Category Archives: US Congress

House passes spending bill to head off government shutdown before midterms

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Measure authorizes spending until 4 December as Republicans seek to avoid volatile issue in election season

The US House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a stopgap measure to head off a government shutdown until early December, with its Republican leaders seeking to defuse a volatile issue in the run-up to the November midterm elections.

The continuing resolution authorizing government spending until 4 December passed by a vote of 220-205, roughly along party lines. It next heads to the Senate, where it will need to win bipartisan support to clear the chamber.

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Israel’s war in Gaza dominates US midterm races as Democrats split

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Tensions between progressive and moderate camps of Democratic party on display in key Senate race in Michigan

The Israel-Gaza war created gaping divisions in the Democratic party and contributed to a resounding loss in a critical presidential election year in 2024. Two years later, the issue continues to dominate races across the country, as progressives try to seize on Israel’s falling popularity and a broad anti-war sentiment ahead of November’s midterms.

A recent debate among two Democrats vying for one of the most competitive US Senate seats in the country openly displayed the tension between progressive and moderate camps of the party.

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US congressman says he was detained by armed Israeli settlers in occupied West Bank

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Ro Khanna said settlers were armed with US-made weapons and Israel Defense Forces refused to intervene

The US congressman Ro Khanna says armed Israeli settlers detained him during a visit to the Israel-occupied West Bank recently, describing the experience as a first-hand view of the realities faced by Palestinians living under occupation.

In an interview with Reuters on Thursday from a Palestinian village, the progressive US House Democrat from California said his detention happened the previous day while his delegation visited an area of the southern West Bank that has experienced repeated attacks by Israeli settlers.

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Graham Platner officially withdraws candidacy for US Senate in Maine

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Paperwork ends Democratic campaign laden with scandals, including most recently accusations of sexual assault

Graham Platner, the Democratic nominee for US Senate in Maine, officially withdrew his candidacy on Friday afternoon, ending a campaign laden with scandals.

Maine’s secretary of state confirmed Platner had filed the paperwork to remove his name from the November ballot, two days after Platner publicly said he planned to exit the race.

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John Fetterman joins forces with Republican counterpart in Senate for fundraising committee

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Venture between two Pennsylvania senators stokes speculation about Fetterman’s future in Democratic party

The Democratic senator John Fetterman, who has faced mounting political challenges, is joining forces with the Republican senator Dave McCormick to launch a new joint fundraising committee, a move that is likely to fuel additional questions about Fetterman’s increasingly rightward lurch.

Pennsylvania’s two US senators have established a shared fundraising committee that will collect donations benefiting both of their campaigns in an unusual bipartisan arrangement.

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‘Historic Event’: Trump announces Republican midterm convention

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President unveils plans for Dallas summit, in break with tradition of conventions only in presidential election years

Donald Trump has announced that Republicans will stage their first ever national convention ahead of the midterm elections, a move aimed at energizing voters as the party fights to hold its narrow congressional majorities in November.

The two-day gathering will take place in Dallas on 9 and 10 September, marking a break from the longstanding tradition of holding national conventions only during presidential election years. Trump confirmed the plans on Tuesday in a Truth Social post, describing Dallas as “One of my favorite places in the World”.

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Zohran Mamdani says he and allies he endorsed carry a ‘national message’

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Mayor says progressive peers who swept primaries speak to Americans ‘coast to coast’ as moderates have reservations

Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor, said on Sunday that he and a slew of democratic socialist allies who prevailed in recent primary elections are carrying a “national message” to struggling working Americans hungry for a new kind of politics “coast to coast”.

Mamdani made that triumphant clarion call on ABC News’s This Week just five days after he had seen his endorsed candidates win Democratic nominations in three races for New York congressional seats, as well as for five state legislature positions in Albany. He made no effort to disguise his delight that his clean sweep marks a dramatic shift in Democratic politics – not just in New York City, which he has led since January, but also across the US.

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‘It’s become a litmus test’: wins for Israel critics shine light on key issue for Democrats

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Candidates who believe Israel has committed genocide won big in New York – will it push the party to move their way?

