Biden-Harris Administration Keeps Breaking The Law To Buy Votes From College Grads

Despite SCOTUS's ruling in Biden v. Nebraska, the White House has proven it won’t let the law get in its way of making taxpayers pay student loans.

Education Department Attacks Republicans, Touts Biden’s Agenda in Official Letter

The letter from Miguel Cardona potentially violates the Hatch Act, which prohibits partisan political activity by executive branch employees.

Biden's final Title IX regulations will bow to gender ideologues' wishes nationwide



The Biden administration has released its final Title IX regulations, effectively establishing "gender identity" as a protected class and forcing around 17,600 school districts, 5,000 post-secondary institutions, and various charter schools, for-profit schools, libraries, and museums across the nation to indulge the reality-defying identifications of the LGBT ideologues in their midst — at the expense of the very cohort the civil rights law was initially intended to help.

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 has long prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded education programs or activities.

According to the late Sen. Birch Bayh of Indiana, the Democrat who formally introduced Title IX to Congress, the idea behind the legislation was largely to "provide for the women of America something that is rightfully theirs — an equal chance to attend the schools of their choice, to develop the skills they want, and to apply those skills with the knowledge that they will have a fair chance to secure the jobs of their choice with equal pay for equal work."

Whereas in Bayh's day, Americans understood there were only two sexes requiring equal protection, Democrats today have evidently taken the philosophical position that sex is a social construct. The Biden administration — which has proven incapable of defining "woman" — has transmogrified Title IX in an apparent effort to systematically accommodate this misunderstanding.

The new rules announced by the Department of Education Friday clarify that sex discrimination now includes sexual preferences and "gender identity" and further clarify "that sex-based harassment includes harassment on these bases."

The regulations state that a school "must not separate or treat people differently based on sex in a manner that subjects them to more than de minimis harm," stressing that preventing "someone from participating in school (including in sex-separate activities) consistent with their gender identity causes that person more than de minimis harm." Such perceived harm would be grounds for litigation.

The corresponding rule, Section 106.31(a)(2), not only applies to dress and grooming codes but to locker rooms and restrooms as well. Federally funded institutions that refuse to allow men into girls' lavatories could face legal action under the revised scheme.

The Biden administration did not apply this understanding to sex-separate living facilities and sex-segregated sports teams. The DOE did, however, note that it "intends to issue a separate final rule to address Title IX's application to sex-separate athletic teams."

DOE Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement, "These final regulations build on the legacy of Title IX by clarifying that all our nation’s students can access schools that are safe, welcoming, and respect their rights."

Former Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos told the National Review, "I never thought I'd see the day where Title IX would be used to harm women, but sadly, that day has come."

"The Biden Administration's radical rewrite of Title IX guts the half century of protections and opportunities for women and callously replaces them with radical gender theory, as Biden's far-left political base demanded. This regulation is an assault on women and girls," added DeVos.

All-American swim star Riley Gaines, presently suing the National Collegiate Athletics Association for allowing transvestites to invade women's sports and locker rooms, tweeted, "The Biden Admin has just officially abolished Title IX as we knew it. Now, sex = gender identity."

Gaines suggested further the new rewrite means "men can take academic AND athletic scholarships from women"; "men will have FULL access to bathrooms, locker rooms, etc"; "students and faculty MUST compel their speech by requiring the use of preferred pronouns"; and "if the guidelines above are ignored or even questioned, then YOU can be charged with harassment."

Megyn Kelly said, "These regs are a nuclear level attack on women's rights and men's due process rights. JOE BIDEN MUST GO."

DO NOT EVER LET ANY DEMOCRAT TELL YOU THEY CARE ABOUT WOMEN\u2019S RIGHTS EVER AGAIN IF THEY DO NOT STAND UP TO THIS ABOMINATION OF A TITLE IX REVISION.\n These regs are a nuclear level attack on women\u2019s rights and men\u2019s due process rights. JOE BIDEN MUST GO.
— (@)

Kelly added in a subsequent post that not only will girls be forced to share locker rooms "with aroused men who get off on posing as women," but a young man "will be stripped of his due process rights if he is accused by anyone on campus of sexual misconduct."

