Democrats dare GOP to vote on Biden impeachment

House passes bill on internet data privacy

Mar 21, 2024

Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for March 21, 2024:

The second spending minibus is released.
Yes - a bill reference to a ‘telephone book.’
Some warning signs in Tuesday’s primary numbers.

IMPEACHMENT. After yet another hearing into Hunter Biden that made little headway for the GOP, House Democrats on Wednesday openly dared Republicans to hold a vote to impeach President Biden. "You don't have the evidence," said Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA). "You don’t have the votes."

DEMS. "They're never going to impeach him," said Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), who offered to make a motion for an immediate impeachment vote. Republicans were silent. “This is a show,” Moskowitz said. “It's all fake. They just want to do these hearings. It's not leading to impeachment.”
VOTES. One Republican admitted after Wednesday’s hearing that Democrats were absolutely right about the whip count. "We don't. We don't have the votes to impeach Joe Biden," Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) told Newsmax.
AOC. As they assailed the GOP investigation, you could clearly sense that Democrats were no longer playing defense. "I have yet to hear," said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), "the allegation that they are specifically charging the President of the United States with."
COMER. Rep. James Comer (R-KY) ended the day by saying he would invite President Biden to ‘provide his own testimony’ on his son’s influence peddling. That seems unlikely to happen, but it will certainly spark GOP attacks in the weeks ahead on the Bidens.

HEARING. Once again, Democrats simply were more aggressive as they turned Wednesday’s hearing into an attack on Donald Trump and GOP lawmakers. Democrats invited Lev Parnas - who worked with Rudy Giuliani to dig up dirt on the Bidens in Ukraine. Parnas said it was nothing but a 'Russian disinformation campaign’ to benefit Trump.

PARNAS. "I have never wavered from saying that there was no evidence of the Bidens’ corruption in Ukraine – because there truly was none," Parnas said. "The only information ever pushed about the Bidens and Ukraine has come from Russia and Russian agents, which everyone sitting here today knows."
ZELENSKYY. Parnas described a 2019 meeting with Ukraine’s President, where Parnas carried a message from Trump. "Unless Zelenskyy announced an investigation into the Bidens by Monday - this was Sunday - that there would be no cooperation, no aid to Ukraine from the United States."
NAMECHECKS. One of the craziest moments was when Parnas pointed the finger at Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) - who was sitting on the committee dais, accusing him of 'doing the bidding' for the Kremlin by pushing anti-Biden falsehoods. You can read the Parnas testimony at this link.

CIRCUS. At one point, Parnas and former Hunter Biden business partner Tony Bobulinski got into it at the witness table - separated only by Hunter Biden's empty chair. Bobulinski claimed Parnas had threatened him. Parnas told Bobulinski that he would be going to prison soon for lying. (I can't make this stuff up if I tried.)

HUNTER. Republicans left that empty chair for Hunter Biden at the witness table, but it almost seemed like a tactical afterthought for the GOP.
COVERAGE PLANS. Wednesday’s hearing was such a clunker that even Fox News decided against extended live coverage. Remember, the first impeachment hearing had a GOP witness who said there wasn't enough evidence. Not much has changed since then.

DATA PRIVACY. A week after the House approved a bill to force the sale of TikTok - amid concerns about national security - the House voted unanimously yesterday to approve a second bill which bars data brokers from selling the personal data of Americans to companies with ties to countries like China. The vote was 414-0.

UNANIMOUS. "This bipartisan bill takes another important step to safeguard sensitive data," said Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI). "This is a good step, but we need comprehensive data privacy legislation," added Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL).
DETAILS. What kind of data is at issue here? "These data elements capture sensitive information, such as data about an individual's religious affiliation, purchasing history, online search habits, height and weight, ethnicity, and travel patterns," the bill's report states.

TELEPHONE BOOK. I did get a chuckle out of one provision of the bill which spells out what is *not* considered to be a data broker. I’m not sure what this says, but I did not expect to read the phrase "telephone book.”

EXCLUSION.—The term “data broker” does not include an entity to the extent such entity —
- (i) is transmitting data, including communications of a United States individual at the request or direction of such individual;
- (ii) is reporting, publishing, or otherwise making available news or information that is available to the general public, including information from a telephone book or online directory, a television, internet, or radio program, the news media, or an internet site that is available to the general public on an unrestricted basis, but not including an obscene visual depiction (as such term is used in section 1460 of title 18, United States Code); or
- (iii) is acting as a service provider.

JUST WONDERING. Do kids today even know what the heck a telephone book is??

BRIEFING. The House vote on the data broker bill came as Senators held a closed-door briefing on the TikTok situation, with members of both parties emerging to call for action. "We had a full hearing room in the classified briefing and there was deep concern about the threat from TikTok on both sides," said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).

INTEL. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), the Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee suggested that it's time to reveal more to the public. "There was a reason why, when this brief was given on the House side for the Energy and Commerce Committee, afterwards, they voted 50 to nothing to move this legislation," Warner told reporters.
SPECIFICS. One note of caution about this whole push. Something that I've noticed is that when lawmakers are asked for specifics - like examples of how TikTok endangers users in the United States - the answer is always sort of mushy and vague. (Something something Commies China something.)

NEXT. While there is no chance that the Senate will vote on TikTok legislation before leaving town for an Easter break, it is clear that lawmakers in both parties are open to doing something legislatively. What exactly that is remains unclear.

OMNIBUS. Lawmakers went to bed last night still without the details of a six-bill government funding package, as chances increased that Congress might have to stay past a Friday night shutdown deadline to get that work done. "Two days from the funding deadline and still no minibus text," complained Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA). The text was finally posted at 2:32 am.

