What’s a lame duck session? For the next month or so you’ll hear the term a lot. It’s the time between the election and the swearing-in of new or returning elected officials for a new term.🧵1/7 Until the end of the year, my colleagues and I will spend time finishing business before the 118th Congress wraps up. And let’s be clear: that’s serious business we’re talking about. Here’s some of what we have on our plate: 2/7

Important update for U.S. citizens in Lebanon: @StateDept has begun making commercial airline seats available to help U.S. citizens and their immediate families depart the country.

See below for more information on the options available, how to request help, and eligibility.🧵 What is available: help securing air travel from Beirut Airport to Germany and Turkey. Flights have approximately 300 seats.

NOTE: Citizens and their dependents won’t need to pay up front, but there will be a process to reimburse the State Department for the flight.

The return of Michigander Paul Whelan, along with Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and others, is tremendous news. 1/5
cbsnews.com/news/us-russia… They and their families have suffered horribly, and now they will be reunited thanks to determined diplomacy by the Biden team of negotiators and the advocacy of @RepHaleyStevens and others in Congress. 2/5

🧵I went to the Pentagon today with several colleagues for a briefing on Ukraine and what will happen if we fail to support its military. It was the most stark description of the stakes — for both Ukraine and US interests — should we fail to provide more military aid. /1 First, it’s no secret that Ukraine is running short of critical ammunition – artillery shells to hold Russia’s ground forces back, and air and missile defenses to knock down the missiles Russia uses to attack Ukrainian civilians. /2

Let’s review Republican leadership’s hypocrisy on the border crisis. The timeline of events is telling: 🧵 February 2023: House Republicans declare the border a crisis and a top priority.
judiciary.house.gov/committee-acti…

This agreement, if reached, would be good news – first and foremost for the released hostages and their families, but also for the civilians of Gaza and Israel’s long-term security. Here’s why: 🧵 (1/9)

https://twitter.com/cnni/status/1727010740261851505

Since early November, I have called for a strategic pause that would help enable the safe return of hostages, allow humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza, and give Israel time to think about its strategy. (2/9)

This past week, I spent more time with Arab Michiganders, Muslim Michiganders & Jewish Michiganders, all still feeling very raw about the ongoing violence in the Middle East. But here’s what’s heartbreaking about these meetings: the communities are saying nearly the same thing. Both feel sick about what’s happening & feel the way they see the world has fundamentally changed; both feel real trauma & anger about what they see on their screens; both feel the press isn’t telling the whole story & that their elected leaders could do more to tell that story.

At the end of next week the federal government runs out of money, and we are again at risk of a government shutdown. But as we wait for the new Speaker to lay out a plan to keep the government running, I want to make sure people understand some of the risks of a shutdown. (1/4) And as the only Michigander on @HouseAgDems, I want to make sure we don’t lose sight of the Farm Bill – a major piece of legislation sets national agriculture and nutrition policy, like federal crop insurance or food assistance for low-income families. (2/4)

Breathtaking events in Russia, & my team & I have been up most of the night watching history unfold. While we’re still watching events in real time, a few things are clear: First, Russians fighting Russians on Russian soil, which we haven’t seen since the 1991 coup attempt, is born directly from Russia’s failures in Ukraine. Military forces with clear plans, chain of command, & operational success don’t devolve into violence against themselves.

In America, no one – even a former president – is above the law. And as a former national security official who held Top Secret security clearance my entire adult life, no one working in our defense or intel agencies would get away with mishandling classified info like this. But President Trump will have his day in court like any other American, and I have faith in the rule of law metering out this case.

Watching the dramatic events unfolding in Israel tonight. The state’s focus on security can’t be overstated, so for senior defense officials & military personnel to be fired or refuse to serve is unprecedented. The government’s efforts to fundamentally alter the judiciary are now having concrete consequences, threatening Israel’s stability, its security, and its democratic values.

From South Lyon to Okemos, in recent months we’ve seen a major uptick in the number of hoax threats against schools. While the phenomenon isn’t new, the way these threats come in  & the rate at which misinformation & disinformation spread online has changed the game. That’s why today we brought together superintendents from across the district for a briefing with the Detroit office of the FBI and state and federal prosecutors to talk about the threat landscape.

