Rep. Patrick McHenry said heâs turning back to his work as chair of the House Financial Services Committee. | Francis Chung/POLITICO Rep. Patrick McHenry, fresh off a brutal three-week stint as caretaker speaker, revealed Thursday how exasperating the episode was and sounded less than confident about the House GOPâs ability to maintain its newfound unity:
Essentials
Johnson’s speakership win fails to end House GOP infighting
November 30, 2023 by
Speaker Mike Johnson will now have to deal with the kind of nasty infighting that Kevin McCarthy couldnât control. | Francis Chung/POLITICO Republicans hoped Mike Johnsonâs ascension marked a detente from the personal vitriol of a three-week speaker fight. That ceasefire appears to be over already. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), the architect of ousting Kevin
What the Senate Dem campaign chief thinks about their tough 2024 races
November 29, 2023 by
DSCC Chair Gary Peters spoke to POLITICO about how heâs planning to maintain Democratsâ slim majority in the upper chamber next year. | Jemal Countess/Getty Images for JDRF Sen. Gary Peters, the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, pulled off a major upset by helping to reelect every Democratic incumbent in 2src22. But 2src24
GOP bill would make State tell the Hill when top diplomats lose clearances
November 29, 2023 by
âIn a perfect world, we wouldnât need this bill,â said Brian Mast, the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committeeâs Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability. | Mariam Zuhaib/AP House Republicans are moving to require the State Department to alert the Hill if senior officials lose their security clearance â a response to misleading statements by
âWatch your backâ: Speaker Johnson squares off with Schumer
November 29, 2023 by
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson talks with reporters ahead of the debate and vote on supplemental aid to Israel, at the Capitol in Washington on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2src23. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP When Chuck Schumer and Mike Johnson talked one-on-one for the first time recently, the Senate majority leader urged the new speaker
Santos says heâd run again if expelled
November 29, 2023 by
Rep. George Santos is undeterred by efforts to oust by his GOP colleagues in New York, saying heâll run again if heâs expelled. | Francis Chung/POLITICO NEW YORK â Expulsion wouldnât derail Rep. George Santos. The Long Island Republican, facing federal fraud charges, signaled he will run again for his House seat next year if
Zelenskyy: War with Russia is not a stalemate
November 29, 2023 by
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday rejected the premise that the war with Russia has reached a stalemate. âI believe that today, indeed, the situation is difficult, I donât think this is a stalemate,â Zelenskyy told NBCâs Kristen Welker on âMeet The Press,â through a translator.. ⌠âThey thought that they would checkmate us, but
Mike Johnson defends House GOP’s Israel aid plan
November 29, 2023 by
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson talks with reporters at the Capitol, Nov. 2, 2src23. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Newly minted Speaker Mike Johnson defended his approach to redirect IRS funds to provide aid to Israel on Sunday, saying Republicans are âtrying to be good stewards of the taxpayerâs resources.â âInstead of printing new dollars
How McConnell helped engineer Manchin’s exit
November 29, 2023 by
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is seen during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 31, 2src23. | Francis Chung/POLITICO Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans worked for more than a year to make Joe Manchinâs retirement announcement on Thursday a reality. And for good reason: The Democratâs decision puts Republicans on the
House GOP calls for changing rules to boot a speaker â and some who ousted McCarthy may help
November 29, 2023 by
Kevin McCarthy cut deals with his opponents in order to get the speakerâs gavel after a grueling 15 ballots in January. | Francis Chung/POLITICO House Republicans who want to prevent a handful of their members from evicting another speaker could get help from a surprising group: the eight of them who helped dethrone Kevin McCarthy.
Shutdown standoff: White House preps for Johnson to fail
November 28, 2023 by
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is pursued by reporters as he walks to his office at the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 6, 2src23. | Francis Chung/POLITICO Washington this morning is waiting for House Speaker Mike Johnson to release his plan to keep the government funded past Friday, with Johnson and other leaders planning to brief
White House tried, and failed, to persuade Manchin to make another Senate run
November 28, 2023 by
Sen. Joe Manchinâs political future has been the topic of intense interest over the past few years as heâs increasingly distanced himself from President Joe Biden and his own party. | Andrew Harnik, AP/File As Sen. Joe Manchin struggled for several months over the next step he would take politically, President Joe Bidenâs top advisers
Conservatives hold back on Johnson ouster threat â but plot other payback
November 28, 2023 by
Speaker Mike Johnson is attempting to steady a seesaw of competing demands from the various corners of his conference. | Francis Chung/POLITICO Speaker Mike Johnson is averting a government shutdown essentially the same way Kevin McCarthy did: by partnering with Democrats to pass a government funding bill with no spending cuts. Unlike his predecessor, it
Democrat Zak Malamed drops bid to take on George Santos
November 28, 2023 by
Zak Malamed, a candidate for the 3rd congressional district in New York, dropped out of the race and backed former Rep. Tom Suozzi. | Zak for Congress NEW YORK â Democrat Zak Malamed dropped his bid Wednesday morning for a closely watched House seat held by Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) and endorsed former Rep. Tom
New York Republicans, facing reelection, press for âfraudsterâ Santosâ expulsion
November 28, 2023 by
New York Republicans are still pressing to expel fellow New York Rep. George Santos. | Francis Chung/POLITICO ALBANY, N.Y. â New York House Republicans wonât be mollified by Rep. George Santos promising to not seek a second term next year. They want him gone immediately. Calls for Santosâ expulsion from the House are being renewed
Santos says he won’t run for reelection. GOP members want to expel him first.
