Free Republic

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has canceled votes scheduled for Friday, May 16. According to Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN), “Members are advised that votes are no longer expected in the House on Friday, May 16. He continued, “Last votes for the week are now expected at approximately 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 15. This is a change from the previously announced schedule.” No reason has been given. No accountability offered. Just more silence from the so-called “leader” of the House. ... Just last month, Johnson abruptly canceled the remainder of the week’s voting schedule, halting progress on critical conservative...

A Massachusetts man on Thursday was charged with attempting to assassinate a member of President Donald Trump's Cabinet, after he brought Molotov cocktails to the Capitol in January. Ryan English, who turned himself into Capitol Police over the incident, allegedly admitted in January that he brought knives and two Molotov cocktails fashioned out of 50 milliliter Absolut Vodka bottles, which were stuffed with cloth doused in hand sanitizer, to Capitol Hill. The man is now charged with carrying a dangerous weapon or incendiary device on the grounds of the Capitol, and unlawful possession of an incendiary device, the department said....

On the Senate floor, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) expressed deep concern about the Republican budget resolution, and put forward an amendment to raise the debt ceiling.

Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has delivered a pointed warning to judges nationwide as local courts have slowed the rollout of Donald Trump's political agenda. 'We do have authority over the federal courts,' Johnson shared at a press conference Tuesday. 'We can eliminate an entire district court,' he noted.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) released a video on social media Tuesday on why he voted no on the Trump-backed Continuing Resolution passed by the House. Massie recorded the response prior to the vote and released the clip immediately after the bill’s passage. He revealed that Mike Johnson, who is no stranger to cutting deals with Democrats as he constantly did with Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries since he first became Speaker of the House, has cut another deal “with the Senate Democrats, Senate leadership, and even Hakeem Jeffries.” .... Snip.... Massie revealed that Democrats in the Senate will be voting...

A formal House reprimand didn’t contain the fallout from Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) interrupting President Trump’s speech to Congress, showing how petty fights and demands for retribution have become an increasingly prominent part of business on the House floor. The House Freedom Caucus is asking Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to hold a vote next week on removing Green from his committees. And Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) could force a vote on another measure to remove Democrats from committees if they were part of the group that sang “We Shall Overcome” and got in a yelling match with Republicans on the...

As President Donald Trump began his speech to Congress on Wednesday, video-game streamer Asmongold went live to react to speech for his millions of followers. 'That is a new tie, I haven't seen that at all,' he commented as Trump entered the congressional chamber wearing a purple tie and started shaking hands with members of Congress. Asmongold, whose real name is Zach Hoyt, is an American content creator, YouTuber, and Twitch streamer with about 5.4 million followers across platforms. After spotting a member of Congress holding a sign behind Trump that read 'This is not normal,' Hoyt commented, 'Yeah, I've...

The Biden presidency might have been the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the American people. A shocking investigation by the Heritage Foundation's Oversight Project has revealed that virtually every document bearing Joe Biden's signature during his presidency was signed by an autopen — except for one. What makes this revelation particularly damning is that the only document confirmed to have Biden's actual signature was his letter announcing his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race. Let that sink in for a moment. Remember when House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) revealed his discussion with Biden when Biden couldn't recall signing the...

Deep in your heart you knew there are tax-payer’s money wasted somewhere in the whole Russian spy drama. Why did the Obama administration and the Russian government wanted to get rid of them so fast? We may never know. However we can prove that USAID funded the agro- and eco-tourism project in 2004 run by the company 4Vlast for which Anya Chapman and Vasily Kushchenko worked at the time. As you know from the previous research Chapman was the London contact person for the 4Vlast firm, Kushchenko was running their tourism firm and worked for the 4 Vlast Mrs. World...

President Donald J. Trump's big, beautiful bill just mounted its first hurdle. Tuesday evening, the Congressional Budget Resolution (H. Con. Res. 14) establishing the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2025 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2026 through 2034 passed on a largely party-line vote of 217 to 215. According to Punchbowl News, the budget resolution with $4.5 trillion for tax cuts and $1.5 trillion-plus in spending cuts was satisfactory to President Trump. There were several holdouts earlier in the evening, including Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN), Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN), and...

The House floor was the scene of some drama tonight—what else is new?—as Republicans launched a last-minute push to drag a few GOP holdouts over the finish line to pass the budget resolution. Earlier in the night, Republican leadership brought the resolution to the floor, only to pull it back before voting could be completed, reportedly because the GOP had a few more votes to whip. Once those were secured, the resolution came to the floor again. The party-line vote was 217-213 in favor, with three House members abstaining. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) was the lone Republican holdout. He had...

