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Tag Archives: Concession
McCarthy commits to key concession in call with frustrated House Republicans
CNN
—
House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy outlined some of the concessions that he has agreed to in his campaign for speaker on a Sunday evening conference call – including making it easier to topple the speaker, according to multiple GOP sources on the call. But McCarthy could not say whether he would have the votes for the speakership, even after giving in to some of the right’s most hardline demands.
The California Republican told his members that after weeks of negotiations, he has agreed to a threshold as low as five people to trigger a vote on ousting the speaker at any given time, known as the “motion to vacate” the speaker’s chair, and pitched it as a “compromise.” CNN first reported last week that he was supportive of that threshold.
But there’s still uncertainty whether this will be enough to clinch McCarthy the gavel.
Some moderates – who fear the motion to vacate will be used as constant cudgel over McCarthy’s head – pushed back and expressed their frustration during the call, sources said.
Rep. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota said he wasn’t happy with the low threshold McCarthy agreed to, though he indicated he would swallow it, but only if it helps McCarthy win the speakership. Other members made clear that the rules package that was negotiated will be off the table if McCarthy’s critics end up tanking his speakership bid.
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida pressed McCarthy on whether this concession on the motion to vacate will win him the 218 votes. But he did not directly answer, though McCarthy said earlier on the call that people were “slowly” moving in the right direction.
However, later in the call, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz – one of the five “hard no” votes for McCarthy – said they would not back McCarthy, despite all the concessions.
Rep. Carlos Gimenez of Florida then repeated Diaz-Balart’s question, asking McCarthy to answer it. McCarthy’s response, according to sources, was that they have a couple days to close the deal, and they need to close.
Rep.-elect Mike Lawler of New York asked Gaetz if he would back McCarthy if he agreed to bring the motion to vacate threshold down to a single lawmaker, which is what it used to be before Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, changed the rules. Gaetz replied that McCarthy had refused to entertain that idea, but if he is making that offer now, than he would consider it.
McCarthy said he disagreed with Gaetz’s characterization, arguing that the rest of the conference can’t support the threshold as low as one person. “It’s not about me,” the California Republican said. However, he asked Gaetz if he could get to “yes” if McCarthy came down to a one-person threshold, to which Gaetz was still non-committal and said if it was a real offer, he would entertain it.
House Republicans are planning to release their final rules package, which will formalize a number of these concessions, later Sunday evening. But sources cautioned that nothing is truly final until the package is passed.
After the House elects a speaker and swears in members, lawmakers vote on the rules package, which governs how the House operates.
Kevin McCarthy floats concession on allowing conservatives to remove House speaker
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is floating a last-minute deal to bring conservative holdouts in line and clinch the speakership.
The embattled California Republican is offering a congressional rule change that would make it easier to remove a House speaker in exchange for his ascension to the post. McCarthy’s offer would lower the threshold required for a motion to vacate the chair — a parliamentary gambit that forces a vote on retaining the speaker.
Currently, because of a rules change pushed through by Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi, only a member of the House leadership can offer a motion to vacate. Conservative House Republicans are pushing for that standard to be repealed, allowing any one member to force a vote on the speaker at any time.
“Every member of Congress was elected to legislate on behalf of their constituents,” said Rep. Andy Biggs, an Arizona Republican who is running against McCarthy for speaker. “To do that, members must be able to hold their own leadership accountable.”
SEVEN MORE HOUSE REPUBLICANS THREATEN TO OPPOSE MCCARTHY WITHOUT CONCESSIONS ON HOUSE RULES
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Republican members criticize President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the close of the war in Afghanistan, during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021.
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Allowing members to offer a motion to vacate the chair is seen as an insurance policy by hard-line Republicans. Many fear that once entrusted with the speaker’s gavel, McCarthy will refuse to threaten a partial government shutdown in an effort to get President Biden to make concessions on policy.
“While difficult in practice, it is an important mechanism to restore trust and provide accountability,” said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas.
ANDY BIGGS TO CHALLENGE KEVIN MCCARTHY FOR SPEAKER ON HOUSE FLOOR
Given that the incoming House GOP majority is a only 222 seats, McCarthy cannot afford to ignore the demands. Officially, 218 votes are needed to clinch the speakership on the House floor on Jan. 3, assuming everyone is present and votes. McCarthy has already drawn five public no votes from Republicans.
“Every member of Congress was elected to legislate on behalf of their constituents,” said Rep. Andy Biggs, an Arizona Republican who is running against McCarthy for speaker. “To do that, members must be able to hold their own leadership accountable.”
(Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Motions to vacate the chair were deployed only twice between 1910 and 2015. In the first instance, Democrats unsuccessfully attempted to oust GOP Speaker Joseph Gurney Cannon for ruling with what many claimed was an iron fist. The vote eventually failed after Republicans refused to buck their leader.
It was threatened again in July 2015 by then-Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows of North Carolina. Meadows sought to force a vote on Republican Speaker John Boehner’s decision to strip him from the House Oversight Committee for voting against a trade bill.
Boehner’s allies within leadership prevented the motion from going directly to the floor, instead sending it to the House Rules Committee for consideration. Three months later, Boehner resigned after conservatives indicated they would not drop the issue.
In 2015, the Freedom Caucus sought to oust Speaker John Boehner using a motion to vacate the chair. (AP Photo/Michael A. McCoy)
In the aftermath of Boehner’s resignation, McCarthy made a bid for speaker but was forced to abandon that goal after opposition from the Freedom Caucus. Since Republicans only held a narrow majority, the nearly two-dozen-member group had veto power.
Boehner’s successor as speaker, Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan, only agreed to run for the top spot after receiving a pledge from the Freedom Caucus that it would not try and oust him in the same manner.
Pelosi, D-Calif., changed the rule when Democrats retook the House in 2019 partial
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“The House can’t function if anyone can take the entire chamber hostage at any point over a petty disagreement with the speaker,” said a Republican congressional aide.
Brazil’s Bolsonaro avoids concession to Lula, but transition to begin
BRASILIA/SAO PAULO, Nov 1 (Reuters) – Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday avoided conceding defeat in his first public remarks since losing Sunday’s election, saying protests since then were the fruit of “indignation and a sense of injustice” over the vote.
His chief of staff, Ciro Nogueira, speaking after Bolsonaro’s brief public address, said Bolsonaro had authorized him to begin the transition process with representatives of leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
It took Bolsonaro more than 44 hours to make his first public remarks since the election was decided by electoral authorities, making him the first Brazilian president to lose a re-election bid. He has still not spoken with Lula.
Amid his silence, supporters blocked highways to protest his defeat, with some calling for a military coup to stop former President Lula from returning to power. Bolsonaro’s delay in recognizing Lula’s election raised fear that he would contest the narrow result of the election.
In a national address on Tuesday that lasted just a few minutes, Bolsonaro thanked Brazilians who voted for him and reiterated that he would follow the country’s constitution, which stipulates a transition of power on Jan. 1.
He referred to the demonstrations as a “popular movement” and said they should avoid destroying property or “impeding the right to come and go.”
[1/13] Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro gives a press statement at the Alvorada Palace in Brasilia, Brazil November 1, 2022. REUTERS/Adriano Machado
That may not be enough to defuse the protests across Brazil by small groups of his supporters, which have begun to cause economic disruptions draw calls from farm and retail groups for Bolsonaro to begin a transition.
Close political allies, including his chief of staff and Vice President Hamilton Mourao, have begun to make contact with the Lula camp to discuss a transition. Others, including the speaker of the lower house of Congress, called on the Bolsonaro government to respect the election result.
The powerful agricultural lobby CNA, representing farmers who were important campaign donors for Bolsonaro, said it was ready for conversations with the incoming government, which will take office on Jan. 1.
Before Sunday’s vote, Bolsonaro repeatedly made baseless claims the electoral system was open to fraud and accused electoral authorities of favoring his leftist adversary.
Lula’s victory represents a stunning comeback for the 77-year-old former metalworker, spent 19 months in jail for corruption convictions before they were annulled last year.
Lula has vowed to overturn many of Bolsonaro’s policies, including pro-gun measures and weak protection of the Amazon rainforest.
Reporting by Ricardo Brito, Marcela Ayres and Anthony Boadle in Brasilia, Brian Ellsworth, Nayara Figuereido and Gabriel Araujo in Sao Paulo; Editing by Brad Haynes, Paul Simao and Alistair Bell
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Ecuador cuts gasoline prices in latest concession to protesters
QUITO, June 26 (Reuters) – Ecuadorean President Guillermo Lasso said on Sunday he would cut prices for gasoline and diesel by 10 cents a gallon, the latest concession to try to end nearly two weeks of anti-government protests in which at least six people have died.
The sometimes-violent demonstrations by largely indigenous protesters demanding lower fuel and food prices, among other things, began on June 13 and have slashed Ecuador’s oil production.
Lasso, whose adversarial relationship with the national assembly has worsened during the protests, had already withdrawn security measures and announced subsidized fertilizers and debt forgiveness, and his government met this weekend with indigenous groups. read more
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The leader of the CONAIE indigenous organization, Leonidas Iza, had flagged gasoline prices and other issues as still outstanding earlier on Sunday, promising to keep up the demonstrations until they were settled.
