Month: July 2023

Democratic Caucus chair says shutdown is looming because ‘the far right is battling the extreme right’

Posted on (Updated by Joe Jacquez

Democratic Caucus Chairman Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) said Congress is on a "collision course" toward a government shutdown because of the power dynamics at play in the House of Representatives.

Aguilar attempted to characterize two factions of the House GOP conference, the "far right" and the "extreme right," and blamed the internal battle taking place between the two groups for what he sees as the House's inability to do their job.

"This is what House Republicans have done; they have created a scenario where the most extreme MAGA Republicans guide everything we do.

"Kevin McCarthy can't pass appropriations bills; he can't pass pieces of legislation without this core group of supporters, and so he has to do anything they want, including and up to impeachment," Aguilar said Sunday in an interview with MSNBC's Jen Psaki.

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Gripes from House conservatives about funding levels and policies forced Republican leaders to postpone votes on bills to fund agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration until September, yet another sign of a fractured caucus.

Aguilar said what House Democrats are most concerned about is a lack of time to avoid a shutdown. As he pointed out, only 12 legislative days remain until government funding runs out.

"That is where we are today," Aguilar said. "Kevin McCarthy can't control his own conference, and they continue to let the most extreme members guide everything they do."

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Aguilar articulated this point further, saying that the lack of control he sees from McCarthy is "what's so dangerous about impeachment discussions."

Referring to talks of impeaching Biden, Aguilar echoed what many in his party have said.

"They don't have any evidence against President Biden," Aguilar said. "This is a complete distraction."

McCarthy last week said he believes the House Oversight and Accountability Committee's investigations into the foreign business activities of Biden's will rise to the level of an impeachment inquiry. Democrats and some Republicans criticized McCarthy's comments, including Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), who called impeachment talks a "shiny object" to distract from negotiations about spending.

GOP leaders strike out on getting Tuberville to bend

Posted on (Updated by Al Weaver

Senate GOP leaders didn't want it to get to this point.

They tried and tried to get Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) to lift the holds he's placed on hundreds of military promotions — which have opened Republicans up to attacks from the Biden administration. 

But their efforts have failed, and they are now in a situation where the earliest a resolution might be found is September — when lawmakers will also be busy trying to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the month. 

“It’s hung around for a while. I support his goals,” said Sen. John Thune (S.D.), the No. 2 Senate Republican. “The challenge obviously is the mechanism he used to get to the result has created some challenges. We want to figure out a way to resolve it and address that.” 

“There are conversations now going on, which is good — between him and the military and others. We’ll have some time in August to work on a path forward, and hopefully we’ll find it,” he said. 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has been among those trying to find a resolution, Thune said. Tuberville said he and McConnell discussed the holds Wednesday, hours after the GOP leader froze and felt lightheaded in front of reporters. 

“At this point, everybody’s engaged trying to figure out how to solve this,” Thune added.

Tuberville began his holds in early March to protest a new Defense Department policy to reimburse service members who must travel to seek an abortion for those travel expenses.

Six months later, the list of holds has grown to 300. Senate Republicans were hoping to find a solution before leaving Washington for five weeks — five additional weeks during which those military officers will remain in limbo, fueling Democratic attacks and frustrating the Pentagon.

One Senate Republican said finding an offramp agreeable to both Tuberville and those opposed to the holds has become a “recurring discussion” in the Senate GOP conference, and that McConnell has been personally involved in that quest.

“There’s not a lunch that goes by that we don’t talk about it,” the senator said, but added there’s “no chance of a resolution” any time soon. 

Aside from the potential political and national security implications of the holds, McConnell is worried about the institutional implications. 

The longtime GOP leader recently told reporters at a press conference that he is concerned this could lead to a renewed Democratic effort to change the chamber’s rules. 

Despite disagreeing with Tuberville’s tactic, however, he says he recognizes it is the prerogative of any single senator to place a hold on a nominee. 

Senators on both sides of the aisle for months have been musing publicly and privately about what it would take to get the Alabama Republican to set his hold aside, but have come up empty at every turn. 

Initially, there had been hope that a vote on an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would reverse the abortion travel policy could do the trick, and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) led the effort.

But more recently, Tuberville has maintained that not only does any vote have to be standalone, but that the Pentagon would have to reverse its policy before any vote could be taken. 

Trying to bridge that gap for lawmakers has become a herculean challenge no one has been able to complete.

Tuberville didn’t comment on efforts by Senate GOP leaders to seek a remedy, but he criticized the Biden administration and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) for their lack of outreach in trying to strike a deal. He also hasn’t had any further conversations with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin since their July 17 call and said that the initial series of calls didn’t yield anything productive.

“There’s no conversation from the other side. It’s ‘our way or the highway.’ … How does that help?” Tuberville said. “They’re not worried about it, I guess. … I hate it, for the promotions and all that.” 

