Tag: U.S. House

ICYMI: Rep. Phillips Pens Bipartisan Washington Post Column


“WE DIFFER IN OUR POLITICS. WE AGREE ON CONGRESS’S POWER TO DECLARE WAR.”

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Rep. Dean Phillips (MN-03) teamed up with Reps. Justin Amash (I-MI), Ken Buck (R-CO), Jared Golden (D-ME), Scott Perry (R-PA), Chip Roy (R-TX) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) to call on their colleagues to put aside partisanship and safeguard the constitutional duty of Congress to declare war by reconsidering the 2001 and 2002 authorizations for use of military force (AUMFs). In a joint opinion piece published in the Washington Post, they write:

We differ in our politics. We agree on Congress’s power to declare war.

Reps. Justin Amash (I-MI), Ken Buck (R-CO), Jared Golden (D-ME), Scott Perry (R-PA), Dean Phillips (D-MN), Chip Roy (R-TX), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), Washington Post, January 16, 2020

We are members of Congress whose political ideologies and priorities run the gamut, but we are united in our determination to safeguard the constitutional duty of Congress to declare war and to ensure that the American people have their voices heard. This duty is essential to providing the men and women of our armed forces the support and clarity of mission they deserve. Continue reading “ICYMI: Rep. Phillips Pens Bipartisan Washington Post Column”

Pelosi’s impeachment team represents the diversity of the Democratic caucus

Speaker hand-picked seven managers with a broad swath of backgrounds

Speaker Nancy Pelosi has chosen a small but diverse group of managers to make the House’s case for convicting President Donald Trump on two charges when the Senate impeachment trial begins next week, a move that reflects the membership of her own caucus.

Pelosi announced the managers, which include three women and three minorities, Wednesday morning, just hours before the House is expected to approve them and formally send the two articles of impeachment to the Senate.

The group, who flanked Pelosi during the announced, stands in stark contrast to the 13 white Republican men who managed the articles of impeachment for the House during the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton, almost exactly 20 years ago. Continue reading.

House passes measure seeking to limit Trump on Iran

The Hill logoThe House on Thursday approved a measure aimed at restricting President Trump’s ability to go to war with Iran, a day after a number of lawmakers expressed frustration at the briefing where the administration provided its arguments for a drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. 

In a largely party-line vote of 224-194, the House passed a war powers resolution that would direct the president to end military hostilities with Iran unless Congress specifically authorizes it or the United States faces an “imminent armed attack.”

The measure would not need Trump’s signature because it’s what’s known as a “concurrent resolution.” But that has also left Democrats open to criticism that the resolution is just a messaging bill since concurrent resolutions are typically nonbinding, though their use to force the end of military hostilities under the War Powers Act is untested in court. Continue reading.

House to vote on war powers Thursday following Iran strikes

Corrected 7:53 p.m. | The House will vote Thursday on a resolution that would limit President Donald Trump’s authority to take future military action against Iran without congressional authorization, Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Wednesday.

House lawmakers received a briefing from key administration officials following the Tuesday night attack on two bases in Iraq that house U.S. troops and the preceding U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

“Today, to honor our duty to keep the American people safe, the House will move forward with a War Powers Resolution to limit the President’s military actions regarding Iran,” Pelosi said. Continue reading.

Nancy Pelosi says House will vote to limit Trump’s war powers on Iran as tensions grow

WASHINGTON – On Sunday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House of Representatives will vote this week on legislation to limit President Donald Trump’s military actions on Iran in the wake of increased tensions between the two countries after Trump ordered an airstrike killing top Iranian General Qasem Soleimanilast Thursday.

Listen to the audio story by clicking ‘play’ above.

In a letter to Democratic members of the House, Pelosi said the “provocative and disproportionate” airstrike on Soleimani “endangered our servicemembers, diplomats and others by risking a serious escalation of tensions with Iran.”

Pelosi thanked lawmakers for their “patriotic leadership” during the tense period.  Continue reading.

House retirements already outpace average for past election cycles

Decisions by 27 lawmakers compares with average of 23 per election cycle, and more could be coming

The number of House members deciding to retire has already exceeded the average for recent election cycles, and more could be coming as lawmakers return to the nation’s capital after the holidays.

Since 1976, an average of 23 House members have retired each two-year election cycle, according to CQ Roll Call elections analyst Nathan L. Gonzales, the publisher of Inside Elections. In 2019 alone, however, 27 House members announced they will retire, opting not to run for reelection nor for another office (these figures do not include lawmakers who have resigned or died while in office).

More than three times as many Republicans, many of whom are serving in the minority for the first time, decided to retire as Democrats. Twenty-one Republicans are retiring while six Democrats are heading for the exits. Continue reading

Trump administration demanded Democrats strip Ukraine aid language from spending package

Washington Post logoThe language would have required the White House to release Ukraine defense aid quickly.

Senior Trump administration officials in recent days threatened a presidential veto that could have led to a government shutdown if House Democrats refused to drop language requiring prompt release of future military aid for Ukraine, according to five administration and congressional officials.

The language was ultimately left out of mammoth year-end spending legislation that passed the House and Senate this week ahead of a Saturday shutdown deadline. The White House said President Trump signed the $1.4 trillion package Friday night.

The Ukraine provision was one of several items the White House drew a hard line on during negotiations to finalize the spending legislation, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the developments. It would have required the White House to swiftly release $250 million in defense money for Ukraine that was part of the spending package.

Continue reading

Inside the decision to impeach Trump: How both parties wrestled with a constitutional crisis

Washington Post logoHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi sat quietly at the head of the long table inside her ornate conference room early this month, listening as her deputies debated the last major decision in the impeachment of President Trump.

Her senior lieutenants argued for an expansive bill of charges encompassing the Mueller report. Others pressed for articles of impeachment focused solely on Trump’s pressure on Ukraine to help his reelection bid.

Ultimately, it didn’t matter. Pelosi had all but made up her mind.

House approves massive $1.4T spending package

The Hill logoThe House on Tuesday approved $1.4 trillion in spending in a pair of bills funding the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year.

The House overwhelmingly passed the pair of bills, with the first passing on a 297-120 vote and the second passing 280-138. Both measures now head to the Senate.

The Senate is expected to approve both before leaving for the week, and the White House has indicated that President Trump will sign them into law. Continue reading