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    Everyone knew that this week was going to be tough for Kevin McCarthy, but not even Democrats could have hoped for such a humiliating few days for the Republican nominee to be speaker of the House of Representatives. Jonathan Freedland and Lauren Gambino discuss what unfolded on Capitol Hill

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    Kevin McCarthy loses US House speakership bid on third day as votes tally climbs to 11 – video

    After more than eight hours and five votes, would-be speaker Kevin McCarthy lost his 11th speakership ballot. This is the most drawn-out speakership vote since 1859. With McCarthy’s supporters and foes locked in stalemate, feelings of boredom and desperation seemed increasingly evident with no quick end in sight

    McCarthy fails in speakership bid for third day after 11th vote
    Republican rebels: the hardline House members voting against McCarthy More

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    Republican Kevin McCarthy falls short on ninth ballot for House speaker – live

    Kevin McCarthy’s epic humiliation in the House of Representatives continues as he fails to be elected to become speaker in the eighth round of voting.The California Republican is being blocked by a phalanx of far-right rebels and, if anything, his votes are declining, not growing. On Tuesday, when the 118th Congress convened and voting for the speakership began, McCarthy garnered 203 votes in the first round – a massive 15 short of the simple majority needed.In this once-in-a-century eighth round of voting, he managed 201 votes, with 21 Republicans refusing to vote for him, either spoiling their votes, essentially, or placing them for strategic-disrupter nominee Byron Donalds.As we’ve been expecting for several hours, it looks very unlikely that we’ll see a speaker elected today. The House business now paused between votes (but is not in recess).Republican Don Bacon of Nebraska condemned the members of his party holding out against Kevin McCarthy, saying that the chaotic scene in Congress might prompt totalitarians to say, “This is why we don’t want democracy.” Here’s him on CNN: Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) slams the Republicans who oppose Kevin McCarthy for House Speaker:“I think there’s totalitarian states out there, look at those 20 and say, ‘This is why we don’t want democracy.’” pic.twitter.com/B6CuaOGYvo— The Recount (@therecount) January 5, 2023
    The vote tally in the ninth round: Hakeem Jeffries – 212 Kevin McCarthy – 201 Byron Donalds – 17 Kevin Hern – 3 Present – 1McCarthy is on track to lose in the ninth round of voting, surpassing the previous record set in 1923, when Frederick Huntington Gillett won the position after nine rounds of voting. The longest speaker’s race prior to that was in 1859, when it took 44 rounds of voting. And before that, in 1855, it took 133 ballots to decide the speaker’s race. Joe Biden said today the US would immediately begin turning away Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans who cross the border from Mexico illegally, his boldest move yet to confront the arrivals of migrants that have increased since he took office two years ago, the Associated Press reports.The new rules expand on an existing effort to stop Venezuelans attempting to enter the U.S., which began in October and led to a dramatic drop in Venezuelans coming to the southern border. Together, they represent a major change to immigration rules that will stand even if the Supreme Court ends a Trump-era public health law that allows U.S. authorities to turn away asylum-seekers..css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Do not, do not just show up at the border. Stay where you are and apply legally from there,” Biden said as he announced the changes, even as he acknowledged the hardships that lead many families to make the dangerous journey north.Biden made the announcement just days before a planned visit to El Paso, Texas,on Sunday for his first trip to the southern border as president. From there, he will travel on to Mexico City to meet with North American leaders on Monday and Tuesday.Homeland Security officials said they would begin denying asylum to those who circumvent legal pathways and do not first ask for asylum in the country they traveled through en route to the U.S.Instead, the U.S. will accept 30,000 people per month from the four nations for two years and offer the ability to work legally, as long as they come legally, have eligible sponsors and pass vetting and background checks. Border crossings by migrants from those four nations have risen most sharply, with no easy way to quickly return them to their home countries..css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}This new process is orderly. It’s safe and humane, and it works,” Biden said.The move, while not unexpected, drew swift criticism from asylum and immigration advocates, who have had a rocky relationship with the president..css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}President Biden correctly recognized today that seeking asylum is a legal right and spoke sympathetically about people fleeing persecution.