He added that he has yet to talk to Schumer, who has refused to use up floor time moving the nominees through regular order because he believes it is the Senate GOP’s job to figure a way out of the maze of military holds. 

“This is the responsibility of the Republican Senate caucus. … It’s up to them. I think in August, pressure will mount on Tuberville, and I think the Republicans are feeling that heat,” Schumer said late Thursday. “He’s boxing himself into a corner.”

But Democrats are trying to increase that pressure, with President Biden on Thursday night laying into the Alabama Republican and arguing his holds are harming military readiness and creating instability within the ranks of the armed forces. 

“This partisan freeze is already harming military readiness, security and leadership, and troop morale,” Biden said in remarks at the Truman Civil Rights Symposium in Washington. “Freezing pay, freezing people in place. Military families who have already sacrificed so much, unsure of where and when they change stations, unable to get housing or start their kids in the new school.”

Senate Democrats also took to the floor before and after the NDAA vote Thursday to criticize their GOP colleague. Since the hold was put into place, Democratic senators have made 12 attempts to move the military promotions in bloc via unanimous request. 

Perhaps adding to the difficulty, Tuberville has received a boost in support from voters at home and from conservative corners of the Senate GOP conference who believe he is making the right call, albeit a difficult one. 

They also argue that if Senate Democrats truly want to move on some of the nominations, they can start to do so via regular order — a move Democrats have avoided in order to not set precedent. 

“Democrats think they have a winning political thing on this. I don’t think they do, and I think Sen. Tuberville morally is in the right position with regard to the issue of abortion,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said. “The [Defense] Department has just as much of a responsibility to find a path forward as any single member does, and I’m not seeing the Department try to work in any fashion other than to simply put pressure on Sen. Tuberville.” 

“They’re not trying to find a path forward. They think this is one of those items where if they keep putting pressure on him, he’ll cave, and I don’t think he will,” Rounds continued. “On the issue, he’s correct.”

User’s Manual to Devon Archer’s closed door interview tomorrow

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

Former Burisma Board member Devon Archer appears tomorrow morning before the House Oversight Committee for a closed-door, transcribed interview. 

Fox is told that Archer is expected to appear this time - even though he ducked the committee three times before and is under subpoena. 

Moreover, one senior Republican close to the investigation believes the DOJ tried "an intimidation tactic" Saturday, asking a judge to set a date for Archer to report to begin serving jail time. 

Archer was found guilty of defrauding Native American tribes in 2022. 

THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO HOW HUNTER BIDEN'S LEGAL WOES COULD ACCELERATE AN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

Fox is told investigators intend to ask Archer about previously undisclosed bank records and the purpose of those transactions. In particular, the committee wants to know what role if any the President had in those transactions. 

'IMPEACHMENT WEEK'

There are also questions as to whether legal counsel for the Bidens contacted Archer. 

The committee believes Archer will tell investigators about meetings or phone calls he had with President Biden regarding potential business deals. 

IMPEACH BIDEN OR MAYORKAS? WHAT IT TAKES FOR 'IMPEACHMENT' PROCEEDINGS TO SUCCEED IN THE HOUSE

Archer is slated to appear at 10 am ET. The discussion is scheduled to go for four hours, total. Two hours per side. 

The Republicans will go for an hour. The Democrats for an hour. And so on. 

With breaks, this likely does not conclude until 3 pm ET or so. 

Fox is told to expect maybe a couple of lawmakers there. Fox is told that House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio will likely attend. 

Fox is also told that the committee intends to release the transcript of the transcribed interview "in three or four days."

Nancy Mace says Biden impeachment talk puts House GOP majority at risk 

Posted on (Updated by Sarah Fortinsky

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) said Sunday that discussion of impeaching President Biden puts Republicans’ majority in the House at risk in 2024 — by jeopardizing members who represent districts that President Biden won in 2020.

Mace’s concerns come as Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) raised the possibility of opening an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, as House Republicans ramp up their efforts to investigate the Biden family. 

The rhetoric has come under scrutiny from some in the party, who view McCarthy’s recent efforts as an attempt to placate the conservative wing as he struggles to get consensus in his party on spending levels. 

“Well, I do believe we are, at this point, an inquiry is different from an impeachment vote and is another tool in the toolbox,” Mace said in an interview on "Fox News Sunday" with Shannon Bream, echoing the sentiment of McCarthy, who has tried to draw a clear distinction between “impeachment” and an “impeachment inquiry.” 

“I will tell you, every time we walk the plank, we are putting moderate members, members [in Biden-won districts]. We are putting those seats at risk for 2024. We are putting the majority at risk. And it's not just impeachment that does that. Other issues, like abortion, et cetera, also put those members on the plank,” Mace continued. 

