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☆ It happened again: These 20 House members, mostly Republican, voted against millions in funding for their own districts
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-22 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

"Ultimately, I don't control what the final language of the total funding bill will be," said Higgins. Higgins voted against the bill, despite securing $2.3 million in federal funding for an emergency operations center at the port in Morgan City, Louisiana. He was one of 20 House members — 15 Republicans and 5 Democrats — who voted against Friday's government funding bill despite securing so-called "earmarks," known officially as congressionally directed spending. Related storiesThe other 30% was contained in a separate funding bill passed roughly two weeks ago, but that bill contained far more earmarks, especially for House members. Nonetheless, 42 House members who secured earmarks voted against it anyway, 40 of whom were Republicans.

Persons: —, Clay Higgins, couldn't, Higgins, congressionally, Pramila Jayapal, Mandel Ngan, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Mike Johnson, Pramila, Jayapal, Greene, Lauren Boebert, Brian Babin, Texas Gus Bilirakis, Florida John Curtis of, Florida John Curtis of Utah Mike Ezell, Mississippi Garrett Graves, Louisiana Michael Guest, Mississippi Diana Harshbarger, Tennessee Clay Higgins, Louisiana Trent Kelly, Mississippi Burgess Owens, Utah Mike Rogers, Alabama Chris Smith of, Alabama Chris Smith of New Jersey Greg Steube, Florida Jeff Van Drew, New Jersey Randy Weber of Organizations: Service, Louisiana Republican, Business, Pentagon, State Department, Department of Homeland Security, Democratic, Seattle Public Library, Getty, Republican, Republicans, GOP, Congressional Progressive Caucus, UN Relief and Works Agency, Louisiana, Alabama Chris Smith of New, New Locations: Louisiana, Morgan City , Louisiana, AFP, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Gaza, Washington, Colorado, Texas, Florida, Florida John Curtis of Utah, Mississippi, Utah, Alabama, Alabama Chris Smith of New Jersey, New Jersey, New Jersey Randy Weber of Texas

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Louisiana Legislature's redrawn congressional map giving the state a second mostly Black district is being challenged by 12 self-described “non-African American” voters in a new lawsuit. At least one person, state Sen. Cleo Fields, a Black Democrat from Baton Rouge, has already said he will be a candidate in the new district. It is not clear how the lawsuit will affect that district or the 2022 litigation, which is still ongoing. Louisiana's Legislature drew a new map in 2022 that was challenged by voting rights advocates because only one of six U.S. House maps was majority Black, even though the state population is roughly one-third Black. As the case was appealed, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an unexpected ruling in June that favored Black voters in a congressional redistricting case in Alabama.

Persons: Sen, Cleo Fields, John Bel Edwards, Shelly Dick, Jeff Landry, Edwards, Garrett Graves, Landry's, Nancy Landry, David Joseph, Donald Trump Organizations: ORLEANS, American, Republican, Democrat, Louisiana's, ., U.S, Supreme, Black, Circuit, Appeals, Gov, GOP, Republicans Locations: Louisiana, Lafayette, Baton Rouge, Alabama, Shreveport, Black, Western

WASHINGTON (AP) — By most accounts, Speaker Mike Johnson inherited a House Republican majority in disarray after the sudden ouster of his predecessor last month. But as Johnson, R-La., tries to rebuild that slim majority, he’s fast running into the same hard-right factions and divisions that Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was unable to tame. Centrist conservatives said the measures went too far, however, as the hard-right faction demands steeper reductions in government programs. Johnson rebuffed their suggestion to at least attach the House-passed Israel aid package as a way force the Senate to act. He’s admired, he's trusted,” said Rep. Bob Good, R-Va. “You know, he’s human.

Persons: Mike Johnson, Johnson, Kevin McCarthy, ” Johnson, Joe Biden, McCarthy, “, Chip Roy, Nancy Pelosi, ” Roy, ”, Nick LaLota, LaLota, Biden, He’s, he's, Bob Good, Garrett Graves, Hakeem Jeffries, Jeffries Organizations: WASHINGTON, Republican, Capitol, Teamsters, House Republicans, Biden, Republicans, thundered, Rep, GOP, Justice Department, Hamas, Jan, Democrats, Democratic Locations: Texas, Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Gaza, Mexico, “, Garrett Graves of Louisiana, New York

☆ Republicans are desperate for attention — and it's decimating their ability to govern
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

In the end, the only man who could unify House Republicans behind him was a relatively little-known and mild-mannered evangelical Christian from Louisiana. AdvertisementAdvertisementAs the speaker saga wore on, it provoked questions among some House Republicans: How could it be that they had failed to elect a speaker for so long? While Gaetz maintains otherwise, his angry GOP colleagues have plenty of evidence to make their case that it was an attention ploy. Rep. Matt Gaetz surrounded by reporters and cameras after the House voted to oust Kevin McCarthy from the speakership. The attention economy doesn't preclude an ability to govern — an effective politician might seek to harness their celebrity towards worthy ends.

