Christian Faith An Important Part Of Who Senator Pretends To Be
WASHINGTON—Stressing that the facade informs nearly every aspect of his daily life, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) told reporters Thursday that his Christian faith is an important part of who he pretends to be. 'Whether I'm delivering a speech calling for theocracy in front of dozens of cameras or talking to my children at the kitchen table about God's separate roles for men and women, I mean it when I say the mask I wear in public is the same one I wear at home,' said the 45-year-old lawmaker, who confirmed that Christianity has been the foundation of his public-facing identity ever since he was a shameless young prep school student with his sights set on Yale Law School. 'The power of telling people you pray is incredible. My Christian faith is a pretense that's only grown stronger as I've aged. It's so strong that, sometimes, I almost forget it's all an act.' At press time, Hawley added that he is grateful to represent all of his Christian constituents through the faith he uses as a guise to seek power.
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Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
Letters: Route 66 series neglects to capture the beauty along the road in New Mexico
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There is a reason New Mexico is called 'The Land of Enchantment.'I am so disappointed that the Tribune so obviously politicized its series on Route 66 with this entry on June 22, 'Feeling less at home at an Oklahoma protest.' It turns an otherwise so interesting and meaningful series of stories, dear to me from my family's road trips in the 1960s to Arizona and beyond, into a biased article. I will not continue to read the series in future I address letter writer Joanna Summa's preposterous reason ('Moral code is missing,' June 22) for trying to Christianize public schools? In a nutshell, her letter says that some people support a mentally disturbed individual who is accused of murder, so we need to hang a religious document in public schools so kids will learn not to kill. Presumably, it follows that if this individual and his equally disturbed followers had seen the commandments on their second grade classroom wall, things would have been different. Does she really not think that the vast majority of children know they aren't supposed to kill anybody? If so, then she is supposing an utter failure in parenting. This is the kind of thing a child learns at home from the very beginning and, if in a churchgoing family, probably in church services. Hanging Christian propaganda in classrooms is not going to help at all. This is the same shtick the religious right has tried for years to turn our public schools into Christian indoctrination centers, completely contrary to our Anne, in his op-ed 'Ending LGBTQ+ youth support for the 988 hotline puts Chicago teens at risk' (June 25), shows strong wisdom and maturity beyond his years as he advocates for teens in genuine need of this hotline service. These teens are in need of being met where they are, and Anne states the heart of the issue in making the point that 'removing a tailored option doesn't level the playing field — it erases it.' To keep the 'Press 3' option would mean not just the teens keeping their voice but also those who are trained, able and willing to be there for them and offer the genuine understanding, empathy and insight that is needed. I ask that those in charge of the decision-making keep this option for those who need it; they, too, would be on the side of York City just had an election using ranked choice voting. I've been reading a lot about how so many people would like that system to be used here. Be careful what you wish for. I'm old enough to remember when Harold Washington became the first Black mayor of Chicago. He would not have been elected if we had ranked choice voting. Jane Byrne and Richard M. Daley split the white vote in the Democratic primary, and their voters would have picked the other white candidate if there had been ranked his op-ed 'Northwestern needs better leadership to fight back against Donald Trump' (June 24), professor Luis A. Nunes Amaral writes: 'Graduate workers received a salary raise of approximately 25%. Federal grants would have helped absorb the bulk of those costs — meaning that the (university's) financial concerns arise not from the raise but from the actions of the (Donald) Trump administration.' How nice it must be for raises at a university to be paid for by someone else. As onetime British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said: 'The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money.' How obtuse it is to use an example that proves the opposite of the author's point. 'Of course, raises don't increase costs,' this professor appears to think. He should not be allowed within 300 feet of students or closing of the Gale Street Inn and the demise of many other restaurants due to staffing shortages reveal how important immigration is to our nation's economic stability. There are estimates that immigrants added about 5 million workers from 2020 to 2024, which makes it clear that our native labor force cannot make up for worker shortages if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement continues its zealous quest to track down all immigrants, including those who are law-abiding. Most immigrants, whether or not here legally, are not criminals. They are responsible for much of our economic growth, and they pay taxes. In addition to restaurants, their labor is extremely important in agriculture, service industries, day care, meatpacking, construction, hospitality, health care and home care. Even if native-born Americans were willing to handpick strawberries and tomatoes and butcher animals in meatpacking plants, there are simply not enough of them to do the work that is needed. Those who support and cheer every time ICE instills fear or conducts a raid should not complain when their favorite eatery closes. Or when scarcity occurs and prices skyrocket due to labor shortages in vital economic sectors.
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Republicans race toward crucial vote on Trump megabill despite uncertainties
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'We will find out tomorrow,' Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said with a laugh on Friday when asked if he has the votes. Republicans can lose no more than three members, and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has long said he is opposed to the bill as long as the $5 trillion debt ceiling hike is included. Beyond that, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) loudly proclaimed on Friday that he is a 'no' on proceeding to the bill over the Senate's planned rollback of an existing federal cap on provider taxes, a deeper cut to Medicaid than the freeze in the House-passed measure that Tillis prefers. Without changes, he insisted he would vote against it, saying it would be 'devastating' to the Tar Heel State as it could lose more than $30 billion as a result. Tillis is up for reelection next year and has warned about the political consequences of keeping that portion of the bill as is. 'I'm looking at this through a policy and political lens. 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Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) — who have bemoaned the lack of spending cuts in the massive package. The three have indicated they may vote as a bloc. Johnson told reporters on Friday night that he was still a holdout pending text, which arrived hours later. A pair of key moderates, Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), had also indicated they are in a similar spot absent text. Murkowski on Friday also indicated she wasn't happy with the provisions regarding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Asked briefly about the party's SNAP proposals on Friday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told The Hill, 'We're still in trouble on SNAP.' 'The implementation is still next to impossible for us,' she said. Leadership has made a concerted effort to court Murkowski in the final hours, though, as they plan to add additional grants tied to SNAP to the final language, with the aim of helping Alaska specifically. 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Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), the upper chamber's informal liaison to the House, has huddled and talked with key SALT members multiple times this week in search of a deal. Even after the Senate begins consideration of the bill, timing could be fluid. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has threatened to drag out proceedings by having the entire bill, which runs more than 1,000 pages, be read aloud on the floor by the Senate clerk. Johnson pulled a similar move in 2021 by having the clerk read the entire American Rescue Plan, an endeavor that lasted six hours. Mullin predicted that could take more than twice as much time — potentially delaying what will be a high-stakes weekend for Trump and leadership. Democrats are also expected to propose dozens of amendments designed to force Republicans into tough votes. 'It's clear we're not [going to have] unanimity on some of this. That's why God made votes. That's why God made amendments,' said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.). 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New York Post
13 hours ago
- New York Post
Senate GOP sets ‘aspirational' Saturday vote for Trump's ‘big beautiful bill'
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