The Daily Signal - Lawmakers Release Massive Spending Package Ahead of Deadline, Sen. Joe Manchin Lays Out Conditions for Judicial Nominees| March 21

Starting point is 00:00:01 I'm Samantha Sherris, and this is the Daily Signal Top News for Thursday, March 21st. Here are today's headlines. As the clock ticks closer to a potential partial government shutdown, lawmakers in Washington, D.C. have released a spending package valued at $1.2 trillion. The legislation, which is over 1,000 pages long, includes funding for six departments, state, education, defense, labor, homeland security, and health and human services. Funding for the Internal Revenue Service, as well as general government and foreign operations, is also included in the legislation, according to the Hill. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, described the legislation as a serious commitment to strengthening our national defense by moving the Pentagon toward a focus on its core mission,

Starting point is 00:01:05 while expanding support for our brave men and women who serve in uniform. But not all conservatives, are satisfied with the legislation. Notably, Texas Republican Representative Chip Roy, who said in an ex post, less than 24 hours to review. The hashtag Swamp Omnibus, 1,000-plus pages, and $1.2 trillion. Bus spending caps to fund the WHO Woke DoD, a weaponized FBI new headquarters, and 100% fails to stop Progressive Democrats' mass releases of criminals across the state. our borders. No Republican should vote for it. Heritage Action for America Executive Vice President Ryan Walker also weighed in on the legislation, saying in a statement, while we continue to wait for

Starting point is 00:01:54 bill text, details leaked to the DC media are extremely concerning. If that reporting is accurate, this $1 trillion minibus with budget gimmicks will blow past spending caps and fund Biden's open border with no meaningful policy changes. Montana Republican Representative Matt Rosendale posted a video to his X page criticizing the legislation. Let's take a listen. Well, the D.C. cartel is added again. They released a $1.2 trillion mini bus at 2.32 a.m. this morning, giving us somewhere in the neighborhood of about 48 hours to review it before they're going to bring it up for a vote. It's chock full of additional

Starting point is 00:02:37 pet projects and earmarks as we see these things time and time again. And we're going to be asked to suspend the rules and pass it. Again, I will fight to hold the line against the spending that this apparatus has created over the last several decades. Congress must vote on the legislation before Friday at midnight or face a partial government shutdown. Stay tuned. Democratic West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin says he is not supporting Joe Biden's judicial nominees if they don't receive support from at least one Republican senator. Mansion told Politico, just one Republican. That's all I'm asking for. Give me something bipartisan. This is my own little filibuster. If they can't get one Republican, I vote for none. I've told Democrats that. I said, I'm sick and tired of it. I can't take it anymore.

Starting point is 00:03:35 Manchin made similar comments to CNN who asked about the president's nominee for the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, Adel Manjee. The West Virginia Senator, who is not seeking re-election this fall, said, I'm going to be very honest with everybody. If my Democratic colleagues and friends can't get one Republican vote, don't count on me. You can't make it bipartisan. Don't count on me. I'm not leaving this place unless I can practice what I preach, and I'm preaching basically bipartisanship. This is my little way of doing it.

Starting point is 00:04:08 Democratic Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Mastow said on Tuesday that she opposes Manjee. The West Virginia Senator confirmed today that he will not vote for him, CNN reported. National Review has reported that Manjee sat on the board of an organization Center for Security, Race, and Rights at Rutgers that produced several extremist programs, featured speakers with ties to known terrorist organizations, and sponsored lectures brazenly touting anti-Semitic themes. The nation's capital has seen a drastic jump in violent crime in recent years, putting residents, visitors, and lawmakers at elevated risk of victimization, our colleague Jarrett Stepman reports.

