Trump Forced to Turn Over Tax Returns and Additional Political Headlines

The U.S. Department of the Treasury confirmed on Wednesday that it has sent over the tax returns of former President Donald Trump to the House Ways and Means Committee. The committee had been asking for Trump to release the tax returns for years, sending the decision through the U.S. court system. A decision last week by the U.S. Supreme Court to not intervene in the request meant that the records needed to be turned over to the committee as it had requested in 2019 and 2021.

The House panel is led by Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Richard Neal. It is not clear when the documents will be released for review by the public. Nor is it known how the committee plans to use the returns. Neal said that the next step will be to bring the Democratic caucus together to review the findings, however, no timeline was offered. It is also unclear as to why Trump has been so protective of his tax returns, breaking with the normal tradition of releasing them prior to running for office.

House Votes in Rep. Hakeem Jeffries as New Minority Leader, Replacing Nancy Pelosi

The House Democrats voted on Wednesday to elevate Rep. Hakeem Jeffries from the role of caucus chair to the House minority leader position. Jeffries will succeed the outgoing Rep. Nancy Pelosi when the new term begins in January. The representative from the state of New York will make history as the first Black person to lead one of the two primary parties in Congress.

Jeffries ran unopposed after his party largely filed in line behind him for the role. As a 52-year-old, Jeffries’ appointment represents a changing of the guard within the Democratic Party, a group that has been led by the older members of the coalition over the last several years. Jeffries also earned a place in the history books in 2019 when he became the youngest member in congressional leadership.

In other changes with the Democratic House leadership, California Rep. Peter Aguilar is expected to take over Jeffries’ role as House Democratic caucus leader. Massachusetts Rep. Katherine Clark will step in as whip. Pelosi is now slated to be the designated “Speaker Emerita” after being appointed to the role by a unanimous vote by the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee late Tuesday.

House Passes Critical Legislation, Avoiding Railroad Shutdown

It was a busy day for the House of Representatives. In addition to the confirmation of New Democratic leadership, the chamber of Congress also passed legislation designed to avoid a railroad shutdown. The passage came after a warning from President Biden regarding the grave economic chaos that a shutdown would trigger. The tentative agreement passed with a 290 to 137 vote. It was a largely bipartisan effort as 79 Republicans joined their Democratic colleagues in voting for the measure. Conversely eight Democrats voted against the legislation.

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The House also voted 221 to 207 to give more paid sick days to rail workers, increasing the paid sick time from just one day to seven days. This particular provision to the agreement was passed more down party lines as only three Republicans crossed lines to join the Democrats.

The bill is now on its way to the Senate for a vote in that chamber. The Democrats may need to split up the legislation again in order to pass the bulk of the agreement.

According to data released by the Anderson Economic Group, a freight rail strike could come at a cost of $1 billion to the U.S. economy in just one week of inactivity. The strike could happen as soon as December 9 if Congress fails to act. Not only would a strike stymie commuter services for up to seven million Americans but it would also severely disrupt factory production and cause consumer prices on thousands of products to skyrocket.

Senate Passes Legislation Protecting Same-Sex Marriage, Sending it to House

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Legislators in the Senate also passed a major piece of legislation this week. On Tuesday, this chamber advanced a pivotal same-sex and interracial marriage bill. The bill will now head to the House of Representatives for a vote as early as next week before it eventually lands in the Oval Office for President Biden to make law. The Respect for Marriage act passed the Senate with a bipartisan vote of 61 – 36 when 12 Republicans fell in line with the Democrats with the legislation.

Should the bill make it through the House as expected, it would require that states recognize the legal same-sex marriages in other states. The legislation was drawn up as a means to protect same-sex marriage rights should the U.S. Supreme Court rule against it in the future. Advocates for the LGBTQ+ community have grown increasingly worried that the highest court in the land may overturn the landmark 2015 Obergefell v Hodges decision, a case that legalized same-sex marriage.

President Biden to Meet With Royals in Boston

President Joe Biden will meet with the Prince and Princess of Wales on Friday in Boston, according to a Wednesday announcement by the White House. The two prominent members of the royal family are in the U.S. for a fundraising event. The couple are visiting Boston as part of the Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony, an initiative founded by Prince William to combat environmental challenges across the globe.

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The White House confirmed that the president will greet the royals as part of a previously planned trip to Boston. Biden had already been scheduled to appear in Massachusetts on Friday alongside Democratic Massachusetts Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey at a fundraiser for the upcoming Georgia Senate runoff race.

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