All posts tagged: United States House of Representatives

Trump-backed bill to avert government shutdown fails

Trump-backed bill to avert government shutdown fails

Published by Sam

WASHINGTON — A House Republican bill to fund the government for three months and suspend the debt ceiling for two years failed Thursday night, as dozens of rank-and-file Republicans voted against the deal endorsed by President-elect Donald Trump. Without a deal to fund the federal government and legislation that has passed the House and Senate and been signed into law, a partial shutdown is set to begin late Friday night. A total of 38 Republicans voted against the bill hammered out by their own party’s leaders. The 38 were joined by every Democrat, save for two who voted in favor and one who voted present. It was unclear late Thursday what House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., would do next, given how substantial the opposition to the bill was from within his own party. Trump and his ally Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO, had already doomed a prior funding proposal Wednesday by harshly criticizing its provisions, sending Republicans scrambling for most of Thursday for a replacement plan. The latest failed version of the continuing resolution would …

Trump Media CEO asks House GOP to launch stock manipulation probe

Trump Media CEO asks House GOP to launch stock manipulation probe

Published by skeptic

Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, speaks during an impeachment inquiry hearing in Washington, Nov. 13, 2019. Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes on Tuesday urged House Republican committee leaders to investigate possible “unlawful manipulation” of the company’s stock. Nunes, himself a former House GOP chair, in a letter asked them to probe “anomalous trading” of the stock in order to gauge the extent of the alleged manipulation and “whether any laws including RICO statutes and tax evasion laws were violated.” The request doubles down on Nunes’ claim that Trump Media, which trades under the ticker DJT, is the apparent victim of “naked” short selling, the practice of selling a company’s shares without first borrowing them for that purpose. Trump Media, which began trading on the Nasdaq on March 26 after completing a lengthy public merger, was far and away the most expensive U.S. stock to short as of early April. Brokers therefore “have a significant financial incentive to lend non-existent shares,” Nunes wrote. The …

Former Miss America runs again for North Dakota’s only U.S. House seat in a crowded GOP primary

Former Miss America runs again for North Dakota’s only U.S. House seat in a crowded GOP primary

Published by skeptic

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Republican primary voters in North Dakota will have an assortment of choices for the state’s only U.S. House seat, with candidates ranging from the little-known to a former Miss America. Monday was the candidate filing deadline for the June 11 primary election. Along with a new representative, North Dakotans will elect a new governor this year, setting the stage for a decisive Republican primary showdown between the state’s lone congressman and lieutenant governor. Republicans hold every statewide office and congressional seat, and Democrats have not won a statewide election since 2012. Election officials accepted candidate filings throughout Monday in the wake of weekend endorsing conventions held by the Republican and Democratic parties. The crowded Republican House race is poised for an energetic campaign season after a contentious endorsement process and Monday’s entry of former Miss America 2018 Cara Mund, an attorney who ran unsuccessfully for the seat as an independent in 2022. The other GOP candidates are military veteran and former U.S. State Department employee Alex Balazs, former state Rep. Rick …

Key lawmakers float new bill that would make privacy a consumer right

Key lawmakers float new bill that would make privacy a consumer right

Published by skeptic

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two influential lawmakers from opposing parties have crafted a deal on legislation designed to strengthen privacy protections for Americans’ personal data. The sweeping proposal announced Sunday evening would define privacy as a consumer right and create new rules for companies that collect and use personal information. It comes from the offices of Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell and Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, both of Washington state. Cantwell chairs the Senate Commerce Committee while McMorris Rodgers leads the House Energy and Commerce Committee. While the proposal has not been formally introduced and remains in draft form, the bipartisan support suggests the bill could get serious consideration. Congress has long discussed ways to protect the personal data regularly submitted by Americans to a wide range of businesses and services. But partisan disputes over the details have doomed previous proposals. According to a one-page outline released Sunday, the bill worked out by McMorris Rodgers and Cantwell would strengthen rules requiring consumer consent before a company can collect or transfer certain kinds of information. Companies would …

Former US Rep. William Delahunt of Massachusetts has died at age 82

Former US Rep. William Delahunt of Massachusetts has died at age 82

Published by skeptic

Longtime U.S. Rep. William D. Delahunt of Massachusetts, a Democratic stalwart who postponed his own retirement from Washington to help pass former President Barack Obama’s legislative agenda, has died following a long-term illness, his family announced. Delahunt died Saturday at his home in Quincy, Massachusetts, at the age of 82, news reports said. Delahunt served 14 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, from 1997 to 2011, for Massachusetts’s 10th congressional district. He also was the Norfolk County district attorney from 1975 to 1996 after serving in the Massachusetts House of Represenatives from 1973 to 1975. The Delahunt family issued a statement Saturday saying he passed away “peacefully,” but did not disclose his specific cause of death, news reports said. “While we mourn the loss of such a tremendous person, we also celebrate his remarkable life and his legacy of dedication, service, and inspiration,” the statement said. “We could always turn to him for wisdom, solace and a laugh, and his absence leaves a gaping hole in our family and our hearts.” Democratic U.S. Sen. …

