#u-s-house-of-representatives — Public Fediverse posts

https://www.europesays.com/people/279271/ Cait Conley calls Mike Lawler a ‘Trump puppet’ while dancing to Hakeem Jeffries’ tune #Elections #HakeemJeffries #MikeLawler #NewYork #opinion #UsHouseOfRepresentatives

https://www.europesays.com/unitedstates/66080/ US midterms 2026: Meet Amish Shah, the doctor seeking a second shot at Congress #AmishShah #Arizona1stCongressionalDistrict #Congress #ElectionNovember2026 #HealthCareCosts #HealthcareAffordability #HouseAndSenate #Senate #USCongress #USSenate #USHouseOfRepresentatives

https://www.europesays.com/news/91054/ Ilhan Omar’s deleted tweet may reveal that she really did marry her brother #Congress #fraud #Headlines #IlhanOmar #News #Politics #TopStories #USNews #UsHouseOfRepresentatives

https://www.europesays.com/unitedstates/62406/ House returns with vote expected on Senate bill to prevent government shutdown #Congress #HouseAndSenate #Senate #USCongress #USHouseOfRepresentatives #USSenate #UnitedStatesCongress

https://www.europesays.com/unitedstates/60342/ Centrist champion for small business Mike Lawler is a far better vote than carpetbagging challenger Cait Conley #DataCenters #Editorial #endorsements #Energy #HudsonValley #immigration #IndianPoint #MidtermElections2026 #MikeLawler #NewYork #opinion #PublicSafety #SmallBusiness #USHouseOfRepresentatives

https://www.europesays.com/3322851/ Lack of debates in 1st Congressional District race on Long Island exposes new political reality #america #debate #geopolitics #LongIsland #Politics #USHouseOfRepresentatives #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesCongress #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #UnitedStatesPolitics #US #USPolitics #USA #UsaPolitics

https://www.europesays.com/unitedstates/54593/ Nate Silver says midterm election news is even better for Dems than people think #Congress #Democrats #HouseAndSenate #MidtermElections2026 #Politics #Senate #USCongress #USSenate #USHouseOfRepresentatives #USNews

https://www.europesays.com/people/271980/ ‘Divorced from reality’: House leader Jeffries says Dems ‘hold firm’ in midterm race #DemocraticParty #DonaldTrump #HakeemJeffries #USHouseOfRepresentatives #USMidtermElections

Texas Dem Katy Padilla Stout’s campaign spent $4K on cookies, beer, wine and food https://www.diningandcooking.com/us/55118/ #DemocraticParty #liquor #nazis #NewYork #NewYorkFood #politics #Texas #UsHouseOfRepresentatives #USNews

https://www.europesays.com/news/88018/ Ilhan Omar’s passport and computers among items taken in home raid as feds try to build case to deport her #democrats #DepartmentOfJustice #Headlines #IlhanOmar #Immigration #Minnesota #News #Politics #Somalia #TopStories #USNews #UsHouseOfRepresentatives

https://www.europesays.com/unitedstates/41325/ Rep. Mike Lawler hammers Dem Cait Conley in fiery final NY-17 debate #Congress #Debates #HouseAndSenate #Metro #MidtermElections2026 #MikeLawler #NewYork #SanctuaryCities #Senate #USCongress #USSenate #USHouseOfRepresentatives #USNews

https://www.europesays.com/people/264612/ Mike Johnson urges Trump to rethink live-streaming Nidal Hasan execution: ‘I wouldn’t be watching’ #DeathPenalty #DonaldTrump #FortHood #MikeJohnson #PeteHegseth #Politics #Republicans #Terrorism #UsHouseOfRepresentatives #USNews

https://www.europesays.com/unitedstates/36704/ Close race emerges in New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District #2ndCongressionalDistrict #AlbuquerqueJournalPoll #CD2Race #CloseRace #cunningham #Elections #Elections&Voting #GabeVasquez #greg #GregCunningham #ground #LasCruces #momentum #NewMexico #NewMexico2ndCongressionalDistrict #NewMexicoElections #NewMexicoPolitics #PoliticalNews #RecentAlbuquerqueJournalPoll #sanderoff #seat #SouthValley #USHouseOfRepresentatives #vasquez #voter #Voting

