The House passed a four-bill $95 billion foreign aid package over the weekend that includes $60 billion in additional aid for Ukraine. The bill could cost House Speaker Mike Johnson his job.Β
The aid package passed in a 311-112 vote with the unanimous support of Democrats and 101 Republicans voting in favor of the bill.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., threatened to introduce a motion to remove Johnson, R-La., from his position as speaker if he brought the funding for Ukraine to the House floor for a vote.Β
βI think sheβs looking at the totality of whatβs come across the floor over the past few months, and she is expressing extreme disappointment with that,β Ryan Walker, executive vice president of Heritage Action for America, says of Greene. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation, of which Heritage Action is the grassroots arm.)
Greene left Washington at the end of last week without introducing the motion to vacate the speaker but said during an interview Sunday on Fox News that she still planned to try to oust Johnson.Β
βMike Johnsonβs speakership is over,β Greene said on βSunday Morning Futures,β adding, βHe needs to do the right thingβto resign and allow us to move forward in a controlled process. If he doesnβt do so, he will be vacated.βΒ
Less than one year after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the role, Capitol Hill is bracing for the potential of another speakership battle when Congress returns to Washington next week.Β
Walker joins βThe Daily Signal Podcastβ to explain the reason for the sharp divide in Congress over the foreign aid package and the likelihood Johnson will face removal as speaker. Walker also explains where Congress is getting the money to send to Ukraine.Β
Listen to the podcast below:
The post Why Speaker Johnsonβs Job Is on the Line After House Votes $60 Billion for Ukraine appeared first on The Daily Signal.
If those in federal office are willing to pay attention, the states are displaying the bestβand the worstβof our republican form of government.
Every four years, American citizens get the opportunity to express their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the direction of the country, endorse a policy agenda for the nation, and hold the occupant of the highest office in our federal government to account for his leadership or lack thereof.
But in the intervening years between what some treat as a national Rorschach test, lawmakers are the policymakers entrusted to express the will of the people.
Fifty laboratories of innovation provide Americans with the freedom to vote with their feet by living in states that reflect the priorities around which their pursuit of happiness seems most reliably cultivated. The states also provide an effective case study for varying policy initiatives upon which our federal government can rely for evidence-based decision-making for the nation.
As an example, the Tennessee General Assembly recently passed landmark legislation addressing the disturbing trend of debanking. Once signed by Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, this law will provide consumer protection by prohibiting big banks from canceling accounts based on the constitutionally protected freedoms of speech and religious exercise.
Applying to the largest financial institutions, those with at least $100 billion in assets, the law provides a road map for other states to follow. Since the federal government is where banks that are βtoo big to failβ look for taxpayer-funded bailouts, Congress should follow Tennesseeβs lead as well.
Contrast this approach of protecting access to basic financial services regardless of ideology with the state of New York. The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard from the National Rifle Association, which is seeking to stop New York state officials from using political power to coerce banks, insurers, and other service providers to refuse service to the Second Amendment advocacy organization.
In Idaho, Gov. Brad Little, a Republican, signed HB 578, which will ensure that faith-based adoption and foster care providers are free to serve children in need and work with the state to find loving, forever homes for kids.
Meanwhile, next door in Oregon, Jessica Bates is prevented from adopting children because she wonβt agree to the stateβs demand that she promote gender ideology. Apparently, Bates doesnβt have a high enough βsocial credit scoreβ to be deemed a worthy parent by the state.
Idaho simultaneously protects the right of conscience and promotes the best interests of children in need of loving homes, while Oregon prioritizes politics over people.
One might look at these polar-opposite expressions of policy preferences and despair of a nation plagued by irreconcilable differences. But to the federalists among us, these differences are not a bug but a feature of our system.
Our national political culture is divided, but no more so now than it was at our founding. Today we simply have divisions of 50 instead of the 13 that existed when our Constitution was adopted. Then, as now, life in the states can look drastically different across our internal borders.
From the beginning, these United States of America were a hodgepodge of varying ethnicities, religions, economies, and political beliefs. What united the states then can still unite them todayβthe recognition of our fundamental God-given rights and the implicit American compact to protect those rights for all, regardless of which direction the political winds may blow across a state or the nation.
