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☆ House Democrats pressure Kevin McCarthy to keep his promise on stock trade ban after they were burned by Pelosi
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

House Democrats pushing for a stock trade ban in Congress got burned by Pelosi last year. In a letter exclusively shared with Insider, they're now pushing McCarthy to pick up where she left off. The GOP House Speaker has spoken favorably of a ban in the last year, but hasn't gotten specific. Since the new Congress kicked off, lawmakers have been re-introducing bills to ban stock trading by members of Congress, arguing that members of Congress should not be allowed to profit off of information they receive as public servants or their ability to influence legislation. Spanberger re-introduced the bipartisan TRUST in Congress Act last month, while Craig put forward her more expansive HUMBLE Act.

☆ House Democrats have already found something to love about Kevin McCarthy's Republican-led House
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The House just used an open process for amending legislation for the first time in 7 years. But in interviews with Insider this week, Democrats also expressed skepticism that the use of open rules would be more than a one-time thing; the open rules that the chamber utilized last week were provided for as part of the House GOP's rules package. "We'll see how long this lasts," said Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California, a long-time ally of Pelosi. Spanberger herself had fun with open amendments, submitting one that would exclude drilling from areas offshore because the GOP majority was "looking to destroy Virginia's beautiful coastline." said Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California, who said he generally favors an open process.

☆ C-SPAN gave us ‘America’s Hottest TV Drama’ as McCarthy struggled to become House speaker. Lawmakers aren’t so sure that’s a good thing.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

But she's also wary of the cost that could come with giving C-SPAN cameras free reign to film lawmakers on the House floor, particularly given the lightning-rod role she's come to occupy within American politics. GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz talks to Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar in the House Chamber on January 5, 2023. Rep. Nancy Pelosi reading a New Yorker article about Kevin McCarthy on the House floor on January 4, 2023. "The original argument was, if you insert cameras, the behavior of the members changed," said Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California. But Lofgren said she was supportive of permanently allowing C-SPAN cameras into the chamber, arguing in essence that the cat's already out of the bag.

☆ Hakeem Jeffries tells Kevin McCarthy that it's a 'double standard' if 'serial fraudster' George Santos serves on committees but Schiff and Swalwell get kicked off of the intelligence committee
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Hakeem Jeffries is arguing that Reps. Schiff and Swalwell should be kept on the intelligence committee. The House Democratic leader sent a letter to Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Saturday making the case. He pointed out that George Santos has been "welcomed" by the GOP despite being a "serial fraudster." "The apparent double standard risks undermining the spirit of bipartisan cooperation that is so desperately needed in Congress." "It does not serve as precedent or justification for the removal of Representatives Schiff and Swalwell, given that they have never exhibited violent thoughts or behavior," he wrote.

☆ We asked House lawmakers about scandal-plagued Rep. George Santos. Most Republicans want nothing to do with him.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

But Santos is clearly a problem for House Republicans. But three days later, Miller — who actually represents Ohio's 7th district — became the eighth House Republican to publicly call for Santos to resign. said Republican Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, who said that Santos "seems nice" even as he appeared unaware of the extent of his controversies. At a press conference on Thursday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries pointedly declared that Santos was "an issue that Republicans need to handle." Santos and Ocasio-Cortez briefly spoke on the sidelines of a gaggle of GOP lawmakers on the House floor on Wednesday, January 4.

☆ House Democrats brace for Speaker McCarthy to block their committee assignments in retaliatory strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Warren Rojas | Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has pledged to bar three Democrats from sitting on two committees. Republicans are targeting Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff, Eric Swalwell, and Ilhan Omar. Democrats declined to speculate on next steps if McCarthy follows through on his plan. Swalwell has served on the Intelligence committee since 2015, and is also a member of the Homeland Security Committee and Judiciary Committee. Staff for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment about defending Democratic members' committee assignments.

