Matt Gaetz Had Weirdest Reason Ever to Vote Against Antisemitism Bill

At least two House Republicans voted against the Antisemitism Awareness Act on Wednesday … because they think the bill criminalizes Christian beliefs.

The bill passed the House by a vote of 320–91. Twenty-one Republicans voted against it. Among them were Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene, who explained the bizarre logic behind their opposition on social media.

Gaetz and Greene each posted on X (formerly Twitter) that a portion of the bill, specifically the use of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s, or IHRA, definition of antisemitism, could be used against Christians “for believing the Gospel that says Jesus was handed over to Herod to be crucified by the Jews.”

Gaetz claimed the bill had been written “without regard for the Constitution, common sense, or even the common understanding of the meaning of words.”

Greene, meanwhile, warned the bill could be used to “convict Christians of antisemitism.”

There are a lot of legitimate reasons to oppose the IHRA’s definition of antisemitism, among them being that it’s used both to silence criticism of the state of Israel and to conflate support for Palestinians with prejudice. But believing that the Jewish people killed Jesus is an old and antisemitic trope. The fact that Gaetz and Greene, who both call themselves staunch supporters of Israel, each seem to think that Christianity justifies this line of thought calls into question how they really feel about the Jewish people.

At a time when students are facing brutal crackdowns for protesting on college campuses to call for their institutions to divest from companies affiliated with Israel and its harsh war in Gaza, the bill’s timing suggests that it is being used as a litmus test for legislators insufficiently supportive of Israel. That’s a real reason to oppose the bill, one that critics have pointed out. But good luck getting the far right to realize that.

The Arizona legislature secured just enough votes on Wednesday to repeal a 160-year-old abortion ban that was revived by the state’s Supreme Court in April.

The decision to nix the archaic law appears on track to pass thanks to the votes of every Democratic lawmaker, as well as two state Senate Republicans, T.J. Shope and Shawnna Bolick. If the bill passes, it will go to Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs, who is expected to sign it. That will return the state to its previous abortion status, which banned the medical procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

But some legislators fear that even if the vote does pass, there might still be a waiting period before the 15-week ban is officially enacted—and during that time, all abortions will still be outlawed. That period would last approximately 90 days after the end of the session, ending in June or July, unless the repeal comes with an emergency provision.

“Rest assured, my office is exploring every option available to prevent this outrageous 160-year-old law from ever taking effect,” Arizona state Attorney General Kris Mayes told the Associated Press.

Shortly after the new ban took effect, the Arizona legislature devolved into a state of chaos, with Republicans blocking discussions to repeal the ban. In a dramatic show, Democrats responded by chanting “shame” at their colleagues across the aisle.

The near-total abortion ban from 1864—before Arizona was even a state—offers no exceptions for instances of rape or incest. But some Republicans in the state, especially the ones currently on the campaign trail, immediately came out against it. That includes Senate candidate Kari Lake, who claimed the draconian ban was “out of line with where the people of this state are,” despite having aggressively fought for it in multiple political campaigns and calling the 1864 legislation a “great law.”

Other Arizona Republicans who conveniently came out against it include Representative David Schweikert, Representative Juan Ciscomani, and former Republican Governor Doug Ducey, even though he was responsible for appointing four of the justices who brought the ban back to life.

Meanwhile, Republicans are still working on their own plans to permanently rid the state of abortion access, including one plot to introduce an abortion-restricting measure on November’s ballot with the hopes of confusing voters.

The only solution, according to local Democratic leaders, is to vote. Democrats need to flip just two seats in each state chamber in order to obtain a majority.

“As Republicans regroup to defend their 15-week ban and work to undermine the upcoming abortion ballot measure in Arizona, we are focused on flipping the two seats in each chamber that will deliver Democratic majorities in Arizona’s legislature,” said Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee President Heather Williams in a statement. “Voters have an opportunity this year to deliver Democratic majorities by flipping just two seats in each chamber.”

