On the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, DNC Chair Jaime Harrison and Women’s Caucus Chair Lottie Shackelford released the following statement:
“Fifty one years ago today, an essential, fundamental right for women was recognized. It was a right that gave them freedom, a right that gave them power, a right that gave them a choice. With this right – the constitutional right to have an abortion – women had control over their futures and their bodies. Tragically, 49 years after women were guaranteed this fundamental right, Roe v. Wade was overturned, and in states across the country, the right to a safe and legal abortion was once again taken away.
“There’s no question about where to point the finger of blame for this devastating Supreme Court decision: Donald Trump has proudly bragged that he was “able to kill Roe v. Wade,”and now, inspired by their MAGA leader, extreme Republicans will stop at nothing until a national abortion ban is instituted across the country.
“A national abortion ban will set the clock back on the progress and gains that women have made. It could criminalize providers and put women’s health and safety at risk. However, as long as President Biden and Vice President Harris occupy the White House, the American people have two champions who believe in reproductive freedom and will not stop fighting until the protections of Roe are once again the law of the land. The stakes this November could not be higher, and the American people will remember that their fundamental freedoms are on the line at the ballot box.”
In response to Chris Christie suspending his 2024 GOP primary campaign, DNC National Press Secretary Sarafina Chitika released the following statement:
“Today, petrified that he would get smoked and recognizing that his campaign was a bridge to nowhere, Chris Christie accepted what the rest of the world already knew: He is never going to be president of the United States.”
In response to Nikki Haley’s CNN town hall tonight, DNC National Press Secretary Sarafina Chitika released the following statement:
“Nikki Haley dodged answering for her anti-choice agenda and her support for election deniers, but she still found new ways to prove her MAGA bona fides by callously siding with the gun lobby over the safety of America’s children and doubling down on her promise to gut vital programs that hardworking families rely on to stay afloat. Tonight’s CNN town halls just reminded Americans once again that no matter which MAGA candidate stumbles out of this primary, they’ll be peddling an agenda to raise costs on working people, make our communities less safe, and rip our freedoms away.”
In response to major insulin manufacturers lowering the cost of insulin for hardworking Americans as a result of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, DNC National Press Secretary Sarafina Chitika released the following statement:
“President Biden took on Big Pharma, and he won. Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, pharmaceutical companies are heeding President Biden’s call to stop price gouging hardworking Americans for their lifesaving medication. Trump and MAGA Republicans have pledged to roll back President Biden’s work to lower costs for American families by dismantling the IRA and the Affordable Care Act, which would skyrocket costs and jeopardize Americans’ health care coverage. Come November, voters will remember that President Biden is putting the American people over Big Pharma’s profits when they reject whichever extreme MAGA candidate Republicans nominate.”
With help from President Biden’s historic Inflation Reduction Act, drug companies are lowering the cost of insulin — providing affordable, lifesaving care for millions of hardworking Americans.
“Congress, the White House and new players in the market have increased pressure on insulin manufacturers to lower their prices. Eli Lilly and Sanofi announced that they would institute $35 caps shortly after President Joe Biden called on drugmakers to do so in his State of the Union address last year. Medicare enrollees now pay no more than $35 a month for each of their insulin prescriptions, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, which Democratic lawmakers pushed through Congress in 2022.”
USA Today: “Insulin $35 cap price now in effect, lowering costs for many Americans with diabetes”
“In 2022, a sweeping climate and health bill called the Inflation Reduction Act capped insulin costs at $35 a month for Medicare enrollees. In February 2023, Biden urged Congress to extend that out-of-pocket cap to younger Americans with private health insurance.”
The Hill: “More Americans are now eligible to purchase insulin for $35, after leading manufacturers instituted new pricing Jan. 1. … Drugmakers have been under fire for years over the rapid rise of the price of insulin. According to the American Diabetes Association, the price increased 24 percent between 2017 and 2022, and spending on insulin has tripled over the past decade to $22.3 billion in 2022.”
HealthDay: “More Americans Will Only Have to Pay $35 a Month for Insulin in 2024”
“Now, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, Medicare enrollees pay no more than $35 a month for their insulin prescriptions.”
MAGA Republicans in Congress blocked a Inflation Reduction Act provision to cap the price of insulin at $35/month for private insurers and are trying to roll back the law’s drug pricing reforms.
