TagCongress

Congressional Review Act resolution would block Head Start vaccine and mask mandates

By Jace Lington
In Federal
February 18, 2022 at 6:49 PM

A Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution introduced in the U.S. Senate aims to block an interim final rule issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that requires all Head Start staff and volunteers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and wear a mask.

Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) sponsored the resolution in the U.S. Senate on Feb. 14. The resolution had 23 cosponsors, all from the Republican Party, as of Feb. 17.

The Congressional Review Act is a federal law passed in 1996 that creates a 60 day review period during which Congress, by passing a joint resolution of disapproval later signed by the president, can overturn a new federal agency rule. Both houses of Congress have to pass a resolution disapproving of the HHS rule and President Biden would then have to sign that resolution into law to block the requirements.

Since the law’s creation in 1996, Congress has used the CRA to repeal 20 rules published in the Federal Register. Before 2017, Congress had used the CRA successfully one time, to overturn a rule on ergonomics in the workplace in 2001. In the first four months of his administration, President Donald Trump (R) signed 14 CRA resolutions from Congress undoing a variety of rules issued near the end of Barack Obama’s (D) presidency. 

Congress ultimately repealed 16 rules in total using the CRA during the Trump administration and repealed three more at the beginning of the Biden administration.

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Four Democrats competing in primary for Ohio’s open U.S. Senate seat

By Joel Williams
In Federal
February 18, 2022 at 11:28 AM

Four candidates are running in the Democratic primary for Ohio’s U.S. Senate seat on May 3, 2022. Candidates Morgan Harper and Tim Ryan have received the most media attention. U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R), first elected in 2010, is not running for re-election.

Harper is an attorney and former advisor for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Harper is running on a plan she said would create 600,000 clean energy jobs, and would also include federal $15 minimum wage, the PRO Act, Medicare for All, and full student loan debt forgiveness. Harper told The New York Times that her campaign would aim to mobilize Black, women, and young voters. In 2020, Harper ran unsuccessfully for U.S. House in District 3 against U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D).

Ryan was elected to the U.S. House in 2002. Ryan has campaigned on a range of economic issues, including revitalizing the state’s manufacturing industry, a federal $15 minimum wage, the PRO Act, renegotiating existing foreign trade deals, and expanding affordable healthcare. Ryan told CNN that his campaign would “focus like a laser beam on workers.” Ryan was re-elected to represent District 13 in 2020 following an unsuccessful presidential campaign.

Harper and Ryan disagree most on healthcare policy. Harper supports Medicare for All, which would expand Medicare to cover all Americans and replace the existing private health insurance and marketplace options. Ryan supports the creation of a public option, an opt-in insurance plan that all Americans could join. In a 2019 presidential debate, Ryan called Medicare for All a potential disaster for the party. In October 2021, Harper said that universal healthcare was “the only way to protect workers.”

Also running in the primary are Traci Johnson and LaShondra Tinsley.

Donald Trump won Ohio by eight percentage points in 2016 and 2020. Portman won re-election in 2016 by 19 percentage points. Sherrod Brown (D), Ohio’s other U.S. Senator, last won re-election in 2018 by seven percentage points.



Nine candidates seek Democratic nomination in TX-30

By Ethan Rice
In Federal
February 18, 2022 at 11:26 AM

Nine candidates are running in the Democratic Party primary election for Texas’ 30th Congressional District on March 1, 2022. Incumbent Eddie Bernice Johnson (D) , who was first elected to the U.S. House in 1992, did not seek re-election. The Cook Political Report and other outlets rated the 30th district Solid Democratic. Media attention has focused on candidates Jasmine Crockett, Jane Hamilton, and Jessica Mason.

Crockett has represented Texas House District 100 since Jan. 2021 and was among the Texas House members who left the state in protest of Texas SB1, which made a series of changes to Texas’ election administration laws. “There’s a number of people who will most likely enter this race. There are none that I believe will enter this race that have been battle tested like I have this session,” Crockett said. She said she supports “Economic recovery that includes all, fair district maps, expanding healthcare and access to the ballot box, lowering property taxes, and reforming the criminal justice and policing systems.” Johnson and a number of Texas state representatives endorsed Crockett.

Hamilton served as an adviser on Pres. Joe Biden’s (D) Texas campaign in 2020 and worked as an online program manager. She emphasized her local support, saying, “There is no other candidate in this race that has such broad support throughout the district” and the race would be “determined by the candidate who works the hardest and gets out their supporters. And I’m experienced doing just that.” Hamilton said she supports criminal justice reform, expanding access to healthcare, and “Voters Rights legislation which prohibits States from disenfranchising people of color.” Hamilton’s endorsers include U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey (D), Texas State Rep. Chris Turner (D), State Sen. Beverly Powell (D), and several local officials.

