By Michael Shepherd - July 21, 2022 Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up.
đź“·Â Â Former Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., speaks during a ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, June 8, 2022, to dedicate a room in her name. Joining Mikulski, from left, are Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky. (AP photo by Susan Walsh)
Good morning from Augusta. There are 110 days until Maine's November elections.
What we're watching today
Same-sex marriage protections got a jolt of Republican support, but senators are playing a tepid game. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine is at the center of one of the big issues that emerged unexpectedly over the last couple of weeks in Washington — a quickly advancing measure to codify federal protections for same-sex marriage after the constitutional right was questioned by conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Collins' stance is clear: She is co-sponsoring the measure led by Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, and the Maine senator came out in favor of same-sex marriage in 2014. While that came well after voters here enshrined the right in 2012, she was only the fourth Republican senator to do so. Debate on the issue has been muted in Congress since the high court legalized same-sex marriage federally in 2015 with a Maine lawyer arguing for it.
But Thomas' questioning of that decision in a concurring opinion in the case that overturned federal abortion rights has Democrats leading the new push. A companion bill to Baldwin's passed overwhelmingly in the House this week with 47 Republicans backing it. That is a remarkable shift on the issue compared to the raw ideological fights on it a decade ago. (I covered them then.)Â Recent polling has found 7 in 10 Americans now back same-sex marriage.
It would stand to reason that many Republicans backing the bill in the more-conservative House caucus signifies enough support from the party in the Senate to break the 60-vote filibuster and get the measure to President Joe Biden's desk for a signature. Though he was vague on timing, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, said he would bring the bill up and was working on locking down Republican support.
Republicans were tepid on Wednesday as reporters scrambled to get them on the record. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said he would delay any announcement on his stance until Schumer moved it forward. Some Republicans announced opposition or downplayed the importance of the measure given the 2015 Supreme Court ruling, but those in both parties expressed hope they could eventually win over 10 Republicans.
"I would like to see it on the floor," Collins told Politico before signaling the idea that members may not need to be put under the gun. "I don’t think it needs to be done this work period. There is no pending immediate case."
The situation is in a standoff. Democrats want to ensure they have the votes before bringing it up, but Republicans are not helping them count to 60 for now. Schumer may have to risk a narrow defeat by bringing it up before that count. He may decide calling the vote would cement most Republicans on the unpopular side of the issue. Collins' stance is not in doubt, but her signals on timing are worth watching.
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What we're reading
— Collins and a bipartisan group of 14 other senators released their plan to overhaul the Electoral College count that former President Donald Trump exploited ahead of the Capitol riots of Jan.6, 2021. A guide.
— Legendary Maine author Stephen King was pranked by a Russian comedy duo into thinking he was speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the latest in a similar series of hoaxes by the duo.
— Sen. Angus King, a Maine independent who caucuses with Democrats, joined Republicans in calling on the Pentagon to stop efforts to root out extremism in its ranks, citing a scant number of examples discovered.
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News and notes
Corridor foes and backers argued their cases before a state board on Wednesday.
— At issue is a 2020 appeal by opponents of the Central Maine Power Co. corridor of a permit granted by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection but suspended last year after voters rejected the project. Wednesday's newsletter explained the strange circumstances.
— Corridor opponents urged the Board of Environmental Protection to examine the events since the appeal, including the referendum and court cases on the project. CMP and allies argued the board has been right to not take later events into account and should preserve their right to the permit.
— The hearing reconvened today at 9 a.m. Watch it.
An outgoing lawmaker called for another public session on an investigation of the child welfare system.
— Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, said the Legislature's oversight committee should hold a public forum on its yearlong probe of the system, prompted by a rash of child deaths and persistent issues flagged by a state ombudsman.
— The administration of Gov. Janet Mills has touted progress on the issue. Lawmakers directed millions more for caseworkers in the last state budget and gave the ombudsman more authority. Lawmakers have been frustrated by the state's responses at times, though leading Democrats have responded to criticism by saying the state should be given time to implement new initiatives.
— "We need to find out what’s really going on in that office and why so many children are dying," Diamond said in a statement after a Wednesday public comment period in front of the watchdog panel. "Inviting the people who know the system to speak is the only way we’re going to find out.”
Students from the Bangor Area Motorcycle School practice as part of the school's two-day basic skills course at the school's location in the former Sears parking lot at the Bangor Mall on Wednesday. (BDN photo by Sawyer Loftus)
❌ Correction: Secretary of State Shenna Bellows is cutting ribbons this week on a new automatic voter registration system at Bureau of Motor Vehicles locations. An item in Wednesday's newsletter named the wrong system.
