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Gov. Ron DeSantis Rips Debt Ceiling Deal…

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(FreedomWire.org) – After President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) announced that a deal had been reached to increase the debt limit and avoid a default, a number of conservative leaders have raised alarms that the negotiated agreement does not go far enough to address Democrats’ out-of-control spending. Among them is Florida Governor and 2024 GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis.

DeSantis ripped House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Monday over the debt ceiling deal, calling it “totally inadequate” when it came to addressing spending.

“Prior to this deal, Kayleigh, our country was careening toward bankruptcy and after this deal, our country will still be careening toward bankruptcy,” DeSantis said to “Fox and Friends” guest host Kayleigh McEnany.

“To say you can do $4 trillion of increases in the next year and a half, I mean, that is massive amount of spending,” DeSantis continued. “I think that we’ve gotten ourselves on a trajectory, really since March of 2020 with some of the COVID spending and totally reset the budget and they are sticking with that and I think that is totally inadequate to get us in a better spot.”

“In Florida, we run big budget surpluses,” DeSantis said of his own governance. “We have a $1.2 trillion economy but our debt is only $17 billion — second lowest per capita in the country,” he noted.

“We make tough choices,” DeSantis said of Florida’s budget decisions, “and we make sure that we look forward to the long haul.”

Contrasting Florida with D.C., DeSantis pointed out that Congress does “these cycles to just get them through the next election, and that’s ultimately one of the reasons why they continue to fail.”

McCarthy released the text of the Fiscal Responsibility Act on Sunday evening, which increases the debt ceiling through Jan. 1, 2025, taking it past the 2024 presidential election. The House is expected to vote on the legislation on Wednesday, following a 72-hour period for members to read the bill, a provision of the rules changes proposed by the Freedom Caucus and agreed to by McCarthy prior to his election as speaker.

The law freezes discretionary spending on non-defense budgetary items at Fiscal Year 2022 levels, adds reforms to permitting for energy projects and places new work requirements on some welfare programs. Many of those provisions were in the Limit, Save, Grow Act, which passed the House of Representatives by a 217-215 vote on April 26.

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Republican Leaders And White House Reach Debt Ceiling Agreement…

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(FreedomWire.org) – The White House and House Republicans have reached an agreement in principle, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced on Saturday evening.

“We still have a lot of work to do. But I believe this is an agreement in principle that’s worthy of American people, ” McCarthy told reporters on Capitol Hill.

“That’s historic reductions in spending, consequential reforms that will lift people out of poverty into the workforce, reignin government overreach. There are no new taxes, no new government programs. There’s a lot more within the bill. We still have more work to do tonight to finish all the writing of it,” he said.

McCarthy said that he will not take media questions “out of respect.”

“I want to brief our members about where we currently are.” he said.

McCarthy refused to offer details on the deal, although some media reports citing anonymous sources claimed that both parties agreed to raise the nation’s debt limit for two years and place spending caps over that time, as well as increase work requirements for food aid.

The final text of the bill, according to the House Speaker, will be ready on Sunday, and voting will take place the following Wednesday.

“I expect to finish the writing of the bill, checking with the White House and speaking to the president again tomorrow afternoon and then posting the text of it tomorrow and then be voted on it on Wednesday.”

Before the announcement, McCarthy announced the deal on Twitter.

“I just got off the phone with the president a bit ago. After he wasted time and refused to negotiate for months, we’ve come to an agreement in principle that is worthy of the American people. I’ll deliver a statement at 9:10pm ET,” McCarthy wrote on Twitter.

The White House earlier confirmed the phone call between President Joe Biden and the speaker, as well as phone calls with Democratic leaders.

“This evening the President spoke with Speaker McCarthy. He spoke with Leaders Schumer and Jeffries earlier today,” the White House stated.

The agreement comes as the Treasury’s cash balance was shrinking at an alarming level, falling below $50 billion on May 24, down from $316.381 billion at the start of the month.

