Five key proposals in House defense debate |
The House is debating 80 proposed amendments ahead of a possible Friday vote on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual defense policy bill.
Conservative House members have pushed several amendments on culture war issues. Along with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy‘s (R-Calif.) challenge of ushering the NDAA through the House, the Democratic-controlled Senate needs to pass the same version of the bill.
Watch for votes on these five key amendments: -
Abortion policy: Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) offered an amendment that would repeal a recent Defense Department policy providing leave and reimbursing travel expenses for service members who get an abortion. The amendment says the department may only use funds for abortion in case of rape, incest or “where the life of the mother would be endangered” by continuing the pregnancy.
- Ukraine: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene‘s (R-Ga.) amendment to prevent the U.S. from providing assistance to Ukraine for cluster munitions comes after the Biden administration announced it’d transfer cluster munitions to the country last week.
- Transgender health care: Rep. Matt Rosendale‘s (R-Mont.) amendment would prevent TRICARE from covering surgery or hormone treatments “furnished for the purpose of the gender alteration of a transgender individual.”
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Climate funds: Rep. Chip Roy‘s (R-Texas) amendment would prohibit the Defense Department from using funds to implement President Biden‘s executive orders related to climate change.
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DEI: Rep. Ralph Norman’s (R-S.C.) amendment would eliminate “[e]very office of the Armed Forces and of the Department of Defense established to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
Follow The Hill’s live blog for more analysis and updates on the NDAA floor action. |
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Welcome to Evening Report! I’m Amee LaTour, catching you up from the afternoon and what’s coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here. |
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SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents many Hollywood actors, announced it would begin a strike at midnight after negotiations with film studios failed. The actors join film and TV writers who have been picketing, setting up the first combined Hollywood strike since 1960.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) announced he will oppose Julie Su‘s nomination to lead the Department of Labor, making it unlikely she will win confirmation after her nomination stalled earlier this year.
The International Olympic Committee said Russia and Belarus won’t receive formal invitations to next year’s Olympics in Paris. The announcement doesn’t necessarily bar those countries’ athletes from competing (more here).
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Austin, Tuberville speak amid frustration over military hold
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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville (Ala.) spoke by phone Thursday amid the senator’s months-long hold on hundreds of military confirmations in protest of the Pentagon’s abortion policy.
During the call, Biden’s defense chief explained “the impact the holds are having to military readiness and uncertainty in the force,” according to a Pentagon spokesperson.
The senator reportedly said he was grateful for the “cordial and productive conversation.” The Pentagon spokesman said the two agreed to speak again next week.
Democrats have lambasted the hold, with President Biden on Thursday decrying it as “ridiculous.” Read more from The Hill’s Ellen Mitchell here. |
Democrats’ NY redistricting win (for now)
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A New York court ordered the bipartisan Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) to redraw the state’s congressional district lines. The ruling is a win for Democrats who brought the suit but will likely be appealed by Republicans.
Republicans flipped several House seats in New York following the most recent redistricting cycle, and the state is an early target among groups seeking to help Democrats regain control of the chamber in 2024’s elections.
The IRC initially drew district lines during the 2020 redistricting cycle, but “its first set of maps were rejected and it was unable to submit a second set of maps after deadlocking on proposed lines,” The Hill’s Caroline Vakil and Ella Lee explain. “The Democratic-controlled state legislature submitted their congressional lines, but those were later tossed out by the New York appeals court, forcing a court-appointed special master to redraw them,” they added. Read the full report here |
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Legal experts: Trump could face charges in Jan. 6 probe
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A memo from former prosecutors and legal experts says former President Trump could face charges under at least three statutes related to his actions after the 2020 presidential election.
Special Counsel Jack Smith has been investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack and efforts to overturn 2020 election results. Smith is also overseeing the investigation into documents found at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, for which Trump was indicted.
More about the memo from The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch: “The analysis, offered in a model prosecution memo akin to what is typically prepared by prosecutors ahead of bringing charges, determines there is sufficient evidence to bring a case against Trump as well as several co-conspirators.”
Read more here |
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El Niño likely to last through winter
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El Niño, a climate pattern characterized by higher-than-normal ocean temperatures in the eastern Pacific, has a greater than 90 percent chance of lasting through the winter, according to forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. Dig into what that means here. |
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Secret Service ends White House cocaine investigation
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The Secret Service confirmed it’ll end the investigation into cocaine found at the White House on July 2. They did not identify a suspect and will officially end the probe on Friday. |
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Twitter files motion to end FTC oversight of data security practices
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X Corp. (Twitter’s corporate name) filed a motion asking the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to end the Federal Trade Commission‘s oversight of the platform’s data security practices, which has been in place since the parties agreed to a consent order in 2011. |
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Manchin announces Q2 fundraising figures
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Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said he raised $1.3 million in the second quarter, more than Republicans running for his seat and alongside questions of whether he’ll run for reelection or launch a third-party presidential bid. |
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“Goldwater stood up to Nixon. Can anyone stand up to Biden and Trump?” — Bernard Goldberg, a writer and journalist, former correspondent with HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel,” former reporter for CBS News and former analyst for Fox News. (Read here)
“In today’s Cold War, Europe is mostly a geographic notion” — Stephen Blank, Ph.D., a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and former professor of Russian national security studies and national security affairs at the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College. (Read here) |
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41 days until the first GOP presidential debate. 481 days until the presidential election. |
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9 a.m.: The House Financial Services Committee holds a hearing on Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) policies. |
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There a story you think should be getting more attention? Something people should be talking about? Drop me a line: ALaTour@digital-staging.thehill.com. | |
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