Feds appeal ruling on social media limits
Biden keeps hitting Republicans on home state money
Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for July 7, 2023:
Greene may not be in the Freedom Caucus club anymore.
Ukraine to get more U.S. aid.
Still no answers on White House cocaine find.
SOCIAL MEDIA. The Justice Department on Thursday asked a federal judge in Louisiana to temporarily back off a ruling which blocks a series of federal agencies and officials from being in contact with social media companies. In asking for a stay while the decision is appealed, the feds say the judge's injunction could get in the way of legitimate efforts to crack down on social media disinformation.
STAY. "The Government faces irreparable harm with each day the injunction remains in effect," the feds stated in their request to U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty. The feds say the injunction is badly worded - and may prevent the Biden Administration from doing legitimate work with Big Tech companies.
RULING. Doughty's injunction - oddly released on July 4 - declared the feds had violated the First Amendment by asking social media companies to pull down certain posts - an accusation that was brusquely rejected by the White House.
GOP. Republicans continue to hail the judge's decision, as they claim the Biden Administration has been leaning on social media companies to limit posts from certain conservatives. "The ruling is a victory for free speech, First Amendment rights, and a warning sign for Big Tech,” said Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA).
BIDEN. President Biden on Thursday continued to specifically rebuke Republicans in Congress for opposing his economic agenda, and then celebrating the arrival of new government money for local projects. And he promised to make that point even more directly in the months ahead, pledging to make more stops in GOP-led states on his economic message.
CLEAN ENERGY. Touting new solar jobs in South Carolina, Biden specifically pointed out one recipient of federal aid. "One of the biggest is in Dalton, Georgia. You may find it hard to believe, but that’s Marjorie Taylor Greene’s district," Biden said to laughter from the crowd. "I’ll be there for the groundbreaking."
STATES. In his speech, Biden rattled off examples of jobs being created in states like Ohio, Georgia, Arizona, and South Carolina, saying it's all part of his plan for economic growth - 'Bidenomics' as he calls it. "The laws I’ve signed are going to do more to help Red America than Blue America," Biden said. "That’s okay with me, because we’re all Americans."
ARIZONA. Earlier this week, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) touted how the infrastructure law was helping to build a new battery manufacturing facility, 'creating nearly 2,000 strong careers for hardworking Arizonans.'
JOBS. A new federal report shows 'clean energy' jobs grew nationally by almost 300,000 last year. "Our green investments are growing our economy," said Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD). You might see some of that in the latest jobs report out today.
BIDENOMICS. While President Biden has made the case on 'Bidenomics,' fellow Democrats in Congress are not exactly rushing to embrace that word - even though they're completely on board with the Inflation Reduction Act, the infrastructure law, the CHIPS Act, and more. That's in my column this week for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
REGULAR ORDER. I want to take a moment to welcome our new subscribers from this week plus our weekly subscribers. This little newsletter offers a unique inside view of what’s happening on Capitol Hill from someone who has seen a lot in the past 40-plus years. Hire me to be your Washington correspondent. Sign up for ‘Regular Order,’ give someone a gift subscription, or maybe just buy me a drink.
UKRAINE AID. The White House is ready today to announce more aid for Ukraine, which continues to have strong support in Congress. "For less money than Americans spend on soft drinks annually, we've cratered Russia's military capacity," Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) said on Thursday. "Supporting Ukraine is about stopping a bully invading his neighbor," added Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE).
CLUSTER. But there is one detail which has raised red flags, as the Biden Administration's plan to send cluster munitions to Ukraine has sparked opposition from some Democrats in Congress. "Cluster munitions keep killing long after their initial use with the potential to injure and kill civilians, especially young children, for generations," said Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA).
DEFENSE BILL. Jacobs has filed an amendment to a major defense policy bill coming before the House this month which would block any export of cluster munitions. It's not clear if that measure will get a vote before the full House.
MORE. Some in Congress believe the White House still needs to do even more. "We should give Ukraine ATACMS, cluster munitions and the F-16s they need so they can win against Russia," said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) this week. "Half measures are maddening and only continue to prolong the war and the suffering."
