(A)Political Newsletter - Volume 10

(A)political Newsletter - U.S. Political News & Election Updates

Good morning everyone,

There’s a lot to cover this week, with both Democrats and Republicans experiencing some fairly major wins and losses. Let’s jump right in.

In today’s edition:

  • Stock Watching

  • McCarthy faces House revolts

  • Michigan GOP race

  • Fox News shakeups

  • Kamala Harris to run anti-gun violence office

CONGRESSIONAL STOCK WATCHER

  • Former Congressman Stephen Buyer has been sentenced to 22 months in prison for insider trading.

    • The last time a member of Congress was convicted of insider trading, they were pardoned from their sentence.

  • Representative Thomas Kean Jr. just disclosed trades made back in April, violating the 45-day reporting deadline set by the STOCK Act.

    • At most he will pay a $200 fine, although many politicians who violate the law aren't penalized at all.

  • Senator Dan Sullivan has disclosed 33 new stock trades.

    • They were all sales, totaling up to $720K.

    • It is odd to see Senator Sullivan sell off this many stocks at once.

  • $VLO has now risen over 28% since Representative Curtis’ purchase in June.

    • A very well-timed energy stock trade by a member of the House energy committee.

  • Representative Josh Gottheimer just disclosed an August 15th purchase of up to $10M in Microsoft call options.

    • He appears to have sold them on the same day, as he also disclosed an August 15th sale of up to $10M.

    • Likely related to his previous job as a strategist at Microsoft.

  • Senator Tommy Tuberville has disclosed up to $225K of new commodities futures trades.

    • He sits on the commodities subcommittee.

    • After we published a report on Tuberville's penny stock trading, he claimed that he does not manage his portfolio.

  • Representative Daniel Meuser just disclosed sales of up to $350K of Nvidia stock, $NVDA.

    • He's not the only one who has sold the stock recently.

    • The CEO of Nvidia sold approximately $100M of stock in his own company this month.

Be on the Lookout:

Representative Ro Khanna has been pushing hard for an “anti-corruption” plan to attempt to curb congressional insider trading. Other news is that Nancy Pelosi has made more sales than usual resulting in some concerns about the health of the economy.

McCarthy’s Government Funding Held Hostage

(Photo - via CNN)

September 20, 2023: McCarthy has been warring in recent weeks as Republican hardliners known as the “Freedom Caucus” have formed several roadblocks on the path to GOP unity. Thursday was potentially the most embarrassing for McCarthy as the Republican bloc led by Matt Gaetz (R-FL) successfully held out on the Pentagon spending bill that many thought would pass. Not only did it anger many Republicans, but it also proved that McCarthy is at the mercy of the hardliners. Rep. Anthony D'Esposito (R-NY) expressed much of the GOP's frustration, saying "we need to move our country forward”.

The failure has thrown the house schedule into disarray, making it harder to avoid the looming October 1 shutdown.

House Democrats took full advantage of the GOP’s tiny margins by tracking down as many of their absent members as they could before the vote, while many Republicans expressed uncertainty about what comes next. Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) was critical of members making “inconsistent stands of their own principles,” followed by him quipping that when someone finds out his schedule to let him know.

Virginia Republican Robert Good is part of the Freedom Caucus and has said that the group will continue to “push for meaningful cuts and spending reductions” before they agree on anything.

The road ahead is unclear for McCarthy and those who support him.

Former Police Chief James Craig to Launch Bid for Michigan Senate GOP Among a Busy Field

September 20, 2023: James Craig is a former police chief from Detroit, Michigan, who is planning to launch a Senate campaign in October, adding to a full slot of Republican (GOP) candidates in a state that has recently been largely unkind to the party.

Michigan has mostly been a Democrat stronghold, keeping Republicans out of Senate seats since 1944 and having both houses and the governor's seat regularly held by Democrats. This will be a challenge for any of the Republican candidates. Despite the stacked GOP race, the Democratic Party in Michigan is seemingly only focused on Rep. Elissa Swatkin, who campaigned shortly after current Senator Debbie Stabenow announced her retirement.

Craig is entering the field with three other potential Republican candidates: former Rep. Peter Meijer, Sandy Pensler, and Mike Rogers. He claims his reason for running stems from a call that allegedly came from political consultant Katie Walsh Shields telling him to stay out of the race while allegedly offering financial incentives—something Shields has denied.

Craig is early on in his Republican political career, stating that his position as police chief was non-partisan but that it was a step in a slow evolution towards being a Republican. One high mark he mentions on his resume for GOP voters is that he kept Detroit mostly peaceful while other cities burned during the 2020 riots that swept the nation.

Rupert Murdoch Resigns as Chairman of Fox Corp.

(Photo - Evan Agostini/AP file)

September 21, 2023: Rupert Murdoch has announced that he will resign as Chairman of News Corp. and Fox Corp., at a point of crossroads for both news organizations. His son, Lachlan Murdoch, will take the reins, while Murdoch himself will have a new role made specifically for him, Chairman Emeritus. Fox News, the main component of Fox Corp., has been undergoing troubles recently, predominantly the mass cord-cutting in cable television. While Fox News has a growing streaming service to offset losses, it is still primarily a cable news service. Along with this, there is also the fact that Fox fired its top-rated prime-time host, Tucker Carlson, for alleged sexist statements or political differences, depending on which side you believe. Another major issue for Fox is that Republicans have grown to need Fox News less in recent years, with other conservative media, such as Newsmax and One America News, growing in competition. Notably, Donald Trump has boosted the anti-Fox movement with his love-hate relationship with them during his 2016 campaign, most recently breaking the mold last month when he sat out the Republican debates, hosted by Fox News.

Fox is also dealing with continuing lawsuits in reference to its coverage of the 2020 election and its aftermath. Dominion Voting Systems, which makes voting machines, sued Fox News over allegations of changing votes for former President Trump to President Biden. Dominion and Fox News settled for $787.5 million before any Fox News personalities, the primary sources promoting the allegations, could take the stand. Election technology company Smartmatic is also suing Fox News for $2.7 billion over its alleged falsehoods in Fox’s 2020 election coverage.

Biden Selects Harris to Run Office of Gun Violence Prevention

September 21, 2023: President Biden has selected Vice President Kamala Harris to run the Federal Office of Gun Violence Prevention. The official announcement will come at an event in the Rose Garden, where several activists and lawmakers will be in attendance.

Vice President Harris said in a statement: “The new Office of Gun Violence Prevention will play a critical role in implementing President Biden’s and my efforts to reduce violence to the fullest extent under the law, while also engaging and encouraging Congressional leaders, state and local leaders, and advocates to come together to build upon the meaningful progress that we have made to save lives."

This has been a longtime request for anti-gun activists and is a step forward for many who believe the U.S. government is not doing enough to prevent gun violence. Their hope is that “even while gun legislation is stalled in Congress, the new office can allow a unified approach to reform and also allow the White House to show leadership on the issue”.

Natalie Falls, the executive director of “March for Our Lives” feels that this is a big step in the right direction because the White House has “the resources and the talent to make a meaningful difference”.

Biden has made climate change, immigration, and gun activists all very happy this week with reforms and motions to tackle all three issues as he sets his platform for the 2024 elections.

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