Latest news with #RalphNorman
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Epstein Chaos Derails House, Imperiling GOP Agenda
"Balance of Power: Late Edition" focuses on the intersection of politics and global business. On today's show, Susan Schwab, former US Trade Representative during the George W. Bush Administration, shares her thoughts on President Trump's newly announced tariff agreements with the Philippines & Indonesia. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) states that the Epstein files will be released and discusses what he may need to hear from Ghislaine Maxwell as the Department of Justice is set to meet with Maxwell over the Epstein case. Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) voices his concerns over a possible second rescissions package happening later this year, and whether or not Democrats will allow the government to shutdown when Congress works on their budget. (Source: Bloomberg)
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Epstein Resolution Will Come Out in Time: Rep. Norman
Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) states that the Epstein files will be released and discusses what he may need to hear from Ghislaine Maxwell as the Department of Justice is set to meet with Maxwell over the Epstein case. He also talks the Department of Education potentially getting funding cut in the next rescissions package and if he is worried about a government shutdown if Democrats don't take part in the budgeting process. Rep. Norman speaks with Joe Mathieu and Tyler Kendall on the late edition of Bloomberg's "Balance of Power." (Source: Bloomberg)
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
House ending session early as Republicans clash over Epstein vote
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson is rebuffing pressure to act on the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, instead sending members home early for a month-long break from Washington after the week's legislative agenda was upended by Republican members who are clamoring for a vote. Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, said Tuesday morning that he wants to give the White House 'space' to release the Epstein information on its own, despite the bipartisan push for legislation that aims to force the release of more documents. 'There's no purpose for the Congress to push an administration to do something they're already doing,' Johnson said at his weekly press conference, his last before lawmakers depart Washington on Wednesday for their traditional August recess. The speaker's stance did little to alleviate the intra-party turmoil unfolding on Capitol Hill as many of President Donald Trump's supporters demand that the administration meet its promises to publicly release a full accounting of the sex trafficking investigation into Epstein, who killed himself in his New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial. Under pressure from right-wing online influencers, as well as voters back home, rank-and-file Republicans are demanding that the House intervene in the matter. 'The public's not going to let this die, and rightfully so,' said Rep. Ralph Norman, a South Carolina Republican. Johnson's control of the House is under threat The dynamic left Johnson with slipping control of his Republican conference and several crucial committees. Even before Johnson spoke Tuesday morning, a Republican-controlled subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight was advancing a resolution to subpoena Epstein's former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, for a deposition. Johnson decided to end the House's legislative business early this week after he essentially lost control of the powerful House Rules Committee, which sends bills to the floor for debates and votes. Late Monday evening, business on that panel ground to a halt when the Republicans on the committee abruptly recessed proceedings rather than risk more proposals from Democrats pushing them to release Epstein files. Republicans had teed up votes on legislation to increase penalties for migrants who enter the country illegally, to ease permitting for water infrastructure and to rollback several Biden-era regulations. But all of those bills were put on hold at least until after the August recess. Frustration in the House has been running high since last week, when Republican leaders signaled possible support for a vote on the Epstein files as they raced to pass a $9 billion package of spending cuts. GOP leader unveiled a resolution that has no legal weight but would urge the Justice Department to produce more documentation. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the release of testimony from secret grand jury proceedings in the case, though that effort is unlikely to produce new revelations. Echoing Trump's position, Johnson insisted he, too, wants the files released, but only those that are 'credible.' Johnson, who has relied heavily on Trump to hold onto leadership in the House, cast the president's reticence to release information as out of concern for the victims of Epstein. 'We have a moral responsibility to expose the evil of Epstein and everybody who was involved in that — absolutely — and we're resolved to do it,' Johnson said. 'But we also have an equal moral responsibility to protect the innocent, and that is a fine needle to thread.' A political wedge Even with the month-long break, the pressure on Johnson is unlikely to end. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican whose contrarian stances are often a thorn in the side to leadership, is gathering support for a legislative maneuver to force the bipartisan bill to a House vote, even without leadership's consent. 'Now, there are a lot of people here in the swamp who think that, 'Oh, well, if we spend five weeks on vacation, the pressure for this will dissipate. I don't think it's going to dissipate.'' Massie told reporters Monday evening. Democrats have watched it all unfold with glee and worked to inflame the conflict among Republicans by making their own calls for transparency on the Epstein investigation. They have repeatedly tried to force votes on the matter, casting it as an issue of trust in the government. 'It's about transparency in government. It's about whose side are you on? Are you on the side of the rich and powerful, protecting men? Or are you on the side of young girls and America's children?' said Rep. Ro Khanna, the California Democrat who put forward the legislation alongside Massie. Epstein sexually abused children hundreds of times over more than a decade, exploiting vulnerable girls as young as 14, authorities say. He couldn't have done so without the help of Maxwell, his longtime companion, prosecutors contend. Massie said the case is palpable enough to carry significant political consequences. 'This will be an issue that does follow Republicans through the midterms, and it will follow each individual Republican through the midterms. It will follow people into their primaries. Did you support transparency and justice, or did you come up here, get elected and fall into the swamp?' he told reporters. He added, 'I think it is a watershed moment for the speaker of the House and the president." ___ Follow the AP's coverage of the Jeffrey Epstein case at
