Political News

Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams Stressing “the need to rebuild a stronger, more robust, and more equitable childcare system,” progressive U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Elizabeth Warren on Thursday reintroduced a bill to improve access to quality, affordable childcare—one of multiple childcare bills unveiled in Congress in recent days. The Building …

 James Barragán, The Texas Tribune On a late-September Wednesday in 2020, several of Attorney General Ken Paxton’s highest-ranking deputies walked into the FBI’s Austin office to make an explosive accusation: Their boss, one of the state’s most influential Republicans, appeared to be dirty. Paxton, they said, had personally directed his …

The Justice Department on Friday announced that the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) and the City of Minneapolis (City) engage in a pattern or practice of conduct in violation of the U.S. Constitution and federal law. Specifically, the Justice Department finds that the MPD: Uses excessive force, including unjustified deadly force …

Ashley Murray, Arizona Mirror Despite top U.S. military retirements beginning in less than a month, Sen. Tommy Tuberville refuses to budge on his blockade of hundreds of armed services promotions in protest of the Pentagon’s reproductive care policy instituted after the reversal of Roe v. Wade. The first-term Alabama Republican …

Ashley Murray, Florida Phoenix Senate Democrats for the third time this year made their case that U.S. Supreme Court justices must follow stronger ethics rules, including recusing themselves from cases where they have a financial stake or other connection to a case. The series of hearings by the Senate Committee …

President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that several ticketing and travel companies in the United States are taking steps to eliminate hidden fees for buyers. This move is part of Biden’s plan to ban additional charges, known as “junk fees,” that are often added to travel, ticket, and banking transactions. …

A panel comprised of three-quarters of the House Republican caucus released a budget proposal on Wednesday that would raise the Social Security retirement age—cutting benefits across the board—while further privatizing Medicare and slashing taxes for the rich, a plan that Democratic lawmakers and progressive advocacy groups said is a clear …

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday night announced that his state had dropped off its “first” busload of migrants in Los Angeles, the latest move by a right-wing governor to ship vulnerable asylum-seekers to a distant Democratic-led jurisdiction. “It is abhorrent that an American elected official is using human …

Michelle Griffith, Minnesota Reformer The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a challenge to a federal law aimed at keeping Native American children within the foster care system in Native American homes. The Supreme Court in a 7-2 decision upheld the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act, which established federal minimum …

Jennifer Shutt, Georgia Recorder Democrats in Congress reintroduced a bill Wednesday that would guarantee access to birth control regardless of any future Supreme Court rulings. The measure would ensure people have the right to use contraception and that health care providers have a right to share information about contraception as …

Jennifer Shutt, Iowa Capital Dispatch House Republicans outlined Wednesday how they would cut $130 billion from the annual government funding bill. Their spending total is significantly lower than the level both parties agreed to in the debt limit deal just two weeks ago. The spending levels likely set up a …

Lynn Bonner, NC Newsline Voting rights groups and Democrats oppose North Carolina Republican senators’ proposed changes to election laws, saying they will harm elderly, disabled, and student voters, and voters of color. The Senate has proposed two bills changing voting rules and stripping governors of their power to appoint members …

As most U.S. House Republicans and two Democrats on Tuesday voted to block the Biden administration’s regulation of pistols with stabilizing braces, several other Democratic lawmakers renewed a fight for gun control policies unlikely to pass the GOP-controlled chamber. Democratic Reps. Jared Golden (Maine) and Mary Peltola (Alaska) joined with …

Ariana Figueroa, Arkansas Advocate U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra on Tuesday defended access to health care for transgender people, as well as his agency’s actions in connection with unaccompanied migrant children. Republicans at a U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing grilled Becerra about …

Hannah Recht, KFF June 13, 2023 Too many Americans are losing Medicaid coverage because of red tape, and states should do more to make sure eligible people keep their health insurance, the Biden administration said Monday. More than a million Americans have lost coverage through the program for low-income and …