House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
At the top of Kevin McCarthy’s to-do list as he begins his role as House Speaker is adopting a new rules package for the chamber when it convenes Monday evening.
McCarthy, who was elected speaker after a historic 15 ballots, made a series of concessions to conservative Republicans in order to secure the votes he needed to win the position. Those deals will be center stage as the House votes on whether to pass the new rules package.
Among the biggest concessions, McCarthy agreed to allow a single lawmaker to call a vote to oust the speaker; a condition on which he initially said he would not budge. The California Republican also agreed to holding a vote on congressional term limits, putting more House Freedom Caucus members on the powerful House Rules Committee, and to mandate 72 hours for bills to be reviewed before votes, among others.
Even more concessions could be revealed during the evening vote. At least two Republicans have already said they are skeptical of the new rules package, which could make things challenging for McCarthy since he can only afford to lose four votes on legislation and still overcome Democratic opposition.
Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, announced her candidacy for president on Tuesday, becoming the first major challenger to former President Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination.
The White House defended the shootdowns of three unidentified objects in as many days even as it acknowledged that officials had no indication the objects were intended for surveillance in the same manner as the high-altitude Chinese balloon that traversed American airspace earlier this month.
Millions of Medicaid recipients could find relief in the form of food shopping funds as the Biden administration begins approving state requests to use the coverage for groceries.
It is still not known where the second, third, and fourth flying objects shot down by U.S. military fighter jets originated from, a White House spokesperson said Monday.
A judge has ordered the release of parts of a report produced by a special grand jury that investigated efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn his narrow 2020 election loss in Georgia.
Another unidentified object was shot down over the weekend, contractors arrested in Turkey after buildings crumbled in earthquake, and arrests in Baton Rouge shooting that injured 12. Here is everything you Need2Know for Monday, February 13, 2023.
