Latest news with #Capitol Hill
Daily Mail
14 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Democrat pushes for 'cognitive decline' tests for members of Congress
A push to set cognitive standards for the scores of aging lawmakers in Congress has hit a roadblock with their colleagues. After former President Joe Biden stunned the nation by cancelling his presidential bid weeks after his disastrous debate against Donald Trump, scrutiny over age-related decline has shifted from the White House to Capitol Hill. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., proposed an amendment earlier this summer that would force an independent congressional body that reviews misconduct allegations to create standards to determine lawmakers' 'ability to perform the duties of office unimpeded by significant irreversible cognitive impairment.' Her proposal was unanimously and swiftly rejected by her colleagues, though her effort to set cognitive standards is far from over. 'I hear about it at town halls; I heard a lot about it after the presidential debate,' Perez told the New York Times of Biden's fateful showdown against Trump last summer. 'It is my job to reflect my community's sentiment that this is a problem. It's my job to reflect the accelerating loss of confidence in this body.' 'We have all of these rules about dumb stuff — hats — and not this more significant question of who is making decisions in the office,' she said. Perez, 37, is the co-chair of Democrats' moderate Blue Dog Coalition. She is one of the few Democratic members of Congress to be elected in a district that President Donald Trump carried. She is also one of the few Democrats to express concerns over the health of Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, 88-year-old non-voting delegate for Washington, D.C. who has been dogged by reports about her cognitive decline. Norton, the oldest member of the House of Representatives, has shown signs of decline during her official duties. Aides frequently help her navigate the sprawling Capitol complex and they have had to walk back quotes Norton gives to reporters. But she seems unconcerned with her own condition, announcing recently that she would seek re-election next year, when she will be 89. One of her staffers later told reporters that 'no decision has been made' yet about the D.C. delegate's re-election. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle appear opposed to cognitive tests because they're seen as a personal attack on older lawmakers and infringe on Congress' long tradition that rewards seniority. According to an analysis done by the Times , more than one in five members, or 22 percent, of this Congress is 70 or older - a level not seen in modern history. Age-related issues in the Capitol have become painfully clear this year after three sitting members of Congress, all 70-years-old or older, have died this year while in office. In March, Democratic Reps. Sylvester Turner of Texas and Raúl Grijalva of Arizona passed away due to complications with cancer. Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly died in May from esophageal cancer while he held the top Democratic position on the powerful House Oversight Committee. In 2024, there were also three Democratic members of the House who passed away while in office. 'What I've heard from my neighbors, my community is this idea that this place is being run by a bunch of staffers,' Perez told Axios this year. 'And we're seeing a very real decline in confidence in Congress.' Despite her amendment getting shot down earlier this year, the 37-year-old has floated plans to renew her push for cognitive standards saying she may propose it as a stand alone bill. She has said she may court some Republican support to get her bill through the House. 'This is not an issue that's going away,' she told the Times. 'We're still talking to other members of Congress about a stand-alone bill, and trying to talk with leadership about a path forward here.' Her push comes amid a House Oversight Committee investigation into Biden's mental acuity and whether it was covered up by his top staffers. Many of the ex-Biden aides have pleaded their Fifth Amendment protections to not incriminate themselves during their interviews with the committee, raising questions about what they knew about the Democrat's health and when. 'It's a question of whether the elected member is making the decisions,' Perez said.