CBS News: “Senate Republicans on Sunday blocked a $35 monthly cap on the cost of insulin in the private market from being included in Democrats’ economic tax and spending package, voting down an amendment to the measure during a marathon session leading up to what Democrats hope will be final passage of the bill.”
The Hill: “Senate Republicans on Friday introduced a bill that would roll back the drug pricing reforms included in the sweeping Inflation Reduction Act, including the measures allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices and capping annual drug expenses for many seniors.”
“The bill allows Medicare to negotiate drug prices for the first time in the program’s history. It also placed a $2,000 out-of-pocket cap on annual drug costs for seniors on Medicare, as well as a $35 monthly cop for insulin. … If passed, the bill states it would make it so that the drug pricing measures in the Inflation Reduction Act ‘had never been enacted.’”
Axios: “Some key House Republicans are calling for the repeal of Democrats’ newly-passed drug pricing measure if the GOP flips control of one or both chambers of Congress next year. Why it matters: The comments show Republicans are not giving up the fight against sweeping measures aimed at lowering prescription drug prices, and give a glimpse of what their health agenda could look like.”
Meanwhile, 2024 Republicans are pushing to eliminate the Inflation Reduction Act, even as it is lowering health care costs for hardworking Americans.
Insider: “Former President Donald Trump on Friday slammed the Democratic-led climate, health, and tax bill, arguing that Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky was ‘taken for a ride’ by Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.”
Haley: “[The Inflation Reduction Act] is a communist manifesto.”
DeSantis: “You know, the good thing is I think there’s a pretty clear path to being able to reverse a lot of this stuff. The things he’s doing through executive order, you could reverse right away. But even what they did with the Inflation Reduction Act, they passed that via budget reconciliation in the Senate. So with 50 votes, I think, you know, we win the presidency, I’m pretty sure we would win the Senate and keep the House. And so at that case, what they put in by reconciliation, you could repeal by reconciliation.”
Christie: “The Inflation Reduction Act was a mistake.”
Trump and the entire 2024 GOP field have also advocated for repealing the Affordable Care Act, which would jeopardize millions of Americans’ health care coverage.
Daily Beast: “Trump Revives Plan to Dismantle Obamacare if Elected in 2024”
Jack Heath: “They’re going ahead and saying you would repeal the Affordable Care Act, would you?”
Haley: “It’s not about one small policy of, you know, Affordable Care Act. It’s about fixing the entire health care system.”
Justin Dougherty, Fox Carolina News: “If Republicans get control of Washington, [with] you in the White House, what’s your plan to repeal or replace the Affordable Care Act?”
DeSantis: “Well, look, that was a big failure. Obviously, under the Trump administration, that was a core promise — it didn’t happen. You know, what we’re gonna do is we have this massive health care bureaucracy: pharmaceutical, government, insurance, all this stuff. It’s a total mess. We’re gonna have a comprehensive plan to lower people’s costs, and yes, Obamacare hasn’t done it, so we’ll transcend Obamacare, but I think you got to do a lot more than just that.”
Ramaswamy: “I think Obamacare has been a disaster.” Christie: “It’s about delivering on issues that voters care about. So the fact is that they care deeply about Obamacare. And Donald Trump promised them he’d repeal and replace it. He had a Republican Congress. He didn’t do it.”
Today, the Democratic National Committee, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee filed a joint motion to intervene to protect against Republicans’ attempts to prevent Pennsylvanians’ mail ballots from being counted. Republicans are trying to disqualify timely received mail ballots only because the voter did not write the correct date, or any date, on the outer envelope. These ballots should be counted.
DNC Executive Director Sam Cornale, DSCC Executive Director Christie Roberts, and DCCC Executive Director Julie Merz released the following statement on the motion:
“The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy. Every eligible voter in Pennsylvania and across the country has a constitutional right to have their voice heard, but Republicans’ assaults on their freedom to cast their ballots would throw away Pennsylvanians’ perfectly legal votes and undermine our democracy. At every turn, as the GOP launches cynical, baseless attacks on Americans’ voting rights, Democrats will intervene on the side of voters.”
Find more on the motion below:
The national Democratic committees are asking to intervene in Pennsylvania State Conference of NAACP Branches v. Secretary, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to ensure that any timely mail ballots that are undated or incorrectly dated are counted in all future elections, as the date listed by the voter (or the absence of any date) is not material to their eligibility or the validity of their vote.
