<p>On Monday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) threw down the gauntlet to Democrats, as he announced he would introduce a resolution supporting the protestors in Iran who are fighting against the theocratic, despotic Islamic regime. The resolution states that it condemns the actions of the government of Iran and supports the protestors’ desire for the government of Iran to respect freedom and human rights. McCarthy thus put Democrats in the position of either supporting the protestors or refusing to do so and thus tacitly supporting the Iranian regime.</p>
<p>The resolution lists various actions the Iranian government has committed, including November 2019, when “Iranian security forces killed approximately 1,500 demonstrators when they rose up across the country in protest”; January 8, 2020, when “the Government of Iran shot down Ukrainian International Airlines flight 752, lied about its responsibility, and then admitted to mistakenly shooting the airliner down, killing all 176 people on board,” and  January 11, 2020, when the “government of Iran arrested the British Ambassador to Iran, in violation of the Vienna Convention.”</p>
<p>The resolution then segues to the protestors, noting on January 11 they “gathered across Iran to denounce what they called lying and incompetence by the country’s leadership”; that at Amirkabir University of technology in Iran, “protestors tore down posters of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani”; that on January 13 “video from inside Iran showed protestors chanting slogans including ‘Clerics get lost,’” and that “video appears to show Iranian security forces firing live ammunition at protestors and a woman being carried away leaving a trail of blood on the ground as people shout that she has been shot.”</p>
<p>The resolution notes President Trump’s support for the protestors before it again condemns the Iranian regime.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The people of the United States support freedom and democracy, and we will always stand beside those who seek it.</p>
<p>Here is the full text of my resolution supporting the protestors in Iran. I expect the full House to vote on it this week. <a href="https://t.co/nFk25Gjj4P">pic.twitter.com/nFk25Gjj4P</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) <a href="https://twitter.com/GOPLeader/status/1216908744073891841?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2020</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Last week McCarthy bluntly criticized the Democrats for their lack of support for the Trump administration as it battles the despotic Iranian regime, tweeting, “Think of the contrast. ↴While Democrats are trying to remove President Trump from office, the President is focused on removing terrorists from the face of the earth.”</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Think of the contrast. ↴<br />While Democrats are trying to remove President Trump from office, the President is focused on removing terrorists from the face of the earth.</p>
<p>&mdash; Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) <a href="https://twitter.com/GOPLeader/status/1213834480387014656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 5, 2020</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>This week McCarthy doubled down, saying, “Any time I hear a Democrat talk about him (Soleimani) and say he was ‘bad,’ but then use the word ‘but,’ yes, I question it. There is no ‘but’ when it comes to Soleimani; he was bad ‘because,’ not ‘but.’ He was bad because he killed more than 600 American soldiers; he was bad because of the attacks and the American citizens he killed; he was bad because he went after our embassy. He was bad because he was planning to kill more Americans. So, no: I never use the word ‘but’ when I refer to him, and I don’t think any other America should either, and if they do, I’ll question them on it as well.”</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Any time a Democrat says &quot;Soleimani was bad, BUT&#8230;&quot; they need to be called out.</p>
<p>Soleimani was bad BECAUSE he was a terrorist who targeted and murdered hundreds of Americans. <a href="https://t.co/q6mnDo65aG">pic.twitter.com/q6mnDo65aG</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) <a href="https://twitter.com/GOPLeader/status/1216367426843152384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2020</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>McCarthy’s reference to Democrats using “but” when describing Soleimani has resonance; last week, Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UHrvp-UeyU">said</a>, “We have some questions to ask of our own president. Look, there is no question that Soleimani had American blood on his hands, that he was a bad actor in the region, but if there is anything that we have learned in the last twenty years in the Middle East, it’s that taking out a bad guy is not necessarily a good idea.”</p>
<p>Fellow presidential contender Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) <a href="https://twitter.com/ewarren/status/1212951889060470788?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1212951889060470788&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fopinion%2Fthe-left-criticized-elizabeth-warren-for-calling-soleimani">tweeted</a>, “Soleimani was a murderer, responsible for the deaths of thousands, including hundreds of Americans. But this reckless move escalates the situation with Iran and increases the likelihood of more deaths and new Middle East conflict. Our priority must be to avoid another costly war.&#8221;</p>
<p>Then, of course, there’s Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), whose legendary history of cozying up to dictators apparently precluded him from even mentioning Soleimani’s brutal history, as Sanders only <a href="https://twitter.com/CaraKorte/status/1212961215707844608/photo/1">condemned</a> Trump’s “dangerous escalation.”</p>


Health And Human Service Department Announces New Division On Conscience And Religious Freedom

Kevin McCarthy Backs House Dems Into Corner, Will Introduce Resolution Supporting Iranian Protestors

Iran

Kevin McCarthy

U.S. House of Representatives

<p>House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy issued a hilarious warning about Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell (CA) on Thursday in response to an embarrassing farting episode earlier this week that involved Swalwell, saying in an Instagram post that standing behind Swalwell is the last place a person should give an interview.</p>
<p>McCarthy posted a picture of himself conducting a TV interview on Capitol Hill where he was standing behind Swalwell, writing: &#8220;The last place you want to stand while giving an interview is behind Rep. Eric Swalwell.&#8221;</p>
<p>McCarthy&#8217;s post referenced an embarrassing incident involving Swalwell that happened on Tuesday where a loud farting noise was made while Swalwell appeared on MSNBC&#8217;s &#8220;Hardball&#8221; with host Chris Matthews.</p>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B5JYtQWF9FX/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The last place you want to stand while giving an interview is behind Rep. Eric Swalwell.</a></p>
<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" href="https://www.instagram.com/repkevinmccarthy/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Kevin McCarthy</a> (@repkevinmccarthy) on Nov 21, 2019 at 3:54pm PST</p>
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</blockquote>
<p>“The president used tax payer dollars to help the Ukrainians cheat &#8211;,” Swalwell said as he paused for a brief moment and then appeared to fart, which was loud. “ &#8212; an election …”</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Eric Swalwell appears to drop a massive fart during live on television</p>
<p>Turn the sound on, this is real <a href="https://t.co/DyElNSwYog">pic.twitter.com/DyElNSwYog</a></p>
<p>— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealSaavedra/status/1196593236392808448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
<p>Swalwell later denied that he farted in a series of text messages to BuzzFeed News reporter Addy Baird:</p>
<blockquote><p>Baird: I’m really sorry about this but I have to ask if this was you or someone in the studio.</p>
<p>Swalwell: It was not me!!!!! Ha. And I didn’t hear it when I was speaking.</p>
<p>Baird: You look like you heard it and are stifling a laugh.</p>
<p>Swalwell: I def did not hear it.</p></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">NEWS: SWALWELL denies it was him who farted on MSNBC: <a href="https://t.co/IYmHwYfuGf">pic.twitter.com/IYmHwYfuGf</a></p>
<p>— Addy Baird (@addysue) <a href="https://twitter.com/addysue/status/1196600261185282048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
<p><em><strong>Here are some of the top reactions to the incident:</strong></em></p>
<p>Tim Pool: &#8220;Swalwell pauses and flinches at the exact moment someone lightly drags a mug across a desk instead of just picking it up like a regular person. What an insane attempt at saving Swalwell. #Fartgate&#8221;</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Swalwell pauses and flinches at the exact moment someone lightly drags a mug across a desk instead of just picking it up like a regular person</p>
<p>What an insane attempt at saving Swalwell<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Fartgate?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Fartgate</a> <a href="https://t.co/l7gp2WaRpo">https://t.co/l7gp2WaRpo</a></p>
<p>— Tim Pool (@Timcast) <a href="https://twitter.com/Timcast/status/1196764755991650306?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
<p>Western Caucus: &#8220;This is a flagrant violation of the United States Clean Air Act of 1970. #fartgate&#8221;</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">This is a flagrant violation of the United States Clean Air Act of 1970. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/fartgate?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#fartgate</a> <a href="https://t.co/WHasGw2PPD">https://t.co/WHasGw2PPD</a></p>
<p>— Western Caucus (@westerncaucus) <a href="https://twitter.com/westerncaucus/status/1196802202456797185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
<p>Nickelodeon: &#8220;Just a reminder: Farts are still funny 😂💨 #fartgate&#8221;</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Just a reminder: Farts are still funny 😂💨 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/fartgate?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#fartgate</a></p>
<p>— Nickelodeon (@Nickelodeon) <a href="https://twitter.com/Nickelodeon/status/1196822751698411520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
<p>David Martosko: &#8220;Eric Swalwell&#8217;s fart is polling higher than Pete Buttigieg in South Carolina. #fartgate&#8221;</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Eric Swalwell&#8217;s fart is polling higher than Pete Buttigieg in South Carolina. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/fartgate?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#fartgate</a></p>
<p>— David Martosko (@dmartosko) <a href="https://twitter.com/dmartosko/status/1196646295605252096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
<p>Good Morning Britain: &#8220;A Democratic Congressman&#8217;s appearance on a US breakfast show yesterday has caused a bit of a stink across the pond #FartGate @piersmorgan recreates the moment! Sound on for this one!!&#8221;</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">A Democratic Congressman&#8217;s appearance on a US breakfast show yesterday has caused a bit of a stink across the pond <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FartGate?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FartGate</a><a href="https://twitter.com/piersmorgan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@piersmorgan</a> recreates the moment!</p>
<p>Sound on for this one!! 🤣🤣 <a href="https://t.co/W4zo3WB3ZC">pic.twitter.com/W4zo3WB3ZC</a></p>
<p>— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) <a href="https://twitter.com/GMB/status/1196700918378565633?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
<p>Josh Jordan: &#8220;[November 18, 2029] Kid: Dad &#8211; when did our country become so united and started actually working together again?<br />
Me: Ten years ago a man named Eric Swalwell ripped a fart so amazing on TV that both parties got together to post memes, literally transcending politics. #fartgate&#8221;</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">[November 18, 2029]</p>
<p>Kid: Dad &#8211; when did our country become so united and started actually working together again?</p>
<p>Me: Ten years ago a man named Eric Swalwell ripped a fart so amazing on TV that both parties got together to post memes, literally transcending politics. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/fartgate?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#fartgate</a></p>
<p>— Josh Jordan (@NumbersMuncher) <a href="https://twitter.com/NumbersMuncher/status/1196631084387196929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
<p>Stephen Miller: &#8220;I’ve isolated and slowed the moment of the fart. You can clearly see Swalwell brace forward, tense up for a moment, and then relax. He dealt it.&#8221;</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">I’ve isolated and slowed the moment of the fart. You can clearly see Swalwell brace forward, tense up for a moment, and then relax. He dealt it. <a href="https://t.co/Nzo93RoNfR">pic.twitter.com/Nzo93RoNfR</a></p>
<p>— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) <a href="https://twitter.com/redsteeze/status/1196619446191681536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
<p>Ted Cruz: &#8220;Leaked footage of Swalwell on MSNBC last night&#8230;&#8221;</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Leaked footage of Swalwell on MSNBC last night&#8230; <a href="https://t.co/PzT1ka1c14">pic.twitter.com/PzT1ka1c14</a></p>
<p>— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) <a href="https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1196830862530220033?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2019</a></p></blockquote>


