TOM COLE

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy appears to have settled on a strategy as a handful of Republican lawmakers stir outrage with violent, racist and sometimes Islamophobic comments: If you can’t police them, promote them.

The House has voted to censure Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona for posting an animated video that depicted him killing Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with a sword.

With only hours to spare, President Joe Biden signed legislation to avoid a partial federal shutdown and keep the government funded through Dec. 3.

WASHINGTON — House Republican leaders would like everyone to know that the nation is in crisis. There is an economic crisis, they say, with rising prices and overly generous unemployment benefits; a national security crisis; a border security crisis, with its attendant homeland security crisis, humanitarian crisis and public health crisis; and a separate energy crisis. Pressed Tuesday on whether the nation is really so beleaguered, the No. 2 Republican in the House, Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisia

A dirty word for many Republicans is making the rounds on Capitol Hill -- earmarks. It's a question that's vexing Republicans as they consider whether to join a Democratic push to revive earmarks, the much-maligned practice where lawmakers direct federal spending to a specific project or institution back home. Democratic appropriators in the House see a solution and are proposing a revamped process allowing lawmakers to submit public requests for “community project funding” in federal spending bills. The ranking Republican on the committee, Rep. Sam Graves of Missouri, said earmarks would not increase the amount of money spent in a bill. “That’s something I feel pretty strongly about.”Norman worries that earmarks would be used to entice Republicans to vote for bills with expensive price tags.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., goes back to her office after speaking on the floor of the House Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)WASHINGTON – Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene lashed out Friday at “morons” in both parties who voted to kick her off her committees, a day after the House meted out the unprecedented punishment that Democrats said she’d earned by spreading hateful and violent conspiracy theories. Underscoring the political vise her inflammatory commentary has clamped her party into, all but 11 Republicans voted against the Democratic move on Thursday but none rose to defend her lengthy history of outrageous social media posts. Even social media stars like Greene could find it harder to define themselves without the spotlights that committees provide. That chamber’s minority leader, Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., this week called Greene’s words a “cancer” on the GOP and country.

___6:25 p.m.President Donald Trump has released a video condemning the violent insurrection he fomented at the Capitol last week. Ten Republican House members voted to impeach President Donald Trump over the deadly insurrection at the Capitol. ___1:05 p.m.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is suggesting that President Donald Trump should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for promoting Arab-Israeli peace. ___12:45 p.m.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says President Donald Trump represents a “clear and present danger” to the nation and must be impeached. ___8:15 a.m.Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger is predicting more Republicans will join him in voting to impeach President Donald Trump.

After a violent mob launched a deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol that forced Raskin and his colleagues to evacuate. the Maryland Democrat and former constitutional law professor is leading the effort to remove President Donald Trump from office for inciting the riot. Now Raskin, a former constitutional law professor, is leading the effort to remove President Donald Trump from office for inciting the riot. And even as many Republicans fought the Democratic effort to remove Trump, Raskin was praised by the GOP for continuing his work during such a challenging moment. Last week's riot at the Capitol began as lawmakers were certifying Biden’s Electoral College victory over Trump.

Democrats have freely used the new system, which maximized their voting participation while Republican leaders have urged their members to vote in person. The rules changes come as Democrats hold a bare majority in the House of fewer than a half-dozen seats, the narrowest margin of control in memory. Understanding the bundle of changes requires a dive into the arcane world of House rules and parliamentary maneuvering. The Democratic-imposed rules continue a years-long trend of eroding the powers of the House minority through revisions enacted every two years. “It is all designed to take away the voice of 48 percent of this House chamber,” said Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La.

WASHINGTON – There's little doubt that Nancy Pelosi will be reelected House speaker when the new Congress convenes Sunday. It could take a high-wire act for her to get there, largely thanks to the pandemic. “Yeah, I do,” Pelosi told a reporter this week when asked if she had the votes wrapped up. Miller-Meeks is certain to vote against Pelosi to be speaker. “It’s extraordinarily tricky” for Pelosi, said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., an 18-year congressional veteran.

WASHINGTON – There's little doubt that Nancy Pelosi will be reelected House speaker when the new Congress convenes Sunday. It could take a high-wire act for her to get there, largely thanks to the pandemic. “Yeah, I do,” Pelosi told a reporter this week when asked if she had the votes wrapped up. Miller-Meeks is certain to vote against Pelosi to be speaker. “It’s extraordinarily tricky” for Pelosi, said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., an 18-year congressional veteran.

FILE - In this Sept. 17, 2020, file photo, House Majority Whip James Clyburn, of S.C., speaks during a news conference about COVID-19, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Pelosi will start the Biden era with a narrow majority, 222-211, with a few races still undecided. Biden's first pick from the House, Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., would join the administration quickly once the president-elect is inaugurated Jan. 20, Clyburn said. Democrats are already deep into political soul-searching after a dismal November outcome for House Democrats. The danger zone was close enough that House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer warned Biden last month off taking any more Democrats from his ranks.

But until recently, Congress didn't have many Indigenous members who were pushing for solutions and funding for those issues. It's fueled by efforts to recruit Indigenous candidates and back them financially, get-out-the-vote efforts and Native communities flexing their political muscle. The U.S. Senate has not had a Native American member since Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado retired in 2005. Most notably, it worked to pass two bills to help address the epidemic of missing and slain Native American women. Native Hawaiians are not among the more than 570 federally recognized Native American tribes, though they've sought the designation.