If an executive or legislative branch of state or federal government, even with popular support, goes so far as to implement policy that conflicts with these fundamental rights, our judiciary is empowered to rein in the wayward whims of the democratic process. This ensures that our fundamental rights are recognized in all 50 states while allowing for policy differences on other matters.
American journalist H.L. Mencken once said: βDemocracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard.β
Thankfully, our Founders were keenly aware of the fallen nature of man, the seductive trappings of power, and thus the perils of pure democracy for the God-given rights of the individual. They had the foresight to give us, as Benjamin Franklin reportedly quipped, βA republic, if you can keep it.β
When our federal government is focused on protecting fundamental rights guaranteed to all by the Constitutionβs principles while respecting the role and differences of the states, we improve our chances of βkeeping it.β
The Daily Signal publishes aΒ varietyΒ ofΒ perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the viewsΒ ofΒ The Heritage Foundation.
The post Differences Among States Are a Plus, Not a Bug, in Our System appeared first on The Daily Signal.
House Democrats released an agenda Thursday that includes a vow to codify a right to so-called gender-affirming careβtransgender surgeries, hormones, and puberty blockers.
The promise came within the Congressional Progressive Caucusβ agenda, which House Democrats first shared with NBC News. That agenda includes a slew of left-wing interests, including promises of a higher minimum wage and stronger antitrust laws.
βIf the progressive base is not excited and enthusiasticβand if they donβt feel like we are trying to earn their votes and that they are importantβthen I think the horrific idea of a second Donald Trump presidency could become reality,β Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who chairs the progressive caucus, told NBC News in an interview. βWe cannot afford to let that happen. And we wonβt.β
Although NBC claims that the agenda goes βlighter on cultural issues,β under the category βadvancing justice,β it promises to βcodify the rights of transgender, nonbinary and intersex people, including gender-affirming care and health care.β
Jayapal did not respond to requests for comment for this article explaining what, exactly, codifying a right to βgender-affirming careβ would entail.
In March 2023, she joined with other Democrats in introducing a βTrans Bill of Rights,β citing the rise in parental rights laws, laws protecting kids from gender transitions, and laws prohibiting boys from participating in girls and womenβs sports.
βDay after day, we see a constant onslaught of anti-trans rhetoric and legislation coming from elected officials. Today, we say enough is enough,β Jayapal said at the time. Β βOur Trans Bill of Rights says clearly to the trans community across the country that we see you, and we will stand with you, to ensure you are protected and given the dignity and respect that every person should have.β
That legislation would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include gender identity as βprotected characteristics.β It would also amend federal education laws to say that they protect kids from being discriminated against based on gender identity.
The Trans Bill of Rights also called for ensuring that βevery child has the right to grow up in a supportive environment by having their authentic identity respected in the classroom, ensuring they can participate in school sports with their peers, and ensuring access to an inclusive curriculum.β
It further called for βexpanding accessβ to trans surgeries, hormones, and puberty blockers and codifying rights to abortion and contraception.
Jayapal told NBC News that progressive Democrats assume βthis is an agenda for a Democratic president with a Democratic Senate and a Democratic House.β
She added: βWe have to excite our base. We have to show them what the path forward isβnot just say, βThis is the most important election of your life, and we expect you to vote.β I donβt think thatβs going to turn people out. And so, I think this agenda, really, speaks to the needs of poor people, working people, progressives across the country who want us to make that case to them.β
βWe are not seeing the momentum that we would like to see,β she told NBC. Weβre going to have a tough election. β¦ We know weβre going to have to put together that progressive coalition. And I think this is the thing that allows us to say, ββLook, hereβs what weβre fighting for.ββ
The post House Democrats Vow to Codify βRightsβ to Trans Surgeries, Hormones, Puberty Blockers appeared first on The Daily Signal.