☆ Matt Gaetz says he wants C-SPAN cameras back on the House floor days after they showed GOP chaos during speaker vote
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rep. Matt Gaetz said he wants to bring C-SPAN cameras back to the House floor. C-SPAN cameras were able to freely capture the House speaker votes last week. The current pool view of Congress, mainly restricted to recording whichever lawmaker is speaking at the dais, is "antiquated and a little boomer-fied," Gaetz told Fox News. The four-day-long battle to elect a House speaker ended early Saturday morning with Rep. Kevin McCarthy securing the gavel. And the country doesn't get to see those," Gaetz told Fox News.

☆ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says Democrats would 'all be unconscious' if they took shots every time Kevin McCarthy lost a Republican vote for speaker
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

GOP Rep. Kat Cammack suggested Democrats were drinking as Republicans struggled to elect a speaker. "If Dems took a shot every time McCarthy lost a Republican, we'd all be unconscious by now," she tweeted. "If Dems took a shot every time McCarthy lost a Republican, we'd all be unconscious by now." Ocasio-Cortez was responding to a tweet from Punchbowl News' Jake Sherman about a comment from GOP Rep. Kat Cammack, of Florida, who nominated Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy for House speaker. Neither do actual members of the House of Representatives, until a House speaker can be elected and the members then sworn into office.

☆ House passes $1.7 trillion spending bill that rewrites U.S. election law, sending it to Biden to sign
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Sahil-Kapur-Headshot.Jpg | Sahil Kapur | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

WASHINGTON — The House on Friday voted to finalize a massive $1.7 trillion government funding bill, sending it to President Joe Biden and marking the end of two years of Democrats controlling both chambers of Congress. It overhauls federal election law by revising the Electoral Count Act of 1887 to try to prevent another Jan. 6. The bill funds a swath of domestic programs as well, averting a shutdown and keeping the government funded through next fall. “We have a big bill here, because we have big needs for our country,” outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on the floor. The measure was negotiated by Democratic leaders and top Senate Republicans, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

☆ Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was the lone Democrat in Congress to oppose the $1.7 trillion federal spending bill
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was the lone Democrat to vote against the $1.7 trillion spending bill. The bill easily passed the House. The spending plan passed the House 225-201-1, sending it to President Joe Biden's desk. Biden quickly promised to promptly sign the legislation, which would avert a government shutdown and fund the federal government through most of next year. While largely a spending bill, the omnibus package included a number of other policies, one of the more significant changes would allow Americans to save longer for retirement.

☆ Democrats criticize Elon Musk for suspending journalists covering Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Amanda Terkel | Amanda Is Senior Politics Editor For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

WASHINGTON — Democratic members of Congress had harsh words for Elon Musk on Thursday night after Twitter suddenly suspended a number of high-profile journalists who have been covering the company and Musk, its billionaire CEO. In November, shortly after he took over Twitter, Musk tweeted that he would not ban the account. Musk tweeted Thursday night. "Ro Khanna is great," Musk tweeted in response to one of some of the Twitter files. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., tweeted: "Twitter can suspend whoever it wants.

☆ All but 16 House Republicans vote against bill to allow Puerto Rico to decide its future
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The House passed a bill to allow Puerto Rico voters to choose independence, statehood, or free association. Republicans opposed the bill in part due to long-standing opposition to Puerto Rico's statehood. "At this point in time I'm not, you know, interested in going down that road," Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas told Insider. Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia told Insider that she didn't think the bill was "the right way to go about something like that." "I'm just not interested in Puerto Rico being a state," she said, adding that she didn't believe people living in Puerto Rico should get to vote on that.

☆ House Democrats reject a rules change that could've empowered junior members amid concerns about aging leadership
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

"Six years is a pretty long time," Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia told Insider at the Capitol earlier this month. "I'm not for term limits," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told Insider during a briefing with reporters at the end of November. "I'm not taking a position on any single rules proposal that is before the House Democratic Caucus," he said. Another prominent young lawmaker — 33-year-old Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York — has also been vocal in her criticism of the system. "Whatever the mechanism is, we need to have more opportunities for people to bring their leadership to bear in different places," she told Insider.