Persons: Mike Johnson's, Matt Gaetz, Kevin McCarthy, Garrett Graves, Sen, Thom Tillis, Madison Cawthorn, Tillis, Drew Angerer, Greg Murphy of, Nancy Mace, McCarthy, Mace, I'm, Win McNamee, Josh Hawley, Ronald Reagan, Donald Trump's, Nicole Wallace, Obama, JD Vance, Ohio, Vance, Ted Cruz, Jose Luis Magana, denialism, Jim Jordan, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Brett Kavanaugh, Jen Psaki, Symone Sanders, it's, Rep, Alexandria Ocasio, Cortez, Kelly Armstrong, Adam Schiff, Chip Somodevilla, Bob Good, Virginia, Gaetz, —, Ken Buck, Colorado, Hawley deadpanned, Mike Lawler, I've, Cruz, Buck, Joe Biden, Liz Cheney Organizations: Republicans, GOP, North Carolina Republican, Getty, Twitter, South Carolina, Republican, Rep, Fox News, Republican Party, Conservative Political, Conference, AP, Cannon, South, Democratic, Supreme, Biden, MSNBC, Democrats, Capitol, New York Post, Colorado Locations: Louisiana, Florida, Greg Murphy of North Carolina, Missouri, Hollywood, California, South Carolina, Alexandria, Cortez of New York, Ukraine, New York, Ted Cruz of Texas

The House Rules Committee held a rare Saturday session to begin setting up the process for next week's voting. Then, with time running short, the House would turn toward a stopgap measure to keep government open for about a month while work continues. They are insisting on the lower spending levels McCarthy promised the Republican hardliners in January during his own race to become House speaker. And once those House bills are approved, often in round-the-clock voting, they still would go for negotiations with the Senate, which has its own legislation. But if McCarthy joins with Democrats, he will almost certainly face a vote from Gaetz and others for his ouster.

Persons: Kevin McCarthy, Garrett Graves, ” Graves, Matt Rosendale, McCarthy, ” McCarthy, “ You’ve, it's, Donald Trump, Matt Gaetz, McCarthy's, “ Organizations: WASHINGTON, Republican, Capitol, White House, Biden, Defense Department, Homeland Security, Agriculture, Foreign, Senate, White, Trump, Democrats Locations: Louisiana, State, Ukraine, Gaetz

☆ Social Security benefits could be the first to go in a matter of days if the US defaults — and retirees will 'really suffer' if Congress doesn't raise the debt ceiling by then
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The US could default on its debt as soon as June 5 if the debt ceiling isn't raised by then. Social Security, Medicaid, and SNAP could be among the first programs to go unpaid. At the top of the list are Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and SNAP, along with Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments — all programs that retirees heavily rely upon. Social Security is the biggest federal program, with over 67 million Americans relying on payments. So even if it is possible to prioritize Social Security benefits, we can't insulate Social Security beneficiaries from some serious harm."

☆ McCarthy says House could vote on debt ceiling deal as soon as next week
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Christina Wilkie | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., conducts a news conference with house and senate Republicans on the "debt crisis," on the west plaza of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Thursday that he is optimistic that congressional negotiators could reach a deal to raise or suspend the debt ceiling in time to hold a House vote on it next week. This week, the White House dispatched two new negotiators to take the lead in the delicate talks, presidential counselor Steve Ricchetti and Office of Management and Budget director Shalanda Young. Despite the bitterly partisan divide in Congress over the debt limit, McCarthy nonetheless heaped praise on the White House team Thursday. Correction: McCarthy spoke about the debt ceiling deal Thursday.

But attendees said they made progress, including through an agreement to turn the multilateral debt limit negotiations into direct one-to-one talks between a close ally of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and two White House aides, on Biden's behalf. The White House said Biden "directed staff to continue to meet daily on outstanding issues. It was "a good and productive meeting," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who noted that it was "more cordial" than a previous meeting last week. The White House also said Tuesday that it would cancel the second leg of the president's upcoming international trip, given the delicate state of the debt ceiling negotiations. His return will set up a critical stretch in the efforts to avoid a first-ever default on U.S. debt and prevent major economic damage.

☆ Chaos in the House: McCarthy's plea, and begging for votes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Mary Clare Jalonick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

It was nearing midnight, and he had already lost 13 votes for speaker over four long days. U.S. Rep.-elect Matt Gaetz (R-FL) (L) talks to House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in the House Chamber during the fourth day of elections for Speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 06, 2023 in Washington, DC. Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesGaetz, who had hurled personal insults at McCarthy just hours earlier on the House floor, said no. Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images NewsThe chaos on the House floor came exactly two years after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. US Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) speaks to US Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) in the House Chamber at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2023.

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