ALEX MOONEY

A congressional ethics watchdog has concluded there is “substantial reason to believe” that the wife of Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Kelly used nonpublic information gained through her husband’s position in Congress to purchase stock last year.

West Virginia's three House members, all Republicans, could soon find themselves in a game of political musical chairs, with only two returning to Congress in 2023.

Every Republican in Congress voted against the $1.9 trillion "American Rescue Plan," which President Joe Biden signed into law three months ago.

Washington — The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a resolution calling on Vice President Mike Pence to convene the Cabinet and remove President Trump from office under the 25th Amendment. But before the House concluded its vote, Pence said in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that he will not be invoking the 25th Amendment. Pence said it's his belief the 25th Amendment is intended to be invoked when the president is incapacitated, not in a situation such as this, and said invoking the 25th Amendment now would create a "terrible precedent." Appearing at the event on the Ellipse near the White House, Mr. Trump urged supporters in attendance to "fight like hell." House Democrats said that if Pence does not invoke the 25th Amendment, they will proceed with the impeachment process starting Wednesday.

The House is trying to push the vice president and Cabinet to act even more quickly to remove President Donald Trump from office. Democrats are set to pass a resolution calling on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke constitutional authority under the 25th Amendment to oust Trump. Trump, meanwhile, warned the lawmakers off impeachment and suggested it was the drive to oust him that was dividing the country. Trump faces a single charge — “incitement of insurrection” — in the impeachment resolution after the most serious and deadly domestic incursion at the Capitol in the nation’s history. Trump was impeached by the House in 2019 over dealings with Ukraine and acquitted in 2020 by the Senate.

First, the Republican leader heaped praise on Trump's “endless” accomplishments as he congratulated President-elect Joe Biden during a morning Senate speech. Then he pivoted, privately warning Republican senators away from disputing the Electoral College tally when Congress convenes in a joint session Jan. 6 to confirm the results. “I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden,” McConnell said as he opened the Senate. They finally said aloud what many Republicans had been signaling privately — that Biden is the winner of the presidential election, and they are essentially abandoning Trump's election attacks. Some GOP lawmakers have vowed to carry the fight to Jan. 6 when Congress votes to accept or reject the Electoral College results.

He said Monday’s Electoral College vote “was significant.”Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn said barring further legal challenges it appears Biden will be president. Others have said Trump's legal battles should continue toward resolution by inauguration day, Jan. 20. "Once the Electoral College has voted, most people are going to recognize Joe Biden as the president-elect." "Although I supported President Trump, the Electoral College vote today makes clear that Joe Biden is now President-Elect,” said Sen. Many Republicans are unwilling to declare Biden the winner for the same reasons they avoided standing up to Trump during his presidency.

President-elect Joe Biden speaks during an event at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del., Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020, to announce his health care team. Next week’s Dec. 14 Electoral College deadline may produce just a few more congratulatory GOP calls to Biden. Increasingly, GOP lawmakers say the Jan. 6 vote in Congress to accept the Electoral College outcome may be when the presidential winner becomes official. They're relying on Trump voters to power the Georgia runoff elections Jan. 5 that will determine control of the Senate. Until then, his group is trying to push Georgia's Trump voters to the polls, even as the president disputes Biden's win of the state.

Meanwhile, Trump has proceeded with large in-person rallies where attendees often go maskless, and he regularly mocks Biden’s decision to wear a mask in public. The Biden campaign just began launching in-person canvassing, after largely focusing on virtual events because of the pandemic. The Biden campaign declined to comment on whether those plans would change in the days ahead. Trump campaign spokesperson Tim Murtaugh slammed Biden for his campaign’s decision to begin in-person campaigning after expressing concern for volunteers’ safety for months. “Biden’s been hiding in his basement for months — but now he’s coming out to do in-person rallies,” he said.