Mace said it was still important to proceed with investigations of the Bidens, and that "whatever the evidence shows us, we ought to follow the facts, and we have to be better than [former Speaker] Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi really politicized the impeachment process.”

Pelosi served as Speaker of the House during the two impeachment trials of former President Trump. 

Mace continued: “We do not want to do that here. We have to show overwhelming, undeniable evidence in order to move this thing forward. And if we can't, then we should not. But if we do, then we ought to use every tool in the toolbox to make sure the American people see it for what it is, and we can hold everyone accountable.”

Schiff says McCarthy floating Biden impeachment to deal with ‘craziest’ Republicans in conference

Posted on (Updated by Lauren Sforza

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said Sunday that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is floating an impeachment inquiry into President Biden to deal with the "craziest" Republicans in his conference.

"But what concerns me is, I think McCarthy may open an impeachment inquiry because he thinks it will lead off the steam with the craziest in this conference," Schiff said on "Inside with Jen Psaki." "But by doing it he is going to set a train in motion that he may not be able to stop. And, of course, McCarthy isn't thinking ahead. He's thinking, how I keep my speakership for another day, maybe another week."

McCarthy said last week he expected the House GOP's investigations into the foreign business activities of Biden's family would rise to the level of an impeachment inquiry. Democrats and a handful of Republicans have criticized his comments, with some members of his conference saying an impeachment inquiry would serve as a distraction.

Schiff, who served as the House impeachment manager during Trump’s first impeachment trial, noted Sunday that it was unclear whom the House GOP wanted to impeach or what they would impeach Biden for, pointing to GOP members who have discussed impeaching Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Attorney General Merrick Garland and now Biden. He also added that these "kind of faux investigations and this potential abuse of the impeachment power" are "devastating" to the country.

"I mean, for a long time it didn't appear clear that they even knew who they wanted to impeach," he said. "You know, did they want to impeach [Alejandro Mayorkas] or maybe Merrick Garland, or maybe Joe Biden, or maybe somebody else."

White House takes the gloves off ahead of 2024

Posted on (Updated by Alex Gangitano

The Biden White House has tried to present itself as being above the fray of day-to-day squabbles, but increasingly, it’s jumping in, bashing the GOP and other critics at every opportunity.

The administration didn’t miss a chance this week to hammer Republicans over Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) floating that the House would move towards an impeachment inquiry into President Biden. They were quick with memos and statements to criticize the GOP attacks as a “clown carousel” and the idea of pursuing impeachment as “baseless.”

And the White House issued a scathing rebuke of Fox New host Greg Gutfeld, who said that Jews captured and tortured during the Holocaust survived by having skills and being useful, calling out his comments as a “dangerous, extreme lie.” 

The new levels of punchy rhetoric preview the White House messaging strategy going into 2024, which is to fight back and call out what they consider extreme.

President Biden and Vice President Harris arrive for an event to establish the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument, in the Indian Treaty Room in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus, Tuesday, July 25, 2023, in Washington.

President Biden and Vice President Harris arrive for an event to establish the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument, in the Indian Treaty Room in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus, Tuesday, July 25, 2023, in Washington.

It’s a shift from their previous attitude, which was to let what they considered to be Republican chaos speak for itself.

“The cost is too expensive, both short and long term, to let them operate in a vacuum without showing that one, we know how to fight; two, that we will fight; three, we fight with facts and not with some flaming lies of information,” said Antjuan Seawright, a Democratic strategist.

Early in Biden’s presidency, the White House was careful not to weigh in on controversial comments from the likes of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), hoping to avoid elevating her words and giving the far-right congresswoman more of a platform.

When McCarthy was struggling in January to get enough votes to be Speaker of the House, they sat back and watched it unfold. 

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Biden gently knocked the vote series at the time, saying, “It’s a little embarrassing it’s taking so long,” but also added, “that’s not my problem.” The White House had also insisted that Biden would not “insert himself” into the election, which ended up taking 15 ballots for McCarthy to finally clench enough votes.

But this week, when the Speaker signaled that the House could move forward with an impeachment inquiry, the White House came out with multiple statements and highlighted quotes from fellow Republicans in his conference pushing back on the idea.

It also released a memo about Republicans’ slams against the president overall, reflecting the Biden argument that the GOP is stepping up attacks on Hunter Biden and talk of impeachment because the economy is getting stronger and is now a less effective avenue for attack.

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Hunter Biden appeared in a Delaware court Wednesday, where his plea deal was put on hold by a judge who questioned the scope of the agreement. 

The White House this week touted “Bidenomics” after gross domestic product (GDP) numbers showed surprisingly strong economic growth. It rebuked GOP lawmakers for not embracing the data, pointing to Fox Business anchor Cheryl Casone, who said Thursday, “There goes that recession talk, right?” 

