Ethics Complaint Filed Against Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy After He Allegedly Elbowed Tennessee U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett in the Back

Florida U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL-01) filed a formal ethics complaint against former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-20) on Tuesday after the California congressman allegedly elbowed Tennessee U.S. Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) in the back while passing him in a hallway.

While being interviewed by NPR reporter Claudia Grisales, Burchett alleged McCarthy elbowed him in the back, saying it caught him “off guard” as the hit was a “clean shot to the kidneys.”

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Commentary: The Speaker We Need

It might have been embarrassing, and it might have given the enemies in the political class ample opportunities to snicker and hurl insults. But at the end of the day, the result reached when Mike Johnson won a 220–209 vote over wannabe Def Poetry Jam participant Hakeem Jeffries was the best one America could have asked for.

We have, after three weeks of infighting and paralysis, a Speaker of the House — and what we have, by all indications, is something of which we can be very proud.

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Liz Cheney Claims Making Jim Jordan the New Speaker of the House Is a ‘Risk’ to American Democracy

Former Representative of Wyoming Liz Cheney said on Thursday that making Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH-04) the new Speaker of the House is a risk to America’s democracy.

“The notion that the Republican Party is anywhere close to contemplating putting Jim Jordan into the position of Speaker of the House is something that tells you the level of risk we face in our democracy today,” Cheney said in a talk at the University of Montana’s 2023 Mansfield Center Lecture series.

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Commentary: The Matt Gaetz Fight

Matt Gaetz did with seven other votes what Kevin McCarthy could not do with more than half of the House chamber. He imposed his will.

The general commanding a majority of the troops on the field capitulated to Democrats to keep the federal leviathan, nay, the federal Cthulhu swinging its tentacles and snapping its claws. The general with fewer troops behind him imposed the change he desired, meaning he deposed the speaker he characterized as a liar.

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Andy Biggs Commentary: I Cannot Vote for Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker

During this midterm campaign, I attended hundreds of events in my district, around Arizona, and around the country. The issue I was asked about most often was whether I or the Republicans in the House, or the Republicans in the Senate, would keep the same leaders.

Not only did my constituents want the “red wave” that didn’t materialize, they also wanted new leadership.

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Commentary: The GOP Can Reclaim the Child Tax Credit – And Use it to Win in 2022

family of three eating pizza

As part of his Contract with America, House Speaker (and my former boss) Newt Gingrich helped first introduce the Child Tax Credit (CTC), passing it in 1997. Originally the idea of President Ronald Reagan, the CTC was founded on the conservative principles that raising children is God’s work, and parents should not be punished or held back for choosing family in a country that is always moving forward. President Trump continued this tradition by doubling the CTC in 2017. As Speaker Gingrich said during a 1995 speech, “We believe that parents ought to have the first claim on money to take care of their children rather than bureaucrats.”

Democrats reformed the CTC in 2021, as part of their wildly overdone American Rescue Plan. They’ve sought to continue their changes to the CTC in the even-more-overdone Build Back Better Act (BBB), a hulking Frankenstein of bad Democratic ideas. But the new version of the CTC may be an exception. It continues fulfilling Speaker Gingrich’s contract, empowering families to work and earn, and to raise their children with their own values. The spirit and core of that policy is even better reflected by flat, poverty-busting monthly disbursement of the credit. It’s the only salvageable ship in the sinking BBB fleet.

The CTC – in its 2021 form – does not stray too far from the $500-per-child tax cut that was initially passed in 1997. The payments, which provided eligible families with up to $300 per month for each qualifying child under age 6 and up to $250 per month for each qualifying child aged 6 to 17, stimulated regional economies, protected families from rising costs, provided direct cash relief, and removed bureaucratic hurdles.

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Pelosi Plans to Run Again, Stay on as Democratic Leader, Despite Earlier Promise, Report

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reportedly will continue on in her capacity as the chamber’s top Democrat after she turns 82 this year.

Pelosi will file and run for reelection in her northern California district next year (her 18th term) and is considering whether to stay in leadership, despite an initial promise to give up her role as top House Democrat, CNN reported over the weekend.

Pelosi will primarily spend the next year raising money for Democrats as they attempt to hold onto their narrow majority in the lower chamber.

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Wisconsin State House Speaker Vos Issues First Subpoenas in 2020 Election Audit

Robin Vos of Wisconsin

Wisconsin state House Speaker Robin Vos, a Republican, said Friday he has signed off on the first subpoenas in an audit of the state’s 2020 election results, an indication the review is proceeding.

Vos said the subpoenas were being filed as part of the GOP-backed investigation being led by former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman. The former justice visited the site of the election audit in Arizona’s Maricopa County and has said he could issue subpoenas to election officials who don’t comply with information related to his review, according to The Hill newspaper.

Said Vos: “Ensuring the 2020 election was conducted fairly and legally is critically important to maintaining faith in our election system.”

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Commentary: The Liz Cheney Meltdown, and What It Means

Liz Cheney

Bye, Liz.

The abject implosion of a politician once thought to possess national prospects — though not due to her talent but rather her name and connections — might have been overshadowed by the alarming performance just a few hours later by our near-invalid president. But Liz Cheney’s bizarre performance on the U.S. Capitol steps Wednesday was nonetheless notable.

If you haven’t followed the lead-up to Wednesday’s meltdown, it involved the sham 9/11 Commission–style inquiry being built to examine the Capitol riot of Jan. 6. That inquiry, to be chaired by partisan hack Mississippi Democrat Bennie Thompson on behalf of Nancy Pelosi, is obviously not built to fully examine what happened that day; it’s built to assign blame to the Republican Party for what Pelosi and the rest of the Democrat Party is determined to present as a casus belli against half of the American people.

