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☆ China pushes back on FBI claims of Chinese 'police stations' in U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - China on Friday pushed back on claims it was operating 'police stations' on U.S. soil, calling the sites volunteer-run, after the FBI director said he was "very concerned" about unauthorized stations that have been linked to Beijing's influence operations. Safeguard Defenders, a Europe-based human rights organization, published a report in September revealing the presence of dozens of Chinese police "service stations" in major cities around the world, including New York. China's Embassy in Washington acknowledged the existence of volunteer-run sites in the United States, but said they were not "police stations" or "police service centers." Mark Clifford, president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, said such stations needed to be "stopped in their tracks." "By allowing the CCP to operate these types of institutions in their countries, international governments are complicit in Beijing's actions," Clifford said.

WASHINGTON — House Republicans' majority will be smaller than expected, but they're eager to use their new oversight powers and pass a spate of bills to draw contrasts with Democrats and give the Biden administration heartburn. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., joined by Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., left, and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, in Washington on July 21, 2021. A growing number of Republicans say they have their sights set on impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, bashing his handling of the border surge. LegislationDemocrats still occupy the White House, so any legislation Republicans pass on a partisan basis won’t be signed into law by Biden. But House Republicans say they will waste no time showing the parties’ stark differences as they battle for control of the White House in 2024.

WASHINGTON — House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday easily defeated conservative Rep. Andy Biggs to win the GOP nomination for speaker of the House. The Arizona Republican and former leader of the far-right, Trump-aligned House Freedom Caucus did not announce that he would challenge McCarthy until Monday night. "Minority Leader McCarthy does not have the votes needed to become the next Speaker of the House and his speakership should not be a foregone conclusion," Biggs said in a statement. Former President Donald Trump, who is expected to announce a 2024 presidential bid later Tuesday, has endorsed his longtime ally, McCarthy, for speaker. So has Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a Freedom Caucus member who is enormously popular among grassroots conservatives.

☆ U.S. House control hinges on tight races after Democrats take Senate
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Jim UrquhartWASHINGTON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Control of the U.S. House of Representatives hinged on Monday on several tight races that could secure a majority for Republicans following midterm elections that saw President Joe Biden's Democrats beat expectations and retain the Senate. Republicans were closer to winning the House, having secured 211 seats compared to Democrats' 206, with 218 needed for a majority. "That has to be a focal point of every single committee in the Congress, especially in the House under Republican control," Banks told Fox News on Sunday. The Nevada win put Democrats in charge of a 50-50 Senate, with Vice President Kamala Harris holding the tie-breaking vote. Lindsey Graham, a veteran Republican senator, said planned Senate Republican leadership elections should be postponed until after the Georgia race.

☆ Top Republicans are slamming Trump and plotting to get rid of him after the GOP's disappointing midterm results
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Some Republicans have turned against Donald Trump after the midterm elections. They blame Trump and his candidates for the GOP's poor results last Tuesday. But in the wake on the party's disappointing showing in the midterm elections last Tuesday, his reputation as a political winner is badly damaged. An increasing number of party figures, The Post reported, were actively working to oppose Trump by directing their donations elsewhere. Some Republicans believe that Tuesday's results indicate that an even more crushing defeat could be in store for the GOP in 2024 if Trump is selected as the GOP's candidate.

☆ Biden, Democrats celebrate retaining control of the Senate
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Summer Concepcion | Summer Concepcion Is A Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

President Joe Biden on Sunday touted the results of the midterm elections, with Democrats projected to maintain control of the U.S. Senate following Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s narrow defeat of Republican Adam Laxalt to win re-election in Nevada. Democrats defeated several candidates backed by former President Donald Trump to hold onto at least 50 seats come 2023. Democrats, meanwhile, joined Biden in celebrating their election wins, with some also pointing to Trump as the reason why they outperformed Republicans. Their candidates were talking about lack of democracy," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters at a news conference in New York on Sunday. And they have produced a great result.”On “Meet the Press," Anita Dunn, senior adviser to the president, said: “It’s very clear what President Biden and the Democratic Party are for.

