Thread: 2022 US Mid-term elections

• New York House Republicans forcing a vote to expel George Santos

New York House Republicans on Thursday moved to force a vote on whether to expel their embattled and indicted colleague Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., from Congress.

The privileged resolution offered by Rep. Anthony D'Esposito, R-N.Y., means the House must vote on the resolution within two legislative days. A two-thirds majority vote would be needed to expel the congressman, who's scheduled to be arraigned on Friday on a superseding indictment in his federal fraud case.

The resolution, which says that "George Santos is not fit to serve" as a congressman, was read on the House floor by D'Esposito late Thursday afternoon.

It includes references to the pending criminal charges against Santos, his acknowledged lies about his background, and his "history of misrepresenting his and his family’s connections to major events, including the Holocaust, Sept. 11th terrorist attacks, and the Pulse nightclub shooting."

Santos posted a defiant message on the social media platform X shortly after the resolution was introduced, while not explicitly referencing it.

"I'm not resigning," Santos wrote, adding that "I’m entitled to due process and not a predetermined outcome as some are seeking."

• Rep. George Santos pleads not guilty to fraud charges, trial set for September 2024

Rep. George Santos pleaded not guilty Friday to the charges contained in a superseding indictment that accused him of stealing people’s identities, making charges on his donors’ credit cards without their authorization and lying to federal election officials.

Trial was set for Sept. 9, 2024, and is expected to last three weeks.

The 23-count superseding indictment filed earlier this month charges the New York congressman with "two counts of wire fraud, two counts of making materially false statements to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), two counts of falsifying records submitted to obstruct the FEC, two counts of aggravated identity theft and one count of access device fraud," the United States Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of New York said in a release.

Santos is keeping his lawyer, Joe Murray, despite a potential conflict of interest involving others associated with the case.

The new charges followed the indictment this month of Santos’ former campaign finance chief Nancy Marks. Prosecutors allege they enlisted 10 family members without their knowledge to donate to the campaign to make it seem like Santos was getting enough support to qualify for party funds. Marks has pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge.

According to the charges, Santos allegedly said he lent his campaign $500,000 when he only had $8,000 on hand.

There was no change in bail conditions at Friday's hearing. The next status conference is set for Dec. 12.

In May, Santos was indicted by federal prosecutors on 13 criminal counts, including seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives. He pleaded not guilty to those charges.

Santos told reporters he would not step down from his position in Congress after the new charges were filed this month.

• Smurfs, Butts And Elbows: Petty GOP Fights Consume Congress

The U.S. Congress became a schoolyard Tuesday as Republican lawmakers got into a physical altercation, seemingly threatened a committee witness and called a Democratic colleague a financially illiterate Smurf.

The Capitol is a place with big egos where tempers often flare, but this week’s ugliness underscored a likely unprecedented amount of immaturity and rancor in the building, particularly among House Republicans, whose general disarray left their chamber literally unable to function for weeks last month.

Since settling on a new speaker following the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Republicans got down to business by launching censure and impeachment resolutions, tanking their own government funding bills and, as of Tuesday, allegedly kidney punching.

“I used to teach 4-to-6-year-olds. They were better behaved than some of the people in this place,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told HuffPost, shaking her head.

“We need more women in Congress,” said Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) in a social media post, referring to the male-dominated rash of violence and threats at her workplace Tuesday.

The fireworks started in the morning after Republicans met in the Capitol basement to discuss a proposal by new House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to avert a government shutdown at the end of the week. The stopgap extension of government funding will likely pass with Democratic votes — meaning it’s essentially the same thing that prompted GOP conservatives to challenge McCarthy’s leadership.

As Republicans streamed out of the meeting, McCarthy bumped into Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) — one of eight party members who backed his ouster — and elbowed Burchett in his lower back, according to the Tennessean.

“It was a clean shot to the kidney,” Burchett told HuffPost, adding that he wouldn’t retaliate against McCarthy, but if they did fight, “it would be a very short fistfight, I can tell you that.”

McCarthy denied that he hit Burchett, telling a reporter if he had struck someone in the kidney, “they would be on the ground.”

In other words, each man said after the incident they would win if they had a real fight.

Over in the Senate, Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R) nearly started a fistfight with labor union leader Sean O’Brien during a committee hearing.

“If you want to run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults,” the ex-MMA fighter told O’Brien, who was testifying before the panel. “We can finish it here.”

“Perfect,” said O’Brien.

“Well, stand your butt up then,” demanded the senator.

