South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham walks through the Capitol’s Senate subway on Wednesday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
The Fourth of July recess is finally here.
Enjoy the long weekend, and if you’re looking for things to do, check out our roundup of eight different ways to spend the Fourth of July in the DMV. Also check out our calendar for Tuesday in D.C. and logistics you should know.
Reps. Adam B. Schiff, left, and Rep. K. Michael Conaway, center, hold a House Intelligence Committee hearing in May as part of the panel’s ongoing investigation into Russian election meddling. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
Top lawmakers overseeing the House Intelligence Committee’s Russia investigation are threatening to subpoena the White House if the administration does not fully comply with the panel’s request to hand over tapes or memos that might exist of conversations between President Donald Trump and former FBI Director James B. Comey.
The White House sent a letter last week to Intelligence ranking Democrat Adam B. Schiff and Republican Rep. K. Michael Conaway, who is leading the probe, that said a series of tweets by Trump indicating he had “no idea” if there were tapes of Comey was the official White House statement on the matter.
House Budget Chairwoman Diane Black, R-Tenn., continues to look for agreement amid GOP factions on the spending blueprint. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
The House Budget Committee is unlikely to unveil a fiscal 2018 budget resolution until after the Independence Day recess as Chairwoman Diane Black continues to struggle to marry competing interests on using the reconciliation process to cut mandatory spending.
Conservatives are pushing for several hundred billion dollars in mandatory savings cuts through reconciliation, with House Freedom Caucus members saying the Budget Committee’s latest offer of $200 billion in cuts over 10 years is not enough to win their support. Meanwhile, committee chairmen are pushing back on a continually increasing target, saying they need to preserve some of those savings for other legislative negotiations.
Pennsylvania Rep. Charlie Dent says Republicans should not waste time arguing over topline levels for nondefense discretionary spending since those will likely be raised in the Senate. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)
House Republican squabbling over a defense spending increase and mandatory spending cuts continues to put in danger a fiscal 2018 budget resolution, and subsequently, plans to overhaul the tax code.
After a Friday conference meeting to discuss the budget and appropriations process, their second “family conversation” of the week on the topic, the House GOP appeared no closer to consensus on a budget resolution that could get the 218 needed votes on the floor.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, is wondering if President Donald Trump’s tweets constitute an official response. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee wants to clarify with White House counsel whether President Donald Trump’s tweets about not having tapes of conversations with former FBI Director James B. Comey constitutes an official statement from the White House.
Rep. Adam Schiff, the ranking member of the committee, said Thursday he believes a request that the panel receive any evidence of tapes by Friday prompted Trump to respond the day before in an effort to avoid the administration from being subpoenaed.
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan says Republicans are still discussing options for the budget and appropriations process, even as conservatives are pushing for steep cuts to mandatory spending. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Fiscal restraint has long been part of the Republican Party’s brand, but GOP lawmakers have made little progress on reducing the amount of money the federal government spends. And frankly, they’re sick of it.
That’s the impetus for what has become a serious push by rank-and-file House Republicans to use the budget reconciliation process to enact mandatory spending cuts.
Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., takes a swing during the annual Congressional Baseball Game at Nationals Park in Washington on Thursday. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
BY BILL CLARK and TOM WILLIAMS
The Democrats outscored the Republicans to win Roll Call's 56th annual Congressional Baseball Game on Thursday by a score of 11-2. The game at Nationals Park went on in Washington, despite a shooting attack on the Republicans' practice the day before in Virginia that left the third-ranking GOP House member, Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, in critical condition. Four others were also injured.
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein wore a seersucker suit Thursday in honor of National Seersucker Day in the Senate. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
Things on Capitol Hill should have settled down today, a day after former FBI Director James B. Comey’s testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Members of Congress and senators have skipped town and headed home.
Former FBI Director Robert Mueller was appointed special counsel by the Justice Department on Wednesday to investigate alleged Russian interference in last year’s election. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)
By JOE WILLIAMS, LINDSEY McPHERSON and REMA RAHMAN
Even as House and Senate Republicans turned up the heat on the Trump White House for answers about the firing of FBI Director James B. Comey, Democrats got a big win when the Justice Department appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election, including any connections to the Trump presidential campaign.
House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes is stepping aside from leading the Russia investigation. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)
House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes announced Thursday that he is temporarily stepping aside from the panel’s probe into Russian interference in last fall’s election and ties between President Donald Trump’s campaign team and Russian officials. The House Ethics Committee is investigating Nunes’ conduct.
The California Republican, a Trump supporter, has faced Democratic calls to relinquish his chairmanship over criticism that he could not lead an impartial investigation. His announcement said he would remain as chairman, but would allow GOP Reps. K. Michael Conaway of Texas, Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, and Tom Rooney of Florida to temporarily take control of the investigation.
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