Calm before the storm? McCarthy's majority holds together after 100 days

W. James Antle III

April 13, 06:00 AM April 13, 06:00 AM

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's (R-CA) 15 ballots to secure his job seem like a distant memory 100 days into the Republican majority, but his biggest challenges lie ahead.

Republicans have managed to pass a few bills that divide Democrats. Some of these measures have made it through the Senate, where Republicans not only lack a majority but actually lost a seat last year. President Joe Biden has even felt the need to sign some of them into law, though he has also issued the first two vetoes of his presidency during this time period.

But so much is still riding on whether McCarthy can make it through a debt ceiling showdown with Biden while neither capitulating on spending nor sending the country into default. His speakership may depend on his success.

MCCARTHY'S MOMENTUM

One thing McCarthy has succeeded in doing in helping his party overcome long odds — Republicans do not control the White House or the Senate — is identifying legislation that cannot be filibustered or kept off the legislative calendar by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). The Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to repeal regulations published in the last 60 days, is one way to do that. Resolutions of disapproval of Washington, D.C., laws are another.

The other was finding issues that divide Democrats. There is a generational and ideological split within the Democratic Party over crime. Biden is trying to push Democrats away from defunding the police while big-city mayors and councilors, such as those found in 2024 DNC convention host city Chicago, position themselves well to the president’s left.

The vote on overturning a crime bill passed by the liberal council of the District of Columbia was instructive. Washington, D.C., is suffering a crime wave, like many large, Democratic-governed urban areas. The issue limited Democratic gains in the 2020 elections and remained a liability in the midterm elections. Democrats on the D.C. Council responded by relaxing penalties for serious crimes ranging from carjackings to homicides over the mayor’s objections.

Biden and the Democrats support D.C. statehood. Short of being able to deliver that, they would like to be seen as strongly supportive of home rule. But D.C.’s three electoral votes are assured next year. The votes of suburbanites worried about urban lawlessness intruding into their neighborhoods remain vigorously contested and may prove unavailable to Democrats seen as soft on crime.

The White House issued a statement of policy saying that it opposed a Republican attempt to overturn this law, as Congress has the constitutional authority to do in the federal district. But more sober minds in the West Wing eventually won out, considering the pitfalls of defending this crime policy. Biden relented.

“I support D.C. Statehood and home-rule — but I don’t support some of the changes D.C. Council put forward over the Mayor’s objections — such as lowering penalties for carjackings,” Biden said in a Twitter statement shortly after informing Senate Democrats in a closed-door meeting of his new position. “If the Senate votes to overturn what D.C. Council did — I’ll sign it.” House Democrats weren't tipped off accordingly.

Democrats were taken aback by Biden’s shift. Liberal activists and commentators condemned it as a sellout designed to win swing voters in 2024.

On declassifying intelligence on COVID-19 origins, Democrats did not mount even token opposition to legislation McCarthy moved to force Biden’s hand. The House passed it 419-0. It then cleared the Senate by unanimous consent.

McCarthy’s other COVID-19 victory came on lifting the national emergency. As was the case with crime in D.C., most House Democrats tried to hold the liberal line, assuming Biden was with them. Instead, the White House abandoned them.

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A loss in the debt ceiling fight, either through the failure to extend before the bills come due or the inability to deliver on any spending cuts, will obviate most of these successes. Democrats are hopeful recent history means they can prevail in this conflict.

McCarthy and his young House Republican majority are still entering in a better position than seemed likely after November's results or January's infighting.

Here are the 42 Biden administration officials House Republicans have put on notice

Cami Mondeaux

November 26, 07:00 AM November 26, 07:01 AM

House Republicans are wasting no time to get their agenda underway as they prepare to take control of the lower chamber, alerting at least 42 officials in the Biden administration that they will be expected to testify in a slew of GOP-led investigations early next year.

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee have sent letters to White House chief of staff Ron Klain and other top Biden administration officials, requesting testimony from a number of officials. The testimony is expected to be used for the party’s investigations into border security, suspected bias within the FBI and the Department of Justice, and the financial dealings of President Joe Biden’s son Hunter.

IMPEACH BIDEN? INCOMING GOP HOUSE MAJORITY GRAPPLES WITH HOW TO USE NEW POWER

“The American people elected a new House Republican majority because the past two years of one-party Democrat rule have failed America,” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who is set to become House speaker in the next Congress. “These actions by the Biden administration deserve oversight and accountability, which Republicans will pursue in the new Congress. … Every congressional committee has an oversight responsibility, and we intend to finally get the answers the American people deserve.”

The House Judiciary Committee sent five letters on Nov. 18 requesting testimony from certain Biden administration officials, including in the White House, the Department of Homeland Security, the DOJ, the FBI, and the Department of Education.

Here’s a breakdown of the 42 Biden administration officials who are expected to testify before Republicans next Congress:

White House staff

In a letter to Klain, the group of 19 Republicans led by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) requested testimony from four White House staff members in relation to “the Biden Administration’s misuse of federal criminal and counterterrorism resources to target concerned parents at school board meetings.”

The request comes after Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memo to law enforcement officials in October 2021 instructing them to address reported threats targeting school board officials, teachers, and school administrators. The memo came in response to a letter from the National School Boards Association a month earlier asking the Biden administration to investigate such threats.

However, the NSBA request has come under scrutiny by House Republicans who say the Executive Office of the President was involved in sending the letter, resulting in “collusion.”

The House Judiciary Committee requests testimony from the following White House officials:

Department of Education

House Republicans have also requested the testimony of three officials inside the Department of Education for its investigation into the Biden administration’s alleged involvement with the NSBA letter. They are:

Department of Homeland Security

The House Judiciary Committee also seeks the testimony of 11 officials inside the Department of Homeland Security, including from Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

The testimony is likely to focus on the flux of immigrants coming into the United States from the southern border, which has significantly increased under the Biden administration. Republicans have previously demanded DHS officials preserve documents pertaining to the border, with some GOP lawmakers reportedly considering impeaching Mayorkas once they take control of the House in January.

The House Judiciary Committee requests testimony from the following DHS officials:

Department of Justice

In a letter sent to the Department of Justice, House Republicans informed Garland they would be seeking the testimony of 15 officials — the most of any of the departments that received the Nov. 18 notices.

The testimony is likely to be in reference to the department’s handling of its investigations into Donald Trump because Republicans have accused the department of being politically biased against the former president. Republicans’ investigations are expected to home in on the raid of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, during which the FBI and DOJ obtained several boxes of classified White House documents.

The DOJ is investigating possible violations of the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice in its inquiry about the Mar-a-Lago document tranche, according to court documents. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.

The House Judiciary Committee requests testimony from the following DOJ officials:

FBI

Republicans are also requesting testimony from FBI officials as GOP lawmakers seek to investigate the agency for similar political bias against Trump.

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee have requested information and documents related to the agency’s conduct for nearly two years but said the FBI has “failed to respond sufficiently,” according to a letter sent to FBI Director Christopher Wray on Nov. 18.

The House Judiciary Committee requests testimony from the following FBI officials: