All posts tagged "house"

'Spontaneous combustion': House campaigns have no playbook for 'major, major' new issue

Candidates vying for House seats in battleground districts are confounded by a new hot-button issue, according to a Politico report.

AI data centers are turning out to be a "political slog" for House hopefuls from both parties, according to Politico. About 1,500 data centers are planned or being built in 232 congressional districts, with a near even split among which are in Democratic and Republican territory, Politico reported.

"There's more political signs against AI in our region than for candidates in the upcoming races," Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), who's running to keep her seat, told Politico. "The public opposition that is arising, it's spontaneous combustion coming up from the grassroots."

An anonymous Democratic strategist told Politico that campaigns don't have a playbook for how to respond to the growing concern.

"There's not one big national message on this specific thing," the strategist said. "But in certain districts, data centers are going to be a major, major player."

Rep. Tom Barrett (R-MI), whose district is targeted by both congressional arms and hosts six data centers, told Politico that congressional candidates shouldn't be shouldered with figuring the issue out, as he sees it more as a local issue.

"People should not want their member of Congress deciding local zoning decisions," he said. "It would be a dangerous precedent."

'Most painful, most awkward': GOP rep moans about 'messy' government standstill

A Republican lawmaker has criticized their own party for an ongoing disagreement with the Democratic Party.

Frustrated Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) said the back and forth over reopening the Department of Homeland Security is par for the course under President Donald Trump's administration. He told CNN, "We do it the hardest, most painful, most awkward, most drawn out miserable way, but eventually we get it done. This is a classic example of that."

The DHS began its partial shutdown six weeks ago following a partial funding lapse that is yet to be resolved. The US Senate has, as of today (March 27), voted to end the 40-day shutdown, so long as immigration enforcement is excluded from reopening. The deal now faces a vote in the House of Representatives.

Fellow GOP representatives were openly critical of how long the shutdown had gone on.

Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) said, "I mean, we've got to, for God's sake, we've got to open this piece of government up."

The bill set to be reviewed by the House does not feature reforms the GOP had pushed for, specifically increased funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

There is also an omission regarding Border Patrol, with money for the immigration team absent from the most recent proposal. Republican Party support is not at all guaranteed for the bill either, with House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole saying, "I don't even know what it is yet."

Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune, speaking from the chamber earlier Friday, added, "Trump should never have had to step in to rescue TSA workers and US air travel.

"We're here because, thanks to Democrats' determined refusal to reach an agreement, there will be no Homeland Security funding bill this year. Instead... Republicans funded the Department of Homeland Security piecemeal," Thune added. "That is not the way to fund the department."

Enraged Dems threaten government shutdown amid Minneapolis chaos

Yet another government shutdown could be likely as representatives for the Democratic and Republican parties struggle with chaos in Minneapolis, according to a report.

Attorney General Keith Ellison, speaking after the shooting of Alex Pretti by ICE agents Saturday, claimed the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension was denied a review of the scene by federal officers. "This is uncharted territory," he said at a press conference alongside Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. "I don’t care if you’re conservative, liberal or whatever, but you should at least be in favor of conserving evidence in a homicide.”

It's a sentiment echoing through the House and Senate too, with Democratic Party reps confirming they will not vote through a bill that would give Homeland Security officers more funding.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer confirmed the party "will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included."

Fellow House and Senate representatives confirmed they would want to avoid a shutdown, but the funding made it impossible to vote through, The Hill reported.

Sen. Angus King (D-ME) said, "I hate shutdowns, I’m one of the people who helped negotiate the solution to the end of the last shutdown but I can’t vote for a bill that includes ICE funding under these circumstances."

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) stated there is a chance other bills could pass through in this time, but one in particular is still a contentious point for both the Senate and House.

She said, "We have bipartisan agreement on 96 percent of the budget. We’ve already passed six funding bills. Let’s pass the remaining five bipartisan bills and fund essential agencies while we continue to fight for a Department of Homeland Security that respects Americans’ constitutional rights and preserves federal law enforcement’s essential role to keep us safe."

