ВИБОРЧА ГАЗЕТА

US House to Vote on Referring Contempt Charges Against Trump Aide

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote Tuesday on whether to refer charges of contempt of Congress against Meadows, former President Donald Trump’s White House chief of staff, to the Justice Department for his refusal to testify about his role in trying to overturn Trump’s loss in the 2020 presidential election. 

A congressional committee made up of seven Democrats and two Republicans voted unanimously Monday to recommend that Meadows face criminal charges. 

Meadows said in an interview on the Fox News cable network late Monday the committee’s decision was “disappointing, but not surprising.” 

“This is about Donald Trump and about actually going after him once again,” Meadows said. 

Ahead of the committee vote Monday, Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney detailed text messages sent to Meadows as the January 6 attack on the Capitol unfolded with prominent conservative media figures and one of Trump’s sons urging Meadows to encourage Trump to do more to halt the actions of his supporters. 

Cheney said the messages show Trump’s “supreme dereliction” and raised questions about whether through his inaction he sought to interrupt the congressional task of certifying the presidential election result showing that he lost. 

“These texts leave no doubt,” Cheney said. “The White House knew exactly what was happening at the Capitol.” 

Bennie Thompson, chairman of the House Select Committee and a Democrat from Mississippi, said in his opening remarks, “Whatever legacy [Meadows] thought he left in the House, this is his legacy now.” Meadows is a former Republican representative from North Carolina.  

Meadows handed over 6,600 pages of records taken from personal email accounts and about 2,000 text messages to the nine-member House of Representatives committee investigating the violence by hundreds of Trump supporters at the Capitol 11 months ago. The trouble happened as lawmakers were certifying that Democrat Joe Biden had defeated Trump in his reelection bid.      

Meadows initially agreed to testify about his role before January 6 in trying to help Trump claim a second four-year term in the White House and his actions that day. Protesters, urged by Trump to “fight like hell” to keep him in office, stormed the Capitol, smashed windows and scuffled with police. Last week, Meadows changed his mind about testifying, citing Trump’s assertion of executive privilege to keep documents secret to inhibit the investigation.   

The House committee has already held another former Trump aide, Steve Bannon, in contempt of Congress for his refusal to comply with a subpoena to testify. Bannon was later indicted and, if convicted, could face up to a year in prison.         

The investigative panel late Sunday issued a 51-page report that showed Meadows was deeply involved in trying to keep Trump in office even though the former president had lost five dozen court challenges in various states contesting his election loss and numerous vote recounts in individual political battleground states all upheld Biden’s victories.      

State election officials often said there was no appreciable voter fraud, as Trump has alleged to this day, that would have changed the outcome in his favor.  

If Meadows had appeared for a deposition, the committee said it would have questioned him about numerous documents he provided.     

On Monday, Meadows said through his attorney that the committee’s referral was unwise, unfair and contrary to law, according to The Associated Press.  

In a November 7, 2020, email, the committee said that just days after Trump lost the election, Meadows discussed an effort to have state legislators in states Trump lost appoint electors supporting Trump rather than the pro-Biden electors a majority of voters had chosen.     

In text messages with an unidentified senator, Meadows discussed Trump’s erroneous view that then-Vice President Mike Pence had the power to overturn the Electoral College vote count as lawmakers officially certified the state-by-state tally on January 6. Pence drew Trump’s ire as he refused to upend the Electoral College vote, which Biden won by a 306-232 margin, the same count Trump won by in 2016.      

A day before the riot occurred, Meadows said National Guard troops would be at the Capitol to “protect pro-Trump people.” Other emails touched on the rioting at the Capitol as it unfolded, with pro-Trump supporters shutting down the Electoral College vote count for hours before Biden was finally declared the winner in the early hours of January 7.      

The committee also said it wants to ask Meadows about claims he made in his new book, “The Chief’s Chief,” about his time in the White House with Trump.   

“Mr. Meadows has shown his willingness to talk about issues related to the Select Committee’s investigation across a variety of media platforms — anywhere, it seems, except to the Select Committee,” the panel wrote.     

In turn, Meadows has sued the committee, asking a court to invalidate two subpoenas that he says are “overly broad and unduly burdensome.”   

The panel has interviewed nearly 300 witnesses and lawmakers linked in some way to the rioting or contesting of the election results. The committee says it is planning a series of hearings early next year to make public many of its findings.     

Some of the more than 600 people charged in the rioting, often identified by boasts on social media accounts of being inside the Capitol, have been sentenced to prison terms of a few months or, in more serious cases, to more than four years. But most of the criminal charges have yet to be adjudicated.   

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters. 
…

US House Panel Targeting Trump Aide Mark Meadows in Capitol Riot Probe

The congressional committee investigating the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol is poised Monday to recommend that Mark Meadows, former President Donald Trump’s White House chief of staff, be held in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify about his role in trying to overturn Trump’s loss in the 2020 presidential election.

Meadows handed over 6,600 pages of records taken from personal email accounts and about 2,000 text messages to the nine-member House of Representatives committee investigating the violence by hundreds of Trump supporters at the Capitol 11 months ago. The trouble happened as lawmakers were certifying that Democrat Joe Biden had defeated Trump in his re-election bid.

Meadows initially agreed to testify about his role before January 6 in trying to help Trump claim a second four-year term in the White House and his actions that day. Protesters, urged by Trump to “fight like hell” to keep him in office, stormed the Capitol, smashed windows and scuffled with police. Last week, Meadows changed his mind about testifying, citing Trump’s assertion of executive privilege to keep documents secret to inhibit the investigation.

The committee, with seven Democrats and two Republican Trump critics, has already held another former Trump aide, Steve Bannon, in contempt of Congress for his refusal to comply with a subpoena to testify. Bannon was later indicted and, if convicted, could face up to a year in prison.

The investigative panel late Sunday issued a 51-page report that showed Meadows was deeply involved in trying to keep Trump in office even though the former president had lost five dozen court challenges in various states contesting his election loss and numerous vote recounts in individual political battleground states all upheld Biden’s victories.

State election officials often said there was no appreciable voter fraud, as Trump has alleged to this day, that would have changed the outcome in his favor.

If Meadows had appeared for a deposition, the committee said it would have questioned him about numerous documents he provided.

In a November 7, 2020 email, the committee said that just days after Trump lost the election, Meadows discussed an effort to have state legislators in states Trump lost appoint electors supporting Trump rather than the pro-Biden electors a majority of voters had chosen.   

In text messages with an unidentified senator, Meadows discussed Trump’s erroneous view that then-Vice President Mike Pence had the power to overturn the Electoral College vote count as lawmakers officially certified the state-by-state tally on January 6. Pence drew Trump’s ire as he refused to upend the Electoral College vote, which Biden won by a 306-232 margin, the same count Trump won by in 2016.

A day before the riot occurred, Meadows said National Guard troops would be at the Capitol to “protect pro-Trump people.” Other emails touched on the rioting at the Capitol as it unfolded, with pro-Trump supporters shutting down the Electoral College vote count for hours before Biden was finally declared the winner in the early hours of January 7.

The committee also said it wants to ask Meadows about claims he made in his new book, “The Chief’s Chief,” about his time in the White House with Trump.

“Mr. Meadows has shown his willingness to talk about issues related to the Select Committee’s investigation across a variety of media platforms — anywhere, it seems, except to the Select Committee,” the panel wrote.

In turn, Meadows has sued the committee, asking a court to invalidate two subpoenas that he says are “overly broad and unduly burdensome.”

The panel has interviewed nearly 300 witnesses and lawmakers linked in some way to the rioting or contesting of the election results. The committee says it is planning a series of hearings early next year to make public many of its findings.

Some of the more than 600 people charged in the rioting, often identified by boasts on social media accounts of being inside the Capitol, have been sentenced to prison terms of a few months or, in more serious cases, to more than four years. But most of the criminal charges have yet to be adjudicated.
…

Court Rejects Trump’s Efforts to Keep Records from January 6 Panel

A federal appeals court ruled Thursday against an effort by former President Donald Trump to shield documents from the House committee investigating the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol. 

In a 68-page ruling, the three-judge panel tossed aside Trump’s various arguments for blocking, through executive privilege, records that the committee regards as vital to its investigation into the run-up to the deadly riot aimed at overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election. 

Judge Patricia Millett, writing for the court, said Congress had “uniquely vital interests” in studying the events of January 6 and said President Joe Biden had made a “carefully reasoned” determination that the documents were in the public interest and that executive privilege should therefore not be invoked. Trump also failed to show any harm that would occur from the release of the sought-after records, Millett wrote. 

“On the record before us, former President Trump has provided no basis for this court to override President Biden’s judgment and the agreement and accommodations worked out between the Political Branches over these documents,” the opinion states.

It adds, “Both Branches agree that there is a unique legislative need for these documents and that they are directly relevant to the Committee’s inquiry into an attack on the Legislative Branch and its constitutional role in the peaceful transfer of power.”

The appeals court ruled that the injunction that has prevented the National Archives from turning over the documents will expire in two weeks, or when the Supreme Court rules on an expected appeal from Trump, whichever is later. Lawyers for Trump can also ask the entire appeals court to review the case. 

