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.
President Donald Trump has ordered the U.S. to stop minting pennies. His surprise announcement comes after decades of unsuccessful efforts to phase out the 1-cent coin. Advocates for ditching the penny cite its high production cost and limited utility. Fans of the penny cite its usefulness in charity drives and relative bargain in production costs compared with the nickel. Here's a look at some question surrounding Trump's order.
The Trump administration has ordered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to stop nearly all its work, effectively shutting down the agency that was created to protect consumers after the 2008 financial crisis and subprime mortgage-lending scandal. Russell Vought is the newly installed director of the Office of Management and Budget. Vought directed the CFPB in a Saturday night email to stop work on proposed rules, to suspend the effective dates on any rules that were finalized but not yet effective, and to stop investigative work and not begin any new investigations. The agency has been a target of conservatives since President Barack Obama created it following the 2007-2008 financial crisis.
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