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More than 1,600 Michigan Democrats have selected the leadership team for the 2023-24 election cycle.
Chairperson Lavora Barnes was unanimously reelected, and joining her team in Lansing are vice chairs Rep. Jason Morgan and Sen. Erika Geiss. Chairperson Barnes talks with both of them on this week’s podcast.
Also in the news this week —
- Governor Whitmer has sent the Legislature a budget that puts a priority on lowering taxes for working families, investing in Michigan education, and investing in making Michigan the next Silicon Valley.
- President Biden’s State of the Union Address has touched a nerve with Republicans by correctly pointing out multiple statements by Republicans calling for cuts and even ending Social Security and Medicare benefits. While the GOP leaders in the House and Senate say it’s not GOP policy, influential members in both chambers are on record calling for the cuts.
- Attorney General Dana Nessel and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services are reminding Michigan consumers to be aware of phishing text messages that claim their EBT benefit cards are locked. The message includes a phone number to call for help. Responding to these messages may allow scammers to access the card’s funds.
- There are still more Republican scandals in Lansing. This time, the investigations are into former House Speakers Rick Johnson and Jason Wentworth.
Democratic Party State Convention
- Michigan Democrats take a victory lap at convention, reelect leader – mLive
- Michigan Democrats reelect party chairwoman Lavora Barnes
Whitmer Budget
- Gov. Whitmer Announces Fiscal Year 2024 Budget: Building a Brighter Future
- What Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wants to fund in $79B budget
- 5 highlights of Whitmer’s record-setting state budget plan
- Whitmer, Dems want ‘inflation relief’ checks for all taxpayers
- Michigan inflation relief checks may be in jeopardy, even as tax cut passes
- Gov. Gretchen Whitmer pitches 9 percent boost in Michigan school spending
- Democrats, out of power for decades, passing bills in record time in Lansing
- Whitmer laid out talent attraction plan in annual address
- What you may have missed in Whitmer’s budget recommendation
- Civil rights department would grow by one third under Whitmer budget
Whitmer’s Lowering MI Costs agenda
- U.S. Automakers Aim to Make Detroit the Next Silicon Valley
- Michigan Democrats seek to codify LGBTQ civil-rights protections
- businesses
- UPDATE: Michigan fights back attacks on LBQTQ+ students
- Trump vows to use DOJ and Congress to make being transgender illegal while promoting the ‘nuclear family’
- The College Board Just Watered Down Its New AP African American History Course
- The College Board Strips Down Its A.P. Curriculum for African American Studies
- DeSantis targets state college for overhaul with new conservative identity
- DeSantis trolls with ‘tax-free gas stove’ proposal — there’s just one big problem with that – Raw Story
State of the Union
- Biden Lays Down Economic Challenge to House Republicans in State of the Union Address
- Opinion | Biden’s State of the Union shows he is no punching bag – The Washington Post
- GOP’s John Thune Sees US Debt-Ceiling Hike as Vehicle for Budget Cuts – Bloomberg
- House Republicans eye Social Security, Medicare in debt limit fight
- Republican House Conservatives Threaten Debt Limit Default to Cut Social Programs
- Entitlement, Spending Cap Plans Linked by GOP to Debt-Limit Deal
GOP Crime Watch
- State officials indicate a criminal investigation is underway into Sen. Bumstead
- Insider: Wentworth-linked nonprofit spent $137,000 on travel
- Marijuana group quietly gave cash to Michigan lawmakers’ nonprofits
- Feds investigate ex-House Speaker Johnson for bribery in pot licensing
- FBI raids pot lobbyist’s home in bribery probe involving ex-Speaker
- ‘Dark money’ nonprofit at center of yet another Lansing scandal
- The crimes Trump or his allies could be charged with in Fulton County (Georgia)
- Trump campaign paid researchers to prove 2020 fraud but kept findings secret
Presidential Primary