Speaker Mike Johnson is staring down at least a dozen Republican holdouts on the budget blueprint he wants to put on the House floor in the coming days — and he can only afford to lose one member and still approve the resolution along party lines. Johnson and his whip team are using the current week-long recess to ramp up engagement with undecided Republicans, including seven members — if not more — who have raised serious concerns about deep cuts to Medicaid in the House GOP budget resolution. Several other members are wary of a move to raise the debt...

Congress is struggling to strike a deal to keep the government funded as a looming deadline to prevent a shutdown next month gets closer. Lawmakers are less than a month away from a mid-March date to pass legislation to prevent a funding lapse — or risk the first shutdown in years. “We can’t have precisely the same kind of deal we had before, and we’re trying to work to find some common ground,” House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said shortly before the House left for a one-week recess this week. Negotiators on both sides have been working to strike...

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) praised R&B legends Boyz II Men after the vocal harmony group visited the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, saying they “created a large part of the soundtrack of our lives.” “I truly enjoyed hosting @BoyzIIMen during their visit to the Capitol today,” Speaker Johnson said in a Thursday X post, sharing a photo of himself with Boys II Men. “Since the band’s formation in 1985, these guys have sold over 60 million albums and created a large part of the soundtrack of our lives. Nathan Morris, Wanyá Morris and Shawn Stockman have still got it!” the...

According to Politico, Democrat Reps. Judy Chu (D-CA) and Gwen Moore (D-WI) marched into Speaker Johnson’s office unannounced and demanded answers on Musk’s DOGE team. Politico reported: Reps. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) and Gwen Moore (D-Wisc.) barged into House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office unscheduled on Wednesday and challenged him about Elon Musk’s team gaining access to a sensitive payment system at the Treasury Department. Their intrusion, amid an escalation of Democratic backlash against Musk’s sweep through the federal government, came shortly after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent arrived at the speaker’s office to discuss how to implement President Donald Trump’s tax agenda....

A Massachusetts man arrested at the U.S. Capitol with Molotov cocktails and a knife told police he was there to “kill” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, according to court documents filed Tuesday. Ryan Michael “Reily” English, who turned himself in to U.S. Capitol Police at 3:12 p.m. ET on Monday, said he traveled to Washington, D.C., initially planning to kill Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and/or House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., a police affidavit said. But English shifted his target to Bessent after stopping at a library in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and reading that the Senate was voting Monday on Bessent’s nomination...

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Sunday that “Colombia and all nations should be on notice” after President Trump said he was placing tariffs and a travel ban on the South American country. “Colombia and all nations should be on notice – Congress is fully prepared to pass sanctions and other measures against those that do not fully cooperate or follow through on requirements to accept their citizens who are illegally in the United States,” Johnson said in a post on the social platform X. “President Trump is putting America first, just like he said he would. And Congress will...

House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Minority Leader John Thune are set to headline the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., underscoring their support for the pro-life movement. The event, scheduled to take place near the National Mall, draws tens of thousands of participants each year to advocate for the protection of unborn life and celebrate the pro-life cause. Speaker Johnson, known for his strong pro-life stance, is expected to emphasize the importance of advancing legislation that protects life at all stages. His speech will likely highlight efforts in the House to strengthen federal restrictions on abortion and promote...

President Trump will venture into deep-blue California on Friday for a closely-watched visit that could determine disaster aid for the state and how Trump will work with Democratic governors throughout his four years in office. Trump’s trip to fire-ravaged Los Angeles comes after he traded barbs with California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). The president will also make trips to North Carolina, which was hit hard by Hurricane Helene, and to Nevada, two states he won in November. The trip to Los Angeles also marks a big moment for Newsom, who has been floated as a potential 2028 contender but who...

An aide to Mike Johnson advised the House speaker’s Republican colleagues against subpoenaing former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson as part of their investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack in an effort to prevent the release of sexually explicit texts that lawmakers sent her, according to written correspondence reviewed by The Washington Post and a person familiar with the effort. .....In a meeting following the June conversation, Johnson (R-Louisiana) and senior aides also conveyed to Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Georgia) and members of his staff that issuing a subpoena to Hutchinson and asking her to testify under oath would serve...