Lame duck shenanigans, AIPAC edition...Update on Marc Lamont Hill
In July 2017, the ACLU raised the alarm about a bill running through the Senate that would criminalize support of a boycott of Israel. Amid a fierce pushback, the legislation was shelved, while its sponsors amended it to remove some of the most aggressive provisions. Even at the time, though, there was suspicion that the bill’s backers would make a last-minute play during the lame duck session to ram it through. Sure enough, sources on Capitol Hill say that’s exactly what’s happening. My story on the latest on this, with Alex Emmons, is here.
This comes, of course, after Marc Lamont Hill was fired from CNN for a pro-Palestinian speech at the UN, and continues to fend off an effort to have him stripped of tenure at Temple University and fired from there, as well.
If this is the first email you’re receiving from me and you’re confused why, it’s because you signed this petition to urge CNN to re-hire Lamont Hill. This newsletter comes a few times a week and includes the latest reporting from me or others at The Intercept. If you’re not interested in getting it anymore, let me know, or unsubscribe below. But I think you should stick around.
Speaking of reporting from me and The Intercept, here’s an exclusive: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is gunning for a seat on the Ways and Means Committee. Landing it would be a feat almost as remarkable as beating Joe Crowley in the first place, as freshmen almost never get placed there. But NYC is entitled by custom to one seat, and Crowley, a committee member, is now gone. She’s competing with New Dem Tom Suozzi, who represents a slice of Queens and the Gold Coast on Long Island. AOC protested inside Pelosi’s office and Suozzi signed the Problem Solvers Caucus letter that caused her all sorts of problems, so neither has gone the typical route of flattery.
And you may have seen yesterday that Rashida Tlaib, incoming congresswoman from Michigan, became the second lawmaker to endorse the boycott, sanctions and divestment movement, and is planning a trip to the Occupied Territories, an unprecedented alternative to the AIPAC-sponsored trips to Israel hosted by Rep. Steny Hoyer. That story, by Lee Fang and Alex Kane, is here.