“You stand your butt up, big guy,” O’Brien shot back, prompting Mullin to actually stand up on the committee dais as if he were about to go down and throw punches.

The reason for their spat was as high school as it gets: Mullin was upset about O’Brien’s habit of mocking him on social media, and the senator’s apparent response was to challenge O’Brien to a physical fight to prove who the real man was. Really.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the committee chair, had to repeatedly break them up.

“Stop it. Sit down. Sit down,” he told Mullin. “You’re a United States senator!”

(Sanders was also annoyed that the exchange took focus off the reason for the hearing, which was to discuss how unions can stand up to “corporate greed.”)

Republicans laughed off the incident. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), wiping away tears after seeing a clip of Mullin with his colleagues at a closed-door lunch, said the whole controversy was overblown.

“We have a guy that runs around here in a hoodie and shorts pretending he’s a gangster, for crying out loud. There are no guardrails anymore,” Cramer said, taking a whack at the chosen attire of Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.).

But Smith, who witnessed the exchange at Tuesday’s hearing, said she wasn’t entertained.

“This kind of behavior is unacceptable,” the Democrat said, adding that she left the hearing room because she was “so upset by what Sen. Mullin did.”

“I think you ought to behave with some sense of dignity,” she added.

Meanwhile, Mullin told HuffPost that he didn’t start the fight and brushed off questions about how a senator should behave.

“I’m still a guy,” Mullin noted.

Back on the House side, Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) laced into Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) for making a tit-for-tat corruption accusation over a Comer family loan, which Moskowitz suggested was no different from the transactions that Comer claims implicate President Joe Biden in a corruption scheme. Comer said Moskowitz was “financially illiterate” and that the accusation was “bullshit.”

“You look like a Smurf here,” Comer said of Moskowitz, who was wearing a light blue suit and a white shirt.

With histrionics in Congress at a high and productivity at seemingly historic lows, it’s no wonder that so many House members are heading for the exits. Over the past week, more than half a dozen lawmakers announced that they wouldn’t be seeking reelection next year.

One member, Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas), even briefly considered leaving Congress to run for his old seat in the Texas Legislature — a technical demotion in U.S. politics, where lawmakers typically seek higher positions in public office.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), the fist-pumping senator who wrote a book about manhood, suggested that Congress may need to cool off and go on recess.

“Maybe it’s time for Thanksgiving,” he said.

• Sam Miele, fundraiser for Rep. George Santos, pleads guilty to wire fraud

Sam Miele, a fundraiser for embattled Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., pleaded guilty to wire fraud Tuesday in connection with impersonating an aide to then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Miele was charged in August with aggravated identity theft and four counts of wire fraud.

Miele is the second person charged alongside Santos to plead guilty following campaign treasurer Nancy Marks last month.

Miele agreed to pay $109,171 in restitution, $69,136 in forfeiture and a separate stipulated payment of $470,000 to a contributor.

"The defendant used fraud and deceit to steal more than $100,000 from his victims, funneling this money into the campaign committees of candidates for the House, and into his own pockets," United States Attorney Peace said Tuesday.

Prosecutors said Miele sent emails and phone calls seeking campaign contributions while claiming to be a "high ranking aide to a member of the House with leadership responsibilities."

According to court records, Miele misrepresented himself as a high-ranking congressional aide to then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy to deceive donors and then used their money to pad his own pocket and the coffers of Santos' campaign.

As part of his plea, Miele admitted he committed access device fraud by charging credit cards without authorization for contributions to the campaigns of Santos and other candidates.

Miele faces up to 20 years in prison.

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• George Santos’ GOP critics plot 3rd ouster attempt, potentially aided with an ethics report

‘He’ll be out’: Santos’ GOP critics anxiously await report they hope will help boot him

Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) has evaded two efforts this year to oust him from the House. A third time could end up differently, depending on the results of a long-awaited ethics report this week.

The House Ethics Committee is slated to release the findings of its investigation into Santos regarding a slew of charges, including campaign finance fraud and bribery, by Friday. If it’s damning, as many expect, New York Republicans who have called for his removal are likely to move quickly against him.

Their previous effort fell short of the necessary two-thirds vote, as other Republicans argued against setting the precedent of expelling a member without a conviction. His trial on federal charges isn’t set to begin for nearly a year. Plus, there’s the ever-present problem of the House GOP’s slim majority.

But some members who protected Santos last time have indicated that a convincing ethics report would change their minds.

