GOP Praises Paul Clement, Disses King & Spalding Over DOMA Withdrawal

"I want to express my gratitude to former Solicitor General Clement. I admire his unwavering commitment to his clients and his dedication to uphold the law – qualities that appear to be inconsequential at King and Spalding where politics and profit now appear to come first. King and Spalding’s cut and run approach is inexcusable and an insult to the legal profession. Less than one week after the contract was approved engaging the firm, they buckled under political pressure and bailed with little regard for their ethical and legal obligations. Fortunately, Clement does not share the same principles. I’m confident that with him at the helm, we will fight to ensure the courts – not the President – determine DOMA’s constitutionality." - Rep. Dan Lungren, chairman of the House Republicans Study Committee.

Paul Clement Quits King & Spalding To Continue House DOMA Defense

Former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement has resigned from King & Spalding in order to continue as the GOP's defense attorney in the House DOMA battle. Earlier today Clement's now-former employers announced their withdrawal from the cases.

"I resign out of the firmly held belief that a representation should not be abandoned because the client's legal position is extremely unpopular in certain quarters. Defending unpopular clients is what lawyers do," Clement wrote to King & Spalding chairman Robert Hays. "I recognized from the outset that this statute implicates very sensitive issues that prompt strong views on both sides. But having undertaken the representation, I believe there is no honorable course for me but to complete it."

Read Clement's full resignation letter. (PDF)

BREAKING: Law Firm King & Spalding Backs Out Of House DOMA Defense

No confirmation is yet available, but the above HuffPo tweet is blowing up on Twitter right now. If true, stand by for NOM to get the vapors.

UPDATE: Politico confirms the story. King & Spalding has issued the below statement.

Today the firm filed a motion to withdraw from its engagement to represent the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the House of Representatives on the constitutional issues regarding Section III of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. Last week we worked diligently through the process required for withdrawal. In reviewing this assignment further, I determined that the process used for vetting this engagement was inadequate. Ultimately I am responsible for any mistakes that occurred and apologize for the challenges this may have created.

Stand by for the screaming outrage! I can't wait!

UPDATE II: The Human Rights Campaign reacts.

“King & Spalding has rightly chosen to put principle above politics in dropping its involvement in the defense of this discriminatory and patently unconstitutional law. We are pleased to see the firm has decided to stand on the right side of history and remain true to its core values. Speaker Boehner is likely to pursue continued defense of this odious law. However, law firms that value LGBT equality should remain committed to those values.”

UPDATE III: Lambda Legal's Jon Davidson reacts.

"Today, we learned once again that it is a bad idea to defend antigay bias and discrimination in court, and fewer and fewer people are willing to do it. We welcome the news that the law firm, King and Spalding, has decided to withdraw from the engagement to represent House leadership in defending DOMA. We were very surprised and disappointed when King and Spalding accepted this assignment, because they have been supporters of LGBT equality in the past. We thought we might have to face them in court as adversaries in our case, Golinski v. OPM - and we were ready to do that. But I guess their sense of justice got the better of them - and that's good news for all of us. Some attorney will no doubt accept this job and defend DOMA in court on behalf of the House leaders - that's the way the legal system works. We're just glad it is not a law firm that has shown respect and support for their own LGBT attorneys, for our community and for our fight for equality. We welcome the firm back to the right side of history."

Richard Socarides On DOMA Battle

Maggie Praises GOP's DOMA Team

"Paul Clement is one of the ablest litigators in the country, whose seven years acting as solicitor general is the longest period of continuous service since the 19th century. The solicitor general's job is arguing cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, and Clement has argued more than 50 such cases. As a friend of mine, himself an able litigator, put it: "He's the best. Boehner could not have made a better choice." And so, thanks to Boehner, Obama's plan to sabotage DOMA's defense has backfired. For the first time since Obama became president, we will have a legal eagle in the courtroom defending DOMA who actually wants to win the case." - Maggie Gallagher, writing for Real Clear Politics.

