Free Republic

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California lawmakers blocked two big environmental bills Thursday: One that would have ramped up the state's emissions targets, and another that would have made oil companies liable for the health problems of people who live close to oil wells. They are among the hundreds of bills that did not survive the Legislature’s suspense file, a mysterious process where lawmakers decide — with no explanation — which bills will get a chance to become law later this year and which ones should not move forward. Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law that bans drilling new oil...

Multiple lawmakers sold their shares in First Republic Bank in the weeks before the firm collapsed and was sold to JPMorgan Chase by financial regulators. First Republic Bank imploded on Monday, weeks after Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank similarly collapsed, as account holders with balances above the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation threshold rushed to withdraw their funds. Periodic transaction disclosure forms reveal that multiple lawmakers jettisoned their shares in First Republic Bank or acquired shares in JPMorgan Chase over the past two months, a phenomenon which follows accusations that some lawmakers routinely buy stocks at opportune times and cut...

Vice President Kamala Harris defended two Tennessee Democratic legislators who were expelled — and quickly reinstated — after leading a rowdy pro-gun control protest with bullhorns on the floor of the state House of Representatives last month. Harris told the National Action Network’s annual convention in Harlem Friday that a “bullhorn becomes necessary” when “extremists” won’t listen. Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, a Republican, accused the Democrats of “doing an insurrection in the Capitol” and led his caucus in expelling them for the disruption, invoking terminology used by critics of former President Donald Trump to describe the violent riot by...

Vice President Harris is making a previously unscheduled stop in Nashville, Tenn., on Friday to meet with two state lawmakers who were expelled from the Tennessee House for leading gun violence protests in the wake of a local school shooting, a spokesperson confirmed. Harris will meet with state Reps. Justin Jones (D) and Justin Pearson (D), who on Thursday were expelled from the legislature for their participation in the recent demonstrations on the House floor. Rep. Gloria Johnson (D), who also participated in the protests and is white, narrowly survived her expulsion vote.

CNN anchor Don Lemon said Friday on “CNN This Morning” that Tennessee Republicans who expelled two black lawmakers over a gun violence protest inside the state capitol did so because of “racism.” Lemon said, “Look, it’s. They could have done a censure. Right. I think the right question was, why take the most drastic action afterwards? This is exactly what our country was built on. On protesting. Not everyone — protests aren’t perfect. It’s also unconscious bias. It’s racism. It’s a double standard in our society. Obviously, I don’t have to say. I doubt they would have done this to...

Former President Obama late on Thursday said that the expulsion of Tennessee lawmakers after they participated in a gun violence protest on the House floor is a “sign of weakness,” arguing that silencing dissenters won’t lead to progress. “What happened in Tennessee is the latest example of a broader erosion of civility and democratic norms. Silencing those who disagree with us is a sign of weakness, not strength, and it won’t lead to progress,” the former president tweeted. He added that elected officials should not lose their jobs for speaking out, especially when the protests are geared toward protecting children....

New York lawmakers have inched closer to banning gas stoves and fossil fuel appliances in most buildings and also single-family homes. The proposal in the Democrat-controlled state will move forward with the state budget at the end of March and Democrats in both chambers of the state legislature have “endorsed proposals to prohibit fossil fuel furnaces, water heaters, clothes dryers and gas stoves in most new construction,” according to POLITICO. New York would be the first to take this step through legislative action; California and Washington have done so through building codes. An agreement has not been finalized to ensure...

Chris Rock joked that former President Donald Trump was “romantic” for allegedly paying off porn star Stormy Daniels — while calling lawmakers “stupid” for wanting him arrested, warning it will only inflate his popularity. The 58-year-old funnyman addressed the expected arrest as he helped honor Adam Sandler at the Mark Twain Prize late Sunday — directly addressing lawmakers in the audience, including Nancy Pelosi. ‘”Are you guys really going to arrest Trump?” Rock asked the crowd, according to the Daily Mail, which noted that several officials from the Biden administration were in the Kennedy Center crowd. “Do you know this...

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Lawmakers are pushing for higher pay for federal and dc government employees. “The government workers must have 8.7%,” Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said. Tuesday, Booker joined other lawmakers and activists to demand better pay for federal employees across the country. “When we are united we are strong,” Booker said. Together they are backing the Fair Act, to give federal employees an 8.7% pay increase. “We’ve got to stop calling, by the way what I just did, which is a pay increase, which it is not. It’s fair pay,” Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Penn.) said. Fitzpatrick is one of...

