Ban the insurrectionists. A new lawsuit on behalf of Arizona voters seeks to ban Rep. Andy Biggs, Rep. Paul Gosar, and state Rep. Mark Finchem from holding office on the basis that they should be disqualified due to their role in provoking the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. This challenge is rooted in the 14th amendment, which bars those “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from serving in U.S. Congress. Biggs and Gosar are seeking reelection in Congress, and Finchem is a candidate for Arizona Secretary of State. The claim against Finchem alleges that he broke his oath to the U.S. Constitution as a state lawmaker. All three engaged in efforts to overturn the 2020 election and have continued to push baseless conspiracy theories that Donald Trump won.
“Love me, Trump”. Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich finally released an interim report on his six months long investigation, paid for by AZ taxpayers, into the 2020 presidential election, finding no evidence of widespread voter fraud or irregularities. In the letter to Senate President Karen Fann, Brnovich of course raised concerns about voting procedures, using the investigation as a political tool to further sow distrust in Arizona’s election laws. Brnovich has been under pressure from Trump and other extremist Arizona Republicans to support false claims that Biden lost the election, and this pressure is clearly making an impact as Brnovich seeks to appeal to the far-right base in Arizona amid his 2022 campaign for the U.S. Senate.
Jackson makes history. On Thursday, the U.S. Senate confirmed President Biden’s nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court on a 53-47 vote. Jackson will be the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, and it will be the first time that the Supreme Court is not held by a majority of white men, though the ideological makeup of the Supreme Court remains conservative.
Title 42. The Biden administration announced it would end the Title 42 restriction that has allowed Border Patrol agents to completely expel those seeking asylum at the border. The policy was enacted under the guise of a public health measure, but has been effectively used to prevent asylum seekers from entering the country–however the CDC announced that due to other mitigation measures, the policy is no longer necessary. To the disappointment of Arizona advocates and immigration activists, Senators Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema have joined with three other Democrats and a group of Republicans seeking to block the repeal of Title 42. They’ve asked the CDC (which is not an immigration agency) to work with the Department of Homeland Security to create a plan to deal with the expected “surge” of migrants, which is really just a return to the status quo of immigration policy before Title 42’s February 2020 enactment. Read more about the many at-risk migrants who can’t wait. We need our Senators to actually fight for humane immigration policies in the Senate, not side with the racist policy that the Trump administration put into place over two years ago.
Katie Hobbes reacts. Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbes gives her take on after Ducey signed multiple laws that attack our rights, including the 15-week abortion ban, a voting law that would remove millions from the rolls, and attacks on trans youth.
Community Forum. Join the Black Phoenix Organizing Collective on April 13th at 6pm to discuss harm reduction and abortion careafter Ducey signed the 15-week abortion ban into Arizona law.