Handful of Republicans plan to buck leadership and vote yes on infrastructure bill
Republicans will not be united in opposing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act when it comes up for a vote in the House on Friday, with a handful of members saying that they will buck leadership and support the bill.
news.yahoo.comGOP senators are set to tank the bipartisan proposal for a Jan. 6 commission, much of which is identical to the law creating the Sept. 11 commission bill. Here's how they compare.
Sections of the two bills are identical in language, membership, and their bipartisan delineations of power.
news.yahoo.comCash windfall, virus numbers aid Newsom in recall
Officials say the recall effort against California Gov. Gavin Newsom has garnered enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot. But a fading coronavirus crisis and an astounding windfall of tax dollars has reshuffled the recall election. (May 21)
news.yahoo.comHouse backs commission on Jan. 6 riot over GOP objections
The House has voted to create an independent commission on the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, sending the legislation to an uncertain future in the Senate as Republican leaders work to stop a bipartisan investigation that is opposed by former President Donald Trump.
35 Republicans buck Trump, back study of Jan. 6 Capitol riot
Thirty-five House Republicans joined Democrats in voting to create a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, risking the wrath of former President Donald Trump and flouting GOP leaders who condemned the proposal as unfairly partisan and unneeded. The Republican mavericks were led Wednesday by New York Rep. John Katko, who wrote the measure with Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. Katko, that panel's top Republican, was battling two tides that have overwhelmed Congress in recent years: the nearly overwhelming potency Trump still has among Republicans and a jagged-edged partisanship that often confounds even mundane legislation. “I encourage all members, Republicans and Democrats alike, to put down their swords for once, just for once, and support this bill," Katko said before the House approved the measure.
news.yahoo.comHouse votes to establish a Jan. 6 commission
With a vote of 252-175, the House on Wednesday approved the creation of an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. There were 35 Republicans who voted in favor of the bill, bucking calls from former President Donald Trump to reject the formation of a commission. During the insurrection, a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol, with some beating police officers, breaking windows, and stealing items from offices. Before the vote, Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) said the riot will "haunt this institution for a long, long time," and must be investigated. Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.) agreed. "This is about facts — it's not partisan politics," Katko said. "The American people and the Capitol Police deserve answers and action as soon as possible to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again." Based on the panel put together after the 9/11 attacks, the 10-member commission would be evenly split between Democrats and Republicans and tasked with figuring out how to best secure the Capitol and prevent another insurrection from taking place. The legislation now heads to the Senate, where Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has called it "slanted and unbalanced" in favor of Democrats. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Republicans are "caving" to Trump, and he will force a vote on the bill. More stories from theweek.comStephen Breyer is delusional about the Supreme CourtMarjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz are more popular among GOP voters than Liz CheneyThe COVID lab-leak debate is asking the wrong question
news.yahoo.com35 Republicans buck Trump, back study of Jan. 6 Capitol riot
Thirty-five House Republicans joined Democrats Wednesday in voting to create a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, risking the wrath of former President Donald Trump and flouting GOP leaders who condemned the proposal as unfairly partisan and unneeded. The Republican mavericks were led by New York Rep. John Katko, who wrote the measure with Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. Katko, that panel's top Republican, was battling two tides that have overwhelmed Congress in recent years: the nearly overwhelming potency Trump still has among Republicans and a jagged-edged partisanship that often confounds even mundane legislation. “I encourage all members, Republicans and Democrats alike, to put down their swords for once, just for once, and support this bill," said Katko.