House passes bill that could lead to TikTok ban; fight shifts to Senate

House passes bill that could lead to TikTok ban; fight shifts to Senate

Published by skeptic

The House approved a bill Wednesday that calls for China tech giant ByteDance to divest TikTok or the popular social video app will effectively be banned in the U.S. The measure passed with a resounding 352-65 vote and with one member voting present. The legislation, dubbed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, was introduced March 5 by Reps. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. Two days later, House members on the Energy and Commerce Committee voted unanimously to approve the bill, which refers to TikTok as a threat to national security because it is controlled by a foreign adversary. The bill now heads to the Senate where it faces an uncertain future as senators appear divided about the legislation, and other federal and state-led efforts to ban TikTok have stalled. “This process was secret and the bill was jammed through for one reason: it’s a ban,” a TikTok spokesperson said after the vote was passed. “We are hopeful that the Senate …

U.S. spy chief ‘cannot rule out’ that China would use TikTok to influence U.S. elections

U.S. spy chief ‘cannot rule out’ that China would use TikTok to influence U.S. elections

Published by skeptic

China could use social media app TikTok to influence the 2024 U.S. elections, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a House of Representatives intelligence committee hearing on Tuesday. Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty Images China could use social media app TikTok to influence the 2024 U.S. elections, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a House of Representatives intelligence committee hearing on Tuesday. Asked by Democratic Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi if China’s ruling Communist Party, or CCP, would use TikTok to influence the elections, Haines said: “We cannot rule out that the CCP would use it.” Krishnamoorthi is also the ranking Democrat on the House select committee on China. He and that panel’s Republican chair Mike Gallagher last week introduced a bill that would give TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance about six months to divest the short video app used by 170 million Americans. The House is due to vote on Wednesday under fast-track rules that require two-thirds of members to vote “yes” for the measure to win passage. President Joe Biden said last week he would sign the bill, but the app is popular and getting legislation approved by both the House and Senate in an election year may be difficult. The …

Former U.S. official’s work for Chinese client stirs concern over disclosure loopholes

Former U.S. official’s work for Chinese client stirs concern over disclosure loopholes

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Former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch wrote a letter to a senior Defense Department official last July on behalf of SZ DJI Technology Co Ltd, asking that her client be removed from a list of Chinese military companies. Alex Wong | Getty Images News | Getty Images When a Chinese drone company came under U.S. government scrutiny over its alleged ties to China’s military, the company turned to one of America’s pre-eminent lawyers: Loretta Lynch, a former attorney general in the Obama administration. Lynch, who ran the U.S. Department of Justice from 2015 to 2017 and is now a partner at the Paul, Weiss law firm, wrote a letter to a senior Defense Department official last July on behalf of SZ DJI Technology Co Ltd, asking that her client be removed from a list of Chinese military companies. Advocating for foreign clients is legal and U.S. law includes a public disclosure exemption for lawyers. But the letter, seen by Reuters, is an example of what transparency advocates and some members of Congress — dozens of whom have supported bills to change rules — say are gaps in the …

U.S. lawmakers push for ByteDance to divest TikTok or face ban

U.S. lawmakers push for ByteDance to divest TikTok or face ban

Published by skeptic

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers introduced legislation on Tuesday to give China’s ByteDance about six months to divest popular short video app TikTok or face a U.S. ban, seeking to tackle national security concerns about its Chinese ownership. Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers introduced legislation on Tuesday to give China’s ByteDance about six months to divest popular short video app TikTok or face a U.S. ban, seeking to tackle national security concerns about its Chinese ownership. The bill is the first significant legislative move in nearly a year toward banning or forcing ByteDance to divest the popular app, after senate legislation to ban it stalled in Congress last year in the face of heavy lobbying by TikTok. Mike Gallagher, the Republican chair of the House of Representatives’ select China committee and Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, the top Democrat, are among more than a dozen lawmakers introducing the measure, which is expected to see an initial vote on Thursday. “This is my message to TikTok: break up with the Chinese Communist Party or lose access to your American users,” Gallagher said. “America’s foremost …

U.S. funding bill blocks China from buying oil from Strategic Petroleum Reserve

U.S. funding bill blocks China from buying oil from Strategic Petroleum Reserve

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A measure in the U.S. funding legislation unveiled by congressional leaders on Sunday would block China from buying oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, or SPR. The desire for a hard line on China is one of the few truly bipartisan sentiments in the deeply divided U.S. Congress, and lawmakers have introduced dozens of bills seeking to address competition with China’s government. Joe Raedle | Getty Images News | Getty Images A measure in the U.S. funding legislation unveiled by congressional leaders on Sunday would block China from buying oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, or SPR. The desire for a hard line on China is one of the few truly bipartisan sentiments in the deeply divided U.S. Congress, and lawmakers have introduced dozens of bills seeking to address competition with China’s government. The issue of SPR sales to China heated up after President Joe Biden, a Democrat, announced in 2022 a sale of 180 million barrels of SPR oil to tame gasoline prices that spiked after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. That year the SPR sold 1 million barrels to UNIPEC America, a Houston-based arm of China’s Sinopec. In 2017, under former President Donald Trump, some SPR oil was …