Santos should consider resigning, veteran GOP lawmaker says
Even as the House GOP leadership keeps silent, a veteran Republican lawmaker says George Santos should consider resigning after the congressman-elect from New York admitted to lying about his heritage, education and professional career.
Student loan forgiveness could help more than 40 million
More than 40 million Americans could see their student loan debt reduced โ and in many cases eliminated โ under President Joe Bidenโs long-awaited forgiveness plan.
Yellen's global tax plan meets resistance abroad and at home
Last July, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen celebrated it as a โhistoric dayโ when more than 100 nations agreed to a global minimum tax deal meant to reform and equalize the worldโs economy.
Leak of billionaires' tax data draws GOP outcry over privacy
Republicans in Congress are alarmed by the leak of confidential IRS data to ProPublica that has enabled the investigative news organization to reveal that famous billionaires including Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg paid little in U.S. income tax at times.
Fraud overwhelms pandemic-related unemployment programs
Fraud perpetrators, sometimes in China, Nigeria or Russia, buy stolen personal identifying information on the dark web and use it to flood state unemployment systems with bogus claims. In Ohio, weekly first-time unemployment claims have ranged from 17,000 to more than 40,000 during the pandemic. In July, officials said theyโd discovered a massive criminal enterprise that had stolen more than $500 million in unemployment benefits. Nearly 800,000 of the 1.4 million claims Ohio has received through this program have been tagged for potential fraud. President Joe Biden's administration is pledging to cut down on unemployment fraud even as it tries to extend benefits through September.
What we know about the $1,400 direct payments Democrats hope to send to Americans
WASHINGTON โ Democrats pushed half of President Joe Bidenโs $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan through a House committee Thursday, advancing $1,400 payments for millions of Americans and other initiatives that Republicans call too costly, economically damaging and brazenly partisan. Democratic leaders hope for House passage later this month, with Senate approval and a bill on Bidenโs desk by mid-March. And while Democrats fended the amendments off, their control of the House and Senate is razor thin. Republicansโ amendments spotlighted what they see as political soft spots they can exploit. And while the GOP amendments were beaten back, they forced Democrats to take positions that could tee up GOP campaign ads for the 2022 elections.
WATCH LIVE: White House COVID-19 Response Team holds press briefing
The plan faces opposition from Republicans who want to tie new school funding to reopening. The panel met Tuesday to craft its portion of a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package that tracks with Biden's plan for battling the pandemic and reviving a still staggering economy. Biden's plan for $130 billion in school funding is in addition to more than $8 billion from previous relief packages. Stop ruining their futures and stop playing games.โScott countered that schools can't make changes needed to reopen safely unless they get the funding in Biden's plan. AdRepublicans also signaled a fight over standardized testing, backing a proposed change to prevent relief funding from being used on academic assessments.
McConnell blocks Democratsโ request to hold vote on $2,000 stimulus checks
โThereโs one question left today: Do Senate Republicans join with the rest of America in supporting $2,000 checks?โ Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said as he made a motion to vote. The showdown over the $2,000 checks has thrown Congress into a chaotic year-end session just days before new lawmakers are set to be sworn into office for the new year. Saying little, McConnell signaled an alternative approach to Trump's checks that may not divide his party so badly, but may result in no action at all. For now, the $600 checks are set to be delivered, along with other aid, among the largest rescue packages of its kind. Biden supports the $2,000 checks and said Tuesday the aid package is merely a โdown paymentโ on what he plans to deliver once in office.
House approves Trumpโs $2K checks, sending to GOP-led Senate
While Democrats favored bigger checks, Congress had settled on smaller $600 payments in a compromise over the big year-end relief bill Trump reluctantly signed into law. The vote was a stunning turn of events from just days ago, when House Republicans blocked Trump's demands during a Christmas Eve session. After the robust House vote, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer warned, โThere is no good reason for Senate Republicans to stand in the way.โโThereโs strong support for these $2,000 emergency checks from every corner of the country," Schumer said in a statement. The bipartisan bill negotiated by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had already passed the House and Senate by wide margins. Most House Republicans simply shrugged off Trump's push, 130 of them voting to reject the higher checks that would pile $467 billion in additional costs.
President Trump ally Kevin McCarthy is reelected leader of House Republicans
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., talks about House Republicans and the election, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020. House Republicans are โthe most united and energizedโ he's ever seen after their โhistoric political upset." McCarthy and his team are now among the remaining leaders from the tea party era, when House Republicans last controlled Congress. In the Trump era, House Republicansโ role receded as the White House often dominated the discussion and Republicans held the majority in the Senate. The House Republicans had to seek a waiver from the District of Columbia, which has restrictions on large gatherings.
Trump ally McCarthy is reelected leader of House Republicans
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., talks about House Republicans and the election, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020. House Republicans are โthe most united and energizedโ he's ever seen after their โhistoric political upset." McCarthy and his team are now among the remaining leaders from the tea party era, when House Republicans last controlled Congress. In the Trump era, House Republicansโ role receded as the White House often dominated the discussion and Republicans held the majority in the Senate. The House Republicans had to seek a waiver from the District of Columbia, which has restrictions on large gatherings.
Audit likely gave congressional staff glimpse of Trump taxes
When JCT staffers disagree with the IRS on a decision, the review is typically kept open until the matter is resolved. Even acknowledging that Trump's taxes were before the panel is verboten. Representatives for the Trump Organization did not respond to messages seeking comment and confirmation that the Joint Tax Committee had reviewed Trump's taxes. Former JCT staffers would not comment on whether they remembered the dispute with Trump, citing confidentiality rules. Neal, the lead force behind a Democratic lawsuit to expose Trumpโs taxes, said the Timesโ reporting is proof that the documents should be given to Congress.