It’s been a long week in the House of Representatives. A tumultuous battle for House Speaker has put Congress on hold indefinitely.
Watch Amanda break down the ongoing situation below:
Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Great America News Desk.
As the 118th Congress reconvenes for the fourth day with no Speaker some lawmakers can feel the desperation in the air.
As House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy heads into what will be the twelfth round of voting one of the more boisterous detractors says he is prepared to resign from Congress if Republicans strike a deal with Democrats to support a more moderate candidate.
“These 212 Democrats are going to vote for Hakeem Jeffries every single time. He’s a historic candidate. They’re not going to cleave off,” Gaetz told Fox News’s Laura Ingraham on Thursday when asked if he thought centrist Democrats would back McCarthy if they were promised co-control of House committees.
“If Democrats join up to elect a moderate Republican, I will resign,” Gaetz continued.
Gaetz, who has voted against McCarthy’s nomination during each round of voting says that no concessions the California Republican offers swill be enough to sway his vote.
“He’s the masthead of the lobby core. I resent to which Kevin McCarthy utilizes the lobbyists and the special interests to be able to dictate how political decisions are made. How policy decisions are made, how leadership decisions are made. Kevin McCarthy has been in the leadership for 14 years. He’s sold shares of himself to special interests, to political action committees, and that’s why I don’t think he’s right.”
The Florida Congressman, who cast his vote for Donald Trump for Speaker during Thursday’s round of voting, says that he believes Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) could garner 218 votes if McCarthy withdraws from consideration.
“If Kevin McCarthy got out of this race, Jim Jordan would get into it,” Gaetz said. “And I believe he would win and invigorate our movement. He’s broadly trusted in every corner of the Republican Party and with a lot of our donors and supporters and activists. That’s the type of option if McCarthy bows out.”
Thursday evening McCarthy indicated he may have a path to Speaker after all. A new deal has emerged that McCarthy hopes will propel him forward.
Lawmakers said the framework gives members of the House Freedom Caucus (HFC) who have been resisting McCarthy virtually everything they’ve been asking for. That includes a stronger HFC representation on key House committees, guardrails aimed at curbing excessive federal spending, and allowing just a single member of the House to make a motion to replace the speaker, lawmakers familiar with the framework told Fox News.
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu is leaving the door open as to if he will pursue a bid for the White House in 2024.
In an interview with Fox News, Sununu, who won reelection in November, admitted that he’s been approached about a possible presidential campaign and is seriously considering the matter. However, the governor acknowledged there’s still plenty of time to make a decision to make final decision and he still discussing the matter.
“It’s incredibly flattering,” Sununu said of the speculation that he could mount a presidential bid. “A lot of folks are coming to me, a lot of folks want me to run. It’s definitely conversations that we’re having, of course.”
“My first priority is New Hampshire. It really is,” he added. “But again, we’ll keep having those conversations. There’s no time table for making decisions or where it all goes.”
“I think people have to understand it is, what? Jan. 4 or 5, right? Of ‘23? So we still have well over a year before we even get to the first-in-the nation primary,” he said. “There’s going to be a lot of time before folks even get in the race.”
The New Hampshire Governor acknowledged that other high-profile Republicans are considering their own presidential campaigns which could also impact his ultimate decision.
“Who knows what might happen between now and then?” Sununu said. “And those unknown variables could really dictate who gets in the race and how successful they can be.”
Early polling suggests that Trump and DeSantis are the two frontrunners for the 2024 nomination.
During the 118th Congress’ seventh round of voting to determine the next Speaker of the House of Representatives one lawmaker to cast his vote for Donald J. Trump.
The largely symbolic vote came from Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, who has been a prominent figure among the roughly 20 lawmakers to detract from supporting House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy for the role.
Gaetz has repeatedly floated the idea of Trump becoming speaker, pledging to nominate him since 2021.
However, Gaetz has admitted to Fox News on Thursday that McCarthy’s win is potentially unavoidable, but argued he would be a speaker with a “straight jacket.”