Rep. Ralph Norman reintroduced a bill Wednesday aimed at stopping a form of federal spending known as earmarks. Β
βIβve always said that earmarks are evil,β Norman, R-N.C. told The Daily Signal. βThey are sneaky in the way that they get tacked onto big, important spending packages to be automatically passed by the βunipartyβ with the hope that no one looks into the details.βΒ
Lawmakers use earmarks, often referred to as βpork,β to receive funding for projects in their districts. Earmarks are often inserted into large spending bills where they are likely to largely go unnoticed. A congressional earmark dedicates federal funds for a specific purpose, such as the construction of a bridge, the restoration of a city landmark, or a local program. Β
βBasically, an earmark is taxpayer funding for a personalized pet project for a particular district or special interest group,β Norman said. Β
The six-page bill he reintroduced Wednesday prohibits Congress from considering legislation that contains earmarks, thus banning the practice. Β
Norman introduced the bill, known as the Earmark Elimination Act, twice before, and most recently in February 2021. Β
Five Republican lawmakers are currently co-sponsoring the bill, including Reps. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, Matt Rosendale of Montana,Β Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin, Tom McClintock of California, and Andy Ogles of Tennessee.Β
Earmarks have long been debated and were even temporarily banned in Congress fromΒ 2011 to 2021. Among the most notorious congressional earmark schemes was in 2005 when two lawmakers from Alaska earmarked $223 million to build a bridge from Ketchikan to the island of Gravina, which at the time had a population of about 50 people. The project was nicknamed theΒ βBridge to Nowhere.β Β
βAttaching earmarks to large spending packages doesnβt allow for public discussion,β Norman criticized. βCongress, with the power of the purse, should be primarily looking out for the peopleβs tax dollars and getting federal spending down as soon as possible.βΒ
Bloomberg Government reports that among the federal governmentβs 2024 spending bills, Republican and Democrat lawmakers inserted 8,099 earmarks accounting for $14.6 billion. Β
βTo me, this is the most wasteful, abusive way to use hard-earned taxpayer dollars,β Norman said.
The post EXCLUSIVE: Congressman Calls on House to Pass Bill Banning Earmarks appeared first on The Daily Signal.
The House delivered the two articles of impeachment againstΒ Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate on Tuesday afternoon.
The articles are expected to beΒ acted on quickly by the Democrat-controlled Senate, but not in the manner House GOP lawmakersΒ are seeking. Β
βWe want to address this issue as expeditiously as possible,β Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said during a floor speech Monday discussing the articles of impeachment. Β
Republicans who backed the impeachment of Mayorkas are concerned that Schumer will hold a vote to dismiss the articles of impeachment altogether. Dismissal only requires a simple majority, which is not out of the question, given Democratsβ control of the upper chamber. Β
Schumer also hasΒ the option to refer the articles to committee, where they would likelyΒ die, or to hold a full Senate trial, which Schumer is not expected to do, given his own vocal opposition to Mayorkasβ impeachment. Β
βImpeachment should never be used to settle a policy disagreement,β Schumer said, adding, βThat would set a horrible precedent for the Congress.β Β
House and Senate Republicans supporting impeachment have maintained a pressure campaign on Schumer to force a Senate trial. Β
βUnder the Constitution, the responsibility of the Senate is simple and straightforward: The Senate must hold a trial,β said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Β
βChuck Schumer doesnβt want to do that,β Cruz added. βInstead, he wants to move to table the entire thing for three reasons. First, he does not want to allow the House managers to present evidence of Mayorkasβ willful decision to aid and abet the criminal invasion of this country. Second, he does not want the American people to see the facts. Third, he does not want Senate Democrats on the ballot in November to have to vote βnot guiltyβ because the evidence is indisputableβAlejandro Mayorkas is guilty.β Β
Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., serves as chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee and led the impeachment effort against Mayorkas. Β
βThe American people demand accountability,β Green wrote on X, in response to House Speaker Mike Johnson signing the articles of impeachment Monday. Β
The Republican-controlled House votedΒ 214 to 213 on a party-line vote to impeach Mayorkas on Feb. 13 after a failed attempt a week prior.Β Β
The Houseβs first article alleges that the homeland security secretaryΒ has failedΒ to secure Americaβs border and enforce immigration laws, and instead has executed policies that incentivize illegal immigration.Β Β Β Β
The Houseβs second article of impeachment contends that Mayorkas is in breach of the public trust and knowingly has madeΒ false statements to CongressΒ and the American people.Β
Like his conservative colleagues in the House, Cruz says Mayorkas bears much of the responsibility for the record high number of encounters of illegal aliens at Americaβs borders. Β
βMayorkas has aided and abetted the criminal invasion of the United States,β Cruz said. βThis is a humanitarian, public safety, and national security crisis.β Β
Schumer told his fellow senators in a βDear Colleagueβ letter on April 5 that when the articles of impeachment arrive in the Senate,Β senators will be sworn in as jurors the following day and that Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray, D-Wash., will preside over the chamber. Β
The House was originally going to deliver the two articles of impeachment to the Senate on April 10, but Johnson delayed the delivery after a group of GOP senators asked him to do so to allow more time for debate on the Senate floor before the weekend.