• MTG Ends Up With Egg on Her Face While Grilling FBI Director

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) stepped in it on Wednesday when she mistakenly suggested FBI Director Christopher Wray works for the Department of Homeland Security. During a Wednesday hearing, the congresswoman intensely questioned Wray about a pro-Palestine rally at the U.S. Capitol last month, arguing that it was an insurrection. She held up a poster of a text message from a top lawyer for the Southern Poverty Law Center that allegedly showed the group’s involvement in the protest. Greene asked Wray if he saw reports of the conversation involving the “Global Intifada group” on her account on X, formerly Twitter, to which he replied that he didn’t use the platform much. In disbelief, she said, “I’m sure you do, because the Department of Homeland Security, organized with other offices, has censored many Americans, including myself,” leading Wray to flatly respond, “I’m not part of the Department of Homeland Security.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/marjor...g-fbi-director

• Santos ethics report finds ‘substantial evidence’ of criminal wrongdoing

A bipartisan ethics report concludes there is “substantial evidence” 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 Santos spent campaign funds on Botox treatments and lavish Atlantic City trips with his husband. It also details the New York Republican’s efforts to obscure his money trail, as he sought to build a “fictional” financial narrative on official records, according to the 55-page report.

“At nearly every opportunity, he placed his desire for private gain above his duty to uphold the Constitution, federal law, and ethical principles,” the report reads. “Santos sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit.”

The House Ethics Committee, which is split evenly between Democrats and Republicans, stopped short of recommending any sanctions, including expulsion, against Santos. Ethics Chair Michael Guest (R-Miss.) said evaluating and recommending sanctions “would have taken several more months” and the panel wanted to move expeditiously.

The committee typically halts its investigations of members under federal indictment, to give the Justice Department the right of way until a prosecution is concluded. But the House Ethics Committee forged ahead on their own investigation into Santos, citing the “unique” and “unprecedented” circumstances of his case.

“The integrity of the House has been called into question in a significant and overt manner that the Committee cannot ignore,” the report says.

https://ethics.house.gov/sites/ethic...0Report_52.pdf - https://ethics.house.gov/sites/ethic...Part%201_2.pdf

• House Ethics chairman introduces resolution to expel Rep. George Santos from Congress

The Republican chairman of the House Ethics Committee has filed a resolution to expel GOP Rep. George Santos from Congress, after the committee released a blistering report accusing Santos of extensive wrongdoing.

The House Ethics Committee left the question of Santos' fate in Congress to lawmakers, but the chairman, Rep. Michael Guest of Mississippi, said the evidence revealed by the committee is "more than sufficient" to warrant the "most appropriate" punishment of expulsion and filed the resolution in his capacity as a member of the House.

"Whereas given his egregious violations, Representative George Santos is not fit to serve as a member of the United States House of Representatives: Now, therefore, be it resolved, that pursuant to article I, section 5, clause 2 of the Constitution of the United States, Representative George Santos be, and he hereby is, expelled from the United States House of Representatives," the resolution reads.

In a statement, Guest said, "Given the intense public scrutiny surrounding Representative Santos and the ongoing activity at the DOJ, including indictments, the Ethics Committee decided to finish its work without going through a lengthier process that provides for the Committee to make a recommendation of punishment to the House."

The House has already twice considered motions to expel Santos and failed, with the vast majority of Republicans voting to keep Santos in office. That was before Congress passed additional temporary funding for the government and before the House Ethics Committee released its report. The House is out until after the Thanksgiving holiday, so it won't be able to take any action on Santos before lawmakers return to Washington. And it's still unclear if there are a sufficient number of Republicans who would vote against Santos to reach the two-thirds majority required for expulsion.

The committee's report found "substantial evidence" that Santos violated federal law. The panel voted — unanimously — to refer evidence it gathered to the Justice Department. Federal prosecutors have already charged Santos with conspiracy, false statements, wire fraud, falsification of records, aggravated identity theft and credit card fraud. He has pleaded not guilty on all charges, and continues to insist that he is innocenct.

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• George Santos' communications director resigns, saying she's "honored" to quit

GOP Rep. George Santos' communications director Naysa Woomer has resigned, writing in a resignation email obtained by Scripps News that she's "honored" to quit and that the congressman "never took one point of professional advice."

Her resignation comes not long after Santos was arrested and charged with fraud, money laundering and other crimes. He survived an attempt from House Democrats to expel him from Congress this week.