Pelosi’s Jan. 6 commission is a big deal, because she has turned the Capitol into an armed camp behind razor wire for most of the past six months and change over the dubious assertion that the protesters who descended on the building and briefly disrupted the vote to certify a presidential election that still reeks of irregularity and worse presented an “insurrection” and a “grave threat to democracy” to trump (pun not intended, but whatever) anything else since the Civil War.

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Apple CEO Tim Cook Reportedly Phoned Pelosi to Warn Her Against Antitrust Bills

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Apple CEO Tim Cook

Apple CEO Tim Cook called House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other members of Congress last week, warning lawmakers that newly proposed antitrust legislation would harm consumers and hurt innovation, five sources with knowledge of the conversations told The New York Times.

Lawmakers introduced a series of antitrust bills that target Facebook, Apple, Google and Amazon, The New York Times reports. The legislative efforts seek to rein in the tech companies by addressing alleged anti-competitive practices and by curbing monopoly power, according to a report by CNET.  

Pelosi pushed back on Cook’s warnings, asking him to name specific policy objections, two sources with knowledge of the conversations told The New York Times.

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Rep. Carter Promises House Chairs to Retain Them and Not Retaliate if Elected Speaker

  State Rep. Mike Carter (R-TN-29) of Ooltewah reportedly wrote to all House chairmen and vice chairmen in his bid to become the next Speaker, multiple media outlets report. Carter promises fair treatment to all members without retribution, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press. A meeting of the Tennessee House Republican Caucus has been scheduled for Wednesday, July 24, to select a Republican nominee for Speaker of the House to replace Rep. Glen Casada (R-TN-63) of Franklin in the position, The Tennessee Star reported. The next day, Gov. Bill Lee called for a special session of the Legislature to be held on Friday, Aug. 23 at 10 a.m. to vote for the replacement. In his letter, Carter told the chairmen and vice chairs they would keep their positions, the Times Free Press said. Carter did not return a phone call from The Star regarding the letter. According to a story by the Tennessee Journal: On the Hill, Carter told the chairmen: My request to serve you as Speaker is not about me, it’ s about you. I promise to use the Speaker’s office to promote each of you as the “Elected Official” in your district. This will begin with…

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State Reps. Ryan Williams, Cameron Sexton Join Race to Succeed Glen Casada as House Speaker

  The pieces are falling into place for the Tennessee GOP House Caucus to select the new speaker, with a couple of new faces entering the race this week. The caucus will meet July 24 to pick a nominee to replace disgraced outgoing Speaker and Rep. Glen Casada (R-TN-63) of Franklin, The Tennessee Star said. The meeting was called by House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-TN-44) of Portland. In a statement issued by Lamberth Wednesday, he said his call for the caucus meeting came, “following conversations with our members of the last several days.” In an exclusive interview with the USA TODAY Network – Tennessee, State Rep. Ryan Williams (R-TN-42) said he wants to unite the party and rebuild the state GOP brand. “I think there are some chasms between some members and others in our caucus, but the goal here is to unite the differences,” he said. “Like Ronald Reagan said, focus on the 80% we agree on.” Williams, a former GOP caucus chairman from Cookeville, is not the only candidate. The Chattanooga Times Free Press said the other declared candidates for speaker are Reps. Mike Carter (R-TN-29) of Ooltewah and Curtis Johnson (R-TN-68) of Clarksville, GOP Caucus Chairman…

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State Rep. Matthew Hill Seeks House Speaker Position

  State Rep. Matthew Hill (R-TN-07) said he will seek the Republican nomination for Speaker of the Tennessee House. The Jonesborough Republican, who is the Deputy House Speaker, made the announcement Wednesday at a legislative breakfast hosted by the Johnson City Chamber of Commerce, WJHL said. State Rep. Mike Carter (R-TN-29) also has announced a desire to run for the position, multiple media outlets reported. One day after the Tennessee House Republican Caucus met and voted “no confidence” in his continued leadership by a margin of 45-24, Speaker Glen Casada (R-Franklin) released a statement announcing he intends to resign as Speaker at a date to be determined in cooperation with the Caucus leadership, The Tennessee Star reported Tuesday. Casada did not indicate whether he would continue to serve as a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, representing parts of Williamson County. The entire Republican House leadership, Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, and Gov. Bill Lee have all called on Casada to resign, The Star said. WJHL reported that Hill told them he voted “no confidence” in Casada and also spoke to him. “I spoke with the speaker privately about that and he knows of…

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Rep. Jim Cooper Says No to Pelosi as Speaker of the House

U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN-05) says he will vote against Nancy Pelosi as the Democratic leader of the House of Representatives, The Tennessean said. Cooper, recently elected to a ninth term, is among 17 House Democrats who signed a letter this week vowing they won’t support Pelosi’s bid for speaker. Other Democrats are also plotting to vote against Pelosi, according to reports. Cooper voted against Pelosi in 2011, 2013, twice in 2015 and 2017, each time after Democrats lost the House in 2010. “Now, with one of the largest, most diverse groups of new Democratic members ever elected, is the time to welcome a new generation of leaders to Congress, not just on the back benches, but in leadership,” Cooper said in a statement to The Tennessean. Cooper has previously voted for former Secretary of State Colin Powell as speaker since the leader does not have to come from the House. Despite the calls for a new House Speaker – nearly 60 Democratic candidates in 2018 called for new leadership – it is not likely a new party head will emerge in the chamber, The Tennessee Star recently reported, citing Fred Lucas of The Daily Signal. “I think there is a…

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