Schumer said Monday that his plan of action in the Senate has not changed despite the arrival of the articles being delayed six days. Β
The post Long-Awaited Articles of Impeachment Against DHS Secretary Mayorkas Arrive in Senate appeared first on The Daily Signal.
Vivek Ramaswamy has endorsed Army veteran Kevin Virgil, who is primarying Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) in Iowaβs Fourth Congressional District.
The post Exclusive: Vivek Ramaswamy Endorses Feenstra Challenger Kevin Virgil in Iowa GOP Congressional Primary appeared first on Breitbart.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., announced on social media Tuesday that heβs co-sponsoring a motion to vacate the chair against House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
In doing so, Massie joined the motion to vacate push against Johnson launched by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., in March. Massie is theΒ first other Republican to back GreeneΒ in the effort.
βI just told Mike Johnson in conference that Iβm co-sponsoring the Motion to Vacate that was introduced by [Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene],β Massie wrote on X, formerly Twitter. βHe should pre-announce his resignation (as Boehner did), so we can pick a new Speaker without ever being without a GOP Speaker.β Thatβs a reference to another former House speaker, Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio.
Johnson,Β according to NBCβs Jake Sherman, saidΒ that heβs not resigning.
βI am not resigning. And it is in my view an absurd notion that someone would bring a vacate motion when we are simply here trying to do our jobs,β Johnson said.
Johnsonβwho became the speaker after the ouster of his predecessor as speaker, former Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.,Β by a motion to vacate in Octoberβhas been facing increasing pressure from conservatives in the House. In particular, Johnson has been criticized for working with Democrats on a bill to fund the Ukraine war effort.
Johnson continues to receive the support of former President Donald Trump. Trump said on Friday that Johnson is doing a βvery good jobβ when the two appeared together at Trumpβs Mar-a-Lago home in Florida on Friday.
βI stand with the speaker,β Trump said.
Johnson was elected House speaker in October with 220 Republicans supporting him. Johnsonβs election came after McCarthy was removed as speaker after eight Republicans and all Democrats voted against him.
Since Johnson became speaker, McCarthy and Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., resigned and left Congress. Former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., was expelled in a House vote, and Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., will resign effective on Friday. After Gallagher leaves office, there will be 217 Republicans and 213 Democrats, a razor-thin Republican majority.
The post Johnson Vows Not to Resign, as Second GOP Lawmaker Announces Support for Ouster appeared first on The Daily Signal.
The federal government increasingly looks like an Ivy League classroom, combining therapy for fragile souls with indoctrination into specious ideology.
Nowhere is this more apparent than at theΒ State Department, where employees are encouraged to take courses in the name ofΒ diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, or DEIA, that stress their differences, trauma, and status on the victim-oppressor continuum.Β
AsΒ reportedΒ by TheΒ Daily Wire, the State Department spent a whopping $77 million on DEIA programs last year for its staffing shop, the Bureau of Global Talent Management.
