Category Archives: US Congress

Trump blames ‘violent’ video games as El Paso death toll rises to 21 – live

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Trump has turned his attention away from the shootings if his Twitter feed is any indication.

The president has instead been busy attacking China for harming America’s economy and repeating the (false) claim that US consumers are not covering the cost of his trade war:

....used currency manipulation to steal our businesses and factories, hurt our jobs, depress our workers’ wages and harm our farmers’ prices. Not anymore!

Another Democratic presidential candidate, Cory Booker, has dismissed Trump’s statement on the shootings this morning as woefully lacking.

The New Jersey senator specifically cited Trump’s focus on mental illness in his remarks. “Mental illness didn’t kill the people of Dayton,” Booker said. “People are too easily getting their hands on guns.”

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The party of white men? Will Hurd’s exit exposes Republicans’ diversity problem

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Hurd’s departure set to leave one Republican African American in Congress – and 41 of 53 sitting GOP senators are white men

Four months ago, the woman in charge of recruiting Republicans to run for Congress in the 2020 elections lectured her party about diversity.

Related: Will Hurd, only black House Republican, is latest to not seek re-election

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Nancy Pelosi takes aim at Trump and ‘slumlord’ Jared Kushner – as it happened

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As Trump carries on with his rally in North Carolina, we’re going to wrap up the liveblog for today. Check The Guardian’s homepage for updates.

Congressman Will Hurd of Texas, a critic of Trump and one of the few Republican lawmakers who voted to condemn Trump’s racist attacks, announced that he will not be seeking reelection in order to “pursue opportunities outside the halls of Congress”.

I have made the decision to not seek reelection for the 23rd Congressional District of Texas in order to pursue opportunities outside the halls of Congress to solve problems at the nexus between technology and national security. https://t.co/GeZ4Hh264f

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Trump: ‘I am the least racist person there is anywhere in the world’ – video

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The president called himself ‘the least racist person’ after he was accused of racist behaviour once again. In his comments on Tuesday, Trump also accused one of the people he has attacked, the Rev Al Sharpton, of being a racist and claimed his presidency has been a success for African Americans

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Al Sharpton: Trump ‘has a particular venom for blacks and people of colour’ – video

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The Rev Al Sharpton has addressed Donald Trump’s attack on the Maryland representative Elijah Cummings and his district of Baltimore. Speaking to reporters, the longtime activist said the president had attacked Cummings and his constituents ‘in the most bigoted and racist way’. Earlier on Monday Trump attacked Baltimore, the home city of Cummings, saying that it is ‘a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess’, adding that it was ‘the worst run and most dangerous [district] anywhere in the United States’

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‘It is not a witch-hunt’: Mueller defends Trump-Russia inquiry findings – video highlights

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The former US special counsel Robert Mueller insisted on Wednesday that Donald Trump was not exonerated by his report into Russian interference in the 2016 US election and denied his investigation was a 'witch-hunt'. Mueller said the US president could be charged after he leaves office, but offered little new ammunition to boost the case for Trump's impeachment

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Mueller on Trump’s praise of Wikileaks: ‘Problematic is an understatement’ – live

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Mueller discussed Trump’s many documented instances of praising the site during testimony before House intelligence committee

Mueller emphasized in his testimony to the House intelligence committee that Russian election interference remains ongoing.

WATCH: Mueller on Russian interference in the 2016 election:

“It wasn’t a single attempt. They’re doing it as we sit here. And they expect to do it during the next campaign.”https://t.co/m9KGQtGMJ7 pic.twitter.com/s1Aa1nyLsU

Trump’s lawyer, Jay Sekulow, said in a statement that Mueller’s testimony revealed the “troubling deficiencies of the special counsel’s investigation.”

“The testimony revealed that this probe was conducted by a small group of politically biased prosecutors who, as hard as they tried, were unable to establish either obstruction, conspiracy, or collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia,” the president’s lawyer said. “The American people understand that this issue is over. They also understand that the case is closed.”

...who, as hard as they tried, were unable to establish either obstruction, conspiracy, or collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. It is also clear that the Special Counsel conducted his two-year investigation unimpeded.

