Category: US House

Eric Swalwell reveals shocking thing Republican did after refusing to shake DC cop’s hand

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On CNN Wednesday, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) shredded his nearly two dozen Republican colleagues who voted against giving medals to Capitol Police officers who pushed back the rioters on January 6.

“To honor Donald Trump, you now have to dishonor the police, that’s the only explanation I have for you,” said Swalwell. “Officer Fanone and Officer Harry Dunn stopped by my office earlier today unannounced. They popped in, I chatted with them for a while. They told me how much it hurt to watch the vote yesterday where 21 Republicans voted against giving these hero officers the gold medals. They said they wanted to embark on going to those offices to meet the members of Congress, tell them about their experience and hopefully change their minds.”

“So Fanone called me about 20 minutes after he left my office and he was enraged,” continued Swalwell. “He said, is this really how it works around here? … He said that Congressman Clyde, after he refused to shake his hand, pulled out his cell phone and started recording him like he was some sort of criminal, that he had to document the interaction. That’s just where these guys are right now. I saw Clyde on the floor, scared for his life as all of us were, and I saw the brave officers who put their lives in front of ours and everyone else in that building. This is just no way to treat them.” Continue reading.

Republican Madison Cawthorn upholds Viet Cong militants as Second Amendment heroes

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Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) had an awkward moment with a Newsmax host Wednesday evening when discussing why AR-15s and military weapons should continue to be legal for anyone to use.

Cawthorn tried to argue that assault rifles are necessary to protect America against the federal government, which he works for. 

“If anybody ever wants to say ‘oh, well you know what, citizens with a few small arms fire would never be able to stop the federal government’ – I absolutely disagree. Ask the Viet Cong how they handled the Marines and the Army in Vietnam,” said Cawthorn.  Continue reading.

Congressman reveals new photo from the Capitol riot after Republicans try to ‘memory hole’ the insurrection

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During a hearing this week, Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) questioned FBI Director Christopher Wray over the shooting death of Ashli Babbitt, the QAnon-believing woman who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 along with a mob of Trump supporters, saying that she was “executed.”

“It’s disturbing,” Gosar said. “The Capitol Police officer that did that shooting appeared to be hiding, lying in wait and then gave no warning before killing her.”

But Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) doesn’t see it that way. Responding to Gosar’s comments on Twitter, Gallego posted a photo that he took on Jan. 6, showing the mob outside the door where Babbitt was shot. Continue reading.

21 House Republicans vote against awarding Congressional Gold Medal to all police officers who responded on Jan. 6

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Twenty-one House Republicans on Tuesday voted against awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to all police officers who responded to the Jan. 6 violent attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.

The measure passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support from 406 lawmakers. But the 21 Republicans who voted “no” drew immediate condemnation from some of their colleagues, and the vote underscored the lingering tensions in Congressamid efforts by some GOP lawmakers to whitewash the events of that day.

Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-Va.) called the “no” votes “a sad commentary on the @HouseGOP,” while Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) declared, “How you can vote no to this is beyond me.” Continue reading.

These 4 states could decide control of Congress in 2022

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Watch Georgia, North Carolina, Florida and Arizona

ANALYSIS — More than 16 months before Election Day, new House district lines haven’t even been drawn, and yet the fight for Congress is likely to hinge on the outcomes in four critical states.

On a basic level, every state matters in the Senate, considering Republicans need to gain just a single seat to get to the majority. Each significant recruitment development (such as if GOP Gov. Chris Sununu challenges Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan in New Hampshire) would instantly affect the handicapping of a race and the fight for control. But there are other states less dependent on a single candidate.

Every seat also matters in the House, where Republicans need a net gain of five seats for a majority — a paltry number in a body of 435 members and in the face of the midterm history, which favors the party out of the White House. And some states, such as Texas, are of particular importance to one of the chambers. But a handful of states are hosting competitive races that will affect control of both the House and the Senate. Continue reading.

‘Highway robbery’: Madison Cawthorn raises suspicions by paying inexperienced buddy $127,111 as top staffer

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Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) appears to be overpaying an underqualified friend to serve on his congressional staff.

Quarterly disbursement statements show Cawthorn’s chief of staff William “Blake” Harp made $31,777.77 in the first quarter of the year, the equivalent of $127,111 annually, despite having no background in government and not much other work experience besides running fireworks stands, reported the Citizen Times.

“One hundred twenty-seven thousand dollars is not exorbitant for a chief,” said another Republican legislative staff member. “It’s highway robbery for anyone for whom it’s their first real job and they bring no discernible skills.” Continue reading.

Clyde makes good on fighting magnetometer fine in federal court

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The Georgia Republican has downplayed the violence surrounding the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol

Rep. Andrew Clyde, the Georgia Republican fined $15,000 for skirting magnetometers on two occasions near the House floor, is fighting the penalty in federal court. 

Clyde, along with Rep. Louie Gohmert, a Texas Republican fined $5,000 for circumventing the security screening, filed a lawsuit Sunday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging the House rule that imposes such fines violates the Constitution on two fronts.

“House Resolution 73 (H.Res. 73) detains members from engaging in their duties to those they represent, in clear violation of Article I of the Constitution, and seeks to fine Republicans, in violation of the 27th Amendment, to gain undue influence over their behavior and to further Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi’s false political narrative,” Clyde said in a statement Monday. Continue reading.

Greene apologizes for comparing vaccine rules to Holocaust

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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Monday apologized for comparing COVID-19 vaccine and mask rules to the Holocaust, declaring that “there is no comparison” between the safety measures and the genocide of 6 million Jews during World War II.

Greene delivered the public apology following a visit earlier Monday to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum weeks after she drew condemnation from fellow Republicans for the remarks over the long Memorial Day recess.

“I have made a mistake,” Greene told reporters. “I wanted to say that I know that words that I’ve stated were hurtful, and for that I am very sorry.” Continue reading.

How You — And Congress — Subsidize The Richest Americans

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ProPublica scored a fantastic scoop when it obtained and meticulously analyzed 15 years of raw income tax data on the wealthiest Americans. This leak of Internal Revenue Service records is by far the biggest and most important tax news in the 55 years that I’ve reported on taxes.

Thanks to the leaker, we now know beyond any doubt that the endless claims that America has a progressive income tax system are bunk. A progressive system means that the more you make, the greater the share of your income you pay in taxes. Back in 2005, I got the George W. Bush administration to acknowledge that the system stops becoming progressive near the top.

But, unfortunately, ProPublica shows that it’s even worse than what I reported back then. Continue reading.

‘I didn’t take an oath to defend Donald Trump’: Rep. Tom Rice tests whether Republican voters will support a conservative who crossed Trump

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Republican Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina has been a reliable conservative during his five terms in Congress, and he was a strong supporter of President Donald Trump and his agenda.

As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, Rice helped draft what became the party’s hallmark 2017 tax cut legislation. He supported building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. He supported Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods. He defended Trump during his first impeachment, saying “he has been the target of an astounding barrage of lies, deceit, and corruption.” And he objected to certifying the 2020 election results from Pennsylvania and Arizona that Trump falsely said were fraudulent.

But on Jan. 13, Rice shocked Washington and voters here in a district that includes coastal communities that thrive on tourism and rural areas focused on farming: He voted to impeach Trump on charges he incited the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Continue reading.