Latest news with #JudiciaryCommittee
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Rep. Nadler: GOP should condemn detention of aide at Manhattan office
New York Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler on Tuesday called on the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee to condemn the brief detention of a Nadler aide by federal authorities at his lower Manhattan district office last week amid a protest against President Donald Trump's crackdown on undocumented immigrants. Joined by Rep. Jamie Raskin, the Judiciary Committee's ranking Democrat, Nadler demanded Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, stand up for the congressional staffer who was handcuffed Wednesday during protests at the Varick St. building that houses both the Nadler office and an immigration courthouse. 'We call on you, as chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary, to condemn this aggressive affront to the separation of powers and the safety of members of Congress, our staff, and our constituents,' the letter said. Jordan didn't immediately respond. The Department of Homeland Security said the Nadler aide, who was never arrested, was briefly detained as part of a wider security check to protect federal employees in the building during the protest. But Democrats say the detention is part of an aggressive policy by the Trump administration to squelch public opposition to its plan to deport millions of undocumented immigrants. 'These types of intimidation tactics are completely unwarranted and cannot be tolerated,' the lawmakers wrote to Jordan. 'The decision to enter a congressional office and detain a congressional staff member demonstrates a deeply troubling disregard for proper legal boundaries.' Nadler, who was the Judiciary chairman until this year, has been irate over the incident since it happened. He accused DHS of 'lying' about it, especially a claim that the female staffer was 'harboring rioters.' Along with congressional action, he's calling for a probe into what he considers an abuse of power to target opponents of the Trump administration, but Democrats believe that is unlikely to happen. 'They barged in … and they then said that she pushed back and they shackled her and took her downstairs,' Nadler told CNN on Monday. 'She was obviously traumatized.'
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Rep. Nadler: GOP should condemn detention of aide at Manhattan office
Rep. Jerry Nadler on Tuesday called on the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee to condemn the brief detention of a Nadler aide by federal authorities at his lower Manhattan district office last week amid a protest against President Trump's crackdown on undocumented immigrants. Joined by Rep. Jamie Raskin, the Judiciary Committee's ranking Democrat, Nadler demanded Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) stand up for the congressional staffer who was handcuffed Wednesday during protests at the Varick Street building that houses both the Nadler office and an immigration courthouse. 'We call on you, as Chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary, to condemn this aggressive affront to the separation of powers and the safety of Members of Congress, our staff, and our constituents,' the letter said. Jordan didn't immediately respond. The Department of Homeland Security said the Nadler aide, who was never arrested, was briefly detained as part of a wider security check to protect federal employees in the building during the protest. But Democrats say the detention is part of an aggressive policy by the Trump administration to squelch public opposition to its plan to deport millions of undocumented immigrants. 'These types of intimidation tactics are completely unwarranted and cannot be tolerated,' the lawmakers wrote to Jordan. 'The decision to enter a congressional office and detain a congressional staff member demonstrates a deeply troubling disregard for proper legal boundaries.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Lawmakers still split over data privacy policy as bill advances to floor
Republican Rep. Rachel Henderson of Rumford (middle) discusses her data privacy proposal with Judiciary Committee analyst Janet Stocco (left). (Emma Davis/ Maine Morning Star) Members of the Judiciary Committee late Friday advanced one of three proposals to better protect data privacy in Maine with the hope that the effort to rein in the reach of Big Tech would not founder as it did last year. Before voting against her own bill, Rep. Rachel Henderson (R-Rumford) told the Judiciary Committee Friday afternoon that she thinks the best chance the Legislature has to get a comprehensive data privacy law passed this year is for there to be just one plan for the Maine Senate and House of Representatives to consider. 'To me, it's not about having a bill in my name,' Henderson said. 'It's about the policy. Transparently, it took me a while to get there. I've got an ego too.' However, that decision does not mean lawmakers agree on what the right policy is. That will still be worked out in the chambers. For the sake of procedure, the committee opted to advance just one of the bills, but the competing components of the plans will still have the opportunity to be considered as majority and minority reports. As Henderson put it, 'I would hate to see happen this year what happened last year.' Legislature rejects paths to a comprehensive data privacy law in Maine Last session, after a dozen public meetings, countless hours of behind-the-scenes work and sizable lobbying influence from Big Tech, the Legislature rejected two competing data privacy bills on the last day, during which floor speeches demonstrated confusion over the various differences in the bills. The fundamental differences between last year's legislation — namely how companies approach the collection of user data — could not be reconciled. The plans being considered this year, which lean heavily on last year's proposals, still have those key differences, so whether a resolution can be reached this year will remain to be seen. The main disagreement is how to approach a standard called data minimization, which broadly means limiting the collection of personal information to only what is necessary to fulfill the consumer service. The legislation the majority of the committee advanced, LD 1822 sponsored by Rep. Amy Kuhn (D-Falmouth), uses this approach. It specifically would limit the collection of personal data to only what is reasonably necessary and proportionate to provide a specific product or service requested by the consumer. The key reason business interests at the public hearing opposed this bill was because they were concerned it would prevent them from doing targeted advertising. While Kuhn built her bill off of one of the versions last year that was favored by privacy advocates and opposed by businesses, she altered it to ensure small businesses that have to stretch their advertising dollars can access ad exchanges, which are marketplaces where companies can buy and sell advertising. On Friday, Maine Assistant Attorney General Brendan O'Neil said, 'I don't see a restriction on targeted advertising in the bill.' Henderson's bill, LD 1088, which the majority of committee rejected, would use a notice and consent model, allowing companies to collect data as long as consumers agree to it in privacy notices. Earlier in May, the committee rejected a similar bill, LD 1224, to narrow down the number of competing