Kelly was referencing the Biden administration's elimination of the sexual assault due process rules put in place by the Trump administration.

Fox News Digital indicated that colleges will no longer have to hold live hearings and allow students to cross-examine one another through representatives.

Kim Shasby Jones, head of the Independent Council on Women's Sports, said, "My heart breaks. Women are facing the ultimate betrayal by the Biden administration. We can't protect, defend, or even advocate for what can't be defined. Women - 51% of the population - zero recognition under federal law. Title IX - now a weapon to remove women's rights."

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Biden's EPA finalizes 'strongest ever' emission standards for freight trucks, buses



The Biden administration's Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday that it finalized the "strongest ever greenhouse gas standards for heavy-duty vehicles," including freight trucks and buses.

A recent press release from the agency explained that the new restrictions will impact vehicles for model years 2027 through 2032.

"The standards will avoid 1 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions and provide $13 billion in annualized net benefits to society related to public health, the climate, and savings for truck owners and operators. The final standards will also reduce dangerous air pollution, especially for the 72 million people in the United States who live near truck freight routes, bear the burden of higher levels of pollution, and are more likely to be people of color or come from low-income households," the EPA claimed.

According to the agency, the strict standards will still grant trucking companies the "time and flexibility" to comply with the new restrictions.

EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan stated that the emission standards would "significantly cut pollution from the hardest working vehicles on the road."

"Building on our recently finalized rule for light- and medium-duty vehicles, EPA's strong and durable vehicle standards respond to the urgency of the climate crisis by making deep cuts in emissions from the transportation sector," Regan added.

The EPA announced last week the "strongest-ever" vehicle emission standards for passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty vehicles for model years 2027 through 2032, Blaze News previously reported. It claimed the clampdown would "avoid more than 7 billion tons of carbon emissions and provide nearly $100 billion of annual net benefits to society, including $13 billion of annual public health benefits due to improved air quality, and $62 billion in reduced annual fuel costs, and maintenance and repair costs for drivers."

Republicans, who are largely opposed to the EPA's new plan, called the standards on passenger vehicles an electric vehicle "mandate."

Regan denied the claims, stating that the emission regulations are "clearly" not an EV mandate because there are "multiple pathways companies can choose to comply."

The American Trucking Association, a national trade group for the trucking industry, slammed the EPA's restrictions as "entirely unachievable given the current state of zero-emission technology, the lack of charging infrastructure & restrictions on the power grid."

"We are fully committed to the road to zero emissions, but the path to get there must be paved with commonsense," the ATA continued in a post on X. "While we are disappointed with today's rule, we will continue to work with EPA to address its shortcomings and advance emission-reduction targets and timelines that are both realistic and durable, and that account for the operational realities of our industry."

In addition to freight trucks, the emission standards will also impact school buses, delivery trucks, garbage trucks, utility trucks, shuttles, ambulances, recreational vehicles, and moving vans.

Under the EPA's new rules, approximately 25% of long-haul freight trucks and 40% of medium-sized trucks could be zero-emission vehicles by 2032.

Todd Spencer, president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers' Association, told the New York Times that the EPA's restrictions will hit small business owners the hardest.

"This administration seems dead set on regulating every local mom-and-pop business out of existence with its flurry of unworkable environmental mandates," Spencer said.

The Department of Energy released an energy grid plan earlier this month to build the infrastructure for electric- and hydrogen-powered long-haul freight trucks. The administration's strategy involves installing charging and refueling stations along 12,000 miles of high-traffic roads over a 16-year period.

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Biden's DOE commits $6B to climate projects advancing DEI



The Biden administration's Department of Energy announced Monday that it would distribute $6 billion in grant funds to a number of climate projects, according to a department press release.

