Short Takes – 1-18-24

Iceland battles a lava flow: Countries have built barriers and tried explosives in the past, but it’s hard to stop molten rock. TheConversation.com article. Pull quote: “Icelandic officials reported on Jan. 15 that most of the lava from the main fissure had flowed along the outside the barrier, however a new fissure had also opened inside the perimeter, sending lava into a neighborhood. Unfortunately, that implies that Grindavík remains at risk.

Pakistan Retaliates with Strikes Inside Iran as Tensions Spill Over. NYTimes.com article. Pull quote: “In carefully crafted statements issued on Thursday, Pakistani officials refrained from directly accusing Iran. Pakistan’s narrative mirrored Iran’s rationale for its own strikes, saying that the Pakistani actions similarly targeted only those separatists who had taken refuge across the border.” Reminder that Pakistan has nuclear weapons…

The House's suspended majority. Axios.com article. Pull quote: “GOP leaders have telegraphed to rank-and-file lawmakers that any consequential piece of legislation this year — like funding the government or a potential tax bill — will be brought to the floor under the suspension of the rules, according to aides and lawmakers.”

The House G.O.P.’s Incredible Shrinking Majority. NYTimes.com article (free). Pull quote: “Eager to paint a contrast with Democrats in how they manage the chamber, House Republicans put themselves at a disadvantage by ending the remote proxy voting that Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, then the speaker, instituted during the pandemic. As a result, lawmakers out for medical reasons, such as Mr. Scalise or Mr. Rogers, cannot register their votes from afar as members of both parties routinely did during much of the last Congress.” See Tuesday’s introduction of H Res 967 for a special proxy exception.

How Was Chairman Milley Able to Thwart President Trump? LawFareMedia.org article. Pull quote: “Relative to his boss [the President], the chairman is a weakling. Whereas the president sits at the apex of the military, the chairman is not even in the chain of command, which runs from the president, to the secretary of defense, and then to either the combatant commanders (for operational matters) or the military department secretaries (for service-related matters). Although the chairman “outranks all other [military] officers[,]” he is expressly prohibited from “exercis[ing] military command over the Joint Chiefs of Staff or any of the armed forces.” Likewise, it is written into law that the Joint Staff, which falls under the chairman, “shall not operate or be organized as an overall Armed Forces General Staff and shall have no executive authority.” While the chairman “is the principal military adviser to the President, the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council, and the Secretary of Defense,” the provision of advice alone is hardly enough to thwart a president.”