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>The top Republican candidates — U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, former state Attorney General Daniel Cameron and businessman Nate Morris — were invited to participate in a forum, but Michael Faris, a businessman from Elizabethtown, was the only one to respond. He was given a 15-minute interview that aired following the Democrats’ forum. 

>Asked about where the president’s campaign promises had not aligned with his time in office so far, Faris pointed to the war in Iran, adding that  “A lot of people are not too happy with that,” along with the growing affordability issues, such as gas and grocery prices. 

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>The candidates were asked about the government shutdown and Democrats in the Senate approving U.S. Department of Homeland Security funding after federal ICE officers shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis in January.

>Booker said ICE “needs to be abolished” and that “There is no negotiating on this topic.” He also blamed the president for the shutdown and added that “he has to own it.” 

>McGrath said the shutdown “has been going on for far too long” and admonished the frequency of them. She said that if elected, she would introduce a bill that says during federal shutdowns, members of Congress and their staff would not be paid. 

>She was critical of ICE, saying what it has done under the Trump administration “is not what we voted for.” She said she would call to “rein in ICE” and direct federal agencies to respect “the basic constitutional rights of any human being in our country.”

>Romans said he would “never support a shutdown in Washington for any reason.” If there could be a “line-item shutting down” regarding ICE, Romans said, “maybe.” He said shutdowns can put the country’s security and economy at risk. 

>“ICE has its place. It needs to be put back where it belongs, on the border, protecting the borders only, not being used as a national police force,” Romans said. 

>Stevenson said “the government has no right to shut down” or deny SNAP benefits, referring to when the Trump administration had threatened to not process the federal food assistance during the fall government shutdown. 

>“Whatever is done to working families needs to be done to Congress,” Stevenson said. “We sent them to Washington, D.C., to protect us, to hold us, to make sure that we can live the life in Kentucky. And they failed. They need to stop holding us hostage and allow families to thrive.” 

The complete forum can be found here: www.youtube.com/live/ggZ6-RPPl-8

In a 5-1 opinion issued Monday afternoon, the state’s high court said that the legislature’s impeachment of Fayette Circuit Judge Julie Goodman “encroaches upon the inherent powers of the Judicial Branch” and violates the separation of powers among branches of government.

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The court’s majority cited several flaws in the House’s case against Goodman, including:

• The impeachment petition was invalid because it was not verified by an affidavit as required by law.
• None of the allegations of misconduct against Goodman rose to the level required for impeachment. 
• The impeachment hearing did not afford Goodman due process because five of her six actions at issue involved still active cases. She could not defend herself because Kentucky judges are prohibited from making public statements that could affect the outcome of pending cases.

The justices say that the allegations of misconduct against Goodman should have instead been referred to the Judicial Conduct Commission.

The majority also found that Goodman would face irreparable harm if impeached and removed from office, including being stripped of retirement benefits accrued over 20 years and never being able to hold another public office.

In conclusion, Lambert wrote that the Kentucky Constitution does not give the legislature “unfettered authority to conduct unconstitutional impeachment proceedings based on the mundane, discretionary actions of a judge that are within the exclusive authority of this branch to address,” as the state has “co-equal branches of government.”