I’m not a current member of Congress, but I do know what’s at stake. I’d gladly serve as speaker of the House for one term to show people the kind of legislative body we can have if someone at the top actually cares about involving every representative in the work of legislating. Though he’s had trouble securing universal Republican support, the leading contender for speaker of the House remains Kevin McCarthy, which is sad. Even the people pledging to vote for him know that he’s totally unqualified and unfit to be speaker.

Several states demanded amendments to the Constitution to protect individual rights, so the Bill of Rights was proposed as a compromise to keep the Union intact. Ratifying the Second Amendment strengthened the arguments made by James Madison in Federalist No. 46:

https://twitter.com/jbouie/status/1535035872151851024

“The only refuge left for those who prophesy the downfall of the State governments is the visionary supposition that the federal government may previously accumulate a military force for the projects of ambition.…

Here’s why I don’t get the angst over @elonmusk and @Twitter: Almost everyone recognizes that Twitter is increasingly dysfunctional. Much of the dysfunction stems from the company’s choice to prioritize engagement over open discourse. This also drives factionalism and extremism. Musk can do what a public company can’t: risk profits to restore the original spirit of Twitter. The current algorithm invites audience capture, which causes most of the strain here. The problem is systemic. You can’t ban enough accounts to fix it. The system creates antagonism.

You can’t simply decouple the decision to withdraw from the expected outcome of a withdrawal. The primary argument for staying in Afghanistan has always been that any departure would be dangerous for Americans and Afghans alike, which is why this f***ing war has lasted 20 years. Every exit was going to look ugly. Waiting for ideal conditions—ease of transit and probable safety for all, including Afghans—means waiting forever, never leaving. A president committed to leaving must be willing to move forward despite the likely calamitous short-run outcomes.

As Libertarians, we champion due process. There’s only one legitimate executive committee of @LPNH, and that’s the one elected in March. With that said, we need more professionalism and accountability from state affiliates. Official social media accounts are for advancing the party’s mission of organizing libertarians, not for personal experiments in edgelording.

There’s a general misunderstanding of how House committee assignments work. The entire House votes to put each and every member on the particular committees. Though this typically happens via a voice vote (not roll call), it’s done through a normal resolution passed on the floor. In other words, a committee assignment is not literally decided just by your own party. The whole House must approve it.

“Neither is nationalism identical with patriotism. Patriotism is the zeal for one’s own nation’s welfare, flowering, and freedom. Nationalism is one of the various methods proposed for the attainment of these ends. “But the [classical] liberals contend that the means recommended by nationalism are inappropriate, and that their application would not only not realize the ends sought but on the contrary must result in disaster for the nation.

Today, I intro’d the Intelligence Community Congressional Whistleblowing Improvement Act—to allow IC whistleblowers to approach any member of Congress with concerns, and the FISA Oversight Correction Act—to stop gov’t from blocking a defendant’s access to FISA warrant materials.

Today, I introduced the Civil Asset Forfeiture Elimination Act to repeal civil asset forfeiture nationwide. Its history is riddled with injustices not because it’s a valid practice that gets misused, but because its central premise is inherently flawed and unconstitutional.

Donald Trump wants to win the support of libertarians, but his actual record on expanding the federal government and eroding liberty is appalling. After claiming he would wipe out the national debt in eight years, he signed massive spending increases and created the highest ever federal debt—even before the coronavirus pandemic began.

The erosion of trust is the erosion of liberty. The idea of limited government is founded upon the belief that human beings are trustworthy. The reason our Constitution has checks and balances rather than concentrated power and commands is that we trust one another. Societies with low levels of trust turn to authoritarianism.

This week, the House and Senate will show us how not to get meaningful policing and justice reforms passed and signed into law, as leaders of each chamber quickly push through large bills covering multiple topics with almost no debate or scrutiny of the actual legislative texts. Because I’m in the House, I’ll focus this thread on that bill. The Justice in Policing Act has several provisions that take us backward, and rushing it through the House will stifle debate on some important reforms and issues that it overlooks.

This week, I am introducing the Ending Qualified Immunity Act to eliminate qualified immunity and restore Americans’ ability to obtain relief when police officers violate their constitutionally secured rights. As part of the Civil Rights Act of 1871, Congress allowed individuals to sue state and local officials, including police officers, who violate their rights. Starting in 1967, the Supreme Court began gutting that law by inventing the doctrine of qualified immunity.

The Fourteenth Amendment includes a provision that I consider to be the bedrock of American liberty, the Equal Protection Clause. Essential to the functioning of a free society is a commitment to the Rule of Law. And what does the Rule of Law mean? It means a government that guarantees the equal protection of the laws. Blind justice. Fairness. These principles are embodied in the Fourteenth Amendment.

For someone with so much to say about Section 230, @HawleyMO knows so little about it. Let’s fact check his claims about Section 230 from the letter he recently sent to @Twitter. Thread: “But editorializing is what publishers do, like the New York Times and the Washington Post. Your company is treated very differently from publishers, as you know.”

False. If NYT and WP moderate content, they’re not liable. If Twitter creates content, it’s liable for the content.

Thanks for your support as I’ve been exploring a run for president as the potential nominee of the Libertarian Party. I’ve spent nearly three weeks assessing the race, appearing in media, talking to delegates and donors, watching the Libertarian Party’s convention plan unfold, and gathering feedback from family, friends, and other advisers.

I voted no on last month’s $2+ trillion coronavirus bill. Among its many failures, that bill denied assistance to millions of people. Today’s bill corrects an inequity by adding funds to PPP. But it doesn’t fix structural flaws that made the last bill so unfair and ineffective. Here’s what I said about the previous legislation:

https://twitter.com/justinamash/status/1245803334663049216

The Paycheck Protection Program unfairly left millions of small businesses in the cold. We need to rectify that. But PPP won’t be fixed just by adding money to it. The program has major flaws that need to be addressed right away. By capping PPP and having banks decide which businesses get funds, Congress and the White House created a system in which businesses with strong banking connections are getting easier access to funds while other businesses are shut out.

As a federal official, I do my best to stay out of state politics. But I have a constitutional duty to ensure states don’t trample on the rights of the people. @GovWhitmer’s latest order goes too far and will erode confidence in her leadership. She should immediately reassess it. Most Michigan residents recognize the challenging circumstances and are willing to make considerable sacrifices to keep themselves and others safe. But several recent measures provide marginal benefits at best, while substantially heightening frustration and resentment.

The recent coronavirus law may help some Americans find temporary relief, but it is too slow, wholly insufficient, and riddled with bad incentives and unintended consequences. The law will exacerbate and prolong a devastating economic decline that will harm millions of people. Because most Americans are being told to stay home, the centerpiece of the law should have been substantial monthly cash relief to the people. Instead, much of the assistance was funneled to Mnuchin and the Federal Reserve, mostly to boost large corporations at their discretion.

This bipartisan deal is a raw deal for the people. It does far too little for those who need the most help, while providing hundreds of billions in corporate welfare, massively growing government, inhibiting economic adaptation, and widening the gap between the rich and the poor. Only the Democratic Caucus and Republican Conference can decide the outcome. If they have majorities to pass it, then objecting to unanimous consent merely delays the inevitable. I won’t do that. But members MUST BE REQUIRED to go on the record with how they would have voted.