Democrats Are Getting (Another) Chance to Fix Their Brand
Just days after the funeral of Virginia Congressman Gerry Connolly, who died of esophageal cancer, House Democrats are set to have another battle over who becomes the ranking member on the all-important Oversight Committee, the chamber's main investigative body. Like the last one, this race will be a snapshot of the larger debate within the party over age, leadership style, experience and political ideology. Unlike the last one, this race won't feature New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, 35, who was bypassed in favor of Connolly, and has declined to run after canvassing members and concluding that a more senior member would win. Again.
In December, I wrote about how in skipping over AOC, an authentic young progressive who understands the working class and the evolving media landscape, Democrats proved that they hadn't learned much from November. A similar scenario seems likely as Democrats decide who should be the face of a powerful committee tasked with holding the federal government accountable and exposing waste, fraud and abuse. In the Trump 2.0 era, that essentially means being a check on the excesses of the White House. Whoever wins would likely become one of President Donald Trump's main foils.
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29 minutes ago
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House panel to consider advancing amended assault weapons ban bill to R.I. House floor
Yellow shirts of Second Amendment supporters frame the view of Rep. Jason Knight, a Barrington Democrat, lead sponsor of the bill to ban assault-style weapons, during a House Committee on Judiciary on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. Knight's amended bill is set for a vote on Tuesday, June 3. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) After securing a big win at the federal level Monday, Rhode Island's gun safety advocates are hoping the momentum continues at the State House Tuesday when a House panel will consider an amended bill to ban assault-style firearms. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up a challenge by gun rights advocates against the state's 2022 law banning firearm magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said in a statement he's grateful the court did not overturn the ban. 'As the Rhode Island General Assembly prepares to vote on the assault weapons ban, it is my hope that this office's successful defense of the large-capacity magazine ban inspires our leadership to act, and act boldly,' Neronha said. 'One life lost to gun violence is one too many.' The 15-member House Committee on Judiciary meets Tuesday at 3 p.m. to consider advancing amended legislation sponsored by Rep. Jason Knight, a Barrington Democrat, to the floor for a full vote by the chamber. Knight's bill has support from 38 of the House's 75 members. Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi has previously indicated support for a ban on assault-style weapons. The proposal includes revisions based on feedback from a March 26 Judiciary Committee hearing where hundreds of Second Amendment advocates in yellow T-shirts outnumbered gun safety advocates. Under Knight's bill, assault weapons are defined as semiautomatic rifles, pistols, and shotguns equipped with accessories such as pistol grips, folding stocks, or threaded barrels. The amended version removed bayonet mounts and certain .22 caliber rimfire rifles and Olympic-style target pistols from the definition. The amended legislation now takes effect July 1, 2026, rather than Jan. 1, 2026. Knight said the new date was picked in order to give store owners more time to prepare for the change, and for state and local police to develop a voluntary firearm certification program for assault-style weapons acquired ahead of the ban. Knight's original legislation proposed that grandfathered weapons be registered with state or local police. Weapons acquired ahead of the ban would continue to be exempt from the legislation, but the amended bill also exempts firearms passed down through a family. The amended bill now exempts retired law enforcement officers. That's in addition to active police and members of the armed forces who would be allowed to keep assault-style weapons under the original bill. 'We got rid of one or two things upon reflection we probably did not need,' Knight said in an interview Monday. 'The vast majority of Rhode Islanders want this policy change,' he added, acknowledging two recent polls that found widespread support for banning assault weapons. A University of New Hampshire poll released May 29 found that 55% of the 653 residents surveyed were in favor of banning the sale and manufacture of firearms with 'military-style features.' A February poll conducted for the Rhode Island AFL-CIO found 64% of Rhode Islanders support the ban. Knight has backed legislation to ban assault-style weapons since 2018 — the same year then-Gov. Gina Raimondo established a gun-safety working group after a gunman killed 17 students in Parkland Florida with an AR-15. 'You see random acts of violence that involve multiple victims stepping up,' Knight said. 