Transcript

3.19.26 · Washington Post

0:01
Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of Today's Washington Post for Thursday,
0:06
the nineteenth of March of twenty twenty six. Your reader
0:11
is Alice Stainer, with reminder that RADIOI is an organization
0:15
for those blinded with other difficulties holding and reading printed material.
0:21
And I will start with the front page of today's paper.
0:25
On the far left, tensions flay up at Mullen's hearing
0:32
and then tussles with Paul, who is their senator from Kentucky,
0:37
says he'll restore a reputation of Inbattled DHS by Maria
0:43
Schacchetti and Marianna Alfaro in the middle and above and
0:49
below above the picture is a picture of Director of
0:54
National Intelligence Toldsei Gabbard, who departed from her prepared remarks
1:00
about an assessment of Iran's nuclear capability, and the Director
1:08
of National Intelligence is sitting in between two generals who
1:13
are also flanked on either side by men on suits.
1:17
She's got her long black hair and kind of a
1:19
bayed looking suit, an open book in front of her,
1:23
and the Honorable Gabbard in front of her nameplate, and
1:28
Lieutenant Adams on her right and Lieutenant hart Lieutenant General
1:36
Hartman on her left, so General Adams on a right
1:40
and General Hartman on her left. That is above a
1:44
picture of the Honorable Mark Wayne Mullen who is standing
1:48
in his suit and he's got his right hand raised
1:52
and Senator Mark Wayne Mullins and Mark Wayne is together
1:57
as his first name. He is Mark Wayne Mullens. He
2:01
is a Republican from Oklahoma who said he would aim
2:04
to take the Department of Homeland Security in a less
2:08
turbulent direction. Those two pictures are between the article on
2:16
the left Tensions and the article on the right on Hell.
2:19
Scrutiny of Iran grows, gabbered, regime battered intact, mixed messages
2:28
about state of nuclear program by Noah Robertson and Warren P. Strobel.
2:37
Beneath the picture of the Honorable Markwayne Mullen is an
2:40
article Israel increasingly pursues lethal strikes on Iranian leaders by
2:47
Susannah George, Victoria krawl Leor Soroka and Abby Cheeseman. And
2:56
then below the fold on the left called Bardo Maine
3:01
put trans athletes' rights on the ballot. Opposition groups made
3:06
pushed to get issues before voters in political debate by
3:10
Daniel Wu and to the right of that a picture
3:14
of Senate hopeful's populist bet to win over Michigan voters
3:21
by Olivia George and that the picture as Grand Rapids
3:25
Resident Kareem Scales lefts looks like he's sitting in a
3:29
barber chair speaking with US Senate candidate Abdul l Sayed,
3:35
also sitting in a barber chair. The main article on
3:41
the front page gabri tells senator's Iranian regime is degraded
3:47
but still intact. Director of National and Intelligence provided the
3:53
Senate Intelligence Committee with mixed messages about the state of
3:58
Iran's nuclear program before the war began. And again there's
4:04
that picture of Director Gabbard by Noah Robertson and Warren P. Strobel.
4:12
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told lawmakers Wednesday that
4:17
the regime in Iran appears to be intact but largely
4:22
degraded after almost three weeks of war in the Middle East,
4:27
but she faced intense scrutiny over the Trump administration's preparation
4:31
for the conflict and how she advised the president about
4:35
the risks it posed. Her Senate testimony, alongside that of
4:41
the Trump administration's other top intelligence officials follows the stunning
4:47
resignation of Joe Kent, a senior political appointee overseeing the
4:52
National counter Terrorism Center, who cast doubt on the administration's
4:58
case for starting the war by contradicting its assertions that
5:02
Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States. Gabbad
5:08
said in her opening remarks that the regime in Tehran
5:12
could face increased challenges as Iran's economy falters, but that
5:17
the country and its proxies continues to attack US and
5:23
allied interest in the Middle East, even after setbacks leading
5:28
up to and following the start of hostilities last month.
5:34
There's a huge chart showing the leadership in Iraq, and
5:41
it shows the Supreme Leader, Ayatola Alhamini, who was killed,
5:46
and there's an expediency council and then an e symbly
5:51
of councils, and below the Supreme Leader of the nominees
5:55
of six jurists and two killed security military forces on
6:01
down to kill the defense Minister, of the intelligence minister
6:05
and killed another gentleman on down the chart. Strikingly in
6:13
her opening statement, she departed from prepared remarks published a
6:17
head of Wednesday's hearing outlining the intelligence community's assessment of
6:22
Around's nuclear capability. As she spoke to lawmakers, Gabbard said
6:27
that after the US military bombed Around's nuclear sites over
6:31
the summer, Tehran was trying to recover from the severe
6:37
damage caused by the operation. According to her written statement,
6:42
Gabbard was expected to say that the Iranians made no
6:46
efforts since the US farming of their nuclear facilities to
6:52
try to rebuild their enrichment capability. That statement appeared to
6:57
undercut claims made by the administration, which has cited Around's
7:02
nuclear program as one reason President Donald Trump felt an
7:06
imperative to start the war. When Senator Mark R. Warna
7:12
of Virginia, the committee's top Democrat, asked gabrid why she
7:17
deviated from her written marks, she told him that she
7:21
had skipped some portions as the time is running along.
