7 Things: Biden insists he did nothing wrong; Britt has eventful trip to the border; and more …

7. Gaetz wants more cameras

• U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) was right in the middle of the week-long Speaker of the House fight and the lasting image of that battle is Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Saks) raging at him on the floor. Now Gaetz wants more of those cameras in the people’s House to show what is going on day-to-day.

• Gaetz correctly argues it was actually good for people to see representatives arguing for their positions and how messy that process can be. The amendment Gaetz offered would allow C-SPAN cameras in the House. It failed, but the fight is not over.

6. Alabama ISIS widow has second thoughts about having a baby with a terrorist

• A young woman from Hoover who fled the United States and join ISIS at the apex of its villainy is now saying she is totally sorry and wants a redo. In a sign of kickass American bipartisanship, Hoda Muthana was already denied access to the country by then-President Donald Trump, after former President Barack Obama revoked her citizenship.
• Now, after spending time in a filthy refugee camp, Muthana says she is ready to come home and is ready to do jail time if she has to. She has repeatedly stated that she will gladly do time in an American jail over her current situation, “If I need to sit in prison, and do my time, I will do it. … I won’t fight against it.” So, a person who vowed to destroy America now wants to spend time in an American prison. 

5. Alabama Legislature elects leaders

• It is now official, the Alabama Legislature has its leaders elected with far less drama than the U.S. House had during its selection for Speaker. Sen. Greg Reed (R-Jasper) was re-elected Senate Pro Tem and Rep. Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville) is the new Speaker of the Alabama House.
• Speaker Ledbetter cited the usual issues of need in the state of Alabama including education, jobs, economic growth, mental health, and (of course) high-speed internet for rural areas. The only significant rule change made Tuesday was changing the number of legislators needed to contest a local bill from 1 to 11.

4. Rogers gets Armed Services Committee chair

• There will obviously be no punishment for U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Saks) for causing a scene on the House floor or threatening the committee assignments of the “rebels” opposing Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). These people are adults, anger happens sometimes.
• Rep. Rogers suggested he would step down from the group that selects committee assignments and then change his mind. More importantly, the Alabama lawmaker was selected to lead the House Armed Services Committee, a powerful committee that oversees military functions and spending. Rogers was thrilled, obviously, “I am deeply honored to be the first congressman from the state of Alabama to serve as chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. Our nation faces unprecedented threats, and I am ready to work to ensure our armed forces remain the greatest force in the world.”

3. AG says women can be charged for taking abortion pills

• Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall is reacting to news that the Food and Drug Administration is trying to get around abortion bans by reclassifying abortion pills. His reaction is to say that that dog won’t hunt in Alabama, “Elective abortion — including abortion pills — is illegal in Alabama. Nothing about the Justice Department’s guidance changes that. Anyone who remotely prescribes abortion pills in Alabama does so at their own peril: I will vigorously enforce Alabama law to protect unborn life.”
• Alabama has laws and the attorney general is ready to enforce them, “The Human Life Protection Act targets abortion providers, exempting women ‘upon whom an abortion is performed or attempted to be performed’ from liability under the law, it does not provide an across-the-board exemption from all criminal laws, including the chemical-endangerment law—which the Alabama Supreme Court has affirmed and reaffirmed protects unborn children.” What this enforcement will look like is going to be interesting.

2. Britt goes to the border

• U.S. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) is already making waves with her first trip to the southern border. Britt called the trip “gut-wrenching” as she visited with law enforcement and migrants (unlike President Biden), as well as cartel and human trafficking victims.
• Sen. Britt also tried to discourage a pregnant illegal from entering the Rio Grande River for fear they would drown in the process. The illegal’s husband said that they believed the border was open. Britt seems glad that she went to the border saying, “seeing it up close was truly eye-opening, underlining the historic magnitude of the problem and giving faces to the very real human cost of the reckless policies that have caused this disaster.”

1. Biden: Who, what, where am I?

• President Joe Biden tried his best to ignore the questions being asked by reporters about his handling of classified documents but eventually painfully read from his notes that he didn’t really seem to understand, “I was surprised to learn there were any government records that were taken there to that office.” He added, ironically, “people know I take classified documents, classified information seriously,” but he also said documents were found in “a box, locked cabinet – or at least a closet.”
• Excuses for Biden are being filed in mainstream media newsrooms, as we learn that a couple of secret documents stashed in an office by a former vice president is no big deal and the real story here is how this impacts former President Donald Trump. The main difference? Trump had access to those documents and Biden did not.