This story has been updated.

The Democratic candidate for the House of Representatives has cruised to victory in a New York special election, dealing a further blow to Republicans’ slim majority in the chamber. 

State Senator Tim Kennedy defeated Republican Gary Dickson on Tuesday night in the solidly blue 26th district, which comprises the city of Buffalo and the surrounding suburbs. The special election was announced shortly after Representative Brian Higgins, a Democrat, resigned in February to take over a performing arts center in the district. President Joe Biden won the same district by 23 points in the 2020 elections. 

Now the makeup of the House is 217 Republicans to 213 Democrats, with five vacant seats. With their narrow majority and constant infighting, Republicans have rarely passed any significant legislation, with the exception of aid to Ukraine and Israel over the opposition of far-right representatives such as Marjorie Taylor Greene. This loss will only hurt future efforts.  

Greene has said she will push to oust Speaker Mike Johnson, but she has only rallied two other Republicans to her cause. Johnson himself only assumed the speakership in October thanks to a successful effort to push out the previous speaker, Kevin McCarthy, when he passed a legislative budget over the objections of his caucus’s far-right members. 

Johnson has more support from his party but less of a majority to work with than McCarthy, so a vote to remove him would depend a lot on the support of Democrats. Although they didn’t save the previous speaker, House Democrats have indicated they intend to back Johnson, in an effort to stave off pure mayhem. 

The president of the United Auto Workers union, Shawn Fain, on Wednesday condemned the brutal and excessive response to university student protest encampments across the country over the war in Gaza.

In a thread of posts to X (formerly Twitter), Fain criticized law enforcement actions against protesters and expressed support on behalf of the UAW for demonstrators.

“The UAW will never support the mass arrest or intimidation of those exercising their right to protest, strike, or speak out against injustice,” Fain said. “Our union has been calling for a ceasefire for six months. This war is wrong, and this response against students and academic workers, many of them UAW members, is wrong.”

“If you can’t take the outcry, stop supporting this war,” he added, in a stinging rebuke to politicians.

The UAW also represents student workers under its local 4811, which encompasses 48,000 academic student employees, graduate student researchers, academic researchers, and postdocs in the University of California system. The Gaza solidarity encampment on the University of California, Los Angeles campus was attacked by counterprotesters while police stood by.

Fain has not shied away from taking bold action since his election to head the UAW in March 2023. He led the union through a strike against the three largest American car companies last year and successfully negotiated a good deal for autoworkers, even ensuring electric vehicle battery workers would have union protection. He was not afraid to criticize Donald Trump and endorse Joe Biden in January, a key boost for Biden that earned Fain the ire of the belligerent former president. Most recently, the union won an unprecedented victory in Tennessee, successfully unionizing a Volkswagen plant.

Fain’s successful record means that the UAW’s support for a cease-fire in Gaza and those protesting for it cannot be discounted. The UAW under his leadership wields a lot of influence and has shown that its members know how to use it. Other politicians seeking the support of working people and younger voters, like those that the UAW represents, in the coming election would do well to follow their example.

After arresting 119 people participating in a Gaza solidarity protest at Columbia University on Tuesday, the New York City Police Department is suddenly aggressively pushing the narrative that participants weren’t actually students—but their evidence doesn’t hold up to even basic scrutiny.

Speaking on MSNBC’s Morning Joe Wednesday, NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Tarik Sheppard showcased “heavy industrial chains” and bike locks that he claimed officers encountered “on every door” of the university administrative building Hamilton Hall, where students locked themselves in after the university announced it had reached an “impasse” with protest negotiators. Sheppard, however, claimed that the materials must have arrived from someone off campus, purporting that “this is not what students bring to school.”

And yet, the materials were common city bicycle locks, advertised and sold by campus security.

