Greene County Democrat

Tag: House Speaker Mike Johnson

  • Newswire : The Shutdown Standoff

    By April Ryan, NNPA White House Correspondent

     

    “We are not going to back down,” demanded House Minority Leader Congressman Hakeem Jeffries regarding healthcare for Americans. The Affordable Care Act is one of the key issues that created a stalemate between Democrats and Republicans, which resulted in the government shutdown. The New York Congressman says he is open to meeting with the president, the vice president, and others in the Republican Party to end the government shutdown that began on October 1st. However, he is adamant about not caving on the healthcare issue.
    On the Hill today, House Speaker Mike Johnson calls on Democrats to reopen the government so that negotiations can continue. Republicans need five Democratic senators to vote for the House-passed continuing resolution, which makes drastic cuts to health care. Jefferies vows Democrats will not support a “partisan spending bill that guts healthcare.” Adding to the Republican pressure on Democrats, President Donald Trump said over the weekend, furthering a verbal sparring match, “Democrats are causing the loss of a lot of jobs with a shutdown.”
    However, Jeffries says those in charge are to blame, explaining, “The extremists have complete control over the government. What are we missing here?” Republicans are in charge of the White House, the House, the Senate, and the Supreme Court. Jefferies made these comments on The Tea With April:

    “They [Republicans] would rather shut the government down than provide healthcare. ”The shutdown could last at least two weeks, creating layoffs and firings. Republicans are refusing to extend the tax credits for the Affordable Care Act for working-class Americans. Jeffries also contradicts the GOP narrative, “a Republican lie that we are trying to provide healthcare to undocumented workers.”

    Democrats emphasize that more than 24 million Americans rely on the Affordable Care Act tax credits to afford and access healthcare in this nation. In a related note, the government shutdown is also to blame for the delayed meeting between Jeffries and the Democratic New York Mayoral front-runner, Zohran Mamdani. Jeffries has not endorsed a New York mayoral candidate yet.

  • Newswire : Rep. Al Green is censured by The U.S. House after protesting Trump on Medicaid

    Texas Congressman Al Green points cane at President Trump during speech to Joint Session of Congress

    By Lauren Burke, NNPA Newswire


    In one of the quickest punishments of a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in the modern era, Congressman Al Green (D-TX) was censured by a 224-198 vote last week in the House. His censure featured no hearing at the House Ethics Committee and his punishment was put on the floor for a vote by the Republican controlled House less than 72 hours after the infraction in question. Of the last three censures of members of the U.S. House, two have been members of the Congressional Black Caucus under GOP control. In 2023, Rep. Jamal Bowman was censured.
    On the night of March 4, as President Trump delivered a Joint Address to Congress, Rep. Green interrupted him twice. Rep. Green shouted, “You don’t have a mandate to cut Medicare and Medicaid, and you need to raise the cap on social security,” to President Trump. In another rare event, Rep. Green was escorted off the House floor by security shortly after yelling at the President by order of GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson.
    Over the last four years, members of Congress have yelled at President Biden during the State of the Union. Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor-Greene was joined by Republican Rep. Lauren Bobert (R-CO) in 2022 in yelling at President Biden. In 2023, Rep. Greene, Rep. Bob Good (R-VA), and Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) yelled at Biden, interrupting his speech. In 2024, wearing a red MAGA hat, a violation of the rules of the U.S. House, Greene interrupted Biden again. She was never censured for her behavior. Rep. Green voted “present” on his censure and was joined by freshman Democrat Congressman Shomari Figures of Alabama who also voted “present”.
    All other members of the Congressional Black Caucus voted against censuring Green. Republicans hold a four-seat advantage in the U.S. House after the death of Texas Democrat and former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner yesterday. Ten Democrats voted along with Republicans to censure Rep. Green, including Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, who is in the leadership as the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. “I respect them but, I would do it again,” and “it is a matter of conscience,”
    Rep. Green told Black Press USA’s April Ryan in an exclusive interview on March 5. After the vote, a group of Democrats sang “We Shall Overcome” in the well at the front of the House chamber. Several Republican members attempted to shout down the singing. House Speaker Mike Johnson gaveled the House out of session and into a recess. During the brief recess members moved back to their seats and out of the well of the House. Shortly after the vote to censor Rep. Green, Republican Congressman Andy Ogles of Tennessee quickly filed legislation to punish members who participated in the singing of “We Shall Overcome.” Earlier this year, Rep. Ogles filed legislation to allow President Donald Trump to serve a third term, which is currently unconstitutional. As the debate started, the stock market Dow Jones average fell by 500 points, 1% of it value by the close.