OnPolitics: Senate fails to pass protections for abortion rights
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Charles Herbster, a Donald Trump-endorsed businessman who has been repeatedly accused of sexual misconduct, lost his bid to be the GOP's nominee for Nebraska governor in the state's Republican primary on Tuesday.
University of Nebraska Regent Jim Pillen was the winner of the gubernatorial primary, according to the Associated Press, just ahead of Herbster and state senator Brett Lindstrom. Herbster could not overcome the many misconduct allegations lodged against him, despite his denials.
Eight women, including a state senator, told the Nebraska Examiner during the campaign that Herbster had groped, forcibly kissed or improperly touched them at public events over the past six years. Herbster was one of at least nine candidates nationwide facing accusations of a sexual nature.
Trump's candidates have fared well in 2022 Republican primaries, but the Nebraska governor's race proved that the ex-president's endorsement is not an automatic ticket to victory.
It's Amy and Chelsey with today's top stories out of Washington.
Senate fails to pass bill codifying abortion rights
A measure to make Roe v. Wade the law of the land failed to garner enough votes Wednesday to make it out of the Senate.
The Women's Health Protection Act of 2022 failed 49-51 with West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin joining every Republican, meaning the measure would have failed even if it had come to the floor for an up-or-down vote.
The bill to make abortion legal nationally was not expected to pass, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., implied the vote would reveal every lawmaker's stance on the issue ahead of the November midterm elections.
While Democrats did not meet the 60 votes needed to reach the filibuster, they had hoped a leaked Supreme Court opinion suggesting Roe v. Wade might be overturned would put new pressure on Senators to codify abortion rights, particularly in light of the nationwide protests in the wake of the leak.
More on Supreme Court protests: Republican and Democratic lawmakers have criticized protesters demonstrating in front of Supreme Court justices’ homes, with some Republicans condemning the acts as “mob rule” while Democrats encourage peaceful demonstrations, not “outrageous” displays.
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Abortion is an economic issue: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said access to reproductive rights improve economic outcomes for women and children during a Tuesday annual report to Congress.
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Trump-backed House Republican defeats GOP colleague in West Va. primary
A Donald Trump-backed House Republican defeated a GOP colleague in a heated West Virginia congressional primary Tuesday, an intraparty battle that turned on Trump and on Republican opposition to President Joe Biden's infrastructure bill.
Victorious U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., who played up his endorsement by Trump throughout the campaign, also attacked fellow Rep. David McKinley for his support of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package opposed by most Republican lawmakers.
“West Virginia deserves a true conservative in Congress," Mooney said before a telephone town hall with Trump last week.
The race represented a clear win for a Trump-style Republican over a GOP lawmaker known for bipartisan outreach, and again underscored the potential strength of an endorsement from the ex-president.
The two GOP congressmen faced off in a new district created because the state's population loss caused West Virginia to lose one of its three U.S. House seats.
"Donald Trump loves West Virginia and West Virginia loves Donald Trump," Mooney told supporters at his victory party. He said the voters spoke "loud and clear" in rejecting the Biden agenda and thanked McKinley for his "years of service."
Inflation is slowly easing from a 40-year high reached in March. Here's what that means for your personal finances. -- Amy and Chelsey
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Senate fails to pass abortion rights protections following SCOTUS leak
