Tag: repeal

House GOP’s debt-limit plan seeks to repeal major parts of Democrats’ climate law

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McCarthy is eyeing to pass his plan in the House next week, setting up a showdown with Democrats amid worries that the U.S. could default on its debt as early as June.
The Republicans’ 300-page-plus bill amounts to a legislative wish list of measures that have no future in the Senate, whose Democratic leaders have joined Biden in refusing to negotiate policy changes as part of the debt ceiling. They argue that lawmakers should raise the borrowing cap — and avert global economic havoc — without conditions, as Congress repeatedly did under former President Donald Trump.
Biden derided McCarthy’s plan during an appearance Wednesday in Maryland, and vowed to reject GOP demands that he roll back his administration’s accomplishments.
“They’re in Congress threatening to undo all the stuff that you helped me get done,” Biden said during an appearance at a Maryland union hall. “You and the American people should know about the competing economic visions of the country that are at stake right now.”
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) likewise dismissed the Republican proposal. “It’s pathetic,” he said.
The GOP bill would enact the party’s marquee energy bill, H.R.1 (218), which the House already passed last month. That bill includes an easing of permitting rules for new energy infrastructure and mining projects that Republicans say would promote economic growth, and which might find some appeal among Democrats.
The Republican proposal also includes more partisan elements of their energy bill, which would mandate more oil and gas lease sales on federal lands, ease restrictions on natural gas exports, and repeal a fee that the IRA imposed on methane emissions from oil and gas operations.
Republicans have lambasted the IRA’s clean energy incentives, saying they’re wasteful and distort markets.

“These spending limits are not draconian,” McCarthy said in a Wednesday floor speech ahead of the bill release. “They are responsible. We’re going to save taxpayers money. It will end the green giveaways for companies that distort the market and waste taxpayers’ money.”
Republicans are seeking to repeal the IRA’s zero-emission nuclear power production, clean hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel tax credits. Their bill would also eliminate the law’s bonus provisions aimed at placing solar and wind facilities in low-income communities and that allow some entities to receive direct payments of the credits.
“We have to create situations where traditional, reliable, resilient energy can compete in the marketplace,” Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.) told POLITICO. “If that’s getting rid of some of the crazy renewable tax credits in the IRA, I am all for it.”
Republicans are also proposing to modify several other existing tax credits under the law, including by reestablishing the previous investment and production tax credits for solar and wind that the IRA had extended and increased. The GOP would nix both the production and investments tax credits for green sources after 2024, as well as incentives for paying prevailing wage, using domestic content and placing facilities in communities historically dependent on fossil fuels.
The proposal would eliminate changes to some tax credits that existed before Democrats’ IRA was enacted, including for carbon sequestration.
And it would make major changes in the IRA’s electric vehicle tax credit, whose implementation by the Biden administration has taken bipartisan criticism. The GOP proposal would revive a prior $7,500 tax credit for qualifying electric vehicles, but would restore that tax break’s per-manufacturer limit of 200,000 vehicles. It would entirely repeal the IRA’s new incentives for critical battery minerals that are extracted from the U.S. or a close trading partner, and for batteries manufactured or assembled in North America.
While some moderate Republicans called for party leaders to place a priority on policy measures that could draw bipartisan support — such as overhaul permitting rules — as part of the debt ceiling package, conservatives pushed for more partisan measures targeting Democrats’ climate law.
But that could put some Republicans in a tricky spot, because many projects that could receive the IRA’s tax credits are set to be built in congressional districts represented by GOP lawmakers. Recent analysis from the American Clean Power Association found that there have been $150 billion in new clean power capital investments since the law’s August passage, including 46 utility-scale solar, battery and wind manufacturing facilities or facility expansions.
Of the manufacturing announcements tracked by ACP where a congressional district was known, the majority of those facilities were in red districts.
“There is a lot of stuff in the Inflation Reduction Act that should be repealed,” Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) told POLITICO. “But there is some common sense stuff that was in there as well.”
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 20, 2023
How Iraq war powers repeal turned into an unlikely bipartisan win

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“My preference when dealing with an issue like this — which doesn’t strike me as particularly ideological — is to address members on a one-on-one basis and figure out what anxieties or concerns they might have,” Young said in a joint interview conducted with Kaine.