"With respect for my colleagues, the people of New York, and most importantly, myself, I am honored to tender my resignation," Woomer said in her resignation email, the content of which was confirmed by CBS News.

"Unfortunately, you never took one point of professional advice given," Woomer continued.

Woomer has been with Santos' office since he joined the House in January. Other Santos staffers will now have to handle additional communications responsibilities for the congressman as reporters follow him nearly everywhere he goes.

• George Santos: House Republicans expect to expel New York lawmaker

House Republicans believe there are enough votes to expel Rep. George Santos this week

Multiple House Republicans said Wednesday they believe there is now enough support by GOP lawmakers to boot Rep. George Santos from Congress later this week.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Wednesday said the vote on that resolution will be held Friday.

Johnson said he has “reservations” about the vote to remove Santos. But, he added, “We’re going to allow people to vote their conscience.”

After a GOP conference meeting, Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y. said, “I think there’ll be 120, 150 Republican votes” for the resolution, NBC News reported.

That many Republicans, added to what is expected to be overwhelming Democratic support, would easily surpass the two-thirds supermajority vote required to remove Santos from the 435-seat House.

House votes to expel George Santos from Congress

Republican George Santos expelled from Congress in bipartisan vote

The New York Republican, fabulist and accused fraudster George Santos has been expelled from Congress.

The vote to expel Santos, the second since his election last year, required a two-thirds majority of those present. The final tally on Friday was 311-114, with two members recorded present and eight absent.

Santos therefore becomes only the sixth member ever expelled from the US House. The first three fought for the Confederacy in the civil war. The other two were expelled after being convicted of crimes.

Santos has pleaded not guilty to 23 federal fraud charges but has not been tried. A previous expulsion attempt, mounted by members of his own party, failed in part because senior Democrats voted no, citing the dangers of expelling members without convictions secured.

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Washington, D.C. Restaurant Introduces 'Adios Santos' Cocktail After Expulsion Vote

The limited-edition grapefruit margaritas will be available to customers beginning Friday for $10. With each sale of the specialty cocktail, one dollar will be donated to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). According to the organization’s website, CREW is “a leading ethics watchdog organization that takes relentless legal and investigative actions holding people in power to account.”

“We’re serving up a Santos sendoff cocktail for disgraced Republican House member, George Santos,” a statement from the restaurant reads.

“To celebrate, we’ve mixed up an ‘Adios Santos’ [g]rapefruit [m]argarita [and] will being offering it all weekend for $10. To help turn the grift into a gift, $1 of each cocktail will go to CREW, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.”

Just because he had a bit of fantasy.

Ain't easy these days

• Kari Lake's records request and lawsuit on ballot return envelopes rejected by judge

A Maricopa County judge has rejected former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake's lawsuit seeking to review ballot return envelopes of about 1.3 million voters.

Superior Court Judge John Hannah's ruling, which was filed Thursday, follows two days of trial on Sept. 21 and 25, during which Maricopa County made its case that Recorder Stephen Richer's office was right to deny Lake access to those envelopes and the signatures on them.

Lake and her attorney sought the envelopes under Arizona Public Records Law in connection to her separate case challenging Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs' 17,000-vote victory last year.

Hannah affirmed the county's denial of Lake's request, writing in his order that releasing the envelopes and signatures could lead to voter fraud and hamstring county officials who use the envelope signatures to verify a voter's identity on future ballots.

"The broad right of electoral participation outweighs the narrow interests of those who would continue to pick at the machinery of democracy," Hannah wrote. He found that voters' privacy interests when it comes to their personal information justified withholding the envelopes, writing that to release the envelopes would "create a significant risk of widespread voter fraud where none now exists. It would expose voters to harassment and potentially force them to defend the integrity of their own votes."

The 12-page ruling includes a scathing assessment of Lake's continued argument for reviewing the signatures even after another judge rejected her separate case asking a judge to set aside Hobbs' victory. Lake and her attorney argued that transparency was necessary to instill confidence in elections.

"Ms. Lake regards the electoral process much like the villagers in the famous fable regarded the goose that laid the golden egg, except that her goose failed to lay the egg she expected," Hannah wrote, referencing an Aesop fable. "She insists that something must have gone wrong. If only she could cut open the electoral process and examine each of its 1.3 million pieces, she says, she would be able to figure out what happened and show that the prize has been there waiting for her all along."

https://s3.documentcloud.org/documen...ake-denied.pdf

Santos
McCarthy
Johnson

What is the majority ?

