Category: 118th Congress

How Can You Focus on Rights of Criminals, Not Children? Grieving Mom Asks Lawmakers

“How can you focus on the theoretical rights of criminals over the rights of our children?” Erin Rachwal, whose 19-year-old son died of a fentanyl overdose in 2021, asked members of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance. “This could happen to your family,” she said. “Fentanyl does not discriminate. It is…


House Republicans Ramp Up Inquiries Into Federal Response to Ohio Derailment

House Republicans are pushing forward with several inquiries into the Biden administrations handling of the response to the Feb. 3 train derailment and subsequent chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio. Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) sent a letter (pdf) to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan on Feb. 27 to request information on the…


Speaker McCarthy to Lead Freshman Congressmen on Tour of Southern Border

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will lead a contingent of four freshman congressmen in a tour of the U.S.–Mexico border on Feb. 16. Newly elected Reps. Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.), Jen Kiggans (R-Va.), and Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) will accompany McCarthy on Thursday for an aerial tour of U.S. Border Patrol’s Tucson sector…


Immigration Reform Group Calls on McCarthy to Get Border Security Bill Onto House Floor

One of the nation’s largest nonprofits lobbying for immigration reform is calling on House Speaker Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Callf.) to bring Republican-sponsored border security bills onto the chamber floor so they can be adopted and implemented as soon as possible. NumbersUSA Vice President Chris Chmielenski said the first measure that should be put before lawmakers…


The Fall of the Lyin’ King: Congressman George Santos’s Downfall

Republican Congressman George Santos is stepping down from his committee assignments on Capitol Hill as investigations take place about a series of lies. His lying could mark a stain on a brand new Republican-led House that seeks to root out corruption. Politicians still feel that they can lie and be forgiven. But in the case…


Congressman George Santos’s Downfall

Republican Congressman George Santos is stepping down from his committee assignments on Capitol Hill as investigations take place about a series of lies. His lying could mark a stain on a brand new Republican-led House that seeks to root out corruption. Politicians still feel that they can lie and be forgiven. But in the case…


Democrats Call Title of GOP ‘Work and Welfare’ Subcommittee Racially Offensive

Democrats complained extensively this week about the decision to establish a “Work and Welfare” subcommittee under the House Ways and Means Committee, claiming that the name is highly disrespectful to those who get welfare checks and is particularly offensive to black Americans. To approve the committee’s rules for the 118th Congress, the committee’s new chairman Jason…


Schiff, Swalwell, Omar Vow to ‘Stick Together’ As McCarthy Blocks Them From Committees

Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) vowed to “stick together” on Jan. 25 in response to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) refusal to allow them assignments on House committees. On Jan. 24, McCarthy formally rejected House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ (D-N.Y.) nominations of Schiff and Swalwell for the House Intelligence…


Rep. Jeffries Nominates Schiff, Swalwell for Intelligence Committee Despite McCarthy’s Vows of Removal

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has nominated Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) for seats on the House Intelligence Committee, despite Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) repeated promises to keep them off that panel. In the last Congress, Schiff served as chairman of the committee. Swalwell was also a member. “I write today…


Rep. Swalwell Accuses Speaker McCarthy of ‘Political Vengeance’ Over Planned Committee Removal

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) holds that he did nothing wrong in his associations with a suspected Chinese spy and that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) vow to remove him from his committee assignments was an act of “political vengeance.” In December 2020, Axios broke the story that Swalwell had been targeted by a Chinese national…