Democrat Maryam Abolfazli Launches Bid for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District

Maryam Abolfazli

Maryam Abolfazli, founder of the nonprofit group Rise and Shine Tennessee, launched a bid for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District on Wednesday.

“I refuse to sit back while our fundamental values and freedoms are under threat. That’s why I’m stepping up to put an end to the extremism that’s harming our state and country,” Abolfazli, a Democrat, wrote in a social media post announcing her campaign.

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Congressman Mark Green Will Run for Re-Election at Urging of Former President Trump

Tennessee U.S. Rep. Mark Green

Congressman Mark Green (R-TN-07) announced on Thursday that he has reconsidered his decision to retire from Congress and will now run for re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2024 election.

“While my strong desire was to leave Congress at the end of this year, since my announcement, I have received countless calls from constituents, colleagues, and President Trump urging me to reconsider,” Green said in a statement released by his office to The Tennessee Star.

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Tennessee State Senator Bill Powers Passes on Bid for TN-07 U.S. House Seat

Bill Powers

Tennessee State Senator Bill Powers (R-Clarksville) has announced he has “no plans” to run for Congress in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District amid the announcement of incumbent U.S. Representative Mark Green’s (R-TN-07) retirement.

“For me, family is more important than any congressional title in Washington DC. I’m honored to be your state senator and have no plans to run for congress,” Powers wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday.

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Commentary: Congress Must Fight Modern Day Slavery

Sad Person

On February 13, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act with a vote of 414-11. The bipartisan legislation, authored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), will reauthorize the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 – which expired in 2021 – and provide approximately $1 billion in funding over five years for programs that combat the scourge of human trafficking.

Among the measures included in the comprehensive legislation are educational grants to provide situational awareness training and prevention for elementary and secondary students; funding reauthorization for the International Megan’s Law and Angel Watch programs; and authorization for programs that support survivors’ employment, housing, and education.

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Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles Previews Upcoming Vote on Mayorkas Impeachment, Senate Border Deal Discussions

Rep. Andy Ogles

U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) joined Monday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss the Senate’s so-called “border deal” and the House of Representatives’ upcoming vote on two articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

On the upcoming impeachment vote against Mayorkas, Ogles said the votes in the House “should be there” to impeach the secretary, adding, “We have an obligation to move forward and hold him accountable and put on the record that you can’t just ignore our laws in this country.”

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Roger Simon Calls Speaker Mike Johnson a ‘Face Man,’ ‘Coward’ After Continuing Resolution Deal

Mike Johnson

Roger Simon, co-founder of PJMedia and current columnist for The Epoch Times, joined the newsmaker line on Friday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss his coverage of former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s performance in Iowa, Argentine President Javier Milei’s speech at the World Economic Forum, as well as the U.S. House of Representatives’ recent vote to pass a continuing resolution.

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House Passes Bill to Permanently Freeze $6 Billion in Iranian Funds from Hostage Deal

Iran Money

The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved legislation to permanently freeze $6 billion in Iranian funds that the Biden administration had agreed to release as part of a hostage exchange with Tehran earlier this year.

The measure passed in a 307-119 vote, with almost all Republicans supporting it, The Hill reported. Kentucky GOP Rep. Thomas Massie was the sole GOP dissident and sided with 118 Democrats.

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Marjorie Taylor Greene Reveals What Made Her the ‘Biggest Threat to Republicans’ on Episode 43 of ‘Tucker on X’

MTG Tucker Carlson

In episode 43 of his newest production, “Tucker on X,” host Tucker Carlson interviewed U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA-14) about her outsider approach to handling her job in Congress.

Carlson said the first time he heard of Greene was through a string of news stories calling her a “crazed Nazi, anti-Semite” and attaching her to the phrase “Jewish Space Lasers,” which he noted was a “very obvious smear job” against the Georgia congresswoman.

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Louisiana U.S. Rep. Johnson Nominated for Speaker, Full House Vote Expected as Early as Wednesday

House Speaker Mike Johnson

Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., won the House speaker nomination on Tuesday night, becoming the fourth candidate to do so after the ousting of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy three weeks ago.

Johnson, vice chair of the House GOP conference, lost to House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., earlier on Tuesday but Emmer eventually dropped out due to opposition from enough Republicans to sink his ascension to the speakership on the House floor.

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‘No Speaker, No Recess:’ House Freedom Caucus Urges Republicans to Stay in Town Until New Speaker Is Elected

The House Freedom Caucus (HFC) is urging Republican leadership to keep its members in Washington, D.C., until a new speaker is elected, according to a Monday press release obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The House has been without a speaker since Kevin McCarthy was ousted on October 3, and has since failed to elect two GOP nominees — House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan. With nine House Republicans in the running for the position, the HFC is asking for no more recess until someone secures the gavel “with all possible speed and determination,” according to the press release.