• Democrats pick Suozzi to replace George Santos in special election

New York Democrats are turning to the well-known Suozzi to run in the Feb. 13 special election called by Gov. Kathy Hochul after Santos was expelled from the House last week.

Suozzi’s bid received the backing of Queens Rep. Greg Meeks and Jay Jacobs, the chair of both the Nassau County Democrats and the statewide party, who endorsed him in a joint statement.

In a special election, party bosses pick the candidates to fill the remainder of the term. Then there would still be the potential of a primary in June ahead of the November election for a full, two-year term starting in 2025.

“Tom Suozzi has a proven record of fighting for his constituents, fighting to safeguard our suburban way of life here on Long Island and Queens and always advocating for sensible solutions to the real challenges affecting everyday average Americans,” they said in the statement.

The special election is expected to draw national interest and millions of dollars in campaign spending to the district, which covers parts of Nassau County and Queens. Republicans have yet to name a candidate for the race.

Democrats hope to flip the district in the special election and narrow the razor-thin Republican majority in the House, with New York expected to play a pivotal role in 2024.

An estimated six House seats in New York, five of which are held by first-term Republicans, are considered to be battleground seats next year, including the one Santos represented for less than a year.

Set in a bellwether and largely suburban district, the February contest is also expected to be an early test and showcase for messaging among both parties with issues like the migrant crisis, public safety and abortion expected to loom large.

“I will work day and night with both parties to deliver for the people to make living here more affordable, safer, and better. I delivered for this district before, and I will do it again by putting you ahead of partisanship,” Suozzi said in a statement.

• Congress Just Effectively Handcuffed Trump From Ever Leaving NATO

A brief provision in the massive $886 billion bill funding the Pentagon will likely kill former President Donald Trump or any potential future president's ambitions to withdraw the United States from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Sens. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, and Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, teamed up to muscle their bill — which would require an act of Congress or Senate approval to leave NATO — into what is often deemed a must-pass bill that funds servicemembers and outlines national security priorities. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the legislation into law. The Senate passed the overall legislation 87 to 13. The House passed it on Friday on a 310-118 vote.

"The Senate's vote today to pass my bipartisan bill to prevent any U.S. President from unilaterally withdrawing from NATO reaffirms U.S. support for this crucial alliance that is foundational for our national security," Kaine said in a statement after the Pentagon funding bill passed the Senate. "It also sends a strong message to authoritarians around the world that the free world remains united."

Kaine and Rubio failed to pass their bill when Trump was in the White House.

• Kari Lake is in deep, deep trouble with judge's refusal to dismiss defamation lawsuit

We end the year 2023 much as we ended 2022, with yet another loss for Kari Lake.

But also, possibly, the first, long-overdue step on the road to accountability for the state’s biggest crybaby, a failed candidate who simply cannot accept the fact that she lost an election.

Last week, a judge ruled that Lake does not have a First Amendment right to call Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer a criminal.

She now has to prove her claims that he intentionally sabotaged the 2022 election. That is, if she wants to avoid being hit with a multimillion-dollar penalty for defamation.

Snip

Judge won't dismiss defamation lawsuit

Lake has asked that the lawsuit be dismissed, claiming Richer has no right to try to hold her accountable, no matter how many death threats he and his family must endure.

But Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Jay Adleman disagreed, rejecting her lawyers’ claim that her accusations of sabotage were “mere rhetorical hyperbole.”

“In point of fact, defendant Lake’s statements regarding improper 19-inch ballots and/or the existence of 300,000 fraudulent ballots may be discerned by a factfinder as either true or false when considered in the light of any available evidence,” he wrote, in declining Lake’s request to throw out the lawsuit. “These statements constitute assertions of fact that are actionable under prevailing Arizona law.”

The judge also rejected her claim that the lawsuit is just a sleazy, illegal attempt by a politician to silence his critics.

“The court is satisfied that the disputed statements — if indeed they are ‘provable’ as false or defamatory — would be undeserving of the protections associated with our First Amendment principles,” Adleman wrote.

In fact, he found that Richer may well have the goods to prove “actual malice,” which is another way of saying Kari Lake is in deep, deep trouble.

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In other news……..

• Republican takes credit for $650,000 in federal funds from bill she voted against

U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar is the latest Republican to be caught taking credit for federal funds despite voting against the legislation that provided them.

“I’m proud to have secured funding that will create hundreds of jobs and help dozens of businesses grow” in her Florida district, Congresswoman Salazar wrote on the social media site X. Her post includes photos of her signing a large mockup of a check for $650,000, and standing holding it up. “Today, I launched the BizGap program with [Florida International University] which will help small businesses with coaching, marketing, websites, and more!”

