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☆ Biden doubles down on needling Republicans over proposed Social Security and Medicare cuts: 'I'm your nightmare'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

"I guess I shouldn't say any more," he said, "but particularly on Social Security and Medicare." Rubio, who is in the rumored mix for the 2024 GOP nomination, said anybody who supports slashing Social Security or Medicare is delusional. "You have to listen to what the president said the last couple of years about protecting and fighting for Medicare and Social Security." "I've never ever said I would reduce Medicare or Social Security benefits. As for Social Security, its trust funds are expected to be insolvent by 2035, which would trigger 20% in cuts across the board.

☆ George Santos signs onto abortion, guns, term limits, and impeachment bills as he attempts to make friends on Capitol Hill
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Freshman Rep. George Santos is still finding his way on Capitol Hill after a rough start. In his first off-the-rails month on Capitol Hill, Santos has signed onto bills dealing with abortion rights, guns, the global social media phenomenon TikTok, congressional term limits, and even articles of impeachment. He signed onto bills promoting term limits and calling for the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a top priority for the MAGA wing. "The congressman seeks to work with everyone, and has developed relationships with Republican members, as well as those across the aisle," a Santos spokesperson said. Republican Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida introduced that legislation to block Americans from doing business with Venezuela.

Embattled Rep. George Santos grabbed a premier center aisle seat ahead of President Joe Biden's State of the Union Address. Seated beside Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Santos soon discovered that not everyone — including some Republicans — was interested in seeing him. Santos sat just in front of Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee and behind Rep. Trent Kelly of Mississippi. Seats are reserved for senators as a group in the front of the chamber and House members sit behind them. House members can claim preferred spots during the day but they have to camp out there to reserve them for the entirety of the speech.

☆ Matt Gaetz lands a spot on Judiciary's new 'weaponization' subcommittee after curious swap by GOP leaders
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Matt Gaetz is now on the Judiciary subcommittee panel he championed during the Speaker vote fight. Gaetz told Insider in late January that he had no interest in serving on the weaponization panel. Before and after screenshots of the House Judiciary Committee's homepage. While Gaetz was also part of that speaker vote rebellion, he initially seemed to emerge with little to show for the procedural showdown. When asked if he felt weird about all the other rebels seemingly climbing the ladder, Gaetz told Insider he preferred not to be saddled with more responsibility — proclaiming that he was "making back benching great again."

☆ New politically-themed investment funds that mimic lawmakers' money moves aim to shame Congress into banning individual stock trades
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

New exchange-traded funds based on congressional stock holdings are launching Tuesday. "90% of it is a product that performs well and 10% of it is shaming," the fund manager told Insider. A press release about the new funds says that in 2022, congressional holdings beat the SPY index fund by nearly 18%. Insider's "Conflicted Congress" project has identified dozens of members of Congress who have violated the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act — whose enforcement is woefully lacking — by failing to disclose their stock trades on time. Last week, Democratic lawmakers including outspoken trading ban advocate Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia sent Speaker Kevin McCarthy a letter urging him to follow through on his plan to "change the current behavior."

☆ John Fetterman's picture-taking, buddy-making, convention-breaking first month on Capitol Hill
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Delegation-mate Sen. Bob Casey told Insider that Fetterman is “off to a great start.”Top editors give you the stories you want — delivered right to your inbox each weekday. Insider spoke to Fetterman's colleagues, his staff, and congressional reporters about the newcomer's first month in Washington, and what to expect from him as Congress gets rolling. "I know Sen. Fetterman is interested in nutrition, and I share his concerns there, so I look forward to collaborating to get things done for folks in Pennsylvania and Vermont," Welch said. Food issues definitely fall under their purview as newly minted members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. 'Off to a great start'Sen. Casey told Insider that Fetterman has already hit the ground running.

☆ 2 House Republicans caught saying Ilhan Omar removal was the 'stupidest vote in world' before begging reporters to not tell GOP leadership what they said
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Warren Rojas | Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

House Republicans removed Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar from one of her committees on Thursday. The party-line vote struck at least a pair of GOP members as a dumb move. The dejected duo called it the "stupidest vote" and panned leadership for making Omar a "martyr." The not-so-private condemnation of Speaker Kevin McCarthy's campaign to remove Omar from the House Foreign Affairs panel happened after Republicans clinched the retaliatory strike on a party-line vote of 218-211. After Buck decreed it the "stupidest" political move, Simpson said the expulsion would probably make the Minnesota Democrat into a "martyr."

☆ Kamala Harris tells Tyre Nichols' funeral attendees that Congress must pass a sweeping police reform bill: 'It's non-negotiable'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Vice President Kamala Harris demanded passage of police reform legislation at the funeral for Tyre Nichols. As a senator, she co-authored a bill mirroring the House-passed George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021. Harris told mourners on Wednesday that "Tyre Nichols would be here with us today" if police had been in pursuit of public safety. Speaking directly to Nichols' mother and stepfather, she called them "extraordinary." Biden and Harris both spoke with Nichols' mother and stepfather to offer support, and Biden pledged to continue pushing Congress to pass the bill, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday.

