There is no question that Donald Trump’s rhetoric and inaction before and during the 2021 Capitol riot were reckless—so reckless that they easily justified his second impeachment. But as I have argued before, that does not mean he is guilty of incitement, a criminal charge that requires proof of intent. Does yesterday’s congressional testimony by […]
When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last week, it ostensibly freed states to regulate abortion as they see fit. But that won’t be possible if Congress manages to impose one abortion policy on the entire country or if states succeed in applying their own laws beyond their territory. Both power moves are constitutionally […]
For a sixth time, the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act has been scrapped by the U.S. Senate just before earning a vote. The proposal would grant state-legal marijuana businesses access to federally insured banks. The latest blow to the SAFE Banking Act came Thursday when senators stripped the proposal out of the America […]
Raise your hand if you’re surprised that the trillions of dollars spent on COVID-19 relief gave way to billions of dollars in government waste, fraud, and abuses. I’m not, but based on recent reporting, you might think this type of carelessness with taxpayers’ money has never before happened. Sadly, such waste and fraud are normal […]
In the hours before President Joe Biden held a press conference to officially call on Congress to approve a 90-day federal gas tax holiday, several prominent members of the president’s own party effectively killed the idea. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D–Ore.), chairman of the House Transportation Committee, released a statement Wednesday morning calling the idea “well-intentioned” […]
Last summer, amid clogged ports and skyrocketing international shipping rates, irate U.S. exporters called on Congress to act. The result was the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA), passed with bipartisan support in Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on June 16. The law is ostensibly aimed at reforming U.S. shipping […]
U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday held a hearing on a bipartisan data privacy bill known as the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA). While the broad contours of the bill have earned the support of tech-industry trade groups, some are warning that certain provisions of the bill could wreak a lot of havoc, including frivolous […]
Last week, the House passed a “gun reform” package that’s unlikely to pass the Senate. Then, a bipartisan group of senators struck a deal on modest “gun reform” proposals with better prospects. Whatever your take on the merits of these bills, describing legislative proposals for restrictive measures as “reform” is a jarring use of the […]
It is easy to understand the bipartisan appeal of a policy that promises to reduce gun violence by targeting dangerous individuals instead of imposing broad limits that affect millions of law-abiding Americans. So it’s not surprising that the Senate gun control deal announced on Sunday includes federal grants aimed at encouraging states to pass and […]
January 6 Committee hearings. Many have analogized the currently ongoing January 6 Committee congressional hearings to the 1973 Watergate hearings. There are indeed some obvious parallels, such as the fact that both cases involve investigations into an incumbent president’s efforts to subvert the electoral process. But there is also a key difference. Richard Nixon […]