Archive for the ‘Republican’ Category

Schiff not backing down in face of Republican bid to expel him from Congress – The Guardian US

California

California representative targeted after the release of the Durham report, which investigated FBI inquiry into Trump and Russia

Adam Schiff said he was not backing down, after a Republican from Florida filed a motion to expel the California representative from Congress.

Referring to the failure the same day of a motion to expel George Santos, the New York fabulist indicted on multiple criminal counts, Schiff said: When Democrats do something for the right reason, [Republicans] use the precedent to do something for the wrong reason.

Ana Paulina Luna moved against Schiff after the release of the Durham report, which Republicans claim shows the investigation of Russian election interference and links between Donald Trump and Moscow was a conspiracy between Democrats and the FBI.

Schiff was House intelligence chair and led Trumps first impeachment, for seeking political dirt in Ukraine. He published a book about the Russia investigation and is now running for Senate.

Luna said Schiff lied to the American people. He used his position on House intelligence to push a lie that cost American taxpayers millions of dollars and abused the trust placed in him as chairman. He is a dishonour to the House of Representatives.

The Durham report makes clear that the Russian collusion was a lie from day one and Schiff knowingly used his position in an attempt to divide our country.

John Durham was appointed to investigate the FBI inquiry, which led to the appointment of the special counsel Robert Mueller. Mueller did not establish collusion between Trump and Moscow but did secure criminal convictions and lay out evidence of potential obstruction of justice.

Schiff said: When Republicans lacked the courage to stand up to the most unethical president in history, they consoled themselves by attacking those who did. Im not backing down.

Speaking to MSNBC, he added: The Durham investigation was an investigation Donald Trump demanded, investigating the investigators.

Durham, he said, spent four years trying to prove this deep state conspiracy theory that Trump kept telling his base was going to be proven The whole thing of course, was a big bust.

And so their response is, Lets go after Adam Schiff. Lets go back to the person they most view as standing up for the rule of law, standing up against Trump, leading the first impeachment, participating in the January 6 committee. Thats what this is about.

Republicans have removed Schiff and another California Democrat, Eric Swalwell, from the intelligence committee.

Only five members of the House have ever been expelled, three for fighting for the Confederacy in the US civil war. The other two were convicted criminals. Expulsions require two-thirds majorities. Lunas resolution is likely to fail.

Schiff said: When Democrats do something for the right reason, [Republicans] use the precedent to do something for the wrong reason.

This serial fabricator George Santos, this person whos just been indicted, whos admitted guilt to a foreign crime, to distract attention from that in the wake of the added disappointment of the Durham report, lets go after Adam Schiff, lets please the Maga crowd and send a message to anyone else that stands up to Donald Trump.

Luna has experienced controversy of her own. In February, the Washington Post reported that she swapped liberal positions and claims to be Middle Eastern, Jewish or eastern European for a Hispanic identity and Trumpist beliefs.

Lunas sharp turn to the right, the paper said, her account of an isolated and impoverished childhood, and her embrace of her Hispanic heritage have come as a surprise to some friends and family who knew her before her ascent to the US House.

Luna called the report racist.

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Schiff not backing down in face of Republican bid to expel him from Congress - The Guardian US

Republican budget-writers approve $125 million to fight PFAS but … – PBS Wisconsin

By Scott Bauer and Todd Richmond, AP

MADISON, Wis. (AP) Wisconsin Republicans voted May 18 to put $125 million aside to combat pollution from so-called forever chemicals, but delayed a decision on how exactly to spend the money.

The influx of money to deal with PFAS pollution comes after Republicans for years have declined to spend as much on water pollution as Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has called for. But the Republican spending in the budget would exceed the $107 million that Evers proposed to spend on additional statewide water testing, investigation, mitigation, new positions and grants.

Allocating money to fight PFAS, while eliminating testing for it and new positions to work on the pollution, doesnt make a bit of damn sense, Democratic Sen. LaTonya Johnson of Milwaukee said.