Just this past month, the State Department offered a training session called βUnveiling the Hidden Wounds: Exploring Racial Trauma and Minority Stress.β It promised a βspace for empathyβ where βvoices are heard, wounds are acknowledged, and action is taken towards justice and equity.β
Then there was βA Conversation on Racial Equity and Social Justiceβ withΒ Bryan Stevenson, whoΒ pulled in $55,000 in donations per minute for a single TED Talk.Β Β
Employees could also take the half-day course βIntersectional Gender Analysis Training,β which βexplores how gender and systems of power shape an individualβs lived experience.β Alternatively, they could attend a seminar called βEmbrace Equity and Inspire Changeβ or a series of female empowerment sessions such asΒ βElevating Women in Technology and Beyond.βΒ
Anticipating resistance, the State Department offered the course βUnderstanding Backlash to DEIA and How to Address It,β in which psychologist Kimberly Rios claimed to βhighlight evidence demonstrating that DEIA initiatives can challenge the power, values, status, belonging, and cultural identity of dominant group members, particularly White Americans whose racial identity is important to their sense of self.β Rios will do this, the announcement said with unwitting irony, βto promote intergroup harmony.βΒ
Government employees are required to take a variety of training courses to advance in their careers. Even five years ago, most of these were about doing your job betterβcourses on leadership, management, and other skills. But in the βwokeβ era, employees are also subjected to ideological sessions such as those mentioned above.Β
Given what all these courses and speakers cost taxpayers to provide, is there any evidence that they are based on sound information or that they improve the workforce?Β
Letβs examine one offering more closely.Β
The State Department runs a βDEIA Distinguished Scholar Speaker Seriesβ that βhighlights cutting-edge scientific research,β under which the agency recently brought in Yale professor John Dovidio to give a talk titled βRacism Among the Well-IntentionedβChallenges and Solutions.βΒ Β
In a 2013 speech, DovidioΒ said: βAbout 80% of white Americans will say they are not sexist or theyβre not racist β¦ but work with the IAT will show that 60% to 75% of the population are both racist and sexist at an implicit level.βΒ
So, what is this βIATβ that Dovidio cites?Β
Harvardβs Implicit Association Test is a favorite tool of social scientists who want to prove that people are inherently racist and sexist. This is a necessary premise for critical race theory, which posits that nebulous concepts such as βstructural biasβ and βsystems of oppressionβ can explain all variances in performance between racial groups rather than individual factors such as education, industry, and behavior. The Implicit Association Test offers the evidence the Left needs to support this theory.
But the Implicit Association Test isnβt an accepted measure of bias. One of its own inventorsΒ said, βI and my colleagues and collaborators do not call the IAT results a measure of implicit prejudice [or] implicit racism.β
And in a 2015 review, Hart Blanton of Texas A&MΒ wroteΒ that βall of the meta-analyses converge on the conclusion that β¦ IAT scores are not good predictors of ethnic or racial discrimination and explain, at most, small fractions of the variance in discriminatory behavior in controlled laboratory setting.β
In a 2021 academic paper, Ulrich Schimmack came to the same conclusion, writing that βIATs are widely used without psychometric evidence of construct or predictive validity.βΒ
As far back as 2008, in an article for the American Psychological Association, Beth AzarΒ wroteΒ that a personβs scores on the Implicit Association Test βoften change from one test to another.β German Lopez,Β writingΒ forΒ Vox, took the test two days apart and found that in the first, he βhad a slight automatic preference for white people,β and in the second, βa slight automatic preference β¦ in favor of black people.β
Summing up, Greg Mitchell of the University of VirginiaΒ said, βThe IAT is not yet ready for prime time.β
Thatβs hardly a firm foundation for using taxpayersβ money to train federal staff in a worldview that will affect their careers and lives. And of course, all of the hours employees spend auto-flagellating with critical race theory is paid time they are not working on matters of national interest.Β
One canβt put too much blame on race merchants such as Dovidio, Ibram X. Kendi, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Nikole Hannah-Jones for simply trying to sell their product. But the question is: Why is the government buying it with our money?Β Β
Taxpayer-funded institutions shouldnβt pay for courses and speakers whose premises are contentious and whose efforts wonβt measurably improve the workforce.
Federal employees are free to explore social theory on their own time. On our dime, they should get on with their real job.Β
Originally published by the Washington Examiner
The post Taxpayers Shouldnβt Have to Fund State Departmentβs DEI Pseudoscience appeared first on The Daily Signal.
Democrats counting illegal immigrants in the United States census is "all about power," Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) said.
The post Exclusive β Sen. Bill Hagerty: Democrats Counting Illegals in Census βAll About Powerβ appeared first on Breitbart.
AOC became a member of Congress in 2019 but failed to pay dues until 2024, representing the completion of a gradual shift towards becoming a member of the Democrat establishment.
The post AOC Bends Knee to DCCC Establishment by Paying Dues for First Time appeared first on Breitbart.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says it is "preposterous" to suggest that President Joe Biden is importing millions of migrants to the United States to inflate political power in favor of Democrats.
The post DHS Chief Mayorkas: βPreposterousβ to Suggest Biden Importing Migrants to Create Permanent Democrat Majority appeared first on Breitbart.