☆ Biden's bully pulpit is Democrats' best policing reform tactic as Congress grapples with Tyre Nichols' death
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Warren Rojas | Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

On Monday he said making the George Floyd Act the law of the land is long overdue. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the funeral service for Tyre Nichols at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis, Tennessee. Now he wants to see Congress act in a bipartisan way to "make transformational change," she said. House Democratic Caucus chair Pete Aguilar was much less optimistic about policing reform opponents suddenly rallying around the Floyd Act or any other substantive proposals. "The thing is, it may have been Tyre Nichols yesterday.

☆ Matt Gaetz revels in his slackerdom while other House speaker vote rebels assume flashier roles: 'I'm making back benching great again'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Warren Rojas | Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rep. Matt Gaetz was one of 20 House Republicans who challenged Kevin McCarthy's speaker bid. Gaetz told Insider that he's happier cruising along than climbing the political ladder. Earlier this week McCarthy named the 12 House Republicans spearheading a new "weaponization of federal government" subcommittee that was one of Gaetz's top priorities during the speaker vote negotiations. Jordan and other House Republicans are already stepping all over each other to chip away at President Joe Biden's reelection prospects ahead of the 2024 election. As one GOP strategist told Insider earlier this month about Gaetz: "I don't think this guy's looking to be a policymaker."

☆ House Republican heavyweights are tripping over each other to launch hearings on Biden's handling of the border
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Bryan Metzger | Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

House Republicans are fighting to be the first to bash Biden at border security-related hearings. Judiciary is rushing to hold a meeting next week, with Oversight scheduled to follow a week later. Republicans will hold the Biden Administration accountable for this ongoing humanitarian, national security, and public health crisis that has turned every town into a border town." Comer invited four border patrol agents to the Oversight hearing and sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas requesting documents on various border-related programs. Border security and immigration continue to be an area of key concern for Republicans in particular.

☆ Josh Hawley needles Nancy Pelosi by renaming his congressional stock trading ban bill after her
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sen. Josh Hawley is trying to taunt Nancy Pelosi by renaming a stock trading ban bill. His PELOSI Act is a retread of a proposal that garnered no support in the last Congress. House lawmakers recently reintroduced a bipartisan stock trading proposal with broader backing. Pelosi famously pushed back against any stock trading prohibitions during the 117th Congress — "We're a free market economy." Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia and Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas have reintroduced a more comprehensive stock trading ban bill (H.R.

☆ Big banks take aim at Apple Pay, PayPal with their own electronic wallet plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN Business —America’s largest banks announced plans Tuesday for an electronic wallet that will take aim at Apple Pay and PayPal. The banks are working with Early Warning Services, the company that runs their Zelle electronic payment service. The new electronic wallet, which will operate separately from Zelle, would allow people to make purchases online. The digital wallet is an attempt to regain banks’ control of purchases currently being made using Apple Pay and similar services. While it responded to Warren that it was changing its liability policies and refunds for customers, Warren responded in December that she had little faith about the changes.

☆ Matt Gaetz tried playing kingmaker during the House speaker vote after spending 2 years as a political pariah. Republicans say the grandstanding is unlikely to stop.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz was a key player in the House speaker vote fight. "I don't think this guy's looking to be a policymaker," the GOP strategist told Insider. Doug Heye, a former House leadership aide turned GOP strategist, said the jury's still very much out on Gaetz's motivations and his endgame. Or, it could be as easy as believing that guy who donned a gas mask to ridicule a House vote on COVID-19 relief is committed to troublemaking. Not a workaholicA former House GOP leadership aide said Gaetz's reputation precedes him on Capitol HIll.

☆ House GOP's 'all-star' oversight panel features 13 election deniers, 10 impeach-Biden-world advocates, and 3 congressional subpoena dodgers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

House Republican leaders have stocked the oversight panel with partisan bomb-throwers. Many of the new panelists voted to overturn the 2020 election and defied Jan. 6 investigators. Retired Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney, who chaired the House Oversight Committee last session, asserted that this new cast of characters were getting into it for the wrong reasons. "The personal vendettas these committees pursue are not a legitimate use of the oversight power. "These are basically the people who own Kevin McCarthy at this point," Bardella told Insider at the Facts First event.