Under her signature she wrote in block letters, “U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar FL-27,” the number of her district.

Yet Congresswoman Salazar voted against the legislation that provided those funds to her district, as Business Insider reports:

“That bill was the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, an ‘omnibus’ spending bill that passed at the end of last year, when Democrats still controlled both the House and the Senate.”

• House GOP majority to shrink to 2 with Ohio lawmaker’s early resignation

House Republicans’ already-slim majority will dwindle even further later this month when Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) resigns earlier than expected.

Johnson’s office on Tuesday confirmed the congressman’s new official resignation date of Jan. 21, after he was expected to resign to take a job as president of Youngstown State University before mid-March.

The resignation will leave the House with 219 Republicans, 213 Democrats, and three vacancies — meaning Republicans will be able to afford to lose only two votes on any party-line measure, assuming full attendance.

Currently, the Republicans have a three-vote cushion, with the resignation of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Dec. 31 and the expulsion of former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) accounting for the two other vacancies.

edit: wrong thread

• Johnson strikes his first bipartisan deal — a $1.7T funding accord

Congressional leaders have clinched a deal on overall budget totals that could pave the way for a broader government funding compromise in the coming weeks — further enraging Speaker Mike Johnson’s right flank.

The long-stalled agreement, announced Sunday afternoon, establishes funding limits for the military and domestic programs for the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1, allowing House and Senate appropriators to begin hashing out their differences between a dozen annual spending bills. A partial government shutdown looms 12 days away.

Under the bipartisan agreement Johnson negotiated with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, defense funding is set at $886 billion for the current fiscal year, in line with the total President Joe Biden and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy struck as part of last summer’s debt ceiling package. The accord pegs non-defense funding at nearly $773 billion, a total that counts tens of billions of dollars agreed to alongside the debt limit package, the so-called “side deal” that conservatives tried to kill.

Non-defense budgets would remain roughly flat, amounting to a less than 1 percent decrease compared to current funding. Military programs would see about a 3 percent increase.

During a private briefing call, Schumer told Senate Democrats, “It’s a good deal for Democrats and the country.” Publicly, Biden said the accord moves leaders “one step closer” to thwarting “a needless shutdown.”

But the agreement is far higher than fiscal conservatives have demanded, raising the specter of a funding lapse and risking the House speaker’s good standing among his conference.

In a letter to House lawmakers on Sunday, Johnson celebrated $16 billion in extra spending cuts he negotiated beyond the terms of the debt agreement, for a total of $30 billion less than Senate lawmakers sought in the funding bills they have drafted.

The speaker acknowledged that the funding levels “will not satisfy everyone, and they do not cut as much spending as many of us would like.” But he called the deal “the most favorable budget agreement Republicans have achieved in over a decade,” noting that the bipartisan accord will allow GOP lawmakers to put their mark on federal budgets, rather than running the government on the “Schumer-Pelosi” deal struck before Republicans claimed the House majority last year.

Lawmakers will have to work incredibly fast — federal cash for the departments of Agriculture, Transportation, Energy, Veterans Affairs and more expires on Jan. 19. Funding for the rest of the government, including the biggest domestic programs and the Pentagon, runs out on Feb. 2. A shutdown remains very possible, with a host of thorny policy issues for congressional leaders to work through in extremely limited time, including conservative demands to attach GOP border reforms to spending legislation and Republican ultimatums holding up Biden’s separate request for more than $100 billion to aid Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

Much more in the link

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• Rep. Lamborn won’t seek reelection, leaving all of Colorado’s GOP-held seats in Congress up for grabs

Republican U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn will not seek reelection to a 10th term in Congress.

The Colorado Springs Republican said on a radio show Friday morning that he will retire at the end of 2024, meaning all three congressional seats held by Republicans in Colorado are now without an incumbent contender.

Colorado has a total of eight congressional seats.

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• Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer will not run for reelection

U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer will not be running for reelection after the 2024 session.

The Republican congressman has served in the House of Representatives since 2009 and previously served as a Missouri state representative beginning in 1999.

"It has been an honor to serve the great people of the Third Congressional District and State of Missouri these past several years. However, after a lot of thoughtful discussion with my family, I have decided to not file for re-election and retire at the end of my term in December,” Luetkemeyer said in a news release.

Luetkemeyer is currently chairman of the Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions within the House Financial Services Committee.

