Federal Court Case in Ohio Could Reverse SCOTUS Precedent That Expanded Commerce Clause

Brewing

Michael Patrick Leahy, CEO and editor-in-chief of The Tennessee Star, said he believes an Ohio court case, Ream v. U.S. Department of Treasury, may succeed in rolling back federal overreach regarding Congress’ power to regulate interstate commerce under the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause.

The Buckeye Institute, an Ohio think tank, filed Ream v. U.S. Department of Treasury in January on behalf of John Ream of Licking County, Ohio.

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Mark Pulliam Says Nullification Movement ‘Not Constitutional,’ Argues Best Way to Challenge Federal Law Is Through the Courts

Mark Pulliam

Mark Pulliam, a retired attorney and Misrule of Law blogger, said a series of nullification bills introduced in the Tennessee General Assembly are not constitutional despite seemingly being an “easy fix” to federal overreach.

“A lot of people these days come up with these theories and solutions of problems that sound good, that seem like it’s an easy fix, but they’re just not, at the end of the day, serious, and in some cases not workable, and in some cases not constitutional, and this whole nullification movement…is an example of one of those, I think, shamiracle solutions,” Pulliam explained on Monday’s episode of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.

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Republican States Weigh Rejecting Federal Education Funds to Block Federal Interference

Republican states are beginning to consider rejecting federal funding for K-12 education in order to keep out federal interference in the form of the strings attached to the monies.

In February, Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton said he had introduced a bill to create a task force to weigh the idea of the state rejecting the roughly $1.8 billion of federal monies it receives for K-12 education.

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Republicans Andy Biggs, Ken Buck, and Matt Gaetz Explain Why They Voted Against Parents Bill of Rights Act: ‘The Federal Government Should Not Be Involved in Education’

The U.S. House passed the Parents Bill of Rights Act Friday, with most House Republicans voting in favor of the bill that would require school districts to give parents access to their children’s curricula and reading lists, to inform parents of any violence occurring on campus, and to notify parents if their child is sharing a bathroom or locker room with a student of the opposite biological sex.

The measure passed by a vote of 213-208, with five Republicans voting no. Representatives Mike Lawler (R-NY-17); Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05); Matt Gaetz (R-FL-01); Ken Buck (R-CO-04); and Matt Rosendale (R-MT-02) all voted against the legislation.

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Proposed Legislation Restores Tennessee’s Sovereignty Through Nullification

A bill making its way through the Tennessee General Assembly seeks to restore the state’s sovereignty by establishing a process for the nullification of unconstitutional federal actions.

HB0726 and companion SB1092 sponsored by Rep. Bud Hulsey (R-Kingsport) and Senator Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma), respectively, is officially titled “Restoring State Sovereignty Through Nullification Act.”

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Sen. Mike Lee’s Amendment to Safeguard Religious Liberty for Americans Who Hold to Traditional Marriage Fails By One Vote

Senator Mike Lee’s (R-UT) religious liberty amendment to the Democrats’ same-sex marriage bill failed by just one vote, 48-49, an outcome that, if the legislation is signed into law, could give a green light to the federal government’s retaliation against nonprofit faith organizations, such as schools and businesses, whose religious beliefs are incompatible with gay marriage.

Senate Democrats voted Tuesday, 61-36, to codify same-sex marriage into federal law with the help of 12 Republicans, as the Senate Press Gallery noted.

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Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson Introduces Bill to Protect Doctors’ Right to Treat Patients

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) introduced legislation Wednesday to protect a doctor’s right to treat patients and to reassert that the federal government’s agencies have no authority to restrict lawful prescribing or dispensing of FDA-approved or Right to Try drugs.

Johnson, who has spearheaded efforts to break the silencing of physicians and scientists on the issue of early treatment for COVID-19,  joined with Sens. Mike Braun (R-IN) and Mike Lee (R-UT) to launch the Right to Treat Act to confirm that the doctor-patient relationship is at the center of treatment decision-making, and not the federal government.

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Florida Gov. DeSantis Sues Biden over Vaccine Mandate for Federal Contract Workers

Blue Collar worker with hard hat on

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced this week he is suing the President Joe Biden administration over a vaccine mandate for federal contractors. The lawsuit says the president does not have the authority to impose such a mandate.

The mandate from Biden says that federal contract workers will have to be fully vaccinated by December 8, 2021, in order to keep their jobs. DeSantis said his administration’s decision to sue the federal government is a kept promise to rein in “federal overreach.”

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