Daily Mail
14 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Growing push for cognitive decline tests for members of Congress hits snag despite 'accelerating loss of confidence'
A push to set cognitive standards for the scores of aging lawmakers in Congress has hit a roadblock with their colleagues. After former President Joe Biden stunned the nation by cancelling his presidential bid weeks after his disastrous debate against Donald Trump, scrutiny over age-related decline has shifted from the White House to Capitol Hill. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., proposed an amendment earlier this summer that would force an independent congressional body that reviews misconduct allegations to create standards to determine lawmakers' 'ability to perform the duties of office unimpeded by significant irreversible cognitive impairment.' Her proposal was unanimously and swiftly rejected by her colleagues, though her effort to set cognitive standards is far from over. 'I hear about it at town halls; I heard a lot about it after the presidential debate,' Perez told the New York Times of Biden's fateful showdown against Trump last summer. 'It is my job to reflect my community's sentiment that this is a problem. It's my job to reflect the accelerating loss of confidence in this body.' 'We have all of these rules about dumb stuff — hats — and not this more significant question of who is making decisions in the office,' she said. Perez, 37, is the co-chair of Democrats' moderate Blue Dog Coalition. She is one of the few Democratic members of Congress to be elected in a district that President Donald Trump carried. She is also one of the few Democrats to express concerns over the health of Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, 88-year-old non-voting delegate for Washington, D.C. who has been dogged by reports about her cognitive decline. Norton, the oldest member of the House of Representatives, has shown signs of decline during her official duties. Aides frequently help her navigate the sprawling Capitol complex and they have had to walk back quotes Norton gives to reporters. But she seems unconcerned with her own condition, announcing recently that she would seek re-election next year, when she will be 89. One of her staffers later told reporters that 'no decision has been made' yet about the D.C. delegate's re-election. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle appear opposed to cognitive tests because they're seen as a personal attack on older lawmakers and infringe on Congress' long tradition that rewards seniority. According to an analysis done by the Times, more than one in five members, or 22 percent, of this Congress is 70 or older - a level not seen in modern history. Age-related issues in the Capitol have become painfully clear this year after three sitting members of Congress, all 70-years-old or older, have died this year while in office. In March, Democratic Reps. Sylvester Turner of Texas and Raúl Grijalva of Arizona passed away due to complications with cancer. Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly died in May from esophageal cancer while he held the top Democratic position on the powerful House Oversight Committee. In 2024, there were also three Democratic members of the House who passed away while in office. 'What I've heard from my neighbors, my community is this idea that this place is being run by a bunch of staffers,' Perez told Axios this year. 'And we're seeing a very real decline in confidence in Congress.' Despite her amendment getting shot down earlier this year, the 37-year-old has floated plans to renew her push for cognitive standards saying she may propose it as a stand alone bill. She has said she may court some Republican support to get her bill through the House. 'This is not an issue that's going away,' she told the Times. 'We're still talking to other members of Congress about a stand-alone bill, and trying to talk with leadership about a path forward here.' Her push comes amid a House Oversight Committee investigation into Biden's mental acuity and whether it was covered-up by his top staffers. Many of the ex-Biden aides have pleaded their Fifth Amendment protections to not incriminate themselves during their interviews with the committee, raising questions about what they knew about the Democrat's health and when. 'It's a question of whether the elected member is making the decisions,' Perez said.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
What we know about the Epstein files
Federal prosecutors amassed millions of records during the sex trafficking investigation and prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice and former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. The question of what is actually in those pages — and whether the public will ever see them — has become central to a growing public relations crisis for President Donald Trump and his aides. Having said it would release case documents, now the Justice Department is trying to staunch the public outcry from some of Trump's ardent supporters along with some Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill who believe the administration has fallen short of its transparency pledge. It's unclear what new information, if any, is stuffed in the boxes of evidence within the Justice Department or what Maxwell would say publicly about Epstein and anyone else's connections to him. For months, Justice Department and FBI officials have wrestled with the fact much of the material they have requires redaction to protect the identities of victims and witnesses, and people who haven't been charged with crimes, according to people briefed on the matter. That raised the prospect that releasing thousands of pages covered with black ink for the redactions would only inflame people who believe the government is hiding evidence of additional criminal activity. The Epstein files are made of over 300 gigabytes of data, paper, video, photographs, and audio that live within the FBI's main electronic case management system, 'Sentinel.' These records would include investigative reports and records from the FBI Miami field division's original Epstein investigation. The bulk of the records would come from the second investigation carried out by the FBI's New York Office, including memorandums about the investigation and potential targets, locations to be searched, records to be subpoenaed, and hundreds of pages of '302s' which are the forms that FBI agents use to memorialize what witnesses, victims and suspects said in interviews by investigators. A large cache of records has already been made public through unsealing civil court cases, Maxwell's criminal trial, and news reports. Politicians, including Trump, and celebrities have been publicly linked to Epstein for years — sometimes by appearing in flight logs or at events — and all have denied any wrongdoing. Epstein's death by suicide before trial launched conspiracy theories and deprived many of his accusers a public airing of his conduct. Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking minors following a four-week trial in 2021. She is appealing. The Justice Department asked federal judges to unseal grand jury transcripts from the Epstein and Maxwell cases. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche met Thursday with Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence, in Tallahassee, Fla. 'If Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say,' Blanche said in a post on X. Blanche's post stands in contrast with the July 8 memo that was intended to close the books on the Epstein matter. In that memo, the Justice Department and FBI declared that they had done an exhaustive review and had determined that 'we did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.' Here's what we do and don't know about the Epstein records: Grand jury The Justice Department has asked two federal judges in New York to unseal grand jury transcripts from Epstein and Maxwell's criminal cases. Former federal prosecutors say the transcripts likely contain a miniscule amount of evidence from the investigations. Federal prosecutors in New York generally call law enforcement agents to testify before the grand jury to present just enough evidence they need to support an indictment. Other witnesses, including accusers, are rarely called in to testify before federal grand juries in New York. The judges overseeing the two cases in New York asked DOJ for more legal argument for why they should unseal grand jury material, which is rarely done, and set deadlines that extend to August 5. Already one effort has failed. A federal judge in Florida denied DOJ's request to unseal grand jury transcripts from its 2005 and 2007 investigations into Epstein, stating the department didn't meet the legal hurdle to do so under the rules governing the circuit. The DOJ request is narrow: It isn't seeking to unseal all information that was derived from the grand jury proceedings, which if sought, could include information from financial institutions, emails or text messages, and returns from any other person or institution that was subpoenaed by the grand jury. Search warrants Federal prosecutors and the FBI obtained a trove of information during the searches of Epstein's homes in Florida, New York and Little Saint James, Epstein's private Caribbean island. That information is under the control of DOJ and is not blocked from public release by secrecy rules. FBI officials recovered thousands of nude and seminude photographs of young females, including at least of one minor, in a search of his Manhattan mansion in the days following his arrest. Binders of CDs containing the photos were seized. Agents used a saw to open a safe that had more than $70,000 in cash, 48 loose diamond stones, one as large as 2.38 carats, and a large diamond ring. They also collected documents from the New York home, including notes, messages with names and contact information for certain victims, and phone records. A search of Epstein's private island was conducted days after he was found dead in a jail cell about one month after his arrest. By then the investigation had shifted its focus to any co-conspirators of Epstein. In February the Justice Department provided an index of evidence it has. The index includes over two dozen computers, numerous hard drives, at least two cell phones, and four iPads. The index says there are boat trip logs potentially of who traveled to his private island — that information has not been made public. The Justice Department does not release child pornography so those records would not be expected to be made public under any circumstance. Florida DOJ case file Federal prosecutors in New York obtained the investigative record from the earlier investigations into Epstein conducted by their counterparts in Florida in 2007 and 2009. Any of those records that were not covered by grand jury secrecy rules could be released. Civil lawsuits Much of the public record relating to Epstein has derived from civil lawsuits brought by accusers, some filed under their own names and others using Jane Doe pseudonyms. Judges have ordered the release of thousands of pages of documents, including depositions taken under oath. Among the famous names referenced in those documents are Trump, former President Bill Clinton, Britain's Prince Andrew, former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, French modeling scout Jean-Luc Brunel, American investor Glenn Dubin, and Leslie Wexner, the CEO of L Brands. Not all of them were accused of wrongdoing, and all of them have denied any wrongdoing. Maxwell trial Maxwell's four-week criminal trial was a public airing of her close relationship to Epstein and her role recruiting, grooming and at times participating in the sexual abuse of minors with Epstein. Four women testified about being sexually assaulted when they were minors. Epstein's former pilot testified and identified people he saw on Epstein's plane, including Trump, Senators John Glenn and George Mitchell, Prince Andrew, actor Kevin Spacey, and violinist Itzhak Perlman. The pilot said he never saw any wrongdoing. Gawker first published a copy in 2015 of Epstein's so-called 'black book' with names and phone numbers of his contacts. The Justice Department released a redacted version of it earlier this year as well as copies of the flight logs that were made public during Maxwell's criminal trial. The release was criticized by some of Trump's supporters because the information was already public — and did nothing to answer lingering questions. CNN's John Miller contributed to this report.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
New collective-bargaining bill looms as historic day arrives