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• Arizona GOP lawmaker says Republicans have ‘nothing to campaign on’

Republican Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) tore into his GOP colleagues during a Thursday appearance on Newsmax, criticizing their approach to government funding and saying his colleagues in the party have “nothing to campaign on.”

Biggs, former chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, slammed his conference after being asked how many of the 12 individual spending bills the House Republicans completed during an appearance on “The Chris Salcedo Show.”

“None. None. None have been completed,” Biggs said. “There’ve been a few of them. Seven I think have been sent to the Senate from the House. The Senate has not taken up a single one of those bills. How do you campaign on the trust of the American people? You failed and continue to fund this goofy Ukraine, this outrageous Ukraine debacle that’s going on.”

“We have nothing to go out there and campaign on, Chris. It’s embarrassing.”

• Republicans blitz NY race with migrant crisis ads

National Republicans are finally pouring major money into the special election in New York’s 3rd Congressional District, and they’re counting on backlash against the migrant crisis to lift their candidate to victory.

The Congressional Leadership Fund, the largest House GOP super PAC, is placing its first TV ad buy for Republican Mazi Melesa Pilip ahead of the Feb. 13 race on Long Island and in Queens. The spot will run on New York City broadcast and cable for two weeks beginning Saturday, backed by a $1.5 million buy.

Pilip, an Ethiopian-born former Israeli Defense Forces soldier, faces former Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), who is running to reclaim his old seat. And so far Pilip has been outspent on TV by a nearly 7 to 1 ratio in the pricy New York City media market.

The focus of the new spot is immigration and the migrant crisis, which has been playing a central role in special-election messaging. New York City in particular has been grappling with a surge of more than 160,000 migrants over the past year, an issue that has resonated across the region.

The ad accuses Suozzi of rolling “out the red carpet for illegal immigrants” and uses audio of Suozzi saying, “I kicked ICE out of Nassau County.” The clip plays twice in the 15-second version of the spot.

The National Republican Congressional Committee is also airing a TV ad on immigration, warning that Suozzi opposed penalizing sanctuary cities and voted against alerting authorities if an undocumented immigrant tried to buy a firearm.

Suozzi cut an ad of his own Thursday, vowing to take a tough stance on illegal immigration and beef up border security. Anticipating criticism on immigration, he has criticized the Biden administration for not providing cities with the resources to deal with the influx of migrants from the border — a stance shared by his ally, New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

The total investment from CLF will total $2.3 million, including $350,000 of ads on streaming and digital platforms and $500,000 of mail and text messages.

Pilip started the race at a disadvantage. Suozzi, who served three terms in Congress, has extremely high name ID in the district.

Suozzi, the House Democratic campaign arm and House Majority PAC, Democrats’ chief House super PAC, have spent a collective $3.8 million so far. Pilip and the Republicans have spent $580,000, according to data from AdImpact.

The new GOP investment will help alleviate the spending gap but does not close it — and doesn’t cover the final two weeks of the race. (CLF’s current ad buy ends at the end of January though they could later extend it.)

The district backed Joe Biden by 9 points in 2020, but elected Santos in 2022.

Long Island has taken a sharp turn to the right in recent years, and the GOP is eager for a special election victory to prove their continued dominance as it looks to retain control of the chamber next year.

Democrats hope to blunt GOP gains in New York in 2022 and retake enough seats in the state this year to win back the House majority.

Suozzi leads Pilip in tight race to replace Santos in NY-3

Grand Jury Subpoena Issued for Documents from House Sergeant at Arms

New House Subpoena Sparks Wave of Theories

^related

• Democrat Cori Bush under DOJ investigation

Rep. Cori Bush is under investigation after hiring husband as security

Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., confirmed Tuesday that the Department of Justice is investigating her campaign's spending on security services.

"Since before I was sworn into office, I have endured relentless threats to my physical safety and life," Bush said in remarks on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. "As a rank-and-file member of Congress, I am not entitled to personal protection by the House and instead have used campaign funds as permissible to retain security services."

Bush says she is fully cooperating.

The St. Louis Democrat says she retained her now-husband as part of her security team and claims he is able to provide services at or below-market rate.

Congressional ethics rules for members of the House of Representatives permit family members to be paid from campaign funds for "bona fide services" so long as payments do not exceed "fair market value."

In addition to the Justice Department investigation, Bush says the Federal Election Commission and the House Committee on Ethics are also reviewing the matter.

