During the House hearing on the assassination attempt against Donald Trump, a screaming match broke out between the acting director of the US Secret Service, Ronald Rowe, and the Republican congressman Pat Fallon.Fallon displayed an enlarged photo from a commemoration of the September 11 attacks in New York, which both Joe Biden and Trump attended this fall. Fallon accused Rowe, who was standing directly behind Biden and Kamala Harris in the photo, of taking the place of the special agent in charge and endangering the president’s security for the sake of a photo op.Rowe replied that the special agent in charge was just out of the picture’s view, and he accused Fallon of politicizing the September 11 attacks.“I actually responded to Ground Zero. I was there going through the ashes of the World Trade Center,” Rowe said.Fallon interrupted, telling Rowe, “I’m not asking you that.” He then suggested that Rowe, who is not expected to stay on as director once Trump takes office, stood where he did to “audition” for keeping his job, if Harris won the presidency.The exchange devolved into shouting, with Rowe yelling at Fallon, “Do not invoke 9/11 for political purposes!”“I’m not,” Fallon replied. He accused Rowe, “You endangered president Biden’s life, vice-president Harris’ life, because you put those agents out of position.”Rowe denied that charge, telling Fallon, “You are out of line.”Democrat Adam Gray won a seat in California’s 13th congressional district on Tuesday, unseating Republican congressman John Duarte. The result concludes what was the last remaining undecided US House contest in the 2024 cycle.Gray won by a margin of fewer than 200 votes according to a tally completed this week.Duarte defeated Grayin 2022 by just 564 votes, one of the closest margins in the country.Democrats now hold 215 seats in congress, and Republicans have a narrow majority with 220 seats.Ro Khanna, a Democratic congressman from California, said he was ready to collaborate with the Department of Government Efficiency.He did not exactly say if he would join the congressional caucus formed to assist DOGE, which is not a formal department. Here’s what Khanna wrote, on X:
I’m ready to work with @doge , @elonmusk + @VivekGRamaswamy to slash waste. I have a track record of doing so. I led the charge to get TransDigm to refund $16 million after investigative reporting exposed price-gouging. Let’s look to the Truman Committee and ensure Americans get their money’s worth with DOD spending.
NBC News reports that a Secret Service spokesman defended acting director Ronald Rowe from Republican congressman Pat Fallon’s claim that he compromised security by attending a ceremony to commemorate 9/11.Rowe was at the event in New York attended by Joe Biden and Donald Trump “to honor the victims of that tragic day, including the members of the Secret Service who were killed. All detail personnel were present and had complete access to their protectees during the memorial,” Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.NBC also reports that Fallon accused Rowe of starting their shouting match in a congressional hearing meant to explore Trump’s attempted assassination in July, saying “he started screaming, he wouldn’t answer questions.”Independent Maine senator Angus King is raising pointed questions about the suitability of Pete Hegseth as a potential Pentagon leader as he makes the rounds on Capitol Hill this week, telling the Guardian that some of Trump’s candidates “thus far do not appear to have the requisite background or experience for the important posts in question.”King, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee which would confirm a new Defense Secretary, has not committed to supporting Hegseth’s nomination and noted that he is not meeting Hegseth today, though stopped short of an outright rejection.As an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, King’s vote is not expected to be decisive.“Senator King will hear all nominees make their case when they come before the committees of jurisdiction and make his decisions on each as they come to the Senate floor,” his office tells The Guardian.Here’s the moment acting Secret Service director Ronald Rowe and Republican congressman Pat Fallon got into it at a hearing looking into the assassination attempt targeting Donald Trump:While details remain closely guarded, House speaker Mike Johnson revealed the incoming non-department Department of Government Efficiency initiative spearheaded by tech billionaire Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy would be “bipartisan.”During an afternoon press conference, Johnson claimed several Democratic colleagues have already expressed interest in the government efficiency project, though he did not specify who.“Government is too big. It does too many things, and it does almost nothing well,” Johnson said.Earlier in the week, Democratic congressman Jared Moskowitz announced he would join the DOGE caucus, making him the first lawmaker from the party to support the effort.“I will join the Congressional DOGE Caucus, because I believe that streamlining government processes and reducing ineffective government spending should not be a partisan issue. I’ve been clear that there are ways we can reorganize our government to make it work better for the American people,” Moskowitz said.According to Johnson, the day unfolded with a series of closed-door meetings, beginning with Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, who chairs the newly formed caucus. They discussed a newly released 60-page report mostly focused on targeting federal staffers who telework.During the House hearing on the assassination attempt against Donald Trump, a screaming match broke out between the acting director of the US Secret Service, Ronald Rowe, and the Republican congressman Pat Fallon.Fallon displayed an enlarged photo from a commemoration of the September 11 attacks in New York, which both Joe Biden and Trump attended this fall. Fallon accused Rowe, who was standing directly behind Biden and Kamala Harris in the photo, of taking the place of the special agent in charge and endangering the president’s security for the sake of a photo op.Rowe replied that the special agent in charge was just out of the picture’s view, and he accused Fallon of politicizing the September 11 attacks.