Congress

House Democrats commiserate after Harris’ election loss as the blame game begins

Published

10 months ago

November 11, 2024

House Democrats’ path to the majority is rapidly narrowing. The blame game over what went wrong is only just starting.

In a subdued, somber call, their first since Tuesday’s election, Democratic leaders projected confidence in their party and told lawmakers to wait to see the results of the races that still haven’t been called — as many rank-and-file members are starting to air grievances.

Democrats felt their leadership set expectations for how the call would go when Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told lawmakers to sit tight, according to two people on the call, and Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), who was formerly whip of the House Democrats, told Democrats to stand with their leaders but to speak for themselves and their races rather than for the caucus as a whole.

Jeffries in a statement issued just before the caucus call said he congratulated Trump but believed House control was still up in the air.

“It has yet to be decided who will control the House of Representatives in the 119th Congress. We must count every vote and wait until the results in Oregon, Arizona and California are clear,” he said.

One Democratic lawmaker who requested anonymity to speak freely told Blue Light News they believe the call was calm as some incumbent Democrats are finding out they’ve lost their races and added they believed next week’s in-person caucus meeting will be where the real fireworks will happen.

“We need to be much more assertive when we’re telling leadership [what we think went wrong],” the lawmaker said.

But outside of the caucus call, Democrats from all sides of the party have begun sharing their thoughts on why they performed so poorly on Tuesday despite expectations that Vice President Kamala Harris could win and Democrats could flip the House.

One centrist Democrat, Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York, blamed the party’s perceived lean into political correctness for why they lost the election.

“Democrats need to focus more on issues Americans care about, like wages and benefits, and less on being politically correct,” he said in a press release also posted on X. “We failed as a party to respond to the Republican weaponization of anarchy on college campuses, defund the police, biological boys playing in girls’ sports, and a general attack on traditional values.”

Lawmakers are scheduled to return to Washington next week, though House Democrats aren’t expected to hold their leadership elections until the week after. House Democratic leaders had largely been expected to slot up a rung if they took back the House, though being relegated to the minority again could shake up their plans.

Republicans currently have the lead in the vote count, but control of the House still remains in question. Democrats had staked their path to the majority on flipping Republican-held seats largely in New York and California, and so far three of the New York seats have flipped to Democrats. Races in California will take longer to count.

But Democrats’ remaining paths to the majority are closing off after a handful of losses, including incumbents Susan Wild and Matt Cartwright and an open seat in Michigan.

Congress

White House declares $4.9B in foreign aid unilaterally canceled in end-run around Congress’ funding power

Published

2 days ago

August 29, 2025

Blue Light Newsroom

The White House budget office said Friday morning that President Donald Trump has canceled $4.9 billion in foreign aid by using a so-called pocket rescission — furthering the administration’s assault on Congress’ funding prerogatives.

The move raises tensions on Capitol Hill as lawmakers face an Oct. 1 deadline to avoid a government shutdown. Many lawmakers from both parties, as well as Congress’ top watchdog, view the maneuver as an illegal end-run around their “power of the purse.”

The Trump administration boldly embraced the strategy on Friday. “Congress can choose to vote to rescind or continue the funds — it doesn’t matter,” an official from the White House budget office said in a statement. “This approach is rare but not unprecedented.”

The White House is allowed to send Congress a clawbacks request and then withhold the cash for 45 days while lawmakers consider whether to approve, reject or ignore the proposal. Because there are less than 45 days left before the end of the fiscal year, Trump’s top budget officials — led by budget chief Russ Vought — argue that they can employ the so-called pocket rescission to withhold the funding until it lapses at month’s end, ensuring its cancellation regardless of what Congress decides.

The pocket rescission request was first reported by the New York Post.

Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.

Congress

Bondi, Patel to testify before Congress amid Epstein fallout

Published

3 days ago

August 28, 2025

Blue Light Newsroom

Two top Justice Department officials are expected to testify before the House Judiciary Committee in the coming weeks amid fallout over the administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case, according to two people granted anonymity to share scheduling information not yet public.

FBI director Kash Patel is set to give testimony Sept. 17, with attorney general Pam Bondi on tap to appear Oct. 9. Both have been invited as part of the Judiciary Committee’s general oversight work, and each will have an opportunity to outline some of the pieces of a crime bill President Donald Trump wants Hill Republicans to produce in the coming months.

But the hearings will likely focus most heavily on how the DOJ has maneuvered around the release of files related to the late, convicted sex offender.

Senior Republicans have continued over the August recess to press the Trump administration to unseal more Epstein documents after a mutiny over their release caused chaos in the GOP-controlled House, running the chamber aground before lawmakers left town early in late July.

DOJ started transmitting some of the so-called Epstein files last week in compliance with a subpoena from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. And Alex Acosta, President Donald Trump’s former labor secretary who singed off on Epstein’s previous plea deal as a then-U.S. attorney in Florida, will separately sit for a transcribed interview with the Oversight panel Sept. 19.

However, lawmakers otherwise have so far received scant new information during the month-long district work period, with members of both parties promising to continue to press the issue when the House is set to return to session next week.

Bondi has, in particular, been the subject of Republican consternation over allegedly withholding documents she at one point promised to reveal.

Congress

Mark Teixeira, former MLB All Star, kicks off Texas House campaign

Published

3 days ago

August 28, 2025

Blue Light Newsroom

Baseball star Mark Teixeira launched a campaign to fill an open Texas House seat Thursday, the latest celebrity athlete to dive into politics.

Teixeira is running as a Republican in a safe red seat being vacated by GOP Rep. Chip Roy. And he’s already appealing to President Donald Trump in search of a home run on the campaign trail.

“As a lifelong conservative who loves this country, I’m running for Congress to fight for the principles that make Texas and America great,” he wrote in a post on X. “It takes teamwork to win — I’m ready to help defend President Trump’s America First agenda, Texas families, and individual liberty.”

Teixeira was a superstar on the diamond, going yard 409 times in a career that spanned 14 seasons and saw him play for four big league outfits, including the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees. He last played in the 2016 season.

He reached baseball immortality when the Yankees won the World Series in 2009. He was included on the 2022 Hall of Fame ballot but failed to get enough votes from sportswriters to either get elected to the Hall or return to the ballot in future years.

Should he win the seat, he could be a major boon for Republicans in the Congressional Baseball Game, the annual charity event that pits Democrats against Republicans. The GOP has dominated the game in recent years, a gap that a former major leaguer would likely only widen.

Teixeira is leaning into his baseball bona fides.

“In Congress, he’ll bring the same grit, preparation, and competitive spirit that made him a champion in Major League Baseball to fight for Texas—and win,” reads his campaign website.

Roy, a Freedom Caucus member who has served in the House since 2019, is leaving Congress to run for the Texas attorney general post.