Category: House republicans
House GOP Majority Barely Hanging On By Thread Following Democrat’s Swearing-In
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s razor-thin Republican majority is set to slim further following Democratic Texas Rep. Christian Menefee’s swearing-in Monday night, days after he won a Saturday special election. Menefee, a former Harris County Attorney, will represent a Democratic-leaning Houston, Texas-based seat that had been vacant for nearly a year due to former Democratic Texas […]
Exclusive: Republicans pen OMAR Act, targeting lawmakers who have ‘blurred’ ethical lines
Republican lawmakers are pushing new legislation on Capitol Hill aimed at reining in members of Congress who take advantage of campaign finances for personal gain.
Wisconsin Republican Reps. Tom Tiffany and Tony Wied introduced the Oversight for Members And Relatives Act on Friday, known as the OMAR Act, which would prevent candidates’ campaign funds from benefiting their spouses. The legislation would also mandate the disclosure of campaign-related payments made to their immediate family members, according to the bill text obtained exclusively by Blaze News.
‘The American people are sick of it.’
“Public office should never be used to pad a family’s bank account,” Tiffany told Blaze News. “For years, members of both parties have blurred ethical lines by paying their spouses with campaign funds and labeling it ‘campaign work.'”
“The OMAR Act ends this practice and restores integrity to a system that’s been abused for far too long.”
RELATED: Exclusive: SAVE Act hangs in the balance as Republican Study Committee pushes for Senate passage
Exclusive: GOP lawmaker Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
A prime example of these “blurred ethical lines” is none other than Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, who reportedly paid nearly $2.8 million to her husband’s political consulting firm during the 2019-2020 election cycle.
According to Fox News, these payments accounted for nearly 70% of her disbursements during her third quarter, exceeding the total amount all congressional candidates combined paid their immediate relatives during the 2012 election cycle.
“Members of Congress are sent to Washington to represent the interests of their constituents — not to line their spouses’ pockets with campaign funds,” Wied told Blaze News.
RELATED: Biden DOJ’s probe into Ilhan Omar’s finances dropped same year her net worth surged
Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images
“We’ve seen far too many egregious examples of politicians exploiting loopholes for personal gain, and the American people are sick of it,” Wied added. “I’m proud to stand with Rep. Tiffany to introduce the OMAR Act and put a stop to these shady practices once and for all.”
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Congress needs to go big or go home
Last week marked one year since President Trump returned to the White House with a mandate to reshape America’s future after four long years of the Biden administration’s failures.
Overnight, illegal crossings at the southern border were brought to a halt. DEI initiatives that picked winners and losers based on group identity were eliminated from the federal government. Lethality returned as the rightful marker of success in our nation’s military.
Despite holding a majority, Republicans in Congress have produced a historically low volume of legislation, leaving much of the Trump agenda uncodified and the deep state intact.
Under President Trump, Americans finally have leaders willing to put them first. But despite a record number of executive orders and a landmark reconciliation package that delivered the largest tax cut in American history, $140 billion for border security, and the elimination of the $200 tax stamp on National Firearms Act items, the job isn’t done yet.
Obamacare’s broken framework continues to get more expensive each year — both for taxpayers and enrollees. Young Americans remain priced out of the American dream, unable to afford a home. And despite holding a majority, Republicans in Congress have produced a historically low volume of legislation, leaving much of the Trump agenda uncodified and the deep state intact.
These challenges are precisely why Republicans were elected: to fix the mess Washington created. We cannot coast into November on “tax cuts,” nor can we pretend that the nation’s most urgent challenges will be solved through uncodified executive orders or rogue discharge petitions.
We need decisive action to address the crises facing the nation. We need to make the American dream affordable again. Congress needs the structure, discipline, and publicity of a new reconciliation bill that forces lawmakers to prioritize results and deliver tangible outcomes for the American people.