A White House official speaking anonymously said they hope to avoid a shutdown. They said, "Democrats were equal partners in negotiating these bills, which are the product of a bipartisan, collaborative process.

"Now, after a week spent celebrating their successes in the process, and in the midst of a winter storm, they’re holding emergency response funding hostage to score political points. We hope cooler heads prevail, and the country does not have to endure another damaging shutdown."

‘Chaos’: MTG constituents blast her crusade to oust Speaker Mike Johnson

ROME, Ga. — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is redoubling her efforts to remove House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) — something she told Raw Story comes with “support” from her district.

But Greene’s Republican and Democratic constituents alike don’t necessarily agree with her motion to vacate Johnson over his cooperation with Democrats to pass a government funding bill that included aid to Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia, Raw Story learned while visiting Georgia’s 14th Congressional District.

ALSO READ: Marjorie Taylor Greene is buying stocks again. Some picks pose a conflict of interest

“It’s nonsense. It's exactly the thing that we don't need,” said Luke Farmer, a 26-year-old Republican from Douglasville, Ga., who launched a campaign to challenge Greene but didn’t raise enough money to qualify for the ballot. “Do you really think that the House wants to be thrown into chaos again? And even if you managed to do it, who do you think they're going to vote for with our majority being so narrow now? There's a very good chance that [Democratic House Leader] Hakeem Jeffries could be in the spot.”

Luke Farmer of Douglasville, Ga., launched a campaign to challenge Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) but didn't qualify for the ballot. (Photo by Alexandria Jacobson/Raw Story)

House Democrats are expected to save Johnson from removal by voting to table Greene’s motion to vacate. Greene was scheduled to meet with Johnson on Monday.

“We can't have the chaos right now,” said Maggie Crowe, a member of the Floyd County Republican Women, “They’re not going to let it pass, but she's vocalizing that she's not real happy … and I understand that.”

Greene has some supporters from the far-right wing of the Republican party in Reps. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and Thomas Massie (R-KY). But it’s not expected to be enough support to succeed in removing Johnson.

“She needs to make known how she feels, and I'm sure there are others that feel the same way, that he betrayed them, but right now, we just can't do anything about it,” Crowe said.

ALSO READ: ‘Lord of the Flies’: Inside MTG’s effort to oust Speaker Mike Johnson

In October, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), with support from Greene and other far-right Republicans, successfully led a campaign to oust then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) after working with Democrats for a partial government funding bill to avert a government shutdown. It was the first time in U.S. history that the House removed its leader.

Johnson won the speakership after three of his colleagues’ failed attempts — remember Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Tom Emmer (R-MN) and Steve Scalise (R-LA) — and three weeks of vacancy.

“It also begs another question. You couldn't get the change you wanted under McCarthy and now under Johnson. Why do you think you're going to get change now under this current administration while the Dems still exert influence? Exactly, you're not,” Farmer said. “So again, this whole thing is just theatrics because nothing's going to happen.”

Wendy Davis, a Democrat who ran in 2022 to challenge Greene but lost to fellow Democrat Marcus Flowers in the primary, said oftentimes “regular people” in the district aren’t paying attention to Greene’s political moves on the national stage.

Wendy Davis, of Rome, Ga., ran in the Democratic primary to replace Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) in 2022. (Photo by Alexandria Jacobson/Raw Story)

Republican voters Harvey Kershner, a 21-year-old construction worker in Rome, Ga., and Michelle Thurman, a 51-year-old dental assistant and office manager in the district’s Murray County, told Raw Story they weren’t following Greene’s motion to vacate Johnson.

“It still puzzles me how she can be this big anti-Ukraine aid, seemingly pro-Putin person in an area that has historically been so skeptical of Russia,” Davis said. “This was one of the areas of the country that was most virulently anti-communist, and it's like they've forgotten that Russians were the big enemy, and it doesn't make any sense to me how we sort of did that flip.”

