Tag: McCarthy

…meanwhile…

(President Biden pushes an aid package for Israel and Ukraine in an address to the nation, 8 p.m. Thursday, as House Republicans continue their struggle to elect a new speaker. Details below.)

THURSDAY 10/19/23

SPEAKER UPDATE II -- The plan to extend the powers of the temporary House speaker, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) is on ice following a heated GOP meeting Thursday (per The Washington Post). Rep. Jim Jordan (R-CA) now says he will attempt a third try, though timing remains uncertain.

SPEAKER UPDATE -- The full House will not take up a third ballot Thursday on Rep. Jim Jordan's bid to become speaker, but he is not giving up, NPR reports. The Ohio Republican is expected to push the vote off until January, indicating that House Republicans will move to extend interim Speaker Patrick McHenry's (R-NC) tenure and responsibilities.

•••

Powell Pleads Guilty in Plea Deal -- Trump-aligned attorney Sidney Powell has pleaded guilty to six misdemeanor counts in the Georgia presidential election interference case Thursday, The Hill reports. Powell, perhaps the most fervid supporter of the ex-president's 'Big Lie' entered her plea before Fulton County Superior Court Scott McAfee. Her trial was scheduled to begin next week.

•••

Prime Time Biden Thursday – President Biden will speak to the nation 8 p.m. Eastern Thursday to discuss the war between Israel and Hamas, and to call on Congress for an aid package for both Israel and Ukraine, NPR reports. Biden has just returned from Tel Aviv, where he negotiated for Israel to allow Egypt to deliver limited humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, (per AP). 

“Not many people thought I could get this done. And not many people want to be associated with failure,” he said upon his return (per NPR’s Morning Edition).

Protests over a massive explosion at Gaza City’s al-Ahli Hospital spread across the Middle East as Biden arrived for his visit. In Tel Aviv, Biden said evidence presented by Israel on the hospital blast pointed to “the other side,” possibly a rocket misfire. 

In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu said that Israel “will not thwart” deliveries of food, water and medicine from Egypt as long as it is delivered to civilians in the south of Gaza and not Hamas militants. There was no mention of the fuel Gaza needs for hospital generators, AP reports.

--TL

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WEDNESDAY 10/18/23

UPDATE: Jordan Loses Support on Second Vote -- Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan netted a loss of one vote on his second shot at House speaker, with 22 fellow Republicans voting for other candidates. Jordan fell 20 votes short in the first round, and this regression does not bode well for him in an expected third vote. Of 433 House votes cast Wednesday, all 212 Democrats voted for Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), 199 Republicans voted for Jordan, seven for Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) and five for former speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). Former Speaker John Boehner and former Republican Rep. Candice Miller, from Michigan, also earned votes (per video coverage by The Washington Post).

Jordan Down – The second House floor ballot for Rep. Jim Jordan’s (R-OH) quixotic attempt to become speaker was scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday and while he whittled down GOP opposition from 55 in the party’s private poll last week to 20 on Tuesday, he apparently has reached an abyss. Jordan had cancelled a second ballot scheduled for late Tuesday after the first round, when he clinched 200 of the 217 votes he needs to grab the gavel, and Punchbowl News reports it has spoken to “dozens of members and aides” and “it doesn’t look to us that the Ohio Republican has any path to victory.”

At least 20 House Republicans doubt Jordan can reach a compromise with House Democrats to pass the 12 spending bills necessary to avoid a government shutdown by November 17 – never mind his close ties to Donald J. Trump and his January 6, 2021, vote against Electoral College certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 victory. 

Stopgap relief: There is growing interest from moderate House Republicans to extend the tenure of interim Speaker Patrick McHenry (R-NC), NPR’s Morning Edition reports, with the help of the 212 House Democrats. 

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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TUESDAY 10/17/23

Another Round Coming Up for Jordan -- Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) fell 17 votes short of the 217 he needed to win the House speaker's gavel Tuesday afternoon, and says he will go for another round (The Hill). And why not? It took Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) 15 rounds to chip away at his Republican opposition to win the gavel early this year. Fifty-five Republicans voted against Jordan in a closed, private GOP straw poll last week, so with 20 voting against him on the House floor, support is going in the right direction for the Judiciary Committee chairman. All 212 House Democrats voted for Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) in Tuesday's first round.

