Just now — at the last sunset of the last day that Congressman John Lewis will lie in state here — an honest to God rainbow shines over the Capitol.
#GoodTrouble
Genuinely very scary that 205 House Republicans just voted to enable states to arrest, fine or sue women for traveling to get an abortion *even where it is still legal*
OOPS. Looks like
@GOPLeader
McCarthy fumbled his agenda rollout by accidentally posting the webpage of
@HouseGOP
’s extreme MAGA “Commitment to America” – and then scrambled to password protect the website again…
...but not before we got screenshots. THREAD
Screenshots that reveal
@HouseGOP
's "Commitment" is doubling down on an extreme MAGA agenda:
🚨Criminalize women’s health care with a nationwide abortion ban.
🚨Slash seniors’ Medicare (including repealing the lower drug prices for seniors in the IRA).
🚨Attack our democracy.
The
@HouseGOP
is already on record on how they intend to implement their extreme plans for a federal law to criminalize abortion in all 50 states.
166 House Rs have co-sponsored a “Life Begins at Conception” bill to criminalize all abortion after the moment of *fertilization.*
The extreme MAGA "Commitment" promises to repeal the lower drug prices Democrats delivered for America’s seniors on Medicare!
And 158 out of 212 House Rs (including Whip Scalise & Chair Stefanik) have called for gutting Social Security & Medicare in the
@RepublicanStudy
Budget.
I’ll never forget finally arriving in the undisclosed location with the Members — after hours hiding in Pelosi’s conference room listening to the mob kicking down doors, shattering glass, shrieking her name — and seeing the clutch of MAGA Members smirking in the back of the room.
.
@HouseGOP
's “Commitment” promises to help insert extreme MAGA allies to disrupt polling places to help MAGA politicians invent a basis to overturn the results of elections — and give MAGA state legislatures absolute power to change election rules at their whim.
The extreme MAGA attack on our democracy is now an explicit pillar of the
@HouseGOP
agenda.
Here, the GOP Members' toolkit for the “Commitment to America” explicitly and baselessly attacks the legitimacy of legally-cast ballots, fanning suspicion about early voting.
No wonder
@GOPLeader
McCarthy wants
@RepMTG
standing front and center when he commits the House Republicans to such a devastating, extreme MAGA agenda.
NEW:
@RepMTG
is among the House GOP lawmakers attending Kevin McCarthy’s agenda rollout in Pittsburgh on Friday — just the latest sign of how McCarthy has worked to bring his right flank into the fold as he seeks the majority & the speakership.
Read more about the legislation the
@HouseGOP
has already embraced to implement their extreme MAGA “Commitment To America”
🚨Extreme nationwide abortion bans with criminal penalties and no exceptions
🚨Gut Medicare & Social Security
🚨Attack elections
More threats to repeal hugely popular prescription drug price savings from the
#InflationReductionAct
inside the "Commitment to America" Members' toolkit.
The extreme MAGA
@HouseGOP
plans both increasing seniors' drug costs & slashing their Medicare benefits.
179 House Rs have already cosponsored or endorsed as members of
@RepublicanStudy
a bill to criminalize abortion nationwide after 6 weeks (no exceptions for rape or incest), punishable by 5-year sentences in federal prison for doctors.
166 House Rs would start at *fertilization*
In the weeks that followed, many young staffers in our office and others bravely shared their experiences with the press — revisiting the worst day of their lives.
3 years later, it still shocks me that so many deny what really happened.
And worst of all, so many Members.
When a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, some made their way to Speaker Pelosi’s office. In a recording from one of Speaker Pelosi’s staffers, the invaders are heard banging on a door her staff had barricaded while they hid under a table.
158 House Rs endorsed plans to "save" Medicare & Social Security by slashing seniors' benefits & raising the retirement age.
Now
@GOPLeader
has brought the architect of the plan to make Medicare "wither on the vine" to the private
@HouseGOP
meeting on Commitment:
@newtgingrich
.
