Gaetz resigned last Wednesday shortly before the Ethics Committee was scheduled to release the investigation into allegations of the former representative engaging in sexual misconduct and illicit drug consumption. It remained unclear whether the committee’s report would be released, with Speaker Mike Johnson opposing the investigation’s publication.

“There was not an agreement by the committee to release the report,” Republican Rep. Michael Guest of Mississippi, the chair of the Ethics Committee, told reporters following a committee meeting Wednesday.

WATCH: Rep. Matt Gaetz responds on Tucker Carlson Tonight to allegations of sexual misconduct:

He says a former DOJ official named David McGee is trying to extort is family for money

He says that the FBI and DOJ have audio recordings that will prove his innocence. pic.twitter.com/J95AEFtxsr

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) March 31, 2021

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The GOP has held on to control of the House, securing the 218 seats needed for a majority with five races still yet to be called, according to The Associated Press. However, Trump has already selected three Republican House representatives to serve in his presidential cabinet, resulting in special elections that could reduce the GOP’s already razor thin majority in the chamber.

“There will not be a minute to waste, you can see his resolve already in how quickly he’s making really smart picks,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Tuesday following Trump’s nominations of Republican New York Rep. Elise Stefanik for Ambassador to the United Nations and Republican Florida Rep. Mike Waltz for National Security Adviser. “I know he’s already pulled a few, really talented people out of the House, hopefully no more for a little while until special elections can come.”

Rep. @SteveScalise on President-elect Trump: "I know he's already pulled a few really talented people out of the House, hopefully no more for a little while…" pic.twitter.com/gTnOWgMxor

— CSPAN (@cspan) November 12, 2024

The day after Scalise made the comment, Trump nominated former Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz for U.S. Attorney General, with Gaetz stepping down from congress shortly thereafter.

The process of filling vacancies in Florida can take months, as state law does not stipulate a specific amount of time within which the governor must call a special election, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. The replacement of former Democratic Florida Rep. Alcee Hastings following his death in 2021, for example, took roughly nine months.

If the three GOP vacancies remain unfilled when the 119th Congress begins on Jan. 3 and the Democratic party wins the five remaining uncalled races — four of which are currently within 1.5 percentage points — House Republicans could start the session with a 215-217 seat minority.

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is not expected to slow walk filling Waltz and Gaetz’ seats, writing on X that he had “instructed Secretary of State Cord Byrd to formulate and announce a schedule for the upcoming special elections immediately.”

Florida’s special election process takes at least six weeks from when the governor begins the process, according to the Tallahassee Democrat, meaning Gaetz’ seat could be filled early on in the new congress. If Waltz leaves around Inauguration Day, his seat would not be filled until at least March.

Unlike Florida, New York law requires Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul call a special election within ten days of when Stefanik leaves the House, with the election to be held between 70 and 80 days after the call is made. As a result, if Stefanik leaves on Jan. 20 the special election would be held in April.

Gaetz resigned and indicated he would not be sworn in to the new Congress. It is unclear when Waltz and Stefanik will put in their notice.

While the vacancies could temporarily weigh on the GOP House majority, the seats are considered to be in safe districts. Gaetz, Waltz and Stefanik all won re-election by more than 20 percentage points in November, according to the AP.

Regarding the special election to replace Stefanik, New York State Republican Party spokesman David Laska told the Daily Caller News Foundation, “this is a safe Republican seat. We expect to retain it comfortably, irrespective of how much resources the DCCC chooses to waste on the race.”

Laska went on to address the GOP majority broadly, telling the DCNF: “The Republican House majority will remain intact, delivering President Trump a trifecta to implement the overwhelming mandate he and Republicans received from the American people last week.”

Republican Florida Rep. Carlos Gimenez echoed a similarly confident sentiment regarding the Florida special elections.

“Florida is now a Safe Republican state blessed with a bounty of GOP talent,” Gimenez told the DCNF. “The Members of Congress selected to serve in the Trump Administration, hail from rock-solid Republican districts where the eventual GOP Congressional nominee is surely to win the General Election. Speaker Johnson has been an exceptional leader & is actively working with all those involved to ensure our GOP majority is not impacted by these nominations. Our Members understand that we must vote in unison to pass President Trump’s agenda through Congress & protect our nation!”

