Democrats set abortion test vote for next week
Still no deal on a new Ukraine aid package
Democrats won’t win, but the Senate will try to vote on abortion next Wednesday. The fence is back at the Supreme Court. And more clues about the January 6 attack. This is “Regular Order” for May 6, 2022.
ABORTION. Democratic Senators headed home on Thursday full of energy in their bid to defend abortion rights - but nothing has seemingly changed in the Congress since a draft U.S. Supreme Court ruling was leaked earlier this week which would overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.
NEXT WEEK. Democrats plan to force a vote in the Senate next Wednesday to try to start debate on a bill which would codify the Roe v. Wade ruling. But that already was blocked by a filibuster in February, and there is absolutely no sign that any votes have changed because of the Supreme Court leak.
SENATE. "Americans will see where every Senator stands,” declared Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer. “Republican politicians across the country are passing laws telling the women of America: your body, our choice. So much for the party of limited government,” Schumer said.
WHAT’S NEXT. Democrats are clearly worried about restrictive state laws. “Let's be clear about where this is headed,” said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR). “Republicans are going to try and put criminal penalties in place for any person seeking out an abortion, anywhere, any time.”
FUNDRAISING. Democrats also are using the Supreme Court leak to raise money. "I am absolutely sick to my stomach," read an email pitch from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday. "The election just turned into the biggest fight for women's rights in our nation's history," Pelosi added.
ROE V. WADE. I’ve been covering political stories related to abortion for almost 40 years. I’m not convinced that the events of this week will suddenly create a giant election backlash that favors Democrats - but we’ll see. More in my weekly column for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
FENCE ENCORE. The high security fence deployed around the Supreme Court after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol is back after this week's leak of a draft decision dealing with abortion. Instead of people being able to mill about on the plaza in front of the Court, all of that area is now closed to the public.
OUTSIDE. There have not been any violent demonstrations or protests there since the Supreme Court leak - but there have been advocates on both sides of the abortion issue outside the Court, plus news media, local residents, interested bystanders, and political tourists.
LEAK. In his first public comments about the leak, Chief Justice John Roberts told the Eleventh Circuit Judicial Conference in Atlanta on Thursday that the leak was 'absolutely appalling.' The Court has offered no update on the leak investigation ordered earlier this week by Roberts.
SUSPECTS. I really don’t know what to think about who leaked the draft opinion and why. Maybe we will have a better idea when we see the final decision from the Supreme Court.
UKRAINE AID. A week ago, President Biden asked Congress for $33 billion in new aid to help Ukraine fight off the invasion of Russia. A week later, no deal has been announced as yet in the Congress on the details. "We can't afford not to do it," Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday. "The Democrats and the Republicans are working together."
COVID. Democrats have talked about adding a $10 billion COVID-19 plan to the Ukraine aid package, which would fund new vaccines, antivirals, and other treatments. But Republicans have rejected that. "We cannot allow this bill to be a vessel for extraneous matters," said Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday.
DEUTSCHLAND. President Biden spoke Thursday with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz about the situation in Ukraine. "The President welcomed Germany's provision of security assistance and recent pledge of additional humanitarian aid," the White House reported.
BUSH. Former President George W. Bush had high praise for Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy after a video chat on Thursday, calling him the "Winston Churchill of our time." "President Zelenskyy assured me that they will not waver in their fight against Putin's barbarism," Mr. Bush said in a statement.
ESPER. Former Trump Defense Secretary Mark Esper will be making news all weekend, as he plugs his new book. What we're finding out is that Esper could have made some huge news - if he spoke up while Trump was President.
MEXICO. Esper says that Trump talked about bombing Mexican drug cartels but denying that the U.S. did it. "He is an unprincipled person who, given his self-interest should not be in the position of public service," Esper writes.
60 MINUTES. CBS reported last night that Trump had developed a plan to send 250,000 U.S. troops to the border with Mexico. "I was just flabbergasted," Esper said when told of the idea.
CONSTITUTION. Esper writes that Trump 'behaved so erratically' at a meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff about China that one top officer then researched the 25th Amendment about the removal of a President.
REACTION. Democrats said it would have been nice if Esper had told his stories while Trump was in office. Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) said Esper must have been thinking, "I should keep this quiet until I get a book deal."
