“United States House of Representatives” on The Daily Caller

The Democrats’ main tax-writing congressman and for years head of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, Charlie Rangel (D-NY), finally had to accept the terrible punishment for his ways and means of getting money by being the first congressman censured in about thirty years. For the record, as the Congressional Ethics Committee sees it, there has been just one unethical politician in their ranks in the past thirty years. Good to know. (more)

It’s not often that you hear any House Democrat holding up Harry Reid, of all people, as a model. (more)

It’s an unlucky strike for congressional smokers. (more)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Charles Rangel of New York has been censured by the House for financial and fundraising misconduct. (more)

The House is expected to vote on the censure of Rep. Charlie Rangel on Thursday, subjecting the four-decade veteran to a humiliating public criticism on the House floor just two weeks after he was found guilty of 11 ethics violations, according to congressional aides. (more)

Standing in front of the committee room where her postponed hearing was to be held this morning, California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters, who has been accused of providing aid to a bank her husband had a financial stake in, demanded a trial for alleged ethics violations before the end of the year. (more)

If one thing is clear as November draws to a close, it is that the Republican Party is on probation. (more)

A Democratic congressman who backed Speaker Nancy Pelosi for minority leader said Monday it is “quite possible” he might vote for Republican John Boehner for Speaker in the next Congress. (more)

Expected Speaker-to-be John Boehner’s choice of a chair for the Committee on Energy and Commerce is seen by many as an early indicator of how much deference he will give to the more conservative incoming Republican class, but it is not clear that the decision is as black and white as it is being made out to be. (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)

Outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi may be giving up the gavel to Rep. John Boehner in the next Congress but she hinted this week that she still wears the pants in the House. (more)

National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions of Texas hinted to a group of reporters on Capitol Hill Thursday that fellow Texan Rep. Joe Barton has a good shot at chairing the House Energy and Commerce Committee in the next Congress. (more)

Upon taking the reins of the Democratic-controlled House, incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) famously stated that she would preside over the “most ethical” Congress in the history of the United States. On Tuesday, four years after her infamous statement, Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) was formally convicted on 11 of the 13 ethics charges against him. The Ethics Committee did so in absentia, as Rangel left the proceedings as a form of protest. It appears Speaker Pelosi’s “most ethical Congress in history” has far from lived up to its hype. (more)

Heath Shuler doesn’t even bother with political artifice. He candidly admits he doesn’t have a prayer of defeating Nancy Pelosi Wednesday for the post of minority leader. (more)

Disgruntled Democrats finally had a chance to confront Speaker Nancy Pelosi face to face for the first time during a raucous closed-door caucus meeting Tuesday, as defeated Rep. Allen Boyd called her “the face of our defeat.” (more)

Democrats across the country are split over whether Speaker Nancy Pelosi should remain party leader in the House of Representatives next year, according to a new national poll. (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)

Dwight Schrute would be jealous. (more)

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the incoming chairman of the House Budget Committee, shed some light Tuesday morning on the relationship between outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the rank-and-file members of the Republican caucus, a relationship that seems minimal at best. (more)

Last week the American people sent a clear message to Washington — business as usual must end. For years politicians and bureaucrats have spent the taxpayers’ monies as if they had a blank check, going on spending sprees while Main Street suffered. Whether it was the government bailing out Wall Street or big businesses, somehow small businesses and hard-working, middle-class families were always left behind. Distrust in the federal government is at a record high because of the disconnect between Washington and the rest of the country. (more)