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☆ Congress Takes on the EV Mandate
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Journal Editorial Report: EV dealers ask Biden where they're supposed to put the glut. Images: AP/Shutterstock Composite: Mark KellyHouse Republicans have teed up a vote this week on legislation to block President Biden’s back-door electric-vehicle mandate. Democrats are spinning the legislation as an attack on public health, innovation and free markets. The Environmental Protection Agency “is not imposing an EV mandate,” says a memo from Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Committee opposing the GOP legislation. But the EPA in April proposed tailpipe emissions standards for greenhouse gases that would effectively require that electric vehicles make up two-thirds of car sales in 2032.

Persons: Biden, they're, Mark Kelly, Biden’s, ” Organizations: Republicans, Environmental Protection Agency, Energy, Commerce, GOP

☆ Treasury’s Hidden Stash of Covid Cash
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Journal Editorial Report: EV dealers ask Biden where they're supposed to put the glut. Images: AP/Shutterstock Composite: Mark KellyIf you thought Washington’s pandemic-cash bonanza was behind us, keep an eye on the Treasury Department. The Biden Administration made a quiet move late last month to let states spend up to $90 billion of leftover “emergency” money. The rule change pushes back the deadline for states to claim cash from the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, a pandemic aid giveaway that President Biden set up through the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act. Now Treasury plans to give out unspent cash beyond next year, as long as states say what they’ll spend it on by April.

Persons: Biden, they're, Mark Kelly Organizations: Treasury Department, The Biden Administration, State, Treasury

☆ About Those Non-Terrorist Houthis
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Journal Editorial Report: Paul Gigot interviews Democratic analyst Ruy Teixeira. Images: American Enterprise Institute/Bloomberg News Composite: Mark KellyIran’s proxies continue to threaten U.S. assets in the Middle East, and the latest effort comes from the Houthi militia in Yemen. On Sunday the Houthis opened fire on commercial ships in the Red Sea, and a U.S. warship had to respond in self-defense. U.S. Central Command said in a tweet on Sunday that the USS Carney responded to distress calls from commercial ships, while tracking attacks on three different commercial vessels. The Carney, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, shot down two drones in self-defense.

Persons: Paul Gigot, Ruy Teixeira, Mark Kelly, Carney, Arleigh Burke Organizations: American Enterprise Institute, Bloomberg, U.S . Central Command Locations: U.S, Yemen, Red

☆ Can Washington Still Do Anything?
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Journal Editorial Report: The week's best and worst from Bill McGurn, Kyle Peterson, Allysia Finley, Dan Henninger & Paul Gigot. Images: Getty Images/AP/ Composite: Mark KellyCan the United States government still act to solve problems and aid allies in the national interest? President Biden has asked Congress for $106 billion in supplemental spending, but he needs Republican votes to do it. Republicans want to do something to reduce the flood of migrants pouring across the border and burdening American cities, but they need Democratic votes to pass it. The necessity for compromise is obvious, but America’s polarized politics and Mr. Biden’s political weakness may tank the effort.

Persons: Bill McGurn, Kyle Peterson, Allysia Finley, Dan Henninger, Paul Gigot, Mark Kelly, Biden Organizations: United Locations: United States, Ukraine, Israel, U.S

☆ Congress Expels George Santos. Who’s Next?
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Instead he went to Congress. On Friday the House expelled the indicted New Yorker, but however bad Mr. Santos’s conduct, it’s a worrying precedent for a polarized age. Mr. Santos faces 23 federal charges, including fraud and identity theft. Yet he has pleaded not guilty, and even politicians get a presumption of innocence. Before Friday’s expulsion, which passed 311-114, only five people in history had been booted by the House.

Persons: Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift, Mark Kelly George Santos, Santos’s, it’s, Santos Organizations: New Yorker Locations: America

☆ Newsom’s California Tax Whopper
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Journal Editorial Report: Despite denials, the California governor is acting like a candidate. Images: AP/Composite: Mark KellyThursday night’s debate on Fox News between Gavin Newsom and Ron DeSantis was instructive on many levels. While the Florida Governor stressed his superior record on crime, schools and the economy, Mr. Newsom focused on progressive cultural themes. But one of Mr. Newsom’s economic howlers shouldn’t pass without contradiction. But he also asserted that Florida “taxes low-income workers more than we tax millionaires and billionaires in the state of California.”

Persons: Mark Kelly, Gavin Newsom, Ron DeSantis, Newsom, ” Organizations: Fox News, Florida Governor Locations: California, Florida, New York City

☆ The Biden-Blinken Rules of War for Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Journal Editorial Report: College presidents are talking tolerance, but few take action. Images: Getty Images Composite: Mark KellyWar is back against Hamas, but will the Biden Administration let Israel win? Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered the bad news to Jerusalem before the truce ended: He wants Israel on a short leash. Hamas fired rockets at Israel Friday morning, in violation of the pause, and failed to produce the remaining female hostages to trade for more time and terrorists. It also claimed that its last child hostages, 10-month-old Kfir Bibas and his four-year-old brother, Ariel, are dead.

