For the last 72 hours, the question among pretty much every Democrat - and even some Republicans - is what is happening in Washington D.C. and why? Why did eight Senators who caucus with Democrats align with Republicans in a vote to reopen the federal government.
Retired Democratic Congressman Dan Kildee has seen - and been in - similar positions during his 12 years in Congress. He joins Zoe Clark and Rick Pluta on this week’s It’s Just Politics to try and understand the Senate Democrats’ decision, what Democrats can learn from it, and what he would tell angry voters.
Meanwhile, Trump pardons Michigan’s “fake electors” and new legal filings in the marijuana tax lawsuit
Also this week on It’s Just Politics: two Michigan legal stories making headlines. First, President Donald Trump preemptively pardoned Michigan’s so-called “fake electors” this week but the pardons only cover federal crimes. The group of more than a dozen Republicans who allegedly tried to overturn the 2020 election were charged under state law but a district court judge tossed out the charges in September. Will the Michigan Attorney General appeal the decision?
And, the state is asking a Court of Claims judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the marijuana industry challenging Michigan’s new tax on cannabis. The state’s new legal filing asks the judge to determine the new 24% wholesale tax on marijuana is not at odds with the 2018 voter-approved initiative that legalized recreational pot in the state. The state is arguing the wholesale tax does not actually amend the marijuana initiative and, so, it did not require legislative supermajorities to be enacted. The next step is oral arguments on the merits of the lawsuit and the state’s motion for summary judgment. The judge set a November 25th hearing date and promised a quick decision to leave time for appeals before the tax takes effect on January 1st.
Get caught up:
- Legal questions surround Michigan’s new tax on marijuana
- From pot tax to pot fix? Michigan lawmakers mull new regulations
- Pot for potholes: New marijuana tax faces lawsuit after budget signed
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