Experts, including two former diplomats representing America at the United Nations, warned Congress in a hearing on Wednesday that China is amassing power within the U.N. structure to "blunt criticism, shut out and stigmatize Taiwan, plug its Belt and Road Initiative, and dilute norms that might be used to hold it accountable."
The post Experts to Congress: China Is Hijacking Key U.N. Agencies to Advance Communist Agenda appeared first on Breitbart.
Rep. Austin Scott, a Republican from Georgia who has criticized conservatives and is campaigning actively against the House Freedom Caucus chairman, is Speaker Mike Johnsonβs choice for a newly vacant seat on the powerful Rules Committee.
Scottβs selection Wednesday infuriated conservatives on Capitol Hill. The Daily Signal spoke with several lawmakers and staffers whose reactions ranged from shock to disappointment that Johnson, R-La., would pick someone who is openly trying to unseat one of the Houseβs most prominent conservatives.
βThis the wrong person for the wrong role at the wrong time,β a Republican member of Congress told The Daily Signal.
By picking Scott for the Rules Committee, one of the oldest and most powerful in the House of Representatives, Johnson revealed whom he trusts to determine floor activity and advance the speakerβs agenda.
βItβs hard to see Johnsonβs move here as anything except needing an attack dog against conservatives,β said a former Republican staffer, who requested anonymity to speak candidly. βYou get the impression heβs going to use Austin Scott to help as a blockade on the Rules Committee and throughout the [Republican] conference. Thatβs the signal it sends.β
Johnsonβs staff acknowledged The Daily Signalβs request for comment, but did not provide a response.
Scott, a close ally of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., sought the speakerβs job in October in an ill-fated run against Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
At the time of McCarthyβs ouster as speaker, Scott issued a statement calling the eight members who voted to remove McCarthy βnothing more than grifters who have handed control of the House to the Democratic Party in the name of their own glory and fundraising.β
Scott continued, βThere is nothing principled about what they did, and Republican leadership will have to decide to either hold these members accountable or lose the faith of the rest of the conference.β
Months later, he took aim at one of the eight in particular: Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., chairman of the House Freedom Caucus. Scott donated to Goodβs primary challenger, John McGuire, in Virginiaβs 5th Congressional District. Last month, Scott was a featured guest at a McGuire fundraiser.
Despite Scottβs actions, Johnson handpicked him for a coveted seat on the powerful Rules Committee.
βSpeaker Johnson keeps saying, βWeβre on the same team, knock it off, please stop this.β But heβs not actually doing anything to stop it,β a Republican staffer told The Daily Signal. βNow, Austin Scott, one of the guys who started this civil war on the primary campaign trail, is put on the Rules Committee. The speaker isnβt ending the war, heβs escalating it by rewarding people going after conservatives.β
And while Scottβs public actions have revealed his contempt for conservatives, lawmakers and staff said he is even more hostile to them in private settings.
βHeβs got a short fuse and a hot temper,β another Republican member said of Scott. βQuite honestly, he doesnβt have the temperament to be a legislator.β
Scottβs communications director declined to make him available for an interview with The Daily Signal and instead pointed to his brief statement on X.
Known as the βspeakerβs committee,β the Rules Committee includes nine Republicans and four Democrats. One of those seats became vacant this week when Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., won the gavel for the House Appropriations Committee.
Two members of the House Freedom CaucusβReps. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., and Chip Roy, R-Texasβcurrently serve on the Rules Committee with another conservative-leaning member, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. Their three votes, combined with four Democrats, are enough to sink the speakerβs plans.
After years of being shut out of the Rules Committeeβand any semblance of negotiation over its membershipβconservatives scored seats on the panel as part of a deal with McCarthy, resulting in his election to speaker in January 2023.
Unlike when McCarthy negotiated with members, Johnson instead moved swiftly without consulting conservatives about Scottβs selection.
βIt is the speakerβs committee, and he can do whatever he wants with it. But in a one-seat majority, there should be a conversation,β a GOP staffer told The Daily Signal. βYou talk to people about whoβs interested, who might be a good fit, who might be a productive addition on the Rules Committee.β
A former Republican staffer described it as a curious move on Johnsonβs part.
βYou already have conservatives angry at you for a variety of reasons,β the former staffer said. βYou have a one-seat majority. You have a pending motion to vacate [the speaker]. Itβs not exactly the time to poke the bear.β
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., filed a motion to vacate March 22, but has not yet forced a vote. If itβs successful, Johnson would lose the speakerβs job, just as McCarthy did before him.