“Everyone considers that gas prices have become the cornerstone of maintaining the conflict and though we as a government are very clear that this factor isn’t the origin of Ecuadoreans’ problems, we must think of the common good and citizens’ peace,” Lasso said.
“I have decided to reduce the price of gasoline extra and Ecopais (gasoline) by 10 cents per gallon and also diesel by 10 cents per gallon,” Lasso said.
Lasso froze prices for gasoline extra at $2.55 a gallon and diesel at $1.90 a gallon in October last year, setting off an initial series of protests.
Gasoline extra will now cost $2.45 per gallon, while diesel will cost $1.80, both still higher than CONAIE had requested.
Ecuador’s oil production has fallen by more than half because of road blockades and vandalism linked to the protests, the energy ministry said earlier.
“Oil production is at a critical level. Today the figures show a reduction of more than 50%,” the ministry said in a statement. “In 14 days of demonstrations, the Ecuadorean state has stopped receiving around $120 million.”
Vandalism, the takeover of oil wells and road closures have prevented transport of necessary supplies, the ministry said.
Before the protests, oil production was about 520,000 barrels per day.
The public oil sector, private producers of flowers and dairy products, tourism and other businesses have lost about $500 million, the ministry of production said.
Residents of Quito have complained of product shortages and Lasso said earlier on Sunday hospitals in the city of Cuenca were suffering an oxygen shortage.
CONAIE has tallied five protester deaths, while the government says four civilians have died during protests and two died in ambulances delayed by blockades.
Lawmakers continued debate on Sunday on an effort to remove Lasso from office, though it appears opposition groups do not have the necessary support to do that.
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Reporting by Alexandra Valencia
Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb
Editing by Nick Zieminski, Robert Birsel
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
GOP truck driver Ed Durr recounts ironic conversation with longtime predecessor after concession
New Jersey state senator-elect Edward Durr recounted an ironic conversation he had with his longtime predecessor – and state Senate President – Steve Sweeney after he conceded the race to the Republican commercial truck driver.
Durr, in an appearance on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” Thursday, said Sweeney was “a gentleman” in his congratulatory call a day earlier, which followed his public concession.
LONGTIME NJ SENATE PRESIDENT CONCEDES TO GOP TRUCK DRIVER
“He congratulated me and just wished me luck, [told me] to do well for South Jersey,” Durr said.
“I told him, you know, if he ever needs anything, just give me a call, because I’m his representative now,” Durr, who is reported to have spent only $153 on his primary campaign, responded.
(Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images Fox News)
During a press conference at the statehouse Wednesday, Sweeney, who served as New Jersey state Senate president since 2010, told reporters that he lost because of an unexpected “red wave.”
NEW JERSEY TRUCK DRIVER EDWARD DURR DEFEATS STATE SENATE PRESIDENT, LONGTIME DEM
His concession comes six days after The Associated Press called the race for Durr.
Durr repeatedly attacked Sweeney during the campaign for not investigating nursing home deaths at the height of the pandemic.
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“You not only had high costs of living in the state, worst tax rate, worst business tax rate, people being told they couldn’t live, couldn’t go to stores, couldn’t go to church,” Durr told Carlson. “You had nursing home deaths. It just became a combination of everything, and I got fed up with it and I said, ‘I’m not leaving the state, I’m going to fix the state, and that’s what I chose to do.”
Concession workers at San Francisco Giants’ Oracle Park vote to strike
Concession workers at the San Francisco Giants’ Oracle Park on Saturday voted overwhelmingly to strike, citing concerns over COVID-19 safety and health coverage.
According to UNITE HERE Local 2, at least 20 concessions workers have contracted COVID-19 since the stadium reopened this season. According to the union, 96.7% of active stadium workers voted to strike.
⚡️⚾️ BREAKING ⚾️⚡️
96.7% of concessions workers at the @SFGiants Oracle Park have voted to STRIKE for safety, health care & hazard pay.
At least 20 concessions workers have been infected with COVID-19 since the stadium reopened. pic.twitter.com/UcNrn9Pwm4
— UNITE HERE Local 2 (@UniteHereLocal2) September 5, 2021
The workers are employed by Bon Appetit, a company contracted by the Giants. They worked Saturday night’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Oracle Park, but the strike could happen at any time. The Giants are scheduled to close their series against the Dodgers on Sunday.
“Bon Appétit Management Company and Local 2 are currently engaged in collective bargaining negotiations,” the Giants said in a statement to ABC7 News. “We encourage both sides to work productively to reach an agreement as soon as possible. The Giants make the health and safety of everyone working and visiting Oracle Park a top priority. We operate our venue in compliance with local and state health requirements.”