Category Archives: US Congress

Mitch McConnell backs Biden’s $106bn aid request for Israel and Ukraine

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Republican Senate minority leader says he and president are ‘in the same place’ on support linked to both conflicts

Mitch McConnell offered a strong endorsement on Sunday of the Joe Biden White House’s $106bn aid proposal to Israel and Ukraine, saying he and the president were essentially “in the same place” on the issue.

McConnell, the powerful Republican leader in the Senate, also rebuffed some of his GOP colleagues in the Senate who have called for a package separating assistance for the two countries, saying it would be “a mistake” during an interview on CBS’s Face the Nation.

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Jim Jordan forced out of House speaker race after losing secret ballot

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Republican colleagues vote against Ohio congressman’s continued bid after his third failed attempt to corral support

Jim Jordan of Ohio was forced out of the House speakership race on Friday after his Republican colleagues voted against his continued bid for the seat in a secret ballot after his third failed attempt to corral enough support to win the gavel.

Jordan’s lost bid followed a contentious week on Capitol Hill, during which he and his allies attempted to cajole more moderate Republicans into backing Jordan.

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Jim Jordan says he’s ‘going back to work’ after losing secret ballot for House speaker candidacy – as it happened

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This live blog is now closed. For latest reporting on Jim Jordan and the House speaker race, you can read our latest report:

The number of Republicans who show up for today’s vote will also be a factor in determining whether Jordan wins or loses.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that the GOP congressman Derrick Van Orden will not be in attendance, as he’s on a trip to Israel:

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Jim Jordan says he will seek third vote and not planning to drop out of House speaker race – live

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Jim Jordan says he plans to speak with the 20 Republicans who did not vote for him

With Sidney Powell pleading guilty, Thursday’s developments mark a significant win for Fulton county district Fani Willis who delivered a 41-count indictment against ex-president Donald Trump and his operatives earlier this year.

Here are the six counts Powell pleaded guilty to:

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US senators to reportedly visit Middle East to show support for Israel

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Lindsey Graham, who said he wants to see Gaza ‘levelled’, among bipartisan group expected to visit Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt

A bipartisan congressional delegation will visit the Middle East on Friday in a high-profile gesture of support for Israel following the Hamas attacks, it was reported on Thursday.

Among the group’s most prominent members is the Republican senator Lindsey Graham, who has prompted outrage in some quarters with his aggressive criticism of Hamas combined with a seeming lack of regard for Palestinian civilian lives, saying he wants to see Gaza flattened.

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Chaos in US House as Jordan waffles on third vote and interim speaker plan fails

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House Republicans unable to break impasse as Jim Jordan vows to press on with candidacy despite opposition

The leaderless House was plunged deeper into chaos on Thursday after Republicans refused to coalesce around a speaker and a plan to empower an interim speaker collapsed.

Angry and exhausted, the House Republican conference left a pair of tense closed-door sessions no closer to breaking the impasse that has immobilized the House for a 17th day. The party’s embattled nominee for speaker, congressman Jim Jordan, the Donald Trump loyalist who led the congressional effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election and now chairs the House judiciary committee, had vowed to press ahead with his bid to ascend to the post.

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Matt Gaetz sorry for email that blamed other Republicans amid speaker fight

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Fundraising email from Florida congressman said ‘Rinos are working with radical Democrats … to block Jim Jordan’

The Florida Republican representative Matt Gaetz has issued an apology over a fundraising email sent out allegedly without his team’s approval.

On Wednesday, Gaetz apologized for an email “sent by a vendor without my team’s approval” and said that “it should have never been sent”.

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Jim Jordan loses US House speaker vote for second time as support ebbs

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Tally showed 22 members of his own party opposing him, including four Republicans who supported Jordan a day earlier

The House of Representatives again failed to elect a new speaker on Wednesday, after the hard-right congressman Jim Jordan failed to win the gavel in the second round of voting.

The second vote tally showed 199 Republicans supporting Jordan and all 212 Democrats supporting their leader, Hakeem Jeffries of New York. Twenty-two Republicans opposed Jordan on Wednesday, leaving him far short of the 217 votes needed to ascend to the speakership. Because of Republicans’ razor-thin majority in the House, Jordan can only afford four defections within his party and still become speaker.

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Jim Jordan ally cautions speaker candidate could lose more votes as second House ballot looms – live

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Republican hardliner’s bid hangs in the balance but ally Scott Perry says loss of votes is part of what he calls fight to change status quo

Despite the seemingly stiff opposition against him becoming speaker of the House, Jim Jordan told reports he is not in favor of empowering Patrick McHenry to take the job:

Note that McHenry is also a Republican.

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Republican says she won’t run for re-election because ‘DC is broken’

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Congresswoman Debbie Lesko, from Arizona, says ‘it is hard to get anything done’

A Republican congresswoman has said she will not run for re-election next year, claiming “DC is broken”.

Debbie Lesko, from Arizona, said in a statement that traveling to Washington each month had also proven difficult.

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House remains without speaker as Jim Jordan falls short of votes in first ballot

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Twenty Republicans oppose hard-right congressman in first round of voting following historic ouster of Kevin McCarthy

The House of Representatives was unable to elect a new speaker on Tuesday, as the hard-right congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio struggled to win the gavel following the historic ouster of the Republican Kevin McCarthy earlier this month.

