Welcome to Recess (Sorta) and Pelosi in Taiwan

Welcome to this week's edition of Hill Happenings, coming to you from the Washington, D.C. metro area on the first week of August recess — somewhat…

Is It Recess Yet?

The House has left for what should be about six weeks until the week after Labor Day, but the Senate is still here. The August recess period of an election year features plenty of primary contests — there are primaries every Tuesday this month except for Aug. 23, and our team will be providing our readers with extensive coverage of the contests, so be sure to keep checking your inbox for the latest updates.

Before the House left they passed an Assault Weapons Ban — at this moment, it doesn't look like the bill will have any legs in the Senate, despite the recent caving of a few spineless Senate Republicans on the “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act,” which was passed by Congress at the end of June before their last recess period for the Fourth of July holiday weekend. (RELATED: Two Republicans Side With Democrats to Ban ‘Assault Weapons')

Is Nancy Pelosi in Taiwan?

Reuters reported this morning that Speaker Pelosi's jet has taken off from the Philippines with no destination request and that the U.S. moved warships closer to Taiwan ahead of an alleged visit to Taipei by the Speaker.

We know that Speaker Pelosi is visiting four Asian countries this week, per a statement from her office and that the delegation includes members of Democrat leadership.

“It is my privilege as Speaker to lead this distinguished group of Members, which includes Chairs of Committees and Subcommittees of jurisdiction and champions of a strong U.S.-Asia Pacific partnership,” Speaker Pelosi said. “We look forward to productive meetings that will continue to inform Congress's work to advance our values and interests and strengthen our partnerships in the region.”

The Members of the delegation are:

• Speaker Nancy Pelosi
• Chairman Gregory Meeks, Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee
• Chairman Mark Takano, Chair of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs
• Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, Vice Chair, House Ways and Means Committee
• Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; Chair of the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform
• Congressman Andy Kim, Member of the House Armed Services Committee; Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee

Last week at the America First Agenda Summit, former House speaker Newt Gingrich challenged Speaker Pelosi to take a bipartisan delegation to the island if she did visit. Gingrich visited the island when he was the speaker and remains the highest-ranking U.S. official ever to visit.

We won't know if there is a discreet visit to Taiwan on the part of the speaker — until she deplanes — as it will anger the Chinese communist government, which regards Taiwan as a rogue province. (RELATED: Xi Warns Biden Not to ‘Play With Fire')

The speaker seems to be taking an interesting role in U.S. foreign policy recently — she also remains the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Ukraine. Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy have been to Poland but not Ukraine.

Just for Fun: GOP Slams Dems in Congressional Baseball Game

The Republicans slammed the Democrats last week in the annual Congressional Baseball Game, which got delayed halfway through because of a torrential downpour — still, Republicans prevailed and beat the Dems 10-0 — hopefully a sign of what is to come this November.

Another newsworthy moment from that night came when Democrat Rep. Linda Sanchez (CA-38) flipped off the Republican dugout at the end of the game.

If she were an MLB player on the field that night, she would be subject to a fine and a suspension for unsportsmanlike conduct. Instead, she's a Member of Congress setting a *great* example of how to be a proper public servant to her constituents.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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