New York | October 19, 2021
Jan. 6 Committee Tests Congress’s Waning Power to Command Testimony
New York | October 19, 2021
Congress’s powers to conduct investigations in the face of defiant witnesses have eroded sharply in recent years—a trend once again on display as former President Donald Trump and his associates gear up for a legal battle fighting demands from investigators probing the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The congressional committee investigating the attack has demanded a wide array of Mr. Trump’s presidential records from the National Archives and has subpoenaed the former president’s allies and aides for documents and testimony. Mr. Trump’s lawyers have responded by making untested claims of executive privilege that would bar people outside of government from discussing their conversations with the president. One of those people, Steve Bannon, who was briefly a top White House aide to Mr. Trump but hasn’t had a government job since 2017, has said he won’t comply with the congressional subpoena, citing guidance from Mr. Trump’s lawyers…. (Excerpts from the Wall Street Journal)
District of Columbia, New York | October 8, 2021
Hochul demanded White House appointment to be replaced as Cuomo’s No. 2: sources
District of Columbia, New York | October 8, 2021
Gov. Kathy Hochul demanded a plum job as a US ambassador or undersecretary of commerce in exchange for being replaced as Andrew Cuomo’s 2022 running mate — before he was forced to resign as governor over sexual harassment allegations, sources told The Post on Thursday. Top Cuomo aide Melissa DeRosa reached out to the White House in January to try score then-Lt. Gov. Hochul a diplomatic posting to her ancestral homeland of Ireland or to Canada. The US Embassy to Canada is located in Ottawa, which is less than a six-hour drive from Hochul’s hometown of Buffalo. The White House made a counter-offer of “an undersecretary role” for Hochul and she agreed to work in the Commerce Department, the source said….(Excerpts from the New York Post)
New York | September 8, 2021
Biden Visits Areas in Northeast Affected by Ida Flooding, Promotes Infrastructure Bill
New York | September 8, 2021
President Joe Biden traveled to parts of the northeast Tuesday to view the aftermath of flash flooding that left at least 50 people dead in six states.
Biden made stops in Manville, New Jersey and the New York City borough of Queens, where record rainfall last week caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ida overwhelmed rivers and sewer systems leaving some trapped in flooding basements or swept away by fast-moving waters that crashed through the streets. The storm also produced multiple tornadoes.
Biden used the weather event as a backdrop to push his $1 trillion infrastructure plan to modernize roads, bridges, sewers and other infrastructure to better withstand extreme weather. The measure is still being considered in Congress. The White House has also asked Congress for an additional $24 billion to cover the costs of Hurricane Ida and other natural disasters… (Excerpts from the Epoch Times)
New York | August 10, 2021
As Violent Crime Rises Across Country, DCCC Chairman Backs Anti-Police Policies
New York | August 10, 2021
House Democrats are heading into the 2022 election cycle with a campaign chairman who has a long track record of backing the left-wing policies that experts blame for the rise in crime across the country. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (N.Y.), who has chaired the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) since January, has a record of backing progressive policies such as an end to cash bail. He also staffs his office with anti-police activists. In cities across America, violent crime rates are more than doubling. Last year, murder rose by 65 percent in Chicago, 58 percent in New York, 87 percent in Louisville, and 64 percent in Minneapolis. Republicans are putting Democrats’ support for soft-on-crime policies and defunding the police center stage as they seek to gain control of both houses of Congress in 15 months… (Excerpts from the Free Beacon)
District of Columbia, New York | July 30, 2021
Stefanik Signs Amicus Brief in Support of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court Case
District of Columbia, New York | July 30, 2021
Congresswoman Elise Stefanik has signed a Congressional Member Amicus Brief to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), led by Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) and co-signed by several House Republican Members, urging SCOTUS to uphold the constitutionality of pre-viability restrictions on abortion in Mississippi State law, or return the case to the lower courts for full consideration.
The United States is one of only seven countries in the world to allow for abortion after five months, more than halfway through pregnancy. This Member Amicus Brief argues SCOTUS has repeatedly failed to clarify the definition of viability post Roe v. Wade, resulting in Federal Courts increasingly perceiving the viability line as a prohibition on any type of abortion restriction.
“The standard for viability through the eyes of the Supreme Court remains unclear. This allows lower Courts to interpret the viability standard differently, negatively impacting states’ ability to determine their own abortion regulations,” said Congresswoman Stefanik. “The vast majority of Americans do not support abortion after the first three months of pregnancy. I am proud to join my House and Senate colleagues in sending this amicus brief to stand up for the unborn and give states the clarity they deserve.”
Read the full amicus brief here.