•••

Biden to Israel, Jordan – President Biden travels to Israel Wednesday “to demonstrate his steadfast support for Israel in the face of Hamas’ brutal terrorist attack and to consult on next steps,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. Biden will meet with Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and call on Israel to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. 

Then Biden will travel to Amman, Jordan to meet with King Abdullah and with Egyptian President Sisi and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and “reiterate that Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination and discuss the humanitarian needs of civilians in Gaza,” according to Jean-Pierre.

•••

Jordan’s Shot at Speaker – Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan’s (R-OH) bid to become speaker goes to the full floor Tuesday, where the Democrats will vote for their minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). Jordan won a secret House GOP ballot last week, though 55 Republicans voted against him; NPR’s Morning Edition reports that some Republican opponents to his ascendance have since flipped. Still, he can afford to lose no more than four Republicans on the way to the 217 votes necessary.

House GOP insiders have suggested to Punchbowl News that Jordan is 20 votes short of that 217. We are in for a multi-ballot House floor vote. Meanwhile, The Hill reports Jordan is gaining votes as Republican members become more concerned about the leadership vacuum in the House. We are in for a Speaker McCarthy election redux.

--TL

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MONDAY 10/16/23

Hezbollah Claims to Target Northern Israel – Israel is evacuating citizens within 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) of its northern border with Lebanon as the Lebanese Shia political party and militant group Hezbollah has targeted the area (The Guardian). Hamas says it has fired missiles at Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, as the Israeli Defense Force intensifies strikes against Gaza (from Reuters reports). 

•••

Democracy Wins Poland – The left-center Civic Coalition led by Donald Tusk leads Poland’s parliamentary elections held Sunday, according to multiple sources quoting exit polls. The Law and Justice party have a plurality of votes at 36%, though its coalition partner lacks the votes to rival the left-center coaltion (NPR’s Morning Edition.) Poland’s election turnout reached 73%, with some voters standing in line as late as 3 a.m. Monday. 

“Nobody can cheat us anymore,” Tusk, a former prime minister of Poland and former head of the European Council said Sunday evening. “We won back democracy. We won freedom and we have won back our beloved Poland.”

Acknowledging the right-wing coalition’s loss, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of Law and Justice party said; “Whether we are in power or in the opposition, we will continue implementing our project and will not allow Poland to be betrayed.” (Per The Washington Post.)

Since Kaczynski and Law and Justice took power in 2015, they have been moving Poland toward the populist model of Hungary’s leader, Viktor Orban, taking control of the nation’s media and the judiciary while attacking LGBTQ+ rights. In 2020, Poland outlawed abortion. 

The political schism in Poland looks familiar, with large, liberal cities and conservative, Catholic rural areas.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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Ukraine Remains Resolute

Russian soldiers in Eastern Ukraine are shooting at rescuers working to save people from the flood zone below the broken Kakhovka dam, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinskyy, who stresses that the disaster will not stop Ukraine from liberating its territory nor “increase the chances of occupiers staying on the land.”

Zelenskyy also has blasted the reaction of the UN and Red Cross to the dam’s destruction, saying international organizations should join in evacuating people from villages and cities.

Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) earlier in the week clashed over the issue of continued funding of Ukraine’s defense against Russian forces.

McCarthy on Monday said he opposed a supplemental spending bill that would include additional financial and military aid to Ukraine over the spending limits imposed by the bipartisan debt ceiling compromise. McConnell countered in a speech on the Senate floor Tuesday that the bipartisan debt deal is “Simply insufficient given the major challenges that our nation faces.” McConnell called out threats from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, “and terrorists emboldened by America’s retreat from Afghanistan.”

Do you agree with Minority Leader McConnell or Speaker McCarthy? We want to hear from you. Hit the Comment section in the right or left column or email editors@thehustings.news.

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Debt Ceiling Crisis Averted

FRIDAY 6/2/23

It is Done – All but President Biden’s signature, coming with a weekend to spare before Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s deadline for averting economic catastrophe. Now all is left is for Fox News pundits to repeatedly declare Republican victory while MSNBC pundits do the same for Democrats and the White House. 

The vote: Perhaps closer than it needed to be, 63-36. The bill suspends the $31.4-trillion debt ceiling to January 1, 2025, and places a two-year cap on discretionary spending.

