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Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., talks with reporters after a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the U.S. Capitol to discus an impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden on Thursday, September 14, 2023. House Republicans released a bill after a tentative agreement between the far-right Freedom Caucus and the center-right Main Street Caucus, the sources said. If the legislation passes the House, it would resolve one internal problem for Speaker Kevin McCarthy while creating a new one. The bill includes most of the Secure the Border Act of 2023, a wish list of immigration provisions for GOP hardliners, with the exception of provisions requiring the use of E-Verify for employers to check immigration status. Earlier in the day, McCarthy urged his colleagues to avert a shutdown during an appearance on Fox News.

Persons: Nancy Mace, Joe Biden, Kevin McCarthy, Byron Donalds, Dusty Johnson, Scott Perry, Stephanie Bice, Chip Roy, Kelly Armstrong, McCarthy Organizations: House Republican Conference, U.S, Capitol, House Republican, NBC News . House Republicans, Caucus, Republican, Democratic, GOP, Freedom Caucus, Senate, White, House Republicans, Fox News, Biden Locations: Ukraine, Texas

☆ Biden to keep Julie Su on indefinitely as Labor chief despite lack of Senate votes
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Sahil Kapur | Liz Brown-Kaiser | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The White House plans to use a little-known law to keep Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su in the job even if she fails to win Senate approval, a White House official told NBC News. "Upon Secretary Walsh's departure, Acting Secretary Su automatically became Acting Secretary under its organic statute, not under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act," the White House official said in an email. "As a result, Su is not subject to the time limits of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act and she can serve as Acting Secretary indefinitely." But Su's nomination for labor secretary has since stalled in the Senate, where Democrats control 51 votes and expect unified Republican opposition. "The President's support for Acting Secretary Su is unwavering," the White House official said.

Persons: Julie Su, Walsh's, Su, Marty Walsh, Sen, Joe Manchin, Kyrsten Sinema, hasn't, Joe Biden, Biden, Julie Su's, Bill Cassidy, Kevin McCarthy, Mitch McConnell, Donald Trump, Chuck Schumer, — Elyse Perlmutter, Gumbiner Organizations: Education, Department of Labor, White, Labor, NBC, Federal, White House, NBC News, Senate, Health, Pensions, GOP, Republican, Democratic, Wednesday Locations: Rayburn, Ky

☆ Biden's labor secretary pick may not have the votes. She also may not need them.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Liz Brown-Kaiser | Sahil Kapur | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

The Senate is stalled on President Joe Biden's pick for secretary of labor, Julie Su, and Democrats face a conundrum on how to proceed. But Su, who currently serves as the acting labor secretary, could just keep running the department anyway. Federal law places no limits on how long Su can serve as acting labor secretary without being confirmed. He said he wants a voice for "both labor and industry" in the labor secretary role. Any Senator who voted to confirm Secretary [Marty] Walsh should vote to confirm Acting Secretary Su, too.

Persons: Julie Su, Joe Biden's, Su, Biden, Sen, Bernie Sanders, Kyrsten Sinema, Jon Tester, Joe Manchin, pushback, there's, Mazie Hirono, haven't, She's, she'll, she's, Mark Kelly, John Hickenlooper, I'm, Su aren't, Tester, you've, Manchin, Bill Cassidy of, Sinema, Tammy Duckworth, Marty, Walsh, We're, Sherrod Brown, Elizabeth Warren of, Chuck Schumer Organizations: Health, Education, Labor, Capitol, Labor Department —, Pensions, Su's, Democrats, HELP, Su's Democratic, White, Department, Democratic Locations: Washington, American, Sens, Hawaii, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts

☆ What's in the debt limit bill? Key provisions in the Biden-McCarthy deal to avert default
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Sahil Kapur | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

In fiscal year 2024, it would limit military spending to $886 billion and nonmilitary discretionary spending to $704 billion. McCarthy said the deal was "historic," as it would amount to "cutting spending year-over-year for the first time in over a decade." Factoring in adjustments, the White House projects that when veterans funding is set aside, nondefense spending would barely change — with a slight reduction overall from 2023 to 2024. It would eliminate $1.4 billion in IRS funding and shift about $20 billion to nondefense funds. The bill would overhaul the National Environmental Policy Act to streamline permitting for projects; House Republicans tout it as "the first significant reforms to NEPA since 1982."

