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...
ThinkProgress
California, New York City to give health care to more immigrants without legal status
California and New York City are looking to give health care to more people, regardless of immigration status — a stark contrast to rhetoric coming out of Washington, D.C., where the president has shut down the government over funding disputes for a proposed border wall.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced shortly after taking office on Monday that all low-income residents up to age 26 will be eligible for public health insurance, regardless of their immigration status....
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...
A eulogy for the most incompetent House majority in modern history
Long before Donald Trump’s second-place finish somehow landed him in the White House, Republicans in Congress promised a package of benefit cuts, privatization, and tax cuts for the wealthy that were so cruel, American voters literally refused to believe they were real. In 2012, a Democratic super PAC decided not to campaign against future Speaker Paul Ryan’s package of Medicare vouchers and upper income tax cuts after participants in a focus group “simply refused to beli...
The government wants you to file your tax returns, despite the shutdown
The government has been partially shut down for nearly a week and half as of Wednesday, and if it goes on much longer, it could affect this year’s tax season.
Officials want everyone to file their taxes like normal for the time being. However, if the shutdown extends through mid-January, as some believe it might, you should expect a delay in getting your refund.
Vox noted Wednesday that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) made a shutdown contingency plan, but it lasted f...
Trump blames deaths of migrant children on ‘Democrats and their pathetic immigration policies’
For the first time, President Donald Trump acknowledged the recent deaths of two migrant children who were in the custody of his government on Saturday — by blaming Democrats.
In a series of tweets, Trump suggested that the deaths of seven-year-old Jakelin Ameí Rosmery Caal Maquin and eight-year-old Felipe Gómez Alonzo were “the fault of the Democrats and their pathetic immigration policies.”
After implying that his proposed border wall — which has led...