$500,000 To Defend DOMA

According to a press release from the Human Rights Campaign, the GOP's contract with the law firm hired to defend DOMA stipulates a maximum payment of $500,000. Oh, but it could be more.

In order to defend discrimination by any means necessary, House Republican leaders have contracted with the law firm King & Spalding at the rate of $520 an hour to argue that they’re right to deny recognition to legally married couples, according to the contract made public today. The document caps the cost at $500,000 but can easily be increased upon further negotiations with the firm. “DOMA inflicts a great cost on same-sex couples but now its defense is burdening taxpayers to the tune of $520 per hour,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “The firm of King & Spalding and their attorney Paul Clement should be ashamed at every penny earned in trying to justify discrimination against American families.” There are currently at least nine cases challenging the constitutionality of section 3 of DOMA which bars federal recognition of marriages between same-sex couples. If the House were to intervene in all nine that would mean less than 100 billable hours would be spent per case in order to hit the $500,000 cap.

Where are the jobs?

VIDEO: House DOMA Hearing

Over at Wonk Room, our pal Zack Ford has compiled some of the testimony from last week's House DOMA hearing. Ford quotes Maggie Gallagher's usual nonsense:

If, in fact, marriage, as a public and legal institution…is oriented towards protecting children by increasing the likelihood they have a mother and father, then same-sex couples do not fit, and conversely, if same-sex couples fit the definition of marriage, then marriage really is no longer about responsible procreation in the sense.

Chaos In House As Dems Almost Trick GOP Into Approving Severe Tea Party Budget

House Democrats almost pulled a fast one on the GOP today. Talking Points Memo reports:

The vote was on the Republican Study Committee's alternative budget -- a radical plan that annihilates the social contract in America by putting the GOP budget on steroids. Deeper tax cuts for the wealthy, more severe entitlement rollbacks. Normally something like that would fail by a large bipartisan margin in either the House or the Senate. Conservative Republicans would vote for it, but it would be defeated by a coalition of Democrats and more moderate Republicans. But today that formula didn't hold. In an attempt to highlight deep divides in the Republican caucus. Dems switched their votes -- from "no" to "present."

Panic ensued. In the House, legislation passes by a simple majority of members voting. The Dems took themselves out of the equation, leaving Republicans to decide whether the House should adopt the more-conservative RSC budget instead of the one authored by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan. As Dems flipped to present, Republicans realized that a majority of their members had indeed gone on the record in support of the RSC plan -- and if the vote closed, it would pass. That would be a slap in the face to Ryan, and a politically toxic outcome for the Republican party.

The bill ended up barely failing by a vote of 139-119. All Democrats voted "present."

Rep. Jerrold Nadler At DOMA Hearing

Rep Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) opened this morning's DOMA hearing with a blistering denouncement of the entire issue.

(Via - Good As You)

Rep. Joe Crowley: Speechless

Watch Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY) take an unusual method to denounce the GOP's spending plan.

House DOMA Hearings Begin

Metro Weekly's Chris Geidner tweets out the above photo as this morning's GOP hearing on defending DOMA begins. You can watch the hearing live here or follow along on Twitter at the hashtag #DefendingDOMA.

UAFA To Be Reintroduced In House

The Uniting American Families Act will be reintroduced in the U.S. House this Thursday by Rep. Jerrold Nadler and several other Democrats. Via press release from Nadler's office:

On Thursday, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, and Representatives John Conyers (D-MI), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Jared Polis (D-CO), Mike Honda (D-CA), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Jackie Speier (D-CA), and others will announce the re-introduction of the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA). This overdue legislation would allow gay and lesbian Americans to sponsor their permanent partners for legal residency in the United States, a right currently enjoyed only by married heterosexuals under immigration law. Because the U.S. does not legally recognize gay and lesbian couples and their children as families, many same-sex binational couples are torn apart. The announcement will take place at 1:00pm on Thursday, April 14th at the House Triangle in Washington D.C.

Like the latest edition of ENDA, advocates have dim hopes of the bill's approval in the GOP-dominated House.