Republicans heralded the $125 million, calling it a historic investment in the fight against PFAS pollution.

The Legislature is taking this problem very seriously, committee co-chair Sen. Howard Marklein said.

There will be follow-up legislation to spell out how the money will be spent, said Rep. Mark Born, co-chair of the budget-writing Joint Finance Committee.

We need to give ourselves time to find the right solutions, Republican Sen. Eric Wimberger of Green Bay said at a news conference.

Johnson called the funding pretty significant, but said more should have been done sooner.

We dont get to sit here and act like were doing the Lords work when our constituents and their children are being harmed every single day, she said. We should be ashamed that we did not address these issues earlier.

Democrats also faulted Republicans for not specifying what the $125 million should be spent on, saying they feared it would sit unused or at least delay action.

Meanwhile, our communities continue to struggle with this significant problem, Democratic Sen. Kelda Roys of Madison said.

The committee approved the spending with all Republicans in support and Democrats opposed. The committee is working to crate the two-year spending plan, which must next be approved by the Senate and Assembly and then signed by Evers.

The committee is expected to complete its work in June. The budget takes effect in July.

Democrats, including Evers, have called for enacting tough standards about acceptable levels of PFAS in the water, moves that have met resistance from Republicans and the states business community.

PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are man-made chemicals that dont easily break down in nature. Theyre found in a wide range of products, including cookware, firefighting foam and stain-resistant clothing. The chemicals have been linked to health problems including low birth weight, cancer and liver disease, and have been shown to make vaccines less effective.

Municipalities across Wisconsin are struggling with PFAS contamination in their groundwater, including Marinette, Madison, Wausau and the town of Campbell on French Island. The waters of Green Bay also are contaminated. The state Department of Natural Resources has issued an advisory warning people to limit their consumption of fish from the bay of Green Bay as well as from portions of the Peshtigo, Oconto and Menominee rivers due to PFAS contamination.

Republicans have passed bills in recent years restricting the use of firefighting foam that contains PFAS, but have resisted doing anything more substantial amid concerns from industry and wastewater treatment operators that clean-up and filtration efforts and new well construction would cost tens of millions of dollars.

The Evers administration adopted regulations in 2022 establishing limits on PFAS in surface and drinking water. Conservatives on the Department of Natural Resources policy board blocked a proposal to limit the chemicals in well water, however.

Evers administration has since relaunched an attempt to write standards for PFAS in well water. The governors budget lays out a multipronged approach for dealing with the chemicals as well.

Republicans previously stripped language from Evers budget that called for restricting PFAS levels in state waters and air and requiring the DNR to create rules on how to determine financial liability for PFAS contamination.

Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul sued about 20 companies in 2022 alleging their products contaminated the environment with PFAS. Those cases are still pending.

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Republican budget-writers approve $125 million to fight PFAS but ... - PBS Wisconsin

Republican say they’re concerned about environmental impact of … – Michigan Radio

Republican minority leaders in the Michigan House and Senate are expressing another concern about a large battery plant slated for construction near Big Rapids.

Republican legislators have voiced dismay about the large amount of state tax incentives for the Gotion project, as well as fears that the company is tied to the Chinese Communist Party.

That's because Gotion is owned by a China-based parent company.

Now, their third concern is the prospective plant's impact on the environment. In a letter to the acting director of the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, the legislators asked for the release of all the documents the agency has in its possession about those impacts.

But the department says it hasn't received a single permit request from Gotion yet. EGLE says all the documents related to the Gotion project will be made available to the public once they exist.

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Republican say they're concerned about environmental impact of ... - Michigan Radio

House Republican deficit plan seen as shift in thinking on China – Roll Call

The expansion of basic scientific research enshrined in a 2022 bipartisan law, funded through the National Science Foundation, is at pretty serious risk, Atkinson said in an interview. Biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health and clean energy programs at the Energy Department also are at risk, he said.

After signing the legislation, which authorized $81 billion for the National Science Foundation over five years to advance research in several critical areas, President Joe Biden called it a once-in-a-generation investment in America itself.