    But the plan he announced further ties his administration to the poisonous anti-immigrant policies of the Trump era instead of restoring fair access to asylum protections,” said Jonathan Blazer, the American Civil Liberties Union’s director of border strategies.The House is now in its 9th round of voting, with Lauren Boebert again delivering remarks about Kevin Hern shortly before the roll call. “We need to get to a point where we start evaluating what life after Kevin McCarthy looks like,” she said, claiming that “threats were made” behind closed doors regarding committee assignments for those who plan to not vote for Kevin McCarthy. “But we don’t govern in fear, we govern for the people on principle, don’t be afraid to do the right thing,” she added. As she nominates Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) for House Speaker, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) claims those who don’t vote for Kevin McCarthy were threatened with not getting committee assignments. pic.twitter.com/aLW0FygYmb— The Recount (@therecount) January 5, 2023
    During the eighth round of voting, hardline Republican representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado voted for Kevin…Hern as speaker of the House. Speaking about the Republican representative from Oklahoma, Boebert said that Kevin Hern is a “businessman from humble beginnings” and a “true consensus candidate.” As Boebert spoke, murmurs across the House soon echoed into loud side conversations as those around Boebert looked around in stunned confusion. Whoa, I missed this originally:Lauren Boebert trolls Kevin McCarthy and her fellow Republican caucus members by feinting as though she’s going to vote for McCarthy and instead voting for Kevin Hern.pic.twitter.com/wathK9rU8q— Leah McElrath (@leahmcelrath) January 5, 2023
    Kevin McCarthy’s epic humiliation in the House of Representatives continues as he fails to be elected to become speaker in the eighth round of voting.The California Republican is being blocked by a phalanx of far-right rebels and, if anything, his votes are declining, not growing. On Tuesday, when the 118th Congress convened and voting for the speakership began, McCarthy garnered 203 votes in the first round – a massive 15 short of the simple majority needed.In this once-in-a-century eighth round of voting, he managed 201 votes, with 21 Republicans refusing to vote for him, either spoiling their votes, essentially, or placing them for strategic-disrupter nominee Byron Donalds.As we’ve been expecting for several hours, it looks very unlikely that we’ll see a speaker elected today. The House business now paused between votes (but is not in recess).As the latest round of voting for Speaker of the House is underway, all the signs are it will be another long day on Capitol Hill.Here’s where things stand:
    California Republican Kevin McCarthy, the frontrunner for speaker, moments ago lost his seventh round of voting for the position, putting himself the GOP in the House in deep trouble.
    Joe Biden, accompanied by vice-president Kamala Harris, announced new security measures at the US-Mexico border and, in remarks at the White House, once again admitted that the US immigration system is a mess.
    In Senate news, Democratic senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan announced on Thursday morning hat she will not be seeking re-election and will be retiring once her fourth term ends in 2025.
    North Carolina’s Republican representative Dan Bishop nominated Byron Donalds, a Florida lawmaker nominated by hard-right Republican representatives as an alternative to Kevin McCarthy.
