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UPI
14 minutes ago
- UPI
Senate Democrats vote against arms sales to Israel in record number
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. in March. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo July 31 (UPI) -- The U.S. Senate has approved weapons sales to Israel, despite the fact that a majority of Senate Democrats voted against the measure. Twenty-seven of the 47 Democrats voted Wednesday in favor of two resolutions to block U.S. military sales to Israel, a change from the historically typical bipartisan support such resolutions are expected to receive. The resolutions were sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who said in a press release Wednesday that "the members of the Senate Democratic caucus voted to stop sending arms shipments to a Netanyahu government which has waged a horrific, immoral, and illegal war against the Palestinian people." "The tide is turning," he added. "The American people do not want to spend billions to starve children in Gaza." Sanders' resolutions may have failed, but the 27 senators in support is the most he has received in the three times he sponsored them. His first attempt in November of last year received 18 Democratic votes, and a second attempt in April scored 15. However, 70 senators voted against Sanders' first resolution that sought to block over $675 million in weapons sales to Israel. His second resolution, which would have prohibited the sale of thousands of assault rifles, lost more support as it was defeated by a 73-24 margin. Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., voted in support of Sanders' resolutions for the first time. "Tonight I voted YES to block the sale of certain weapons to Israel to send a message to Netanyahu's government," she posted to X Wednesday. "This legislative tool is not perfect, but frankly it is time to say ENOUGH to the suffering of innocent young children and families." "Tonight, I voted in favor of blocking the Trump Administration from sending more weapons to Israel," said Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., in an X post Wednesday, after voting yes for the first time. "My votes tonight reflect my deep frustration with the Netanyahu government's abject failure to address humanitarian needs in Gaza and send a message to the Trump administration that it must change course if it wants to help end this devastating war," she concluded. "The Democrats are moving forward on this issue, and I look forward to Republican support in the near future," Sanders further noted in his release.
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Newsom faces a tight timeline to redistrict California. Here are the roadblocks
SACRAMENTO — To counter Texas redistricting, Gov. Gavin Newsom faces a tight timeline to convince lawmakers to act. But many won't even say where they stand on the issue. Newsom first raised the prospect of redrawing California's congressional maps in favor of Democrats three weeks ago as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott moved to do the same in his state in favor of Republicans. But while Abbott has been able to move forward with his redistricting efforts unfettered, Newsom faces more roadblocks. In most states, including in Texas, state lawmakers approve congressional maps, giving politicians power to shape districts in favor of their own political parties. But California voters took that power away from the state Legislature in 2010 and handed it to an independent redistricting commission. The secretary of state's office would need about three month's heads up to facilitate a special election, said spokesperson Jim Patrick. That means California lawmakers would need to act immediately when they return from their summer recess in mid-August to bring the issue before voters at the same time as municipal elections in November. Sen. Dave Cortese, D-San Jose, said he thinks that's an unlikely prospect. 'I never use the word impossible, but that's about as close as you can get to impossible,' said Cortese, who serves as the Senate majority whip. 'I think rushing like that would be imprudent. If we're going to do it at all, it needs to be well thought out, well planned, defensible in every way, and then we put it before the voters. That's what it would take to get my vote.' To go to voters, as Newsom has suggested, and ask them to at least partially undo the law they passed in 2010, the governor will need to convince at least 80 of the 120 state lawmakers. Democrats control 91 seats in the state Senate and Assembly combined. In theory, that gives Newsom a wide margin of support if he can get his party on board. But even lawmakers who represent the liberal Bay Area are mostly staying silent. The Chronicle reached out to the 27 lawmakers — all Democrats — who represent the area asking what they think of Newsom's plan. Just two said explicitly that they support putting a measure on the ballot to reclaim the power to draw congressional districts. Some others expressed general support for the idea of pushing back against Texas, but did not explicitly endorse a ballot measure. Sen. Chris Cabaldon, a Democrat representing parts of the Sacramento region and Bay Area wine country, said he supports Newsom's proposal. 'I think he's got it exactly right,' Cabaldon told the Chronicle. 'We have to recognize what's really at stake here and fight back.' He doesn't want to change the independent commission's power to draw state legislative districts, but said he supports the idea of a ballot measure that temporarily allows California lawmakers to draw new congressional maps. Assembly Member Catherine Stefani of San Francisco also endorsed the idea of a ballot measure. 