What’s up doc?
The Kansas City Star made an appearance in a congressional hearing on Thursday.
U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, a Republican from Kansas, held up a copy of the front page of the paper that featured an article about teenagers who overdosed on fentanyl in the Kansas City area (it was an excellent article by the wonderful Lisa Gutierrez and you can read it here).
“In my home state of Kansas, a person dies most every day of fentanyl poisoning,” Marshall said. “Nationwide, over 200 people are dying daily from fentanyl. The number is on the rise and this is now an epidemic.”
Marshall has been focusing on fentanyl as part of a larger criticism of President Joe Biden’s immigration policies. His argument conflates migrants crossing the border to seek work or asylum in the United States with the cartels who are pushing fentanyl and other drugs into the country.
In particular, Marshall has joined Republicans (and some Democrats) in protesting a decision by the Centers for Disease Control to end Title 42, a public health order issued during the pandemic that allowed the federal government to turn away migrants seeking asylum at the border. A federal judge blocked the Biden administration from lifting the order in May.
After he held up the copy of our beautiful front page, Marshall asked CDC director Rochelle Walensky why she wasn’t using fentanyl overdoses as a justification for turning migrants away.
“The CDC is a public health agency, not an immigration agency,” Walensky said. “And the question of Title 42 is a public health policy. The question of Title 42 that was posed to me was is there a public health emergency that should bar people from coming into the United States.”
She went on to talk about how the country is better equipped to handle COVID-19 than it was two years ago when then pandemic first hit, citing the fact that we now have vaccines, theraputics, better tests and the hospitals aren’t full.
“Most people in this room are not wearing a mask,” Walensky said. “There is no longer a public health emergency.”
Marshall cut her off.
“I appreciate that, but I hope you realize that fentanyl poisoning is killing more individuals ages 18-45 than COVID-19,” he said. “So for the same reasons that instituted Title 42 for COVID, why wouldn’t you consider instituting it for fentanyl poisoning as well?”
Marshall was performing a little statistical trickery. By excluding people over the age of 45, he cut off the majority of people who have died from COVID-19 in the United States. As of June 2, more than 93% of the more than 1 million people who have died from COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic have been older than 50 years old.
Marshall is excluding the demographic with the highest COVID-19 fatality rate to compare the COVID-19 public health emergency to the increasing problem of fentanyl overdoses. There were 129,072 fentanyl deaths in 2020 and 2021 combined, according to the CDC.
But Walensky was employing a little political trap of her own. Marshall has been a major proponent of declaring the COVID-19 emergency over in the United States. He pushed an end to public health restrictions to limit the spread of the disease, like masks. He sponsored a resolution to end the COVID-19 emergency in February.
At the end of the exchange, Walensky said she would let Congress handle the larger immigration question of whether to turn people away who are seeking asylum.
Marshall got her to say that fentanyl overdoses were an epidemic and went on to question Dr. Anthony Fauci — who in their last exchange called Marshall a moron — about why the U.S. funds research in China. Fauci was testifying remotely because he has COVID-19.
More from Missouri
Congress is working on drafting a bill to reflect a bipartisan agreement to address gun violence across the country. One of the major hiccups has been a provision that would make it harder for people who are convicted of domestic violence to get a gun. But in Missouri, because of the Second Amendment Preservation Act, the provision would likely be unenforceable anyway.
Here are headlines from across the state:
MO law undercuts domestic violence ‘boyfriend’ fix in U.S. Senate deal on guns, Jonathan Shorman
As threats rattle KC schools, MO doesn’t give money to bolster safety, Jonathan Shorman and Sarah Ritter
MO Republicans ask Sen. Blunt to withdraw support from bipartisan gun deal, Kacen Bayless
Missouri law allows college coaches, staff to help players score likeness deals, Kacen Bayless
Ranked-choice voting proposal may miss Missouri ballot, Rudi Keller, Missouri Independent
And across Kansas
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, a Republican from Kansas, has been at the forefront of an effort to expand health benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs to veterans who were exposed to toxic burn pits. The burn pits were common practice for the military in the post-9/11 wars, where everything from medical waste to seized weapons were burned. The bill cleared the Senate Thursday and is expected to move quickly through the House of Representatives.
