Biden asks Congress to rebuild Baltimore bridge
Supreme Court seems unlikely to toss out abortion drug
Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for March 27, 2024:
Democrats chalk up an IVF win in - Alabama.
House GOP edge officially gets smaller.
Speaker Johnson gets mad at NBC News.
ACCIDENT. Hours after a container ship slammed into a major bridge in Baltimore, knocking it into the harbor and shutting down Baltimore's port, President Biden said he would ask Congress to step up to help rebuild the Francis Scott Key bridge in the Charm City - an effort which could certainly cost billions of dollars.
BIDEN. "It’s my intention that the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge, and I expect the Congress to support my effort," Biden told reporters at the White House.
REBUILD. One Baltimore native echoed the President's promise. "As we rebuild, we will – as Francis Scott Key himself wrote in our National Anthem – give proof through the night that our flag is still there," said former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
GOP. But there were questions raised in the GOP about Biden's promise. "Mr. President, the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse is an absolute tragedy, but how about we ask the shipping company and their insurance company to chip in before we ask the taxpayer?" said Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA).
I-35W. Has Congress helped in similar situations before? Yes - the feds definitely have. In 2007, two days after the I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis collapsed, the House and Senate approved legislation authorizing $250 million to replace that bridge.
FAST ACTION. In 2007, the House approved that emergency bridge bill by a vote of 421-0. But that was then, and this is now. Given the current state of political affairs on Capitol Hill, there is probably no way there would be a unanimous vote of the House to authorize money to rebuild the Key bridge in Baltimore.
WHAT'S NEXT. Congress isn't back until the week of April 8, so nothing is likely to happen before then. Obviously, the House hasn't moved quickly on much legislation in this 118th Congress. This will give Republicans another test of their domestic leadership after Easter.
ABORTION. The Supreme Court gave a somewhat skeptical reaction on Tuesday to lower court decisions that would block access to the drug mifepristone, which has been used for over two decades to chemically induce abortions. This was another case from the Fifth Circuit where conservative justices expressed frustration that such a case had even reached this point.
SCOTUS. "This case seems like a prime example of turning what could be a small lawsuit into a nationwide legislative assembly on an FDA rule or any other federal government action," said Justice Neil Gorsuch, as a number of Justices questioned whether those bringing this lawsuit against the FDA actually had standing to file such a suit.
REACTION. One thing that was interesting happened outside the courtroom. While dozens of Democrats were monitoring the Supreme Court arguments on Tuesday - most Republicans in Congress were silent. Why would I cite that? Because it clearly shows which side believes it has the momentum on this.
REACTION. "Mifepristone is safe and effective," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). "Women's personal health care decisions shouldn't be made by politicians or judges on the Supreme Court," added Rep. Nikki Budzinksi (D-IL), as Democrats blanketed social media with declarations of support.
DECISION. A final decision by the Supreme Court is expected in June. Look for Democrats to talk a lot about this case even if they win - making the argument that Republicans are trying as hard as they can to restrict abortion rights.
YELLOWHAMMER. A couple of weeks ago, the issue of abortion surfaced dramatically in Alabama, where a ruling by the state Supreme Court endangered the legality of in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments. That matter made its way into a special election on Tuesday for a state House seat in Alabama - and provided an upset victory for Democrats.
IVF. Democrat Marilyn Lands centered her campaign on abortion rights - not exactly a winning issue in a deep red state like Alabama. "Alabama's abortion ban and IVF ruling are consistent concerns that I'm hearing from voters," Lands said. And last night, she flipped a GOP state House seat.
ELECTIONS. I'm not saying that because one woman in north Alabama won an election for state House that the sky is falling for the GOP. It's *already been falling* for Republicans on the issue of abortion. And this probably shows that IVF is another powerful issue that Democrats can use in 2024.
DEMS. The Biden campaign wasted no time. "Tonight's results should serve as a major warning sign for Trump: voters will not stand for his attacks on reproductive health care. This November will be no different."
CAMPAIGN SPLIT SCREEN. There was a heck of a difference in what the two candidates for President were doing on Tuesday. President Biden was in North Carolina, making the case for the Obama health law. Donald Trump was selling $60 bibles. (I'm not kidding.)
HOLY WEEK. "The 'God Bless the USA Bible' is very important, and very important to me," Trump said in an infomercial video. It's $60. And the fine print has this assurance: "Yes, this is the only Bible endorsed by President Trump!"
CHEESE HEAD. Trump finally has a campaign event on his schedule. He will hold a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin on April 2 - the day of the Wisconsin Primary. It's his first visit to the Badger State in two years. Trump has held only two events since Super Tuesday - one in Georgia, and one in Ohio.
RSC BUDGET. Last week, a big conservative group in Congress, the Republican Study Committee, put out its plan to balance the budget in seven years. Sounds like a basic thing to do. Except in an election year, you have to be careful - because much of what's in that plan is now in Joe Biden's stump speech.