7:26
One of then accused her of having chosen to admit
7:30
the parts that contradict the president. Under questioning from Senator
7:35
John Ossoff, Democratic Georgia Gabbert affirmed later in the hearing
7:40
that her written remarks do reflect the intelligence community's assessment
7:45
of Around's nuclear capability, though she declined to say directly
7:50
whether Iran had posed an eminent nuclear threat, as the
7:55
Trump administration claimed in the run up to war. The
8:00
only person who can determine what is and is non
8:04
an imminent threat is the president. Gabbert said the administration
8:10
had been pressuring Tehran to give up its nuclear program
8:14
before abruptly abandoning those talks last month after having masked
8:19
tens of thousands of US troops in the Middle East,
8:22
along with a significant amount of firepower. The regime accused
8:27
Trump of negotiating in bad faith. While at home, the
8:31
president's critics, including some mac of Republicans, had challenged his
8:36
rationale for raging the American blood and treasure on an
8:41
uncertain outcome. Wednesday's hearing also featured testimony from CIA Director
8:48
John Ratcliffe and FBI Director Cash for Tel, among others.
8:53
Marked the first public accounting from the administration's top of
8:58
intelligence officials since the war began. Multiple Democratic lawmakers pressed
9:05
the witnesses and what advice they provided Trump ahead of
9:08
the war on whether Iran would close the Strait of Hormuz.
9:13
Aaron's moves in the strait have disrupted oil flows, scrambling
9:18
the global economy and contributing to a spike in gas
9:21
prices across the United States. Gabat and Ratcliffe said the
9:26
US intelligence community or IC, anticipated Iran's move on the Strait.
9:33
There has long been an assessment of the ICEE that
9:36
Iran would likely hold the Strait of Hamus as leverage,
9:41
Gabart said, but she and the ciachief declined to discuss
9:45
what specific briefings Trump received. Did he know this was
9:51
going to happen or did he just disregard it? As
9:54
Senator Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona, neither of his provided
10:01
a direct answer to the question. Gabbitt has long criticized
10:05
US intervention in the Middle East and is a close
10:09
friend of Kent, who argued in a public letter to
10:12
the President, which he posted on social media Tuesday, that
10:17
Iran posed no imminent threat to America as the administration
10:23
has claimed, and that Israel had goaded Trump into starting
10:27
the wall. And there is a picture of Joe Kent
10:31
in a blue suit with a pinstriped shirt and blue
10:36
tie in front of a background. I can telware and
10:41
Joe Kent resigned this week as head of the National
10:44
counter Terrorism Center, and he was participating in a political
10:48
debate in twenty twenty four. He's got curly hair, kind
10:52
of like Senator Rand Paul's curly hair. Republicans moved quickly
10:59
to dismiss some of Kent's claims. Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas,
11:05
the Intelligence Committee's Republican chair, called Kent's assessment misguided and
11:11
argued that Iran's vast missile arsenal and support for terrorism
11:16
posed a grave and growing threat to America. The officials
11:21
testifying Wednesday also pointed to the military objectives accomplished thus far,
11:26
including the degradation of Iran's ballistic missile program. This week,
11:31
Israel said, too, that it killed Iran's chief intelligence and
11:36
national security officials as it continues decapitation strikes against the regime.
11:43
Ratcliffe said, under questioning from Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas,
11:49
that he disagreed with kens assertion and that any fair
11:53
minded assessment of Iran's capabilities would suggest that Iran posed
11:58
a threat to the United States. Senator Jerry Moran, Republican
12:03
of Kansas, pressed Ratcliffe on the war's potential to degrade
12:07
America's military readiness to defend against threats posed by Russia
12:12
and China. Radcliffe responded that the intelligence picture provided ahead
12:18
of the Arana sault had been flawless, and that while
12:22
the attacks on American personnel an interest in the Middle
12:25
East would come at subcost, the US military and intelligence
12:30
community could walk and chew gum. At the same time,
12:36
Trump has repeatedly shifted his rationale for the war from
12:39
supporting Regima change to countering Around's nuclear program and bowing
12:44
to destroy its military capabilities. Before closed door briefings with
12:50
members of Congress earlier in March, Secretary of Straight Marco Rubio,
12:55
who is also the White House National Security in Basa,
12:58
argued that Israel had had decided to strike Iran and
13:01
that Trump decided to join the attacks rather than faced
13:05
Iran's retaliation against US forces deployed through the region. After
13:11
the fact, almost fifteen hundred people have been killed in
13:15
Iran as a result of the US and Israeli strikes.
