Tag: U.S. House

Nadler reaches deal with Justice on Mueller documents on eve of contempt vote

The head of the House Judiciary Committee on Monday announced that his panel had reached an agreement with the Department of Justice to obtain key underlying evidence from the Mueller report, staving off an imminent court battle over access to the files.

Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said in a statement he will “hold the criminal contempt process in abeyance for now” amid the Justice Department’s cooperation, noting that lawmakers will be able to begin reviewing the first of these documents later Monday.

“All members of the Judiciary Committee — Democrats and Republicans alike — will be able to view them,” Nadler said in a statement.

View the complete June article by Olivia Beavers and Morgan Chalfant on The Hill website here.

Phillips, Freshman Dems Call on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to Hold a Vote on Historic Government Reform Bill

The For The People Act, the first bill Rep. Phillips co-sponsored in Congress, reduces the power of special interests and secures our elections from foreign influence

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Rep. Dean Phillips (MN-03)  joined fellow freshman Democrats who helped lead the charge to prioritize and pass the For The People Act to call on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to allow debate and an up or down on the floor of the Senate.

“Leader McConnell stands in the way of ending the era of bought and sold politicians,”said Rep. Phillips. “Refusing to even hold a vote on the For The People Act keeps our government in the pocket of special interests and keeps our elections open to foreign attacks. It’s wrong, it’s dangerous, and it should concern every single American. It’s time for McConnell to put country over party and bring H.R.1 to the floor.”

You can video of the full press conference HERE. Continue reading “Phillips, Freshman Dems Call on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to Hold a Vote on Historic Government Reform Bill”

House approves much-delayed $19.1B disaster aid bill

The House on Monday passed a $19.1 billion disaster relief package, finally sending legislation to the White House that had been repeatedly blocked by conservatives over the Memorial Day recess.

The legislation was approved in a 354-58 vote.

The House sought to move the bill three times by unanimous consent over the last week, but the vote was blocked by a different conservative Republican each time.

View the complete June 3 article by Juliegrace Brufke on The Hill website here.

Key House panel faces pivotal week on Trump

The House Judiciary Committee, which would consider articles of impeachment against President Trump if that process moves forward, is set for a pivotal week.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), the panel’s chairman, has jostled for weeks with the administration to secure more documents and witness testimony — including that of special counsel Robert Mueller — to guide probes into Russian election interference and allegations that Trump obstructed Mueller’s investigation.

But the efforts have come up largely empty in the face of the administration’s near-blanket refusal to honor those requests, leading to confrontations about holding administration officials for contempt and raising the pressure on Democratic leaders to consider impeachment.

View the complete June 3 article by Mike Lillis and Scott Wong on The Hill website here.

Mueller says he does not want to testify before Congress

Special counsel Robert Mueller said Wednesday that he does not want to testify before Congress on his investigation into Russian interference.

“I hope and expect this to be the only time that I will speak to you about this matter,” Mueller said in remarks that lasted about eight minutes from the Justice Department. “I am making that decision myself — no one has told me whether I can or should testify or speak further about this matter.”

Mueller also said that any testimony his office would give “would not go beyond” what is already laid out in the public version of his 448-page report.

View the complete May 29 article by Morgan Chalfant on The Hill website here.

Amash defends call for Trump’s impeachment, says Congress ‘has a duty to keep the president in check’

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Rep. Justin Amash, the sole congressional Republican to call for President Trump’s impeachment, said Tuesday that the findings of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III left him with no other option.

Defending his stance, Amash (Mich.) told supporters and opponents at his first town hall since his tweets angered Trump and other Republicans that Congress “has a duty to keep the president in check.”

“I’d do it whether it was a Republican president or a Democratic president. It doesn’t matter. You elected me to represent all of you,” Amash told hundreds of people crowded into an auditorium at Grand Rapids Christian High School.

View the complete May 28 article by David Weigel and John Wagner on The Washington Post website here.

Trump goes scorched earth against impeachment talk

President Trump’s scorched-earth offensive against congressional Democrats this week is a clear sign he sees his path to reelection as being paved through battles with his opponents more than collaboration.

The president’s decisions to walk out of a White House meeting on infrastructure and to belittle and poke Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) with personal attacks are likely to excite Trump supporters who like nothing more than his confrontations with the establishment.

“Donald Trump is a fighter — there’s no ambiguity about that — and he’s going to fight for what he believes in,” said Bryan Lanza, a former Trump campaign and transition aide. “He’s going to show he will do what’s right for the taxpayers and the voters, but all the Democrats want to do is talk about impeachment.”

View the complete May 25 article by Jordan Fabian on The Hill website here.

House Intelligence enjoys breakthrough with Justice Department

An unexpected breakthrough in negotiations between the Justice Department and the House Intelligence Committee is about to offer some lawmakers an intimate look at highly sensitive intelligence files collected by special counsel Robert Mueller.

The development represents a rare example of a deal amid what Democrats otherwise describe as a sea of stonewalling by the president and his officials of their investigations.

While the Justice Department has not yet met all of the panel’s demands, Chairman Adam Schiff (Calif.) and other committee Democrats say they are encouraged.

View the complete May 24 article by Morgan Chalfant on The Hill website here.

Sorry Mr. President, facts prove the House Democrats are doing way more than the GOP Senate

The House has passed 248 things since January. And many of them are a big deal.

The Trump administration has spent much of the past 24 hours blaming the president’s refusal to act on infrastructure on House Democrats, claiming they are too busy investigating him to pass any legislation.

But unlike the Republican-controlled Senate, the House of Representatives has actually passed hundreds of things in just a few months, including major legislation to protect LGBTQ Americans, restore American democracy, reduce gun violence, protect the climate, ensure equal pay for women, and expand health care protections for people with pre-existing conditions.

A day after President Donald Trump blew up a bipartisan negotiation session and gave a press conference that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) called a “temper tantrum,” he issued a series of tweets making the false claim that House Democrats were “getting nothing done.”

Dem Katie Porter absolutely destroys Ben Carson again after exposing him as a buffoon

Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) exposed Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson’s ignorance during a congressional hearing that went viral, but she worried the problem would not be seen as seriously as it should be.

Late-night comedians and social media users mocked Carson for mixing up an acronym for foreclosures with Oreo cookies, but Porter said she did not go into that House Oversight Committee hearing with the intent to draw laughs.

“My questions were serious — they weren’t designed to be funny,” Porter said.

View the complete May 22 article by Travis Gettys from Raw Story on the AlterNet website here.