Once again, a very tumultuous week in national and international news. Let’s get right into it. We are one week away from a government shutdown. Senate Democrats are procedurally moving forward on a Continuing Resolution to keep the government funded amidst ongoing negotiations. House Republicans are expected to unveil their own Continuing Resolution proposal on Saturday but several questions remain. The first is whether the bill will be a “clean” CR or if it will contain the steep spending cuts demanded by GOP hardliners. If it is the latter, it will face stiff resistance in the Senate. The second question is whether any CR can be passed by the House GOP majority alone. After an initial flurry of activity following Congressman Mike Johnson’s ascent to the Speakership, the House seems to have fallen into the same quagmire as it did under Speaker McCarthy. House Republicans still have five spending bills to pass, though two have already been pulled from the floor just prior to voting due to widespread dissension within the GOP ranks. Will Speaker Johnson be able to break the impasse on spending bills or a CR to avoid a government shutdown? Only time will tell.
This week also saw a number of elections in states across the country. In Virginia, Democrats won control of both chambers of the State Legislature. This election was particularly impactful due to its damaging effect on Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin. Governor Youngkin has been viewed as a rising star in the Republican Party with some speculating that he could even enter the Presidential Primary in 2024. He threw his weight fully into the off-year election, even charting a course for national Republican candidates with definitive stances on issues like reproductive rights and school policies intended to appease Republican voters while also attracting Independents and moderate Democrats. For reasons that will be evaluated at length in the weeks to come, these efforts failed. What was expected to be a close election with Republicans and Democrats each holding one chamber in the legislature ended up being a total victory for the Democrats.
In Ohio, two ballot initiatives passed. The first enshrined abortion rights into the State Constitution while the second made Ohio the 24th state to legalize marijuana. In Kentucky, Democratic Governor Andy Beshear won reelection setting him up as a rising star in the Democratic Party with possible Presidential aspirations down the road. In New Jersey, Democrats widened their majorities in the State House. After it was revealed that New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez was being charged with corruption and acting as a foreign agent, some wondered if the Democratic Senator’s downfall could give Republicans an opening in the state. The answer, apparently, was no. In Mississippi, the Republican Governor Tate Reeves won reelection. In such a reliably conservative state, Governor Reeves’ reelection probably did not give the wider Republican Party too much cause for celebration.
In international news, Israel’s ground operation in Gaza grinds on with Israeli Generals and intelligence operatives acknowledging that efforts to destroy Hamas could take months to be effective. Some Gazan refugees were allowed to cross the Gazan border into Egypt as the result of an agreement brokered by Qatar. And aid for Gazan civilians have entered the small enclave amidst an agreement for regular four hour ceasefires. In the wider region, the U.S. has launched airstrikes on Iranian targets in Syria, and an American drone was shot down by Iranian proxies in Yemen. Despite these developments, it appears that thus far the conflict in Gaza has not spread significantly to the wider Middle East. Iran and even Hezbollah appear hesitant to enter the fray in any largescale manner, for now.
President Biden is expected to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping next Wednesday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit (APEC) in San Francisco. While hot topics will undoubtedly include the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, the pair are expected to discuss a range of issues from trade to climate change and wider Pacific security.
May you and your families have a very happy Veterans Day Weekend. God bless all of the men and women, and their families, who have served our nation. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten.