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Lincoln Project sets sights on 'Sedition Caucus' leader Ted Cruz now that Trump is out of office
January 21, 2021
Donald Trump is no longer president, which raises the question of what the Lincoln Project, the most prominent group of ex-Republicans attacking him from a conservative perspective, will do now.
The answer, according to KHOU 11, appears to be to go after one of Trump's biggest enablers in Congress: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). With Trump out, Cruz is regarded as the natural leader of the "Sedition Caucus."
<p>
"We all know Ted Cruz is sort of a political force of nature," said Lincoln Project co-founder Rick Wilson on Y'all-itics. "He is what he is. You either hate him or you hate him. And he is a guy who went so far over the edge, not just to appease Donald Trump and Trump's base, but because he felt like Josh Hawley had gotten out ahead of him on it."
</p><p>Cruz sealed his fate by trying to overturn the election as the riot at the Capitol unfolded, said Wilson.</p><p>"We saw that action as something that was overtly seditious," said Wilson. "It was overtly part of an insurrection seeking to overturn a free and fair election. And for as much as everyone sort of cordially hates Ted Cruz, this also about the fact there is a caucus of these guys right now."</p><p>The Lincoln Project has already released <a href="https://www.rawstory.com/2020/11/lincoln-project-issues-new-video-ing-the-new-republican-party-treasonous-unpatriotic-and-despotic/" target="_blank">ads</a> against Cruz, calling him and Republicans like him "unpatriotic and despotic."</p><p>
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'Extreme' Trump official fired after unions complain of his 'uniquely destructive' activities
January 21, 2021
Along with signing a slate of executive orders after taking office on Wednesday, President Joe Biden requested the resignation of and ultimately fired Peter Robb, the general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board blasted by one major union as an "extreme, anti-union ideologue" and a "uniquely destructive figure."
Bloomberg Law first reported, citing two unnamed sources, that Biden sent a letter to Robb—an appointee of former President Donald Trump confirmed by Republican senators—that gave him until 5 pm Wednesday to voluntarily resign or be fired. HuffPost then confirmed that report, citing an unnamed Biden White House official.
<p>Robb responded by refusing to step down, calling the request "unprecedented since the nascence of the National Labor Relations Act," <a href="https://www.law360.com/articles/1347003/breaking-nlrb-gc-robb-tells-biden-he-won-t-leave-office" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">according to</a> <em>Law 360</em>.</p><p>In a series of <a href="https://twitter.com/jamieson/status/1352072011699335169" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tweets</a> Wednesday night, <em>HuffPost</em> labor reporter Dave Jamieson revealed a White House official said that Biden fired Robb after he refused to resign, a series of events which the journalist described as "norm-busting."</p><p>Biden's moves came after the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represents some two million workers across scores of occupations and <a href="https://www.seiu.org/blog/2020/7/seiu-endorses-joe-biden-for-president" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">endorsed</a> Biden in the November 2020 presidential race, <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/joe-biden-peter-robb-nlrb-unions_n_6000a47cc5b62c0057bb6301" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">sent</a> a memo to the then-president-elect urging him to immediately fire Robb upon taking office.</p><p>The union welcomed Robb's ouster in a brief tweet:</p> <p>The National Labor Relations Board, as its website <a href="https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/who-we-are" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">details</a>, works to "assure fair labor practices and workplace democracy nationwide." The general counsel, who generally serves a four-year term and is independent from the agency's five-member board, "is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of unfair labor practice cases and for the general supervision of the NLRB field offices in the processing of cases."</p><p>Robb's term was set to end in November, but SEIU, Communications Workers of America (CWA), and others pushed Biden to take action sooner.</p><p>"Biden campaigned on being a 'union guy' and a friend of workers, and has pledged to be the '<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/01/biden-promises-to-be-the-most-pro-union-president-and-rep.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">most pro-union president ever.'</a> He has reason to be. Unions played a key role in securing his victory," <em>Strikewave</em> editor and Pennsylvania union activist C.M. Lewis <a href="https://www.thestrikewave.com/editorials/fire-nlrb-general-counsel-peter-robb-on-day-one" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">wrote</a> last week. "There's one measure that will signal that Biden is serious: on day one, he needs to fire National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Peter Robb." </p> <p>"That Robb ever became general counsel is a travesty. The general counsel is one of the most powerful positions at the agency," Lewis added. "Right now, the NLRB works under the legal guidance of a union buster that believes the agency shouldn't exist."</p><p>As <em>Bloomberg</em> noted:</p> <blockquote>Robb, a former management-side attorney who helped [former President] Ronald Reagan defeat the air traffic controller's union, has pushed an aggressive, pro-business agenda at the labor board.<br/>...A Democratic replacement, who would need Senate confirmation, would be able to begin reversing the prior administration's changes to agency procedure, though Democrats on the NLRB will still face gridlock until Republicans lose the board majority in August.<br/> </blockquote> <p>Shortly after Biden was sworn in on Wednesday, Democrats officially took control of the Senate by the slimmest possible margin, with Vice President Kamala Harris charged with breaking any tie votes.</p><p>Longtime labor journalist Steven Greenhouse noted on Twitter that Robb is the first NLRB general counsel to be forced out in over five decades and said that "one way for Biden to win back blue-collar workers is to show that he is robustly pro-union."</p> <p>Greenhouse <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/09/joe-biden-labor-workers-rights-unions-wages" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">wrote</a> for <em>The Guardian</em> earlier this month about what the president can do "to reverse Trump's assault on labor rights":</p> <blockquote>Biden's nominee for secretary of labor, Marty Walsh—the mayor of Boston and before that a labor leader for decades—is likely to help advance Biden's promises to help unions expand. Walsh, who had headed Boston's federation of building trades unions, is expected to support increased spending on infrastructure to upgrade roads and bridges, strengthen the economy, and create good-paying jobs. As mayor, he pushed for construction contractors to hire more workers of color.