The Senate Ethics Committee has admonished Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) for violating Senate rules during a Fox News appearance last November by directly soliciting campaign contributions for Herschel Walker in the Russell Senate Office building. The committee has asked Graham to respond to the letter within 30 days, and it is unclear what action, if any, the committee will take against Graham if he does not comply.
Posts tagged as “Arizona Senate”
North Carolina has become the 40th state to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, after the state House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill backed by the Democratic governor. This marks the end of a decade-long debate and will provide health insurance to roughly 600,000 additional low-income residents. The expansion is expected to have a positive impact on the state's economy, and advocates in Alabama are urging lawmakers to take advantage of the federal incentives to expand Medicaid.
California is taking a stand against caste discrimination with a new bill introduced in the state Senate on Wednesday. The bill, authored by state Sen. Aisha Wahab, would add caste as a protected class to California’s anti-discrimination laws, making it the first effort of its kind by a US state legislature to explicitly ban caste discrimination. If passed, it would be a major step forward in the fight for civil rights and human rights, helping to combat discrimination against Dalits, those born at the bottom of the caste hierarchy.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is recovering from a concussion and rib fracture after a fall, while Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) is receiving treatment for clinical depression at Walter Reed Medical Center. Two other senators are also away from the Capitol due to health issues, and it is unclear when any of them will return.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has announced an emergency regulation to limit access to gender-affirming care for minors, requiring an 18-month waiting period, 15 hour-long therapy sessions, and treatment of any mental illnesses before care can be provided. The regulation is in response to the GOP-led Senate's struggle to pass a law banning gender-affirming care for minors and has been met with mixed reactions from the public. It remains to be seen how this regulation will affect access to gender-affirming care in Missouri.
President Joe Biden has signed a bipartisan bill that directs the federal government to declassify intelligence related to the origins of Covid-19. The bill calls for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to declassify information related to China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology and requires a report to Congress within 180 days. It is hoped that the declassified intelligence will help to resolve the debate over the source of the virus and provide more clarity on the public health response.
Four members of the Oath Keepers have been found guilty of conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding in connection with the January 6th Capitol attack. Two other defendants were found guilty of entering and remaining on restricted grounds, but acquitted of the most serious charges. The jury is still deliberating the most serious counts against two remaining defendants.
President Joe Biden issued his first veto of his presidency on Monday, blocking a resolution that would have overturned a new Labor Department rule allowing retirement plans to consider environmental, social and corporate governance factors when selecting investments. The rule has been met with both praise and criticism, with supporters arguing that it will help investors and opponents arguing that it will hurt retirees' bottom lines. Biden vetoed the resolution, saying it would undermine the retirement security of millions of Americans, and reaffirmed his commitment to protecting the retirement security of Americans.