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Public opinion in the district of Steve King, a Republican in the House of Representatives favoring defunding of Obamacare healthcare law.

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US House Republicans are pursuing cuts in spending of as much as 50% in many programs that are considered essential, such as a 50% cut in foreign aid at a time of global food insecurity, deep cuts in the FBI's counter intelligence budget, deep cuts in healthcare services and housing to low income Americans following the pandemic and high inflation, and other cuts to services benefiting workers and families. Democrats in Congress and president Biden oppose such cuts and hope to eliminate the deficit with cuts that do not place an unfair burden- taxes on the wealthiest with over $100 million and on stock buybacks would generate about $2 trillion to cover the whole deficit which is in the range of $1.4 trillion in 2023 moving to $2 trillion a year. Much of the Republican plan is being shaped by Mr. Trump's former Budget Director, Russell Vought, says this report in the NYT. Mr. Vought calls it an attack on the bureaucracy and woke spending. Other Republicans see this as an ideological approach that does not address today's problems. Chuck Schumer, Democrats Senate Majority Leader asks Republicans to spell out their plan. ...

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The nearly unanimous support for president Trump in the impeachment inquiry from Republicans in Congress is a result of strong consistent support from a loyal base, strong fund raising in competitive races for members of Congress who supported Trump, and the sense that the whole process was flawed and part of partisan politics. There was also a sense among members of Congress in the House and Senate that the actions in Ukraine did not rise to the level of impeachable offense.  Throughout the process from the beginning Mr. Trump, Mr. Pence, Mr. McCarthy minority leader in the House and Mr. McConnell majority leader in the Senate stayed engaged with individual members keeping together a tight knit community of legislators. As a result unprecedented action was seen in 2019-2020 with every single Democrat voting for impeachment and every single Republican voting against, and prominent members of each side showing outrage at events or how the proceedings were conducted. Each side even seeing the impeachment inquiry as a strategic step towards the presidential election in 2020. Democrats looking for some slight advantage in the midwestern states that moved the election to Trump the last time. Republicans seeing this as a way to rally the base, play to Mr. Trump's strengths in persuasion, and to vigorously defend the economic achievements in international trade agreements and the economy. ...

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Eric Cantor, a House member from the Richmond area, who is the face behind the zero Republican votes in the House for the Stimulus Plan. He says Democrats should not take the message from this that they should not mess with the Republicans anymore in discussing the plans for the economy. Is this good policy though, when the bill has given some middle ground between tax cuts and spending, and the spending is on areas neglected for years such as roads and bridges, classrooms and energy infrastructure? And is there an element of lack of comprehension by Republicans stuck on ideological grounds, of the seriously deteriorating nature of this crisis which is likely not to come back with recovery in several years, and is a global crisis? When Prime Minister Thatcher, UK Prime Minister, left office, the British infrastructure rail, rapid transit, hospitals and schools, had been neglected for many years and voters were looking for ways to rebuild the dilapidated infrastructure. The economy was weakening under her Conservative party successor, giving the Labor Party its chance to make a come back on the grounds of rebuilding infrastructure and services, and improving the economy. In which case there are just as many risks in this approach of being left out entirely and losing credibility across the country. Sometimes a feel good position may not be the best, or the wisest option, and may be shortsighted. ...

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John Fetterman Democrat of Pennsylvania has maintained a friendship with Katie Britt, Republican freshman from Alabama, and even turned up in Congress to show Britt's son around the House and Senate buildings. It shows how some senators in the US Congress are taking stances independent of their parties different factions and staying true to their authentic selves about what they see as right. For example Fetterman and Britt are introducing legislation requiring children to be 13 years of age to use social media platforms. Texas Senator Cornyn and other Republicans are at ease talking to John Fetterman. It is the kind of bipartisanship that is emerging in 2024 in the US. Fetterman says he is behind president Biden and is campaigning in 7 states calling Biden "a decent, good guy," and a tough guy.