It’s always an honor to be part of Lansing’s MLK Day of Celebration, and it was particularly special to be back in person today — with such a large crowd — to honor Dr. King’s legacy and to recommit ourselves to his work. 1/ 2/ I was thrilled to be able to present our newest State Senator, @SarahAnthony517, with the MLK Keeper of the Dream Award for her efforts in the State Legislature to advance Dr. King’s goals of equality & social justice.

OPEC’s announcement is unacceptable & reflects a new low in our relations with the Gulf. All diplomatic options should be on the table, including the withholding of American military hardware & security assistance that Saudi Arabia, in particular, is so dependent on. 1/ 2/ The relationship with the Gulf States has always been complicated & transactional, but this news considerably raises the stakes. U.S. policy has swung like a pendulum between Trump & Biden, but these countries have long-benefitted from our support for the last 60 years.

Today is the one-year ‘wheels-up’ anniversary when a rag tag group from across the world got 114 Afghan nationals - most of whom had ties to MSU - out of a deteriorating Kabul & away to safety. For a detailed account of this perilous 10 days, see here. 1/ washingtonpost.com/national-secur… 2/ Of all the things I’ve gotten to work on over the last 4 years, few were as harrowing, or as meaningful, especially since over 70 of these folks were affiliated with @MichiganStateU.

In June, I sent a letter to @Google pressing them to address misleading results that were giving women false information about where they could find an abortion provider. Yesterday, we got a positive response about the steps they’re taking to fix this. 1/ cnbc.com/2022/08/25/goo… 2/ Before these updates, women using Google search & Maps to find abortion providers were often being directed to “crisis pregnancy centers,” only to later learn that they steer women away from certain health decisions.

The crushing amount of student debt in our country isn’t sustainable. As the representative for 5 colleges & universities, I'm happy for the folks who will get relief from this policy. But this is a one-time bandaid that doesn’t get to the root of the problem. 1/

https://twitter.com/MLive/status/1562791414601482247

2/ College is 3x more expensive than it was 25 years ago, even accounting for inflation. I’m also focused on the students coming up now in school — as well as the majority of Michiganders who don't go to college but are drowning in other kinds of debt.

The news of the successful hit on Ayman al-Zawahiri stopped me in my tracks. He was one of the masterminds of 9/11, the attacks on the USS Cole & our embassies in Kenya & Tanzania, and supported al Qaeda as they targeted many others across the globe. But tonight, he is gone. 1/ 2/ As a former CIA Middle East analyst & Pentagon official, I’ve known many people — Americans, Iraqis, and so many others from our coalition — who have been killed our wounded by al Qaeda under his direction. So many local people dragged through the streets.

I’d heard & read much about the Kyiv suburb of Bucha after the reports of Russia’s war crimes broke this spring, but as we toured the town with local leaders & stood near the hallowed ground of a mass grave just 3 months old, I still grew more emotional than I had anticipated. 1/ 2/ We visited St. Andrews Church, where 116 civilians were hastily buried in a mass grave, many hog-tied & shot in the head. The Ukrainians have taken care to document these crimes for future tribunals, so in the church sanctuary we saw photos taken just months before.

Last weekend, I went to Ukraine with a bipartisan group of colleagues on the Armed Services Committee. I’ll be sharing photos & videos from the sites we visited all week, but I wanted to start with some initial thoughts about the current situation & where we go from here: 1/ 2/ We met with President Zelenskyy & other key cabinet officials for over 90 minutes — they were thankful for the arms and material that the U.S. has sent, particularly the HIMAR systems that have made such an immediate difference on the battlefield.

A few days ago, I listened to Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska make an emotional plea to Congress to continue to help her country. This weekend, I traveled with a bipartisan codel to Kyiv & reiterated to @ZelenskyyUa that the American people stand firmly with Ukraine. 1/ 2/ During the trip, we saw firsthand what the Ukrainians can do with the weapons & training the U.S. is providing. We also visited Irpin & Bucha to learn more about the atrocities that have been carried out by the Russians over the last 5 months.