U.S. senators are urging colleagues in the House of Representatives to pass bipartisan legislation aimed at boosting privacy and safety for children online before the holiday break. U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, have spent years working on the "Kids Online Safety Act," which seeks to provide children and parents with better tools to protect themselves online and hold tech companies accountable for harm. The bill passed the Senate earlier this year with a 91-3 vote but has stalled in the House. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, along with a group of 31 state attorneys general, urged congressional members in a November letter to pass the legislation. According to WKRN News, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, has not allowed a vote on the bill, citing concerns it could lead to censorship of conservative views. Blackburn, however, argues the legislation focuses on product design, not content. "Every product that is sold in this country has some kind of safety design attached, except what you're seeing in the virtual space," she said.

Legislation to significantly expand the federal judiciary cleared the U.S. House today, Bloomberg Law reports. It now moves to the desk of President Joe Biden, who has pledged to veto the measure. In a statement, the White House said the bill "would create new judgeships in states where senators have sought to hold open existing judicial vacancies," suggesting that caseload is not the primary concern behind the bill. Earlier this year, the Senate passed the proposal to add 66 judgeships in 25 federal district courts in 13 states. The bill is designed to alleviate pressure from overburdened benches over the next decade. Hundreds of judges have taken the rare step of publicly advocating for the bill, arguing that federal caseloads have increased more than 30% since Congress last passed legislation to comprehensively expand the judiciary.

An investigation is ongoing into claims of sexual misconduct at the Mountain Home James H. Quillen Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Johnson City. U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chair Mike Bost, R–Illinois, said the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provided the committee with documents related to an internal investigation into the allegations. Bost confirmed that the information revealed that sexual relationships and misconduct did occur on the VA property at Mountain Home. The House committee has been investigating the matter since July. WJHL has more on the allegations.

Nashville lawyer Karla Campbell, who was nominated to the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals by President Joe Biden earlier this year, will not get a confirmation vote in the U.S. Senate before Biden’s term ends. The Tennessean reports that a deal struck by Democratic and Republican senators will allow for votes on several trial court nominees but put four appellate court nominations on hold. The other appellate nominees are Adeel Mangi, who was up for a seat on the Philadelphia-based 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals; Julia Lipez, who was nominated to the Boston-based 1st Circuit Court of Appeals; and Ryan Park, up for a seat on the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Incumbent U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Brentwood, defeated state Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, yesterday to retain her U.S. Senate seat. Johnson, who also ran for reelection to her state House seat, was unopposed and won that race. Blackburn has been floated as a possible cabinet pick in the second Trump administration but she told NewsChannel 5 that she intends to stay in the Senate. In other races, all of Tennessee’s U.S. House members were reelected, including 1st District Rep. Diana Harshbarger, 2nd District Rep. Tim Burchett, 3rd District Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, 4th District Rep. Scott DesJarlai, 5th District Rep. Andy Ogles, 6th District Rep. John Rose, 7th District Rep. Mark Green, 8th District Rep. David Kustoff and 9th District Rep. Steve Cohen, the delegation’s lone Democrat. The Tennessean looks at all these races.

Tennessee's congressional delegation on Monday sent a letter urging U.S. House and Senate leaders to provide meaningful federal aid for farmers affected by Hurricane Helene. According to WKRN News, the letter called on Congress “to take swift and thorough action in appropriating critical funding” to meet the agricultural relief demands of states affected by Hurricane Helene like Tennessee, and added that the state received copious amounts of rain and runoff from surrounding states, acutely affecting the agriculture industry. Last week, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated that farmers in affected states would receive over $233 million in indemnities, but Tennessee was not included in USDA’s estimated indemnity payments.

Tennessee's congressional delegation is advocating for the establishment of a federal passport agency in Nashville, citing legal concerns related to access and efficiency in passport processing for residents. Currently, Nashville-area residents must travel several hours to the nearest agency in Atlanta, hindering timely applications and renewals, according to Axios Nashville. The delegation, led by the U.S. Rep. John Rose, a Republican from Cookeville, has formally questioned Secretary of State Antony Blinken regarding Nashville's exclusion from the State Department's recent announcement of six new passport offices. In the letter, the representatives highlight the significant legal and practical challenges faced by constituents who require expedited passport services.

A Kansas judge last week dismissed a defamation lawsuit against U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Knoxville, ruling that Denton Loudermill Jr. lacked jurisdiction to bring the case. WBIR News 10 reports that Loudermill sued Burchett in March after Burchett tweeted a photo of Loudermill, referring to him as a gunman and an "illegal," following a fatal shooting at a Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl celebration on Feb. 14. Loudermill, a U.S. citizen, was briefly detained after the shooting broke out but never charged. Burchett's attorneys argued the lawsuit should be dismissed because the action had no connection to Kansas, as Burchett does not live or represent constituents in that state. Following the dismissal, Loudermill's attorney said he would refile the suit in Washington, D.C., according to The Tennessee Journal.

U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, a Republican from Columbia, recently submitted several financial disclosure reports, including his overdue 2023 filing. According to The Nashville Banner, the amended disclosures reveal a previously undisclosed line of credit valued between $500,000 and $1 million, as well as a joint bank account at First Horizon, valued between $50,000 and $100,000. These reports follow inquiries from campaign finance watchdogs regarding his ability to loan over $300,000 to his campaign. Ogles also reported a reduction in the value of his retirement savings and disclosed an additional investment property worth between $500,000 and $1 million. His phone was recently seized by federal investigators, and Ogles has stated he believes the inquiry is politically motivated and expressed confidence that the discrepancies in his financial reporting were based on honest mistake.

The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed the "End Woke Higher Education Act," which would limit public colleges from imposing “time, place or manner” restrictions on expressive activities in an aim to protect First Amendment rights, according to Inside Higher Ed News. If approved by the Senate, the bill would require private colleges to annually disclose their speech policies to students, faculty and the Education Department, while both public and private institutions would have to allow single-sex social organizations. The White House criticized the legislation, stating it could overstep Congress's traditional role in higher education and impose confusing new mandates. The statement expressed concern that the bill could further hinder efforts to create diverse and inclusive college environments, according to the report.