“The privilege being asserted is not a personal privilege belonging to former President Trump; he stewards it for the benefit of the Republic,” the court wrote. “The interests the privilege protects are those of the Presidency itself, not former President Trump individually. And the President has determined that immediate disclosure will promote, not injure, the national interest, and that delay here is itself injurious.” 

The court also praised Biden’s “calibrated judgement” in working with Congress and the Archives to weigh privilege concerns, saying it “bears no resemblance to the ‘broad and limitless waiver’ of executive privilege former President Trump decries.” 

Biden had the committee defer its requests for some of the early documents that might have posed privilege claims, and officials expect more documents in subsequent tranches will be subject to the same outcome. 

The House committee and Trump representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday. 

White House spokesman Mike Gwin said in response to Tuesday’s ruling, “As President Biden determined, the constitutional protections of executive privilege should not be used to shield information that reflects a clear and apparent effort to subvert the Constitution itself.” 

Trump sued the House January 6 committee and the National Archives to stop the White House from allowing the release of documents related to the insurrection. Biden had waived Trump’s executive privilege claims as the current officeholder. 

At issue, the court said, is not that Trump “has no say in the matter” but his failure to show that withholding the documents should supersede Biden’s “considered and weighty judgment” that Congress is entitled to them. 

The National Archives has said that the records Trump wants to block include presidential diaries, visitor logs, speech drafts, handwritten notes “concerning the events of January 6” from the files of former chief of staff Mark Meadows, and “a draft Executive Order on the topic of election integrity.” 
…

New York City Lawmakers Pass Bill Giving Noncitizens Right to Vote

Noncitizens in New York City would gain the right to vote in municipal elections under a measure approved Thursday by the City Council that would give access to the ballot box to 800,000 green card holders and so-called Dreamers.

Only a potential veto from Mayor Bill de Blasio stood in the way of the measure becoming law, but the Democrat has said he would not veto it. It’s unclear whether the bill would face legal challenges.

The council’s vote was a historic moment for an effort that had long languished.

Council member Francisco Moya, whose family hails from Ecuador, choked up as he spoke in support of the bill.

“This is for my beautiful mother who will be able to vote for her son,” said Moya, while joining the session by video with his immigrant mother at his side.

More than a dozen communities across the United States already allow noncitizens to cast ballots in local elections, including 11 towns in Maryland and two in Vermont. But New York City is the largest place by far to give voting rights to noncitizens.

Noncitizens still wouldn’t be able to vote for president or members of Congress in federal races, or in the state elections that pick the governor, judges and legislators.

The city’s move could enflame the national debate over voting rights, particularly among some who wrongly assert that rampant fraud by noncitizens has taken place in federal elections.

Last year, Alabama, Colorado and Florida adopted rules that would preempt any attempts to pass laws like the one in New York City. Arizona and North Dakota already had prohibitions on the books.

“The bill we’re doing today will have national repercussions,” said the council’s majority leader, Laurie Cumbo, a Democrat who opposed the bill. She expressed concern that the measure could diminish the influence of African American voters.

Legally documented, voting-age noncitizens comprise nearly one in nine of the city’s 7 million voting-age inhabitants. The measure would allow noncitizens who have been lawful permanent residents of the city for at least 30 days, as well as those authorized to work in the U.S., including so-called Dreamers, to help select the city’s mayor, city council members, borough presidents, comptroller and public advocate.

“It is no secret; we are making history today. Fifty years down the line when our children look back at this moment, they will see a diverse coalition of advocates who came together to write a new chapter in New York City’s history by giving immigrant New Yorkers the power of the ballot,” council member Ydanis Rodriguez, a main sponsor of the bill, said in a statement after Thursday’s vote.

The law would direct the Board of Elections to draw up an implementation plan by July, including voter registration rules and provisions that would create separate ballots for municipal races to prevent noncitizens from casting ballots in federal and state contests. Noncitizens wouldn’t be allowed to vote until elections in 2023.

Even if de Blasio were to decide to veto the bill, there was enough support to override it. The measure will become law by default if the mayor decides not to act on it. The incoming mayor, Eric Adams, has said he supports the bill.

Council member Joseph Borelli, the Republican leader, said a legal challenge is likely. Opponents say the council lacks the authority on its own to grant voting rights to noncitizens and should have first sought action by state lawmakers. 
…

NY Attorney General Letitia James Ends Run for Governor

New York Attorney General Letitia James suspended her campaign for governor on Thursday, saying she will run for reelection to her current position to “finish the job” amid numerous ongoing investigations.

James, a Democrat, had announced in late October that she was running for governor, two months after a sexual harassment investigation she oversaw led former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign. She had been expected to be a strong challenger against Gov. Kathy Hochul for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in an increasingly crowded field.

“I have come to the conclusion that I must continue my work as attorney general,” James, a Democrat, said in a statement. “There are a number of important investigations and cases that are underway, and I intend to finish the job. I am running for re-election to complete the work New Yorkers elected me to do.”

James, 62, is the first woman elected as New York’s attorney general and the first Black person to serve in the role.

James ended her campaign for governor the same day it was reported that she was seeking to have former President Donald Trump sit for a deposition in an ongoing civil probe into his business practices. A familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly and did so under the condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that James’ office requested the Trump provide testimony Jan. 7.

James’ office would not comment on the Trump matter but it has spent more than two years looking at whether the Trump Organization misled banks or tax officials about the value of assets.

Earlier on Thursday, James’ office canceled a planned event on Long Island.

Since she became attorney general in 2019, James’ office filed dozens of lawsuits against the Trump administration over federal policies on immigration, the environment and other matters. James also filed a lawsuit accusing National Rifle Association leaders of financial mismanagement — seeking to shut down the gun-rights organization — and has secured hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements from companies involved in the opioid industry.

James’ decision to run for governor so soon after overseeing the investigation that led to Cuomo’s exit reinforced feelings among his allies that the probe was politically motivated — an assertion James has dismissed.

As governor, Cuomo endorsed James for attorney general and headlined a fundraiser for her in 2018 as she ran in a four-way Democratic primary to replace Eric Schneiderman, who abruptly resigned amid allegations that he abused women.

Both the governor’s office and the attorney general’s office are on the ballot in 2022.
…

Deal to Avert US Default, Raise Debt Limit Advances in Senate

The U.S. Senate took a step toward raising the federal government’s $28.9 trillion debt limit on Thursday when it voted to limit debate on the first of two necessary measures, as the Treasury Department urged action by next week. 

Fourteen Republican senators joined the Senate’s 48 Democrats and two independents in voting to advance the first of two bills needed to increase the Treasury Department’s borrowing authority under a deal crafted by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. 

The Senate voted 64-36 to clear the way for passage of the bill setting up the fast-track procedure. 

The chamber could vote on the bill itself, which sets the fast-track rules to raise the debt limit, as early as Friday. If that bill passes, both chambers of Congress would need to vote next week on a second bill actually raising the debt limit. 

President Joe Biden is expected to sign both bills into law once they pass. 

The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved this first bill to sidestep the Senate’s “filibuster ” rule and ultimately raise federal borrowing authority by a simple majority vote. 

“I’m optimistic that after today’s vote we will be on a glide-path to avoid a catastrophic default,” Schumer said in a speech to the Senate. 

The Schumer-McConnell deal on the debt ceiling is contained in legislation that would avoid funding cuts for Medicare, the government health insurance program for the elderly, which has wide bipartisan support. 

The deal comes just two months after Congress agreed on a short-term lift to the debt ceiling, to avert an unprecedented default by the federal government on its obligations, which would have catastrophic implications for the world economy. 

Republicans have been trying to withhold their votes for more borrowing authority, contending the increase would smooth the way for passage of President Joe Biden’s $1.75 trillion “Build Back Better” domestic investment bill, which they oppose. 

Democrats note that the legislation is needed to finance debt largely incurred during Donald Trump’s administration, when Republicans willingly jacked up Washington’s credit card bill by about $7.85 trillion, partly through sweeping tax cuts and spending to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. 

But most Senate Republicans, looking to score political points by blaming Democrats for spending, opposed the deal. Republicans contend that “irresponsible,” “socialist” spending pushed by Biden is fueling the need for the debt limit increase. 

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has urged Congress to act by Dec. 15, and the Bipartisan Policy Center think thank warned last week that the government could risk default by late this month if Congress does not act. 

Democrats noted that they had voted in the past to authorize debt ceiling hikes to cover Republican measures, such as the Trump tax cuts. 

The draft bill still must plug in a dollar amount for the new statutory debt limit, which likely is being calibrated to give the government enough borrowing authority to extend beyond next November’s congressional elections. 

“Every single Senate Democrat will have to put their name to the gigantic dollar amount of debt they’re prepared to pile on the American people,” McConnell said in a speech on Wednesday.
…

US Senate Rejects Biden’s Vaccine Mandate for Businesses

The Senate narrowly approved a resolution Wednesday to nullify the Biden administration’s requirement that businesses with 100 or more workers have their employees be vaccinated against the coronavirus or submit to weekly testing.

The vote was 52-48. The measure now goes to the Democratic-led House, which is unlikely to take up the measure, which means the mandate would stand, though courts have put it on hold for now. Still, the vote gave senators a chance to voice opposition to a policy that they say has sparked fears back home from businesses and from unvaccinated constituents who worry about losing their jobs should the rule go into effect.