Congratulations to
@GOPLeader
McCarthy for the political masterstroke of leading 200 House Republicans to vote against an overwhelmingly popular infrastructure bill.
House Republicans: Fewer Jobs, More Potholes™
The Department of Defense is allowed to negotiate prices for new weapons systems. The VA can negotiate with drug companies for lower prices. But
@RepLizCheney
wants to keep Americans paying 3x-10x more than Pharma charges for the same drugs in other countries.
#LowerDrugCosts
.
@SpeakerPelosi
continues to put partisanship before working to solve our nation's most pressing issues. Her latest socialist plan wouldn’t help lower the cost of prescription drugs and would hurt patients in the process.
Trump appointed, GOP Senate confirmed IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig:
"The Administration estimates $400 billion in additional revenue can be generated over the next decade from enforcement efforts focused on higher-end incomes, shrinking the tax gap."
179 House Republicans have endorsed a federal abortion ban to criminally prosecute doctors and sentence them to five years in prison.
I guess that’s moderate in the extreme MAGA eyes of the
@HouseGOP
, but not in the eyes of the public…
.
@GOPLeader
McCarthy “said that if Republicans win control of the House that the GOP will use raising the debt limit as leverage to force spending cuts — which could include cuts to Medicare and Social Security — and limit additional funding to Ukraine.”
I love this photo, and I’ll tell you why.
That’s not me on Jan. 6. That’s me on the day
@SpeakerPelosi
announced the formal impeachment inquiry of President Trump in September 2019.
That under my arm is the speech we were writing announcing it.
This is
@HenryVConnelly
, former Communications Director for
@SpeakerPelosi
, walking with Pelosi as she’s surrounded by two armed police officers carrying guns with bullets, & listening to police comms/earpieces
But you can read about him wetting himself during Jan 6 below 😭
News:
@HenryVConnelly
,
@SpeakerPelosi
’s outgoing Comms Director, joined Precision as SVP. Henry’s been at the center of every major legislative and political battle over the last decade, and he’s ready to help our clients navigate the work that lies ahead.
Make no mistake: Senator McConnell is now siding with the Chinese Communist Party against American workers and American industry.
And why? So that the GOP’s pals in Big Pharma can keep ripping off Americans struggling to afford their prescriptions.
One year ago on
#January6th
, seven of my colleagues and I hid in the dark in a conference room behind that door on the right as the mob ransacked our offices, screaming for our boss.
The outer door broke. An inner door held.
Nancy Pelosi said she got “set up” by the owner (a very good one) of a beauty parlor. If so, how will she do in negotiations against President Xi of China, President Putin of Russia, or Kim Jong Un of North Korea. Not so well, I suspect, but far better than Joe Hiden’ would do!
GOP openly sharpening the knife for Medicare & Social Security:
"'Our main focus has got to be on non-discretionary - it's got to be on entitlements,'
@RepBuddyCarter
said."
"
@RepArrington
said an increase in the eligibility age for both programs would be a commonsense change."
The GOP announces agenda for seniors & hardworking families trying to stay ahead of inflation: tax hikes.
“The language of the plan itself effectively acknowledges it’s advocating for an income tax increase on ‘over half of Americans’
#GOPTaxHike
Imagine if
@RepCawthorn
,
@GOPLeader
McCarthy and 172 other House Republicans hadn't voted against the
#HonoringOurPACT
Act earlier this year.
But no, House Republicans don't think health care for veterans sick & dying from burn pit exposure is worth it.
Now on
@SRuhle
,
@SpeakerPelosi
calls for additional sanctions on Russia, restoring tougher measures targeting the Russian defense and intelligence sectors that the Trump Administration had insisted on watering down.
If it's a day that ends in a y, House Republicans are trying to take credit for funds for their districts that they contemptuously denounced and voted against.