Republicans have been fighting in both state and federal court to prevent these ballots from being counted since the 2020 presidential election. Voters deserve clarity on this issue as we head into 2024 and should never have their ballot rejected simply because the date on the envelope is either missing or incorrect.
Millions of Pennsylvanians of both parties cast their votes using mail-in ballots. In the 2022 midterms, more than 1.4 million Pennsylvanians requested ballots by mail, and during the 2020 general election, more than 2.6 million of the more than 6.9 million Pennsylvanians who voted did so via mail and absentee ballot.
This case is moving quickly and the Democratic committees are asking to intervene to ensure that the rights of Pennsylvania voters are fully protected as we head into a critical election year.
MAGA Republicans stooped to new lows this week with their extremism, hypocrisy, chaos, and — as President Biden would call it — malarkey. In case you missed it: Donald Trump made a pathetic attempt to clean up his “dictator on day one” comment but then immediately reiterated his admiration for Kim Jong Un. He can’t seem to stop complimenting dictators.
Elsewhere in the race for the MAGA base, Chris Sununu endorsed Nikki Haley; Vivek Ramaswamy said the Supreme Court should rule against safe, effective abortion medication; and Ron DeSantis’s extreme MAGA agenda was on display at his CNN town hall as he doubled down on his plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act and bragged about signing extreme abortion bans.
On Capitol Hill, House Republicans spent the week openly admitting that their baseless impeachment inquiry into President Biden is a political stunt to please Trump, and a new bombshell report revealed James Comer himself is engaged in the same behavior he is falsely accusing President Biden of in his baseless impeachment sham. Meanwhile, the Republican House Freedom Caucus elected far-right extremist Bob Good as chair.
In Texas, extreme abortion bans forced Kate Cox to flee the state to receive an abortion for her non-viable pregnancy after the state Supreme Court ruled she didn’t qualify to meet a medical exception.
Donald Trump made a weak attempt to clean up his “dictator on day one” comment but then immediately admitted to getting along with Kim Jong Un.
Politico: “‘I said I want to be a dictator for one day,’ Trump told the MAGA faithful at Cipriani in Manhattan. ‘You know why I wanted to be a dictator? Because I want a wall, and I want to drill, drill, drill.’”
MSNBC: “According to Trump’s own on-air comments, he envisions a near-future in which he runs for the nation’s highest office, wins, creates a temporary dictatorship, pursues some goals he considers worthwhile, and then voluntarily agrees to start honoring the United States’ constitutional system of government again.”
Politico: “In a Truth Social post hours after this story published, Trump said ‘This is a made up story, DISINFORMATION, put out by Democrat Operatives in order to mislead and confuse. The only thing accurate in the story is that I do get along well with Kim Jong Un!’ Trump did not specifically deny he was mulling the freeze-for-relief idea.”
Trump: “He asked me a question, ‘Please say you don’t want to be a dictator.’ I said, ‘No, I won’t say that. I want to be a dictator for one day.’”
MAGA Mike Johnson once complained that impeaching a president close to an election could cause “irreparable damage” to the country. But now, at Donald Trump’s behest, MAGA Mike and House Republicans are continuing their baseless impeachment inquiry, with some saying the quiet part out loud in admitting it’s a political stunt to boost Donald Trump’s campaign.
CNN: “House Speaker Mike Johnson is pursuing an impeachment strategy against President Joe Biden that he once said could cause ‘irreparable damage’ to the country when Democrats sought to oust then-President Donald Trump, according to a CNN KFile review of his past public comments.”
“He also complained that the effort derailed Congress from its real work of legislating.”
“Now Johnson, as the speaker of the House, seems to have abandoned his previous concerns about impeachment, and — with Republicans in control of the House — has said he fully supports such an inquiry along party lines and so close to a presidential election.”
Vanity Fair: “Mike Johnson Basically Admitted That Biden Impeachment Push Is a Partisan Sham: Report”
USA Today: “For what it’s worth, Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, one of Trump’s most vocal supporters in the House, has not shied away from pushing for Biden’s impeachment in part to play politics.
“If Trump, who has been impeached twice, is the 2024 Republican nominee, Nehls said he wants to give Trump ‘a little bit of ammo to fire back’ and say Biden has also been impeached.”
