Senator Joe Manchin, who doomed the legislation last month, says negotiations will be ‘starting from scratch’
Joe Biden initially indicated he would not take any questions from reporters, out of concern that it would shift focus away from Intel’s announcement about its new semiconductor facility in Ohio.
“You guys will ask me all about Russia and not about anything having to do with chips,” Biden said.
Continue reading...The committee is undecided on making the near-unprecedented step as the threat of Republican retaliation looms
The House select committee investigating the Capitol attack is weighing whether to subpoena some of Donald Trump’s top allies on Capitol Hill as it considers its options on how aggressively it should pursue testimony to move forward its inquiry into the January 6 insurrection.
The Republican House minority leader Kevin McCarthy and Republican members of Congress Jim Jordan and Scott Perry may have inside knowledge about Trump’s plan to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s election and whether it was coordinated with the Capitol attack.
Continue reading...US president Joe Biden said he was not sure if his administration could push voting rights legislation through Congress, but he would continue fighting to change the law. ‘I don't know if we can get it done,' he said to reporters. ‘But I know one thing, as long as I have a breath in me … I am going to be fighting to change the way these legislatures are moving.' Earlier, Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema reaffirmed she would not support any change to the filibuster rules, effectively killing her party’s hope of passing the most sweeping voting rights protections in a generation.
Continue reading...Joe Biden confirmed that his administration will order another 500 million at-home coronavirus tests to address the surge in cases caused by the Omicron variant.
That brings the total number of tests ordered by the administration to 1 billion, but the first batch of 500 million tests has not yet been distributed to Americans.
Continue reading...Joe Biden will travel to Capitol Hill tomorrow to join Senate Democrats’ meeting about the path forward for passing voting rights bills.
“President Biden is expected to attend tomorrow’s Senate Dem Caucus lunch to discuss the push to pass voting rights and potential changes to Senate rules,” a senior Democratic aide said.
The Republican who memorably resisted Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn his election defeat in Georgia has said he will run for re-election on a platform of “integrity and truth”, against an opponent who as a churchman “should know better” than to advance the former president’s lies.
Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia secretary of state, became a household name after he turned down Trump’s demand that he “find 11,780 votes” in order to overturn Joe Biden’s win in the southern state. It was the first victory by a Democrat in a presidential race in Georgia since 1992.
Continue reading...The Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has tested positive for Covid-19.
In a statement on Sunday evening, the office of the New York progressive said she was “experiencing symptoms and recovering at home.
Continue reading...Russia is “very likely” to invade Ukraine and might only be deterred by “enormous sanctions”, the chair of the US House intelligence committee said on Sunday.
Adam Schiff also said an invasion could backfire on Moscow, by drawing more countries into the Nato military alliance.
Continue reading...Centrist senator has rejected the idea of joining GOP but has indicated openness to being an independent
For many Democrats, Joe Manchin has become an unshakeable problem. The centrist senator is at odds with other Democrats on everything from filibuster reform to climate policy, and he recently announced his opposition to the Build Back Better Act, the lynchpin of Joe Biden’s legislative agenda.
But Republicans think Manchin now represents an opportunity to boost their numbers.
Continue reading...It would be almost impossible for the US to comply with its greenhouse gas reduction pledges without the $1.75tn package that Manchin refuses to support
The collapse of Joe Biden’s Build Back Better legislation would have disastrous consequences for the global climate crisis, making it almost impossible for the US to comply with its greenhouse gas reduction pledges made under the Paris accords.
The US president’s sweeping economic recovery and social welfare bill is in serious trouble after the Democratic senator Joe Manchin announced his opposition to the $1.75tn spending package that includes the country’s largest ever climate crisis investment.
Continue reading...Scott Perry is first sitting member of Congress to get request for interview as Trump announces 6 January press conference
Scott Perry, a Pennsylvania Republican and the first sitting member of Congress to be requested to provide documents and sit for an interview with the committee investigating the Capitol riot, said on Tuesday he would not comply with the panel.
The news came shortly after Donald Trump provocatively announced that he will hold a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on 6 January, the first anniversary of the deadly attack on Congress.
Continue reading...The West Virginia senator Joe Manchin dealt a huge blow to Joe Biden on Sunday, saying “no” to the $1.75tn Build Back Better domestic spending plan. The White House issued a stinging rebuke in return, stoking a bitter war of words in a party sharply divided between moderates and progressives.
The White House accused Manchin of going back on his word.
Continue reading...During South Carolina State University’s commencement ceremony this morning, Joe Biden also received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from the historically Black college.
In his remarks at South Carolina State University’s commencement ceremony, Joe Biden also addressed Congress’ failure to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
Continue reading...The Guardian’s Edward Helmore, Nikhita Chulani, Harvey Symons and Arnel Hecimovic report:
Powerful tornadoes barrelled through five US states on Friday, levelling houses and factories and bringing down power lines. In Kentucky, the worst-hit state, one tornado alone followed an extraordinarily long and destructive path of more than 200 miles.
Continue reading...Joe Biden took a few questions from reporters this morning, as he left the White House to start his trip to Kansas City, Missouri.
Asked about his summit yesterday with Vladimir Putin, Biden said, “I was very straightforward. There were no minced words.”
Continue reading...Russian state television shared a clip of the start of Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden’s virtual summit this morning, which started about 45 minutes ago.
The clip shows the American and Russian leaders greeting each other before beginning their discussion about the situation in Ukraine.
Continue reading...Analysis: furore continues over ‘Christmas card’ by US Congressman of group holding military weapons
It is the Christmas card that has sent shockwaves across the world – and provided a chilling reminder of the size and type of weapons that are perfectly legal to own and carry in large parts of the US.
An analysis by the Guardian indicates the guns in the photograph published by the Republican congressman Thomas Massie are military grade and – in some cases – similar to those used in recent notorious deadly incidents.
Continue reading...Bob Dole, the long-time Kansas senator who was the Republican nominee for president in 1996, has died at the age of 98. Born in Russell, Kansas in 1923, Dole served in the US infantry in the second world war, suffering serious wounds in Italy and winning a medal for bravery.
In 1976 he was the Republican nominee for vice-president to Gerald Ford, in an election the sitting president lost to Jimmy Carter. Two decades later, aged 73, Dole won the nomination to take on Bill Clinton, to whom he lost.
Continue reading...Bob Dole, the long-time Kansas senator who was the Republican nominee for president in 1996, has died. He was 98.
In a statement, the Elizabeth Dole Foundation – founded by Dole’s wife, a former North Carolina senator and cabinet official – said: “It is with heavy hearts we announced that Senator Robert Joseph Dole died earlier this morning in his sleep. At his death at age 98 he had served the United States of America faithfully for 79 years.”
Continue reading...After their remarks, the members of the taskforce took a handful of questions from reporters. Fauci was asked when scientists will have a better understanding of the risks posed by the Omicron variant. He said they would have a clearer picture in the “next few weeks”.
But he said it could take longer to understand the impact of Omicron and whether it will overtake Delta as the dominant strain in the US.