13:18
According to Iran's Health Ministry, Iran has fired scores of
13:23
missiles and one way attacked drones at American positions in
13:27
the response, killing seven U s troops and wounding more
13:31
than two hundred six service members. Died in a plane
13:34
crash in Iraq last week. While supporting the role, Warner,
13:40
the committee's senior Democrat, used his opening statement to focus
13:44
on election security. He decried Gabbard's appearance at a raid
13:48
to seize twenty twenty ballants in Fulton County, Georgia, and
13:52
her involvement in examining voting machines in Puerto Rico. Gabbard,
13:58
Warner said, has failed to provide evidence of foreign interference
14:03
in those elections or the upcoming midterms. While the Trump
14:06
administration has cut back or eliminated election security efforts, Her activities,
14:13
he added, suggests something that should alarm every American, an
14:19
organized effort to misuse her national security powers to interfere
14:24
in domestic politics dot dot com, and to provide a
14:28
pretext with the president's unconstitutional efforts to seize control of
14:33
the upcoming elections. Our next article concerns our Senator Rand
14:41
Paul Immigration DHS pick. Mullen defends record spars with Rand
14:49
Paul at confirmation hearing. The fellow senators clashed over Mullen's
14:54
past criticism of Paul, including him calling him Paul a snake,
15:01
even as Mullen pledged to restore public trust in the agency,
15:06
Maria by Maria Secchetti and Marianna Alfaro. Senator Mark Wayne
15:12
Mullen defended his record at a fiery Senate confirmation hearing
15:17
Wednesday over his nomination to leave the Department of Homeland Security,
15:22
pledging to restore confidence in the embattled agency after a
15:27
turbulent year that has led to widespread criticism. Mullen, Republican
15:32
of Oklahoma, who is President Donald Trump's picked to replace
15:36
Secretary Christy L. Nom portrayed himself during the three hour
15:41
hearing as a seasoned and blunt spoken lawmaker and a
15:45
family man prepared to combat terrorism, in force immigration laws,
15:50
and work across party lines for public security and and
15:55
and I to Democrats who excoriated GNOME's leadership, Mullen voted
16:01
to take DHS in a different direction and to reduce
16:04
tensions with local officials over immigration enforcement operations as the
16:10
Trump administration pursues the president's mass deportation agenda. Mullen offered
16:17
a measure of regret for statements he made accusing alex Pretty,
16:22
an American citizen protesting immigration raids, of being a deranged
16:28
individual after federal immigration officers fatally shot him in Minneapolis
16:33
in January, and Mullen pledged to require officers to obtain
16:37
judicial warrants before entering private residences in most cases. One
16:43
of the demands by Democrats who have withheld votes for
16:46
a new DHS funding built mart Gole in six months
16:51
is that we're not in the lead story every single day,
16:55
Mullen told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Causmete, adding,
17:01
my goal is for people to understand we're out there,
17:05
we're protecting them, and we're working with them. My goal
17:09
is to make every one of you guys proud. But
17:14
Mullen forty eight, faced tough questioning not just from the
17:20
seven Democrats on the fifteen member committee, but also from
17:24
Chairman Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, who opened the hearing
17:30
with a withering critique based on a long standing feud
17:34
between the two men. And there is a picture of
17:37
Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, Republican at Mullen's confirmation hearing
17:43
on Wednesday at the Capitol, and you see his left
17:47
hand holding a pen up on resting his chin on
17:53
his thumb and is of the last two fingers on
17:58
mail covering his wife in the other chain up the
18:00
side of his cheek. He's got his glasses on it.
18:05
Paul sharply criticized Mullen, who had called him a snake,
18:10
and suggested he understood why Paul's neighbor in Kentucky had
18:14
attacked him in twenty seventeen during a dispute of a
18:18
lawn chao. Paul had six broken rims and other serious injuries,
18:24
and he won five hundred and eighty thousand dollars in
18:27
the legal judgment after suing the neighbor over the altercation.
18:33
I was shocked that you would justify and celebrate this
18:37
violent assault that caused me so much pain and my
18:41
family so much pain, Paul told Mollen. I just wonder
18:46
if someone who applauds violence against their political opponents is
18:50
the right person to lead an agency that has struggled
18:54
to accept limits to the proper use of force. Paul
19:00
jian Mullen's machiese mode and said he should explain to
19:05
the American public while they should trust a man with
19:08
anger issues to lead the agency. Mullen did not apologize
19:14
for his remarks about the assault, telling the committee, I
19:17
did not say I supported it. I said I understood it.
19:21
There's a difference. He then appealed to Paul and the
19:24
other senators. I can set it aside. If you're willing
19:28
to set it aside. Let me earn your respect, let
19:32
me earn the job. I won't fail you. I won't
19:35
back down from the challenge. The testy exchange set an
19:39
early tone for the hearing, which came as Republicans are
19:43
facing a contentious battle in the midterm elections this fall
19:47
to retain control of both chambers of Congress. In Mullen,
19:52
Trump has chosen a loyalist who frequently appears on television
19:56
to defense policies from the war in Iran to the
20:00
use of force at immigration raids. DHS, which has been
20:04
partially shut down since February fourteenth amid the funding dispute,
20:09
has told law enforcement agencies to stay on alert after
20:13
a string of attacks this month at a bar in Austin, Texas,
20:18
a synagogue in Michigan, and a university in Virginia that
20:23
was Hampton University in Newport News. Paul did not appear
20:28
satisfied with Mullen's responses to his criticisms. Near the end
20:33
of the hearing, Paul and several Democrats pressed him to
20:36
explain several vague antidotes he has told over the years
20:40
of experiences overseas that suggests he has worked closely with
20:45
military troops or intelligence officials. Mullen repeatedly insisted that the
20:51
experiences were real and significant, but he sent a mission
20:54
in twenty twenty fIF twenty fifteen which came as part
20:58
of his duties as a car horsemen were classified. Paul
21:03
threatened to withhold a committee vote sept for Thursday today
21:07
on Mullen's nomination unless he agreed to meet with lawmakers
21:11
in a secure room after the hearing to disgust the
21:14
matter in depth. After that meeting, Senator James Langford, Republican
21:20
of Oklahoma said Democrats were making a mat out of
21:24
a mole hill. But Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut
21:29
said mullingave weird and bizarre non responses to his colleagues questions.