Kevin McCarthy Eric Swalwell

Kevin McCarthy Issues Hilarious Warning About Eric Swalwell

Eric Swalwell

<p>Megyn Kelly reported on Sunday night that House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has contacted the president of ABC News and is demanding that the network answer questions about why it killed a bombshell story three years ago on convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein that involved former Democratic President Bill Clinton.</p>
<p>The news comes after James O&#8217;Keefe&#8217;s Project Veritas exclusively reported last month on leaked video footage from inside ABC News that showed anchor Amy Robach admitting that the network had the scandal on Epstein three years ago but that the network spiked it.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">“Then the Palace found out that we had her whole allegations about <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PrinceAndrew?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PrinceAndrew</a>&#8230;threatened us in a million different ways. We were so afraid that we wouldn’t be able to interview Kate and Will&#8230;That also quashed the story.” &#8211; <a href="https://twitter.com/arobach?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@arobach</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EpsteinCoverup?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EpsteinCoverup</a> <a href="https://t.co/fPvJc3s1Li">pic.twitter.com/fPvJc3s1Li</a></p>
<p>— James O&#8217;Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) <a href="https://twitter.com/JamesOKeefeIII/status/1195741556390666242?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
<p>In a letter obtained by Kelly, McCarthy asked ABC News President James Goldston the following questions:</p>
<ol>
<li>Will ABC News provide Congress the interview Ms. Robach conducted with the victim?</li>
<li>What did ABC News learn about Jeffrey Epstein after Ms. Robach first presented her story to executives?</li>
<li>Who was involved in deciding this story was not of public interest, and what were their reasons for deciding so?</li>
<li>Can Ms. Robach expand on the &#8220;outside forces&#8221; she mentioned as potentially responsible for the story not running?</li>
<li>Was ABC News ever presented with additional evidence on Mr. Epstein from the time Ms. Robach first brought her investigation to the network and when he was ultimately arrested?</li>
<li>Were authorities alerted at any time after Ms. Robach presented ABC News executives with her reporting? If so, when and what was provided?</li>
</ol>
<p>&#8220;What appears to have been presented to Ms. Robach is first-hand evidence of human trafficking,&#8221; McCarthy wrote. &#8220;I am deeply concerned that this victim, in search of justice, went to ABC News, provided information and an interview, and then ABC News chose to bury the truth. This was a decision that Ms. Robach alluded was due to protecting  powerful people or financial interests.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Although it is unclear whether anyone thought to alert authorities to further examine these deeply disturbing allegations, it is clear that ABC News&#8217; enabling of Mr. Epstein has consequences: fewer victims willing to come forward to bring perpetrators of this modern-day slavery to justice and, more grievously, the possibility that any number of minors could have been sparred from human trafficking over the past three years,&#8221; McCarthy continued.</p>
<p>McCarthy concluded, &#8220;It is imperative that the public be assured newsroom decisions regarding exposing human trafficking are not tampered by financial interests or outside forces.&#8221;</p>
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<p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0;padding: 0 4px"><a style="color: #000;font-family: Arial,sans-serif;font-size: 14px;font-style: normal;font-weight: normal;line-height: 17px;text-decoration: none" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B4_HsjCg_L5/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">MK Exclusive: Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy demands answers from ABC News re: Epstein</a></p>
<p style="color: #c9c8cd;font-family: Arial,sans-serif;font-size: 14px;line-height: 17px;margin-bottom: 0;margin-top: 8px;overflow: hidden;padding: 8px 0 7px;text-align: center">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd;font-family: Arial,sans-serif;font-size: 14px;font-style: normal;font-weight: normal;line-height: 17px" href="https://www.instagram.com/megynkelly/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Megyn Kelly</a> (@megynkelly) on Nov 17, 2019 at 4:13pm PST</p>
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<p>The footage obtained by Project Veritas, which was from August, was released by the organization in October and showed <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bombshell-abc-news-killed-epstein-clinton-story-says-anchor-in-hot-mic-video">Robach venting that the network killed her story and that other organizations were now getting credit for the story</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;I’ve had the story for three years. I’ve had this interview with Virginia Roberts. We would not put it on the air. First of all, I was told who’s Jeffrey Epstein, no one knows who that is, this is a stupid story,&#8221; Robach said. &#8220;Then the Palace found out that we had her whole allegations about Prince Andrew and threatened us a million different ways. We were so afraid we wouldn’t be able to interview Kate and Will, that also quashed the story.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;And then Alan Dershowitz was also implicated in it because of the planes. She told me everything. She had pictures, she had everything,&#8221; Robach continued. &#8220;She was in hiding for 12 years. We convinced her to come out. We convinced her to talk to us. It was unbelievable what we had, Clinton, we had everything.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;I tried for three years to get it on to no avail and now it’s all coming out and it’s like these new relevant revelations and I freaking had all of it,&#8221; Robach concluded. &#8220;I’m so pissed right now, like every day I get more and more pissed because I’m just like, oh my god, what we had was unreal. Other women backing it up. Brad Edwards the attorney three years ago saying like, ‘there will come a day for we will realize Jeffrey Epstein was the most prolific pedophile this country has ever known.’ I had it all three years ago.&#8221;</p>


