Rep. Khanna Thinks Congress Needs Some Outside Help to Solve Shutdown
*By Justin Chermol*
California Rep. Ro Khanna has a novel idea about how to solve the government shutdown: call in some experts.
"Why don't we get an independent group of experts? The president appoints two people. The House appoints two people. The Senate appoints two people," the Silicon Valley-based Democrat suggested. "Put them in a room ー six folks ー and have them come up with proposals that are going to be 6-0."
"Arbitrators do this all the time. Mediators do this all the time," he told Cheddar's J.D. Durkin. " People sue each other, they have disputes and somehow it gets resolved. "It’s only in the United States government that we’re unable to move forward."
Well into its fourth week, the partial government shutdown shows no signs of ending. As the California congressman representing Silicon Valley, Khanna understands its impact not only on federal workers, but also his tech-based constituency. Private companies looking to file an IPO have been stalled by the government stalemate, which has hampered the work of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
"You ... don't have startups being able to go public, and there is a whole line of companies that can't get public, can't go public because of the shutdown," Khanna explained.
He said this should concern President Trump, who has taken credit for last year's stock market increases ー and may find himself shouldering the blame if the market continues to show weakness.
"If the President obsesses over the stock market ー he's hurting the stock market, he's hurting our innovation, he's hurting our entrepreneurship. This is actually having real damage," Khanna said.
The Pentagon has sent “prepare to deploy” orders to about 2,000 U.S. troops to be ready to respond to the Israel-Hamas war, two U.S. officials said on the condition of anonymity to discuss a decision that has not been announced yet.
The head of Israel’s Shin Bet security service has taken responsibility for not warning of the bloody Oct. 7 Hamas rampage that killed over 1,400 Israelis.
Republicans rejected Rep. Jim Jordan for House speaker on a first ballot Tuesday, as an unexpectedly numerous 20 holdouts denied the hard-charging ally of Donald Trump the GOP majority needed to seize the gavel.
The federal judge overseeing the 2020 election subversion case against Donald Trump in Washington imposed a narrow gag order on him on Monday, barring the Republican former president from making statements targeting prosecutors, possible witnesses and the judge's staff.
A 71-year-old Illinois man accused of fatally stabbing a 6-year-old boy and seriously wounding a 32-year-old woman was charged with a hate crime Sunday.
Republicans chose Rep. Jim Jordan as their new nominee for House speaker on Friday during internal voting, putting the gavel within reach of the staunch ally of GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump.
American citizens in Israel can start leaving the country on charter flights starting Friday after the State Department said flights will take Americans and immediate family members to either Athens, Greece or Frankfurt, Germany.
The Israeli military has ordered the 1.1 million residents of northern Gaza to evacuate to the south within 24 hours as U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Israel.