Persons: Mark Kelly, Antony Blinken, Bibas, Ariel Organizations: Hamas, Biden Administration, Israel Locations: Jerusalem, Israel

☆ Opinion | A Mother Can Finally Breathe After the Pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Yaneth Flores first moved to Albany, in upstate New York, in 2008, she needed some time to get used to the sleepiness of a small city. She had been working at a fish market near Boston, where she lived after fleeing violence and a bleak economy in El Salvador. She met her husband in Albany and eventually settled into life there. But ever since the start of the pandemic, she has not been not herself. Ms. Flores managed child care duties from home for their young daughter, who was born premature and developed asthma.

Persons: Yaneth Flores, Flores, ”, “ Locations: Albany, New York, Boston, El Salvador

☆ Hunter Biden’s Missing ‘Services’
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Kimberley A. Strassel | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Kimberley Strassel is a member of the editorial board for The Wall Street Journal. She writes editorials, as well as the weekly Potomac Watch political column, from her base in Alaska. Ms. Strassel joined Dow Jones & Co. in 1994, working in the news department of The Wall Street Journal Europe in Brussels, and then in London. She moved to New York in 1999 and soon thereafter joined the Journal's editorial page, working as a features editor, and then as an editorial writer. An Oregon native, Ms. Strassel earned a bachelor's degree in Public Policy and International Affairs from Princeton University.

Persons: Kimberley Strassel, Strassel Organizations: Wall Street, Potomac Watch, Dow Jones & Co, The, Street, Fox, Sunday, Press, Policy, International Affairs, Princeton University Locations: Kimberley, Alaska, Brussels, London, New York, An Oregon

☆ The Senate’s Supreme Court Subpoena Games
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

The House Oversight Committee investigating Biden family business dealings has issued subpoenas to Hunter and James Biden to appear for depositions. Also requested for transcribed interviews are family members and associates including Sara and Hallie Biden. In a rush of rule-breaking at the end of a meeting, Mr. Durbin moved to bluster through subpoenas for two friends of Supreme Court Justices on a partisan vote. This is part of a Democratic political campaign to portray the High Court as a trinket bought by billionaires. “The pair have become genuine friends, according to people who know both men,” as even the left-leaning ProPublica admitted.

Persons: Biden, Hunter, James Biden, Sara, Hallie Biden, Mark Kelly Illinois, Dick Durbin, Durbin, Clarence Thomas, Harlan Crow, ProPublica Organizations: Reuters, Democratic

☆ New York’s Near Zombie Apocalypse
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Journal Editorial Report: The week’s best and worst from Kim Strassel, Allysia Finley and Dan Henninger. Images: AP/Zuma Press Composite: Mark KellyImagine if nearly half of New York City lost heat for months during the winter. That’s not the plot of a new survival drama. Such a catastrophe nearly occurred last Christmas, according to an alarming recent report by energy regulators that deserves more attention. It was the fifth time in 11 years that power plant failures caused by cold weather jeopardized grid reliability.

Persons: Kim Strassel, Allysia Finley, Dan Henninger, Mark Kelly, Elliott Organizations: Zuma, New York, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, FERC, North American Electric Reliability Corporation Locations: New, New York City

☆ Will GM Shareholders Survive the EV Meltdown?
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Holman W. Jenkins | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Holman W. Jenkins Jr. is a member of the editorial board of The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Jenkins joined the Journal in May 1992 as a writer for the editorial page in New York. In February 1994, he moved to Hong Kong as editor of The Asian Wall Street Journal's editorial page. Mr. Jenkins won a 1997 Gerald Loeb Award for distinguished business and financial coverage. Born in Philadelphia, Mr. Jenkins received a bachelor's degree from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University.

Persons: Holman W, Jenkins, Mr, Gerald Loeb, William Smith Organizations: Street, William, William Smith Colleges, Northwestern University, University of Michigan Locations: New York, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Hobart

☆ Many More Voters With Guns
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Journal Editorial Report: The week’s best and worst from Kim Strassel, Allysia Finley and Dan Henninger. Images: AP/Zuma Press Composite: Mark KellyMore than half of American voters say that they or someone in their household owns a gun, according to a poll by NBC News. After progressives drove up firearm ownership with policies that are soft on violent crime, they can’t figure out why their gun-control ideas fail to pass. The share of voters with a firearm in the household is 52%, up from 46% in 2019 and 42% in 2013. This is no surprise, in part because rural areas tilt right, and that’s where hunting is a family event and bears might be prowling the woods.