'Trump and his allies have shown they'll do whatever it takes to undermine democracy — and if they're going to rig the game, we owe it to our voters to fight back,' she wrote in a statement. 'The fairest way to do that is to let the people of California decide at the ballot box.' Sen. Josh Becker of Menlo Park and Assembly Members Patrick Ahrens of Sunnyvale and Ash Kalra of San Jose agreed with Newsom that California should fight back. They also agreed that a ballot measure should be on the table, but stopped short of explicitly endorsing one. Senate Pro Tem Mike McGuire and Assembly Member Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, who represent parts of the North Bay, did not respond directly to questions about whether they support Newsom's specific proposals, but broadly endorsed the idea of fighting back against Republicans. Assembly Member Alex Lee of San Jose pushed back on Newsom's plan. 'Respectfully… why?' he wrote on social media in response to Newsom's proposal. He described California's independent redistricting commission as a 'model for the nation.' Cortese said he's willing to consider a ballot measure, given the stakes, but said he wouldn't support something that permanently revoked the independent commission's power to draw districts, something he considers one of the biggest improvements to the Legislature in the last 20 years. There's no way for California state lawmakers, who often run for Congress themselves and are close with many candidates who do, to draw district lines objectively, he said. 'When it comes to taking back the House, I don't think anyone in our caucus will say that's not an important goal,' Cortese said. 'The question is can we come up with a way to get there that doesn't throw our own Legislature into chaos?' Cortese said he would not consider another plan Newsom has floated — to simply have the Legislature draw new maps using the argument that while the California Constitution gives that power to the independent commission after each census, it doesn't explicitly prohibit lawmakers from drawing different maps mid-decade. The governor has acknowledged that's a strategy that might not hold up in court. The state budget deficit is also a concern. The last statewide special election in 2021 cost $200 million in public funds to administer. If the Legislature can't consolidate this special election with local elections already scheduled in November, that means it could be looking at a similar cost in the face of a massive budget deficit. And the timeline will still be tight. If the Legislature draws new maps, it must do so with enough time for candidates to file to run in the new districts. California's 2026 primary election is scheduled for June 2, and the deadline for people to declare their candidacy is March 6. Pro-redistricting pollsters are already interviewing voters about how they feel about the prospect of politicians redrawing the state's political boundaries less than 20 years after Californians overwhelmingly voted that a non-partisan commission should. It is not clear who is funding or performing the polling. Former Brea (Orange County) Mayor Glenn Parker was called by a pollster last week asking if he would support a proposition to eliminate California's redistricting commission and put the process back in the hands of the Legislature. As a longtime local elected official and registered Democrat who has never voted for Donald Trump, he said he was torn. The redistricting commission 'isn't necessarily perfect, but it's probably the closest thing we could get to an objective drawing of the districts,' said Parker, who applied to be on the commission but was not accepted. 'But you do have to fight fire with fire.' Stanford University political science professor Bruce Cain worked on California's 1980 redistricting plans when he was a Democratic staffer in the Assembly. He said he doubts voters would support a measure to undo the commission. Democrats are split between those who want to counter the Republican move in Texas and good government types who don't want to roll back a nationally lauded political reform, he said. Republicans would be uniformly against it, Cain said, because it would strip them of power. Independent voters are 'more likely to say, 'Hey, wait a minute. Under this (current) system, we have a voice. If we're going back to the Legislature (drawing the maps), we don't count for anything.' So I don't see the winning coalition there,' Cain said. The unknown factor is whether Newsom could convince Democrats and left-leaning independents that the move is necessary to counter Trump, of whom two-thirds of California voters disapprove. 'That is to be determined,' Cain said. 'This will be an uphill battle to convince voters. There'll be some backlash to this.' Newsom has insisted he's serious about his plans to counter redistricting in Texas, though he hasn't committed to spending a specific amount of money on a campaign, which would likely cost tens of millions of dollars. Some opposition might already be amassing. On Tuesday, Charles Munger Jr., the longtime Republican donor who funded the 2010 ballot measure that created a citizens panel to draw boundaries for congressional seats, posted on X that 'any attempt to undermine the nonpartisan California Redistricting Commission will be strongly opposed in the courts and at the ballot box.' Munger would have the funds to mount a credible opposition campaign. Munger's father, who died in 2023, was vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Corp. and a longtime colleague of Warren Buffett.