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McCarthy Sets Democrats Straight On Their Fake Narrative …

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(FreedomWire.org) – McCarthy’s office is fighting against reports on several social media websites that Republicans are demanding that President Biden agree to work requirements on social services programs in an agreement that would raise the debt ceiling.

A headline from Raw Story declared, “McCarthy demands work requirements on ‘all the programs’ including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and SNAP.”

Interestingly, the Raw Story article was tweeted by a former Obama campaign official, Jon Cooper.

“Kevin McCarthy is demanding that WORK REQUIREMENTS be added to receive not only Medicaid but also Medicare and Social Security. He doesn’t think Americans have earned their benefits – despite paying into all three programs over the course of their entire working lives,” Cooper wrote in a separate post.

“The plan proposed by McCarthy and other GOP leaders to enforce work-related requirements in these federal benefit programs would not apply to Social Security and Medicare, contrary to information spreading on social media, the speaker’s office confirmed,” reported JustTheNews.

“Work requirements in the SNAP program, commonly referred to as food stamps, apply to adults between ages 18 to 49 without dependents,” JustTheNews reported. “These recipients must work 80 hours a month or enroll in a work-training program, according to the SNAP guidelines on the program’s website. Under the GOP proposal, the age would increase to 55.”

Notoriously liberal groups like Occupy Democrats and Public Citizen are also sharing the false stories about work requirements in the House Republican plan.

“Kevin McCarthy is demanding work requirements for Medicaid and Medicare and Social Security,” they wrote.

Republicans have set the record straight over and over again that cuts will not include Social Security or Medicare, but democrats continue to use it as a talking point and scare tactic.

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Kevin McCarthy Suggests Adam Schiff Be Removed From Congress…

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(FreedomWire.org) – Speaker Kevin McCarthy suggested removing Dem Rep Adam Schiff from Congress over the lies he told that John Durham’s final report exposed.

Kevin said: “It raises the question about Adam Schiff. Remember when Adam told the American public he had proof? Remember when he said he didn’t know the whistleblower? What he put America through when he openly lied to us. It raises questions about his character and whether he should be in Congress.

Jonathan Turley wrote earlier about Schiff’s weird behavior: “In a bizarre exchange this week with former State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) was confronted with his relentless promoting of the now debunked Steele dossier in prior years.

 “Schiff surprisingly declared “First of all, whoever lied to the FBI or Christopher Steele should be prosecuted, and they are.” (It is actually not a crime to lie to Christopher Steele under 18 U.S.C. 1001. 

“It is a crime to lie to federal investigators). It was a curious statement from someone who attacked the appointment of the Special Counsel and, with other leading Democrats, did his level best to kill the investigation.

“Schiff previously claimed that he had direct evidence of collusion in his Committee despite Mueller finding no such evidence to support criminal charges.  Schiff however has never produced that evidence.

“Durham has now shown how Clinton associates engineered the scandal and may have even been the true sources for the most salacious details in the dossier. In 2017, American intelligence said that it believed that the dossier may have been used by Russian intelligence to spread disinformation.

“Schiff opposed Durham while insisting that Mueller should be allowed to continue his own investigation. Judging from the three indictments by Durham, it is now clear why Democrats sought to kill the investigation.

“Schiff told MSNBC that ongoing investigations would constitute “tearing down our democracy” and would serve as a way to “delegitimize” a president.  This also included any continued investigation of the Hunter Biden scandal. 

“Schiff denounced the Durham investigation as a “politically motivated” effort despite the fact that Durham suspended any public actions before the election to avoid even the appearance of political manipulation.  

“He resisted demands from Trump to issue a report before the election.

“Schiff raised the termination of the Durham investigation by Attorney General Garland before Durham could issue any indictments or reports.  

“He added “The appointment is not consistent with the language of the statute that he’s relying on and can be rescinded, I think, by the next attorney general. I would presume the next attorney general will look to see if there is any merit to the work that John Durham is doing.”

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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Slammed President Biden Saying He Is “Missing In Action”…

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(FreedomWire.org) – In a fiery speech delivered in the House on Wednesday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy slammed President Biden for his handling of the ongoing border crisis. McCarthy launched a scathing attack on the president for what he described as his “record crossings, record carelessness, record chaos” on the border.

