LOOP: Nancy Pelosi narrowly elected Speaker
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| FRIDAY, JANUARY 4 |
| PELOSI ELECTED SPEAKER Nancy Pelosi has the Speaker’s gavel again. But her victory was narrow, as 15 Democrats refused to vote for her. Pelosi was only able to secure enough votes after pledging she would not serve more than four more years as Speaker. READ |
| VETO THREAT The Trump administration issued a statement opposing the House Democratic funding bill because the legislation includes “restoring funding for the United Nations Population Fund” and “would also undermine the President’s Mexico City Policy… which prohibits the funding of nongovernmental organizations that promote or perform abortions.” READ |
| TWO GOP WOMEN ON JUDICIARY Likely in fallout from the Brett Kavanaugh hearings, Senate Republicans named their first two women to serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-TN, and Joni Ernst, R-IA, are both well known for their pro-life voting records. READ |
| CONGRESS 2019 Rep. Jennifer Wexton, a Virginia Democrat, placed a transgender flag outside of her new congressional office after being sworn into office yesterday. READ |
| CRISIS IN THE JUDICIARY Senate Republicans confirmed a record number of appellate judges last year. But the total number of vacancies are 52% higher than they were in July 2016. There are more than 130 positions on the U.S. District Court and U.S. Court of Appeals that remain vacant. READ |
| 2020 California Senator Kamala Harris is considering a run for president. But she doesn’t have the support of her fellow California Senator, Dianne Feinstein. She supports former Vice President Joe Biden instead, and says Kamala Harris is “brand-new here.” READ |
| STUDENT DEBT Two-thirds of registered voters in an August 2018 poll considered student loan debt a “crisis.” Democrats are calling for the government to pay off that debt. But one policy expert is suggesting a different idea: allow millennials to pay off student loans with their 401k plans. “An employee signing up for a new 401(k) plan at work would be asked if he wants his employer match directed to his student loan until it’s paid off. In order to get this benefit, obviously, our employee must have gotten a job — they have to work to get this benefit. There’s no new entitlement or even tax benefit created here,” writes Ryan Ellis. READ |
| POPE CALLS U.S. BISHOPS TO CONVERSION Pope Francis sent a letter to U.S. bishops on retreat together. In the letter he called for unity and conversion. “Clearly a living fabric has come undone, and we, like weavers, are called to repair it,” wrote Pope Francis. READ |
| POPE’S LETTER Read the full letter from Pope Francis to the U.S. bishops. READ |
| SAINT OF THE DAY Convert, wife, mother, widow, teacher, religious─Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton did it all. Yet, in many ways, she was an ordinary woman of her time who lived life in an extraordinary way. She has certainly had a powerful influence on women Religious and on the Catholic school system in the United States. READ |
| MORE ON ST. SETON Read the profile on St. Elizabeth Ann Seton that appears in the American Catholic Almanac, co-written by CatholicVote President Brian Burch and author Emily Stimpson Chapman. READ |
| DAILY READINGS “All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.” (Ps 98:1) READ |
| A STABLE SOCIETY Carve out 15 minutes this weekend and watch Tucker Carlson take Republicans to task for being too concerned solely for economic efficiency while neglecting the importance of protecting the family. “We are ruled by mercenaries who feel no long-term obligations to the people they rule. They’re day traders. Substitute teachers. They’re just passing through. They have no skin in this game, and it shows,” said Carlson. WATCH (OR READ) |