news.yahoo.comMcConnell formally announces opposition to Jan. 6 commission
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) publicly announced his opposition Wednesday to a 9/11-style commission to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, after informing Republican colleagues at a closed-door lunch on Tuesday. Why it matters: The House is set to vote Wednesday on creating the bipartisan commission, also opposed by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), that would investigate the "facts and circumstances" of the Capitol attack led largely by supporters of former President Trump.Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.Between the lines, via Axios' Alayna Treene: Most Republican members are wary of the commission and want to reframe the narrative away from the insurrection.There's also concerns it might alienate members of the GOP base, as well as Trump — who was impeached by the House for inciting the riot.What he's saying: "After careful consideration, I've made the decision to oppose the House Democrats' slanted and unbalanced proposal for another commission to study the events of January the 6th," McConnell said on the Senate floor."Federal law enforcement have made at least 445 arrests and counting relating to crimes committed that day. Hundreds of those people have been charged. Law enforcement investigations are ongoing and federal authorities say they expect to arrest at least 100 or so more." "Bipartisan investigations are also underway and have been for months at the committee level here in the Senate. So there is, has been, and there will continue to be, no shortage — no shortage — of robust investigations by two separate branches of the federal government." "The facts have come out and they'll continue to come out. What is clear is that House Democrats have handled this proposal in partisan bad faith going right back to the beginning."More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free
news.yahoo.comKevin McCarthy and Trump are scrambling to quash GOP support for bipartisan Jan. 6 commission
The House on Wednesday will likely approve the formation of an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump. The commission's fate in the Senate rests on whether 10 Republicans support the bipartisan legislation, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) surprised many observers Tuesday when he left the door open to backing the commission. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy spent Tuesday scrambling to keep the number of Republicans voting yes Wednesday to a bare minimum. He stated his own opposition earlier in the day, "raising some eyebrows in the GOP conference after Democrats conceded to McCarthy on nearly all of his top demands on the commission," The Washington Post reports. On Tuesday night, he officially urged his GOP colleagues to vote no, Politico says, but "a last-minute surge of GOP interest" in the commission is dashing his hopes of party unity. "The genie is out of the bottle, and people are trying to put it back in," one GOP lawmaker told Politico. McCarthy had deputized Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.), the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, to negotiate a bill on his behalf, and his push to sink Katko's deal "has upset several members, who feel McCarthy hung Katko out to dry and now feel even more inclined to rally around Katko and his commission proposal," Politico reports. "In a sign of momentum, the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus, of which Katko is a member, formally voted to endorse the legislation Tuesday evening." On the other hand, Trump, who doesn't want an investigation into his own actions on and leading up to Jan. 6, slammed the legislation in a blog post Tuesday, possibly tipping other uncertain House Republicans into the no camp. McCarthy's opposition is seen as personal — he might be called as a witness over a phone call with Trump during the riot — and political, since he needs the support of anti-commission conservatives, and likely Trump, to keep his leadership position. A big bipartisan vote in the House would both increase the odds of passage in the Senate and also enrage Trump. More stories from theweek.comThe threat of civil war didn't end with the Trump presidencyBiden got to test-drive Ford's electric F-150 Lightning, and the Israel-Gaza flight wasn't going to spoil his rideThis is your brain on pandemic whiplash
news.yahoo.comMayorkas defends Biden's border policies amid surge of migrant children
More than 13,000 unaccompanied migrant children are now in U.S. custody, sources tell CBS News. "The previous administration was expelling these unaccompanied children — some who are girls under the age of 12, for example — back to Mexico. GOP lawmakers blamed the Biden administration's policies for the surge in migrant children arriving at the border, accusing President Biden of inviting them to make the treacherous journey by repealing many of former President Donald Trump's policies. "If we want to speak of language, I will share with you how I define a crisis," Mayorkas later added. House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy led the delegation of Republican lawmakers to the U.S.-Mexico border on Monday, slamming Mr. Biden for what McCarthy called the "Biden border crisis."
cbsnews.comSuspected Russian hack fuels new US action on cybersecurity
AdThe reaction reflects the severity of a hack that was disclosed only in December. The administration has also proposed expanding by 30% the budget of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, or CISA, a little-known entity now under intense scrutiny because of the SolarWinds breach. The breach was discovered in early December by the private security firm FireEye, a cause of concern for some officials. AdRight after the hack was announced, the Treasury Department bypassed its normal competitive contracting process to hire the private security firm CrowdStrike, U.S. contract records show. “In practical terms, what that meant is they weren’t invited in because no department or agency wants to look bad,” he said.
