Even as the House GOP leadership keeps silent, a veteran Republican lawmaker said Sunday that George Santos should consider resigning after the congressman-elect from New York admitted to lying about his heritage, education and professional career. Texas Rep. Kevin Brady, a former House Ways and Means chairman who has served in Congress for 25 years, told “Fox News Sunday” that Santos would have “to take some huge steps” to regain trust and respect in his district. Santos is set to be sworn in Tuesday when the new Congress begins.
news.yahoo.comThe House delayed a vote on legislation to sanction Russia after the White House intervened to block a key provision of the bill — roiling lawmakers from both parties, Axios has learned.Why it matters: Congress has consistently struggled to come together in its efforts to place economic pressure on Russia to try to force an end to its invasion of Ukraine.Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for freeSenators in both parties failed to strike a
news.yahoo.comRepublicans in Congress are alarmed by the leak of confidential IRS data to ProPublica that has enabled the investigative news organization to reveal that famous billionaires including Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg paid little in U.S. income tax at times.
Fox NewsWhat is the “Big Lie”? Is it a former president and his allies claiming widespread voter fraud and a “stolen” election? Or is it a Republican congresswoman calling those lies the “Big Lie”? Who’s to say, suggests one Fox News anchor, whose ostensible job it is to report the news.During Thursday’s broadcast of America Reports—one of Fox News’ “straight news” programs—anchor John Roberts ended an interview with Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) by deploying a high-grade bothsidesism to ask him about House Republicans’ push to oust Rep. Liz Cheney. The Wyoming lawmaker is at risk of being forced from her leadership position because she insists on calling out former president Donald Trump’s lies about the 2020 presidential election.Noting that Cheney survived an attempt to vote her out earlier this year, Roberts pointed out that Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY)—a staunch Trump ally who supported his push to overturn last year’s election—has the inside track to supplant Cheney.Brady, for his part, attempted to thread the needle and offer up some praise for Cheney, claiming she is a “fierce conservative” who has gained a “great deal of respect” over her “vote of conscience” on impeachment. (Cheney was one of only 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.)The Fox anchor then decided to frame Trump’s outright lies about widespread voter fraud as merely a “sharp disagreement” with Cheney, suggesting this GOP feud is an unsettled issue that is still up for debate.“Trump says the ‘Big Lie’ was the result of the 2020 election. Liz Cheney says, no, the ‘Big Lie’ was suggesting the 2020 election was stolen. Between the two of them, who is right?” Roberts asked the Texas congressman, who is retiring after this term.“I’ll leave that dispute to them,” Brady said, prompting a chuckle from Roberts.This was not the first time the Fox anchor has framed Trump’s baseless election claims as nothing more than a difference of opinion between the ex-president and the Liz Cheneys of his own party.Earlier this week, during an interview with Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), Roberts brought up Trump’s claim that the “fraudulent” election will now be known as the “Big Lie” before contrasting it with Cheney’s response that the “2020 election was not stolen” and the “Big Lie” was the act of deploying those falsehoods.“Who of the two of them is right?” Roberts wondered aloud.After Barrasso didn’t directly answer the question—instead stating that Biden is in the White House and the election was verified—Roberts again asked: “Was the 2020 election stolen or was it fought fairly?” Fox News viewers may never know.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
news.yahoo.comFraud perpetrators, sometimes in China, Nigeria or Russia, buy stolen personal identifying information on the dark web and use it to flood state unemployment systems with bogus claims. In Ohio, weekly first-time unemployment claims have ranged from 17,000 to more than 40,000 during the pandemic. In July, officials said they’d discovered a massive criminal enterprise that had stolen more than $500 million in unemployment benefits. Nearly 800,000 of the 1.4 million claims Ohio has received through this program have been tagged for potential fraud. President Joe Biden's administration is pledging to cut down on unemployment fraud even as it tries to extend benefits through September.
Republicans are attacking the Democrats $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package as too costly, economically damaging and overtly partisan. We’re very proud of that,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters when asked if the overall House bill would include the minimum wage increase. Democratic leaders hope for House passage later this month, with Senate approval and a bill on Biden’s desk by mid-March. Republicans’ amendments spotlighted what they see as political soft spots they can exploit. And while the GOP amendments were beaten back, they forced Democrats to take positions that could tee up GOP campaign ads for the 2022 elections.