Airstrikes target Islamic State positions on the edge of the Old City in Mosul, Iraq, on July 11, 2017.
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Felipe Dana/AP Photo
Kaine said he’s brought the topic up regularly in Democratic caucus meetings for a decade now, describing himself as a “Johnny one-note” on an issue he first took notice of in 2002 while serving as lieutenant governor of Virginia.
“Congress needs to own these responsibilities. Having a good bipartisan colleague on this just makes the difference,” Kaine said.
Since introducing their first joint war powers repeal bill in 2019, Kaine and Young have taken different tacks with their respective parties on the matter. Kaine said that his challenge hasn’t been winning support from fellow Democrats so much as grabbing the focus of the caucus amid a host of competing national security issues.
“It’s been a long crusade of Sen. Kaine’s,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who recalled his colleague “standing up in our caucus and bringing it up every couple of months.”
On Young’s side of the aisle, pro-repeal Republicans said the passage of time and the growing opposition to prolonged war within their party’s base made it easier to sell axing the authorizations. In addition, only a handful of senators who initially voted for war in Iraq remain in the chamber.
“Each decade we get beyond the end of the war, I think most people are finally figuring out the war’s over,” said Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), describing Young as “very, very good” at rounding up GOP support for the effort.
Other Republican allies said Young’s experience as a former Marine lent credibility to his arguments for repealing the war powers.

“When it comes from Todd, who’s spent years there as an officer, I think it just means a little bit even more. It’s not like he’s a dove,” said Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), a repeal backer.
Wednesday’s repeal vote won over the entire Senate Democratic majority, in addition to 18 Republicans who ranged from centrist Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) to non-interventionist conservative Paul.
Should the Senate war powers repeal pass the House, the Biden administration has indicated the president would support it. But getting it to Biden’s desk requires House passage — and that won’t be easy. Foreign Affairs Chair Michael McCaul (R-Texas) wants to repeal and replace both the 2002 military force authorization and a broad one passed in 2001 after the Sept. 11 attacks, the latter of which still serves as the basis for counterterrorism activities around the world.
McCaul said this week he wants a “counterterrorism-focused AUMF without geographical boundaries” that would end after five years “so it’s not forever war stuff.”
But McCaul also has made clear that the ultimate decision rests with Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and the California Republican is already facing trouble navigating an issue that’s split his conference.
And the strategy Young employed to win over Senate Republicans might not work in the House: The Hoosier said he tailored his arguments depending on the member as he built a sufficient Republican bloc to deliver repeal.
Democrats took notice — especially Young’s colleagues on the Foreign Relations Committee, which remains a rare occasionally bipartisan bastion on a bitterly divided Hill. Kaine described the Hoosier as “a natural partner,” while Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said “he’s one of the folks who acts as a glue in the Senate.”
On his own side of the aisle, Young downplayed the idea that his work on war powers repeal created awkwardness with Senate GOP leaders, all of whom except National Republican Senatorial Chair Steve Daines (R-Mont.) ultimately opposed the legislation. (Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, still away from the chamber recuperating after a concussion, condemned the repeal vote on Tuesday.)
“In this job, we do what we believe is right and in the best interest of our constituents and the country,” said Young, who easily won a second term last fall.
Not every senior Senate Republican, however, took the approach of Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) — who observed of the repeal vote that “sometimes you just have to accept reality.” Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, top Republican on the Intelligence Committee, spoke for GOP colleagues who fear the repeal of the war powers may only embolden U.S. enemies abroad.
“I’m also worried about how our adversaries will read this,” said Rubio, who opposed repeal. “Will this be used against us?”
Meanwhile, many of Kaine and Young’s colleagues might welcome them rejoining hands to go further still by revamping or even outright repealing the 2001 war powers authorization that McCaul is eyeing, which teed up the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan. The duo said in this week’s interview that they’re open to such discussions, but acknowledge that needle will be a difficult one to thread.
“It’ll take some heavy lifting to get there,” Kaine said, suggesting that Wednesday’s vote might create “a little bit of momentum toward exploring how to make sure we have the right authorities.”
Young said he’d want to ensure any revisions to the 2001 war powers measure clarify there will be no gap in existing legal authorities to conduct necessary operations overseas, which he said many members view as a point of vulnerability.
For the moment, pro-repeal senators appear openly grateful to complete work on a substantive bill after the Democratic majority considered more than 10 GOP amendments. As Murphy put it, “people have been hungry for some meaty, bipartisan bills.”
“The country is war-weary and there’s an instinct, which is the correct one, that we can’t be at war forever,” said Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii). “And there is a beautiful left-right coalition that understands that.”
Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) wasn’t alone in openly praising the architects of that coalition.
“Give Tim Kaine and Sen. Young credit,” he said.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 29, 2023
Hyderabad: OU students angry with 10x Phd fee hike, seek repeal

