Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Speaker Johnson search for offramp as vote on his ouster simmers
Embattled House Speaker Mike Johnson and far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene have met for a second day at the Capitol as they try to figure out an off-ramp to her threat for a vote on the motion to remove him from office.
Fallout from riot, virus leaves toxic mood on Capitol Hill
FILE - In this Feb. 4, 2021, file photo, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. One problem in resuming fully in-person operations at the Capitol is the lack of vaccinations for thousands of staff to the 435 House members. Give me a break.โItโs clear that Democrats are more emotionally spent than House Republicans, who bolstered their ranks in the last election despite Trump's loss. In February, the House voted to remove Greene from her committee assignments because of her lengthy history of outrageous social media posts and other actions. AdWhile security fencing is set to be removed from the Capitol, metal detectors remain stationed outside the House chamber after some Republican lawmakers pledged to bring their firearms onto the House floor.
Dem-led House, drawing a line, kicks Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene off committees
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., walks back to her office after speaking on the floor of the House Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)WASHINGTON โ A fiercely divided House tossed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene off both her committees Thursday, an unprecedented punishment that Democrats said sheโd earned by spreading hateful and violent conspiracy theories. Though Trump left the White House two week ago, his devoted followers are numerous among the partyโs voters, and he and Greene are allies. Even social media stars like Greene could find it harder to define themselves without the spotlights that committees provide. Thune said House Republicans needed to issue a โreally strongโ rebuke of Greeneโs conspiratorial formulations.
Gun-toting congresswoman-elect may carry Glock at Capitol
The agency's officials did not answer directly when Democrats on the House Committee on Administration asked in 2018 how many lawmakers carry firearms in the Capitol. Aides can carry lawmakersโ weapons for them on the Capitol complex, he wrote. He said members and their staffs carry firearms around the Capitol โall the time,โ though he mentioned no names. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., chairman of the House Second Amendment Caucus, justified letting lawmakers carry weapons. Its officers routinely arrest people caught trying to carry weapons at the Capitol.
Conservatives lash out at Liz Cheney over Trump criticism
Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio noted Cheney's criticism of Trump on defense and foreign policy and accused her of not supporting the president on his coronavirus response. Leading the criticism was Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who recounted the confrontation on his podcast, Hot Takes with Matt Gaetz, shortly after it happened. He also tweeted about Cheney, who is the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, and said she should step down from her post as head of the GOP conference. Liz Cheney has worked behind the scenes (and now in public) against @realDonaldTrump and his agenda, Gaetz tweeted. House Republicans deserve better as our Conference Chair.
5 Things to Know for Today
Poll worker Dolores Louallen directs Fayette County voters where to drop off their absentee ballots at Kroger Field in Lexington, Ky., on Tuesday, June 23, 2020. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP)Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:1. ONE LIFE IS NOT WORTH MORE THAN ANOTHER The spread of coronavirus is prompting soaring demand for oxygen. But in much of the world, medical oxygen is expensive and hard to get a basic marker of inequality. BASEBALL WILL LOOK DIFFERENT UPON RETURN The season is now going to be a 60-game sprint to the finish, held in ballparks without fans and feature some unusual rules.
2 Republicans opposed by Trump win in N. Carolina, Kentucky
(Patrick Sebastian/Cawthorn Campaign via AP)LOUISVILLE, Ky. Voters rebuffed President Donald Trump and nominated two Republicans he opposed to House seats from North Carolina and Kentucky on Tuesday. Kentucky usually has 2% of its returns come from mail ballots. This year officials expect that figure to exceed 50%, and over 400,000 mail ballots were returned by Sunday. New York officials expect the vast majority of votes to be mail ballots this year, compared to their typical 5% share. Counties have until eight days after Election Day to count and release the results of mail ballots, with 1.7 million requested by voters.
Dead people are receiving $1,200 stimulus checks from the IRS, reports say
People have reported seeing stimulus payments in the bank accounts of their deceased loved ones, according to reports from several news outlets. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) shared a screenshot to Twitter of a conversation between himself and a friend who said his father received a $1,200 stimulus check even though he died in 2018. IRS spokesman Eric Smith told the Washington Post the government is working on a way to resolve the issue. Nina Olson, former head of the Taxpayer Advocate Service, told Market Watch that the โCARES Act stimulus bill contained no 'clawbackโ provisions for stimulus checks sent to a dead person, meaning the agency canโt retrieve the money after itโs been handed out.โโThis has been a tremendous success. COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new virus, stands for coronavirus disease 2019.