Donald Trump said on Truth Social that the members of the House Select Committee that investigated the January 6 Capitol insurrection should be jailed.
Top Republican Wants to Cancel Future Biden Addresses
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) said GOP leadership should reconsider how they invite presidents to give the State of the Union address, citing President Biden’s “divisive” speech, Axios reports.
Said Emmer: “That was about the most divisive State of the Union — I wouldn’t extend him an invitation next year, if that’s what we’re going to get.”
He added: “He’s not going to be there next year — it’ll be a different president. But I think you’ve got to rethink issuing invitations for a State of the Union if it’s not going to be a State of the Union, and that was not. That was a campaign speech.”
The Great Resignation Hits Congress
“Despite all the congressional gridlock these days, lawmakers have succeeded in one surprising area of productivity: driving their colleagues into resignation,” the Washington Post reports.
“The data for congressional resignations is somewhat murky, but it’s clear that over the last four decades, at least, the House hasn’t seen this many people just quit public service in the middle of their term.”
Quote of the Day
“I can’t emphasize this enough. As a Republican, if you publicly oppose Trump, you’re done as a Republican. When I came out six years ago and publicly stood against Donald Trump, I took a blowtorch to my career, but I also knew I could never, ever run as a Republican again.”
— Former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL), on CNN.
Quote of the Day
“We’ve got so many things to show for the last year-plus. But people all want to focus on a car accident, right? It’s always the car accident that draws attention.”
— House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN), quoted by the Washington Post, defending the House GOP majority.
Matt Gaetz Subpoenaed in Defamation Lawsuit
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) “was served a subpoena to sit for a deposition in a civil lawsuit that involves allegations he had sex with a 17-year old-girl, as part of a suit brought by a friend of the congressman against the young woman and others,” ABC News reports.
“Gaetz was issued the subpoena, which has not been previously reported, by attorneys representing the woman who is now in her 20s and was at the center of a years-long investigation by the Justice Department into allegations that the Florida congressman had sex with her when she was a minor.”
Mike Johnson Claims He’s Healing Internal GOP Divisions
Punchbowl News: “Speaking here at The Greenbrier during a sparsely attended party retreat, Johnson told House Republicans he is only getting three hours of sleep each night. He said he’s been to 20 states since becoming speaker – a typical schedule for a party leader. And he’s stopping ‘internecine warfare’ in the GOP. The jury is still out on that, by the way.”
Another Nancy Mace Flip Flop
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) claimed she’s always been against a TikTok ban because of her “libertarian” leanings but apparently probably forgot she was on television calling for a ban in 2022.
Johnson Faces Make-or-Break Moment on Ukraine Aid
“Speaker Mike Johnson is running out of time to solve his Ukraine aid problem — with pressure mounting inside the Capitol and around the world,” Politico reports.
“If the speaker doesn’t quickly embrace a plan to approve long-stalled foreign assistance, lawmakers in his own party could force his hand by aligning with Democrats on maneuvers that would steer aid bills around him. But whatever plan Johnson does embrace will almost surely cost him with his deeply fractured GOP conference, whose tenuous two-vote majority is already requiring him to rely on Democratic votes to pass most major legislation.”
Mike Johnson Won’t Commit to Biden Impeachment Vote
Punchbowl News: “Given the confusion in the House Republican Conference about what’s next in the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, we asked Johnson if the House would hold a vote on impeachment articles this Congress.”
“Johnson gave a long-winded answer that didn’t address the prospect of the floor vote. Instead, he hailed the probe as ‘a very, very slow, deliberative investigative process.’ The impeachment inquiry has been running for six months already with no end in sight.”
“Later on, Johnson admitted that due to his heavy workload, he hasn’t been able to do a ‘deep dive’ on the evidence compiled by the GOP chairs in charge of the impeachment inquiry. This is a pretty startling revelation from the top House Republican.”
Mike Johnson Still Dealing with Kevin McCarthy’s Baggage
“Four and a half months on the job, House Speaker Mike Johnson is still struggling with the baggage of the tumultuous Kevin McCarthy era,” NBC News reports.
