Washington (CNN) - Two months before Republicans will take over the House, the party's top man in the chamber signaled Thursday he had no intention of compromising his small-budget priorities in the coming weeks - even with the prospect of a federal government shutdown on the horizon.
"It's a shame that the Democratic majority didn't pass a budget, didn't pass any appropriation bills, and we're left with nothing but bad choices," said Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, unanimously chosen this week as Republican House leader for the incoming Congress - putting him in line to become the next speaker.
FULL STORY
Washington (CNN) - The Congressional Black Caucus has decided to withhold its approval for the House Democratic leadership team, denying Speaker Nancy Pelosi full support of the 42-member organization as she campaigns to remain leader.
After a nearly two hour long meeting on Monday night, chairwoman Barbara Lee of California said the group only will endorse caucus member James Clyburn of South Carolina for a leadership position. The caucus first wants to know what his role will be in the Democratic leadership before backing the full slate.
"We fully support our current Whip, Mr. Clyburn, for the number three position and we are currently reserving judgment on the entire package until we see what the actual portfolio entails, in terms of responsibilities," Lee said.
(CNN) - One Democratic representative says he will challenge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for minority leader in the next Congress if she does not step aside.
North Carolina Democratic Rep. Heath Shuler said the Democratic Party needs to be a "big tent," which will not be possible with Pelosi as head of the party.
FULL POST
(CNN) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has struck a deal that ends the leadership fight for the number two slot in the new House minority, multiple senior Democratic sources tell CNN.
Under the compromise, Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer, the current House majority leader will become the Democratic whip, which will be the number two spot in the new Democratic minority.
Washington (CNN) – Multiple senior Democratic sources say House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has stepped into the battle between Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland and Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, for the number two Democratic leadership post, and is personally trying to negotiate a compromise. The sources say her goal is to avoid forcing the caucus to cast what many fear could be divisive votes.
"The speaker and everyone else think it's good to settle this quickly." said one of the senior Democratic sources with knowledge of the private conversations.
FULL POST
(CNN) - Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, and Rep. James Clyburn, D-South Carolina, worked the phones all weekend, talking to Democratic lawmakers to try to gather support in their competition for the number two spot in the new House minority. Sources close to each insist to CNN their candidate will prevail.
“We will win,” said a senior Democratic source in the Hoyer camp, declining to speak on the record in order to talk about the internal process. “He [Hoyer] is racking up the votes. He knows how to do this because he has done this before,” said the source, referring to a bitter contest for House majority leader he ended up easily winning in 2006 against the late John Murtha.
FULL POST
(CNN) – Several House Democrats facing tough re-election contests are openly boasting about how little they agree with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Mississippi Congressman Travis Childers says in his latest campaign commercial, "The leaders of both parties in Washington are out of touch and I'm independent. I voted against Nancy Pelosi's agenda 267 times."
Pennsylvania Democrat Mark Critz insists he's more in line with House Republican Leader John Boehner than Pelosi.
(CNN) - House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer on Sunday expressed his confidence in congressional Democrats’ ability to maintain their majority in the House of Representatives, but conceded his party will “probably” lose seats.
“We’re going to hold the House,” Hoyer repeatedly told CNN’s Candy Crowley on "State of the Union."
“Our candidates are feeling good,” Hoyer added.
The two leading non-partisan political handicappers, Stuart Rothenberg and Charlie Cook, both predict massive Republican gains in the House this November. The Rothenberg Political Report upped its prediction on Tuesday to 37 to 42 additional seats for Republicans and said that gains of 45 to 55 seats are possible. The Cook Political Report predicts GOP gains of at least 40 seats. Republicans must gain 39 seats in the House to retake the majority.
Washington (CNN) - Democratic legislators in 40 Congressional districts are about to see TV ads thanking them for their support of the health care reform bill the president signed into law Tuesday, Democratic officials told CNN.
The $5 million ad campaign is being paid for by several pro-Obama groups, three officials said, and will target Democrats like Rep. Tom Perriello in Virginia and Rep. Bob Etheridge in North Carolina, who serve in tough swing districts and have been under heavy pressure from anti-reform groups from the business community and elsewhere.
The Democratic officials said the ads are part of an effort to provide the political cover that Obama and his top aides promised lawmakers in the final stages of the lobbying effort to get the legislation through the House.
Washington (CNN) – The House is expected to vote this week on the health care bill passed by the Senate in December.
The Senate bill is unpopular among some House Democrats because it doesn't include a public health care coverage option favored by liberals, while some moderate House Democrats object to what they say are provisions that would allow more federal funding for abortions.
Here's the latest on where the debate stands:
From CNN Politics
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
| Advertising practices | Advertise with us | About us | Work for us | Help
Recent Comments