BIDEN. "The House Republican budget would raise the retirement age (for Social Security), cut Medicare, take health care from millions, and hand out tax cuts to the wealthy," Biden said Tuesday. "Give me a break."
THIRD RAIL. That plan to raise the retirement age for Social Security - no matter how legitimate an issue to raise - is going to cause more problems for the GOP this election year. Democrats will demagogue the daylights out of that, and the issue will find its way into many debates in the months ahead, putting GOP lawmakers on the spot.
WHOLE NUMBER. When the House met for a brief pro forma session (no legislative business) on Tuesday, the chair announced that with the resignation of Republican Ken Buck of Colorado, there were now 431 House members, which further slices the GOP majority. The House split is now 218 Republicans to 213 Democrats.
APRIL. Next month, things will get even tighter for Republicans. Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) will resign on April 19, which will make it 217-213. On April 30, Democrats are likely to win a special election in New York, narrowing the GOP edge to 217-214.
SWITCH. Could the House theoretically switch parties in the months ahead? It's unlikely, but possible. "Our House majority was already slim, and members of our own party continue to undermine us," said Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN).
MCDANIEL. After NBC backtracked under pressure from inside its own news ranks and dropped ex-RNC chief Ronna McDaniel as a paid political analyst, Speaker Mike Johnson had a blunt assessment last night. "NBC 'News' is an absolute disgrace," the Speaker tweeted.
NBC NEWS. What I was amazed by in all of this was the decision of major on-air talent at NBC to go so public about their concerns. And in the end, it was probably what forced the hand of the suits at NBC. You can't hire someone if there is a full-scale revolt in the news division.
HIRING. What do I think about this brouhaha? My personal view is that no one on the GOP side who lied about the 2020 election should be hired for anything at a major news organization. Those lies led to an attack on the Capitol to keep Donald Trump illegally in power. This wasn’t a dispute about whose tax policy was the best.
TRUTH SOCIAL. Trump did not miss a beat, needling McDaniel. "Wow! Ronna McDaniel got fired by Fake News NBC," Trump wrote on his Truth Social site. "It leaves her in a very strange place, it’s called NEVER NEVERLAND, and it’s not a place you want to be."
COVFEFE. Another Trump post about Joe Biden drew a lot of interest on social media yesterday. First, Trump called him Joe 'Buden.' Then Trump made up a few words along the way. "I’m not running to terminate the ACA, AS CROOKED JOE BUDEN DISINFORMATES AND MISINFORMATES ALL THE TIME,” Trump wrote.
RAP SHEET. A South Carolina man has been arrested and charged with assaulting police repeatedly on Jan. 6. Among other things, Justin Perrou joined efforts to forcibly breach police lines outside the Capitol; he threw a metal pole at officers, grabbed another cop by the helmet, and sprayed police with a chemical irritant.
MUSE OF HISTORY. March 27, 1854. On this date, the Senate was debating a plan to spend $250,000 to buy a new site for a customs house in San Francisco. Members were not happy - because the feds had already spent $90,000 for such a plan, only to find out the State of California owned the land. Sen. Hannibal Hamlin of Maine took advantage of that debate to try to add $200,000 to rebuild a customs house destroyed by fire in his state.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The House next has votes on April 9.
The Senate is back on April 8.
Check President Biden’s schedule.
Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree.
Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com
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Two things for you.
1. The bridge. It's federal interstate crossing federally regulated waters. I would have expected the feds to pay and then sue the ship/insurance. But the timing will be interesting because I wonder if the permit gets approved in today's environmental climate vs. the late 60s when the scoping would have begun.
2. D&C at SCOTUS. I read a WaPo summary that said ACB mentioned a 2nd reason for a D&C (miscarriage). There is also a 3rd. D&C is a medical procedure to remove the lining of the uterus. I had it at age 42 as part of uterine ablation. Ablation is a treatment for heavy bleeding that scars the uterine walls and lasts about 10 yrs. Just wanted to provide you with additional women's health reason for a D&C that has nothing to do with pregnancy.
Imagine sacrificing every shred of your credibility for a con artist and then after you lose your new $300,000 a year NBC News gig he comes after you on his Dollar General social media platform. Tough luck, Ms. Romney McDaniel. Guess you backed the wrong horse there.
I too was stunned by Chuck Todd’s remarks Sunday on MTP and then the day-long deluge Monday on MSNBC, especially Maddow’s blistering 29-minute take down of NBC.
Whether it’s WaPo, NYT or NBC, this “both sides” punditry trend is out of hand. I quite agree, Mr. Dupree. If you assisted in the attempt to overturn a legal and fair election and subsequently, a cult attacks our Capitol and its lawmakers (not to mention the sitting vice president of your party), you don’t get to have a platform to continue to spout your bullshit on the airwaves of the likes of NBC News.