• The US has hit the debt ceiling, and the media is discussing whether Democrats will negotiate with hard-right Republicans who want cuts to domestic spending before raising the debt ceiling.
• Raising revenue to pay for appropriations has historically been the first option, but since 1981, Republicans have made cutting taxes the centerpiece of their economic policy.
• The 2017 Trump tax cuts, especially the cut in the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, dramatically increased the deficit without promoting growth.
• The Supreme Court released a statement about the investigation into the leak of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, but the source of the leak remains unknown.
• Judge Donald Middlebrooks of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida ordered Trump, his lawyer Alina Habba, and her law firm Habba Madaio & Associates to pay $937,989.39 for attorneys’ fees and costs after they filed a lawsuit the court found to be “completely frivolous” and a bad-faith use of the court system.
• Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) introduced a constitutional amendment to the House to overturn the 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Supreme Court decision.
Published January 20, 2023
Visit Letters from an American to read Heather Cox Richardson’s original post January 19, 2023