The Messenger: “Former GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich on Monday suggested moderate Republicans may go along with a new attempt to launch a presidential impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden because they could face primary threats if they don’t.
“‘If you’re a Republican, do you really want to guarantee a primary opponent by voting against looking into [Biden]?’”
Bombshell reporting undercut James Comer’s baseless impeachment inquiry —it turns out Comer has his own shell company and a long record of shady business partnerships with convicted criminals.
Associated Press: “Interviews and records reviewed by The Associated Press provide new insights into the financial deal, which risks undercutting the force of some of Comer’s central arguments in his impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden. For months, the chairman of the House Oversight committee and his Republican colleagues have been pounding Biden for how his relatives traded on their famous name to secure business deals.
“In particular, Comer has attacked some Biden family members, including the president’s son Hunter, over their use of ‘shell companies’ that appear designed to obscure millions of dollars in earnings they received from shadowy middlemen and foreign interests.”
Daily Beast: “James Comer, Like Joe Biden, Also Paid His Brother $200K”
“If Comer genuinely believes these transactions clear the ‘shady business practices’ bar, he might want to consider a parallel inquiry into his own family. … unlike with the Bidens, Comer’s own history actually borders a conflict of interest between his official government role and his private family business—and it’s been going on for decades.”
The Texas Supreme Court, at the direction of Trump-endorsed MAGA Republican Ken Paxton, blocked a pregnant woman from getting an emergency abortion — and she had to flee the state to seek reproductive care.
CNN: “The Texas Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a pregnant woman from obtaining an emergency abortion in a ruling issued late Friday. The court froze a lower court’s ruling that would have allowed Kate Cox, who sued the state seeking a court-ordered abortion, to obtain the procedure. ‘Without regard to the merits, the Court administratively stays the district court’s December 7, 2023 order,’ the order states.”
USA Today: Opinion: “Texas is showing Americans the dark future women face if Republicans have full control of abortion rights. The state’s abortion laws are so draconian, a 31-year-old woman had to ask a judge to grant her and her doctors permission to end a nonviable pregnancy that is putting her health and future ability to have children at risk.”
Texas Tribune: “Donald Trump claims credit for saving Ken Paxton”
MSNBC: “Mika: Texas’ AG is so desperate to mimic Trump he’s behaving in a cruel, brutal fashion”
Chris Sununu is in his endorsement flop era, and his latest victim is MAGA extremist Nikki Haley.
New York Times: “But just how much weight it will carry is an open question in a primary in which nothing — not endorsements, not debates, not 91 felony charges — has changed the basic dynamic: Mr. Trump is the overwhelming favorite, and everybody else is fighting for second place.”
Washington Post: “Sununu’s endorsement means the Republican governors of the first two nominating states, Iowa and New Hampshire, are publicly supporting different Trump opponents. But Trump leads by a wide margin in polls of both states, underscoring the stark disconnect between many Republicans and their state elected leaders.”
In New Hampshire, Nikki Haley refused to comment on state Republicans’ proposed extreme abortion ban after vowing to sign any national abortion ban that landed on her desk and throwing her support behind extreme abortion bans.
HuffPost: “Republicans in New Hampshire filed one of the most extreme abortion bans in the country on Tuesday.”
Haley: “The question asked in Iowa was, ‘If you were governor of South Carolina and they sent you a six-week bill, would you sign it?’ And I said yes.”
Haley: “I think a wrong was made right when [Roe v. Wade was overturned].”
Haley: “Is there a place for a federal law [banning abortion]? I think there is.”
Newsweek: “Haley described herself as ‘very pro-life’ and has spent most of her political career fighting for anti-abortion legislation, including signing a law as South Carolina governor in 2016 banning the procedure in most circumstances after 19 weeks of pregnancy unless the mother’s life is at risk.”
Ron DeSantis doubled down on echoing Donald Trump’s plan to rip away health care and skyrocket costs for millions of Americans by repealing the Affordable Care Act.
DeSantis: “That was one of [Trump’s] big promises as president, he had Republican majorities, and didn’t get the job done. … I opposed Obamacare, I did support the repeal and replace … What we’ll end up doing is effectively just superseding Obamacare.”
DeSantis: “We must repeal ObamaCare … I have no desire to ‘improve’ or ‘reform’ ObamaCare. I intend to repeal it.”
DeSantis: “Obamacare should never have been passed.”
