Leading abortion rights groups have been pressuring Democrats to keep quiet on repealing the Comstock Act even though some think it could be a “Dobbs redux.” “I feel like I’m taking crazy pills,” one House Democratic aide said.
April 18, 2024 06:00 AM
NOTES
April 18, 2024 01:25 PM
Jury selection for Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York started with seven seated jurors Thursday, but two were dismissed by midday. One was dismissed after expressing concerns about her identity being shared publicly, and prosecutors found new information about the other that they said called into question the truthfulness of the juror’s answers during voir dire. Judge Juan Merchan asked reporters to limit the physical descriptions of the jurors, CNN reports.
April 18, 2024 01:25 PM
April 18, 2024 12:24 PM
As lawmakers debate the rules for House Speaker Mike Johnson’s foreign aid package, the most right-wing members of the House GOP are accusing Johnson of trying to secretly change the threshold for a motion to vacate. Reps. Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert said changes to the motion to vacate threshold would quickly spur a motion to vacate against Johnson. “There’s nothing that will get you to a motion to vacate faster than changing the threshold,” Boebert told reporters.
April 18, 2024 12:24 PM
April 18, 2024 10:22 AM
The administration has announced new sanctions on Iran’s drone, steel and auto industries, the Treasury Department announced as punishment for Iran’s retaliatory strikes on Israel over the weekend. The sanctions were coordinated with the United Kingdom and target both individuals and entities involved in Iran’s drone program.
April 18, 2024 10:22 AM
April 17, 2024 04:45 PM
Senate Democrats moved quickly to dismiss the pending impeachment trial against the Homeland Security secretary. In two votes, mostly along party lines, the Senate dismissed the trial on the grounds that the charges were unconstitutional.
April 17, 2024 04:45 PM
April 17, 2024 02:36 PM
The president said the House and Senate “must pass” the bills giving aid to Israel, Ukraine, Gaza and Taiwan. “I will sign this into law immediately to send a message to the world: We stand with our friends, and we won’t let Iran or Russia succeed,” Biden said in a statement.
April 17, 2024 02:36 PM
April 17, 2024 01:35 PM
Senators were sworn in soon after 1 p.m. for the impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
April 17, 2024 01:35 PM
April 17, 2024 12:54 PM
Three of the four bills in House Speaker Mike Johnson’s foreign aid package were released Wednesday afternoon. Here are the bills on aid to Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific region. The fourth bill is still to come but expected Wednesday, setting the House up for Saturday votes.
April 17, 2024 12:54 PM
April 17, 2024 12:21 PM
Rep. Mike Gallagher, who was scheduled to leave Congress Friday, “has the flexibility to stay and support the aid package Saturday,” his office told the Journal Sentinel’s Lawrence Andrea. The most right-wing faction of the House GOP conference has threatened Speaker Mike Johnson’s gavel over his contentious multipronged foreign aid proposal, making Gallagher’s presence all the more consequential.
April 17, 2024 12:21 PM
April 17, 2024 11:29 AM
The Senate majority leader said he will offer Republicans a period of time for debate and a limited number of motions but will ultimately move to dismiss the trial to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. “For the sake of the Senate’s integrity and to protect impeachment for those rare cases we truly need it, senators should dismiss today’s charges,” Schumer said on the Senate floor.
April 17, 2024 11:29 AM
April 17, 2024 10:33 AM
Democrats won two special elections for the Michigan House Tuesday night in Detroit-area districts. The seats had been empty since November when two Democratic representatives left after winning mayoral races. No longer in a deadlock with Republicans, the state Legislature is now expected to take on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s budget, which includes a free community college proposal.
April 17, 2024 10:33 AM
April 16, 2024 04:03 PM
Six jurors for former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial were sworn in on Tuesday. The full panel will consist of 12 jurors and six alternates. It’s not clear when the trial will start in earnest, but the judge reportedly suggested it could be as soon as Monday.
April 16, 2024 04:03 PM
April 16, 2024 02:48 PM
Two months after House Republicans voted to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, they finally transmitted the articles to the Senate on Tuesday. The Senate is expected to relatively quickly dispatch with them, leaving the secretary in his post.
April 16, 2024 02:48 PM
April 16, 2024 01:55 PM
Justice Clarence Thomas was back at the Supreme Court on Tuesday after a still-unexplained absence the day before. He was present for oral arguments on a case about the Capitol riot, despite calls for him to recuse himself from Jan. 6-related cases over his wife’s involvement in questioning the 2020 election results.
April 16, 2024 01:55 PM
April 16, 2024 10:23 AM
Rep. Thomas Massie said Tuesday that he will join Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s motion to remove Mike Johnson as speaker. “He should pre-announce his resignation (as [John] Boehner did), so we can pick a new Speaker without ever being without a GOP Speaker,” Massie wrote on X.
April 16, 2024 10:23 AM
April 16, 2024 09:27 AM
The Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments on Tuesday in a case that could affect charges against former President Donald Trump and defendants in Capitol riot cases. More than 300 people have been charged under the statute being challenged by an ex-police officer who entered the Capitol that day.
April 16, 2024 09:27 AM
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