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson met with Republican leadership and key players on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, lobbying to maintain support of Ukraine in its fight against Russia. Johnson met with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and is slated to speak to the Republican Study Committee on Wednesday. Johnson is making the rounds to Republican lawmakers as GOP support for the level of U.S. funding to Ukraine has started to falter. As Republicans have taken on their new majority in the House, conservative members have voiced concerns about the ongoing flow of U.S....

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) reaffirmed his position on proxy voting Thursday morning, stating lawmakers “have to show up to work” instead of having someone else vote for them. “No more proxy voting,” the speaker said Thursday morning on Twitter. “Effective immediately, Members of Congress have to show up to work if they want their vote to count.” McCarthy, who already had a successful week as Speaker, reaffirmed his position on proxy voting, which was set in place after becoming Speaker and the House passing the rules package. The rules package was adopted on a slim 220–213 margin and did...

Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) said lawmakers shouldn’t be “playing chicken” with the American economy as the threat of a national debt default later this year looms. “The last thing we ought to be doing is playing chicken with the American economy,” Warnock said on ABC’s “This Week” in an interview with Jonathan Karl. “We’ve been through the onslaught of a very long pandemic that has created a lot of challenges for American families.”

New York lawmakers are now officially the highest paid state legislators in the land after they awarded themselves a massive pay raise. Members of both houses, 63 senators and 150 Assembly members, are getting a pay boost of $32,000 for a new base salary of $142,000, under a bill Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a day before her inauguration Sunday.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Thursday mocked lawmakers who applauded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during his speech before a joint session of Congress, claiming they clapped “like seals.” “Almost every person in the room clapped like a seal,” Carlson said on his nightly show. “So no matter what that man said — Send me more money; I command you, send me more money; we’re taking care of it the most responsible ways — they applaud, all of them, almost like they have to.”

The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol escalated its clash with Republican lawmakers on Monday, recommending a formal ethics inquiry into House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) and other top allies of former President Trump for their refusal to cooperate with the probe. The recommendations to the House Ethics Committee mark a milder step than the criminal referrals to the Justice Department that the select committee made Monday against Trump and several members of the former president’s inner circle for their role in the Capitol riot. But as a political matter, the ethics complaints...

Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the House select committee investigating January 6, 2021 could make ethics referrals for lawmakers who ignored congressional subpoenas. Anchor Jake Tapper said, “There’s talk of your committee referring to the house ethics committee some members of the House of Representatives who may have participated in the insurrection in some way and refused to comply with the investigation. Pennsylvania congressman Scott Perry comes to mind. He referred Jeffrey Clark, who is this obscure lawyer, part of this conspiracy to get him, Jeffrey Clark to become head of the...

WASHINGTON, Dec 6 (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers agreed to provide Ukraine at least $800 million in additional security assistance next year and to boost Taiwan with billions in aid over the next several years, according to an $858 billion defense policy bill unveiled on Tuesday.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is urging congressional lawmakers to pass a new spending bill for the Pentagon, saying a “failure to do so will result in significant harm” to the U.S. and national security. Congress has until Dec. 16 to pass a new funding bill and avoid a federal government shutdown. There has been talk of Congress passing a longer “continuing resolution” or temporary funding measure to give negotiators more time to agree to a new omnibus spending bill that would cover the Pentagon and other government agencies. A “CR” would maintain funding at existing levels, while an omnibus would...

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Thursday slammed Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) for his treatment of a witness during a House Oversight Committee hearing. Higgins had a contentious exchange during the hearing with clean energy advocate Raya Salter, who he at various points referred to as “young lady” and “boo.”

Rep. G.K. Butterfield was proud to be in Congress. Some years ago, the veteran Democrat installed a vanity message on his congressional license plate, broadcasting the district he represents: North Carolina 1. In recent years, the number of menacing threats against sitting members of Congress has ballooned, forcing the Capitol Police to launch thousands of investigations; prompting a flood of new funding for lawmaker security back home and in Washington; and impelling lawmakers to take remarkable precautions to ensure they don’t become the next target of political violence.