Latest news with #Republican-supermajority
Politico
a day ago
- Politics
- Politico
DeSantis set to pick Florida's new LG — and a possible 2026 governor candidate
Gov. DeSantis plans to make his announcement Tuesday, according to four people familiar with the planning, granted anonymity to relay private conversations. Two of the people confirmed the press conference is scheduled to occur at the Tampa Green Beret Association. The location is symbolic given Collins' military service; he served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan during his 23 years in the military, and he had part of his leg amputated during his military service. Collins then requalified and spent five additional years with the Green Berets. Collins is one of the governor's top allies in the state Legislature. In recent months, he has publicly defended Hope Florida — the effort spearheaded by Casey DeSantis — as it came under scrutiny by the Republican-supermajority House. Collins also traveled to the Middle East in June to help organize DeSantis' rescue flights to help Americans fleeing Israel. Several possible contenders had been bandied about in the months since Nuñez left, but Collins shot to the top of the list due in part to his never-wavering interest in the position. 'If the governor asks me to do that, you serve your state. How do you say no to that?' Collins previously told POLITICO. The governor had considered two former Florida House speakers for the job: Republicans Jose Oliva and Richard Corcoran. The governor's office declined to share information about the event, but POLITICO previously reported that DeSantis waffled on Collins because he thought he was treating an appointment like a foregone conclusion.
Politico
24-07-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Supreme Court blocks North Dakota redistricting ruling that would gut key part of Voting Rights Act
Three conservative justices, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas, would have rejected the appeal. The court also has a separate redistricting case over a second majority Black congressional district in Louisiana. The justices heard arguments in March, but took the rare step of calling for a new round of arguments in their term that begins in October. They have yet to spell out what issues they want discussed. In the North Dakota case, the Spirit Lake Tribe and Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, with reservations 60 miles apart, argued that the state's 2021 legislative map violated the act by diluting their voting strength and ability to elect their own candidates. The case went to trial in 2023, and a federal judge later ordered the use of a map of the area, including the reservations that led to the election last year of three Native Americans, all Democrats, to the Republican-supermajority Legislature. But in a 2-1 ruling issued in May, a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that only the Justice Department can bring such lawsuits under the law's Section 2. The 8th Circuit also had ruled in an Arkansas case in 2023 that private individuals can't sue under the same provision. More than 90 percent of Section 2 cases have been brought through private enforcement, UCLA law professor Richard Hasen wrote on the Election Law blog. The 8th Circuit rulings conflict with decades of decisions by appellate courts that have affirmed the rights of private individuals to sue under Section 2.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Dumb flags' and a ‘dumb bill': Utah governor rolls his eyes at SLC's workaround of flag ban
Flags adopted as official banners of Salt Lake City, circumventing the state's ban on most flags being displayed at government buildings and schools, hang outside the Salt Lake City and County building on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. The official city flags include the Salt Lake City flag, pride flag, Juneteenth flag and transgender flag. (McKenzie Romero/Utah News Dispatch) 'Dumb.' That was the word Utah Gov. Spencer Cox used Tuesday to express his annoyance with a new law that bans certain flags in schools and government buildings while also criticizing Salt Lake City leaders' move to circumvent the ban by adopting pride and other flags symbolizing diversity and inclusion as official city banners. 'They're dumb flags and it was a dumb bill,' Cox said curtly when asked during his monthly PBS Utah news conference about Salt Lake City's response to the flag ban. Salt Lake City adopts new banners, sidestepping pride flag ban Last month, hours before the new flag ban law took effect in Utah, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall unveiled a proposal to adopt three new city flags: a rainbow one symbolizing support for LGBTQ+ communities, a pink and white one for transgender people, and a red and blue one emulating the Juneteenth flag — all with Salt Lake City's official white sego lily symbol. That evening, the City Council voted unanimously to adopt the flags. Cox allowed HB77, the bill Utah lawmakers passed aimed at banning many flags — including pride or LGBTQ+ flags — from schools and all government buildings to become law without his signature. The bill made Utah the first state in the nation to enact such a sweeping flag ban. Though he let it become law, Cox wasn't a fan of HB77. He described it in a letter as 'one of the most divisive bills of the session' and lamented that it didn't result in a compromise. Supporters of the flag ban, sponsored by Rep. Trevor Lee, R-Layton, have argued it was meant to promote 'political neutrality' in government spaces. But critics argued the broad ban would invite free speech litigation while also leaving some Utahns, especially the LGBTQ+ community, feeling unwelcome and erased. Cox could have vetoed the bill, but he indicated in his letter that it would likely have been overridden by the Republican-supermajority Utah Legislature. Instead, he urged lawmakers to 'consider commonsense solutions that address the bill's numerous flaws.' While Cox said he agreed with the 'underlying intent' to bring 'political neutrality to the classroom,' he also wrote 'unfortunately, this bill does not do that.' 