Cross-Examination

• Pelosi shoots for a string of last-second wins: With a few weeks remaining in the 117th Congress, House Democrats, led by outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi, hope to jam as many policy wins as possible through before Republicans take control in January. Among the list of legislative items are promoting the LGBTQ agenda, immigration reform, more COVID-19 spending, more Ukraine funding, and election “reforms.” Overarching this massive last-minute press is Pelosi seeking to cement her legacy. As Democrat Representative David Cicilline (RI) observed, “More than anything, this final group of bills are a reflection of the extraordinary amount of work that has been done in this Congress under the speaker’s leadership.” The biggest item on Pelosi’s list is passing the erroneously named Respect for Marriage Act, a bill that passed the Senate last week and that codifies the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision redefining marriage to include same-sex unions. Following the Senate’s passage of the bill, Pelosi asserted, “The bill ensures that, regardless of what the MAGA majority in the Supreme Court may do in the future, the federal government will never again stand in the way of marrying the person you love.” She added, “I’m particularly happy because it’ll be one of the last bills that I will sign as speaker.” Hopefully, Pelosi and the Democrats are stymied in their attempt to blow even more of American taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars on their pet agenda projects.

• Team Biden disbands left-wing “parents” organization: Last June, Joe Biden’s Department of Education tried to pull a fast one on parents by creating the National Parents and Families Engagement Council, which it publicly billed as an organization that would act as a mediator between parents and school administrations. In reality, the council was a partisan initiative designed to quell parents’ objections to and promote the radical leftist agenda school administrators have been increasingly pushing. Almost immediately upon its creation, parental groups including America First Legal, Parents Defending Education, and Fight for Schools sued the Biden administration, arguing that the council violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), which requires advisory groups to be bipartisan and not tied to special interest groups. On both counts the council failed to meet FACA standards. On Monday, the Biden administration decided the legal fight to keep its dubious council wasn’t worth it, and the DOE disbanded the organization. As a result, the parental groups have dropped the lawsuit. This is a definite win for parental rights.

• Oh, the irony: Switzerland looks to ban EV travel: Thanks to the soaring cost of energy, Swiss officials are considering a plan to ban the use of electric vehicles for nonessential travel. Switzerland is already looking to enact new rules that would limit buildings’ top-end heating temperature to 68 degrees Fahrenheit in order to reduce energy usage, and government officials are also weighing the banning of large indoor gatherings for the same reason. Switzerland, like much of Europe, has committed to eliminating fossil fuels for energy generation and even today relies on hydroelectricity to supply nearly two-thirds of its power. The problem is that during the winter months, Switzerland’s supply of hydroelectric power significantly decreases, as the water supplies literally freeze up. Ironically, the current energy crisis would be easily solved if Switzerland didn’t eschew fossil fuel energy production. Now, any Swiss wanting to travel around the country will only be able to do so in a gas-powered vehicle.

Headlines

• White House calls Twitter election-rigging revelations “old news” (Daily Wire)

• House to repeal military vaccine mandate in defense bill despite Biden opposition (Fox News)

• House Democrats block religious liberty amendment to same-sex marriage bill (Fox News)

• Conservative justices pose questions about speech in Web designer case (Daily Wire)

• Louisiana, Missouri AGs release 359-page Anthony Fauci deposition in social media collusion lawsuit (Just the News)

• Meta threatens to remove news from platforms including Facebook due to journalism bill (National Review)

• Former Dem presidential hopeful Michael Avenatti sentenced to 14 years in prison for stealing millions from clients (Axios)

• TikTok off-limits for South Carolina employees on state devices, governor says (WYFF)

• Policy: Ban TikTok from operating in America (National Review)

• Humor: Husband weeks early in buying wife wrong Christmas present (Babylon Bee)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.