“The Louisiana Republican is trying to fund the government and avert a shutdown based on a budget deal McCarthy and President Joe Biden struck last year that infuriated conservative hard-liners.”
“Johnson inherited McCarthy’s Rules Committee, which decides how bills make it to the House floor but which McCarthy stacked with conservatives to help defuse their anger. That’s forced Johnson to bypass conservatives on the committee and work with Democrats to enact must-pass legislation.”
“And Johnson is grappling with a Biden impeachment inquiry that was unilaterally set in motion by his predecessor — even though it appears to be losing steam.”
Hunter Biden Declines to Testify Publicly
“Hunter Biden has declined an invitation to testify next week in a public hearing before the House Oversight Committee, according to a letter from Hunter Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, sent to Rep. James Comer (R-KY), the panel’s chairman,” the Washington Post reports.
Comer complained that Hunter Biden has “for months stated he wanted a public hearing, but now that one has been offered alongside his business associates that he worked with for years, he is refusing to come.”
TikTok Bill Easily Passes House
The House easily passed a bill to force ByteDance to divest its holdings in TikTok, 352 to 65 with one voting present.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has not said if he will take up the bill.
House GOP Mulls Criminal Referrals as Exit Ramp
ABC News: “The notion of issuing criminal referrals as part of the probe has gained traction among senior Republicans on Capitol Hill as the prospects of impeaching President Biden have dulled with one congressional Republican bluntly describing the move as an ‘exit strategy.'”
“Any such referrals would fall short of the committee’s initial goals of impeaching President Biden, as the Justice Department is not obligated to act on such referrals or even acknowledge them.”
“But the plan could give former President Donald Trump a long-shot roadmap for his own administration to investigate his predecessor, should he win back the White House in November.”
Said House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer (R-KY): “If Merrick Garland’s Department of Justice won’t take any potential criminal referrals seriously, then maybe the next president, with a new attorney general, will.”
House Considers Dueling Discharge Petitions
“House members were presented with two competing options on Tuesday in cross-party efforts to force a vote on sending aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan,” Axios reports.
“The fracturing of these efforts could make it more difficult to bypass House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) refusal to put any bill with Ukraine funding up for a vote.”
“Republicans likely won’t sign on to House Democratic leadership’s discharge petition, and some Democrats say Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick’s (R-PA) petition is a non-starter.”
The Impeachment Inquiry to Forever
Punchbowl News: “Top Republicans admit there’s still no conclusive evidence of an impeachable offense that shows Biden acted improperly while in office to enrich his family members.”
“And no one in the House GOP leadership has a clear vision for how this all ends, including whether there will be an impeachment vote at some point.”
Playbook: “Behind the scenes, Republicans of all ideological persuasions are increasingly admitting that they pulled the trigger on Biden’s impeachment too soon and that the effort has been hobbled by embarrassing setbacks. They’ve accused the president of profiting off the Oval Office but have yet to find any proof that the president benefited from his family’s business dealings. And it doesn’t help their case that the informant behind the most prominent and scandalous accusations of corruption by Biden was found to have lied to the FBI about those allegations and has been indicted.”
“The GOP is also dealing with a brutal math problem. Republicans in swing districts continue to balk at taking an impeachment vote when they say there’s no proof of high crimes.”
House GOP Panics as Another Republican Leaves
“House Republicans are panicking about their shrinking majority after Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) said he will resign at the end of next week, stunning GOP leadership,” Axios reports.
“Members of Republican leadership said they were blindsided by Buck’s sudden announcement.”
Fewer Than 100 House Republicans to Attend Retreat
“The House GOP is in turmoil ahead of its policy retreat in West Virginia on Wednesday, with attendance expected to be sparse and a keynote speaker dropping out,” Axios reports.
“Fewer than 100 GOP lawmakers are expected to be in attendance at the three-day event, which is aimed at unifying the conference and crafting policy goals outside of the Capitol grounds.”
“One GOP member argued that moving their conference discussions from the Capitol to a resort with alcohol could exacerbate infighting between members.”
He added: “I’d rather sit down with Hannibal Lecter and eat my own liver.”
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