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When it comes to essential policy Republicans and Democrats in the US Congress can and will work together. A roughly $1 trillion infrastructure bill passed in the US Senate. Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell says there are issues that are popular with both Democrats and Republicans.  He said in an interview with the WSJ - "The American people, divided, sent us a 50-50 Senate, and a narrowly divided House. I don't think the message of that was, 'Do absolutely nothing.' And if you are going to find an area of potential agreement, I can't think of a better one than infrastructure, which is desperately needed." The infrastructure bill passed this week 69-30 in the US Senate. McConnell thanked president Biden for getting the Democrats ready to compromise to pass the bill. Biden's long experience in the US Congress compares with another US president, when getting Congressional action from both parties was needed. Lyndon Johnson had this type of long experience in the US Congress which enabled him to reach compromise with Republicans to achieve goals in civil rights legislation and in passage of Social Security during the 1960's. In this sense Biden is right for the 2020's when national rebuilding is the task before America. ...

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President Trump accepts the Republican nomination at a White House event resembling a rally.  His focus remained on the economy and putting America first.

Many of the 1500 people at the White House gardens did not wear masks. The WSJ report says not every attendee was tested for coronavirus.  The WSJ also says this was an unprecedented use of the White House as the lectern for the president was set right on the South lawn facing the White House. The speech was followed by a performance from an opera singer and a fireworks display over the Washington Monument. 

 

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The U.S. House of Representatives voted 332 to 94 to approve a budget deal for 2 years negotiated by Rep. Paul Ryan (Republican) and Senator Pat Murray (Democrat). This ends a chapter of 3 years of crisis prone budgeting negotiations and a brief government shutdown from failure to negotiate a deal between the two political parties. Ryan, the vice presidential candidate in the 2012 elections has credibility with all parts of the Republican Party which helped get the deal passed overwhelmingly. On the floor of the House Ryan said about the deal- "This is good government, it's also divided government. And under divided government, we need to take steps in the right direction." Ryan was able to win 169 Republican votes, with 62 against. House Speaker Boehner (Republican) was critical of Tea Party supporters and groups such as Heritage Action, Club for Growth, FreedomWorks and Senate Conservatives Fund opposing the Ryan deal, because he said these groups were pushing the Republican party into places where it did not want to be through "misleading" information and had "lost credibility."...

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The Big Beautiful Tax and Spending Bill in the US Congress faces close votes in the US Senate with Senators Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, both Republicans against it.  The Senate version has additional cuts to Medicaid funding. Tillis expressed concern about these cuts. Senator Rand Paul is opposed to increasing the deficit for enlarged spending and tax cuts. Republicans and DJT have close votes in the Senate and in the Congress. Republicans Murkowski of Alaska and Curtis of Utah want to change the early phaseouts of tax credits to the renewable energy industry in the Senate bill, and the excise tax after 2027 to avoid buying from China and develop American manufacturing in renewables. Senator Collins of Maine has an amendment to add $25 billion for rural healthcare and rural hospitals to offset the effects of large Medicaid cuts. Collins plan also lets taxes revert to 39.6% from 37% for married couples incomes over $50 million.  The bill then heads back to the House for changes by Wednesday, July 2, for a goal to have it on the president's desk by July 4th, Friday. ...

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With stricter border control asylum seekers have dropped to 3500 a day at the US border with Mexico and the new government of Mexico under Caludia Sheinbaum is likely to cooperate with Biden to take back people of other nationalities. President Biden is about to pass an executive order that effectively closes the border with Mexico. Once daily crossings reach 2500 the border will be closed. The legal basis of the action is Immigration and Nationality Act clause 212F which says the president can take this action when he sees that "the entry of aliens or any class of aliens to the United States would be detrimental." This lowers the threshold from 4000 in the Senate bill negotiated by the president with Republican Senator Lankford to 2500 daily crossings. Mr. Trump had the Republican Speaker of the House not bring the Senate bill to a vote in the House. At the time Republicans in Congress said Biden should use his executive authority to do this and lower the threshold. The former president Trump also issued this kind of executive order in 2018 which was blocked in a federal court on grounds of humanitarian protection no matter how immigrants entered the country. This time there is a sense that the Congress, the president and public opinion supports this action and the president's authority. Mexican president Sheinbaum's support will also ease its implementation in 2024 and cut down border crossings from asylum seekers to lows below 2500 till a new Senate bill is taken up and passed with bipartisan support that exists in US Congress. ...