DeSantis: “The full and complete repeal of ObamaCare is one of the most critical issues of our time.”
When asked about Texas woman Kate Cox having to flee her state to access critical abortion health care, DeSantis bragged about the extreme abortion bans he has signed in Florida.
CNN: “Florida law allows abortions after 15 weeks if two doctors confirm the diagnosis of a fatal fetal abnormality in writing, but doctors in Florida and states with similar laws have been hesitant to terminate such pregnancies for fear someone will question whether the abnormality was truly fatal. The penalties for violating the law are severe: Doctors can go to prison and face heavy fines and legal fees.”
Associated Press: “Asked about Cox’s case at a CNN town hall, DeSantis, who signed a six-week ban in his state earlier this year, said that ‘these are very difficult issues’ and pointed to Florida’s exceptions allowing abortions when the mother’s life is in danger or for a ‘fatal fetal abnormality.’
“‘We have to approach these issues with compassion,’ said DeSantis, though there have been reports in Florida of women who have not been able to obtain abortions under the exception because their doctors, facing steep penalties if they are wrong, were unwilling to perform the procedure. The window of time for women to make the wrenching choice is also limited.”
“Cox’s case and others like hers ‘prove exceptions don’t exist in reality,’ said Angela Vasquez-Giroux, vice president of communications and research for the national group Reproductive Freedom for All.
“‘If politicians like DeSantis and Haley really believed in exceptions and in compassion, they would have been fighting to find ways to work with doctors to clarify these laws and to help people facing these nightmarish situations in their own states to access care,’ she said. ‘They threw compassion out the window the moment they signed these bans.’”
Gary Fineout, Politico: “The 6-week ban has not yet taken effect. Fla’s current 15-week ban does not include an exception for rape and incest. DeSantis signed that measure into law as well.”
Florida Politics: “DeSantis, however, has signed two laws that make it even more difficult than it is in Texas to get a medical exception to Florida’s abortion bans.”
Vivek Ramaswamy called on the Supreme Court to strike down the approval of a widely-used safe and effective abortion pill.
The Hill: “Ramaswamy: Supreme Court should rule against FDA approval of abortion pill”
“‘I believe that the Supreme Court should put the FDA back in its place,’ he said.”
Ramaswamy: “It’s my opinion… that the FDA exceeded its statutory authority in using an emergency approval to approve something that doesn’t fit Congress’s criteria for what actually counts as an emergency approval.”
House Republicans elected far-right extremist Bob Good as House Freedom Caucus chair, a champion in pushing forward their extreme MAGA agenda: chasing a baseless impeachment inquiry for political gain, advocating for ripping away health care and essential benefits, and calling for a government shutdown to score political points.
Axios: “Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), in an interview with Axios, floated using impeachment threats as leverage in policy negotiations: ‘A fair trade off: we won’t pursue impeachment, but you go back to Trump border policies that were working.’”
@RepBobGood: “The Bidens believe they are above the law and are relying on the media to run cover for them. No Republican should vote against a formal impeachment inquiry.”
Axios: “Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), who is championing a total abortion ban co-sponsored by more than 160 House Republicans, said, ‘We need to do what our base sent us here to do and what is the right thing to do, which is to ban all abortion.’”
Good: “We’re going to end the policies that have been expanded [Medicaid].”
Protect Our Care: “Self Insurance Protection Act: Introduced by Congressman Bob Good, this legislation will protect access to stop-loss insurance, insurance for employers who self-fund their employee benefit plans, but do not want to assume liability for losses. This promotes use of non-ACA compliant plans such as AHPs and other self funded benefit plans.”
Good, January 2023: “We will have zero leverage … if we’re not willing to threaten [a government shutdown] and willing to follow through on it.”
The Hill, August 2023: “Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) — who in July said ‘we should not fear a government shutdown’ — went even further when talking to The Hill last week.
“‘Eighty-five percent or so of the government continues to operate, and most Americans won’t even miss it,’ Good said. ‘And if that’s the leverage that we need to utilize to force the Democrats to accept spending cuts and an end to the harmful policies that are, again, crushing the American people — I mean, then we need to do that.’”