Mason is a Navy veteran and worked as a legislative staffer in the Virginia General Assembly and as a community outreach coordinator. She described herself as “the only progressive, the only democratic socialist in this race,” and said “the establishment has purposefully kept economic opportunity away from underserved communities.” Mason said she supported universal healthcare and “ending cash bail, legalizing marijuana and expunging past convictions, and ensuring formerly incarcerated individuals have the right to vote and have job opportunities upon release.” Former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner (D) and former presidential candidate Marianne Williamson (D) endorsed Mason.

Barbara Mallory Caraway, Arthur Dixon, Vonciel Jones Hill, Keisha Lankford, Abel Mulugheta, and Roy Williams Jr. are also running.

To win the primary, a candidate must receive more than 50% of votes cast. If no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, the top two finishers will advance to a runoff on May 24.



Kansas adopts new congressional map after legislature overrides gubernatorial veto

By Dave Beaudoin
In Federal
February 10, 2022 at 2:43 PM

Kansas enacted new congressional district boundaries on Feb. 9 when both chambers of the state legislature overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s (D) veto of a redistricting plan the legislature passed. Kansas was apportioned four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives after the 2020 census, the same number it received after the 2010 census. This map will take effect for Kansas’ 2022 congressional elections.

The Kansas House of Representatives overrode Kelly’s veto 85-37 with all votes in favor by Republicans, and 36 Democrats and one Republican voting to sustain the veto. The Senate overrode Kelly’s veto 27-11 on Feb. 8 along party lines. Kelly had vetoed the congressional map on Feb. 3. The state Senate originally approved the congressional district map proposal on Jan. 21 and the state House of Representatives approved it on Jan. 26.

Andrew Bahl of the Topeka Capital-Journal wrote that the “maps were hotly contested, largely for the decision to split Wyandotte County and put part of the Kansas City, Kan., area in the 2nd Congressional District, a move that endangers the state’s lone Democrat in Congress, U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, and, Democrats argue, unfairly divides minority communities.”

As of Feb. 9, 31 states have adopted congressional district maps, and one state has approved congressional district boundaries that have not yet taken effect. Federal or state courts have blocked previously adopted maps in two states, and 10 states have not yet adopted congressional redistricting plans after the 2020 census. Six states were apportioned one U.S. House district, so no congressional redistricting is required. As of Feb. 9 in 2012, 36 states had enacted congressional redistricting plans.

States have completed congressional redistricting for 315 of the 435 seats (72.4%) in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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Washington enacts new congressional districts

By Ethan Rice
In Federal
February 10, 2022 at 2:41 PM

Washington enacted new congressional districts on Feb. 8 when the Washington State Senate approved an amended version of a map proposal drafted by the Washington State Redistricting Commission. Washington was apportioned 10 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives after the 2020 census, the same number it received after the 2010 census. This map will take effect for Washington’s 2022 congressional elections.

Washington’s four redistricting commissioners each released their proposed congressional maps on Sept 28, 2021. On Nov. 16, the commission announced that it was not able to produce new maps by its Nov. 15 deadline and had submitted plans to the Washington Supreme Court for consideration, as authority to draw new maps passed to the court if the commission failed to agree on maps before the deadline. The court accepted the final map drafts the commission submitted, ruling that it had “substantially complied” with the deadline. The Washington House approved the final congressional map proposal on Feb. 2 in an 88-7 vote, and the Senate approved the plan 35-14 on Feb. 8.

Critics of the redistricting plans said the commission’s vote to approve the plan left no time for public input. Mike Fancher of the Washington Coalition for Open Government said, “The commission damaged public trust in our system of governing, which always happens when secrecy prevails over transparency.” Rep. Sharon Wylie (D) said the commission process was still effective. “I’ve not always been happy with the results, but I’ve always felt that our system worked better than in a lot of other states and was more fair,” Wylie said.

As of Feb. 9, 31 states have adopted congressional district maps, and one state has approved congressional district boundaries that have not yet taken effect. Federal or state courts have blocked previously adopted maps in two states, and 10 states have not yet adopted congressional redistricting plans after the 2020 census. Six states were apportioned one U.S. House district, so no congressional redistricting is required. As of Feb. 9 in 2012, 36 states had enacted congressional redistricting plans.