Don Westlake, a beef producer in Polk County said he doesn’t understand why Greene would want to focus her efforts on ousting Johnson in this current political climate. He said he’d rather see her do more for the 14th Congressional District as he “can't name one thing” that Greene has done for her constituents.

Westlake, a Republican, said he is voting for Shawn Harris, a Democrat who is running in the primary to take on Greene.

“I’m just tired of the complaining. I'm tired of ‘let’s impeach the president, let’s impeach the secretary’. What about us here that you represent in the 14th District?” Westlake said.

Don Westlake at Janbil Farm in Cedartown, Ga. (Photo by Alexandria Jacobson/Raw Story)

Nedra Manners, a Democrat and owner of Yellow Door Antiques and Art in Rome, Ga., said Greene’s push to remove Johnson is “just another example of her approach to things.”

“I have to commend him that he finally decided to do what's right and not just do something because somebody else told him that's what they wanted him to do,” Manners said. “He stood up for what was right.

Nedra Manners at Yellow Door Antiques in Rome, Ga. (Photo by Alexandria Jacobson/Raw Story)

Tim Bell, a 53-year-old major in the Murray County Sheriff’s Department, said Greene is “standing up” against “donating free money to Ukraine” but that the move “doesn’t look good.”

“I follow it somewhat, but there's always two sides to every story. You wonder how much is out there that we don't know that there's reasons for Marjorie to do things,” Bell said. “It doesn't look good to folks in this area … they feel like they’ve been lied to about some things, and she's standing up for them; however, there may be something that we don't know behind the scenes. I always kind of wait for a little while to make a decision. It doesn't look good in the beginning, but we’ll see how it turns out.”

Georgia’s primary election will be held on May 21, with early voting already underway.

Greene’s congressional office did not respond to Raw Story’s request for comment.

'I genuinely don’t know': House Republicans confused about bill after chaotic meeting

Journalist Michael Tomasky warned in a January op-ed "that nothing productive or beneficial will come from the GOP majority that is taking over the House."

ABC News reported during the same month that "the 118th Congress is on track to being one of the least functional sessions ever, with only 34 bills passed since January of last year."

On Wednesday, GOP lawmakers left a meeting regarding federal surveillance legislation hard-right Freedom Caucus members blocked feeling unaccomplished, and unclear about next steps on the bill, according to Axios.

Per the report, the legislation "would reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows warrantless surveillance of non-Americans by U.S. intelligence agencies."

The meeting also included some GOP lawmakers demanding "punishment against Republicans who defect and vote against their party on procedural measures," Axios notes.

Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) told the news outlet "he called for 'severe sanction' against such lawmakers — including possibly stripping them of their 'committee assignments or their membership in the Republican Conference.'"

The meeting was "pure chaos" and not "productive at all," according to Rep. Max Miller (R-OH).

"I don't even know what we're doing tomorrow … I genuinely don't know," the Ohio congressman told Axios.

"Members yell at each other," Miller emphasized, "if anyone says there's a path forward on FISA, they're lying," he added.

"The conference is heated, emotional," Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) told the news outlet. "I don't know if it's going to lead to a solution."

Axios' full report is available here.

'It's a mystery!' Another powerful GOP committee leader's retirement spawns speculation

Republicans are losing yet another high-ranking House committee leader to retirement.

Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) announced that he wouldn't seek re-election on Wednesday afternoon, after just a single term in charge of the House Homeland Security Committee. Earlier in the day, he had denied he was retiring to CNN's Melanie Zanona and Politico's Olivia Beavers, even calling it a "weird question" — but later confirmed it.

"At the start of the 118th Congress, I promised my constituents to pass legislation to secure our borders and hold [Homeland Security] Secretary Mayorkas accountable," said Green in a statement. "Today, with the House having passed H.R. 2 and Secretary Mayorkas impeached, it is time for me to return home."

ALSO READ: 'Unconstitutional overreach': Trump VP contenders clash on Jan. 6

Notably, there is next to no chance that either H.R. 2 will become law or that Mayorkas will be convicted in the Senate.