As House Republicans head home for recess having accomplished nothing this year, DNC National Press Secretary Sarafina Chitika released the following statement:
“In a surprise to no one, House Republicans are giving up and heading home for the year after spending all of 2023 focused on their baseless political stunts instead of accomplishing anything meaningful to help the American people. At every turn, the House GOP majority made clear that its priority is doing Donald Trump’s bidding while abandoning our allies abroad, stonewalling progress on the southern border, and refusing to work with President Biden to deliver for the American people. The country has been subjected to the MAGA Republican chaos in the House all year long, and next November they will make sure that this clown show is run out of town.”
Just this week alone, President Biden and Vice President Harris remained committed to helping our allies abroad and leading on the world stage, announced new updates to our nation’s infrastructure, launched a new gun safety initiative to keep our communities safe, touted new actions to lower prescription drug costs, and continued to deliver on growing the economy from the bottom up and middle out.
ABC News: “Families of Americans held hostage by Hamas praise Biden’s commitment to their release”
USA Today: “Zelenskyy, Biden deliver last-ditch plea to Congress for Ukraine aid”
WHYY: “Biden was in town to tout a $22 million federal grant enabling the Philadelphia Fire Department to reopen Ladder 1 and two other stations, Engine 6 and Ladder 11. The grant is part of a COVID-era reconstruction bill Biden signed in 2021, providing funds to local communities for various infrastructure and assistance projects.”
Heather Long, Washington Post: “Just In: November was another strong month of job gains. The US economy added 199,000 jobs (about 30k came from UAW strike workers returning)
Unemployment rate: 3.7% (It’s been under 4% for 2 years)
Wage growth: 4% y/y (vs 3.2% inflation)
#jobs”
Bloomberg: “US Payrolls Rise 199,000; Jobless Rate Drops to 3.7%”
Associated Press: “The White House on Wednesday hosted nearly 100 lawmakers from around the country to discuss how their states can try to better reduce gun violence. ‘You’re not in it alone,’ Vice President Kamala Harris told them.”
The Hill: “President Biden will travel to the National Institutes of Health in Maryland on Thursday to deliver remarks highlighting how a signature piece of legislation is capping prescription drug costs. Biden will make the short trip to Bethesda to announce that dozens of pharmaceutical companies will be required to pay rebates to Medicare because they raised drug prices faster than the rate of inflation.”
All year long, House Republicans did nothing but cause chaos, physically fight each other, drag on a baseless impeachment sham, and try to push through a losing MAGA agenda that hardworking Americans continue to reject.
Politico: “The House GOP now resembles a failed state. The party elects leaders with no capacity to lead members who have no interest in being led. McCarthy is like one of the succession of short-lived Soviet leaders who followed the long reign of Leonid Brezhnev, before the radical disruption of Mikhail Gorbachev at the end of the Cold War.”
The Atlantic: “McCarthy’s defeat was the result of a bitter power struggle within the GOP, and especially due to the efforts of Representative Matt Gaetz, a hard-right rebel, who forced the vote. The House is now without a speaker, and more chaos is sure to follow. The GOP still holds the House majority, but it is a deeply riven and dysfunctional party.”
Politico: “‘Clean shot to the kidney’: McCarthy accused of elbowing conservative who voted to boot him”
Aaron Rupar: “Rep. Tim Burchett claims on CNN that Kevin McCarthy hit him from behind with ‘a clean shot to the kidneys’ and calls him ‘a bully’”
USA Today: “When Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) was asked Tuesday on Capitol Hill what he’s hoping to gain from an impeachment inquiry, Nehls responded: ‘All I can say is: Donald J. Trump 2024, baby!’”
Washington Post: “Still lacking evidence, House GOP votes to formalize Biden impeachment inquiry”
Semafor: “These days, the RSC is best known around Washington as a GOP policy shop responsible for crafting proposals to balance the federal budget, often through changes and cuts to Social Security and Medicare.”
Semafor: “A new budget proposal from the largest House GOP faction is reigniting a battle over the future of Social Security and Medicare.”
Take it from MAGA House Republicans themselves: They literally did nothing this year.
House Republican Chip Roy: “I want my Republican colleagues to give me one thing that I can go campaign on and say we did. One! Come and explain to me one meaningful, significant thing the Republican majority has done.”
But at least the House GOP milked every last minute before recess.
New York Times: “Got Time for Milk? An Overwhelmed House, Somehow, Does.”
“With one day to go until Congress plans to call it quits for the year and members head home for the holidays, the House got down to pressing business on Wednesday, using its precious remaining time to pass legislation to bring whole milk back to America’s school cafeterias.”