Within college athletics over the last several months, few topics have garnered more interest than collective bargaining — from football and basketball coaches as well as top athletic administrators. On Capitol Hill, at least two lawmakers are interested too. Two Democrats, Rep. Summer Lee and Sen. Chris Murphy, are reintroducing on Wednesday a bill to affirm and expand college athletes' rights to organize, form unions and collectively bargain with their universities and/or conferences, according to the legislation obtained by Yahoo Sports. The bill's introduction comes on what could be a historic day for the college sports industry: Two House committees are expected to consider a separate bill, the SCORE Act, and potentially advance that legislation to the House floor. In the NCAA's more than five-year lobbying effort for congressional legislation, no all-encompassing college sports bill, such as the SCORE Act, has advanced out of a committee in either chamber. A full House of Representatives vote could come as soon as this fall — a potentially groundbreaking moment but one that should come with a caveat. The NCAA-friendly SCORE Act, while bipartisan, faces stiff pushback in a divided U.S. Senate, where at least seven Democrats are needed to overcome the filibuster and reach the 60-vote margin for any bill passage. Murphy and Lee's bill, perhaps a longshot to pass in this Congress, serves as a reminder of what could transpire in the future as the college sports industry barrels toward a more professionalized model with the approval of the House settlement's athlete revenue-share concept. The bill would amend the National Labor Relationship Board Act to cover both private and public universities and require the board to recognize conferences and schools as 'multi-employer bargaining units.' The bill establishes 'equitable terms and conditions' for college athletes to choose representation in order to negotiate collective-bargaining agreements. 'College athletes exhibit the markers of employment as established under the common law definition of the term 'employee,'' the bill says. 'The NCAA and its member institutions have denied college athletes a fair wage for their labor by colluding to cap compensation; they maintain strict and exacting control over the terms and conditions of college athletes' labor; and they exercise the ability to terminate an athlete's eligibility to compete if the athlete violates these terms and conditions.' The bill is contradictory to the mostly Republican-backed SCORE Act, which provides the NCAA, power conferences and new enforcement arm, the College Sports Commission, with many of its requests from Congress: (1) limited antitrust protection to enforce rules; (2) the preemption of various state NIL laws; (3) codification of the House settlement terms; and, perhaps most notably, (4) a clause deeming athletes as students and not employees. The bill is facing pushback not only from Democrats but from a variety of avenues, including players associations of the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and MLS; the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committees; and one of the leading Democrats in the Senate, Maria Cantwell. 'If you thought the dissolution of the Pac-12 was a heist, the SCORE Act is the National Championship of all heists,' said Cantwell, representing the state of Washington. 'This legislation is a power grab by the two biggest conferences that will leave athletes, coaches, and small and mid-sized institutions behind.' All three entities — the players associations, Olympic committee and Cantwell — each provide a criticism to the SCORE Act: It prevents a path for collective bargaining and employment of athletes; and codifies a House settlement that, many believe, will negatively impact women and Olympic sports and grows the already looming financial gaps between major conference programs and those other lower-resourced schools in Division I. In a recent letter to House lawmakers, four state attorney generals — from Florida, Tennessee, Ohio and New York — urged Congress to reject the SCORE Act, describing it as 'a misguided effort that will enshrine in federal law the arbitrary and biased authority of the NCAA at its worst.' But the bill has plenty of supporters who point to the many benefits, such as the legislation's oversight of agents and its requirement to provide athlete degree completion and post-graduate healthcare. Meanwhile, Murphy and Lee's bill gestures toward a completely different system, one that turns athletes into employees who can collectively bargain — a concept that many in college athletics believe should be explored deeply as a way to bring stability and regulation. 'Collective bargaining and employment status shouldn't be seen as negative terms,' Tennessee athletic director Danny White told Yahoo Sports last month. 'I think there's a lot of people who think the same way I do. We can go through another three or five or 10 years of a difficult environment. Or we can accept the reality and fix it right now.'
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Republicans risk Trump's wrath with move to SUBPOENA Ghislane Maxwell on Epstein setting up spectacle
Congress has moved forward with subpoenaing Jefferey Epstein's accomplice and longtime friend Ghislaine Maxwell, teeing up a time for her to speak with lawmakers. Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee requested a motion to have Maxwell subpoenaed during Tuesday's House Oversight Committee hearing. The committee approved Burchett's motion for Maxwell's deposition, meaning the 62-year-old who is serving a 20-year-sentence for sex trafficking may have a chance to air her story to members of Congress craving more information on the sordid saga. Burchett first shared he was considering how to get Maxwell's testimony last week. He sent a letter to Oversight Chairman James Comer asking him for a public hearing - which are normally televised - with Maxwell testifying before the full panel. The Tennessean said in the letter if Maxwell refuses then the committee should subpoena her. 'The Committee will seek to subpoena Ms. Maxwell as expeditiously as possible,' an Oversight spokesperson said. 'Since Ms. Maxwell is in federal prison, the Committee will work with the Department of Justice and Bureau of Prisons to identify a date when Committee can depose her.' The push for the Epstein accomplice's testimony comes amid extreme pressure on Capitol Hill to release files related to the financier's crimes and death. The House canceled votes on Thursday due to complications with Epstein. The Rules Committee, which determines what bills make it to the House floor for votes, has been paralyzed since Democrats on the panel have continuously worked to force Republicans to vote against the Epstein files being released. The political jockeying has frustrated GOP members on the panel, some of whom have sided with Democrats on rules committee votes to avoid pushing back against the release of the high-profile documents. Already Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., has introduced a bill that would force the Department of Justice to release most of its files on Epstein. Speaker Mike Johnson and Republican leadership have also been supportive of additional Epstein files being published. Johnson and his team are virtually powerless in stopping Massie's measure, too, as it will eventually reach the floor after gaining 218 co-signers - and almost all Democrats and some Republicans have already said they'd vote for it.