“Even Fox Business is welcoming today’s blockbuster economic growth numbers, the latest in a long line of proof points that Bidenomics is delivering for middle class families,” spokesman Andrew Bates said in a memo. “That’s because this strong growth report is objectively good news for the American people, which elected officials should support regardless of their political party.”

In the past, the White House has called out what it deemed antisemitism, and second gentleman Doug Emhoff in particular has spearheaded the effort against hatred towards Jewish Americans. The rebuke of Gutfeld was particularly notable, considering it called the conservative media voice’s comments insulting to the memory of people who suffered the Holocaust.

Over the last week, Vice President Harris has gone on the attack against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), a presidential candidate, over changes his administration has made regarding the way slavery is taught in his state. She quickly traveled to Jacksonville to deliver remarks over his recent moves.

And press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has turned Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) into an almost-daily punching bag, chastising him for blocking military promotions over his opposition to the Pentagon’s abortion policy.

Democrats argue that it’s significant the White House is getting punchier and not relying on the Biden reelection campaign to do it for them.

“I think the reason why it's so important that it comes from the White House is because Joe Biden is a president for all people, and that White House works for all people,” Seawright said. “It helps weed out some of the foolishness, because I don't think we can afford at this moment to let false information go unchecked or go numb to bad or false information for the sake of political gain.”

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.)

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) speaks to reporters as he arrives to the Senate Chamber for votes on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Greg Nash)

Another Democratic strategist argued the White House has picked its spots well, seeking to highlight when Republicans are fixated on issues that don’t resonate with most moderate voters. The strategist pointed to the GOP’s fixation on Hunter Biden as an example of something that is unlikely to move many mainstream voters.

Democratic communications strategist Katie Grant Drew noted the window for moving legislation closes early in election cycles so it “makes sense” the White House is preparing for 2024.

“They know they’re going to have to defend against Republicans’ insatiable appetite for investigations and impeachments, and the best defense is a good offense,” said Drew, a principal at Monument Advocacy. “When top Republicans continue to spout controversial rhetoric and spend time on divisive issues that the vast majority of Americans don't agree with, the White House is going to use those moments to illustrate to the American people how extreme today’s Republican Party has become.”

Jim Kessler, co-founder of the centrist think tank Third Way, said Biden and his team are wisely both selling their own victories and highlighting Republican dysfunction.

Ultimately, though, Kessler argued the 2024 election will be decided by broader issues such as the economy, something the White House has leaned into with its recent messaging.

“This election is going to come down to the middle. The middle ideologically, the middle of the country geographically, and the middle class,” Kessler said. “These are places where Biden’s got to win.”

House Republican warns GOP to be ‘better than Nancy Pelosi’ in possible Biden impeachment: ‘Follow the facts’

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., admitted that Republicans are currently split over the possibility of impeaching President Biden over allegations related to possible involvement with his son Hunter Biden's business dealings, warning that if it does happen, her party has to make sure they have a strong case.

In an appearance on "Fox News Sunday," the South Carolina Republican noted that the GOP can use an impeachment inquiry as "another tool in the toolbox" without taking the step of impeachment itself, while warning that controversial moves like impeachment can come with a price.

"I will tell you, every time we walk the plank we put moderate members – members that won Biden-won districts – we are putting those seats at risk for 2024. We are putting the majority at risk," she said, noting that this applies to other polarizing issues as well, like abortion.

Mace also accused Democrats of politicizing the impeachment process with their impeachments of former President Donald Trump, noting that Republicans need to base their actions on their findings, not on any political agenda.

REPUBLICANS FLOATING IMPEACHMENT RISK MAKING UNPOPULAR BIDEN A ‘MARTYR,' CRITICS WARN

"Whatever the evidence shows us, we ought to follow the facts, and we have to be better than Nancy Pelosi," Mace said. "Pelosi really politicized the impeachment process. We do not want to do that here."

Mace approached the subject of impeaching a president seriously, stating that if the House were to take that step, she and her colleagues would need to have a strong case.

"We have to show overwhelming, undeniable evidence in order to move this thing forward, and if we can’t then we should not. But if we do, then we ought to use every tool in the toolbox to make sure the American people see it for what it is, and we can hold everyone accountable."

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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said on "Hannity" last week that the situation was "rising to the level of impeachment inquiry," but Mace is not the only Republican to note that impeachment should be based on standards, not politics. 

Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., said Wednesday it is irresponsible for Republicans to be "raising the I-word" because it "sends a message to the public and sets expectations. Buck did acknowledge that House committees' probes are fair and that such an investigation is indeed the chamber's responsibility.

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Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., also added that no official should be impeached unless the threshold of "high crimes and misdemeanors" has been definitively reached.

"I'm not going to support impeaching somebody just because I don't like their politics," he said.

Fox News' Charles Creitz contributed to this report.