Congressional Hall Monitor

Democratic Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is aiming to implement a pilot program at the U.S.-Mexico border that would speed up the screening process and remove migrant families that don’t have a legal asylum claim. Sinema joined eight other senators in signing a letter Wednesday evening to acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan, The Arizona Republic reported. The letter detailed how ...

Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar has been uncooperative with her hometown paper’s efforts to get to the bottom of accusations that she committed marriage fraud, the paper’s political editor said. Omar’s brief congressional career has been dogged by accusations — which she has denied — that she married a male relative, possibly her brother. Omar and her current husband, Ahmed ...

Rep. Ilhan Omar introduced legislation Wednesday that supports the anti-Israel BDS movement. The bill cites the First Amendment, the Boston Tea Party and boycotts against Nazi Germany to support its cause. A statement from Omar’s office says the bill is a response to a “widespread campaign being waged by the Israeli government … to silence Americans who choose to engage ...

Texas Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro wants to strike the words “alien” and “illegal alien” from government’s legal code, arguing that the terms are hurtful to the immigrant community. “Words matter. It’s vital that we respect the dignity of immigrants fleeing violence and prosecution in our language. The words ‘alien’ and ‘illegal alien’ work to demonize and dehumanize the migrant community. ...

Texas Rep. Al Green introduced articles of impeachment against President Trump on Tuesday, paving the way for the first vote on the measure since Democrats took control of the House. Green introduced the resolution after the House voted to condemn Trump over his remarks over the weekend about four freshmen House Democrats. Trump tweeted that the four lawmakers — Alexandria ...

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren tried to shame Defense Secretary Nominee Mark Esper during his Senate Armed Services Committee testimony Tuesday and he wasn’t having any of it. Warren asked Esper several questions about Raytheon, where he worked as a lobbyist for over six years, demanding Esper voluntarily extend the required 2-years recusal period related to Raytheon matters. Warren then asked ...

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri announced Tuesday he will introduce two pieces of legislation this week targeting institutions of higher education, one of which would put universities on the hook financially if its students are unable to repay their student loans. Americans hold nearly $1.5 trillion in outstanding student debt, 10.9% of which is over 90 days delinquent, according ...

Many Republicans have condemned the president for his tweets Sunday telling some congresswomen to return to their home countries. These Republicans include Sens. Tim Scott and Susan Collins as well as Rep. Chip Roy. Democrats have also come out against Trump’s tweets. Many Republicans have come out against President Donald Trump’s tweets Sunday where he suggested some Democratic congresswomen should go ...

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez continues her media onslaught on the American public, but while polls show that Democrat voters believe she is the face of the Democrat party, they wish she wasn’t. Top Democrats are circulating a poll showing that one of the House’s most progressive members — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — has become a definitional face for the party with a ...

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reiterated her claim Friday that migrant detainees told her they were instructed to drink water out of toilets. “When these women tell me that they were put into a cell and that their sink was not working — and we tested the sink ourselves and the sink was not working — and they were told ...

Critics of the Trump administration’s beleaguered rule demanding drug companies include prices in television ads say it was designed to fail, but Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst defended the rule that could end up in Congress’s hands in an interview with the Daily Caller News Foundation. “I haven’t seen the finalized rule yet, but this has been brought up by ...

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez implied Wednesday that Nancy Pelosi is racist, saying that the House Speaker has been “disrespectful” towards “newly elected women of color” in Congress. In an interview with The Washington Post, Ocasio-Cortez addressed the growing rift between Pelosi and the progressive wing of the Democratic party. Pelosi was quoted in a New York Times article on ...

Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez questioned on Wednesday if the leaders of her party assigned her to the committees that she requested in order to keep her from focusing on other issues. “I was assigned to some of the busiest committees and four subcommittees. So my hands are full,” Ocasio-Cortez said during an interview with The New Yorker Radio ...

The House Oversight sent a letter to Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta Wednesday asking him to attend a meeting designed to “examine” his actions regarding a light plea deal with accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein was arrested Saturday for allegedly sex trafficking minors between 2002 and 2005. He was previously arrested in 2008 on two counts of prostitution, one ...

Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson of Florida said Tuesday that the border patrol agents who made fun of members of Congress in a private Facebook group should be prosecuted. “Those people who are online making fun of members of Congress are a disgrace,” Wilson said during a press conference after touring an immigrant detention center in Homestead, Florida. “We’re going to ...