National News

In yet another blow to House Republican leadership, nine GOP lawmakers broke ranks to advance debate on a discharge petition for a labor rights resolution.

The proposal, noted independent congressional reporter Jamie Dupree on X, "sets strict timelines for businesses and newly-certified labor unions working on a first contract."

It's the latest in a long line of discharge petitions either taken up for debate or adopted outright in this term of Congress, driven by razor-thin margins dividing Republicans and Democrats and a set of GOP leaders who have frequently failed to enforce party unity. Other discharge petitions include one that forced the release of the Jeffrey Epstein child trafficking case files, and another that called for a three-year extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies.

All of this came just hours after House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) publicly pleaded with his caucus to stop bypassing them and signing onto discharge petitions.

"I don't support that process," said Scalise to reporters. "I mean, look, we have committees and the committees do hard work and you know, everybody's got their own bills that they might want to move and you know, as the majority leader, when people come to me and they want a bill moved, I tell them first thing I always tell them is go talk to the chairman, work through the committee process. That is what the the regular order is around here."

Despite the rapid proliferation of discharge petitions, GOP leaders insist they are still in command of the caucus, with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) insisting to reporters at the end of last year that "I have not lost control."

Vice President JD Vance announced Monday night he forwarded a criminal referral to the Justice Department regarding fraud allegations against Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison.

Vance released a statement on social media, saying, "I've referred these allegations to DOJ's new Fraud Division for criminal investigation."

"Minnesota state officials are not above the law, and if they facilitated fraud, lied under oath about what they knew, or harassed and intimidated whistleblowers, they must face justice."

The referral represents Vance's first major action as President Donald Trump's appointed Fraud Czar, a position dedicated to targeting alleged fraud in blue states.

The move aligns with the Trump administration's priority of addressing fraudulent claims, a focus that intensified following MAGA influencer Nick Shirley's controversial and unsustained investigation into Somali daycares in Minnesota.

Watch the video below.

Trump said on Tuesday that Iran shooting down a U.S. Apache helicopter on Monday night “wasn’t a big deal” – just hours after vowing to “respond.”

The post Trump Downplays Iran Shooting Down U.S. Helicopter Just Hours After Vowing Retaliation: ‘Wasn’t a Big Deal first appeared on Mediaite.

Jeffrey Epstein's longtime executive assistant told the House Oversight Committee Tuesday that she regularly arranged phone calls between Trump and Epstein.

The post Epstein’s Exec Assistant Told Lawmakers She Arranged Calls Between Trump and Epstein ‘About Once a Quarter’  Before Their Falling-Out first appeared on Mediaite.