House votes to strip Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of committee assignments
The House voted Thursday to strip Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., of her committee assignments as punishment for a laundry list of extreme views and conspiracy theories she promoted before taking office. The 11 Republicans who voted to remove Greene included: Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA), Rep. Chris Jacobs (NY), Rep. Carlos A. Giménez (FL), Rep. John Katko (NY), Rep. Young Kim (CA), Rep. Adam Kinzinger (IL), Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (NY), Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (FL), Rep. Fred Upton (MI), Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart and Rep. Chris Smith (NJ). He then proposed to Democrats that the GOP would strip Greene of her Education Committee assignment if she could remain on the Budget Committee, NBC News reported. He went on to criticize Democrats for moving to sanction Greene, accusing the majority party of a partisan power grab. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., leaves after speaking on the House floor at the Capitol on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021.
cnbc.comGOP lawmaker with gun sets off House chamber metal detector
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)WASHINGTON – Capitol Police are investigating an incident in which a Republican lawmaker was blocked from entering the House chamber after setting off a metal detector while apparently carrying a concealed gun. Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., set off the metal detector while trying to enter the chamber Thursday afternoon. The metal detectors were installed after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, which left five people dead, including a Capitol police officer. And the congressman always complies with the House metal detectors and wanding. Capitol Police have now placed desks and velvet ropes near the metal detectors to block anyone from walking around the machines.
Led by Cheney, 10 House Republicans back Trump impeachment
3 House GOP leader — voted to impeach President Donald Trump over the deadly insurrection at the Capitol. The GOP votes were in sharp contrast to the unanimous support for Trump among House Republicans when he was impeached by Democrats in December 2019. Katko, a former federal prosecutor who represents the Syracuse area, was the first rank-and-file GOP lawmaker to support impeachment. But he said Trump's refusal to take responsibility for the riot left him no choice but to support impeachment. At least two GOP senators — Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania — have said they support impeachment or have called on Trump to resign.
10 House Republicans join Democrats in voting to impeach Trump
Washington — Ten Republican members of the House, including one of its highest-ranking leaders, joined Democrats in voting to impeach President Trump for inciting the deadly attack on the Capitol last week by a violent mob of his supporters. The article of impeachment will next be delivered to the Senate, where Mr. Trump will be placed on trial. Congressman John Katko was the first Republican to say he'd vote to impeach Mr. Trump on Tuesday. The majority of the House Republican conference — including Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Minority Whip Steve Scalise — voted to overturn the Electoral College results last week. In the Senate, a few senators have also signaled that they may be willing to consider voting to convict Mr. Trump, though the bar is higher in the upper chamber.
cbsnews.comWhat to watch as House moves to impeach Trump for 2nd time
What to watch as the Democratic-controlled House moves to impeach Trump for the second time in 13 months — now with just days left in the defeated president's term. “President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of Government,” reads part of the four-page impeachment bill. Unlike the last time Trump was impeached, when no House Republicans supported charges against Trump over a call he made to Ukraine's new president, the current impeachment effort has drawn support from some Republicans. In a move short of impeachment, McCarthy and other Republicans have floated the idea of a House censure of Trump. While debate on the House is often impassioned, emotions are expected to run unusually high as lawmakers debate impeachment.
Trump impeached after Capitol riot in historic second charge
With the Capitol secured by armed National Guard troops inside and out, the House voted 232-197 to impeach Trump. Even Trump ally Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican leader, shifted his position and said Wednesday the president bears responsibility for the horrifying day at the Capitol. A Capitol Police officer died from injuries suffered in the riot, and police shot and killed a woman during the siege. Ten Republican lawmakers, including third-ranking House GOP leader Liz Cheney of Wyoming, voted to impeach Trump, cleaving the Republican leadership, and the party itself. The president’s sturdy popularity with the GOP lawmakers’ constituents still had some sway, and most House Republicans voted not to impeach.
EXPLAINER: What's next after House impeachment vote
Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has been impeached by the House days before leaving office, becoming the first American president to be impeached twice. The previous three impeachments — those of Presidents Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton and Trump — took months before a final vote, including investigations in the House and hearings. It's unclear, for now, exactly how that trial will proceed and if any Senate Republicans will vote to convict Trump. In the House, 10 Republicans joined Democrats in voting to impeach Trump, including Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, the third-ranking Republican. DIFFERENT CHARGES, DIFFERENT IMPEACHMENTThis impeachment trial is likely to differ from the last one in many ways.
EXPLAINER: How Trump's 2nd impeachment will unfold
After the rioting at the Capitol, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said "we must take action,” and Democrats — and some Republicans — share her view. That’s what happened in 2019, when the House impeached Trump over his dealings with the president of Ukraine. No Republicans supported Trump's first impeachment in 2019. Some Democrats suggested Pelosi might wait to send the articles and allow Biden to begin his term without impeachment hanging over him. WHAT IMPEACHMENT WOULD MEANDemocrats say they have to move forward, even if the Senate doesn't convict.