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Congress Tag

Rep. Al Green (D-TX) has made no secret over the last two and a half years of his desire to impeach President Donald Trump. In fact, Green made impeachment the centerpiece of his seventh Congressional term. It remains the centerpiece for this term. He first spoke of it on the House floor on May 17, 2017 and has several times since in various floor speeches, statements, interviews, and on social media.

In the aftermath of the national outrage over the charges against "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett being dropped, President Trump on Thursday called for a federal investigation into the case. The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) took issue with Trump's call, and Chairwoman Karen Bass (D-CA) blasted him in a statement:

Rep. Al Green (D-TX) has repeatedly made clear that there is nothing special counsel Robert Mueller could say that would prevent him from pursuing his goal of impeaching President Trump. He said it on the floor of the U.S. House early last month, and he reiterated that point Sunday in a tweet. The reason why? Green says Trump's alleged bigotry makes him unfit to serve in public office:
#MuellersReport did NOT investigate bigotry emanating from the Presidency harming our country. The findings do NOT negate the President’s bigotry. As long as bigotry influences the President’s policies, I will continue to seek his impeachment. #ImpeachmentIsNotDead

Doing away with diplomatic niceties, the top European Union officials have welcomed the gains made by the Democrats in the US midterm elections. Vice President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans hailed the electoral results while attacking the Trump administration for its "racism" and "rudeness." "Inspired by voters in the U.S. who chose hope over fear, civility over rudeness, inclusion over racism, equality over discrimination," Timmermans wrote on Twitter. EU Economic Commissioner, Pierre Moscovici, also cheered the Democrats winning the House majority. "The Democrats win the House of Representatives for the first time in eight years despite powerful Republican gerrymandering," Moscovici said.

The false claim that Israel is an 'apartheid' state underpins the intellectual foundations of the BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) movement. The smear actually originated in anti-Zionist campaigns that were initiated by Communist states during the Cold War. Since the 2001 UN conference in Durban, which launched the BDS movement, the comparison of Israel with racist apartheid-era South Africa has also been a key leitmotif of anti-Israel activists.

Yesterday New Hampshire had a primary, and Eddie Edwards won the GOP nomination for the US House of Representatives from the state's 1st Congressional District:
Eddie Edwards, who was endorsed by Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, defeated six Republican opponents in the 1st Congressional District, which covers the eastern half of the state. A Navy veteran who also served as enforcement chief for the state liquor commission, Edwards is the second African-American to be nominated to a U.S. House seat in New Hampshire.

This year's midterms are huge for both parties. A newly-released Fox News poll shows the GOP making gains in their voter preference poll.  If true, this is exceptionally good news not just for the GOP but for the president. Fox News reports:
The latest Fox News poll finds a tightening race when voters are asked their candidate preference in this fall’s congressional election.

The last time we visited the San Diego area at Legal Insurrection, all eight border wall prototypes had passed extensive security tests. The first contact for the border wall has been awarded, and work on the project has begun.
The federal government began work Wednesday to replace a section of border wall in California, the first wall contract awarded in the Trump administration outside of eight prototypes that were built last year in San Diego.

We're witnessing a perfect storm of sorts as various elements of leftist policy and ideology converge into an historical moment in which being accused of sexual harassment/abuse means being guilty.  Being guilty, in turn, means the immediate loss of one's career, one's reputation, and one's livelihood. The accused is not able to confront his accusers, or even know their names, nor does he know, in many cases, that an allegation has been made or an investigation underway.  He finds out when he is fired from his job, dragged through the mud, and is, what we'd say in any other circumstance, victimized. There's a problem here, one that we on the right may not be as willing to see because the majority of the people being taken down (so far) are unsavory persons populating socio-political worlds—Hollywood, politics, the media—in which we are "the deplorables."  It's not hard to feel vindicated in some cases and Schadenfreude in others.

President Trump has kicked Obama's unconstitutional Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) back to Congress and stated that he will extend his initial six month deadline if Congress fails to act. While there doesn't appear to be much (any?) movement on this in either the House or the Senate, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report that legalizing Dreamers will cost U. S. taxpayers $25.9 billion over the next 10 years.

We've been covering the on-going DACA saga here at LI; President Trump tossed Obama's unconstitutional Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) back to Congress, initially giving them six months to get a bill to his desk that would enshrine some version of DACA into law. The president later announced that he would grant Congress an extension if they weren't able to get their act together within the original time frame.  Trump, in other words, will gladly sign a DACA bill should one make its way to his desk.

Minnesota Democrat Senator Al Franken. Michigan Democrat Representative John Conyers. Who is next? It could be anyone! A Washington Post report from a few weeks ago showed that the "Office of Compliance has paid more than $17 million for 264 settlements and awards to federal employees for violations of various employment rules" since 1997. This includes sexual harassment. Congress returns to work after the Thanksgiving holiday to immense pressure not only to reveal the causes and people involved in these settlements, but to make the process more transparent.

The House passed a 2018 budget resolution last week along with the Senate Budget Committee, two crucial steps to start tax reform. It's an opportunity for President Donald Trump and the Republican lawmakers to hold a promise after they couldn't repeal Obamacare. The GOP has the majority, but just like with Obamacare, there are divisions within the party that could prevent tax reform from happening.

A few GOP lawmakers in the House and Senate have announced they are open to legislation that will ban bump stocks, a device allegedly used by Stephen Paddock in the Las Vegas massacre. This device "is a sliding stock that when pressed against a shooter’s shoulder allows a semi-automatic gun to shift backward and forward with the recoil of each shot fired." Authorities found bump stocks in Paddock's room, but we do not know for sure if he used them during the massacre.