https://www.europesays.com/unitedstates/36133/ Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District race could determine control of U.S. House | News #AnthonyChergosky #CongressionalContests #DerrickVanOrden #Elections #Elections&Voting #Madison #MarquetteUniversity #president #RebeccaCooke #USHouse #USHouseOfRepresentatives #UwLaCrossePoliticalScienceProfessor #Voting #WhiteHouse #wisconsin #WisconsinElections

https://www.europesays.com/3306101/ Rep. Ilhan Omar’s DC home raided by DHS as part of probe into Democrat’s immigration paperwork #congress #DepartmentOfHomelandSecurity #IlhanOmar #immigrant #TomHoman #UsHouseOfRepresentatives #USNews #WashingtonDc

https://www.europesays.com/unitedstates/33016/ Rep. Hakeem Jeffries says Democrats are “on the verge of taking back control” as he visits 2 key House battlegrounds #Congress #HakeemJeffries #HouseAndSenate #NewJersey #Pennsylvania #Senate #texas #USCongress #USHouseOfRepresentatives #USSenate

https://www.europesays.com/people/262690/ Rep. Hakeem Jeffries says Democrats are “on the verge of taking back control” as he visits 2 key House battlegrounds #HakeemJeffries #NewJersey #Pennsylvania #Texas #USHouseOfRepresentatives

https://www.europesays.com/news/86611/ House candidate who reported rape on campaign trail on why she came forward: “What about all the women who are victims?” #Arizona #Headlines #News #rape #SexualAssault #TopStories #USHouseOfRepresentatives

https://www.europesays.com/people/261743/ Dems are moving to destroy their own 2028 White House dreams #AbdulElSayed #ClimateChange #Congress #DataCenters #democrats #Economy #editorial #HakeemJeffries #Impeachment #Inflation #JamesCarville #MidtermElections2026 #opinion #PresidentialElection2028 #Republicans #UsBorder #UsHouseOfRepresentatives

https://www.europesays.com/unitedstates/26500/ Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss and Arlington Heights pastor Jon Elleson face off in bid for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District #Congress #election #HouseAndSenate #illinois #Senate #USCongress #USHouseOfRepresentatives #USSenate

House candidate Matthew Arndt arrested after hate-filled rant at Israeli dad

A Wisconsin congressional candidate has been arrested on hate crime charges after he went on a vulgar caught-on-camera…
#EuropeSays #Headlines #News #Europe #Europa #EU #Israel #antisemitism #GreenParty #hatecrimes #Israel-Hamaswar #ushouseofrepresentatives #usnews #Wisconsin
https://www.europesays.com/iran/322911/

https://www.europesays.com/iran/322911/ House candidate Matthew Arndt arrested after hate-filled rant at Israeli dad #antisemitism #GreenParty #HateCrimes #Israel #IsraelHamasWar #UsHouseOfRepresentatives #UsNews #Wisconsin

No raise? No problem: House members expense DC hotels, meals on taxpayers’ dime https://www.diningandcooking.com/us/46238/ #AffordableHousing #hotels #NewYorkCity #NYC #NYCHotels #politics #salaries #UsHouseOfRepresentatives #USNews

https://www.europesays.com/unitedstates/21200/ 2026 midterm election races to watch #Congress #HouseAndSenate #Senate #USCongress #USHouseOfRepresentatives #USSenate #UnitedStatesSenate

https://www.europesays.com/unitedstates/13251/ House panel subpoenas three far-left nonprofits as part of probe into Marxist millionaire Neville Singham Roy #Congress #marxism #nonprofits #PoliticalInvestigations #Politics #subpoenas #USHouseOfRepresentatives #USNews

https://www.europesays.com/unitedstates/11276/ Jon Stewart expects Schumer Jeffries to dissapoint if Dems win House Senate #ChuckSchumer #Congress #Democrats #HakeemJeffries #HouseAndSenate #JonStewart #Media #MidtermElections2026 #Senate #USCongress #USSenate #USHouseOfRepresentatives

https://www.europesays.com/unitedstates/8849/ House Democrats add eight seats to midterm target map month before election day #Congress #Democrats #HouseAndSenate #MidtermElections2026 #Politics #Republicans #Senate #USCongress #USSenate #USHouseOfRepresentatives #USNews

https://www.europesays.com/unitedstates/6779/ Dem has razor-thin lead over GOP Rep. Mike Lawler in battleground NY House district: poll #Congress #Elections #HouseAndSenate #Metro #MidtermElections #MidtermElections2026 #MikeLawler #NewYork #Politics #Senate #USCongress #USSenate #USHouseOfRepresentatives #USNews

