OPINION: The Trump Card In Abortion Debate. Donald Trump laid down his marker of how he would further his and his party’s agenda to outlaw a woman’s right to choose last week when he stated “without me there would be no 6 weeks, 10 weeks, 15 weeks, or whatever is finally agreed to.” That is his declaration—and honestly his party’s no matter if he is the nominee or not in 2024—that he will sign off on any measure passed by a Republican Congress for a national abortion ban. Abortion will be a topline issue moving forward for both parties: Dems will not rest until the rights of women had for 50 years under Roe v Wade are restored and Republicans will not be satisfied until they are able to pass a bill through Congress that makes the U.S. the 25th country to ban abortions. Trump and Republicans should be taken at their word as they want to continue to take the rights away from women across the country, including in New Jersey. Their rhetoric followed by their actions over the last year has shown you where they want to go and how far they are willing to go to accomplish their goals. North-JerseyNews.com
The Nebraska Legislature passed a bill restricting access to abortion and gender-affirming care late last week. Lawmakers amended its bill restricting gender-affirming care for youth to include a ban on most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy after a separate bill banning most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy failed to advance in April. The Wall Street Journal
President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) agreed to meet May 22 to try to jump-start talks aimed at averting a default on the nation’s debt. The resumption of meetings capped a tumultuous stretch of negotiations that faltered over the weekend as the two sides clashed over Republicans’ demands to cut spending in exchange for raising the debt limit. The debt ceiling, the statutory limit on the government’s power to borrow to pay its obligations, is projected to be reached as soon as June 1. The New York Times
Rep. Josh Gottheimer recently reintroduced the Invest to Protect Act, designed to provide targeted investments in small and mid-sized police departments across the country. The criteria would be law enforcement agencies with fewer than 200 sworn officers. “The bipartisan Invest to Protect Act will make critical investments in our departments and ensure that our police officers in smaller towns across Northern New Jersey, and our nation, have the resources and training they need to keep themselves and communities safe,” said Gottheimer while speaking in Fort Lee on May 5. North-JerseyNews.com
Meanwhile, Reps. Bill Pascrell and Mikie Sherrill separately questioned the motives of lawmakers across the aisle in rejecting amendments to help fund North Jersey police for what they considered partisan messaging bills. “Instead of working to bolster public safety, House Republicans pushed messaging bills that do diddly-squat to fund or support the police,” said Pascrell. “(This) hollow resolution won’t put more officers on our streets or get departments the training and resources they need to keep our communities safe…Our cops deserve better than partisan gambits and empty gestures.” North-JerseyNews.com
A state Superior Court has temporarily prohibited the Hanover Township Board of Education from implementing a policy requiring school staff to disclose to parents the gender identity and sexual orientation of its LGBTQ+ students. The court order, which remains in effect until the court can hear arguments from both sides on May 30, was made in response to an emergency request filed by state Attorney General Matthew Platkin after he sued the school district May 17 for implementing the policy, which the state says would effectively require teachers to “out” LBGTQ+ students. The order. The Daily Record
Libraries and public schools in New Jersey would be prohibited from banning books — and would lose state funding if they did so — under new legislation introduced by Democrats. Public libraries would be required to adopt the American Library Association’s “library bill of rights” or a similar policy under the bill sponsored by Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-29) and Assemblywoman Mila Jasey (D-27). That document tasks libraries with challenging censorship, bars book removal for “partisan or doctrinal disapproval,” directs libraries to offer books and other materials that present “all points of view on current and historical issues,” and forbids removal or restriction of materials because of objections about the “origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.” New Jersey Monitor
Russia’s claim of victory in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut suggests that the brutal urban combat that marked the deadliest battle of its war in Ukraine might be over. While Moscow is trumpeting a “Mission Accomplished” moment in its war, Ukraine — even as it insists Bakhmut has not completely fallen — sees an opening to seize the initiative from the city’s outskirts if Russian forces are no longer pressing forward inside the city’s center. The New York Times
