About this episode
Divided government! The 2018 midterm elections are over and we know what the 116th Congress is going to look like: The Republican Party will continue to control the Senate and the Democratic Party will control the House of Representatives. In this episode, we discuss the likely ramifications of a divided Congress, some of the interesting results of individual Congressional races, and the opportunities available for Republicans to get their last wishes rammed into law before their complete Congressional control ends in January. Please Support Congressional Dish - Quick Links Click here to contribute a lump sum or set up a monthly contribution via PayPal Click here to support Congressional Dish for each episode via Patreon Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Use your bank's online bill pay function to mail contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North Number 4576 Crestview, FL 32536 Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Recommended Episodes CD179: Hearing: Who's Tracking the Immigrant Kids? CD166: I Spy a Shutdown CD149: Fossil Fuel Foxes CD143: Trump's Law Enforcers CD089: Secrets of the CRomnibus (2015 Budget) CD087: Run for Congress with Chris Clemmons Additional Reading Article: Trump's appointment of the acting Attorney General is unconstitutional by Neal K. Katyal and George T. Conway III, The New York Times, November 8, 2018. Article: DoD is sending 7,000 troops to the border. Here's every unit going. by Tara Copp, Military Times, November 8, 2018. Article: It's not over: Days after election, these races are still undecided by Brian Naylor, NPR, November 8, 2018. Article: Rep. Duncan Hunter keeps seat despite charges by Julie Watson, WBTV, November 8, 2018. Article: Trump warns Dems over potential investigations: 'Two can play that game!' by Brett Samuels, The Hill, November 7, 2018. Article: Top Dems quickly announce leadership intentions by Mike Lillis, The Hill, November 7, 2018. Article: Nevada voters approve automatic voter registration by Aris Folley, The Hill, November 7, 2018. Article: Connecticut elects first black congresswoman by Jessie Hellmann, The Hill, November 11, 2018. Article: Jeff Sessions pushed out after a year of attacks from Trump by Erick Tucker and Michael Balsamo, AP News, November 7, 2018. Article: Ayanna Pressley officially Massachusetts' 1st black congresswoman by William J. Kole, Boston Globe, November 7, 2018. Article: Don Young holds on to House seat in Alaska by Miranda Green, The Hill, November 7, 2018. Article: GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter wins reelection despite criminal charges by Juliegrace Brufke, The Hill, November 7, 2018. Article: Florida U.S. Senate race between Rick Scott, Bill Nelson could be heading for recount by Mark Skoneki, Steven Lemongello, and Gray Rohrer, The Orlando Sentinel, November 7, 2018. Article: Democrat Colin Allred grabs Dallas-area U.S. House seat from GOP's Pete Sessions by Gromer Jeffers Jr., Dallas News, November 7, 2018. Article: The investigations Trump will face now that Democrats control the House by Adam Davidson, The New Yorker, November 7, 2018. Article: With midterms over, lame-duck congress now turns to avoiding a shutdown by Eric Katz, Government Executive, November 7, 2018. Article: Next chairman of Ways and Means Committee plans to demand Trump's tax return by Justin Wise, The Hill, November 7, 2018. Article: The private business of for-profit prisons in the US by AYŞE NUR DOK, TRT World, November 7, 2018. Article: Newly empowered, House Democrats plan to launch immediate investigations of Trump, but leaders are wary of impeachment by Karoun Demirjian, Tom Hamburger, and Gabriel Pogrund, The Washington Post, November 7, 2018. Article: Top Judiciary Dem: Trump is about to 'learn he's not above the law' by Aris Folley, The Hill, November 7, 2018. Article: GOP Rep. Chris Collins, charged with insider trading, is projected to win re-election in New York by Dan Mangan, CNBC, November 7, 2018. Article: Former NFL players Anthony Gonzalez, Colin Allred elected to Congress by Curtis Crabtree, NBC Sports, November 6, 2018. Article: Cramer ousts Heitkamp in critical North Dakota Senate race by Max Greenwood, The Hill, November 6, 2018. Article: Blackburn keeps Tennessee seat in GOP hands by Alexander Bolton, The Hill, November 6, 2018. Article: Dem Lauren Underwood unseats Randy Hultgren in Illinois by Brett Samuels, The Hill, November 6, 2018. Article: Hawley defeats McCaskill in tight Missouri Senate