The Gov Hub Newsletter: November 25, 2024

Welcome to The Gov Hub Newsletter by Girl and the Gov® – a Dem tent weekly that shares action items you can do from your phone, good political news, civic engagement tools and topics, and a little dose of political goss too, right to your inbox.  

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.

THE ACTION ITEMS

Get ‘em done from your phone

ACTION 1 –  RECESS APPOINTMENTS

The Ask: Tell your Senators to not allow recess appointments for Trump’s nominees.

The Background: Politics often happens in the gray areas, and the concept of recess appointments, i.e. a maneuver that would have Trump’s cabinet nominees skirt the Senate confirmation process, is a great example of the gray. Trump pushed majority leader candidates to support recess appointments, which would be like bye, bye birdie transparency and oversight on those applying for some of the most important jobs in government. It’s going to be a no from us dawg.

ACTION 2 – VOTING RIGHTS

The Ask: Tell Congress to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act.

The Background: Both voter access and security are essential to a functioning democracy. Two federal bills can expand and enhance both access and security – the Freedom to Vote Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act. Of the many things the Freedom to Vote Act would enable, it would require states to make voter registration available online, create an automatic voter registration system, allow pre-reg for any citizen 16 or older, and establish same-day reg. The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act would bring the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into the 21st century.

ACTION 3 – CLIMATE

The Ask: Tell Congress to protect climate-smart agriculture funding from the Inflation Reduction Act.

The Background: As the possible provisions of the farm bill continues to get discussed, climate-smart ag funding has come under the microscope, with some members of Congress looking to divert the funds to other programs, and/or remove the “climate-smart” requirements for using the funds for recipients. That would mean a $19.5 billion investment that’s aimed at helping farmers with everything from protecting the health of their soil to reducing water contamination to conservation efforts, and beyond could be out the door.

Looking for more action items? Check our library of past Gov Hub’s.

FULL SEND…TO A FRIEND

Just about guaranteed to make it to the group chat

• Low key, high key adultery aka cheating on your spouse was actually illegal in New York until last week – like misdemeanor if found guilty, illegal, illegal. Gov. Hochul signed a law repealing the 117-year old state law, making it… no longer illegal to cheat on your spouse in NYS… just shitty.

• It’s giving… #HopeCore?! This unlikely pairing – a Pittsburgh politician and a radio host – who have vastly different views, have changed their area’s political discourse by showing how to disagree and help one another learn about new POVs through their videos together. 

• On the topic of voting, some Mississippi voters are going back to the polls tomorrow [Tuesday] for a runoff for two judicial races – one for a state Supreme Court seat and the other for a state Court of Appeals seat. If you’re a Mississippi voter and aren’t sure if this applies to you, check here.

• Celebs are just like us, and Congress is just like college meets camp meets first day of school, as only further proven by the freshmen member office lottery [if you ever had a housing lottery at college you’ll know the vibe] complete with cheering, good luck and bad luck, and a visual on friendships forming.

• 2025 election szn is already under way, with a Wisconsin state Supreme Court seat on the ballot – one that could yet again determine the partisan control/swing/lean of the court in the purple state. The name to know for the Dems is Susan Crawford, who is currently a Circuit Court Judge.

• File this under news that may have fallen under the radar – Trump’s sentencing in his hush money/election interference case has been delayed indefinitely by the judge who oversaw the trial. Interesting way for Santa to tell us all we got coal for Christmas…

• Five U.S. territories send a representative [delegates] to Congress – they can intro legislation, they can vote in committee, but they cannot vote on the final passage of a bill. It’s like elected official junior status for lack of better words, and this is what that status looks like in practice.

CABIN(ET) FEVER

Nominees and nothing but chaos

• Trump, connected to Project 2025?! Yea we’ve known, and we continue to see that reality in hiring of the co-author of Project 2025, Russ Vought to lead the White House Office of Budget and Management. Russ’s passions include Christian Nationalism, avoiding the Freedom of Information Act, and trying to rid the U.S. of what he refers to as ‘multiculturalism.’ What a peach!

• For a bit more nightmare fuel, other than Thanksgiving this year happening while Mercury is in retrograde, Trump’s pick to lead the CDC is former Congressman Dave Weldon. If he didn’t weld a spot in your memory, let’s refresh – he’s behind the Weldon Amendment, which allows health care workers to refuse to perform life-saving abortion care without federal funding penalties. He also is a fanboy of anti-vax takes, so there’s that.

• Matt Gaetz is no longer in the running for the head of the Justice Department – he is instead making videos on Cameo… kind of like George Santos... In his place for the nomination is now a different Florida-based Trump bestie and one of Trump’s former lawyers – former Florida AG Pam Bondi.

• Over at the Dep. of Agriculture, Trump picked Brooke Rollins as its secretary. She is well-known for her head of the heap role as CEO at the America First Institute, which has been central to crafting the policy roadmap for the Trump Admin 2.0.