'It's our responsibility as a legislature to provide public order and safety.' What's not changing in the amended bill: Violators of the proposed ban would face up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000 and forfeiture of their assault-style weapon. 'It's a good bill,' Melissa Carden, executive director of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence, said in an interview. 'This is really momentous. This is the reason that the coalition was formed, it's been our priority for a really long time.' But Knight's changers are still not enough to appease gun rights advocates, who remain opposed to the proposed ban. 'Their concern is passing a bill for the win, and not reducing gun violence,' Glenn Valentine, president of the Rhode Island Second Amendment PAC, said in a text message Monday. The Gaspee Project, a nonprofit that touts its opposition to progressive and 'special interest' policies on its website, took to social media Friday evening to urge gun owners to keep opposing Knight's legislation. 'This amended version is just as awful as the original,' the group wrote on X. Companion legislation is filed in the Senate by Lou DiPalma, a Middletown Democrat, where the bill has 23 additional sponsors — including Senate President Valarie Lawson. DiPalma's bill was heard by the Senate Committee on Judiciary on May 14 where it was held for further study The bill has not been scheduled for the committee's consideration as of Monday. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
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29 minutes ago
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J.D. Scholten launches run after U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst's statement on Medicaid
Democratic state Rep. J.D. Scholten launched his campaign for U.S. Senate June 2, 2025 following U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst's comments on Medicaid cuts. (Photos via Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch and Iowa PBS livestream) Iowa Rep. J.D. Scholten, D-Sioux City, launched a run to challenge U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst Monday in the wake of her remarks at a town hall that garnered national backlash from Democrats and health care advocates. Ernst made her controversial remark, 'we are all going to die,' at a Parkersburg town hall Friday after a person in the crowd shouted 'people will die' as she was discussing funding cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The cuts are included in the 'big, beautiful' budget reconciliation bill passed by the U.S. House in May. Though Ernst told the crowd there would likely be changes to the bill from the Senate, she supported the cuts that 'make sure that those that are not eligible by the federal standard for Medicaid are not receiving Medicaid.' Ernst posted an 'apology' video Saturday after she drew national criticism for her response. Filmed in a cemetery, Ernst posted a video on Instagram where she sarcastically said she wanted to 'sincerely apologize for a statement that I made yesterday at my town hall.' 'I made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that, yes, we are all going to perish from this earth,' Ernst said in the video. 'So I apologize, and I'm really, really glad that I did not have to bring up the subject of the tooth fairy as well.' She recommended 'for those that would like to see eternal and everlasting life, I encourage you to embrace my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.' The comments prompted Scholten, a professional baseball pitcher for the Sioux City Explorers and state legislator, to launch his campaign for U.S. Senate. In a video posted Monday, Scholten said he 'wasn't planning on doing this right now, but I just can't sit on the sidelines' following Ernst's comments. 'Cutting vital services to give bigger tax breaks to billionaires isn't just bad policy, it's theft from people like you and me,' Scholten said. 'Maybe it sounds crazy to run against an insider with enough arrogance to laugh at her constituents, but I've ran hard races before.' Scholten ran twice for Iowa's 4th Congressional District seat, in 2018 and 2020. Though he lost both elections, he was short by an unexpectedly tight margin — losing 47% to 50% to former U.S. Rep. Steve King in 2018 in the longtime conservative stronghold. In 2020, backlash against King for inflammatory comments made on issues like abortion exemptions and white nationalism led to his primary defeat by U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, who currently holds the seat. The Democratic state lawmaker said he is running to tackle wealth inequality and improve America's health care systems. 'I fundamentally believe that we deserve more than a GoFundMe broken healthcare system, a JBS food system and Dollar General economy,' Scholten said. 'Ultimately, this race is not about Joni Ernst, and it's not about me. It's about the people in Iowa who deserve better: Better representatives who fight against the billionaire elites and special interests who hurt us.' Nathan Sage, a Mason City Democrat, and Scholten are currently the only Democrats who have announced their bids for the seat. However, more Democratic challengers are expected to join the field, including Iowa Sen. Zach Wahls, D-Coralville. Wahls released a statement Friday criticizing Ernst's comments, saying Iowa 'need leaders who will fight for us, not gut health care funding that over 700,000 Iowans rely on.' 