The latest on Congress as GOP tensions rise

After they spoke, there’s no deal between Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy and Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer on Marjorie Taylor Greene’s committee assignments, according to officials with knowledge of the matter and a statement from Hoyer's office.

Democrats are prepared to move forward on their own to stop her assignments if House Republicans don’t act themselves.

Some background: McCarthy met for several hours last night with Greene at the Capitol.

McCarthy and the GOP Steering Committee also discussed an array of options, including forcing her off just the Education Committee but letting her stay on the Budget Committee, according to a person with knowledge of the talks. But it’s not clear that Democrats would be OK with that — especially if she doesn’t apologize. 

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen asked for and received authorization from ethics officials to look into issues such as the Reddit-driven volatility on Wall Street, according to a Treasury official.

Yellen, who called for a meeting this week of US regulators to discuss the market volatility, previously disclosed making more than $7 million in recent years by giving speeches to Wall Street banks, major corporations and industry groups.

The authorization from Treasury ethics officials allows Yellen to work on broad issues that come up, not just the current market volatility, the Treasury official said.

Yellen's fees include hundreds of thousands of dollars from Citadel, the hedge fund owned by Ken Griffin that recently bailed out a GameStop short-seller. Citadel Securities, also owned by Griffin, is a major source of revenue for Robinhood, the app that temporarily banned GameStop purchases.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is demanding answers from Robinhood about its ties to Citadel and other hedge funds.

The Treasury official said Yellen was not employed by the companies that paid her speaking fees and her interactions were limited to her role as a speaker.

Yellen can seek further authorization to work on matters involving a specific company she earned speaking fees from, the official said.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told his colleagues this morning that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy must take action against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene similar to how the House GOP stripped then-Rep. Steve King from his committee assignments after his racist comments.

According to a Democratic leadership aide, “Leader Hoyer said we don’t know what action Leader McCarthy will take, but he needs to take similar action to what he took against Steve King.”

Some background: McCarthy met for several hours Tuesday night with Greene at the Capitol. The California Republican has been silent amid the controversy but has been under growing pressure to act, summoning the powerful Steering Committee for a late-night meeting amid pressure to remove the Georgia Republican from her committee assignments.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vowed to fallen Capitol Officer Brian Sicknick's family that she will "never forget his sacrifice" and the sacrifice of others who worked to protect the Capitol during the riot on January 6.

"We must be vigilant as what President Lincoln referred to as the harsh artillery of time. We will never forget," she added.

Pelosi said that she heard from his family about how Sicknick was a "distinguished leader," adding, "we know from his service on the Capitol police force how patriotic he was."

She also mentioned how he served the country in other areas, including in the New Jersey Air National Guard.

"We gather today united in grief, gratitude and solemn appreciation for the service and sacrifice of officer Brian Sicknick," Pelosi said.

Hear Speaker Pelosi's full remarks:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy just paid their respects to fallen US Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick.

A congressional tribute was held for the officer inside the Rotunda, where he is lying in honor. The officer died due to injuries suffered in the Jan. 6 insurrection on the Capitol.

Sicknick's family released a statement on Saturday thanking "congressional leadership for bestowing this historic honor on our fallen American hero."

See lawmakers pay their respects:

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer honored Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who was killed in the riot at the US Capitol on January 6, saying he was "a peacekeeper, not only in duty, but in spirit."

The Senate Majority Leader went on to describe Sicknick and his 12-year service with the US Capitol Police.

"Talk to his colleagues and they will tell you that Brian was a kind and humble man with profound inner strength, the quiet rock of his unit," Schumer said.  They will tell you that Brian was dependable, never missed a radio call."

Schumer said that many people continue to recover from injuries "seen and unseen" from the Capitol riot, and mentioned that mental health counseling is available for officers and staff.

"That Brian and his family were made to pay such a high price for his devoted service in the capitol was a senseless tragedy, one that we are still grappling with," he said. "It has left deep scars here in this building among his friends and his colleagues."

"Blessed are the peacekeepers like Brian. Let us be peacekeepers now in his memory," he added.

Hear Sen. Schumer's full remarks:

A congressional tribute for fallen US Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick is being held in the building's famous Rotunda.

The officer died due to injuries suffered in the Jan. 6 insurrection on the Capitol.

Sicknick joined the USCP in July 2008, and most recently served in the Department's First Responder's Unit. Sicknick was originally from South River, New Jersey, and the youngest of three sons, according to a statement issued by his brother, Ken Sicknick, on behalf of his family.

Sicknick's family was "very proud" of his service to his country, Ken Sicknick said.

"Brian is a hero, and that is what we would like people to remember," he said.

Sicknick "wanted to be a police officer his entire life" and joined the New Jersey National Guard in his pursuit of that goal, Ken Sicknick said.

According to a statement from New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy's office, Sicknick was a staff sergeant for the New Jersey National Guard.

He served as a fire team member and a leader of the 108th Security Force Squadron, 108th Wing, at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, Murphy's statement said.

Sicknick's service included two deployments — one as part of Operation Southern Watch and another as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, Murphy said.

"Officer Sicknick gave his life protecting the United States Capitol, and by extension, our very democracy, from violent insurrection," Murphy said.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell criticized Democrats’ move to pass a budget resolution – clearing a path for reconciliation – if a bipartisan deal is not reached on Covid relief.

Reconciliation is a procedural shortcut that allows Democrats to pass parts of the plan without any GOP votes.

The Minority Leader previewed some of the tough votes Senate Republicans plan to force on Democrats as part of that process. 

“Yesterday, less than a day after several Senate Republicans spent literally two hours meeting with President Biden, Senate Democrats plowed ahead with a party line vote to set the table for a partisan jam,” McConnell said. “The rushed budget process that will play out this week is exactly the wrong path toward making law,” he added.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will deliver remarks shortly during a congressional tribute for fallen US Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, whose remains are lying in honor in the building's famous Rotunda.

The officer died due to injuries suffered in the Jan. 6 insurrection on the Capitol.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden paid their respects last night, and Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff visited the Capitol this morning to pay respects.

Lying in state is typically reserved for leaders of American government, but two US Capitol Police officers shot to death in 1998 were the first private citizens to lie in honor at the Capitol.

Sicknick's family released a statement on Saturday thanking "congressional leadership for bestowing this historic honor on our fallen American hero."

Multiple lawmakers had called for Sicknick to be honored at the Capitol, and two Republicans from South Carolina introduced a bill that would allow him to lie in the Rotunda before his burial at Arlington National Cemetery.