The quote: “It is so good for this country that both parties have come together at last to avoid default.” – Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

The irony?: After the Senate voted down 11 amendments for fear the bill would have to go back to the House for reconciliation, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell sought a commitment to take up a supplemental funding bill, according to Roll Call. A supplemental to increase funding for a bill Republicans sought to cut spending from the Biden agenda. 

This is, for Republicans, a matter of defense spending vs. domestic spending.

“We’ll be here ‘til Tuesday until I get commitments that we’re going to rectify some of these problems,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who wants to ensure more funding for the Pentagon, Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel.

Counting the oppo: Five Democratic senators and 31 Republicans voted against the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023. Here is the list, from The Hill:

Democrats:

•John Fetterman, Pennsylvania

•Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts

•Jeff Merkley, Oregon

•Bernie Sanders, Vermont (Independent, but caucuses with the Democrats)

Republicans:

•John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming

•Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee

•Mike Braun, Indiana

•Katie Britt and Tommy Tuberville, Alabama

•Ted Budd, North Carolina

•Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy, Louisiana

•Tom Cotton, Arkansas

•Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, Idaho

•Ted Cruz, Texas

•Steve Daines, Montana

•Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts, Nebraska

•Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott, South Carolina

•Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt, Missouri

•Cindy Hyde-Smith and Roger Wicker, Mississippi

•Ron Johnson, Wisconsin

•James Lankford, Oklahoma

•Mike Lee, Utah

•Roger Marshall, Kansas

•Rand Paul, Kentucky

•Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, Florida

•Dan Sullivan, Alaska

•J.D. Vance, Ohio

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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...meanwhile...

THURSDAY 6/1/23

Debt Ceiling Bill Clears House – Democrats moved quickly to fill in when 29 hard-right Republican congressmembers voted against a procedure to advance the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 to the floor for a vote. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) held up a green card indicating to his caucus they should vote with the majority of Republicans in order to push the procedure past the 218 votes needed to pass. 

And with that, the House went on to pass the bill with a bipartisan 314-117 vote, The Hill reports. “Nay” votes break down to 71 Republicans and 46 Democrats. The bill covers the debt ceiling until January 1, 2025, when President Biden and staff will be writing his second inaugural address or preparing to turn over the White House keys to his Republican challenger.

Speaker McCarthy’s future might be far less certain, as dissenting Republicans are not tamping down talk of whether a single congressmember might move to vacate him.

But don’t tarry; on to the Senate: Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) expects to bring the bill to the Senate floor Friday, three days ahead of potential federal government default. 

•••

Republican Candidates on Deck – Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie plans to announce his candidacy for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination before the end of this week in New Hampshire, his 2016 campaign’s Waterloo. Former Vice President Mike Pence plans to announce next Wednesday, Axios reports.

•••

Lordy … There is a Tape – Federal prosecutors have obtained an audio tape recording of ex-President Trump acknowledging that he held on to a classified Pentagon document about a potential attack on Iran near the end of his presidency, multiple sources have told CNN. In the recording, sources said, Trump said he would like to share information about an attack on Iran, but he is aware of limitations on his ability, post-president, to declassify records, two of the sources told the cable news network. 

The recording reportedly was made at Trump’s Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club by communications specialist Margo Martin between the former president and two people working on former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows’ book. 

Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump allegedly holding on to classified documents he should have turned over to the National Archives when he left the White House in 2021 is said to be nearing its end. No indictments have been issued so far.

--TL

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WEDNESDAY 5/31/23

House Rules Moves Debt Ceiling Bill, But … The Rules Committee voted 7-6 to move the debt ceiling compromise bill to the full House, which is set to vote on it Wednesday. “Libertarian-minded” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) provided the crucial seventh vote, The Washington Post reports. But as many as 30 House Republicans on Wednesday could vote against the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 negotiated between President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). 

While the punditocracy debates which side won this fight to avoid economic disaster by averting government default, “roughly a dozen” members of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus took to a Capitol Hill news conference to criticize the deal McCarthy made with Biden, according to the WaPo. Some progressive Democrats have slammed Biden for giving up too much, though the criticism is starting to look like sandbagging to cover for a very experienced negotiator. A sufficient number of House Democrats – perhaps all 213 – certainly will fill in for 30 or so Freedom Caucus members casting “nay” votes. 