In the frenzy to beat an already saturated news environment to the punch, mainstream media outlets jumped on the misinformation bandwagon, doing their part to spread details before bothering to verify them. CNN reiterated the “outside agitator” line well into Tuesday night, even after award-winning Columbia-based news sources such as the WKCR radio station fact-checked them with on-the-ground reporting.

In another neglectful instance, CBS New York’s Ali Bauman claimed that New York City Hall sources had told her that the “wife of a known terrorist is with protestors” at the university. She later deleted the post, but not before it reached nearly 250,000 people.

Meanwhile, the international criminal court at The Hague is weighing whether or not to charge Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with war crimes as the country’s war on Gaza claims so many lives that local authorities say they can no longer keep count. More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 77,000 Palestinians have been injured in the conflict, according to data from the Gaza Health Ministry. Most of the victims have been women and children.

Israel has advanced its attacks on the beleaguered nation by blocking humanitarian aid from reaching those who need it. Israel has also utilized mass starvation, as well as blocking or destroying access to critical resources such as water, food, fuel, electricity, and medical aid.

Peaceful protest encampments at colleges and universities across the country protesting the institutions’ relationships with the Israeli government and weapons manufacturers have come under brutal attack, with police playing a heavy part. 

At UCLA, counterprotesters attacked the student-led encampment Tuesday night by tearing down barricades and plywood surrounding it. They shouted, “Second Nakba!” referring to the mass displacement and attacks on Palestinians when Israel was founded in 1948, as well as insults and slurs. 

According to the Los Angeles Times, the counterprotesters wore black clothing and black masks, and threw pieces of wood and even fireworks at the encampment. Local TV station Fox 11’s account had a similar description, adding that counterprotesters initially used pepper spray, until some members of the encampment began spraying it back. 

Where were police and security when this was happening? According to The Guardian, their response was lacking. Police in riot gear initially formed a line near the camp but didn’t immediately move to separate protesters and counterprotesters. The campus newspaper, The Daily Bruin, said that four of its reporters were followed and also assaulted. 

At Columbia University in New York, police were directly involved, moving to clear out an academic building that protesters had taken over. NYPD officers showed up on campus with an armored vehicle, using a ladder to enter the building, and made more than 300 arrests.

As the arrested students were led away with their hands in zip ties, supporters cheered for them and chanted, “Let them go.” 

Police cracked down on protests across the city, including violently breaking up protests at City University of New York, a move that a Guardian reporter called “excessive.”

The scenes from other universities across the country were just as shocking. Police moved to break up an encampment at Tulane University in New Orleans with guns drawn, arresting 14 people.  

At the University of Arizona at Tucson, police used nonlethal chemicals to disperse protesters. 

The excessive use of force on nonviolent protesters could all have been avoided. At Northwestern University in Illinois, university officials negotiated a deal with students to increase transparency on investments and fund Palestinian professors and students. At Wesleyan University in Connecticut, President Michael Roth issued a measured statement that refrained from attacking a student protest encampment. 

“The protest has been non-violent and has not disrupted normal campus operations. As long as it continues in this way, the University will not attempt to clear the encampment,” Roth said.

Overall, the national media could do a far better job of articulating what students are pushing for: an end to America’s unconditional support for a brutal ally’s war, and for their universities to end their complicity with that ally. Congress should recognize the brutal assault on academic freedom and free speech, instead of condemning the protesters. 

Most of all, American leaders should end their support for a genocide by ending arms sales to Israel. But none of that is happening right now, and until it does, protests will continue in one form or another no matter how violently the police respond. 

Florida’s new abortion ban went into effect on Wednesday, terminating access to the medical procedure past six weeks of pregnancy—and wiping out access for much of the southeastern United States.

The new law will prohibit abortion well before a lot of people even realize they’re pregnant, and just one week before drugstore pregnancy tests can detect pregnancy hormones in their earliest, and least reliable, window. The restriction will force patients in need of the procedure to seek treatment in North Carolina, where abortion is banned after 12 weeks, or even further.

