Capitol riot commission: Live updates on the House vote

Table Of Content

• President
• Vulnerable House Republicans praise Johnson for handling of foreign aid bills
• Editorial: Speaker Mike Johnson’s Ukraine aid bill is better late than never
• Russian Foreign Ministry says US foreign aid package will "exacerbate global crises"
• Egypt sends delegation to Israel, its latest effort to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas
• San Diego is now the top border region for migrant arrivals
• The House is voting on whether or not to adjourn

Sources said the talks tonight amongst McCarthy allies and holdouts have been the most productive and serious ones to date. In one sign of a breakthrough, a McCarthy-aligned super PAC agreed to not play in open primaries in safe seats — one of the big demands that conservatives had asked for but that McCarthy had resisted up until this point. But even if they accept it, it’s not enough to get to 218 votes, the source acknowledges.

President

The decision to hold a vote came as House Speaker Mike Johnson and his leadership team faced growing pressure to show progress in what has become a nearly yearlong probe centered around the business dealings of Biden’s family members. While their investigation has raised ethical questions, no evidence has emerged that Biden acted corruptly or accepted bribes in his current role or previous office as vice president. Authorizing the monthslong inquiry ensures that the impeachment investigation extends well into 2024, when Biden will be running for reelection and seems likely to be squaring off against former President Donald Trump — who was twice impeached during his time in the White House.

Vulnerable House Republicans praise Johnson for handling of foreign aid bills

The White House and congressional Democrats had urged Speaker Mike Johnson to hold a vote on that Senate package in the wake of Iran's recent unprecedented attack on Israel, and amid briefings that Ukraine is in dire need of U.S. aid. The House-passed bills are similar to a $95 billion package that passed the Senate in February but then stalled in the House. While aid for Ukraine failed to win a majority of Republicans, several dozen progressive Democrats voted against the bill aiding Israel as they demanded an end to the bombardment of Gaza that has killed thousands of civilians. The GOP-controlled House struggled for months over what to do, first demanding that any assistance for Ukraine be tied to policy changes at the U.S.-Mexico order, only to immediately reject a bipartisan Senate offer along those very lines.

Editorial: Speaker Mike Johnson’s Ukraine aid bill is better late than never

Instead, they are bringing the CR to the floor “under suspension of the rules.” This means it will need the support of two-thirds of the chamber to pass. More Republicans — 93 — voted against this CR than opposed the last clean funding bill in September. Before the vote, former President Donald Trump issued a confusing statement that sympathized with both the pro- and anti-Ukraine aid factions of the GOP without taking a clear position. The Ukraine aid bill comes at a crucial time in the country’s war with Russia, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed the urgent need for weapons and supplies to continue defending Ukraine from Russian attacks. The Israel bill passed , with 193 Republicans and 173 Democrats voting in favor. “What he's showing is that, in my humble opinion, we are allowing Chuck Schumer to run the House of Representatives, and to me that's very disturbing,” he added, referring to the Democratic Senate majority leader.

Also, the bill has now been inserted into a larger foreign aid package, which makes it much harder for lawmakers to oppose the measure. The House of Representatives has voted to pass a $95 billion foreign aid package that includes funding to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. A foreign aid package passed by the US House of Representatives will “exacerbate global crises,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a statement to CNN on Saturday. The House passed a resolution Tuesday night to impeach Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, over his handling of the southwestern border. The vote was 214 to 213, with all but three present Republicans voting yes. The ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus has derided the legislation as the “America Last” foreign wars package and urged lawmakers to defy Republican leadership and oppose it because the bills do not include border security measures.

If Democrats are unable to dismiss or table the articles, they could follow the precedent of several impeachment trials for federal judges over the last century and hold a vote to create a trial committee that would investigate the charges. While there is sufficient precedent for this approach, Democrats may prefer to end the process completely, especially in a presidential election year when immigration and border security are top issues. The House swiftly approved $95 billion in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies in a rare Saturday session as Democrats and Republicans banded together after months of political turmoil over support for repelling Russia’s invasion.

