{"id":1979594,"date":"2023-07-21T14:30:02","date_gmt":"2023-07-21T18:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/top-democrat-jeffries-refuses-to-defend-right-of-congress-to-pass-laws-after-environmental-activists-take-other-side\/"},"modified":"2023-07-21T14:32:09","modified_gmt":"2023-07-21T18:32:09","slug":"top-democrat-jeffries-refuses-to-defend-right-of-congress-to-pass-laws-after-environmental-activists-take-other-side","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/top-democrat-jeffries-refuses-to-defend-right-of-congress-to-pass-laws-after-environmental-activists-take-other-side\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeffries, a leading Democrat, declines to support Congress&#8217; authority to enact laws following environmental activists&#8217; opposing stance."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftop-democrat-jeffries-refuses-to-defend-right-of-congress-to-pass-laws-after-environmental-activists-take-other-side%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1979594&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<h2>The Top Democrats \u2062in \u200cthe House of Representatives Vote Against Defending Congress<\/h2>\n<p>The top \u200ctwo \u200bDemocrats in the House of Representatives quietly voted last week against defending the\u200d right of Congress to pass\u200b laws. The\u200c sanctity of \u2062democracy and \u200cCongress itself has been a major political \u200ctalking point for Democrat leaders in recent years. \u200dBut the vote showed the difficulty Democrat Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other top Democrats have \u200bstanding up\u2062 to the intense pressure they \u200cface from\u2063 left-wing billionaires and the environmental activist groups they run.<\/p>\n<p>The vote dealt \u2063with litigation from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pro-censorship-group-center-for-countering-digital-hate-funded-by-pro-china-investment-org\/\" title=\"Pro-Censorship Group Center for Countering Digital Hate Funded by Pro-China Investment Org\">left-wing environmental groups<\/a> trying to stop provisions in the recently passed Fiscal Responsibility\u2063 Act (FRA),\u200d which raised\u2063 the debt limit.\u2063 That bill, signed into law \u2063on June 5, \u200b2023,\u2064 contained provisions to ensure\u200d the completion of a 303-mile pipeline \u200bfrom \u2063natural gas fields in West Virginia\u2064 to an existing pipeline in Southwest \u2062Virginia. Left-wing environmental \u200dgroups funded by \u2064major Democrat\u2062 donors and a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/05\/03\/us\/politics\/hansjorg-wyss-money-democrats.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">foreign oligarch who \u200dfinances\u200c much of the left\u2019s \u2063\u201cdark money\u201d \u2062behemoth<\/a> have fought the completion of the\u200d Mountain Valley Pipeline for years. While most of\u2063 the pipeline has been constructed, \u2064the FRA directed expedited \u2062approval of the remaining \u200cpermits, removal from any court the jurisdiction to review agency actions, and directing the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to \u200doversee \u200cany\u2062 claims challenging the pipeline.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Both Jeffries \u200dand Democrat Whip Katherine \u200cClark voted \u200bfor the legislation.\u2062 Jeffries publicly stated he\u200c did so \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=RU-j3496ntI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">without hesitation, reservation,\u2064 or\u200c trepidation<\/a>.\u201d President \u200cBiden, the top Democrat in the \u200ccountry, signed it into law. His Department of \u200cJustice began \u2063implementing\u200d the law. But when \u200cthe time came\u200d to defend both that legislation and \u200cthe very right of Congress to pass laws, Jeffries and Clark refused.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG), comprising\u200c the Speaker of the House and the leader\u2063 and whip of each party, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/ogc.house.gov\/about\/house-rules#:~:text=Unless%20otherwise%20provided%20by%20the,House%20in%20all%20litigation%20matters.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">speaks for, and articulates the institutional position of, the House\u2064 in all litigation\u2062 matters<\/a>,\u201d according to House rules. While it has at times \u200bbeen used in a\u2064 partisan matter, most notably and aggressively \u2062under former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, it also routinely\u200d sees unanimous votes\u200b on key issues about the rights and powers of Congress.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, for example,\u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/news\/us\/court-blocks-doj-review-of-scott-perry-s-phone-in-jan-6-probe\/ar-AA16XDHq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">all five\u2064 members voted to intervene<\/a> in an \u200dongoing legal battle between the Department of Justice and Rep. Scott Perry, R-Penn., over the department\u2019s aggressive efforts\u200d to access the conservative member\u2019s phone.<\/p>\n<p>The vote \u2063last week was divided on party lines,\u200d even though it dealt with \u2064an issue that the BLAG had\u2064 previously worked on twice before and involved a law that both Democrat members had\u200c voted \u200bfor only weeks prior.<\/p>\n<h2>Back \u200cStory<\/h2>\n<p>Blocking an\u200d energy pipeline in the region\u2062 has been a top priority \u2063of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fox-news-is-a-uniquely-destructive-force-leftists-call-for-boycott-of-fnc\/\" title=\"\u2018Fox News Is A Uniquely Destructive Force\u2019: Leftists Call For Boycott Of FNC\">left-wing activist groups<\/a> for years. They had successfully asked\u200c the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to block \u2062and delay\u2062 permits and approvals for \u2062the pipeline.