U.S. and NATO leaders are coalescing around a vision for shoring up Ukrainian defenses and seeking to guarantee the country’s sovereign future, comparing it with what Israel has now. An Israeli-style security agreement for Ukraine would give priority to arms transfers and advanced technology and would be linked to a process of moving toward future membership in North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for Ukraine but stop short of actually making NATO a party to any conflict with Russia. The Wall Street Journal
Police officers across New Jersey will be extra vigilant over the next two weeks looking for drivers and their passengers who still refuse to wear seat belts. The state’s annual crackdown on unbuckled people—the “Click It or Ticket” campaign—runs through June 4. Overall, 134 law enforcement agencies listed are receiving $798,350 in grant money this year to help pay for the two-week seatbelt crackdown. NJ.com
New legislation in New Jersey will allow those with communication disorder diagnoses or autism to indicate the fact on their state identification cards. The bipartisan legislation (A-2369/S-761) was signed into law May 15 by Gov. Phil Murphy which will allow such individuals to request an official indication of their diagnosis on their state driver’s license or non-driver identification. “A simple notation on a license will help law enforcement officers recognize that a driver may have trouble responding appropriately through no fault of their own, which can help reduce anxiety for those drivers as well as officers,” said Assemblywoman Aura Dunn (R-25). North-JerseyNews.com
Gov. Phil Murphy intends to nominate a member of his cabinet, Banking and Insurance Commissioner Marlene Caride, to serve as a Superior Court Judge. If Caride receives signoff from the four state senators from Bergen County, she could be on a path to a confirmation vote next month. A former Assemblywoman from the 36th Legislative District, Caride could serve on the bench until she reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70 in August 2033. New Jersey Globe
State Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner said there have been an average of 60 or more judicial vacancies nearly every month for the last 2½ years, with 20 more coming by the end of the year and six in the next two weeks. “Every case has its own story. Every case matters,” Rabner said. “This problem will not simply go away. For the Judiciary as a whole, we need to see the number of vacancies reduced to a more manageable level of no more than 25 to 30 positions.” The Record
A coalition of more than 20 mayors from across New Jersey have signed a letter demanding the White House apologize for denying Prospect Park Mayor Mohamed Khairullah, the state’s longest-serving Muslim mayor, entry to a White House celebration and disband the discriminatory watch list that allegedly caused his exclusion. “As mayors who value transparency and the U.S. legal system of due process, we urge you to provide Mayor Khairullah with substantive reasons as to why he was denied admission. We also ask you to issue a formal apology to Mayor Khairullah, initiate a review of his status on the watchlist, and to extend another invitation to him to meet with President (Joe) Biden to proudly represent his constituents,” the letter states. NJ.com
Legislation that appears aimed at limiting Republican Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden’s political power is on the fast track in the Legislature, winning approval in a Senate and Assembly committee just days after it was introduced. The bill would bar county constitutional officers — sheriffs, clerks and surrogates — from serving as chairs, co-chairs or vice chairs of county political parties. The legislation drew outrage and recrimination from Republican lawmakers and Golden himself, who called it retaliatory, politically motivated and unconstitutional. Golden is the Monmouth County GOP chair. PoliticoNJ
An arbitrator has ruled that Jersey City is not obliged to pay a group of union employees double-time for the duration of the COVID-19 state of emergency, a decision Mayor Steve Fulop says will save the city as much as $15 million. The 34-page decision, released May 18, said the the union — despite contract language that says its workers are to be paid double-time for all work hours during a state of emergency — failed to file a timely grievance (within 10 days of the incident), as clearly spelled out in the union contract. Union officials, who won a protracted legal battle for overtime wages related to a 2018 winter storm state of emergency, plan to fight the arbitrator’s ruling. The Jersey Journal
And finally…There will be an easy way around the recently-closed Asbury Park Casino breezeway via a new beachfront path. NJ.com
