House Republicans have sent a letter to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg calling for testimony and criticizing his investigation into former President Donald Trump as an "unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority." The letter is the latest in a series of attempts by Republicans to protect Trump from potential criminal charges, and is a sign that they are willing to go to great lengths to do so.
Posts tagged as “the House of Representatives”
The House of Representatives has voted unanimously to declassify U.S. intelligence information about the origins of COVID-19, and the bill is now on its way to President Biden's desk. The bill requires Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to declassify any information about links between the pandemic and the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Rep. Michael Turner has said that the American public deserves answers. The intelligence community has not yet definitively agreed on the origins of the pandemic, and the declassification of information is expected to provide more clarity.
The House Ethics Committee has announced an investigation into Representative George Santos, focusing on whether he has engaged in any unlawful activity related to his 2022 congressional campaign, failed to properly disclose required information, violated federal conflict of interest laws, and/or engaged in sexual misconduct. The committee has not released any further details, and Santos has not yet commented on the investigation. It is unclear how long the investigation will take or what the outcome may be.
The House of Representatives convened a select committee on China, made up of both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, to investigate the technological, economic, and military threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party. FBI Director Christopher Wray and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois both stressed the importance of bipartisanship in order to effectively address the issue. The committee is expected to continue its investigation into the CCP's activities in the coming months.
Congressman George Santos of New York has been caught in another lie, this time involving United States Senator Kyrsten Sinema. Santos falsely claimed that Sinema had consoled him after a tense exchange with Senator Mitt Romney, but Sinema's office has denied this. Santos has previously been embroiled in controversy for lying about major parts of his life story, and it remains to be seen if he will face any consequences for his false claims.
On Thursday, the U.S. Air Force shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon, prompting a response from Beijing and a call from U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to his Chinese counterpart. The House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution condemning China for the incident, and China's Defense Ministry refused Austin's call for a general-to-general talk. Republicans have criticized the Biden administration for not acting quickly enough, and the incident has further complicated the already tense relationship between the U.S. and China.
Pennsylvania Democrats won a decisive victory in three special elections for the state House of Representatives on Tuesday, giving them control of the chamber for the first time in 12 years. This majority gives them the power to block GOP-led initiatives, including a potential anti-abortion ballot measure. The special elections were the culmination of several months of electoral drama, with Democrats winning in all three districts, and could have implications for the upcoming 2020 presidential election.
In his State of the Union Address, President Joe Biden highlighted the economic progress made during his presidency and called for bipartisan cooperation to raise the debt ceiling and invest in infrastructure, education, and healthcare. The address was met with a standing ovation from Democrats in the House, and Biden's approval numbers have continued to rise since the speech. However, it remains to be seen if the President will be able to overcome the partisan rancor to accomplish his goals with the new Congress.