It’s been three weeks since Republicans ousted Kevin McCarthy as House speaker. Rep. Tom Emmer won a simple majority of his colleagues behind closed doors, but he will need the support of most all Republicans during a House floor vote ahead.
House of Representatives
Next steps were highly uncertain as a bipartisan group of lawmakers floated an extraordinary plan — to give the interim speaker-pro-tempore, U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., more power to reopen the House and temporarily conduct routine business.
More voting is expected as Jim Jordan works to shore up support to replace the ousted Kevin McCarthy for the job and the leader of the GOP’s hard-right flank moves to take a central seat of U.S. power.
The federal government is just days away from a shutdown that will disrupt many services, squeeze workers and roil politics as Republicans in the House, fueled by hard-right demands, force a confrontation over federal spending.
The announcement comes as Speaker Kevin McCarthy faces mounting pressure from his right flank to take action against Biden while he also is struggling to pass legislation needed to avoid a federal government shutdown at the end of the month.
While the study of mysterious aircraft or objects often evokes talk of aliens, Democrats and Republicans in recent years have pushed for more research as a national security matter due to concerns that sightings observed by pilots may be tied to U.S. adversaries.
The Treasury Department had warned that the country would start running short of cash on Monday, which would have sent shockwaves through the U.S. and global economies.
US House Members on Debt Ceiling Deal, Immigration Policy for Assisting Migrants Arriving in Chicago
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a deal Wednesday night to divert a U.S. default on its debt; the bill now heads to the Senate for approval. However, the deal was not without controversy for lawmakers of both political parties.
U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill., did not say why the FBI may have searched his name in information collected under a provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act known as Section 702, and a spokesman for the lawmaker did not respond to a request for further clarification.
Lawmakers no longer have to walk through metal detectors before gaining access to the House floor. And any time they do vote, they will have to do so in person — no more voting by proxy from home. Those are just some of the changes.
Eager to confront President Joe Biden and the Democrats, Kevin McCarthy promised subpoenas and investigations. “Now the hard work begins," the California Republican declared.
Pressure was building as GOP party leader Kevin McCarthy lost a seventh, eighth and historic ninth round of voting, tying the number it took the last time this happened, 100 years ago, in a prolonged fight to choose a speaker in a disputed election.
For a fourth, fifth and sixth time, Republicans tried to vote McCarthy into the top job as the House plunged deeper into disarray.
Republican leader Kevin McCarthy had pledged a “battle on the floor” for as long as it takes to overcome right-flank fellow Republicans who were refusing to give him their votes. But it was not at all clear how the embattled GOP leader could rebound after becoming the first House speaker nominee in 100 years to fail to win the gavel from his fellow party members on the initial vote.
Outgoing Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger said Sunday he fears for the future of the country if former President Donald Trump isn’t charged with a crime related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, though he believes the Justice Department will “do the right thing.”
Donald Trump’s post-presidency enters a new phase this month as voters across the U.S. begin weighing the candidates he elevated to pursue a vision of a Republican Party steeped in hardline populism, culture wars and denial of his loss in the 2020 campaign.