'It is of course true that we are all going to die, but our Senators shouldn't be the ones killing us,' Wahls said. National Democrats were quick to respond to Ernst's comments, saying it further proved that Republicans are aware the Medicaid cuts will lead to preventable deaths. Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin made a statement denouncing Ernst's video Saturday. 'Thoughts and prayers have a new meaning for the Republican Party with Joni Ernst doubling down on her cruel words,' Martin said. 'It is immoral and un-Christian to do nothing to prevent people from dying but unfortunately, Trump, Ernst, and the Republican Party are hellbent on putting their own constituents at risk.' Iowa's junior U.S. senator is far from the only Republican facing backlash for their support of the budget reconciliation bill that includes substantial federal funding cuts to public assistance programs. GOP members of Congress nationwide have faced fiery crowds at public events for months, met by shouts and jeers from constituents upset about actions taken by Elon Musk's U.S. DOGE Service and potential cuts to public assistance programs including Medicaid as well as veterans' benefits and Social Security. Several Iowans who depend on Medicaid for themselves or their family also decried Ernst's comments. Patrick Kearns, a registered nurse at the Iowa City VA Medical Center who has two adult children with disabilities on Medicaid, said he wished he was surprised by Ernst's comments, but that he was not. Kearns said he believes Ernst's comments reflect how many Republicans view people on Medicaid, pointing to Elon Musk, a former special government employee in the Trump administration, making social media posts referring to people on federal aid programs as a 'parasite class.' 'She accidentally said the quiet part out loud … People are going to die, and why are we bothering to keep these folks alive?' Kearns said. 'And I mean, (t0 say) that I'm horrified by it is pretty mild, but I guess the worst part of it is that I'm not surprised.' Ernst and other Republicans have presented the changes to Medicaid as a means to stop waste, fraud and abuse in the system, and limit the public health coverage to people in need through restrictions like work requirements. At the Friday town hall, Ernst pointed to 'illegals that are receiving Medicaid benefits' and unemployed adults who do not have disabilities as the people being removed from Medicaid through the GOP tax and spending bill. 'What we do need to do is make sure that those that are part of a vulnerable population have access to Medicaid and receive those full benefits,' Ernst said. 'So what we're trying to do is strengthen Medicaid by directing the dollars to the people that actually meet the requirements of the program.' Kearns said he doesn't believe the people Ernst says are abusing the Medicaid system exist, though he does think there is major fraud and misuse of Medicaid funds happening through large health provider and insurance companies. The Medicaid cuts will not target entities or individuals actually abusing the system, Kearns said, but instead push people in need to drop out of the system by adding new barriers in getting coverage. Kearns said he and his wife are 'relatively savvy' through education and years of working in the Medicaid system — but that 'every time one of those quarter-inch thick envelopes arrives from from the state, we're like, 'oh my God.'' Receiving Medicaid is already an arduous process for the people it is intended to serve — and adding new requirements will only make getting care more difficult for these populations, he said. 'The idea that somebody that's able-bodied and able to work would put themselves through the process to enroll in Medicaid, I think it's laughable,' Kearns said. '… Folks that have disabilities or that have severe medical problems that necessitate them going into long-term care or whatever else — they need social workers to help marshal them through that system. This is not something that you know the general person off the street can do.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
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Independent report reveals Lamont staffer used government-issued vehicle for personal use
HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — An independent report commissioned by Gov. Ned Lamont (D) showed that a government official in his office was using a government-issued vehicle for personal use, according to a press release from the governor's office. Connecticut lawmakers reach deal on two-year budget, heads to House vote Jonathan Dach was chief of staff to the Office of the Governor (OTG) from Jan. 4, 2023 to July 3, 2024, at which time he transitioned to Senior Advisor. The report revealed that from Jan. 2023 to Sept. 2024, Dach used a Ford Escape issued by the OTG for personal use, using it to commute to and from work, parking it in prohibited locations, purchasing fuel with state funds and speeding. His personal usage violates a Connecticut state law that prohibits a public official from using their public office for personal gain. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
