Latest news with #HouseOfRepresentatives
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Where is George Santos now? A South Jersey prison.
George Santos may be calling the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland County home for the next seven years as he serves out his prison sentence. The infamous politician who lied his way into becoming a U.S. representative officially began his sentence at the medium-security, all-male South Jersey prison last week. Before leaving, Santos posted his farewell on social media, stating: 'I may be leaving the stage (for now), but trust me legends never truly exit.' Recent headlines: South Jersey man, once an aide to former Gov. Christie, faces prison after child porn find Who is George Santos? Originally known for being the first openly gay Republican to win a House seat as a non-incumbent, Santos is now most associated with his lies. After winning his seat in 2022, Santos served for less than a year before being expelled from the House. Santos is the sixth lawmaker to be ousted from the lower chamber. His election win was notable because it flipped a historically blue district in New York that served parts of Queens and Long Island. Much of his campaign revolved around him being 'the full embodiment of the American dream' because of his claimed status of being an openly gay child of Brazilian immigrants who worked on Wall Street before turning to politics. Quickly after his election, news broke that much of his history was fabricated, including his work experience and identity. He'd been found to have fabricated college degrees, his Wall Street credentials and his Jewish heritage. After his exit from Congress, Santos kept his relevancy with a podcast called 'Pants On Fire With George Santos.' Topics in South Jersey: Trump admin plan for Joint Base MDL faces more questions from NJ's Dem members of Congress What crimes did George Santos commit? His history of lies quickly tied into criminal activity. Those crimes included fraudulent FEC reports, embezzled funds from campaign donors, unauthorized credit card charges, stolen identities, falsely obtained unemployment benefits and lies in House of Representative reports. They largely took place in his relation to his political campaign. Santos took part in a fraudulent scheme to obtain money for the campaign by submitting materially false reports. He also deceived real campaign contributors by using their donations for personal expenses. He was found guilty of wire fraud and aggravated identify theft. In addition to an 87-month prison sentence, Santos is to pay restitution to his victims in the amount of $373,749.97 and $205,002.97 in forfeiture. Risha Inaganti writes about trending topics across South Jersey for the Courier-Post. If you have a story she should tell, email her at rinaganti@ Subscribe to stay up to date on the news you need. This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: George Santos to serve his sentence at this South Jersey prison
Reuters
12 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
US House budget threatens over 600 public defender jobs, judiciary warns
July 30 (Reuters) - Federal public defenders would be forced to eliminate over 600 positions or defer paying court-appointed criminal defense attorneys for over two months under a proposed Republican-backed budget plan in the U.S. House of Representatives, a top U.S. judiciary official warned in an internal memo. Judge Robert Conrad, the director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, included those projections in a July 25 memo, opens new tab addressed to members of the judiciary after a House appropriations panel last week advanced an $8.9 billion proposed budget for the judiciary for the next fiscal year. The proposed spending bill advanced by the U.S. House Appropriations Committee's financial services panel increases spending on the judiciary overall by 3.5% but falls "substantially below" what the courts requested, Conrad said. Among the parts of the judicial branch that would suffer are federal public defenders, he said. The bill provides $1.57 billion in funding for the Defender Services program, which provides attorneys to criminal defendants who cannot afford their own lawyers. Criminal defendants have a constitutional right to be provided attorneys under the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 1963 ruling Gideon v. Wainwright. Conrad said that while the $1.57 billion is up 8.2% from the 2025 fiscal year, it is $196 million below what the judiciary requested, which would force its Defender Services program to "downsize" by over 600 positions, or potentially more if staff cuts occur after the October 1 fiscal year begins. "Reductions of this magnitude would inhibit the Defender Services program from meeting its constitutionally mandated mission," Conrad wrote. He said the other possibility is that payments to court-appointed private attorneys who agree to serve on a court's Criminal Justice Act (CJA) panel will be deferred for 77 days, starting around June 11, 2026, the longest such pause in the history of the program. Those payments are already on hold, as the judiciary this month announced that the program that pays CJA attorneys had run out of money, resulting in a three-month delay. The judiciary has requested $116 million in supplemental funding to address what it calls a "funding crisis." The full House Appropriations Committee will not consider the bill until at least September. Senate appropriators have yet to release their own version of the bill. Details of the memo were first reported by Bloomberg Law. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Fox News
