Noncitizen voting bill advances as Republicans continue messaging push

WASHINGTON — The House Administration Committee advanced a pair of messaging bills Thursday along party lines that Republicans said would curb foreign interference in U.S. elections and would prevent noncitizens from voting in federal elections — something federal law already forbids.

Chairman Bryan Steil argued that the legislation was necessary to restore Americans’ shaken faith in the validity of federal vote counts.

“When Americans are more confident that our elections are secure, they’re more likely to participate,” the Wisconsin Republican said. “As chairman of this committee, my focus is on increasing confidence and participation in our elections.”

Ranking member Joseph D. Morelle said Americans were confident in the security of the nation’s elections until Republicans, led by former President Donald Trump, started making false claims about the 2020 election.

—CQ-Roll Call

Florida priest bites woman who grabbed communion wafers

ORLANDO, Fla. — A Catholic priest saying Mass in St. Cloud bit a woman as she grabbed Holy Communion wafers from him, and the Diocese of Orlando defended his actions Thursday as an attempt “to prevent an act of desecration.”

St. Cloud police arrived Sunday afternoon at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church to speak with Father Fidel Rodriguez, who admitted he bit the woman.

He told officers the woman, whose name was redacted in the police report, looked unaware of the requirements to receive Communion at the 10 a.m. service. She returned for the second Mass at noon to again demand the sacrament. Body-worn camera video from the St. Cloud Police Department shows footage shown to police by a church representative. It appears to show the woman exchanging words with Rodriguez. It’s not clear from the video what was said.

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