Where Things Stand: FDA Halting Use Of Some Monoclonal Antibodies Treatments Bursts GOP’s Anti-Vax Bubble

Posted on by Nicole LaFond

But some Republicans are already using the Biden administration’s new, common sense decision to pour gasoline on their baseless federal overreach fights.

The Food and Drug Administration removed two monoclonal antibody therapies from its list of approved treatments for COVID-19 this week, at least temporarily. Citing clinical data, the FDA said in a statement that it has found two of the treatments “are highly unlikely to be active against the omicron variant, which is circulating at a very high frequency throughout the United States.” HHS sent out a letter to state officials this week, alerting them that the federal government would stop handing out the treatments made by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly to states for now, according to the Washington Post which obtained a copy of the letter.

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Deputy Attorney General Says DOJ Looking Into Fake Trump Electors

Posted on by Matt Shuham

The deputy attorney general on Tuesday acknowledged that the department is looking into fake Electoral College certificates submitted by Trump supporters in the wake of the 2020 election. 

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Nashville’s Dem Rep Announces Retirement After GOP-Drawn Map Carves Up His District

Posted on by Summer Concepcion

Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN), who represents a very blue congressional district in the Nashville area, on Tuesday announced that he will not seek re-election in the aftermath of the state Republicans’ redrawing of Tennessee’s congressional map.

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Some Early Indications Of What Texas’ Restrictive Voting Law Will Mean

Posted on by John Light

Matt Shuham’s article on the chaos unfolding in Texas right now is worth a read from beginning to end.

In short, in the wake of the state’s new voter restriction law, voters are confused and election administrators are overwhelmed. March primaries are approaching, and the Texas secretary of state’s office seems to be providing little in way of guidance.

For example: Houston’s elections administrators only learned of a key state database for voter information after an Austin official held a press conference to speak out in frustration. Another example: the secretary of state’s online instructions for absentee voters remained out of date until shortly after TPM contacted the office, asking about them.

Read the full piece here.

Officials Scramble To Contend With Texas’ New Restrictive Voting Law Ahead Of Primaries

Posted on by Matt Shuham

When Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed the state’s big new election bill, SB 1, into law in September — part of a Trumpian wave of new election restrictions across the country — the governor said the bill would help rebuild “trust” in the state’s elections. 

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Judge Bats Away John Eastman’s Attempt To Hide Trump-Related Work Emails

Posted on by Cristina Cabrera

A federal judge rejected ex-Trump legal adviser John Eastman’s attempt to quash the House Jan. 6 select committee’s subpoena to Chapman University requesting his work emails from when he was a law professor at the school — where he worked as he was trying to help then-President Donald Trump steal the 2020 election.

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Officer Goodman Doesn’t Want Jan 6 Recognition: A Statue Is For Birds ‘To Take A Dump On’

Posted on by Summer Concepcion

Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman on Tuesday expressed his mixed feelings about the recognition he’s been given ever since a video of him leading a mob of Trump supporters away from the Senate chamber so lawmakers could evacuate went viral last year.

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Addendum

Posted on by Josh Marshall

I don’t want to get myself tagged as the guy who thinks Trump’s done. Far from it. I’m just pointing out what may be some fissures in the edifice. There’s one dimension I wanted to add. Everything Trump talks about now is in the past and about him: The Big Lie, Russia, Tony Fauci. When was the last time you heard him talk about the wall or crime or whatever other rightist nationalist applause lines? There are some. But not much. In a way this started in the earliest days of his Presidency when he became obsessed with how his 2016 victory wasn’t sufficiently appreciated, how the Russia probe was trying to steal it from him, etc.

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DOJ Civil: Progressives Should Pay Attention To The Actions Of This Powerful Litigating Division

Posted on by Nicole LaFond

This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. 

If you search for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Google, you’ll find an overwhelming majority of search results are for the Civil Rights Division. That’s unsurprising — the average person is typically more aware of the Civil Rights Division’s work. And it makes sense: As the “crown jewel” of the DOJ, the division performs the crucial work of enforcing the laws that prohibit discrimination. 

But progressives and activists should be tuned into both the work of the Civil Rights Division and the Civil Division, the latter of which has just as much potential to align with progressive priorities, like holding corporations accountable. Civil enforcement actions play a significant role in the DOJ’s larger corporate enforcement efforts. Progressives have justifiably pushed for a civil rights-minded attorney general, an empowered Civil Rights Division, and a whole-of-government approach to civil rights. The sweeping litigation responsibilities of the Civil Division often slip under the radar — but they’re just as relevant to the public interest.

Case in point: two recent lawsuits against Texas. While the Civil Rights Division is handling the lawsuit against Texas for its discriminatory electoral maps, the Civil Division is handling the lawsuit against Texas for its novel abortion ban. 

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