Before Wednesday, when Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) was elected Speaker of the House, he was one of those “under the radar” Members of Congress. But Johnson’s influence now as Speaker is a major problem for the country and a serious threat for those who choose democracy over autocracy. Speaker Johnson is an extreme right-wing MAGA […]
There may be no better example of how badly our national politics are polarized than the case of Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH). Jordan is anything but a leader. He is an extremist and attack dog who uses hardline pressure tactics, has no track record as a consensus builder, and has failed in his 16-year congressional career […]
Next week marks the 50th anniversary of the “Saturday Night Massacre” – the firing of Special Watergate Prosecutor Archibald Cox in October 1973 that set off a firestorm and created a constitutional crisis. The Watergate scandals led to Richard Nixon’s resignation, the first and only resignation of a President, and spurred a series of historic […]
In 1994, Republicans, led by Rep. Newt Gingrich, won control of the House for the first time in 40 years. Republicans have had five Speakers in the nearly three decades since. Four of the five left their positions prematurely. The Tea Party movement and the House Freedom Caucus became major factors in an ongoing disruption that has […]
When it comes to dysfunction in our democracy, we are off the charts these days – from the House’s faux Biden impeachment inquiry, to the looming government shutdown, to the latest barrage of dangerous verbal attacks from former President Trump, to the gold bar influence-buying scandal engulfing Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ). The House Oversight Committee opened an […]
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) has been pushing hard for an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden and this week he got his wish. On Tuesday, Speaker Kevin McCarthy directed House committees to open a Biden impeachment inquiry. McCarthy’s unilateral announcement may not have any legal validity. In 2020, then-President Donald Trump’s Justice Department issued a formal Opinion that remains […]
As the country faces a potential government shutdown at the end of September, Senators appear to be working in a bipartisan way to avoid the shutdown and fund the government for this fiscal year. But, in the House, it’s a completely different story. Bipartisanship is dead. It wasn’t always like this. For decades, in working […]
Fred Wertheimer’s Weekly Note | August 10, 2023 Ever since they took control of the House in January, MAGA Republicans have been hunting President Joe Biden. House Republicans – led by beleaguered House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and key members of the extremist “Freedom Caucus” – are expected to move forward with an impeachment proceeding against […]
Fred Wertheimer’s Weekly Note | July 27, 2023 The rule of law is a foundational principle of our country and at the heart of our civilization. But in recent years, Republican officeholders have been abandoning the rule of law and opting instead for raw partisan politics, often at any cost. This started with former President […]
Fred Wertheimer’s Weekly Note | July 13, 2023 After a more than six-hour mark up in the House Administration Committee on Thursday, the Republican-led committee, on a party-line vote, approved H.R. 4563, the ACE Act. The full House is expected to vote on the measure before the August recess. This so-called American Confidence in Elections […]
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