Latest news with #post-ElectionDay
Axios
12-06-2025
- Business
- Axios
Wright pledges to back DOE loan office for nuclear
Energy Secretary Chris Wright told lawmakers on Tuesday he supports keeping the Loan Programs Office open for business for nuclear power. Why it matters: The House GOP's reconciliation budget proposes to eliminate unused IRA loan funding, though the DOE's budget proposal includes funding to keep the loan office open. "I do think it's a helpful tool to launch nuclear energy, which is why we're requesting money to do just that," Wright told the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Wright also told an audience on Monday that he's working with Congress to maintain a level of funding for LPO for transmission projects. What they're saying: Rep. Bob Latta, chair of E&C's energy subcommittee, agreed with Wright's assessment of LPO. "This level of government subsidy is irresponsible and unsustainable, focused on misguided priorities and was often done to the detriment of free markets and private enterprise," Latta said. Between the lines: Wright's vision for LPO will likely be diminished compared with the Biden administration's dramatic expansion. In fact, former President Biden's flurry of post-Election Day loan approvals are coming under scrutiny, Wright said. The agency's review of the DOE awards had uncovered "deeply concerning" decisions that were made "without proper due diligence," Wright said. Friction point: Some Democrats pressed Wright to tell Republicans to pull back proposed cuts in the reconciliation bill. "It looks like you and I agree on at least one issue, and that is that nuclear energy is worth investing in and that the Loan Programs Office has an important role to play," E&C ranking Democrat Frank Pallone said. Pallone cited South Carolina's Republican Gov. Henry McMaster's letter to lawmakers that the DOE loan authority and nuclear tax credits are essential to restarting a nuclear plant there. What's next: Speaker Mike Johnson and House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole met with the subcommittee chairs last week about spending priorities.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US Supreme Court to hear arguments on whether challenge to Illinois mail-in voting law can proceed
The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it would decide whether Republicans can challenge Illinois' law that allows mail-in election ballots to be counted 14 days after Election Day, following lower federal courts' previous dismissals of the GOP effort. The lawsuit, led by downstate Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, comes as the GOP and President Donald Trump have pushed for the recognition of a singular Election Day ballot count — most recently in a presidential executive order issued in March — despite state laws allowing ballots to be counted after Election Day as long as they are postmarked or voter-signed and certified on or before the election date. In the Illinois case, both the U.S. District Court and the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago ruled Bost and two presidential electors lacked legal standing when they challenged the law in May 2022. The courts did not decide on the merits of the case regarding the legality of post-Election Day ballot counting. But in dismissing the lawsuit in July 2023, U.S. District Judge John Kness also wrote that he thought Illinois' 2015 law complied with the U.S. Constitution as well as federal election law and does 'not conflict with the federal mandate that Election Day be held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.' 'By counting only mail-in ballots postmarked on or before Election Day, the statute does not extend the day for casting votes in a federal election,' Kness, a Trump appointee, wrote. In a 2-1 decision in August of last year, a three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the lower court's dismissal due to lack of standing. Judicial Watch, a conservative legal organization that had worked unsuccessfully with Trump to stop post-Election Day ballot counting in the 2020 presidential race, is representing Bost and appealed last November to the U.S. Supreme Court. The suit contended the state law violated the federally established date for federal elections. About 20 states have similar post-Election Day counting laws. But in its appeal to the nation's highest court, Judicial Watch noted a federal appeals court in Louisiana last fall sided with Republicans and ruled Mississippi's law allowing mail-in ballot counting after Election Day violated federal law. Bost has argued the counting of 'late, illegal ballots dilutes the value of' lawfully cast votes and infringes upon his right as a federal candidate to stand for office and that he faces added costs for poll watchers post Election Day. Bost has also alleged that post-Election Day votes could reduce his margin of victory and that this 'will lead to the public perception that my constituents have concerns about my job performance' and would 'influence numerous third parties, such as future voters, Congressional leadership, donors and potential political opponents.' Trump has made numerous false, misleading and unsupported claims about mail-in balloting, calling them in his 2020 election loss a 'whole big scam.' But even as he argued against them, the Republican National Committee and the Illinois Republican Party ramped up efforts to get GOP voters to cast ballots by mail. Still, the RNC and the National Republican Congressional Committee filed briefs in support of the election law challenge. Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, called it 'an injustice that the courts would deny a federal candidate the ability to challenge an election provision' that they view illegal. 'The Supreme Court's decision to hear this case is a critical opportunity to uphold federal law, protect voter rights, and ensure election integrity,' Fitton said. 'Illinois' 14-day extension of Election Day thwarts federal law, violates the civil rights of voters, and invites fraud.' Yet in its appeal, Justice Watch said Bost and the GOP activists 'do not allege voter fraud, nor do they allege that ballots were mailed after Election Day, contrary to Illinois law.' Instead, they allege ballots received after Election Day are illegal and are 'as invalid as if they were received one year after Election Day.' The U.S. Justice Department under President Joe Biden filed briefs in support of the Illinois law, in part because the statute was aimed at ensuring that late arriving votes cast overseas by U.S. military members would be counted. Ironically, Bost, in his sixth House term from Murphysboro, is a Marine veteran who serves as chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee. In a statement, Bost said he was 'thankful' the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review the ruling that he lacked standing to challenge the law. 'With the American people's confidence in our elections at a discouraging low point, it's more important than ever we work to restore their trust,' Bost said. 'I believe a big part of that effort is ensuring all votes are tallied by Election Day, not days or weeks later,' he said. 'This is a critical moment for the rule of law and election integrity.'