☆ George Santos says his mom was at the World Trade Center on 9/11. Records show she wasn't even in the country, the Forward reports.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Warren Rojas | Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A new batch of government records contradict another part of Rep. George Santos' life story. The embattled New York Republican claims his mother was in a World Trade Center tower on 9/11. Embattled GOP Rep. George Santos says his mother was in her office in the World Trade Center during the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but according to The Forward, immigration records show she wasn't even in the country at the time. A screenshot of George Santos' campaign website showing his claim that his mother was at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. According to the Forward-reviewed immigration records tracking Fatima Devolder's travels from 1988 through 2012, Santos' mother was actually in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro on 9/11.

☆ House Republicans launch investigation into DOJ's probe of Biden's classified records
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

House Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan is opening his own investigation into the Biden files. Jordan wants Attorney General Merrick Garland to share information about the DOJ probe. Jordan laid out his myriad concerns about Biden's treatment of sensitive records during his tenure as vice president in a three-page letter to US Attorney General Merrick Garland. Jordan's swift action comes as the newly-empowered House GOP leaders plot an ambitious oversight agenda while rank-and-file members are giddily picking out impeachment targets. Jordan gave Garland until January 27 to provide the requested information.

☆ The furor over Biden's classified documents rekindles House Republicans' sweeping impeachment agenda
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

House Republicans sought to impeach Biden, Merrick Garland, Alejandro Mayorkas and others last year. 57; H. Res. 596; H. Res. 597; H. Res. 598; H. Res.

☆ Oil companies sue Los Angeles over ban on oil and gas drilling
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

An oil company with a drilling operation in the Wilmington neighborhood of Los Angeles has filed a lawsuit against the city over its law to ban new wells and phase out all drilling within city limits. Warren Resources, which operates the 10-acre, oil-extraction site, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday in LA Superior Court seeking to stop the ordinance from taking effect. The company argued the city failed to conduct an adequate environmental review of the potential impacts of halting extraction. There are 26 oil and gas fields and more than 5,000 active and idle wells in LA, in areas like Wilmington, Harbor Gateway, downtown, West LA, South LA and the northwest San Fernando Valley. Ian Thompson, a spokesperson for the LA City Attorney's office, declined to comment on the lawsuit.

☆ 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.

☆ House GOP establishes committee targeting 'weaponization' of federal government with 'at least as much' funding as the January 6 committee
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Bryan Metzger | Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The House GOP voted to create a new subcommittee that they say is modeled after the Church Committee. The new subcommittee is officially known as the "Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government" and will be housed under the House Judiciary Committee. Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar had previously publicly expressed some interest in the committee, but ultimately voted against its creation on Tuesday. He added that the committee would have "at least as much as the January 6 committee" in terms of its budget and staffing. Under the language of the resolution establishing the committee, the 13-member panel will be composed of eight Republicans and five Democrats.

Parafin, launched in 2020, works with so-called platform partners, or companies that other small businesses sell their products through. All the cofounders knew was that they wanted to build technology that would help small businesses. And they may not get their first contract payment from the government for as long as 120 days," Reed, the startup's CEO, told Insider. Helping small businesses manage their taxesComplYant's founder Shiloh Jackson wants to help people be present in their bookkeeping. HoneyBookWhile countless small businesses have been harmed by the pandemic, self-employment and entrepreneurship have found ways to blossom as Americans started new ventures.

☆ House speaker chaos signals Donald Trump’s shrinking influence
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Trump's allies repeatedly rejected Kevin McCarthy as House speaker, displaying his power's limits. A week of House speaker chaos revealed one thing about Donald Trump: He can't get his MAGA house in order. The drama started on Tuesday, and it wasn't until Friday that McCarthy managed to make headway in flipping members' votes. "The president needs to tell Kevin McCarthy that, 'Sir, you do not have the votes, and it's time to withdraw.'" House members who are responding to the MAGA base have no reason to fear Trump on this, he said.

☆ After flipping 13 votes in his favor, McCarthy loses yet another floor vote in seemingly endless speaker bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Kevin McCarthy lost his 12th speaker ballot Friday. The converts are still reviewing rules changes McCarthy has promised in exchange for the gavel. "Watch here and you'll see some people who have been voting against me voting for me," McCarthy told reporters at the US Capitol. Republican Reps.-elect Ken Buck of Colorado and Wesley Hunt of Texas, both McCarthy supporters, were both absent Friday morning because of personal reasons. "You only earn the position if you get the votes," Gaetz said on the House floor, a taunt that caused McCarthy supporter Rep-elect Mike Bost of Illinois to shout his disapproval.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are sounding the alarm about how a nonfunctional House hurts national security. "If a national security crisis arises, the President of the United States is right down the street," he said. "I'm informed by House Security that, technically, I don't have a clearance," Gallagher, a former Marine Corps intelligence officer, told reporters. "I'm a member of the [House Intelligence Committee], I'm on the Armed Services Committee, and I can't meet in the SCIF to conduct essential business." "President Xi says, 'Our system of governance works because democracy don't,'" Bacon, a Nebraska Republican, told reporters.

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