Category Archives: US Congress

Uvalde native Matthew McConaughey says ‘real change can happen’ on gun reform – as it happened

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Actor speaks at White House in effort to sway legislators skeptical of gun control legislation

The Senate judiciary committee hearing comes one day the House oversight committee will hold its own hearing on addressing gun violence in the US.

Miah Cerrillo, a fourth-grade student at Robb Elementary school who survived the shooting by smearing blood on herself, will testify at the House hearing. Felix and Kimberly Rubio, who lost their daughter Lexi in the Uvalde shooting, will also testify, as will Zeneta Everhart, whose son Zaire was shot in Buffalo and thankfully survived.

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Ex-Trump adviser Peter Navarro indicted for defying Capitol attack panel

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Navarro in custody after indictment on two counts of contempt of Congress after he defied subpoena issued by January 6 committee

Peter Navarro, a top former White House adviser to Donald Trump, was taken into custody after being indicted by a federal grand jury on Friday on two counts of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena issued by the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack.

The indictment against Navarro marks the first time that the justice department has pursued charges against a Trump White House official who worked in the administration on January 6 and participated in efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

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House panel considers gun control bill after Texas school shooting – US politics live

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Republican Dan Bishop challenged David Cicilline’s argument that Democrats’ gun-control bill is fully compliant with the constitution, instead insisting that the proposals would infringe on Americans’ Second Amendment rights.

“And let me be clear, you are not going to bully your way into stripping Americans of fundamental rights,” Bishop said.

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Clinton lawyer acquitted of lying to FBI when he briefed them on Trump-Russia links – as it happened

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Jury’s verdict is setback for special counsel John Durham’s search for alleged misconduct in investigation of Trump’s 2016 campaign

• Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer acquitted of lying to the FBI

US supreme court clerks may be required to hand over phone records – report

• ‘We have to do something’: calls mount for Texas gun control laws after latest deadly attack

• Trump aide Peter Navarro ordered to testify before grand jury over January 6

In an unprecedented move, US supreme court clerks may be required to release their phone records as the investigation into who leaked the Roe v Wade opinion draft widens.

The possible mandated release of private cell records and signed affidavits, reported by CNN, is reportedly causing some clerks to consider retaining legal counsel.

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Joe Biden says US recession ‘is not inevitable’ despite rampant inflation – live

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Poll finds 77% of Americans ‘pessimistic’ about cost of goods and services in coming months

• US would defend Taiwan if attacked by China, says Joe Biden

• Capitol attack panel to hold six public hearings

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The House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol is expected to stage six public hearings in June on how Donald Trump and some allies broke the law as they sought to overturn the 2020 election results, according to sources familiar with the inquiry.

The hearings are set to be a pivotal political moment for the country as the panel aims to publicly outline the potentially unlawful schemes that tried to keep the former president in office despite his defeat at the hands of Joe Biden.

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Senate to vote on $40bn Ukraine aid bill initially blocked by Rand Paul – live

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A preliminary vote on military, humanitarian and economic aid to Kyiv is expected today, setting up a final vote on Wednesday

• Scrutiny of Republicans who embrace ‘great replacement theory’ after Buffalo massacre

A group of voters who challenged extremist congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene’s eligibility to run for re-election have filed an appeal of the Georgia secretary of state’s decision that she can appear on the ballot.

The five voters from Greene’s district alleged that the rightwing Republican played a significant role in the 6 January Capitol attack, which they said put her in violation of a 14th amendment clause concerning insurrection and ineligibility for office.

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Marjorie Taylor Greene is qualified to run for re-election, Georgia official says

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Secretary of state Brad Raffensperger accepts judge’s findings and says far-right congresswoman, a Trump ally, is eligible to run

The Georgia secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, has accepted a judge’s findings and said the far-right Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is qualified to run for re-election.

A group of voters filed a challenge saying Greene should be barred under a seldom-invoked provision of the 14th amendment concerning insurrection, over her links to the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump.

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Texas attorney general says state bar suing him over bid to overturn 2020 election – live

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Here are more pictures from Jill Biden’s trip to Romania and Slovakia, where she will visit with Ukraine refugees over Mother’s Day weekend.

In addition to serving food, Biden also brought ketchup for personnel stationed overseas, as many have run out of different comforts from home like the condiment.

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January 6 committee set to subpoena Trump allies, Republican Kinzinger says

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Members of Congress involved in attempt to overturn election have refused to testify voluntarily before June public hearings

The House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol will decide “in the next week or two” whether to issue subpoenas trying to force Republican lawmakers to testify about Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election, one of two Republicans on the panel said on Sunday.

“If that takes a subpoena, it takes a subpoena,” Adam Kinzinger said.

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Biden’s top border official not worried about Republican impeachment threats

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Homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas forging ahead with plans to ease Covid-related immigration restrictions

Joe Biden’s top border official said on Sunday he was unconcerned by threats from the top House Republican that the GOP could impeach him if it regains the majority after the midterm elections, as the Biden administration forges ahead with plans to ease a coronavirus-related immigration restriction.

Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union, Alejandro Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, addressed the remarks from the House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy.