21:36
My feeling is the boat tomorrow should definitely be postponed,
21:41
Blumenthal said. And there's a picture of Senator Blumenthal in
21:46
a blue suit with a plain blue shirt on and
21:50
red and blue tie in front of newspaper people holding
21:55
their phones up to hear his comments. Paul did not
21:59
attend the private discussion as chairman, Paul reads significant influence
22:05
on Mullen's nomination, However, sended to John Fetterman, Democratic Pennsylvania,
22:11
a committee member, is the lone Democrat who has publicly
22:14
stated that he is likely to support Mullen, meaning his
22:18
nomination could advance even if Paul opposes him. Ferderman told
22:22
reporters after leaving the hearing that he is remaining open minded. Mullen,
22:28
a former college wrest law and mixed martial arts fighter,
22:32
has a reputation as a combative lawmaker who once nearly
22:35
came to blows with the witness During a Senate hearing
22:39
on Wednesday, he made a point to try to soften
22:43
his edges, noting that he had patched up his differences
22:46
with that witness, Teinster's President Sean O'Brien, who was seated
22:51
behind him at the hearing. Mullen also cited his wife, Christie,
22:56
who was also in the room, and he grew emotional
22:59
at times talking about his family, pausing to compose himself.
23:04
DHS has come under intense criticism from Democrats and some
23:09
Republicans for a policy that allows immigration officers to use
23:13
administrative warrants approved by US Immigration and Customs enforcement officials
23:19
instead of judicial warrants signed by a judge to enter
23:23
private residences without permission. Mullen backed away from that policy
23:29
under questioning from Lumenthal. Mullen said, I have made it
23:34
very clear to the staff, and I think we knew
23:36
and I spoke that a judicial warrant will be used
23:39
to go into houses in a place of business or
23:43
in business places unless we're pursuing someone that enters in
23:47
that place. Maulun also softened his tone on sanctuary jurisdictions
23:55
cities and states that limit local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement,
24:00
in part because officials say ICE has upended communities by
24:05
deporting thousands of longtime residents with little or no criminal records.
24:10
The Trump administration has sought to withhold federal funding to
24:14
such jurisdictions, but Mullen said he considered that a last resort.
24:20
If people are refusing to enforce the nation's laws, then
24:23
I think it's really hard to justify why we're sending
24:27
them taxpayer dollars, Owen said, But I will say that
24:32
is not going to be my first or second or
24:35
even third approach. Mullen urged those jurisdictions to allow officers
24:41
into their jails and prisons to allow ICE officers to
24:44
take custody of undocumented immigrants. He said he would like
24:48
ICE to return to a primary role of transporting igrants
24:52
to federal detention centers from jails instead of arresting immigrants
24:57
on the frontline in American community. We're just saying the
25:03
good partners with us, Mullen said. While I offered words
25:08
of regret about jumping to conclusions about Pretty's actions before
25:12
he was killed, Mullen declined to recheckt his statement that
25:16
the fatal shooting by an immigration officer of another US citizen,
25:20
Renee Good, was absolutely justified. An officer shocked Good in January.
25:28
She started to drive as officers approached her sport utility vehicle.
25:35
It is very clear that an officer had to make
25:38
a split decision in that case, as the car was
25:41
running toward him and did strike him at that point.
25:45
That carbot counts a lethal weapon, Mullen said at the hearing,
25:51
and when Senators Gary Peters, Democrat of Michigan, asked whether
25:55
Mullen would apologize to Pretty's family, he declined. Saying he
25:59
would await the result of a federal investigation into the shooting.
26:04
We'll let that investigation go through, and if I'm proven wrong,
26:09
then I will absolutely, Mullen said. Going inside the voting
26:16
bill Trump says will secure victory could backfire. The Save
26:22
America's Acts effects are unpredictable, but changes in voting patterns
26:29
could make more stringent requirements a problem for Republicans. There's
26:35
a sign with a red background in blue and white print,
26:42
only Americans in black should vote in American Black Starstar
26:51
elections Starstars Save America Act. The Save America Act would
26:58
require people to provide proof of citizenship to register to vote.
27:03
By Amy B. Wang, Scott Clement, and Lydia Siddham. President
27:09
Donald Trump has ramped up pressure on Republicans in recent
27:13
weeks to pass the Save America Act, a bill that
27:17
would require people to provide proof of citizenship to register
27:23
to vote, and to show photo identification at the polls,
27:26
among other voting restrictions. Trump has gone so far as
27:31
to declare that he will not sign any other legislation
27:35
until Congress passes the bill, and tuesday never to endorse
27:41
anyone who voted against what he dubbed one of the
27:45
most important and consequential those are all caps and bold
27:51
pieces of legislation in the history of Congress. He promised
27:56
Republican lawmakers last week that passing the bill would guarantee
28:01
the men terms for the GOP. But the bill might
28:07
not help Republicans as much as Trump thinks. It is
28:10
already illegal for non citizens to vote in federal elections.
28:15
Requiring Americans to prove their citizens when they registered to
28:19
vote in an effort to root out the extremely rare
28:22
cases of non citizen voting, would throw up roadblocks to
28:26
the polls from millions of eligible voters across the political spectrum,
28:31
and in some cases could hurt Republicans more. What would
28:35
the bill do. The version of the bill that send
28:38
It is considering this week would require people to provide
28:43
proof of citizenship such as a passport, birth certificate, or
28:47
naturalization documents to register to vote. People would also need
28:52
to show certain government issued photo IDs at the polls.
28:57
In addition, the bill would all but a limitate mail
29:00
in voter registration and voting. The bill also instructs states
29:06
to hand over their voting roles to the Department of
29:09
Homeland Security, raising privacy and surveillance concerns. States would be
29:15
required to check their voting roles against DHS's SAVE database,
29:21
and those voter's flagged as ineligible would be removed from
29:24
the roles every thirty days. Beyond the voting related aspects,
29:31
Trump has demanded Congress pass an expanded version of the
29:35
legislation that would borrow transgender women from participating in women's
29:39
sports and restrict gender transition care for children. If passed,
29:45
requirements in the Save America Act would go into effect immediately.