#VoteNoTakeTheDough
- Omnibus Edition
Stefanik press officer: "Flagging that Stefanik secured $205,000 for Warren County Employment and Training." Stefanik statement: "I could not support... Speaker Pelosi’s bill – drafted in the dead of night and behind closed doors – (with) Far-Left, partisan provisions."
It's been a long road to today's historic victory breaking the grip of Big Pharma.
We are seeing the fruit of *years* of painstaking work by House Democrats to develop the legislative architecture for real drug price negotiations.
I see a lot of House Republicans acting tough on Twitter dot com today about taking on the Chinese Communist Party.
How many of them have had the guts to challenge the PRC while actually standing in Tiananmen Square, like
@SpeakerPelosi
?
For a man who promised to go "section-by-section" through what's supposed to be wrong with
#BuildBackBetter
,
@GOPLeader
sure is spending a lot of time speaking about anything besides what's in the bill...
A well-deserved acknowledgement of Harry's... I mean
@HenryVConnelly
's... tireless behind-the-scenes work for Speaker Pelosi & the whole Dem Caucus. 👏🏼 Congrats.
If it’s a day that ends in a y,
@SpeakerPelosi
is on TV pressing for the
#HeroesAct
and a stronger response to coronavirus from the Trump Administration.
Tune in now with
@allinwithchris
!
Did you know that every House Republican from Georgia except one is a cosponsor of the bill to criminalize all abortion from the moment of fertilization, with *zero exceptions*?
I guess they finally found an exception they can agree on.
Excited to see all the House Republicans who let their Leadership bully them into a bad vote against
#AmericaCOMPETES
trying to sneak into the ribbon cuttings for all the American factories we’re gonna open.
As expected, House GOP leadership will whip *against* the Dem version of the manufacturing/China bill on the floor.
Several GOP groups also whipping against, including
Heritage Action and
Americans for Prosperity
Polling consistently shows immense bipartisan support for Democrats’ drug price negotiation legislation, including overwhelming majorities of Republicans & independents who are fed up with Big Pharma charging Americans so much more than they charge for the same medicines overseas
Revealing split screen of priorities today:
Democrats gather to celebrate landmark bill to lower families' costs.
Republicans gather to introduce landmark bill to criminalize women's health care.
🤷♂️
Two hours in,
@GOPLeader
bringing some strong "guy you wish you hadn’t started a conversation with at a party" energy.
Still not hearing much about
#BuildBackBetter
.
On now:
@SpeakerPelosi
talks with
@AymanM
101 days after the House passed the
#HeroesAct
, as Republicans continue to stand in the way of coronavirus relief legislation.
🚨Extreme
@HouseGOP
plan to repeal lower drug prices — taking 100s of billions of dollars out of seniors’ pockets to give back to Big Pharma — gaining steam among GOP senators.
Finland's Prime Minister is 36 years old, went out clubbing till 4am, left her work phone at home and was therefore unreachable to get a text telling her she needed to quarantine.
This is so much effort just to get some B-roll and the sentence "In a rambling, hours-long (?) speech that frequently veered off-topic..." into some newspapers.
If you're looking for a coherent message against
#BuildBackBetter
, this ain't it bro.
NEW
@WaysMeansCmte
studied the
#GOPTaxHike
& what it means for essential workers.
Imagine a single mom part-time at a meatpacking plant supporting her two young children; let’s say she makes $19,520 & qualifies for the EITC & CTC.
Minimum 2021 tax hike under GOP plan? $13,109
The GOP Senate will have had almost a full month to get its act together to pass
#USMCA
since the House acted on Dec. 19th.
After all their grandstanding, turns out Senate Republicans don't actually care enough to get the job done on time.
Meanwhile, more than half of the
@HouseGOP
has already cosponsored a national abortion ban (H.R. 705) with *5-year prison sentences* — starting before many women would even know they are pregnant.
If ever they get a chance, Rs will pass the absolute most extreme ban possible.
.
