Scalise unveils the week’s work on Capitol Hill

NEWS AND OPINION:

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise has released “The Leader’s Floor Lookout,” the always interesting weekly legislative schedule on Capitol Hill. This particular list has our esteemed lawmakers in both chambers of Congress considering 32 bills of many sorts. Here’s a sample of what’s on the to-do list:

H.R. 6394: the Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule Act — which would provide for the creation of a congressional time capsule in commemoration of the 250th anniversary (semiquincentennial) of the U.S.

S. 4610: a bill to amend Title 36, United States Code, to designate the bald eagle as the national bird.

H.R. 6244: to designate the U.S. Postal Service facility at 1535 E. Los Ebanos Blvd. in Brownsville, Texas, as the “1st Lieutenant Andres Zermeno Post Office Building.”

S. 2414: the Working Dog Health and Welfare Act of 2023, which established requirements for dog breeders who are subject to Agriculture Department licensing.

H.R. 670: to amend Title IV of the Public Health Service Act to direct the secretary of health and human services to establish a clearinghouse on intellectual disabilities, and for other purposes.

S. 141: the Sen. Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act — to amend Title 38, United States Code, to improve certain programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs for home and community based services for veterans, and for other purposes.

FOR THE LEXICON

“The Trump Age.”

This emphatic phrase comes to us from PolitiBrawl, an online news and opinion site that offers “politics, news and debates for the people, by the people,” according to its mission statement.

“The Trump Age has arrived,” the site said in an analysis released Monday that recognizes President-elect Donald Trump’s political prowess in no uncertain terms.

“Having succeeded against all odds, the President endeared himself to the American people through the trials and tribulations of the last four years. He has revolutionized our political psyche, and altered not just our political discourse, but our culture in general – rekindling a sense of optimism in a long dormant American spirit. At the ballot box, the American people offered him a landslide victory for his sacrifices – he carried both houses of Congress and was the first Republican to win the popular vote outright in twenty years,” the analysis said.

Find the site at politibrawl.substack.com.

MEANWHILE IN TEXAS

The Lone Star State will offer a nod of approval to President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday, according to Texas Scorecard, a news organization based in Leander, Texas.

“At 2 p.m., Texas’ 40 presidential electors will gather on the floor of the Texas House to officially vote for Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States. Each state has electors in a number equivalent to its members in the U.S. House delegation plus two for the U.S. Senate. While some states apportion their electoral votes based on the candidates’ percentages, Texas is winner-take-all,“ the publication said.

“Trump won Texas by nearly 6.4 million votes — the most of any candidate in presidential election history — and 242 of 254 counties, including traditionally Democrat border counties. Vice President Kamala Harris received just over 4.8 million votes — 425,000 fewer than President Joe Biden in 2020 — and won only 12 counties,” it said.

The vote means a lot to two electors in particular.

“There’s over 29 million people in the state of Texas. I’m one of forty [electors], so that’s a huge honor to have that and be able to have that experience,” said Kyle Sinclair, the elector for Congressional District 20, which includes San Antonio and other parts of Bexar County.

“This is the election of my lifetime, and to actually be a part of the Electoral College and cast that vote, to be a part of the National Archives from now until the end of time, it’s quite the honor,” said Devvie Duke, the presidential elector for Congressional District 17, which spans central and eastern portions of the state.

IVY-COVERED HALLS

“A pole dancing club at Cornell University funded partially by student fees is working to break barriers and address what its leaders describe as misconceptions and stereotypes about the activity,” reports The College Fix, a student-written news organization.

“The group recently hosted a showcase on Dec. 7 called ’Pride, Prejudice and Pole’ inside a venerable campus ballroom. The group described it online as a ’classics literature themed pole dancing showcase’ funded by the school’s Student Activities Funding Commission,” the publication said.

The dancers are making news.

“People think pole is for a very narrow group of people. A lot of people assume that men can’t do pole or that it’s a woman-only sport. No, that’s not true,” a spokeswoman for the group told the Cornell Sun, a student publication.

“We do a lot of these different kinds of events in the hope of being able to expand and show people that pole is not just this one thing. Anyone can do pole, and anyone can enjoy pole,” she said.

POLL DU JOUR

• 12% of U.S. adults think it is “very likely” that President-elect Donald Trump will invoke martial law while he is in office.

• 6% of Republicans, 9% of independents and 20% of Democrats agree.

• 22% say it is “somewhat likely” he will invoke martial law when in office.

• 12% of Republicans, 19% of independents and 35% of Democrats agree.

• 22% say it is “not very likely” he will invoke martial law when in office.

• 25% of Republicans, 26% of independents and 16% of Democrats agree.

• 26% think it is “not likely at all” that he will invoke martial law when in office.

• 45% of Republicans, 23% of independents and 8% of Democrats agree.

• 19% are not sure about the issue.

• 12% of Republicans, 23% of independents and 21% of Democrats agree.

SOURCE: An Economist/YouGov poll of 1,592 U.S. adults conducted online Dec. 8-10.

• Contact Jennifer Harper at jharper@washingtontimes.com.