    Alaska freshman member of congress Mary Peltola just placed her vote for speaker for fellow Democrat Hakeem Jeffries.But, meanwhile, she has tweeted about the ludicrous spectacle of all the new representatives being in the House without actually being sworn in yet.It’s the strange limbo because the House can’t proceed with any business at all until it has a speaker. Day three of the 118th Congress, and counting….I’m never getting sworn in am I? pic.twitter.com/aSeD5Z5kvT— Mary Peltola (@MaryPeltola) January 5, 2023
    Peltola is the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress and won her bid to retain the state’s sole seat in the House of Representatives, at the midterm elections last November.Peltola made history when she won a special election last summer to replace the Republican Don Young after his death.She is also the first woman to represent Alaska in the House of Representatives since it became a state in 1959, if you can believe that in this day and age.Mary Peltola, first Alaska Native in Congress, wins bid to retain seatRead moreThe Democrats’ Hakeem Jeffries once again prompted clapping, hooting, cheering and hollering of support from his own side as he was obliged to rise from his seat in the House and vote for himself as Speaker, for the eighth time this Congress.Moments before, Jeffries was chatting with a fellow lawmaker, looking cool as a cucumber in a blue suit, blue shirt and pink tie.As his name was called in the roll, he started very slightly, having been somewhat distracted, grinned broadly and rose to speak. The clerk said: “Jeffries.” Jeffries said: “Jeffries” and sat back down.If he thought it was dignified to have a bucket of popcorn at his feet, he surely would have one. As a reminder, Jeffries cannot become speaker without something absolutely out of the ordinary occurring in the House (ie a massive GOP defection, which is not likely to happen), because the Democrats don’t have the majority and you need a simple majority of the votes.He is the House minority leader and has succeeded Nancy Pelosi to the leadership position.The eighth round of voting is underway in the House as California Republican Kevin McCarthy flounders in his efforts to become speaker, while refusing to step aside.Talks still ongoing behind the scenes, as well as inter-vote huddles on the floor, as McCarthy believes he can still win if he sticks it out through round after round.Right now, with four votes for Republican hard-right-winger Byron Donald, and two spoiled votes, that means McCarthy already looks set to lose this round.It’s the first time for a century that a House speaker has not been elected on the first round of voting. It took nine rounds and three days in 1923…..is the record about to fall?As a reminder, no other House business can take place until there is a speaker, including swearing in the lawmakers formally – especially significant for the brand new members elected in November’s midterm elections.Gaetz casts a second vote for “Donald John Trump.” Trump has now tied John Quincy Adams for the most Speaker votes cast for a former president. Adams received two votes in the 1835 Speaker’s election— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) January 5, 2023
    Meanwhile, in Senate news, Democratic senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan announced on Thursday morning hat she will not be seeking re-election and will be retiring once her fourth term ends in 2025. In a statement, Stabenow said: .css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}“Inspired by a new generation of leaders, I have decided to pass the torch in the U.S. Senate. I am announcing today that I will not seek re-election and will leave the U.S. Senate at the end of my term on January 3, 2025.
    “As part of my own new generation, I was elected to the Ingham County Commission in 1974 at the age of 24. As the youngest and first woman to chair the Board, this began years of breaking barriers, blazing trails, and being the ‘first’ woman to reach historic milestones as an elected official, including the honor of being the first woman from Michigan elected to the U.S. Senate. But I have always believed it’s not enough to be the ‘first’ unless there is a ‘second’ and a ‘third’…”Stabenow went on to add that for the next two years, she will continue to focus on various ways to improve the lives of Michiganers, including leading the passage of the next five-year Farm Bill which determines food and agricultural policies across the country. Kevin McCarthy has failed to secure 218 votes needed to become House speaker … yet again.McCarthy received 201 votes among GOP lawmakers.The same 20 hardline Republicans who voted against him yesterday also voted against him today during the seventh ballot.Nineteen of them voted for Floridian representative Byron Donalds, while Matt Gaetz voted for former president Donald Trump.Florida’s Republican representative Matt Gaetz has nominated Donald Trump for House speaker.“Donald John Trump,” Gaetz said, standing up and smiling, as his name was called for the vote. Next to him, Georgia’s Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene smiled as murmurs of surprise spread across the House..@RepMattGaetz votes for former President Donald Trump for Speaker of the House. #118thCongress pic.twitter.com/VCQgi0bgLA— CSPAN (@cspan) January 5, 2023
