U.S. House 2 , CD3 DFL

Wray grilled on FBI’s handling of Jan. 6

FBI Director Christopher Wray was largely on the defensive Thursday as lawmakers and Democrats in particular picked apart the bureau’s actions surrounding the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, as well as its approach to domestic extremists.

Wray’s appearance before the House Judiciary Committee follows a report from senators investigating widespread failures across a number of intelligence and law enforcement agencies ahead of the riot.

“The FBI’s inaction in the weeks leading up to Jan. 6 is simply baffling. It is hard to tell whether FBI Headquarters merely missed the evidence — which had been flagged by your field offices and was available online for all the world to see — or whether the bureau saw the intelligence, underestimated the threat and simply failed to act. Neither is acceptable. We need your help to get to the bottom of it,” Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) said. Continue reading.

Jim Jordan starts FBI hearing with a frenzied rant about Trump’s social media bans and the raid of Rudy Giuliani’s home

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) loudly pursued MAGA grievances during a House oversight hearing with FBI director Christopher Wray.

The Ohio Republican opened the House Judiciary Committee hearing with an extended rant against coronavirus restrictions, former president Donald Trump’s social media ban, a grassroots campaign to get Fox News removed from cable carriers, and the FBI raid of the ex-president’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

“Big tech censoring conservatives, the cancel culture mob attacking anyone who disagrees with them, deplatforming the sitting president of the United States, Democrats writing letters to the network carriers telling them to take certain news organizations off their platform,” Jordan said. “Freedom is under attack and, director, a lot of Americans think you’re part of the problem.” Continue reading.

30 House Republicans introduce bill to stop government from fighting racism

The bill was filed by Rep. Burgess Owens of Utah.

Thirty House Republicans on Friday introduced legislation that would prevent the federal government from supporting efforts to fight racism, sexism, and gender discrimination.

The bill was introduced by Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT) and has 29 co-sponsors, including Reps. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Brian Mast (R-FL), Chip Roy (R-TX), and Ronny Jackson (R-TX).

H.R. 3235, if passed, would reinstate an executive order issued by Donald Trump that prevented the federal government from funding programs that included material on combating racism and gender stereotypes in the workplace. Continue reading.

Senators reach bipartisan deal to overhaul USPS finances, tighten accountability requirements

An identical version of the legislation is advancing in the House, where it is said to have enough support to pass

A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation Wednesday to lift significant financial burdens off the ailing U.S. Postal Service while tightening accountability requirements for mail delivery, a major stride for an agency that has tussled with its balance sheet and reputation for the better part of a year.

The bill, identical to a version that has advanced in the House, would repeal $5 billion a year in mandatory retiree health-care expenses and require future postal retirees to enroll in Medicare. Advocates say the measures would save the agency $30 billion over the next decade.

The bill would also see the Postal Service develop a public online mail delivery performance dashboard where customers could view the agency’s on-time delivery metrics by Zip code each week. Continue reading.

House passes $1.9 billion in funding to increase security at Capitol

The House of Representatives voted 213-212 Thursday to approve a $1.9 billion bill that would increase security at the U.S. Capitol in the aftermath of the deadly Jan. 6 riot.

Why it matters: Democrats have argued the upgrades funded by the legislation are needed to patch the security shortcomings exploited by the pro-Trump mob on the day of the riot. Some Republicans have warned the measures are an overreaction.

Between the lines: A handful of progressives voted “no” or “present” on the bill, citing policing concerns. Continue reading.

House passes bill to combat hate crimes against Asian Americans

The House on Tuesday passed legislation to aggressively investigate hate crimes, especially those targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, that have increased during the coronavirus pandemic.

The vote was 364 to 62; all the votes in opposition came from Republicans. The legislation heads to President Biden for his signature.

Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) introduced the Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act in March after attacks against Asian Americans increased after the coronavirus emerged in China. Just five days after Hirono introduced the legislation, eight people were killed — including six women of Asian descent — in a mass shooting at three Atlanta-area spas. Continue reading.

Amid threats to members, House to vote on new security

U.S

WASHINGTON — Colorado Rep. Jason Crow, a former Army Ranger who served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, says it took time for him to stop constantly scanning his environment for threats when he returned from war 15 years ago. But after the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, he says he’s picked the habit up again.

Crow was trapped with several other members of Congress in the upper gallery of the U.S. House that day while a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters tried to beat down the doors to the chamber and stop the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory.

Crow says he never would have thought “in a million years” he’d be in that situation in the Capitol, but some of his old training has since kicked in, like looking in his rear-view mirror and assessing if people around him might be carrying a gun. Like almost every other member of Congress, his office has received threats against his life. Continue reading.

Congress obtains Trump hotel documents from Biden administration: report

Congress is continuing to obtain public documents that were blocked from being released by the Trump administration.

“The General Services Administration has provided House Democrats with documents related to former President Donald Trump’s Washington hotel, in the second case this week where the Biden administration gave the House information that the Trump administration had blocked it from obtaining,” CNN reported. “The Biden administration revealed in a court filing on Friday that the House committee had asked for the records and the GSA had turned over some of them last week.

The request was resubmitted by House Transportation Chair Peter DeFazio (D-OR). Continue reading.

Biden administration, House Democrats reach agreement in Donald McGahn subpoena lawsuit

The Biden Justice Department and lawyers for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have reached an agreement about how to handle a congressional subpoena for testimony from former Trump White House counsel Donald McGahn.

The House Judiciary Committee and the Biden administration announced the deal Tuesday in a filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The parties told the court they have “an agreement in principle on an accommodation.” Former president Donald Trump is “not a party to the agreement,” the filing states.

No additional details were provided about the negotiated settlement. Continue reading.

Democrats warn Waters censure move opens floodgates

House Democrats are warning that Republicans are opening a Pandora’s box after forcing a vote on censuring Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) this week.

Multiple Democrats have introduced resolutions in recent months to censure or even expel Republicans, primarily over inflammatory rhetoric making false claims about election fraud ahead of the Jan. 6 insurrection.

After Republicans forced the party-line vote on Waters this week, Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) circulated a letter renewing his effort to expel Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) from Congress and urging more fellow Democrats to sign onto his resolution. Continue reading.

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