U.S. House of Representatives - The African Mirror

Dec

2023

Indicted Republican lawmaker George Santos expelled from US House

INDICTED Republican George Santos' brief career in the U.S. House of Representatives came to an end, when fellow lawmakers voted to expel him over criminal corruption charges and accusations of misspending campaign money. The House voted 311-114 to immediately remove the controversial freshman lawmaker, above the two-thirds majority required to oust one of its own. Besieged by revelations of lies about his past, a federal criminal indictment and a congressional ethics probe, Santos, 35, became only the sixth member to be expelled from the House. The New York congressman was the first to be kicked out without having fought for the Confederacy…

Nov

2023

By PATRICIA ZENGERLE and MAKINI BRICE

US House passes Republicans’ Israel-only aid bill, faces dead end in Senate

WORLD

THE U.S. House of Representatives passed a Republican plan to provide $14.3 billion in aid to Israel and cut funding of the Internal Revenue Service, despite Democrats' insistence it has no future in the Senate and the White House's promise of a veto. The measure passed 226 to 196, largely along party lines, a shift from typical strongly bipartisan congressional support for providing aid to Israel. Twelve Democrats voted with 214 Republicans for the bill, and two Republicans joined 194 Democrats in objecting. The bill's introduction, as lawmakers rushed to respond to the attack on Israel by Iran-backed Hamas militants,…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

McCarthy’s dream job could become a nightmare

WORLD

DAVID MORGAN KEVIN McCarthy woke up on Saturday morning with a long-held dream fulfilled: After a four-day standoff, he was elected speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, becoming the most powerful member of the Republican Party. But that role could turn into a nightmare because it requires leading a caucus that strongly rejects leadership. Conservatives have regularly excoriated top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell for agreeing to compromises of any kind with Democrats and earlier this week rejected former President Donald Trump's call to quickly fall in line behind McCarthy. The 57-year-old Californian showed tenacity in pushing through 15 rounds of voting and dismantling…

Nov

2022

By The African Mirror

U.S. Senate up for grabs as Republicans move toward House majority

WORLD

JOSEPH AX REPUBLICANS edged closer to securing a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives while control of the Senate hinged on a few tight races, two days after Democrats staved off an anticipated "red wave" of Republican gains in midterm elections. Republicans have captured at least 210 House seats, Edison Research projected, eight short of the 218 needed to wrest the House away from Democrats and effectively halt President Joe Biden's legislative agenda. While Republicans remain favoured, there were 33 House contests yet to be decided - including 21 of the 53 most competitive races, based on a Reuters analysis of the leading nonpartisan…

Aug

2021

By The African Mirror

U.S. COVID-19 eviction ban expires, leaving renters at risk

WORLD

DAVID SHEPARDSON A pandemic-related U.S. government ban on residential evictions has expired, putting millions of American renters at risk of being forced from their homes. The expiration was a blow to President Joe Biden, who on Thursday made a last-ditch request to Congress to extend the moratorium, citing the raging Delta variant. On Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives adjourned without reviewing the tenant protections after a Republican congressman blocked a bid to extend it by unanimous consent until Oct. 18. Democratic leaders said they lacked sufficient support to put the proposal to a formal vote. The U.S. Senate held…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

Democrats urge Biden to revert to Obama-era Cuba detente

WORLD

SARAH MARSH EIGHTY U.S. House of Representatives Democrats urged President Joe Biden on Tuesday to repeal Donald Trump's "cruel" sanctions on Cuba and renew engagement, an early sign of support in Congress for easing the clamp-down on the Communist-run country. In a letter to Biden seen by Reuters they urged the Democratic president to sign an executive order "without delay" to end restrictions on travel and remittances, noting that well over half of Cubans depend on the latter. "With the stroke of a pen, you can assist struggling Cuban families and promote a more constructive approach," they said. The letter…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

Trump’s impeachment charge to be delivered on Monday

WORLD

THE Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives will deliver an impeachment charge against former President Donald Trump to the Senate on Monday, rejecting Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's request for a delay. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who displaced McConnell as the chamber's leader after Democrats won two Georgia runoff elections this month, announced the move on the Senate floor but did not say when Trump's second impeachment trial would begin. "The House will deliver the article of impeachment to the Senate. The Senate will conduct a trial of the impeachment of Donald Trump. It will be a full trial.…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

Crucial 24 hours for Trump as impeachment looms

WORLD

SUSAN CORNWELL and RICHARD COWAN THE U.S. House of Representatives expects to begin considering a second impeachment of Donald Trump tomorrow, a top Democrat has said after the president was formally accused of inciting insurrection ahead of last week's storming of the Capitol. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told his fellow Democrats the chamber would start the impeachment proceedings on Wednesday if Vice President Mike Pence does not respond to a request to invoke the 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to remove Trump from office, a House aide said. Passage would make Trump, a Republican, the only U.S. president…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

U.S. civil rights pioneer, congressman John Lewis dies

WORLD

PATRICIA ZENGERLE JOHN Lewis, a pioneer of the civil rights movement and long-time member of the U.S. House of Representatives, has died. Lewis, a member of Congress from Atlanta who had announced in December that he had advanced pancreatic cancer, was 80. "He loved this country so much that he risked his life and his blood so that it might live up to its promise," former President Barack Obama said in a statement. "And through the decades, he not only gave all of himself to the cause of freedom and justice but inspired generations that followed to try to live…