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Only One Republican Voted to Release Epstein Files
House Republicans on Monday struck down a Democratic-led effort to release the Epstein files in their entirety. The Republican-majority House Rules committee voted 6-5 to block an amendment that would force the Department of Justice to make all files publicly accessible. Representative Ralph Norman of South Carolina was the only Republican to vote for their release. 'Whose side are you on? That's really what this Epstein file issue has become,' Representative Ro Khanna, who introduced the amendment, told MSNBC on Monday. 'It's not just about knowing who's being protected, the rich and the powerful, in terms of who had interaction with Jeffrey Epstein. It's the sense that people have that the government is too beholden to certain interests, who have their thumb on the scale. And that they're not working for ordinary people.... This is something that many Republicans believe should happen.' This is perhaps the most intense test of allegiance that the MAGA movement has faced so far. Trump didn't just break a major promise by closing the Epstein case; he did so with indignation, as if his supporters were crazy for still talking about it. And although many of his supporters are scapegoating Attorney General Pam Bondi rather than Trump, it doesn't seem like this issue will just go away. After Monday's vote, Khanna said he would try again to get the files released. The Epstein files are especially likely to keep festering because the stars of the MAGA movement—like Steve Bannon, Elon Musk, Laura Loomer, and Marjorie Taylor Greene—are still genuinely upset by it. Whether other Republicans will move with the same compass as Representative Norman remains to be seen.
Washington Post
6 days ago
- Business
- Washington Post
House set to slash $9 billion even as Republican infighting reemerges
President Donald Trump has played a critical role in helping House Republicans notch consecutive wins, including a heavy lift to ensure a big chunk of his legislative agenda became law. But divisions between far-right lawmakers, many of whom are members of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, and the rest of the House GOP conference are reemerging in ways that even Trump has found troubling to stop. The hard-line flank's rebellion this week — almost siding with all Democrats to force the Trump administration to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein and pausing House business two days in a row over cryptocurrency bills — could overshadow recent accomplishments. And although it is expected to ultimately pass, House Republicans have not yet sewn up the votes for the Trump administration's latest attempts to slash $9 billion in federal funds. The vote is expected late Thursday. 'They're getting tired of winning,' Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez (R-Florida) joked, echoing many rank-and-file members' frustrations with the hard-liners. Other legislative business in the House was delayed this week — including passing a key bill to fund the Defense Department — due to Freedom Caucus concerns, previewing how tricky passing bills through both chambers will be once Congress returns from its August recess. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-South Carolina), a member of the Freedom Caucus, said he is 'cautiously optimistic' that Republicans will pass the partisan rescissions bill Thursday evening after the Senate restored $400 million for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, known as PEPFAR, to ensure it passed the chamber. The bill would slash $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds PBS and NPR. The group would have had grave concerns if the package had been sent back to the House with less than $9 billion in spending cuts, Norman added. 'It should have been the FULL $9.4B, but cutting ANY spending at this point is a good first step,' Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) posted on social media. Republicans have described the budget bill as a welcome start toward slashing spending, even though it achieves only a small fraction of the $1 trillion in annual savings that Elon Musk promised to find during his time overseeing the U.S. DOGE service. The cuts would be the first passed at a president's request since the 1990s. A handful of more pragmatic House Republicans — Reps. Mark Amodei (Nevada), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pennsylvania), Michael R. Turner (Ohio) and Nicole Malliotakis (New York) — are the ones to watch on the rescissions package after they initially opposed it last month. The bill passed only because of several Democratic absences. If every lawmaker is present and voting Thursday, it will force House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) to flip at least one of the four previous Republican no votes. The House must pass rescissions by Friday under the law that Republicans are using to undo spending that Congress previously approved. The internal GOP fighting delayed action on the appropriations process; Congress must fund the government by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. House hard-liners remain skeptical that the Senate will adopt a series of big reductions in federal spending, particularly after they stalled legislation on cryptocurrency this week because of worry that they had no influence on Senate-passed legislation. Individual spending bills require 60 votes to pass the Senate — not the simple majority needed for the rescissions package and Trump's recent tax-and-immigration legislation — meaning Democrats will be crucial to funding the government. White House Office of Budget and Management Director Russell Vought, who has long advised the Freedom Caucus, advocated Thursday for a 'less bipartisan' government funding process and taking aim at the $37 trillion debt by dramatically slashing government through further rescissions bills. (Trump's legislative agenda is estimated to add $4 trillion to the deficit, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office). That approach has rankled lawmakers who still think Congress should lead on what the government spends instead of the executive branch. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma) debuted a new plaque during a committee hearing Thursday that quotes Article I of the Constitution: 'No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.' Jeff Stein contributed to this report.