Governor Ron DeSantis pushed the law through in April 2023 while campaigning for president, despite dissent from within the state. The move was viewed as something that could prove popular with some voters in swing states such as Iowa, but DeSantis’s presidential bid fell apart when he announced in January that he would be withdrawing from the race—and left Florida holding the bag.

“This is the biggest change to the abortion access landscape since Roe was overturned,” Stephanie Loraine Piñeiro, executive director of Florida Access Network, told The New Republic’s Melissa Gira Grant. “This is being done to further decimate the abortion access landscape in a way that you can’t come back from.”

Prior to the ban, Florida allowed abortion up to 15 weeks, making the state a haven for people seeking the medical procedure in the South. The six-week ban passed alongside similarly restrictive bans in neighboring states, meaning that now, abortion access throughout the entire region has been crippled.

Backlash to Florida’s new law has been extreme, with more than a million Floridians signing a petition to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution and putting abortion rights on the ballot in November. That initiative, known as Amendment Four, would protect abortion until “fetal viability” at approximately 24 weeks. Still, a possible win in the second half of the year will come “on the backs” of people who will have to suffer now, giving birth “when they didn’t want to,” executive director of the Chicago Abortion Fund Megan Jeyifo told NPR.

As state violence ramped up against student-led Gaza solidarity protests across the country late Tuesday, Donald Trump couldn’t seem to put his thoughts together.

In a jumbled word salad, Trump hopped from buzzword to buzzword on the issue, and the result is a big nothingburger.

“You look at the antisemitism, the hatred of Israel by so many people,” Trump told Fox News. “You go back 10 years, Israel was protected by Congress. And now, Congress is just doing numbers that are unbelievable with I think a very, very small group of people within Congress, and it’s gotta stop.”

The New York Police Department violently uprooted student protests at Columbia University and City College of New York at the behest of Mayor Eric Adams late Tuesday night, making 282 arrests and indiscriminately attacking activists, students, and members of the press. The upheaval, during which police also threatened to arrest the dean of one of the country’s top journalism schools for shielding the media’s First Amendment right to cover the event, shocked international human rights and press freedom advocates, and even other local lawmakers, who appeared more able in the moment of conflict to voice their opinions than the GOP presidential candidate.

“If any kid is hurt tonight, responsibility will fall on the mayor and [university] presidents,” wrote New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. “Other leaders and schools have found a safe, de-escalatory path. This is the opposite of leadership and endangers public safety. A nightmare in the making.”

Protest-related arrests were also made at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Tulane University. Meanwhile, authorities at the University of California Los Angeles allowed a mob of pro-Israel supporters to beat and attack the student encampment with weapons that appeared to include fireworks, pepper spray, and tear gas.

The international criminal court at The Hague is weighing whether or not to charge Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with war crimes as the country’s war on Gaza claims so many lives that local authorities say they can no longer keep count. More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 77,000 Palestinians have been injured in the conflict, according to data from the Gaza Health Ministry. Most of the victims have been women and children.

Israel has advanced its attacks on the beleaguered nation by blocking humanitarian aid from reaching those who need it. Israel has also utilized mass starvation, as well as blocking or destroying access to critical resources such as water, food, fuel, electricity, and medical aid.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is now in the doghouse with her fellow Republicans.

More than a week ago, an advance copy of her new book revealed that she shot and killed her pet puppy allegedly because it wasn’t well behaved. After receiving backlash, Noem proceeded to double down, and now her Republican colleagues aren’t holding back.

“I didn’t eat my dog. I didn’t shoot my dog. I loved my dog, and my dog loved me,” Utah Senator Mitt Romney told HuffPost Tuesday evening. During his 2012 run for president, Romney was criticized for a story where he tied his family’s dog to the roof of his car during a road trip with his family.

