What's Going on in the US House of Representatives?

[Ragman]

Fetterman calls for Menendez ouster, says actions ‘more sinister’ than Santos​

Fetterman calls for Menendez ouster, says actions ‘more sinister’ than Santos

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) renewed his call Friday for the Senate to vote to expel Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), calling the criminal allegations against the New Jersey lawmaker “more sinister” than…

thehill.com

 

[Pilgrim]

Shrinking Majority

View attachment 23355

Somebody should tell Joey that it's highly unlikely the GOP will lose the ruby red 6th Congressional district of OH, which includes E. Palestine - home of the disaster that Biden forgot. The Republican Gov can call for a special election to elect Johnson's replacement, which could come as early as March of '24. The 69 yr-old Johnson decided to take the position of President of Youngstown state and nearly quadruple his salary for his final few working years, so the House Republican leadership had nothing to do with this decision. Calling them a "Bunch of idiots" reveals who the idiot really is.

Who will represent Valley in Congress, now that Bill Johnson has accepted a new role at YSU?

Youngstown, Ohio's #1 Locally owned, locally connected television news station.

www.wfmj.com

 

[ATeam]

Fetterman calls for Menendez ouster, says actions ‘more sinister’ than Santos​

Fetterman calls for Menendez ouster, says actions ‘more sinister’ than Santos

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) renewed his call Friday for the Senate to vote to expel Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), calling the criminal allegations against the New Jersey lawmaker “more sinister” than…

thehill.com

I agree

 

[LDB]

Santos is a good start. Tlaib and Omar need to follow him out the door.

 

[ATeam]

NY-03 US House District Special Election

With George Santos now expelled and his NY-03 District seat now vacant, here are the rules for filling it:

In New York, there is no primary election to fill a vacancy. Instead, county party officials will choose their party's nominee. New York state law effectively requires that the election be held between 70 and 90 days after the vacancy is created, and party officials expect it to be held in mid-to-late February 2024. (Source: Wikipedia).

A number of Democrats and Republicans have been campaigning for seat even before Santos was expelled. They saw the writing on the wall and threw their hats in the ring.

Per the NY Post, the clear frontrunner and likely Democratic nominee is Tom Souzzi. Having previously been elected to this seat in 2016, 2018, and 2020, he did not run for it in 2022, choosing instead to run for NY governor. In that race, he was soundly defeated in the Democratic primary by Kathy Hochul. Hochul has endorsed Souzzi in the special election for NY-03. It is expected Souzzi will be nominated early this week. There is no word yet as to who the likely Republican nominee will be.

From the news reports, it seems this will be a competitive race of national interest with lots of money funding the candidates. Having only a razor-thin majority in the US House, Republicans do not want to lose this now-open seat to a Democrat, and the Democrats are keen to win it back.

Dems ready to nominate ex-Rep. Tom Suozzi to take back expelled Santos’ seat

The Democratic Party by mid-week will nominate a candidate to run in the special election to replace George Santos — and it’s all but certain to be former Congressman Tom Suozzi, sources said…

nypost.com

 

[ATeam]

Warren Buffett on the Deficit

Renowned investor Warren Buffett said, “I could end the deficit in five minutes. You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP all sitting members of congress are ineligible for reelection.” (Source)

 

[Ragman]

Warren Buffett on the Deficit

Renowned investor Warren Buffett said, “I could end the deficit in five minutes. You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP all sitting members of congress are ineligible for reelection.” (Source)

Great idea Warren!
However, the Repuds and MAGA would never go for it. After all, he is a Democrat calling for raising taxes on in order to have a truly national healthcare plan.

 

[Pilgrim]

Warren Buffett on the Deficit

Renowned investor Warren Buffett said, “I could end the deficit in five minutes. You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP all sitting members of congress are ineligible for reelection.” (Source)

It sounds good on the surface, but it's totally disconnected from reality. Who would have to pass this law? The sitting members of Congress.

 

[LDB]

They pass it making it effective on a district by district basis as new members are elected. Takes time to eventually blanket but they can all vote for it as they are exempt. And if they vote against it that's a good sign for people to vote them out.

 

[ATeam]

It sounds good on the surface, but it's totally disconnected from reality. Who would have to pass this law? The sitting members of Congress.

There would likely be constitutional issues as well. The Constitution prescribes who is eligible to run for office and who is not. A law that changed what the Constitution says would not likely survive a court challenge.

 

[skyraider]

Fetterman calls for Menendez ouster, says actions ‘more sinister’ than Santos​

Fetterman calls for Menendez ouster, says actions ‘more sinister’ than Santos

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) renewed his call Friday for the Senate to vote to expel Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), calling the criminal allegations against the New Jersey lawmaker “more sinister” than…

thehill.com

Who will get the gold bars Mr. Menendez just happen to have at home...............lmaorof

 

[Pilgrim]

Looks like Kevin McCarthy has decided - again - to retire from the House at the end of 2023. Of course this means the Dems will pick up this CA seat, but that's life. This guy just needs to go away, and hopefully not to take Ronna McDaniel's place at the RNC.

