It was a week consumed by a debate that America so richly deserved — does the voice say “Yanny” or “Laurel”?
That raging battle might have made you forget that the U.S. opened its embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, which was celebrated by Republicans and more than a few Democrats. Lots of other stuff happened this week, even though it already seems like a few months ago:
1. Supreme Court legalizes sports betting
In a blow to sports leagues and a boon to state’s rights, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of legalized sports betting on Monday, opening the flood gates for people to bet on anything from baseball to college athletics. States are already gearing up for what is to come. The state legislature of New Jersey, which won its case over the NCAA Monday, unveiled a draft bill Monday to allow sports betting, and said it expects to have it signed into law by the end of June.
While the victory is huge for states, the loss for sports is easy to see. Some in the sporting arena already believe it’s a bad move and will have many unintended consequences moving forward.
“It scares me to death,’’ baseball umpire Joe West, president of the umpire’s union, told USA Today. “I’m not worried about any of my guys doing anything [illegal], but I am worried about their security. People won’t have just a rooting interest in games, but now they’re gambling on them.”
2. Trump filibusters the Senate over lunch
Trump appeared at the Capitol Tuesday for lunch with Senate Republicans. During the hour-long meeting, Trump spoke for the vast duration of the time, giving senators a taste of their own medicine and filibustering almost the entire hour.
“We kind of ran out of time,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., when asked why no one asked Trump about the comments made by a White House staffer last week about Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., which some had anticipated to come up in the meeting. Trump took two questions — one from Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., another from Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. -— after a lengthy presentation, where he discussed North Korea and the midterm elections, primarily.
3. Gina Haspel wins confirmation as Democrats jump on board
Despite some opposition within Republican ranks, Gina Haspel was confirmed to become the first woman to lead the CIA. While Haspel hit some bumps in the road, including McCain calling on his colleagues to spurn her nomination due to her role in the use of enhanced interrogation techniques, she got over the hump due to support from Senate Democrats.
Even more surprising, it wasn’t just red-state Democrats who are up for re-election in the fall who backed her. Among those who backed her were Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., ranking member on the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., along with four Democrats from Republican-leaning states.
While some incumbents up for re-election voted for her, almost as notable were the ones who did not. Among those who voted against Haspel were Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., both of whom find themselves targeted by Republicans as they look ahead to November.
4. Republicans push to cancel August recess
For the second straight year, a horde of Senate Republicans are pushing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to cancel the August recess as they try to avoid a government shutdown at the end of September and continue to push through nominees.
Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., and 15 other Republicans wrote a letter calling on McConnell to cancel the month-long recess, and according to sources, the Kentucky Republican is considering it. One main reason is there is only one truly vulnerable Senate Republican — Heller in Nevada — and upwards of eight vulnerable Senate Democrats. Canceling recess would mean those incumbents would miss valuable time to campaign in their states, while also giving a boost to Senate GOP candidates. Additionally, Heller doesn’t seem upset by the idea given that he signed onto the letter to McConnell.
5. Pennsylvania primary makes history
In a fascinating race that was hardly covered outside of Pennsylvania, Lt. Gov. Mike Stack lost his bid for re-election and became a footnote in history. Stack is the first sitting lieutenant governor in the state to lose renomination for the post. Not only did he not win, but he finished fourth. All of his comes after Gov. Tom Wolf stripped Stack of his state police detail and other staff after an investigation into allegations that Stack and his wife were verbally abusing officers on his detail.
John Fetterman, a supporter of Bernie Sanders, who stands an imposing 6-foot-8 and prefers short-sleeved Dickies and jeans to normal work attire, took home the nomination. Fetterman finished second in the Democratic Senate primary back in 2016 to Katie McGinty, who eventually lost to Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa.
6. Harry Reid undergoes surgery for pancreatic cancer.
Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid underwent surgery on Monday to deal with pancreatic cancer, which was discovered during a routine screening. According to Reid’s family, the surgery, which removed a tumor from his pancreas, was a success, but he will nevertheless undergo chemotherapy in the coming weeks and months.
Reid left the Senate in 2016 and was replaced by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.