<br/>With Covid-19 still raging across the U.S., many job safety experts say it's urgent for Biden to do something that the Trump administration has failed to do: issue nationwide regulations directing businesses to take specific steps to protect their workers from the coronavirus, whether retail, restaurant, factory, or construction workers.<br/> </blockquote> <p>The journalist also pointed out that Biden's NLRB appointees "are likely to reverse many Trump labor board decisions that made it harder for workers to join unions," and that the president has repeatedly expressed support for more than doubling the federal hourly minimum wage—currently just $7.25—to $15.</p><p>Early last week, Biden <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/01/14/bidens-19-trillion-relief-plan-400-unemployment-boost-1400-checks-and-billions" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">unveiled</a> a $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief plan that includes a provision to raise the federal minimum wage to $15. At the end of the week, fast food workers across the country <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/01/15/us-fast-food-workers-strike-demanding-congress-raisethewage-15-hour-and-union-rights" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">went</a> on strike for the right to unionize and a $15 wage, increasing <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/12/14/warren-joins-chorus-urging-biden-raise-minimum-wage-15-hour-federal-contract-workers" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">pressure</a> on Biden to deliver on that <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/joe-biden-is-doubling-down-on-raising-the-minimum-wage-to-15-an-hour-despite-the-economic-downturn-it-could-bump-paychecks-for-over-27-million-workers/ar-BB1anvSE" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">campaign promise</a>.</p><p>Jeff Schuhrke <a href="https://inthesetimes.com/article/joe-biden-labor-unions-seiu-ue-workers-pro-act-nlrb" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reported</a> Wednesday at <em>In These Times</em> that "in addition to making demands on Biden, labor leaders are also seeking bold moves from lawmakers on Capitol Hill."</p> <p>CWA secretary-treasurer Sara Steffens told Schuhrke that "while there are immediate actions that Joe Biden and his Department of Labor can take to support worker organizing and to protect collective action, the transformative change we need requires action by Congress."</p><p>The CWA is part of the coalition pushing lawmakers to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. When the Democrat-controlled House <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/07/victory-workers-house-praised-passing-landmark-pro-act-strengthen-unions-and-labor" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">passed</a> the bill during the last congressional session nearly a year ago—despite accurate predictions that it would go ignored by the GOP-held Senate—AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka declared, "Make no mistake, this is the most significant step Congress has taken to strengthen labor laws in the United States in 85 years and a win for workers everywhere."</p>
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Houston cop arrested for storming the US Capitol insists he just wanted to view 'art on the walls'
January 21, 2021
Federal agents have charged the former Houston police officer who allegedly joined a violent mob that invaded the U.S. Capitol with knowingly entering a restricted government building and engaging in disruptive and disorderly conduct, according to media reports Tuesday. An affidavit written by FBI Special Agent Amie C. Stemen named the previously unidentified officer as Tam Dinh Pham.
In a press conference last week, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said he had notified federal authorities about Pham's presence at the Capitol riot after seeing Facebook photos linking Pham to the pro-Trump supporters. Pham then agreed to meet with FBI agents at his home in Richmond on Jan. 12.
<p>According to the affidavit published by media organizations, Pham told the agents that he had traveled to D.C. from Houston on Jan. 5 for his wife's business trip. He initially denied entering the Capitol, but admitted to attending the Trump rally earlier in the day. However, federal officials found photos of Pham standing in the Capitol rotunda in the deleted photos section of his phone. One agent warned Pham about making any false statements, and Pham agreed to cooperate for the rest of the investigation.</p><p>Pham also denied being a member of any far-right social media groups that had advertised the Jan. 6 rally, saying that he learned about the gathering on Facebook and attended because he wanted to "see history," court documents show. After the president's speech to the crowd that morning, he followed others to the Capitol, eventually climbing over toppled fences and barricades along the way. The photographs on Pham's phone place him in the rotunda between 2:50 and 2:55 p.m. Eastern Time on Jan. 6.</p><p>Pham told FBI agents that he spent about 15 minutes inside the Capitol, where "he looked at the historical art on the walls and took photographs and videos inside."</p><p>Acevedo announced last Thursday that Pham had resigned pending the federal investigation.</p><p>Since last week, political news site <a href="https://theappeal.org/the-cops-at-the-capitol/" target="_blank">The Appeal </a>has been tracking law enforcement officers who participated in the pro-Trump riot that left five people dead. As of Tuesday, the site has identified over 30 officers from departments around the country who joined the mob at the Capitol. The Washington Post also <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/national-guard-inauguration-security-threat-/2021/01/18/ece5dada-59b3-11eb-aaad-93988621dd28_story.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reported </a>that ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on Wednesday, federal authorities are currently in the process of screening troops from the National Guard for any connections to extremist groups, a choice that Gov. Greg Abbott quickly decried on Twitter.</p><p>"This is the most offensive thing I've ever heard," Abbott <a href="https://twitter.com/GregAbbott_TX/status/1351334378337673218" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tweeted</a>. "No one should ever question the loyalty or professionalism of the Texas National Guard. I authorized more than 1,000 to go to D.C. I'll never do it again if they are disrespected like this."</p><p>As part of this security screening process, officials have removed 12 members of the National Guard from helping secure Biden's inauguration, the Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/12-guard-removed-biden-inauguration-860c2c28bb3b45a28625352df50de294" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reported Tuesday</a>. All 12 troops either had links to far-right extremist groups or had posted violent or extreme views on online platforms. It's not known what units the 12 members served in.</p><p><em>Disclosure: Facebook has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/support-us/corporate-sponsors/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">list of them here</a>.</em></p>
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