race by Jordain Carney, The Hill, November 6, 2018. Article: Pence's brother wins Indiana House race by Megan Keller, The Hill, November 6, 2018. Article: GOP Rep. Chris Collins wins reelection in NY despite insider trading charges by Michael Burke, The Hill, November 6, 2018. Article: Dem Colin Allredy topples Sessions in key Texas House seat by Lisa Hagen, The Hill, November 6, 2018. Article: Graham lauds GOP Senate Results: 'Conservative judicial train is going to keep running!' by Megan Keller, The Hill, November 6, 2018. Article: Coffman loses GOP seat in Colorado by Mike Lillis, The Hill, November 6, 2018. Article: Mitt Romney wins Senate race in Utah by Alexander Bolton, The Hill, November 6, 2018. Article: Rashida Tlaib becomes first Palestinian-American woman to win congressional seat by Emily Birnbaum, The Hill, November 6, 2018. Article: Haaland becomes one of first Native American women elected to Congress by Morgan Gstalter, The Hill, November 6, 2018. Article: Sharice Davids makes history: Kansas' 1st gay rep, 1st Native American woman in Congress by Bryan Lowry and Katy Bergen, The Kansas City Star, November 6, 2018. Article: Ryan Zinke and the murky interior of Trumpworld by Timothy L. O'Brien, Bloomberg, November 1, 2018. Article: Sources: Justice Department investigating Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke by Pamela Brown, Evan Perez, Lauren Fox, and Gregory Wallace, CNN Politics, October 31, 2018. Article: Probe of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke sent to U.S. prosecutors by Ari Natter and Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Bloomberg, October 30, 2018. Article: Lieu vows aggressive investigations of Trump if Dems retake House by Julia Manchester, The Hill, October 29, 2018. Blog: Budget reconciliation is the key to building the border wall by Rep. Bradley Byrne, The Hill, October 17, 2018. Article: $35M private immigration detention center proposted for Ionia by Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press, October 16, 2018. Article: House will investigate Trump's attacks on democracy if Dems win, Cummings says by Julia Manchester, The Hill, October 1, 2018. Article: Ryan Zinke to the oil and gas industry: "Our government should work for you" by Umair Irfan, Vox, September 22, 2018. Article: Rep. Duncan Hunter and his wife indicted in use of campaign funds for personal expenses by Laura Jarrett and Maeve Reston, CNN Politics, August 21, 2018. Article: Why Rep. Chris Collins's insider trading arrest is a huge deal - and also totally unsurprising by Tara Golshan, Vox, August 9, 2018. Article: 2 Texas congressman bought shares in drug firm at heart of Rep. Chris Collins' insider trading case by Rachel Cohrs, Dallas News, August 9, 2018. Article: This company is at the center of insider trading charges against Rep. Collins by Katherine Ross, The Street, August 9, 2018. Article: Rep. Chris Collins charged with insider trading, federal prosecutors announce by Renae Merle and Mike DeBonis, The Washington Post, August 8, 2018. Article: Indicted Rep. Chris Collins shows why members of Congress should not trade stocks by Josh Barro, Business Insider, August 8, 2018. Article: Scandals pile up for interior chief Ryan Zinke by Chris D'Angelo, Huffpost, July 23, 2018. Article: Interior watchdog opens probe of land deal linking Zinke, Halliburton chairman by Ben Lefebvre, Politico, July 18, 2018. Article: Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's conduct attracts unprecedented scrutiny from government investigators by Greg Zimmerman, Medium, June 5, 2018. Article: A timeline of scandals and ethical shortfalls at Ryan Zinke's Interior Department by Evlondo Cooper and Ted MacDonald, Media Matters for America, May 7, 2018. Article: Profiting from enforcement: The role of private prisons in U.S. immigration detention by Livia Luan, Migration Policy Institute, May 2, 2018. Article: Liberal watchdog group sues Trump, alleging he violated constitutional ban by David A. Fahrenthold and Jonathan O'Connell, The Washington Post, January 23, 2017. Article: GOP congressman, overwhelmed by constituents concerned about ACA repeal, sneaks out of event early by Mark Joseph Stern, Slate, January 15, 2017. Article: Congressman defends 'Citibank' provision in spending bill by Jim Acosta, CNN Politics, December 16, 2014. Article: Wall Street's omnibus triumph, and others by Russ Choma, Open Secrets News, December 12, 2014. Article: Why Citi may soon regret its big victory on Capitol Hill by Rob