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Mr. Trump has decisively changed the Republican party. Most Republicans support Mr. Trump personally, less the Republican party. Mr. Lindsey Graham, a senator from South Carolina, says of the Republican party before Trump that it had become a bit staid, that we looked like the banker next door who may foreclose on your house. Mr. Romney epitomized that in his view. Gone are the views on deficits, on wars, and on imports and transfer of technology to China as being acceptable.  Five years from 2015 when Mr. Trump came into prominence with his new style taking on the establishments of both parties with a fierce disdain for convention, both the Bushes and the Obamas and Clintons, the Republican party is completely transformed. Registered Republicans are now 60% non college educated in 2020 compared to 50% non college educated in 2016. The Trump policies on trade putting American workers first and America first have a resounding popularity with this audience- this should be no surprise after decades of job losses and factories shipped overseas under the previous administrations for 2 decades. Most of these workers are not college educated and are white and had enjoyed a good standard of living with a high school education in American factories till the shift of American manufacturing to China destroyed good paying jobs and impoverished the American working class.  Only 30% of college educated people are registered Republicans in 2020 compared to 40% in 2016. Overwhelmingly about 90% of registered Republicans are white.  They are majority male and older but there is a significant about 40% female and 40% young population under 40 years of age. This might resemble the party put together by Missouri Congressman Harry Truman as he led the Democratic Party in 1948 with a majority of non college educated Democrats, fighting for American workers and America first in the cold war with Russia. Truman also had a rough Missouri farm language and accent comparable to Mr. Trump's rough style and language disdainful of the old establishment and new tech establishment. Both were heavily disliked by the media and both did not let this bother them in any way. Both liked facing large crowds as Truman showed in campaigning by train across the country and Trump has shown in campaign rallies run in his own way. ...

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Speaker Mike Johnson says democracy is "messy," as Rep. Greene of Georgia calls for a resolution for him to step down for violating a rule that no legislation would be brought up that lacks majority support. Only 101 Republican members of the House supported it less than half. How then would the funding of the federal government its departments of defense, homeland security, education, health, operate as the deadline for funding it is tonight? This is left unsaid. One can see the Senate and House live on C-SPAN television at this very moment. It appears that the older senior members of the Republican party have not done a good job of talking to their younger less experienced colleagues and building agreement, that the mediocrity of leadership in both parties for the past three decades, even four, is the cause. Unstable politics in the Republican party as it is split with older senior members on  one side and younger many first time elected organized by the Freedom Caucus group on the other.  Many are from the Southern states and some from rustbelt midwest showing the deep divides that still shape the US. Democrat Steny Hoyer the House Minority leader who has worked in Congress for over 40 years called it on the House floor, and he said its a harsh word delaying and "dissemble." Democrats call for compromise to govern, the compromise was finally reached today March 22 to pass the $1.2 trillion spending bill with something for each side or somethings that both sides wanted, funding at border and child care. ...

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The former interim Speaker Rep. Patrick McHenry, Republican North Carolina, tells a University of Chicago student audience that one can hold off a majority Congressmen only for so long, that there could be a two third majority in the House favoring the Ukraine aid. That bill for $61 billion in Ukraine aid passed the US Senate 70-30 with 22 Republican Senators supporting it but is blocked for 2 weeks by Speaker Mike Johnson for a House vote. Former Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin tell a Washington Post event that House Speaker Mike Johnson has to make up his mind to be decisive and take action that get things done. Ryan served as vice presidential nominee and became Speaker in October 2015 eight years before Mike Johnson in a similar situation where his job depended on different factions. Mike Johnson's view is that he wants to be seen as listening to all members to kind of decentralizing things. Yet as more experienced members of Congress say the only way to get things done is for the Speaker to take action on his own accord and let the situation rest there having done his best. This situation is happening today in the House as about half of all Congressmen in the House of Representatives have not served in Congress before January 2019, says The Washington Post. ...

