An Ominous Sign

Republicans reportedly cave in negotiations, allowing the Global Engagement Center new life

This morning’s story about the Twitter Files and the possibility of new speech investigations came on the heels of good news I heard of late, suggesting the cavalry might be coming on First Amendment issues.

Now, there’s word of an ugly development in a fight over the continued funding of the State Department’s Global Engagement Center. Gabe Kaminsky of the Washington Examiner, the young reporter whose extensive digging on GEC beginning in 2023 was crucial in shining a light on its funding of “blacklisting” efforts, reports that the agency, scheduled to be shuttered, may get a “one-year lifeline”:

According to a congressional source familiar with the matter, the GEC provision was a private demand from Senate Democrats in exchange for Republicans getting a provision aiming to protect small businesses from certain fines approved by the Biden administration under a bill called the Corporate Transparency Act.

I’m still trying to clarify what’s happening, but I want readers to know that if the GOP or the incoming administration sells out voters on the speech issue, you’ll hear about it here. The GEC escaping the chopping block would be a blow. More to come.