<\/p>\n<p>Once the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mccarthy-won-the-debt-ceiling-fight-but-will-he-lose-speakers-gavel\/\" title=\"McCarthy triumphed in debt ceiling battle, but risks losing speaker position.\">debt limit bill passed<\/a>,\u2064 the Department of Justice moved to dismiss those cases. It\u200d argued that the bill had mooted the controversy by explicitly ratifying and approving all necessary permits and by changing the law governing the pipeline in \u2063such a way that it rendered meritless the claims put forth \u2064by \u200bthe \u200cenvironmentalist groups.<\/p>\n<p>The \u200cWilderness Society and an\u200c array of other \u2063<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/top-democrat-jeffries-refuses-to-defend-right-of-congress-to-pass-laws-after-environmental-activists-take-other-side\/\" title=\"Jeffries, a leading Democrat, declines to support Congress' authority to enact laws following environmental activists' opposing stance.\">left-wing environmentalist groups opposed<\/a> what the DOJ \u2062was doing and \u2062asked\u2063 the Fourth Circuit to \u2064issue\u200c a stay. Left-wing \u2062Swiss\u2062 billionaire\u2062 Hansj\u00f6rg Wyss\u200b \u201chas been a leading source of difficult-to-trace \u200dmoney to\u200c groups associated with Democrats,\u201d \u200daccording to an analysis from The New York Times. He serves on \u200dthe board\u200d of governors \u2062of the \u200cWilderness Society. That group argued the bill violated the separation of\u2062 powers and that\u200b the Fourth Circuit\u2062 remained the right\u200b court to hear \u200dtheir objections \u200cto \u2063the previous legislation. Without explaining its \u200breasoning, \u200da trio of judges on the\u2062 Fourth Circuit that had previously ruled in favor of the environmental groups\u2019 petitions \u2063issued a stay.<\/p>\n<p>The pipeline company \u200bfiled an emergency \u200dapplication at \u200dthe\u200b Supreme Court to\u2063 vacate\u200d the stays\u200d and have the Fourth Circuit dismiss the claims so the pipeline \u2064could be completed as \u2062directed by June\u2019s legislation.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group voted on an\u200d amicus brief backing Congress\u2019 own legislation \u200cand the\u2064 right of Congress to pass legislation.<\/p>\n<p>The amicus brief\u200d argues\u2062 that the\u2063 Fourth Circuit stays\u200b are at odds with Congress\u2019s declaration \u200cthat\u2062 \u201cthe timely completion\u201d of the pipeline \u201cis required in the national interest.\u201d It \u200calso notes that\u200d the House\u2062 has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oyez.org\/cases\/2017\/16-498\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">twice<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oyez.org\/cases\/2015\/14-770\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">prior<\/a> defended the power of\u200b Congress to enact changes in \u200blaw that\u200b affect the outcome of \u200bpending court cases, and the court upheld the \u200dconstitutionality of doing \u2064so both times. Finally, it argues that the stays are erroneous; that nothing precludes\u200d Congress from changing laws simply because they end legal challenges to agency actions.<\/p>\n<p>Jeffries and Clark \u200care refusing to defend Congress, but their vote aligns them with the billionaire environmentalists.\u200b It does put them \u200dat\u200c odds with at\u2064 least <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/energy-environment\/4105851-manchin-gop-deputy-whip-back-request-for-supreme-court-to-intervene-on-mountain-valley-pipeline\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">one\u2063 Democrat lawmaker<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/23\/23A35\/272416\/20230719170738290_2023-07-19%20LIUNA%20Amicus%20Brief%20FINAL.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Laborers\u2019 International \u2062Union of North\u2062 America<\/a>, the country\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.liuna.org\/about-11\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">most progressive<\/a>\u201d union of\u2062 construction workers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe \u2062jobs at stake are the exact type\u200d of jobs \u2013 blue collar jobs for skilled workers that\u2063 provide good \u200cwages, health \u2063coverage, retirement security, and\u200b funding \u2063for training of \u2063current workers and\u200c new entrants to the industry \u2013 that are so badly needed in today\u2019s\u2063 economy,\u201d \u2064the union wrote in \u200cits brief.<\/p>\n<p>When <a href=\"https:\/\/katherineclark.house.gov\/in-the-news?id=462C5EFB-4D32-4AA8-BC3B-27CBA2662F51\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Clark whipped\u200b for the bill<\/a> she now\u2063 refuses to defend, she praised Biden for \u201cstanding with our \u200bveterans,\u200c seniors, and working families\u201d during\u2063 the negotiations.<\/p>\n<p>Neither \u200dJeffries nor Clark responded to\u200b The Federalist\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n<p><em>Tristan Justice contributed to this \u2063reporting.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>top House Democrats faced in maintaining a consistent stance on defending Congress&#8217; legislative authority. Despite their previous emphasis on democracy&#8217;s sanctity, Jeffries and his colleagues voted against protecting Congress&#8217; right to pass laws, raising questions about their commitment to this principle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":605,"featured_media":1979595,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1979594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1979594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/605"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1979594"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1979594\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1979595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1979594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1979594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1979594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}