The plan faces opposition from Republicans who want to tie new school funding to reopening. Biden's plan for $130 billion in school funding is in addition to more than $8 billion from previous relief packages. Stop ruining their futures and stop playing games.”Scott countered that schools can't make changes needed to reopen safely unless they get the funding in Biden's plan. AdRepublicans also signaled a fight over standardized testing, backing a proposed change to prevent relief funding from being used on academic assessments. The $350 billion portion of the bill before the committee also includes Biden's plan to raise the minimum wage from $7.25, where is has been since 2009.
John Sommers II/Getty ImagesAs President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office on Jan. 20, one of his first priorities is getting $2,000 stimulus checks approved. His message: "If the next round of stimulus checks goes out, they should be targeted to those who need it." The stimulus checks have largely been determined by past tax returns. Jeff Fusco | Getty ImagesThe first $1,200 stimulus checks took months to go out. Notably, it would not cost the government more money, Klein said.
cnbc.com“There’s one question left today: Do Senate Republicans join with the rest of America in supporting $2,000 checks?” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said as he made a motion to vote. The showdown over the $2,000 checks has thrown Congress into a chaotic year-end session just days before new lawmakers are set to be sworn into office for the new year. Saying little, McConnell signaled an alternative approach to Trump's checks that may not divide his party so badly, but may result in no action at all. For now, the $600 checks are set to be delivered, along with other aid, among the largest rescue packages of its kind. Biden supports the $2,000 checks and said Tuesday the aid package is merely a “down payment” on what he plans to deliver once in office.
While Democrats favored bigger checks, Congress had settled on smaller $600 payments in a compromise over the big year-end relief bill Trump reluctantly signed into law. The vote was a stunning turn of events from just days ago, when House Republicans blocked Trump's demands during a Christmas Eve session. After the robust House vote, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer warned, “There is no good reason for Senate Republicans to stand in the way.”“There’s strong support for these $2,000 emergency checks from every corner of the country," Schumer said in a statement. The bipartisan bill negotiated by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had already passed the House and Senate by wide margins. Most House Republicans simply shrugged off Trump's push, 130 of them voting to reject the higher checks that would pile $467 billion in additional costs.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., talks about House Republicans and the election, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020. House Republicans are “the most united and energized” he's ever seen after their “historic political upset." McCarthy and his team are now among the remaining leaders from the tea party era, when House Republicans last controlled Congress. In the Trump era, House Republicans’ role receded as the White House often dominated the discussion and Republicans held the majority in the Senate. The House Republicans had to seek a waiver from the District of Columbia, which has restrictions on large gatherings.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., talks about House Republicans and the election, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020. House Republicans are “the most united and energized” he's ever seen after their “historic political upset." McCarthy and his team are now among the remaining leaders from the tea party era, when House Republicans last controlled Congress. In the Trump era, House Republicans’ role receded as the White House often dominated the discussion and Republicans held the majority in the Senate. The House Republicans had to seek a waiver from the District of Columbia, which has restrictions on large gatherings.
A new bipartisan retirement bill has perks for seniors and savers shouldering student debt. The legislation, proposed by House lawmakers on Tuesday, would raise the age at which seniors must start drawing money from their 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts to 75. Under current law, savers must take these annual required minimum distributions beginning at age 72. The bill, dubbed the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2020, would also let businesses pay a 401(k) match to workers paying off student loans, even if those borrowers aren't saving in the company retirement plan. The Strong Retirement Act of 2020 comes on the heels of another bill, the Secure Act, that President Donald Trump signed into law late last year.
cnbc.comWhen JCT staffers disagree with the IRS on a decision, the review is typically kept open until the matter is resolved. Even acknowledging that Trump's taxes were before the panel is verboten. Representatives for the Trump Organization did not respond to messages seeking comment and confirmation that the Joint Tax Committee had reviewed Trump's taxes. Former JCT staffers would not comment on whether they remembered the dispute with Trump, citing confidentiality rules. Neal, the lead force behind a Democratic lawsuit to expose Trump’s taxes, said the Times’ reporting is proof that the documents should be given to Congress.
Lawmakers are wrestling over whether to go big as Pelosi wants for the next relief bill or hit pause as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell insists. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)WASHINGTON Deadlocked over the next big coronavirus relief bill, Congress is shifting its attention to a more modest overhaul of small-business aid in hopes of helping employers reopen shops and survive the pandemic. Yet absent from the agenda is formal talks between congressional leaders on the next phase of the federal coronavirus response. Democrats have already pushed a $3 trillion-plus measure through the House, but negotiations with the GOP-controlled Senate and White House have yet to begin. Its something were looking at very carefully, said White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow.
