WTF Just Happened Today

Tuesday, June 1, 2021

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1/ Biden issued a presidential proclamation recognizing June as Pride Month, saying he “will not rest until full equality for LGBTQ+ Americans is finally achieved and codified into law.” The White House noted that “after four years of relentless attacks on LGBTQ+ rights, the Biden-Harris Administration has taken historic actions to accelerate the march toward full LGBTQ+ equality.” On his first day in office, Biden signed an executive order directing federal agencies to protect LGBTQ people under federal laws that prohibit discrimination based on sex. Biden also reversed the Trump administration’s ban on transgender people openly enlisting and serving in the military, and issued an executive order expanding Title IX to protect LGBTQ students from discrimination. (NBC News / New York Times)

2/ The Biden administration suspended oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, undoing a move made by the Trump administration late last year. The Interior Department said a review of the Trump administration’s leasing program in the wildlife refuge found “multiple legal deficiencies,” including “insufficient analysis” required by environmental laws and a failure to assess alternatives. Last week, however, Justice Department attorneys defended a Trump-era oil and gas project in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska – an area that lies to the west of ANWR. (Politico / New York Times / Washington Post / CNN / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg)

3/ Texas Democrats abandoned the state House floor late Sunday night to block a vote on one of the most restrictive voting bills in the nation. Republicans faced a midnight deadline to approve the measure, which would have made it harder to vote by mail, limited early voting hours, empowered partisan poll watchers, and made it easier to overturn election results. Democrats staged the walkout with an hour left for the Legislature to approve the bill, leaving the House without a quorum needed to take a vote. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said he would order a special legislative session to revive the measure. Biden, meanwhile, called the restrictive voting bill “un-American” and “an assault on democracy.” (Texas Tribune / Washington Post / Associated Press / New York Times)

4/ Texas Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to defund the state Legislature after House Democrat...

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