CAWTHORN. Needless to say, when a video of you naked in bed with someone else gets on the internet, it's not been the best week for you - and that's where Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) is today. House GOP leaders said absolutely nothing on Thursday about Cawthorn, knowing they will hear about it next week.
STORIES. I've never seen anything like the past few weeks with Cawthorn in terms of stories being dropped on someone - almost like the cartoon anvil falling repeatedly on Wile E. Coyote. And almost all of these items are coming from conservative media.
PRIMARY. We are already seeing heightened interest from Cawthorn's district, as it leads the state with almost 11 percent of all early votes cast in North Carolina for the May 17 primary. In that district, independent voters are choosing to vote in the GOP primary at a rate of 75 percent.
GOP. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) has been most outspoken about Cawthorn. He called the latest video ‘absurd to embarrassing.’ Tillis is funding TV ads against Cawthorn and endorsing one of his primary challengers, state Sen. Chuck Edwards. But some are still in Cawthorn's corner.
JANUARY 6. This week was another big step forward for federal prosecutors investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol. A third member of the Oath Keepers militia pleaded guilty to 'seditious conspiracy' charges involving January 6, as more details emerged about the attackers, including a tantalizing phone call which focused on Donald Trump.
CAPITOL. This week's plea from Todd Wilson revealed that after he entered the Capitol, he went through the Rotunda and fought with police to open another set of doors. "The entering mob included fourteen Oath Keepers," court documents stated, "many of whom were wearing paramilitary clothing."
CALL. A few hours later, Wilson gathered with the Oath Keepers high command in a hotel room near the Capitol. That's when group leader Stewart Rhodes called someone and pleaded to speak with President Trump. Who was that intermediary? That's an interesting question on many levels.
RAP SHEET. The arrests are still happening from the Capitol Attack investigation. A man from Maryville, Tennessee, in the suburbs of Knoxville, was arrested on Thursday for assaulting police on Jan. 6. Edward Kelley was the fourth person to jump through broken windows to get into the Capitol that day.
ODD DETAIL. The pastor of Kelly’s church - “The Church at Planned Parenthood” in Maryville, TN - asked a fellow church member to drive Kelley to Washington, D.C. for the Jan. 6 protests. The driver reportedly didn't even know Kelley's last name. That must have been a long 500 mile ride each way.
DISINFORMATION. Republicans continue to hammer away at a new office set up in the Department of Homeland Security - the 'Disinformation Governance Board.' In a letter signed by over 170 GOP lawmakers in the House, critics said the group sounds more like a political effort to suppress free speech. "This is a ministry of truth," said Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA).
LETTER. "Under what legal authority is DHS creating this Disinformation Governance Board?" the group asked. "How does this Board help DHS protect the homeland from threats?" Read the GOP letter and check who signed on at this link.
JUSTICE. Republicans were also fuming on Thursday about the creation of a new ‘Environmental Justice Office’ inside the Justice Department. Backers like Rep. Nanette Barragan (D-CA) said the office ‘will hold polluters accountable.’ Republicans meanwhile rolled their eyes.
TRANSACTIONS. Karine Jean-Pierre has been promoted to the job of White House Press Secretary, to replace Jen Psaki, who will leave the White House in a week on May 13. Jean-Pierre will be the first Black woman to hold that post.
REGULAR ORDER. On Fridays, we welcome our free subscribers. Support independent reporting on Capitol Hill with a subscription, or give the 'gift of straight news' to someone you know!
MUSE OF HISTORY. May 6, 1882. On this date, President Chester Arthur signed into law what's known as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. It blocked Chinese immigration into the United States for a decade. "I am entirely indifferent whether the bill provides for an exclusion of ten years or one hundred years," said Sen. Wilkinson Call of Florida, who argued Americans 'do not desire a class of foreign immigrants to live among them.' The ban on Chinese immigration was kept in place until 1943 - when the U.S. changed course because of the cooperation of China against Japan in World War II.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The House next has votes on Tuesday.
The Senate convenes next on Monday.
President Biden’s daily schedule link.
Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree. Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com
See the full Regular Order archive.
Random thought from Georgia: Prospect of more restrictive abortion laws will motivate potential Purdue voters in the primary.