#MikeJohnson vowed to use House oversight powers while cutting funds in the #government appropriations process & taking other unspecified #legislative measures.
“We’re going to do everything we can, everything within our scope of our responsibility in the Congress, to address it appropriately,” Johnson said at his weekly news conference afterward.
One of #Trump’s staunchest allies is readying a more aggressive approach. Rep #MarjorieTaylorGreene (R-Ga.) has threatened to file a resolution before the week’s end to #impeach President #Biden. Greene left a Tues meeting w/ #MikeJohnson demanding “in the loudest most possible way” that he allow the #House a vote on removing Biden or she will force such a vote.
#HouseRepublicans think nothing of abandoning their #oathOfOffice in service to their 34x #felon. It's not #Congress' job to "retaliate" against the #DepartmentOfJustice because members from one political party are angry that #FeloniousTrump was tried and convicted by a jury of his peers in a state court. But that's exactly what they're prepared to misappropriate public funds for.
Biden's new executive order will "bar migrants from being granted asylum when US officials deem that the southern border is overwhelmed [including right now]... migrants who arrive here but do not express fear of returning to their home countries will be subject to immediate removal from the US, within days or even hours. Those migrants would face punishments that could include a five-year bar from reentering the US, as well as potential criminal prosecution" https://apnews.com/article/biden-asylum-migration-immigration-mexico-border-dec5f83b468b5795479bf1f5e49799d5 #immigration
"Senior officials also acknowledged that the administration’s goal of deporting migrants quickly is complicated by insufficient funding from Congress to do so...
“'We intend to sue,' said Lee Gelernt, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union who successfully argued similar legal challenges under Trump. 'A ban on asylum is illegal just as it was when Trump unsuccessfully tried it.'"
— #biden#congress#xenophobia#useconomy
>300 #House lawmakers were reimbursed ≥$5.2M for #food & #lodging while on official business in Washington last year under a new, #TaxpayerFunded prgm that doesn’t require receipts.
The prgm, which kicked off last yr after a #Republican-led House panel passed it, was intended to make it easier for lawmakers to maintain separate homes in DC & their home districts.
But critics argue that its reliance on the #HonorSystem esp given [#HouseRepublicans dearth of honor] & lack of #transparent record-keeping makes it ripe for abuse.
The reimbursement scheme’s lack of receipt requirements is a “ridiculous loophole … Clearly it becomes very difficult to tell whether or not it’s a legitimate payment & whether it’s proper,” said Craig Holman, a lobbyist for the good govt group Public Citizen.
The prgm has only a few rules: Lawmakers cannot be repaid for principal or interest on their mortgages, they can only get reimbursement for days they’re actually working in or flying to DC, & they can’t ask for more than their actual expenses. They’re also subject to daily spending caps determined by the GSA. They are “strongly encouraged,” but not required, to keep #records of their #expenses, acc/to guidance issued by the #House Cmte on Admin.
An earlier version of this article said that Rep #MattGaetz (R-Fla.) was the reimbursement program's top spender for 2023. That analysis was based on data released by the #House as of last week. But additional data The Post reviewed Tuesday showed that Rep #JackBergman (R-Michigan) was reimbursed for more than Gaetz was.
At what point is this #sexualAssault facilitator and carnival barker going to do the job he was actually elected to do? #GymJordan is a perpetual #clown who brings shame to our #Congress everytime he opens his mouth. His boneheaded antics make a mockery of the nation's premier legislative body. 🤡
Democratic members of the #House select subcommittee on the coronavirus pandemic defended Dr. Anthony #Fauci ahead of Monday's hearing about the #US’ #COVID19#pandemic response, policies & transparency.
The representatives blasted #Republicans’ claims of Fauci’s involvement in starting [for real they had to say this] or covering up the pandemic as a “dangerous” & “cartoonish” narrative.
“This investigation of Dr. #Fauci shows that he is an honorable #PublicServant, committed to #PublicHealth & he is not a comic book supervillain. He did not fund research to create the #Covid19 pandemic. He did not lie to #Congress about gain of function research in #Wuhan. And he did not organize a lab leak suppression campaign to cover his tracks. These are outrageous concoctions, fabrications & distortions,” #Democrat Rep #JamieRaskin said.
8 #Republican senators announced Fri they would boycott #Democratic#legislative priorities & nominations as payback for #Trump’s #guilty#verdict.
In a joint statement, the senators said they would not “allow any increase to non-security related funding for this administration, or any appropriations bill which funds partisan lawfare.”
They also said they would refuse to vote to confirm President #Biden’s political & #judicial appointees & vowed to block “expedited consideration & passage of #Democrat#legislation or #authorities that are not directly relevant to the safety of the American people.”
US State Department official resigns, says US report on #Gaza inaccurate
A U.S. State Department official who quit this week said on Thursday her resignation was precipitated by an administration report to #Congress that she said falsely stated #Israel was not blocking #humanitarian aid to Gaza, prompting her to resign in protest of President Joe #Biden's Israel policy.
Stacy Gilbert, who served in the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, was a subject matter expert working on the report.
"There is so clearly a right and wrong, and what is in that report is wrong," Gilbert said in an interview.