Politics + Government

Rep. Gaetz Files Motion To Remove Rep. McCarthy As Speaker Of The House

U.S. House votes to remove Kevin McCarthy as speaker

BY: , and - October 3, 2023

WASHINGTON — Dissident Republicans in the U.S. House voted with Democrats on Tuesday to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker, a historic move that came just nine months after he secured the gavel following days of negotiating with the GOP’s right flank and 15 rounds of voting. It wasn’t immediately clear after the vote how the […]

Kansas Republican U.S. Rep. Ron Estes voted with GOP Reps. Jake LaTurner and Tracey Mann against the motion to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids of Kansas voted with the majority that stripped McCarthy of power. (Kansas Reflector screen capture of U.S. House's YouTube channel)

Kansas’ three Republican U.S. House members vote against motion ousting House speaker

BY: - October 3, 2023

Kansas' three Republican House members opposed ouster of Speaker McCarthy, while Democratic Rep. Davids voted with dissident GOP members for removal.

A supporter with a box of donuts early Aug. 16, 2023, turns away from the locked door of the Marion County Record. The woman, who declined to give her name, returned later and successfully delivered the donuts in a show of support for the paper.

Marion police chief resigns after body cam footage shows him rifling through records about himself

BY: - October 3, 2023

TOPEKA — Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody has resigned, less than two months after he instigated a widely covered raid on a local newspaper that culminated in a federal lawsuit and one woman’s death.  Marion Mayor David Mayfield announced Cody’s departure during a Monday city council meeting, following the previous week’s announcement that Cody was […]

Adam Proffitt, the budget director for Gov. Laura Kelly, said the state government was on pace to collect enough revenue to have $2.6 billion in the state general fund and $1.6 billion in a state rainy-day fund at the end of the current fiscal year June 30. Spending by the 2024 Legislature could dramatically reduce that ending balance. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)

Kansas on track for $2.6 billion state revenue surplus, $1.6 billion stash in rainy day fund

BY: - October 3, 2023

Kansas state budget director says projections on target for $2.6 billion ending balance in current fiscal year, leading to speculation about 2024 tax cuts.

Bill Faflick, executive director of the state High School Activities Association, said he opposed House Bill 2511 because it would enable homeschool or virtual school students to be part of public school sports or activities without meeting minimum academic, attendance and behavior rules. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Kansas Legislature YouTube channel)

Kansas private school students and home-schoolers joining in public school sports under new law

BY: - October 3, 2023

TOPEKA — More than 200 nonpublic students are taking advantage of a new provision in state law allowing them to participate in public school sports and activities. Lawmakers passed the provision in Senate Bill 113 during the 2023 legislative session as part of a K-12 education package setting out public school funding for the next […]

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., speaks with members of the media in the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 30, 2023, in Washington, D.C.

Next battle in Congress over Ukraine aid, as Biden presses House speaker for vote

BY: - October 2, 2023

WASHINGTON — Republican and Democratic lawmakers are searching for a way to clear more aid for Ukraine, after Congress approved a short-term spending bill that didn’t include any additional money for the country. President Joe Biden on Sunday said that U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy agreed to find the votes needed to pass a supplemental […]

Kansas lawmakers clash with education group over state assessment scores

BY: - October 2, 2023

TOPEKA — A member of an education advocacy group on Monday asked lawmakers tasked with education policy to focus on reliable public school funding. In response, Republican lawmakers questioned the function of his advocacy group. Scott Rothschild, who monitors legislation for the Kansas Association of School Board on behalf of the 286 school boards statewide, […]

Kansas AG says law puts premium on election recounts tied to paper ballots, hand tabulation

BY: - October 2, 2023

Attorney General Kris Kobach says hand counts of paper ballots — not electronic images or counters — is the default method in state law for vote recounts.

OPINION

Kansas, U.S. dread a Trump-Biden rematch. Lincoln Project co-founder says we should face reality.

BY: - October 2, 2023

Everyday folks don’t want to think about it because it makes them uncomfortable and sad. National news media types don’t want to think about it because they have stories to write throughout the next year. The truth is, however, barring a bolt from the blue, next year’s U.S. presidential election will feature Democratic incumbent Joe […]

Activists protest March 15, 2022, outside of the White House to “Cancel Student Debt."

Student debt relief scams on the rise. Here’s what borrowers need to know.

BY: - October 1, 2023

Complaints about student debt relief scams are increasing as the date approaches for borrowers to restart payment on their student loans after more than a three-year pause. Consumer protection advocates say that the Biden administration’s student debt relief efforts, the subsequent halting of those policies by the courts, and the restart of student loan payments […]

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, speaks with reporters about a stopgap government funding bill Sept. 30, 2023, inside the U.S. Capitol

Congress clears bill to avert shutdown, with vote promised later on Ukraine aid

BY: - September 30, 2023

WASHINGTON — Congress approved a bill Saturday night that would stave off a government shutdown until at least mid-November, though the measure doesn’t include Ukraine aid backed by both Republicans and Democrats. The bipartisan 88-9 vote in the U.S. Senate, just hours before a midnight deadline, took place after the U.S. House earlier in the […]

Attorney General Kris Kobach issued a nonbinding legal opinion that said mid-sized cities could sidestep a state law requiring official public notices to be printed in a newspaper of record. The official notices have been an important source of income for newspapers in Kansas. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)

Kansas Press Association considers AG’s opinion a threat to government transparency

BY: - September 30, 2023

Attorney General Kris Kobach issued a nonbinding opinion saying certain cities could avoid a law requiring official notices to be published in a newspaper.