Jeffrey Epstein

BREAKING: Congress Cracking Down On ABC News For Killing Jeffrey Epstein Story

Congress

<p>House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) slammed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Thursday for not being honest with the American people when she outlined her caucus&#8217; agenda when overtaking the majority.</p>
<p>&#8220;Democrats are trying to impeach the president because they are scared they cannot defeat him at the ballot box — that&#8217;s not my words, that&#8217;s the words of my colleagues from the other side of the aisle that have offered impeachment three different times,&#8221; McCarthy said while speaking on the House floor. &#8220;This impeachment is not only an attempt to undo the last election, it is an attempt to influence the next one as well.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;This is not what Democrats promised when they entered the majority 11 months ago &#8230; we heard what the speaker said when she talked about words of optimism and cooperation. It was said we would work together to make America stronger, more secure, and more prosperous,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;We were told our mission was to return the power to the people. In fact, our new colleagues on the other side of the aisle were sent to Washington with a mandate to do just that. So what&#8217;s happening? Nothing like that today.&#8221;</p>
<p><iframe title="Kevin McCarthy&#039;s Speech Against Sham Impeachment Vote" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MKH76n7GyZ8?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>McCarthy&#8217;s remarks came during the House&#8217;s debate period on the resolution establishing the process for the Democrat-led impeachment investigation into President Donald Trump. Pelosi had previously been reluctant to embrace her caucus&#8217; demands to move forward on impeachment proceedings, even as the calls grew louder.</p>
<p>Democrats largely gained the House majority after a wave of moderates were elected to purple districts during the 2018 midterm election cycle. With the 2020 election on the horizon, Pelosi had been fearing that voters&#8217; distaste for impeachment could put the majority back in the hands of Republicans. Over the summer, the speaker repeatedly and unsuccessfully tried to suppress her party&#8217;s cries.</p>
<p>&#8220;Not long ago, Democrats recognized that a partisan impeachment would put politics over people and harm our nation,&#8221; McCarthy said. &#8220;That exact same speaker that talked about cooperation, promised the American people that they would do different, they would be different if we trusted you with the majority &#8212; you have failed in that promise.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;That speaker said impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there&#8217;s something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, the word bipartisan, I do not think we should go down that path because it divides the country,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;What has changed since those words have been spoken?&#8221;</p>
<p>The Republican leader noted that as Congress prepares to adjourn for another recess, it continues to neglect its duty to the American people. Rather than debating issues critical to national security or passing legislation to fund the government and pay American troops, he argued that Congress has been solely focusing on undemocratically and unfairly investigating the president.</p>
<p>&#8220;This Congress records more subpoenas than laws, that&#8217;s the legacy. It is not just devoid of solutions for the American people, it is now abusing its power to discredit democracy by using secret interviews and selective leaks to portray the president&#8217;s legitimate actions as an impeachable offense,&#8221; McCarthy said. &#8220;Democrats are continuing their permanent campaign to undermine his legitimacy. For the last three years, they have predetermined the president&#8217;s guilt, they have never accepted the voter&#8217;s choice to make him president.&#8221;</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">&#8220;We&#8217;re one year away from an election. Not just for this house but for the highest office of presidency,&#8221; he added. &#8220;Why do you not trust the people? Why do you not allow the people to have a voice? Why in a process that America lends their voice to all of us, that you deny us to speak for them?&#8221;</p>


Speaker Nancy Pelosi Holds Weekly Press Conference

WATCH: Leader McCarthy Uses Pelosi’s Own Words Against Her: ‘Why Do You Not Trust The People?’

Impeachment

Nancy Pelosi

<p>House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) penned a leader to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Thursday calling on House Democrats&#8217; impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump to be suspended over its lack of transparency.</p>
<p>&#8220;I am writing to request you suspend all efforts surrounding your &#8216;impeachment inquiry&#8217; until transparent and equitable rules and procedures are established to govern the inquiry, as is customary,&#8221; McCarthy wrote. &#8220;As you know, there have only been three prior instances in our nation&#8217;s history when the full House has moved to formally investigate whether sufficient grounds exist for the impeachment of a sitting president.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;I should hope that if such an extraordinary step were to be contemplated a fourth time, it would be conducted with an eye towards fairness, objectivity, and impartiality,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;Unfortunately, you have given no clear indication as to how your impeachment inquiry will proceed — including whether key historical precedents or basic standards of due process will be observed.&#8221;</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">READ⬇️ I’ve written to Speaker Pelosi to halt the impeachment inquiry until we can receive public answers to the following questions. Given the enormity of the question at hand—impeaching a duly elected president—the American public deserves fairness and transparency. <a href="https://t.co/EFKOghyf9w">pic.twitter.com/EFKOghyf9w</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) <a href="https://twitter.com/GOPLeader/status/1179778155340603392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 3, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>McCarthy&#8217;s request comes nearly a week after Pelosi announced that House Democrats would be moving forward with an impeachment inquiry. The move was in response to a whistleblower&#8217;s testimony accusing Trump of asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden for using his position as vice president to remove a Ukrainian prosecutor who was looking into his son’s business dealings.</p>
<p>The reports were not confirmed at the time of Pelosi&#8217;s decision, and it was not until a day later that the White House released a transcript of Trump&#8217;s exchange with Zelensky. After the transcript was made public, many have argued that it failed to show a direct quid pro quo that was initially alleged.</p>
<p>Accordingly, House Democrats have already issued a subpoena to Trump&#8217;s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, and are threatening additional subpoenas for White House documents.</p>
<p>&#8220;In addition, the swiftness and recklessness with which you have proceeded has already resulted in committee chairs attempting to limit minority participation in scheduled interviews, calling into question the integrity of such an inquiry,&#8221; McCarthy wrote, before asking a variety of questions, primarily relating to the president&#8217;s right to due process.</p>
<p>Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-ranking-judiciary-republican-has-an-idea-why-democrats-wont-vote-on-impeachment">expressed similar concerns</a> days earlier over the lack of transparency. Collins accused Democrats of sidestepping a full vote on the House floor and bypassing a fair hearing for the president.</p>
<p>&#8220;They&#8217;re trying to avoid a vote on inquiry, but there&#8217;s also another reason: If they actually went to an inquiry, then all of a sudden there [are] due process rights,&#8221; Collins said during an appearance on Fox News. &#8220;There&#8217;s actually a process for the president in this, there&#8217;s actually equal subpoena powers that have been in the previous inquiries for both the Democrats and the Republicans — it becomes a fair hearing.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;At a news conference yesterday, you insisted, &#8216;we have to be fair to the President,'&#8221; McCarthy said. &#8220;If those words are taken to be sincere, the American people deserve assurance that basic standards of due process will be present.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Given the enormity of the questions at hand — the removal of a duly elected sitting president — anything less than a thorough, transparent, and fair process would represent a supreme insult to our Constitution and the millions of Americans who rely on their voices being heard throughout [our] democratic system of government,&#8221; he added.</p>


US-POLITICS-congress-pelosi

GOP Leader Formally Requests That Pelosi Suspend Impeachment Inquiry

<p>On Friday, House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) appeared on &#8220;Special Report with Bret Baier&#8221; on Fox News.</p>
<p>During the segment, which revolved around allegations that President Trump pressured the president of Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden’s son, McCarthy urged caution and asked that we wait for more evidence before coming to conclusions.</p>
<blockquote><p>BAIER: The Wall Street Journal moves this story today: &#8220;President Trump in a July phone call repeatedly pressured the president of Ukraine to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden&#8217;s son, urging [Volodymyr] Zelensky about eight times to work with Rudy Giuliani, his personal lawyer, on a probe, according to people familiar with the matter.&#8221; Do you have a problem with that?</p>
<p>MCCARTHY: Well listen, just as you said last night, we need to know more facts. This is just being written in The Wall Street Journal. What did we see last week with The New York Times writing something before they had all the facts. The Director of National Intelligence &#8230; is going to be before the Intel Committee next Thursday in a public hearing, and I think that will be the appropriate time to find the information out.</p>
<p>BAIER: The president seemed to say, &#8220;Hey listen, I can talk to world leaders how I want to, but you should look into this.&#8221; You seemed, when talking to reporters today, worried about the Joe Biden Ukraine thing a lot more than you were with the whistleblower thing. Is that fair?</p>
<p>MCCARTHY: &#8230; the president should be able to talk to every world leader. Tonight, he&#8217;s gonna have the prime minister from Australia. It’s important that we have relationships, but think for one moment any conversation that you have, who&#8217;s listening, and why are all these other people listening and only selectively trying to put something out? We have watched this pattern before, going after this president because people disagree with how the outcome of the election took place. I think this country’s gone through three years of this – this part has got to stop&#8230;</p>
<p>I am concerned about what I saw in a video [in which] Joe Biden himself [is] telling the Ukraine government that they are not going to get money from the United States if they don&#8217;t fire a prosecutor – and he said, &#8220;You’ve got six hours,&#8221; and you know what happened in six hours? They were fired. That’s Joe Biden&#8217;s words. That’s concerning to me.</p>
<p>BAIER: If the President did as it&#8217;s being reported – The Washington Post has now matched The Wall Street Journal – and mentioned this numerous times that the president of Ukraine, while the U.S. is considering $250 million dollars in lethal aid to Ukraine, is that implicit quid pro quo to get this investigation kick-started?</p>
<p>MCCARTHY: You don&#8217;t have any of the facts. Let’s wait till next Thursday, and let&#8217;s go through the appropriate channels. Have we not learned this lesson how many times before?</p>
<p>BAIER: I guess my question is, if that, let&#8217;s just say, I&#8217;m not going to speculate that it happened –</p>
<p>MCCARTHY: But that is speculating.</p>
<p>BAIER: Okay, let me just say, would something like that be a problem for you?</p>
<p>MCCARTHY: You know, what would be a problem for me is for me to speculate without knowing the facts. I want our President of the United States to have relations with every country; I want our president to be able to talk to those leaders; and I think it&#8217;s inappropriate that all these people are going to listen to these conversations and selectively put something out&#8230;</p>
<p>Let’s not make that mistake again. Have we not learned from the past? Do we not understand that the Democrats did not like this outcome?</p></blockquote>
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House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy,

