Third times a charm. Rep. Michelle Fischbach was forced to cast a vote on whether to release files on deceased sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein for a third time Thursday evening in the House Rules Committee amid pressure from the MAGA base, my colleague Sydney Kashiwagi reports.
No to a bill. Fischbach and the rest of the Republicans on the committee voted down a Democratic-led amendment that would have moved a bipartisan bill forward for a full vote in the U.S. House allowing for a congressionally mandated release of files the federal government has on Epstein.
Yes to a resolution. But after vigorous debate, Fischbach instead joined Republicans in passing a nonbinding resolution they had spent the day putting together that similarly seeks the release of files related to Epstein but in a non-enforceable way.
Democrats decried the GOP resolution as nothing more than a "glorified press release" that Republicans under pressure could use as cover to quell pushback from their base instead of an actual bill that would compel the federal government to act on the matter.
Will she have to look over her shoulder? Fischbach voted twice this week already to block an amendment from moving forward that would have paved the way for the release of the files, a move that the group Action 4 Liberty has taken note of and has since been calling for Fischbach to face a primary opponent.
Before the Thursday evening vote, Kashiwagi spotted Fischbach going in and out of a meeting room off the House floor where negotiations with House Speaker Mike Johnson and the other members of the Rules Committee were taking place.
Fischbach refused multiple attempts to talk with Kashiwagi about her vote as she shuffled between the meeting and the House floor.
But Fischbach later said on X: "Democrats had 4 years of Biden to release information on Epstein’s disgusting acts. [Trump] and [House Republicans] remain committed to holding the government accountable. That’s why we put forward a measure tonight calling for the release of all credible information in DOJ’s possession, which has now passed out of [the Rules Committee]."
"Crypto Week" finally comes to an end. Meanwhile, Rep. Tom Emmer finally got his Crypto currency legislative package over the finish line Thursday after it looked like it may have been in jeopardy earlier in the week.
One of the bills included in the crypto package included Emmer's Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, which would prevent the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and would prevent the federal government from exploring developing them.
The Cooper Davis and Devin Norring Act. Rep. Angie Craig reintroduced the Cooper Davis and Devin Norring Act on Thursday, a bipartisan bill that aims to crack down on drug trafficking on social media by requiring social media companies and other communication service providers to alert federal law enforcement when illicit drug dealing is happening on their platforms, Kashiwagi also notes.
The bill is named after Devin Norring of Hastings and Cooper Davis of Shawnee, Kan., both teens who died of fentanyl overdoses after purchasing what they thought were Percocet pills on Snapchat.
“Fentanyl has wreaked havoc on Minnesota communities, and we know that too many fentanyl overdoses have been caused by drugs that were sold through social media,” Craig said in a statement. “We can and should hold social media companies accountable for drug trafficking on their platforms.”
Could have a chance this Congress. The bill has several Republican co-sponsors, which could help its chances this Congress in moving forward.