Blackwell, American Banker, December 11, 2014. Article: How Wall St. got its way by Dave Clarke, Kate Davidson, and Jon Prior, Politico, December 11, 2014. Resources ACLU Talking Points: 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Bill Overview: H.R. 992 (113th): Swaps Regulatory Improvement Act Live News: CNN Election Night in the US Company Announcement: BAKKEN Binding Expansion Open Season, Energy Transfer Letter: Resignation Letter of Jeff Sessions OpenSecrets: Rep. Kevin Cramer - North Dakota District 1 OpenSecrets: Rep. Kevin Yoder, Kansas District 03 Wikipedia: Chris Collins (American Politician) Visual Resources Sound Clip Sources Interview: Schiff responds to threat from President Trump, CNN Politics, November 8, 2018. News Conference: Minority Leader Pelosi on 2018 Election Results, C-SPAN, November 7, 2018. 19:30 Representative Nancy Pelosi: In any event, next week we look forward to welcoming our new class of freshmen. We will celebrate their diversity, the freshness of their thinking, and the rest. And they will immediately be incorporated into our building consensus and how we go forward in a very open, transparent, bipartisan, unifying Congress. Any questions? 21:10 Representative Nancy Pelosi: In appropriations and in many of the other committee—all of the other committees—we have a responsibility for oversight. And, hopefully, in the course of asking for information, we can just make the request and the information will come in. We're concerned about what's happening at EPA, for example, to degrading the air we breathe and the water we drink despite what the president said today. So, that's only one example. 27:30 Unknown Speaker: Follow up on what the president said this morning. He made clear that if Democrats launch investigations, that any hopes for bipartisanship is off. Do you have any concerns that these investigations could jeopardize your opportunities to legislate? Representative Nancy Pelosi: We do not intend to abandon or relinquish our responsibility as Article I, the first branch of government, and our responsibilities for accountability, for oversight, and the rest. This doesn't mean we go looking for a fight, but it means that if we see a need to go forward, we will. But that will be the work of our committees. Every committee has oversight responsibility. Congresswoman Eshoo's on Energy and Commerce, and that's a big oversight committee, as some of you probably are aware. But, specifically, to some of the concerns that the president may have, the Judiciary Committee, the Intelligence Committee, the Oversight Committee, the—well, there're a number of committees that—depending on how we go down that path—the Financial Services committee, did I say Intelligence? Oh, Homeland Security Committee, because, of course, we are shamed as a nation by a policy that takes babies out of the arms of their mothers, that builds tents, and all the rest to house people, and there's separation of families. So we want to look into that, and we would hope that we can do so by simply having oversight. If, in fact, requires a subpoena—I hope not, but—so be it. News Conference: President Trump on 2018 Election Results, C-SPAN, November 7, 2018. 23:00 President Donald Trump: Their whole agenda has been to try not giving me anything for the wall. I really believe politically they're hurting themselves. I actually think politically that's a good thing for me, but I want to get the wall up because we need to— Unknown Speaker: So no shut-down scenario— President Trump: I don't know. I can't tell you that. Unknown Speaker: —for the, for the mid, for the lame duck. President Trump: No, I can't commit to that, but it's possible. News Conference: Democrat Richard Neal says he plans to seek Trump tax returns, APNews, YouTube, November 7, 2018. Hearing: Unaccompanied Immigrant Children, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, C-SPAN, August 16, 2018. 