Free Republic

With House Democrats barreling toward impeaching President Trump, Speaker Nancy Pelosi is continuing to stave off a full House vote authorizing a formal inquiry – a step Republicans argue not only insulates vulnerable Democrats running in red districts but shuts down the GOP’s ability to wage a legal offensive of its own. House Democrats who support Trump’s impeachment have more than enough votes to follow through, with 223 now backing his ouster compared to just 12 holdouts, several tallies show. So far, however, Pelosi has declined to hold a vote on moving forward with the inquiry, and her aides make...

WASHINGTON - Frustrated by Senate Democrats, the White House hinted Monday that President Bush may act soon to sidestep Congress and install embattled nominee John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations on a temporary basis. White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Bush has used his power for temporary appointments when "he has to get people in place that have waited far too long to get about doing their business." He said that "sometimes there's come a point" when Bush has decided he needs to act. Bolton's nomination has been stalled for months. Critics say Bolton, who has been...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger emerged from meetings at the White House and the Capitol Monday predicting he would get "a lot" more federal money for California, but citing no specific commitments. The governor met in a group with President Bush and one-on-one with Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He said afterward he expects the money to come. "I expect to get a lot of it simply because, you know, I'm very persuasive and I'm like, you know, a tick that hangs on it and will not let go until I get what I...