Keep up with what’s happening in DC. Below is a selection of articles the Federal Relations team read this week.
SCOTUS Confirmation: The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to confirm Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court, with Democrats absent in protest. Democrats later forced a closed-door session in a failed attempt to stall bringing her nomination to the floor. The full Senate vote is scheduled for Monday. Full story.
Presidential Debate: In the final presidential debate on Thursday, candidates Biden and Trump squared off. Recap here.
Sudan-Israel Policy Win: The White House announced, alongside Israel and Sudan, that Sudan and Israel will normalize relations, following a similar move by the UAE and Bahrain. The announcement came after Sudan agreed to pay over $300 million to compensate victims of terrorism, and the US agreed to remove Sudan from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. Story here.
Facebook and Twitter Subpoenaed: The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to approve subpoenas for the CEOs of Facebook and Twitter. The majority is seeking a hearing, before election day, to review how the two companies restricted a NY Post story about Hunter Biden. The story was being checked for misinformation, according to the platforms, and contained “hacked material”. More here.
Judge Rules in Air Force Lawsuit: Judge Michael Fitzgerald of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled that a sexual assault lawsuit against Air Force Gen. John Hyten can proceed. Gen. Hyten, now serving as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is accused of assaulting a now-retired colleague in a hotel room. Full story.