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Politico
6 days ago
- Politics
- Politico
House GOP launches new select subcommittee on the Jan. 6 attack
House Republicans are launching their own select subcommittee around the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, part of the broader effort among the GOP to rewrite what happened when rioters stormed the building that day in 2021. The effort, which will be led by Rep. Barry Loudermilk, has been stalled for months over disagreement around its jurisdiction. But after the White House intervened, Loudermilk was granted power as its chair to issue subpoenas to compel testimony or information, he said. Although the focus of the probe was not immediately clear, the Georgia Republican told reporters Wednesday that the panel would review security and intelligence failures and request materials that weren't disclosed by the Democratic-led Jan. 6 committee from the 117th Congress. Judiciary Committee staff already started some of the work, he added. Loudermilk introduced the resolution establishing the committee on Wednesday, just as lawmakers were leaving for their August recess. The House will vote on it when they return to Washington. 'House Republicans are proud of our work so far in exposing the false narratives peddled by the politically motivated January 6 Select Committee during the 117th Congress, but there is clearly more work to be done,' said House Speaker Mike Johnson in a statement. 'The resolution introduced today will establish this Select Subcommittee so we can continue our efforts to uncover the full truth that is owed to the American people. Republicans have long argued that Democratic-led efforts to investigate the failures around Jan. 6 and the GOP campaign to subvert the results of the 2020 election were an unfair attack on Trump. In anticipation of potential retaliation from Trump or his allies, President Joe Biden issued pardons in the final hours of his presidency for lawmakers on the House panel that led the probe. Earlier this year, the Trump administration already launched broad efforts to undo work by the Biden administration in the wake of the Capitol attack. Trump quickly issued broad pardons for those involved, and his Justice Department dismissed prosecutors involved in the investigations. Loudermilk emphasized that the investigative panel has been a priority for Trump, and the two began speaking about it before he was inaugurated in his second term. Although negotiations with GOP leadership have been in the works since last October, talks around the panel picked up again in earnest last month, Loudermilk said. He told reporters that at a meeting with Trump in June, the president pressed Loudermilk about the reason for the delay and said he had expected the panel to be established earlier this year. Loudermilk said he expected the breakdown of the panel to be 5 Republicans and 3 Democrats. House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) will be ex officio members, and although assignments have not been finalized, Loudermilk said Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) would serve on the subcommittee. Raskin also sat on the previous Jan. 6 committee panel.
The Hill
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
House GOP moves to establish long-delayed Jan. 6 committee
House Republicans are moving to create a long-delayed select subcommittee to investigate the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack — more than six months after it was initially announced. A resolution to create the subcommittee was filed on Wednesday, GOP leaders tell The Hill, after months of it being put on the backburner and lawmakers hashing out disputes over how much the panel would be authorized to investigate. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), who is leading the effort, got direct support from President Trump in pushing to finally create the committee, The Hill has learned. It will still be weeks before the committee is established. With the House heading out of town over the August recess, a vote on the resolution to create the select committee is not expected until the chamber returns in September. As a select subcommittee, all the members will be subject to the approval of the Speaker. The select subcommittee will be tucked under the House Judiciary Committee and chaired by Loudermilk, who led probes into Jan. 6 matters in the last Congress under the banner of the House Administration Committee's subcommittee on oversight. Loudermilk's previous investigations included the Capitol security posture, as well as the activities of the Democratic-led Jan. 6 committee established after Trump supporters stormed the building in support of his fraud claims. 'House Republicans are proud of our work so far in exposing the false narratives peddled by the politically motivated January 6 Select Committee during the 117th Congress, but there is clearly more work to be done,' Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said in a statement first shared with The Hill. 