Top Republicans are welcoming the annual March for Life to Washington DC, including Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell:
As well as speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy:
Continue reading...Urban Institute economist Len Burman has a reality check for those in Congress flirting with not raising the debt ceiling.
A default could undermine the America’s pre-eminence in global markets, where the dollar is used as many countries’ dominant reserve currency. But more immediately, it would actually force Washington to spend even more, because a default would drive up interest rates, forcing the government to shell out more money to owners of its trillions of dollars in debt:
Continue reading...Donald Trump remains the most popular man in the GOP, or at least among those running for president, pollster Morning Consult finds in a survey released today:
Deeper in the survey, you’ll find Florida governor Ron DeSantis the leader among second choices for the nominations, distantly followed by former vice-president Mike Pence.
Continue reading...Exclusive: retired FBI agent Coleen Rowley calls for clemency for Indigenous activist who has been in prison for nearly 50 years
The FBI’s repeated opposition to the release of Leonard Peltier is driven by vindictiveness and misplaced loyalties, according to a former senior agent close to the case who is the first agency insider to call for clemency for the Indigenous rights activist who has been held in US maximum security prisons for almost five decades.
Coleen Rowley, a retired FBI special agent whose career included 14 years as legal counsel in the Minneapolis division where she worked with prosecutors and agents directly involved in the Peltier case, has written to Joe Biden making a case for Peltier’s release.
Continue reading...House Republicans are seeking to embarrass president over retention of papers from time as vice-president
The Biden administration is calling on House Republicans to “come clean” about the deals Kevin McCarthy made to win election as House speaker, and accusing the party of embracing extreme policies.
“House Republicans have yet to come clean with the American people about the secret agreements Kevin McCarthy made with the most Maga members of their conference in order to end their leadership election debacle,” the White House said in a statement. “But as we learn more about what was hashed out behind closed doors, it has become clear that these hidden agreements could impact the lives of every American.”
An unprecedented tax hike on the middle class and a national abortion ban are just a glimpse of the secret, backroom deals Speaker McCarthy made with extreme MAGA members to end this month’s chaotic elections and claim the gavel. The few agreements we know about would fundamentally reshape our economy in a devastating way for working families and criminalize women for making their own health care decisions. They’re also planning to plunge the economy into chaos and take millions of American jobs and 401k plans hostage unless they can cut Medicare. What other hidden bargains did Speaker McCarthy make behind closed doors with the most extreme, ultra MAGA members of the House Republican conference? The American people have a right to know – now – which is why we are calling on him to make every single one of them public immediately.
Continue reading...President gave sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta and spoke about the need to protect democracy
Joe Biden marked what would have been Martin Luther King Jr’s 94th birthday with a sermon on Sunday at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, celebrating the legacy of the civil rights leader while speaking about the urgent need to protect US democracy.
Biden said he was “humbled” to become the first sitting president to give the Sunday sermon at King’s church, also describing the experience as “intimidating”.
Continue reading...House oversight chair requests Delaware visitor logs as Democrats stress difference from Trump classified records case
Republicans pounced on the discovery on Saturday of more classified documents at Joe Biden’s residence, accusing the president of hypocrisy and questioning why the records were not brought to light earlier.
Biden lawyers have discovered at least 20 classified documents at his residence outside Wilmington, Delaware, and at an office in Washington used after he left the Obama administration, in which he was vice-president.
Continue reading...White House acknowledges six pages of classified documents had been found in a search of private library
Lawyers for Joe Biden found more classified documents at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, than previously known, the White House acknowledged on Saturday.
The White House lawyer Richard Sauber said in a statement that a total of six pages of classified documents were found during a search of Biden’s private library. The White House had said previously that only a single page had been found there.
Continue reading...Dmitry Medvedev accuses Fumio Kishida of shameful subservience to US after Joe Biden meeting
Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has accused Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida of shameful subservience to the US and suggested he should ritually disembowel himself.
His remarks on Saturday were the latest in a long line of shocking and provocative statements from Medvedev, who was once seen as a western-leaning reformer but has reinvented himself as an arch-hawk since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.
Continue reading...As Republicans threaten to ensnare the president in investigations and legislative brinkmanship, Biden is touting bipartisanship
After a bruising fight over the House speakership, newly empowered Republicans officially set to work this week on what they say is a mandate to hold Joe Biden and his administration to account.