The Florida GOP and Scalise’s office did not respond to requests for comment. Johnson’s office did not provide original comment.

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New York Republican Rep. Nick LaLota proposed an amendment that would strip GOP members of committee assignments if they vote against the party position on procedural floor votes. Republican Wisconsin Rep. Derrick Van Orden pushed another punitive measure that would remove members who vote to vacate a House speaker without a party majority, according to a list of proposed rule amendments obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The proposals have revealed a rift in the GOP, receiving fierce backlash from Roy, who is policy chair of the House Freedom Caucus.

“I represent 750,000 Texans… not my colleagues,” Roy told the DCNF. “We should be focused on developing and delivering on President Trump’s agenda — not wasting time with counterproductive efforts demanding we hand over our voting cards to ‘the party.’ That will never happen.”

‘Proud To Serve’: These Are The Frontrunners To Succeed Elise Stefanik In GOP Leadership @RepKatCammack, @RepHouchin, and @RepLisaMcClain have all launched bids for House GOP conference chair. pic.twitter.com/nnZ5RMQDQn

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) November 12, 2024

The proposals, which House Republicans are voting on Wednesday, come after Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene attempted to remove House Speaker Mike Johnson from his role in May. Johnson has said he does not support the “punitive” measures.

“I have made clear to members, as I’ve been having discussion with them, that I am not in favor of punitive measures and rules,” Johnson told Politico Tuesday. “I don’t think we will have a need for party discipline and I expect everybody to be working on singing from the same sheet of music.”

Roy has proposed two rules amendments of his own, according to the list of amendment proposals. One aims to limit the amount of time GOP leadership can spend updating its members, while the other posits a “majority of the majority”-rule that would allow, “any member to offer a privileged motion to hold a roll call vote in a Republican Conference meeting on any pending bill…to determine whether it has the support” of the GOP majority.

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VW’s profits fell 64% in the third quarter of 2024, driving the company’s share price to its lowest level since October 2010. Now, the world’s largest automaker by sales is looking to lower its expenses, with VW’s top labor leader announcing earlier this week that the company was aiming to shut at least three of its German factories, slash wages 10% and lay off thousands of employees.

“We’ve not forgotten how to build great cars, but the costs, specifically in our German operations and factories, are far from being competitive,” Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz told The Wall Street Journal Wednesday. “Things cannot continue as they are now.”

VW crisis is getting worse…

Volkswagen’s Q3 profit dropped a steep 64%, largely due to big losses in China. Their net profit fell from €4.34 billion last year to €1.57 billion, and revenue dipped to €78.5 billion. The group’s operating profit margin also shrank, while the… pic.twitter.com/CtumLnjXHW

— Bullion Bite (@bullionbite) October 30, 2024

VW’s profitability challenges come as consumer demand for EVs has weakened in recent years, with EV sales growing 50% in the first half of 2023 and 31% in the first half of 2024, far less than the 71% increase in the first half of 2022. As a result of this decline, the company walked back plans to sell shares in its EV business in January.

The automaker’s disappointing earnings also result from increased Chinese competition in the EV market, the WSJ reported. Deliveries in the Asian superpower fell 15% in the third quarter of 2024, largely due to lower-cost Chinese options such as BYD’s 2025 Seal EV.

VW’s cost-cutting plan would mark the first time the company has shuttered one of its German factories in its 87-year history, and has brought significant backlash from worker groups. Daniela Cavallo, head of VW’s works council, said tensions could “soon escalate” into a strike during a speech in Wolfsburg, Germany — the site of a VW factory that the company’s website describes as the “heart” of the brand.

“I’m confident that we’ll reach an agreement … but of course, I cannot rule out strikes,” Antlitz told the WSJ.

VW did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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(DCNF)—Resale values for electric vehicles (EVs) have cratered as a slackening of consumer demand has weighed down prices.