WATCH: House Minority Leader Urges Caution On Trump/Ukraine Story: ‘We Need To Know More Facts’

Democratic Party

Donald Trump

Joe Biden

Ukraine

<p>House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) dismissed any worries that House Republicans might have any trouble retaking the majority after a wave of his rank-and-file members announced their retirements during the August recess.</p>
<p>&#8220;Well, let&#8217;s think about retirements here — when you look at retirements, it is very sad when someone wants to depart … [but] it&#8217;s good to have new blood going through,&#8221; McCarthy told Fox News host Bill Hemmer on Monday.</p>
<p>The minority leader harkened back to former Rep. Ted Poe&#8217;s (R-TX) announcement in 2017 that he would not be seeking re-election when his term expired. Poe was chairman and vice chairman of multiple subcommittees on the prestigious House Committee on Foreign Affairs. He also sat on the House Judiciary Committee.</p>
<div class="embed video fluid-video">Watch the latest video at <a href="https://www.foxnews.com">foxnews.com</a></div>
<p>At the time, Poe&#8217;s resignation was considered a blow to the party, but he was ultimately succeeded by Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), a former Navy SEAL who is now considered to be one of the party&#8217;s rising stars.</p>
<p>&#8220;I was very sad when Ted Poe departed in the last Congress,&#8221; McCarthy said. &#8220;But who followed him? Dan Crenshaw.&#8221;</p>
<p>As Congress comes back into session after the summer recess, 15 Republicans have already announced they will be stepping down, either at the end of their term or months beforehand. While some districts, such as those currently represented by Reps. Will Hurd (R-TX) and Pete Olson (R-TX), are expected to be top-tier battlegrounds going into 2020, the majority of Republican vacancies are in safely red districts.</p>
<p>McCarthy also praised Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), the latest to announce his resignation, as a &#8220;tremendous congressman,&#8221; but noted that he has been serving for more than four decades. Sensenbrenner is currently the second-longest serving member in the U.S. House of Representatives and his district is considered a Republican stronghold. The Wisconsin lawmaker won re-election in 2018 by more than 20 points.</p>
<p>&#8220;All of these [retirements] have a basis, but there&#8217;s no concern in the basis of whether we’re going to gain the majority back,&#8221; McCarthy said. &#8220;Thirty-one Democrats sit in seats that President [Donald] Trump carried; we only have to win 19 [seats]. Democrats had to win 23 [seats] in the last cycle. We have fewer seats to gain with a bigger playing field to go.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Republican minority leader also pointed to Army veteran and Houston-area businessman Wesley Hunt, who is running to take back Texas&#8217; 7th Congressional District after Rep. Lizzie Pannill Fletcher (D-TX) flipped it blue during the 2018 election cycle. Fletcher and nine-term incumbent Rep. John Culberson (R-TX) were neck-and-neck throughout the duration of their 2018 campaigns, but Fletcher ultimately edged out a victory by just over 12,000 votes.</p>
<p>&#8220;A West Point graduate, flew apaches,&#8221; McCarthy said of Hunt. &#8220;They just did a recent poll, he&#8217;s ahead in he poll running against the incumbent.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;We have a transformation that’s happening in the Republican Party with new blood coming in that&#8217;s only going to make the team stronger,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;I know that is what&#8217;s going to carry us to the new majority.&#8221;</p>


WATCH: House Minority Leader Brushes Off Slew Of GOP Retirements: There’s ‘New Blood’ Coming In

2020 Election

House Republicans

Republican Party

<p>House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) spoke out on Wednesday against California’s proposed ethics studies curriculum that espoused a political bias against both Jews and the state of Israel.</p>
<p>“This is the latest evidence of left-leaning institutions in our country trying to force their views in places they don’t belong,” McCarthy told The Daily Wire. “Aside from the proposed curriculum’s erasure of accurate Israeli history and promotion of the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, the entire curriculum reads as a political agenda rather than a model of free-thinking learning.”</p>
<p>McCarthy’s remarks were in response to the California Department of Education’s effort to update scholastic requirements, which includes a mandatory Ethics Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC). A host of anti-Israel activists assisted in crafting the educational program that subsequently has been labeled “anti-Semitic” and “anti-Israel.”</p>
<p>Accordingly, a draft of the curriculum reveals that Jews are omitted as an ethnic group, and while terms such as racism, sexism, cisheteropatriarchy, and Islamaphobia are all listed in the glossary, the term “anti-Semitism” is noticeably absent, reported <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/brooke-goldstein-anti-jewish-and-anti-israel-school-curriculum-on-verge-of-approval-in-california">Fox News</a>. The curriculum also parrots age-old anti-Semitic canards, including the suggestion that Jews control the media.</p>
<p>Moreover, the proposed program includes a multitude of historical inaccuracies in an attempt to portray Israel as a colony that oppresses Palestinians, and further refers to “Israel-Palestine” as a country. The curriculum not only condemns Israel, but further advocates for the boycott of Jewish people and businesses.</p>
<p>The California State Board of Education (SBE) announced on Tuesday that the proposed draft does not meet certain state requirements and will be replaced with an entirely new one.</p>
<p>“Ethnic studies can be an important tool to improve school climate and increase our understanding of one another. A model curriculum should be accurate, free of bias, appropriate for all learners in our diverse state, and align with Governor Newsom’s vision of a California for all,” SBE President Linda Darling-Hammond wrote in a statement. “The current draft model curriculum falls short and needs to be substantially redesigned.”</p>
<p>“I’m relieved the state made the obvious decision to rethink the curriculum, but a blatantly anti-Semitic and anti-Israel agenda should never have gotten this far in the first place,” McCarthy told the Daily Wire in response to the announcement. “California’s educators have another chance to get it right, and I stand with the brave organizations and individuals who spoke out against this dangerous and irresponsible proposal.”</p>
<p>McCarthy also revealed to the <a href="https://freebeacon.com/issues/gop-leader-demands-investigation-into-anti-semitic-calif-high-school-curriculum/">Washington Free Beacon</a> that he is demanding an investigation into “why and how” such an inaccurate and anti-Semitic curriculum was able to advance so far through the state’s Education Department.</p>
<p>“Taxpayer dollars should never be approved to fund a curriculum that whitewashes Israel’s history while simultaneously promoting the [BDS] movement, which seeks to destroy the state of Israel,” McCarthy said. “This was not simply an oversight — the California Department of Education’s attempt to institutionalize anti-Semitism is not only discriminatory and intolerant, it’s dangerous.”</p>
<p>He is calling on the state of California “to look into this matter further.”</p>


GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy Sounds The Alarm On ‘Blatantly Anti-Semitic’ California Education Curriculum

