The Lunch Hour with Federal Newswire

Dave Kappos is an attorney and former government official who served as Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office from 2009 to 2013. Kappos is currently a partner at New York law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore.

Coach Joe Kennedy, an eighteen-year Marine veteran, was an assistant coach for the Bremerton High School (BHS) varsity football team. School officials at BHS suspended—and later fired—football coach Joe Kennedy because he prayed a brief, quiet prayer after football games. A lawsuit was filed against the school district, arguing that banning coaches from quietly praying, just because they can be seen by the public, is wrong and violates the Constitution. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, and then the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, sided with the school district. The case eventually landed in the U.S. Supreme Court. In January 2022, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Coach Joe.

Veronique de Rugy is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Her primary research interests include the US economy, the federal budget, homeland security, taxation, tax competition, and financial privacy. Her popular weekly charts, published by the Mercatus Center, address economic issues ranging from lessons on creating sustainable economic growth to the implications of government tax and fiscal policies. She has testified numerous times in front of Congress on the effects of fiscal stimulus, debt and deficits,and regulation on the economy.De Rugy writes regular columns for Reason magazine and the Washington Examiner, and she blogs about economics at National Review Online’s the Corner. Her charts, articles, and commentary have been featured in a wide range of media outlets

Timothy Lee is Senior Vice President of Legal and Public Affairs at the Center for Individual Freedom, an Alexandria, Virginia-based nonprofit organization established in 1998 to protect Constitutional rights, promote free market principles, and advance international liberty. Prior to joining CFIF in 2006, Mr. Lee practiced labor & employment law and commercial litigation at law firms in the Los Angeles, California and Phoenix, Arizona areas, including such worldwide firms as Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP and Quarles & Brady LLP. He also served as in-house labor & employment counsel at Chubb Group, Ltd. 

Joshua Treviño is an American political commentator, formerly a consultant and United States Army officer. He is a former George W. Bush Administration speech writer and was listed as a 2006 Lincoln Fellow with the Claremont Institute. He is a graduate of Furman University. Jaeson Jones is an internationally renowned border intelligence expert. He has led investigations targeting Mexican cartel leadership and collaborated closely with the US intelligence community to help save lives throughout Mexico and the USA.

Tarren Bragdon is an American former state legislator and think tank founder. At age 21, Bragdon won a seat in the Maine House of Representatives and became the youngest state legislator ever elected in Maine. A Republican, Bragdon served in the Maine House from 1996 through 2000.From 2008 to early 2011, Tarren was CEO of The Maine Heritage Policy Center, a free market think tank based in Portland, Maine. Under his leadership, the organization grew to become the largest state-based free market think tank per capita. In September 2010, he received the Thomas Roe Award, given annually by the State Policy Network to the individual with the greatest impact on the nation’s free market movement.Tarren is currently president and chief executive officer of the Foundation for GovernmentAccountability, founded in 2011.

Shea Bradley-Farrell, PhD is President of Counterpoint Institute for Policy, Research, and Education (CIPRE) in Washington, D.C.  Dr. Shea is an expert in foreign policy and aid, national security, international development, and women’s issues. Dr. Shea is also the first international Senior Fellow for the Center for Fundamental Rights in Budapest, Hungary, and is writing a book about Hungarian national sovereignty to be published December 2023. Dr Shea worked directly with the Trump administration, including Sec. Mike Pompeo and Senior Advisor Ivanka Trump, on multiple issues while serving as the VP of International Affairs for Concerned Women for America. Recently she was professor and subject matter expert for the Defense Security Cooperation University (DSCU) of the U.S. Department of Defense. Dr. Shea possesses an active U.S. security clearance.

Tom Jankovsky, a third-generation native Coloradan, is serving in his fourth term as Garfield County Commissioner.He is the public lands planning lead for the Board of County Commissioners, currently working on the Greater Sage Grouse SEIS, and the Biden Administration’s 30×30 initiative. During his tenure, he has also served as the board liaison to the Garfield County Human Services Commission, Garfield County Economic Roundtable, and the Garfield County Latino Community Commission. He is a member of the Garfield County Clean Energy Board, the county’s Investment Advisory Board, the Garfield County Budget Committee, Vice Chair of the Intermountain Transportation Region (TPR), and the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Northwest Colorado Regional Advisory Council (RAC).

Ryan Young is a senior economist at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI). His research focuses on regulatory reform, trade policy, antitrust regulation, and other issues. His writing has appeared in USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Politico, The Hill, Investor’s Business Daily, Forbes, Fortune, and dozens of other publications. He is a frequent guest on radio programs, been interviewed by outlets including The Huffington Post and Voice of America, and been cited in media outlets including ABC News, CNN, and London’s City AM. He formerly hosted the CEI Podcast, and writes the popular “This Week in Ridiculous Regulations” series for CEI’s staff blog.Ryan holds an M.A. in economics from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and a B.A. in history from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. He was previously CEI’s 2009-2010 Warren T. Brookes Journalism Fellow. Before joining CEI, he worked in the Cato Institute’s government affairs department. His personal blog is Inertia Wins.

Gabriella Hoffman is a policy analyst, freelance media strategist, journalist, Townhall.com columnist, podcaster, and award-winning outdoor writer specializing in public policy, freelance journalism, branding, digital media strategy, and press relations in politics, outdoors/shooting sports, and small business.