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McCabe Predicts the Next Speaker of the House Will be a ‘Placeholder’

Historian and national political analyst Neil W. McCabe joined The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Wednesday to share his insights and predictions into why he says Steve Scalise will be the next Speaker of the House. McCabe details the coming twists and turns, and lays out the history of the players and the game underway today in Foggy Bottom.

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Commentary: American Despotism and the Weaponization of the U.S. Constitution

Washington DC

America is now in the deepest, most dangerous constitutional crisis since the hostility in the 1850s that led to secession and civil war.

This constitutional crisis is so widespread and threatening that House Republicans must dramatically widen their investigations. Hunter Biden and President Joe Biden are only a tiny part of a spiderweb of corruption, dishonesty, criminal behavior, and state weaponization. The rule of law is steadily being replaced by a frightening new rule of power.

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Ohio Republican U.S. House Representatives Call on Biden to Negotiate with Them to Address the Nation’s Growing Debt

Ohio Republican U.S. House Representatives are calling on President Joe Biden to negotiate with Republicans on common sense reforms that address the nation’s growing debt problem.

This follows House Republicans passing the Limit, Save, Grow Act last week, which aims to address the debt ceiling and implement commonsense spending reforms to limit wasteful spending, save taxpayer dollars, and grow the economy.

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U.S. Senator J.D. Vance Introduces Legislation to Establish English as the Official Language of the U.S.

U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) has introduced legislation that aims to establish English as the official language of the United States.

The English Language Unity Act, sponsored by Vance and U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) would require require government functions to be conducted in English, and adjust requirements for naturalization by introducing a universal English language testing standard.

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U.S. House Passes Protecting Speech from Government Interference Act

The GOP-controlled U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that prohibits federal bureaucrats from using their influence to censor speech or pressure social media companies to censor speech.

The Protecting Speech from Government Interference Act passed on a 219-206 vote. It broke along party lines according to The Hill and is seen as unlikely to advance in the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate.

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Ohio Senator Vance and Arizona Representative Biggs Send Bicameral Letter Opposing Biden’s Illicit Misuse of Immigration Parole

Wednesday, U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) and Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ) wrote a bicameral letter to Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, requesting an explanation of the Department’s careless decision to drastically expand immigration parole programs in the face of a historic border crisis.

According to Vance, the American people have a right to know the reasoning behind the Biden Administration’s decision, as well as, more significantly, the legal basis for it.

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Monica De La Cruz to Become First Republican to Represent South Texas District

Monica De La Cruz is a first-generation Texan, her grandmother having arrived from Mexico to escape political strife. Now she will become the first Republican to represent residents of the Rio Grande Valley in the U.S. House of Representatives.  

With 74% of the vote counted, The Associated Press reported, De La Cruz was well on the way to defeating Democrat nominee Michelle Vallejo, 53.3% to 44.8%, in the 15th Congressional District.

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House Democrats Advance Abortion Bill that’s Twice Failed in Senate

The House of Representatives passed a bill Friday that aims to protect rights for women seeking abortion and those providing abortion services despite two previous rejections.

The vote fell mostly along party lines, earning no votes from Republican representatives while only one Democrat, Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar, opposed it. The Women’s Health Protection Act of 2022 would provide protections for abortion providers and patients nationwide, expanding abortion access across the country.

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Two Georgia Republican Representatives Accumulate $150,000 in Mask Fines

Two Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.), have racked up nearly $150,000 in combined fines for refusing to wear masks in the House chamber.

According to The Hill, Congresswoman Greene has been fined a total of $88,000 for 36 different violations. Congressman Clyde has been fined at least $60,500 for 25 violations since September. The combined total is $148,500.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) implemented the mask mandate in the House chambers in July of 2020, with Pelosi ordering fines for members who refused to wear masks starting in January of 2021. Lawmakers who refuse to comply are fined $500 the first time, and $2,500 for each subsequent offense. Members who refuse to pay the fines will have the amounts deducted from their salaries, which is roughly $174,000 for each member, although members in leadership positions earn even more.

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House Select Committee on Redistricting Releases Proposed Congressional Maps

The Tennessee State House Select Committee on Redistricting met on Wednesday, releasing the new plan for Congressional redistricting. The plan includes the proposed new maps, which are listed on the committee website.

Tennessee’s current delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives has a partisan breakdown of seven Republicans and two Democrats. Democrat Congressman Jim Cooper’s 5th Congressional District and Democrat Congressman Steve Cohen’s 9th Congressional District currently center on Nashville and Memphis, respectively.

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House Minority Leader McCarthy Faces Critical Legal Decision in Proxy Voting Lawsuit

The Supreme Court could decide as soon as Friday whether to take up a lawsuit brought by House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy to address the practice of proxy voting in the lower chamber.

House members from both parties have cited the pandemic as the reason they have failed to recently vote in person, though many of them vote in absentia for reasons that seemingly have nothing to do with the virus. Campaigning with high-profile candidates has often taken precedence over appearing in person to vote for certain members. For others, taking care of sick family members or attending to newborn babies have been reasons to vote by proxy.

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