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Republican: Biden’s $33bn Ukraine aid request likely to get swift approval

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Michael McCaul’s comments come while Nancy Pelosi leads a congressional delegation to Kyiv to meet Ukrainian president

Joe Biden’s $33bn request to Congress for more aid for Ukraine is likely to receive swift approval from lawmakers, a senior Republican said on Sunday, as the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, made a surprise visit to the war-riven country.

The president on Thursday had asked for the money for military and humanitarian support for Ukraine as it fights to repulse the Russian invasion now in its third month.

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Rand Paul promises Covid review if Republicans retake Senate in midterms

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Kentucky senator who has clashed publicly with Dr Anthony Fauci champions lab leak theory in remarks at rally

The Kentucky senator Rand Paul promised on Saturday to wage a vigorous review into the origins of the coronavirus if Republicans retake the Senate and he lands a committee chairmanship.

Speaking to supporters at a campaign rally, the senator denounced what he sees as government overreach in response to Covid-19. He applauded a recent judge’s order that voided the federal mask mandate on planes and trains and in travel hubs.

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Democratic senator Joe Manchin cuts ad for West Virginia Republican

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Manchin cites Biden Build Back Better spending plan he sank in ad for David McKinley, challenger to Trump-backed incumbent

Joe Manchin has recorded an ad for a Republican in a West Virginia US House election, in which the Democratic senator trumpets his opposition to Joe Biden’s Build Back Better domestic spending plan.

“David McKinley has always opposed reckless spending because it doesn’t make sense for West Virginia,” Manchin said.

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Biden asks Congress for $33bn Ukraine aid package

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President’s request includes over $20bn in military aid, $8.5bn in economic aid to Kyiv and $3bn in humanitarian relief

Joe Biden has called for a giant $33bn package of military and economic aid to Ukraine, more than doubling the level of US assistance to date, in an emphatic rejection of Russian threats of reprisals and escalation.

A few hours after Biden spoke, Kyiv was shaken by two powerful cruise missile strikes, while the UN secretary general, António Guterres, was visiting the Ukraine capital following a meeting with Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin.

More artillery and armored vehicles, as well as anti-tank missiles and anti-aircraft systems.

Help to build up Ukraine’s cyber warfare capabilities.

More intelligence sharing.

Support to increase Ukraine’s ability to produce munitions and strategic minerals.

Assistance in clearing landmines and other explosives and in Ukraine’s defence against chemical, biological and dirty bomb attacks.

A further buildup in the US military presence on Nato’s eastern flank.

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‘We’re not attacking Russia,’ Biden says as he asks for $33bn in Ukraine aid – as it happened

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Joe Biden is also taking steps to ensure the money raised from assets seized from sanctioned allies of Vladimir Putin directly aids Ukraine.

According to a White House fact sheet about Biden’s new aid request, the administration is “proposing legislation to streamline the process to recoup proceeds from seized and forfeited assets and use them to remediate the harm caused in Ukraine”.

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Biden announces another $800m in military aid for Ukraine: ‘We’re in a critical window’ – as it happened

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Here are some more details from the defense department on the new $800m military assistance package to Ukraine:

For those keeping track on how much the US has provided Ukraine so far in military assistance:

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Biden heads to North Carolina in effort to reset stalled agenda – live

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Elon Musk has launched an audacious bid to buy Twitter for more than $40bn, saying he wants to release its “extraordinary potential” to boost free speech and democracy across the world.

The Tesla chief executive and world’s richest person revealed in a regulatory filing on Thursday that he had launched a hostile takeover of Twitter. The news came just days after he bought a 9.2% stake in the social media company and was subsequently offered a seat on the board, but then refused to take up the position.

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McConnell will ‘make Biden a moderate’ if Republicans retake Congress

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Senate minority leader projects ‘pretty good beating’ for Biden administration in November midterms

The Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, said on Sunday Republicans will force Joe Biden to govern as a “moderate” if the GOP retakes Congress in November.

Speaking to Fox News Sunday, McConnell attacked Biden on subjects including reported crime increases in large US cities, the decision to extend a moratorium on repaying student loan debts, and the administration’s attempt to lift a Trump policy that allowed border patrol agents to turn away migrants at the southern border, ostensibly to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

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‘TV is like a poll’: Trump endorses Dr Oz for Pennsylvania Senate nomination

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Former president enthuses about TV doctor in statement and at rally but many on far right doubt conservative credentials

Donald Trump has endorsed Dr Mehmet Oz for the Republican nomination for Senate in Pennsylvania, an expression of support for a fellow TV star which could test the former president’s grip on his party.

Being on TV was “like a poll, that means people like you,” the former president and Celebrity Apprentice star said of Oz, a heart surgeon turned daytime host.

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House votes to hold Trump duo Navarro and Scavino in contempt of Congress

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Approval of contempt resolution over months-long defiance of subpoenas sets pair on path towards criminal prosecution by DoJ

The House voted on Wednesday to hold two of Donald Trump’s top advisers – Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino – in criminal contempt of Congress for their months-long refusal to comply with subpoenas issued by the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack.

The approval of the contempt resolution, by a vote of 220 to 203, sets the two Trump aides on the path toward criminal prosecution by the justice department as the panel escalates its inquiry into whether Trump oversaw a criminal conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election.

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