Tag: U.S. House of Representatives

House passes measure to end U.S. military involvement in Yemen, repudiating Trump’s backing of Saudi-led coalition

Houthi Shiite rebels inspect the rubble of the Republican Palace that was destroyed by Saudi-led airstrikes, in Sanaa, Yemen, in 2017. Credit: Hani Mohammed, AP

The House on Wednesday passed a resolution to end U.S. military support for the Saudi-led coalition operating in Yemen, a repudiation of President Trump’s continued cooperation with and defense of the kingdom and its crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.

The measure passed 248 to 177, and was supported by 230 Democrats and 18 Republicans. It marks the end of a months-long campaign from the legislation’s sponsors, whom House Republican leaders blocked last year from bringing the measure to the floor — even as a bipartisan majority of the Senate voted to approve it. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) had promised a vote when Democrats took over the House this year.

The war-powers legislation now heads back to the Senate, where sponsors said they are “hopeful” that similar numbers of Republicans and Democrats will vote for it when the measure comes up in the next few weeks. But even if they manage to pass the resolution in that body, Trump is already threatening to veto the measure — and Congress does not have the votes to overcome it.

View the complete February 13 article by Karoun Demirjian on The Washington Post website here.

Democrats step up work to get Trump tax returns

© Getty Images, Hill photo illustration

A House panel is set to hold a much-anticipated hearing on Thursday that will put Democrats’ desire to get President Trump’s tax returns in the spotlight.

The House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee is holding a hearing about legislative proposals and tax law concerning presidential tax returns.

The hearing was called to discuss a portion of House Democrats’ big ethics bill, H.R. 1, that would require presidents, vice presidents and major-party nominees for those positions to release 10 years of tax returns.

View the complete February 6 article by Naomi Jagoda on The Hill website here.

The case for ending shutdowns, once and for all

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) criticized on Jan. 22 President Trump’s new proposal to end the partial government shutdown. (The Washington Post)

The record-long impasse — along with the failures of past efforts — makes a strong argument for passing a bill that would take the option off the table.

Hundreds of thousands of federal workers will soon go without their second paycheck this month, as the 32-day shutdown drags on with no end in sight. But if there’s a silver lining for them, it might be this: The messier this gets, the more momentum there could be for a mechanism to effectively outlaw future shutdowns.

Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) on Tuesday introduced a bill called the Stop STUPIDITY Act. In the event of a lapse in government funding, the act would reinstate funding levels from the previous fiscal year — except for Congress and the office of the president, which would not receive funding until they reached an agreement.

Warner’s Republican colleague Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) reintroduced his own proposal last week. Rather than shut down the government in the absence of a budget, it would institute an across-the-board 1 percent funding cut for all agencies and would cut another 1 percent every 90 days that no agreement is reached.

View the complete January 23 article by Aaron Blake on the The Washington Post website.

GOP maps out early 2020 strategy to retake House

Republicans are crafting an early strategy to take back the House in 2020, zeroing in on districts carried by President Trump that recently flipped to Democrats and starting a recruitment process that will have a heavy emphasis on female candidates.

After losing 40 GOP-held seats in the 2018 midterm elections, House Republicans will need to rebound in many of the suburban districts where Trump remains unpopular among some college-educated and female voters — this time with the president at the top of the ticket.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) will target the 31 Democrats running in Trump districts, especially several seats they view as most ripe for the taking: freshman Reps. Kendra Horn (D-Okla.) and Joe Cunningham (D-S.C.), who shocked the political world with upset victories in GOP strongholds.

View the complete January 15 article by Lisa Hagen and Max Greenwood on The Hill website here.

Dems zero in on Trump’s alleged conflicts of interest

Credit: Getty Images

Democrats itching to investigate President Trump’s possible conflicts of interests have zeroed in on a familiar presidential foe: the FBI.

House Democrats released a trove of new documents this week that they say prove Trump was directly involved in canceling plans developed by the federal government to sell the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Critics argue that Trump intervened because he wanted to prevent commercial developers from building a new property at the downtown Washington, D.C., spot that might compete with the Trump Hotel, which is located across the street.

View the complete October 21 article by Melanie Zanona on the Hill website here.

 

Russia sanctions stall in the House as Democrats object to being frozen out of restraining Trump

NOTE:  If you have questions about this situation, please contact Rep. Erik Paulsen’s offices to ask them. You can reach them here:  202.225.2871 (DC) or 952.405.8510 (MN).

The following article by Karoun Demirjian and Mike DeBonis was posted on the Washington Post website July 10, 2017:

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) has said he is in favor of the Russia sanctions bill. The measure is mired in a partisan dispute in the House — with Democrats saying a recent change weakens the legislation. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Popular legislation that would limit President Trump’s ability to lift financial sanctions on Russia is mired in a partisan dispute in the House, with Democrats charging that a recent change would weaken the bill.

The surprising roadblock emerged in recent days as Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Group of 20 summit in Germany and floated the possibility of joining forces with Russia on a cybersecurity initiative, to objections from both parties.

The pending legislation, which passed the Senate on a 98-to-2 vote last month, is effectively a congressional check on Trump: any time the president wants to make a change to sanctions policy on Russia, lawmakers would have a chance to block him. Continue reading “Russia sanctions stall in the House as Democrats object to being frozen out of restraining Trump”