Lawmakers from both parties called it a long overdue response to Chinas growing strength in high-tech areas including artificial intelligence, quantum computing and biotech.

The legislation also separately appropriated $52 billion in federal grants to U.S. semiconductor manufacturers to rebuild domestic chip production that has moved abroad over the years.

House Republicans, faced with a vote to raise the national debt limit, are using it to put pressure on Biden and congressional Democrats to cut spending. The House passed a bill last month that would reduce the deficit by $4.8 trillion in exchange for lifting the debt limit until the first quarter of next year.

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House Republican deficit plan seen as shift in thinking on China - Roll Call

Republican who expanded Kentucky voting opportunities wins primary – The Guardian US

The fight for democracy

Michael Adams, who defended his states election system from claims of fraud, goes on to face Buddy Wheatley in November

Tue 16 May 2023 19.57 EDT

Kentuckys Republican secretary of state, who had earned widespread praise for increasing his states voter turnout during the coronavirus pandemic and for expanding opportunities to vote, won his primary on Tuesday.

Michael Adams faced a primary challenge from two Republicans who align themselves with the growing faction within the GOP who believe elections are frequently rigged and stolen. Adams will now face Buddy Wheatley, a Democrat and former state representative, in November.

During his time in office, Adams has shot down conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and defended his states election system from claims of fraud, a stance that he said earlier this week could cost him his job.

In an interview, Adams said it would absolutely be worth it if he lost the race to have defended and expanded Kentuckys elections, but he was hopeful that Kentucky Republicans understood the ways his reforms had benefited them.

Im not surprised that I have a primary, but I also think in my gut that if these Republicans utilized early voting and absentee voting, then theyre not going to hold it against me that I implemented those things, he said.

The race marks the latest in what is likely to be a long series of primary contests in which more moderate, mainstream Republicans are challenged by candidates to their right who are allied with Trump and who deny the results of the 2020 election.

There wont be a GOP primary that doesnt have election denialism as part of it, said Ben Ginsberg, a conservative elections lawyer, at a recent conference for election officials in Washington DC.

The Republicans challenging Adams were Stephen Knipper, an information technology project manager who has twice run unsuccessfully for secretary of state, and Allen Maricle, a former state legislator. Knipper is endorsed by Mike Lindell, the MyPillow CEO, who has spread conspiracy theories about Trump winning the 2020 election. Knipper has also said he has serious doubts about the 2019 victory of Kentuckys Democratic governor, Andy Beshear, and alleges that voting machines were hacked.

Maricle has said he disagrees that the states elections are rigged, but he has maintained that voter fraud affects them.

Both challengers wanted Kentucky to join the eight states that have recently left the Electronic Registration Information Center (Eric), a national database used by a majority of states to compare voter rolls and keep them accurate. Fueled by false claims and conspiracy theories about the networks ties to the liberal donor George Soros, Republicans who once praised Eric now claim it does not protect election integrity.

Adams has defended Kentuckys participation in Eric and has said Kentucky will remain a member as long as it is beneficial and worth the dues. Prior to the last couple of months, when critical states have pulled out, Eric has been a godsend for us in helping us get people off the rolls, he said.

Since taking office in 2020, Adams has worked with Beshear and the GOP-controlled legislature to expand absentee and early voting. During the height of the pandemic, he worked to open countywide polling supercenters in large venues. The work helped Kentucky see a primary turnout record in 2020 and earned him praise from Democrats.

Adams said his biggest reason for running was to protect the expansions he has made to voting.

I do think if I get beat, that will send a message to other Republicans in the legislature, especially, that doing things the way Ive done them is bad politics, and Im afraid theyll dismantle expanded voting and absentee voting for political reasons.

That desire overpowers his reluctance to continue serving in a job he calls miserable given the environment of threats and harassment for election officials.

I didnt especially want to run again, he added, but I felt like I had to do it to protect what weve done.

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Republican who expanded Kentucky voting opportunities wins primary - The Guardian US