California

<p>During a Wednesday floor debate in the U.S. House of Representatives on a net neutrality bill that stands no chance of successfully passing the U.S. Senate even if it were to successfully clear the lower chamber, House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (D-CA) took to the floor to express his exasperation at House Democratic leadership&#8217;s seemingly ceaseless exercises in virtue-signaling futility for the entire duration, to-date, of the new Congress.</p>
<p>Nate Madden at Conservative Review <a href="https://www.conservativereview.com/news/kevin-mccarthy-blasts-house-dem-majoritys-first-100-days-resolutions-radicalism-resistance/">reports</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>&#8220;The question more and more Americans are beginning to ask,&#8221; McCarthy said from the floor. &#8220;What have the Democrats done with their majority?&#8221; &#8230;</p>
<p>&#8220;At this point in the last Congress, Republicans had passed 141 bills out of committee and 132 out of the House,&#8221; McCarthy said. &#8220;So what do the numbers say now? By contrast, Democrats have passed 68 bills out of committee and 97 out of the House. Considerably fewer bills out of this House than before.&#8221;</p>
<p>The majority leader also chided Democratic leaders for having to scrap a major budget vote the day before over disagreements in their own ranks.</p>
<p>&#8220;It hasn&#8217;t been said once; it&#8217;s been said hundreds of times: Show us your budget, show us your values,&#8221; McCarthy said. &#8220;Unfortunately, it looks like we&#8217;ll never know the true values of this majority, because there is no budget.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;One in five votes in this House that was taken since the end of January were nonbinding messaging resolutions,&#8221; McCarthy said. &#8220;What if we spent one-fifth of our time working to improve border security and fix the loopholes in our immigration system?&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve never known anybody that has ran for office that was asked to make sure you go to Congress to waste their time on votes that do not matter,&#8221; McCarthy added. &#8220;They send us here to deliver solutions, not resolutions.&#8221;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Perhaps the most infamous of House Democrats&#8217; purely symbolic, non-binding resolutions was their <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/44311/cave-democrats-delay-vote-anti-semitism-resolution-ashe-schow">exceedingly watered down resolution</a>, passed in the aftermath of Rep. Ilhan Omar&#8217;s (D-MN) barrage of anti-Semitic comments, that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/44389/heres-democrats-answer-omars-anti-semitism-shes-hank-berrien">did not even mention</a> the freshman lawmaker by name. Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/44380/every-democratic-excuse-ilhan-omars-anti-semitism-ben-shapiro">excoriated</a> the weak Democratic excuses proffered for Omar&#8217;s comments at the time:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This week, the Democratic Party proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is willing to not only countenance but embrace anti-Semitism, so long as the anti-Semitism comes from members of their intersectional coalition. In less than two months, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has fallen under scrutiny for open anti-Semitism no less than three times. First, she came under scrutiny for an old tweet in which she stated that Israel had &#8220;hypnotized the world&#8221; &#8212; an old anti-Semitic canard attributing magical powers to the Jews. Then, she came under fire for suggesting that American support for Israel was &#8220;all about the Benjamins&#8221; &#8212; an old anti-Semitic canard that Jewish money lay at the root of America&#8217;s support for Israel. Finally, she came under scrutiny for stating that American supporters of Israel were exhibiting dual loyalty &#8212; a third old anti-Semitic canard&#8230;</p>
<p>This, in the end, is the real Democratic excuse: Jews are too financially, educationally, and politically successful to be considered victims of anti-Semitism, particularly when that anti-Semitism comes from those who rank higher on the intersectional hierarchy of victimhood. That&#8217;s been the underlying <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/38455/intersectionality-leads-ignoring-anti-semitism-ben-shapiro">Democratic argument for years at this point</a>. &#8230;</p>
<p>The Democrats are banking on their new intersectional coalition. If that means ignoring, downplaying, or outright lying about anti-Semitism, they&#8217;re willing to do it. And everyone, particularly American Jews, should take note of that vile but clear fact.</p>
</blockquote>


House Minority Leader McCarthy Absolutely Rips House Majority’s Endless Virtue-Signaling

<p>Bipartisan House and Senate Intelligence Committee investigations found no &#8220;direct evidence&#8221; that President Donald Trump&#8217;s 2016 campaign colluded with Russia to steal the election.</p>
<p>The senate committee interviewed more than 200 witnesses and reviewed <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senate-has-uncovered-no-direct-evidence-conspiracy-between-trump-campaign-n970536">more than 300,000 documents</a> before reaching its conclusion. Since then, senate Democrats have <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/02/russia-investigation-senate-probe-faces-critical-point/582883/">tried to poke holes in the claims</a> by pointing out that &#8220;direct evidence&#8221; is rare and given the same weight has circumstantial evidence. House Democrats, led by new committee chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA), have vowed to continue investigating anything they can to prove Trump has committed a crime &#8212; even using congressional authority to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/43392/democrats-want-use-congressional-authority-snoop-ashe-schow">subpoena Trump&#8217;s tax returns</a>.</p>
<p>In response to Schiff&#8217;s determination to find a crime, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) released a series of questions for his Democrat colleague.</p>
<p>&#8220;Chairman Schiff stated in March of 2017, he had evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia and that his &#8216;evidence&#8217; was more than circumstantial but not quite direct. To date Chairman Schiff has produced no evidence to support that claim,&#8221; the Republican leader <a href="https://republicanleader.house.gov/adam-schiff-fusion-gps-aspen/">posted on his blog</a>.</p>
<p>Schiff has come under scrutiny after it was reported that he had <a href="https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/429041-adam-schiff-glenn-simpson-and-their-forrest-gump-like-encounter-in-aspen">a chance encounter</a> with Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson last summer during the Aspen Security Forum. This meeting between the two men occurred before Simpson testified before congress in November 2017 regarding the FBI&#8217;s handling of the Russian collusion investigation and the investigation into Hillary Clinton&#8217;s private email server.</p>
<p>&#8220;In addition, Chairman Schiff and House Democrats went to great lengths to keep investigators from finding out Fusion GPS was hired by a law firm at the direction of the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton Campaign. Investigators ultimately had to go to court to secure access to who was behind the still unvetted Steele Dossier. Chairman Schiff obstructed and opposed efforts to identify the funding behind the salacious, still unverified report,&#8221; McCarthy wrote.</p>
<p>McCarthy also wrote that Schiff sought input from Simpson during his testimony on where to take the investigation into Trump. It appears Schiff has taken direction using claims from Simpson. In March 2018 &#8212; months after Simpson testified &#8212; Schiff released a list of witnesses he wanted to speak to about the Russia probe. On that list was Cleta Mitchell, a former NRA attorney who hadn&#8217;t worked for the organization for years. Her name was mentioned as someone who was apparently concerned with the NRA&#8217;s Russia ties. The person who claimed Mitchell had concerns? <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/39979/emails-reveal-media-outlet-ran-non-story-designed-ashe-schow">Simpson</a>, according to handwritten notes by Bruce Ohr, the Justice Department official heavily involved in the investigation and with Fusion GPS (Ohr&#8217;s wife worked for Fusion).</p>
<p>Schiff had demanded former Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA) recuse himself because he did not disclose meetings with the White House. McCarthy believes this same standard should apply to Schiff in light of his meeting with Simpson. Further, McCarthy has some choice questions for Schiff:</p>
<blockquote>
<ol>
<li>Along with this Aspen Security Forum meeting, how many other meetings did Chairman Schiff have with Mr. Simpson over the past three years?</li>
<li>What did Chairman Schiff and Mr. Simpson discuss at the Aspen Security Forum meeting, along with any other meetings?</li>
<li>Why did Chairman Schiff go to such great lengths, including supporting Chuck Schumer&#8217;s former staffer who was representing Mr. Simpson &#8211; even going to court &#8211; to keep secret who was behind paying for the political attack piece on then candidate Trump?</li>
<li>Why did Chairman Schiff seek investigatory guidance and suggestions from Mr. Simpson, a witness whose credibility has been called into question but whose bias is unmistakably anti-Trump?</li>
<li>If Chairman Schiff is really interested in who provided false or misleading testimony to Congress, why not start with Mr. Simpson?</li>
<li>Given Chairman Schiff&#8217;s previous underlying rationale when calling for others to recuse themselves from Russia-related investigations, in order to avoid charges of hypocrisy or perceived bias, should Chairman Schiff recuse himself from his intended investigations after meeting with a witness of an ongoing investigation?</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
<p>Schiff&#8217;s office did not immediately respond to a Daily Wire inquiry.</p>


