Tag: Mark Walker

Obama-Appointed Federal Judge Who Has Criticized DeSantis Recuses Himself from Disney Case

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Ron DeSantis

A federal judge known for ruling against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recused himself Thursday from Disney’s lawsuit against the governor, according to a court filing.

Chief U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Florida Mark Walker, an Obama appointee, recused himself after discovering “a relative within the third degree of relationship” owns 30 shares in The Walt Disney Company, per the a court filing. Walker blocked DeSantis’ “Stop W.O.K.E. Act”  in November, calling it “positively dystopian,” and struck down parts of his election law as unconstitutional in March 2022, citing the state’s “horrendous history of racial discrimination in voting,” according to Politico.

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Judge Sets Date for Challenge to Florida Election Integrity Law

Grant Holcomb
Person voting in poll booth

Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker announced he would be hearing arguments next month over Florida’s most recent election integrity law, known in the Florida Legislature as SB 90. Walker rejected the state’s motion for a summary judgment and insisted on hearing the case.

The bill was passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). The new law adds requirements for ballot drop boxes and mail-in voting. For example, the drop boxes will have to be manned by a staff member at the supervisor of elections office, and voters will have to request mail-in ballots each election cycle every two years.

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Raising Budget Caps Is ‘Last Thing We Need’ with $22 Trillion Debt, Lawmaker Says

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by Rachel del Guidice   Republicans in the conservative House Freedom Caucus are opposing Democrats’ attempts to increase discretionary spending despite a national debt of more than $22 trillion. “Our country is $22 trillion in debt,” the group said in a statement released Friday. “The spending caps are one of the few tools left to slow down the runaway growth of the federal budget. We will oppose another deal to blow through these limits.” The Budget Control Act, passed in 2011, sought to curb government spending and control the growth of federal programs, capping discretionary spending at $1.07 trillion for fiscal year 2018, which began Oct. 1, 2017. According to a recent opinion column by Justin Bogie, a senior policy analyst in fiscal affairs at The Heritage Foundation, Democrats are looking to raise the Budget Control Act’s discretionary spending caps by at least $357 billion for 2020-2021. Of the new funding, $178 billion would go toward national defense, while the other $179 billion would be reserved for domestic programs. Government funding runs out at the end of the current fiscal year on Sept. 30, and The Hill reported that lawmakers implied there could be another government shutdown if Democrats and…

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