“Every so often Washington, D.C., does something that lights up the phone lines. This is one of these moments,” said Sen. Steve Daines, a Montana Republican. At home, he said, “this issue is what I hear about. This issue is a top-of-mind issue.”

Lawmakers can invalidate certain federal agency regulations if a joint resolution is approved by both houses of Congress and signed by the president, or if Congress overrides a presidential veto. That’s unlikely to happen in this case.

Under the rule, private-sector companies with 100 or more workers must require their employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested for the virus weekly and wear masks on the job. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it would work with companies on compliance but would fine them up to more than $13,000 for each violation, though implementation and enforcement is suspended as the litigation unfolds.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Americans who have refused to get vaccinated are the biggest impediment to ending the pandemic. He implied that some of the resistance to mandated vaccines is based on politics.

Schumer said social media has played a role in spreading falsehoods about the vaccine, and “so has the far right.” He urged senators to vote against the resolution, sponsored by Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind.

Republicans said they are supportive of the vaccine, but that the mandate amounts to government overreach.

“His mandates are under fire in the courts. Main Street job creators are complaining against it, and tonight, the U.S. Senate must send a clear message: back off this bad idea,” Braun said.

In the end, two Democratic lawmakers voted with 50 Republicans to void the mandate, Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana. Manchin had said in a tweet that he does not support any federal vaccine mandate for private businesses. Tester’s office said his opposition is based on conversations with Montana businesses who “expressed deep concerns about the negative effect on their bottom lines and our state’s economy during this fragile recovery period.”

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., sided with the Biden administration, noting that the pandemic is still raging and that deaths are overwhelmingly among the unvaccinated.

“How on earth does it make sense right now to undercut one of the strongest tools that we have to get people vaccinated and stop this virus?” Murray said. “In what world is that a good idea?” 
…

Biden Takes Infrastructure Tour to Missouri as White House Retools Message

U.S. President Joe Biden visited a bus depot Wednesday to spotlight the $1 trillion infrastructure bill’s investments in public transit as the administration sought to boost the popularity of his agenda with a new communication strategy.

Biden toured the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, which will be among the beneficiaries of the spending bill’s $89 billion for public transit over five years, including $5.6 billion to buy low- and no-emission transit vehicles like electric buses.

“It’s gonna be infrastructure decade, now man. No more talking. Action,” Biden said. Kansas City, which has two electric buses, hopes to build a fully electric fleet.

The Kansas City trip came as the White House launched a website, Build.gov, to describe the infrastructure law and ask supporters to upload videos explaining how the law impacts their lives.

The White House also unveiled a new branding phrase, “Building a Better America,” to promote it. The White House is testing whether investment in infrastructure can boost Biden’s sagging poll ratings.

The administration wants Americans to know about the president’s efforts “to make their lives easier, to deliver for them,” spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One.

Biden has faced challenges in all directions. Biden told the crowd he ran for president in part to unite the country, but that is “turning out to be one of the most difficult things.”

Biden’s legislative efforts have been stymied by Republican opposition along with infighting between the progressive and moderate wings of his own party.

Despite a bipartisan win in Congress on infrastructure, Biden’s opinion poll numbers have sunk as Americans fret about the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation.

The White House wants to highlight Biden’s accomplishments ahead of midterm elections next year, when Democrats are seeking to fend off Republican efforts to win control of Congress.

The White House is also looking to win passage for the second part of Biden’s economic agenda, an even larger spending package.

The Democrat-led House has passed the $1.9 trillion package, which includes funding for universal pre-kindergarten, child care, health care insurance subsidies and climate-change initiatives. But the legislation’s path in the Senate, where Democrats have the smallest of margins, remains uncertain and revisions are expected.

“We’re going to help rebuild the economy, but this time from the bottom and the middle out. This bill is a blue-collar blueprint for working Americans,” Biden said. 
…

California Plans to Be Abortion Sanctuary if Roe Overturned 

With more than two dozen states poised to ban abortion if the U.S. Supreme Court gives them the OK next year, California clinics and their allies in the state legislature on Wednesday revealed a plan to make the state a safe place for those seeking reproductive care, including possibly paying for travel, lodging and procedures for people from other states. 

The California Future of Abortion Council, made up of more than 40 abortion providers and advocacy groups, released a list of 45 recommendations for the state to consider if the high court overturns Roe v. Wade, the 48-year-old decision that forbids states from outlawing abortion. 

The recommendations are not just a liberal fantasy. Some of the state’s most important policymakers helped write them, including Toni Atkins, the San Diego Democrat who leads the state Senate and attended multiple meetings.

Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom started the group himself. In an interview last week with The Associated Press he said some of the report’s details would be included in his budget proposal in January. 

“We’ll be a sanctuary,” Newsom said, adding he’s aware patients will likely travel to California from other states to seek abortions. “We are looking at ways to support that inevitability and looking at ways to expand our protections.” 

California already pays for abortions for many low-income residents through the state’s Medicaid program. And California is one of six states that require private insurance companies to cover abortions, although many patients still end up paying deductibles and co-payments. 

Enough money

But money won’t be a problem for state-funded abortion services for patients from other states. California’s coffers have soared throughout the pandemic, fueling a record budget surplus this year. Next year, the state’s independent Legislative Analyst’s Office predicts California will have a surplus of about $31 billion. 

California’s affiliates of Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, got a preview of how people might seek abortions outside their home states this year when a Texas law that outlawed abortion after six weeks of pregnancy was allowed to take effect. California clinics reported a slight increase in patients from Texas.

Now, California abortion providers are asking California to make it easier for those people to get to the state.

The report recommends funding — including public spending — to support patients seeking abortion for travel expenses such as gas, lodging, transportation and child care. It asks lawmakers to reimburse abortion providers for services to those who can’t afford to pay — including those who travel to California from other states whose income is low enough that they would qualify for state-funded abortions under Medicaid if they lived there.

It’s unclear how many people would come to California for abortions if Roe v. Wade is overturned. California does not collect or report abortion statistics. The Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights, said 132,680 abortions were performed in California in 2017, or about 15% of all abortions nationally. That number includes people from out of state as well as teenagers, who are not required to have their parents’ permission for an abortion in California. 

Planned Parenthood, which accounts for about half of California’s abortion clinics, said it served 7,000 people from other states last year. 

A huge influx of people from other states “will definitely destabilize the abortion provider network,” said Fabiola Carrion, interim director for reproductive and sexual health at the national Health Law Program. She said out-of-state abortions would also likely be later-term procedures, which are more complicated and expensive.

More workers

The report asks lawmakers to help clinics increase their workforce to prepare for more patients by giving scholarships to medical students who pledge to offer abortion services in rural areas, help them pay off their student loans and assist with their monthly liability insurance premiums.

“We’re looking at how to build capacity and build workforce,” said Jodi Hicks, CEO of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California. “It will take a partnership and investment with the state.” 

Abortion opponents in California, meanwhile, are also preparing for a potential surge of patients from other states seeking the procedure — only they hope to persuade them not to do it. 

Jonathan Keller, president and CEO of the California Family Council, said California has about 160 pregnancy resource centers whose aim is to persuade women not to get abortions. He said about half of those centers are medical clinics, while the rest are faith-based counseling centers. 

Many of the centers are located near abortion clinics in an attempt to entice people to seek their counseling before opting to end pregnancies. Keller said many are already planning on increasing their staffing if California gets more patients. 

“Even if we are not facing any immediate legislative opportunities or legislative victories, it’s a reminder that the work of changing hearts and minds and also providing real support and resources to women facing unplanned pregnancies — that work will always continue,” Keller said.

He added: “In many ways, that work is going to be even more important, both in light of [the] Supreme Court’s decision and in light of whatever Sacramento decides they are going to do in response.” 
…

January 6 Panel to Move Forward With Contempt Against Meadows

The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection has “no choice” but to move forward with contempt charges against former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows now that he is no longer complying with a subpoena, the panel’s chairman said Wednesday.

In a letter to Meadows’ attorney, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said that Meadows has already provided documents to the committee, including personal emails and texts about former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat. Yet Meadows did not show up Wednesday for a scheduled deposition after his lawyer, George Terwilliger, told the panel that he was ending his cooperation.

Thompson noted in the letter that Meadows has also published a book, released this week, that discusses the Jan. 6 attack.

“That he would sell his telling of the facts of that day while denying a congressional committee the opportunity to ask him about the attack on our Capitol marks an historic and aggressive defiance of Congress,” Thompson said in a letter to Terwilliger.

The House has already voted to hold longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon in contempt after he defied a subpoena, and the Justice Department indicted Bannon on two counts.

The documents that Meadows has already provided to the panel, Thompson wrote, include communications from around the time of the presidential election and before the insurrection and involve White House efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory. One email outlines what Thompson characterized as a “direct and collateral attack” that would have involved appointing an alternate slate of electors.

According to the letter, Meadows provided the committee in November with personal emails and backed up data from his personal cellphone, including text messages. Those thousands of documents included an email dated Nov. 7 — the day Biden was declared the winner — that Thompson described as “discussing the appointment of alternate slates of electors as part of a ‘direct and collateral attack’ after the election.” He did not say who sent the email or give further details.