According to Bush, the Office of Congressional Ethics, staffed by career government employees, found no evidence of wrongdoing in an investigation last year and voted unanimously to dismiss the case.

The investigation first came to light on Monday, when the House clerk publicly informed lawmakers of a subpoena received by House Sergeant at Arms.

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In other news

• House passes expanded child tax credit bill, sends it to Senate

The House voted Wednesday night to pass a $78 billion tax package that includes an expansion of the child tax credit, sending it to the Senate, where its path is uncertain.

The Republican-led House passed the bipartisan measure 357-70, using a fast-track process that requires a two-thirds majority. The legislation received broad support from each party: 169 Republicans and 188 Democrats voted for it, while 47 Republicans and 23 Democrats voted against it.

• Oregon high court says GOP lawmakers who staged walkout can’t run for re-election

The Oregon Supreme Court said Thursday that 10 Republican state senators who staged a record-long walkout last year to stall bills on abortion, transgender health care and gun rights cannot run for re-election.

The decision upholds the secretary of state’s decision to disqualify the senators from the ballot under a voter-approved measure aimed at stopping such boycotts. Measure 113, passed by voters in 2022, amended the state constitution to bar lawmakers from re-election if they have more than 10 unexcused absences.

Last year’s boycott lasted six weeks — the longest in state history — and paralyzed the legislative session, stalling hundreds of bills.

Five lawmakers sued over the secretary of state’s decision — Sens. Tim Knopp, Daniel Bonham, Suzanne Weber, Dennis Linthicum and Lynn Findley. They were among the 10 GOP senators who racked up more than 10 absences.

During oral arguments before the Oregon Supreme Court in December, attorneys for the senators and the state wrestled over the grammar and syntax of the language that was added to the state constitution after Measure 113 was approved by voters.

The amendment says a lawmaker is not allowed to run “for the term following the election after the member’s current term is completed.” The senators claimed the amendment meant they could seek another term, since a senator’s term ends in January while elections are held the previous November. They argue the penalty doesn’t take effect immediately, but rather, after they’ve served another term.

The two sides also wrestled with the slight differences in wording that appeared on the actual ballot that voters filled out and the text of the measure as included in the voters’ pamphlet.

The ballot said the result of a vote in favor of the measure would disqualify legislators with 10 or more unexcused absences from holding office for the “term following current term of office.” It did not include the word “election,” as the text of the measure that appeared in the pamphlet did. What appeared in the pamphlet was ultimately added to the state constitution.

What to know about the special election to replace George Santos

Early voting has started in a special election to replace the embattled former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) in the Empire State's 3rd congressional district.

Why it matters: The key swing seat, which opened up following Santos' expulsion, has become a top target for Democrats and could impact the House's Republican majority.

• Early voting began on Saturday, and Election Day is slated for Feb. 13. The district includes parts of Queens and Long Island's Nassau County.

Why is there a special election?

• The House voted in December to expel Santos from Congress over his many fabrications on the 2022 campaign trail and his two federal indictments.
• This opened up the need for a special election, as state law required New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) to proclaim the unusual race within 10 days of Santos' seat becoming vacant.

Who's running?

• New York Republicans nominated Mazi Melesa Pilip as the party's candidate in December, while New York Democrats chose former Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.).
• Pilip was born in Ethiopia and emigrated to Israel when she was 12, serving in the Israeli Defense Forces and attending college and graduate school there before moving to the United States with her American husband, Axios' April Rubin and Andrew Solender report.
• Pilip — a registered Democrat for over a decade — was elected as a GOP Nassau County legislator in 2021, flipping a Democratic seat. She was re-elected in 2023. In both elections, she ran as a Republican, Politico reported.

Suozzi represented the state's 3rd congressional district from 2017 to 2023.

• He vacated the seat to run for governor, though he ran an unsuccessful campaign against Hochul in 2022.

What's at stake?

• The seat, which has flip-flopped between parties, is one that New York Democrats hope to reclaim.
• Santos had flipped the seat to Republican when he won in 2022 following Suozzi's prior win as a Democrat.

The empty seat has also made the House's slim Republican majority even smaller.

• Republicans have a narrow lead over Democrats in the House, at 219-212 with four current vacancies, including Santos' spot.

What do the district's voters care most about?

• Among the 3rd congressional district, 26% of voters marked immigration as the most important issue facing the state, while 22% included the economy, according to an Emerson College poll in January.
• Crime and housing affordability followed behind, at 15% and 12%, respectively.