“There are only two outcomes here: Either Kevin McCarthy withdraws from the speaker’s race, or he has to wake up every morning and put on the world’s best constructive straight jacket before doing the prayer and the pledge at the beginning of House session,” Gaetz said, adding that several of his colleagues were working to on “how to construct that straight jacket.”
“Kevin McCarthy has offered everything he can think to offer and everything we can think to ask for due to his current state of desperation, and I can’t tell you whether or not that will be enough to get him there. I doubt it will,” he said.
Kevin McCarthy recieved 201 votes, Byron Donalds recieved 19 votes, Hakeem Jeffries recieved 212 votes for Speaker during the seventh round of voting.
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Florida Congressman Byron Donalds (R) is not letting liberal Congresswoman Cori Bush’s racist broadsides against him go unchecked.
On Wednesday, House Republicans hardliners nominated Donalds as an alternative pick for House speaker, resulting in the first ballot to include two black nominees to be speaker. However, instead of praising the historic moment and celebrating the progress man Bush honed in on Donalds’ policy agenda for “perpetuating white supremacy.”
The Congresswoman told HuffPost, “It seems as if they’re using him as a prop, as a tool, not because they think that he’s great, that he’s done all of these things to lead them,” Bush said. “I don’t like that they’re using him that way. I don’t want them to use him that way. And I want him to understand: They’re only using you… don’t let them do that to you. Make them treat you with dignity and respect.”
She continued: “To hear Chip Roy stand up and say this is not about color … it absolutely 100% is because if you were nominating him on his worth and merit, I think none of us would have been surprised because we would have seen him do leadership things.”
“@ByronDonalds is not a historic candidate for Speaker. He is a prop. Despite being Black, he supports a policy agenda intent on upholding and perpetuating white supremacy. His name being in the mix is not progress—it’s pathetic,” Bush tweeted in response to a Republican defector lauding Donalds.
Rep. Donalds swiftly fired back against the Congresswoman’s comments while calling out her insulting behavior.
“If you see a Black man rise, let the man rise even if you disagree with them. I’d be happy to sit down and debate our policies one on one whenever you’d like. As a black man to a black woman, I’d never do that to you. It’s a shame you did it to me,” Donalds tweeted alongside a clip of a Fox Business interview in which he addressed the rift.
Bishop nominated Donalds on the floor during the latest round of voting, defending his ability to lead the House of Representatives.
“I’ve spent a good bit of time with Mr. Donalds, especially lately. He ain’t no prop!” Bishop said, adding, “I know Byron — he’s not a prop. He’s a man of personal conviction.”
Congress remains in a stalemate heading into its seventh round of proceedings Thursday, with McCarthy having failed to secure a majority during previous rounds of voting earlier this week. At most, he has earned 203 votes, below the 218-vote threshold, and faces opposition of about 20 members.
In a bid to win over the detractor, the California Republican reportedly offered to lower the threshold for a vote to oust a speaker, allow more members of the Freedom Caucus on the House Rules Committee, and have the Republican-aligned political action committee, the Congressional Leadership Fund, will not get involved in open Republican primaries.
Editor’s note: This article was published before the seventh round of voting was complete. Rep. McCarthy failed to secure 218 votes needed.
On Thursday, Pennsylvania Democrat Senator Bob Casey announced he was diagnosed with prostate cancer last month.
Casey, 62, said he will have surgery in the coming months and expects to continue serving in the Senate. He is the chairman of the Aging Committee.
“Last month, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. While the news came back as a shock, I can report that I have an excellent prognosis, as well as the benefit of exceptional medical care and the unwavering support of my family. In the coming months I will undergo surgery, after which I am expected to make a full recovery. I am confident that my recommended course of treatment will allow me to continue my service in the 118th Congress with minimal disruption, and I look forward to the work ahead.” Sen Casey shared on Thursday.
This is a breaking news story. Click refresh for the latest updates.