This isnt a party convention, its a Trump convention, said Rory Cooper, a Republican strategist and former congressional staffer who opposes Trump. If Republicans lose the Senate in November, we should look back at this week as a lost opportunity to introduce the country to more GOP congressional candidates. Scalise made no direct reference to the GOP's faint hopes of regaining the House majority in November's elections. Sean Parnell, a GOP challenger for a Democratic-held seat in western Pennsylvania, didnt specifically ask listeners to award Republicans House control. The inattention to the GOP's congressional efforts might have changed Wednesday when Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, delivered prime-time remarks.

OKLAHOMA CITY Voters in central Oklahoma on Tuesday will pare down a crowded field of congressional hopefuls seeking to represent the 5th District in Washington. Nine Republicans are vying for the seat held by first-term U.S. Rep. Kendra Horn, the only Democrat in the states delegation. Four of the GOP challengers have raised more than $500,000, including businesswoman Terry Neese, state Sen. Stephanie Bice, former State Superintendent Janet Barresi and businessman David Hill. Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe and U.S. Reps. Markwayne Mullin and Tom Cole all are heavy favorites in their GOP primaries Tuesday. Inhofe faces three lesser-known candidates in the GOP primary, while four Democrats are running for the opportunity to challenge him in the fall.

Oklahoma voters will vote in Tuesday's primary election on State Question 802, which would amend the Oklahoma Constitution to expand Medicaid health insurance. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, Pool, File)OKLAHOMA CITY A question on whether to expand Medicaid in Oklahoma and a crowded Republican field vying to challenge the state's lone congressional Democrat are drawing the most attention ahead of Tuesday's primary election. According to the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, states that have expanded Medicaid through a ballot measure include Idaho, Maine, Nebraska and Utah. This is going to cost our state $200 million," Stitt said during an event this week with Americans for Prosperity. Republicans clearly see OK-5 as one of their best chances to flip' a House seat, and theyre correct to see it that way," said Matthew Motta, a political science professor at Oklahoma State University.

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)WASHINGTON Democrats have powered a massive $3 trillion coronavirus relief bill through the House, an election-year measure designed to brace a U.S. economy in free fall and a health care system struggling to contain a pandemic still pummeling the country. It has no chance of becoming law as written, but will likely spark difficult negotiations with the White House and Senate Republicans. The enormous Democratic measure would cost more than the prior four coronavirus bills combined. This bill is nothing more than the Democratic policy agenda masquerading as a response to the coronavirus crisis, said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla. He said the bill is going nowhere, and is going nowhere fast.Liberal Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., also opposed the bill.

From now on, lawmakers will be allowed to cast House floor votes by proxy without being present as the Constitution requires. A single lawmaker can carry 10 proxy votes to the chamber. House lawmakers will be able to draft bills, conduct oversight and even issue subpoenas from the comfort of their homes. But Republicans warn there will be legal challenges to legislation passed during this period, questioning the constitutional legitimacy of proxy votes. Proxy votes had been allowed in committees, but that ended decades ago.

The House approved Friday a package of historic rules changes so Congress can keep functioning even while it's partly closed. Under the new rules, House lawmakers will no longer be required to travel to Washington to participate in floor votes. House lawmakers will be able to draft bills, conduct oversight and even issue subpoenas from the comfort of their homes. A key Trump ally, McCarthy argues if other Americans are at work, Congress should be, too. But Republicans warn there will be legal challenges to legislation passed during this period, questioning the constitutional legitimacy of proxy votes.

FILE PHOTO: House Rules Committee ranking member Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., listens during a House Rules Committee hearing on the impeachment against President Donald Trump, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., December 17, 2019. Matt Rourke/Pool via REUTERSWASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Representative Tom Cole, a prominent Republican in the House of Representatives, announced on Thursday that he would self-quarantine until March 27 after contact with another lawmaker who has tested positive for coronavirus infection. I was informed by the Attending Physician of Congress that my friend Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart has tested positive for COVID-19, Cole said in a statement. While I have no symptoms and feel fine, I was around him for an extended period last week. Out of an abundance of caution, I am following the doctors instructions to self-quarantine until March 27.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives has slowed the advancing of its bill to address the coronavirus outbreak on Thursday to consider proposals made by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. But at the start of a committee meeting on Thursday, he said they had not heard from President Donald Trumps administration. As the meeting progressed, he said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had talked to Mnuchin and lawmakers needed to pause to review his suggestions. Pelosi had said on Thursday that the Democrats sweeping bill to address the coronavirus outbreak would move forward, and that lawmakers were having ongoing conversations with the Republican administration. The top Republican on the Rules Committee, Tom Cole, had said that the bill, as written, would probably not make it to Trump to sign into law.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives has slowed the advancing of its bill to address the coronavirus outbreak on Thursday to consider proposals made by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. But at the start of a committee meeting on Thursday, he said they had not heard from President Donald Trumps administration. As the meeting progressed, he said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had talked to Mnuchin and lawmakers needed to pause to review his suggestions. Pelosi had said on Thursday that the Democrats sweeping bill to address the coronavirus outbreak would move forward, and that lawmakers were having ongoing conversations with the Republican administration. The top Republican on the Rules Committee, Tom Cole, had said that the bill, as written, would probably not make it to Trump to sign into law.