Failed CR, SAVE Act Vote Represents Another Loss for Speaker Johnson’s Leadership

Mike Johnson

The failed House vote for a continuing resolution attached to the SAVE Act is another example of failure in Speaker Mike Johnson’s leadership. 

The House voted 202-220 to kill the continuing resolution that had the SAVE Act attached to it. A total of 14 Republicans voted against the resolution along with 206 Democrats, while three Democrats voted across the aisle in support of the bill. Two Republicans voted present.

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GOP-Led House Breaks Promise to Voters, Fails to Pass Appropriations Bills Before August Recess

Congress at Night

The GOP-led House canceled votes ahead of the August recess without getting the 12 appropriations bills passed, breaking a promise to voters.

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Hakeem Jeffries Boasts About Dems ‘Effectively’ Running House — Despite GOP Majority

Congressman Hakeem Jeffries

Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York claimed that Democrats were “governing as a majority” in the House of Representatives even with nominal Republican control during an interview that aired Sunday.

Jeffries noted that Democrats provided over twice as many votes than Republicans in passing HR 8035, the Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act in April during the interview with Norah O’Donnell of CBS News that aired on “60 Minutes.” Jeffries boasted of Democratic successes in the GOP-controlled House during the interview, saying that Dems “get things done.”

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China Lobbying Congress amid TikTok Ban Efforts

iPhone with TikTok app logo

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been secretly attempting to lobby members of Congress over recent proposals to ban the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok.

As reported by Breitbart, employees of the Chinese Embassy have been meeting with congressional staffers to try to persuade members to vote against the bill that would force the Chinese company ByteDance to sell TikTok, or else face an indefinite ban on the app’s use in the United States. The bill passed in the U.S. House of Representatives in March with bipartisan support, and is now being reviewed by the Senate.

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House Members of Progressive ‘Squad’ Grab More than $220 Million of Earmarks Since 2023

Rep. Rashida Tlaib and Rep. Ilhan Omar standing in front of the US capitol (composite image)

Members of the “Squad” of progressive lawmakers in the House of Representatives, including Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., wrangled more than $220 million worth of earmarks included in spending bills since the start of fiscal year 2023, according to a watchdog group.

“These eight members, up from 6 last year, have put almost $220 million worth of earmarks into the last two years of congressional spending packages, for causes like environmental justice, diversity, and immigration assistance,” read a new report from OpenTheBooks.com.

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Mayorkas, DHS Get Massive Funding Boost in House’s Newest Spending Bill

Alejandro Mayorkas speaking with border officers

The House of Representatives’ second consolidated spending bill for fiscal year 2024 includes significant increases in funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and to the office of its secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas.

The 2024 fiscal year began on Oct. 1, 2023 — by which the appropriations process was supposed to be completed — but political disagreements in Congress led to the enactment of four continuing resolutions to avoid a government shutdown and preserve funding at the previous year’s levels. After Congress completely passed its first permanent spending bill for the year on March 8, the House on Thursday released its second permanent bill, a consolidation of six constituent bills, which includes an increase of $19 million to the Office of the Secretary over fiscal year 2023 levels, for a total of $404 million until Sept. 30, 2024. 

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Taxpayers to Pay $3 Million for Mayorkas Impeachment Defense

Alejandro Mayorkas

The Department of Homeland Security so far has spent $3 million of taxpayer money to defend embattled Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas against impeachment by the House of Representatives, according to documents obtained by The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project.

The DHS contract with a law firm was to cover the cost of a failed attempt to stave off a House impeachment, as well as to defend President Joe Biden’s homeland security secretary in a possible Senate trial.

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House Subcommittee Chairmen Pressure DC Mayor, Police to Preserve Aborted Baby Remains

Roy Biggs

The chairmen of two House of Representatives subcommittees are calling on D.C. authorities to preserve the remains of “The Five” aborted baby bodies.

“Our subcommittees are conducting oversight of the District of Columbia’s and the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) enforcement of federal law,” Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government Chairman Chip Roy and Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance Chairman Andy Biggs say in the letter, addressed to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Metropolitan Police Department’s chief, Pamela Smith. Roy, a Republican, represents Texas. Biggs, also a Republican, represents Arizona.

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