ANALYSIS – As I have repeatedly written about, here, here, and here, the politicization at the higher levels of the FBI, and to degree at DHS (Department of Homeland Security), and other federal law enforcement agencies, is one of the gravest threats facing our Republic and our Constitutional liberties today.
The danger is widespread and involves the Bureau straying well into illegal domestic spying and censorship.
The possible crimes go from FBI collusion with Big Tech (Twitter, Facebook, et al,) to censor Americans who may criticize certain government-approved narratives, to creating an entire army of analysts, and agents exclusively devoted to pursuing a vaguely defined, virtually nonexistent, ‘domestic terror’ threat.
The latter being an aggressive pursuit many see as a thinly veiled attempt to target, coerce and silence conservatives simply.
It also extends to ignoring widespread violence against pro-life churches and nonprofits to using heavy-handed storm trooper tactics against unarmed peaceful pro-life protesters.
Much has been recently uncovered about the FBI collusion with Twitter, thanks to Elon Musk and his Twitter files.
And the Bureau’s heavy-handed and tone-deaf response blaming any criticism of the FBI as coming from ‘conspiracy theorists’ spreading ‘misinformation,’ made them appear even more obtuse, and dangerous.
Some, including me, have called for thorough house cleaning at the Bureau, especially at the top where much of the rot appears to be concentrated.
As I have always said, the vast majority of the employees, analysts and field agents at the FBI are honorable, decent, American patriots.
But the same can no longer be said for much of the current leadership.
At the root of the problem is the FBI steadily giving up its traditional independence within the Department of Justice (DOJ), which has basically taken over the Bureau.
One way to start cleaning house is to create an independent commission modeled after the, yes – sometimes overzealous, 1970s Senate ‘Church Committee’ that uncovered abuses at the CIA, NSA, and FBI, to investigate the FBI again, and impose significant reforms.
And now we have another senior FBI official, ex-FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker, publicly saying the same thing.
The well-regarded Swecker retired as the assistant director for criminal investigations after 24 years at the FBI.
Just the News reports that Swecker argues that the bureau’s problems start with the politicization of its ranks by the DOJ.
The news outlet adds:
“What I see is that it’s basically a wholesale takeover by the Department of Justice, which is filled with political appointees in every top position, and then by extension, right into the administration,” Swecker said in a wide-ranging interview on the John Solomon Reports podcast.
“You see DOJ people — and many of the top executive positions inside the FBI now — you see people that have made a career out of bouncing in and out of silk-stocking law firms between the Department of Justice and then these law firms. And I have to say they are incredibly liberal in their politics. And that has now sort of taken over the FBI, and they are inserting that ideology into their high-profile investigations.”
Just the News continues:
Swecker said the FBI’s involvement in labeling school parents “domestic terrorists,” and its “bare-knuckles” pursuit of Donald Trump contrasted with its “kid gloves cases” against Hillary Clinton, Andrew McCabe and Hunter Biden have not only shaken public trust but also the internal confidence of the FBI.
As the outlet noted, the FBI “has yielded the independence Congress gave it under the law and is now subservient to a group of liberal ideologues inside the Justice Department who have pressured agents to stray into unwarranted domestic spying and censorship.”
This is dangerously un-American and is one of the biggest threats to our Republic and our liberties. It’s time to really investigate and shake things up at the FBI.
Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Great America News Desk.
ANALYSIS – In the ‘yes, we were right all’ along category, it is crystal clear that leading Democrats politicos held enormous sway over the woke peons at Twitter, and still do at other Big Tech social media companies.
And, in clear violation of the First Amendment, and press freedom, these top Democrats use that power to pressure these companies to suspend and ban journalists and critics alike.
In the latest bombshell drop from Musk’s Twitter Files we learn that by 2020, Twitter was inundated with requests and demands from elements of the government to censor various personalities and narratives.
The most egregious example is that of Adam Schiff, his position as Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee gave him credibility to push false narratives, and then push Big Tech to censor any contrary views.
Significantly, Schiff’s office wanted Twitter to shut down one of the most effective journalists pushing back on his phony Russia collusion narrative.
