Our country is no stranger to political violence. U.S. history is littered with assassinations, riots, insurrections, and of course a devastating civil war that left hundreds of thousands of Americans dead.
But that made Saturday’s events no less shocking. At a rally in western Pennsylvania, a would-be assassin fired shots from an AR-15 at former President and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. The Secret Service swarmed the stage as Trump went to the ground; blood appeared on the side of his face.
Trump, thankfully, was only slightly injured, but one rally-goer was killed and two were critically injured; Secret Service snipers killed the gunman. As of this writing, the shooter’s motives are unknown, but for a country in the midst of an angry and divisive election season, this incident was the last thing we needed.
President Biden spoke to the country three times over the weekend, the last an Oval Office address where he decried the shooting and political violence in general. “Politics must never be a literal battlefield, God forbid, a killing field.” Seconds later, Trump posted a two-word message on his Truth Social account: “UNITE AMERICA!”
Whether that comity lasts is to be determined. The Republican Convention opens today in Milwaukee, with Democrats meeting a month later in Chicago. Election season is never an ideal environment for cooler heads.
One unintended consequence of the shooting is that it has, for the moment, frozen the debate among Democrats about whether to keep Biden on the ticket. But once the GOP convention is over, those conversations are likely to heat up again.
In the meantime, Republicans are heading to the Badger State to nominate Trump, for the third consecutive election cycle. In advance of the convention, the GOP released its party platform. While light on the details, it does include a few items that could impact CRM should Trump re-take the White House. For instance, the platform vows that a Trump administration will “streamline permitting” in order to increase energy production and will cut regulations more generally.
Republicans also are highlighting the Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn the 40-year-old Chevron deference, the doctrine that required courts to defer to federal agencies’ expertise and judgement in rulemakings when the law was ambiguous. Last week, the chairs of several GOP-led House committees sent letters to federal agencies, including the Department of the Interior, demanding that agencies review “overreaching” regulations issued and proposed during the Biden administration that may run afoul of the courts in a post-Chevron world.
The letters themselves have no practical impact: Congress is always free to enact legislation that gives increased statutory support for, or renders moot, agency regulations. And the primary venue for challenging agency regulations post-Chevron will be the courts, not Congress. But it shows that the debate over the size and breadth of the regulatory system is just getting started.
It is still far too early to know with any certainty what if any impact the Chevron decision will have on cultural resource and historic preservation regulations like those that implement Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. But ACRA is working with its partners in the preservation community to assess the potential impacts of the Chevron decision on CRM, just as it is studying the candidate’s policy platforms to be prepared to advocate for CRM once the election is over – no matter who wins in the end.
Get in the Know at the 2024 ACRA Conference
As the campaigns heat up and the policy debate intensifies, attending the ACRA 2024 Annual Conference in Albuquerque Sept. 26-29 is a great way to get the latest scoop.
In addition to updates on what’s happening in Washington, the conference will feature sessions on a wide range of topics that impact CRM and the chance to interact and network with fellow CRMers.
Don’t miss out on the premier cultural resource management event of the year – register now!