Smackdowns and Shutdowns on Capitol Hill. It is a good thing that Thanksgiving is around the corner, because it seems like the stress level on Capitol Hill is very high and our federal legislators could use a break. This week, Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), the immediate past Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, allegedly elbowed or shoved Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN) as he walked by him in the hallway. (It is probably no coincidence that Burchett was one of eight Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy from the speakership.) Additionally, former mixed martial arts fighter and current junior U.S. senator from Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), challenged the International Brotherhood of Teamsters’ president, Sean O’Brien, to a fight during a hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) before which O’Brien was testifying on Tuesday. With all of this legislative physical activity and eyebrow-raising posturing, it was perhaps fitting that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson paid a visit to Capitol Hill this week.
Despite all the shenanigans, the U.S. Congress actually accomplished something by agreeing to an unusual “two-step” continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown that would have started at midnight, November 17–18, 2023. President Biden signed the measure yesterday, on November 16. Like the September 30, 2023, appropriations deal, this week’s action kicks the spending debate down the road once again. This...
By Olivia GomesMay 18, 20260 comments WASHINGTON — A new analysis published by The Atlantic argues that election denial movements once viewed as politically fringe are becoming increasingly embedd...