Automakers have offered a flood of price cuts on new models in a bid to prop up sales amid lower-than-expected demand, according to The Wall Street Journal. The discounts have caused EV resale values to plummet, with the average selling price of a three-year-old EV falling to $28,400, a 25% decrease from the start of 2023 and a lower price than that of a internal combustion vehicle of the same age.

As a result, as of August EV owners owed roughly $10,000 more on their car loans than their vehicle was worth, up from $8,000 at the beginning of 2023, the WSJ reported.

“They kept reducing the price of the cars, which killed the used-EV market,” Christian Lange, a former 2018 Tesla Model 3 owner, told the WSJ. Lange saw his vehicle’s value decline by $10,000 relative to what he owed on his loan following the 2023 price cuts.

Buying business, causing massive depreciation, a race to the bottom, and ruining the motor trade as they do it!

But yeah, EV's are selling just fine! and if you think that you are a fucking idiot

"Average discounts on EV's are now almost double what they are on ICE vehicles"… pic.twitter.com/rLvax7d4WM

— Barrie Crampton (@BarrieCrampton) October 10, 2024

The price cuts followed lower-than-expected demand in 2023 and 2024, with EV sales growing 50% in the first half of 2023 and 31% in the first half of 2024, less than the 71% increase in the first half of 2022. Meanwhile, a June poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute found 46% of respondents were unlikely or very unlikely to purchase an EV, while just 21% were “very” or “extremely” likely to make the change.

The faltering demand comes despite billions in subsidies from the Biden-Harris administration, including a $7,500 federal tax credit for certain EVs to ease costs for buyers. Experts previously told the DCNF the faltering demand was due to consumer aversion to lower mileage ranges, a lack of charging infrastructure and higher vehicle prices.

“Even after throwing money at EVs hand over fist, basically paying people tax dollars to drive these cars off the lots, you have a dire spiral of (1) not enough demand to support the number of cars being produced, and (2) the people you paid to buy them now wanting to go back to what they had before,” O.H. Skinner, executive director of the Alliance for Consumers and the former solicitor general of Arizona, previously told the DCNF.

A $4,000 credit for used EVs under $25,000, implemented as part of President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, has also contributed to the plummet in resale values by incentivizing dealers to lower prices below the $25,000 maximum, according to the WSJ.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Trump is slated to speak to voters in Butler, Pennsylvania at 5 p.m. this evening, with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and family members of Corey Comperatore — the fireman who was killed in the July shooting — also expected to attend. The speaking engagement has sparked concern over the former president’s safety; notably, a dozen current and former Secret Service agents told NBC News that the USSS has reached “a breaking point” amid staffing shortages and an increased workload.

“The increasing demand placed on the agency during this dynamic threat environment has resulted in our people being pushed to the limit,” Anthony Guglielmi, The USSS’ chief spokesman, said in a statement shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation Saturday. “We recognize that this is not sustainable, and we cannot risk another mission failure.”

The USSS has struggled with staffing issues as attrition outpaced new hiring, with a net loss of 59 Special Agents and 60 Special Agents in fiscal years 2022 and 2023, respectively, according to employment data the USSS shared with the DCNF. However, the agency has seen a significant increase in hiring in fiscal year 2024, adding 186 Special Agents and 1,099 total employees — nearly double the total hired in the fiscal year prior.

Despite the recent increase in hiring, Trump’s return to Butler coincides with the USSS “redlining,” meaning agents are having to work excessive hours, according to two U.S. officials who spoke with NBC.

“The US Secret Service is killing their people, and worse they are supposed to have a zero-fail protective mission on zero rest/sleep,” a former agent reportedly told the outlet. “I love my agency but they are setting themselves up for another incident.”

The strain on Secret Service resources also comes despite the agency’s budget skyrocketing, with the USSS slated to receive an additional $231 million from Speaker Mike Johnson’s government funding bill. The agency’s budget has increased by nearly $1 billion since 2014, though only $200 million of that has gone to protective operations.

“I hate to say it, they are going to hit rock bottom fast,” a former Secret Service agent reportedly told NBC.