North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis said Noem was “obviously not an experienced dog trainer because I’ve seen ill-behaved dogs are usually a reflection of their owner.” Tillis, who loves dogs so much that he hosts a “bipawtisan” dog parade for Halloween every year in Washington, noted that most dog owners would “go find someone that would actually take the dog and train it, rehabilitate it.”

In the House of Representatives, several Republicans said Noem’s story hurt their opinion of the governor and that they wouldn’t want her as Donald Trump’s running mate. When asked if the dog story would hurt Noem’s chances, Representative Nicole Malliotakis said to Politico, “It does for me.”

“The worst part of it is that it wasn’t a hit job. She volunteered the information. So, when somebody tells you who they are, believe them,” added Malliotakis, who is known to carry her puppy Luna around the Capitol.

One representative, speaking anonymously, said they didn’t think Noem “was ever a serious [running mate] contender,” making Noem’s revelation—a clear bid to boost her chances as Trump’s potential vice presidential pick—all the more embarrassing. The lawmaker added that the dog story would rule Noem out anyway because it’s “too much of a distraction.”

The Trump campaign apparently agrees, as one campaign official told Semafor that “Governor Noem just keeps proving over and over that she’s a lightweight.”

“We can’t afford a Kamala problem,” the official added, referring to Vice President Kamala Harris.

Noem admitted to deliberately killing her 14-month-old pet dog Cricket in her upcoming book, No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong With Politics and How We Move America Forward. She called the dog “untrainable,” “dangerous to anyone she came in contact with,” and “less than worthless … as a hunting dog.”

“It’s a story that doesn’t go away,” said Representative Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota to Politico. “And it’s not a good story.”

Two months after announcing it, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene claims she’s finally going to file a motion to vacate House Speaker Mike Jonhson sometime next week.

“Next week, I am gonna be calling this motion to vacate,” Greene said at a press conference Wednesday morning, calling Johnson a “uniparty” lawmaker for getting the Democrats to back him and claiming that the “American people need to see a recorded vote.”

Greene filed a motion to vacate in March after Johnson worked with Democrats and Republicans in the Senate to pass a $1.2 trillion omnibus bill, torching him for accomplishing one of the legislature’s primary annual responsibilities: funding the government.

In the months since she announced her intentions to undermine the Republican House leader, Greene has had just a small handful of GOP defectors join her. But when pressed about who her tiny cohort would prefer to have run the House, Greene simply said “we have people,” and then said she wouldn’t be “naming names.”

Johnson dismissed Greene’s motion as “wrong for the Republican Conference, wrong for the institution, and wrong for the country.”

When the vote does come to a head, Johnson’s seat appears to be, effectively, safe. Both Republicans and Democratic leadership have come out in support of the speaker, who in the seven months since he took the gavel has been forced to foster bipartisanship on controversial legislation ranging from foreign aid packages to domestic surveillance programs.

And despite what Greene has described as a “slimy back room deal,” Johnson insisted Tuesday that he hadn’t sought help from any Democrats to save his skin. Instead, Democrats seem to have decided on their own to support Johnson.

“At this moment, upon completion of our national security work, the time has come to turn the page on this chapter of Pro-Putin Republican obstruction,” wrote the Democratic leaders of the House in a joint statement issued Tuesday. “We will vote to table Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Motion to Vacate the Chair. If she invokes the motion, it will not succeed.”

Greene’s strategy, meanwhile, hasn’t panned out half as well for her. The Georgian’s repeated threats to oust Johnson with such meager support has backed her into a corner. If she calls the vote off now, she’ll look weak. But the apparent bit of political theater isn’t earning her any allies: even the ultimate chaos-inducing candidate, Donald Trump, supports Johnson’s tenure.

In a Tuesday interview on NewsNation’s The Hill, Johnson threw his own shade at Greene.

“Bless her heart,” the Louisiana lawmaker said when asked if he considers her a serious lawmaker. “I don’t think she is proving to be. No. I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about her.”

This story has been updated.