1:14:30 Senator Claire McCaskill: This is about the fourth or fifth time I've been on this dais, and no one seems to be worried about the fact that you all get to wash your hands of these children. You want to talk about catch and release? You're catching these children and then you're releasing them and everyone goes like this. Not my problem. I think the thing that really stuck out to me in the report that the committee issued was the finding—and this was finding number 14—HHS has a plan to notify state governments before placing unaccompanied children previously held in secure facilities, but HHS has failed to implement that plan. HHS explained it cannot implement the plan because it cannot determine who to notify in state government. Well, let me just tell you, Commander, I will make an offer to you today: I think my staff can get you a list of agencies and phone numbers before close of business tomorrow. Would that be helpful? Commander Jonathan White: I'll be glad to convey that, but I think it does address—I think there are very real questions, but— Sen. McCaskill: No, they're not. White: —widely appro— Sen. McCaskill: No. They're not. Every state has a child-welfare agency. In Missouri, it's the Missouri Department of Social Services, the Children's Division, and they're responsible for foster care, for child placement, for monitoring child detention centers, they are responsible for the welfare of children who have been separated from their families. And they have contacts in every corner of my state. There's a hotline that they administer. There is all kinds of ways that they can communicate with school systems, with local governments, with all the people that are working as foster parents. There is a huge network in every single state, because you know what the states do? They take the responsibility for having children in their care seriously. 1:54:30 Senator Heidi Heitkamp: One facility provider basically, if my rough math is right, 11,000 children have been assigned to Southwest Key over a number of facilities, not one facility, but they're obviously a large provider. The reports coming out of Dallas say that they basically, in a half-year period, have a contract that's worth a half a billion dollars that they're being paid, which, if you do the rough math, that's about $45,000 per child. I think that we should have some pretty high expectations at $45,000 per child. So I would love a list of all the contractors that you currently have, the number of complaints, and the severity of the complaints, in each one of those cases, what disciplinary action has been, and how you're cooperating consistently with state authorities, who usually are the licensing authorities, and I understand that. Audio Recording: Nunes on secret tape: Kavanaugh vote, then Rosenstein impeachment, MSNBC, July 30, 2018. Hearing: Wartime Contracting, Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee, C-SPAN, July 16,2013. 3:30 Senator Claire McCaskill: I learned just this week that the Defense Department spent millions to construct a building in Afghanistan that has never been used. This facility was built despite the fact that the forward commander said they neither needed nor wanted this facility, in May 2010, almost a full year before construction began. We now have a brand-new state-of-the-art building that cost the taxpayers 34 million to build. The worst part is that all indications are, we're going to tear it down. We can't even give it away to the Afghanistan government for free because they don't want a building that they will have to spend millions to rewire because it was built to U.S. electrical code. I also recently learned that more than 13 million may have been wasted on a USAID agricultural development contract with a company called Chemonics. The waste alone is bad enough, but the Special Inspector General also found that the contractor failed to cooperate with the audit. Frankly, that's just unacceptable. Hearing: Wartime Contracting, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, C-SPAN, September 21, 2011. 46:30 Senator Claire McCaskill: I want to talk about something that I mentioned—and you mentioned in your report, but I think it's something we need to flesh out for this committee—and that's contractors being subject to the jurisdiction of the United States of America. Heartbreaking incident in Iraq, that I'm sure you all are aware of, where the negligence of one of our contractors killed one of our soldiers. And in trying to find justice for that family, the contractor avoided the jurisdiction of the United States, and the most insulting thing about it was he then got another—that company then got another contract with our government. After they had used the fact that they were not subject to the jurisdiction of our country as a way to avoid justice for this man's family, we then decided we should sign up again with them. Community Suggestions Super Typhoon Yutu Relief Campaign See more Community Suggestions HERE. Cover Art Design by Only Child Imaginations Music Presented in This Episode Intro & Exit: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio)