💣 The Disastrous 118th Congress - MAGA Mike Johnson Saved by Shadow Speaker Hakeem Jeffries

[bob]

Do local DAs get money from the Feds?

The federal government often funds specific programs or initiatives, e.g., "here's some federal money to hire a prosecutor focused on drug crimes."

[Gregg]

I am defunding his Manhattan Office and requiring it to repay us.

Yeah, good luck with that.

Here's the thing, though. Millions of idiots will read this, believe it and will fight to the death to defend that it actually happened. They don't need to do anything, just a tweet and maybe a mention in the A block of a Fox News show and it's the Gospel Truth.

[p0rtia]

Do local DAs get money from the Feds?

The federal government often funds specific programs or initiatives, e.g., "here's some federal money to hire a prosecutor focused on drug crimes."

I watched MeidasTouch podcast with Karen Friedman Agnifalo (former number 2 under Cy Vance). She explained that indeed, the DA get federal funds--in the form of, I think, money taken in crimes and from the sale of confiscated goods (don't quote me). Anyway, the part I do remember is that Agnifalo knew that in this case, about 5,000 bucks of federal funds were spent. Since this is such a miniscule amount, she thinks it may have been a bookkeeping error. In any event, it is peanuts.

Not that that will stop the grandstanding of the #gopdeathcult.

[Volkonski]

McCarthy prepares his opening debt-limit bid — and it’s full of potential pitfalls
The stakes couldn’t be higher for the California Republican, who must avoid a misstep in the talks that would weaken his speakership.

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/1 ... p-00092113

McCarthy and his team plan to present a menu of debt-limit options when Congress returns next week: several types of massive spending cuts, stricter rules for government social programs and new energy policies. House Republicans have a limited time to come together with only four votes to spare as they eye a vote by late May, according to one GOP lawmaker close to the talks.


The party’s list of potential demands — which includes an across-the-board cut to discretionary spending and stricter work requirements on programs like food stamps — is likely to change as House Republicans hash out a formal bill over the coming weeks. One big flashpoint: They’re proposing to raise the debt limit for just one year, triggering another battle over the federal purse in the middle of the 2024 presidential primaries.

The Republican close to the talks, who spoke candidly on condition of anonymity, called leadership’s forthcoming proposal “just an opening salvo” and said there’s no specific whip count of support underway yet.

Meanwhile, the stakes couldn’t be higher for McCarthy. The California Republican must avoid a misstep that would weaken his speakership — which any single frustrated member could force a vote to terminate. And unlike other GOP agenda items, which satisfy the party base despite their slim chances of becoming law, any debt-ceiling moves are bound to draw internal criticism while possibly exacting economic consequences.

[Ben-Prime]

Look, I'm just trying to say that if starting tomorrow, TFG were to start including Kevin in the way he refers to himself in social media posts, and called him "SPEAKER" in quotes like he calls himself "TRUMP" in quotes, we all would assume a different meaning from the quote marks.

[Kendra]

Yikes! Kevin McCarthy just got called out to his face live on CNBC over his debt ceiling hypocrisy. The host noted that McCarthy raised the debt ceiling 3 times under Trump and added $2 trillion to the deficit with his tax cuts for the wealthy.

[Volkonski]

House Republicans won't commit to McCarthy's debt ceiling plan

https://www.axios.com/2023/04/18/republ ... =editorial

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) faces a steep challenge in cobbling together the 218 votes he needs to pass a proposed debt ceiling increase by his new self-imposed deadline.

Why it matters: Top Republicans say they want the bill on the floor by next week, but members across the GOP conference have a range of reservations about a proposal that's still incomplete.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) said it's "probably not" enough time to get her on board: "To turn it around in a week, that's pretty short order."

"This is the single biggest point of leverage that will exist in these two years," said another Republican lawmaker.

Driving the news: GOP leadership unveiled their proposal to raise the debt ceiling into 2024 while slashing spending — but a half-dozen House Republicans, more than enough to sink the bill, said they are still not sold.

Coming out of the closed-door GOP conference meeting where the proposal was laid out, Rules Committee Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told reporters, "I think we’ll be moving stuff probably next week."

What they're saying: “I think that they should go further. ... I am in favor of very aggressive cuts," said right-wing Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.).

[raison de arizona]

"This is the single biggest point of leverage that will exist in these two years," said another Republican lawmaker.

Unconscionable that the Rs look at defaulting on the United States' debt as a "point of leverage."

[p0rtia]

And by "leverage" they mean "attempted blackmail."

Hold firm, Joe. The nation turns its lonely eyes to you.

[Slim Cognito]

And by "leverage" they mean "attempted blackmail."

Hold firm, Joe. The nation turns its lonely eyes to you.

Woo woo woo.

[Ben-Prime]

And by "leverage" they mean "attempted blackmail."

Hold firm, Joe. The nation turns its lonely eyes to you.

Woo woo woo.

What's that you say?

[Kendra]

Another Goldman smackdown.