Upshot: That doesn’t leave McCarthy off the Freedom Caucus hook. As we’ve all learned from his drawn-out 15-ballot election to become speaker last February, it takes only one House member to move to vacate him from that role, and MAGA-minded Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) has refused to rule out such a move.

•••

Ukraine to Negotiate Peace Without Putin – Ukraine and NATO allies are planning a peace summit without Russia, according to an exclusive by The Wall Street Journal. The summit will be aimed at Kyiv’s terms for ending the war and is to be held ahead of a meeting of NATO nations planned for July.

--TL

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TUESDAY 5/30/23

House Takes Up Debt Ceiling Bill – Speaker Kevin McCarthy says the full House will take up the debt ceiling bill negotiated with the White House last week, the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, on Wednesday. But first, the House Rules Committee, led by a 9-4 Republican majority must move the bill forward. Three members of the Freedom Caucus who sit on Rules could potentially stick up the bill: Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX), Ralph Norman (R-SC) and Thomas Massie (R-KY).

McCarthy wants the bill to advance as-is, but Norman told NPR the bill would have to go to the full House Wednesday with amendments.

“The bill as-is is unacceptable,” Norman told Morning Edition.

Upshot: McCarthy appointed the three Freedom Caucus members to the Rules Committee in exchange for their support to become speaker.

•••

Up on The Hill – Only the full Senate was scheduled to be in session Tuesday through Friday this week, but the House will be in session for part of the week to try and advance the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 ahead of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s June 5 federal default ETA.

•••

Drone Attack Hits Moscow – A drone attack hit Moscow Tuesday morning, “just hours” after a “barrage” of Russian airstrikes killed one and injured more than a dozen in Kyiv, The Washington Post reports, “a prelude to a major escalation in hostilities.” It also comes ahead of Ukraine’s anticipated offensive to push Russian troops back across the Dnipro River. Moscow Mayor Sergei Subyanin confirmed the attack, which damaged two residential buildings.

UPDATE -- Russia claims at least eight drone attacks by Ukraine, calling them "terrorist attacks." (Per NPR)

•••

Trump Attorney Says He Was Diverted from Classified Docs – Trump attorney Evan Corcoran said he was told classified documents taken by the former president would be found only in Mar-a-Lago’s storeroom, according to a scoop in The Guardian. Corcoran was waived off from searching elsewhere at the Florida compound, including Donald J. Trump’s office, where the FBI found the most sensitive material anywhere on the property in their search last summer. Thirty-eight classified documents were found in the storage room.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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Memorial Day 2023

Who Won the Debt Ceiling Fight? -- Neither Republicans nor Democrats on Capitol Hill are likely to be terribly satisfied with the Biden-McCarthy deal to lift the $31.4-trillion federal debt ceiling through the next presidential election. Even before the 99-page bill was released late Sunday progressive Democrats expressed disappointment that the White House was willing to negotiate at all over its hard-fought agenda. 

Meanwhile, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) told the eponymous host of MSNBC’s Inside with Jen Psaki there may not be enough Republican support to pass the bill, taking away the potential victory from the only clear winner, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Last week, Yellen eased up on her warning that the government could run out of money to pay its bills by June 1, by four days, to June 5. 

The deal raises the debt limit through January 2025, in time for either another default showdown with a re-elected President Biden or a new round of cuts with his Republican challenger if successful. In Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) bill narrowly passed in the House last April, HR 2811, the debt ceiling would have been covered to 2033.

The deal that now will go to the full House and Senate keeps non-defense spending essentially flat through fiscal year 2024, the Associated Press reports, and raises it by 1% in FY25. It would match Biden’s defense budget proposal for FY24 at $886 billion and fund non-defense spending at $704 billion. It aims to limit federal budgetary growth to 1% per year for the next six years, beginning in FY25.

Other provisions:

•Gives special treatment to West Virginia’s Mountain Valley natural gas pipeline, the subject of a fight with environmental groups for years. While this is not treated as the lead provision elsewhere, it demands mention at the top of our list as a concession to the state’s senators, especially moderate-right Democrat Joe Manchin (the junior senator is Republican Shelley Moore Caputo). 

•The above Robert Byrdian item is in conjunction with a provision that simplifies some requirements for environmental reviews. It would simplify environmental assessments and impact statements, giving environmental agencies one year to complete, or up to two years for “complex” impacts on the environment. Though a longtime item on Republicans’ wish lists, the GOP removed this item from the White House’s Inflation Reduction Act in retaliation against Manchin for supporting the IRA in the first place.