The funds will be dispersed to 33 projects across the country as part of Biden's "Investing in America Agenda." The grant program aims to "decarbonize energy-intensive industries, reduce industrial greenhouse gas emissions, support good-paying union jobs, revitalize industrial communities, and strengthen the nation's manufacturing competitiveness."

Only projects that demonstrate a commitment to an "equitable and inclusive clean energy future" by "develop[ing] and ultimately implement[ing] a comprehensive Community Benefits Plan" are eligible. The projects must provide "meaningful community and labor engagement." The DOE will continue to evaluate the progress of the projects and may revoke eligibility for those that do not ensure adequate community benefits.

"CBPs are based on a set of four core interdependent policy priorities: engaging communities and labor; investing in America's workforce; advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility; and implementing the Justice40 Initiative," according to the DOE's website.

The department's press release noted that roughly 80% of the projects "are located in a disadvantaged community, as defined by President Biden's Justice40 Initiative." The DOE argued that the investments will provide "a significant opportunity to invest in good jobs and clean air in communities that have experienced years of divestment."

The administration's Justice40 initiative requires that 40% of the overall benefit of federal climate investments goes to "disadvantaged communities."

"The quality of CBPs will impact a project's selection and ongoing evaluation throughout its lifecycle," the DOE said. "[The] phased project management approach allows the office to assess a project's viability for continuation at major project milestones."

Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm stated, "Spurring on the next generation of decarbonization technologies in key industries like steel, paper, concrete, and glass will keep America the most competitive nation on Earth."

"Thanks to President Biden's industrial strategy, DOE is making the largest investment in industrial decarbonization in the history of the United States. These investments will slash emissions from these difficult-to-decarbonize sectors and ensure American businesses and American workers remain at the forefront of the global economy," she added.

A top official for the DOE's science office, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, stepped down last week, Blaze News previously reported. During her time with the department, Berhe advanced DEI initiatives by implementing a policy requiring grant applicants to submit a plan describing how they would "promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in their research projects."

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Biden energy official steps down after pushing office to adopt DEI initiatives



Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, a top official with the United States Department of Energy, who injected the department's science office with diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives during her tenure, will step down from her position at the end of the month, Fox News Digital reported.

Berhe, a professor of soil biogeochemistry, was nominated in April 2021 by President Biden to serve as the director of the Office of Science within the DOE. She was confirmed by the Senate in a 54-45 vote.

According to the DOE's website, Berhe's areas of expertise include "soil science, global change science, and political ecology with an emphasis on how the soil system regulates the earth's climate and the dynamic two-way relationship between the natural environment and human communities."

During her time as the head of science, Berhe has pushed her office to adopt "equity and inclusion" initiatives. In October 2022, Berhe implemented a policy requiring grant applicants "to submit a Promoting Inclusive and Equitable Research (PIER) Plan as an appendix to their proposal narrative," according to the Office of Science's website. The plan mandated applicants to describe how they would "incorporate to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in their research projects."

"The Office of Science (SC) is deeply committed to supporting diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible work, research, and funding environments that value mutual respect and personal integrity, and SC is committed to promoting people of all backgrounds, including individuals from groups and communities historically underrepresented in STEM fields and SC activities in recognition of our responsibility to serve the public," the website read.

Berhe also oversaw the adoption of two workforce diversity programs: Funding for Accelerated, Inclusive Research and Reaching a New Energy Sciences Workforce.

The FAIR program provided $35 million in fiscal year 2023 to advance a "diverse, vibrant, and excellent scientific workforce," Fox News Digital reported. In August, the DOE announced $37 million to "build research capacity in historically underrepresented institutions."

The RENEW program provided $56 million to "institutions historically underrepresented in the SC research portfolio."

When the initiative was announced, Berhe stated, "Science needs to hear from all American voices and the RENEW initiative will provide more opportunities to bring diverse perspectives into our disciplines."

"These new and innovative ideas will help solve the big science challenges we are facing now and in the future," she said.