    Gaetz’s vote for Donald Trump – a day before the January 6 riots anniversary – comes not only as an embarrassing blow to Kevin McCarthy who is trying to unite Republican representatives into casting a vote towards him but also towards the GOP in assuming control of the House as Republican infighting continues. North Carolina’s Republican representative Dan Bishop nominated Byron Donalds, a Florida lawmaker nominated by hard-right Republican representatives as an alternative to Kevin McCarthy. “Yesterday, we could have elected the first black Speaker of the United States House of Representatives,” Bishop said of Byron, to which Democrats responded with cheers of “Hakeem! Hakeem!”, referring to Hakeem Jeffries, the Democrats’ nominee for House speaker..css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}“He ain’t no prop… He’s a man of personal conviction,” Bishop said of Donalds.
    “This is the tired, old, grotesquely racist rhetoric that we have seen far too long,” he added. Michigan’s Republican representative-elect John James nominated Kevin McCarthy for House speaker.“I don’t need DC politicians to tell me about how broken DC is… The American people have already told us how broken DC is,” he said..css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}“The American people have told us…they want Republicans to lead,” he added.“Right now, the people are left out. Right now, they don’t have a Congress to speak for them,” James said of the current impasse.He also brought up the slavery debate regarding the “value of man,” which he described as “drawn out painful process, but it needed to happen.”.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}“He’s earned my trust,” James said of McCarthy. “We’ve come so far…you don’t fire a guy whose winning… We need to learn how to win… We need a conservative fighter to help this country get back on track.”The House of Representatives has convened on Capitol Hill for the third time in attempts to elect a speaker. Guardian readers, feel free to follow the House session via our livestream at the top of this page!President Joe Biden announced new border enforcement actions on Thursday, according to a statement released by the White House. .css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}“These measures will expand and expedite legal pathways for orderly migration and result in new consequences for those who fail to use those legal pathways. They also draw on the success of the Venezuela initiative, which launched in October 2022 and has resulted in a dramatic drop in the number of Venezuelan nationals attempting to enter the United States unlawfully,” it said. The Biden administration said that new consequences will be imposed onto individuals who attempt to cross the border unlawfully, including increasing the use of expedited removal. .css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}“Effective immediately, individuals who attempt to enter the United States without permission, do not have a legal basis to remain, and cannot be expelled pursuant to Title 42 will be increasingly subject to expedited removal to their country of origin and subject to a five-year ban on reentry,” the White House said. The Biden administration will also expand the parole process for Venezuelans to Nicaraguans, Haitians and Cubans. Up to 30,000 individuals from these countries who have an eligible sponsor and pass venting and background checks can come to the US each month for a period of two years and receive worth authorization. Meanwhile, Mexico will also be accepting the return of 30,000 individuals per month from these four countries who cross the border unlawfully. The Biden administration said that it also plans to welcome up to 20,000 refugees from Latin American and Caribbean countries during 2023 and 2024, in turn “putting the United States on pace to more than triple refugee admissions from the western hemisphere this fiscal year alone.” More

