Government Actions Archives

Juneteenth Now Officially a Federal Holiday

The United States now officially has one new federal holiday: Juneteenth. This holiday, which has been unofficially observed since it was established in 1866, is celebrated annually on June 19 and commemorates the end of slavery in Texas on June 19, 1865, after the end of the Civil War and almost two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

Biden to Unveil Major Infrastructure, Jobs Plan

President Joe Biden is preparing to announce Wednesday the first half of his major infrastructure and jobs proposal during a visit to Pittsburgh. This bill, which includes major investments in utilities, transportation, and green energy, is expected to cost at least $2 trillion and will complement another bill (to be announced at a later date) on welfare and social issues, an area which the administration calls “human infrastructure.”

SCOTUS: Why Presidents Aren’t Immune From Court (US v. Nixon)

The 37th President of the United States, Richard Nixon, was very, very popular. He had won the 1972 presidential election against Democratic opponent Sen. George McGovern of South Dakota with 520 electoral votes, with McGovern only carrying Massachusetts and the District of Columbia. Unfortunately, it was later revealed that Nixon’s campaign had conducted a number of illegal activities against McGovern’s campaign. The case United States v. Nixon, decided in 1974, involved whether Nixon, as president, was required to deliver subpoenaed materials to a federal court, and it serves as one of the most crucial cases limiting a president’s executive power to this day.

House Removes Greene From Committee Assignments

After House Republicans voted against removing Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., of her committee assignments on Wednesday, the Democratic-controlled House held a floor vote on Thursday which removed her from her committee assignments on the House Budget Committee and House Committee on Education and Labor.

Dems Pave Way to Use Reconciliation to Pass COVID-19 Relief

Senate Democrats took a major step Tuesday in advancing toward passing a major $1.9 trillion COVID-19 economic relief and stimulus package by voting to kickstart the process to pass the package via budget reconciliation. This is a congressional maneuver which could avoid a Republican filibuster in the Senate stopping the package from passing, since reconciliation requires only a simple majority to pass in the Senate.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Faces Backlash for Conspiratorial Comments

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a newly-elected Republican representative from Georgia’s 14th Congressional District in the northwestern part of the state, is under huge scrutiny from the Democratic Congress and even Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for her embracement of QAnon conspiracy theories, some of which include 9/11 conspiracy theories, school shootings as Democratic conspiracies to enact gun control, and more.

House Overrides NDAA Veto; Passes $2,000 Stimulus Checks

In a special holiday session between Christmas and New Year, the House of Representatives convened again to do two things, presenting a major issue to the GOP and causing a fracture within the party: scheduling two votes, one to override the veto of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and another to increase the amount offered to Americans via stimulus checks in the stimulus bill from $600 to $2,000.

Trump Signs Relief & Funding Bill, But Only After Aid Lapses

President Trump has finally signed the massive $2.3 trillion combined COVID-19 relief and government funding bill for the next fiscal year, despite calling the bipartisan bill, which passed both houses of Congress with overwhelming veto-proof majorities, a “disgrace” a few days earlier on Twitter. Though signing the bill will avert a federal government shutdown which would’ve begun Monday, the bill was only signed after two critical unemployment provisions lapsed.

Trump Demands More Stimulus, Throwing Relief Bill Into Doubt

After Congress finally managed to negotiate a bipartisan coronavirus relief deal after months of arguments and it passed both houses of Congress by overwhelming veto-proof majorities, President Trump is now throwing doubt as to whether or not the bill can be passed by demanding that the bill include more money than the proposed $600 stimulus checks and to cut back the non-coronavirus related spending (the bill is tied to an omnibus government funding package, which means it has lots of unrelated provisions).

Congress Passes COVID Relief Bill, Providing Temporary Relief

Capitol Hill leaders announced Sunday night that after months of partisan deadlock in Congress, they have finally managed to secure a $900 billion coronavirus relief package. This package is smaller than is ideal, but offers a sign of rare good news during an otherwise dark time and will provide some temporary relief to millions of Americans, which could avert a looming poverty crisis and the economy from falling back into recession.

US Government Sues Facebook For Being an Illegal Monopoly

In a major groundbreaking lawsuit, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in conjunction with 46 states, the District of Columbia, and the territory of Guam, accused Facebook (FB) Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia of being an illegal monopoly, by buying up its rivals in order to quell competition.