•Rescinds about $30 billion in unspent coronavirus relief funds.

•Rescinds $1.4 billion in new Internal Revenue Service funding targeted to tax fraud. In all, $21.4 billion of $80 billion in additional funding to the IRS would be rescinded. 

•Expands work requirements for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP – formerly food stamps).

•Fully funds medical care for veterans at levels included in Bidens FY24 blueprint, including $20.3 billion in funds for veterans exposed to toxic substances.

Left in-tact: No new work requirements for some Medicaid recipients, no repeal of the clean energy tax credit.

Biden: “Good news. The agreement prevents the worst possible crisis, a default, for the first time in our nation’s history.”

McCartby: “At the endo of the day, people can work together to be able to pass this.”

•••

Erdogan, 3, Liberal Democracy, 0 – Authoritarianism dealt liberal democracy another blow Sunday when Recep Tayyip Erdo¨gan won a third five-year term as president of Turkey in a runoff election Sunday. He beat Kiliçda Ro¨glu with 52.1% to the challenger’s 47.5%, with all but 0.57% of the vote counted, Al Jazeera reports. Erdo¨gan was Turkish prime minister, taking over in 2003 before running for president.

--TL

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FRIDAY 5/26/23

Two Years of Debt Ceiling Relief? – Republicans and the White House are inching toward a debt ceiling deal late Thursday that would lift borrowing caps to some-time in 2025 and freeze spending to current levels, rather than impose the 8% cut imposed by HR 2811, the House imposed in its bill passed in late April, according to CQ Roll Call. HR 2811 also would impose discretionary caps to 2033.

President Biden stands firm… on work requirements for certain safety-net programs, which may be the biggest sticking point. If negotiators can reach a deal here, the full House would likely vote on the debt relief bill this weekend and hand it over to the Senate in time for June 1. 

Upshot: Assuming some version of the above is passed and signed in time – before next Thursday – the debt ceiling issue will become a big issue in the 2024 elections, both presidential and congressional as Biden seeks to continue his work to dismantle Reaganomics, while a Republican president and control of Congress would give conservatives the chance to restore spending cuts imposed by the House bill.

•••

Rhodes Gets 18 Years – Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years for seditious conspiracy for his role in the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. An attorney himself, Rhodes said he “felt like a character in a Franz Kafka novel” and compared himself to a Soviet dissident sentenced to years in a prison camp, according to NPR’s All Things Considered. 

Current lead Republican candidate for president in 2024, Donald J. Trump, has said he would pardon some of those convicted of participating in the January 6th insurrection, though he has not singled out individuals who rioted.

•••

Texas House to Impeach AG – Texas’ majority Republican House has adopted 20 articles of impeachment against the state’s Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton, Texas Public Radio reports. Articles of impeachment includes allegations Paxton disregarded official duties, misappropriated public resources and committed constitutional bribery and obstruction of justice. 

This stems from four employees of the AG’s office turned whistle-blowers who made and reported accusations about Paxton’s misdeeds. Most relate to a $25,000 contribution to Paxton by Austin real estate investor Nate Paul, TPM’s The Texas Newsroomreports. 

Paxton denies all articles of impeachment and says they are an effort to overturn his win in the 2022 elections. He is on the hook for $3.3-million paid to the whistleblowers. After the House votes to impeach, the case would go to the Texas senate, where Paxton’s wife is a member.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

…meanwhile…

FRIDAY 5/19/23

Haley Welcomes DeSantis – From Des Moines, where Decision ’24 already is heating up, former North Carolina governor and UN ambassador Nikki Haley grabbed a bit of spotlight from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (above), who is expected to announce his presidential candidacy next week.

“Welcome to the race. We’ve been waiting,” Haley said in an exclusive interview with The Hill. “I’m glad that he’s going to be out there because I want the American public to see who they’re choosing from.”

Haley was the second GOP candidate to announce, after Donald J. Trump, in February.

Meanwhile, back in Florida: Disney has cancelled plans for a $900 million Florida campus in Orlando’s Lake Nona and will close one of its most expensive attractions, the “Star Wars” adventure hotel, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Lake Nona, where more than 2,000 new employees were to work, is dead, Josh D’Amaro, head of Disney’s Parks, Experiences and Products division said.