https://www.europesays.com/unitedstates/6173/ Trump launches midterm campaign push in Texas and Oklahoma as Republicans face tough races #DonaldTrump #KenPaxton #MidtermElections #PoliticalCampaigns #PoliticalParties #RepublicanCandidates #texas #USHouseOfRepresentatives #WhiteHouse

https://www.europesays.com/people/250108/ Jon Stewart expects Schumer Jeffries to dissapoint if Dems win House Senate #ChuckSchumer #democrats #HakeemJeffries #JonStewart #Media #MidtermElections2026 #Senate #UsHouseOfRepresentatives

https://www.europesays.com/people/249690/ Johnson campaigns for Trump-backed Jim Desmond as Dems target district #48thDistrict #JimDesmond #MarniVonWilpert #MikeJohnson #USHouseOfRepresentatives

https://www.europesays.com/people/248941/ House Speaker Mike Johnson stumping and fundraising for California GOP congressional candidates #california #CaliforniaDemocrats #CaliforniaRepublicans #CentralValley #CongressionalDistrict #CongressionalDistricts #DavidValadao #DavidWasserman #JimDesmond #KevinLincoln #MikeJohnson #PresidentTrump #RepublicanCandidates #USHouse #USHouseOfRepresentatives

https://www.europesays.com/unitedstates/1079/ CBS News Battleground Tracker poll finds Trump motivating both sides, Democrats have edge in seats in fight for House #DonaldTrump #election #OpinionPoll #Polls #PublicOpinion #USHouseOfRepresentatives

https://www.europesays.com/unitedstates/799/ How To Fill The Democracy Gap Between Elections | Opinion #Congress #democracy #election #HouseAndSenate #HouseOfRepresentatives #Senate #USCongress #USHouseOfRepresentatives #USSenate #Voting

https://www.fogolf.com/us/6805/ Ex-Biden DOJ official running for Congress says rent is ‘too damn high’ — while holding millions in real estate #DemocraticPrimary #democrats #elections #Florida #FloridaGolf #NewHampshire #Politics #UsHouseOfRepresentatives #USNews

AOC splurged nearly $50K on pricey hotel stays, dining and renting Puerto Rico concert venue where Bad Bunny performed https://www.diningandcooking.com/us/29615/ #AlexandriaOcasioCortez #BadBunny #CampaignFinance #Democrats #FederalElectionCommission #politics #PuertoRico #UsHouseOfRepresentatives #USNews #Vermont #VermontDining #VermontFood #VermontGroceryStores #VermontRestaurants

My Congressional House representative, Pramila Jayapal, is featured in this article about Mr Avoidance Speaker Mike Johnson closing down the House to avoid a vote in Pete Hegseth impeachment. It’s also about Epstein Files avoidance.
#purepoltics #Hegseth #impeachment #USHouseOfRepresentatives #MikeJohnson #Epstein #EpsteinFiles
https://www.commondreams.org/news/impeach-hegseth

https://www.alojapan.com/1534846/dhs-chief-mayorkas-spends-under-six-hours-in-helene-hit-nc-before-grabbing-sushi-at-dc-nobu-complete-failure/ DHS chief Mayorkas spends under six hours in Helene-hit NC before grabbing sushi at DC Nobu: ‘Complete failure’ #Democrats #DepartmentOfHomelandSecurity #HurricaneHelene #JapaneseRestaurant #JapaneseRestaurantsInWashington #NorthCarolina #politics #republicans #UsHouseOfRepresentatives #UsNews #Washington #WashingtonDc Something’s fishy about this. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas spent less than six hours visiting h

😆 Oh, look! The US House of Representatives bravely tackles the *crucial* issue of daylight saving time ⏰—because heaven forbid we lose an hour of sleep once a year! Meanwhile, the world is on fire, but hey, at least we'll be *permanently* confused about what time it is. 🔥
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz9l9venjd8o #daylightsavingtime #USHouseofRepresentatives #timeconfusion #politicalhumor #currentevents #HackerNews #ngated

Congressional Republicans advance federal ‘don’t say trans’ school bill

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/trans-identity-education-ban