Politico
an hour ago
- Politico
Beacon Hill's big stick
DEAL OR NO DEAL — Facing mounting public pressure and the threat that the bar advocate battle could bleed into their summer break, lawmakers on Beacon Hill are choosing the stick over the carrot. The proposal legislators tacked onto a supplemental budget they plan to vote on this afternoon would give bar advocates a $20 per hour raise over two years. That's less than the $35 per hour single-year increase they lobbied for. At that rate, it's not a guarantee that the bar advocates who stopped taking new clients will come back to work. But lawmakers added a workaround. In addition to bumping up bar advocates' hourly rates, the supplemental spending plan calls for $40 million to go to the Committee for Public Counsel Services to hire more public defenders, who also represent indigent defendants. Another provision would require bar advocates to sign biannual contracts with the Committee for Public Counsel Services and would help prevent future work stoppages by considering those like the one many attorneys began in late May a violation of antitrust law. It's essentially a take-it-or-leave-it deal, House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz acknowledged, calling the raise 'significant, sufficient,' and 'much higher' than anyone else on state payroll amid a budget crunch. Senate President Karen Spilka pushed back on the idea that the changes amounted to 'punishment' of bar advocates, whose tactics legislative leaders openly chafed at. 'It's not punishment. It's reality,' Spilka told reporters. 'We're trying to just balance this out again, a little bit more so that CPCS will have more attorneys.' The question remains whether or not enough attorneys will return to work quickly enough to keep the courts from being forced to release more defendants. GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Drop me a line: kgarrity@ TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and state and local officials announce tax credits for housing development at 10 a.m. in Winchester. Healey and Driscoll make a job and innovation announcement at noon at the State House and speak at the opening ceremony at the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament at 5:30 p.m. in New Bedford. Rep. Jim McGovern joins MASSCAP and the Worcester Community Action Council for a press conference about prospective cuts to energy aid at 2 p.m. in Worcester. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu hosts a press conference promoting upcoming liquor license opportunities at 10:30 a.m. in Chinatown. MORNING MONEY: CAPITAL RISK — POLITICO's flagship financial newsletter has a new Friday edition built for the economic era we're living in: one shaped by political volatility, disruption and a wave of policy decisions with sector-wide consequences. Each week, Morning Money: Capital Risk brings sharp reporting and analysis on how political risk is moving markets and how investors are adapting. Want to know how health care regulation, tariffs, or court rulings could ripple through the economy? Start here. YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — The Boston Ward 15 Democratic Committee has endorsed Boston Mayor Michelle Wu for reelection. Eleven of the city's Democratic Ward Committees that are now backing the incumbent mayor (wards 1, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 15, 18, 19, 21 and 22). — Boston City Councilor John FitzGerald is endorsing Will Onuoha in the crowded at-large race. — Markey's East & West Support United with Backing from McGovern by Matt Szafranski, Western Mass Politics & Insight: 'Senator Ed Markey has already received support for his reelection from the commonwealth's east and west. That support is now meeting in its (geographic) center. In a video, Worcester Congressman James McGovern, who also represents much of Franklin and Hampshire counties, announced his support for Markey adding 'there is no better fighter in the Senate.' — Josh Kraft accuses Boston Mayor Wu of hiding White Stadium taxpayer cost until after election by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: 'Boston mayoral candidate Josh Kraft seized on Mayor Michelle Wu's latest delay in releasing final taxpayer costs of her administration's public-private rehab of White Stadium as evidence she's hiding that figure until after the election. Kraft said Wednesday that Wu's latest remarks on the radio this week, when she pushed back the timeline for releasing a final budget for the project from this summer to 'later this calendar year' after 'all construction bids are finalized,' are indicative of what he sees as the mayor's lack of transparency around how taxpayer dollars are being spent on the pro soccer stadium rehab.' DATELINE BEACON HILL — Senate poised to approve school cellphone ban by Christian M. Wade, The Eagle-Tribune: 'The state Senate is poised to approve a statewide ban on the use of cellphones and other electronic gadgets in public schools in response to rising concerns about classroom distractions and teen mental health issues. The legislation, teed up for a Thursday vote, would require the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to develop guidance to school districts on how to implement a 'bell-to-bell' ban. Those bans would be required to be approved before the 2026-27 school year.' — Despite widespread support, 'menstrual equity' bill has stalled for two sessions in the House by Bhaamati Borkhetaria, CommonWealth