“Given the considerable changes that have occurred since the announcement of this project, including new leadership and changing business conditions, we have decided not to move forward.”

Though “changing conditions” include Disney’s “significant” job and budget cuts, they also include a governor, DeSantis, who is not acting a Republican when it comes to his treatment of big business.

•••

Feinstein Resists Early Retirement – “Early” for the 89-year-old senator from California means before her current term is up in January 2025. Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) already has announced she will not run again, and Democratic Reps. Barbara Lee, Adam Schiff and Katie Porter each have announced their intention to fill her shoes. 

Feinstein appeared “shockingly diminished” upon her return to the Senate last week after she was out more than two months for complications from shingles. Key among them was the revelation of a previously unreported case of encephalitis, The New York Times reports. The shingles also spread to Feinstein’s face and neck, resulting in Ramsey Hunt syndrome. 

While the drumbeats for her early retirement continue and she continues to resist, Feinstein only needs to remain in office to the March 5, 2024 primary, when Democratic voters in the state will choose from Lee, Porter and Schiff. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has stated his intention of choosing California’s first female senator, which could set up Lee as the catbird seat candidate for next year.

--TL

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THURSDAY 5/18/23

Santosland Diaries -- House Republicans defeated a symbolic House Democrat resolution to expel truth-challenged Rep. George Santos by referring the resolution to the Ethics Committee, by a 221-204 party line vote. Democrats on the Ethics Committee voted “present” to avoid conflict of interest, according to NPR. The unsuccessful expulsion resolution was introduced by Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA).

Garcia raised the question of privilege, which allows members to force a vote on certain resolutions without support of House leadership. House leaders then have two days to bring the resolution to the floor.

Santos was indicted last week on federal criminal charges, including wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making false statements to the House.

Doing the math: It takes two-thirds majority to expel a congress member for what would be only the fourth time in U.S. history, Roll Call reports. If successful, it would reduce Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s four-vote majority to just three. McCarthy said the Justice Department’s investigation of Santos should proceed as the congress member continues to participate in floor votes. 

On MSNBC’s All in With Chris Hayes, Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) said other House Republicans “cheer” Santos’ vote as he helps them make laws. 

“They are certainly interested in protecting him,” Balint said. 

--TL

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WEDNESDAY 5/17/23

Deal or No Deal? – Anyone who ever has been involved in labor negotiations from either side will recognize the pattern of the dance between President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) over raising the debt ceiling in time to avoid economic disaster. For weeks, months even, each side stands firm while blaming the other for not negotiating in good faith. 

Biden will not give up hard-fought programs like the Inflation Reduction Act to assure the federal government will pay its debts incurred over the last fiscal year. McCarthy and his thin House majority will not pay those debts unless the White House cuts back on its spending. The two sides get closer, closer, closer, though they never seem to be close to a deal until the last possible minute. Then suddenly, a breakthrough. Or not, though Congress and the president have always come through in the past. 

With barely two weeks to go until a very likely economic meltdown as early as June 1, if the government doesn’t pay its bills, we’re in that amorphous period where the union is determined not to strike and the employer truly does not want the down-time, but progress is not obvious.

Tuesday, Biden said he would cut short a diplomatic trip to Asia, which begins with a G7 summit in Hiroshima. But Biden has cancelled a planned trip afterward to Australia, next week in order to concentrate on the debt ceiling. Both Biden and McCarthy “showed signs of optimism” after an hour-long meeting in the Oval Office Tuesday afternoon (labor negotiations are never that short), The New York Times reports.

“We just finished another good, productive meeting with congressional leadership about a path forward to make sure America does not default on its debt,” Biden said.

McCarthy told reporters that he could see a deal reached “by the end of the week.”

Apparently the White House sees the Republican light on calling back unspent COVID relief bills.

We predict a spoiled Memorial Day weekend for one or both of the chambers.

--TL

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TUESDAY 5/16/23

Durham Reports on Trump Investigation – John Durham, a special counsel appointed in 2019 by then-Attorney Gen. William Barr to investigate the investigators in alleged Russian tampering into the 2016 Trump campaign, released more than 300 pages of criticism for the way the FBI handled the probe, The Washington Post reports. 

According to Durham’s report, the FBI’s investigation of Trump’s first presidential campaign – codenamed ‘Crossfire Hurricane’ was based on “raw, unanalyzed and uncorroborated intelligence.” 