29:52
How would this Save America Act affect voting? Everyone would
29:58
need to present a photo ID to ca as to ballot,
30:01
but the bill would have the greatest impact on the
30:03
registration process. While the bill does not explicitly require everyone
30:09
to re register to vote, a significant number of currently
30:14
registered voters would be asked to provide documentation to remain
30:18
on the rolls. Others may have to reregister because of
30:23
a move or a name change, and this registration would
30:27
need to take place in person. An analysis by the
30:32
Washington Posts found that a greater number of a Republican
30:36
held congressional districts have at least five percent of residents
30:40
who would need to reregister to vote because they are
30:43
considered inactive voters. That means they fail to verify their
30:48
address with election officials, who haven't voted into or more
30:52
consecutive federal elections or have no valid or current address
30:57
on fil In about fifty four percent cent of Republican
31:01
health congressional districts, at least five percent of residents would
31:05
have to reregister to vote, more than the thirty six
31:10
percent of Democratic health congressional districts, in which at least
31:14
five percent of resistance would need to reregister. About twenty
31:20
one million US citizens of voting age nine percent do
31:24
not have or lack easy access to documents proving this citizenship.
31:30
According to a twenty twenty three survey conducted by the
31:34
University of Maryland Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement, Vote
31:39
Writers or the Brendan Center for Justice, about two point
31:43
six million Americans voting age one percent do not have
31:48
any government issued photo ID, while three thirty four point
31:53
five million fifteen percent do not have a driver's license
31:57
or official state ID card that has their current name
32:01
and address. According to the survey, under the Save America Act,
32:07
student IDs and other state licenses or ID cards would
32:12
not be accepted. As many as sixty nine million married
32:17
women in the United States do not have a birth
32:19
certificate that matches their legal name, according to the Center
32:23
for American Progress, they could face additional hurdles that they
32:28
need to register to vote. Much of the real world
32:32
impact would ultimately depend on how states implement the verification requirements,
32:39
whether they already collect proof of citizenship from voters, for example,
32:45
We would likely see significant variations in implemation implementation across
32:51
the fifty States, said Michael Palmonte, a research fellow at
32:56
Claremont Graduate University who has studied state of lifection policy
33:00
and voter behavior. Would this hurt Republicans and Democrats more?
33:06
Trump claimed last week the Democrats, who have been opposed
33:10
to the Save America Act were doing everything possible to
33:14
fight it because they know if we get this, they
33:18
probably won't win an election for fifty years. The president's
33:24
assumption is partly rooted in his long held false claim
33:28
that widespread voter fraud, particularly by millions of undocumented immigrants,
33:34
cost him the twenty twenty election. Again, non citizen voting
33:39
is extremely rare. It is already illegal for non citizens
33:43
to vote in federal and state elections and courts have
33:47
struck down or dismissed dozens of legal challenges by Trump
33:50
and his allies that are alleged widespread election fraud. The
33:56
twenty one million Americans who lack easy access to the
34:00
proof of citizenship are disproportionately younger and people of color,
34:05
demographic groups that tend to vote more for Democrats than Republicans,
34:10
according to the University of Maryland survey. But these things
34:15
don't all line up perfectly according to party, said Shawn
34:19
Morales Doyle, director of the Brennansona for Justices, Voting Rights
34:25
and Elections Program. Overall, the survey found slightly more Democrats
34:31
ten percent than Republicans seven percent lack easy access to
34:36
documents proving their citizenship, rising to fourteen percent among political independents.
34:43
This is going to impact people from all walks of life,
34:47
from every democraphic group, and it may be that it
34:52
disproportionately impacts Democrats big picture because of certain skews in
34:57
the population. It very easily could be that it disproportionately
35:03
impacts Republicans in some parts of the country. Morales Doyle
35:09
said this unpredictability is especially relevant as Republicans attract more
35:17
mail working class and first time voters who tend to
35:20
have lower education levels and less access to documentation. Rural voters,
35:28
group Trump won by a thirty percent thirty point margin
35:32
in twenty twenty four, could also face a significant brea
35:36
if they need to reregister to vote, as voters who
35:40
live in less populous areas have some of the longest
35:43
round trip driving times to get to their nearest election office. Indeed,
35:49
certain slices of the dialers show that citizenship requirements would
35:54
negatively affect men who supported Trump by a thirteen point
35:58
margin in twenty twenty four and younger voters who also
36:02
moved toward Trump in the last election. According to the survey,
36:06
eleven percent of men did not have or could not
36:09
easily access documentary proof of citizenship, which was slightly more
36:14
than the eight percent of women who said the same.
36:17
Young Men between the ages of eighteen and twenty nine
36:20
were particularly likely to lack easy access to those documents.
36:25
Surveys found in subsequent surveys of adults in Georgia and Texas.
36:31
The groups found that ready access to those documents buried
36:36
in Georgia, Democrats and Republicans lacked easy access to documentary
36:41
proof of citizenship at the same rate. In Texas, Republicans
36:46
were twice as likely as Democrats to lack easy access
36:49
to documentary proof of citizenship. The surveys also tracked which
36:56
adults lacked any kind of government issued photo ID, as
37:00
well as precisely how many people were affected by state
37:03
specific laws that required voters to present ID at the polls.