Fox News reports:
Published Tuesday, the latest round of the Twitter Files – internal documents revealing how Twitter engaged in censorship and promoted disinformation in tandem with government agencies for the past few years – revealed that Schiff’s office asked Twitter to remove journalist Paul Sperry and others from the site.
Taibbi, who published the Twitter Files post-by-post to Twitter at the behest of Musk, provided documentation showing that “the office for Democrat and House Intel Committee chief Adam Schiff” asked “Twitter to ban journalist Paul Sperry.”
The document Taibbi shared featured correspondence between the “House Permanent Select Intelligence Committee” – Schiff’s office – and Twitter, which included a request to “Suspend the many accounts, including @GregRubini and @paulsperry, which repeatedly promoted false QAnon conspiracies and harassed [REDACTED].”
In the article [Schiff wanted banned], Sperry said then-CIA analyst Eric Ciaramella was overheard talking in the White House with Sean Misko, a holdover staffer from former President Barack Obama’s administration.
A former official who reportedly heard the conversation told Sperry, “Just days after [Trump] was sworn in they were already trying to get rid of him.”
Paul Sperry is a senior staff writer for RealClearInvestigations and has also penned pieces for the New York Post, the Federalist, and other publications.
RealClearInvestigations senior writer Mark Hemingway tweeted, “Of course, Sperry’s real crime was doing vital reporting exposing the mistruths about Russia collusion, a subject Schiff lied about for years.”
The New York Post explained:
Sperry’s reporting clearly showed the partisan motives behind the leaks, and how they were partly manufactured partisan CIA hacks to bring down the former president.
Schiff’s outrageous demands and pressures were solely intended to crush that news from ever being seen.
Thankfully, not all the Twits at Twitter were as easy to manipulate as others.
In response to the last Schiff request, another unidentified Twitter employee wrote, “no, this isn’t feasible/we don’t do that.”
But the fact that Schiff and other partisan Democrats succeeded many other times is the real issue.
It’s also a good reason to have Schiff not only removed from the intelligence committee as the new GOP leadership intends, but to also remove him from Congress entirely for gross abuse of power and other ethical breaches.
Popular shoe brand Crocs is siding with the woke gender mob…
Watch Amanda fill you in on the latest controversy:
Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Great America News Desk.
On Wednesday, Congressional lawmakers reconvened to hold its fourth round of voting to determine the next U.S. House Speaker.
Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif) was nominated for Speaker as was New York Congressman Hakeem Jeffries. House Freedom Caucus chairman Chip Roy nominated Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) for the Speaker’s gavel.
While the fourth round of voting is ongoing, Rep. Donalds has already secured 20 votes for Speaker, meaning McCarthy will once again fall short of the 218 threshold- sending Congress to a fifth round of voting.
Notably, no Republican followed Tuesday’s lead to nominate Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan. Jordan, who is expected to chair the House Judiciary Committee received 19 votes for Speaker during Tuesday’s round of voting.
Rep. Jordan cast his vote for Rep. McCarthy for House Speaker.
On Tuesday, no nominee received the 218 votes needed to win the Speaker’s gavel sending lawmakers into chaos.
Over the weekend, Rep. McCarthy offered a number of concessions including allowing a move to “vacate the chair” that would force a vote on ousting the Speaker with the approval of five Republican members, rather than a threshold of at least half of the House GOP Conference that Republicans adopted in an internal rule in November.
The chamber is also scheduled to create a House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the “Weaponization of the Federal Government,” a recognition of a request to increase scrutiny on the Biden administration and intelligence agencies.
In a letter to GOP colleagues, McCarthy — speaking as “Speaker-Designate” — also addressed a request from conservatives to have more representation on committees.
“I will use my selections on key panels to ensure they more closely reflect the ideological makeup of our conference, and will advocate for the same when it comes to the membership of standing committees. This will facilitate greater scrutiny of bills from the start so they stand a greater chance of passing in the end,” the letter from McCarthy said.
This story is breaking and will be updated as more information becomes available.