It’s time to go big or go home. Despite prediction markets giving Republicans a 76% chance of losing the majority in the House, many lawmakers don’t seem to care. Just last week, 81 Republicans joined Democrats to fund the National Endowment for Democracy — a rogue CIA cutout that fuels global censorship and domestic propaganda. Many of those same Republicans had praised the Department of Government Efficiency just months prior for freezing the NED’s funding.
Likewise, 46 Republicans joined Democrats to vote against defunding the office of federal district court judge James Boasberg, who repeatedly uses nationwide injunctions to override duly executed federal law and substitute his own radical policy preferences for those of the president.
A few short years ago, Democrats attempted to lock Trump in prison and throw away the keys.
Republicans, by contrast, can hardly muster the courage to dispense with a rogue judge.
Meanwhile, much of the work of the American people remains to be done. While the House has passed Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy’s Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act twice, the Senate refuses to put it up for a vote on the floor.
On health care, members of the House Freedom Caucus have offered Americans an alternative to Obamacare’s failing architecture with market-based solutions that lower costs. Yet House moderates in our ranks, by contrast, have doubled down on stupid, joining Democrats to pass an extension of Biden’s $448 billion temporary COVID subsidies, which thankfully stalled in the Senate.
RELATED: This is what happens when a state elects a ‘moderate’ Democrat
Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images
Despite a good-faith effort from the administration on home ownership, Americans need more than solutions that subsidize demand. High interest rates, illegal immigration, and absurd capital gains taxes are crushing the market.
If Republicans don’t act now, we may not get the opportunity again. Democrats are on record clearly stating their intention to derail the administration with subpoenas and impeachments should they assume the majority in the House. We are a nation nearly $39 trillion in debt. Americans are sick of rhetoric and half measures.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act was passed in July 2025. If, 12 months later, we can only offer the American people last year’s accomplishments, do we expect them to believe we are legislating on their behalf?
The Republican Study Committee recently released a strong blueprint for a new reconciliation bill. The legislation would put more homes on the market by eliminating capital gains taxes on sales to first-time buyers. It includes health care reforms that empower Americans to direct their health care dollars toward insurance plans that best meet their individual needs, rather than those of their employers. The proposal also cuts over $1.6 trillion in government spending, returning a semblance of fiscal responsibility to Congress.
Republicans were elected to enact Trump’s America First agenda, not to manage decline and finance the status quo. If members of Congress fail to seize this moment, they will have no one to blame but themselves when voters decide it’s time to send them home.
Exclusive: SAVE Act hangs in the balance as Republican Study Committee pushes for Senate passage
While the Senate continues stalling the commonsense SAVE Act, the Republican Study Committee members are pressuring their colleagues to send the bill to President Donald Trump’s desk.
The House passed the SAVE Act for the second time in April, but the Senate has yet to schedule a vote to pass the bill. Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas originally spearheaded the legislation, which would simply require proof of U.S. citizenship to vote in federal elections.
‘American elections should be fair and free, not subject to foreign influence.’
Since then, dozens of RSC members have been pressuring the Senate to hold a vote, telling Blaze News that “the Senate must do their job.”
“Voting in American elections is a right reserved for American citizens, and the House did our job by passing the SAVE Act months ago to secure it,” RSC Chairman August Pfluger (Texas) told Blaze News. “We’re already a full year into the 119th Congress, and the American people are still waiting for the Senate to deliver what we promised them in 2024. They sent us here to get things done, not to make excuses.”
RELATED: Democrats vote overwhelmingly against GOP bill aiming to bar illegal aliens from voting
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images
“This is a commonsense reform with broad public support from Americans who want elections that are free, fair, and secure,” Roy told Blaze News. “Now it’s time for the Senate to act. All it takes is 51 Republicans willing to demand a vote. And if Democrats choose to filibuster, they can explain to the American people why they believe noncitizens should be allowed to vote. That is a debate we will win every time.”