Regardless of which party wins control of Congress in November, New York City voters have all but ensured that next year a vocal bloc of new House Democrats will arrive on Capitol Hill, elected, in large part, because they believe Israel has committed a genocide in Gaza.

That is an upshot of the primary elections held Tuesday in New York, where voters ousted two incumbent House Democrats and replaced a third who is retiring with progressives championed by Zohran Mamdani.

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Mamdani-backed candidates sweep Democratic primaries in New York City

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JFK’s grandson Jack Schlossberg fails to advance in election to replace Jerry Nadler in Manhattan district

Zohran Mamdani’s growing influence over the Democratic party was on show in New York City on Tuesday as three congressional candidates endorsed by New York’s democratic socialist mayor won closely watched primaries, while voters in Maryland, Utah and South Carolina cast ballots in primaries and runoffs.

Brad Lander, the former New York City comptroller who also ran for mayor last year before endorsing Mamdani, won his race comfortably, defeating the Democratic representative Dan Goldman.

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New Yorkers vote as Democrats weigh competing visions in era of Trump

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Democratic primary elections to test strength of party’s left flank as old guard faces string of challenges

New Yorkers were voting on Tuesday in a slate of Democratic primaries poised to reveal the strength of the party’s left flank and shape the battle for control of the US House of Representatives in November.

Voters in Maryland and Utah will also nominate congressional candidates on Tuesday, while South Carolina holds a series of runoff elections for candidates who did not receive a majority of the vote earlier this month.

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Mitch McConnell receiving medical care after being admitted to hospital

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US senator is getting ‘excellent care’ after being hospitalized on Sunday morning, spokesperson says

Mitch ⁠McConnell, a US senator ⁠from Kentucky, was admitted ​to ‌the ‌hospital ‌on Sunday morning, ‌a ​spokesperson ⁠said ​in ​a statement.

“Senator McConnell was admitted to the hospital this morning. He is receiving excellent care,” the statement read.

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Despite new allegations, Maine’s Platner predicts voters will send him to Senate

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Democrat denies reports of physical intimidation towards women, saying his past has been ‘weaponized’

The Democratic US Senate candidate Graham Platner on Friday predicted that Maine’s voters would support him four days later in his party primary despite a string of controversies – including recent negative headlines about his treatment of women that he said had been “weaponized”.

In a 25-minute speech before supporters in Bar Harbor, the oyster farmer and US marine combat veteran addressed the controversies about his personal conduct, which escalated on Thursday with a New York Times report in which three former romantic partners described disturbing behavior, including being physically intimidated by him.

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In second break with Trump in a week, House passes bill to aid Ukraine

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Legislation would also sanction key segments of Russian economy, overriding objections from Republican leaders

The House passed legislation Thursday that would aid Ukraine and sanction key segments of the Russian economy, overriding objections from Republican leaders who warned the bill would undermine negotiations designed to achieve a comparable but stronger result.

The 226-195 vote is a sign of impatience with Donald Trump’s approach to the war and represents the House’s second major foreign policy break with Trump this week. The day before, the House, for the first time, approved a war powers resolution aimed at halting US military action against Iran.

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US House passes war powers resolution to curb Trump’s authority in Iran

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Stunning rebuke to president as lawmakers vote 215-208 for measure forcing him to seek congressional approval

The US House of Representatives delivered a stunning rebuke to Donald Trump over his war on Iran on Wednesday, as representatives backed a move to force him to seek approval from Congress or withdraw US forces.

The House voted 215 to 208 in favor of the war powers resolution, as four Republicans voted with Democrats. The dissident Republicans were Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Warren Davidson of Ohio and Tom Barrett of Michigan.

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Trump-backed candidate loses in Iowa governor’s race as Democrats look to flip Senate seat

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Establishment Democrat beats Zach Wahls in primary as party eyes success in Republican-dominated state

Iowa voters cast their ballots in Tuesday’s heated primaries, setting up for months of fervent campaigning ahead of the November midterms in contests that could determine the balance of power in Congress.

A red state that the GOP has dominated for the past decade, Democrats believe they can be competitive in three of its four House races, its Senate election, and the contest to replace Kim Reynolds, the retiring Republican governor.