☆ Meet 41-year old Judge Aileen Cannon, the Trump-nominated Floridian who will pick the special master to weed through the documents seized at Mar-a-Lago
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Judge Aileen Cannon recently reversed a big win that she had handed Trump's defense team. Judge Aileen Cannon gave her confirmation testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee over Zoom on July 29, 2020. There, she prosecuted cases involving narcotics, fraud, firearms, and immigration cases, according to her Senate confirmation document. Cannon during her confirmation hearing thanked Rubio as well as fellow Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida for their "continued support." "Judge Cannon is a great judge who I am very proud to have enthusiastically supported," Rubio told Insider through his office when asked about the connection.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried is set to testify before Congress on Tuesday. He could be grilled on his past statements — and expose himself to more legal risks.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Sam Bankman-Fried plans to appear remotely before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday. The House Financial Services committee has its own investigative mandate, outlined by its role in inquiring into financial failures, and in helping to craft legislation to prevent similar episodes in the future. Participating could expose Bankman-Fried to more legal risksTestimony provided to House lawmakers would usually be under oath, thought not necessarily so. The House Financial Services committee, chaired by Democratic Representative Maxine Waters of California, comprises progressive political stars like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. The House Financial Services committee hearing is scheduled to kick off at 10 a.m. Eastern on Tuesday.

☆ Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Cited in House Ethics Complaint
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Natalie Andrews | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York has previously been accused by conservative groups of violating congressional ethics rules. WASHINGTON—The House Ethics Committee disclosed it is investigating a complaint regarding Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.), but it provided no details about the case. In a brief public statement, the panel said that the matter is still open and has been extended into the new year, when the new Congress begins, and it will announce a course of action then. The committee added that the extension to the proceedings doesn’t indicate it believes any ethics violation has occurred.

☆ Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee. "We are confident that this matter will be dismissed," spokeswoman Lauren Hitt told Insider. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyDemocratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee, according to a statement released on Wednesday. The committee, announcing an extension of time in an ongoing investigation, said they had received a referral from the Office of Congressional Ethics on June 23 of this year. "The Congresswoman has always taken ethics incredibly seriously, refusing any donations from lobbyists, corporations, or other special interests," said Hitt.

☆ Far-right Rep. Paul Gosar deletes tweet endorsing Trump's call for the 'termination' of the Constitution
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Far-right Rep. Paul Gosar deleted a tweet endorsing Trump's call to 'terminate' the Constitution. "Unprecedented fraud requires unprecedented cure," he wrote in the now-deleted tweet. Kevin McCarthy has pledged to let Gosar serve on committees again after he was censured last year. "I support and agree with the former President," Gosar wrote in a since-deleted tweet that included a screenshot of Trump's original post on Truth Social, his proprietary social media website. "Unprecedented fraud requires unprecedented cure."

☆ A long-shot Democratic candidate raised more than $15.6 million to defeat Marjorie Taylor Greene. He lost by 31 points.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Marjorie Taylor Greene's Democratic opponent, Marcus Flowers, raised $15.6 million for his campaign. "Tomorrow, with your help, we could make history by defeating Marjorie Taylor Greene," Flowers wrote in a fundraising email sent on November 7, the night before the election. But let me make my case: We're building the most extensive Democratic campaign this district has EVER seen — and MTG is terrified." AP Photo/Ben GrayThe sum that Flowers raised is gargantuan for a congressional campaign, far outpacing the amounts raised by the party's most vulnerable members. Compare that to Democratic candidates in more competitive races, who have tended to raise between $3 and $10 million this year.

