at
| NOMINATION BATTLE The Republican Senate changed the chamber’s rules to shorten debate on lower-level judicial and executive branch nominations from 30 hours to 2. “This systematic obstruction is unfair to our duly elected president and more importantly, it is disrespectful to the American people who deserve the government they elected,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. READ |
| BIDEN 2020 Former Vice President Joe Biden, who is considering a 2020 presidential run, pledged to be “more mindful about respecting personal space” in a video message that he released online. Biden, who is pro-abortion, is expected to officially launch his campaign after Easter. READ |
| TRUMP’S TAXES House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal asked the IRS for six years of President Trump’s personal tax returns, but insists that the request is not politically motivated. READ |
| HELP FOR LOW-INCOME Wage growth for workers without a high school degree grew at a faster rate than wage growth for workers with a high school and college degrees in the first quarter of 2018, a year into President Trump’s term. READ |
| NOT QUITTING Justice Clarence Thomas squashes rumors that he would step down from the Supreme Court this summer. “I’m not retiring,” Justice Thomas said at a Pepperdine University School of Law dinner last weekend. READ |
| DISCHARGE PETITION On the second day, four Republicans and one Democrat added their signatures to the discharge petition to force a vote on the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. That brings the total to 198 signatures, with just 20 more signatures required to bring the measure to the House floor for a vote. By law, the Clerk of the House is required to publish the names of all House members who sign the discharge petition. You can see if your Representative is on the Clerk’s list here: READ |
| DEMOCRAT VS. AOC Rep. Stephanie Murphy is a Democrat from Florida who was the first Vietnamese-American woman elected to Congress. And she’s not happy about Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, pushing for socialism. “I am offended by this whole conversation about socialism,” said Murphy. “The idea that in the greatest democracy, the greatest capitalist system in the world, we’re having casual conversation about socialism, offends me.” READ |
| TOP U.S. DIPLOMAT IS CHRISTIAN The New York Times claims that no secretary of state has been “as open and fervent as Mr. Pompeo about discussing Christianity and foreign policy in the same breath.” The Times said that this has “increasingly raised questions” about how evangelical beliefs are influencing American diplomacy. READ |
| TIMID FAITH “Today, I can say without fear that some priests, some bishops and even some cardinals are afraid to proclaim what God teaches and to hand on the doctrine of the Church,” said Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship. READ |
| SAINT OF THE DAY Saint Isidore of Seville was a prolific writer, and capable administrator of his diocese. Following his brother as bishop of Seville, he founded schools and seminaries, and he was known for his encyclopedic knowledge. Perhaps Isidore’s greatest accomplishment is that he was a holy man. READ |
| DAILY READINGS “Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.” (Ps 106:19) READ |