• Republican Senator Kevin Cramer [North Dakota] sat down with Politico to discuss the nominations, the process, the predictions, and the behind the scenes politics, including what Senators think of JD Vance.

GOOD NEWS BEARS

Positive political wins [yes, those do exist]

BIPARTISAN YIMBY-AFFORDABLE HOUSING CAUCUS LAUNCHED IN CONGRESS: A bipartisan group of Congress members have announced the formation of the YIMBY Caucus, with the goal of creating and working toward policies that address that affordable housing crisis nationwide. With many of the means for changing the course of housing policy housed [pun intended] within the confines of state and local policy, the YIMBY Caucus plans to convene state and local leaders to figure out comprehensive paths forward. To step it back, YIMBY stands for ‘yes in my backyard’ and refers to those that are in support of more affordable housing being built in their neck of the woods, versus its opposition, the NIMBYs. To step it forward, we’ll see what they come up with and how they work together.

MASS GOV. HEALEY SIGNS MAJOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BILL: Okay, economy, pop off with this bill, kay? That’s basically what the Governor of Massachusetts [Healey] and supporters of the Mass Leads Act would say. The legislation, signed by the Governor last week, is focused on economic development in the state, with a specific focus on furthering Massachusetts's emerging climatech and AI industries; and sustaining MA’s life sciences sector. Overall, the bill’s investments via incentive programs, grants, and direct investments aim to enhance job creation and support businesses in the state. The bill’s contents are CVS-receipt length-esque, so here are a few highlights: 

• Rural Development Program is codified + given $100 mill investment.

• $100 mill for the Seaport Economic Council for econ development.

• A pathway for doctors that were authorized to practice medicine outside the U.S. to become authorized in the state, taking a swing at solving for the doctor shortage.

• $40 mill in investment for the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center for programs on preventive med and health-AI.

• $400 mill to support the off-shore wind-energy industry.

• $45 mill in investment dollars to support small businesses.

JUDGE STRIKES DOWN WYOMING ABORTION LAWS: In an karma-based turn of events, a provision in Wyoming’s state constitution that was approved in 2012 to try and stymie the requirement provisions of the Affordable Care Act/ObamaCare, has come back to haunt the state’s Republicans. The constitutional provision requires that Wyoming's residents have a right to make their own health care decisions, which is now the basis for a state judge striking down Wyoming’s ban on abortion and its ban on the use of medication to end pregnancy. County District Judge Melissa Owens ruled that the abortion bans violate women’s rights via the state constitution, and as per NPR, “the abortion laws impede the fundamental right of women to make health care decisions for an entire class of people — those who are pregnant.”

POD TALK FOR YOUR WALK

AG Andrea Campbell on Girl and the Gov, The Podcast

Democratic Attorneys General across the country are gearing up for what’s expected to be a busy and insane four years under Trump 2.0. Amongst those AGs is Massachusetts AG Andrea Campbell who joined us for a chat on what this prep looks like. She walked us through what AGs do, how they protect constituents, and what is top of mind for her office. We also chatted about the Reproductive Justice Unit she created within the AG’s office – a queen! Tune in via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.

BACK ON OUR BILLSH*T

A bill, bill, bill

FEDERAL: With cabinet nominations the talk of the town, Congressman [& Senator-elect] Andy Kim, along with Senator Elizabeth Warren, have intro’d the National Security Officials’ Foreign Employment Disclosure Act. The legislation is transparency in governance 101. It would require nominees for gov positions at either the Department of Defense, State, Treasury, and/or within the Intelligence Community to disclose any/all work performed for a foreign government, as well as any monetary compensation that they received for that work. The work + money disclosed would be from the last five years per nominee.

CHRONICALLY ONLINE

Politics meets social media

• Senator Heinrich [New Mexico] shared his outfit deats in an OOTD on the Hill, showing the symbolic power of a good accessory [or two, or three, or four]. 

• Congresswoman-elect Sarah McBride mic dropped when addressing the bipartisan state legislators that make up the Future Caucus, when discussing the crisis of hope that this country is facing, and how they all must meet this moment.

• Abortion and reproductive rights journalist Jessica Valenti explained the intent of Georgia disbanding its maternal mortality committee. Hint: it’s to cover up how the states’ abortion bans are killing women.

• You miss your ex, we miss the clear separation of church and state that’s now being violated in Texas with the state’s education board voting on Friday to allow “Bible-infused teachings” in elementary schools.

• For something more wholesome, the Jack Schlossberg look-a-like contest appears to have been a swimming success.

WHEN IN DOUBT, VOTE THEM OUT

Our classic merch is back with a new look

KEY READS

Important stories from around the USA

• Politico: No-Limit Vouchers Are Blowing Up Arizona’s Budget. This Woman Is Leading the Way.

• NPR: Trump’s deportation vow alarms Texas construction industry

• Roll Call: Tax-exempt crackdown measure passes despite Democrat defections

• The Hill: Sherrod Brown ‘not dismissing’ another Senate run

BEFORE YOU GO…

..say hello