Congress poised to cut off military aid to Saudi Arabia
A bipartisan coalition in Congress is pushing legislation to end millions of dollars in military assistance that Saudi Arabia currently receives from the United States. This amounts to about $30 million per year in military aid. This is in addition to a separate push by lawmakers in both the Senate and House to end American support for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen. These actions come in light of increasing congressional objections at Saudi Arabia’s conduct of the Yemeni conflict as well as the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Venezuela Crisis enters stalemate
The political crisis in Venezuela continues to linger as the stand-off between opposition leader Juan Guaido — who was declared acting president by the National Assembly — and the ostensible head of state Nicolas Maduro show no signs of abating. The United States as well as other Western countries have recognized Guaido as the country’s interim president. Ultimate control of Venezuela’s government seems to rest with the only other credible power center in Venezuelan society: the military. As of now, it appears that the military remains loyal to Maduro. All the while, ordinary Venezuelans continue to suffer amid the backdrop of an economic collapse that has devastated the country.
Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz mulls presidential run
Billionaire businessman Howard Schultz has openly and privately mused about the possibility of running in the 2020 presidential election, according to media reports. Schultz said that were he to run, he would do so as a “centrist independent.” The prospect of his candidacy has led to a week of Democratic backlash out of fear that an independent presidential run by Schultz would drain votes away from the eventual Democratic nominee, thereby all but guaranteeing Donald Trump reelection to a second 4-year term. For his part, Schultz has mostly brushed off this criticism, saying that his final decision will be based on his ability to offer a credible alternative to the two major parties.
Speaker Pelosi says “no border wall for DACA” deal
Nancy Pelosi appeared to dig in even further after barely a week since the end of the partial federal government shutdown. Pelosi shot down a proposal for a possible immigration deal — with money for President Trump’s border wall provided in exchange for legal protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients — declaring it as a “non-starter.” Congress has until Feb. 15 to reach a deal or risk yet another government shutdown.
“Medicare for All” receives renewed attention
During CNN’s democratic town hall in Iowa on Monday with Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), Harris called for the elimination of all private health insurance as part of the universal government-funded healthcare insurance proposal. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll found 56% percent support for “Medicare for All” among U.S. adults. Support drops to 37 percent when the elimination of private health insurance is mentioned.
Property tax plan finalized
Governor Greg Abbott and state legislature leaders finalized a plan that would require any future property tax increases greater than 2.5 percent to be put before voters for approval. Many jurisdictions in Texas have lied on ever-increasing property taxes to meet funding constraints, but this has often been at the expense of homeowners. This effort represents the Texas Legislatures’ attempt to ameliorate the problem. The government leaders have yet to agree on how deal with shortcomings in funding that may now befall school districts, cities and counties.
