Day 639: "Democracy is working well."
Today in one sentence: Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett rejected a challenge to Biden's student loan forgiveness program; a federal appeals court ordered Lindsey Graham to appear before a Georgia grand jury investigating Trump for criminal interference in the state’s 2020 presidential election; 49% of Americans say they want Republicans in control of Congress; 59% of voters say they believe outside politics influence the Justice Department's decision to prosecute federal crimes; and 9% of Americans think democracy is working “extremely” or “very well.”
1/ Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett rejected a challenge to Biden’s student loan forgiveness program. The challenge came from the Brown County Taxpayers Association in Wisconsin. Barrett, however, dismissed the case for lack of standing, ruling that paying taxes didn’t give the group grounds to challenge the action taken by the federal government in this instance. (CNBC / Axios / CNN / New York Times)
2/ A federal appeals court ordered Lindsey Graham to appear before a Georgia grand jury investigating Trump for criminal interference in the state’s 2020 presidential election. Graham had asked the court to block a subpoena from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, claiming that a sitting senator is shielded from such investigations. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, however, denied Graham’s request and upheld a lower-court ruling that he may be questioned about certain topics, saying “Senator Graham has failed to demonstrate that he is likely to succeed on the merits of his appeal.” Graham is now expected to ask the Supreme Court to block the subpoena. Separately, former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone and former Senator Kelly Loeffler provided testimony to the grand jury in recent months. (Washington Post / CNBC / CNN)
poll/ 49% of Americans say they want Republicans in control of Congress, while 45% said they prefer Democrats in control. (Monmouth University Poll)
poll/ 60% of Americans say Trump should have to testify before the Jan. 6 committee. If Trump does testify, 77% said it should be done in public. (Washington Post)
poll/ 59% of voters say they believe outside politics influence the Justice Department’s decision to prosecute federal crimes, while 21% said little to no external politics influenced DOJ’s decisions, and 20% said they didn’t know or had no opinion at all. (Politico)
poll/ 9% of Americans think democracy is working “extremely” or “very well,” while 52% say it’s not working well and 37% say it’s working somewhat well. (Associated Press)
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