McCarthy accused Biden of sending a message to the world that “the border is open” through his policies, which he said have emboldened cartels and illegal immigrants to flood into the country, as Title 42 expires.

He pointed out that the situation on the southern border has reached crisis levels, with record numbers of migrants crossing into the US in recent months.

“We must secure our border,” McCarthy echoed.

The House GOP leader also called out Biden for his apparent absence on the issue, asking why the President, who is supposed to enforce the nation’s laws, is “missing in action” when it comes to securing the border.

McCarthy argued that the situation on the border has become a national security issue, with criminal elements and potential terrorists taking advantage of the chaos to infiltrate the US.

Many have accused Biden of dismantling many of the measures put in place by the previous administration to control illegal immigration, such as the construction of a border wall. However, Biden surprised many yesterday by re-implementing a crucial Trump-era policy.

McCarthy’s speech is the latest in a series of attacks on the Biden administration’s handling of the border crisis. The issue has become a major flashpoint between the two parties, with many Americans accusing Democrats of being soft on illegal immigration and endangering national security.

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GOP Leaders Have Chosen Who Will Refute Biden’s State Of The Union…

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(FreedomWire.org) – The GOP has officially chosen who will deliver the rebuttal speech to Biden’s State of the Union speech next Tuesday and America is in for a treat.

During a press conference between Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, both leaders announced that they have chosen Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders to refute Joe Biden’s speech.

Newly elected Governor of Arkansas Sarah Huckabee Sanders has been a firebrand for conservative values both as a candidate and as Donald Trump’s Press Secretary.

“Americans are still struggling from inflation, a border crisis, record crime, and a failing school system. As House Republicans work to fix these problems in Congress with our Commitment to America, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders is addressing them head on with her conservative agenda outside of Washington,”  McCarthy said during the announcement.

“The youngest governor in America, Sarah is fighting on behalf of parents, small businesses, and ordinary taxpayers,” McCarthy said continuing his support of Huckabee Sanders.

Reports of Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ response have her quoted in saying: “I am grateful for this opportunity to address the nation and contrast the GOP’s optimistic vision for the future against the failures of President Biden and the Democrats.”

Sanders also took to Twitter to announce her response to the speech saying, “I’m honored to have the opportunity to address the nation after the State of the Union on Tuesday. What America needs – and what Republicans are offering – is a return to common sense and a commitment to the ideals that made America the land of the free and home of the brave.”

Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ father, Mike Huckabee also the former Governor of Arkansas expressed his support of his daughter in a tweet which you can see below:

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Musk Revealed What He Discussed With Congressional Leaders…

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(FreedomWire.org) – Twitter CEO Elon Musk made a surprise visit to the U.S. Capitol on Thursday to meet with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Musk traveled to Capitol Hill on Thursday and met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to discuss how Twitter can be “fair to both parties,” Musk said on his social media platform.

Musk noted he also met with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). The meeting with Jeffries may have been unplanned, as McCarthy reportedly offered to introduce the pair while they were both in his office, according to the Hill.

“Just met with @SpeakerMcCarthy & @RepJeffries to discuss ensuring that this platform is fair to both parties,” he tweeted.

In addition to meeting with McCarthy and Jeffries, Musk also met with Judiciary Committee chair Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH). Jordan spent nearly an hour with Musk.

Jordan, who will also chair the Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, has said he plans to delve into the “Twitter files,” including their revelation that the FBI paid Twitter $3.4 million for working with the agency.

When McCarthy exited the meeting with Musk he declined to discuss what the meeting entailed. He told the reporters that the tech mogul wished the Speaker a happy birthday.

“He came to wish me a happy birthday,” he told reporters, who turned 58 Thursday.

McCarthy said he did not discuss the debt ceiling that recently exceeded $31.4 trillion, and ignored all other questions related to the matter, Bloomberg reported. The press did not witness Musk leave the meeting or the building after their appointment together on the second floor ended.