In a statement to Fox News Digital regarding Berhe's upcoming exit, DOE Chief of Staff Christopher Davis said, "Under Dr. Berhe's leadership, the Office saw historic increases in funding, particularly for critical new technologies like artificial intelligence and fusion energy."

"Programs she oversaw have made critical contributions to climate science, energy breakthroughs, and the advancement of emerging technologies, all while infusing the principles of equity, inclusivity, and accessibility. The Secretary and I are grateful for Dr. Berhe's willingness to serve the American people and wish her the very best as she returns to academia," Davis remarked.

Berhe plans to return to the University of California to continue her professorship career. In her departure letter, Berhe called the role "the honor of my lifetime," Science reported. She noted that she is leaving the position with "pride in what we have accomplished, and a heavy heart filled with profound sadness and gratitude."

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Biden admin releases energy grid plan for electric-, hydrogen-powered freight trucks



On Tuesday, the Biden administration released its energy grid plan for electric- and hydrogen-powered long-haul freight trucks, according to a press release from the Department of Energy.

The administration's 16-year power infrastructure plan will install charging and refueling stations along 12,000 miles of high-traffic roads and national highways.

United States Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said, "For over a century, petroleum-fueled freight has transported vital food and resources to American families, but at the same time, these vehicles have also contributed to lower public health, especially in densely populated communities."

The National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Strategy was developed by the DOE and Joint Office of Energy and Transportation in partnership with the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency. The plan aims to build zero-emission fueling infrastructure for long-haul, medium- and heavy-duty freight trucks by 2040.

"The Strategy is designed to meet growing market demands by targeting public investment to amplify private sector momentum, focus utility and regulatory energy planning, align industry activity, and improve air quality in local communities heavily impacted by diesel emissions," the DOE's press release read. "Providing ubiquitous and convenient access to electric vehicle (EV) charging and hydrogen refueling along our nation's freight corridors and at intermodal freight facilities and high-usage ports is key to achieving U.S. goals to promote at least 30 percent [zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles] sales by 2030 and 100 percent sales by 2040."

Biden's national climate adviser, Ali Zaidi, noted that 75% of truck traffic travels on 4% of the country's roads. He argued that the strategy would be a "win-win-win" for communities, businesses, and the climate.

The DOE claims the four-phased build-out will have "considerable potential to save Americans money on consumer goods thanks to reduced fueling and maintenance costs associated with transport." The energy grid plan will also provide "significant health benefits for historically disadvantaged populations that suffer the worst impacts of pollution from freight emissions and helping achieve national climate goals," it added.

The first phase of the strategy, to be completed by 2027, will use freight volumes to determine the priority hubs. The next stage will "connect hubs along critical freight corridors" by 2030. The strategy designates another five years to "expand corridor connections initiating network development." Lastly, the fourth phase will "achieve [a] national network by linking regional corridors for ubiquitous access."

According to Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt, long-haul freight trucks contribute roughly 23% of the country's transportation greenhouse gas emissions.

"These new designations and strategy will help to grow our national EV charging network, encourage clean commerce within the freight community, and support President Biden's goals of achieving net-zero emissions for the nation by 2050," Bhatt said.

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Virginia AG confirms validity of Youngkin's new school policy, which upholds parental rights and curbs gender ideology: 'It's not just common sense, it's the law'



Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares confirmed in a Wednesday opinion the legitimacy and constitutionality of the model policies advanced by the Virginia Department of Education under Gov. Glenn Youngkin, which curb gender ideology and keep students' sports and bathrooms sex-segregated.

Miyares indicated the parental rights-affirming policies comply with the Virginia Human Rights Act, the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, and Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, making clear that "school boards across the Commonwealth should support and implement them. It's not just common sense, it's the law."

While LGBT activists and school board officials have taken issue with the policies, Miyares indicated that "every single school district has to reckon with" the prospect that their failure to fall in line with the law will open them up to legal action by parents.