Roy and Pfluger secured the backing of dozens of colleagues, including RSC Vice Chair Ben Cline of Virginia and Republican Reps. Mark Alford of Missouri; Riley Moore of West Virginia; Kat Cammack of Florida; Andy Harris of Maryland; Andy Ogles of Tennessee; Claudia Tenney of New York; Burgess Owens of Utah; Abe Hamadeh of Arizona; Anna Paulina Luna of Florida; Brandon Gill of Texas; John McGuire of Virginia; Robert Aderholt of Alabama; Mike Collins of Georgia; Eric Burlison of Missouri; Ralph Norman of South Carolina; Marlin Stutzman of Indiana; Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania; Mike Ezell of Mississippi; Russell Fry of South Carolina; Mark Harris of North Carolina; Buddy Carter of Georgia; Mike Kennedy of Utah; and Lance Gooden of Texas.
As Luna of Florida noted to Blaze News, “House Republicans are aligned.”
“American elections should be fair and free, not subject to foreign influence,” Gill told Blaze News. “Illegal aliens have no right to be in America, and they certainly shouldn’t be voting.”
RELATED: ‘Horrifying situation’: Some Republicans retreat following Minneapolis shooting of anti-ICE agitator
Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images
“We hear from the other side that voter ID is somehow racist,” Owens told Blaze News, referring to common talking points peddled by Democrats. “That is nonsense. What is racist is assuming minorities can’t get an ID. That’s called the soft bigotry of low expectations, and it is wildly insulting. I’ve been a proud day-one co-sponsor of the SAVE Act.”
“The longer the Senate waits, the longer this commonsense protection sits on the shelf,” Pfluger told Blaze News. “Seven Democrat Senators must decide: Do they stand with Republicans in affirming that our elections are legal, fair, and only for American citizens, or don’t they? The answer should be obvious. Pass this bill and get it to President Trump’s desk.”
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76 Republicans Vote To Keep Carveouts For Groups Who Do Child Sex Changes In Spending Package
‘against every conservative value that is known’
87 Republicans Vote With Democrats To Fund Deep State Slush Fund That Targeted Conservatives
‘this rogue organization that fuels global censorship and domestic propaganda’
‘One Thing They Have To Harp On’: Matt Towery Shares What Can Push Republicans The Hardest To Turn Out For Midterms
‘get those hardcore Trump voters’
The Obamacare subsidy fight exposes who Washington really serves
The failure of both Democrat and Republican plans to extend or partially replace enhanced Obamacare subsidies offers a clear lesson: Escaping an entitlement trap almost never happens.
Yes, the House of Representatives on Thursday voted to extend the COVID-era Affordable Care Act subsidies that expired at the end of 2025. Seventeen Republicans even joined a unanimous Democratic Caucus in voting for the extension. But Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said Republicans have “no appetite” for an extension — at least not without reforms.
Republicans remain an impediment to the necessary reforms and are working hand in hand with Democrats to bring on economic collapse. Time is not on our side.
The reality is, once government creates a welfare entitlement, logic and sustainability exit the conversation. Politicians do not debate whether to grow the program. They argue only over how much to increase spending and how to disguise the costs. That pattern now governs the fight over enhanced Obamacare subsidies.
Why the premise never gets challenged
When the Senate rejected a nearly identical bill in December, the Wall Street Journal reported that Congress faces “no clear path for aiding millions of Americans facing soaring Affordable Care Act insurance costs next year.”
The Journal’s framing accepts the entitlement premise without question. It treats “aiding millions” as morally self-evident while ignoring the coercion necessary to fund that aid. Government assistance does not materialize from thin air. It transfers responsibility, money, and risk from one group of Americans to another.
Once imposed, that transfer only grows.
Both rejected plans would have sent more taxpayer money to insurers than the ACA already guarantees. With no deal in sight, the Journal observed last month that hope for extending the subsidies is fading. That assessment may be accurate politically, but an extension does not deserve hope. It deserves scrutiny.
How entitlement politics works
Democrats want Republicans to extend an expansion they never voted for of a program they never supported. Republicans respond by proposing modest adjustments to reduce political damage without challenging the underlying structure.