a day ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Texas Democrats preparing state exodus to block GOP redistricting despite $500 daily fines
Texas Democrats are preparing to flee the state to prevent Republicans from passing a key redistricting plan that threatens Democrats' ability to retake the House of Representatives in 2026. The strategy of Texas Democrats is to prevent Republicans from having the necessary quorum of lawmakers to pass a redistricting plan. Taking such drastic measures would come at a cost, however, as state rules impose a $500 fine for each day a lawmaker absconds from the legislature. Nevertheless, lawmakers in the state are already shoring up funds to cover that expense, according to the Texas Tribune. Texas Republicans imposed the $500-a-day fine in 2023, two years after their Democratic counterparts first left the state en masse in an unsuccessful effort to foil GOP priorities. One more roadblock Democrats face with their plan this year is that Texas House rules ban lawmakers from using campaign funds to pay the fines. Despite this, Democrats clued into the fundraising plans told the Tribune that they are confident they have found a way to legally distribute fundraising to lawmakers. State Rep. James Talarico, a Democrat, is set to meet with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries in Texas later on Wednesday. He told Politico that he would be willing to flee the state under the Democratic plan, "if we get to that point." Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, served in the Texas legislature in 2021 and participated in the Democratic exodus to Washington, D.C. that year. She argued to the Tribune that limits on external income are so minimal for Texas lawmakers that they could simply classify donations as an alternate salary before using them to pay the daily fines. Meanwhile, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has threatened to arrest any lawmaker who breaks quorum. "If Democrats ignore their duty to their constituents by breaking quorum, they should be found and arrested no matter where they go. The people of Texas elected them to do a job, not run away and hide like cowards," Paxton said earlier this month. "My office stands ready to assist local, state, and federal authorities in hunting down and compelling the attendance of anyone who abandons their office and their constituents for cheap political theater," he added. Texas' congressional delegation currently has a 25-12 split favoring Republicans, with one seat vacant. State Republicans have yet to unveil the finalized new plan, but the party is looking to expand that split to secure extra padding to keep the House of Representatives in 2026.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
House breaks for August recess amid Epstein uproar
The House on Wednesday broke for its weeks-long August recess, closing up shop one day earlier than planned as the chamber remained in a logjam over the Jeffrey Epstein controversy. The lower chamber is not scheduled to reconvene until Sept. 2 — six weeks from now — when lawmakers will dive into the sprint to avoid a government shutdown by the Sept. 30 funding deadline. House GOP leaders sent members home one day early — on Wednesday rather than Thursday — as the chamber was unable to move any legislation through the House Rules Committee amid a rebellion over the push to disclose the Epstein files. Democrats on the panel had vowed to force another vote on their amendment to consider a bipartisan bill calling for the release of the Epstein files, but Republican committee members did not want to vote it down — as is customary for members of the majority to do to measures brought by the minority party — because of the wrath they received from the MAGA base on a similar vote the previous week. As a result of that earlier vote, Republicans on the panel advanced a nonbinding resolution calling for the release of some Epstein documents days later, an attempt to gain political cover for the GOP lawmakers on the committee. That effort, however, has not been enough to quell the interest among Democrats and some Republicans to force a floor vote on the bipartisan resolution compelling the publication of the documents, leading to the bottleneck in the Rules Committee and prompting leaders to let members go home one day early. In remarks to reporters on Wednesday, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) pushed back on the idea that the House was leaving early because of the Epstein saga. 'We are fulfilling the calendar,' Johnson said. 'We're working, we'll be working tomorrow, there will have been votes every day this week, we have nine or 10 committees working through markups this week, many tomorrow. Congress is doing its work, no one is adjourning early.' 'We have an August district work period that is very important to the function of Congress that has been recognized for all of memory of this institution, and that is what everyone will be doing,' he continued, later adding that 'Republicans are preventing Democrats from making a mockery of the Rules Committee process because we refuse to engage in their political charade.' Democrats, meanwhile, have pinned the early recess on the Epstein controversy. 