Musk is a longtime donor of McCarthy and expressed support for him stepping up as speaker during the tumultuous, days-long speaker vote among members of the House. The California Republican finally became speaker after 15 ballots.

The tech mogul has become a popular figure among the political right since urging people to vote Republican and voting for candidates of the party for the first time in the special election held in Texas’ 34th district. He publicly shared that he cast his ballot for Republican Texas Rep. Mayra Flores.

He further became a vocal proponent for free speech amid his $44 billion purchase and eventual takeover of Twitter. He later reinstated the account of former President Donald Trump following a public poll calling for his return.

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Kevin McCarthy Annihilates Reporter…

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(FreedomWire.org) – House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) tore into a reporter Tuesday after she interrupted him during a press conference as he was speaking about his decision to reject Reps. Eric Swalwell (R-CA) and Adam Schiff (R-CA) from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

The reporter, PBS Newshour’s Lisa Desjardins, compared embattled Rep. George Santos (R-NY) to Swalwell and Schiff, saying, “You have said that lying to us is something that means you should be removed from the Intelligence Committee, but why is it not a factor [for Santos]?”

“Well, let me be very-” McCarthy began.

“This is a man who should not be on committees,” she insisted.

McCarthy pushed back, “Let me be very clear and respectful to you. You ask me a question, when I answer it, it’s the answer to your question. You don’t get to determine whether I answer your question or not, okay? With all respect, thank you. No, no. Let’s answer her question.” 

“You just raised the question. I will be very clear with you. The Intel Committee is different, well, you know why? Because what happens in the Intel Committee, you don’t know. What happens in the Intel committee, other secrets are going on the world, other members of Congress don’t know,” McCarthy said.

The Republican leader brought up Schiff’s push of the Russia collusion scandal as a reason for not allowing him back on the House Intelligence Committee.

As chair of the Intelligence Committee, McCarthy told reporters Schiff used “his power as a chairman and lied to the American public. Even the inspector general said it. When Devin Nunes put out a memo, [Schiff] said it was false. When we had a laptop, he used it before an election to [play] politics and say that it was false and said it was the Russians when he knew different, when he knew the Intel … He used his position as chairman, knowing he has information the rest of America does not, and lied to the American public.”

McCarthy also noted that Schiff is still free to serve on other committees within the House of Representatives and that Santos has not been placed on the House Intelligence Committee.

“So, no, [Schiff] does not have a right to sit on it. But I will not be like Democrats and play politics with these where they removed Republicans from committees and all committees. So, yes, he can serve on a committee, but he will not serve on Intel because it goes to the national security of America and I will always put them first,” McCarthy answered.

He answered similarly regarding Swalwell’s past scandal compromising himself with his close connection to a Chinese spy, telling reporters, “You have not had the briefing that I had.”

“I had the briefing and Nancy Pelosi had the briefing from the FBI. The FBI never came before this Congress to tell the leadership of this Congress that Eric Swalwell had a problem with the Chinese spy until he served on Intel,” McCarthy continued. 

“So it wasn’t just us who were concerned about it, the FBI was concerned about putting a member of Congress on the Intel committee that has the rights to see things that others don’t, because of his knowledge and relationship with a Chinese spy,” he said.

“But you know what, those voters elected Schiff, even though he lied, those voters elected Swalwell, even though he lied to the American public, too. So, you know what? I respect his voters, too, and they’ll serve on committees, but they will not serve on a place that has national security relevance because integrity matters to me. That’s the answer to your question,” McCarthy concluded.

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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Proclaimed ‘Members of Congress Have To Show Up to Work’…

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(FreedomWire.org) – Newly re-elected House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced Thursday that he’s ending by-proxy voting for representatives, marking a major victory for Republicans and ending a years-long practice that allowed representatives to vote for legislation from afar without actually showing up for work.

“No more proxy voting. Effective immediately, Members of Congress have to show up to work if they want their vote to count,” McCarthy posted on Twitter Thursday morning.

