Susan Collins's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Stance on SCOTUS Pick
*By Conor White*
Republicans may be chomping at the bit to get another conservative justice on the Supreme Court and finally overturn the long-standing Roe v. Wade decision.
But Mother Jones's Ben Dreyfuss told Cheddar that a repeal of abortion rights ruling could, maybe ironically, spell disaster for the GOP.
"I think it's a massive risk both in the immediate term ー which is midterm elections ー but also a risk, which many people in the Republican party are aware of, in the long term," the senior editor said. "There's a big assemblage of evidence and thought that there's a lot of Republicans who don't actually want to overturn Roe, even if they are pro-life."
Many Republicans hope that whoever replaces Justice Anthony Kennedy on the nation's top court will reverse the 1973 landmark decision. But according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation poll, just 29 percent of Americans want to see the ruling overturned.
Even GOP Senator Susan Collins of Maine said over the weekend she wouldn't support an anti-abortion Supreme Court candidate. But because she also signaled she wouldn't specifically ask the nominee to offer his or her opinion on the matter, Dreyfuss said President Donald Trump's pick will be confirmed in short order.
"She basically was saying as long as he or she doesn't come to the Senate and say, 'Just so you know I'm going to overturn Roe,' she'll support him," Dreyfuss explained, "which is very different than saying, 'I want to know how they feel about Roe, and if they don't answer, I will say no.'"
Kennedy announced last week he'd retire from the bench at the end of July. President Trump is expected to announce his nominee, the second of his administration, on July 9th.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/scotus-fight-heats-up).
The Cowboy State has become one of the world's top tax havens, according to the Pandora Papers, a trove of more than 11.9 million documents obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and The Washington Post. The papers reveal, among other things, how ultra-wealthy people from around the world move money into the U.S., invest, and spend it under a shroud of secrecy. Allison Tait, University of Richmond law professor, joined Cheddar to talk about Wyoming's laidback tax laws, their impact on the nation's economy, and provided some details on the financial arrangement known as the "cowboy cocktail."
Carlo and Baker preview President Biden's address to the nation as Omicron becomes the new dominant Covid strain. Plus, Trump gets booed for getting his booster and the White House gets a new puppy.
China and Russia are saying they want to work closer together in different areas after a recent call between Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin. What are the implications of a close partnership between Beijing and Moscow? Cheddar News breaks things down with expert Hagar Chemali.
Michele Schneider, Partner and Director of Trading Research & Education for MarketGauge.com, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where she says the spread of the Omicron variant and Jerome Powell's comments following the latest Fed decision are spooking investors heading into the weekend.
Carlo and Baker wrap up another week discussing the latest explosion in new Covid cases in the Northeast, President Biden's stalled agenda and more. Plus, Love, Hate, Ate featuring the question: why did movie dialogue get so hard to understand?
Since July 2021, families with children have received monthly payments from the federal government as part of the expanded child tax credit, a policy that may be expiring this month. Megan Curran, policy director at the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University, joined Cheddar News to discuss.
During the pandemic, student loan debt repayment was put on pause amid an unprecedented crisis. However, on February 1, 2022, the schedule is set to resume, and currently it looks as though the Biden administration has no plans to extend it. Cody Hounanian, the executive director of the Student Debt Crisis Center, spoke to Cheddar about why he believes the loan collection pause needs to at least be extended as borrowers are still struggling with the resurgent pandemic and inflation. "There's really no good economic or policy or political reason as far as why they're focused on getting payments started now," Hounanian said. "We surveyed 33,000 people with student loans last month. Nine out of 10 told us that they are not ready to resume payments."
As the 2022 midterm elections fast approach, here are some politicians Americans should be on the lookout for. Democratic Massachusetts state senator Sonia Chang-Diaz, who was the first Latina and Asian American woman to be elected to the state's senate, now has her eye on the governorship with Republican Charlie Baker leaving. New Jersey GOP candidate for Congress, Billy Prempeh also bears watching, and while Boston's newest mayor, Democrat Michelle Wu, was already sworn in last month, all eyes will be on Beantown as the first woman and first person of color to hold the office tries to usher in a new era for the city.