Chicago Tribune
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
US Supreme Court to hear arguments on whether challenge to Illinois mail-in voting law can proceed
The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it would decide whether Republicans can challenge Illinois' law that allows mail-in election ballots to be counted 14 days after Election Day, following lower federal courts' previous dismissals of the GOP effort. The lawsuit, led by downstate Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, comes as the GOP and President Donald Trump have pushed for the recognition of a singular Election Day ballot count — most recently in a presidential executive order issued in March — despite state laws allowing ballots to be counted after Election Day as long as they are postmarked or voter-signed and certified on or before the election date. In the Illinois case, both the U.S. District Court and the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago ruled Bost and two presidential electors lacked legal standing when they challenged the law in May 2022. The courts did not decide on the merits of the case regarding the legality of post-Election Day ballot counting. But in dismissing the lawsuit in July 2023, U.S. District Judge John Kness also wrote that he thought Illinois' 2015 law complied with the U.S. Constitution as well as federal election law and does 'not conflict with the federal mandate that Election Day be held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.' 'By counting only mail-in ballots postmarked on or before Election Day, the statute does not extend the day for casting votes in a federal election,' Kness, a Trump appointee, wrote. In a 2-1 decision in August of last year, a three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the lower court's dismissal due to lack of standing. Judicial Watch, a conservative legal organization that had worked unsuccessfully with Trump to stop post-Election Day ballot counting in the 2020 presidential race, is representing Bost and appealed last November to the U.S. Supreme Court. The suit contended the state law violated the federally established date for federal elections. About 20 states have similar post-Election Day counting laws. But in its appeal to the nation's highest court, Judicial Watch noted a federal appeals court in Louisiana last fall sided with Republicans and ruled Mississippi's law allowing mail-in ballot counting after Election Day violated federal law. Bost has argued the counting of 'late, illegal ballots dilutes the value of' lawfully cast votes and infringes upon his right as a federal candidate to stand for office and that he faces added costs for poll watchers post Election Day. Bost has also alleged that post-Election Day votes could reduce his margin of victory and that this 'will lead to the public perception that my constituents have concerns about my job performance' and would 'influence numerous third parties, such as future voters, Congressional leadership, donors and potential political opponents.' Trump has made numerous false, misleading and unsupported claims about mail-in balloting, calling them in his 2020 election loss a 'whole big scam.' But even as he argued against them, the Republican National Committee and the Illinois Republican Party ramped up efforts to get GOP voters to cast ballots by mail. Still, the RNC and the National Republican Congressional Committee filed briefs in support of the election law challenge. Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, called it 'an injustice that the courts would deny a federal candidate the ability to challenge an election provision' that they view illegal. 'The Supreme Court's decision to hear this case is a critical opportunity to uphold federal law, protect voter rights, and ensure election integrity,' Fitton said. 'Illinois' 14-day extension of Election Day thwarts federal law, violates the civil rights of voters, and invites fraud.' Yet in its appeal, Justice Watch said Bost and the GOP activists 'do not allege voter fraud, nor do they allege that ballots were mailed after Election Day, contrary to Illinois law.' Instead, they allege ballots received after Election Day are illegal and are 'as invalid as if they were received one year after Election Day.' The U.S. Justice Department under President Joe Biden filed briefs in support of the Illinois law, in part because the statute was aimed at ensuring that late arriving votes cast overseas by U.S. military members would be counted. Ironically, Bost, in his sixth House term from Murphysboro, is a Marine veteran who serves as chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee. In a statement, Bost said he was 'thankful' the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review the ruling that he lacked standing to challenge the law. 'With the American people's confidence in our elections at a discouraging low point, it's more important than ever we work to restore their trust,' Bost said. 'I believe a big part of that effort is ensuring all votes are tallied by Election Day, not days or weeks later,' he said. 'This is a critical moment for the rule of law and election integrity.'