— (@)

The model policies

The VDOE's "Model Policies on Ensuring Privacy, Dignity and Respect for All Students and Parents in Virginia's Public Schools" highlights at the outset the pre-eminence of parental rights, particularly as it pertains to children and their education.

The VDOE noted that the activist policies under the previous administration "disregarded the rights of parents and ignored other legal and constitutional principles that significantly impact how schools educate students," so it has nullified them and started again.

This time around, the department defers to parents "to make the best decisions with respect to their children" and guarantees them they will remained informed about their children's well-being "without limitation."

This way, children will not needlessly suffer mental illnesses such as gender dysphoria or undergo transitioning behind their parents' backs.

According to the new model policies:

  • School personnel will refer to each student only by the name that appears in their student record or a nickname "commonly associated" with their official name;
  • School personnel "shall refer to each student using only the pronouns appropriate to the sex appearing in the student's official record - that is, male pronouns for a student whose sex is male, and female pronouns for a student whose sex is female";
  • Biologically incongruous pronouns and a different name are to be used only if a student's parents provide written instructions to that effect;
  • School personnel and students alike cannot be compelled to refer to other students "in any manner that would violate their constitutionally protected rights";
  • Biological sex, not so-called "gender identity," will be the determining factor for what sex-segregated school program, event, or activity a student participates in, including athletic activities;
  • Where federal law requires transvestites to share in otherwise sex-segregated facilities with students of the opposite sex, parents have the right to opt their children out of using such facilities and shall be provided alternatives; and
  • Locker rooms, bathrooms, and travel overnight accommodations will also be based on sex.

Parental rights-affirming care

Having detailed the various ways the policies conform to federal and state laws, Miyares stated his opinion "confirms what the overwhelming number of Virginians already know[:] parents have a fundamental right to the care, upbringing, and education of their children. Parents, not government, are in he best position to work with their children on important life decisions."

"No parent signs up to co-parent with the government," continued Miyares.

Following the AG's affirmation, Youngkin wrote on X, "In Virginia, we will always empower parents and always stand up for the privacy, dignity, and respect of all students in the commonwealth."

Last month, the governor stated these policies will "empower parents, prohibit discrimination, create a safe and vibrant learning environment by addressing bullying incidents immediately, and protect the privacy and dignity of all students through bathroom policies, athletic procedures, and student identification measures."

According to the Virginia Mercury, Spotsylvania County Public Schools became Virginia's first school district to adopt the policies. Roanoke County followed suit shortly thereafter.

Some districts are refusing to obey, instead following the policies advanced by former Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, whom Virginians determined at the ballot box was undeserving of another term.

ABC News indicated that the 2020 state law that brought about the creation of the model policies is mute on the subject of enforcement.

Jack Preis, a law professor at the University of Richmond, noted that school districts that flout the model policies, like Arlington Public Schools and Fairfax County Public Schools, would indeed be violating the law, though it is unclear what can be done to bring them to heel.

"There could be political consequences, but in terms of specific legal consequences, those would only flow from a judicial decision. And we won't see a judicial decision unless Miyares or an unhappy parent has the power to demand judicial enforcement. It appears unlikely that either of them have that power," said Preis.

Leftist apoplexy

Equality Virginia, an LGBT activist group among the various leftist outfits that have decried the VDOE's new policies, previously suggested that they serve to "escalate a culture war and drop a policy that harms kids."

The ACLU of Virginia claimed they will "harm and endanger trans youth."

Breanna Diaz, policy and legislative counsel with the state ACLU, said last month, "We are horrified that VDOE opted to move forward with proposed model policies that at best invite – and at worst, require – discrimination, that violate state and federal law, and have no place in Virginia schools.

It appears the the ACLU was unswayed by Miyares' opinion.

ACLU of Virginia legal director Eden Heilman said in a statement Thursday, "VDOE’s proposed model policies are part of a coordinated, national effort to erase transgender and nonbinary students from the classroom. ... Attorney General Jason Miyares’ opinion defending the policies is every bit as cruel and misguided as the policies themselves."