Starting point is 00:04:53 House Committee on Thursday held a hearing to address the crime issue in the District of Columbia. Among the witnesses was Rafael A. Manguel, the Nick O'Neill Fellow, the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank who made his case for a serious rethink about addressing crime in the district. Van Gwell said the nation's capital is suffering a crime and disorder crisis. The crime spike in Washington, D.C., which surged dramatically beginning in the summer of 2020, continues to worsen with a little sign of slowing down. This has caused some to question home rule in the District of Columbia, which allows the city to govern its rather than being governed directly by Congress as it was decades ago.

Starting point is 00:05:39 In March 2020, Congress and President Joe Biden vetoed a crime bill passed by the D.C. Council that would have shortened prison sentences for convicted carjackers during a historic increase in carjackings. The city witnessed 959 carjackings in 2023, twice the number as the previous year. Several high-profile cases, such as that carjacking of a Congress, and the carjacking-related death of an Afghanistan interpreter has shined a light on this specific crime. The 13-member D.C. Council made up of 11 Democrats and two independents has taken some steps this year to begin getting crime under control. However, Menguel's testimony during the House Administration Committee hearing, titled D.C. Crime's Impact on Congressional Operation and Visitors, laid out the breadth of the problems and offered some solutions.

Starting point is 00:06:33 While violent crime dipped in many cities around the country in the last year, Menguel explained the district saw a 35% increase in homicides and a 39% increase in all violent crime. This makes the district's homicide rate the highest it's been in 26 years. That's not all. Menguel said that robberies and car thefts are up 67% and 82% respectively, and that carjackings have nearly doubled. The carjacking number is notable, he said, because the city already has suffered half a decade of year-to-year carjacking increases. For more on today's hearing, check out the link to Jarrett's article in today's show notes.

Starting point is 00:07:19 And for our final story today, the Republican National Committee and the Nevada Republican Party have sued Democratic Secretary of State, Cisco Aguilar, as well as five local election officials, according to reporting from the Washington Examiner. The lawsuit states that Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act requires states to maintain clean and accurate voter registration records, and that Nevada has failed to live up to the National Voter Registration Act requirements. The lawsuit continues, alleging that at least five counties in Nevada have inordinately high voter registration rate, and at least three Nevada counties have more registered voters than they have adult citizens who are over the age. of 18. That number of voters is impossibly high. Furthermore, according to the lawsuit, an additional two counties have voter registration rates that exceed 90% of adult citizens over the age of 18. That figure far eclips the national and statewide voter registration rate in recent elections. R&C Chairman Michael Watley said in a Monday statement that election integrity starts with clean voter rolls. And that's why the National Voter Registration Act requires state officials to keep their

Starting point is 00:08:36 roles accurate and up to date. Wally added, Nevada has universal mail voting and no voter ID requirement, which makes Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar's failure to comply with the National Voter Registration Act and provide accurate voter rolls all the more concerning. Securing clean voter rolls in Nevada is a critical step towards ensuring that it will be easy to vote and hard to cheat. You may recall from last week's show that we reported on a similar lawsuit the RNC filed in Michigan. And with that, that's going to do it for today's episode. Thanks so much for listening to the Daily Signal's top news. If you haven't had a chance, be sure to check out our morning show right here in this podcast feed, where we interview lawmakers, experts, and leading conservative voices. Join us tomorrow morning for the Daily Signal

Starting point is 00:09:27 Review edition, Virginia Allen will be sitting down with Baroness Arlene Foster. Also, make sure you subscribe to The Daily Signal wherever you get your podcasts and help us reach even more listeners by leaving a five-star rating and review. We read and appreciate all of your feedback. Thanks again for listening. Have a great night and we'll be back with you all tomorrow morning. The Daily Signal podcast is brought to you by more than half a million members of the Heritage Foundation. Executive producers are Rob, Louie, and Kate Shrinco. Producers are Virginia Allen and Samantha Asheras.

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The Daily Signal - Lawmakers Release Massive Spending Package Ahead of Deadline, Sen. Joe Manchin Lays Out Conditions for Judicial Nominees| March 21

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