37:09
In Georgia, Republicans were more likely to report not having
37:13
a copy of their birth certificate at all, and in
37:16
both Georgia and Texas, Democrats were more likely to have
37:20
multiple documents they could use as voter ID. Republicans have
37:26
long pushed to require voters to present photo ID at
37:30
the polls, but only in recent years has a similar
37:33
campaign for proof of citizenship exploded onto the voting scene
37:39
policy scene, said Sam Novie Street, chief strategists at the
37:44
Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement at the University of Maryland.
37:49
Novie cautioned that the partisan effects of election reforms are
37:53
difficult to predict because so many other factors matter, including
37:58
voter experience and how the restrictions are implemented, but in general,
38:03
requiring proof of the citizenship to register to vote tends
38:06
to negatively effect Republicans more than requiring voters to present
38:11
photo IDs at the polls hurts them, he said. In January,
38:16
Michael Fragoso, former Chief council to Senator Mitch mcconnall, Republican
38:23
of Kentucky, warned Republicans that adding restrictions to voter registration
38:29
would not necessarily favor their party. Decades ago, when the
38:34
Republican base was suburban, upper middle class, high propensity voters,
38:39
making voter registration more time and resource intensive made sense,
38:45
Fragoso wrote in The National Review, adding in recent years,
38:50
though these high propensity voters have flipped their party allegiance,
38:56
Republicans are, according a more and more reliant on a
38:58
multi ethnic coalition of low pretensity voters, and that is
39:03
in Italics in order to build majorities. Those voters, for
39:09
Goso argued, have tended to sit off here in special
39:14
elections and would likely not go to the extra step
39:17
of confirming their citizenship to go to the polls. What
39:21
if they don't have passports? For men who has passports?
39:26
People with strong business, leisure and familial connections overseas, do
39:30
we think they're eager to make America great again? In parentheses,
39:35
are they going to take the time and effort to
39:37
attest their citizenship? For Goso wrote, what are the Save
39:43
America's Acts chances of passing? As it stands now, the
39:49
bill has a little chance of passing even with Trump's pressure.
39:53
Democrats opposed the bill and the fact that Trump is
39:56
making an explicit argument that Republicans can only win they
40:00
passed the same America Act as only further alarmed voting
40:04
rights advocates. It would take sixty votes to overcome a
40:09
filibuster allowing Senate Democrats to block it. Senate Majority leader
40:15
John Thune, Republican of South Caro, Dakota, brought the bill
40:19
to the floor for debate Tuesday, but has caution that
40:23
it does not have the votes to pass. Some Republicans
40:27
had pressed Une to evade the filibuster by forcing Democrats
40:30
to hold the Senate flaw through continuous speeches to block
40:34
the bill, fetting that Republicans could outlast them, but Thune
40:39
said he did not believe such a strategy could succeed
40:43
because some Senate Republicans did not support it. This is
40:49
bet our Health company admits it diverted private patient records
40:55
to law firms. Guard Dog Tell, a Texas firm, acknowledged
41:03
in court documents that its business was based on mining
41:08
individual health data. By Christopher Rowland, a health technology company,
41:16
has admitted it built a business on scooping digital medical
41:20
records of individual patients from multiple health systems and distributed
41:25
the information to law firms. According to court documents, the
41:31
admission by guard Dog Telehealth came in response to a
41:36
lawsuit brought by Epic Systems, the nation's largest venda of
41:41
electronic medical record software. In January. Epic Systems alleged that
41:47
a syndicate of companies had improperly gained access to patient
41:53
records and was selling them the lawyers for potential use
41:57
in litigation. The case is important beca it sheds light
42:02
on the value of patient records in the commercial marketplace
42:06
and the potential points of failure for hospitals, doctors, and
42:10
network operators who are charged with keeping them safe. Epic
42:15
noticed in the fall of twenty twenty two that law
42:17
firms appeared to have access to patient records. Guard Dog
42:22
is the first of the several companies being sued to
42:26
reach an agreement with Epic, and the case filed in
42:29
US District Court in California. EPIC called the agreement enter
42:34
Friday a step forward for patient privacy. The stipulated judgment
42:41
says guard Dog may have scooped up records at Read
42:44
Hospital and Healthcare Services, a health system in Ohio and Indiana,
42:50
Trinity Health, which is provideds in twenty five states, and
42:55
UMass Memorial health Care, which operates in central Massachusetts. Each
43:01
of those systems is an EPIC consumer in all. EPIC
43:06
has said its lawsuit that guard Dog was responsible for
43:09
six thousand of a total of three hundred thousand records
43:13
improperly taken by various companies with a patient consent. Guard
43:19
Dog represented itself as having legitimate health care reasons to
43:24
access patient records on the digital highway that connects medical networks,
43:30
according to the agreement, but its business instead focused on requesting, reviewing,
43:36
and summarizing medical records, and providing those medical records to
43:42
law firms. Guard Dog Health is listed in business records
43:47
as having an address in Lyndale, Texas. The court documents
43:52
say its predecessor corporation is Critical Care Nurse and Consultant,
43:57
which is operated by Kiy Heskett, who as on a
44:00
professional website that she also is co founder of Mass
44:05
Tort Medical Consultants. Heskett did not respond to rare requests
44:11
for a phone interview. In a statement, guard Dog said
44:15
it has always maintained that it acted in good faith
44:19
with the goal of supporting patient care to the fest
44:22
of its abilities, whether its patients were involved with the
44:26
justice system or not. The agreement with EPIC says that
44:31
guard Dog believed that another defendent EPICS lawsuit, Health Gorilla,
44:37
which serves as a gatekeeper for digital health networks that
44:41
share access to patient data, was aware of guard Dog activities.
