforcement not up to par 

At the core of Zatko’s testimony and disclosure is his allegation that Twitter has not complied with a 2011 consent decree from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to maintain a security program designed to protect privacy and nonpublic consumer information. 

Zatko said the Federal Trade Commission is “over their head” when dealing with large tech companies, like Twitter. 

“Compared to the size of the Big Tech companies and the challenge they have against them, they are left letting companies grade their own homework,” Zatko said. 

Zatko said “the intent of the regulators was correct,” but less quantitative standards allow Twitter to “hold up an isolated example” and knowingly mislead regulators by letting them “assume that example was the whole environment.”

At Twitter, foreign regulators, such as the French equivalent of the FTC, are more feared, he said. 

“They dig in technically and go towards more quantitative results that are less easy for organizations to sort wordsmith around,” he said.

Bipartisan consensus to target tech, but lack of action on bills 

Zatko’s hearing is the latest in a long series of Senate hearings over the past couple of years to target social media companies. Last year lawmakers heard from Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, and before that from the CEOs of tech companies including former Twitter head Jack Dorsey. 

Although there are lingering partisan differences on tech issues, mainly on content moderation, Tuesday’s hearing again showcased the rare unified support from both sides of the aisle to take action to hold tech companies accountable. 

But lawmakers have not been able to get bills targeting the companies across the finish line, even though several bills have advanced with bipartisan support out of the Judiciary and Commerce committees, including the American Online Innovation and Choice Act and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. 

“Despite this probably being our 50th hearing … between commerce and judiciary we have not passed one bill out of the U.S. Senate when it comes to competition, when it comes to privacy, when it comes to better funding the agencies, when it comes to the protection of kids,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said. 

“At some point when we talk about the agencies, I think we better be putting the mirror on ourselves,” she said. 

A group of bipartisan lawmakers in the House and Senate released a comprehensive privacy bill earlier this year. The bill advanced out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, but has been stalled in the Senate, where Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) has pushed back on the proposal. 

Zatko said when it comes to bills related to holding tech companies accountable, lawmakers must consider that previous tries that were not quantifiable or able to be externally audited were able to be “gamed” by the tech companies so they could answer questions without doing what was intended. 

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he’s going to work with his Democratic colleagues to ensure the risk Zatko took coming forward with his allegations is “not in vain.” 

“There’s no way to deal with this without bipartisanship, from my point of view, so I’m working with [Sen.] Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) of all people. We have different perspectives on most everything else, but Elizabeth and I have come to believe it’s now time to look at social media platforms anew, and we have this general understanding among ourselves that the regulatory system regarding social media is not working effectively,” Graham said. 

Graham said the aim is to create a system “more like Europe, a regulatory environment with teeth” and an agency that “came about after 1914,” the year the FTC was established. 

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) also suggested creating a new agency tasked with privacy oversight. 

But given the delay in action on existing proposals, even ones that have advanced out of the committee level with bipartisan support, it is not clear if these proposals have an immediate chance of going forward.

Calls for Twitter to be restructured 

The hearing also led to calls for Twitter management to be restructured. 

Ranking member Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) suggested Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal may not be fit to continue leading the company. 

“If these allegations are true, I don’t see how Mr. Agrawal can maintain his position at Twitter,” Grassley said. 

Agrawal became CEO of the company in November, taking the reins from Twitter founder Jack Dorsey. Agrawal had previously served as chief technology officer at Twitter. 

Zatko said point-blank that Twitter management should be restructured, shifted and changed.

“That kind of structural reform is necessary to achieve changes within the company?” Blumenthal asked. 

“That is my belief,” Zatko said. 

Zatko alleged management intended to mislead government agencies, and that intent went up to the CEO level. 

“I do not know to what level inside the board they did not know because of misrepresentation or chose not to push,” Zatko said. 

Outside of government scrutiny, changes may be coming to Twitter due to an embattled buyout from billionaire Elon Musk. 

Musk and Twitter came to an agreement earlier this year for Musk to buy the company for $44 billion. Twitter shareholders voted Tuesday, shortly after the whistleblower hearing concluded, to approve Musk’s buyout deal. 

But the deal is still challenged, since Musk in July tried to back out of his offer. Twitter is suing to force Musk to follow through with the deal, and the two sides are set to face off at a trial next month. 

Source: TEST FEED1

Biden court nominee fails to win confirmation as two Democrats miss vote

President Biden’s nominee to serve as the first Black woman judge on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals failed to win confirmation in the Senate Tuesday after two Democratic senators missed the vote: Sens. Maggie Hassan (N.H.) and Tammy Duckworth (Ill.).  

Public defender Arianna Freeman’s nomination to the appeals court failed by a vote of 47 to 50. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted “no” to give him the procedural flexibility to bring her nomination back to the floor at a future date.  

Hassan and Duckworth were absent, as was Republican Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.). 

Every Republican present voted against the nominee.  

If both absent Democrats had been present and voted “yes” along with Schumer, Freeman would have won confirmation in a 50-49 vote. Democrats also could have won Freeman’s confirmation in a 49-49 vote, with Vice President Harris breaking the tie because of Young’s absence.

Hassan is in New Hampshire, where voters are taking part in primary elections on Tuesday. Hassan also cast her vote in New Hampshire on Tuesday morning.

A senior GOP aide said Freeman’s confirmation failed because of Democrats’ “attendance problems,” while a senior Democratic aide downplayed the setback as something that happens from time to time in a narrowly divided Senate.  

Freeman’s nomination to serve on the Philadelphia-based 3rd Circuit divided the Judiciary Committee along partisan lines earlier this year. Democrats and Republicans deadlocked 11-11 on a vote to discharge her to the floor.  

A graduate of Yale Law school, Freeman has worked as a public defender for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, representing state and federal inmates in challenging their convictions and sentences.  

The Senate voted in June to discharge her nomination from the Judiciary Committee by a vote of 50 to 48.  

The failed confirmation vote could delay the start of the debate on the Respect for Marriage Act, which was expected to begin at the end of this week, if Schumer decides to bring Freeman back to the floor quickly. 

This story was updated at 2:06 p.m.

Source: TEST FEED1

White House blasts Graham abortion bill as 'wildly out of step'

The White House on Tuesday described a new bill imposing a nationwide ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy as “wildly out of step” with the country, pushing back hard on the legislation introduced by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that the ban “would strip away women’s rights in all 50 states.”

“This bill is wildly out of step with what Americans believe,” she said. “The President and Vice President are fighting for progress, while Republicans are fighting to take us back.”

The Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision establishing a constitutional right to abortion over the summer, ushering in new bans on abortion in a number of states.

Democrats have sought to harness grassroots anger over the court’s decision and the strict new laws to their benefit by making abortion rights a big issue in the midterm elections.

Jean-Pierre said that Biden and Democrats in Congress are committed to restoring Roe v. Wade. The White House has pushed for Congress to codify Roe but passing such a measure would take a larger Democratic majority in the Senate to overcome a legislative filibuster.

“President Biden and Congressional Democrats are committed to restoring the protections of Roe v. Wade in the face of continued radical steps by elected Republicans to put personal health care decisions in the hands of politicians instead of women and their doctors, threatening women’s health and lives,” Jean-Pierre said.

Graham’s bill would include exceptions for rape, incest and risk to life of the mother.

Graham vowed on Tuesday that Congress will vote for the bill if Republicans take back the House and the Senate in the upcoming midterm elections. The bill won’t move in the current Democratic-controlled Congress.

Source: TEST FEED1