Congress
Speaker Johnson doubles down on ‘No Kings’ criticism following demonstrations nationwide
House Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday doubled down on his criticisms of millions of protesters who joined Saturday’s “No Kings” rallies across the nation, decrying the widely peaceful demonstrations as evidence of “a rise of Marxism in the Democratic Party.”
In an interview with ABC’s Jonathan Karl on “This Week,” the Louisiana Republican said the protests were “political cover” for Democrats as the government shutdown continues.
“They needed a stunt,” Johnson said. “They needed a show. Chuck Schumer has — needs cover right now. He’s closed the government down because he needs political cover, and this was a part of it.”
Demonstrators gathered across the country in an estimated 2,700 separate “No Kings” rallies Saturday to protest what they call President Donald Trump’s authoritarianism. It was the third mass mobilization against the Trump administration since he returned to the White House in January.
Reports of the protests show demonstrators dressed in costumes of inflatable animals, dancing in the streets and holding signs criticizing Trump and his administration. Organizers estimated that almost 7 million people took part.
Though he congratulated protesters on a “violent-free, free speech exercise,” Johnson on Sunday condemned what he said were “hateful messages” of the demonstrations.
“We have video and photos of pretty violent rhetoric, calling out the president, saying fascists must die and all the rest. I mean, I don’t think that’s loving speech. I don’t think that’s friendly speech. And I don’t think it’s pro-American to say those kinds of things,” Johnson said.
Johnson had been a vocal critic of the rallies leading up to the weekend. He and other allies of the president called the demonstrations “Hate America rallies” and sought to tie the protests to Hamas and antifa.
“The irony of the message is pretty clear for everyone. If President Trump was a king, the government would be open right now,” Johnson said. “If President Trump was a king, they would not have been able to engage in that free speech exercise out on The Mall, by the way, which was open because President Trump hasn’t closed it.”
Leading up to Saturday’s nationwide protests, Trump told Fox News that people are “referring to me as a king. I’m not a king.” But shortly before a Washington rally began Saturday, the Trump War Room account posted an image of a smirking Trump wearing a crown.
Still, Johnson on Sunday said the message of the protests pushed an “un-American” Marxist ideology.
“It’s not about the people, it’s about the message. It’s about the ideology,” said Johnson. “It is a dangerous ideology, and it is anti-American. It goes against everything that we stand for.”
Congress
Cherfilus-McCormick resigns amid ethics investigation
Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) has resigned in the face of corruption charges at home and calls for her ouster in Washington, she announced in a statement on Tuesday.
News broke minutes before the House Ethics Committee was about to meet for a public hearing Tuesday afternoon to determine a punishment for the third-term Democrat, who was charged with stealing $5 million in Covid relief funds.
Cherfilus-McCormick said in a statement the Ethics proceedings did not constitute a “fair process” and that she was “choos[ing] to step aside” rather than “play these political games.”
Congress
Rick Scott holds up Coast Guard promotions
Florida Sen. Rick Scott is blocking quick confirmation of hundreds of Coast Guard promotions as he tries to resolve a dispute involving a shipbuilder in his home state.
The Republican said in an interview Tuesday that he has placed a hold on the Coast Guard promotions, which prevents the Senate from easily clearing them unanimously and would force Majority Leader John Thune to set up time-consuming roll call votes on promotions that are usually agreed to with little fanfare.
“I’ve been talking … since Trump came into office about trying to resolve an issue they have with a boat builder in Florida. And they … won’t put the time in to get a result,” Scott said.
“I’ve met with everybody that I can meet with, and I want them to focus,” Scott said of the Coast Guard, adding that he wasn’t trying to dictate the outcome to the administration but emphasizing “you have to get this resolved.”
Scott didn’t specify which shipbuilder he was referring to. But Scott has been a longtime booster of a Coast Guard contract with Panama City-based Eastern Shipbuilding Group to deliver four new advanced cutters. A person granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter said the hold is related to the company.
Then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem scrapped plans for two of the boats last year, and ESG announced in November it would stop work on the two remaining boats “due to significant financial strain caused by the program’s structure and conditions.”
The tussle over the nominations comes as Thune is trying to quickly assemble and approve a new personnel package, telling reporters Monday night that confirming another tranche of President Donald Trump’s nominees is a priority alongside resolving the DHS shutdown and renewing soon-to-lapse surveillance powers.
Congress
Johnson touts ‘bipartisan’ path for FISA reauthorization, but obstacles remain
Speaker Mike Johnson is raising the possibility of a “bipartisan” path forward on extending a key spy authority after negotiations among House Republicans blew up late last week.
“We’re confident that we’ll be able to find strong bipartisan consensus that builds off of the really meaningful reforms that we included in the legislation the last time we reauthorized it,” Johnson said during a news conference Tuesday morning.
The emergency short-term reauthorization Congress cleared last week expires April 30, putting pressure on lawmakers to reach a deal quickly.
Among the options GOP leaders are discussing: If the Senate can advance a three-year extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, with policy changes, the House could then pass it with a majority of Republicans and some Democrats, according to three people granted anonymity to share direct knowledge of ongoing conversations.
It’s also possible Johnson could put that measure on the House floor under an expedited procedure that does not require prior adoption of a party-line rule, but would need a two-thirds majority voting in the affirmative to secure passage. House GOP leaders still need to appease hard-liners who have very specific demands for new guardrails on warrentless surveillance practices as part of any reauthorization measure.
House Democratic leaders, meanwhile, aren’t promising cooperation — and they’re skeptical Johnson is as close to a deal as he might suggest.
“His confidence meter was always pretty high, and then he put a bill on the floor that had zero consensus among his caucus, and looked like the disaster that it was after midnight,” House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar of California told reporters Tuesday.
He added that he has not had “any discussions” yet with Republican counterparts on next steps for Section 702, and “absent those conversations, it’s going to be hard to find bipartisan consensus.” Aguilar also said that Democrats would follow the leads of House Intelligence Chair Jim Himes of Connecticut and Jamie Raskin of Maryland.
Johnson is planning to meet Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Darin LaHood of Illinois later Tuesday as the pair of Republicans works with Democrats on a bipartisan FISA extension plan, according to two people granted anonymity to share private scheduling.
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