Republicans Push Musk Aside as Trump Tax Bill Barrels Forward
Congressional Republicans are siding with Donald Trump in the messy divorce between the president and Elon Musk, an optimistic sign for eventual passage of a tax cut bill at the root of the two billionaires' public feud.
Lawmakers are largely taking their cues from Trump and sticking by the $3 trillion bill at the center of the White House's economic agenda. Musk, the biggest political donor of the 2024 cycle, has threatened to help primary anyone who votes for the legislation, but lawmakers are betting that staying in the president's good graces is the safer path to political survival.
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27 minutes ago
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Southern Baptists vote to seek repeal of ruling that legalized same-sex marriage
Delegates from the Southern Baptist Convention have overwhelmingly backed a resolution opposing same-sex marriage, even urging the reversal of the Supreme Court's Obergefell v Hodges decision, which legalized it nationwide in 2015. The resolution was passed at the denomination's annual meeting, which hosted more than 10,000 church representatives. While the resolution does not explicitly use the word "ban," it calls for the "overturning of laws and court rulings, including Obergefell v Hodges, that defy God's design for marriage and family," and advocates "for laws that affirm marriage between one man and one women." The resolution also implored legislators to restrict sports betting and support policies that encourage childbearing. Even if the 2015 Obergefell decision were reversed, it would not automatically result in a nationwide ban, as 36 states had already legalized same-sex marriage at the time of the ruling, and support for it remains strong in many areas. However, if the convention got its wish, not only would Obergefell be overturned, but so would every law and court ruling that affirmed same-sex marriage. There was no debate on the marriage resolution. The marriage issue was incorporated into a much larger resolution on marriage and family — one that calls for civil law to be based on what the convention says is the divinely created order as stated in the Bible. The resolution says legislators have a duty to "pass laws that reflect the truth of creation and natural law — about marriage, sex, human life, and family" and to oppose laws contradicting "what God has made plain through nature and Scripture." The same resolution calls for recognizing "the biological reality of male and female" and opposes "any law or policy that compels people to speak falsehoods about sex and gender." It urges Christians to "embrace marriage and childbearing" and to see children "as blessings rather than burdens." But it also frames that issue as one of public policy. It calls "for renewed moral clarity in public discourse regarding the crisis of declining fertility and for policies that support the bearing and raising of children within intact, married families." It laments that modern culture is "pursuing willful childlessness which contributes to a declining fertility rate," echoing a growing subject of discourse on the religious and political right. The pornography resolution, which had no debate, calls such material destructive, addictive and exploitive and says governments have the power to ban it. The sports betting resolution draws on Southern Baptists' historic opposition to gambling. It called sports betting "harmful and predatory." Andrew Walker, chair of the Committee on Resolutions, said at a news conference that the marriage resolution shows that Southern Baptists aren't going along with the widespread social acceptance of same-sex marriage. But Walker, a professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, acknowledged that a realistic rollback strategy would require incremental steps, such as seeking to overturn Obergefell. "I'm clear-eyed about the difficulties and the headwinds in this resolution," he said. The two-day annual meeting began Tuesday morning with praise sessions and optimistic reports about growing numbers of baptisms. But casting a pall over the gathering is the recent death of one of the most high-profile whistleblowers in the Southern Baptists' scandal of sexual abuse. Jennifer Lyell, a onetime denominational publishing executive who went public in 2019 with allegations that she had been sexually abused by a seminary professor while a student, died Saturday at 47. She "suffered catastrophic strokes," a friend and fellow advocate, Rachael Denhollander, posted Sunday on X. Friends reported that the backlash Lyell received after going public with her report took a devastating toll on her. Several abuse survivors and advocates for reform, who previously had a prominent presence in recent SBC meetings, are skipping this year's gathering, citing lack of progress by the convention. Two people sought to fill that void, standing vigil outside of the meeting at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas as attendees walked by. The pair held up signs with photos of Lyell and of Gareld Duane Rollins, who died earlier this spring and who was among those who accused longtime SBC power broker Paul Pressler of sexual abuse. "It's not a healthy thing for them (survivors) to be here," said Johnna Harris, host of a podcast on abuse in evangelical ministries. "I felt like it was important for someone to show up. I want people to know there are people who care." The SBC Executive Committee, in a 2022 apology, acknowledged "its failure to adequately listen, protect, and care for Jennifer Lyell when she came forward to share her story." It also acknowledged the denomination's official news agency had not accurately reported the situation as "sexual abuse by a trusted minister in a position of power at a Southern Baptist seminary." SBC officials issued statements this week lamenting Lyell's death, but her fellow advocates have denounced what they say is a failure to implement reforms. The SBC's 2022 meeting voted overwhelmingly to create a way to track pastors and other church workers credibly accused of sex abuse. That came shortly after the release of a blockbuster report by an outside consultant, which said Southern Baptist leaders mishandled abuse cases and stonewalled victims for years. But the denomination's Executive Committee president, Jeff Iorg, said earlier this year that creating a database is not a focus and that the committee instead plans to refer churches to existing databases of sex offenders and focus on education about abuse prevention. The committee administers the denomination's day-to-day business. Advocates for reform don't see those approaches as adequate. It is the latest instance of "officials trailing out hollow words, impotent task forces and phony dog-and-pony shows of reform," abuse survivor and longtime advocate Christa Brown wrote on Baptist News Global, which is not SBC-affiliated. In a related action, the Executive Committee will also be seeking $3 million in convention funding for ongoing legal expenses related to abuse cases.