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Biden administration to proceed with light bulb ban, advancing 'climate goals'



Americans can no longer rely upon the warm glow patented by Thomas Edison, deemed inefficient and outmoded by the state. Instead, they will now have to use LED light bulbs.

The Biden administration is set to enforce its ban on incandescent light bulbs in August.

Last April, the U.S. Department of Energy announced that it would impose two new rules upon the American people as a means of advancing "President Biden's climate goals."

The first coercive measure redefines "general service lamps," and the second implements the minimum standard of 45 lumens per watt for light bulbs that satisfy the revised definition. Together, these rules will prevent retailers from selling incandescent and similar halogen light bulbs.

The new bans announced last year were resultant of President Joe Biden's January 2021 executive order requiring the DOE to make "major revisions" to Trump-era appliance regulation standards, reported Fox News Digital.

Under the Trump administration, Americans were free to choose whatever light bulbs they desired. The Hill reported that the Trump administration was also of the mind that such phase-outs constituted an unnecessary burden on businesses.

Biden's Energy Department suggested that this coercive measure would accelerate the apparent transition already under way.
"The lighting industry is already embracing more energy efficient products, and this measure will accelerate progress to deliver the best products to American consumers and build a better and brighter future," said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's latest residential energy consumption survey, 75.2 million American households (~60%) reported having at least one incandescent or halogen bulb in their homes; 8.5 million indicated all of their bulbs were of the verboten variety; 10.19 million indicated most of their light bulbs were incandescent; and another 9.1 million said about half were.

Nearly 50 million of 123.53 million households have reportedly already made the shift approved by the federal government. Wealth is a partial determining factor behind adoption. Households with incomes over $100,000 are more likely to use LEDs than poor households, where LEDs are used only by a minority.

Just the News indicated why this may be the case: The average cost of an LED light bulb is roughly double that of an incandescent light bulb.

Ian Haworth, writing for the Washington Examiner, suggested that the paltry financial benefits promised by the Biden administration are no good if American families can't afford the bulbs to begin with.

Granholm said in another statement that the DOE has worked for over forty years, at the direction of Congress, "to promote innovation, improve consumers' options, and raise efficiency standards for household appliances without sacrificing the reliability and performances that Americans have come to expect."

Concerning the enforcement of the ban, the DOE indicated that it "believes the maximum penalty is both appropriate and necessary."

"This is overregulation on steroids," Ben Lieberman, senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, told Fox News Digital at the time the ban was first announced.

"By using climate as a kind of finger on the scale in favor of tougher standards, I think that's all the more reason to be suspicious that this is going to be a bad deal from a consumer standpoint," he added.

The DOE claimed that the exclusive use of LED light bulbs in conjunction with other regulations will help cut carbon emissions by 222 million metric tons.

Lieberman and a coalition of free market consumer groups penned a letter to the DOE last year, stating that they "believe that further regulatory interference in the marketplace is unwarranted given that more energy efficient lighting choices, namely light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs, are already available for those consumers who prefer them over incandescent bulbs."

The letter claimed that there is a "lack of evidence to support the agency's claims that the Proposed Rule would have any measurable impact on the climate" and that estimates "of the social cost of greenhouse gas emissions are very speculative, assumption-driven, and prone to bias in the hands of agencies with a regulatory agenda."

Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) underscored how this ban is just one among many advanced by the Biden administration: "First, the Biden Admin went after gas stoves. Then, the Biden Admin went after washing machines. Now, the Biden Admin is going after light bulbs. Is there anything they won't try to ban?"

\u201cFirst, the Biden Admin went after gas stoves.\n\nThen, the Biden Admin went after washing machines.\n\nNow, the Biden Admin is going after light bulbs. \n\nIs there anything they won't try to ban?\u201d
— Lance Gooden (@Lance Gooden) 1680463239

Americans have until August 1 to purchase and stockpile incandescent light bulbs and will be within their rights to use them well after the Biden administration's ban on lighting choice goes into effect.

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