βSpeaker Johnson lives in peril every day for his job depending on what he does,β a Republican member said. βItβs a dicey situation. It appears to me that there are other candidates who are interested in being speaker in the new term.β
Since joining Congress in 2011, Scott has focused his attention on serving the rural Georgia district he represents. He is a member of the House Intelligence Committee, the Armed Services Committee, and the Agriculture Committee. He has a lifetime score of 77% on Heritage Actionβs Scorecard.
Scott also has developed a reputation among conservatives on Capitol Hill, according to lawmakers and staff who spoke to The Daily Signal.
βAustin Scott is a hothead, a notorious hothead,β a Republican staffer said. βHe frequently loses his temper inside conference meetings with other members. Heβs threatened, berated, cursed out members.β
Scottβs decision to endorse Goodβs primary opponent, therefore, didnβt necessarily come as a surprise. However, it did anger conservatives, particularly because Johnson has privately counseled GOP members not to engage in primaries between fellow Republicans. The speaker recently made another appeal at GOP lawmakersβ retreat last month in West Virginia.
βAustin Scott endorsed Bob Goodβs primary challenger, attended a fundraiser with him,β a Republican staffer said. βMike Johnson, repeatedly for several weeks, has lectured the conference about what he calls the hot war on the campaign trail with primaries against incumbent Republicans. The moderates started this by going after Bob Good.β
Good, who boasts a 99% lifetime score on Heritage Actionβs Scorecard, joined the House in 2021 after knocking off an incumbent Republican. He took over as chairman of the House Freedom Caucus in January.
Scott is one of at least six House Republicans who are backing Goodβs opponent. Others include House Armed Services Chair Mike Rogers, R-Ala., and Reps. Jen Kiggans, R-Va.; Ryan Zinke, R-Mont.; Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis.; and Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas.
βConservatives were appealing to the speaker to end the civil war before it got out of hand,β a Republican member told The Daily Signal. βAnd when he refused to, we let everyone know that weβre not going to take all the casualties.β
Thatβs led some conservative members to make their own endorsements against moderate Republicans.
Good, for example, is backing GOP challenger Derrick Evans in West Virginiaβs 1st District against incumbent Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.Va., a leader of the moderate Republican Main Street Caucus. Its affiliated PAC, the Republican Main Street Partnership, is actively spending money against Good.
Notably, Johnson has withheld his own endorsement from Good, whose primary election is June 18. A spokesman for the speakerβs political operation did not respond to The Daily Signalβs request for comment.
The post Speaker Johnsonβs Choice for Key House Committee Sparks Backlash appeared first on The Daily Signal.
House Speaker Mike Johnson had an impressive fundraising haul in his first full quarter as Speaker, raking in $20 million, per his office.
The post Speaker Johnson Bags North of $20 Million in Full First Fundraising Quarter appeared first on Breitbart.
Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, left Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas stumbling during a Wednesday hearing by rhetorically asking him what powers Congress had stripped him of to enforce the border.
Mayorkas testified during aΒ hearingΒ of the House Appropriationsβ homeland security subcommittee titled βBudget Hearing: Fiscal Year 2025 Request for the Department of Homeland Security.β Cloud questioned Mayorkas about whether he lacked the power and authorization to secure the U.S.-Mexico border due to congressional action since he took office.
βCould you speak to any authorities that Congress has removed from you or the president since taking office?β Cloud asked Mayorkas, in reference to claims by President Joe Biden that he is unsure whether he has the power to take certain steps to prevent illegal immigration. Biden said he was βexaminingβ what powers he had to close the border during a UnivisionΒ interviewΒ that aired Tuesday.
βHas Congress removed any authorities from you or the president since taking office?β Cloud asked as Mayorkas stammered in response.
βThat is a βyesβ or βnoβ question,β Cloud added. βWhy are you filibustering? I asked you a βyesβ or βnoβ question.β
BidenΒ reversedΒ numerousΒ policiesΒ initiated by his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, during his first days in office. Mayorkas has claimed that the border is secure onΒ severalΒ occasions, despite U.S. Customs and Border Protection reportingΒ more than 6.6 million encounters with illegal immigrants since the start of fiscal year 2021.