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    McCarthy suffers eighth defeat in bid for House speaker as stalemate drags on

    McCarthy suffers eighth defeat in bid for House speaker as stalemate drags onThe impasse over choosing a House speaker continued as McCarthy fell short of votes held up by his detractors The stalemate over choosing a House speaker continued on Thursday, after the Republican leader Kevin McCarthy failed to win the gavel for an eighth time.McCarthy won 201 votes on the eighth ballot, leaving him 17 votes short of the 218 needed for a victory. The results mirrored previous rounds of voting, reflecting the entrenched opposition that McCarthy is facing within the House Republican conference.House Republicans aim to rein in ethics body preparing to investigate their partyRead moreThe Thursday votes included a couple of surprises. Far-right congressman Matt Gaetz, a Republican of Florida, twice cast a ballot for Donald Trump. As the US constitution does not specify that the House speaker must be a member of the chamber, lawmakers are not required to support one of their colleagues. Trump received no other votes.Another two of McCarthy’s detractors, congresswoman Lauren Boebert of Colorado and congressman Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma, threw their support behind congressman Kevin Hern of Oklahoma. Hern, the chair of the Republican study committee, said that the possibility of becoming speaker was “something I’ll have to think and pray about before deciding if it’s a job I’ll run for”.Before Thursday’s proceedings, the House deadlocked over the speakership three times on Wednesday, following the three inconclusive votes held a day earlier. Rather than voting a fourth time that day, members moved to adjourn for a few hours on Wednesday evening, giving McCarthy’s team more time to negotiate with his Republican detractors.The evening, too, failed to produce a solution, so the chamber reconvened only to adjourn again until the following afternoon. This is the first time in a century that the House has not chosen a speaker on the first ballot.In a glimmer of hope for McCarthy’s prospects, most of the holdout Republicans supported his move to adjourn until Thursday at noon. The final vote on the measure was 216-214, as Democrats and a few Republicans tried and failed to keep the chamber in session.Freshman congressman John James, a Republican of Michigan, celebrated the successful motion to adjourn as a “small victory” when he renominated McCarthy on Thursday. But the House Democratic caucus chair, Pete Aguilar, mocked James’s boast as a telling sign of Republican dysfunction.“There is no victory in adjourning without doing the business of the people,” Aguilar said as he renominated the Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries.The third day of voting came amid reports that McCarthy has made significant concessions to his roughly 20 detractors within the Republican conference. According to CNN, McCarthy has agreed to a chamber rule change allowing just one House member to call for a vote to remove the sitting speaker. McCarthy has also reportedly agreed to allow additional members of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus to serve on the influential rules committees, and he has promised votes on some of the detractors’ top legislative priorities.In another major win for far-right House members, the McCarthy-aligned Pac Congressional Leadership Fund has reached an agreement with the organization Club for Growth to not invest in open-seat primaries in safe Republican districts. The two groups have previously clashed in primaries where the Club for Growth promoted candidates who were farther to the right than those endorsed by the CLF. The agreement could give hard-right candidates a better chance at a primary victory, clearing the way for them to join the House after winning relatively easy general elections.“This agreement on Super [Pacs] fulfills a major concern we have pressed for,” said David McIntosh, president of Club for Growth. “Assuming these principles are met, Club for Growth will support Kevin McCarthy for speaker.”But the concessions do not yet appear to have swayed McCarthy’s critics within the conference. Congressman Scott Perry, chair of the House Freedom Caucus and a leader of the anti-McCarthy coalition, expressed frustration that details of the concessions had leaked to the press. He voted against McCarthy for the seventh time on Thursday.“A deal is NOT done. When confidences are betrayed and leaks are directed, it’s even more difficult to trust,” Perry said on Thursday afternoon. “I will not yield to the status quo.”A deal is NOT done. When confidences are betrayed and leaks are directed, it’s even more difficult to trust. Totally unsat. I will not yield to the status quo.— RepScottPerry (@RepScottPerry) January 5, 2023
    McCarthy can only afford to lose the support of four Republicans and still become speaker, assuming all 434 current members of the House cast ballots. If some of McCarthy’s detractors instead choose to vote “present”, the threshold for victory could be lower than 218.McCarthy’s allies complained that the impasse is already affecting their constituents, as all House business has come to a halt until a speaker is selected.“My office was informed by an agency today that they cannot communicate with my staff regarding active casework because we are not yet sworn in,” said congressman Don Bacon, a Republican of Nebraska. “The handful holding up the speaker election is not helping Americans but directly hurting them.”In the face of Republican division, Democrats have remained united in backing their newly chosen leader. On each of the first six ballots, Jeffries won the support of all 212 members of the Democratic caucus, making him the top vote-getter in the speakership election so far.Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Jeffries implored Republicans to reach a consensus for the sake of the nation.“It’s my hope that today, the House Republicans will stop the bickering, stop the backbiting and stop the backstabbing of each other so we can have the back of the American people,” Jeffries said. “We as Democrats are ready, willing and able to partner with them to find common ground whenever and wherever possible – not as Democrats, not as Republicans, as Americans. It’s time for Congress to get to work.”TopicsHouse of RepresentativesUS CongressUS politicsRepublicansnewsReuse this content More

