Tag: Rep. Pete Aguilar

…meanwhile…

Jeffries Elected House Democratic Leader – House Democrats have elected Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) (above) their leader, replacing Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who announced she would step down after two decades (but remains in Congress for at least two more years). Jeffries, 52, covers New York’s 8th District which includes large parts of Brooklyn and a section of Queens, and becomes the first Black congressional leader from any party, replacing Pelosi, 82, who was the first female congressional leader from any party. Younger Democrats in Congress have been clamoring for more youthful leadership for the last few years. 

Other Leaders: Rep. Katherine M. Clark (D-MA), 59, replaces Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), 83, in the House Democrat number-two spot while Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA), 43, replaces Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), 82, for the number-three leadership position. Until the 118th Congress takes over in January, the outgoing top-three Democratic House positions are held by representatives older than President Biden, who just turned 80.

Meanwhile: Current House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) faces some inner-party opposition as he tries to skate the line between condemning ex-President Trump’s dinner with an antisemite and a white supremacist (see right column) and actually condemning Trump himself. McCarthy cannot afford to lose five Republicans from the incoming House of Representatives to take the speaker’s gavel he long has coveted – which gives Democrats an outside chance of voting Jeffries into the speakership. 

Nobody, but nobody, really expects the GOP majority to let that happen, but it will make for an interesting January on Capitol Hill. 

--TL

_____________________________________

Oath Keepers Guilty of Seditious Conspiracy – Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes and Florida chief Kelly Meggs were found guilty in federal court of seditious conspiracy for their involvement in the January 6th attack on the United States Capitol, Tuesday (The Hill). The Justice Department victory marks the first such conviction for seditious conspiracy since 1995, according to CNN.

All five Oath Keepers defendants were found guilty in the trial of obstruction of an official proceeding. Four Oath Keepers were found guilty of tampering with evidence – the fifth member of the far-right organization was not charged in this count. 

Rhodes and Meggs face potential prison sentences of up to 20 years for each.

••• 

Senate Votes to Codify Same-Sex Marriage – The Senate voted, 61-39, to codify federal recognition of same-sex marriage, with religious liberty protections securing the bipartisan support, Roll Call reports. Lead sponsor Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) told reporters the bill would ease concerns that the Supreme Court could revisit precedents that protected same-sex and interracial marriage. SCOTUS in 2013 found the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act largely unconstitutional.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said the House could take up the bill as early as next week.

•••

Good Economic News – Various signs are appearing that the Federal Reserve is succeeding in capping inflation without triggering a recession. It’s early yet, but here’s a big piece of such evidence: the national average price of a gallon of gasoline was $3.521 as of Tuesday morning, AAA reports. That’s lower than the average price before Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

_____
COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

…meanwhile…

(THU 9/29/22)

Senate Votes to Fund Fed to December 16 – The Senate passed a continuing resolution to fund the federal government past its midnight Friday fiscal year deadline and on to December 16, The Washington Post reports. The vote was 72-25. The CR includes $12.4 billion for military and diplomatic assistance to Ukraine, and $18.8 billion for domestic disaster recovery efforts.

•••

Ginni Thomas Testifies – Virginia Thomas “was seen on Thursday appearing to testify behind closed doors” before the House 1/6 panel, NPR reports. The appearance of the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas “stretched” into Thursday afternoon. She offered no comments to reporters afterward. 

House Select Committee member Pete Aguilar (D-CA), declined to comment on her voluntary appearance, but said the panel will later share information Thomas provided that’s relevant to the public. The ninth and likely final public hearing by the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol was postponed from Wednesday because of Hurricane Ian’s impending impact on Florida. No make-up date has been announced.

•••

CR Vote Teed Up for Friday – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has filed cloture, pushing Republicans to keep negotiating to fund the federal government through December 16, ahead of the end of the fiscal year midnight Friday, Punchbowl News reports. Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) were still trying to work to set the time for the vote on the continuing resolution. 

Democratic and Republican leaders believe they will reach a deal possibly as early as Thursday, though these CRs historically have pushed up to the deadline – and you can count on senators like Ted Cruz (R-TX) to disrupt the timing as much as possible.

Let the campaigning commence: Whenever the CR is passed, Congress goes on recess as the calendar turns to October, when the Senate is in session only the second and third full weeks, after Columbus Day, and the House is out until after the November 8 midterm elections. The Supreme Court is back in session Monday, October 3.

•••

Sham Signing Ceremony – Russian President Vladimir Putin formally seizes four regions of Ukraine where sham referendums were held early this week. The signing ceremony to be held Friday at the Grand Kremlin Palace claims the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia for Putin’s Mother Russia, The Washington Post reports.

Meanwhile: The Pentagon Wednesday announced more long-range rocket artillery systems headed for Ukraine. That’s the good news – this is the artillery that has been so effective at pushing back Russian troops. The not-so-good news is that these systems are not yet built, meaning we’re expecting years of Ukraine’s fight for democracy against Russia.

--Edited by Todd Lassa

...meanwhile... (WED 9/28/22)

Senate to Pass CR – The Senate is expected to pass a continuing resolution funding the federal government beyond Friday and prevent a partial shutdown, to December 16, including $13.7 billion in additional aid to Ukraine (per NPR). Republicans have rejected White House requests for $22.4 billion in emergency COVID relief and $4.5 billion for monkeypox treatments, however. The Senate moved the CR forward with a 72-23 procedural vote Tuesday.

McConnell v. Manchin: “Manch gets Mitched” reads the Politico story heading describing how Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) had tried to attach legislation to overhaul energy project permitting to the spending stopgap bill. 

Manchin had a deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to provide the vote needed to pass the Inflation Reduction Act in exchange for heavy Democratic support for the energy permitting legislation.

Upshot: “Energy permitting legislation” would seem a sure-thing for Republican support. But Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) reportedly torpedoed his caucus’ support because Manchin traded his vote on the Inflation Reduction Act for sufficient Democratic backing on the permitting provision -- McConnell’s “spite” trumps bipartisan comity once again. Manchin may have the opportunity to attach the provision to the annual defense bill, or lame-duck government spending, Politico says.

•••

Leave Russia – Americans already in Russia are urged to leave, and any U.S. citizens planning to travel there should cancel plans, the U.S. Embassy there says, as President Vladimir Putin calls up 300,000 reservists to join the attack on Ukraine (per The Hill).

--Edited by Todd Lassa

_____
COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news