☆ Democrats retain grip on U.S. Senate, defying Republican 'red wave' predictions
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Tim Reid | Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

“We were on the edge of autocracy and, thank God, the American people pulled us back in this election,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said at a news conference on Sunday. As of late on Saturday, Republicans had won 211 seats and the Democrats 205, with 218 needed for a majority. House Republicans, should they prevail, have pledged to try to roll back Biden-led legislation to battle climate change and want to make permanent a series of 2017 tax cuts set to expire. Slideshow ( 2 images )“That has to be a focal point of every single committee in the Congress, especially in the House under Republican control,” Banks said in an interview on “Fox News Sunday”. Continued control of the Senate means Democrats will still be able to approve Biden’s nominees such as federal judges.

☆ Democrats defy 'red wave' forecasts to keep Senate control, eye Georgia
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Tim Reid | Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

That put Democrats in charge of a 50-50 Senate, by virtue of Vice President Kamala Harris holding the tie-breaking vote. As of Sunday, Republicans had won 211 seats and the Democrats 205, with 218 needed for a majority. It could take several days before the outcome of enough House races is known to determine which party will control the 435-seat chamber. House Republicans, should they prevail, have pledged to try to roll back Biden-led legislation to battle climate change and want to make permanent a series of 2017 tax cuts set to expire. “That has to be a focal point of every single committee in the Congress, especially in the House under Republican control,” Banks said in an interview on “Fox News Sunday”.

☆ Tucker Carlson called the House GOP's campaign chief in a fury and demanded to know who made unflattering comments about his son: Axios
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Tucker Carlson has beef with the House GOP's campaign chair, Tom Emmer, per Axios' Jonathan Swan. Carlson made an angry call to Emmer on Friday regarding his son Buckley, per Axios. Emmer told Carlson repeatedly that his office did not give the quote about Buckley Carlson to the Daily Beast, but Carlson was unconvinced and told Emmer they now have beef, per Axios. Does he really think that's a winning strategy for a Republican House leadership race? Representatives for Emmer and Tucker Carlson did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

In the next Congress, white men will also lead the House GOP campaign arm, the National Congressional Campaign Committee (NRCC), and occupy other lower-tier leadership spots. The highest leadership post that Republican women or minorities have reached is chair of the GOP Conference — the No. She's expected to remain the highest-ranking GOP woman in the whole of the next Congress as well, given that white men make up all but one member of the Senate GOP leadership team. Eighty GOP women are running for House seats in these midterms. For his part, Donalds, whom Trump once called a “rising star,” has not made diversity a central part of his campaign for conference chair.

☆ Kevin McCarthy made a 'huge tactical' mistake by not putting Republicans on the Jan. 6 panel, politics expert says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

In an unprecedented move, the Jan. 6 House panel on Thursday subpoenaed Donald Trump to testify. The nine-member panel only has two Republicans — neither of whom were appointed by Rep. Kevin McCarthy. McCarthy's decision not to participate in the probe was ultimately a "mistake," a politics expert said. The nine-member House Select Committee investigating the 2021 insurrection includes seven Democrats and two Republicans, all of whom were appointed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. His decision ensured that the bipartisan panel was staffed only by Trump critics and nary a sensitive vote for the former president.

☆ Biden seeks out dead Indiana Republican during White House news conference: 'Jackie, are you here?'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Biden mistakenly sought out the late Republican Rep. Jackie Walorski of Indiana at a news conference. Where's Jackie?," Biden said, in a slip-up that's sure to fuel Republican attacks. Biden was speaking at a White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health when he thanked bipartisan elected officials who introduced legislation to convene the conference. Where's Jackie?," Biden said, looking to the side and saying in a soft voice, "she was going to be here." Biden had already planned to welcome her family to the White House on Friday, when there will be a bill signing in her honor, she said.

☆ Biden declared the pandemic 'over.' It could jeopardize student debt relief and more cash for Covid testing.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Joseph Zeballos-Roig | Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Republicans may also seize on Biden's remarks to challenge his effort to issue student debt relief. It could threaten student debt relief and future coronavirus-related health funding. The remarks suggesting that the emergency has ended may jeopardize twin goals of the Biden administration on student debt relief and coronavirus aid. Part of Biden's legal rationale for providing $10,000 in student debt relief per borrower rests on the lingering pandemic. But some supporters of debt relief don't see it quite that way.

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