Bloomberg
07-04-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Trump Created an Economic Sinkhole. He Doesn't Care
The stock market soared after Donald Trump secured the presidency last November, with the S&P 500 hitting an all-time high and staging its biggest post-Election Day rally in history. Market pros, including an investor named Scott Bessent, predicted that happy days were here again. 'Recent days prove markets' unambiguous embrace of the Trump 2.0 economic vision,' Bessent noted at the time. 'Markets are signaling expectations of higher growth, lower volatility and inflation, and a revitalized economy for all Americans.' Those assumptions were grounded in the idea that Trump, hardly a classic conservative, would still embrace establishment approaches to markets and the economy. Lighter regulation, torrid deal-making and lower taxes were in the cards, and that alone promised better growth than the gangbusters economic performance of the Biden years. Or so the argument went.
Forbes
24-03-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Elon Musk's X Sees Popularity Slide After Election — While Bluesky Makes Gains
Elon Musk's X, formerly known as Twitter, has experienced a dropoff in U.S. user traffic since November's presidential election, while rival social media platform Bluesky's traffic has increased since then, according to data from digital market intelligence company Similarweb, though X is still significantly more popular than its competitor. Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion in 2022. (Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images) X's daily web visits (calculated on a month-by-month basis) are down an average of 8.4% compared to November, after briefly spiking during the election and largely plateauing in the proceeding days, while average daily active users per month on the platform are down 7.2% to 25 million in that same window of time, according to Similarweb. Meanwhile, Bluesky maintained a post-election boom in daily web visits and daily active users (calculated on a month-by-month basis), with Similarweb reporting average daily web visits are up 21.5% compared to November while average daily active users are up 2.3% to 1.5 million. Bluesky has mostly managed to keep its number of daily active users above 1.5 million since the election, marking a roughly threefold jump since the start of November, when active users numbered around 540,000. While X has experienced relatively small dips in traffic, it still remains the more popular app, with an average of 25 million daily active users this month compared to Bluesky's 1.5 million, according to preliminary Similarweb data. Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We're launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day's headlines. Text 'Alerts' to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here. X's daily web visits (calculated on a day-by-day basis) have fallen 34.2% to 30.6 million since its Election Day peak of 46.5 million, according to the most recent data from Similarweb. Meanwhile, daily active iOS and Android users on X have slid 22.1% from Election Day to March 21, dropping to 24.3 million, according to Similarweb. Similarweb data showed Bluesky daily web visits (calculated on a day-by-day basis) surged over a week after the election, peaking at 2.6 million on Nov. 15 and cooling off in December before rising back to 2.6 million on March 21, meaning the X alternative has managed to maintain its boost in post-election traffic. However, daily active users have dropped on Bluesky since its post-Election Day surge, falling 28.5% to 1.5 million from Nov. 15 to March 21. Compared to X and Bluesky, Meta's Threads platform has the largest daily active user increase (calculated on a month-by-month basis) since November, boasting a 14% increase to 13.6 million since then. The election proved a boon for social media traffic on multiple platforms. However, X benefited the most compared to Bluesky, peaking at 46.5 million daily active users on Election Day after starting November with about 34 million daily active users. Musk and his 219 million followers likely contributed to the surge, as the billionaire owner of the platform made thousands of posts around the election that garnered over 33 billion views, according to The Washington Post. Musk, who endorsed and funded President Donald Trump in the last election cycle and gained popularity among right-wing social media users, has navigated a turbulent 2025. The billionaire has received criticism for his role overseeing Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, concern over his seemingly diminished role heading Tesla and continued backlash against a gesture he made in January likened to a Nazi salute, as well as Nazi-related posts and puns he published on X. Musk's mounting controversies do not appear to have done much to rattle X in the way it has done to Tesla, which has been publicly protested in recent weeks. Instead, the social media platform maintains a dominance in its sphere while competitors like Bluesky, which have grown, still command just a fraction of the traffic of X. Bluesky was co-founded by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and has been propped up as an alternative platform to X, one that also allows users to make text-based posts and message others. The app was invite-only until last year and also allows users to block others, a welcome feature for some who have taken issue with the block feature on X, which does not stop blocked users from seeing public posts of the user blocking them. Bluesky spokesperson Emily Liu told Forbes following the election that the platform had a total of about 14.5 million users. A Timeline Of Elon Musk's Terrible 24 Hours—A Dark Day For X, Tesla And More (Forbes) What To Know About Bluesky—The Buzzy Social Media App Siphoning Users From Elon Musk's X (Forbes)
