Category: House of Representatives

Judge Upholds Jan. 6 Committee Subpoena for Republican National Committee Records

A federal judge ruled May 1 that a subpoena the House of Representatives panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol breach issued to a Republican National Committee (RNC) vendor for reams of data is legitimate. The subpoena was for documents and testimony from Salesforce, which the RNC and former President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign…


House Democrat Filemon Vela Officially Steps Down Before End of Term

Rep. Filemon Vela (D-Texas) has officially stepped down from his seat in the House of Representatives in order to pursue a job in lobbying, further narrowing Democrats’ thin control over the lower chamber. The announcement of Vela’s resignation was read on the House floor on Thursday evening, and went into effect at midnight on Friday….


Pandemic Left Capitol Hill Aides Isolated, so David Tennent Did Something About It

David Tennent was unfamiliar with the ins and outs of Congress when he left his hometown of Pittsburgh to start working on Capitol Hill in May 2017 as an intern in the office of Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.), but he quickly proved to be a fast learner. “I didn’t even know what ‘a coffee’ was…


Pandemic Left Capitol Hill Aides Isolated, so Former Intern Did Something About It

David Tennent was unfamiliar with the ins and outs of Congress when he left his hometown of Pittsburgh to start working on Capitol Hill in March 2019 as an intern in the office of a Republican House member, but he quickly proved to be a fast learner. “I didn’t even know what ‘a coffee’ was…


Hill Democrats Push to Allow Congressional Staff to Unionize

House Democrats, led by Rep. Andy Levin of Michigan, are pushing a proposal to enable congressional aides to form collective bargaining unions, like those that represent nearly half of the federal government’s 2.1 million career civil servants. “In a matter of days, 130 of my colleagues have joined me to say we could not serve…


Pelosi Declines to Say If She’ll Run for Speaker Again If Democrats Keep House

House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) declined Feb. 13 to answer directly when asked if she’ll hold to her promise of not trying to be speaker again if Democrats maintain control of the lower chamber following the upcoming midterm elections. “That’s not a question,” Pelosi claimed on ABC’s “This Week.” “My purpose right now is…


House GOPer Calls for Open Hearings on Surveillance of Representatives, Staffers

Congressional officials should “put the brakes” on controversial U.S. Capitol internal security programs and convene a public hearing “for members of Congress and the public to weigh in,” according to Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.). The North Dakota Republican’s comment followed revelations from two other House Members about what appears to be unconstitutional monitoring of representatives’…


House Republican Calls for Open Hearings on Surveillance of Representatives, Staffers

Congressional officials should “put the brakes” on controversial U.S. Capitol internal security programs and convene a public hearing “for members of Congress and the public to weigh in,” according to Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.). The North Dakota Republican’s comment followed revelations from two other House members about what appears to be unconstitutional monitoring of representatives’…


Left, Right See Civil Liberties Disaster-in-the-Making in Capitol Hill Security Proposals

A new internal security program will have an “absolutely chilling effect” on the ability of constituents to petition their representatives, and whistleblowers with vital information to share with Congress, according to Rep. Kelly Armstrong. “It turns out that knowing who everyone is, and where they are at, has a security benefit. But, my question is,…


House Democrats Dominated Controversial Proxy Voting in 2021

Democrats dominated the controversial process of voting by proxy in 2021, according to a study released by the GOP-leaning Ripon Society. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) pushed through the absentee voting measure, which allowed members of Congress to vote by proxy, at the beginning of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic in…