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1 Second Tennessee Representative Reinstated To His Seat
The second of the two Tennessee representatives that were expelled from the state House was reappointed to his seat yesterday. Justin J. Pearson was appointed by the Shelby County Board of Commissioners to serve as the interim representative for the district until a special election is held. Only seven of the 13 sitting members of the board attended yesterday’s meeting, and all seven voted to put Pearson back in the House. The other rep that was expelled, Justin Jones, was also appointed by his local board to serve as an interim representative on Monday. Both men have said that they intend to run for their seats in the special election that will be called by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee. Jones and Pearson are the only two people expelled from the Tennessee State House for violating House rules, with only two others having been expelled since the Civil War: one over sexual misconduct allegations and another for a bribery conviction.
2 Senator Dianne Feinstein Asks To Be Replaced On Judiciary Committee
With members of the Democratic party calling for her to resign, California Senator Dianne Feinstein has asked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to replace her on the Judiciary Committee. In a statement, the 89-year-old Feinstein said her recovery from a case of shingles in early March had been delayed by complications, but that she will “return as soon as possible once my medical team advises that it’s safe for me to travel.” The absence of the oldest member of Congress is seen as a stumbling block in the path to confirm President Joe Biden’s nominees for federal courts, a problem that Senator Dick Durbin, chair of the Judiciary Committee, acknowledged to CNN this week. Feinstein announced in February that she wouldn’t run for reelection next year, which will open the seat for the first time in over 30 years.
3 Federal Reserve Says A "Mild" Recession Is Likely This Year
Minutes from the March meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee show that, while the Fed believes the banking sector is “sound and resilient,” staff economists said that last month’s banking crisis had led them to project a mild recession starting later this year “with a recovery over the subsequent two years.” The March Consumer Price Index, released yesterday, showed an increase of 0.1% last month. That doesn’t take into account inflation in the housing market, which drove core inflation up 0.4% for the month and 5.6% higher than a year ago. The Fed is expecting housing inflation to slow down over the rest of the year. While the committee increased interest rates by a quarter of a point at the March meeting, they did change some wording in their meeting statement; where before they referred to “ongoing increases,” the March statement said that more rate increases “may be appropriate.”