Featured Image: Screen Capture/CSPAN

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Tony West, Harris’ brother-in-law and chief legal officer at Uber, led a series of meetings in September at luxe New York City event venue Cipriani 42nd Street, convening with billionaire CEOs such as Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan and Brian Roberts of Comcast, the WSJ reported. Meanwhile, Harris has been touting her “New Way Forward” economic plan, which proposes raising the corporate tax rate to 28% in order to ensure “the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share in taxes,” and has even supported a wealth tax on Americans worth $100 million or more.

“I don’t begrudge West and the Harris campaign for trying to have business outreach going on,” Faiz Shakir, a longtime adviser to Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, told the WSJ. “But you don’t simultaneously see an outreach to those wanting to unrig the economy.”

West listened to business magnates’ opinions on policy issues such as technology, healthcare and economics, with attendees telling the WSJ they see Harris’ brother-in-law as a member of her inner circle who can speak on her behalf, the WSJ reported.

Dimon has donated to both Republicans and Democrats, providing $3,300 donations this year to both Democratic Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen and Republican Arkansas Rep. French Hill, according to Open Secrets.

Roberts has also supported candidates from both parties financially, giving a $10,000 donation to the Democratic Party of Pennsylvania in 2010 after dishing out a $2,500 donation and $10,000 donation to the Republican Federal Committee of Pennsylvania in 2004.

West has played a significant role in Harris’ campaign, serving among a team of top economic advisers responsible for briefing think-tank leaders and former administration officials on the Democratic nominee’s economic platform, according to the WSJ. He also praised Harris at the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 21, remarking, “she’ll fight for all of us, because friends, when Kamala fights, we win.”

Before West took leave from Uber to volunteer on the campaign, he was involved in a $200 million effort in 2020 to pass a California ballot initiative that exempted companies like Uber and Lyft from having to classify their drivers as employees, thus allowing them to provide less benefits, the WSJ reported. West’s role in the initiative reportedly became a point of contention within the International Brotherhood of Teamsters when the union had to decide who to endorse in the 2024 presidential election, with the Teamsters, who have historically supported Democrats, ultimately declining to endorse a candidate.

“That led to a conversation about who she might side with when it comes to gig and the tech industry, which is a concern for working people,” an unnamed source told the WSJ regarding the effect White’s role in the 2020 California ballot initiative had on the Teamster’s deliberation process.

The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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The number of people employed in manufacturing in the U.S. fell by 24,000 in August, with the industry down 14,000 jobs year-over-year, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Altogether, manufacturing employment has grown just 0.3% since the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Chips and Science Act were signed into law by President Joe Biden in August 2022, despite the bills earmarking more than $400 billion in subsidies for the industry.

The August decline is in addition to a recent BLS jobs revision that showed the federal government had overestimated manufacturing employment by 115,000 between April 2023 and March 2024.

“Despite hundreds of billions in Inflation Reduction Act subsidies going to manufacturing and the mind-boggling U.S. deficit, we’ve only seen a less-than-1% increase in total employment,” Aaron Hedlund, director of research at the America First Policy Institute, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “There is no manufacturing boom.”

The U.S. national debt currently sits at around $35.34 trillion as of Aug. 4, up from $27.75 trillion when Biden took office in January 2021, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. The increase of more than $7.5 trillion dollars is equivalent to over $57,000 for each of the 131,434,000 households that the Census Bureau estimates were in the U.S. in 2023.

Average weekly earnings in manufacturing rose from roughly $1,361 to approximately $1,370 in August, according to BLS data. Weekly earnings remain below their levels from when Biden first took office when adjusted for inflation, with manufacturing salaries rising 17.7% between January 2021 and August 2024, while inflation in that period was roughly 20%, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and the BLS.

In July 2023, the White House issued a press release claiming the U.S. was in the midst of a “manufacturing boom” driven largely by federal initiatives from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act and the IRA to boost domestic green technology and semiconductor production. $84 billion worth of the nearly $228 billion of manufacturing projects worth more than $100 million that the Biden administration subsidized via the IRA and the Chips and Science Act have been paused or delayed, according to an investigation from the Financial Times published in August.

