SCOTUS rejects Republican challenge to House COVID-19 proxy voting rules
The US Supreme Court Monday rejected a challenge by Republicans to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s proxy voting rules introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The rules allow a member of the House to designate another member as a proxy. The proxy may cast the floor votes of members who are unable to physically attend [...]
US Justice Department charges 11 defendants with seditious conspiracy over Capitol riot
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) Thursday charged 11 defendants with seditious conspiracy related to January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. One of the defendants includes Stewart Rhodes, leader of the American far-right anti-government militia group the Oath Keepers. Stewart Rhodes, the founder and leader of the Oath Keepers was arrested in Texas on Thursday morning. Nine [...]
North Carolina man sentenced for threatening House Speaker Pelosi after US Capitol riot
The US District Court for the District of Columbia Tuesday sentenced a North Carolina man to 28 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to a federal felony charge regarding a threat he made against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The trial followed an FBI investigation and prosecution by the US Attorney’s Office for the District [...]
The US House of Representatives approved HR 3755, the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA), Friday, marking the first time the House has passed legislation specifically designed to protect the right to abortion access across the nation. The WHPA makes explicit that access to abortion services is essential to health care and the ability of people [...]
The US Supreme Court on Thursday held that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) exceeded its authority in issuing a moratorium order on evictions in counties with heightened levels of community transmission. The CDC order issued earlier this month was the latest in a series of moratoriums that has been either newly issued or extended [...]
Court packing, an idea that seemed forever discredited for 80 years after President Franklin Roosevelt’s notorious plan went down in flames in 1937, is back on the table. President Biden has appointed a commission to study the possibility of increasing the number of U.S. Supreme Court Justices, a response to calls from various Democrats to [...]
I am a Democrat and a strong admirer and supporter of President Biden. I think his administration and the Democratic leadership in Congress have achieved some striking successes so far. But my deeper loyalty, as a citizen and scholar, is to the constitutional system that has made America a great national experiment for almost 250 [...]
House creates select committee to investigate US Capitol riot
The US House of Representatives passed a resolution on Monday to establish a Select Committee to investigate the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. The House created the 13-member committee by a 222-190 vote, whose members will be selected by the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. However, five of the members will be [...]
Nancy Pelosi calls for 2022 Beijing Olympics boycott over human rights concerns
At a bipartisan congressional hearing on Tuesday, US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi proposed a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing due to human rights concerns. Pelosi called on governments around the world not to honor the Chinese government by allowing their heads of state to go to China for the [...]
Congressional Democrats, led by Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), unveiled legislation Thursday to expand the US Supreme Court The legislation, entitled “Judiciary Act of 2021,” seeks to amend 28 USC §1, which currently says “The Supreme Court of the United States shall consist of a Chief Justice of the United [...]