☆ New House bill would block pay for members of Congress if the U.S. defaults
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Sahil Kapur | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan bill set to be unveiled Thursday by Reps. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., would block members of Congress from getting paid if the U.S. enters debt default or if the government shuts down. The No Pay for Congress During Default or Shutdown Act, shared in advance with NBC News, would withhold lawmakers' pay for the duration of a debt limit breach or lapse in federal funding, an attempt to motivate legislators to prevent either situation. And the proposal, from two politically vulnerable members in competitive districts, represents a populist move to channel voter anger toward Congress, which is strong among both parties' bases. Notably, the Spanberger-Fitzpatrick bill would not permanently prevent lawmakers from getting paid, which would run afoul of the 27th Amendment. Instead, it withholds pay for the duration of a shutdown or default — at least until the end of the session.

☆ GOP Rep. Jim Jordan says he can't comment on Trump's post threatening violence because he's unable to read it without his glasses
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Jim Jordan said he couldn't comment on Trump's statement that there could be "death" and "destruction" if he's indicted. Jordan initially said he hadn't read Trump's Truth Social post. When a reporter showed him the post, Jordan said he couldn't read well without his glasses. NBC News' Sahil Kapur reported that he asked Jordan about his thoughts on Trump's warning, but Jordan said he hadn't seen the former president's Truth Social post. Kapur added that when he showed Jordan Trump's post, the Ohio congressman replied that he couldn't read it well without his glasses.

☆ Senate confirms Eric Garcetti as U.S. ambassador to India
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Sahil Kapur | Frank Thorp V | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Senate voted 52-42 on Wednesday to confirm former Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti to be the next U.S. ambassador to India. The long-delayed Garcetti nomination grew unusually contentious and sparked some last-minute drama. Several Democrats voted against advancing his nomination, but enough Republicans backed Garcetti to give the U.S. its first permanent ambassador to India under President Joe Biden, more than two years into his term. "The United States-India relationship is extremely important, and it's a very good thing we now have an ambassador," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said. But a group of Republicans voted yes and helped secure the necessary support, including Sens.

☆ Senate panel advances Eric Garcetti's nomination for ambassador to India
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Sahil Kapur | Frank Thorp V | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti speaks during a news conference with fellow mayors and members of Congress outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted Wednesday to advance the nomination of Eric Garcetti to be U.S. ambassador to India, sending it to the full chamber for approval. It is not clear when the full Senate will vote on his nomination; Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday he hoped to bring it up "soon." The Foreign Relations Committee approved Garcetti's nomination in January 2022, but he never got a full Senate vote due to opposition from several senators, including some Democrats. Biden re-nominated Garcetti to the position earlier this year after it lapsed at the close of the last Congress.

Wray's comments Tuesday came after Baier noted that the Energy Department had cited the FBI's earlier findings in its report. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, said earlier Tuesday that China has "always been open and transparent" about Covid. In its assessment, the Energy Department also described the "likely" laboratory-related leak as an "accident," the official added. The Energy Department is one of 18 government departments and agencies that make up the U.S. intelligence community. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said, "China obviously is very threatened by this," but "the lab leak story is not anti-Chinese.

Facing criticism from Democrats and frustration from Republicans, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., has amended his controversial “Rescue America” plan that called for all federal legislation to sunset. The plan now lists “specific exceptions of Social Security, Medicare, national security, veterans benefits, and other essential services.”The previous language read: “All federal legislation sunsets in 5 years. If a law is worth keeping, Congress can pass it again.”The new language says: “All federal legislation sunsets in 5 years, with specific exceptions of Social Security, Medicare, national security, veterans benefits, and other essential services. Note to President Biden, Sen. Schumer, and Sen. McConnell — As you know, this was never intended to apply to Social Security, Medicare, or the US Navy” (bold included in plan). This isn’t the first time Scott has edited his controversial 12-point plan while under fire.

