U.S. Congress

The House on Thursday voted 268–164 against an amendment by Rep. Thomas Massie, R‑Ky., that would have stripped a Biden‑era requirement for automakers to develop in‑vehicle systems capable of passively detecting driver impairment and preventing or limiting vehicle operation. The mandate, embedded in the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, directs NHTSA to set a standard for technology that can 'passively monitor the performance of a driver' and intervene if impairment is detected; the agency told Congress it is still studying how to distinguish drunk driving from drowsy or distracted behavior and has not yet proposed a rule. Fifty‑seven Republicans joined most Democrats to defeat Massie’s amendment, drawing sharp criticism from conservative figures including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who likened a government‑controllable 'kill switch' to something out of Orwell’s 1984 and warned it could enable remote shutdowns of privately owned cars. Supporters of the underlying infrastructure language frame it as a future safety tool to cut impaired‑driving deaths, while opponents across the right are using the vote to accuse GOP defectors of enabling potential surveillance and overreach, a debate already spilling across social media. The amendment’s failure means the statutory directive to NHTSA remains in force as the agency works toward an eventual impaired‑driving technology rule that could impact every new U.S. vehicle.

The House passed a resolution 214–208 to overturn a Biden-era Interior Department decision limiting mineral development on federal lands near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters, with Rep. Pete Stauber, R-Minn., as sponsor. Only one Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, joined Republicans in backing the measure, while one Republican, Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, opposed it, underscoring tight partisan lines on public-lands and mining policy. Supporters including House Natural Resources Chair Bruce Westerman argue the move simply reverses what they call the administration’s "short-circuiting" of the normal permitting process and is needed to tap U.S. deposits of copper, nickel, titanium and other minerals for national security and clean‑energy technology. Democrats led by Rep. Jared Huffman counter that reopening the area threatens the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, a major outdoor‑recreation economy, and could benefit companies such as Twin Metals with ties to foreign interests like China, without guarantees the ore would stay in U.S. supply chains. The resolution now heads to the Senate, where its fate is uncertain and where the broader fight over domestic critical‑minerals production versus environmental protection is drawing heightened attention.

A GOP bill would authorize annexation of Greenland — including a separate proposal by a Republican lawmaker to make Greenland the 51st state — while House Democrats, led by Rep. Gabe Amo (D‑R.I.), have introduced the "NO NATO for Purchase Act" to bar U.S. actions or spending to purchase a NATO member or NATO‑protected territory. Amo’s measure, backed by more than 20 Democratic co‑sponsors and framed as "Greenland is not for sale," is a direct response to renewed Republican talk of acquiring Greenland and follows diplomatic exchanges in which Danish officials said Copenhagen and Washington still disagree over Greenland’s long‑term security and control.