Republican House Leader Has Some ‘Serious Questions’ For Adam Schiff

Adam Schiff

Russia

<p>On Monday night, a huge boulder was hurled through a window of the Bakersfield, California office of House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). Vandals subsequently stole office equipment following the shattering of the window.</p>
<p>McCarthy posted four photographs on Instagram that may have identified the suspects; three of the photos showed two men near the office, while the fourth photo depicted the boulder inside the office. On one photo, McCarthy asked, &#8220;Does anyone know these two guys? They threw a boulder thru [sic] our office window and took office equipment.&#8221;</p>
<p>One of the men sported a bright pink backpack, shorts and a bright green baseball cap; the other wore a sweatshirt, dark-colored jeans, and sneakers.</p>
<p>Similar to other GOP politicians, McCarthy has been targeted recently; in August he was featured at an event at the Public Policy Institute of California, where protesters disrupted the event, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/rep-kevin-mccarthys-bakersfield-office-attacked-with-massive-rock-he-says?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A%20foxnews%2Fmost-popular%20%28Internal%20-%20Most%20Popular%20Content%29">according to Fox News</a>.</p>
<p>Evidence of McCarthy&#8217;s closeness to President Trump abounds. Trump started <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/kevin-mccarthy-relishes-role-as-trumps-fixer-friend-and-candy-man/2018/01/15/a2696b4e-f709-11e7-b34a-b85626af34ef_story.html?utm_term=.6639cc5b9171">referring to him</a> as &#8220;my Kevin&#8221; during the last stages of the 2016 presidential campaign, when McCarthy would phone Trump to update him on what was going on in Congress and to offer advice.</p>
<p>The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/my-kevin-emerges-as-bridge-between-trump-and-gop-1509886801">reported</a> in November 2017:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The president and majority leader talk frequently, with Mr. McCarthy walking Mr. Trump through the House&#8217;s legislative process and working to establish reasonable expectations on how quickly the chamber can move, according to House GOP lawmakers and aides. Mr. McCarthy&#8217;s experience in the California State Assembly working with then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has left him better equipped than most to deal with a celebrity president, lawmakers said &#8230;</p>
<p>In September, he was the only other lawmaker present at a meeting of the top four Hill leaders with Mr. Trump where a deal on raising the government&#8217;s borrowing limit was struck. In early October, he traveled with Mr. Trump on Air Force One to Las Vegas after the mass shooting.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>At a recent private fundraiser, after offering his best wishes to retiring Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Trump reportedly turned to McCarthy&#8217;s table and said he looked forward to working with McCarthy next.</p>
<p>Close McCarthy ally Rep. <a href="https://thehill.com/people/tom-graves">Tom Graves</a> (R-GA) told <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/409024-trump-and-son-signal-support-for-mccarthy-as-next-speaker">The Hill</a>, &#8220;The president had a fantastic speech talking about all our accomplishments. It was a really neat farewell of the relationship that he&#8217;s had with Paul Ryan, and as he was wishing Paul well, he looked at Kevin and said, &#8216;I look forward to working with you.&#8217;&#8221;</p>
<p>In mid-October, McCarthy introduced the &#8220;Build the Wall, Enforce the Law Act of 2018. He<a href="https://kevinmccarthy.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-mccarthy-introduces-build-the-wall-enforce-the-law-act"> stated</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>For decades, America&#8217;s inability to secure our borders and stop illegal immigration has encouraged millions to undertake a dangerous journey to come here in violation of our laws and created huge loopholes in the legal channels we use to welcome immigrants to our country. President Trump&#8217;s election was a wakeup call to Washington. The American People want us to build the Wall and enforce the law.</p>
<p>Today, I introduced legislation that commits the House to these goals. This bill combats sanctuary cities, transnational gangs like MS-13, human trafficking, and deadly drugs like fentanyl. It supports federal law enforcement like ICE. And it fully funds the Wall by appropriating the full amount requested by President Trump for its construction, bringing the total amount of funding to $25 billion.</p>
<p>Maintaining strong borders is one of the basic responsibilities of any nation. For too long, America has failed in this responsibility. I encourage my colleagues to support this bill and recommit our nation to defending its borders.</p>
</blockquote>


Now It’s His Turn: Boulder Thrown Through Window Of GOP House Majority Leader’s Office

<p>On Friday, House Majority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) introduced the &#8220;Build The Wall, Enforce The Law Act&#8221; to fund President Trump&#8217;s long-promised wall along the southern border of the United States.</p>
<p>In a statement, McCarthy <a href="https://kevinmccarthy.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-mccarthy-introduces-build-the-wall-enforce-the-law-act&#8203;">said in part</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>President Trump&#8217;s election was a wakeup call to Washington. The American People want us to build the Wall and enforce the law.</p>
<p>Today, I introduced legislation that commits the House to these goals. This bill combats sanctuary cities, transnational gangs like MS-13, human trafficking, and deadly drugs like fentanyl. It supports federal law enforcement like ICE. And it fully funds the Wall by appropriating the full amount requested by President Trump for its construction, bringing the total amount of funding to $25 billion.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The text of the legislation (<a href="https://www.majorityleader.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/HR7059.pdf&#8203;">H.R.7059</a>) pertaining to the wall reads in part:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In addition to amounts otherwise made available by this Act or any other provision of the law, there is hereby appropriated to the &#8220;U.S. Customs and Border Protection &#8211; Procurement, Construction, and Improvements&#8221; account, out of any amounts in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $23,400,000,000, to be available as described in subsections (b) and (c), of which &#8211;</p>
<p>(1) $16,625,000,000 shall be for a border wall system along the southern border of the United States, including physical barriers and associated detection technology, roads, and lighting; and</p>
<p>(2) $6,775,000,000 shall be for infrastructure, assets, operations, and technology to enhance border security along the southern border of the United States&#8230;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Aside from a lump sum of approximately $6 billion made available in 2018, the legislation states that funding would be meted out in portions of between $550 million to $2.1 billion each year on October 1 through 2024.</p>
<p>The full text of the legislation, which deals with much more than the border wall, can be read <a href="https://www.majorityleader.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/HR7059.pdf&#8203;">here</a>.</p>
<p>The Daily Wire reached out to McCarthy&#8217;s communications team for comment, but as of publication, we have not received a reply.</p>


House Majority Leader Introduces Legislation To Fund Border Wall, Deal With Sanctuary Cities, Gangs, Drug Trafficking, And More

Illegal Immigration

Southern Border

<p>August in D.C. is a magical time. Congress is out on recess, meaning staffers, lobbyists, and anyone else connected to Capitol Hill doesn&#8217;t have much to do, so they leave #ThisTown. Imagine if one of the largest employers in your town took a month off and huge numbers of staff left the area. The traffic is clearer, the sun shines brighter, and you might actually be able to get a Georgetown Cupcake without waiting in a line. Okay, so it&#8217;s really just the traffic thing, but that&#8217;s worth it, am I right?</p>
<p>This is the last week before that glorious period known as August recess, and House Republicans aren&#8217;t slipping on their campaign shoes and packing their seersucker suits just yet. No, this week House leadership plans to vote on some pretty big bills, including an expansion of health savings accounts and rolling back some Obamacare taxes. They will also pass a short-term patch for flood insurance and, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) hopes, pass a conference report to supplement fiscal year 2019 defense spending, <a href="https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/road-ahead-house-ready-recess-senate-not-much">according to Roll Call</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;This House is committed to rebuilding our military and ensuring our brave men and women in uniform have the equipment and training they need to successfully carry out their mission,&#8221; McCarthy said Thursday on the House floor.</p>
<p>Senators, meanwhile, won&#8217;t get a recess, and will be busy beyond this week confirming judges and President Donald Trump&#8217;s pick to take over the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as passing appropriations bills.</p>
<p>So I guess traffic will only be a little better next month.</p>


House Republicans Have Big Plans Ahead Of August Recess

<p>The House GOP is planning to oust Speaker Paul Ryan before the end of the summer, and well before Ryan finishes his final term in Congress, according to a report in The Weekly Standard.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.weeklystandard.com/haley-byrd-paul-ryan-kevin-mccarthy-coup"><strong>Haley Byrd at The Weekly Standard</strong></a> alleges that Republicans are already putting together a plan that would have Ryan cleaning out the Speaker&#8217;s office well before the end of the summer, before Congress returns for its fall session, and well before the Speaker is scheduled to leave office in January.</p>
<p>The change wouldn&#8217;t be drastic &#8212; Republicans are expected to back the official Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy for the Speaker&#8217;s chair &#8212; but the timeline is somewhat more protracted than Ryan might have initially expected. Ryan had anticipated remaining in office at least until after the November elections, and perhaps even until January.</p>
<p>He may not be so lucky. Sources within the Trump Administration tell The Weekly Standard that no less than President Trump himself &#8220;believes there is merit to the plan.&#8221; He hasn&#8217;t made a final decision, his aides tell WS, however.</p>
<p>Even though Ryan has helped pass a few key pieces of legislation in his tenure as Speaker, now that he&#8217;s officially retiring from office, he&#8217;s not as powerful. It&#8217;s less likely he&#8217;d be able to whip Republican legislators into backing any controversial bills, splitting the House GOP and rendering it ineffective. If Democrats take back the House in 2018 &#8212; as they are expected to do &#8212; Republicans will have to have a strong and productive last few months of 2018 in order to save President Trump&#8217;s agenda.</p>
<p>Letting Ryan go may be the only decision that makes sense.</p>


