Congress
After McCarthy ouster, GOP to consider new requirement for House leadership elections
House Republicans are set to consider a variety of new internal rules proposals this week, including some proposals that tie back to the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
While there is a broader push to amend the one-member threshold needed to trigger a motion to vacate, there are also some GOP members aiming to make internal changes to their party’s leadership election moving forward. Republicans from the various corners of the conference have put forward their proposals for the 119th Congress, which will be considered this week when the party votes on its new rules package Thursday.
Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) put forward a rules amendment that would require someone running for any leadership spot to have to resign from their present leadership post to seek another, the Florida conservative confirmed to Blue Light News this weekend.
If this proposed rules change had been in effect last October during the speakership race, it would’ve meant that a series of members who ran to replace former Speaker Kevin McCarthy would’ve needed to step down from leadership before seeking the top spot. They include Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), Republican Policy Chair Gary Palmer (R-Ala.), and even now Speaker Mike Johnson, who was then the GOP conference vice chair.
The proposal would offer more opportunities for Republicans to move up the ladder, but risk stunting those with strong leadership ambitions.
Mast described it as a lesson learned from the speakership election that ensued after McCarthy’s ouster — and one he wants to fix for the future. At the time of the speakership elections last year, he criticized the party’s leadership: “I can tell you in this moment. … I would not support any member of our current leadership … Leaders lead. And that’s not taking place,” he told CBS News at the time.
The full list of amendments that directly relate to the GOP conference, which were due Thursday evening, has yet to be reported. But centrists also filed an amendment setting internal repercussions for Republicans who oppose a procedural vote that allows the party to bring a GOP bill to the House floor for a vote, which comes after multiple instances of conservatives blocking bills from even getting proper consideration — and thus sinking leadership policy priorities under both McCarthy and Johnson.
There are also discussions about changing the discharge petition, as POLITICO first reported.
There are several broader rules discussions underway including some that impact how the floor is governed. That includes a push by some to make it harder to attempt to oust a speaker.
While the majority of Republicans despise the tool that allowed Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) to lead a small cadre of Republicans in ousting McCarthy against the wishes of most in the GOP conference last October, there are some conservatives in the party who are expected to fiercely fight to keep the threshold. And thin vote margins could scramble plans to adjust it.
Jordain Carney contributed to this report.
Congress
White House declares $4.9B in foreign aid unilaterally canceled in end-run around Congress’ funding power
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
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
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.
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