29 minutes ago
Judge tosses lawsuit over Trump's firing of US African Development Foundation board members
A federal judge has tossed out a lawsuit over President Donald Trump's dismantling of a U.S. federal agency that invests in African small businesses. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington, D.C., dismissed the case on Tuesday, finding that Trump was acting within his legal authority when he fired the U.S. African Development Foundation's board members in February. In March, the same judge ruled that the administration's removal of most grant money and staff from the congressionally created agency was also legal, as long as the agency was maintained at the minimum level required by law. USADF was created as an independent agency in 1980, and its board members must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. In 2023, Congress allocated $46 million to the agency to invest in small agricultural and energy infrastructure projects and other economic development initiatives in 22 African countries. On Feb. 19, Trump issued an executive order that said USADF, the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Inter-American Foundation and the Presidio Trust should be scaled back to the minimum presence required by law. At the time, USADF had five of its seven board seats filled. A few days later, an administration official told Ward Brehm that he was fired, and emails were sent to the other board members notifying them that they had also been terminated. Those emails were never received, however, because they were sent to the wrong email addresses. The four board members, believing they still held their posts because they had not been given notice, met in March and passed a resolution appointing Brehm as the president of the board. But Trump had already appointed Pete Marocco as the new chairman of what the administration believed to now be a board of one. Since then, both men have claimed to be the president of the agency, and Brehm filed the lawsuit March 6. Leon said that even though they didn't receive the emails, the four board members were effectively terminated in February, and so they didn't have the authority to appoint Brehm to lead the board. Brehm's attorney, Bradley Girard with Democracy Forward, expressed disappointment with the judge's decision. 'But in our parallel case, Rural Development Innovations v. Marocco, a grantee and two USADF employees have also challenged Marocco's unlawful appointment," Girard wrote in an email. "We are hopeful that the Court will reject the defendants' attempt to ignore the constitutional and statutory requirements for appointing board members to federal agencies.' That lawsuit is still pending before the same judge. In that case, two USADF staffers and a consulting firm based in Zambia that works closely with USADF contend that the Trump administration's efforts to deeply scale back the agency wrongly usurps Congress' powers. They also say Marocco was unlawfully appointed to the board, in part because he was never confirmed by the Senate as required.
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
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Home Depot holding opening ceremony Wednesday at South Hill store
Jun. 10—Officials from Home Depot will host a grand opening Wednesday at the hardware giant's new store on the South Hill. The 134,000-square foot store was built following the demolition of the 100,000-square-foot Shopko building at 4515 S. Regal St. The new store is located directly across the street from Ruggiero's Ace Hardware, owned by Austin and Josh Ruggiero, the third generation of the family to own the business. To commemorate the opening of Home Depot, company officials will host a community night celebration that starts at 4:30 on Wednesday. It will feature remarks from Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown, City Council President Betsy Wilkerson and Alisha Benson, CEO of Greater Spokane Incorporated. Following the event, the store will open for business at 6 a.m. on Thursday. Home Depot purchased the 13-acre property in May for $10 million, according to county property records. Building plans submitted to the city show about 28,000 square feet of the new building will include a garden center, and another 100,000 square feet will consist of retail space. A lumber canopy also is slated for the location. The store could eventually employ 175 workers, according to the project description submitted to the city. Josh Ruggiero said last year that his hardware store could suffer from the new Home Depot. "I fear we will no longer exist if this Home Depot goes in across the street," he said. But two weeks ago, the Ruggieros announced plans to highlight the differences that their store offers customers. The plan to hold a neighborhood party on Saturday at the Ace Hardware store at 44th and Regal which will include in-store promotions and family activities. "While this change presents challenges for our family-owned business, we are embracing the moment with optimism and a renewed commitment to our neighbors," Ruggiero said in a news release.