The documents also included an email regarding a 38-page PowerPoint briefing titled “Election Fraud, Foreign Interference & Options for 6 JAN,” Thompson wrote, that was intended to be shared on Capitol Hill. Thompson did not give any other details about the email but said it was dated Jan. 5, the day before hundreds of Trump’s supporters violently breached the Capitol and interrupted the certification of Biden’s victory.

A separate Nov. 6 text exchange between Meadows and an unidentified member of Congress, Thompson wrote, was “apparently about appointing alternate electors in certain states as part of a plan that the member acknowledged would be ‘highly controversial,’ and to which Mr. Meadows apparently said, ‘I love it.'”

Also included in the documents, according to Thompson: A Jan. 5 email about having the National Guard on standby the next day, an “early 2021 text message exchange” between Meadows and an organizer of the rally held the morning of Jan. 6, when Trump told his supporters to “fight like hell,” and “text messages about the need for the former president to issue a public statement that could have stopped the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.”

Terwilliger did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter.

Meadows’ decision to stop complying with the committee came after he had initially agreed to the deposition and after Terwilliger said the committee was open to allowing him to decline some questions based on the executive privilege claims that Trump has made in an ongoing court case.

Terwilliger wrote the committee this week, however, that a deposition had become “untenable” because the Jan. 6 panel “has no intention of respecting boundaries” around questions that Trump claims are off-limits. Terwilliger also said he learned over the weekend that the committee had issued a subpoena to a third-party communications provider that he said would include “intensely personal” information about Meadows.

“As a result of careful and deliberate consideration of these factors, we now must decline the opportunity to appear voluntarily for a deposition,” Terwilliger wrote in the letter.

In his response, Thompson confirmed the subpoenas to a third party but said they should not affect Meadows’ testimony.
…

US House Passes Bill to Speed Passage of Debt Limit Increase

The U.S. House of Representatives late on Tuesday approved a measure allowing Congress to fast-track legislation raising the federal government’s debt limit and stave off a potential unprecedented default. 

The Senate is expected to take up the measure, which prevents the use of stalling tactics, on Thursday. 

That would speed the way for Congress to consider separate legislation to actually increase the current $28.9 trillion limit on federal borrowing authority to a still-to-be-determined level. 

The House voted 222-212 in favor of the measure designed to speed approval of a debt limit increase in the often-plodding Senate. Only one Republican backed it. 

“Increasing the debt ceiling will prevent us from defaulting on debt we already owe. It’s about investments that the Congress previously approved,” Democratic Representative Steven Horsford said during House debate. 

Earlier in the day, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned of dire consequences without fast action by Congress. 

“We must address the debt limit to stave off an unnecessary and catastrophic drop of trillions of dollars of GDP and a devastating downgrade to our credit rating,” Pelosi, a Democrat, said in a statement. 

But House Republicans argued against any action, knowing Democrats intended to shoulder the burden on their own under a deal privately negotiated by both parties. 

“Make no mistake. This debt ceiling is being lifted to pay for trillions of wasteful socialist spending,” said Republican Representative Kevin Brady. 

He was referring in part to President Joe Biden’s $1.75 trillion “Build Back Better” domestic investment bill that Democrats hope to pass in the Senate this month. 

Democrats say the increased borrowing authority is needed largely to cover the cost of tax cuts and spending programs during former Republican President Donald Trump’s administration, which congressional Republicans supported. 

‘Best interest of the country’

Normally, many bills need the support of at least 60 senators to clear procedural hurdles. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell sent a clear message that his party will help facilitate a debt limit increase even though its members aim to vote against the actual bill implementing it. 

“This is in the best interest of the country by avoiding default,” McConnell told reporters, adding: “We’ll be voting on it Thursday,” as he expressed confidence in its passage. 

Congress is expected to complete action on the long-running tussle between Democrats and Republicans by Dec. 15, the date Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen requested to soothe financial markets and ensure there would be no default – an event that would have catastrophic economic consequences. 

The debt limit increase, if passed, is expected to provide Treasury with enough borrowing authority through next November’s congressional elections. 

Tuesday’s breakthrough strategy, brokered by Democratic and Republican congressional leaders following months of political infighting, would establish a two-step approach for raising Treasury’s borrowing authority. 

If the Senate passes the House-approved bill, a second measure raising the debt limit under the expedited procedure would then be debated for a maximum of 10 hours in the Senate, instead of the open-ended debate that can delay or kill many bills in the chamber. 

Senate passage by a simple majority would clear the way for a final vote by the House. Both chambers are narrowly controlled by Democrats. 

The expedited procedure for the debt limit was included in a bill to postpone cuts to the Medicare healthcare program for seniors that would otherwise take place starting Jan. 1. 

By facilitating passage of a debt limit increase but not actually voting to implement one, Republicans would give themselves ammunition to attack Democrats in the 2022 congressional election campaigns for raising the $28.9 trillion debt limit.  
…

US House Approves Massive $768 Billion Defense Spending Bill

Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation Tuesday night that would provide $768 billion for the nation’s military for the 2022 fiscal year. 

The bill’s passage by a vote of 363-70 came after weeks of unusually contentious debate over the annual defense spending budget due to a number of issues. The final version, which was crafted in closed-door sessions between leaders from both the House and the U.S. Senate, includes the creation of an independent commission to investigate the United States’ 20-year war in Afghanistan, $300 million in aid to the Ukrainian armed forces, and a statement of support for the defense of self-ruled Taiwan, which China has vowed to annex, even by force. It also prohibits the Defense Department from buying any items produced by Muslim Uyghurs who are detained in China’s Xinjiang region. 

The bill also creates a new, independent special victims prosecutor to handle allegations of rape, sexual assault and other serious crimes, removing it from the authority of regular military commanders.  

But several other items were stripped from the bill before the final vote, including a repeal of the measure passed in 2002 that authorized military force against Iraq, and a measure requiring women to register for the system that drafts Americans into the military during times of war, which was strongly opposed by conservatives who are opposed to forcing women to fight in the nation’s wars. 

The final cost of the bill was $24 billion more than what President Joe Biden had requested in his initial budget proposal. The measure now goes on to the Senate, which is expected to give its final approval sometime this week after lawmakers there failed to pass its own version.   

Some information for this report came from Reuters. 
…

Congress Reaches Agreement to Avert Calamitous US Debt Default

U.S. senators struck a deal Tuesday to create a one-time law allowing Democrats to lift the nation’s borrowing authority and avoid a credit default without requiring votes from the opposition Republicans. 

The House of Representatives approved the fix in an evening vote. It is expected to be approved by the Senate in the coming days, allowing lawmakers to avert the crisis with a simple 51-vote majority in the upper chamber. 

The Bipartisan Policy Center said last week it expected the United States would no longer be able to meet its debt repayment obligations between December 21 and January 28. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has put the deadline even earlier: next Wednesday. 

“Nobody wants to see the U.S. default on its debts. As Secretary Yellen has warned, a default could eviscerate everything we’ve done to recover from the COVID crisis,” Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the floor of the chamber. 

“We don’t want to see that, I don’t believe we will see that, and I continue to thank all my colleagues for cooperating in good faith to preserve the full faith and credit of the United States,” he said. 

America spends more money than it collects through taxation so it borrows money via the issuing of government bonds, seen as among the world’s most reliable investments. 

Around 80 years ago lawmakers introduced a limit on how much federal debt could be accrued. 

The ceiling has been lifted dozens of times to allow the government to meet its spending commitments, usually without drama and with the support of both parties, and stands around $29 trillion. 

Democratic leaders have spent weeks underlining the havoc that a default would have wrought, including the loss of an estimated 6 million jobs and $15 trillion in household wealth, as well as increased costs for mortgages and other borrowing. 

But Republicans in both chambers of Congress initially objected to helping raise the limit, saying they refused to support what they called President Joe Biden’s reckless taxing and spending plans. 

In reality, both parties see raising the borrowing cap as politically toxic, and Republicans hope to make it an issue in the 2022 midterm election campaign. 

Under the complex, multistep compromise proposed Tuesday, the Republicans can essentially stand on the sidelines, offering help to create the new law but offering no votes to increase the limit.

Congress would have to specify the exact dollar amount of a new borrowing cap — likely upwards of $30 trillion.

After the Senate has followed the House in approving the new process, both chambers are expected to pass the extension by simple majority votes ahead of the deadline. 

Crucially, Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Republicans in the Senate, is backing the process. 

“I think this is in the best interest of the country, by avoiding default,” he told reporters when questioned about the convoluted approach. 

 
…

New York City Poised to Give Voting Rights to Noncitizens

New York City, long a beacon for immigrants, is on the cusp of becoming the largest place in the country to give noncitizens the right to vote in local elections. 

Legally documented, voting-age noncitizens comprise nearly one in nine of the city’s 7 million voting-age inhabitants. Under a bill nearing approval, some 800,000 noncitizens would be allowed to cast ballots in elections to pick the mayor, City Council members and other municipal officeholders. 

Noncitizens still wouldn’t be able to vote for president or members of Congress in federal races, or in the state elections that pick the governor, judges and legislators. 

Little stands in the way of the effort becoming law. The measure has broad support within the City Council, which is expected to ratify the proposal Thursday. Mayor Bill de Blasio has raised concerns about the wisdom and legality of the legislation but said he won’t veto it. 