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Aipac affiliate has funded lavish trips to Israel for dozens of Congress members since 7 October, filings reveal

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Revealed: AIEF, a charitable affiliate of pro-Israel lobby Aipac, has spent millions on travel for lawmakers from both parties, even as voters’ support for Israel plummets

Dozens of members of Congress and Capitol Hill staffers have enjoyed lavish gifted travel to Israel funded by an Aipac affiliate since 7 October 2023, amid Israel’s expanding wars on its neighbors and despite plummeting levels of support among Americans for the country’s policies, a Guardian analysis has found.

Congressional ethics filings and other public records show the trips, led by the American Israel Education Foundation (AIEF), revolved around one-sided briefings on Middle East politics and Israeli domestic and foreign policy. Lawmakers and their staffers from both parties met Israeli officials, military contractors and civil society figures, including Benjamin Netanyahu and advocates for the annexation of the West Bank and the displacement of Palestinians from Jerusalem.

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California’s conservative Huntington Beach could get a gay, Democratic congressman

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Robert Garcia became the lead contender in Tuesday’s primaries for congressional district 42 after redistricting

The conservative California community of Huntington Beach, known for banning the Pride flag from city property and fighting the state over pandemic and housing policy, could soon be represented by a gay, Democratic congressman.

Robert Garcia, an incumbent two-term Democratic LGBTQ+ congressman, immigrant and Donald Trump critic, is considered the leading contender in Tuesday’s primary race for the US House seat. Thanks to a successful restricting effort that redrew California’s voting maps to favor Democrats, Huntington Beach is now part of Garcia’s congressional district 42.

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Cory Booker has ‘concerns’ with Graham Platner’s Senate bid after leaked texts

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US senator says Platner, whose wife says he sent sexually explicit messages to other women, has ‘questions to answer’

A high-profile Democrat has expressed concerns with party candidate Graham Platner’s Maine US Senate campaign amid revelations that Platner reportedly sent a number of sexually explicit messages to other women while married.

“Yes, I have concerns,” Cory Booker, the US senator from New Jersey, said Sunday on ABC’s This Week when host Jonathan Karl when asked about the Platner revelations. “That guy has questions to answer – and that’s what campaigns are for.”

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Pam Bondi admits to ‘redaction errors’ in Epstein files but defends DoJ’s handling

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Ex-attorney general tells House committee she did not ‘lead every aspect’ of effort but rather delegated to Todd Blanche

Pam Bondi, the former attorney general, defended the Department of Justice’s (DoJ) handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files under her leadership on Friday, and told lawmakers on the House oversight and reform committee that she did not “lead every aspect” of the department’s effort, but rather she delegated oversight of the process to Todd Blanche, her former deputy attorney general, who is now acting attorney general.

Democratic lawmakers also said that Bondi refused to answer questions about Donald Trump’s involvement in the release of the files.

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Bondi to face closed-door questioning from House committee over Epstein files – US politics

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Lawmakers to have fresh chance to dig for information on Trump’s administration’s handling of issue by grilling former attorney-general

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Former attorney-general Pam Bondi is testifying before the US House oversight and reform committee, a long-awaited appearance that brings fresh scrutiny of the administration’s release of the Epstein files.

A jury in Spokane, Washington found an Afghanistan War veteran and two others guilty of federal conspiracy charges on Thursday for their part in a protest last June outside the city’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility.

New Jersey’s governor, Mikie Sherrill, said that state health inspectors were denied full access to the privately run Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark, where detainees are staging a hunger and labor strike over health and sanitary conditions, and protesters rallying outside have been tased, pepper-sprayed and detained.

At least six of the nine featured musical acts recruited to play on the National Mall in Washington DC this summer, in a concert series planned by the Trump administration to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary, have dropped out of the concert series, just one day after the lineup was announced.

US vice-president JD Vance on Thursday told reporters that Washington was “not there yet” with Iran but he said the parties were close, adding that the US was in a position where it could substantially set back Tehran’s nuclear program. Earlier, Iran’s Tasnim news agency, citing a source close to the negotiating team, said the text of a potential memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two countries had not yet been finalised or confirmed.

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