On the one-year anniversary of the Respect for Marriage Act being signed into law by President Biden, DNC National Press Secretary Sarafina Chitika released the following statement:
“After Donald Trump appointed and celebrated far-right extreme judges who were willing to undermine 50 years of precedent and rip away Americans’ freedoms, one year ago today, President Biden signed the historic Respect for Marriage Act into law – landmark legislation that reaffirms that love is love and protects every American’s freedom to marry in the face of attacks from the MAGA movement. When Donald Trump, Mike Johnson, and 2024 MAGA Republicans continue to villainize the LGBTQ+ community, they are showing us who they are – and we must believe them. The choice next November couldn’t be more clear: President Biden’s plan to pass the Equality Act and ensure rights and freedoms for all Americans, or Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans’ agenda to undermine our freedoms, harbor hate, and enable discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community.”
President Biden made history when he signed the Respect for Marriage Act, enshrining into law every American’s right to marry who they love.
Washington Post: “President Biden on Tuesday afternoon signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law, granting federal protections to same-sex and interracial couples, and marking a milestone in the decades-long fight for marriage equality.
“‘Today is a good day,’ a jubilant Biden declared on the South Lawn of the White House, where thousands of lawmakers, gay rights activists and guests were gathered for the signing ceremony. ‘A day America takes a vital step toward equality, toward liberty, justice — not just for some, but for everyone. Toward creating a nation where decency, dignity and love are recognized, honored and protected.’”
Donald Trump has a long history of opposing marriage equality and railed against LGBTQ+ rights during his administration — leaving the door open to appointing Supreme Court justices who would move to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized marriage equality.
Trump: “I just don’t feel good about it. I don’t feel right about it. I’m against it and I take a lot of heat because I come from New York. You know, for New York it’s like, how can you be against gay marriage? But I’m opposed to gay marriage.”
Chris Wallace: “But — but just to button this up very quickly, sir, are you saying that if you become president, you might try to appoint justices to overrule the decision on same-sex marriage?”
Trump: “I would strongly consider that, yes.”
Ron DeSantis opposed the Respect for Marriage Act and has a long history of railing against marriage equality for LGBTQ+ Americans.
Florida Politics: “Gov. Ron DeSantis is offering critical comments about legislation signed by President Joe Biden protecting all forms of marriage rights for consenting adults. The law codifies some gay marriage rights granted in the 2015 Obergfell v. Hodges decision, and includes protections of interracial marriage codified in 1967’s Loving v. Virginia. On a Tuesday evening interview on ‘The Ingraham Angle’ atop a chyron saying the law ‘restricts freedom of speech and religion,’ DeSantis argued that there was ‘no need’ for the Respect for Marriage Act. … ‘I don’t think — there certainly was no need to do this. I do think those concerns are valid,’ he added.”
Nikki Haley has a record of opposing marriage equality, supported efforts to rail against legalizing gay marriage in her state, and continues to push a far-right, extreme, and hateful agenda against the LGBTQ+ community as a presidential candidate.
The State: “Gov. Nikki Haley said she is doing ‘my job to uphold the constitution’ by opposing a federal lawsuit that seeks to overturn the state’s constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.”
Associated Press: “Attorneys for Gov. Nikki Haley and Attorney General Alan Wilson said in court papers filed this week that the state of South Carolina doesn’t have to recognize gay marriages performed legally in other states and the nation’s capital. That argument, filed in federal court Thursday, comes in response to a lawsuit earlier this year by a gay couple legally married in Washington, D.C., and now living in South Carolina.”
Fox News: “Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley says that a controversial parental rights bill that bans teachers from giving classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law last year needs to be more stringent.”
Vivek Ramaswamy thinks marriage can only be between a man and a woman and has referred to the LGBTQ+ community as a “cult” on the campaign trail.
Ramaswamy: “God chooses who he works through. He puts us here for a purpose. And the value set that I was raised in, you know, what is it? Marriage is between a man and a woman. Marriage is not just between the two people who are married. It’s, you’re married before God. That’s a higher commitment. It’s also something that means that you have a commitment in a duty to see that through. The nuclear family is the greatest foundation for a society. And a husband and wife have a relationship with each other, but also a duty to stay in that marriage.”