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Hyderabad: Students of Osmania University (OU) are up in arms against the varsity’s administration ever since it increased the fee for PhD courses by ten times on March 16. Many students have been protesting against this move and submitted representations requesting the Dean Faculties to reduce the fee.
In a notification issued by the Dean Faculties of various departments, the fee particulars for students who were allotted seats under Category – 2 PhD courses for the academic year 2022, in Social Sciences, Arts, Education, Commerce, Management, and Oriental Languages was set at Rs 20,000 and for Engineering, Science, Technology, and Pharmacy departments it present at Rs 25,000.
The last date to pay the fee and complete the admission process was on March 21. Upon requests from students, it was extended to March 25, said the OU administration.
A press release by Osmania University (OU) student union members on Tuesday said that the fee for PhD courses in Social Sciences and other departments was Rs 2000 until last year and for Engineering and other courses it was Rs 2500.
Swapna, who got PhD admission in Political Science said that she has not yet paid the admission fee. “I am waiting to see if the university will decrease the fee. My seniors had told me that the fee was about Rs 2000 and I was utterly shocked to see that it has been increased to Rs 20,000,” she added.
She informed that many students who got admission under Category – 2 for the year 2022 are waiting to hear if there will be a change in the decision taken by the university before paying the fee.
Another PhD student from the Telugu department, Yadagiri, has said, “I was scared that I would lose my admission. I tried so hard to get here and even though I felt that the revised fee was too high for me I paid it. I did not tell my parents because they cannot afford to send me Rs 20,000 in less than a week. I took a loan from my friends to pay the fee”.
He said that many students hailing from poor and rural backgrounds prefer to study at OU and this was because of lower fee structures as OU is a government university. Yadagiri said that students who were given admission in Category-1 have paid a fee of Rs 2000 and that the fee hike announced will be effective starting with candidates who were admitted through Category-2.

Speaking to Siasat.com regarding the fee hike, Registrar of OU Prof Laxminarayana said, “Entrance exams were not conducted for the last 6 years in the university and the previous fees were in place since 2003. The university also did not have a vice-chancellor for about two years, along with this the entrance exams were delayed because of the pandemic situation. All of these factors have led to the decision being brought into effect now”.
“A standing committee consisting of Dean Faculties has recommended the hike in fee. The departments in the university are suffering due to lack of funds and we are hoping to bridge this gap at least a little with this fee hike,” added the OU registrar.
The Osmania University Registrar also informed that about 75 percent of the students have already paid the fee and that the Category–1 students who joined in 2022 when the previous fee structure was in effect will also be brought under the revised fee structure. “Category-1 students have been informed of this and they will be notified to pay the remaining fee soon. A time period of one month will be given to complete the payment,” he added.
Prof D Ravinder, OU vice-chancellor told Siasat.com, “The PhD course will be conducted as per the guidelines of the University Grants Commission (UGC). This means that there are various costs involved. To provide quality education at PhD level we need to be able to provide research facilities to the students. This is not something new, recently there was a hike in Post Graduate fee and it has now been set at Rs 14,000 per annum and now the fee for PhD course has been increased to Rs 20,000”.
The OU VC said that the steep hike was due to the fact that there had not been one in over a decade. He expressed that dissent over the fee increase will die down soon.
OU Registrar Laxminarayana also said that this is not an arbitrary decision as the students can avail fee reimbursement from the government. “Eligible students can apply for scholarships which provide them a tuition fee of about Rs 30,000. All of the details are available to the students and the present fee is not more than Rs 25,000,” he added.
A dean faculty, who was a member of the standing committee, said that this was a collective decision and that a comparative analysis of fee structures of other universities such as Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Hyderabad (JNTU) was done before taking the decision.
Lack of hostel facilities, dwindling numbers of Professors, and the absence of Research Methodology classes are some issues besides the fee hike, that students of OU believe are obstacles to the completion of their PhD theses.
Mahesh, who got admission into the PhD course in Public Administration said, “I don’t understand this sudden and steep hike in the fee. A majority of the professors will be retiring very soon and there have been no new recruitments for some time now. Who will supervise the new research scholars?”
Across Telangana universities, 75 percent of teaching facilities are reportedly vacant. Earlier on February 7, Prof Kaseem of the Telugu department held a protest urging the Telangana chief minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR) and Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundarajan to fill vacant teaching positions in the university.
He said that 2000 teaching posts and 4000 non-teaching posts are vacant as per recent surveys in Telangana.
A research scholar from OU in Social Sciences said that Research Methodology classes, which are a part of PhD coursework program, are not being held at OU. The scholar said that for the PhD candidates of the year 2022 who were admitted under Category-1, Research Methodology coursework has not been conducted in semester one and that there is no word from the university regarding it in semester 2 either.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) under its ‘Minimum Standards and Procedures for Award of PhD Degree Regulations, 2022’ stipulates in section 7.5 that, “All candidates admitted to the PhD programmes shall be required to complete the course work prescribed by the Department during the initial one or two semesters”.
Section 7.9 of the regulations implies that without obtaining the pass marks in coursework, a PhD candidate is ineligible to continue in the programme. Many students from OU expressed concerns over a clause in the notification issued by the university which said that admission will not be granted unless the student produces an undertaking that they will not ask for the hostel facilities.
The registrar of OU said that as soon as the construction of two new hostels on the campus is completed, the PhD students will be given an opportunity to avail the facilities.
Speaking about the clause the vice-chancellor said, “Owing to Covid-19 Pandemic, thesis work has been delayed and many students have not vacated their hostel rooms yet. For this reason, we had to put the clause in the notification. We are unable to provide regular PhD students hostel facilities as there are no vacancies”.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 23, 2023
Not just Ukraine: GOP splinters on Iraq war repeal

