Tag Archives: US House

CNN reports: The Republican-led House voted Thursday to repeal an Obama-era Social Security Administration regulation to keep people with severe mental illnesses from buying guns. The vote was 235-180. “The Social Security Administration not only overstepped its mission with this regulation, it discriminated against certain Americans with disabilities who receive Social Security benefits. The agency should be focused on serving …

Vox reports: On the same day the Senate confirmed Rex Tillerson as Donald Trump’s secretary of state, the House voted to kill a transparency rule for oil companies that Tillerson once lobbied against while CEO of Exxon Mobil. So all in all, a good day for America’s largest oil and gas firm. Using the little-known Congressional Review Act, the House …

CNN reports: House Speaker Paul Ryan, who took to the House floor in a rare move to argue for the end of Obamacare, noted his opposition to the measure when it was first debated and said that Republicans were now sending in the “rescue” team. Shortly before the House was scheduled to vote to advance the measure, House Democratic Leader …

All they need was ONE Senator to force a debate, but it was a lost cause from the start. Politico reports: A challenge by several House Democrats to Donald Trump’s election on Friday collapsed when they failed to convince a single Democratic senator to join their protest. The short-lived, doomed-from-the-start effort — spearheaded by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas …

Politico reports: Several House Democrats are weighing a formal challenge to Donald Trump’s election on Friday, when Congress meets in joint session to certify Trump’s Electoral College victory. Reps. Ed Perlmutter of Colorado, Bobby Scott of Virginia [photo] and Jamie Raskin of Maryland are among a group of Democrats eyeing challenges. Members have the right to lodge those protests when …

The Hill reports: A commemorative picture in Congress is no place for “dabbing,” according to House Speaker Paul Ryan. The Wisconsin Republican shut down a young man’s attempts Tuesday to pull off the popular hand gesture. After being sworn into the new Congress Tuesday, Kansas Rep. Roger Marshall (R) paused to take a photo with his family and Ryan when …

So much for Kellyanne Conway’s “mandate.” CNN reports: House Republican leaders have pulled a proposal that would gut its independent ethics panel, amid widespread criticism of the plan, multiple lawmakers tell CNN. The decision comes less than two hours after President-elect Donald Trump criticized the timing of the vote, which was scheduled for the first day of the new congressional …

Politico reports: The move by Republicans in Congress to gut the independent Office of Congressional Ethics will cut down on “overzealousness,” incoming counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway said Tuesday morning, while leaving in place a “mechanism” with which to address ethical complaints. Although Conway stopped short of saying the GOP move came with the blessing of the president-elect, she …

But only the timing of the vote. CNN reports: Donald Trump called out House Republicans Tuesday for proposing a measure that would gut an independent ethics panel, although the President-elect suggested the ethics panel was “unfair.” “With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as …

The Hill reports: Amid blowback from Democrats, Rep. Marsha Blackburn on Tuesday defended a GOP-backed amendment that would weaken the House’s outside ethics watchdog. Blackburn said the amendment would provide more transparency in investigations. “What it will do is provide more transparency. Anytime you can provide more accountability and more transparency to any process that is in place, then you’re …

The Associated Press reports: House Republicans have voted to eviscerate the Office of Congressional Ethics, the independent body created in 2008 to investigate allegations of misconduct by lawmakers after several bribery and corruption scandals sent members to prison. The ethics change, which prompted an outcry from Democrats and government watchdog groups, is part of a rules package that the full …

From the far-right Western Journalism: Between Friday’s stab-in-the-back betrayal of one of the country’s closest allies and Wednesday’s insult-to-injury speech by Secretary of State John Kerry, President Barack Obama’s foreign policies are careening to the end of his term like a runaway train. But a conservative Texas congressman wants to put on the brakes. Rep. Louie Gohmert, the veteran Republican …

Paul Ryan REALLY didn’t like it when Democrats live-streamed their gun control sit-in. Via Politico: Seeking to prevent another live-streaming “viral video moment” from taking place on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has introduced a rules package that would fine and punish lawmakers for recording photos and video from the floor. The …

USA Today reports: The special congressional investigation into the 2012 terrorist attacks in Benghazi is officially over now that the panel filed its final report the day before the House adjourned for the year. The Select Committee on Benghazi initially released its findings in June but remained in place for months afterward trying to declassify supporting documents like emails and …

The Associated Press reports: Former Illinois U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, once a rising star in the Republican Party, is being arraigned Monday on federal corruption charges alleging he used his position to spend lavishly on travel, World Series tickets and other luxuries. The 35-year-old Republican is accused of using government and campaign money to subsidize an extravagant lifestyle, as well …

Talking Points Memo reports: A defeated Republican congressman has so far refused to communicate with the Democrat who beat him, raising concerns that constituent issues handled by his office will fall through the cracks when his successor is inaugurated. Congressman-elect Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) has tried and failed to communicate with his ousted opponent, Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ), according to a …

Loony Louis Gohmert actually took to the podium of the US House today to bitch that US Capitol fire safety rules don’t allow him to barbecue ribs on his office balcony for the quarterly party he throws for fellow reps. According to Gohmert, “all of the networks” want to do stories about his fantastic ribs, but thanks to typical government …

Viciously anti-LGBT and perpetually cross-eyed Virginia Foxx says her main plan is undo every advance achieved by the Obama administration. Via Politico: Virginia Foxx pulled herself up by her own bootstraps and wants every American child to be able to do the same. As the 73-year-old GOP lawmaker and former community college president is poised to assume the leadership of …

The Associated Press reports: House Democrats have re-elected Nancy Pelosi as their leader. The California lawmaker, who has led the party since 2002, turned back a challenge from Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan on Wednesday. Her win came despite disenchantment among some in the Democratic caucus over the party’s disappointing performance in the elections earlier this month. Democrats will remain in …

US House Republicans celebrated the 2016 election today with a selfie taken by Vice President-Elect Mike Pence. Prominently positioned in the front row are leading anti-LGBT House members Steve “Men Will Marry Lawnmowers” King and the perpetually cross-eyed Virginia Foxx, the latter of whom is most infamous here for calling the murder of Matthew Shepard a hoax, for which she …