On the next episode of “Axios on HBO,” Axios national political correspondent Jonathan Swan interviews Rep. Liz Cheney.
- Catch the full interview and much more on Sunday, May 23 at 6 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and HBO Max.
On the next episode of “Axios on HBO,” Axios national political correspondent Jonathan Swan interviews Rep. Liz Cheney.
Governors are seeing their pandemic-related broad reach and executive powers wane as the public health emergency subsides and the necessity for restrictions and emergency action ends.
Why it matters: Governors took on outsize roles from Maine to California as much of the burden fell to the states. In some, their powers are about to revert to the norm. In others, their expanded reach is triggering a re-examination of whether they should have such authority in the future.
Between the lines: Emergency situations often test the limits of executive reach, regardless of political party. And it’s usually met with opposition from the other side of the aisle.
In Pennsylvania, voters will decide today whether the governor should continue to have the same powers that have been executed this past year.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, another Democrat, has faced significant backlash in the exercise of his gubernatorial power.
Of note: Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, entered the pandemic with polls consistently showing him as the most popular governor in the country.
Dozens of Texas Democratic lawmakers held a press conference in D.C. on Tuesday to urge Congress to pass federal voting rights legislation, one day after they fled Texas to block the Republican-led legislature from passing restrictive new voting laws.
Driving the news: The lawmakers acknowledged that the gambit to prevent the Texas House from achieving quorum is only a temporary solution, noting they "are living right now on borrowed time in Texas."
What they're saying: "Our intent is to stay out and kill this bill, this session, and use the intervening time — I think 24, 25 days now — before the end of this session to implore [Congress] to pass federal voting rights legislation to protect voters in Texas and across the country," Texas State Rep. Chris Turner said at the conference.
The big picture: Senate Republicans last month filibustered the "For The People Act," a sweeping federal elections overhaul that would create national standards for early voting and voter registration, end partisan gerrymandering, reform campaign finance and ethics laws, and more.
What to watch: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he would be meeting with the Texas Democrats later today "to plot out strategy and to praise them for what they are doing," per CNN.