Persons: Kim Strassel, Allysia Finley, Dan Henninger, Mark Kelly More Organizations: Zuma, NBC News

☆ Henry A. Kissinger, 1923-2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Wonder Land: After the massacres of Oct. 7, the burden is now on Israel to end the war in Gaza. Images: Reuters Composite: Mark KellyAt a dinner recently with friends, Henry Kissinger was, at the invitation of his host as usual, holding forth on various world crises when he was asked what gave him reason for optimism. The comment reflected Kissinger’s abiding faith in America tempered with political realism and his belief in the essential role of leaders in guiding nations. The U.S. offered him refuge from Nazi Germany as a child and provided the opportunity to become one of its greatest statesmen. Henry Alfred Kissinger , who died Wednesday at age 100, leaves a legacy of accomplishment and strategic insight about global politics that few have matched.

Persons: Mark Kelly, Henry Kissinger, Henry Alfred Kissinger Organizations: U.S Locations: Israel, Gaza, America, Nazi Germany

☆ Biden, Trump and ObamaCare
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump Photo: Eric Gay/Associated PressDonald Trump handed his opponents another gift over the weekend by vowing to “terminate” ObamaCare—or at least that’s how Democrats are translating his blunderbuss comments. Democrats are distorting the issue as ever, but they know Mr. Trump has no plan of his own. “The cost of Obamacare is out of control, plus, it’s not good Healthcare,” Mr. Trump wrote Saturday on Truth Social. We had a couple of Republican Senators who campaigned for 6 years against it, and then raised their hands not to terminate it. It was a low point for the Republican Party, but we should never give up!”

Persons: Donald Trump, Eric Gay, Associated Press Donald Trump, Trump, it’s, Mr, “ I’m Organizations: Associated Press, Republican, Republican Party

☆ Car Dealers to Biden: EVs Aren’t Selling
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Journal Editorial Report: The week’s best and worst from Kim Strassel, Allysia Finley and Dan Henninger. Images: AP/Zuma Press Composite: Mark KellyYou can subsidize a buyer into the auto showroom, but you can’t make him buy. That’s the word from some 3,900 car dealers across the country who on Tuesday wrote President Biden that electric vehicles are piling up unsold on their lots. They want relief from his onerous and unrealistic EV sales mandate. “There are many excellent battery electric vehicles available for consumers to purchase,” the dealers write in their letter to the President.

Persons: Kim Strassel, Allysia Finley, Dan Henninger, Mark Kelly, Biden Organizations: Zuma

☆ A Labor Strike Over Shoplifting
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Wonder Land: Whether it's the migrant crisis, gender identity, shoplifting, student loans or decriminalizing federal laws on cannabis possession, Republican presidential candidates should not stop talking about the culture. Images: Bloomberg News/AFP/Getty Images Composite: Mark KellyUnion walkouts these days are common for pay raises, but get this: Over the weekend hundreds of workers at three Macy’s stores in the Seattle suburbs went on strike to protest rampant shoplifting and risks to employee safety. United Food & Commercial Workers Local 3000 says Macy’s “is not doing enough to address shoplifting, violent shoppers, and other safety threats to workers and customers.” Among other evidence, the union points to an incident involving Liisa Luick , a longtime employee at the Macy’s store some 20 miles north of downtown.

Persons: Mark Kelly, Macy’s “, Liisa Organizations: Republican, Bloomberg, Getty, Mark Kelly Union, United Food & Commercial Workers Locations: Seattle

☆ DeSantis vs. Newsom: a Scorecard
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Journal Editorial Report: Despite denials, the California governor is acting like a candidate. Images: AP/Composite: Mark KellyGavin Newsom and Ron DeSantis are set to square off Thursday evening in a Fox News debate, and it should be instructive. Sacramento has rushed to the left in recent decades while Tallahassee has moved to the right. Since winning election in 2018, Messrs. Newsom and DeSantis have advanced sharply different policies on Covid lockdowns, taxes, school choice and climate regulation, among other things. In case you’ll be keeping track at home, here is a scorecard of policy results.

Persons: Mark Kelly Gavin Newsom, Ron DeSantis, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Newsom, DeSantis Organizations: Fox, Messrs Locations: California, Florida, Sacramento, Tallahassee

☆ Democrats Want ‘Conditions’ on Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Wonder Land: Hamas knew that after Oct. 7 the narrative would shift to the isolation of Israel. Images: Zuma Press/AFP/Getty Images Composite: Mark KellyIsrael agreed on Monday to a two-day extension of its truce with Hamas to gain the release of more hostages, a priority of President Biden. But another idea is gaining ground among Democrats that is more dangerous: condition U.S. aid on how Israel conducts its war of self-preservation. The stipulation is said to be merely that Israel follow international law. But since Israel does follow international law, and the U.S. already can withhold foreign assistance on human-rights grounds, the condition is unnecessary—but not harmless.