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Reporters at the Washington Post put together the events leading to the formation of a bloc of freshman Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives who refused to compromise on debt ceiling and deficit reduction negotiations. The role of Cantor, McCarthy and Ryan in these events.

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Speaker Boehner's difficulties getting Republican votes in the U.S. House of Representatives. 151 Congressmen and majority leader Cantor voted against the McConnell-Biden fiscal cliff agreement of Jan. 1, 2013.

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Republicans split 105 For and 112 Against in the US Congress vote to expel Rep. Santos. Democrats were 206 For and 2 Against. This is a glimpse into how the House views MAGA Republicans such as Mr. Santos.

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The foreign lobbying by Pakistan and then India in Washington DC for access to the White House using lobbyist firms in the US. This enabled leaders from Pakistan to visit the White House in the US soon after conflict between Pakistan and India erupted over terrorist incident. Terrorist incidents happened in New Delhi and Islamabad in November 2025. The DJT administration may have gained support from Pakistan/Turkey for the Hamas settlement through this lobbying effort. The DJT administration inadvertently put itself in a position of being influenced by lobbying in this case for access to the White House. Following that event China's president Xi Jinping tightened restrictions on rare earths in trade negotiations with the US for a temporary agreement that gives access to the US market. This leaves the issue of illegal fentanyl flows from China and Mexico to the US, important to the US, and of restructuring world trade, also important to the US, major goals of this Republican administration in abeyance.   ...

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The difficult situation facing a six term Congressman from New York who is the new Minority Leader in the US House of Representatives. Mr Hakim Jeffries faces a difficult debt ceiling vote in the US Congress during his first year as Leader for the Democratic party in the House. All 213 Democrats have signed a special petition that would force a vote in the House if the debt ceiling negotiations fail. This is 5 votes short. The vote would then require 5 moderate House Republican members to support it for it to pass. The idea is that only if push comes to shove and no agreement is reached leading to financially disastrous results for Americans in which they would be blamed by their constituents for not acting, moderates from states like New York might join the Democrats.

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Senator Mitch McConnell, the U.S. Senate Majority leader, and Speaker Ryan, achieved a win in the U.S. Congress which is expected to set a new trend of bipartisan cooperation, as the House passed the bill in Dec. 2015 for $1.1 trillion spending with a vote of 316 to 113, and the Senate with vote of 65 to 33. The persuasion on the Republican side was based on giving Speaker Ryan a strong hand in negotiations with the White House in 2016. Ryan secured a lifting of the oil export ban for the Republican side in return for flexibility in spending. Ryan deftly sent the issue of Puerto Rico having access to bankruptcy laws to the committe chairmen to come up with a plan in March to get the needed votes. Democrats had pushed for aid to Puerto Rico. Also included in the bill that passed is giving more voice to emerging market countries China and India in the running of the IMF.

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The House of Representatives passed the Jan 1, 2013 fiscal deal that passed the Senate with only 5 Republicans opposed. Yet 151 Republican Congressmen in the House opposed the fiscal deal because of the lack of spending cuts even though the deal ensures Bush tax cuts are now law for 98% of Americans.

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Stephen Moore of the WSJ interviews Grover Norquist, head of the advocacy group Americans for Tax Reform. Republicans in Congress and other Republican leaders have signed on to the "no new taxes pledge" promoted by Norquist. There is increasing pressure on Norquist as the media, White House, and executives on Wall Street call for flexible positions from both sides on taxes and spending cuts. Norquist insists that not much has changed. He says that the increase in taxes on the rich is only symbolic and has to be followed up with increasing taxes on the middle class. He cites a Rasmussen poll that shows 75% of Americans believe this. Norquist is convinced that the Democrats with their spending plans are out to take the U.S. in the direction of European economies, the tax increase on the rich would be followed up with a energy tax or a value added tax to pay for unrestrained spending. His solution is for Republicans to pass a bill that extends the current tax rates past January after roughing it through the tax cliff date. Even the sequester option is better than increasing taxes says Norquist, letting the Defense Department make the cuts where appropriate. Norquist does not favor the option of reducing tax loopholes and deductions as a way to increase taxes as proposed by Simpson Bowles commission and Ryan-Romney in the election campaign. ...