βYou have approximately a 20% larger budget than Trump had,β Cloud said. βThe president has made the point that he canβt secure the border, he canβt get down to it, because he is waiting on Congress to move, and I just point that out to belay that and to point out the truth, the fact that he has every single authority as President Trump, he has more resources at his disposal than President Trump, yet heβs done everything he can to undermine the security of our border.β
Originally published by the Daily Caller News Foundation
The post βWhy Are You Filibustering?β: Mayorkas Stumbles Over Answer When Asked What Powers He Lacks to Enforce Border appeared first on The Daily Signal.
Kyiv will lose the war against Russia if the U.S. fails to approve military aid to battle Moscow's invasion,Β Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday.
The post Zelensky Warns U.S. Congress: Meet Ukraine Military Aid Demands or Russia Wins appeared first on Breitbart.
President Biden is using the Baltimore Bridge disaster to smuggle illegal migrants into Maryland's politics, saying, "Six [men] lost their lives: Most were immigrants, but all were Marylanders."
The post WATCH: Joe Biden Smuggles Illegal Migrants into Maryland Politics appeared first on Breitbart.
UK Foreign SecretaryΒ Lord Cameron has ruled out Western troops being sent into Ukraine in favor of extracting more financial support from U.S. Congress.
The post David Cameron Says No Boots on the Ground in Ukraine, Aims for βMoney out of Congressβ Instead appeared first on Breitbart.
A previously deported illegal alien is now accused of murdering 25-year-old Ruby Garcia in Kent County, Michigan.
The post Previously Deported Illegal Alien Charged with Murdering 25-Year-Old Ruby Garcia appeared first on Breitbart.
DEI (racial and other quotas) is intrinsically evil. At The Hill, Matt Cole and Chris Nicholson reveal a shocking, practical downside to DEI hysteria: βDEI killed the CHIPS Act.β
The issue is critical because Taiwan now produces 90% of the worldβs advanced microchips, and China has indicated its intention to annex Taiwan in the near future. So the CHIPS Act sought to incentivize chip production in the U.S. Unfortunately, that isnβt what is happening.
Handouts abound. Thereβs plenty for the leftβrequirements that chipmakers submit detailed plans to educate, employ, and train lots of women and people of color, as well as βjustice-involved individuals,β more commonly known as ex-cons. Thereβs plenty for the rightβveterans and members of rural communities find their way into the typical DEI definition of minorities. β¦
***
Because equity is so critical, the makers of humanityβs most complex technology must rely on local labor and apprentices from all those underrepresented groups, as [the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company] discovered to its dismay.Tired of delays at its first fab, the company flew in 500 employees from Taiwan. This angered local workers, since the implication was that they werenβt skilled enough. With CHIPS grants at risk, TSMC caved in December, agreeing to rely on those workers and invest more in training them. A month later, it postponed its second Arizona fab.
Now TSMC has revealed plans to build a second fab in Japan. Its first, which broke ground in 2021, is about to begin production. TSMC has learned that when the Japanese promise money, they actually give it, and they allow it to use competent workers. TSMC is also sampling Germanyβs chip subsidies, as is Intel.
It isnβt only TSMC that is being stymied by DEI:
Intel is also building fabs in Poland and Israel, which means it would rather risk Russian aggression and Hamas rockets over dealing with Americaβs DEI regime. Samsung is pivoting toward making its South Korean homeland the semiconductor superpower after Taiwan falls.
In short, the worldβs best chipmakers are tired of being pawns in the CHIPS Actβs political games. Theyβve quietly given up on America. β¦
[C]hipmakers have to make sure they hire plenty of female construction workers, even though less than 10 percent of U.S. construction workers are women. They also have to ensure childcare for the female construction workers and engineers who donβt exist yet. They have to remove degree requirements and set βdiverse hiring slate policies,β which sounds like code for quotas. They must create plans to do all this with βclose and ongoing coordination with on-the-ground stakeholders.β
No wonder Intel politely postponed its Columbus fab and started planning one in Ireland.
Access to microchips is a national security issue, as well as being fundamental to a modern economy. And yet Congressional majorities care more about DEI shibboleths and feeding pork to their constituencies than about American security and prosperity. Of course, that isnβt really an irony. The whole point of DEI is hating America, and if it imperils our security and our prosperity, so much the better.