While McCarthy’s path to the speakership may have been contentious, Republicans in the House of Representatives have been in lock-step about changing the proxy voting rule. Under a rule change enacted by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) in 2020, members of Congress had been allowed to vote without actually being in the U.S. Capitol in person, limiting public discourse and debate while allowing representatives to spend more time on the campaign trail than actually doing the work they were elected – and highly paid – to do.

The provision was supposedly put in place due to the COVID pandemic when larger public gatherings were limited, but has remained in place even after gatherings were resumed and Congress was physically called back into session. In fact, many members of Congress repeatedly claimed they couldn’t attend in-person voting due to COVID concerns, but at the same time were seen attending fundraising events, campaign rallies, and even going on vacation.

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Things Really Got Heated With Rep. Mike Rogers Lunging At Rep. Matt Gaetz…

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(FreedomWire.org) – A visibly angry and frustrated Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) had to be physically restrained after lunging at Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on the House floor by other members late Friday as the drama to elect a new speaker continued to play out.

Cameras caught the moment that the GOP lawmaker lost his cool and moved quickly towards Gaetz, who continued refusing to back Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for the speakership after a historic 14th ballot. It would take another — 15 ballots — for McCarthy to finally win the post after the House reconvened at 10 p.m. Friday night.

Gaetz was discussing with Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., the possibility of backing him in the next vote and appeared to mouth the word “committee.”

Gaetz is currently on the House Armed Services Committee, which is chaired by Rogers. McCarthy appeared to agree and returned to his seat. Rogers, having witnessed the interaction, then walked up to Gaetz’s row and made a move toward him.

Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., intervened and physically restrained Rogers, pulling him back by his shoulders in full view of C-SPAN’s cameras.

At one point, Rogers pointed at Gaetz and appeared to yell, “I won’t forget this!”

After McCarthy’s victory, Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) handed the Speaker’s gavel to the California Republican, who will now preside over the 118th Congress.

“It took a loss by a razor-thin margin in a late-night Round 14, a heated exchange with one of his sternest opponents, and a near-adjournment of the House till Monday to break a logjam unseen since before the Civil War,” the Associated Press reported after the 15th round of balloting.

“The final tally that put him over the top: 216 for McCarthy, 212 for Democrat leader Hakeem Jeffries and 6 simply ‘present,’” the outlet reported.

A video clip of a frustrated McCarthy confronting Gaetz after his first “present” went viral online late Friday:

All day Friday, McCarthy had been inching ever closer to taking up the gavel as he won over multiple diehard conservative critics and resistors. McCarthy, who flipped 15 colleagues to supporters in dramatic votes on Friday afternoon, returned to the chamber at 10 p.m. ET with hopes high that he’d woo enough additional hardliners to put him over the top.

But then came a surprising loss, with him snagging 216 votes, just one shy of the 217 needed to get a House majority after two colleagues, Lauren Boebert and Matt Gaetz, merely voted “present.”

What followed was some extraordinary drama, as McCarthy and Gaetz appeared to exchange sharp words on the House floor. A vote to adjourn till Monday was quickly introduced, but was then walked back as supporters did a U-turn and rescinded votes.

Some Republicans said the drama was worth it to secure a better rules package agreement regarding power from McCarthy.

“This is a really good rules package, and it’s good that we negotiated this for our system of government, and it’s great for the American people,” said Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.). “If we’re going to have self-government, we’ve got to show this” to the public.”

She also said she did not agree with Gaetz’s continuing to hold out support for McCarthy.

“I disagree with his position” of refusing to support McCarthy. “But that’s OK. We’re still going to be friends tomorrow after this is all said and done,” she said.

“There’s a point in time where you’ve got to give up on your position — after getting everything you want. … At that point, you’re not really negotiating. You’re more of a hostage-taker,” she noted further.

Earlier Friday, Gaetz threatened to resign from Congress if moderate Republicans struck a deal with Democrats to elect their leader, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, or help elect McCarthy over the objections of House conservatives.

But that said, the Florida Republican also expressed confidence that all 212 Democrats would continue voting for Jeffries to be speaker after selecting him to become the leader of the party, replacing Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), which turned out to be the case.

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