Story at a glance
- A number of Black Americans made history in 2022 by breaking through glass ceilings.
- Ketanji Brown Jackson became the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, while Hakeem Jeffries is the first Black person to lead House Democrats.
- Brittney Griner made history of a different sort as her imprisonment in Russia awakened a political movement.
Black politi...
Month: December 2022
The Hill’s Morning Report — Santos faces growing criticism after revelations
Rep.-elect George Santos (R-N.Y.) continues to face controversy after admitting Monday to fabricating pieces of his work and education background.
In his campaign to represent Long Island in the House, Santos falsely claimed that he earned a college degree and worked directly with Goldman Sachs. Additionally, after he claimed on the campaign trail to have Jewish heritage and be “a proud American Jew,” Santos clarified Monday that he “never claimed to be Jewish....
Official budget scores concealed lame duck bills’ effect on inequality
Modern legislative debates are often defined by the total “price tag”— the $550 billion infrastructure bill, $1.9 trillion Trump tax cut, or $938 billion Affordable Care Act. And the major “lame duck” session bill that worked its way through Congress before the holidays — a $1.7 trillion omnibus — was no different.
The sheer size of this bill meant the stakes were incredibly high for Americans’ wallets — but the amount of new government spending alone doesn’t tell us the full...
For Joe Biden, results matter most
In December 1962, John F. Kennedy sat for an interview with the three television networks. The nationally broadcast program, titled “After Two Years: A Conversation with the President,” saw Kennedy reflecting on the presidency two years after being hired.
The conversation took place shortly after Kennedy diffused a potential World War III over the Soviet Union’s placement of nuclear weapons in Cuba. A year earlier, he disastrously erred when Cuban insurgents were slaughtered a...
For Joe Biden, results matter most
In December 1962, John F. Kennedy sat for an interview with the three television networks. The nationally broadcast program, titled “After Two Years: A Conversation with the President,” saw Kennedy reflecting on the presidency two years after being hired.
The conversation took place shortly after Kennedy diffused a potential World War III over the Soviet Union’s placement of nuclear weapons in Cuba. A year earlier, he disastrously erred when Cuban insurgents were slaughtered a...
Hoyer touts ‘psychology of consensus’ in final floor speech as majority leader
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) delivered his final speech from the House floor as majority leader on Thursday, reflecting on a number of victories — both bipartisan and Democratic-led — that Congress has notched in his 40-plus years as a member of the lower chamber.
The Maryland congressman, who is ending his more than three-decade tenure in Democratic leadership at the end of the year, said what he calls the “psychology of consensus” principle has been a major i...
Zelensky helps Pelosi exit House in historic fashion
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is ending her long leadership tenure with an historic flourish, wrapping up two decades at the top of the party with a string of major victories — political, legislative and diplomatic — that are putting a remarkable cap on a landmark era.
This week alone, House Democrats have released the tax records of former President Trump following a years-long legal battle.
They wrapped up their marathon investigation into last year’s Capitol att...
Federal judge rules against HHS program allowing teens confidential birth control
A federal judge in Texas set aside a rule allowing teenagers to access birth control from providers participating in a federal family planning program without their parents' permission.
The ruling from U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk on Tuesday likely means that teenagers who receive care through the Title X family planning program will no longer be allowed to do so confidentially.
Kacsmaryk ruled that the Title X program, which provides free and confiden...
Healthcare justice for Puerto Rico
It has become a bit of an end of year tradition: Congress is scrambling again to enact legislation to keep the federal government open. Unfortunately for the U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico, Congress is also scrambling to provide additional funding for the island’s Medicaid program and avoid a so-called “Medicaid cliff.”
Medicaid is a core pillar of the U.S. healthcare infrastructure that helps ensure that everyone — regardless of income — can have access to quality care. This supp...
Healthcare justice for Puerto Rico
It has become a bit of an end of year tradition: Congress is scrambling again to enact legislation to keep the federal government open. Unfortunately for the U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico, Congress is also scrambling to provide additional funding for the island’s Medicaid program and avoid a so-called “Medicaid cliff.”
Medicaid is a core pillar of the U.S. healthcare infrastructure that helps ensure that everyone — regardless of income — can have access to quality care. This supp...