(Missouri Independent) – After more than two weeks of private meetings with nearly half the U.S. Senate, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Biden’s pick for the U.S. Supreme Court, will field questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee in highly anticipated public hearings that begin today (Monday). Members of the panel will question Jackson for […]
Tag: Democrats
Judges release new boundaries for Missouri Senate districts
(Missouri Independent) – A panel of Missouri judges tasked with redrawing 34 state Senate districts released a tentative plan Monday, part of a once-in-a-decade process that reconfigures political boundaries following the U.S. Census. The new map, drawn by the Judicial Redistricting Commission after a citizen commission failed to reach consensus, will be formally submitted to […]
Pressure ramps up to halt Trump-era policy that expels migrants at the border
(Missouri Independent) – Senate Democrats and immigration advocates are pushing the White House to end a controversial Trump-era immigration policy enacted during the pandemic that allowed U.S. officials to expel migrants and asylum seekers at the border. “I continue to be disappointed, deeply disappointed, in the administration’s response,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York […]
U.S. Senate Republicans attack Biden on energy costs, regulations after new inflation report
(Missouri Independent) – Nebraska’s Deb Fischer and fellow U.S. Senate Republicans slammed President Joe Biden on Thursday for the sharp rise in consumer prices, calling for policy shifts to increase U.S. energy supply, roll back regulations and curb spending. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said Thursday the consumer price index rose nearly 8% in February over the […]
Congress reaches deal on massive spending package with billions for COVID aid, Ukraine
(Missouri Independent) – Democrats and Republicans forged an agreement early Wednesday on a spending package that will fund the government for the next eight months, as well as provide billions in emergency funding for COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine. The announcement means Congress should be able to avert a government shutdown when a spending […]
White House wants $10 billion for Ukraine aid, $22.5 billion for more COVID help
(Missouri Independent) – The Biden administration is asking Congress to provide $10 billion in assistance to Ukraine and $22.5 billion in COVID-19 funding on a fast timeline — within the next week. White House acting budget director Shalanda Young wrote in a letter to lawmakers that this likely won’t be the last emergency funding request for either […]
Audio: Missouri House near passage of bill to enable more substitute teachers
The Missouri House of Representatives is near final approval on a bill to enable more people to become trained as substitute teachers. This bill provides a four-year certificate for individuals with a background check and 36 college hours or a 20-hour online training, Bill Sponsor Ed Lewis – Republican from Randolph recites how the current […]
Biden in State of the Union urges ‘unmistakable’ support for democracy in Ukraine
(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden used his first State of the Union address on Tuesday night to reassert America as a leading global voice for democracy and condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin for starting an “unprovoked” war in Ukraine. “Throughout our history, we’ve learned this lesson – when dictators do not pay a price […]
Here’s what you will hear Biden talk about in his debut State of the Union address
(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address is set to focus significantly on the economy, with the former member of the U.S. Senate calling on Congress to pass much of the agenda stalled in the so-called Build Back Better bill. During the Tuesday night speech, which begins at 9 p.m. […]
Billions in U.S. aid for Ukraine eyed in struggle against Russian invasion
(Missouri Independent) – Congress is working quickly to determine how much military and humanitarian aid it should send to Ukraine as the war in that country continues to claim lives and send hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing as refugees. Lawmakers are working with the Biden administration to provide billions in funding at the same […]
Video: Biden taps Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as first black woman on the U.S. Supreme Court
(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden formally announced the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday afternoon. “President Biden sought a candidate with exceptional credentials, unimpeachable character, and unwavering dedication to the rule of law,” the White House said in a statement. If confirmed by the Senate, Jackson, 51, […]
Missouri Senate passes $4.6B spending bill with pay raises, federal school funds
(Missouri Independent) – With a deadline looming that could cost Missouri almost $2 billion in federal education aid, the bill to distribute the money passed the state Senate on Wednesday after Democrats slammed a zero-dollar funding line as a partisan attack on Planned Parenthood. The $4.6 billion spending bill approved on a 25-7 vote is the first legislation requiring […]
Coalition of 13 attorneys general call for resignation of Alejandro Mayorkas’ at Department of Homeland Security
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, along with 13 other attorneys general are calling for U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ resignation. In a letter, citing the continued failure to enforce federal law and secure the southwest border, the coalition of 14 state attorneys general is demanding that Secretary Mayorkas leave office as his […]
State judges across the U.S. face growing GOP pushback against rulings in election cases
Missouri Independent) – In mid-December, Texas’ highest criminal court revoked the state attorney general’s ability to use his office to prosecute election-related cases without the request of a district or county attorney. In an 8-1 opinion, the all-Republican court weakened Attorney General Ken Paxton’s power to independently go after perpetrators of voter fraud, a problem he says […]
U.S. House hearing on extremism toward minorities turns into ‘defund the police’ debate
(Missouri Independent) – Leaders of faith organizations and Historically Black Colleges and Universities told members of a U.S. House panel on Thursday how their institutions and places of worship have been roiled by bomb threats and extremism. They talked about the recent waves of bomb threats aimed at HBCUs, a terrifying hostage-taking at a Texas […]
Missouri House refuses to accept Governor Parson’s plan for $15 base pay for state jobs
(Missouri Independent) – The Missouri House approved a $4.6 billion supplemental spending bill Wednesday that would give all state workers a pay raise. But lawmakers refused to go along with Gov. Mike Parson’s plan for a $15 an hour base wage for all state employees, instead offering that salary only to select workers. The bill would also […]
House committee scales back governor’s pay raise plan for Missouri state workers
(Missouri Independent) – Hundreds of custodians, clerks, and cooks working for state agencies would not get the raises Missouri Gov. Mike Parson promised in December under a spending bill approved Monday by the House Budget Committee. On a party-line vote, with Republicans supporting the bill and Democrats opposed, the committee approved a spending bill that sets […]