Poli Alert Political & Civics

by Issac Morgan, Florida Phoenix March 29, 2022 While a federal face mask mandate for public transportation hubs is set to expire in less than a month, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday announced that the state has filed a lawsuit against the feds to block the requirement immediately. …

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden signed into law the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, legislation that makes lynching a federal hate crime. “Lynching was pure terror to enforce the lie that not everyone … belongs in America, not everyone is created equal,” President Biden said during a ceremony at the White …

by Jacob Fischler, Idaho Capital Sun March 29, 2022 Two dozen congressional Democrats are calling for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from cases involving the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, following revelations his wife communicated with the Trump White House about overturning the election. …

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has reintroduced the Homes for All Act, which would dramatically expand the public housing stock in the United States and guarantee housing as a human right. The bill would authorize the construction of 12 million new public housing and private, permanently affordable rental units, driving down costs throughout …

A US District Judge ruled that the House committee investigating the attack on the US Capitol has a right to see emails written to former President Donald Trump by one of his former lawyers, John Eastman, and that “based on the evidence, the Court finds it more likely than not …

On Monday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the “Parental Rights in Education” bill — also dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill – into law. The bill prohibits the discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third-grade classrooms and also bars teaching those topics in other classrooms in …

by Jacob Fischler, Missouri Independent March 28, 2022 The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee reopened partisan disagreements Monday as members scheduled a vote for April 4 on Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Republicans’ criticisms of Jackson’s record and responses were either untrue or …

by Jennifer Shutt, Missouri Independent March 28, 2022 WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden sent a new $5.8 trillion budget request to Congress on Monday that calls on lawmakers to institute a minimum tax on billionaires and boost spending on national security.  The proposal, which lawmakers will undoubtedly change, asks Congress …

The Biden administration last week announced that federal agencies will now allow employees to take time off to vote in federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial elections. Employees may also use leave to serve as non-partisan poll workers or observers. Vice President Kamala Harris highlighted the new guidance from the …

White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says she tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from a trip to Europe with President Joe Biden. Jean-Pierre was with the president after Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced that she tested positive for the coronavirus last week. “I last saw the President …

President Joe Biden will propose a new 20 percent minimum tax on billionaires as part of his fiscal year 2023 budget, according to a document released by the White House on Saturday. The White House said that the “billionaire minimum income tax” Biden will propose would apply to the top …

President Joe Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin must not remain in power on Saturday, as he delivered a major speech in Warsaw, Poland, rallying European allies for a “long-haul” resistance to Russian aggression. “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” Biden said of Putin, in his strongest …

Nebraska Republican Congressman Jeff Fortenberry announced Saturday he will resign from Congress. Fortenberry released the following statement saying: Dear Friends, “Thank you for entrusting me with the great responsibility of governing our nation. When I first ran for Congress, I said that I would focus on our national security, economic security, …

Prakash Nagarkatti, University of South Carolina and Mitzi Nagarkatti, University of South Carolina A new omicron subvariant of the virus that causes COVID-19, BA.2, is quickly becoming the predominant source of infections amid rising cases around the world. Immunologists Prakash Nagarkatti and Mitzi Nagarkatti of the University of South Carolina …

Sharon D. Wright Austin, University of Florida Just five women and two African Americans, both men, are among the 115 people who have served on the United States’ highest court over more than two centuries. Both of those numbers may change in 2022, with President Joe Biden’s nomination of Judge …