It’s hump day and what a week it’s been already. I know I’m not alone when I say I don’t think any of us will soon forget the incident at Sunday’s Oscars. Obviously, I’m talking about the grand larceny that was Billie Eilish winning best original song over Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Dos Oruguitas.” It’s absolutely absurd! Other than that, it was a pretty boring show. (Just kidding, we’ll get to the other thing in a minute.)

In today’s newsletter, we’re talking about the Biden administration’s brand-spanking-new budget (weird how you can budget when you’ve got no money). This one is of particular interest as it omits the Hyde Amendment, opening the door to federal funding for abortions. It’s the second time President Biden has made this move—but with all of the anti-abortion legislation at the state level, what’s it really mean? Julianne Escobedo Shepherd will tell you!

But first, let’s get newsy with it.

—Shannon Melero

WHAT’S GOING ON

• Democrats are asking Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from any and all upcoming cases linked to the January 6 insurrection. As we mentioned last Saturday, Judge Thomas’s wife, Virginia, sent some wild text messages to Trump’s Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, posing a huge conflict of interest for the justice. Honestly, it’s giving Bill from this season of Real Housewives of New Jersey. IYKYK.

• Speaking of drama, there’s more brewing in the Trump camp: A joint report from CBS and the Washington Post reveals there was a seven-hour gap in Trump’s White House phone logs on the day of the insurrection. The House select committee is now trying to suss out whether the missing hours are part of a cover-up or if Trump was using burners or his aides’ cell phones during that time.

• A hotel in South Dakota tried to enforce a policy banning Native Americans from the establishment after a young Native man was shot on the property a few weeks ago. The police have not determined what led to the shooting, but the hotel owner Connie Uhre has previously posted anti-Native sentiments, blaming the Native community for the shooting and “all the vandalism” around the hotel. Now, a non-profit organization representing the Sioux Nation has filed a federal class-action lawsuit. The tribe’s elders also served the Grand Gateway hotel with a trespassing order which claims the hotel is on Native land.

AND: 

• Facebook or Meta or whatever she goes by these days reportedly paid a right-wing advertising firm to malign TikTok. Sounds like a waste of money when they could have just hired a bunch of Boomers to post on Facebook how much they don’t get TikTok.

• March is over, which means I have to face my horrible bracket. How did yours turn out?

• Eric Adams is doing all he can to come off as a cool mayor to distract from the war he’s waging against unhoused people in New York City.

• How does one get invited to a DC orgy? Asking for a friend.

• Meet my new doctor, everyone.

—SM

YOUR TAX DOLLARS, YOUR BODY

Dems, Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Federally funded abortion is in the 2023 budget, so let’s make sure it stays that way

BY JULIANNE ESCOBEDO SHEPHERD

PRESIDENT AND OMB DIRECTOR SHALANDA YOUNG PASSING AROUND THIS YEAR’S BUDGET SPREADSHEET. (PHOTO BY ANNA MONEYMAKER VIA GETTY IMAGES) 

President Biden released his 2023 budget this week and in a bit of *good* news for humankind, it includes a provision that omits the Hyde Amendment and allows federal funds for anyone seeking an abortion. This is the second time since Biden took office that he’s included this directive, and while it got axed last year thanks to one single man (take a wild guess, his name rhymes with “overexpansion”), it’s an important statement about protecting the right to abortion in a year when states across the country are effectively banning the procedure, and will likely see the gutting of Roe v. Wade.

A quick history of the Hyde Amendment: First passed in 1976 after its introduction by the virulent anti-abortion Congressman Henry Hyde, it barred federal funds—that is, Medicaid and Medicare—from being allocated towards abortion. Its legality was challenged for several years, and so it didn’t take effect until 1980 when the all-male Supreme Court declared it constitutional by a 5-4 split—promptly leading to over four decades of struggle for people who need the procedure, but might not be able to afford it.

Unsurprisingly, Hyde impacts low-income women of color most of all. And that unfair economic burden is what Biden is taking aim at in his budget proposal, which touts “bold commitments to advance women’s economic security, gender-based violence prevention and response, and sexual and reproductive health and rights both at home and around the world.”

The proposal isn’t perfect. It provides $400 million to Title X family planning to “improve overall access to vital reproductive and preventive health services and advance gender and health equity” (great!), but the word “abortion” is nowhere to be seen (not great; it’s a simple medical procedure, people). And there are other, larger issues with the budget—an astronomical, 700% increase in funding for ICE, for instance, as well as giant bumps for police and military spending—all of which can make it feel like its basic support for women, LGBTQIA+ people, and families is all Oliver Twist begging with an empty bowl. (Please sir, may I have some childcare?) Besides,  Shmoe Shmansion is still on his warpath to sink any legislation that might actually help people—including this Title X allocation, where he’s likely to reintroduce Hyde yet again.

But still, it’s important. The move was praised by leaders like Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who called Hyde “racist and discriminatory” (it is), and Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill Johnson who, in a statement, called the budget “an essential opportunity to underscore the administration’s values.” Amid a countrywide crisis for reproductive rights, Biden’s stand against Hyde signals to those of us who believe in equal healthcare that we still have some ground in this fight. Not to be all “call your Congressional representative,” but—call your Congressional representative! And if anyone asks, Joe Manchin’s number is (202) 224-3954. Thank you!

ONE LAST TIME

Please Scrub This Year’s Oscars From My Brain

BY SHANNON MELERO

THE ONLY PERSON WHOSE OPINION TRULY MATTERS IN ALL OF THIS. (PHOTO BY MYUNG CHUNG VIA GETTY IMAGES) 

As you may have heard a few thousand times, on Sunday, 16 million people watched as Will Smith arose from his front-row seat at the Oscars, walked on stage, and slapped Chris Rock after Rock made an insensitive joke directed at Jada Pinkett Smith—who has been living with alopecia for four years. That brief exchange has stretched into three days’ worth of discourse, covering every nook and cranny of the moment. The slap has meant different things to different people—with some seeing it as an example of toxic masculinity, others seeing a deserved response to a bad joke, and some questioning why a joke so entrenched in misogynoir had to be made at all. Since Sunday, Smith has apologized, and Jada has posted a new Instagram tile about healing. It sounds like we’re all just about ready to move forward from this.

However, this incident was precipitated by a cruel, ableist joke at the end of the day, which is an element worth highlighting. Alopecia is an autoimmune disorder that attacks a person’s hair follicles, resulting in hair loss, and it is, in fact, a disability—one that disproportionately affects Black women. So while the broadcast spent an evening celebrating one groundbreaking depiction of disability (the film CODA, about a Deaf white family), another was being mocked—and it’s possible that everyone in that room (including Will Smith) would have laughed and moved on if it hadn’t exploded into a spectacle.

Of all the voices that had something to say (and nearly everyone said something), let’s end it with the words of Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, another Black woman living with alopecia. “Our bodies are not public domain,” she wrote in a tweet Monday. “They are not a line in a joke—especially when the transformation is not of our choosing.”

Instead of sharing another slap meme, why not share this newsletter with your friends! 

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