#TheGremlinZoo #DHS #USHouseOfRepresentatives #WAR

From CBS News.com: Congress to vote again on ending DHS shutdown, with GOP stressing urgency amid Iran war

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/house-vote-dhs-funding-shutdown-iran-war-urgency/

#WAR #USPol #Trump #USHouseofRepresentatives

From CBS News.com: House to vote on curbing Trump's Iran war powers

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/house-vote-iran-war-powers-resolution-trump/

https://www.opb.org/article/2026/01/27/representative-marie-glusenkamp-perez-washington-vancouver-politics/ #ICE #appropriations #funding #government #ushouseofrepresentatives #democrats #republicans #DINO #politics #uspol #uspolitics #Activism #resist #protest #politicalviolence #violence #vandalism #traitor #law

Trump’s Investigator Breaks His Silence – The New York Times

https://open.spotify.com/episode/40B6pujzxOqMK3Ap35pKzc?si=3a645e6425e34190

Jan. 23, 2026, 6:00 a.m. ET

Hosted by Michael Barbaro, Featuring Glenn Thrush, Produced by Alex SternStella TanMary Wilson and Mooj Zadie, Edited by Brendan Klinkenberg and Michael Benoist. Contains music by Rowan NiemistoDan Powell and Pat McCusker. Engineered by Alyssa Moxley.

Three years after his appointment as special counsel, Jack Smith finally delivered the legal argument against President Trump on Thursday that he was never allowed to make in court.

Glenn Thrush, who reports on the Justice Department, explains what Mr. Smith told Congress and why his message is likely to make him Mr. Trump’s next target.

On Today’s Episode

By Glenn Thrush, who reports on the Justice Department for The New York Times.

Background Reading

• In his testimony, Jack Smith defended the decision to prosecute Mr. Trump.
• Here are four takeaways from what he said to a House committee.

Listen to and Follow ‘The Daily’

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Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Feedback

Tune in, and tell us what you think at [email protected]. For corrections, email: [email protected]. Follow our hosts on X: Michael Barbaro @mikiebarb, Rachel Abrams @RachelAbramsNY and Natalie Kitroeff @Nataliekitro

Continue/Read Original Article Here: Trump’s Investigator Breaks His Silence – The New York Times

Jack Smith testifies in House over Trump investigations – NPR

Law – Jack Smith defends Trump investigations to House Republicans

Updated January 22, 20263:06 PM ET, Heard on Morning Edition

By Carrie Johnson, 2-Minute Listen, Transcript

Former special counsel Jack Smith on Thursday defended his decision to secure two criminal indictments against President Trump and asserted his team had gathered enough evidence to convict.

Smith gave his first public testimony about his work Thursday, appearing before the House Judiciary Committee. Republican members of the panel attacked Smith’s move to collect phone records of lawmakers who had been in contact with Trump allies around the time of the Capitol riot in 2021. And they cast the historic investigations of Trump as politically motivated.

“It was always about politics and to get President Trump. They were willing to do almost anything,” said Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the panel’s chairman.

“I am not a politician, and I have no partisan loyalties,” Smith responded. “My office didn’t spy on anyone.”

Neither of Smith’s cases reached a jury before Trump won the 2024 election and returned to the White House last year.

Law – Jack Smith defends his prosecutions of Trump in closed-door session in Congress

In a videotaped deposition, Smith said the president had only himself to blame, for charges he tried to overturn the will of voters in 2020.

“The evidence here made clear that President Trump was by a large measure the most culpable and most responsible person in this conspiracy,” Smith said in the deposition, which congressional Republicans released on New Year’s Eve. “These crimes were committed for his benefit.”

Smith said the violent attack at the U.S. Capitol, which injured 140 law enforcement officers, would not have happened, except for Trump. He said he could not understand the president’s mass pardon of members of the Capitol mob on Trump’s first day in office and predicted many of them would commit new crimes in the years ahead.

Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.

Continue/Read Original Article Here: Jack Smith testifies in House over Trump investigations : NPR

Censure and How the House of Representatives Polices itself – GovTrack.us

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Analysis and Commentary Jan. 14, 2026: Censure and How the House of Representatives Polices itself »

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Censure and How the House of Representatives Polices itself

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Jan. 14, 2026 · by Amy West and Joshua Tauberer

If you’ve watched Law & Order, you know the stories are each divided between the police investigation and the district attorney’s prosecution. Well, for legislators in the House of Representatives, it’s more the police on one hand and the House Committee on Ethics (HCE) on the other. Dun dun.

