Our Happiest Hour
AAF's latest on reconciliation, the SAVE ACT, the Strait of Hormuz, Artemis II and more...
Hello from Advancing American Freedom,
Though our request for a $500 million cash infusion from the government was denied, our Spirit(s) remain high here at AAF. Today we’re hosting our Fourth Friday Happy Hour. We’d love to have you there.
Conviviality isn’t the only thing AAF is serving this week; our scholars dropped a huge list of agenda items Congress can accomplish through reconciliation, analyzed US Naval capabilities in Iran, reflected on Artemis II, and warned about a union-boss-backed bill that’s picking up steam in the House.
As always, email John or Jace if you have questions!
Event Alert!
Fourth Friday Happy Hour: TODAY! 4:30 - 6:30 PM at 224 C St. NE, Washington, DC.
Don’t have any post-work plans? Now you do. Come join AAFF staff and friends at the C Street NE townhouse for a casual happy hour. Light appetizers and beverages will be provided.
What We’re Up To
20 Priorities for Reconciliation — Preston Brashers, Rachel Greszler, Austin Gae, Hans von Spakovsky, and Richard Stern
Reconciliation is a chance for Congress to go big and get results. That means funding DHS, enacting key pieces of the SAVE Act, defunding abortion providers, advancing pro-growth tax reform, cutting waste and fraud, and clearing the way for deregulation. In this report, AAF scholars lay out 20 concrete policy priorities to include in the package—plus a critical procedural safeguard to ensure the federal funding ban on abortion providers doesn’t lapse.
Read the Fox News coverage here.
Fact Sheet: Say No To Government Run Airlines — AAF Policy Department
The Trump Administration is contemplating a $500 million bailout of Spirit Airlines and could all but nationalize the business under the rumored terms of the deal. That’s not going to fly with us.
Fact Sheet: The Faster Labor Contracts Act — Rachel Greszler
144 Democrats and 1 Republican have signed a discharge petition on this bill, which gives government-appointed “arbitrators” the ability to impose labor terms on workers and employers that are binding for two years. Conservatives shouldn’t get anywhere near this thing in the first place, but especially not if it involves signing a discharge petition.
Our Navy was Built for this Moment in the Strait of Hormuz (Washington Examiner) — Ali Holcomb and Joel Griffith
“The U.S. did not tolerate piracy or pay ransoms in 1794, and we should not do so now. The Strait of Hormuz must be opened when the U.S. declares it so. The U.S. blockade will not be dictated by Iran.”
No Leniency for New Trump Tariffs (The Washington Times) — Marc Wheat
As soon as SCOTUS declared President Trump’s IEEPA tariffs unconstitutional, the administration put two more bullets in the chamber, Section 122 and Section 301 tariffs, to keep fighting the trade war. Both Section 122 and Section 301 tariffs are legally dubious, Marc argues.
Don’t Ban Data Centers – Fix Maine’s Energy Problem (Center Square) — Austin Gae
Instead of Maine lawmakers fixing their energy policies, they’re making data centers the scapegoat, and stifling their economy in the process.
SAVE America, SAVE the Senate (Civitas Outlook) — Thomas Jipping
Everyone across party lines agrees voters should prove who they are, but Democrat congressmen are fighting the SAVE Act. Is there a way to bring the SAVE America Act up for a final vote without a Democratic filibuster?
New Age of Space Exploration has Finally Begun — It’s About Time (Daily Caller) — Hans von Spakovsky
The Trump-Pence administration reinvigorated NASA to do its original job, explore space. Hans von Spakovsky recounts his childhood in Huntsville, Alabama, watching test rockets take off, meeting Wernher von Braun, and, like every kid his age, being captivated by outer-space. With the recent Artemis II expedition, NASA is reinvigorated and ready to go to work.
Justice Alito is the Jurist America Needs (Civitas Outlook) — John Malcolm
A quiet, unassuming, but immensely consequential, practical originalist: a review of Mollie Hemingway’s Biography of Samuel Alito — a man best known for serving on the Supreme Court and for appearing at an AAF-hosted dinner.
VP Pence Urges GOP to Block Taxpayer Funding for Planned Parenthood
Vice President Mike Pence warned Republicans that abortion providers like Planned Parenthood will once again receive federal funds on July 4th unless Congress acts. In a Fox News interview, he called on lawmakers to use reconciliation to keep abortion providers defunded and pointed to the other 19 priorities in our reconciliation report. Read it here
As ever,
John Shelton, VP of Policy
Advancing American Freedom