On Monday, the Defense Department clarified its policy for addressing extremism in its ranks and outlined some future steps; however, some say even the updated plan to address racism, violent political behavior and other forms of fanaticism in the ranks still aren’t quite right. Rep. Anthony Brown (D-Md.) has been at the forefront of the issue of military extremism since the Jan. 6 attack on the C... Read more »
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: For reaction to the Pentagon report, we are joined now by Congressman Anthony Brown of Maryland. He is a Democrat and a retired colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve. Congressman Brown has been urging the military to root out and address extremism in its ranks. Good to have you with us. ANTHONY BROWN: It's great to be on. It's an important topic, and I'm glad that you're covering it ... Read more »
The White House wants to mark the new year with a forceful push for voting rights, portraying the protection of the ballot as a battle for democracy itself. But despite a renewed emphasis from an increasingly impatient and frustrated base, prospects for legislative success still look grim. West Wing aides believe that fresh federal efforts to defend the ballot and install safeguards ahead of the ... Read more »
Control of D.C.’s National Guard will not be in the hands of the District’s mayor for the foreseeable future. A provision in the latest military spending bill that would hand have handed over the reins was stripped after negotiations between the U.S. House and Senate. D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton proposed the D.C. National Guard Home Rule Act earlier this year and it was wrapped up in the Natio... Read more »
The National Defense Authorization Act, the annual must-pass legislation that sets the policy agenda and authorizes almost $770 billion in funding for the Department of Defense, passed in the House of Representatives on Tuesday night. The bill now moves to the Senate, where it will likely be voted on later this week, before it can be signed into law by President Joe Biden. The bill passed with st... Read more »
The House passed a finalized version of the $768 billion defense authorization bill late Tuesday night with overwhelming bipartisan support, moving legislation hamstrung by delays, amendment fights and political discord one step closer to becoming law before the end of the year. The legislation directs an independent review of the Afghanistan war’s legacy and errors, and establishes a new means f... Read more »
A widely popular proposal to force sweeping changes in how the military prosecutes felony crimes is likely to be left out of this year’s defense authorization bill, according to people familiar with the matter, ending for now what advocates called watershed legislation for equal justice in favor of a competing plan that focuses more narrowly on sexual assault and related offenses. The proposal to ... Read more »
A bipartisan group of 87 Members of Congress urged President Joe Biden to support investment for the Iron Dome missile defense system, to protect Israeli and Palestinian lives. In a recent letter, the bipartisan group urged the President to request that Congress include supplemental Iron Dome funding in an appropriations bill before the end of the year. “We are writing to urge that you specificall... Read more »
After months of mail delays, Maryland lawmakers are pressing Postmaster General Louis DeJoy for answers to see how the post office is preparing for the busy holiday shipping season. Members of Maryland’s congressional delegation including U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Congressmen Steny H. Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Kweisi Mfume, Anthony G. Brown, Jamie Raskin, A... Read more »
During his own presidential campaign last year, Pete Buttigieg released a $1 trillion infrastructure plan that called for vast new investment in public transit to lift local communities. Buttigieg didn’t reach the Oval Office, but on Friday, he stood before a deserted shopping mall in a swing state, extolling benefits of a $1 trillion infrastructure law signed at the White House and a light-rail ... Read more »