NOT IN THE CLUB. This really does sound like middle school. It looks like the recent spat between Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) could result in Greene getting kicked out of the House Freedom Caucus. The drama comes as a result of an incident on the House floor where Greene called Boebert a 'little bitch' in a dispute over efforts to impeach President Biden.
SPAT. News of Greene's ouster was relayed to reporters on Thursday by Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), who was at the Capitol to chair the House in a quick pro forma session. Greene has made no direct comment about whether she has been ejected from the conservative group. "Avoiding distractions is the key to staying focused," she tweeted on Thursday evening.
CAUCUS. The soap opera comes as the Freedom Caucus is still trying to hash out differences with Speaker Kevin McCarthy on government funding bills for 2024. Greene has found herself at odds with the Freedom Caucus in part because she backed McCarthy for Speaker back in January and has stuck with him since.
COCAINE MYSTERY. It's been a pretty weird last couple of days at the White House, after news broke that a small amount of cocaine had been discovered inside the White House. The location of that discovery has seemingly changed several times in news reports, but it remains in areas used by staff and official visitors.
GOP. Republicans on Capitol Hill have been fanning the flames as much as possible, demanding to know the back story. "I find it difficult to accept that they can't figure out who put the cocaine there," said Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) on Thursday.
PROBE. Look for House Republicans to keep pressing for answers. "We need to know how a bag of cocaine made it to the West Wing undetected and why the culprit remains unknown," said Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ).
NEXT WEEK. The Senate is back on Monday - the House returns on Tuesday. There are certain to be a lot of cocaine quips from GOP lawmakers.
D.C. FOOTBALL. It was in 1996 when the Washington Redskins played their final game at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, and then moved to Maryland. With new ownership taking over the NFL team - now named the Commanders - there may be support in Congress for trying to bring the team back into the city. And it comes from a surprise source.
COMER. A spokesman for Rep. James Comer (R-KY) confirmed last night that the Kentucky Republican is readying a bill which could lead to the construction of a new stadium on the RFK site - something which city leaders have been pursuing behind the scenes.
LAND. Why do the feds need to be involved? Because the RFK site sits on federal land. This would be a big deal for the city - and an interesting move by Comer, because he was on the wrong side of D.C. football fans.
SWITCH. Earlier this year, Comer shut down a probe by Democrats in soon-to-be-former owner of the Commanders, Daniel Snyder. That investigation had unearthed all sorts of bad practices which helped run Snyder out of town.
UNFAVORABLE. Even more than Donald Trump, Daniel Snyder may be the most hated person in this city - and in a bipartisan way. It always puzzled me that Comer and other Republicans ran so much interference for Snyder.
RAP SHEET. A Texas man was sentenced to 24 months in prison on Thursday for his actions on Jan. 6. Joshua Johnson pleaded guilty to one felony count; he made it onto the Senate floor that day and rifled through documents on one Senator's desk, recording video of his actions on his own cell phone.
UPDATE. It was a week ago that a federal judge issued an arrest warrant for Jan. 6 defendant Marc Bru, who did not appear for two hearings on his case. Judging from his Twitter account, Bru has not yet been taken into custody by the feds - even though he refers to himself as a Jan. 6 'political prisoner.'
MUSE OF HISTORY. July 7, 1852. On this date, the Senate was debating the need to better regulate steamers on America's waterways. Sen. George Davis of Massachusetts told his colleagues the 'mercenary spirit' of many captains led to boats which were not safe, as he detailed boats exploding, crashing, collapsing, and sinking - costing American businesses millions, and killing thousands of people. "Something should be done by Congress," Davis said on the Senate floor, "to suppress the calamities, or at least the dangers which now exist."
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The House is back next Tuesday.
The Senate returns on Monday.
Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree.
Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com
If you want to say ‘thanks’ - you can buy me a beer - or a cup of coffee.
If conservatives didn’t lie, incite violence, smear decent people, and generally spew nazi propaganda, no one would have to stop them.
Hate speech is not free speech, but it’s all the gop has.
I really enjoy the Snyder commentary since it provides a bit more context outside of what you hear in national sports news. Seems like there could be a good exposé there in the future.