Congresswoman Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.) told reporters last year that she wasn’t “beholden” to pro-life groups. But [Tuesday] night, she found out she was beholden to someone else: voters. The North Carolina politician stunned everyone in 2015 when the self-styled “pro-lifer” pulled the rug out from under a bill she supported in 2013 just hours before it was set to pass the House.

The move derailed a vote on the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, shocking and angering a city full of March for Life activists, who were looking forward to celebrating the first pro-life milestone of the 114th Congress on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Ellmers, who had voted for the same language on the 20-week abortion ban two years earlier, suddenly objected to a reporting requirement that, if excluded, would render the bill moot. The legislation was the movement’s biggest congressional priority heading into the session, since it would ban abortion after 20 weeks, when science shows that unborn babies can feel the excruciating pain. Hundreds of students in town for the March for Life packed the hallways in protest outside of Ellmers’ office, while other groups didn’t mince words about her treachery.

[Tuesday], she paid for that betrayal with her job. In a landslide loss to Rep. George Holding in the state’s redrawn Second District (54% to 23%), the Tar Heels sent a resounding statement that selling out the district’s pro-life values wouldn’t be tolerated. Now, after refusing to protect the innocent unborn children she campaign on, Ellmers is the one feeling the pain. FRC Action PAC endorsed Rep. Holding, a consistent and reliable advocate for conservative principles, who was also an incumbent — but with a far better record of keeping his pro-family promises. If anyone needed proof that voters will do more than take notice when Members of Congress betray the conservative, pro-life principles that they were elected to champion, Ellmers’s defeat should serve as a warning to other Republicans tempted to abandon their values.

In what turned out to be a great night for FRC Action’s PAC, Holding’s win is just one of many. FRC Action PAC was thrilled to see many of its endorsed candidates succeed in their state congressional primaries. This success is something we particularly enjoy sharing with our donors, who make our efforts possible in these critical races. In the special general election to replace former House Speaker John Boehner, Republican Warren Davidson won the Ohio congressional seat which Boehner left vacant after nearly 25 years as a member of Congress. FRC Action PAC endorsed Davidson in the primary, and continued to support him through the general election victory [Tuesday]. In seven other primaries, our backed candidates prevailed in their states, as well.

In California, Republicans Kevin McCarthy, Denise Gitsham, and Paul Chabot all look like they will advance. In North Carolina, GOP candidates George Holding and Virginia Foxx were victorious. And in Iowa, Republican Steve King handily defeated his primary opponent, 67% to 35%. FRC Action PAC has worked tirelessly to support candidates who have taken bold positions on faith, family, and freedom. Many of these candidates are FRCA “True Blue” candidates who have voted with us 100% of the time in the 114th Congress, and who we have faith will continue to advocate for limited government and individual liberty. Our endorsements, grassroots alerts, PAC contributions, press messaging, social media advertising, and efforts to drive voter turnout have helped to ensure that your interests are protected in the halls of Congress. We look forward to continuing to do just that.

Originally published here.

States Get on Their Bathroom Soap Box

The president ought to move his office down the street to the U.S. Supreme Court, since that’s where his team is spending most of its time these days. From Obamacare and immigration to recess appointments and conscience rights, the administration has spent most of its time defending one lawless order after another. Next up? The president’s outrageous edict that America’s public schools and colleges let boys into the girls’ showers, locker rooms, and bathrooms or lose their federal funding.

Furious that the Departments of Justice and Education would hold classrooms ideologically and financially hostage, parents, educators, and leaders across the country have vowed to fight back. And fight back they have in places like Palatine, Illinois — where teenage girls are so mortified about the boy in their locker room that they’ve started wearing their gym clothes under their everyday outfits just so that they won’t have to change in front him. But the DOE is facing a lot more than their lawsuit. The legal challenges are pouring in from around the country, as everyone from 13 state governments to local counties like Gloucester, Virginia tell the administration: “see you in court.”

And so far, the national pushback is working. In towns like Howell, Michigan, school officials are actually changing their minds on the policy when parents step up and speak out. Now, with the country in an uproar, even Congress is stepping up to the plate. “Please know the Obama administration will not have the last word on this issue,” Congressman Andy Harris (R-Md.) vowed to every school in his Congressional district. In a move that every House and Senate member should be imitating, Rep. Harris fired off a letter to superintendents urging them to ignore the president’s tyrannical order and pledging to stand with them as they do.

“There is no statutory authority for this ‘guidance.’ These conflicts must, and ultimately will, be resolved by either Congress or the federal courts… Congressional actions are being discussed, including making it clear that no monies may be withheld until federal courts resolve this issue—an outcome that may take years. Until the issue reaches a final disposition, you can be secure in my support of you and your right to set policy for your schools, even if that policy is not in conformity with the May 13th ‘guidance.’”

Already, several bills have been floated in the House to take the president’s overreach to task, including Rep. Brian Babin’s (R-Texas) Student Privacy Protection and Safety Act of 2016 (H.R. 5294). The effects of his proposal are simple: the agencies’ “Dear Colleague Letter on Transgender Students” would have no effect. Essentially, it exposes the administration’s threat for what it is — empty. Ask your representative to support the privacy rights of every child by signing on to H.R. 5294. Then, encourage them to follow in Rep. Harris’s footsteps and give local schools the backing they need to do the right thing and reject the president’s bullies!

Originally published here.