In the News

"You see this train wreck coming right in front of you and there's not a damn thing you can do to stop it." Those were the exact words Scott Desnoyers told his son Aiden just two days before his other son, Daniel, died by suicide.

On April 9, 29-year-old Daniel Desnoyers tweeted about his ideations; rescue workers responding to the scene of his death believed it was intentional.

Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat whose district includes Silicon Valley in California, is known for his vocal opposition to President Trump and his status as one of the House's most progressive members. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Republican from the panhandle of Florida, has made waves with his fiery Fox News appearances and his staunch support for the president.

But although they are ideological opposites on nearly every issue, Khanna and Gaetz agree on a key issue: the president can't start a war with Iran without Congress' stamp of approval.

WASHINGTON ― House Democrats passed a nearly $1 trillion appropriations bill on Wednesday, complete with funding for the military, health programs and the Energy Department. But 11 lines in the 667-page bill could literally be the difference between war and peace, life and death: a repeal of the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force.

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), the first vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, announced an unlikely partnership on Tuesday.

The bipartisan duo launched the War Powers Caucus, a group that says it is "dedicated to restoring Congress's constitutionally-mandated authority over matters of war and peace."

Just like banks work together to share data about common types of fraud, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) says it's time for Silicon Valley to have an equivalent alliance to share disinformation threats, as well as about hate speech and inflammatory content. Right now, he says a bad actor could be kicked off Facebook and just go open an account on Twitter. He wants to make sure the lines of communication are open among technology companies so they can have a more coordinated response to malicious actors.

FORMER BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva should be released from prison and his conviction should be annulled, said Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, on Tuesday. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., meanwhile, is calling on the Trump administration to investigate the case that imprisoned the former president on corruption charges, following The Intercept's exposé that showed Judge Sérgio Moro plotted with prosecutors to convict Lula and prevent the Workers' Party from returning to power.

House Democrats are eyeing a move to censure President Trump as a possible alternative to impeaching a president they have accused of gross wrongdoing while in office.

A censure resolution — essentially a public reprimand — lacks the teeth of impeachment's intrinsic threat to remove a sitting president. But supporters say it would send a clear and immediate message to voters that Democrats are taking seriously their constitutional responsibility to be a check on executive misconduct.

Progressive lawmakers and activists are plotting their next move to hold President Donald Trump accountable over his relationship with Saudi Arabia, hoping to tie the president's hands with the national defense funding bill.

The open question is, does the larger Congress, which only a few months ago took a historic vote to rebuke Trump's foreign policy, still care about the war in Yemen?