After years-long fight, US veterans exposed to toxic burn pits may finally get VA help, Daniel Desrochers
How Kansas campaigns on abortion amendment target the middle, Katie Bernard
Next Kansas AG may have big role in abortion rights fight, Jonathan Shorman
Thousands of cattle suddenly die in Kansas, officials say, Mitchell Willetts
Kansas Lt. Gov. David Toland has COVID-19. Kelly tests negative, Jonathan Shorman
The latest from Kansas City
In Kansas City …
How Kansas City landed games as host for 2026 FIFA World Cup soccer, Blair Kerkhoff
Inflation hits 41-year high, prices in KC become a concern, Jonathan Shorman
Document shows KC Proud Boys’ involvement in Capitol riot, Judy L. Thomas
Have a news tip? Send it along to ddesrochers@kcstar.com
Odds and ends
Davids to the Ag Committee
U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, Kansas’ sole Democrat in Congress, was added to the House Agriculture Committee this week, filling an opening created by U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado’s departure from Congress to become lieutenant governor of New York.
There are some agri-businesses in Johnson County and the 3rd Congressional District, but the new committee assignment appears to be an effort by Davids to play a little to the new rural voters added to her congressional district.
After the Kansas Supreme Court upheld the Republican-controlled legislature’s map, Davids said she would get to work listening to rural voters to understand their concerns. Participation in the Agriculture Committee will likely enable her to brush up on agriculture issues from a Congressional lens.
Her addition makes it so there are now two Kansans on the committee — Davids and U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann, who represents the Big First. U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler represents the committee on the Missouri side.
Speaking of redistricting
The National Democratic Redistricting Committee is donating money to help Gov. Laura Kelly and Democrats running for state legislature in Kansas.
The committee typically focuses on the redistricting process. But now that redistricting lines are official following the 2020 census, the group is shifting its focus to elections.
“The extreme actions employed by Republicans throughout the redistricting cycle underscore the need to stand against their continuing un-democratic and un-American goals,” the release said. “This is a moment of critical importance, and we must not sit on the sidelines this year as we fight to protect our representative democracy.”
Neither political party has a monopoly on partisan gerrymandering. In Maryland and New York, the courts struck down efforts by Democratic-led legislatures to gerrymander the congressional districts in their favor. Kansas is likely on the group’s radar after the Republican-controlled state legislature spliced part of Wyandotte County out of the 3rd Congressional District. The Kansas Supreme Court upheld the map.
It’s unlikely their actions will have any short-term impact on the redistricting process in Kansas. The state won’t draw up new maps until the 2032 election.
John Wood
So far there has been no mention of U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, the Missouri Republican who objected to Pennsylvania’s electoral votes, during the hearings by the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol. But on Thursday, a different Missourian played a prominent role — John Wood, the former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri.
Wood served as U.S. Attorney between 2007 and 2009, after being appointed by former President George W. Bush. On Thursday, he questioned Greg Jacob, who was legal counsel for former Vice President Mike Pence in the White House. The hearing focused on Pence’s steadfast refusal to cave to former President Donald Trump’s demands that he overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential election.
Wood is part of the old guard of the Missouri Republican Party, the faction headed by former U.S. Sen. Jack Danforth. Danforth has made his distress about January 6 quite clear and has flagellated himself to the media for his role in getting Hawley elected to the Senate. Hawley, of course, was the first Senator to say he would object to the certification of Pennsylvania’s votes in the Presidential election.
Happy Friday
Often, when there’s increased political rhetoric around the LGBTQ community, violence follows. Here’s an article about a white supremacist group that planned to attack a Pride event in Idaho. Have another gin and tonic, but this time add rosemary to feel fancy. I’m going to the symphony this weekend to hear the music of notable homosexual Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Enjoy your weekend.
Looking for more?
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This story was originally published June 17, 2022 at 7:08 AM.