The law would give an electoral voice to the many New Yorkers who love the city and have made it their permanent home but can’t easily become U.S. citizens or would rather remain citizens of their home nations for various reasons. 

It would also cover “Dreamers” like Eva Santos, 32, who was brought to the U.S. by her parents at age 11 as an unauthorized immigrant but wasn’t able to vote like her friends or go to college when she turned 18. 

“It was really hard for me to see how my other friends were able to make decisions for their future, and I couldn’t,” said Santos, now a community organizer. 

More than a dozen communities across the United States currently allow noncitizens to vote, including 11 towns in Maryland and two in Vermont. 

San Francisco, through a ballot initiative ratified by voters in 2016, began allowing noncitizens to vote in school board elections — which was also true in New York City until it abolished its boards in 2002 and gave control of schools to the mayor. 

The move in Democrat-controlled New York City is a counterpoint to restrictions being enacted in some states, where Republicans have espoused unsupported claims of rampant fraud by noncitizens in federal elections. 

Last year, voters in Alabama, Colorado and Florida ratified measures specifying that only U.S. citizens can vote, joining Arizona and North Dakota in adopting rules that would preempt any attempts to pass laws like the one being considered in New York City. 

“I think that there’s people in our society that go to sleep with so much fear of immigrants that they try to make an argument to disqualify their right to elect their local leaders,” said New York City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, who is originally from the Dominican Republic and was unable to vote until he became a naturalized U.S. citizen. 

“This is about whether we are living in New York City, we are contributing to New York City and paying taxes in New York City,” said Rodriguez, a Democrat. 

De Blasio, though, has questioned whether the measure would survive a legal challenge. Federal law allows states and local governments to decide who can vote in their elections, but some, including the mayor, have raised concerns about whether state lawmakers must first act to grant the city the authority to extend voting rights to noncitizens. 

“Look, there’s obviously an argument: We want people involved, we want to hear people’s voices,” de Blasio recently said on the television news program “Inside City Hall.” 

“I still have a concern about it. Citizenship has an extraordinary value. People work so hard for it,” he said. “We need people in every good way to want to be citizens.” 

The minority leader of the City Council, Joseph Borelli, a Republican from Staten Island, said the measure will undoubtedly end up in court. 

“It devalues citizenship, and citizenship is the standard by which the state constitution issues or allows for suffrage in New York state elections at all levels,” Borelli said. 

The proposal would allow noncitizens who have been lawful permanent residents of the city for at least 30 days, as well as those authorized to work in the U.S., including so-called “Dreamers,” to help select the city’s mayor, city council members, borough presidents, comptroller and public advocate. 

The law would direct the Board of Elections to draw up an implementation plan by July, including voter registration rules and provisions that would create separate ballots for municipal races to prevent noncitizens from casting ballots in federal and state contests. Noncitizens wouldn’t be allowed to vote until elections in 2023. 

Giving nonresidents the right to vote could empower them to become a political force that can’t be easily ignored, said Anu Joshi, the vice president of policy of the New York Immigration Coalition. 

New York City, with more than 3 million foreign-born residents, would be a fitting place to anchor a national movement to expand immigrant voting rights, said Ron Hayduk, now a professor of political science at San Francisco State University who spent years in New York steeped in the movement for noncitizen voting rights. 

“New York, the home of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, prides itself on being the place of immigration,” he noted. “So there’s this question of what’s the place of immigrants in our city — are they really New Yorkers, are they full New Yorkers in the sense of qualifying and deserving the power of the vote and to shape its political future?” 

The answer should be a “resounding yes,” he said. 

 
…

Attorney Says Meadows Won’t Cooperate with Jan. 6 Panel

In an abrupt reversal, an attorney for former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said his client will not cooperate with a House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, citing a breakdown in negotiations with the panel.  

Attorney George Terwilliger said in a letter Tuesday that a deposition would be “untenable” because the Jan. 6 panel “has no intention of respecting boundaries” concerning questions that former President Donald Trump has claimed are off-limits because of executive privilege. Terwilliger also said that he learned over the weekend that the committee had issued a subpoena to a third-party communications provider that he said would include “intensely personal” information.  

Terwilliger said in a statement last week that he was continuing to work with the committee and its staff on a potential accommodation that would not require Meadows to waive the executive privileges claimed by Trump or “forfeit the long-standing position that senior White House aides cannot be compelled to testify” before Congress.  

“We appreciate the Select Committee’s openness to receiving voluntary responses on non-privileged topics,” he said then.  

A spokesperson for the panel did not have immediate comment on Terwilliger’s letter. The committee’s chairman, Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, said last week that Meadows had been engaging with the panel through his attorney, producing records and agreeing to appear for an initial deposition.  

Thompson said the committee would “continue to assess his degree of compliance with our subpoena after the deposition.” He has said that any witnesses who don’t comply will be held in contempt of Congress.

In halting cooperation, Terwilliger also cited comments from Thompson that he said unfairly cast aspersions on witnesses who invoke their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. A separate witness, former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, has said he will invoke those Fifth Amendment rights.  

“As a result of careful and deliberate consideration of these factors, we now must decline the opportunity to appear voluntarily for a deposition,” Terwilliger wrote in the letter.

The reversal comes as Meadows has been receiving attention for a new book, released Tuesday, which revealed that Trump received a positive COVID-19 test before a presidential debate and was far sicker than the White House revealed at the time.

Trump — who told his supporters to “fight like hell” before hundreds of his supporters broke into the Capitol and stopped the presidential electoral count — has attempted to hinder much of the committee’s work, including in an ongoing court case, by arguing that Congress cannot obtain information about his private White House conversations.
…

US Sues Texas Over Legislative Redistricting

The U.S. Justice Department sued the southwestern state of Texas on Monday, alleging that Republican state lawmakers discriminated against Latinos and other minorities by redrawing new congressional and state legislative districts to increase the voting power of white Texans. 

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the lawsuit, the Justice Department’s first major legal action since states throughout the country started reshaping their voting districts after the conclusion of the 2020 census. 

Texas, the second-biggest U.S. state, with nearly 30 million people, grew dramatically since the last census in 2010, adding nearly 4 million residents. As a result, the state gained two more seats in the 435-member U.S. House of Representatives. 

Most of that population growth was among minorities; white Texans accounted for about 5% of the growth. 

But the Justice Department alleged in the lawsuit that the Republican lawmakers had redrawn the congressional boundaries in a way that would disadvantage minority voters, who generally have voted for Democrats.

The U.S. Supreme Court has not blocked politically partisan drawing of legislative districts, but shaping them in a way that unfairly puts racial and ethnic minorities at a disadvantage is illegal. 

“This is not the first time Texas has acted to minimize the voting rights of its minority citizens,” the lawsuit contended. “Decade after decade, Texas has enacted redistricting plans that violate the Voting Rights Act.” 

On Twitter, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called the lawsuit “absurd.” 

“I am confident that our legislature’s redistricting decisions will be proven lawful, and this preposterous attempt to sway democracy will fail,” he wrote. 

The lawsuit is the second time in a little over a month that the Justice Department has sued Texas in a voting-related case. The federal government earlier claimed that a new state law would disenfranchise eligible voters, including older Americans and people with disabilities, by banning 24-hour and drive-thru voting. 

 
…

Body of Late Senator Bob Dole to Lie in State at Capitol

Senator Bob Dole’s body will lie in state in the U.S. Capitol on Thursday as congressional leaders honor the former Republican presidential candidate and World War II veteran who served in Congress for 36 years. 

Dole died Sunday at the age of 98. He was a leader known for his caustic wit, which he often turned on himself but didn’t hesitate to turn on others, too. He shaped tax and foreign policy and worked vigorously to help the disabled, enshrining protections against discrimination in employment, education and public services in the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

The U.S. Capitol has been considered the most suitable place for the nation to pay final tribute to its most eminent citizens by having their remains lie in state. 

Dole, from Kansas, won the Republican nomination in 1996 but was defeated when President Bill Clinton won a second term. He was also 1976 GOP vice presidential candidate on the losing ticket with President Gerald Ford. 

Throughout his political career, he carried the mark of war. Charging a German position in northern Italy in 1945, Dole was hit by a shell fragment that crushed two vertebrae and paralyzed his arms and legs. The young Army platoon leader spent three years recovering in a hospital and never regained use of his right hand. 

 
…

Trump-Backed Perdue Challenges Kemp in Georgia Republican Primary

Former U.S. Sen. David Perdue will challenge Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp for governor, he announced Monday, setting up a bitter 2022 Republican primary fight while Democrat Stacey Abrams is likely to await the winner.

Perdue had been flirting with the bid for months, encouraged publicly by former President Donald Trump. The 71-year-old former senator said he was running to stop Abrams from becoming governor and claimed Kemp would lose to her in November because some hard-core Trump Republicans oppose Kemp.

“To fight back, we simply have to be united,” Perdue said. “Look, I like Brian. This isn’t personal. It’s simple: He has failed all of us and cannot win in November.” 

Kemp is promising an all-out brawl as he tries to win a second term, with Kemp spokesperson Cody Hall saying Perdue is running only to “soothe his own bruised ego” over losing his Senate seat.

“The man who lost Republicans the United States Senate and brought the last year of skyrocketing inflation, open borders, runaway government spending, and woke cancel culture upon the American people now wants to lose the Georgia governor’s office to the national face of the radical left movement,” Hall said.

