Scalise details achievements of the Republican-led House

NEWS AND OPINION:

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise continues to cite the recent legislative victories of the Republican Party.

“Over the past two years, the Republican majority in the House has worked tirelessly to counter the Biden-Harris Administration’s disastrous, crisis-causing policies, fighting for hardworking families who are struggling under the weight of these failures. With every bill we passed, House Republicans sought to preserve freedom, strengthen our economy, keep communities safe, and hold the government accountable – demonstrating from the beginning what a unified Republican government could accomplish,” the Louisiana Republican said in an emailed statement shared Sunday with Inside the Beltway.

“We passed legislation to secure our border and stop the flow of fentanyl into American communities, such as the Secure the Border Act, and brought bills to unleash American energy and lower costs for families, such as the Lower Energy Costs Act. With federal agencies issuing burdensome regulation after regulation, we passed legislation to rein in executive overreach and keep the administrative state out of your homes, like the REINS Act and the Midnight Rules Relief Act,” Mr. Scalise said.

“We also passed bills that stand up for our allies, like Israel, confront our adversaries, like China, and ensure our service members and their families are taken care of. With the Parents Bill of Rights Act, we delivered on our promise to protect parents’ right to be involved in their child’s education, and with the SAVE Act, we worked to ensure only American citizens could vote in our elections,” he noted.

Here’s just one example: H.R. 3801 — the Employer Reporting Improvement Act which was introduced by Rep. Adrian Smith, Nebraska Republican.

“The legislation reduces the burden on small businesses which must file health insurance paperwork with the IRS,” notes a summary of the bill, which passed by a voice vote.

Look for more productive legislative citations in tomorrow’s edition of this column.

MAGA HATS ON PARADE

Inside the Beltway has tracked the variety of official “MAGA hats” made available by President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign throughout the year. The very popular brimmed hats are available in nine colors — from red and green for Christmas time to classic red and white, and black and gold combinations.

There’s a new hat in town, however. Now comes the white and black “Official Inauguration MAGA Hat” as Mr. Trump’s time to reenter the White House grows near.

“You’ll keep this in your family for generations to come,” his campaign said in an emailed message to Inside the Beltway on Sunday.

“You’re going to tell your kids and grandkids, ’This is the hat President Trump gave me directly,’” the campaign noted.

“In 29 days, when President Trump takes the oath of office, this hat will be pulled from the shelves and discontinued permanently. That makes it one of the most rare pieces of Trump merchandise ever sold,” the campaign said.

As usual, find the cap and much more at donaldjtrump.com, in the “Shop” category.

FAITH IN BOOKS

Publisher’s Weekly has compiled a list of the top 10 news stories and trends from the business side of book sales this year.

Among other things, the report covered the challenges faced by small presses and the impacts of artificial intelligence, copyright lawsuits and other complex matters on the industry.

The publication had good news for one particular realm of the publishing world, however.

“Religion book sales have a stellar showing. While trade sales in general have struggled to reach the highs of the early pandemic years, one category has done very well: religion books. According to the Association of American Publishers, sales of religious books rose 7% in 2023, easily beating the 0.8% decline in overall sales,” Publisher’s Weekly noted in the report, which was released Sunday.

“Sales stayed strong in 2024 and were up 18.5% through October, with Bibles as the main engine drivers, according to executives in the sector. There’s a lot of angst in the world today, and people are looking for answers,” Doug Lockhart, senior vice president of sales and marketing for HarperCollins Christian Publishing, told PW that he was not surprised by the Bible bump,” the report said.

“The sales momentum in the religion category was strong enough to convince major publisher Penguin Random House to launch the Penguin Random House Christian Publishing Group in October  — a new standalone entity that will expand and build upon the publisher’s existing evangelical Christian publishing programs,” it noted.

ANNOUNCEMENT RESONATES

President-elect Donald Trump revealed Saturday that he had appointed British TV producer Mark Burnett as “special envoy” to the United Kingdom.

The straightforward 102-word announcement was released on Truth Social. Mr. Burnett created “The Apprentice,” a reality TV show that featured Mr. Trump as host from 2004 to 2017.  

The announcement of the pick, which is separate from the actual ambassador post in London, rattled the news cycle in the U.S. and abroad, however.

Among the major news organizations that devoted considerable attention to the news in the past 24 hours: CBS, NBC, ABC, CNBC, Politico, the New York Times, Bloomberg News, the Associated Press, Deadline, Forbes, the Wrap, Variety and the Hollywood Reporter — just to name a few.

Mr. Burnett’s new calling also had international appeal. The Guardian, the London Evening Standard, the South China Morning Post, the Daily Mail, the Times of India, the Telegraph, the Sydney Morning Herald and Sky News also covered the pick.

POLL DU JOUR

• 34% of registered U.S. voters think the U.S. economy is the most important issue facing the country.

• 21% cite immigration and border security issues.

• 8% cite health care.

• 7% cite abortion.

• 7% cite climate change.

• 6% cite voting rights and election integrity.

• 6% cite crime.

• 5% cite gun issues.

• 4% cite foreign policy.

• 3% cite some other issue.

SOURCE: A Fox News poll of 1,015 registered U.S. voters conducted online or by phone Dec. 6-9 and released Dec. 11.

• Follow Jennifer Harper on X @HarperBulletin, on Facebook @HarperUniverse.