Washington Examiner: “Vivek Ramaswamy Says ‘LGBTQIA+ Movement’ Has Become A ‘Cult’: ‘It’s Not About Logic.’”
Chris Christie said he was “not a fan” of marriage equality and even encouraged opponents of marriage equality not to give up the fight.
Christie: “I am not a fan of same-sex marriage. It’s not something that I support. I believe marriage should be between one man and one woman. That’s my view and that would be the view of our state because I wouldn’t sign a bill like the one that was in New York.”
Time: “New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Saturday that while same-sex marriage is ‘settled’ in New Jersey, it’s not time for opponents to give up the fight. Speaking to reporters at the National Governors Association, Christie said it is not time for Republicans to drop the issue, which is entrenched in the party’s platform but contributes to the party’s difficulty with younger voters. ‘I don’t think that there’s going to be some major referee who’s going to say now it’s time to stop,’ he said, referencing his own opposition to the unions. ‘Certainly I’m not going to, because these are opinions that I feel strongly about.’”
Key Point: “Neither the Justice Department (including during the administration of President Donald Trump), the FBI nor the media have ever found any evidence to back up allegations against Biden. … The GOP goal in investigating these trumped-up charges is clear: help their 2024 presidential nominee — most likely former President Trump — defeat Biden in the November election. … But instead of working to take up urgently needed legislation that Biden has proposed to deal with issues including aid for Israel and Ukraine, border security, voting rights, climate change, women’s reproductive rights, systemic racism, education, job creation, gun violence and more, Republicans are preparing to waste time and money on a senseless impeachment inquiry.”
The Grio: Republican impeachment inquiry against Biden is a Trump-inspired farce
By: Donna Brazile
The Republican-controlled U.S. House is expected to vote this week on whether to authorize an impeachment inquiry against President Biden, even though there is no evidence he committed an impeachable offense and no chance the Senate will convict him and kick him out of office.
The proposed Biden impeachment inquiry is a farce. Neither the Justice Department (including during the administration of President Donald Trump), the FBI nor the media have ever found any evidenceto back up allegations against Biden.
The GOP goal in investigating these trumped-up charges is clear: help their 2024 presidential nominee — most likely former President Trump — defeat Bidenin the November election.
Some 83 House Republicans and 10 Republican senators have endorsed Trump for another term in the White House, and more are sure to follow if he starts winning primaries and locks up the GOP nomination. These Trump worshippers are eager to do his bidding and jockey for his favor, fueling the House effort to impeach Biden on charges as phony as a $3 bill.
In demanding Biden be impeached and making wild fact-free accusations against him, Trump is relying on the standard playbook he’s been using for decades.
Congress is nearly paralyzed today by Republican obstructionism, hyper-partisanship and refusal to compromise on right-wing extremist proposals that GOP members demand become law.
But instead of working to take up urgently needed legislation that Biden has proposed to deal with issues including aid for Israel and Ukraine, border security, voting rights, climate change, women’s reproductive rights, systemic racism, education, job creation, gun violence and more, Republicans are preparing to waste time and money on a senseless impeachment inquiry.
Republicans will set a dangerous precedent if they open an evidence-free impeachment inquiry against Biden. We could see many more politicized inquiries and impeachments of presidents and other federal officials whenever the House of Representatives is controlled by one party and the White House is controlled by the other.
We don’t elect members of Congress to prioritize partisanship over patriotism, baseless investigations over vital legislation, or blind loyalty to one man with dictatorial ambitions over loyalty to serving our country and the American people.
Democrats will oppose the impeachment inquiry, and I hope enough Republicans show profiles in courage to reject it. The proposed inquiry is based on a foundation as solid as a soap bubble.
In celebration of Thanksgiving, DNC Chair Jaime Harrison released the following statement:
“Each year on Thanksgiving, we take time to reflect on how grateful we are for family, friends, and community. We’re particularly proud and grateful to be members of the Democratic Party, as we take this opportunity to celebrate all of the hard-earned accomplishments from the past year.
“We are grateful for the Biden-Harris administration and their dedication to serving the American people and keeping their promise to protect our freedoms and work to unite our country. And we are grateful for our devoted public servants and the people who volunteer, campaign, and pour their hearts out every day to support our shared values of democracy, equality, and opportunity for all.
“On behalf of the Democratic Party, we wish you a happy Thanksgiving. We hope that you have a wonderful day celebrating with your loved ones.”