Perdue, though, said Kemp was to blame for January Senate losses by Perdue and to Democrat Jon Ossoff and by Republican Kelly Loeffler to Democrat Raphael Warnock.

“Kemp caved before the election and the country is paying the price today,” Perdue said.

Perdue was supporting Kemp as recently as June, introducing him at the state Republican Party convention. Kemp said Thursday that he couldn’t control whether Perdue would be “a man of his word.”

Perdue’s entry could drag Kemp to the right as he vies for primary support. Kemp had hoped to use Abrams’ Wednesday entry to the governor’s race to rally Republicans to his side, but Trump issued a statement after Abrams announced claiming that his strongest supporters would never vote for Kemp. Trump has repeatedly targeted Kemp, saying Kemp didn’t do enough to overturn President Joe Biden’s electoral victory in Georgia.

“The MAGA base will just not vote for him after what he did with respect to election integrity and two horribly run elections, for President and then two Senate seats,” Trump said. “But some good Republican will run, and some good Republican will get my endorsement, and some good Republican will WIN!”

Trump’s political action committee commissioned a poll claiming that with Trump’s endorsement, Perdue could beat Kemp in a Republican primary. The former president added fuel to that fire at a Sept. 25 rally in Perry, Georgia, when he pointed out Perdue among a clutch of party leaders.

“Are you running for governor, David?” Trump asked. “Did I hear he’s running?”

Born in Macon, Perdue was a business consultant and then an executive at companies shifting clothing production to Asia. He became CEO of Reebok, textile firm PillowTex and discount retailer Dollar General. The cousin of former governor and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, David Perdue was elected to the Senate in 2014, beating Democrat Michelle Nunn.

Aside from Trump’s displeasure with Kemp, it’s unclear what Perdue’s platform will be. In an interview last month with Gainesville radio station WDUN-AM, he talked about education as a possible issue, and contrasted Trump economy to Biden’s “maniacal spending.” But he seemed to circle back to hard feelings over Trump’s electoral loss, saying Biden won in a “questioned election.”

“We have a divided party in Georgia right now. Forget about me, it’s divided,” Perdue said. “And a lot of people feel like that the people in power haven’t fought for them, and caved in to a lot of things back in 2020 that didn’t have to be done.”

Perdue joins a slate of Trump-backed candidates in Georgia Republican primaries, including Herschel Walker running against Warnock, state Sen. Burt Jones running for lieutenant governor and Rep. Jody Hice running for secretary of state.

Other Republicans have already been trying to challenge Kemp, including former Democrat Vernon Jones and GOP activist Kandiss Taylor. Jones, who had courted Trump’s endorsement, called Kemp and Perdue “two peas in a pod” on Sunday.

Abrams, whose narrow loss to Kemp in 2018 vaulted her to national fame as a voting rights activist and party leader, has no declared opponents on the Democratic side.

“While David Perdue and Brian Kemp fight each other, Stacey Abrams will be fighting for the people of Georgia,” Abrams top aid Lauren Groh-Wargo wrote on Twitter.

Some Republicans fear a bitter Perdue-Kemp primary will enable Abrams to win. State Sen. Chuck Hufstetler of Rome tweeted Perdue’s entry is “Good news for Stacey Abrams. Bad news for Republicans.”

Emory University political science professor Andra Gillespie said that it’s unclear if a Kemp-Perdue primary would be “demobilizing or demoralizing in a general election” for Republican voters, with some staying home. The national environment in 2022 appears likely to be strong for the GOP, and Gillespie said “Republican voters are going to go vote for a Republican candidate, and they’ll put whatever differences they have aside to support that Republican candidate.”
…

US Senate Plans Vote on Safety Net Legislation Before Christmas

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer laid out a tight timetable Monday for his Democratic colleagues to vote on and approve a roughly $2 trillion package to revamp U.S. health care, education, climate, immigration and tax laws before Christmas.

The House of Representatives has already narrowly approved a version of the measure, but Senate Democrats are planning to make some changes. If they reach agreement, Democrats then will need all 50 of their votes in the 100-member chamber, plus the tiebreaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris, to pass the legislation because the 50-member Republican caucus uniformly opposes it.

If the package, proposed by President Joe Biden as his Build Back Better plan, clears the Senate with changes, the House would need to vote again on it before sending it to Biden for his signature.

Schumer warned his Democratic colleagues that for the measure to be approved by the Senate before the Christmas holiday on December 25, along with other must-pass legislation, they will have to work “more long days and nights and potentially weekends.”

If approved, the $2 trillion proposal would greatly expand the role of the national government in the lives of Americans by perhaps the most in five decades.

The measure would expand health care insurance benefits for older Americans, add new money to fight climate change, establish universal prekindergarten instruction and offer new assistance for low-income families, all financed through higher taxes for wealthy Americans and corporations.

But two centrist Democratic lawmakers, Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, have balked at some of the House-passed provisions, forcing Democratic leaders to engage in protracted negotiations with them to win an agreement.

Manchin has said the additional government spending could add to higher costs for consumers, fueling the biggest surge in U.S. inflation in three decades. Biden has contended that with the additional tax revenue and tighter tax collection measures to catch tax cheaters, the measure will be fully paid for.
…

Reactions to Bob Dole’s Death From US Dignitaries, Veterans

U.S. dignitaries and military veterans are mourning former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, a World War II veteran and former Republican presidential candidate who served in Congress for 36 years. Dole, who had stage 4 lung cancer, died Sunday at age 98, according to his wife, Elizabeth Dole.

“Bob was an American statesman like few in our history. A war hero and among the greatest of the Greatest Generation. And to me, he was also a friend whom I could look to for trusted guidance, or a humorous line at just the right moment to settle frayed nerves. I will miss my friend. But I am grateful for the times we shared, and for the friendship Jill and I and our family have built with Liddy and the entire Dole family. … He had an unerring sense of integrity and honor. May God bless him, and may our nation draw upon his legacy of decency, dignity, good humor, and patriotism for all time.” — President Joe Biden, who served with Dole in the Senate.

“Laura and I are saddened by the passing of a great patriot, Senator Bob Dole. This good man represented the finest of American values. He defended them in uniform during World War II. He advanced them in the United States Senate. And he lived them out as a father, husband, and friend. Our entire family benefitted from that friendship, including my father. I will always remember Bob’s salute to my late dad at the Capitol, and now we Bushes salute Bob and give thanks for his life of principled service.” — Former President George W. Bush, speaking of Dole’s tribute to former President George H.W. Bush.

“Bob Dole was an American war hero and true patriot for our Nation. He served the Great State of Kansas with honor and the Republican Party was made stronger by his service. Our Nation mourns his passing, and our prayers are with Elizabeth and his wonderful family.” — Former President Donald Trump.

“Senator Bob Dole was a war hero, a political leader, and a statesman — with a career and demeanor harkening back to a day when members of the Greatest Generation abided by a certain code, putting country over party. Our thoughts are with Elizabeth and the Dole family.” — Former President Barack Obama.

“Bob Dole dedicated his entire life to serving the American people, from his heroism in World War II to the 35 years he spent in Congress. After all he gave in the war, he didn’t have to give more. But he did. His example should inspire people today and for generations to come.” — Former President Bill Clinton.

“Whatever their politics, anyone who saw Bob Dole in action had to admire his character and his profound patriotism. Those of us who were lucky to know Bob well ourselves admired him even more. A bright light of patriotic good cheer burned all the way from Bob’s teenage combat heroics through his whole career in Washington through the years since. It still shone brightly, undimmed, to his last days. Bob Dole lived the kind of full, rich, and deeply honorable American life that will be impossible for any tribute today to fully capture.” — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican-Kentucky.

“America has lost an iconic statesman and tireless veterans advocate. Bob Dole distinguished himself in combat long before becoming one of the most respected voices in Congress. His leadership and determination led to the construction and dedication of the National World War II Memorial. America is a better country as a result of this great patriot’s service. The American Legion was proud to present Sen. Dole with our organization’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Medal in 1997. Our condolences to his wife, Elizabeth, his family and many friends.” — American Legion National Commander Paul E. Dillard.

“Bob Dole was a giant of the Senate. I remember the large number of Republican and Democratic Senators gathering on the Floor to praise him when he stepped down from the Senate. Traveling with him, working with him and writing legislation with him are among my fondest memories of the Senate.” — Sen. Patrick Leahy, Democrat-Vermont, the longest-serving sitting senator.

“Senator Bob Dole will be remembered as a true American hero and an exemplary statesman — a man who chose what was right over what was convenient. Whether it was on the battlefield, in the halls of Congress, or in his everyday life, Senator Dole’s passion and dedication to his fellow Kansan and to his country was a steady reminder that a single person can make a difference and change the world. … On the floor of the United States Senate, I use Senator Dole’s desk, and I am regularly reminded of his tireless commitment to Kansas values while being, first and foremost, a statesman who treated others with respect and kindness.” — Sen. Jerry Moran, Republican-Kansas.