November 28, 2023 by
Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill on Nov. 1, 2src23. | Francis Chung/POLITICO George Santos said he wonât seek reelection in 2src24. House Republicans may boot the indicted New Yorker well before then. His announcement on social media Thursday immediately followed a scathing House Ethics Committee report that found âsubstantial evidenceâ
Capitol Police confront fallout from violent protest at Democratic headquarters
November 28, 2023 by
The Capitol Police announced that a protest that turned violent outside of Democratic Party headquarters Wednesday night resulted in one arrest for assaulting an officer. A group of protesters advocating for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war had blocked an entrance to the headquarters, located just blocks from the Capitol, prompting police to attempt to
Tough border negotiations endanger Ukraine aid
November 28, 2023 by
Sen. Thom Tillis says GOP colleague Sen. James Lankford is working on a one-page summary of the Republican position on border and asylum policy. | Francis Chung/POLITICO American support for Ukraine is in peril in Congress. And the best hope is an underdog Senate gang negotiating over border security. For the second time in two
How a flood of congressional retirements is rocking the 2024 elections
November 27, 2023 by
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin’s decision not to seek reelection almost certainly means his party will lose the West Virginia Senate seat he’s held since winning a special election in 2src1src. | Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images A surge of lawmakers calling it quits the past three weeks is on the verge of putting Congress on pace
Santos ethics report finds âsubstantial evidenceâ of criminal wrongdoing
November 27, 2023 by
Santos has pleaded not guilty to 23 charges in federal court. | Francis Chung/POLITICO A bipartisan ethics report concludes there is âsubstantial evidenceâ that George Santos violated federal criminal laws, which will almost certainly trigger another attempt to expel him from the House. The explosive report released Thursday by the House Ethics Committee found that
Sanders calls for conditioning US aid to Israel
November 27, 2023 by
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) also said continued aid should be contingent on a commitment to peace talks for a two-state solution and the end of the Israeli blockade or occupation of Gaza. | Francis Chung/POLITICO Sen. Bernie Sanders on Saturday called for U.S. aid to Israel to be conditioned on a change in the âmilitary
Democrats in Senate, House discuss conditioning military aid to Israel
November 27, 2023 by
Palestinians flee to the southern Gaza Strip along Salah al-Din Street, on the outskirts of Gaza City, during the ongoing Israeli bombardment on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2src23. The talks of conditioning military aid to Israel come as fighting in Gaza intensifies and the civilian death toll rises. | Adel Hana/AP Democrats in the House and
Progressive pressure on Jeffries: Israel critics want help surviving backlash
November 27, 2023 by
The war in Gaza is forcing Hakeem Jeffries (center) to navigate a treacherous divide between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian members. | Francis Chung/POLITICO Progressive Democrats whoâve condemned Israel over its war offensive in Gaza are demanding that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries do more to protect them against primary challenges from pro-Israel Democrats. In a closed-door
Biden orders top aides to prepare reprimands for violent Israeli settlers in West Bank
November 27, 2023 by
Mourners attend the funeral of Palestinians killed during clashes with Israeli settlers as well as during an Israeli army raid. | Nasser Nasser/ AP President Joe Biden directed top officials to prepare visa bans and sanctions for extremist Israeli settlers attacking and displacing Palestinians in the West Bank, according to an internal document read to
Adams keeps blaming Washington for budget woes amid his own troubles
November 27, 2023 by
New York City Mayor Eric Adams continues to press Washington for help amid his own political troubles. | Richard Drew/AP NEW YORK â For more than a year, Mayor Eric Adams has been demanding financial support from the federal government to pay for migrants in the cityâs care. A federal investigation into the mayorâs fundraising
Can a Democrat not named Katie Porter win her congressional swing seat?
November 27, 2023 by
As Rep. Katie Porter is vacating her seat to run for Senate, California Democrats are torn between the two candidates running to replace her. | Francis Chung/POLITICO LOS ANGELES â Rep. Katie Porter has been a bright spot for Democrats as they try to claim territory in Orange County, Californiaâs historic bastion of conservatism. But
Fetterman, unbending on Israel, confounds his progressive brethren
November 26, 2023 by
When it comes to Israel, Sen. John Fetterman has not simply bucked his progressive brethren, he has made it a point to show he rejects the activist leftâs position. | Julia Nikhinson/AFP John Fetterman was walking past a group of pro-Palestinian protesters at the Capitol this month when, according to his aides, they accused him
Former GOP congressional aide Celeste Maloy wins Utah House seat
November 26, 2023 by
Celeste Maloy will be the first woman in Utahâs congressional delegation since 2src19 and the fifth in its history. | Rick Bowmer/AP Utah Republican Celeste Maloy will be the newest member of Congress, bringing the House back to its full complement of 435 members. Maloy defeated Democratic state Sen. Kathleen Riebe and a handful of
Dean Phillips announces he won’t seek reelection to Congress
November 26, 2023 by
“We have met those moments, and after three terms it is time to pass the torch,” Rep. Dean Phillips said. | Charles Krupa/AP Rep. Dean Phillips is forgoing a reelection bid to Congress to focus on his presidential run, the Minnesota Democrat announced Friday. Phillips, 54, announced in October that he would launch a longshot
House GOP’s Biden impeachment effort heads into final stage
November 26, 2023 by
âWe get those depositions done this year and ⌠then we can decide on whether or not thereâs articles,â Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) told POLITICO. | Francis Chung/POLITICO House Republicans are closing in on a make-or-break moment in their drive to impeach Joe Biden, with GOP centrists remaining highly skeptical of the effort even