Kavanaugh Hearings Could Provide Template For Trump Impeachment Trial | More Than 500 Anti-Abortion Measures Passed In States Since 2010

January 8, 2020

Carl Hulse with The New York Times compares the latest development in PRESIDENT TRUMP’S forthcoming impeachment trial with what happened during BRETT KAVANAUGH’S Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Hulse writes, “With the former national security adviser JOHN R. BOLTON now volunteering to testify in the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump, the circumstances of the toxic 2018 Kavanaugh showdown could provide a template for what to expect as senators extend their clash over the ground rules for opening the proceeding.”

Tony Mauro with The National Law Journal reports on the decline in gender diversity at the U.S. solicitor general’s office due to recent departures that have left only four women out of 16 total assistant positions in that office.

“You’re forgiven if in the holiday blur you missed that a federal appeals court in New Orleans has once again put the future of the Affordable Care Act in doubt. Or if you missed the news last week that a group of Democratic state attorneys general has asked the Supreme Court to hear the case in this term — which ends in June. That would mean a decision could come right in the middle of the 2020 presidential and congressional campaigns.” That’s Julie Rovner with NPR getting us up to speed on the latest battle over the ACA and explaining why the stakes “couldn’t be higher” for Democrats and Republicans alike.

Reid Wilson with The Hill takes a look at the pending battles over abortion access happening in states across the country. Wilson explains how the recent uptick of anti-abortion legislation reflects the conservative movement’s aggressive, determined approach. “After a virtual stalemate for much of the first decade of the century, the last 10 years have seen a spike in abortion restriction measures. States have passed more than 500 abortion restriction measures since 2010, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights. In 2019 alone, 17 states passed a total of 58 new measures restricting abortions. About half of those would ban most or all abortions, while the remainder focused on new restrictions on abortion clinics or doctors who perform the procedures.”