Several of the president’s chief antagonists took control of powerful committees, eager to use their subpoena power to frustrate and undermine the president, his administration and his family.
Continue reading...Former president entered the US after his election loss and is staying in Florida
Dozens of Democratic lawmakers, including some of the top members of the House foreign affairs committee, sent a letter to Joe Biden on Thursday demanding former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro’s diplomatic visa be canceled in the wake of the rampage in Brazil’s capital by his supporters.
“We request that you reassess his status in the country to ascertain whether there is a legal basis for his stay and revoke any such diplomatic visa he may hold,” said the letter. It continued: “The United States must not provide shelter for him, or any authoritarian who has inspired such violence against democratic institutions.”
Continue reading...Attorney general Merrick Garland may announce the appointment of a special counsel to handle the matter of the classified documents discovered at Joe Biden’s properties, Bloomberg News reports.
Garland is scheduled to make a public address at 1.15pm, though the justice department has not said what the speech will be about. In November, Garland appointed veteran prosecutor Jack Smith to handle the investigation into government secrets found at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, as well as his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
Continue reading...Robert Hur chosen by US attorney general after classified materials discovered in Delaware and Washington
The US attorney general, Merrick Garland, appointed a special counsel on Thursday to investigate Joe Biden’s retention of classified documents from his time as vice-president.
The move to name Robert Hur, a former Trump-appointed federal prosecutor and former top justice department official, was a rapid decision from Garland to insulate the department from possible accusations of political conflicts or interference.
Continue reading...House to vote on medical protections for ‘babies that survive an attempted abortion’ and ‘attacks on pro-life’ groups and churches
Venture to certain corners of conservative media today and you’ll find lots of discussion of gas stoves. The Guardian’s Alaina Demopoulos explains why:
After Joe Biden’s administration announced it was considering regulating – or banning – gas stoves, Richard Trumka of the US consumer product safety commission (CPSC) offered some words of clarity: “To be clear, CPSC isn’t coming for anyone’s gas stoves,” he tweeted.
Continue reading...As Netanyahu takes an aggressively anti-Palestinian line, the White House will seek to avoid the humiliations heaped on Obama
The more things change in Israel, the harder Joe Biden is working to make sure they stay the same.
The new far-right government of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, which includes openly anti-Arab racists, is already causing concern in the White House with commitments to expand illegal settlements in the occupied territories and annex Palestinian land.
Continue reading...California Republican takes reins of Congress’s lower chamber after 15 rounds of voting last week
The Guardian’s Kira Lerner reports that the GOP has been waging a legal assault on voting nationwide, with more lawsuits aimed at restricting ballot box access filed last year than ever before:
The Republican party filed a record number of anti-voting lawsuits in 2022, a sign that they are shifting the battle over voting access and election administration to courtrooms in addition to state legislatures.
Continue reading...Joe Biden says situation in Brazil is ‘outrageous’ as presidents across South America denounce ‘assault on democracy’
Joe Biden said the situation in Brazil was “outrageous” after supporters of the former president Jair Bolsonaro invaded the country’s congress, presidential palace and supreme court on Sunday, with some senior US lawmakers calling for the far-right figure to be extradited from the US.
Biden’s words of condemnation were echoed by world leaders across the globe, including some of Brazil’s closest neighbours.
Continue reading...At least two civilians killed in attacks across country after Russia declared ceasefire for Orthodox Christmas
Russia has launched attacks across Ukraine, killing at least two civilians, in violation of a unilateral, self-declared ceasefire for the Orthodox celebration of Christmas on Saturday.
The attacks came as the US announced it would send Ukraine another $3.75bn of weapons and other aid, including a first shipment of Bradley armoured vehicles known as “tank killers”.
Continue reading...House party leader says he’s confident he has the votes after losing 13 straight rounds
It’s just after noon and the House is reconvening now to pick up the already tortuous quest to seat a speaker. But two Republicans at least won’t be there.
Congressman-elect Wesley Hunt of Texas is heading home to be with his premature newborn son.
Continue reading...The president spoke with passion about police officers and election officials who held the line on the second anniversary of the attempted insurrection
Joe Biden has marked the second anniversary of the January 6 insurrection by awarding medals to heroes who “did not flinch” when the US Capitol came under attack and warning that democracy cannot be taken for granted.
The US president on Friday awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal to 14 people, some posthumously, and spoke with passion – and flashes of humour – at a White House ceremony.
Continue reading...