Conversely, the FBI “proceeded cautiously” on alleged influence by a foreign actor in the 2016 Clinton campaign, WaPo says. The FBI’s conduct in Crossfire Hurricane previously came under fire in a 2019 report by the Justice Department’s inspector general, which did not find “documentary or testimonial evidence of intentional misconduct” on the part of the Trump campaign. 

Democrats have denounced the Durham report, which comes after an investigation from which no one was sent to jail.

Trump, who predicted four years ago the special counsel would uncover the “crime of the century” on Monday claimed victory, writing in social medial; “the American Public was scammed, just as it is being scammed right now by those who don’t want to see GREATNESS for AMERICA!”

--TL

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Meanwhile This Week

MONDAY MAY 15, 2023

More UK Arms to Ukraine – The United Kingdom will send “hundreds” more missiles and attack drones to the Ukraine, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced in a meeting with President Volodomyr Zelinskyy in England, Monday, Time reports. Sunak told Zelinskyy, who landed at Sunak’s Chequers country retreat; “your leadership, your country’s bravery and fortitude are an inspiration to us all.”

On Sunday for the third stop on a whirlwind European tour that also included Paris and Rome, Zelinskyy told reporters in Berlin he is not interested in negotiating a peace deal with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, whom he called “insane.” 

“It’s a joke for him. He does not understand what is happening. He is an insane human,” Zelinskyy said, according to a Ukrainian government readout of a press conference following his talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, as reported by Newsweek. 

“Putin started the war. Russia took lives. The war is on our land. …

“We have not proposed an artificial plan,” Zelinskyy continued. “We have proposed how to get out of this situation, to end the war, according to the law, respecting the UN Charter, international law, people, values.” Ukraine’s Peace Formula is a 10-point plan that outlines Kyiv’s conditions for peace, and Zelinskyy says he is “not interested” in meeting with Putin for peace talks.

•••

Erdogan Beats Earthquake – Incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdo¨gan pulled out an upset, but not quite a victory, against Republican People’s Party (CHP) challenger Kiliçda Ro¨glu in Turkey’s presidential election Sunday. Erdogan received 49.51% of the vote, not enough to avoid a runoff, but well ahead of Ro¨glu’s 44.88%, a “bitter disappointment” for the challenger who had led in many polls. 

Third-party candidate Sinan Og¨an took 5.17% of the vote, indicating the potential to flip Sunday’s vote in the runoff.

Erdo¨gan, Turkey’s president for 20 years, took his hit in the polls over a slow government response February’s earthquake, which claimed 50,000 lives, and his low interest rates to revive the economy that resulted in 85% inflation, according to The Guardian.

The bigger picture: Though his nation is a NATO member, Erdo¨gan has cozied up to Vladimir Putin, in part by refusing to enforce Western sanctions against Russia after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and buying heavily discounted Russian oil, The New York Times reports. Erdo¨gan opposes Sweden’s application for NATO membership unless Stockholm first hands over Kurdish refugees, particularly those from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party. Erdo¨gan during his tenure also has jailed dissidents and suppressed independent media.

Though Western officials assiduously avoid being accused of interfering in Turkish politics, “it is an open secret that European leaders, not to speak of the Biden administration, would be delighted if Erdo¨gan were to lose,” the NYT says.

•••

More Debt-Ceiling Tuesday – President Biden is scheduled to resume talks with Congressional leaders over the debt ceiling Tuesday, NBC News and Bloomberg News reported Sunday, after a weekend of talks between Congressional and White House staffers. Biden was quoted from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, Sunday as being “optimistic” over reaching a deal by a potential June 1 deadline for the federal government running out of money to pay its bills. 

“I think they’re moving along, hard to tell,” Biden said. “We have not reached the crunch point yet.”

•••

Up On The Hill – Both chambers are in session Monday through Thursday. The Senate only is in session Friday.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

…meanwhile…

(Funeral for Tyre Nichols is Wednesday, with eulogy by National Action Network founder Rev. Al Sharpton and a call to action by Ben Crump, national civil rights attorney representing the Nichols family. (AP) About 2,500 are expected to attend.)

WEDNESDAY 2/1/23

UPDATE ON REHOBOTH – No classified documents were found in the FBI’s search of the president’s vacation home in Rehoboth, Delaware, Biden’s attorney said (AP). Federal agents did take some handwritten notes and other materials related to Biden’s time as vice president, however. 

