This Week in Politics

Congress reconvenes, Megyn Kelly leaves Fox and more.

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Julia Nall

What does it mean to drain the swamp?

Julia Nall, Print Editor

The 115th Congress was sworn in Tuesday, a little over a month before the upcoming inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, which will establish a fully Republican-controlled government. The Senate currently hosts 46 Democrats, 52 Republicans and two Independents, while the House of Representatives hosts 194 Democrats and 241 Republicans. Sixty freshman members of Congress joined the legislature.

The House Republicans have drawn sharp criticism for their vote during an emergency session Tuesday to move the previously independent Office of Congressional Ethics under the House Ethics committee, meaning any investigation of congressional ethics would be done by Congress. Criticism came from within the party as well as from the public; majority leader Kevin McCarthy, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and President-elect Trump all questioned the sensibility behind the move. Many viewed the action as contradictory to Trump’s promise to “drain the swamp” in Washington.

Since its establishment on Monday, the decision to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics has since been reversed, despite supporters arguing that the removal of the office would save money and unnecessary hassle.

Across the aisle, minority leader Nancy Pelosi was successfully re-elected, following Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan’s near-unanimous re-election.

In the Senate, New York’s Chuck Schumer won Democratic leadership after the swearing-in of seven new senators and the 93 returning ones. Following elections and formalities, the Republican-controlled Senate then began another push to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Off Capitol Hill, popular Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly announced that she would be leaving the station at the end of the week to pursue new work at NBC, where she will be hosting daytime news, a nightly news magazine, and participating in special political coverage. Kelly cited her children as a reason for joining NBC, deciding she needed more “human connection” with them, then thanked her colleagues at Fox and the Murdoch family before signing off “with love” on Tuesday night.

Over in Europe, Britain faced another bump in the winding road to “Brexit” when their top European Union envoy in Brussels suddenly resigned, according to the New York Times. Britain voted to leave the EU in June, however, little has been done to achieve the actual exit from the union thanks to various political roadblocks. Withdrawal negotiations are set to begin in under three months.

Julia Nall
What does it mean to drain the swamp?