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“Voters are tired of wars that don’t have any justification or basis,” said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who has supported advancing the repeal of 1991 and 2002 authorizations for war in Iraq. “The Iraq thing, that was not justifiable … And that’s hard for my party to admit. Because they pushed it, they carried the water for it.”
Former President Donald Trump has aligned more with Hawley, casting the Iraq war as a mistake throughout his 2016 campaign. But he’s staying quiet on the war authorization debate as his 2024 campaign prepares for a looming indictment; his spokesperson didn’t return a request for comment on the issue. And while president, Trump did not support peeling back the Iraq War authorization, muddying his position significantly.
Meanwhile, plenty of Senate Republicans disagree — 19 of them voted to advance the repeal of military force authorizations this week, a group that spans the conference’s ideological spectrum. And on the other side of the aisle, every Senate Democrat voted to support repeal while the Biden White House has voiced support for nixing the war authorizations.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), for his part, appears on the opposite side of Hawley on the war powers debate. The potential 2024 contender voted against advancing the repeal of the Iraq authorizations, though his office didn’t respond to a request for comment on his ultimate stance.
Supporters of preserving the decades-old war powers argue repealing the authorizations without a replacement that’s tailored to modern-day threats would be a mistake, even after Saddam Hussein and other original drivers of the war have been vanquished.
“I understand Saddam is gone. The war is over. But we do have soldiers stationed in Iraq and close to the Iraqi government,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who is seeking to amend the repeal of Iraq authorizations with provisions covering Iran. “And I want to make sure that if you repeal the 2002 [authorization for the use of military force], you replace it with something that’s relevant to today.”
One key ingredient missing from the Senate this week is Minority Leader Mitch McConnell — a strong advocate for keeping previous war authorizations in place who is off the Hill recovering from a concussion. His chief deputy, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), said on Wednesday that while “I personally believe they serve important legal and presidential functions when it comes to the war on terror, there is a diversity of opinion among Republicans.”
In other words, McConnell probably couldn’t have stopped the war powers repeal from passing, even if he’d tried.