'The resolution introduced today will establish this Select Subcommittee so we can continue our efforts to uncover the full truth that is owed to the American people. House Republicans remain intent on delivering the answers that House Democrats skipped over.' Loudermilk had secured a commitment to lead a select subcommittee to further investigate Jan. 6 issues in this Congress, and Johnson announced the panel in January. But months went by and no committee was established, frustrating Loudermilk. Matters from a government shutdown deadline to the crafting of Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill' took precedence. There were also disputes about what the legislative jurisdiction of the panel would be, with Loudermilk wanting to carry on all the lines of inquiry from his previous probes and being dismayed by the Speaker's office originally pitching a plan that would limit the jurisdiction to that of the House Judiciary Committee. Those jurisdictional issues were resolved, a source told The Hill. The panel has the Judiciary Committee's broad scope over law enforcement and more when investigating matters related to Jan. 6 — as well as a commitment from chairmen from other areas of jurisdiction and the White House to green-light probes into any other lines of inquiry. That could include more investigation into the original Democratic-controlled Jan. 6 panel. Loudermilk will also have full subpoena power. The panel will have eight members, three of whom will be members appointed by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) subject to the Speaker's approval. It is instructed to release a final report by Dec. 31, 2026. Loudermilk said in a statement that while his previous probes 'uncovered that what happened at the Capitol that day was the result of a series of intelligence, security, and leadership failures at multiple levels within numerous entities,' there is 'still much work to be done.' 'It is vital that we continue to uncover the facts and begin the task of making needed reforms to ensure this level of security failure may never happen again,' Loudermilk said. House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) took a swipe at the previous Democratic-led Jan. 6 committee while commending Loudermilk. 'The partisan January 6 Committee failed to uncover crucial pieces of information for the American people, and Rep. Loudermilk has been the leader in getting to the bottom of the Democrat-run Committee's failures. Rep. Loudermilk will continue to work tirelessly to get everyone the truth,' Jordan said in a statement. The Democrats' previous Jan. 6 panel drew Trump's ire — and its members, which included now-Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), received a preemptive pardon from former President Biden on his last day in office amid threats of prosecution. Loudermilk and Jordan both have some personal beef with the original Jan. 6 committee. Jordan refused to comply with a subpoena it issued him, arguing it was not a legitimate inquiry. And the panel asked the Georgia lawmaker to appear voluntarily to explain a tour he gave in the Capitol complex on Jan. 5, 2021 — a request he said was meant to push a 'false narrative.' Loudermilk's previous panel released an 'interim report' in December 2024 that recommended a criminal investigation into Cheney, accusing her of witness tampering by being in touch with star hearing witness Cassidy Hutchinson.
Epoch Times
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
2 Dozen AGs Urge Congress to Adopt Constitutional Concealed Carry Bill
Two dozen Republican attorneys general called on Congress in a letter to pass a House bill that would allow people with concealed carry permits to carry firearms in all states that allow the practice. 'Concealed carry is a constitutional right, and it can have substantial public safety benefits by allowing people the means to respond to emergent threats to themselves or others when police are not immediately available to intervene,' wrote 24 state attorneys general in a May 21 'Our constituents are threatened with arrest, prosecution, and mandatory prison time for technical violations of licensing or possession laws involving conduct that is perfectly legal in all but a handful of states, most of which have well-established history and practice of suppressing the right to keep and bear arms,' they added, describing the situation as unacceptable. Earlier this year, HR 38, or the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, was In urging the bill's passage, the state officials said that 'criminals ... do not wait for permission to carry guns,' meaning that HR 38 would not be for them. 'It is for honest and law-abiding citizens who deserve to have the means to protect themselves, should they have the misfortune of needing to use a firearm in self-defense or the defense of their loved ones,' they wrote. Johnson, who was a co-sponsor of the bill when it was introduced in the 117th Congress, has not made any public comments on the measure. The Epoch Times has contacted his office for comment. Related Stories 5/16/2025 5/14/2025 Groups such as Everytown for Gun Safety have been critical of Republican-backed congressional measures that would expand concealed carry reciprocity in states. In a March article that appeared to oppose HR 38, Everytown But by adopting such a measure, the group argued, it 'would jeopardize public safety and tourism' in places such as New York City as well as 'in cities and towns across the country by undermining the permitting systems that keep people safe and that reflect the will of local voters.' The letter comes about a month after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up a case that had challenged gun laws in New York that ban firearms from certain locations and require that handgun owners be of 'good moral character.' The high court did not give an explanation on why it chose not to hear the case. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, applauded the high court's decision at the time not to hear a challenge to the law on Monday, saying that 'New York's strong gun safety laws save lives.' In June 2022, the Supreme Court ruled in a separate case involving New York that people have a right to carry a firearm for self-defense outside the home and that a state law that required a person show 'proper cause' or a 'special need' to obtain a license to carry a pistol was unlawful. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