Persons: Mark Kelly Israel, Biden Organizations: Zuma Press, Getty, Israel Locations: Israel, U.S

☆ A Mail-Vote Time Bomb Keeps Ticking
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Journal Editorial Report: Despite denials, the California governor is acting like a candidate. Images: AP/Composite: Mark KellyThe 2024 election will probably be preceded by another flood of lawsuits over voting rules, especially absentee ballots, and keep an eye on Pennsylvania. Last week a federal judge there ruled that timely mail ballots must be counted even if the voter neglected to write the date, as state law requires. This may go to the Supreme Court, which punted a similar case last year. The saga of Pennsylvania’s undated ballots since the Covid pandemic is worth unspooling, because it shows how litigation puts indeterminacy into the election system.

Persons: Mark Kelly Locations: California, Pennsylvania

☆ Amtrak Tries to Take Union Station
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

The week’s best and worst from Kim Strassel, Allysia Finley and Dan Henninger. Amtrak is a rolling master class on government in action, and the latest example is its effort to seize control of Union Station in Washington via the power of eminent domain. The railway wants to do a concourse modernization project to add more seating, increase signage in the terminal, and improve infrastructure. In a September hearing before Washington, D.C., federal district Judge Amit Mehta , Amtrak CEO Steven Gardner said that the current leaseholder, a company called USI, isn’t helping the railway accomplish its plans. He complained that there’s “a mismatch” between Amtrak and “a private developer looking to maximize retail and revenue.”

Persons: Kim Strassel, Allysia Finley, Dan Henninger, Amit Mehta, Steven Gardner, isn’t, there’s Organizations: Amtrak, Station, D.C Locations: Washington

☆ Hamas Holds Everyone Hostage
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The civilized world is rejoicing at the release of hostages by Hamas, especially the sight of young children reunited with parents after seven weeks of hell. But that relief shouldn’t blind us to the way the jihadists are manipulating human sentiment to achieve their terrorist aims. The killers are releasing a dozen or so hostages each day in return for three times the number of Palestinians released by Israel. Hamas snatched innocent Israelis and others in a deliberate act of terror. The released Palestinians were arrested or convicted of crimes under the law.

Locations: Israel

☆ The Supreme Court Considers the Right to Trial by Jury
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The week’s best and worst from Kim Strassel, Allysia Finley and Dan Henninger. The Supreme Court on Wednesday will hear the first of two landmark cases this term challenging the runaway administrative state. At stake in SEC v. Jarkesy is a bedrock constitutional principle that colonists fought to defend in the American revolution: the right to a trial by jury. The 2010 Dodd-Frank Act granted the Securities and Exchange Commission unbridled power to seek penalties administratively against any individual for violating securities laws. Democrats wanted to make it easier for the agency to punish misconduct.

Persons: Kim Strassel, Allysia Finley, Dan Henninger, Dodd, Frank Organizations: SEC, Securities and Exchange Commission

☆ A Looming Judicial Coup in Wisconsin
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-25 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Journal Editorial Report: Speaker Mike Johnson faces familiar antagonists. Images: Reuters/Zuma Press Composite: Mark KellyDemocrats fought to elect Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz this spring so she could help them retake control of the state Legislature through a rewrite of the state’s political maps. Now the court’s liberal majority is going through contortions to deliver on that anti-democratic judicial promissory note. On Tuesday the Justices heard oral arguments in a case that challenges the state’s legislative district maps and would give the Justices broad authority to draw new ones. Wink, wink.

Persons: Mike Johnson, Mark Kelly Democrats, Janet Protasiewicz, Wink Organizations: Zuma, Wisconsin

☆ Elizabeth Warren Has an ObamaCare Epiphany
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-25 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Journal Editorial Report: The week’s best and worst from Kim Strassel, Kyle Peterson, Mary O'Grady and Dan Henninger. Images: AP/AFP/Getty Images/Reuters/Zuma Press Composite: Mark KellyIt took 13 years, but Elizabeth Warren is at long last acknowledging that ObamaCare has increased healthcare prices and industry consolidation. Government price controls and profit caps have resulted in unintended consequences. The Massachusetts Senator and Republican Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana this week wrote a letter to the Health and Human Services Department inspector general complaining that the nation’s largest health insurers are dodging Obama Care’s medical loss ratio (MLR). The result, they say, is higher costs for patients.

Persons: Kim Strassel, Kyle Peterson, Mary O'Grady, Dan Henninger, Mark Kelly, Elizabeth Warren, ObamaCare, Republican Sen, Mike Braun, Obama Organizations: Getty, Zuma, Republican, Health, Human Services Department Locations: Massachusetts, Indiana

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