TIMING. Some Republicans said once the details were unveiled, there was no need to wait three days before a House vote. "We don't need 72 hours," said Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL). "Hopefully we'll get this sorted out on Friday morning," said Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE).
FREEDOM CAUCUS. We've seen this movie before. GOP Conservatives are likely to vote against the plan, no matter what. "I don't think Republicans should be jamming through a bill if we have less than 72 hours to read, and doesn't do the job on the border," said Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX).
SHUTDOWN. We all know what's going to happen. The funding package is going to get approved. It's just a matter of when. And with a two-week Easter break slated to start after this week, you know the pressure will be on to hurry up and vote. Stay tuned.

RSC BUDGET. Members of the Republican Study Committee will hold a news conference this morning at the Capitol to tout their new plan to balance the budget in seven years. "RSC's budget restores fiscal sanity," declared Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK), who heads the group.

POLICY. The package isn't just about spending and tax cuts - it also has an array of conservative policy items, like including '38 pro-life pieces of legislation,' overturning the 'pistol brace' rule, and barring any money for 'Critical Race Theory.'
RETIREMENT. One thing you will hear a lot about is how this plan will increase the retirement age in order to save money in Social Security. Whether that’s right or not - look for Democrats to demagogue the heck out of it.
HEALTH. One of the RSC plans on health care would allow the sale of health insurance across state lines. That sounds great, right? Except the Obama health law already allowed for that. I wrote this story 7 years ago this week, back when Republicans were proposing the same thing.

UKRAINE. Three more House Democrats added their names on Wednesday to a discharge petition which would force a vote on a Senate-passed aid bill for Ukraine and Israel. 185 Democrats have signed, but 218 signatures are needed - and no Republicans have stepped forward to help out.

PLAN. At this weekly press conference, Speaker Mike Johnson said no final decisions have been made on what he would support in a Ukraine aid bill. "We will meet our obligations, and we will turn to that immediately as soon as the (spending bills) are over."
LOAN. Johnson was asked about the idea of making any aid to Ukraine as a loan - which sure seems to me that the fastest way to get it done - especially since Donald Trump is already on board with that idea. Everyone knows it probably won't be paid back.
WHAT'S NEXT. It sure looks like Congress will leave town for an Easter break without doing anything on Ukraine. "We're running out of time," said an exasperated Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell. "I'm continuing to advocate to the Speaker that he put the (Senate) bill on the floor and let people vote."

ISRAEL. Amid a continued back-and-forth about the Mideast, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Senate Republicans yesterday by video link. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) posted a photo of what it looked like for those of us standing outside in the hallways.

TUESDAY RECAP. I want to take a quick dive into Donald Trump's GOP numbers in the five states which held primaries this week. I know it's not a perfect data point, but it does give us some hints about the state of his campaign. There are clearly reasons for concern, especially since he has no opponent right now.

BLEEDING KANSAS. Trump’s two worst counties were both in Kansas, which seems odd. Trump won just 67 percent in Johnson County, a suburb of Kansas City, and 68 percent in Shawnee County, home to the state capital of Topeka.
ARIZONA. Nikki Haley's best showing overall was in Arizona, where she won nearly 19 percent of the vote. It highlighted Trump's weakness in Phoenix and Tucson. Haley won 21 percent there - and she’s not in the race anymore.
OHIO. While Trump won easily in Ohio, the same pattern of urban/suburban weakness shows up in Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland - as non-candidate Haley won 20-22 percent.
FLORIDA. I was surprised by Trump's weakness on the Florida Gulf Coast, as Haley won 17-19 percent from Tampa to Naples. Those counties don't seem like hubs of resistance for Trump, but clearly there are dissatisfied GOP customers.

SOUTH FLORIDA. The biggest flashing red light for Democrats was in Miami-Dade County, where Trump won 87 percent. Biden won Miami-Dade 53-46 in 2020, but I won't be surprised if Trump carries that county in November. I really think there is a larger shift going on in Palm Beach/Broward/Dade towards the GOP, especially in areas west of I-95.

CALIFORNIA SPECIAL. In the race to fill the seat of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, two Republicans may advance to the final special election out of this 'Top Two' primary. Oddly enough, the Democrat finished second in all three counties in the district - but stands in third place overall.

PATRIOTS AND HOSTAGES. Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell was asked Tuesday what he thought of Donald Trump - the leader of the Republican Party - calling those convicted of Jan. 6 crimes, 'hostages' and 'patriots.' McConnell sidestepped.

COCAINE MITCH. "I'm going to avoid talking about the presidential election," McConnell said. "It's going on pretty darn early and I think a better pattern for me is to do my job."

RAP SHEET. A Massachusetts man who was the first person charged in 2024 with Jan. 6 crimes has pleaded guilty to two counts against him. Christopher Keniley is on tape from outside the Capitol building on Jan. 6 saying, "We gotta get in there." He faces sentencing in July.

TODAY. A Colorado man found guilty of assaulting three police officers on Jan. 6 will be sentenced today. Jeffrey Sabol tried to cover his tracks by putting his laptop in the microwave, and attempted to flee to Switzerland. He was a simple geophysicist radicalized by Donald Trump’s claims of a stolen election.

MUSE OF HISTORY. March 21, 1942. On this date, President Roosevelt signed into law a bill which supported his plan for the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese-Americans. The text of the bill said nothing specific about Roosevelt's plan to round up U.S. citizens in internment camps, only describing a vague authorization for penalties for people 'committing any act in military areas or zones.' It was not America's finest hour.

LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The House meets at 10 am.

The Senate convenes at 10 am.

Check President Biden’s schedule.

Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree.

Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com

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Regular Order by Jamie Dupree

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