Ryan OUT? GOP ‘Entertaining’ The Idea Of Ousting Speaker Before Summer’s Out

Paul Ryan

<p>On Tuesday, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) released a video trolling House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) over the GOP tax bill signed into law last year.</p>
<p><a href="http://freebeacon.com/politics/mccarthy-releases-video-of-pelosi-endorsing-trump-tax-cuts/">The Free Beacon</a> reports:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In the video, Pelosi discusses a hypothetically strong economy during a town hall in Arizona on Feb. 20, with clips of actual positive economic news spliced in following the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.</p>
<p>Mixed in with Pelosi&#8217;s statements are news items about increased investment, a majority of the country thinking the U.S. is doing well, the unemployment rate dropping below four percent, small business wage increases, and higher consumer confidence.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The National Republican Congressional Committee has already launched campaign ads targeting Democrats after Pelosi referred to $1,000+ tax cuts for working-class families as being &#8220;pathetic&#8221; and &#8220;crumbs.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;In terms of the bonus that corporate America received versus the crumbs they are giving to workers to put the schmooze on is so pathetic,&#8221; Pelosi said in January.</p>
<p>Many people viewed Pelosi&#8217;s comments as showing just how out-of-touch she is with the middle class due to the fact that she is worth <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/25748/watch-millionaire-pelosi-says-wage-increases-ryan-saavedra">$30 million</a>.</p>
<p>WATCH:</p>
<div class="embed">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p>Thanks <a href="https://twitter.com/NancyPelosi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NancyPelosi</a> for endorsing the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TaxCutsandJobsAct?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TaxCutsandJobsAct</a>! cc: <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MAGA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MAGA</a> <a href="https://t.co/i6142k3E9W">pic.twitter.com/i6142k3E9W</a></p>
<p>&#8212; Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) <a href="https://twitter.com/GOPLeader/status/996503195055804426?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 15, 2018</a></p></blockquote>
</div>


WATCH: GOP Leader Trolls Pelosi With Video of Her ‘Endorsing’ Trump Tax Cuts

Taxes

<p>President Donald Trump signed H.R. 1865, the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA), on Wednesday. </p>
<p>The bipartisan anti-human trafficking bill was passed by both houses of Congress before landing on Trump&#8217;s desk. In the signing ceremony, Trump was surrounded by his daughter Ivanka, several lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, and survivors of human trafficking. <strong><a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/signing-allow-states-victims-fight-online-sex-trafficking-act-president-donald-j-trump-provides-invaluable-tools-needed-fight-scourge-sex-trafficking/">The bill</a></strong> &#8220;amends the Communications Act of 1934 to create an exception for sex trafficking, making it easier to target websites with legal action for enabling such crimes&#8221; and &#8220;provides new legal recourse for victims and law enforcement alike.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Thank you very much for being with us today as we sign this crucial legislation to combat online sex trafficking and bring criminals to justice,&#8221; said Trump during the ceremony. &#8220;And the people behind me have been working on this long and hard. That&#8217;s political, as well as some of our great citizens. And we appreciate it.&#8221;</p>
<p>He continued: &#8220;Most importantly, I want to thank the survivors and families who join us today. I&#8217;m signing this bill in your honor. And we are all together, politicians, both Republican and Democrat, signing this and representing this to you in your honor. So thank you all very much. We very much appreciate it. You&#8217;re very brave.&#8221;</p>
<p>Trump praised the courage of survivors and emphasized their role in getting the bill passed. &#8220;You&#8217;ve endured what no person on Earth should ever have to endure, and we are going to do everything in our power to make sure that traffickers are brought to a swift and firm justice,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And I&#8217;ve heard statistics where trafficking in the world is more now than it ever has been ever in the history of the world. And you wouldn&#8217;t believe that with, you know, modern-day everything. But they use modern-day better than law enforcement can use modern-day, whether it&#8217;s the Internet or anything else.&#8221;</p>
<p>He added, &#8220;So I want to thank you for your courage, and thank you for helping survivors across our country. And you are not alone. You are not alone. And this is a very important day. If we work together, we can get the criminal traffickers off our streets and off of the internet. We can bring safety and hope to every community across the country, and we can create a culture that respects the dignity of every child of God.&#8221;</p>
<p>Watch the signing ceremony below:</p>
<div class="embed video fluid-video"><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rbuhPQKmg8c" width="854"></iframe></div></p>


WATCH: Trump Signs Bill To Combat Online Sex Trafficking

Conservatism

Human Trafficking

Ivanka Trump

Richard Blumenthal

Sexual Abuse

Sexual Assault

Sexual Harassment

<p>Nancy Pelosi is still out there &#8212; waiting and watching.</p>
<p>The 78-year-old Democrat from California just won&#8217;t go away. Prominent members of her own party have begged her to reduce her leadership role &#8212; perhaps even retire and disappear &#8212; but Pelosi has repeatedly vowed to continue her rule of the party.</p>
<p>Pelosi, who was House Speaker from 2007 until the GOP took control of the chamber in 2011, is poised to resume that powerful position.</p>
<p>House Speaker Paul Ryan on Wednesday announced he would not seek re-election. The Wisconsin Republican, 48, said he didn&#8217;t want to go on commuting from his home to Washington, D.C., which makes him just a &#8220;weekend Dad.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;If I am here for one more term, my kids will only ever have known me as a weekend Dad &#8212; I just can&#8217;t let that happen,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>But that&#8217;s what politicos always say when they walk away, that they want to &#8220;spend more time with their families.&#8221; While <strong><a href="https://www.axios.com/paul-ryan-not-running-reelection-retirement-8b5c598b-bcdf-46ca-a7d9-7206c2f3fdb5.html">Axios</a></strong> reported that Ryan has been supremely frustrated by President Trump in trying to do his job, the real reason for his departure is simple: He knows the GOP will lose the House in November.</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/29289/speaker-house-paul-ryan-stepping-down-here-are-9-ben-shapiro">Daily Wire</a></strong> Editor-In-Chief Ben Shapiro laid out the party&#8217;s problems.</p>
<p>&#8220;Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) is leaving Congress. So are Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), Darrell Issa (R-CA), Lamar Smith (R-TX), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Charlie Dent (R-PA), Dave Reichert (R-WA), Pat Tiberi (R-OH), Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), Lynn Jenkins (R-KA), Sam Johnson (R-TX), John Duncan (R-TN), Ted Poe (R-TX), Dave Trott (R-MI), Ryan Costello (R-PA), Bill Shuster (R-PA), Gregg Harper (R-MS), Tom Rooney (R-FL), among several others. The blue wave is coming, and it isn&#8217;t going to be pretty. President Trump&#8217;s approval ratings are still low by poll averages, and Democratic enthusiasm is at record highs. Ryan&#8217;s leaving signals to donors that the House is in serious trouble.&#8221;</p>
<p>The latest polls show Democrats far more enthusiastic to vote in November: The most recent Economist/YouGov shows Democrats with an 8-point advantage, 44% to 36%. Plus, the party in the White House almost always loses seats in mid-term elections &#8212; both George W. Bush and Barack Obama lost at least one congressional chamber in mid-terms.</p>
<p>For her part, Pelosi, now House Minority Leader, said she hopes Ryan will spend his final months in office working with Democrats &#8220;constructively&#8221; for all Americans. She called Ryan an &#8220;avid advocate for his point of view and for the people of his district&#8221; and commended him for his &#8220;steadfast commitment to our country.&#8221;</p>
<p>And Pelosi, who has already served 16 terms in the House, has filed paperwork to run again in 2018. Still, some party leaders wish she&#8217;d go away.</p>
<p>Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) said late last year it was time for Pelosi &#8212; and other longtime party leaders &#8212; to depart and let a new generation lead House Democrats.</p>
<p>&#8220;Our leadership does a tremendous job, but we do have this real breadth and depth of talent within our caucus and I do think it&#8217;s time to pass the torch to a new generation of leaders,&#8221; Sanchez said.</p>
<p>In February, <strong><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/02/speaker-pelosi/553334/">The Atlantic</a></strong> wrote a piece headlined &#8220;The Once and Future Speaker? Is Nancy Pelosi&#8217;s leadership the key to Democrats regaining the House, or the thing that will hold them back?&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;[A] small group of restive Democrats is gunning for Pelosi. They&#8217;re maneuvering in public, and recruiting support behind the scenes, to force her departure. They want to set off a generational shift for Democrats that they believe is long overdue. And their efforts&#8212;joined to the familiar attacks from Republicans, who have made them the linchpin of their bid to retain the House&#8212;are calling Pelosi&#8217;s political future into question just as she sits on the cusp of regaining power,&#8221; the magazine wrote.</p>
<p>When Pelosi was re-elected as the top Democrat in the House this year, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters, &#8220;I truly believe as long as she&#8217;s leader we keep the majority.&#8221;</p>
<p>That&#8217;s all about to change &#8212; and Paul Ryan&#8217;s leaving town before it does.</p></p>


Speaker Pelosi? Will Divisive Democrat Soon Control The House Again?

