Matt Gaetz admits to womanizing and partying an excessive amount of as he slams House’s transfer to launch ethics report: Live
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox
Get our free Inside Washington email
Get our free Inside Washington email
The results of an ethics investigation into now-former congressman Matt Gaetz will be made public after a secret vote to share the report in the final days of 2024.
Members of the House Ethics Committee voted again earlier this month, reversing a decision to withhold the findings of a long-running probe into allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use.
The report is expected to be made public as lawmakers prepare to leave Washington for the holidays, CNN reported. Gaetz, 42, responded on X, arguing his actions in his thirties were “not criminal” and he now leads a different life.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has claimed ex-Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney “could be in a lot of trouble” after a House GOP subcommittee called for her to be investigated by the Justice Department over her stewardship of the panel that examined the Capitol riot of January 6, 2021, accusing her of witness tampering by “colluding” with Cassidy Hutchinson on her testimony.
The president-elect posted the taunt on Truth Social, thanking Congressman Barry Loudermilk, who led the subcommittee and produced the interim report, for “a job well done”.
Cheney herself has already rubbished Loudermilk’s report as “a malicious and cowardly assault on the truth”.
Health experts eager for RFK Jr push for healthy food but fearful he’ll trigger disease explosion
As Kennedy is making his case to senators this week, researchers and public health officials told Politico the controversial pick also represents a chance to improve the poor diet of Americans and reduce their exposure to harmful toxins.
Rhian Lubin reports.
Democrats introduce bill to ban wagering on US elections
Democratic representatives Jamie Raskin and Andrea Salinas have introduced the Ban Gambling on Elections Act to prohibit betting on U.S. elections. The bill is the House companion to Senator Jeff Merkley’s legislation in the Senate.
The legislation would amend the Commodity Exchange Act—a law that regulates the trading of commodities and futures in the U.S.—to prohibit political election wagering of any kind.
“With distrust in our electoral system at an all-time high, we must crack down on gambling in all U.S. elections,” said Rep. Raskin. “Our democracy demands reliable and transparent processes to cast ballots and tally results, not a horserace clouded by gambling odds and bets placed. I am proud to go all-in with Congresswoman Salinas and Senator Merkley in calling on Congress to ante up and pass this commonsense legislation.”
Musk says lawmakers who vote for spending should be voted out
Elon Musk is very unhappy with the continuing resolution spending bill being considered by the House of Representatives, making it much harder for Republicans in Congress to support it.
He wrote on X this afternoon: “Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!”
Fox News demands Speaker Johnson defend spending bill to Elon Musk — but who answers to who?
House Speaker Mike Johnson found himself cornered live on Fox and Friends on Wednesday morning when he was confronted with Elon Musk’s declaration on X that his new congressional spending bill “should not pass.”
The Republican leader was invited onto the Fox News’ breakfast show to discuss the bipartisan deal struck on Tuesday evening for a stop-gap bill to fund the federal government through to March 14. It includes $100 billion for disaster relief and support for farmers among the many provisions outlined across its 1,547 pages.
Joe Sommerlad reports.
UK PM and Trump spoke today about global conflicts
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and President-elect Donald Trump spoke today about “shared priorities” including Ukraine and the Middle East.
A Downing Street spokesperson said:
“The Prime Minister spoke to President-elect Donald Trump this afternoon from Downing Street.
“The Prime Minister began by congratulating President-elect Trump on his recent team appointments and President-elect Trump warmly recounted his meeting with His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales in Paris earlier this month.
“Both agreed on their joint ambition to strengthen the close and historic relationship between the UK and the US. They looked forward to working together on shared priorities, including international security and delivering economic growth and prosperity.
“Turning to global conflicts, the Prime Minister reiterated the need for allies to stand together with Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression and to ensure Ukraine is in the strongest possible position.
“On the Middle East, the Prime Minister underscored the need to work together to ensure peace and security in the region.
“They agreed to keep in touch and looked forward to seeing one another at the earliest opportunity.”
Gaetz trolls Congress as ethics report looms
After his bizarre statement earlier today, Matt Gaetz is back on X trolling his former colleagues in Congress with a new plan.
The former Florida congressman wrote on X:
Someone suggested the following plan to me:
1. Show up 1/3/2025 to congress
2. Participate in Speaker election (I was elected to the 119th Congress, after all…)
3. Take the oath
4. File a privileged motion to expose every “me too” settlement paid using public funds (even of former members)
5. Resign and start my @OANN program at 9pm EST on January 6, 2025.
Defense bill passes Senate 85-14 and heads to Biden to sign
The Senate passed a defense bill Wednesday that authorizes significant pay raises for junior enlisted service members and boost overall military spending to $895 billion while stripping coverage of transgender medical treatments for children of military members.
The annual defense authorization bill usually gains strong bipartisan support and has not failed to pass Congress in nearly six decades, but the Pentagon policy measure in recent years has become a battleground for cultural issues. Republicans this year sought to tack on priorities for social conservatives to the legislation, contributing to a months-long negotiation over the bill and a falloff in support from Democrats.
Still, all but a handful of Senate Democrats — as well as nearly all Republicans — voted for the bill’s final passage, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden.
The bill “isn’t perfect, but it still includes some very good things that Democrats fought for,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in a floor speech. “It has strong provisions to stand up against the Chinese Communist Party here on a national security basis.”
In the House, a majority of Democrats voted against the bill last week after House Speaker Mike Johnson insisted on adding the provision to ban the military health system from providing transgender medical care for children. The legislation easily passed by a vote of 281-140.
Senate Republican leaders argued that its 1% increase for defense spending was not enough, especially at a time of global unrest and challenges to American dominance. Senate Republicans had argued for a generational boost to defense spending this year, but are planning another push for more defense funding once they control the White House and Congress next year.
The annual defense authorization bill directs key Pentagon policy, but it would still need to be backed up with an appropriations package.
House GOP whipping to get votes for funding bill as soon as tonight
Biden honors memory of his late first wife and baby daughter
President Joe Biden on Wednesday honored his first wife and baby daughter 52 years after they were killed in a car crash in Delaware that is a defining moment for the lifelong public servant.
Biden’s wife Neilia, 30, had taken their kids — 1-year-old daughter Naomi and sons Beau and Hunter — out Christmas tree shopping when the car she was driving was broadsided by a tractor-trailer. Neilia and Naomi were killed. Beau, 3 and Hunter, 2, were gravely injured.
Read on…
Source: independent.co.uk