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    Michigan Democrat Debbie Stabenow’s retirement sets up fierce 2024 Senate contest

    Michigan Democrat Debbie Stabenow’s retirement sets up fierce 2024 Senate contestThe vacancy will make Michigan’s Senate seat one of the most competitive in the nation, as Republicans vie for more control Michigan senator Debbie Stabenow, a member of the Democratic leadership, announced on Thursday that she would not seek re-election in 2024, setting the stage for a fierce contest to claim an open seat in a critical midwestern battleground state.How Michigan Democrats took control for the first time in decadesRead moreStabenow, 72, is the first Senate Democrat to announce her retirement ahead of 2024, when the party will try to defend its razor-thin majority by fending off challenges to incumbents in several states that former president Donald Trump won.But Democrats delivered a strong performance in Michigan last year and expressed confidence that the seat would remain in the party’s control.“Inspired by a new generation of leaders, I have decided to pass the torch in the US Senate,” Stabenow said in a statement on Thursday. “I am announcing today that I will not seek re-election and will leave the US Senate at the end of my term on 3 January 2025.“Under the cloud of unprecedented threats to our democracy and our basic freedoms, a record-breaking number of people voted last year in Michigan. Young people showed up like never before. This was a very hopeful sign for our future,” she said.Stabenow’s decision not to seek a fifth term after serving two decades in the chamber immediately turned the race for Michigan’s open Senate seat into one of the most competitive in the nation. Republicans welcomed the development as a sign that Democrats’ hopes of maintaining their one-seat majority were already fading.“We are going to aggressively target this seat in 2024,” said Mike Berg, communications director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the campaign arm of Senate Republicans. “This could be the first of many Senate Democrats who decide to retire rather than lose.”Senate Democrats face a punishing electoral map next year. They are defending nearly a quarter of the seats in the Senate, many of them in competitive states as well as in red states like Ohio, Montana and West Virginia. By contrast, no Senate Republican faces re-election in a state Joe Biden won.But their prospects have improved in Michigan since Trump won the state in 2016. Biden won the state in 2020. And two years later, fury over efforts to ban abortion in Michigan in the wake of the supreme court decision overturning Roe v Wade propelled Democrats to victory up and down the ballot in the state.In a statement, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer praised Stabenow as the embodiment of the “true Michigan spirit” and thanked her for her years of service in Congress and her leadership within the caucus. “With Debbie’s help, and the strong Michigan Democratic party she helped build, Debbie and I are confident Democrats will retain the seat,” he said.Speculation began to swirl about who Democrats might nominate to replace Stabenow. Attention immediately turned to Democratic congresswoman Elissa Slotkin who clinched a decisive victory in November in one of the most competitive House races that cycle. Other possible contenders included congresswoman Haley Stevens, transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who recently moved to Michigan to be closer to his husband’s family.In a statement, Buttigieg called Stabenow a “force in the Senate” but said he was “not seeking any other job”.Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, who resoundingly won re-election in November, praised Stabenow as a “champion for Michigan” while indicating that she was not interested in running for the seat. “As governor of this great state for the next four years, I look forward to working with [Stabenow] through the end of her term and beyond in however she serves our state next,” Whitmer said in a statement, emphasizing her plans to serve a full four-year term.Other Michigan officials whose names have been raised include Lt governor Garlin Gilchrist, secretary of state Jocelyn Benson, attorney general Dana Nessel as well as state senator Mallory McMorrow, who drew interest after a forceful rejoinder to Republican accusations that Democrats want to “groom” children went viral.Stabenow first joined Congress in 1996 after serving in the Michigan state legislature. In 2000, she became the first woman to represent Michigan in the US Senate. Stabenow climbed through the ranks, becoming a member of Democratic leadership and chair of the agriculture committee. In 2018, she turned back a well-funded and closely-watched challenge from Republican John James, who is seen as a rising star on the right.House Republicans aim to rein in ethics body preparing to investigate their partyRead moreJames was elected to the House in November and is considered a potential contender for the Republican Senate nomination. Other possible Republican candidates are former congressman Peter Meijer, a relative moderate who lost his seat last year as well as Tudor Dixon, a Trump loyalist who was defeated by Whitmer in the race for governor.In her statement, Stabenow reflected on the progress Michigan women had made in politics since she first ran for office in 1974, at the age of 24.“This began years of breaking barriers, blazing trails and being the ‘first’ woman to reach historic milestones as an elected official,” she said, adding: “But I have always believed it’s not enough to be the ‘first’ unless there is a ‘second’ and a ‘third’…”TopicsUS politicsMichiganDemocratsUS CongressUS SenatenewsReuse this content More

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    House Democrats should unite with moderate Republicans to elect a speaker | Robert Reich

