That’s Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul’s idea (see story here). Won’t happen, folks. Why would Musk want the job? He has companies to run. And he doesn’t have the patience for it; he’s used to giving orders, and that’s not what a speaker does; as this article says, &#[...]
Posts Tagged ‘Congress’
Can Musk be president and speaker at the same time?
The U.S. is heading toward one-man rule, but not by who you assume. It’s becoming clear the White House will be a “Weekend at Bernie’s” affair, whereby staffers prop up a physically and mentally defunct Trump, but Elon Musk wields power behind on the throne. Musk isn’t [...]
December 5th, 2024 - 6:20 pm § in Biden, Democrats, Donald Trump, Law and Courts, Politics, Republicans
Biden should pardon Trump’s “enemies”
A few days ago I argued (here) for pardoning Trump “because it would take the wind out of any efforts by him to seek retribution.” “How would it look,” I asked, “if he’s forgiven, but won’t forgive?” But let’s say Biden doesn’t pardon Trump, or doe[...]
Why Trump’s big plans could hit a brick wall in Congress
New presidents like to get off to a fast start; journalists speak of “the first hundred days.” President-elect Trump has big plans: For taxes, restructuring government, finishing his border wall, and rounding up immigrants, among other things. And, it increasingly appears, taking another[...]
Will there be surprises in Senate races?
As of October 2024, Democrats have a 51-49 edge in the U.S. Senate, counting the 4 nominally “independent” senators who caucus with them. They are Joe Manchin (WV), Kyrsten Sinema (AZ), Bernie Sanders (VT), and Angus King (ME), of whom Sanders and King are reliable Democratic votes, and [...]
September 23rd, 2024 - 1:05 pm § in Donald Trump, Politics
How two assault rifles cost taxpayers $231 million
The just-agreed-upon stopgap funding bill includes a $231 million budget increase for the Secret Service. That agency justifiably needs more personnel, and has been pressing Congress for more funding, but the impetus for getting Republicans to go along is the two assassination attempts against Trump[...]
Stupid ideas department
That could be a running feature of any blog featuring politics, but I’ll start with this. There was a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing last week that degenerated into a circus. Chair Rep. James Comer (R-KY), the ringmaster, apparently expects committee members to be somethi[...]
Don’t give GOP speaker holdouts what they want
What they want is to dismantle the federal government. In the 2023 Congress, the GOP has 222 House seats, and needs 218 to elect a speaker. Because of intraparty divisions, it isn’t enough. At this writing (Wednesday, January 4, 2023), five roll calls have fallen short of producing a majority [...]
December 31st, 2022 - 5:44 pm § in Politics
What do Congress employees earn?
Being a congressional aide can be grueling, with long hours and possibly frequent travel required. And it doesn’t pay all that well. Some are employed by the House or Senate, others by committees, and many by individual members. Duties vary by position, and range from managing a member’s[...]
How 3 Republicans could elect a Speaker
Assuming a 220-215 GOP House majority, as NBC News has projected, it would take only 3 GOP votes to elect Justin Amash as speaker if Democrats cooperated. And on Friday, November 18, 2022, Democratic Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado endorsed Amash, which could bring along other Democrats (read story her[...]