And even as they argue in favor of keeping the authorizations, many Republicans concede the debate is unlikely to be a major factor in their presidential primary next year — a battle that’s likely to be dominated by social issues, inflation and crime.
“I don’t know whether it’s actually penetrated people’s consciousness,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), an opponent of repealing the authorizations, said in an interview. “To me, this is more of a symbolic gesture than anything else.”
Yet it’s an incredibly important topic for the GOP, particularly after Trump campaigned and won on harsh criticism of the Iraq war only to later oppose winding down the authorization that launched it. Whether it’s Trump or someone else, the next Republican president will have to settle on a position that addresses whether repealing the military force authorizations might bind a future commander-in-chief’s hands.
“I don’t know that it will be a primary issue, but I do think it’s an important issue that we should be discussing,” said Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a member of the party’s chamber leadership.
In some ways, it’s easier to keep the old authorizations in place given how difficult it is for a president to get congressional approval for war. In 2013, then-President Barack Obama sought a war authorization for Syria. It got through committee — then lawmakers abandoned it.
Since then, many members of Congress — like Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) — focused on repealing old authorizations far more than entertaining new ones. Kaine said his repeal plan got more GOP support than he would have expected, crediting first-term Sens. J.D. Vance of Ohio, Ted Budd of North Carolina and Eric Schmitt of Missouri for infusing the party with new energy on the idea.
But Kaine gave Trump very little credit for changing the debate, instead saying it’s President Joe Biden who respected Congress’ right to make decisions on war and peace.
“Trump had different points of view on Iraq at different times. And President Trump was always against repeals of AUMF. We tried them with Trump — even the ‘02 — and he was rock solid against it,” Kaine recalled.
Trump’s own band of supporters in Congress are split. Sens. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) and Graham support keeping the old authorizations in place, while Schmitt and Vance want to scrap them. In an interview, Schmitt described himself as an example of where conservatives are landing these days on matters of war.
With full attendance, repealing the last congressional vestiges of the Iraq war might get 70 Senate votes. Lawmakers continue to haggle over which amendments to the bill will be considered, with final passage expected next week.
Some in the chamber, like Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), are pressing to go further by seeking to modify or even repeal the broad 2001 AUMF that Congress passed in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks — which remains in effect. But Kaine conceded last week that there is insufficient support to examine that authorization right now.
Clearing the Senate would, of course, be just the first step toward the war powers repeal becoming law. Speaker Kevin McCarthy would then have to find a way forward on a rare issue that unites Democrats and archconservatives in his narrowly-split chamber.
But some Republican supporters are optimistic that after years of attempts, this is the moment for repeal.
“There’s going to be more interest than you’d see in the past,” said Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), who is retiring at the end of his term as he runs for governor. “I think it’s a smart move to do what we’re doing.”
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 23, 2023
Senate Dems confident they can repeal Iraq war authorizations — despite absences

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Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who sponsored the measure along with Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), was still confident Tuesday that the measure would pass.
“We feel like we’re gonna have well north of 60 votes,” he said in a brief interview.
On its face, the math looks good for the legislation, with 12 Republicans backing the bill — enough to hit the necessary 60 votes, provided Democrats hang together. Plus, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has indicated he plans to join the group to support the bill, although he is not a cosponsor. A senior GOP aide said Republicans who are supporting the legislation are confident that it will pass, despite the absences.
“I think after 22 years, it’s about time that we look at our engagements, not based on some 20-year-law, but on current certain situations, and I think we’re way beyond what we needed for Iraq,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a co-sponsor of the legislation.
The measure itself is just two pages and is largely symbolic, though proponents argue it represents a formal reassertion by Congress of its ability to declare — and end — military conflicts.
“This is the week the Senate will begin the process to end the legal authority for the Iraq war two decades ago,” Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor. “Every year we keep them on the books, it’s another chance for future administrations to abuse or misuse them.”
McConnell, who is currently in a rehab facility after a fall last week that left him hospitalized for a few days and with a concussion and is not expected to return to the Senate this week, has opposed repealing the war authorizations in the past.
And he’s far from the only Republican who’s against the measure. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a former member of Senate GOP leadership, pronounced himself skeptical of the push.

“I don’t know what they’re afraid of,” Cornyn said. “They think that Joe Biden is going to abuse the AUMF?”
House lawmakers in June 2021 voted to repeal the 2002 war authorization on a bipartisan 268-161 vote — with 49 Republicans joining all but one Democrat in support. The measure was not taken up by the Senate.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has twice voted in the past three years to repeal both authorizations on a bipartisan basis, most recently by a 13-8 vote earlier this month.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s office did not respond to a request on whether the House plans to take up the legislation.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 15, 2023
Biden won’t veto GOP effort to repeal D.C. crime law

