“Jeb Hensarling” on The Daily Caller

Members of the supercommittee are seeking a path forward on stalled deficit-reduction talks even as some Republican lawmakers cast doubt on whether any accord with tax increases could pass the House of Representatives. (more)

Barack Obama’s odds of being re-elected are better today than any Republican could have possibly imagined six months ago. Recent polling shows he is ahead of all the Republican candidates in the pivotal swing state of Ohio, and he leads or is in a dead heat in the national polls against every Republican candidate, including Mitt Romney — this despite his low grades on handling the economy and the 9 percent unemployment rate. (more)

It would be a great tragedy if a super tax hike came out of a supercommittee compromise deal. It would do great harm to the economy — just as much harm as President Obama’s various tax-hike threats. And on the Republican side, a super tax hike would irreparably split the GOP. (more)

On Wednesday morning Speaker of the House John Boehner announced three appointments to the Joint Committee of Congress that was created by recent debt ceiling legislation. His appointments are Republican Conference Chair Jeb Hensarling of Texas, House Ways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp of Michigan, and Energy and Commerce Chair Fred Upton of Michigan. (more)

While it was announced Wednesday that the White House could release its long-awaited plan for reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by the end of the week, the message sent from some lawmakers on Capitol Hill was the exact opposite: major reform is politically unrealistic. (more)

On February 9, House Republicans will begin their effort to reform government sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the giant mortgage lenders many blame for the 2008 financial collapse. The firms were both left out of the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill that was passed last summer to remedy the causes of the most recent recession. (more)

Just hours before President Obama delivers his State of the Union address Tuesday, the House passed a resolution to roll back spending to 2008 (read: Pre-Obama) levels, setting a bar that Washington will take pains to reach and sending a sharp message to the visiting president. (more)

A number of the House GOP’s leading conservative members on Thursday will announce legislation that would cut $2.5 trillion over 10 years, which will be by far the most ambitious and far-reaching proposal by the new majority to cut federal government spending. (more)

The first significant policy push in the new Congress by Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, the incoming chair of the House Republican Study Committee, will be an effort to reduce the House’s ability to spend funds from savings derived from defeated earmark proposals. (more)

The tax cut deal between President Obama and Republicans gained momentum Wednesday, as Republican and Democratic party leaders appeared to have contained the most serious objections to it. (more)

President Obama’s debt commission Friday received support from 11 of 18 members, falling short of the 14 votes needed for what would have been more of a symbolic passage than anything else. (more)

On November 2, when the political power dynamic shifted and Republicans took back the House and narrowed the gap in the Senate, a simultaneous shift occurred among the people who seek to have influence over congressional power players. In the aftermath of the midterm elections, there are a number of lobbying firms whose connections and experience would seem to put them in a position of extraordinary influence in the coming Congress. The Daily Caller spoke to some of these firms about their new found influence. Here’s what we learned from some top firms. (more)

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) took Capitol Hill by surprise Monday when he endorsed a two-year timeout from earmarks. McConnell, who originally opposed a moratorium, switched his stance after hearing from constituents fed up with the earmark favor factory. (more)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A tea party favorite is dropping her bid for a leadership position in the upcoming Republican-controlled House. (more)

Republican Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, who’s up against Jeb Hensarling of Texas for the GOP Conference chair in the House, said she’s running for the position because she thinks leadership should reflect Tuesday’s elections results. (more)

House Republicans Thursday reacted strongly against Rep. Michele Bachmann’s decision to run for a top leadership post in the new majority, looking to nip in the bud any chance that she might attract support from the substantially large group of incoming freshman lawmakers. (more)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vowed to “drain the swamp,” and rid Washington of corruption. It was an admirable goal as the House was recovering from scandals relating to lobbyist Jack Abramoff. But her pet ethics initiative, the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), got off to an inauspicious start and has left enemies simmering. Recent high-profile allegations by the independent body are only exacerbating the tensions. (more)

Iowa Republican Rep. Steve King’s discharge petition, aimed at repealing Obamacare, is gaining momentum in the House as more representatives sign on. (more)

Reps. Jeb Hensarling and Mike Pence recently called for a constitutional amendment limiting federal spending “to one-fifth of the economy.” Bruce Bartlett, a former official in the George H.W. Bush administration, promptly denounced the idea as “dopey,” one “terrible… on so many levels that it is hard to know where to begin to dissect it….” (more)

A crisis is quickly approaching that will undermine the strength of our country and rob our children of their future prosperity. When it comes to getting our nation’s fiscal house in order we are running out of options and the time to act is now. (more)