☆ Biden secures landmark 100th judge, outpacing Trump
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Sahil Kapur | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — The Democratic-led Senate confirmed President Joe Biden's 100th federal judge on Tuesday, marking a milestone for the president and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. On Monday, the Senate confirmed Cindy Chung to the 3rd U.S. She will be Biden's 69th confirmed district court judge. He has also secured Senate approval for 30 circuit court judges and one Supreme Court justice: Ketanji Brown Jackson. Biden and Democrats are outpacing former President Donald Trump and the Republican-led Senate — at this juncture, Trump had secured 85 judges.

Governors gathered in the nation’s capital in recent days for the National Governors Association winter meeting. And while they were focused on their jobs at hand, questions about the 2024 presidential race were unavoidable. Asked on Saturday if she would like to see Biden run again, Michigan Gov. At a Democratic Governors Association press conference on Thursday, a group of 11 governors echoed support for Biden’s potential re-election campaign. Spencer Cox also joined “Meet” and weighed in on the presidential race, saying he would like to see his party nominate a governor.

As in 2011, the GOP speaker runs a House majority full of ideologically-driven conservatives who want to use the debt limit as leverage to force budget changes on a Democratic-led Senate and White House. “It is possible we will eventually see House Republicans put forth a plan for dealing with both the debt limit and the spending problem. After 2011, the Obama White House drew a hard line when the debt limit deadline came up again in early 2013. Andrew Harnik / APAsked about Biden's position and the GOP criticisms, the White House said the president “takes a backseat to no one” on pursuing bipartisanship, but said that the no-negotiations stance from 2013 onward on the debt limit succeeded. “Everyone seems to have forgotten that there was a debt limit standoff in 2013 where Obama adopted the no-negotiation approach and prevailed with a clean debt limit,” he said.

WASHINGTON — A top Republican who negotiated the bipartisan gun law that passed last year said he doesn't expect to see new legislative action on gun violence despite the recent mass shootings in California. Asked whether the House intends to take up legislation to combat mass shootings, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., gave no indication that it would. Biden negotiated the assault weapons ban of 1994, which expired in 2004. “It’s time we pass an assault weapons ban in this country. I’m the author of the assault weapons ban in 1994.

WASHINGTON — Republicans, newly empowered with a House majority, are demanding spending cuts as a price for lifting the debt ceiling and averting a catastrophic default on U.S. debt. Republicans are divided over whether Medicare and Social Security spending should be on the chopping block. Jose Luis Magana / APLuna said she wants to do it without tax increases or Social Security or Medicare cuts. The White House has vowed that Biden won’t grant concessions on the debt limit and that paying the country’s bills is non-negotiable. But I think we’ve got to also honor our commitment to Americans when it comes to Social Security and Medicare,” Garcia continued.

WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy should lead the way on crafting a solution to the debt ceiling deadline so the United States can keep paying its bills. But Democratic leaders and President Joe Biden say they will not entertain cuts or other negotiations tied to the debt ceiling. While McConnell has negotiated past deals with Biden, including when he was vice president, McCarthy has little experience negotiating complicated deals with Democrats. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., agreed with McConnell that the onus is on McCarthy to move on the debt limit. The Treasury Department says it is using "extraordinary measures" to keep paying the country's bills after it hit the statutory debt ceiling last week.

WASHINGTON — Rep. Victoria Spartz, an Indiana Republican, said Tuesday she'll oppose Speaker Kevin McCarthy's efforts to keep a handful of Democrats off key House committees. But he may need the support of a majority of the House to block Omar from Foreign Affairs. Given McCarthy's slim Republican majority, every vote is important. The speaker's plans are widely seen as retaliation against Democrats for kicking Republican Reps. Paul Gosar, of Arizona, and Marjorie Taylor Greene, of Georgia, off their committees in the last Congress over incendiary or violent rhetoric. “Speaker Pelosi took unprecedented actions last Congress to remove Reps. Greene and Gosar from their committees without proper due process.

WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego announced Monday he will run for the Arizona U.S. Senate seat currently held by centrist Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who left the Democratic Party in December to become an independent. In his statement Monday, Gallego said: “The problem isn’t that Senator Sinema abandoned the Democratic Party — it’s that she’s abandoned Arizona. Karrin Taylor Robson, who narrowly lost to Lake in the 2022 primary after spending $20 million of her family’s money, is seriously considering a Senate run, a source close to her said. And Mark Lamb, the Pinal County sheriff, is also considering a Senate run in 2024, said an Arizona Republican source. A Gallego adviser said he's prepared for a two-way race if Sinema steps aside or a three-way race if she chooses to run.

WASHINGTON — Conservative hard-liners are consolidating power in the narrow new House majority, presenting early challenges for Republicans in swing districts ahead of the 2024 election as Democrats seek to paint the entire party as beholden to extremists. Twenty House GOP hard-liners have set the tone, extracting a series of concessions from Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to change House rules while securing plum committee assignments and winning assurances about advancing their legislative priorities. “If you can’t win independent voters, you can’t win elections.”Democrats are targeting 25 districts to win back the House majority next year, including 18 Republican-held seats that Biden carried in 2020. In the narrow Republican majority, McCarthy has only four votes to spare before he requires Democratic support to pass measures. Lance, the former congressman, argued that renominating former President Donald Trump could cost Republicans the House.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. government is hitting its statutory debt limit on Thursday, requiring the Treasury Department to begin resorting to "extraordinary measures" to pay the bills. It is therefore critical that Congress act in a timely manner to increase or suspend the debt limit," Yellen wrote. But the White House has made clear what President Joe Biden's offer to lift the debt ceiling is: nothing. There should be no political brinkmanship with the debt limit. "We cannot raise the debt ceiling," Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., said Tuesday on Twitter.

Republicans are on a collision course with the White House, which is demanding that Congress raise the debt limit without conditions. Republicans have waged heated battles over the debt ceiling, most notably in 2011, but they have always been resolved in time. Why does a GOP House complicate debt ceiling negotiations? Republicans have floated everything from budget cuts to socially conservative legislation as part of a debt ceiling increase. The White House had laid down a marker: no negotiations, no policy strings attached to raise the debt ceiling.

WASHINGTON — House Republicans' calls for Rep. George Santos to resign are growing after state GOP leaders in New York said he should step aside over a slew of lies and fabrications in the biography he ran on in the 2022 midterm election. Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., also starting his first term, dropped his earlier hedging and unequivocally said Thursday that Santos should resign. “It is clear that George Santos has lost the confidence and support of his party, his constituents, and his colleagues. Santos insisted Thursday he won't resign "until those same 142,000 people" in New York who elected him "tell me they don’t want me." “I don’t think he should be here, that’s for sure.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., speaks to Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., in the House Chamber on Jan. 6, 2023. She said it’s a bad idea for the House to bring up those bills. Still, some of the more moderate Republicans acknowledge that they’ll have to make compromises with Democrats to get immigration bills signed into law. The GOP rules package adopted Monday identifies the seven bills that will get speedy votes in the House. “Many of their radical things will be stopped in the Senate because we have a Democratic majority,” Schumer said, vowing not to let ultraconservative lawmakers defund the FBI.

With subpoena power, it will be tasked with investigating law enforcement agencies as part of a mandate to probe the “weaponization of the federal government." Language to establish the panel is tucked inside a House rules package expected to pass on Monday. Once a backbencher who had frosty relations with GOP leaders, Jordan has risen through the ranks in a reflection of the conference’s rightward shift. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., said he will serve on the new weaponization committee. Members of the committee will be formally named after the House passes the resolution.

“It’s critically important that the Rules Committee reflect the body and reflect the will of the people. “What we’re seeing is the incredibly shrinking speakership,” former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in an interview Friday. “The reason these people want to be on the Rules Committee is they want to screw things up for McCarthy. The message the leader received from his deal-making centrists: We can live with giving Freedom Caucus members committee slots but committee gavels are a “nonstarter.”“Nobody should get a chairmanship without earning it,” Bacon said. That pisses us off.”Díaz-Balart said he had received assurances that “there are no deals cut about chairmanships” to committees as part of swaying votes to make McCarthy speaker.

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