Arkansas native gets new D.C. job
WASHINGTON -- Former White House Director of Media Affairs Judd Deere is moving to Capitol Hill.
The Benton native will serve as spokesman and deputy chief of staff for communications for newly elected U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn.
Deere has previous experience with the legislative branch.
He served as the correspondence director for U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., and as press secretary and digital director to U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho.
The Lyon College graduate has had a variety of posts within Arkansas, serving as spokesman to Attorney General Leslie Rutledge; as communications director for Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin's 2014 campaign; and as field director for the Republican Party of Arkansas.
Deere was one of at least three Arkansans who worked on White House communications for then-President Donald Trump, along with press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley.
Hill criticizes FDA over sanitizer fees
U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., awarded his latest Golden Fleece Award to the Food and Drug Administration, faulting the agency for attempting to collect $14,060 in fees from distilleries that produced hand sanitizer to help combat the spread of covid-19.
Early in the pandemic, demand for the hand cleanser outstripped supply.
In a letter to acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, Hill said the companies had "stepped up to fill the void and make hand sanitizer for local first responders and citizens."
"However, in the week between Christmas and the New Year, and after a painful financial year for many of these distilleries, they received a surprise notification that they now owed the FDA more than $14,000 for their willingness to step in and help their fellow Americans," the lawmaker from Little Rock wrote.
Ultimately, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services overruled the FDA, so the fees were not enforced.
The FDA, nonetheless, had caused distilleries "unnecessary and avoidable panic and concern," he said, adding, "The federal government should not hinder companies that seek to fill the voids to the betterment of the American people in times of national crisis."
HUD post nominee grilled by Cotton
U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge, President Joe Biden's nominee to serve as secretary of Housing and Urban Development, has "a long history of intemperate comments," U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., told the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.
During the Ohio Democrat's confirmation hearing, Cotton asked Fudge about her criticism of Republicans after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Those attempting to rapidly fill the vacancy "have no decency, they have no honor, they have no integrity," she had said.
Cotton next read a comment Fudge had made about Republican efforts to craft criminal justice legislation after the death of George Floyd in Minnesota.
"If they want to save face and let this country know that they care even a little bit about people of color, which I don't believe they do, but if they want to try, I want to listen," Fudge had said at a June 10 NAACP virtual town hall meeting.
During the forum, Fudge described a White House "void of leadership," but said U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., "who happens to be a friend of time," was working to craft an alternative to the existing Democratic proposal.
"I am hopeful that Tim is going to come up with something that is going to be somewhat similar to some of the things that we are talking about," she said, according to a transcript posted by The Wall Street Journal.
Cotton, omitting the positive comments about Scott, asked Fudge whether she believes that Scott, who is Black, cares "even a little bit, about people of color."
"I support and trust Tim Scott," Fudge said.
"Could you answer my question, please?" Cotton continued.
"I wasn't talking about all Republicans," Fudge replied. "Tim Scott is clearly a fine, upstanding senator, and I do believe he cares."
Planning to visit the nation's capital? Know something happening in Washington, D.C.? Please contact Frank Lockwood at (501) 908-5204 or flockwood@adgnewsroom.com. Want the latest from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Washington bureau? It's available on Twitter, @LockwoodFrank.