Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is temporarily stepping down from her leadership of a House Judiciary subcommittee. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is temporarily stepping down from her leadership of a House Judiciary subcommittee, following a lawsuit claiming she fired a staffer who said she was raped by a superior at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.
Jackson Lee, a Texas Democrat, was chairwoman of the Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations subcommittee, where she has focused on protecting special counsel Robert S. Mueller III and gun violence prevention.
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, participates in a press conference with House Judiciary Committee Democrats on Thursday, April 12, 2018. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)
A former staffer for Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee claims in a new lawsuit that the Texas Democrat fired her after she planned to pursue legal action over an alleged rape by a former Congressional Black Caucus Foundation employee.
According to the court filings, the staffer alleges that Damien Jones, a former intern coordinator for the CBCF, raped her at his D.C.-area home in October 2015. The staffer, identified as Jane Doe in the lawsuit, was a 19-year-old intern for the CBCF when the alleged assault happened.
Liuba Grechen Shirley, shown here with her children Mila, left, and Nicky, persuaded the Federal Election Commission to allow her to use campaign funds from her House campaign to pay for child care expenses. (Courtesy Liuba Grechen Shirley)
Liuba Grechen Shirley attracted national attention when she persuaded federal election officials to allow her to use money she raised for her 2018 congressional campaign to pay for babysitting expenses.
She still lost her 2018 House campaign. So did the six other women with children under 2 who ran for Congress last year, she said, in spite of what has been universally recognized as a watershed moment for women in politics.
Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., is seen in the Capitol's House chamber before members were sworn in on the first day of the 116th Congress on Jan. 3. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
The holiday season ended, the partial government shutdown continued and new members were sworn into the 116th Congress this week.
Here's the entire week of Dec. 31 in photos:
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., swears in members in the House chamber on the first day of the 116th Congress on Jan. 3, 2019. Later that afternoon the House adopted its rules package for new Congress. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
The House on Thursday adopted the bulk of a rules package for the 116th Congress that featured dozens of changes designed to restore more committee and bipartisan involvement in the legislative process, increase transparency and clamp down on ethics violations.
The measure, adopted 234 to 197, was crafted by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Rules Chairman Jim McGovern, D-Mass., with input from members across all factions of the House Democratic majority.
Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Wash., is the new chair of the New Democrat Coalition. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)
The New Democrat Coalition on Friday elected Washington Rep. Derek Kilmer to chair the centrist, pro-business caucus in the 116th Congress.
Kilmer, who has served as a vice chair of the coalition, will succeed Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., will serve in elected Democratic leadership in the 116th Congress representing the members in the five most junior congressional classes. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)
Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin was elected Thursday to serve as the Democratic Caucus’s representative for members who’ve served five or fewer terms.
The low-rung leadership position was created in 2016 to give more junior members a seat at the leadership table. Only members who are in those five most junior classes can vote in the election for the position.
The Fderal Election Commission ruled Thursday that child care expenses incurred because of the demands of running for office could be paid out of campaign funds. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)
The Federal Election Commission ruled Thursday that a candidate can use campaign funds to pay for child care.
The FEC ruled in favor of Liuba Grechen Shirley, who is running in New York’s 2nd District and requested an advisory opinion last month on her request to use her campaign funds to pay for child care for her young children while she was involved in campaign activities.
South Korean President Moon Jae-In and U.S. President Donald Trump walk toward a guard of honor during a welcoming ceremony at the presidential Blue House in Seoul in November. (hung Sung-Jun/Getty Images file photo)
South Korea would limit its steel exports to the United States and open its markets to more American-made cars and trucks under a preliminary agreement to revise the 2012 bilateral trade deal between the countries, the White House said Tuesday.
Under the pact, which still needs to be finalized, South Korea would allow U.S. automakers to double their vehicle exports to 50,000 a year, while Seoul would win a permanent exemption from the 25 percent tariffs on steel imports President Donald Trump announced March 8. It's unclear when the final agreement could be reached.
Matt Reel is running for Congress. But he’s also on active duty. (Screen Shot/Matt Reel for Congress/YouTube)
Matt Reel is running for Congress. But he can’t campaign until June — two months before Tennessee’s August primary.
Even if his staff knew where he is — which they don’t — and even if he had time while overseas, Reel can’t legally communicate with them about campaign strategy for his 7th District race while he’s on active duty.
Save for later