Nation
GOP senators drag their feet to run for re-election
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”682981″ player=”23886″ title=”Ronna%20McDaniel%20If%20Dems%20had%20nothing%20to%20hide%20they'd%20be%20fighting%20for%20election%20integrity%20with%20the%20GOP” duration=”3045″ description=”Sara brings in RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel to discuss how the Democrats are blocking and bullying Republicans and Trump supporters who are fighting to rest…” uploaddate=”2020-11-24″ thumbnailurl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/18168/thumb/682981_t_1606241238.png” contentUrl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/18168/sd/682981.mp4″]
Six Republican senators are still considering whether or not they’ll run for reelection in 2022. They include Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), John Thune(R-SD), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mike Lee (R-UT) and Patrick Leahy (R-VT).
Thune’s seat is possibly the most consequential, since he is the number two GOP senator. He’s been in office in 1996. When CNN asked him if he will run again, he told them “it’s a six-year commitment.”
On the other hand, Grassley has had 40 years of service before the midterm election. Grassley says he’ll decide “after I go snow-shoeing and cross-country skiing.”
Meanwhile, Murkowski and Lee have yet to officially announce that they will run for re-election. However, when it comes to Lee’s seat, Utah is likely to elect another Republican should he not run again.
You can follow Jenny Goldsberry on Twitter @jennyjournalism.
China
Chinese Communist Party gives funding and tax rebates to fentanyl producers
A 64-page report released Tuesday by the House Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) states China has been subsidizing the manufacturing and exporting of illicit fentanyl precursor chemicals and other synthetic narcotics through tax rebates and other means.
“Many of these substances are illegal under the PRC’s own laws and have no known legal use worldwide,” the 64-page report states. “Like its export tax rebates for legitimate goods, the CCP’s subsidizing of illegal drugs incentivizes international synthetic drug sales from the PRC. The CCP has never disclosed this program.”
The bipartisan investigation was led by Chairman Mike Gallagher (R., Wis.) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D., Ill.). Additional details were uncovered as to the extent of China’s role in the U.S. fentanyl epidemic, including that the CCP-run government gives monetary grants and awards to companies that illegally traffic fentanyl and other drugs.
National Review summarizes the report which also found that the CCP holds ownership interest in several Chinese companies tied to drug trafficking, impedes U.S.-led investigations into manufacturers producing fentanyl and precursors, allows the open sale of drugs on the Chinese internet, and fails to censor online content on narcotics set to be exported. Notably, the Chinese government censors content about domestic drug sales but not exported ones.
“These actions and omissions are abhorrent, violate the laws of nations, and have led to profound human suffering in the United States and around the world,” the report reads. “They also, as a factual matter, further the PRC’s strategic and economic interests.”
In his prepared opening remarks Tuesday morning, former U.S. attorney general Bill Barr called the months-long investigation and subsequent report “groundbreaking” as he testified before the congressional panel. “The Committee’s work has uncovered persuasive evidence that the PRC and CCP are not just bystanders; they are the prime movers,” Barr said. “They are knee deep in actively sponsoring, encouraging, and facilitating the production and export of fentanyl and fentanyl precursors for distribution in the United States.”
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