A bipartisan committee, but politics in practice

Law enforcement, both local and federal, investigate alleged violations of the law. The HCE investigates violations of House Rules. Some things are violations of both laws and House Rules so a representative might get investigated both by law enforcement and HCE. For example, Rep. Cuellar was indicted by federal prosecutors in 2024 for allegedly accepting bribes. The HCE also opened an investigation. Last year he was pardoned by President Trump. So is he free of all concerns now? Probably, but not necessarily. While the legal case is over, the HCE can still investigate the allegations of bribery and censure, and even recommend to expel him, because bribery is also against House Rules.

How did this dual structure come to be?

Article 1, Section 5 of the Constitution says

Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.

Only expulsion has any detail to it and that’s that it requires a 2/3rd majority. Otherwise, the House has a range of punishments that have evolved over time to include censure – where not only does a majority vote to agree to a resolution of censure, but the censured member has to come down into the well of the House Floor while the resolution is read – but also reprimand/disapproval in which a majority of the House votes to agree to a resolution of reprimand/disapproval (but the member isn’t called down front to be shamed) and then a range of lesser public indications of “this was bad behavior”.

Until a standing committee to handle ethical or criminal allegations was created in the 1960s, reviews of and votes on censures or reprimands were handled by the whole House. With the establishment of the House Committee on Ethics (HCE), concerns were moved to the small group to investigate and then recommend action to the House as a whole. The HCE has an equal number of members from both the majority and minority parties in the House with the chair coming from the majority party. Most actions require a majority vote, or in other words, require members from both parties to vote in favor of them. In theory, this keeps the HCE from being purely a vehicle for political punishment. Again, in theory.

In 2008, the Office of Congressional Conduct (OCC, originally the Office of Congressional Ethics) was established as an independent and non-partisan office, staffed by career civil servants rather than elected politicians, to handle allegations of misconduct and then make recommendations to the HCE on how or whether to proceed.

Why was the OCC created? Because of the pervasive belief that investigations of legislators were based solely on political goals despite its attempt to avoid this problem in its design. In theory then, an allegation would come to the OCC, they’d investigate to see if there was anything to it and, if so, recommend that HCE use their work to decide how to proceed.

There’s just one problem: all ethics investigations are political because Congress is an inherently political body.

There’s never a case when choosing to investigate a specific legislator’s actions, where the member is in either the majority or minority, won’t have political ramifications. So, when a legislator under investigation complains that they’re being attacked for politics, they’re not wrong, but it’s also not necessarily exculpatory because they may have indeed also broken laws or violated House rules.

Take the recent example of former Rep. George Santos. As soon as he won his election, stories began to appear in the press indicating that he had lied outrageously about a wide range of things in order to get elected. It soon became clear there was evidence that he had also committed a number of criminal campaign finance violations. As a result, there was a lot of pressure within the House to expel him. But, at that time, the Republicans held a very narrow majority in Congress. So as much as he could creditably be said to bring disrepute on the House just by being there and there were vocal objections to his presence from members of his own party, there was a political problem for the Republicans because they needed every vote they could get. Do they let the criminal process play out and keep him as a voting member? Or do they acknowledge his many violations of House rules in addition to criminal codes and take the high road? After nearly a year in Congress, the House chose to expel Santos. He was subsequently tried, convicted, served a few months in prison and then released when President Trump commuted his sentence. This was an unusually obvious case of unethical behavior and even so, political considerations were never not part of the equation.

Continue/Read Original Article Here: Censure and How the House of Representatives Polices itself – GovTrack.us

#USPol #Elections #USHouseOfRepresentatives

From WTOP.com: Control of the House is at the center of midterms. These charts help explain the fight

https://wtop.com/national/2026/01/control-of-the-house-is-at-the-center-of-midterms-these-charts-help-explain-the-fight/

A court ruling could shrink Black representation in Congress – NPR

Politics

A Supreme Court ruling could bring historic drop in Black representation in Congress

January 8, 2026, 5:00 AM ET

By Hansi Lo Wang

The United States could be headed toward the largest-ever decline in representation by Black members of Congress, depending on how the Supreme Court rules in a closely watched redistricting case about the Voting Rights Act.

