House Democrats: United Against Republican Dysfunction, Obstruction & Distraction
Through It All, Pelosi Keeps House Democrats Moving in One Direction
Ms. Pelosi, 74, maintains unwavering control over Democratic members of the House on legislation — in contrast to the House speaker, John A. Boehner, who continues to struggle with his cacophonous caucus — and she may be a…vital tool for the White House at the end of President Obama's tenure…
Her lasting authority was demonstrated this week when she helped pass a measure from the Senate to avoid yet another government shutdown. That vote "strengthened our hand," Ms. Pelosi said, a sentiment that many Republicans, who are eager to show that they can effectively govern, agree with, teeth clenched.
Jeh C. Johnson, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security…said "Without the unqualified, unified support" of Democrats, Mr. Johnson said, "we wouldn't have obtained our full-year appropriation."
Pelosi shows Democrats how to wield power despite House GOP majority
Nancy Pelosi had a plan.
She encouraged her caucus to reject Boehner's proposal for a stopgap DHS funding bill, knowing that Boehner could not sufficiently rally his own caucus to pass the bill without Democratic help.
Five days later, Democrats got exactly what they wanted: DHS was fully funded without any rollback of Obama's executive actions on immigration…Their strategy? Stick together when the other side doesn't…
"Let's enhance our own power in this thing, because this is a culmination of a lot of things coming together, whether it's immigration whether it's anti-Obama," Pelosi said.
Boehner Caves In DHS Shutdown Fight Against Obama's Executive Actions
It was all but inevitable, and Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) finally cut his losses on Tuesday…
It effectively ends the Republican threat to use a potential shutdown of DHS to overturn President Barack Obama's executive actions on immigration, which Boehner promised to fight "tooth and nail" last year with the new GOP majorities in both chambers.
The GOP's Wasted Winter
House Republicans abandoned their futile effort to tie funding for the Department of Homeland Security to the rollback of Obama's immigration policies on Tuesday.
It was a complete, and ignominious, capitulation.
…caving to Democratic demands and passing the full-year homeland-security budget that the Senate approved on a bipartisan vote.
Bitterly admitting defeat, the Republican-controlled Congress sent legislation to President Barack Obama on Tuesday that funds the Department of Homeland Security without any of the immigration-related concessions they demanded for months.
In the end, Republicans who'd tried to use the DHS spending bill to undo Obama's actions had little to show but weeks of gridlock and chaotic spectacle…
Rather than risk shutting down critical operations at the Department of Homeland Security, House Republicans threw in the towel Tuesday afternoon and passed a clean bill to keep the agency running – no strings attached.
Boehner's announcement was met with anger and frustration from conservatives who saw the speaker as caving under pressure.
If anyone was in control of the House floor Friday, it was San Francisco Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, not the Republicansnot the Republicans who won full control of Congress in November.
Less than two months into Republican governance, House GOP leaders suffered their most humiliating defeat yet on the House floor in the battle over funding the Department of Homeland Security, thanks in large part to Pelosi's ability to marshal her…Democratic minority…
The Republican leadership team, including Speaker John Boehner of Ohio and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield, demonstrated a stunning inability to do the same.
Boehner Throws in the DHS Towel…And so ends the latest threat of a partial government shutdown.
The terrible, horrible, no good start for the Republicans
The low point came Friday, when more than 50 conservative Republicans revolted against Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and opposed a bill to fund the DHS.
It was a humiliating defeat for Boehner…
GOP leaders are struggling to show they really are in charge
The stunning House defeat Friday of a three-week spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security exposed Speaker John Boehner's weakness…It also again demonstrated his need to rely on Democrats at critical moments…
House Democrats Save DHS From Shutdown, Republicans From Themselves
The vote ended a tumultuous day in the House as Republican Speaker John Boehner and his aides lost control of their right flank…
Boehner's worst failure yet: Incompetence, near-shutdown & sorry state of GOP "governance"
So, for all intents and purposes, the House minority leader was calling the shots last Friday, determining which legislation would pass and mapping out future votes. Boehner was along for the ride, keeping a low profile with the rest of the Republican leadership while the Democrats held press briefings sketching out the way forward. It'd be embarrassing enough of this had never happened before, but it's getting difficult to keep track of how many times Pelosi has had to bail out Boehner. That it is still happening despite the fact that Boehner is now sitting on one of the largest Congressional majorities in decades is about as damning an indictment of his speakership as one could ask for.
It is unacceptable that the House of Representatives under Speaker Boehner spent so much time embroiled in Republicans' internal dysfunction instead of joining Democrats to create bigger paychecks and better infrastructure for America's working families and the middle class. Now is the time for Republicans to abolish the cycle of obstruction and catastrophic chaos that has paralyzed Congress during the past four years.