•••

UPDATE ON THE FED – The Federal Reserve boosted its interest rate by 0.25% Wednesday afternoon, as expected, but warned that ongoing increases are warranted (per The New York Times).

•••

FBI Searches Biden’s Beach Home – The FBI began a search of President Biden’s beach home in Rehoboth, Delaware, for possible classified documents Wednesday morning, weeks after discovering classified documents in Biden’s former Washington, D.C. office and his primary home in Wilmington, Delaware, The Hill reports. Unlike his longtime home in Wilmington, Biden purchased the Rehoboth home after he left office as vice president in 2017.

•••

Debt Ceiling Confab – President Biden is scheduled to meet with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) over raising the debt ceiling and avoid U.S. government default this June. House Republicans want to make cuts in the federal budget already passed, though McCarthy has said Medicare and Social Security cuts some House Republicans have favored are “off the table,” The Hillsays.

•••

The Fed’s Next Move – The Federal Reserve is expected to announce its eighth consecutive interest rate hike Wednesday. Last year’s increases were at a steep 0.75% as the Consumer Price Index peaked at 9.1% in June, except for December’s hike of 0.5%, when the CPI eased to 6.5%. An 0.25% hike is expected for Wednesday, The Washington Post says, which would put the prime rate at 4.5%-4.75%. Fed Chair Jerome Powell holds a news conference at 2:30 p.m.

--TL

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...meanwhile...

TUESDAY 1/31/23

(Two more Memphis police officers were disciplined and three emergency responders were fired, officials said late Monday, over the death of Tyre Nichols –AP. See “Will Nichols’ Death Force Policing Change?” below.)

“Distracting” Santos Steps Down from Committees – Rep. George Santos (R-NY) told House Republicans he will step down temporarily from his assignments on the Small Business, and Science, Space & Technology committees “because he’s a distraction,” an unnamed Republican colleague tells The Washington Post. Santos, who faces “multiple investigations” into his 2022 campaign finances and has lied about key aspects of his education, employment and religious history, met privately with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on Monday.

•••

Criminal Charges for Trump? – Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Briggs (D) is showing a grand jury evidence that about $130,000 in hush money paid by Donald J. Trump to adult film star Stormy Daniels just prior to the 2016 presidential election, a “clear sign” the D.A. is nearing a decision on whether to bring criminal charges against the former president. According to The New York Times, the charges could hinge on whether prosecutors can show that Trump and his company falsified records to hide the hush money payment from voters. 

--TL

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Will Nichols' Death Force Policing Change?

MONDAY 1/30/23

After a weekend of peaceful protests in Memphis, Washington, D.C. and other cities following the late-Friday release of video depicting the brutal beating and pepper-spraying by police of Tyre Nichols (above), debate on the danger young Black men face from local police departments seems to be shifting to the need for systemic change. 

Nichols is the 29-year-old Black man who died three days after Memphis police pulled him over for erratic driving and dragged him out of his car and according to body camera and remote footage, chased him down and beat him as he called out for his mother. Five officers involved in the beating first were fired, then were charged last week with murder, and their special unit, Scorpion – Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods – was disbanded, all within three weeks of Nichols’ traffic stop. Charges against other officers may be forthcoming.

All Scorpion officers who attacked Nichols according to the four videos released last week are Black. As The New York Timesnoted over the weekend, “It took 13 months and an order from a judge for the authorities in Chicago to relase videos showing a police officer firing 16 bullets into Laquan McDonald, a Black teenager on a busy roadway in 2014.” Until the swift actions taken by Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis, a Black woman in the job since 2021, it was typical for local police departments to delay for months or even refuse to take action against white officers involved in such cases. 

But Ben Crump, attorney for the Daniels family in the Memphis case says these cases are about intstutionalized racism in police departments, no matter the racial makeup of police officers involved.

“We have to talk about this institutionalized police culture that has the unwritten law, you can engage in the excessive use of force against Black and brown people,” Crump told ABC News’ This Week.

•••

This Week On the Hill – The Senate and the House are in session Monday through Thursday. The Senate only is in session Friday.

President Biden is scheduled to meet with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) at the White House Wednesday to discuss the debt ceiling, MSNBC’s Morning Joe reports.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news