States have completed congressional redistricting for 315 of the 435 seats (72.4%) in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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Tennessee enacts new congressional districts

By Ethan Rice
In Federal
February 9, 2022 at 10:49 AM

Tennessee enacted new congressional districts on Feb. 6 when Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed the legislature’s approved proposal into law. Tennessee was apportioned nine seats in the U.S. House of Representatives after the 2020 census, the same number it received after the 2010 census. This map will take effect for Tennessee’s 2022 congressional elections.

The House Select Committee on Redistricting released a congressional map proposal on Jan. 12 and another on Jan. 18. On Jan. 18, the Senate Judiciary Committee recommended a congressional district proposal for consideration by the full Senate in a 7-2 vote along party lines. All Republicans supported the proposal and all Democrats opposed it. The Senate approved the proposal 26-5 on Jan. 20, and the House approved it 70-26 on Jan. 24. 

Speaker Pro Tempore Pat Marsh (R) said the congressional map was compliant with all federal and state laws and splitting Davidson County was beneficial to the area. “In the last 10 years, Davidson County has had one congressman in Washington, D.C. In this proposed plan, they will have three. I think that’s three times as good, three times more representation,” Marsh said. Gov. Lee said he believed the legislature “made every effort to follow the law” in drafting the maps and saw “no reason that I wouldn’t be signing it.”

U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper (D), who announced his retirement on Jan. 25, said, “This is a crisis for Nashville. Gerrymandering is an extinction event for the political life of Nashville.” Senate Minority Leader Jeff Yarbro (D) said the map would likely be challenged in court: “It’s hard to imagine you don’t see this in litigation at some point. I can’t imagine people don’t look at this and say there are legal deficiencies.”

As of Feb. 8, 29 states have adopted congressional district maps, and one state has approved congressional district boundaries that have not yet taken effect. Federal or state courts have blocked previously adopted maps in two states. Twelve states have not yet adopted congressional redistricting plans after the 2020 census. Six states were apportioned one U.S. House district, so no congressional redistricting is required. As of Feb. 8, 2012, 36 states had enacted congressional redistricting plans.

States have completed congressional redistricting for 301 of the 435 seats (69.2%) in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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Nine candidates in TX-15 are seeking the Republican nomination for an open seat

By Joel Williams
In Federal
February 9, 2022 at 10:21 AM

Nine candidates are running in the Republican primary election for Texas’ 15th Congressional District on March 1, 2022. Incumbent Vicente Gonzalez Jr. (D) is running for re-election to Congress in Texas’ 34th Congressional District. The candidates running in the primary are: Jose Aizar Cavazos, Sara Canady, Vangela Churchill, Monica De La Cruz Hernandez, Mauro Garza, Angela Juarez, Ryan Krause, John Lerma, and Steve Schmuker Jr. De La Cruz Hernandez, Garza, and Krause have received the most media attention.

If no candidate receives a majority of the vote, the top two voter-getters will compete in a runoff election on May 24.

De La Cruz Hernandez is an insurance agent from Edinburg. She was the 2020 Republican nominee in the district and lost to Gonzalez 50.5% to 47.6%. De La Cruz Hernandez was selected as a member of the National Republican Congressional Committee’s Young Guns program this cycle, which highlights candidates who meet benchmarks in fundraising, messaging, and communications. De La Cruz Hernandez’s key campaign issues include immigration policy, investments in oil and natural gas, and school choice. As of January 2022, 18 Republican members of Congress—including U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)—had endorsed De La Cruz Hernandez.

Garza is a businessman from San Antonio. His campaign has focused on fiscal policy, border security, and funding for police and the military. Garza is primarily a self-funded candidate, who loaned his campaign $195,000 as of January 2022, according to the Federal Elections Commission. In 2020, Garza lost to Rep. Joaquin Castro (D) in Texas’ 20th Congressional District 64.7% to 33.1%. In the 2018 election cycle, Garza did not advance from an 18-candidate Republican primary in Texas’ 21st Congressional District.

Krause is a leadership and coaching development consultant from San Antonio. His campaign website highlighted firearms, border security and immigration law enforcement, and the government’s role in providing welfare benefits. As of January 2022, two members of the Guadalupe County Commission and five local business executives endorsed Krause. In 2020, Krause lost to De La Cruz Hernandez in the Republican primary runoff 76.0% to 24.0%. In the 2018 election cycle, Krause did not advance from an 18-candidate Republican primary in Texas’ 21st Congressional District.

The Republican nominee is expected to have an edge in the general election. According to The Texas Tribune, Texas’ 15th Congressional District became more favorable to Republicans as a result of redistricting. Joe Biden (D) won the district by two percentage points in the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump (R) would have won the new district by three percentage points. As of January 2022, the three race rating outlets considered the general election to be either Lean or Tilt Republican.