    House Democrats should unite with moderate Republicans to elect a speakerRobert ReichIn exchange for backing a relatively moderate Republican such as Fred Upton or David Joyce as speaker, Democrats should demand they get equal seats on committees On Thursday, Republicans began their third day supposedly in control of the House of Representatives but without a speaker – which means the House cannot function.Over the past two days the Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of California lost six votes for the top job, because the extreme Maga right wing won’t support him.To get their support, extremists in the House are demanding that any member be able to call a vote at any time to oust him, which would put McCarthy on a very short leash controlled by the Maga right (with Trump indirectly controlling them).In effect, Trump and his loyalists would call many of the shots – on committee assignments, investigations (Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, the FBI), and key issues like raising the debt ceiling (they’ll demand that McCarthy refuse – imperiling the credit of the United States and catapulting the nation into an economic crisis).Does this mean the rest of us have to sit back and allow a tiny minority of extreme rightwing Maga House Republicans controlled by Donald Trump to hijack congressional Republicans, who in turn will hijack the entire House, and thereby hijack much of Congress?No. There’s an alternative, and House Democrats and the few remaining “moderate” Republicans should take it: come together to make someone like Michigan’s moderate Republican Fred Upton or Ohio’s David Joyce the speaker of the House.There’s no rule that says the party in control of the House must decide on the speaker by themselves. All anyone needs to be speaker is 218 votes (or a majority of all members present), regardless of party.House Democrats and moderate Republicans could come up with the 218 votes to put Upton or Joyce over the top.Upton would be a good speaker but Joyce would probably be more acceptable to most current Republican representatives, even though the extremist Maga Republicans won’t have anything to do with him.Joyce is the new chairman of the Republican Conference Group, a group you’ve probably never heard of (years ago it was called the “Tuesday Group”) because it flies under the radar. It’s a collection of the remaining 40 or so Republican moderates.I say “moderate” only in comparison to the rest of the Republican House. The Conference Group at least wants the government to function.Joyce is hardly a progressive. During Trump’s presidency, he voted in line with Trump’s stated position 91.8% of the time. And he voted against impeaching Trump for his role in the January 6 insurrection.But Joyce is not a Maga Republican. He refused to sign the Texas amicus brief that tried to overturn the results of the presidential election. He was also one of the few Republican House members who did not object to the counting of electoral college votes on January 6, 2021.Since Biden became president, Joyce has voted in line with Biden’s positions over 30% of the time.He was one of 35 Republicans who joined all Democrats in approving legislation to establish the January 6 commission to investigate the storming of the US Capitol. He and 46 other Republicans voted for the Respect for Marriage Act, codifying the right to same-sex marriage in federal law.Overall, Joyce’s politics are similar to the Democratic senator Joe Manchin’s. “Everybody’s a Joe Manchin,” Joyce said a few weeks ago.Joyce wants to keep swing-district Republicans out of the harm’s way coming from the Freedom Caucus and other Maga conservatives.He saw what happened to Ohio Republican candidates viewed as too close to Trump’s Maga wing: the state’s House delegation shrank from an eight-member edge for Republicans to just five because voters rejected several Maga candidates. “There’s some exotics that like chaos, they thrive in chaos because that’s how they get the media,” Joyce told the Washington Post.Given that the likeliest alternative will be a Speaker Kevin McCarthy beholden to the extreme Magas, either Upton or Joyce should be elected speaker – and could be if only five House Republicans and all House Democrats support him.What should Democrats ask for in return? A power-sharing agreement similar to the one agreed to in the last Senate, in which each party got the same number of seats on all committees.The deal will enable the government to function and will simultaneously repudiate the Maga extremists. It’s a good deal for America.
    Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few and The Common Good. His new book, The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It, is out now. He is a Guardian US columnist. His newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com
    TopicsUS politicsOpinionUS CongressRepublicanscommentReuse this content More

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    McCarthy takes vote losses to six as US House of Representatives adjourns again – video

    Republican leader Kevin McCarthy failed for the sixth time in two days to capture the speaker’s gavel. After the House adjourned for a few hours, McCarthy and his allies went into negotiations with the Republican holdouts without a clear path forward to end the standoff, then pushed back a seventh vote on the House leadership until Thursday

    House adjourns as speakership evades McCarthy even after sixth vote More

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    Kevin McCarthy takes vote losses to six as US House of Representatives adjourns again – video

    Republican leader Kevin McCarthy failed for the sixth time in two days to capture the speaker’s gavel. After the House adjourned for a few hours, McCarthy and his allies went into negotiations with the Republican holdouts without a clear path forward to end the standoff, then pushed back a seventh vote on the House leadership until Thursday

    House adjourns as speakership evades McCarthy even after sixth vote More