Latest news with #GOP-authored
Politico
6 days ago
- Politics
- Politico
Inside the House GOP rebellion over Epstein
One option, of which Johnson appeared to be most supportive, was to forgo moving legislation through the Rules Committee for the rest of the week – effectively a legislative surrender but it would give the White House time over August recess to work on releasing Epstein-related information. Another route was to vote on a rule that included some of the Epstein language from the GOP-authored, non-binding resolution from the previous week, which would call for the release of a limited scope of Epstein documents. But GOP leaders believed that would likely fail on the chamber floor. Then there was the alternative that some House Republicans bristled at the most: to forge ahead in the Rules Committee and to vote 'no' on Democratic-led Epstein amendments. But that also wouldn't have satisfied Republicans who wanted leaders to come up with a palatable alternative to support like the non-binding resolution. 'The rule was going down anyway,' said another person with knowledge of the matter. 'So the choice was clear.' So Republicans picked door No. 1, a choice that has opened Johnson up to mockery on the Democratic side of the aisle and incredulity inside his conference. 'People want the information. They don't want things covered up,' GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of Trump's biggest cheerleaders in the House, told reporters this week. Majority Leader Steve Scalise in an interview Wednesday played off the crisis, saying that the fallout wasn't a 'rebellion' but rather Democrats trying to 'turn the Rules Committee into a circus' and Republicans 'weren't going to let that happen.' But Senior House Republicans have also been irritated that the White House hadn't offered much in terms of backup, according to two other Republicans with knowledge of the conversations. When there is a problem in the House GOP conference, leaders often call in Trump to mediate. Trump did speak to Rules Committee Republicans — who were at the center of the protest over Epstein this week — in the Oval Office Tuesday night, according to three people with direct knowledge of the meeting. Foxx, the Rules chair, said the meeting was to thank panel Republicans for their work to pass Trump's megabill ahead of a White House celebration around the legislative achievement. But Rules Committee Rep. Ralph Norman — who this week accused House GOP leaders this week of 'stalling' on Epstein matters — said he believes Trump now 'is gonna release everything.' 'We were with him last night,' Norman added. Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) have been pushing for a vote on a binding Epstein file-release measure that could have the support to pass the house in September, when the bipartisan duo will be able to use procedural maneuvers to force the issue. GOP leaders privately argue their best chance to defeat it is for the administration to make progress in August – an outcome Norman and others are rooting for, too. In the meantime, the firestorm doesn't appear to be dying down, especially following a Wall Street Journal report that the Justice Department informed Trump in May his name was in documents related to the Epstein case. 'That is our best, and only, option now,' one senior House Republican said. 'Otherwise, we'll be right back here in September.' Nicholas Wu and Mia McCarthy contributed to this report.
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Beshear on potential White House bid: ‘I'll think about it after next year'
Gov. Andy Beshear (D-Ky.) said he'll consider a 2028 White House bid in an article published Friday while seething over the 'big, beautiful bill' backed by Republicans in Congress. 'Two years ago, I wouldn't have considered [running for president]. But if I'm somebody who could maybe heal and bring the country back together, I'll think about it after next year,' Beshear told Vanity Fair. The Kentucky governor's term ends in 2027 and he's pledged to complete his tenure in office before launching another political bid for a higher office. Fellow party members Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-Pa.) have also been listed as potential contenders for the presidency as Democrats look to claw back the executive branch after their November loss. Political pundits have suggested the GOP-authored spending package will have a significant impact on midterm elections and cycles that follow as Americans grapple with the possibility of losing their healthcare coverage, a top issue for Beshear. 'What the Republican majority is getting wrong is that the American people don't view health care in a partisan way. They want to be able to see their doctor when they need to, and they want their neighbor to be able to see their doctor,' Beshear, Kentucky's former attorney general, said in the interview. 'No state will be able to compensate for the level of devastation that this bill would cause. What they're doing is immoral, and it's certainly not Christian,' he added. The legislation is set to remove millions from Medicaid and introduce stricter work requirements for food stamp benefits and other social services. However, Beshear said in order to break through on the cuts, Democrats will need to help voters conceptualize the ongoing impact of the bill. 'If Democrats say this bill is going to increase food insecurity, their point's not going to get through. If they say people are going to go hungry, it will,' he said. 'And we have to explain not just what we disagree with in this bill, but why. And my why is my faith. The parable of the fishes and the loaves is in every book of the gospel. My faith teaches me that in a country that grows enough food for everyone that no one should starve.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
08-07-2025
- Business
- Axios
Schumer draws line in government funding fight
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is bracing Democrats for a government funding fight, foreshadowing "grave implications" if Republicans pass President Trump's $9.4 billion rescissions package. Why it matters: The Democratic leader holds significant leverage over an upcoming government shutdown fight, and is monitoring closely how GOP leaders handle the measure to claw back billions in government funding. "This is beyond a bait-and-switch — it is a bait and poison-to-kill," Schumer said to Senate Democrats in a "dear colleague" letter Monday. "Senate Republicans must reject this partisan path and instead work with Democrats on a bipartisan appropriations process." Trump's rescissions package would claw back money already appropriated by Congress for foreign aid, Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio. Congress faces a government funding deadline at the end of September. The big picture: The White House's rescissions package needs just a simple majority of votes to get through the Senate. But any measure to avoid a shutdown before October will need Democratic support. That places significant leverage in the hands of Schumer and Senate Democrats, who want the rescissions package killed or, at least, heavily modified. "Senate Republicans face a defining choice with consequences that will be felt far beyond the halls of power," Schumer said in the letter. Between the lines: Schumer faced intense internal and external backlash earlier this year when he voted with Senate Republicans to avoid a government shutdown in March. Schumer reasoned then that a government shutdown was more harmful than passing the GOP-authored short term government funding measure. Lawmakers and activists alike said they wanted Schumer to fight harder against Republican rule of the government and saw the looming government shutdown as the Democrats' biggest — and probably only — leverage point in negotiations. But other Senate Democrats at the time agreed with Schumer's decision to vote to fund the government, arguing privately it was the right move.