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announces he will retire this month

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced on Wednesday that he will retire at the end of 2023, saying his “work is only getting started” in recruiting other Republicans to run for Co…

nypost.com

 

[ATeam]

Looks like Kevin McCarthy has decided - again - to retire from the House at the end of 2023. Of course this means the Dems will pick up this CA seat, but that's life. This guy just needs to go away, and hopefully not to take Ronna McDaniel's place at the RNC.

I'm not sure the seat will go blue. The district McCarthy represents has a pretty red voting record. It is possible the Democrats may pick up the seat, but it's not a sure thing by any means.

The vacancy is filled by special election, which is called by the governor. If he wanted to, Newsome could keep the seat vacant for three months or more by gaming the system for that result. The longer the seat stays vacant, the longer a tiny-thin majority is available to the Republicans and the more unstable the Republican caucus might be. Setting things up for the election to take place on the latest-possible date also gives Democrats more time to get organized in this usually red district.

McCarthy, I think, is on his way to a lobbying and/or consulting job where massive money can be made by selling his Washington insider expertise to Wall Street, big Pharma, big Tech, or other such entities. Same with Patrick McHenry, who was Finance committee chair and has announce he is not running for re-election.

 

[ATeam]

What of McCarthy's PAC Money?

McCarthy is said to have a large pot of PAC money raised when he was House Speaker. The law allows that money to be spent or transferred only in certain ways. With him soon out of the House, some are speculating that he will use that money to fund establishment Republican candidates against MAGA candidates. It's speculation. We'll have to wait for the reports to see where this money goes.

Matt Gaetz has declared for reelection. If a credible primary candidate surfaces in that district, it would not surprise me to see McCarthy heavily fund Gaetz's Republican opponent. Gaetz and McCarthy don't like each other much.

 

[Ragman]

Uh oh​

​

Patrick McHenry, who served as interim speaker after Kevin McCarthy's ouster, announces retirement​

North Carolina Rep. McHenry, who led House through speaker stalemate, won't seek reelection in 2024

North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry won't seek reelection to the U.S. House next year after all. McHenry presided temporarily over the House for three intense weeks this fall while Republicans struggled to elect a permanent speaker after Kevin McCarthy’s ouster.

apnews.com

 

[ATeam]

US House Majority Math

The Republican majority in the US House is very thin. This article explains the math.

This is a pretty crazy situation. In a group of about 435 members, split about 50/50 along party lines, it's conceivable that a tiny few Republicans could be absent due to illness, death or other reason. The Democrats could then move to vacate the chair, and with their members then having the majority, they give Johnson the boot and Jeffries the gavel. But if that happened, and if the chair-vacate rules are not changed, the same thing could happen in reverse when a tiny handful of Democrats were absent and the present Republicans had the majority.

That sign that is posted above the Speaker's office naming the speaker ... maybe they should make it two-sided for easy changes when the majority flips back and forth.

Here’s how McCarthy’s resignation affects House GOP’s slim majority

The resignation of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), combined with other expected resignations and the recent expulsion of former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), shines a spotlight on the math…

thehill.com

 

[Ragman]

US House Majority Math

The Republican majority in the US House is very thin. This article explains the math.

This is a pretty crazy situation. In a group of about 435 members, split about 50/50 along party lines, it's conceivable that a tiny few Republicans could be absent due to illness, death or other reason. The Democrats could then move to vacate the chair, and with their members then having the majority, they give Johnson the boot and Jeffries the gavel. But if that happened, and if the chair-vacate rules are not changed, the same thing could happen in reverse when a tiny handful of Democrats were absent and the present Republicans had the majority.

That sign that is posted above the Speaker's office naming the speaker ... maybe they should make it two-sided for easy changes when the majority flips back and forth.

Here’s how McCarthy’s resignation affects House GOP’s slim majority

The resignation of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), combined with other expected resignations and the recent expulsion of former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), shines a spotlight on the math…

thehill.com

And as note above, the loss of Patrick McHenry adds to the downsizing of the majority.

 

[coalminer]

US House Majority Math

The Republican majority in the US House is very thin. This article explains the math.

This is a pretty crazy situation. In a group of about 435 members, split about 50/50 along party lines, it's conceivable that a tiny few Republicans could be absent due to illness, death or other reason. The Democrats could then move to vacate the chair, and with their members then having the majority, they give Johnson the boot and Jeffries the gavel. But if that happened, and if the chair-vacate rules are not changed, the same thing could happen in reverse when a tiny handful of Democrats were absent and the present Republicans had the majority.

That sign that is posted above the Speaker's office naming the speaker ... maybe they should make it two-sided for easy changes when the majority flips back and forth.

Here’s how McCarthy’s resignation affects House GOP’s slim majority

The resignation of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), combined with other expected resignations and the recent expulsion of former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), shines a spotlight on the math…

thehill.com

More like a chalkboard.....

The speaker of the house for today is......

 

[ATeam]

And as note above, the loss of Patrick McHenry adds to the downsizing of the majority.

The 2024 election will be decisive. The Republicans will be unable to recover from the voter rage they generated with their dysfunctional antics, and the abortion issue will flip numerous seats from red to blue.

 

[Ragman]

The 2024 election will be decisive. The Republicans will be unable to recover from the voter rage they generated with their dysfunctional antics, and the abortion issue will flip numerous seats from red to blue.

The damage Trump, Trumpettes, and MAGA have done to the GOP is immeasurable and will take years to recover, if ever.