President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell huddled at the White House to discuss the issues. The flurry of activity comes after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed a new $3 trillion aid package through the House last week. The Senate, under McConnell, says there is no urgency to act, and senators are expected to reconsider more aid only in June. With the nation's death toll poised to hit 100,000 and layoffs surpassing 38 million, some lawmakers see a failure by Washington to act as untenable. He said conversations were happening at the highest levels at the White House.
Rep. Kevin Brady told CNBC on Friday that higher taxes and more regulations should not be put in place in response to the coronavirus economic crisis. Brady was chairman of the committee three years ago when Republicans controlled the House and Senate. They're going to be even more important going forward," Brady said Friday. Billionaire investor Leon Cooperman told CNBC on Thursday that he believes the coronavirus crisis will likely change capitalism and lead to higher taxes. Brady told CNBC on Friday that he believes the post-crisis discussion must have "everything on the table."
cnbc.comJonathan Ernst | ReutersThe $2 trillion federal stimulus package signed into law by President Donald Trump on Friday, March 27, will be a lifeline to many gig workers and freelancers. Known as the CARES Act, the law takes unprecedented steps in including the self-employed in the social safety net. It offers freelancers unemployment insurance, for which they generally don't qualify, on a large scale for the first time. But Espinal and other advocates for freelancers and the self-employed say it is imperative that economic aid arrive quickly for freelancers. MBO Partners, a firm in Herndon, Virginia, that provides back office services to independent workers and studies the independent workforce, has been talking with senior leaders at the U.S. Treasury and major U.S. banks to make sure that independent workers can access the resources available through the law, according to Gene Zaino, chairman of MBO Partners.
cnbc.comSamuel Corum/Getty Images(CNN) - The Washington Nationals finished the fight and a deeply divided District of Columbia rallied together for baseball's sake. It only took a historic World Series win for politicians across the aisle to unify and celebrate the Nationals' first championship in franchise history. "Congratulations to the Washington Nationals on a great season and an incredible World Series. "Congratulations to the Washington @Nationals for bringing the (Commissioner's) Trophy back to DC for the first time in 95 years! Though the Nationals' win is the first for the franchise, it is the second for the city.
A customer smokes at Lowell Farms, America's first official Cannabis Cafe offering farm-to-table dining and smoking of cannabis in West Hollywood, California, October 1, 2019. REUTERS/Mike BlakeAlmost two years after California began allowing sales of recreational cannabis, Lowell Farms: A Cannabis Cafe opened its doors in trendy West Hollywood, offering farm-to-table cuisine alongside vaping, joints, bongs and prepackaged edibles. We are excited to be that flagship, that benchmark, to show people that a cannabis business isnt something that is scary, said general manager Kevin Brady. Californians have been enjoying cannabis-infused food in private homes and at dinner parties since the state began allowing sales of recreational cannabis in January 2018. But Lowell Cafe is the first to open of eight cafes or restaurants that were awarded licenses by West Hollywood for public consumption, and the first in the United States.
feeds.reuters.comLegislators on Capitol Hill are looking to change a Social Security rule that some say leaves public workers, including teachers, firefighters and police officers, in the lurch when it comes to their retirement income. Its mission: to replace the Social Security Windfall Elimination Provision with a new formula that would protect individuals who have worked in jobs not covered by Social Security. "We start Social Security reform by making sure our teachers, firefighters and police receive the Social Security they have earned, just like every other American worker," he added. The rule means certain workers who are eligible for Social Security retirement or disability benefits, but who have also worked for employers who don't withhold Social Security taxes, receive reduced benefits. For example, it does not apply to workers who have 30 or more years of substantial earnings under Social Security.
cnbc.comThat postcard-sized tax return is about to get a little longer. The Internal Revenue Service has posted a draft of a new individual income tax return for 2019, updating the shortened form it had rolled out just last year. This is the second overhaul of the 1040 form since a revamp of the tax code went into effect at the beginning of 2018. Following the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the Treasury and IRS released the new "postcard" version, replacing forms 1040, 1040A and 1040EZ. Though the form itself wasn't quite postcard-sized, it was indeed shorter.
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