“Over the last several years, I was fortunate to get to spend several Saturdays a year with Senator Dole. He made it his mission to greet fellow World War II veterans in Washington, D.C., when they came to visit the World War II Memorial, a memorial that Senator Dole helped make a reality. When Rhode Island veterans would come to Washington on Honor Flights, one of their true highlights was seeing Senator Dole. He was there to confer respect and honor upon others, and it was truly a privilege to be there at his side and see veterans and caregivers alike light up and connect with him. Senator Dole was both a great listener and storyteller and he always made sure our veterans knew: This is their memorial. It belongs to them.” — Sen. Jack Reed, Democrat, Rhode Island., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“When I was at recovering at Walter Reed, Bob Dole was a patient too. He was 81 years old then, and he had his own private room, but he always did his rehab with the rest of us — cracking jokes and sharing stories about his Army days. I’ll always remember how that proud Veteran from an earlier generation took the time — during some of the most difficult moments of my life — to interact with us younger Soldiers, helping us recover from both our physical and psychological wounds. … He was a true statesman and model of the Greatest Generation who never failed to answer the call to serve.” — Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Democrat-Illinois., who lost both her legs while serving in Iraq.

“Senator Dole was many things — a war hero, a father, a husband, a public servant; and to Kansans, a man who embodied everything good and decent about Kansas and about America. … He was a larger-than-life presence in our nation’s politics and demonstrated a decency, a humility, and a civility that should serve as a model for those of us in public life.” — Gov. Laura Kelly, Democrat-Kansas.

“As a public servant, private citizen, and true patriot, Senator Bob Dole showed total dedication to the American experiment and its deepest ideals, answering liberty’s call at every turn. A combat hero, champion for those with disabilities, congressional leader from Kansas, and presidential candidate, Dole served this nation for 79 years. He lived a life of heroism and humor, courage and consequence, leadership and legacy that every American should strive for.” — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Republican-California.

“His record as the second-longest serving Republican Leader in the history of the Senate demonstrates the respect he earned from his side of the aisle. But it was his willingness – indeed, his commitment – to reach across the aisle that produced such landmark achievements as saving Social Security, strengthening America’s hunger and nutrition programs, and reforming the tax code to better reward hard work and investment. Senator Dole’s bipartisan spirit is a vital part of his enduring legacy of leadership.” — Sen. Susan Collins, Republican, Maine.

“Bob Dole was a soldier, a legislator, & a statesman. He always stood for what was just & right. I was honored to award him the Congressional Gold Medal & I’ll always be grateful for his service to our country.” — Former House Speaker Paul Ryan, Republican-Wisconsin.
…

Bob Dole, Longtime US Republican Figure, Dies at 98

Bob Dole, a severely wounded U.S. soldier left for dead on a World War II battlefield and who later became a fixture for decades on the American political scene, died Sunday at the age of 98.

Dole was the plain-spoken son of the Midwestern prairie state of Kansas, which he represented in the U.S. Senate for 27 years, rising to be the chamber’s Republican majority leader.

Dole was the party’s nominee for vice president in 1976 and two decades later its presidential candidate in a losing effort as Democrat Bill Clinton won re-election.

Dole’s death was announced by the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, his wife’s organization honoring the country’s military caregivers. It said he died in his sleep. Dole had announced almost a year ago that he had advanced lung cancer and was beginning treatment.

Tributes came from across the political spectrum.

U.S. President Joe Biden issued a statement Sunday saying, “Bob was an American statesman like few in our history. A war hero and among the greatest of the Greatest Generation. And to me, he was also a friend whom I could look to for trusted guidance, or a humorous line at just the right moment to settle frayed nerves.”

Biden also said Dole “had an unerring sense of integrity and honor.”

Separately, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ordered that flags at the U.S. Capitol be flown at half-staff as a tribute to Dole, according to her deputy chief of staff, Drew Hammill.  

Utah Republican Senator Mitt Romney said on Twitter, “When I think of the greatest generation, I think of Senator Bob Dole — a man who dedicated his life to serving our country.”  

Former Republican President George W. Bush said, “This good man represented the finest of American values. He defended them in uniform during World War II. He advanced them in the United States Senate. And he lived them out as a father, husband, and friend.”

Bush’s successor, Democratic President Barack Obama, tweeted, “Senator Bob Dole was a war hero, a political leader, and a statesman—with a career and demeanor harkening back to a day when members of the Greatest Generation abided by a certain code, putting country over party. Our thoughts are with Elizabeth and the Dole family.”

In his last years, Dole came to personify the bravery of the World War II generation of military veterans. He raised money for the World War II memorial on the National Mall in Washington and often visited the site on weekends to greet the last of the American World War II veterans visiting the site.

Dole’s right hand was rendered useless by a battlefield injury under Nazi gunfire in Italy. He spent years greeting voters and Washington officialdom with his left while he clutched a pen tucked in his right hand to discourage people from a normal handshake.

In his autobiography, “One Soldier’s Story,” Dole wrote that in 1945, “As the mortar round, exploding shell, or machine gun blast — whatever it was, I’ll never know —ripped into my body, I recoiled, lifted off the ground a bit, twisted in the air, and fell face down in the dirt.”

“For a long moment I didn’t know if I was dead or alive. I sensed the dirt in my mouth more than I tasted it. I wanted to get up, to lift my face off the ground, to spit the dirt and blood out of my mouth, but I couldn’t move,” he wrote.

“I lay face down in the dirt, unable to feel my arms. Then the horror hit me — I can’t feel anything below my neck! I didn’t know it at the time, but whatever it was that hit me had ripped apart my shoulder, breaking my collarbone and my right arm, smashing down into my vertebrae, and damaging my spinal cord,” Dole recounted.

In political life, Dole was often at odds with more conservative Republicans, but for more than three decades was among the party’s top officials. He was viewed in Washington as a political pragmatist.  

Dole opposed many of the Great Society programs of President Lyndon Johnson, but supported the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

In the early 1970s, Dole was the party’s national chairman, was the vice presidential running mate to President Gerald Ford in 1976 in his losing bid for a full elected term and held leadership roles in the Senate.  

In the 1996 election, President Clinton handily won re-election, capturing 31 states to 19 for Dole.
…

What is the US National Archives?

When John Carlin started his job at the head of the U.S. National Archives back in June of 1995, he was shocked to learn that government emails were not being preserved. 

“They, at that time, did not consider email as a record, and I said, ‘Folks, I may not be an archivist, but those are records,’” says Carlin, who served as archivist for a decade. “By September I was able to go through the process of getting that changed. More and more records now are coming in the archives in the electronic form.” 

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the official records keeper of the United States government. Among the records in its possession are presidential papers and materials, which former president Donald Trump is trying to keep out of the hands of the congressional committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Presidential libraries are part of the National Archives and White House records are kept forever. 

“Authentic history is not possible without records that have been kept and preserved so their authenticity is backed up 100 percent,” Carlin says. “Accountability goes forward for a long time and people who work for the White House including the president, him or herself, can and should be held accountable. And, without those records, that cannot be done.

Overall, only 1%-3% of all of the materials created by the U.S. government during the course of conducting its business are considered important enough, for legal or historical reasons, to preserve for all time.

“The National Archives holds over 15 billion pages of textual records, over 18 million maps, charts and architectural drawings, more than 43 million images, more than 365,000 reels of film and over 110,000 videotapes, to say nothing of the billions of electronic records,” says Meghan Ryan Guthorn, acting deputy chief operating officer of the agency. “We’re focused on openness, cultivating public participation, and strengthening our nation’s democracy through public access to high-value government records. I kind of like to think of the agency like the nation’s filing cabinet.”

NARA keeps its holdings in 44 locations across the country, including the iconic National Archives building in Washington. For Carlin, the former archivist, some of the most memorable materials include those related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. 

 “I mean, literally, they tore apart the room that JFK died in from the assassination on that day in Dallas. Everything was kept,” Carlin says. “Everything in the room was kept.”

President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the National Archives in 1934, but the agency has items that date back to before the nation’s founding. Well-known documents like the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution are in the National Archives, but so are naturalization records that can verify the U.S. citizenship of immigrants, and military records of everyday citizens. 

“We do not throw military personnel records away. And we don’t set a date for very practical reasons,” Carlin says. “Anybody that leaves the military, in order to be eligible for veteran benefits, has to prove they left honorably and that requires a record. And that record is kept in our archives in St. Louis. And it has to be kept preserved and made accessible.” 

The public has access to many of these records. However, some archival materials are withheld from the public for a variety of reasons, including national security concerns, donor wishes, court orders and other statutory or regulatory provisions. The National Archives encourages public participation. 

“Maintaining the records and, just as importantly, if not more importantly, providing public access to them, can help illuminate the history of a nation,” says Ryan Guthorn. “The preservation of records documents the activities of a country’s government and citizens over time. It’s a really important way to track how a country has evolved and how the rights of citizens have been protected and managed by the government.”

Presidential historian Shannon Bow O’Brien says access to original documents is critical because while people’s memories may differ, the actual records tell the true story. 

“These tell us what they were doing, when they were doing it, how they were doing it, what they said,” says O’Brien, a professor in the government department at The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts. “If you look at the documents, or you look at the paper trails that are in the archives, you can see the decision-making processes, you can see why things develop the way they developed.” 

The public can explore National Archive holdings via an online catalog and expert archivists are on hand to answer questions online.

Today, Carlin worries the agency continues to lack sufficient funding to properly do its job. 