[pipistrelle]

Was Goldman the attorney for one of the committees last Congress everyone liked so much? I didn't realize he'd run for office.

[AndyinPA]

Was Goldman the attorney for one of the committees last Congress everyone liked so much? I didn't realize he'd run for office.

I think he ran one of the impeachments; the first, I think. Lead counsel.

[Kendra]

Was Goldman the attorney for one of the committees last Congress everyone liked so much? I didn't realize he'd run for office.

I think he ran one of the impeachments; the first, I think. Lead counsel.

That's what my says. He's amazing.

[Kendra]

Comer defends not sharing the Hunter Biden laptop drive with ranking member Raskin by saying, "he can get it himself"

[RTH10260]

‘Deeply Concerning’: Republicans Demand Answers from Biden Administration after IRS Whistleblower Claims Hunter Is Being Protected

Ari Blaff
Thu, April 20, 2023 at 2:46 PM GMT+2

House Republicans are demanding answers from the Biden administration after a whistleblower came forward to reveal that the IRS investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes is plagued by “preferential treatment and politics.”

A whistleblower with the IRS sent a letter to Congress on Tuesday seeking legal protection in exchange for exposing how political bias has compromised the probe into Hunter Biden’s alleged tax violations. The note, written by attorney Mark Lytle, claimed that the unnamed whistleblower has proof that would “contradict sworn testimony to Congress by a senior political appointee,” as well as information about a “failure to mitigate clear conflicts of interest in the ultimate disposition of the case.”

“Thus, I respectfully request that your committees work with me to facilitate sharing this information with Congress legally and with the fully informed advice of counsel,” the attorney wrote in a letter addressed to Republican and Democratic leaders in the Senate and House Judiciary Committees, the Senate Finance Committee, and the House Ways and Means Committee.

“It’s deeply concerning that the Biden Administration may be obstructing justice by blocking efforts to charge Hunter Biden for tax violations,” Representative James Comer (R., Ky.), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, said in a statement published Wednesday night.




https://www.yahoo.com/news/deeply-conce ... 42058.html

(original: National Review)

[Volkonski]

US House Republicans squirm over Speaker McCarthy's debt ceiling proposal

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-hou ... ce=twitter

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has begun working in earnest to persuade his fellow Republicans to support a $1.5 trillion increase in the nation's debt ceiling, amid early indications of a possible revolt in his thin majority.

McCarthy faces the toughest test of his young speakership with a bill he hopes to pass in the House of Representatives next week -- a measure that rankles some in his rank-and-file by authorizing more government debt. He is trying to couple it with tough new spending controls.

It is his opening shot in a negotiation with Democratic President Joe Biden, whose party also controls the U.S. Senate. If the divided Congress fails to raise the federal government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, the government could face a default that would shake the U.S. and world economies.

"We're in very good shape. We just rolled it out yesterday. We're working, talking through all the members," McCarthy told reporters on Thursday.

Financial markets are already showing signs of worry about the standoff, with the cost of insuring exposure to U.S. debt at its highest level in a decade and financial analysts raising concerns about rising risk of default.

[Kendra]

The GOP controlled Judiciary has nothing to show for their first 100 days. So what do they do? They falsely smear the Secretary of State with edited testimony that did not reflect what witnesses actually said.

Unethical, unprofessional and pathetic behavior by
@HouseGOP
.

And what little of Fox I've watched the last couple of days, they're jumping on this *story*.

[raison de arizona]

One of the conditions leaks.

Gaetz: Features of the deal that allowed McCarthy to ascend to the speakership require him to fight on top line spending levels in this debt limit battle and to not delay that for the appropriations process..

[Kendra]

I’m confused, wasn’t one of the rule changes by the new House GOP caucus that there had to be something like 72 hours to read text before votes?

1) House Republicans are now meeting behind closed doors in their conference session, going through changes to the GOP debt ceiling bill made overnight. Multiple Republican sources say they believe they have the votes. But they need to get through this conference meeting first.

[Kendra]

WOW. Kevin McCarthy’s hostage demands keep getting more extreme. He wants to force the US to default on its debt and collapse the global economy unless he can:

- Cut food assistance programs to those who need it
- Cut access to Meals on Wheels
- Strip away healthcare services for veterans
- Take away healthcare from millions of Americans
- Send manufacturing jobs overseas

He is trying to completely SELL OUT America to please the most extreme members of his party.

This is what happens when you are the weakest Speaker in history.

[Suranis]

So, Kevin. You saying you cant muster Five Republican votes to pass a clean debt ceiling raise?

Oh right. The Hastert rule. It's amazing how dedicated you are to the rule named after a past Republican speaker, who plead guilty to being a Child Molester.

[Kendra]

Mike Rogers brought out his A-game wig for the debt ceiling bill vote today.

[Kriselda Gray]

So, Kevin. You saying you cant muster Five Republican votes to pass a clean debt ceiling raise?

Oh right. The Hastert rule. It's amazing how dedicated you are to the rule named after a past Republican speaker, who plead guilty to being a Child Molester.

Thr Hastert Rule?