☆ Walmart's PAC has quietly donated nearly $1 million to campaigns ahead of the midterms. While the company has a ''don't rock the boat strategy,' it contributed to 41 election deniers.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Ben Tobin | Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

WALPAC donated almost 50-50 to Democratic and Republican federal candidates for the midterms. Walmart's PAC donated to 41 candidates who denied the 2020 presidential election results, ProPublica found. Of that, about 53% went to Republican candidates, and 47% went to Democrats. Some members of Congress, particularly among Democrats, also reject any corporate PAC contribution — WALPAC or otherwise — as a matter of practice. However, the company did donate a significant amount of money to candidates who voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election results.

☆ America's longest-serving congresswoman argues her district needs to 'hold on to the seniority we have' amid broader calls for generational change in politics
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Rep. Marcy Kaptur, 76, is the longest-serving woman in the history of the House of Representatives. She faces a tough re-election against a controversial GOP opponent amid broader calls for new leaders. In an interview with Insider in Toledo, Kaptur touted the benefits that her seniority brings to her district. the 76-year-old lawmaker told Insider during an interview in a staffer's black Jeep following a press conference. Bryan Metzger/InsiderOwing to her seniority, Kaptur sits on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, where she chairs the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development.

☆ Twitter will let government accounts keep their blue ticks for free under Elon Musk's new paid verification plans, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Government accounts will not have to pay Twitter's new $8 verification fee, Bloomberg reports. One of Elon Musk's first moves as Twitter's owner has been to draw up plans for paid verification. Many governments around the world have hundreds of verified Twitter accounts across numerous departments, and paying for all those accounts to stay verified could prove expensive, possibly placing an additional — admittedly small — burden on taxpayers. Elon Musk's plan to let anybody have the verification symbol for payment is expected to come into action next week. The verification fee is one of Musk's many plans to change things up at the company.

☆ Pelosi likely has the largest security detail of any lawmaker in Congress. Here's what we know about her and her husband Paul's protection.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Details about congressional security practices remain closely guarded after the January 6 attack. Keeping information about congressional security practices under wraps is apparently part of the Capitol Police's job, as critical details remain closely guarded. Similar media reports say that full-time congressional security details are limited to the speaker, House and Senate majority and minority leaders, and House and Senate whips. Last month she told The New York Times that she'd spent more than $120,000 on private security over the past year. Financial records filed by the Nancy Pelosi Victory Fund PAC show that the fundraising committee paid nearly $4,000 to private security firm Safehouse Security Solutions this spring.

☆ Insider asked 38 Republicans whether they're concerned about growing anti-Semitic sentiments in their party. Their responses included silence, deflection, and rehashing old statements.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Insider reached out to House Republican leaders, GOP senators auditioning for the 2024 presidential race, the Republican National Committee, retired GOP lawmakers, seasoned Republican strategists and former Donald Trump administration officials about this disturbing phenomenon. The non-respondents included RNC chair Ronna McDaniel, former Vice President Mike Pence, National Republican Senatorial Committee chair Rick Scott, House Republican Conference chair Elise Stefanik, Florida Gov. Meghan McCain, the daughter of late Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, lashed out at West, Trump and House Republican "idiots" cheering on their reprehensible behavior. "You can say that his particular words in this particular case are not antisemitic," Rosen said Tuesday during Commentary's daily podcast. Nor have they convinced House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jim Jordan to quit hailing West and Trump as personal heroes.

☆ Nancy Pelosi's congressional stock trading ban has a massive blind trust loophole and is too broad, ethics experts warn
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

But ethics experts say the bill has a major loophole when it comes to blind trusts, and is too broad. Broadly speaking, a blind trust is a financial arrangement wherein people turn over their assets to be managed by an independent entity to prevent a conflict of interest. Several previously-introduced bills to ban stock trading allow for lawmakers to place their stocks into a blind trust, rather than fully selling off existing stock holdings. "You'd be able to create any kind of a trust you want to, put anything you want into it, and call it a blind trust, even though there wouldn't actually be any way to prove that it is, in fact, a blind trust." Payne also said the blind trust loophole was a "small risk," but that in an optimistic scenario, "that language allows this law to grow for future circumstances that you just can't be prepared for."

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