Congratulations, readers — You made it halfway through the week!
The national media has been working overtime to spin a story on whether President Biden is guilty of “stealing” classified documents after leaving the vice presidency in 2016. The Associated Press has an excellent side-by-side comparison of how Biden’s classified documents headache differs from former (and disgraced) President Trump. However, I also encourage you to take a look at this incredible write-up over from our friend
:TLDR: there is no “there is no indication Biden himself was aware of the existence of the records before they were turned over,” while Donald Trump “possibly faces exposure for obstruction over the protracted battle to retrieve the [classified] documents themselves.”
1. Immigration Headlines That Need More Attention
A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators (Republicans Cornyn, Tillis, Lankford, Moran, and Democrats Kelly, Murphy, Sinema*, and Coons) traveled to Yuma, AZ, a day after Joe Biden’s first trip to the U.S. Mexico border since assuming the presidency.
While there’s been significant attention from Capitol Hill and the media on the context of both of these trips, including Biden’s recent hardened immigration policies, there are other more positive immigration developments across the country.
👨🏻🎓 Scholarships For Undocumented Students: Arizona’s new Democratic Governor, Katie Hobbs, plans to allocate $40 million for the creation of a scholarship fund for Dreamers who enroll at a state university. Hobb’s announcement arrives after voters approved a ballot initiative granting Dreamers access to in-state tuition and state financial aid in last year’s election.
👩🏾⚖️ SCOTUS Will Not Revive Trump Immigration Rule: The U.S. Supreme court refused to hear arguments that would’ve revived former President Trump’s “public charge” rule, which “made it harder for immigrants to obtain visas and green cards if they were deemed likely to rely on public assistance programs such as Medicaid, housing vouchers or food assistance.”
🚫 Immigration Detention Closed: After years of relentless advocacy from immigrants and community members, the federal government did not renew the contract of an infamous immigrant detention center in Berks County, PA. Earlier this week, the last detainee held was released from detention.
2. House of Representatives Remains Dysfunctional
Kevin McCarthy, the newly elected but severely weakened Speaker of the House, managed to score his first victory by adopting along party lines a rules package that gave significant power to the far-right members of the Republican caucus.
The week-long saga to get McCarthy (R-CA) the votes necessary to wield the Speaker’s gavel may have the nation's attention, but what his critics (Democrats and Republicans) do under the new House rules will be just as interesting.
🎥 C-Span Cameras Vanish: New York Magazine (subscription) published an interesting interview with C-Span’s Editorial Director. While the cable-supported public network delivered live coverage from the House of Representatives floor during the Speaker’s race, a rare insight that gave the Internet, voters, and viewers incredible meme content, C-Span’s Ben O’Connell reminded us that there are limits to how transparent our democracy can be. Neither political party (Republican or Democrat) has ever approved the idea that allows C-Span cameras to bring us closer to House Members during their negotiations, which is why C-Span no returns to wide shots of the House of Representatives that are controlled by the House Recording Studio:
It’s the way the House wants it. I can’t explain it — they’d have to answer that. Also, when it is the government operating the cameras, they have very strict guidelines to which they need to adhere. They’re only able to show wide shots and the person speaking at any given time; you’ll never see a reaction shot. You will never see people negotiating in the back of the chamber, and you’ll never see two colleagues sitting next to one another.
💰 Lying Congressman Took Campaign Donations from Migrant Smuggler: Prolific liar and sitting Republican Congressman, George Santos, reportedly accepted an illegal campaign donation from a known immigrant smuggler — the Daily Beast reports:
The gift from Rocco Oppedisano—expelled from the U.S. in January 2019, and who was subsequently intercepted piloting a yacht packed with unauthorized migrants and $200,000 in cash toward Florida—was just one facet of the support the freshman Republican and immigration hardliner received from the Queens-based clan that controls upscale eatery Il Bacco.
💼 Misleading Republican Claims Over IRS Agents: Republicans are patting themselves on the back for blocking legislation that would have given the Internal Revenue Service over $80 in funding, claiming “Democrats were sending "an army of IRS agents" to go after middle- and lower-class taxpayers with the new agency funding in the IRA, which passed along party lines last year.” The agency, which Congress has long underfunded, counters those statements by stating it intended to revitalize its aging technology and IT systems.
3. Conservatives Continue Their Ludicrous Outrage Over M&M’s
If you thought last year’s “outrage” over the Green M&M was beyond the absurdity any reasonable person would have to endure, then I have news for you. FOX News commentators are not outraged over M&M’s new limited edition packaging, which includes the Brown, Green, and Purple M&M, because it “emboldens China." I wish I were making this stuff up: