Tennessee to Receive Nearly $31.7 Million in New Defense Outlay

Arnold Engineering Development Complex

Tennessee could receive nearly $31.7 million to fund construction projects in the new defense appropriation that recently passed the U.S. House of Representatives.

The biggest outlays for the Volunteer State would be for Arnold Air Force Base near Tullahoma. The base is the home of the Arnold Engineering Complex, which has 58 wind tunnels and other test facilities. The base would receive $21.4 million for a new testing bay and $5.5 million for a new cooling system.

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Reporter Peter D’Abrosca: TN-05 GOP Candidate Courtney Johnston’s Reluctance Talking to the Press Fuels Assumptions She Is a Left-of-Center Candidate

Pete and MPL

Peter D’Abrosca, reporter at The Tennessee Star, said Metro Nashville Council Member Courtney Johnston’s reluctance to speak with the press on various issues only leaves voters to assume that she is a left-of-center candidate running in the August 1 GOP primary race for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District.

Johnston is running in the August 1 primary against incumbent U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05), who boasts a 100 percent rating on the Heritage Action Scorecard, the nation’s leading conservative scorecard.

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Tennessee U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles Introduces the ‘No Juicing Joe Act’ Ahead of Trump v. Biden Debate

Andy Ogles

U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) introduced a bill on Thursday that would require the White House to notify Congress of each instance the president takes certain drugs relating to cognitive function.

Ogles’ “No Juicing Joe Act” would specifically require the White House to alert Congress when the president takes a drug that could alter his alertness, judgment, or mood.

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Ilhan Omar Votes Against Bill to Deport Illegal Immigrants Who Assault Police

Ilhan Omar

Two Democratic Minnesota congresswomen voted against federal legislation which seeks to deport illegal immigrants who assault law enforcement officers. Rep. Ilhan Omar and Rep. Betty McCollum were the lone votes from Minnesota to oppose H.R. 7343.

The aptly named “Detain and Deport Illegal Aliens Who Assault Cops Act” was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last week in a 265-148 vote. In total, 54 Democrats joined Republicans in supporting the bill; 148 Democrats voted against H.R. 7343. No Republican opposed the proposed law.

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Tennessee Republican Delegation Members Vote to Advance Bill Requiring Citizenship Question on the U.S. Census

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

All eight Republicans representing Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives voted with the majority of members to pass a bill requiring the U.S. Census to include a question asking if the person is a United States citizen.

The Census determines how many congressional districts and electoral college votes each state gets to help ensure American votes are equally represented in Congress.

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Congressional Probe Opened on ‘Mealy-Mouthed, Spineless College Leaders’

US Rep Virginia Foxx

For “mealy-mouthed, spineless college leaders,” actions will have consequences, the North Carolina congresswoman leading a key U.S. House of Representatives committee said Tuesday amid ongoing college campus disruptions.

The war between Israel and Hamas has led to significant demonstrations or encampments on at least four dozen campuses nationwide, a national observer of such activity reports. U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., with support of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the Committee on Education and the Workforce she chairs has opened a congressional probe and on May 23 will hear from presidents of Yale and Michigan and the chancellor of UCLA.

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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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