Attorney General Jeff Landry was at the White House on Wednesday with his GOP counterparts from other states to meet with President Donald Trump on a variety of so-called big tech issues, specifically Section 230, which is the liability shield enjoyed by social media companies and others. The U.S. Department of Justice wants Congress to propose revisions to the legal liability shield that covers third-party content. U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr was in the meeting as well, Landry said, and they discussed Louisiana’s “role in safeguarding American consumers from censorship on social media.” There’s also the question of whether Louisiana will participate in any antitrust actions that the White House is expected to bring against Google soon. LaPolitics and Daily Report touched upon the question in this space last week, but, at the time, a Landry spokesperson said no decision had been made. That apparently changed after Landry’s meeting with Trump and Barr. “I can tell you that we will absolutely be joining the U.S. Department of Justice if or when they take that action,” Landry said on CNBC after leaving the White House. “Louisiana will be there.”
Hirings and promotions: Lauren Gleason is the new director of health care and education/workforce development at the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry. She was most recently the director of legislative and governmental relations at the Louisiana Department of Health. Emerge Louisiana has hired Tamara Agins as its new executive director. Paige Fenerty Knight is the new communications manager at Louisiana REALTORS. Brittney Reed, formerly a legislative aide to Rep. Blake Miguez, is the new executive director of the Louisiana Republican Party. Roderick Hawkins, press secretary to late Gov. Kathleen Blanco, is a new associate dean at Northwestern University School of Communication.
They said it: “You call a special session and have 70 objects. That is a regular session.” —Gov. John Bel Edwards, during a news conference this week.
Jeremy Alford publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter, or on Facebook. He can be reached at JJA@LaPolitics.com.
