The Selection Of The Next House Speaker Has Become More Complicated
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, announced Sunday that he would challenge Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., outgoing Speaker John Boehner's hand-picked successor, to take over the top spot in the House. In other news from Capitol Hill, President Barack Obama has nominated Michael J. MIssal to be the Veterans Affairs inspector general -- a move long called for by members of Congress.
The Washington Post:
Rep. Jason Chaffetz Launches Bid For House Speaker, Shaking Up GOP Leadership Race
The Republican chairman of a high-profile House committee on Sunday shook up the race to succeed outgoing Speaker John A. Boehner, launching a challenge to the heavy favorite, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. The bid by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (Utah), chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, comes amid unrest from conservatives driven by doubts that McCarthy (Calif.) will be any more inclined than Boehner to embrace the right flank of the House Republican Conference. ... [Chaffetz] is well versed in the hand-to-hand political combat of cable news and talk radio and has become the party’s face on a variety of issues, including Secret Service failures and government funding for Planned Parenthood. (DeBonis and Viebeck, 10/4)
The Associated Press:
Obama Nominates Veteran Lawyer As VA Watchdog
President Barack Obama has nominated Michael J. Missal, a lawyer with extensive experience in the federal government and private sector, to serve as the next inspector general for the Department of Veterans Affairs. The nomination of a permanent inspector general for the VA has been long sought by members of Congress who say it will bring more accountability to an agency that has struggled to meet some veterans' health care needs and provide timely decisions on benefits. (Freking, 10/2)
Meanwhile, House Democrats are expressing their opposition of the creation of a select committee to investigate Planned Parenthood -
The Hill:
Dems Pressure GOP To Call Off Special Panel On Planned Parenthood
Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.) and 17 other Senate Democrats, including the chamber’s No. 3 Democrat, Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), wrote to Republican leaders in both chambers on Friday asking that the committee not be created and linking it to the coming election of a new Speaker. (Sullivan, 10/2)
And more than 20 mental health organizations are urging Congress to repair the nation's broken mental health system -
USA Today:
Groups Call On Congress To Reform Mental Health System
A day after a mass shooting in Oregon, 23 mental health groups are calling on Congress to pass legislation aimed at repairing the USA's broken mental health system. The groups delivered a letter to congressional leaders Thursday, just hours before the attack at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore. left 10 people dead. The shooting was the latest in a series of mass killings perpetrated by unstable young men, many of whom were mentally ill. (Szabo, 10/2)