44:46
EPIC has taken aim at health Gorilla, alleging that it
44:50
is in league with its connections misuse of health information
44:56
as a commodity. Health Gorilla blasted Epic enough statement, calling
45:01
its agreement with guard Dog incompleted it best in misleading
45:05
act worse. It said it can prove that guard Dog
45:09
never informed Gorilla Health Gorilla it was using patient data
45:14
for non medical purposes. EPEX lawsuit remains an attack on
45:19
inter operability that threatens patient safety and efficient health care,
45:25
and nationwide made worse by misleading submissions like its agreement
45:31
with guard Dog. Health Gorilla said Whitehouse details offered to
45:39
end partial government shutdown. The Department of Homeland Security shutdown
45:44
has saddled flyers with long lines at airports, and I
45:48
hope my son doesn't face those when he comes. Week
45:51
after this by Riley Began, Emily Davies and Caddia Gobo,
45:58
the White House on two detailed its counter offer to
46:02
Congressional Democrats and negotiations to fund the Department of Homeland Security,
46:07
which has been shut down for more than four weeks,
46:10
leading to long lines at some airports. Democrats have demanded
46:15
that Republicans agreed to new accountability measures for immigration enforcement
46:20
agents after officials killed u two US citizens in Minnesota
46:26
during the agency's Operation Metro Surge. In a letter to
46:31
Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee reviewed by the Washington Post,
46:36
Whitehouse Borders art Tom Hoeman and Legislative Director James Braid
46:42
said they took step toward meeting Democrats' requests, having offered
46:47
to codify improved operational guidelines to its immigration enforcement operations.
46:56
White House negotiators said they offered to expand the use
47:00
of body cameras, limit enforcement activities at some sensitive locations,
47:05
with exceptions and required that officers identify themselves. The administration
47:11
also said they would create mandatory reviews and compliance audits
47:16
with the DHS Inspector General. The letter is the most
47:20
detailed account to surface in weeks of internal negotiations between
47:25
the White House and top Democrats in Congress, who have
47:28
swapped multiple offers to unlock DHS funding but remain at
47:33
an impasse. Employees at the Transportation Security Administration good Old TSA,
47:40
which is part of DHS, missed their first full paycheck
47:44
on Friday. TSA agents have been calling out of work
47:49
in larger numbers since the shutdown began. More than three
47:53
hundred employees at TSA have quit, according to DHS, contributing
47:58
to increased wake time at major airports around the country.
48:03
White House negotiators dismissed the Democrats proposal as one that
48:07
would make it impossible to fully protect American citizens from
48:13
undocumented immigrants and in danger law enforcement. They said the
48:17
Democrats offer fails to show a good faith attempt to compromise.
48:23
The White House offer does not address several of the
48:26
Democrats' top priorities, including requiring judicial warrants to enter private
48:32
properties and borrowing agents from wearing masks, which obscures identities.
48:37
It also ignores Democrats' requests the DHS adheres to and
48:42
enforces a policy that borrows excessive use of force, similar
48:47
to state and local police oversight. Senate Minority leader Charles
48:54
z Schima, Democrat of New York, said Tuesday that Democrats
48:58
were trying to move a little bit in their latest offer.
49:02
He blamed the White House for refusing to make concessions
49:05
on two of the Democrats' top demands, one barring federal
49:10
agents from entering private property without judicial warrants and two
49:15
banning them from wearing face masks. They haven't bunched on those,
49:19
Schimmer told reporters, They've got to get serious. A senior
49:25
White House official told reporters that the White House's latest
49:28
proposal stands as a good faith attempt to try to
49:33
come to a reasonable and expeditious conclusion to the shutdown.
49:38
The parties remained for a part in large part because
49:41
the administration has put forward a five part, serious proposal
49:45
that we are willing to engage in additional conversations on,
49:49
but that has not been reciprocated in kind, said the official,
49:53
who spoke on the condition of Aminimnity to reveal negotiations
50:00
this issue. Was noncommittal about whether the administration would continue
50:03
to negotiate over arrest without judicial warrants. They added that
50:08
negotiators had not made enough progress to set up a
50:12
meeting between President Donald Trump and Senate Democrats. Senate Majority
50:18
leader John Then, Republican of South Dakota, told reporters Tuesday
50:23
that the White Houses offer represents significant gifts and argue
50:27
that Democrats are intent on dragging out this political issue.
50:33
DHS has been unable book. DHS has been able to
50:39
continue much of its immigration enforcement effects under the prolonged
50:44
shutdown due to an influx of funding from the Republican
50:48
Tax and Spending Bill passed last year. DHS received one
50:53
hundred and seventy billion dollars, including seventy five billion for
50:57
immigration and customs enforcement alone. The DHS also includes the TSA,
51:04
the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Coast Guard. More
51:09
than one hundred thousand employees are working with their pay,
51:12
according to DHS. Democrats have unsuccessfully attempted to advance measures
51:19
that would fund DHS's non immigration related agencies. The top
51:25
Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, Representative Losa Doloro, Democratic Connecticut,
51:32
plans to launch a discharge petition in the host to
51:35
do so this week, a tool that would force a
51:38
vote on the legislation if a handful of Republicans joined
51:42
all the chambers Democrats in supporting it. Why do we
51:46
want to hold hostage these workers who are killing themselves
51:51
out there every day and they're not getting paid. Let
51:54
us take care of them, she said Tuesday. This opinion
52:00
piece the Theodore R. Johnson Trump is renovating the wrong
52:06
building through populism, requires a larger Congress for a growing country.