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Arkansas’ congressional map goes into effect

By Douglas Kronaizl
In State
January 17, 2022 at 7:27 PM

Arkansas enacted new congressional districts on Jan. 14 after the statutes establishing the map went into effect without Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s (R) signature. Arkansas was apportioned four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives after the 2020 census, the same number it received after the 2010 census. This map will take effect for Arkansas’ 2022 congressional elections.

The Republican-controlled Arkansas General Assembly approved the map on Oct. 6, 2021, voting in favor of two separate yet identical bills and sending them to Hutchinson for approval. On Oct. 13, Hutchinson announced he would not sign the map into law, questioning the division of specific counties. Instead, Hutchinson let them go into effect without his signature. On Nov. 4, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge (R) released a legal opinion establishing Jan. 14 as the map’s effective date.

Under the new map, two of the state’s counties will be split between multiple congressional districts: Sebastian County, which is split in two, and Pulaski County—the state’s most populous—split between three districts.

Opponents of the map said the division of Pulaski County, where less than 50% of the population identifies as white alone, was conducted along partisan and racial lines. Little Rock NAACP Chapter President Dianne Curry (D) said, “This is an embarrassment to the state of Arkansas to know in the 21st century we’re dealing with blatant discrimination.”

Supporters of the map said the county’s size and location in the center of the state necessitated its split so as to lower the total number of counties being split elsewhere. Arkansas GOP Chairwoman Jonelle Fulmer (R) said, “The new congressional districts are compact and keep community interests together. These lines are largely consistent with the existing lines, which were drawn by Democrats in 2010.” 

As of Jan. 14, 25 states have adopted new congressional maps, one has approved boundaries that have not yet taken effect, six were apportioned one congressional district, and 18 states have not yet adopted new congressional maps. As of Jan. 14 in 2011, 31 states had enacted congressional redistricting plans.

States have completed congressional redistricting for 274 of the 435 seats (63.0%) in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Redistricting in Arkansas after the 2020 census

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Connecticut Supreme Court appoints special master to assist in congressional redistricting

By Ellen Morrissey
In State
January 7, 2022 at 8:11 AM

The Connecticut Supreme Court appointed Nathaniel Persily, a Stanford University law professor, as a special master to assist it in the congressional redistricting process on Dec. 23, 2021. On Dec. 28, the court rejected a request from the Republican members of the Connecticut Reapportionment Commission asking the court to select a different special master or appoint two special masters representing Democrats and Republicans. 

The court, in its rejection of the request, said: “We do not welcome unsolicited partisan filings and will not permit this Court to merely become an extension of the breakdown of the process the people of the state have commanded.”

Congressional mapmaking authority transferred to the court after the Connecticut Reapportionment Commission did not meet its initial Nov. 30 deadline to complete redistricting. The court granted the commission an extension to Dec. 21, which it also did not meet. The Connecticut Supreme Court’s deadline to draw a congressional map is Feb. 15, 2022.

Connecticut has completed its legislative redistricting, having enacted a state House map on Nov. 18 and a state Senate map on Nov. 23. The commission, made up of four Democratic lawmakers, four Republican lawmakers, and a ninth member selected by the commissioners, took over the redistricting process after the previous Reapportionment Committee failed to meet its Sept. 15 deadline to select maps and win two-thirds approval from both chambers of the Connecticut General Assembly.

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U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes resigns

By Corinne Wolyniec
In Federal
January 6, 2022 at 12:24 PM

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-California) resigned from the House of Representatives on Dec. 31 to become CEO of former President Donald Trump’s (R) media company, Trump Media & Technology Group. 

Nunes began serving in the U.S. House in 2003, representing California’s 21st Congressional District until 2013. He won election in 2012 to represent the 22nd Congressional District and held that seat until 2021. He most recently won re-election in 2020, defeating Democrat Phil Arballo, 54% to 46%. 

“I will deeply miss being your congressman. It’s been the honor of a lifetime to represent you, and I thank you for the trust you put in me through all these years,” Nunes said in an Instagram post.

U.S. House vacancies are filled by special election. Seven special elections have been called during the 117th Congress as of Jan. 3. There is already one special election scheduled in 2022 to complete a term in the House. Six special elections occurred in 2021: two in Louisiana, two in Ohio, one in New Mexico, and one in Texas. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) will set the date of the special election to fill Nunes’ seat. The winner of the special election will serve out the remainder of Nunes’ term, which was set to expire on January 3, 2023. 

The current partisan breakdown of the U.S. House is 221 Democrats and 212 Republicans, with two vacancies. 

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