“If you don’t have enough staff upfront to work with the agency, particularly electronic records, there’s going to be mistakes and records lost along the way that should have gone to the National Archives,” Carlin says. 

During his decade-long tenure as archivist, Carlin pursued federal and private funds to renovate the National Archives building in Washington, and added public exhibits as part of an effort to enrich the overall visitor experience. 

“The very fundamentals of our whole system are right there,” Carlin says, referring to the Charters of Freedom — the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. “It’s incredibly important and valuable that citizens take advantage of that opportunity to go there and spend a couple hours and really learn a lot about what has made this country great and what has to be supported going forward for it to stay great.”
…

White House Bedecked for Christmas

“Gifts from the heart” is the theme of Jill Biden’s first Christmas as first lady, and she has filled the historic home with tributes to those who have inspired her over the past year: front-line workers who soldiered through the pandemic, service members who gave their lives, and members of her family and those of previous presidents.

This year’s official Christmas tree is a 5.5-meter-tall Fraser fir covered with white doves and ribbons bearing the names of U.S. states and territories.

“For all of our differences, we are united by what really matters, like points on a star,” she said after the decorations were unveiled this week. “We come together at the heart. That is what I wanted to reflect in our White House this year. In each room, we tell a story of gifts from the heart in the East Wing. We see the gift of service with shooting stars representing the front-line workers who brought light to our lives in the darkest days of this pandemic.” 

This year’s decorations echo the theme of the last Christmas of previous first lady Melania Trump. Her final Christmas decorations as first lady paid tribute to first responders, such as police and health care workers, who were also featured in this year’s decorations.

But can you eat it?

As usual, the White House pastry team this year spent several weeks putting together a hefty gingerbread display.

This year, the 226-kilogram construction features the White House but also includes a school, police, fire and gas stations, a hospital, a post office, a grocery store and a warehouse.

Executive pastry chef Susan Morrison told VOA the display took 55 sheets of gingerbread; 55 kilograms of pastillage, a type of sugar-paste icing; another 15 kilograms of royal icing; and 13 kilograms of chocolate. Plus a large quantity of something called “gum paste,” which is a sugar dough used for decor. 

So VOA posed the obvious question, “I promise I’m not going to do this, but could you eat all of this?” 

“You could, technically, except it’s meant for display,” Morrison said with a laugh. “So the icing on the outside, when it is exposed to air, becomes very firm like concrete.” 

She laughed. VOA did not touch or attempt to eat the gingerbread display.

Love it or hate it, ‘we love you’ 

Christmas trees have been a White House fixture for more than a century, but it was first lady Jacqueline Kennedy who started decorating by theme, choosing “The Nutcracker Suite” for the first project.

The first ladies’ efforts haven’t always been warmly received, and this year’s theme was no exception, with some Americans taking to Twitter to pick apart the first lady’s style choices. Critics howled over former first lady Melania Trump’s 2018 decorations, which included red Christmas trees, with some calling them “more frightening than festive.”

But first lady Biden said that while the world may still be scary, the holidays shouldn’t be.

“There are still challenges ahead for our nation,” she said, speaking to the 100-plus volunteers festooned with the White House’s 41 Christmas trees with 80,000 lights, 1,800 meters of ribbon and more than 10,000 ornaments.

“There will be moments when the answers seem unclear. But we have a guiding light as well. Not a star in the sky, but a divine truth within us, the values that make us who we are, the threads that unite us all, the gifts from the heart. No matter how dark the night when we turn toward that light, we will never be lost. So thank you for helping us share those gifts from the heart. And happy holidays and Merry Christmas. From our family to all of yours:We love you.” 

 
…

In Photos: White House Bedecked for Christmas

First lady’s theme is ‘gifts from the heart’ 

 
…

House Votes to Avert Shutdown, but Quick Senate OK in Doubt

The House passed a bill Thursday that funds the government through February 18 and avoids a short-term shutdown after midnight Friday, but quick Senate approval was in doubt because of a fight over President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

An agreement among congressional leaders announced earlier in the day would keep the government running for 11 more weeks, generally at current spending levels while adding $7 billion to aid Afghanistan evacuees. 

The Democratic-led House passed the measure by a 221-212 vote. The Republican leadership urged members to vote no; the lone GOP vote for the bill came from Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger. 

Lawmakers bemoaned the short-term fix and blamed the opposing party for the lack of progress on this year’s spending bills. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said the measure would, however, allow for negotiations on a package covering the remainder of the budget year through September. 

“Make no mistake, a vote against this continuing resolution is a vote to shut government down,” DeLauro said during the House debate. 

Before the House acted, Biden said he had spoken with Senate leaders and he played down fears of a shutdown. 

“There is a plan in place unless somebody decides to be totally erratic, and I don’t think that will happen,” Biden said. 

Conservative Republicans opposed to Biden’s vaccine rules want Congress to take a hard stand against the mandated shots for workers at larger businesses, even if that means shutting down federal offices over the weekend.

It was just the latest instance of the brinkmanship around government funding that has triggered several costly shutdowns and partial closures over the past two decades. The longest shutdown in history happened under President Donald Trump — 35 days stretching into January 2019, when Democrats refused to approve money for his U.S-Mexico border wall. Both parties agree the stoppages are irresponsible, yet few deadlines pass without a late scramble to avoid them. 

Democrats were able to use their majority to advance the spending bill. They have a more difficult task in the 50-50 Senate, where objections by just one senator can slow a final vote past Friday’s midnight deadline. That could mean a short-term shutdown into the weekend.

 
…

Abrams to Run Again for Georgia Governorship

Stacey Abrams, the Georgia Democrat and leading voting rights activist, said Wednesday that she would launch another campaign to become the nation’s first Black female governor.

If she receives her party’s nomination, Abrams could again face off against Republican Brian Kemp, the current governor. Their 2018 contest was one of the most narrowly decided races for governor that year and was dominated by allegations of voter suppression, which Kemp denied. 

Yet Abrams’ strong showing convinced national Democrats that Georgia should no longer be written off as a GOP stronghold. Her performance and subsequent organization persuaded Joe Biden to invest heavily in the state in 2020, and he became the first Democratic presidential candidate to capture it since 1992. The party later won a narrow Senate majority after victories in two special elections in the state. 

The 2022 governor’s race will test whether those gains were a one-time phenomenon driven by discomfort with then-President Donald Trump or marked the beginning of a more consequential political shift in a rapidly growing and diversifying South.

‘Fight for one Georgia’

In a video announcing her candidacy, Abrams said “opportunity and success in Georgia shouldn’t be determined by background or access to power.” 

Abrams said she would provide “leadership that knows how to do the job, leadership that doesn’t take credit without also taking responsibility, leadership that understands the true pain that folks are feeling and has real plans. That’s the job of governor, to fight for one Georgia, our Georgia.” 

‘Campaign for power’

Kemp said in a statement that Abrams was on a “never-ending campaign for power” in an attempt to become president, linking her to what he said was the “failed Biden agenda.” 

“Her far-left agenda of open borders, gun confiscation, high taxes and anti-law enforcement policies don’t reflect who we are as Georgians,” Kemp said. 

In a state where Democrats often sought — and failed — to win power by relying on Black voters and appealing to older white moderates, Abrams ran in 2018 as an unapologetic progressive. The 47-year-old Abrams embraced expanding Medicaid access, something a series of Republican governors have refused to do, and she supported abortion rights. 

Georgia remains narrowly divided, but in abandoning nods at centrism, Abrams insists Democrats can attract new voters, including recent transplants to the booming Atlanta area, Black voters who hadn’t participated in previous elections and younger, more liberal white voters.

Although Kemp defeated her by 1.4 percentage points, Abrams won 778,000 more votes than the previous Democrat to run for governor. 

Registering voters

After the election, Abrams started Fair Fight, an organizing group that has raised more than $100 million and built a statewide political operation that registered hundreds of thousands of new voters in Georgia. The state saw record-breaking turnout in the 2020 presidential race and January Senate runoff elections. 

Now, Abrams and Kemp look like they may face a rematch in a new political climate. For one, Kemp faces opposition from Trump and his most loyal GOP supporters for not supporting the former president’s baseless argument that he was cheated out of reelection through massive voter fraud, including in Georgia. Election officials conducted three recounts in the state, each of which affirmed Biden’s victory. 

Trump, who campaigned for Kemp in 2018, is now one of the governor’s most vocal critics, pointedly inviting former U.S. Senator David Perdue to run against Kemp. 

Kemp’s disavowal of problems in Georgia’s election results did not stop him from pushing through restrictive changes to voting laws in response to Trump’s 2020 national defeat. Many Democrats are worried that Georgia’s new law, which gives the GOP-controlled legislature more control over elections officials, will reverse Abrams’ years of fighting voter suppression. Still other Democrats hope the new voting law will invigorate supporters and make them even more determined to go to the polls. 

Abrams has used voting concerns to mobilize Democrats, telling The Associated Press in April that “Republicans are gaming the system because they’re afraid of losing an election.” 

Republicans, meanwhile, have tried to gain an upper hand by using the prospect of an Abrams candidacy to galvanize its voters. Earlier this year, Kemp allies preemptively formed a group called Stop Stacey, aimed specifically at stopping her from winning the governorship in 2022. 
…