“I actually responded to Ground Zero. I was there going through the ashes of the World Trade Center,” Rowe said.Fallon interrupted, telling Rowe, “I’m not asking you that.” He then suggested that Rowe, who is not expected to stay on as director once Trump takes office, stood where he did to “audition” for keeping his job, if Harris won the presidency.The exchange devolved into shouting, with Rowe yelling at Fallon, “Do not invoke 9/11 for political purposes!”“I’m not,” Fallon replied. He accused Rowe, “You endangered president Biden’s life, vice-president Harris’ life, because you put those agents out of position.”Rowe denied that charge, telling Fallon, “You are out of line.”The EV credit is a product of Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act – a boost of investment into clean energy and climate action – and was created to make EV’s more affordable.Rolling the credit back will further stall US EV transition, critics say.The Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in July killing the subsidy may hurt Tesla sales a little but would be “devastating” to its US EV competitors, like General Motors.After meeting with incoming senate majority leader John Thune, Elon Musk told reporters he thinks we should get rid of all tax credits for electrical vehicle purchasers.“We just need to make sure we spend the public’s money well,” Musk said.Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who will soon head the non-government agency Department of Government Efficiciency, are in meetings all day with Republicans on Capitol Hill.Senator Rick Scott of Florida has doubled down on his support for Pete Hegseth.“I admire people who are willing to put on the uniform and lead troops into battle,” Scott told reporters after a meeting with Trump’s pick for secretary of defense. “When he goes in the Department of Defense, he will walk in with the mentality that he’s going to take care of our warfighters.”CNN’s Jake Tapper questioned Scott earlier this week over support for Hegseth in light of sexual assault accusations against him. Scott denounced the anonymous accusers, but when Tapper asked if Hegseth should release his accuser from their non-disclosure agreement so she could be interviewed, Scott said “absolutely not.”Pete Hegseth is continuing his quest to convince Republican senators that he is qualified to lead the defense department. His nomination has been rocked by a sexual assault allegation, and reports of his excessive drinking, financial mismanagement and marital infidelities. Today, a Republican senator whose views on Hegseth are seen as key to his chances of getting the job – Iowa’s Joni Ernst – said she was not yet ready to vote for his confirmation, and called for “a very thorough vetting process”. Hegseth has insisted he is not dropping out of contention for the job, telling reporters in the Capitol that he has Donald Trump’s support, and won’t go anywhere until that changes.Here’s what else is going on today:
Ronald Rowe, the acting Secret Service director, acknowledged an “abject failure” by the agency in preventing the first assassination attempt against Trump.
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are expected to meet with Republicans in the Capitol to discuss their Department of Government Efficiency – which is not actually a department, nor a part of the government.
Republican House majority leader Steve Scalise hinted that the party wants to pass legislation to enact Trump’s priorities within days of his inauguration.
Should Republican senator Joni Ernst decline to support Pete Hegseth for defense secretary – a decision that could strike a fatal blow to his chances of winning Senate confirmation – it won’t be without risks.Politico heard from an unnamed Republican senator who hinted that Ernst could face a primary challenge orchestrated by Donald Trump if she rejects his appointee to lead the Pentagon:
“If Joni votes no, she’s going to have a hard time with her reelection campaign,” said one GOP senator, noting that during any floor vote Hegseth, Trump “will be taking names.”
The Republican House majority leader Steve Scalise told CNBC that lawmakers will be sharing ideas with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy about how to downsize government during their meeting today.“One of the things we’re going to be talking about with Elon [Musk] and Vivek [Ramaswamy] today, a lot of our members have ideas, have been working on various committees on things to do just that, to cut government waste, to identify and root out a lot of inefficiencies in government. And we’re going to be working hand in hand,” Scalise said.He singled out federal employees who work from home, saying they were undercutting the governments ability to function:
It’s a refreshing idea that we’re going to actually make government work better and make your taxpayers go further. There are probably 75% of federal employees here in Washington that still are not showing up to work under the excuse of Covid. Covid’s been over for years, and yet you might wait right now, months and months, to get a passport renewed. Some people are waiting years to get a tax return process from three years ago because those employees aren’t showing up for work, so it’s hurting families all across this country. You know, those are the kind of inefficiencies we’re going to be looking at all across the board.
In a sign of how quickly House Republicans would like to move on accomplishing Trump’s priorities, Scalise said they are working with the president-elect’s transition teams on a bill that will be ready “for January”. Trump will be inaugurated on the 20th of that month.Speaking to NBC News as he traversed the Capitol between meetings with Republican senators weighing his nomination for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth said that he would continue standing for the job as long as he had Donald Trump’s support.“As long as [President-elect Trump] supports me, which he told me this morning. I’ll be here,” Hegseth told the network. More
