The week in politics: Why the AG is targeting a federal rule on LGBTQ foster youth

Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti this week spearheaded a multi-state opposition to a proposed federal rule that would require states place LGBTQ youth in state facilities and foster families free "of hostility, mistreatment, or abuse based on the child's LGBTQI+ status."

The proposed rule, which states were invited to provide feedback on, would require states to ensure foster care and placement providers were properly trained to support and provide "age-appropriate" resources related to the "child's self-identified sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression."

LGBTQ youth are overrepresented in the foster care system, in part due to rejection from their families due to their LGBTQ status, according to DHHS.

In a letter opposing the rule, Skrmetti and 16 other state attorneys general argue the rule would infringe on state authority and hinder rather than help state foster care systems.

“We all need to do our best to protect kids in foster care, and unfortunately our federal officials don’t appreciate how big an impediment these onerous new rules will be.  It’s hard enough to run a foster care program without this extra bureaucracy and increased litigation risk,” Skrmetti said in a statement. “The proposed rule exceeds the agency’s authority and raises serious constitutional concerns.  It also hampers the ability of the states to protect kids by forcing children’s services agencies to police pronoun usage with the same urgency they address physical abuse.”

Burchett, Ogles demand transparency on UFO sightings

U.S. Reps. Tim Burchett and Andy Ogles, both of Tennessee Republicans, joined colleagues in calling for more federal transparency on currently secret records sightings of unidentified aerial phenomena – also called UAPs.

During a news conference in Washington on Thursday, Burchett and others claimed that federal intelligence agencies have intentionally stifled congressional access to records of UAP sightings, and called for more transparency from the Department of Defense and other intelligence agencies.

During a House Oversight and Accountability subcommittee hearing in July, spearheaded by Burchett, three former defense officials claimed that the federal government had concealed details of unidentified objects flying or hovering over American soil, even claiming that there are federal records of aircraft alleged to be of “non-human” origin.

“I believe our country – at least since 1947 – has a long history of covering this up,” Burchett said. “The hearing this year faced a lot of pushback from the intelligence community, and our friends at the Pentagon.”

Burchett, who has long advocated for federal transparency on UAPs, claimed the intelligence community shut down an amendment he proposed this year to require the Federal Aviation Administration to report UAP sightings by commercial pilots to Congress. Under a successful amendment Burchett sponsored, the Department of Defense is now required to declassify all documents and records of any sightings of UAPs or UFOs that do not compromise national security.

“It all comes down to one word: that word is transparency,” Burchett said. “Why are we classifying so much about this – especially if the information does not jeopardize national security, and we have departments telling us they do not exist?”

Both Democrats and Republicans have pushed in recent years for more research on whether UAPs pose a threat to U.S. national security, based on sightings by military and civilian pilots of technology that could be produced by American adversaries — or something else.

“Whether it’s little green men, American technology, or worse – technology from the CCP – we need to know,” Ogles said. “There needs to be better cooperation between agencies, and Congress has a right – an obligation – to know.”

Burchett and Ogles joined U.S. Reps. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Florida, Matt Gaetz, R-Florida, Jared Moskowitz, D-Florida, and Eric Burlison, R-Missouri.

Speakers decline to identify objectionable federal ‘strings’ for K-12 funding

Legislative leaders who appointed a panel to review "strings" attached to federal school funding have not publicly identified federal requirements to the funding that they find objectionable.

Asked by The Tennessean whether it would be prudent for the state to reject and replace any amount of federal education funding in the upcoming year, as state funding board members predict revenue stagnation in the coming years, neither Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, nor House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, identified any specific strings attached to federal funds they would seek to eliminate.

“From its inception, the primary mission of the working group has been fact-finding,” McNally said in a statement to The Tennessean. “The group heard from a wide variety of education stakeholders and experts who have given members and the public a more comprehensive view of how federal dollars interact with Tennessee’s education system. I look forward to reading the group’s final report in the coming weeks.”

Sexton’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the group’s work thus far, but has previously noted annual achievement testing as an objectionable requirement.

Planned Parenthood CEO stops in Nashville

Planned Parenthood CEO and president Alexis McGill Johnson made an appearance in Nashville this week, speaking at a private gathering that included members of the legislative Democratic caucus, local leaders and upcoming Democratic candidates like Allie Phillips.

McGill Johnson's speech covered broad strokes of the reproductive rights organization's mission and path forward after the fall of Roe, though she namechecked Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn at one point.

"People don't want politicians making their own decisions for them. They don't want that. Do you want Marsha Blackburn making those decisions for you? Or do you want the ability to make the decision for yourself? They don't want politicians in the exam room."

Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi have recently launched a mobile health unit and rebuilding project in Knoxville, after a suspected arsonist targeted its clinic. The organization has also ramped up vasectomy services in Memphis and Nashville.

Former Lee aide to run DeSantis super PAC

Blake Harris, once a top campaign staffer and chief of staff to Gov. Bill Lee, is now leading a super PAC supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his presidential bid in Iowa, according to Politico.

After leaving the Lee administration, Harris launched BHA Strategy, a new lobbying and public relations firm, with former Lee communications director Laine Arnold.

Harris worked as a political strategist on Lee's 2018 campaign and later headed up his transition team before joining his staff as chief of staff. He later led Lee's 2022 reelection effort.

No sanctioned landowners registered

So far, no sanctioned foreign individuals, businesses or entities have registered any property they own in Tennessee with the Secretary of State, as a new state law requires – likely because none exist.

According to a registry list of real estate and agricultural land owned by foreign investors maintained by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 387 foreign entities own land in Tennessee, totaling 457,441 acres.

The largest share of foreign-owned acreage in Tennessee – 174,961 acres total – is owned by businesses and individuals based in the Netherlands. Hundreds of acres in Tennessee are owned by Canadian (15,145 acres), British (62,256 acres), German (9,034 acres), and Italian (1,569 acres) individuals and companies. European-based ownership accounts for the vast majority of foreign-owned acreage in Tennessee.

The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains, and Rep. Jay Reedy, R-Erin, also prohibits foreign individuals, business, and governments sanctioned by the U.S. Department of Treasury from purchasing real estate or agricultural lands and in Tennessee.

Catch up on the week

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee formally unveils voucher expansion as Democrats ramp up opposition

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee's statewide school voucher pitch: Here's what to know

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to propose expanding school choice to 20,000 students statewide

Tennessee sued over 'bona fide' political party primary law

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: UFOs, LGBTQ foster care rule, abortion pop up in Tennessee politics