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The Republican tax bill that passed the House and Senate in Dec. 2017 is likely to increase the deficit in the range of about $516 billion according to Tax Foundation or $ 1trillion according to the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, after boost to growth is included. This time in an effort to get a win Republicans cast aside doubts about the effects on the deficit to get it passed. During the Obama years tax legislation failed to get Republican support because of impact on deficits. The reluctance of president Obama to touch the deductions as proposed by the Simpson-Bowles Commission showed the politically cautious approach taken by Obama.  The new bill was examined by the NYT for its impact on various income groups. For people making over $50,000 over 80% get a cut in taxes, about 10% see no difference and the rest see increase in taxes. This goes up by a few percentage points to 84-85% in cuts for people making over 200,000 to $ 1 million, and drops to 80% for over $1 million incomes. About 20% see an increase in taxes for incomes over $1 million.  As evidence of how the tax bill impacts in greater detail this is not provided by the NYT, and shows that the impact of the bill is still not fully understood.     ...

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The narrowest of majorities in the House- just 1 vote for Republicans will require that every Congressman be present during a vote, and that not 1 Republican decides to do what he or she believes is the right thing to do. This will make it difficult to deliver on DJT's agenda says  this report in WSJ. 

On paper Republicans are 220 to 215 for Democrats. With resignation of Rep Gaetz  it comes to 2019 to 215. This means no more than 1 defection is possible for Republicans to pass legislation. Rep. Michael Waltz of Florida and Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York will become the National Security Adviser and US Representative at the United Nations, which means by February 2024 till new elections are held for these 2 seats the House will be 2017 to 2015. At that point a single defection would risk blocking legislation.

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US is shutting down 10% of airport traffic because of government shutdown in November 2025. Democrats are holding up the passing of the new budget till Obama's Affordable Care Act healthcare subsidies for low income Americans are restored. Republicans who control both houses of Congress are unwilling to restore these subsidies saying it will cost $350 billion over 10 years. Editorials in the Washington Post in November see Obama's Affordable Care Act as a bandaid approach for a broken healthcare system in the US. Public opinion in the US supports this assessment. Trade unions and labor have called for an end to the government shutdown. Democrats are acting as though the party is for low income Americans and labor yet this is not the party of FDR who fought hard for labor over vested interests, Democrats today are the vested interests whether from Tech which is taking a disproportionate share of the Nation's wealth and resources and pouring it into projects that do not reduce the cost of living or rebuild crumbling obsolete infrastructure, or from Banks which were not sanctioned for their part in the 2009 financial crisis, or from healthcare interests that oppose restructuring the entire healthcare system for fairness in insurance, pharmaceutical pricing and wellness. Republicans are making an effort to displace Democrats in the role of FDR and Lincoln under newcomer DJT who rejects both the incompetent Bush (Republican) and Obama (Democrat) administrations that wasted money and resources in foreign wars while overlooking America's many challenges and strengthening foreign powers including China, while weakening the US. The US government is cutting airport traffic to relieve unpaid traffic controllers. Also at risk are SNAP benefits which are for the loew income Americans. The US president is asking the Senate to drop the filibuster rule which requires 60 votes in the Senate for the biudget to pass it and pass it by majority vote. The Senate Majority Leader Republican Thune wants to keep the filibuster because it acts as a brake for hasty legislation passed by whichever party is in government. ...

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The U.S. House of Representatives votes along party lines to impeach president Trump. Americans are evenly split on this issue, a WSJ/NBC News poll shows 48% to 48%. The impeachment now goes to the Senate where Republicans have a majority and is likely to be defeated.