“All of the Biden-Harris administration claims on job creation are essentially false,” Peter Earle, a senior economist at the American Institute for Economic Research, told the DCNF. “Most of the rise in employment they are taking responsibility for are actually just jobs slowing returning after being destroyed by pandemic policies — most of all, lockdowns. A sizable number of the remainder of jobs that have appeared over the past three-and-a-half years are not jobs created via economic growth and commercial expansion, but rather a product of their massive debt and deficit policies.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.

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The company has not closed a German plant in its entire 87-year history, but facing a slowdown in European car sales and stiff competition from Chinese EV maker BYD it is now weighing its options, according to Bloomberg. Experts predict the move would spark closures across the continent, with more than 30 European car factories currently operating at unprofitable levels.

“If even VW mulls closing factories in Germany, given how hard that process will be, it means the seas have gotten very rough,” Pierre-Olivier Essig, a London-based equities analyst at AIR Capital, told Bloomberg. “The situation is very alarming.”

Volkswagen considering first-ever plants shutdown really hits "Germany economic fall" home

"There are no more cheques coming from China" CEO referring to falling profit in VW's biggest market

Europe's car market shrunk after covid and co was facing demand shortfall of ~2 plants pic.twitter.com/Z1CaydWh13

— Generalist Lab (@Generalist_Lab) September 5, 2024

Car sales in Europe are down nearly one-fifth from prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and EV demand has slackened as Germany and Sweden have removed and reduced incentives to purchase the vehicles, Bloomberg reported. As a result, Chinese EV manufacturer BYD has jumped into the European market, pricing its Seagull model at just $9,700 before tax, a far cry from the European’s average EV cost of $48,000 in 2022.

VW began downsizing in July, with its Audi subsidiary cutting 90% of its 3,000 person workforce at its manufacturing plant in Brussels, Belgium, according to Bloomberg.

The company’s share price is now approaching the lows of its 2015 “diesel crisis,” when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency accused the company of installing illegal software in its cars in order to artificially improve its results on diesel emission tests, BBC News reported. The company also posted a €100 million net cash flow loss on its automotive business in the first half of 2024.

BYD dethroned Tesla as the world’s largest EV manufacturer in 2023, selling over 3 million vehicles and increasing profits by more than 80%. The company is tied to the Chinese Communist Party’s Belt and Road Initiative — a massive China-led infrastructure project that looks to increase the country’s influence across the globe.

“I am deeply concerned,” economic policy expert for Germany’s ruling party Bernd Westphal told Bloomberg. “Despite all understanding for the challenges facing the automotive industry, plant closures and job cuts are not a convincing strategy.”

Volkswagen did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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The company announced it now aims for between 90% and 100% of its cars to be fully electric or plug-in hybrids by the end of the decade, with the remainder being “mild,” non-plug-in hybrids, a company press release stated. Volvo’s backpedaling comes amid lower-than-expected consumer demand for EVs and a recent industry shift away from electrification.

“While Volvo Cars will retain its position as an industry leader in electrification, it has now decided to adjust its electrification ambitions due to changing market conditions and customer demands,” the company wrote. “The strategic adjustments to its electrification ambitions ensure that Volvo Cars has a flexible plan that meets customer preferences and enables value creation as a business.”

Volvo has ditched plans to sell only electric cars by 2030 amid waning demand for battery powered vehicles.

Another big manufacturer ditching EV plans. #CostOfNetZero

https://t.co/i7qPgRbjLx pic.twitter.com/AMlxhyAKwv

— Net Zero Watch (@NetZeroWatch) September 4, 2024

“We are and will remain an industry leader in electrification and nearly half of our global sales are either fully electric or plug-in hybrids,” a Volvo spokesman told the DCNF.

The company’s shift in strategy comes amid broader challenges in the EV market, with consumer demand coming in lower than proponents hoped, according to Fortune, and automakers like Rivian, Ford and General Motors hemorrhaging cash on their EV initiatives.

Ford scrapped plans to manufacture a three-row electric SUV in August, while Mercedez-Benz dropped its goal of an all-electric line-up by 2030 in February. Luxury EV maker Lucid laid off 6% of its workforce in May, equating to roughly 400 employees.

Volvo’s Wednesday announcement is the latest setback for President Joe Biden’s goal of having 50% of new U.S. car sales be EVs by 2030.

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