Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana has publicly opposed Speaker Kevin McCarthy's efforts to remove three Democrats from committees, signaling potential complications for the House GOP's efforts. McCarthy has the power to keep members off the Intelligence panel, but not the Foreign Affairs Committee, which is a standing committee. Spartz's opposition may be enough to sway the outcome of the dispute, which is expected to continue in the coming days.
Posts tagged as “GOP”
Senate Republicans are refusing to back House Republicans' plans to use the debt ceiling as leverage, despite warnings from corporate America and Wall Street investors. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is seeking spending cuts to vital programs, but Senate Republicans are instead vowing to seek spending cuts in exchange for passing legislation. This is a stark contrast to the Republicans' traditional alignment with the business community, and the early June deadline is looming.
This article covers the potential federal investigation into the White House after the discovery of classified documents at President Joe Biden's former Washington office. The White House Counsel's Office is currently reviewing requests from the GOP committee chair related to Biden's handling of the documents, and four additional documents with classified markings have been found. The investigation could have serious implications for the Biden presidency.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has nominated California Representatives Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell to serve on the House Intelligence Committee, setting up a potential showdown with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy who has vowed to block the pair. Jeffries cited Schiff and Swalwell's "decades of distinguished leadership providing oversight" of the intelligence community and their careers as prosecutors before serving in Congress. The move signals a rocky start to the relationship between Jeffries and McCarthy, with the potential conflict between them affecting the committee's work.
Ron Klain, White House Chief of Staff, is expected to depart the Biden administration in the coming weeks. His departure is the first of a series of staffing moves to come, and it is not yet clear who will replace him. Klain has been a key figure in Biden’s inner circle since the president took office, helping to manage the White House’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and shepherd Biden’s legislative agenda through Congress.
The U.S. government is set to reach its statutory debt limit on Thursday, prompting the Treasury Department to take “extraordinary measures” to pay the bills. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that failure to meet the government’s obligations would cause irreparable harm to the U.S. economy, and it is now up to Congress to act in a timely manner to increase or suspend the debt limit in order to prevent default. The current debt limit showdown could define the tenure of the new GOP majority and the final two years of President Joe Biden’s term.
House Republicans have reinstated Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) to their respective committees, two years after Democrats stripped them of their assignments. The move is seen as a reward for the 21 House Republicans who initially blocked McCarthy from winning the speakership, and comes after a process that took 15 rounds of voting. Greene and Gosar are both staunch supporters of former President Donald Trump and critics of President Joe Biden.
Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., has been appointed to the House Science, Space and Technology Committee and the Small Business Committee, despite facing multiple investigations and calls to resign from fellow Republicans. The House Republican Steering Committee, led by Speaker Kevin McCarthy, voted to give Santos the slots on the two lower-profile panels. Despite the controversy, House Republicans have decided to keep him on board, assigning him to two committees.