In the first round of voting, 20 Republicans opposed Jordan, while 200 Republicans supported the judiciary committee chair. The result left Jordan far short of winning the speakership, given that he can only afford four defections within his conference and still capture the gavel. All 212 House Democrats supported Hakeem Jeffries of New York, giving the Democratic leader more votes than Jordan.

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Progressive Democrats bring resolution calling for ceasefire in Israel-Hamas war

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Thirteen lawmakers call on Biden administration to facilitate de-escalation and send humanitarian aid into Gaza

A group of prominent progressive US lawmakers introduced a resolution on Monday calling for a ceasefire in the fast-escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas that has resulted in a death toll in the thousands, as fears grow that the war could spiral into a wider regional conflict.

The two-page resolution, brought by 13 Democratic members of Congress, urges the Biden administration to “immediately call for and facilitate de-escalation and a ceasefire to urgently end the current violence” as well as to “promptly send and facilitate the entry of humanitarian assistance into Gaza”.

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Jim Jordan races to try to change minds of holdouts in bid for House speaker

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Rightwing speakership contender says he thinks he has 217 votes needed to win despite group who say they will not support him

The rightwing congressman Jim Jordan is seeking to shore up support for his bid to succeed Kevin McCarthy as House speaker, with plans to appear on the House floor early this week to try to sway Republican members of Congress who signaled in a secret ballot vote they will not support his bid.

Jordan, a staunch ally of Donald Trump, claimed in a brief interview with Politico he believes he will get the 217 votes required to secure the speakership in a vote he wants to happen on Tuesday.

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Republican hardliner Steve Scalise drops out of House speaker race

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House unable to govern, with next steps uncertain, after Louisiana senator fails to secure his party’s support

The Republican congressman Steve Scalise is ending his bid to become the US House speaker after failing to secure enough votes to win the gavel.

“I just shared with my colleagues that I’m withdrawing my name as a candidate for speaker-designee,” Scalise said as he emerged from the closed-door meeting at the Capitol, where he first informed fellow Republican colleagues of his decision.

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House remains without speaker as Republican holdouts block Scalise

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Congressional business at a standstill as House majority leader drops out of speaker race on Thursday

The House of Representatives remained without a speaker on Thursday, as the fractious Republican majority refused to unite behind their party’s chosen nominee, congressman Steve Scalise of Louisiana.

A day after narrowly becoming House Republicans’ candidate for speaker in a secret ballot vote, Scalise moved no closer to overcoming the entrenched divisions on Thursday.

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Dysfunction in Washington leaves Middle East without key US diplomats

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Having no US ambassador to Israel in place and Republicans holding up military promotions is a threat to democracy, experts say

Political turmoil in Washington has left the US without key diplomats across the Middle East and raised concerns that years of congressional dysfunction are taking their toll on US leadership.

A devastating weekend attack on Israel by Hamas gunmen shook the region and came at a moment when there is no US ambassador in place in Israel, Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon or Oman.

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Republicans nominate Steve Scalise to replace McCarthy as House speaker

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Scalise defeats Jim Jordan by 113 votes to 99 but falls short of threshold needed to be elected speaker on House floor

House Republicans nominated Steve Scalise to be the next speaker on Wednesday, a week after the unprecedented ouster of Kevin McCarthy. But a handful of objections to Scalise’s nomination left House Republicans unable to move to a final floor vote, making it unclear when a new speaker might be elected.

By a vote of 113 to 99, Scalise, currently the second-ranking House Republican, defeated a challenge from congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio, the chairman of the judiciary committee and a far-right firebrand.

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More charges for George Santos: stealing donors’ identities and credit cards

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New 23-count indictment accuses Republican congressman of charging contributors’ credit cards to fund his bank account

Federal prosecutors added major allegations to the indictment charging the House Republican George Santos with fraud and lying about his campaign finance disclosures, presenting evidence that he stole donors’ identities and charged thousands of dollars to their credit cards without their knowledge.

The new charges, revealed in a superseding indictment returned on Tuesday by a grand jury in New York, increases the legal peril for the embattled congressman, given that his former campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, last week pleaded guilty to defrauding the United States.

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Robert F Kennedy Jr announces independent run for president; siblings condemn his ‘perilous’ campaign – as it happened

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This live blog is now closed. For our latest reporting on Kennedy’s presidential candidacy, you can read our latest report:

Robert F Kennedy Jr is expected to announce his independent run for US president at 12.00 pm ET in Philadelphia.

The 69-year-old has spent several months running for the Democratic nomination for the country’s highest office. He is the only challenge to Biden, who has a majority of the support within Democratic party.

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Top Republican urges party to end ‘civil war’ and elect House speaker this week

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Texas congressman Mike McCaul calls on House to unify and ‘move quickly’ because ‘we cannot paralyze democracy’

Republicans in Washington need to elect a new speaker “this week” and end the party’s “civil war” in the House that is sending a message to the world of dysfunction, especially amid the conflict unfolding in Israel, a senior GOP figure said on Sunday.

The Texas Republican congressman Mike McCaul, chairman of the House foreign affairs committee, urged his own party in the House to unify because “we have got to move quickly, we cannot paralyze democracy, especially when we have hotspots all over the world… and I’m just worried about the messaging this sends.”

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