Senators and Representatives return to work for the opening of the 84th Congress. They are set to kick off another year of legislating.
NEWS 28 - House Speaker Gretchen LeWolf has opened the 84th Congress, her last time opening Congress as the Speaker Of The House. She opened Congress in a joint meeting of the House and Senate. LeWolf who is set to step down as Speaker on January 5, thanked her colleagues for the opportunity to serve as the Speaker of the House.
Speaker LeWolf said that she would put several proposals up for a vote before she departs the speaker chair on January 5, and said that she would also allow Representatives to vote on proposals that she placed on the backburner before the 83rd Congress ended last month.
"I will put several proposals up for a vote, related to the proposals by President Jay Laylin that we were unable to vote on before the end of the previous Congress," said Speaker Gretchen LeWolf. "We have a lot of transitional work to do before I step down as Speaker on January 5, and I want to ensure that we have everything in order, before that transition happens. I will also continue fighting any major proposals by the President that aim to deport immigrants who are seeking asylum here. My last stand is to protect the vulnerable population."
Representatives are preparing for Deputy Speaker Matthew Carrington to take over as the Speaker Pro Tempore until September, when the House and Speaker elections take place. With the upcoming session, Speaker LeWolf is still facing a Senate Judiciary investigation related to her money laundering criminal trial in Rufus County Federal Court.
"The Speaker's time in office is coming to an end, so she is making the final push to reject any form of legislations or funding for border security, and that is really disgraceful," said Representative Allen Rupert. "She continues to promote rejecting any bill proposal by the President and my hope is that history will remember her as a coward in the House's highest office."
Congress has a long slate of items it needs to take care of in this Congress, but it is likely that the day that Carrington becomes Speaker Pro Tempore, that most of what the president is pushing will be voted on immediately.
"As I said, I will work for the Jesstopian people and not the interest of my own interests," said Deputy House Speaker Matthew Carrington. "I will put all proposals by the President up for a vote and won't back bench any proposal I don't agree with. The Speaker's job was to ensure that all votes were held in a timely and effective manner and she has failed as Speaker. We are working for the people that put us in Congress, and we owe it to them to be an effective and productive governing body. I look forward to a very productive 84th Congress and we hope to get legislation moving through both chambers of Congress and onto the President's desk."
Congress recessed for winter on December 15, 2024, and ended at its lowest point, with Speaker LeWolf being charged with money laundering. Then she ended up announcing she was stepping down as Speaker, later announcing that she would not be seeking reelection to her seat in the House. Growing backlash against the speaker began mounting when she announced that she would fight the Laylin administration every step of the way on border security and immigration reform.
Deputy House Speaker Matthew Carrington says he is hoping to unify the House, by promoting support of opposition bill and legislative proposals, foregoing previous precedents of 'ruling party dominates.' He said that he would work to ensure that Republicans had a fairer chance a proposing budgets, legislation, and ensuring they had a stronger voice on debate issues.