The US government shutdown has blown a nearly $5.3 billion ...
politics
Federal judge blocks Trump’s rollback of birth control mandate in 13 states and D.C.
A federal judge on Sunday blocked the Trump administration’s roll back of Obamacare’s birth control mandate, protecting contraceptive coverage for residents living in 13 states and Washington, D.C.
The administration’s policy, which allows more employers to avoid providing their employees birth control coverage, was supposed to take effect on Monday.
But a California district judge sided with Democratic attorneys general who sued the administration, temporar...
The first case Brett Kavanaugh could use to kill Roe v. Wade is before the Supreme Court right now
In 2016, then-Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed a law whose main purpose appears to be trolling the libs. Just over two years later, this law could provide the Republican-controlled Supreme Court with the vehicle it needs to kill Roe v. Wade — and the Court could decide to hear a challenge to this law as soon as Friday.
The case is Box v. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky.
The Indiana law requires abortion clinics to treat aborted fetuses as if t...
The biggest thing standing between Donald Trump and his wall is Ayn Rand
If Donald Trump declares a national emergency to build his wall and orders the military to build it — as Trump is reportedly considering — he can lean on a broad set of federal laws authorizing military action.
Read together, these laws should not authorize Trump to build his wall. Among other things, an emergency declaration only authorizes “military construction projects” to address an emergency that “requires use of the armed forces.” And the o...
The Senate has been rushing through judicial confirmations, including many anti-LGBTQ judges
The process by which the Senate confirms federal judges has greatly shifted under President Trump, and the results are greatly endangering the LGBTQ community. A new report from Lambda Legal shows that more than a third of nominees have a documented history of anti-LGBTQ bias, but many are getting rushed across the confirmation finish line to lifetime appointments anyway.
In the past, the Senate has been a bit slow to confirm judges to the federal bench. For example, under the past ...
Maine’s new governor moves to give health care to 70,000 people on her first day in office
Maine approved Medicaid expansion by a ballot initiative more than a year ago, but former Governor Paul LePage had blocked it from taking effect.
Thankfully, Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME) knows how to keep a promise.
On Thursday, in her first executive order on her first day in office, Mills ordered Maine to move forward with Medicaid expansion, which is likely to provide health insurance for an additional 70,000 Maine residents.
Our new Administration w...
This Mitch McConnell quote from 2013 looks really awkward today
On Thursday night, eight Republicans joined all the Democrats in the House of Representatives to pass a bill that would reopen parts of the federal government — omitting any funding for President Trump’s border wall — in a bid to end the two-week shutdown directly impacting about 800,000 federal workers.
On Friday, the upper chamber remained silent as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) refused to allow a vote on legislation that would end the shutdown. McConnell has...
Democrats waste no time, announce first oversight measures of the new Congress
The 116th Congress — dubbed the most progressive and most diverse Congress in U.S. history — officially came to order on Thursday, and members of Congress have wasted no time introducing legislation and scheduling hearings to provide oversight over the White House.
With the Democrats in control of the House of Representatives for the first time since 2011 and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) wielding the gavel, the party is intent on using their new power to advance progressi...
New Congress’ history-making members got a Day 1 visit from Medicare for All activists
“Please count us as allies,” said a staffer for Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) to grassroots activists who were wearing Medicare for All t-shirts and were gathered in the congresswoman’s newly-minted office Thursday.
Pressley’s staff were among many of the House of Representatives’ freshmen class that warmly welcomed dozens of advocates who visited the offices Thursday. It didn’t matter that they were early for open house; Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cort...