The U.S. House of Representatives on Monday unanimously passed the Federal Judiciary Stabilization Act, which would convert temporary district court judgeships in 10 states into permanent positions, Reuters reports. The measure now heads to President Biden for his signature. The legislation was introduced in 2023 after the U.S. Judicial Conference recommended that Congress extend or make permanent nine of the 10 temporary judgeships, and create two new appeals court positions and 66 new permanent district court seats. The conference cited rising caseloads for the expansion. The U.S. Senate unanimously approved a bill in August to create the 66 trial court judgeships, which would be spaced out in six waves over a decade, starting in 2025. The House passed that measure last week though Biden has threatened to veto it.

Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts and 10 other lawmakers sent a letter to the CEO of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) last week, urging the federal utility to slow its expansion of natural gas plants and invest more in renewable energy. The lawmakers expressed concern that TVA may fail to meet its clean energy goals after building several large gas plants, which are subject to fluctuating fuel prices and the risk of methane leaks. According to Knox News, the letter was a response to a draft of TVA's integrated resource plan, which outlines potential pathways the utility could take to meet electricity demand by 2050. During the comment period, TVA received more than 2,200 official comments on the plan. According to the paper, a final version of TVA’s resource plan is expected to be presented to the TVA Board for consideration next spring.

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.