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US House Tag

Posted by Mary Chastain on March 03, 2018 18 Comments
Politico stated it perfectly: "Dan Lipinski is the kind of candidate Democrats need more of for the party to win the House in November. But the national Democratic Party is refusing to endorse him." Lipinski, a pro-life Blue Dog Democrat, has represented Illinois's 3rd district for seven terms. Activist Marie Newman, whom The Independent described as "a decidedly Bernie Sanders-styled progressive," has challenged him with a platform more aligned with the party. So why would the Democratic Party turn its back on an incumbent? The abortion industry? Purity tests? Either way, this move against a popular incumbent shows that the Democratic Party remains in disarray despite their talk of taking over the House.

Posted by Mary Chastain on February 24, 2018 44 Comments
House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Adam Schiff (D-CA) released his memo that he claims counters the GOP memo on the FBI and DOJ using a dossier with unverified information to obtain a warrant to spy on Trump's former campaign member Carter Page. Except...it doesn't. In fact, it also confirms that the agencies used the dossier to obtain that warrant.

Posted by Mary Chastain on February 22, 2018 37 Comments
Democrat Sara Jacobs, 28, has the opportunity to become the youngest congresswoman, but she has come under fire due to her "crusty, old Marine" comment she made during an interview. She denies it was toward her opponent, but even then, it doesn't bode well for her since the 49th district, which she wants to represent, has the West Coast's largest Marine base.

Posted by Mary Chastain on February 15, 2018 24 Comments
The Common Sense Coalition, made up of eight Democrats, eight Republicans, and one Independent, has struck a bipartisan deal on immigration even though they know President Donald Trump will likely veto it if it reaches his desk. (I feel like this is the tenth bill that has come up on this subject) It includes a few portions from Trump's bill, but lacks other "pillars" the president has emphasized like eliminating the diversity visa lottery.

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 23, 2018 27 Comments
There have been many times when I thought the Senate was getting too big for its britches, often forgetting that they are the second chamber and not the end all, be all of everything in the government. Basic civics teaches us that everything starts in the House of Representatives. The Senate has received a lot of backlash, especially the Democrats, due to a deal to stop the government shutdown. Now the House has added to the criticism, with House Democrats claiming that the Senate has screwed them with the deal and House Majority Whip Steve Scalise stating that the lawmakers are not bound by the deal.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on January 14, 2018 58 Comments
In the wake of Representative John Lewis (D-GA) announcing he would not attend President Trump's inauguration, more than 50 Democrats refused to attend.  Now three Democrats, so far, are refusing to attend the president's State of the Union (SOTU) address on January 30th. The first to announce his intention of skipping the President's first SOTU was Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR).  His announcement was made early this month.

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 11, 2018 40 Comments
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) has introduced a bill that would provide legal status for those in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, funds for a border wall, and immigration reforms. Goodlatte, along with Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), Raul Labrador (R-ID), and Martha McSally (R-AZ), provided details in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal:
A priority of our legislation is to increase the security of the southern border. Our bill would provide $30 billion to build a wall, to invest in new technology, and to improve, modernize and expand ports of entry. It would add boots on the ground: an additional 5,000 Border Patrol agents and 5,000 Customs and Border Protection officers. It would provide for the construction of additional ports of entry and a full implementation of the biometric entry-exit system, while authorizing the National Guard to provide aviation and intelligence support.

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 10, 2018 8 Comments
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) will not seek re-election this year, which means the Democrats could possibly pick up another seat. He wrote:
Throughout my service, I worked hard and never lost sight of the people our government is supposed to serve. Yet with the support of my family, I have decided that I will not seek re-election in California's 49th District.

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 09, 2018 6 Comments
Back in December, the media published texts between FBI Agent Peter Strzok, who was involved in the Russia investigation, and FBI attorney Lisa Page demeaning then-candidate Donald Trump and hoping that failed Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton would win. Special Counsel Robert Mueller quietly removed Strzok from the investigation after he discovered the texts. However, some of the texts also mentioned "specific reporters, news organizations and articles." These texts have spawned a congressional probe into whether those involved "had contacts with the news media that resulted in improper leaks."

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on January 02, 2018 38 Comments
As we look toward the 2018 midterms, it's interesting to note that the GOP has reportedly given up on Florida's 27th District.  The district is in the Miami-Dade area and is largely Cuban-American, including as it does "Little Havana."  Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R) has served this area when it was the 18th and now that it's the 27th since 1989.

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 02, 2018 10 Comments
The Wall Street Journal has reported that a handful of officials from President Barack Obama's administration have entered into the 2018 House races to try to unseat some Republicans. Most of them will challenge Republicans that the Democrats view as "potentially vulnerable to a challenge."

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 26, 2017 8 Comments
The Democrats honestly believe they can take back the House of Representatives in 2018 despite needing 25 seats. Who knows if that will happen, but it's a possibility they could put a dent into the GOP majority. After all, back in October, the Cook Political Report (CPR) changed ratings in 12 districts, showing vulnerability for the GOP. Earlier today I blogged about Politico's list of top Senate races to watch. The publication did the same for the House and chose 10 of the important battles.

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 22, 2017 31 Comments
The House Intelligence Committee (HPSCI) grilled FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe for seven hours over the dossier published against then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and the FBI's investigation into then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's private email server. Unfortunately, he could not give them much information and actually contradicted testimony of former witnesses, which has led the committee to issue new subpoenas.

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 20, 2017 18 Comments
The House of Representatives has passed the tax reform bill again sincethe Senate stripped two provisions in the bill because it violated Senate rules and removed the title of the bill. The Senate passed the revised bill late last night, 51-48, and sent it back to the House. The House passed the revised bill 224-201. Now the bill heads to President Donald Trump.

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 19, 2017 5 Comments
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has overseen what he aimed for his entire political career: passage of a tax reform bill. The Senate will vote on it tonight and if it goes through, it will land on President Donald Trump's desk. If he signs it then the GOP will have its first major agenda victory of 2017 after failed attempts to repeal Obamacare. This bill includes language to repeal the Obamacare individual mandate. But it looks like the House will have to revote on Wednesday since Democrats said three provisions in the bill violate Senate rules.
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