How many states have joined Florida to make daylight saving time permanent? See the list
Faster than you can say spring forward, it'll be time to change our clocks. Again. Florida is one of more than dozen states that have been trying for years to stop the annual time changes and stay on daylight saving time permanently. A few states prefer staying on standard time permanently, a switch more easily made since it doesn't require congressional approval and a signature from the president. Here's what to know. Daylight saving time in the U.S. begins on the second Sunday in March, when clocks are moved forward one hour. We switch back to standard time the first Sunday in November. Daylight saving time will start at 2 a.m. March 9, 2025. Countdown Timer Daylight saving time will end 2 a.m. Nov. 2, 2025, when we turn our clocks back one hour and return to standard time. In 2018, Florida became the first state to pass legislation — the Sunshine Protection Act — to remain on daylight saving time permanently. No more changing clocks forward or back. While the Sunshine Act was approved by then-Gov. Rick Scott, it has repeatedly failed to get congressional approval to be implemented. The U.S. Senate passed it in 117th Congress, but the House of Representatives did not and it has never been signed into law by any president. Almost every state, since 2015, has considered multiple time zone bills, but none of significance passed until 2018, when Florida became the first state to enact legislation to permanently observe DST, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Over the next six years, "20 states have enacted legislation or passed resolutions to provide for year-round daylight saving time, if Congress were to allow such a change, and in some cases, if surrounding states enact the same legislation." States wanting to make daylight saving time permanent are: Alabama Colorado Delaware Florida Georgia Idaho Oklahoma Kentucky Louisiana Maine Minnesota Mississippi Montana Ohio Oregon South Carolina Tennessee Utah Washington Wyoming "Ditch Daylight Saving Time. Permanent Standard Time lets us sleep later for health, mood, safety, education, economy, environment," said Save Standard Time on X, formerly known as Twitter. Arkansas has introduced a bill to make the state remain permanently on standard time, according to 4029 News. A Massachusetts bill also calls for permanent standard time, but only if two or more neighboring states also make the change, according to 22News. Before he took office Jan. 20, Trump posted on Truth Social: "The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn't!" Trump wrote on his social media site, Truth Social. "Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation." Trump has not passed any executive legislation to permanently end daylight saving time. USA TODAY has reached out to the White House for comment. Now a U.S. senator, Scott introduced bipartisan in January of this year — Sunshine Protection Act — to officially 'lock the clock' and end the twice-yearly time change and make daylight saving time the national year-round standard. "I hear from Americans constantly that they are sick and tired of changing their clocks twice a year — it's an unnecessary, decades-old practice that's more of an annoyance to families than benefit to them. ➤ 'Stupid practice!' Sen. Marco Rubio renews push to stop changing time twice a year "I'm excited to have President Trump back in the White House and fully on board to LOCK THE CLOCK so we can get this good bill passed and make this common-sense change that will simplify and benefit the lives of American families.' Federal law allows a state to exempt itself from observing daylight saving time, upon action by the state legislature, but does not allow the permanent observance of daylight saving time. Simply put, states can choose to stay on standard time all year. But if they want to stay on daylight saving time all year, that requires congressional approval and the signature of the president. Daylight saving time would mean later sunrises and sunsets, which means more time for outdoor activities in the evenings. Standard time would mean earlier sunrises and sunsets, which some argue increases safety in the mornings for school children and is more in line with biological circadian rhythms. Should we end the practice of changing our clocks twice a year? If so, which should be permanent, daylight saving time or standard time? Let us know your preference. Two states, Arizona — with the exception of the Navajo Nation — and Hawaii do not recognize daylight saving time. They remain on standard time all year. Also remaining on standard time permanently are the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Daylight savings permanent? States not wanting Standard time change
