House GOP Majority Dwindles to One Vote as Political Tensions Rise in Washington
Washington, D.C. – The House Republican majority was reduced to a razor-thin one-vote margin after a Democrat won a special election in Texas, while President Donald Trump made headlines with proposals for a new Washington D.C. monument and controversial remarks about nationalizing voting. The political landscape grew more complex as news emerged that Bill and Hillary Clinton agreed to give depositions regarding the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., swore in Rep. Christian Menefee, D-Texas, on Monday evening, shifting the House composition to 218 Republicans and 214 Democrats, according to Fox News. This leaves Republicans with virtually no room for error on party-line votes.
Meanwhile, President Trump outlined his vision for a new triumphal arch in Washington, D.C., stating he wants it to be the "biggest one of all" in the world, CBS News reported. The proposed site is near Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia. A White House official said the president wants the arch to surpass the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, which stands at 164 feet tall. The Washington Post reported that Trump is aiming for a 250-foot arch to commemorate the country's 250th anniversary, exceeding the 220-foot-tall Monumento a la Revolución in Mexico City.
Trump also addressed the future of the Kennedy Center, which is slated for a two-year renovation. He told reporters on Monday that he plans to create a "brand new" Kennedy Center using the existing steel and some of its marble, CBS News reported. When asked if he planned to tear down the building, Trump stated, "I'm not ripping it down. I'll be using the steel, so we're using the structure." He estimated the changes would cost around $200 million.
In other developments, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton agreed to sit for closed-door depositions in the House Oversight Committee's Jeffrey Epstein investigation, ABC News reported. The Clintons had previously resisted congressional subpoenas for six months. The House was expected to vote on contempt of Congress resolutions against the Clintons as soon as Wednesday, but that was averted when the Clintons agreed to testify on Monday evening.
Adding to the political friction, President Trump called on Republicans to "take over" and "nationalize" voting, continuing to make unsubstantiated claims about the electoral process, ABC News reported. Trump made the comments in an interview with former FBI Director Dan Bongino, alleging noncitizen voting was improperly influencing election outcomes. Experts insist such instances are incredibly rare and already illegal. Trump told Bongino it was "amazing that the Republicans aren't tougher" on the issue.
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