<p>Vice President Mike Pence arrived in Rancho Cordova, California on Monday where he talked about President Donald Trump&#8217;s tax reforms. He was welcomed by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield who introduced him to a crowd of enthusiastic supporters. </p>
<p>&#8220;The topic of our discussion is tax relief. President Trump asked me to come here to California. We&#8217;ve been traveling around the country because President Donald Trump is committed to work with the Congress and pass the largest tax cut in American history. And we&#8217;re going to do it this year,&#8221; he said to an applause. </p>
<p>He also spoke about the fires that having been plaguing Northern California and promised relief efforts. </p>
<p>&#8220;At this present moment, the wildfires taking place here in California have destroyed more than 2,000 homes. And we just learned today of 10 people having lost their lives. The fires are going to continue,&#8221; Pence said.</p>
<p>He assured, &#8220;The dryness of the climate, the strength of the winds, you all in California know much better than this Midwesterner does, but I can assure you, as I did the governor (Jerry Brown), that the federal government stands ready to provide any and all assistance to the state of California as your courageous firefighters and first responders confront this widening challenge.&#8221;</p>
<p>Pence explained that the National Forest Service is working with five firefighting crews and the White House is working with Congress to earmark funding for the relief efforts. </p>
<p>The Vice President shifted back to tax reform saying, &#8220;The good news about the economy today is that this economy is already responding to President Trump&#8217;s bold leadership. Optimism is at an all-time high among businesses in many categories around the country.&#8221;</p>
<p>Pence bemoaned the red tape and bureaucracy surrounding America&#8217;s tax code. He broke down the three ways the administration is going to bring reform. </p>
<p>He said, &#8220;First and foremost, we&#8217;re going to cut taxes on working families all across this country. We&#8217;re going to ensure by doubling the standard deduction that the first $24,000 in income for families will be tax-free. We&#8217;ll expand the child tax credit, and we&#8217;ll end death taxes once and for all.&#8221; He continued, &#8220;Secondly, we&#8217;re going to simplify the tax code.&#8221; Promising that Americans will be able to do their taxes on a single paper.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;And thirdly, we&#8217;re going to make sure that businesses can be more competitive,&#8221; Pence said. &#8220;We&#8217;re going to lower the corporate tax rate in America from one of the highest business tax rates in the world of 35% down to 20%, and we&#8217;re going to make sure that small businesses that pay their taxes as individuals will also pay a lower rate of just 25%.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Vice President concluded, &#8220;President Trump is absolutely committed to doing everything in our power to let the American people keep more of what you earn and allow American businesses to be more competitive, to create more good-paying jobs all across California and all across this country. So we look forward to the conversation, and thank you for being here.&#8221;</p>
<p>Mike Pence began a tour, campaigning for local, state, and federal GOP candidates in the upcoming midterm elections. </p>
<div> </div>


Mike Pence Talks Tax Reform While Campaigning For California Republicans

Mike Pence

Trump Administration

<p><a href="http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/04/02/louie-gohmert-donald-trump-work-freedom-caucus-obamacare-replacement-paul-ryan">On Sunday</a>, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) invited President Donald Trump to reject &#8220;establishment&#8221; health care reform proposals and support those of the Freedom Caucus. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and White House Chief of Staff Reince Preibus, said Gohmert, had both advised the President to &#8220;go to war&#8221; with the Freedom Caucus in order to pass the American Health Care Act (AHCA).</p>
</p>
<p>Speaking with Fox News Channel&#8217;s <em>Sunday Morning Futures</em>, Gohmert warned Trump against alignment with Ryan and Priebus, describing the AHCA as a vehicle for further empowerment of the federal government:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This bill gives actually more power to Health and Human Services. But this is like during the [George W. Bush] administration, they said, &#8216;If you&#8217;re a patriot, you&#8217;ll give us all this extra power to snoop on people &#8211; maybe some Americans &#8211; but give us this power, we won&#8217;t abuse it.&#8217; They didn&#8217;t so much, but we gave so  much extra power that the Obama administration has been able to abuse right and left.&#8221;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Trump should not &#8220;go to war against the people that defended [him] when Ryan and those guys had abandoned him,&#8221; said Gohmert. &#8220;[Trump] can work with people that got him there, that defended him when others like Ryan and the establishment were running scared, or he can work with us to help him fulfill his promises,&#8221; he added.</p>
</p>
<p>Gohmert said Trump had originally aligned himself with the Freedom Caucus, subsequently changing course after meetings with Ryan and Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).</p>
</p>
<p>Passing the AHCA in its current form would destroy Trump&#8217;s legitimacy among grassroots conservatives, warned Gohmert:</p>
</p>
<blockquote>
<p>&#8220;If this bill passes, the president&#8217;s administration will be defined for the next four years as a fraud; they promised repeal and they gave more power to the government, and it&#8217;s costing us more. It is going to destroy his administration. But it&#8217;s a twofer for the establishment; they destroy the conservatives, the grassroots that stood by the president, and they make the president look terrible when people actually find out how bad this hurts the American individual.&#8221;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The AHCA&#8217;s current form did not amount to a repeal of the Affordable Care Act (&#8220;Obamacare&#8221;), said Gohmert. It would also fail to rings down health insurance costs, added Gohmert. </p>
</p>
<p>Passage of the AHCA would be &#8220;bad&#8221; and a &#8220;disaster,&#8221; said Gohmert.</p>
<p>
Gohmert implied that the Trump administration was compromising legislative quality in its pursuit of a superficial and quick political victory via the passage of a bill.</p>
</p>
<p>Watch Gohmert&#8217;s interview below.</p>
<div class="embed video fluid-video">
<p>Watch the latest video at &lt;a href=&#8221;http://video.foxnews.com&#8221;&gt;video.foxnews.com&lt;/a&gt;
</p></div>
</p>
<p><em>Follow Robert Kraychik on <a href="https://twitter.com/kr3ch3k">Twitter</a>.</em></p></p>


WATCH: Gohmert Tells Trump To Stick With Conservatives Who Supported Him, Not Ryan

Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA)

American Health Care Act (AHCA)

Fox Business Channel

Fox News

Freedom Caucus

Health Care

<p>Who said Democrats weren&#8217;t patriots? On Tuesday, Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia unexpectedly commented on president-elect Donald Trump&#8217;s controversial flag burning tweet, stating point-blank that he would &#8220;beat the hell&#8221; out of anybody who dares to burn the American flag in front of him. Trump tweeted early Tuesday that flag burners should be stripped of citizenship, a punishment rendered unconstitutional by the Supreme Court since the act of flag burning is protected under the First Amendment.</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/307920-dem-senator-ill-beat-the-hell-out-of-you-for-burning-flags">reporter</a> from <em>Roll Call</em>, Manchin said the following about the anti-American act.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It&#8217;s a First Amendment right, but you do it in front of me, I&#8217;m going to beat the hell out of you.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>While Manchin&#8217;s comments may be politically strategic, they still shatter liberal orthodoxies about the sanctity of America-bashing &#8220;protest.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Manchin is up for reelection during the 2018 cycle in a state that Trump won by more than 40 points,&#8221; <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/307920-dem-senator-ill-beat-the-hell-out-of-you-for-burning-flags">notes</a> <em>The Hill.</em></p>
<p>Interestingly enough, the West Virginia Democrat appears to be more sympathetic to Trump&#8217;s position than some Republicans.</p>
<p>In fact, both House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pushed back against Trump&#8217;s authoritarian rhetoric, reiterating their support for free speech in whatever form it takes.</p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ll protect our First Amendment. That&#8217;s what the court has upheld,&#8221; McCarthy <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/307920-dem-senator-ill-beat-the-hell-out-of-you-for-burning-flags">stated</a> Tuesday in an interview with MSNBC. The California Republican did question, however, the obtuse reasoning behind the act of flag burning. &#8220;[America is] a country that was conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. I don&#8217;t see why someone would want to burn [its flag],&#8221; McCarthy added.</p>
<p>McConnell joined his colleague in the House in challenging Trump&#8217;s pre-modern prescription for &#8220;unpleasant speech.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;The Supreme Court has held that that activity is a protected First Amendment right,&#8221; the Kentucky Republican <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/307922-mcconnell-breaks-with-trump-on-flag-burning">told</a> reporters on Tuesday. &#8220;In this country, we have a long history of protecting unpleasant speech.&#8221;</p>


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