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(WASHINGTON) — House Republican Whip Steve Scalise sent a letter to his colleagues Friday outlining the party’s legislative agenda once it takes over the chamber in the new year.

Scalise, who has been elected to become the next House majority leader, laid out a handful of bills that will be brought to the floor in the first two weeks of the next Congress — many of which would counter the work done by Democrats over the past four years.

“The American people spoke on November 8th and decided it was time for a new direction,” Scalise wrote.

“The last two years have been tough on hard-working families as they have grappled with drastic increases in the cost of living, safety concerns with violent crime skyrocketing in our communities, soaring gas and home heating prices, and a worsening crisis at our Southern border,” he added.

The list of legislation includes a bill to rescind billions of dollars allocated for the Internal Revenue Service in the Inflation Reduction Act, which Democrats passed with zero Republican support.

Republicans assert the funding will result in the hiring of 87,000 IRS agents to target middle-income families, which the Treasury Department has said is not the case. Democrats said the money is needed to modernize the agency and replace a retiring workforce.

Another bill to be brought forward by the GOP would make permanent the Hyde Amendment, a decades-old provision that has banned federal funding for most abortions. President Joe Biden supported the amendment for years but reversed his position in 2019 and Democrats tried to get rid of the provision in a spending bill last year but the effort failed.

According to Scalise, the GOP will also bring forward separate legislation to establish a China select committee, block “non-emergency” drawdowns from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and give the Department of Homeland Security secretary power to turn away migrants at the border absent “operational control.”

While Republicans are set to take back control of the House for the first time since 2018 next week, many of the measures are likely to face an uphill in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

In the letter, Scalise also encouraged his colleagues to vote for Rep. Kevin McCarthy for speaker on Jan. 3.

McCarthy’s bid to become the chamber’s leader has been complicated by opposition from a group of hard-line conservatives who say the California congressman isn’t doing enough to push back against Democrats, especially after the GOP’s disappointing performance in the midterm elections.

Official business in the House, including establishing committees, holding votes and seating members, will not be able to start until a new speaker is elected.

Scalise told his colleagues that he recognizes that it will take time for committees to get established in the new Congress, but said the bills that he plans to bring forward first are “ready-to-go” legislation.

“These commonsense measures will address challenges facing hard- working families on issues ranging from energy, inflation, border security, life, taxpayer protection, and more,” the congressman wrote. “They should garner wide support and provide an indication of our bold agenda to come.”

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(WASHINGTON) — The White House on Friday announced six full pardons granted by President Joe Biden.

“Today, President Biden is granting six full pardons for individuals who have served their sentences and have demonstrated a commitment to improving their communities and the lives of those around them,” a White House official said. “These include individuals who honorably served in the U.S. military, volunteer in their communities, and survived domestic abuse.”

Those being pardoned are Gary Davis of Yuma, Arizona; Edward Lincoln De Coito III of Dublin, California; Vincente Ray Flores of Winters, California; Beverly Ann Ibn-Tamas of Columbus, Ohio; Charlie Byrnes Jackson of Swansea, South Carolina; and John Dix Nock III of St. Augustine, Florida.

Five of the people pardoned served sentences for drug or alcohol-related crimes while they were relatively young, according to the White House.

Davis, now 66, was 22 years old when he pleaded guilty to using a telephone to facilitate an unlawful cocaine transaction.

Jackson, now 77, pleaded guilty to one count of possession and sale of distilled spirits without tax stamps when he was 18 years old.

Nock, now 72 years old, pleaded guilty nearly three decades ago to one count of renting and making for use, as an owner, a place for the purpose of manufacturing marijuana plants.

One of the individuals pardoned served in the military and one remains on active duty. Flores pleaded guilty at a special court-martial for consuming ecstasy and alcohol while serving in the military, and has since gone on to be awarded with multiple military honors. De Coito also received honors in the U.S. Army and Army Reserves before he pleaded guilty at the age of 23 to involvement in a marijuana trafficking conspiracy.

Ibn-Tamas, 80, was convicted of second-degree murder for killing her husband while pregnant at the age of 33. She testified he abused her during and prior to the pregnancy, but the court didn’t allow a battered women expert to testify in her case.

“President Biden believes America is a nation of second chances, and that offering meaningful opportunities for redemption and rehabilitation empowers those who have been incarcerated to become productive, law-abiding members of society,” the White House official said.

“The president remains committed to providing second chances to individuals who have demonstrated their rehabilitation — something that elected officials on both sides of the aisle, faith leaders, civil rights advocates, and law enforcement leaders agree our criminal justice system should offer,” the official added.

The year-end pardons add to Biden’s clemency list. The president pardoned three people in April, including the first Black Secret Service agent to serve on a presidential detail.

Then, in October, Biden announced he was pardoning thousands of individuals convicted of marijuana possession under federal law. The White House said at the time the executive action would benefit 6,500 people.

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(WASHINGTON) — The Democratic-controlled House Ways and Means Committee on Friday publicly released documents related to former President Donald Trump’s tax returns covering the six years from 2015-2020.

The move comes after committee members voted 24-16 last week to release the documents after sensitive information — like bank account numbers and Social Security numbers — had been redacted.

Trump has long fought to keep his tax records private.

Trump released a statement Friday pushing back on the House committee for making the records public while also claiming they “show how proudly successful” he has been.

“The Democrats should have never done it, the Supreme Court should have never approved it, and it’s going to lead to horrible things for so many people,” Trump said. “The great USA divide will now grow far worse. The Radical Left Democrats have weaponized everything, but remember, that is a dangerous two-way street!”

Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., told reporters last Tuesday that the committee found there was no ongoing audit of Trump’s tax returns during his presidency until the committee requested them, despite an IRS requirement that tax returns filed by a sitting president or vice president are subject to audit.

Neal said the audit only began in 2019 after he requested the returns and said the audits of the requested returns were never completed.

“The tax forms were really never audited and only my sending a letter at one point prompted a rearview mirror response,” Neal said.

The committee had requested six years’ worth of Trump’s returns from the Treasury Department as part of what it said was an investigation into IRS audit practices of presidents and vice presidents.

Trump has accused the committee of seeking his taxes under false pretenses, saying the probe is just a politically motivated fishing expedition. But the committee said the documents were critical for drafting “legislation on equitable tax administration, including legislation on the President’s tax compliance.”

According to a summary released last week by the committee, Trump and his wife, Melania, together reported $31.7 million in losses and reported $641,931 in net taxes during the first year of Trump’s presidential campaign, in 2015.

During the 2016 presidential election year, the two again reported losing $32.4 million in adjusted gross income and paid just $750 in taxes, according to the committee. During Trump’s first year in office, the couple reported losing $12.9 million and again paid $750 in taxes.

In 2018, their adjusted gross income went up, with them bringing in $24.3 million, and they reported paying $999,456 in taxes. In 2019, the two reported making $4.4 million and paid $133,445 in taxes.

In 2020, they reported losing $4.8 million and Trump paid $0 in taxes.

The top Republican on the committee, Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, has said Democrats made a major mistake in a “rush to target” Trump by releasing his tax returns.

“Ways and Means Democrats are unleashing a dangerous new political weapon that reaches far beyond President Trump, and jeopardizes the privacy of every American,” Brady said in a statement.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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