Beacon: 'Two years ago, Senate President Karen Spilka called it a 'simple' proposition to make menstrual products available in public spaces like schools, prisons, and homeless shelters. At a 2023 hearing on a bill that would do that, Sen. Julian Cyr, the vice chair of the Joint Committee on Public Health, called it 'absurd that menstrual products aren't readily available in every and all public locations.' But getting a 'menstrual equity' bill across the finish line has been anything but simple.' FROM THE HUB — Boston City Hall staffer embroiled in alleged North End shoe fight by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: 'A Boston City Hall employee allegedly struck a woman in the face repeatedly with her high-heel shoe, as part of an attack that also reportedly involved the Wu administration official's father and two of her sisters last Friday in the North End. Ciara D'Amico, the city's deputy director of neighborhoods, allegedly joined an attack that began with her father, John D'Amico, punching a woman in the face multiple times, and continued with three of his daughters jumping into the fray, according to a Boston Police report obtained by the Herald. No arrests have been made in the incident, the Herald has learned.' — Boston doesn't have an employee dating policy, but neither do many other cities by Saraya Wintersmith, GBH News. MIGRANT MOVES — The vast majority of men in ICE custody in Mass. are classified as 'no threat' by Simón Rios, WBUR: 'About 85% of federal detainees held in U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement custody at the Plymouth County detention center this year have been classified as 'no ICE threat' by the agency, according to federal data analyzed by WBUR. The numbers call into question an oft-repeated talking point for President Trump, that immigration agents are pursuing 'dangerous criminals' and 'the worst of the worst.'' — Old Orchard Beach police say DHS 'shifting blame' to them in ICE arrest of summer officer from Jamaica by Nick Stoico, The Boston Globe: 'Officials in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, issued a forceful defense of their hiring practices Wednesday in response to claims by federal authorities that the town failed to verify the work authorization of a seasonal police officer who was arrested by immigration agents last week. The town's police chief, Elise Chard, said recent public remarks Homeland Security officials criticizing her department 'appears to be an attempt to shift the blame onto a hard-working local law enforcement agency that has done its job.'' FROM THE 413 — Massive health rate hike to hit local towns this fall by Scott Merzbach, Daily Hampshire Gazette: 'All 73 members of the Hampshire County Group Insurance Trust will see health insurance rates increase by an additional 20% on Oct. 1, ensuring that the trust remains intact, even in the face of significant medical and pharmaceutical claims and the growing popularity of weight-loss drugs.' THE LOCAL ANGLE — Most districts in Worcester County see declines in enrollment by Jesse Collings, Telegram & Gazette: 'Over the last decade, Wachusett Regional School District has lost nearly 800 students. That decline, which is mirrored by districts across the county, has put an enhanced strain on school officials trying to keep a balanced budget without cutting any key programming or staff.' — Lawrence pays $40K to settle suit alleging 'dirty politics' by Jill Harmacinski, The Eagle-Tribune: 'The city reached a $40,000 settlement with Scott Wood of Haverhill who wanted to transfer to the Lawrence Police Department but the mayor terminated him before he could start. Wood, who was described in court papers as a 'tenured Haverhill police officer,' sued the city, filing a civil lawsuit in Essex Superior Court, and appealed to the Civil Service Commission. The lawsuit cited, in part, 'dirty politics and unethical and false accusations' after Lawrence Mayor Brian DePena notified him of his termination.' MEANWHILE IN RHODE ISLAND LOCAL ANGLE — North Adams native Eric Hyers has signed on to assist expected Democratic gubernatorial candidate Helena Foulkes' campaign team, The Public's Radio's Ian Donnis reports. — Brown University reaches agreement with Trump administration to restore federal research funding by Alexa Gagosz, The Boston Globe: 'Brown University has reached an agreement with the Trump administration to restore the university's federal research funding and address allegations that it failed to do enough to stop the harassment of Jewish students, according to a copy of the agreement viewed by the Globe. In exchange for the restoration of nearly $50 million in research grants, Brown will pledge $50 million over the next 10 years to state workforce development organizations in Rhode Island. The deal, which was finalized Wednesday, settles three open investigations into the university, and does not require the Ivy League institution to admit any wrongdoing or make a payment to the federal government.' HEARD 'ROUND THE BUBBLAH TRANSITIONS — Miriam Ortiz is the new chief impact officer with the Eastern Bank Foundation. HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Gabe Adams-Keane, chief of staff for state Sen. John Velis; former Gov. Bill Weld, who turns 80; former Gov. Deval Patrick, who turns 69; former Boston state Rep. Nika Elugardo, former Westfield Mayor Donald Humason Jr., Dan Kimmel, author Dave Wedge, Amy Inglis and Robert C. Merton.