Rep. Max L. Miller (R-Ohio), who voted for the bill, summarized the dilemma perfectly. “I just want to make this abundantly clear: This is a Democratic piece of legislation. It is absolutely horrific. Now, it is the best alternative to what we have at the moment.”
That is how entitlement traps operate.
For decades, big-government advocates have followed a reliable strategy. They create a benefit for a defined group, allow costs to spiral, then dare the opposition to take something away from a newly entrenched constituency. When the moment arrives, those who claim to favor limited government retreat or propose cosmetic reforms that leave the core system untouched.
That dynamic explains why the country remains locked into the socialist ratchet, the uniparty routine, and a political class that acts as tax collector for an ever-expanding welfare state.
RELATED: Democrat senator makes stunning admission about Obamacare failures
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Trapped voters, trapped taxpayers
Entitlements squeeze the nation from both sides. They trap recipients by discouraging work and mobility, and they trap taxpayers by locking future governments into permanent obligations.
The Affordable Care Act stands as one of the most powerful modern examples of this system. The law forced millions into government-regulated insurance markets while guaranteeing insurers a growing pool of subsidized customers. The result was predictable: higher costs, deeper dependency, and a massive political constituency invested in permanent expansion.
Not a single Republican voted for the ACA. They understood what the law would do. Democrats passed it anyway, and it worked exactly as designed.
Who Obamacare was really built to serve
As Connor O’Keeffe has argued at Mises Wire, federal health care policy has long served industry interests. Government interventions channel money toward providers, pharmaceutical companies, and insurers under the guise of helping patients.
Obamacare accelerated that process by mandating coverage and expanding what insurers must provide, driving demand and cost growth in tandem. Once people rely on government assistance to afford insurance, any reduction becomes politically unthinkable.
Republicans now scramble to avoid electoral consequences. House Speaker Mike Johnson says the GOP will advance health care proposals without extending subsidies, yet many lawmakers privately admit that only an extension prevents immediate pain ahead of the 2026 midterms.
That admission exposes the trap. Spending limits become cruel. Taxpayer costs disappear from the conversation. Only the next premium increase matters.
Why conservatives keep losing
History explains where this leads. Entitlement debates almost always end with higher spending. Political power depends on payments to voters. Reducing benefits means losing elections.
Progressives act decisively when in power. Conservatives obsess over procedure and restraint, even as the administrative state grows unchecked.
Last week alone offered two examples. The House overturned President Trump’s March 2025 executive order blocking collective bargaining for over a million federal employees, with 20 Republicans joining Democrats. Even Franklin Roosevelt opposed public-sector unions. Modern conservatives could not summon the resolve to block them.
On the same day, Indiana Republicans declined to redraw their congressional map despite the risk of losing the House and triggering impeachment proceedings against Trump. They clung to unwritten norms while their opponents prepared to exploit the outcome.
RELATED: If conservatives will not defend capitalism, who will?
Leontura via iStock/Getty Images
This pattern defines conservative failure. Republicans manage decline. They preserve a decaying system rather than reverse it.
Donald Trump broke from that habit. A former Democrat, he understands power. Win elections, then act. Trump restored a political energy absent on the right for decades.
His approach to entitlements focuses on restraining growth outside Social Security while expanding private-sector freedom to increase economic output. The goal is not austerity. It is to shrink government’s share of the economy by growing everything else faster.
Reform or collapse
That strategy may succeed or fail. It remains the only alternative to collapse. Without reform, federal spending and debt will overwhelm the system within a decade, possibly sooner. Borrowing costs will explode. Inflation will surge. Control will vanish.
The United States approached that danger under unified Democrat control and Joe Biden’s autopen in 2021 and 2022. Voters halted the slide by electing Republican majorities and returning Trump to the White House.
Trump failed to drain the swamp in his first term, largely because congressional Republicans refused to legislate when they had the chance. In his second term, he has advanced reforms through executive action. Congress has responded with delay and timidity.
The country will escape the entitlement trap one way or another. Reform can arrive through disciplined growth and economic expansion, or through collapse driven by massive overspending.
With their conservative approach to governance, Republicans remain an impediment to the necessary reforms and are working hand in hand with Democrats to bring on that collapse. Time is not on our side.
9 Republicans aid Democrats to advance Obamacare subsidies
Nine Republicans voted to advance the Democrat-led health care bill Wednesday, defying the GOP to extend Obamacare subsidies.
Republican Reps. Nick LaLota of New York, Thomas Kean of New Jersey, Mike Lawler of New York, Ryan Mackenzie of Pennsylvania, David Valadao of California, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Max Miller of Ohio, Rob Bresnahan of Pennsylvania, and Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida joined Democrats to bring a vote on the health care subsidies that expired at the end of 2025.
‘DEMOCRATS have increased health care costs exponentially.’
Notably Lawler, Fitzpatrick, Bresnahan, and Mackenzie also signed onto House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ (D-N.Y.) discharge petition last month that would have forced a House vote to extend the subsidies.
A final vote on the bill is now expected to take place Thursday.
RELATED: Senate tanks GOP solution to Obamacare subsidy problems
Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Lawler defended his vote aiding Democrats, saying the solution to fix the “broken” health care system is “through a bipartisan approach.”
“Republicans and Democrats can agree that our healthcare system is broken and must be fixed through a bipartisan approach,” Lawler wrote. “Enough of the blame game on both sides. Let’s focus on actually delivering affordable healthcare for Americans.”
RELATED: California Republican suddenly dies at age 65
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has maintained that the Affordable Care Act, especially the COVID-era subsidies, are responsible for skyrocketing premiums.
“Obamacare was created and passed entirely by DEMOCRATS,” Johnson said in a post on X during the 2025 government shutdown. “Since Obamacare took effect, health insurance premiums have SKYROCKETED. The Obamacare COVID-era subsidies were also passed entirely by DEMOCRATS, and set to expire at the end of this year.”
“DEMOCRATS have increased health care costs exponentially, and are now shutting down the government — as they try to cover up THEIR OWN FAILURES and somehow blame Republicans.”
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California Republican suddenly dies at age 65
Update: Reports now indicate that Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa passed away after suffering an aneurysm and later a heart attack during surgery.
Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa of California has tragically passed away at just 65 years old, according to multiple statements from GOP lawmakers issued Tuesday morning.
LaMalfa was a fourth-generation rice farmer representing California’s 1st congressional district, an agricultural area in Northern California. LaMalfa dedicated over two decades of his life to public service, first as a state legislator and later serving in Congress from 2013 to 2026.
‘Doug brought grit, authenticity, and conviction to everything he did in public service.’
In the wake of the sudden tragedy, many of LaMalfa’s colleagues expressed shock and extended their condolences to his family on social media.
Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
“Jacquie and I are devastated about the sudden loss of our friend, Congressman Doug LaMalfa,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (Minn.) said in a post on X. “Doug was a loving father and husband, and staunch advocate for his constituents and rural America. Our prayers are with Doug’s wife, Jill, and their children.”
Republican Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, who also chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee, reflected on his friendship with LaMalfa, recounting personal memories with the late congressman.
“I am deeply saddened by the passing of my colleague and close friend, Congressman Doug LaMalfa,” Hudson said in a statement. “Doug was a principled conservative and a tireless advocate for the people of Northern California. He was never afraid to fight for rural communities, farmers, and working families. Doug brought grit, authenticity, and conviction to everything he did in public service.”
RELATED: ‘It’s a death sentence’: Former Republican senator reveals tragic cancer diagnosis
Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
“I cherished our time serving together on the Agriculture Committee and discussing NASCAR — he was a real gear head and motorsports fan. I will deeply miss my ‘amigo.’ Renee and I are praying for his beloved wife, Jill, as well as Kyle, Allison, Sophia, Natalie, and all his loved ones, friends and staff during this incredibly difficult time.”
The House majority now sits at 218 Republicans and 213 Democrats.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to include Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa’s reported cause of death.
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