According to Zanona, Green is mulling a run for governor of Tennessee — but this election will not take place for another three years, meaning Green is skipping out on an entire full term he could have served before that point.

Green's departure announcement comes after several other prominent Republicans, including other committee chairs, similarly stated their intent to head for the exits — which coincides with a period in which the GOP has suffered constant infighting and dysfunction in the House. Longtime Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Ken Buck (R-CO) will not be running again, and recently the former House Republican Conference leader and Energy and Commerce Committee chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) said that she is retiring as well.

"I wonder why all these republicans are retiring?" posted commentator Molly Jong-Fast on X. "It’s a mystery!"

U.S. House speaker rejects Senate's Ukraine aid bill as written

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson indicated Monday that the Republican-led chamber would not take up a bill likely to pass the Senate this week which would provide billions in additional aid to Ukraine.

The $95 billion package includes funding for Israel's fight against Hamas militants and for key strategic ally Taiwan, but the lion's share — $60 billion — would help pro-Western Ukraine restock depleted ammunition supplies, weapons and other crucial needs as it enters a third year of war.

Another House Republican just announced he's not running for re-election

Yet another House Republican representative announced on Saturday that he is not running for re-election in this cycle.

This time the news comes from the GOP's Congressman Mike Gallagher, who said he's "accomplished more on this deployment than I could have ever imagined."

ALSO READ: Alina Habba is persona non grata at her Pennsylvania law school

"But the Framers intended citizens to service in Congress for a season and then return to their private lives," he wrote in a post on social media. "Electoral politics was never supposed to be a career and trust me, Congress is no place to grow old."

So, he said, "with a heavy heart, I have decided not to run for re-election. Thank you to the good people of Northeast Wisconsin for the honor of a lifetime."

NBC also picked up the news, noting that "he joins more than a dozen House Republicans who won’t seek re-election in 2024, according to the House Press Gallery."

"Earlier this week, Washington GOP Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers, who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, also announced that she wouldn’t seek re-election this fall," the report states.

Read that report here.

'GOP is about to lose their majority': Team MAGA worries as more Republicans leave office

Donald Trump's influencers and allies are starting to hit the panic button as more and more Republicans announce they are retiring, leaving office, or are otherwise unable to provide votes for the House GOP's agenda.

The already slim majority has been thrown into flux with the recent announcement by Rep. Bill Smith that he would be retiring and going to academia. The announcement came in November, but the panic is starting to set in now as some Republicans are beginning to do the math.

A reporter from NBC noted that the GOP majority is looking "fragile" due to the recent announcements.

"The House GOP majority is looking fragile heading into a crucial season with gov’t funding, immigration and Ukraine/Israel $ on the line," Sahil Kapur wrote Friday. "SANTOS & McCARTHY out = 220-213. BILL JOHNSON leaving 1/21 = 219. And until SCALISE returns, it’ll be 218. NY03 special election is 2/13."

ALSO READ: Republican congressman violates federal law with botched cryptocurrency disclosures

Former Donald Trump adviser Stephen Miller reacted to the news by calling on Johnson to postpone his retirement plans.

"Perhaps Bill Johnson should postpone his retirement from Congress (to become a university president)?" Miller asked.

Laura Loomer, an independent journalist and Trump ally whose content is often shared by the ex-president, also seemed to be worried. She also speculated as to a motive for why it's happening. She noted a recent announcement by Blaine Luetkemeyer.

"Congressman Leutkemeyer [Blaine] announced his decision to retire from Congress. He’s another House GOP rep… It’s almost like House Republicans are intentionally trying to give Democrats back control of the House to spite Donald Trump," Loomer wrote. "Just like I’ve been telling you all!"

MAGA podcast host Joey Mannarino agreed and gave a shout out to Loomer.

"The GOP is about to lose their majority. We have a two-seat majority now," Mannarino wrote. "Steve Scalise is out until February and hopefully gets better in time so he can come back. There will be a few days when we have exactly 218 once Bill Johnson is gone."

He added:

"[Loomer] was spot on. We might lose our majority before November at this rate."