@DrewGriffinCNN
was one of the first to interview my colleagues about our experience hiding from the J6 mob inside the Speaker's conference room.
The sensitivity and compassion he brought when my friends shared their pain will always be appreciated.
Last week, 200 House Republicans voted to keep infrastructure busted and supply chains snarled.
This week, Republicans call for keeping prescription drug prices astronomical, child care unaffordable and money out of the pockets of working families.
HOUSE
@GOPLeader
McCarthy calls on Democrats to abandon $2T spending bill in wake of inflation "The American people want an end to the chaos this administration has created, and today’s data is clear: we can’t afford the consequences of the Democrats’ failed agenda"
When
@RepAshleyHinson
voted against the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that delivered the "game-changing" funding she's now claiming credit for, she called it "Washington Gamesmanship, Spending at Its Worst"
#VoteNoTakeTheDough
BREAKING: We secured $829 million in federal funding to upgrade locks & dams along the Upper Mississippi River. This is game-changing for Iowa’s agriculture industry & our Mississippi River communities!
One of my favorite memories is being backstage with
@SpeakerPelosi
— holding this historic speech under my arm — as we listened to
@YoYo_Ma
&
@christhile
playing, of all perfect things that day, The Battle Hymn of the Republic.
Still gives me chills:
I wish you all could have heard the hush that fell over a room when John Lewis stood up to speak.
How lucky we all were to share this earth with him.
#goodtrouble
The GOP threat to slash Medicare & Social Security is not some collection of gaffes or a political confection.
It is an increasingly tangible and specific plan that's being openly discussed by senior House Republicans and has already been endorsed by 3/4ths of the
@HouseGOP
.
Note to anyone believing
@HouseGOP
doesn’t already have bills to implement the
#CommitmentToAmerica
:
166 House Rs have cosponsored a bill to criminalize abortion after fertilization.
158 House Rs have endorsed the
@RepublicanStudy
budget to slash Medicare & Social Security.
Don’t sleep on this:
In the
@HouseGOP
, calling for slashing Medicare & Social Security doesn’t make you a pariah. It’s *how you campaign for positions of power* in the Conference.
158 House Rs already endorse these cuts. Including
@SteveScalise
,
@RepStefanik
&
@RepTomEmmer
.
.
@SpeakerPelosi
: "Senators on both sides of the aisle should honor their oath to render impartial justice by listening to the evidence and arguments presented during the trial and not violate their duty as jurors by prejudging the case."
Slide (h/t
@Olivia_Beavers
) from inside private
@HouseGOP
meeting on the extreme MAGA “Commitment To America.”
The House GOP is dead set on criminalizing abortion nationwide.
It’s very telling that the Republicans will pay lip service to police, but when it comes time to Back the Blue, 55 House Republicans voted to defund the police.
Surely Whip
@SteveScalise
will condemn this out of control anti-police sentiment in the
@HouseGOP
conference?
B) Scalise: It's very telling that the Democrats will pay lip service to police but when it comes time to back in the blue, they walk away because they don't support the police
.
@GOPLeader
McCarthy whipped *on the same side as the Chinese Communist Party* to try to defeat the CHIPS and Science Act to build more semiconductors in America.
There's a new direction for ya.
.
@GOPLeader
just claimed that he would "move the supply chain back from China."
He and most House Rs voted *against* the historic manufacturing and competitiveness bill that the Chinese government wanted killed.
Because they didn't want Medicare negotiating lower drug costs.
Really, hats off to the Congressional press corps for grinding through the marathon of the last 3 weeks.
Buy your favorite reporter a coffee or a coupon for more comfortable stakeout shoes — the Speaker election may be done, but there is so much more work ahead for all of them.
The speech was a closely guarded secret. But word had to begun to spread that we were making a big announcement.
As it happened, that day,
@SpeakerPelosi
was scheduled to be interviewed by
@JeffreyGoldberg
for the Atlantic Festival.
In that pic, we’re heading there.