Egypt sends delegation to Israel, its latest effort to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas

The tensions on Capitol Hill are hitting their peak after a long period in session. The House has been working for 10 weeks straight, an unusually long time without a break, and several of them were spent on an ugly fight over the speaker's gavel. With 336 in favor, the measure crossed the threshold of 288 required to pass, since three members did not vote.

Opinion House GOP members who voted no on Ukraine aid were infantile and ignoble - The Washington Post - The Washington Post

Opinion House GOP members who voted no on Ukraine aid were infantile and ignoble - The Washington Post.

Posted: Wed, 24 Apr 2024 14:00:00 GMT [source]

Some Republicans have said they would like time to debate whether Mayorkas should be impeached, even though debate time is usually not included in impeachment proceedings. Negotiations were underway between the two parties over whether Schumer may allow that time and give senators in both parties a chance to discuss the impeachment before it is dismissed. At a news conference with a group of Republican senators after the articles were delivered, the impeachment managers demanded that Schumer move forward with their case. House Speaker Mike Johnson will send articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate after Congress returns.

The House is voting on whether or not to adjourn

His administration brokered a deal that would have had U.S. corporations Oracle and Walmart take a large stake in TikTok. The sale never went through for a number of reasons; one was China, which imposed stricter export controls on its technology providers. Members of both parties, along with intelligence officials, have worried that Chinese authorities could force ByteDance to hand over American user data or direct the company to suppress or boost TikTok content favorable to its interests. TikTok has denied assertions that it could be used as a tool of the Chinese government and has said it has not shared U.S. user data with Chinese authorities.

Ahead of the vote, Rep. Michael McCaul, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, said, "History will judge us by our actions here today." "It comes at a moment of grave urgency, with Israel facing unprecedented attacks from Iran, and Ukraine under continued bombardment from Russia," Biden said. The president urged the Senate to quickly send it to his desk for signature. Two other Republicans and two Democrats were not present for Tuesday’s vote, allowing it to narrowly pass with the three Republican defections. The package includes several Republican priorities that Democrats endorse, or at least are willing to accept. “We did our work here, and I think history will judge it well,” said embattled Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) who is risking his own job to marshal the package to passage.

And he knew there was plenty of Republican support for further Ukraine funding. But significant damage has been done to the Biden administration’s effort to help Ukraine repel Russia’s invasion during the funding impasse that dates to August, when the Democratic president made his first emergency spending request for Ukraine aid. Even with a burst of new weapons and ammunition, it is unlikely Ukraine will immediately recover after months of setbacks. Four Republican lawmakers voted against a motion to adjourn the House until Thursday. If the House had not adjourned, members would have held another vote for speaker. It's not at all clear whether McCarthy and his allies will be able to lock down the votes -- and the longer the fight drags on, the more imperiled his speakership bid has become.

Johnson said he was “pleased with the outcome” after his two-step continuing resolution passed the House. The first, passed in late September, caused a furor among hard-right House Republicans that cost Kevin McCarthy the speakership. The House was paralyzed for three weeks while Republicans worked to coalesce around a new speaker, going through three unsuccessful candidates before Mr. Johnson eventually garnered enough support to become speaker. WASHINGTON — The House on Saturday passed a $95 billion package that includes two long-awaited bills with $60.8 billion of aid for Ukraine and $26 billion in aid for Israel and relief for Gaza. When asked whether he expected a motion to vacate — a rarely used procedural tool to remove the House speaker — Johnson did not respond and continued to walk to the floor.

Together with the $459 billion bill passed earlier this month, it fully funds the federal government to the tune of $1.659 trillion through September, after months of stopgap bills and negotiations. The top Democrat and Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee struck a deal last week to create the commission, breaking a months-long logjam between House leaders about how to structure the independent panel. Thirty-five Republicans voted against the direction of their leadership, which had strongly urged them to vote no on the measure. Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez said he voted to approve legislation to create an independent commission to investigate the attack on the US Capitol because he saw a "breakdown in communications" on Jan. 6. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer hasn’t said exactly when he will set up the first test vote to open debate on the Jan. 6 commission bill. But tonight, he took a step that will allow him to bring the bill to the floor as early as next week if he wants.