proposals. These two bills are similar to the version last session that was favored by businesses, who argued for Maine to adopt a law that is consistent with those adopted by other states. There is currently a patchwork of state laws and parts of federal legislation governing the current landscape, as there remains no one federal law regulating internet privacy, despite several proposals. But more than a dozen states have modeled their laws off one first passed in Connecticut, which is the basis for LD 1088 and LD 1224. However, Connecticut's attorney general has since recommended that its state Legislature amend the law to strengthen data minimization provisions rather than rely on its current 'exploitable' notice-and-consent model. Reading from the Connecticut report released in April, O'Neil said, 'They start out by saying that, in many cases, serious privacy and data security concerns could have been offset, if not fully alleviated, if companies had properly minimized the data they collected and maintained. That's really what LD 1822's data minimization standard aims to do.' Maryland passed a law last year that is similar to Kuhn's proposal, marking a departure from the years-long trend of states following what privacy advocates see as Connecticut's watered down model. Maine's full Legislature will now decide between these two versions of a data privacy law. The committee voted 7-1 against LD 1088, with Rep. Adam Lee opposed, but his minority report was to strike and replace the bill with Kuhn's bill. Six members were absent for the vote. The committee also voted 7-1 in favor of LD 1822, with Henderson opposed. Her minority report is to strike and replace the bill for her bill language. Six members were again absent for the vote. Essentially, these minority reports afford lawmakers avenues to take up the versions as they see fit but, the committee hopes, without the confusion of competing bills like last year. With the possibility of changes coming to Connecticut's law and waiting to see how Maryland's law works in practice, lawmakers also prepared to have a vehicle to use should Maine pass a law and then want to amend it based on lessons learned from other states. A concept draft, LD 595 sponsored by Judiciary Committee co-chair Anne Carney (D-Cumberland), will be carried over into next year, which currently reads that it could 'further update certain consumer privacy laws in response to recent developments in federal and state consumer privacy laws.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Axios
5 days ago
- Politics
- Axios
Robert Garcia kicks off Dems' next generational proxy battle
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) on Thursday formally launched his bid to become ranking member of the House Oversight Committee. Why it matters: The 47-year-old Democratic leadership member is likely to be pitted against a pair of septuagenarian colleagues with more seniority, making this a proxy battle in Democrats' ongoing generational war. The role came vacant last week with the passing of Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) at 75. Connolly beat out 35-year-old Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) last year for the position. Reps. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), 70, and Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.), 77, have both expressed interest in succeeding Connolly, as has Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), 44. What they're saying: In a three-page "dear colleague" letter announcing his candidacy, Garcia wrote that Democrats need to "organize" and "fight back" against the Trump administration. "I'm ready to help lead that fight ... [and] to ensure we hold those in power accountable and protect democracy for the next generation," he said. Garcia cited his tenure as mayor of Long Beach, in which he "used audits and data to drive reform, launched new technology to make city services more accessible, and modernized how City Hall operates." The intrigue: Democrats have struggled to hold down a House Oversight Committee leader, having churned through four in the last six years. Two, Connolly and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), died in office. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) lost her primary in 2022, while Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) jumped over to lead the Judiciary Committee last year. Lynch currently serves as the acting ranking member. He is second in seniority on the panel after Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), 87. What's next: House Democratic caucus chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) plans to schedule a vote for the position June 24, according to guidance he sent to colleagues earlier this week.
CNN
23-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Democratic senator places hold on Trump pick for top federal prosecutor in Miami saying Vance set precedent
A new battle is stirring on Capitol Hill as Senate Democrats have threatened to not move forward with confirmations of President Donald Trump's US attorney nominees around the country – already following through with a hold on one of his picks. Senate Democrats say they are merely following precedent established by now-Vice President JD Vance under President Joe Biden, when the then-senator held up US attorney nominations in protest of what he called the political prosecutions against Trump. Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced Thursday that he would hold the nomination of Jason Reding Quiñones as the US attorney for the Southern District of Florida. In the announcement, Durbin said he would leave 'open the possibility of holds on future U.S. Attorney nominees,' citing Vance's previous moves. 'Because of then-Senator JD Vance holding US Attorney nominations during the Biden Administration, there is now a new precedent for roll call votes on the Floor for confirming U.S. Attorney nominees,' Durbin said in a statement. 'As I've said time and time again—there cannot be one set of rules for Republicans and another set for Democrats.' Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley on Friday called the block by Durbin an 'aggressive, unprecedented attack' on the criminal justice system. 'Make no mistake: the 'precedent' the Ranking Member claims then-Senator Vance set does not exist,' Grassley said in a statement. 'Vance's holds were limited to a small number of U.S. Attorney nominees in the latter half of the Biden administration. Placing a blanket hold on all U.S. Attorney nominees before the Trump administration has filled even a single one of the 93 Attorneys' Offices would constitute an aggressive, unprecedented attack on the American criminal justice system.' It's not new for senators to use tactics to block administrations led by the opposing party from enacting their agendas – tactics that are in turn used against them in the same, if not expanded, way. Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, during President Barack Obama's second term, for instance, often employed a parliamentary tactic used by his predecessor as Senate majority leader – Democratic Sen. Harry Reid – to stop amendments on the floor, expanding the use of the chamber's rule to get bills more quickly passed. But stopping Trump from being able to fill the 93 US attorney slots across the US would place a notable strain on the justice system and could open up a continued tit-for-tat next time Democrats control the White House.