For decades, the landmark law that came out of the Civil Rights Movement has protected the collective voting power of racial minorities when political maps are redrawn. Its provisions have also boosted the number of seats in the House of Representatives filled by Black lawmakers.

That’s largely because in many Southern states — where voting is often polarized between a Republican-supporting white majority and a Democratic-supporting Black minority — political mapmakers have drawn a certain kind of district to get in line with the Voting Rights Act’s Section 2 provisions. In these districts, racial-minority voters make up a population large enough to have a realistic opportunity of electing their preferred candidates.

But at an October hearing last year for the redistricting case about Louisiana’s congressional map, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared inclined to issue this year another in a series of decisions that have weakened the Voting Rights Act — this time its Section 2 protections in redistricting.

Continue/Read Original Article Here: A court ruling could shrink Black representation in Congress : NPR

Imagine a job which requires you to do absolutely nothing but ensure that your own job is safe.
Welcome to the US House and Senate.
#uspol #ussenate #USHouseofRepresentatives
#trump

In Trump’s Second Year, Congress Weighs How to Reassert Its Power – The New York Times

Congressional Memo

A Diminished Congress Weighs Whether to Reassert Its Power

Lawmakers head into President Trump’s second year facing questions about whether they can reclaim congressional clout in the face of his power grab.

Listen to this article · 7:12 min Learn more

By Carl Hulse, Reporting from Capitol Hill, Jan. 2, 2026

Congress learned some hard lessons about the limits of its power during the first year of the second Trump administration, when Republican leaders in both chambers largely declined to check a president unconstrained by law or custom.

President Trump barreled ahead with scant deference to the House and Senate. He abruptly changed the statutory name of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, summarily withheld funds from congressional priorities, claimed broad tariff power that the Constitution invests in Congress, and launched military attacks off South America without authorization from the legislative branch.

Now, with midterm elections that will decide control of Congress less than a year off and with lawmakers hearing from anxious constituents about high prices and economic distress, Congress must decide whether to try to assert itself more and reclaim some of the power it has ceded to the president, or to continue to accept a shrinking role and diminished status.

“The president would be better off if the Republican House pushed back more,” said Representative Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican who has sometimes opposed Mr. Trump’s policies and approach. “I think his tariff policy would be better. I think it would be better on Ukraine. I think we could push him in a much better direction if he was open to it.”

“But,” added Mr. Bacon, who has opted not to seek re-election, “if you feel like you have a bunch of lackeys that are going to do whatever you say, then he doesn’t feel constrained.”

With both chambers controlled by Republicans loyal to the president, pushback from Capitol Hill has been scattershot and largely ineffective, and oversight virtually nonexistent. Even when some Republicans have been stirred to join Democrats in raising objections to the administration’s legally questionable actions, lawmakers have struggled to get the White House to back off or reverse course.

The president has the ability to move expeditiously; Congress, not so much.

Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.

Continue/Read Original Article Here: In Trump’s Second Year, Congress Weighs How to Reassert Its Power – The New York Times

More Epstein, a Maxwell pardon, another election (maybe): what Trump will bring us in 2026

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.rawstory.com/raw-investigates/donald-trump-2674837596/

'Extremely effective': How Dem star Jasmine Crockett flexes in face of GOP rants

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.rawstory.com/raw-investigates/jasmine-crockett-2674825695/

Congress’s productive 2025 (And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise) – GovTrack.us

Editor’s Note: Featured image on top is from WP AI. –DrWeb

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Congress’s productive 2025 (And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise)

Get Analysis and Commentary Updates In Your Inbox! – Sign up (it’s free!) to get posts like this straight to your inbox. You’ll be able to choose posts from these categories: Legislative Recap   –   Analysis and Commentary   –   Legislative Preview   –   The White House   –   News About GovTrack   –   Using GovTrack Tips

Dec. 29, 2025 · by Joshua Tauberer

The media loves to tell you your government isn’t working, even when it is. Don’t let anyone tell you 2025 was an unproductive year for Congress.

1,976 pages of new law

At 1,976 pages of new law enacted since President Trump took office, including an increase of the national debt limit by $4 trillion, any journalist telling you not much happened in Congress this year is sleeping on the job.