'As tired as Utahns are of politically divisive symbols, I think they are also tired of culture war bills that don't solve the problems they intend to fix,' Cox wrote in his letter. On Tuesday, Cox called the ongoing debate over the flag ban and Salt Lake City leaders' response 'ridiculous.' As Sundance leaves, Utah Gov. Cox allows first-in-the-nation flag ban to become law without his pen 'You know, I feel bad for Japanese Americans. I feel bad for Polynesian Americans. I mean, who are we leaving out, here?' Cox said of Salt Lake City's new banners. 'I'm sure they feel great that they got around this dumb law, and they did it with dumb flags. The whole thing's dumb.' Pressed on what he thinks should be done instead, Cox said, 'We should raise the American flag, and let's unify around that. It's a great flag. It represents everyone. And the Legislature doesn't need to be in everybody's business all the time.' Cox let out an exasperated laugh before adding: 'we're living in the dumbest timeline right now. That's all I can say.' In response to a request for comment on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Salt Lake City Mayor's Office said 'we've had an overwhelmingly positive response' from Salt Lake City residents for the newly adopted city banners. Lee, in a post on X responding to Cox's comments on Tuesday, wrote: 'So the bill to stop the divide and get everyone to raise one flag… was dumb?' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Winnipeg Free Press
23-05-2025
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
Groups sue over West Virginia governor's order on religious exemptions for school vaccines
CHARLESTON, (AP) — Two groups filed a lawsuit Friday over an executive order by West Virginia Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey granting religious exemptions from required school vaccinations. The American Civil Liberties Union's West Virginia chapter and Mountain State Justice filed the lawsuit against the state Department of Health, its Bureau for Public Health and agency leaders on behalf of two parents in Kanawha County Circuit Court. The vaccine exemption was among several executive orders issued by Morrisey on his first full day in office in January. 'Governors do not rule by decree,' ACLU-West Virginia legal director Aubrey Sparks said in a statement. 'At the center of this lawsuit is who gets to make these decisions for our students. On this question, the state Constitution is clear that the authority lies with the Legislature, not the governor.' The governor's office and the Department of Health did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment Friday on the lawsuit. Morrisey's order upended a school vaccination policy long heralded by medical experts as one of the most protective in the country for kids. State law requires children to receive vaccines for chickenpox, hepatitis B, measles, meningitis, mumps, diphtheria, polio, rubella, tetanus and whooping cough before starting school. The state does not require COVID-19 vaccinations. Legislation that would have allowed religious exemptions to vaccination requirements, among other things, was passed by the state Senate and rejected by the House of Delegates earlier this year. State schools Superintendent Michelle Blatt issued a memorandum to all 55 county superintendents May 2 recommending that students not be allowed to attend school in the 2025-26 without required immunizations. But that same day, Blatt rescinded the memo at Morrisey's request, according to the lawsuit. Morrisey later issued a statement saying he had no intention of rescinding the executive order. He said parents can apply for a religious exemption from vaccinations through the Bureau for Public Health. Last year, Republican then-Gov. Jim Justice vetoed a less sweeping vaccination bill passed by the Republican-supermajority Legislature that would have exempted private school and some nontraditional public school students from vaccination requirements. Morrisey, who served as West Virginia's attorney general from 2013 until he was sworn in as governor, said he believes religious exemptions to vaccinations should already be permitted under a 2023 law passed by the state Legislature called the Equal Protection for Religion Act. The law stipulates that the government can't 'substantially burden' someone's constitutional right to freedom of religion unless it can prove there is a 'compelling interest' to restrict that right. Morrisey has said that law hasn't 'been fully and properly enforced' since it passed. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Dr. Joshua Hess of Cabell County and Marisa Jackson of Kanawha County. It said Hess has a child who is immunocompromised and that Jackson has a child who, because of decreased community use of immunizations, is more susceptible to illness. Along with Mississippi, West Virginia is the U.S. state with the worst health outcomes and lowest life expectancy rates. 'Parents should be able to know their child will be safe when they send them off to school,' said Mountain State Justice executive director Sarah Brown. 'We are seeing the devastating effects of loosening vaccine requirements across the country, and that's why the Legislature wisely declined to loosen the restrictions here in West Virginia. It's vital that their decision not be undermined by the executive branch.'