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“I think that’s where most of the caucus is. Most of the caucus sees the mayor in a reasonable position as saying: 95 percent of this is really good, some of this is problematic. And we need to keep working on it,” Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) said after the meeting.
Biden’s much-anticipated Thursday remarks end several weeks of mystery surrounding his handling of a politically perilous vote for his party. And it comes as the president moves to strengthen the ties with Hill Democrats that propelled him to the party’s nomination.
The president also told Senate Democrats during their meeting that he wants to see immigration reform on the floor, according to Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and left several Democratic senators with the distinct impression that he’s running for reelection. In addition, Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) said that Biden addressed the debt ceiling by remarking that he’s waiting for Republicans to show him a budget.
Following their meeting, Schumer also told reporters that the president would support Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and J.D. Vance’s (R-Ohio) bill on railroad protections following the East Palestine train derailment in their state, along with tackling insulin prices for people under 65. The debt limit and budget, along with an “online protection tech bill for kids,” were also discussed, Schumer said.
“We had a great meeting,” Schumer said as he exited the meeting with Biden. “We talked about implementing the great accomplishments of the president of the last two years. We believe we can get a lot of good bipartisan stuff done in these two years. We are filled with unity, optimism, and optimism about 2024.”
But Biden’s most potent comments came on the GOP efforts to unravel the criminal code reform that the D.C. Council passed over Mayor Muriel Bowser’s veto. That citywide legislation would scrap some mandatory minimum sentences and change some criminal penalties. Senators cannot filibuster the rollback as a result of the Home Rule Act, which gives Congress special oversight over local Washington affairs.
After the meeting, Biden tweeted that he supports D.C. statehood and local autonomy but does not “support some of the changes D.C. Council put forward over the Mayor’s objections — such as lowering penalties for carjackings. If the Senate votes to overturn what D.C. Council did — I’ll sign it.”
Senate Democrats have squirmed for two-plus weeks over the vote, which Republicans plan to force to the floor as soon as next week and would be the first congressional override of local D.C. affairs since 1991. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) predicted that “there will be substantial bipartisan support for a resolution to reject the proposed changes.”

Besides the obvious implications of a vote on the potent political issue of crime, some Senate Democrats are plainly uncomfortable with congressional intervention in D.C.’s affairs.
“I’m disappointed. First of all, I hope the Senate would not pass it. But I think it’s pretty clear they will,” said Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.). “And to me, the Congress should not substitute its judgment for the elected representatives of the people of the District of Columbia.”
Yet it appears that Democrats’ discomfort with the D.C. law — a near-rewrite of the capital’s criminal code — is carrying more weight than their natural inclination not to interfere.
“I guess [Biden] thinks it’s too far — a bridge too far, which it really is. I’m glad he said that,” Manchin said leaving the meeting, adding that he clapped loudly when Biden disclosed his view to his fellow Democrats.
House Republicans first teed up the bill in February, amid a highly public clash between D.C.’s council and its mayor over the sweeping crime bill. In the House, the GOP-led bill won support from 31 Democrats, many of them moderates who have already called for stronger action on nationwide rise in crime since the pandemic. One swing-seat Democrat who backed the bill, Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.), voted for it mere hours after she was assaulted in her D.C. apartment building.
Biden’s move to let Congress stop the criminal code changes in D.C. may aggravate locals, but will be a relief to many congressional Democrats who are weary of GOP attacks on them over progressive urban crime proposals. And it comes as prominent Democrats are talking less about Biden’s age or whether he should run again and more about working together heading into the 2024 election.
In the meeting on Thursday, Biden’s reelection campaign did not explicitly come up but it was mostly assumed he’s running again: “I didn’t hear negative vibes on that,” said Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.).
“The pieces are together. He’ll run again. And he’ll get full support from the caucus,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). “It’s a good feel overall.”
But not everyone is feeling the love. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), an outspoken progressive who’s mostly pro-Biden, said he’s had a couple issues lately with the president. He cited the administration’s new effort to restrict asylum in certain migration cases — “that’s a bad policy,” he said — and then a lack of public follow-through on an environmental justice initiative.
And this week, Bowman said he was “hurt” by the Biden team’s handling of a Black History Month celebration at the White House, which he said was so crowded that several of his colleagues left early rather than try to fight for space.
“They had us packed in the room like sardines,” Bowman said of the White House event, comparing it to better-planned events that span multiple rooms, like the annual Christmas party. “That was, to me, very disrespectful. A slap in the face.”
For now, though, Bowman’s view is an outlier. And Biden got a warm welcome Wednesday night when he visited a group of House Democrats in Baltimore at their annual policy retreat.
Reflecting on their much-improved rapport with Biden since last year’s squabbling over his party-line agenda, many Democrats said there was little doubt he would glide to the nomination in 2024.
“If we, the elected officials, are not with him. I think he’s going to have a very difficult time winning reelection. I gotta tell you, I just don’t see people being against him,” said Rep. Juan Vargas (D-Calif.).
“I look at everybody else who’s out there. I mean, he’s a little old. That’s true, he’s gotta address that. But other than his age, he’s the best guy we have in my opinion.”
Jordain Carney contributed to this report.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 3, 2023