52:12
There's a picture of the White Hose taken on February fourth,
52:16
with the snow in the foreground. Trump administration officials recently
52:21
proposed more construction projects for the White Hose. One plan
52:26
replaces the Greek columns framing the main entrance with the
52:30
more imperial version. Another suggest building a grand underground security
52:36
Senative center to screen visitors. These projects add to the
52:44
ballroom replacing the East Wing, the renovation of the Lincoln
52:48
bathroom in marble and gold, and the Rose Gardens conversion
52:52
into a stone patio featuring featuring cafe style umbrellas. Critics
52:58
have zeroed in on the many procedural violations bypassing required
53:03
commission approvals and soliciting private donors to bank roll construction
53:07
while sidestepping federal oversight of national landmarks. President Donald Trump
53:13
sees it differently, boasting on social media just inspected the
53:18
site of the new ballroom that will be built complements
53:22
of a man known as Donald J. Trump at the
53:25
White House. At a White House ceremony last year, he added,
53:30
They've wanted a ballroom for one hundred and fifty years,
53:33
and I'm giving God honor to this wonderful place. Process
53:37
and Vanadeat's side, the clear problem is that his real
53:40
estate instincts are oft. He's renovating the wrong building. Trump
53:45
should expand the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue the US capital,
53:50
while a vast visitor center opened at the Capitol in
53:53
two thousand and eight. The chambers of the House and
53:56
Senate haven't grown since the eighteen fifties. The number of
54:01
House members hasn't grown in about a century, and yet
54:04
joint sessions such as the State of the Union address
54:08
or the couning of electoral College votes have long strained
54:11
the chambers seating capacity. Packing in members shoulder to shoulder.
54:17
It can barely fit the Congress it has, and is
54:19
far too small for the Congress. The country requires. Trump's
54:24
time tingering with the executive mansion would be better spend
54:28
expanding the legislature's chambers. The United States doesn't need a
54:32
thousand person ballroom, it needs a capital with a thousand
54:36
member Congress. Trump cites Andrew Jackson as his presidential inspiration,
54:42
and the comparison is instructive. Jackson believed his eighteen twenty
54:47
four election loss was rigged. Expanded presidential authority following his
54:52
eighteen twenty eight win, purged ten percent of the federal
54:56
work force and installed the North Portico columns that are
55:00
now at risk of removal. But jackson'sonium democracy had some
55:05
institutional substance, tripling the number of voting white men by
55:10
removing tax and property requirements. His common folk supporters were
55:15
so astatic after his first inauguration that they surged into
55:19
the White House, spilling alcohol and breaking china, forcing the
55:23
new president to flee while a congressman and his wife
55:27
escaped through a window. Trump's popularism runs in the other direction.
55:33
Jackson's mob stormed the People's House to celebrate the result,
55:37
Trump's stormed Congress to overturn it. Jackson renovated the buried
55:42
building where his supporters had run a monk. Trump has
55:46
yet to show the Capital the same respect. It wouldn't
55:50
be easy. The president cannot expand the Capitol in the latterly.
55:55
It requires congressional authorization and coalition building the president to
56:01
govern and lobby. But it wouldn't be impossible. Only as
56:04
several majority is technically required to approve such construction, and
56:09
with Republicans controlling Congress, Trump's window to act is open.
56:14
A capital expansion would require Congress to vote for it,
56:18
giving it a democratic legitimacy his ballroom will never have.
56:23
And whereas the next president can reconsider Trump's White House
56:27
changes via executive order, capital renovations are written into law.
56:33
Changes to the structure and to its membership are long overdue.
56:37
Congress grew alongside the country after its founding, but the
56:41
Reapportionment Act of nineteen twenty nine permanently capped the House
56:47
at four hundred and thirty five voting seats. At the time,
56:51
that meant about two hundred and eighty thousand constituents in
56:55
each congressional to district. Today that number is upward of
56:59
seven hundred and eighty thousand. Scholars such as political theorist
57:05
Danielle Allen, have argued that enlarging the houses required to
57:08
make the body more responsive to the people and representatives
57:12
closer to their constituents. Allen has explored how renovating the
57:17
existing structure could set one thousand member Congress a number
57:21
of the nation has been building toward for more than
57:24
a century, expanding to relieve overcrowding and in anticipation of
57:29
further growth. As deep precedent. When New states flooded the
57:33
Union in the eighteen fifties, Congress grew into the Capitol
57:36
grounds while the need was still arriving. The Dirks and
57:40
Senate Office Building in nineteen fifty eight and the acquisition
57:43
of the Ford Host Office Building in nineteen seventy five
57:47
were both larger than needed at their opening, correctly understanding
57:51
that more space would be necessary as the nation grew.
57:55
Congressional leaders tried to expand the Capitol nearly fifty years
57:59
ago due to the House chambers cramped quarters, but it
58:03
died in committee after a dozen years of attempts. Capital
58:07
expansion has all the incentive. Trump needs an opportunity to
58:12
make history, to succeed where others have failed, and to
58:15
put his mark on the institution forever, with the client
58:18
Congress to pave the way. The one thing a rebated
58:21
capital doesn't offer that a thousand person ballroom does is
58:26
the chance for Trump to be the room's center of
58:28
attention as president. Giving up that would require him to
58:32
build something bigger than himself, and that seems to be
58:36
the one deal he can't close. And with that I
58:40
end today's reading of The Washington Post for Thursday, the
58:44
nineteenth of March of twenty twenty six. Get outside and
58:48
enjoy the day. I'll be back on Saturday. Bye.