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Groups sue over West Virginia governor's order on religious exemptions for school vaccines
CHARLESTON, (AP) — Two groups filed a lawsuit Friday over an executive order by West Virginia Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey granting religious exemptions from required school vaccinations. The American Civil Liberties Union's West Virginia chapter and Mountain State Justice filed the lawsuit against the state Department of Health, its Bureau for Public Health and agency leaders on behalf of two parents in Kanawha County Circuit Court. The vaccine exemption was among several executive orders issued by Morrisey on his first full day in office in January. 'Governors do not rule by decree,' ACLU-West Virginia legal director Aubrey Sparks said in a statement. 'At the center of this lawsuit is who gets to make these decisions for our students. On this question, the state Constitution is clear that the authority lies with the Legislature, not the governor.' The governor's office and the Department of Health did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment Friday on the lawsuit. Morrisey's order upended a school vaccination policy long heralded by medical experts as one of the most protective in the country for kids. State law requires children to receive vaccines for chickenpox, hepatitis B, measles, meningitis, mumps, diphtheria, polio, rubella, tetanus and whooping cough before starting school. The state does not require COVID-19 vaccinations. Legislation that would have allowed religious exemptions to vaccination requirements, among other things, was passed by the state Senate and rejected by the House of Delegates earlier this year. State schools Superintendent Michelle Blatt issued a memorandum to all 55 county superintendents May 2 recommending that students not be allowed to attend school in the 2025-26 without required immunizations. But that same day, Blatt rescinded the memo at Morrisey's request, according to the lawsuit. Morrisey later issued a statement saying he had no intention of rescinding the executive order. He said parents can apply for a religious exemption from vaccinations through the Bureau for Public Health. Last year, Republican then-Gov. Jim Justice vetoed a less sweeping vaccination bill passed by the Republican-supermajority Legislature that would have exempted private school and some nontraditional public school students from vaccination requirements. Morrisey, who served as West Virginia's attorney general from 2013 until he was sworn in as governor, said he believes religious exemptions to vaccinations should already be permitted under a 2023 law passed by the state Legislature called the Equal Protection for Religion Act. The law stipulates that the government can't 'substantially burden' someone's constitutional right to freedom of religion unless it can prove there is a 'compelling interest' to restrict that right. Morrisey has said that law hasn't 'been fully and properly enforced' since it passed. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Dr. Joshua Hess of Cabell County and Marisa Jackson of Kanawha County. It said Hess has a child who is immunocompromised and that Jackson has a child who, because of decreased community use of immunizations, is more susceptible to illness. Along with Mississippi, West Virginia is the U.S. state with the worst health outcomes and lowest life expectancy rates. 'Parents should be able to know their child will be safe when they send them off to school,' said Mountain State Justice executive director Sarah Brown. 'We are seeing the devastating effects of loosening vaccine requirements across the country, and that's why the Legislature wisely declined to loosen the restrictions here in West Virginia. It's vital that their decision not be undermined by the executive branch.'