Using rules that exempt certain bills from the filibuster, Congress passed (and President Trump signed into law) the 330-page “reconciliation” bill which included tax breaks adding $500 billion to the deficit; new limits on Medicaid, SNAP, federal student loads, and green energy; and $171 billion for immigration enforcement, making ICE the largest law enforcement agency in the United States. Also exempt from the filibuster was the “rescissions” bill which slashed most funding for foreign aid (saving about $800 million and potentially causing 1 million deaths world-wide and a geopolitical vacuum that China is ready to fill) and public broadcasting (saving about $100 million).

Those were perhaps the most controversial bills ever enacted, with senators voting yes on the reconciliation bill representing just 44% of the country’s population. I don’t think that’s ever happened before and really captures the political climate. (For comparison, the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare, passed the Senate with the yea votes representing 62% of the country’s population.)

Earlier this month, Congress passed the 1,259-page National Defense Authorization Act, a yearly bill that sets military and related policies. This year, the NDAA incorporated 40 other bills on a range of topics, including police first aid kits and reuniting Korean American families with family members in North Korea. It also included a provision intended to force the Secretary of Defense to provide more information on the military strikes on Venezuelan civilian boats.

Using a rarely-used rule to override the Speaker of the House, legislators passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act to force the Trump Administration to release Epstein files. It’s incredibly significant any time the Speaker loses control over the floor since setting the floor schedule is the Speaker’s most important job.

Congress also quashed numerous Biden Administration regulations.

And the Senate confirmed 341 Trump nominees, which is a fairly fast pace.

196 bills enacted

196 bills were enacted. The mainstream media will tell you it’s only 61 because they don’t look at what’s inside omnibus bills. Fewer bills are getting a vote and presidential signature, but they are getting longer and longer and often bundle a number of other bills. (That’s a trend that started decades ago.)

The 1,976 pages Trump signed into law is on the low side: More than Reagan (1,528) and GW Bush (1,024) did by this point in their terms, less than the first Bush (2,518), Clinton (2,705), Obama (3,478), Trump in his first term (2,236), and Biden (2,450).

But more isn’t better, and not every page of legislation enacted is actually important.

The reverse is also true. The just two pages cutting foreign aid has enormous domestic and geopolitical consequences.

What Congress hasn’t done

It’s also true that there are things that Congress hasn’t done. Like not being in session. House Republicans took their chamber out of session for some 40 days vowing to not negotiate with Democrats to end October’s government shutdown, only to come back into session to approve a bill negotiated with Democrats in the Senate.

They could have used that time to figure out agency funding levels for the remainder of the fiscal year after January. Instead, another government shutdown may be around the corner. (Congress is supposed to have figured this out before the fiscal year began on October 1.)

Nor has Congress done much for government efficiency, allowing Trump to fabricate cuts and fire Inspectors General, the abuse watchdogs at federal agencies. Republicans also hope to downsize Congress’s abuse investigators at the Government Accountability Office. These cuts would cost taxpayers billions of dollars by allowing waste, fraud, and abuse to go unchecked. Or more likely, abuse would be checked just when it advances the President’s interests.

Congress has also been silent on Trump’s tariffs, despite the power to tariff being reserved to Congress. Congress could also address the Trump Administration’s illegal deployment of National Guard troops in Illinois, or the swirling conflicts of interest in the Trump family.

Let us know what you think about these updates by tooting us on Mastodon or sending us an email.

Continue/Read Original Article Here: Congress’s productive 2025 (And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise) – GovTrack.us

A heart filled with trans hate is how Marjorie Taylor Greene is choosing to be remembered

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.advocate.com/voices/marjorie-taylor-greene-transgender-hate

This swing state is poised to make the GOP pay

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.rawstory.com/obamacare-2674814045/

Sarah McBride knew some Democrats would betray trans people, so she lobbied Republicans

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.advocate.com/politics/sarah-mcbride-lobbies-republicans

House passes bill banning Medicaid from covering gender-affirming care for youth

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.advocate.com/politics/medicaid-gender-affirming-care-bill

Marjorie Taylor Greene’s bill criminalizing gender-affirming care for minors passes with Democrats’ support

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.advocate.com/politics/mtg-trans-youth-care-ban

‘Poor babies’: Top Senate Republican mocks Dems fuming that Trump misled Congress

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.rawstory.com/raw-investigates/trump-venezuela-2674441728/

Unelected right-wingers want to give Trump's GOP yet more power — here's how we stop them

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.rawstory.com/gerrymandering-2674404503/