The Hill
05-07-2025
- Health
- The Hill
Beshear on potential White House bid: ‘I'll think about it after next year'
Gov. Andy Beshear (D-Ky.) said he'll consider a 2028 White House bid in an article published Friday while seething over the 'big, beautiful bill' backed by Republicans in Congress. 'Two years ago, I wouldn't have considered [running for president]. But if I'm somebody who could maybe heal and bring the country back together, I'll think about it after next year,' Beshear told Vanity Fair. The Kentucky governor's term ends in 2027 and he's pledged to complete his tenure in office before launching another political bid for a higher office. Fellow party members Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-Pa.) have also been listed as potential contenders for the presidency as Democrats look to claw back the executive branch after their November loss. Political pundits have suggested the GOP-authored spending package will have a significant impact on midterm elections and cycles that follow as Americans grapple with the possibility of losing their healthcare coverage, a top issue for Beshear. 'What the Republican majority is getting wrong is that the American people don't view health care in a partisan way. They want to be able to see their doctor when they need to, and they want their neighbor to be able to see their doctor,' Beshear, Kentucky's former attorney general, said in the interview. 'No state will be able to compensate for the level of devastation that this bill would cause. What they're doing is immoral, and it's certainly not Christian,' he added. The legislation is set to remove millions from Medicaid and introduce stricter work requirements for food stamp benefits and other social services. However, Beshear said in order to break through on the cuts, Democrats will need to help voters conceptualize the ongoing impact of the bill. 'If Democrats say this bill is going to increase food insecurity, their point's not going to get through. If they say people are going to go hungry, it will,' he said. 'And we have to explain not just what we disagree with in this bill, but why. And my why is my faith. The parable of the fishes and the loaves is in every book of the gospel. My faith teaches me that in a country that grows enough food for everyone that no one should starve.'
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mass. GOP slams House's rejection of bill that would let cops partner with ICE
Massachusetts Republicans have sharply denounced the majority-Democrat state House after it rejected a series of GOP-authored measures that would have added significant immigration, housing and criminal justice policy changes to the fiscal year 2026 state budget. Chief among them was language authored by state House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones Jr., R-20th Middlesex, that would have allowed local cops and courts to cooperate with civil immigration detainer orders issued by federal authorities. The action came as the lower chamber plowed through hundreds of amendments to its version of the annual state spending blueprint. 'Rather than endorse a commonsense approach to dealing with the spate of violent crimes committed by illegal immigrants harbored in Massachusetts, Democrats would rather bury their heads in the sand about a problem that continues to persist long after the migrant shelter crisis hit its high-water mark,' state Republlican Party Chairperson Amy Carnevale said in a statement. A 2017 state Supreme Judicial Court ruling known as the 'Lunn Decision' limits how state and local law enforcement assist with federal immigration enforcement, according to the state branch of the American Civil Liberties Union. Tuesday's House vote marks the second time in about a year that majority House Democrats have turned away Republican efforts to tweak state law. The language rejected Tuesday would have, if approved, allowed an "employee of the commonwealth who holds police or sheriff powers who has lawful custody of a person to detain the person for up to 12 hours upon receipt of a written detention request from ICE and an administrative warrant for arrest or warrant for removal or deportation.' In her statement, Carnevale said House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano, D-3rd Norfolk, and his fellow Democrats have a 'habit of adopting GOP proposals for immigration reform only after disastrous consequences and cost overruns.' The latter is a reference to the House imposing limits on how long people can stay in Massachusetts' emergency shelter system. 'I hope Democratic leadership does not wait for even more violent tragedies to occur in our Commonwealth before they finally wake up to the crisis we're facing,' Carnevale said. State House News Service reports are included in this story. This is the word most commonly associated with Trump in his 2nd term Boston prepares for fight after Trump signs order threatening sanctuary cities Filing in R.I. case reveals EPA set to cancel nearly 800 environmental justice grants Mass. schools boss: Immigration chill leading to 'extended absences' Feds launch racial discrimination investigations targeting Harvard Law Review Read the original article on MassLive.