John Boehner: I Have No Idea How Much DOMA Defense Will Cost Taxpayers

House Speaker John Boehner said yesterday that he doesn't have a clue how much the GOP defense of DOMA will cost. Chris Johnson reports at Washington Blade:

“I do not have an estimate,” Boehner said. “But we were placed in a position where we were in effect allowing the administration to determine the constitutionality of a bill that passed the United States Congress because they were unwilling to defend it. I don’t think the House had any choice but to take the position that we were going to defend the work that the Congress — and only the courts are in the position of determining the constitutionality of any bill.” Michael Cole-Schwartz, spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, blasted Boehner for not having the cost on defending DOMA readily available. “For a speaker so obsessed with budgets and cost cutting, it’s laughable that he claims not to know what hiring outside attorneys will cost the American public,” Cole-Schwartz said. “If the Speaker is going to force taxpayers to defend discrimination, it’s reasonable that the public understand what the bill will be.”

The House has an April 18th deadline to respond to the DOMA case, Windsor v. United States, which is pending before the U.S. District Court of Southern District of New York.

ENDA Reintroduced In House

The doomed-from-the-start 2011 edition of ENDA was introduced yesterday by Rep. Barney Frank. Chris Geidner reports at Metro Weekly:

At the end of the 111th Congress, 203 members of the 435-member body had joined Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) in co-sponsoring the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. The jobs protection bill, though only 14 members away from having a majority of the House as co-sponsors, never made it out of the House Education and Labor Committee chaired by ENDA co-sponsor Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.). Today, the bill, which would prohibit most employers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation of gender identity, was reintroduced by Frank with only a few more than half that number -- 111 co-sponsors.

The HRC's Fred Sainz tells Geidner: "It's a start. The goal will be to work back up to a number that exceeds last session's number with a greater number of Republicans. We know that this is a building session, and frankly, I wouldn't measure success by the number of co-sponsors alone but by the amount of education and outreach we do to members."

Tweet Of The Day - Rep. Tammy Baldwin

GOP Unveils Budget That Overhauls Medicare & Medicaid, Repeals Obamacare

House Budget Committee chairman Rep. Paul Ryan today unveiled a long-term plan that would dramatically overhaul the way the federal government and states administer Medicare and Medicaid. The GOP plan also, of course, repeals "Obamacare."

Ryan's budget proposal aims to slash $6 trillion from the budget over the next 10 years. It would in part accomplish that by changing Medicaid -- which serves low-income families -- from a government-run insurance program to a system of block grants distributed to states. Medicare, a government-run health care program for those over 65, would essentially turn into a "premium support" program -- the government would essentially provide vouchers for health care, but the funds would go directly to the insurer rather than the consumer. The government would give private health insurers a set amount of money to cover senior citizens. The change to Medicare would go into effect in 2022 under the plan. It's a risky proposal politically, given Medicare's overwhelming popularity, but Ryan and the GOP are prepared to argue the changes are necessary.

Below is the PR clip Ryan issued today in support of his plan.

House Democrats To Boehner: What Are Your Plans Regarding DOMA Defense?

Via press release, a letter from the six House Democrats who are lead sponsors of the bill to repeal DOMA.

Dear Mr. Speaker,

It is our understanding that deadlines for Congressional action are fast approaching and that House General Counsel or outside counsel retained to represent the House must appear and move to intervene or otherwise participate, if it chooses to do so, in at least one case, Windsor v. United States of America, on or before April 18, 2011. We therefore ask that you brief all interested Members before April 18, 2011 regarding the course of action with regard to the Winsor case and any other proceedings where the House intends to defend DOMA. Among other things, we are interested in a status report on who will be representing the House, estimates regarding the cost and length of proposed litigation efforts, the anticipated role of the House in litigation (i.e., intervenor or amicus curiae), and your assessment regarding the likelihood of success on the merits. If you or House General Counsel already have arranged for representation by outside counsel, we would welcome and appreciate their participation in this briefing.

The letter was signed by Jerrold Nadler, Barney Frank, Tammy Baldwin, Jared Polis, David Cicilline, and John Conyers. Metro Weekly has the full letter (PDF).