'Instead of doing their jobs, instead of standing up for kids, for families, instead of standing on the side of transparency and accountability, Republicans are running away all to avoid the release of the Epstein client list, all to cover up for pedophiles,' House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (Mass.) said Wednesday. Aside from the Epstein saga, members over recess are planning to head back to their districts to message on the 'big, beautiful bill' Republicans enacted earlier this month, with GOP lawmakers selling it to constituents and Democratic lawmakers making their case to the public as to why it is a harmful piece of legislation. Both parties are eyeing the legislation as key to their messaging plan ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. It remains unclear how the House will function when lawmakers return from August recess. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) is vowing to file a discharge petition to force a floor vote on his resolution — co-sponsored by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) — which will not be ready for action until September, meaning the issue will still be prevalent when lawmakers come back to Washington. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Forbes
2 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Bitcoin Analysts Highlight Key Factors To Watch As July Winds Down
Bitcoin traders have several important developments to watch as July comes to a close. Bitcoin analysts singled out crucial developments that market observers should monitor as July, which has been a big month for the crypto industry, comes to a close. This month coincided with many important regulatory developments, including legislative progress where the U.S. House of Representatives approved three separate bills involving digital currencies and President Donald Trump signed one of them, the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act), into law. The world's most prominent digital currency reached an all-time high of more than $122,000 roughly halfway through July, and has been trading primarily between $115,000 and $120,000 since then, according to Coinbase data from TradingView. The cryptocurrency has been consolidating recently, a development that multiple experts highlighted in their commentary. 'Bitcoin remains in a consolidation phase just below $120K, with traders watching for a breakout above resistance or a pullback to support near $114K,' Joe DiPasquale, CEO of cryptocurrency hedge fund manager BitBull Capital, stated via email. 'Key catalysts include ongoing ETF inflows, rising corporate treasury allocations, and pending regulatory developments like the CLARITY Act. As we close out the month, macro liquidity trends and further signals from U.S. policymakers could dictate short-term momentum,' he added. Tom Bruni, editor-in-chief & VP of community at Stocktwits, also weighed in on this matter, stating via email that bitcoin has been 'Consolidating tightly between $115,500 and $120,500 over the past two weeks. Given the broader trend is to the upside, bulls expect this consolidation to resolve higher and target roughly $140,000." 'If this consolidation resolves lower by closing below $115,500, that would suggest the short-term momentum in Bitcoin has been lost and that a retest of the $105 to $110,000 range is likely,' he added. 'All eyes are on the FOMC meeting on Wednesday and the remainder of the 'Magnificent Seven' earnings on Wednesday and Thursday to set the tone for the market through August and into September,' Bruni concluded. Doug Colkitt, a founding contributor at Fogo, took a different tack, focusing on how vulnerable the markets are to notable movements either upward or downward. 'The market's at an inflection point. Volatility is compressing, leverage is building, and the order books are getting thinner across major venues,' he stated. 'That's a classic setup for a sharp move in either direction,' Colkitt continued. 'From a structure standpoint, keep an eye on open interest across perp markets and funding rates. If those flip hard, we could be looking at a classic liquidation cascade,' he added. 'But if spot ETF demand holds steady, any dip might get aggressively bought,' Colkitt noted. When looking at key developments toward the end of this month, policy updates will be crucial, noted the YouTuber who goes by Wendy O. 'As of right now, Bitcoin is currently having a little pullback which means number is going down but this past Sunday we had the highest Bitcoin weekly close ever at around $119,000,' she stated. 'We also are expected to get some updates regarding the White House's Crypto policy on July 30 along with a decision from the Fed regarding rates, which could cause some upward price action as this may be interpreted by the market as positive fundamentals,' the analyst added. Douro Labs CEO Mike Cahill also offered this perspective, indicating that 'As we wrap up the month, institutional flows are going to be a key signal to watch.' 'Bitcoin is increasingly trading like a macro asset, so investors should pay close attention to real-world rate expectations, ETF inflows, and post-earnings positioning in risk markets,' he emphasized. 'The bigger picture here is that Bitcoin has officially become part of the traditional portfolio allocation conversation. As more institutions look to balance exposure between cash, equities, and digital assets, Bitcoin's price will respond accordingly,' Cahill predicted.