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Mueller’s testimony on Trump and Russia: six of the biggest takeaways

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The former special counsel explained Trump was not exonerated and that his team was never going to indict the president

In highly anticipated testimony before the US Congress on Wednesday, the former special counsel Robert Mueller submitted to hours of questioning.

His testimony comes four months after he concluded the two-year investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and the Trump campaign’s ties to Moscow, the findings of which were detailed in a 448-page report released in April.

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Mueller testimony: expectation builds in Washington for ‘explosive’ hearing – live

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The special counsel will make an opening statement in his appearance before Congress tomorrow to discuss the Trump-Russia investigation

Here’s where things stand:

In his comments to the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, Trump praised the incoming British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage.

Trump notes that Nigel Farage is in the crowd for his speech to Turning Point USA. "I said 'what's Nigel doing here?' He's a little older than you folks. He's going to work well with Boris. They're going to do tremendous things."
He adds: "Boris is good. he'll do a good job."

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Trump praises ‘incredible’ crowd who chanted ‘send her back’ at Ilhan Omar – live

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President abandons disavowal of racist chants aimed at the congresswoman, saying ‘she’s lucky to be where she is’

Republican Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana have introduced a resolution that would designate the far-left group Antifa as a hate group.

Trump said during his comments to reporters in the Oval Office that the White House is trying to get rapper A$AP Rocky released from Swedish detention.

Pres. Trump on ASAP Rocky's case: "I personally don't know ASAP Rocky, but I can tell you that he has tremendous support. from the African-American community .. and when when I say African-American, I really can really say from everybody in this country because we are all one" pic.twitter.com/D95q2ZMGBc

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Trump has made Ilhan Omar the face of his re-election strategy

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In Omar, the president has at long last found a face to his stigmatization of Muslims – and so, too, have his allies

The chants of “send her back” reverberated across the rally of thousands on Wednesday as Donald Trump stood at the podium and attacked Representative Ilhan Omar, a naturalized US citizen who arrived in the country as a teenager after her family fled Somalia.

It was not the first time Trump had sought to vilify Omar, who in November became one of the first two Muslim women elected to the US Congress and has emerged as a key target of the president and Republicans.

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The Squad: progressive Democrats reveal how they got their name

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‘Anyone who is interested in building a more equitable and just world is a part of The Squad,’ Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley said

Four progressive democrats known as “The Squad” have revealed the source of their fierce moniker – they gave it to themselves at a photo shoot.

“Someone said, ‘Oh you should do a hashtag or something #squadgoals’ and then it morphed into whole other thing,” Congress member Ayanna Pressley told CBS This Morning on Wednesday.

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‘Do not take the bait’: congresswomen denounce racist Trump attack

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Four Democratic women targeted by Trump accuse him of following an ‘agenda of white nationalists’ at a press conference

Four Democratic congresswomen of color targeted by Donald Trump’s racist attacks have accused the US president of following an “agenda of white nationalists” and asked that Americans “do not take the bait” of his divisive rhetoric.

In a joint press conference at the Capitol, the congresswomen spoke out after Trump said they should “go back” to the “crime infested” countries they came from, prompting condemnation in the US and across the world.

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Donald Trump says tweets about congresswomen were ‘not at all’ racist – video

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Donald Trump has said that his tweets on Sunday were 'not at all' racist after he was questioned by the media as he walked up the podium at his Made in America showcase speech. 

On Sunday, the US president used racist language to attack four progressive Democratic congresswomen, telling them to 'go back and help fix the totally broken and crime[-]infested places from which they came'. Trump did not name his targets, but the attack was directed at a group of liberal congresswomen who have had a run-in with the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and who are sometimes referred to as 'the Squad': Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota

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Trump labor secretary Alex Acosta resigns amid Epstein plea deal scandal – live

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Acosta was under fire for having granted Jeffrey Epstein immunity from federal prosecution in 2008, following sex trafficking ring investigation

Another big House vote this afternoon.

With a 402-12 vote, Congress approved a bill that would ensure funding for the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund.

Jon Stewart says he looks forward to signing ceremony for bill funding 9/11 first responders compensation fund: "We'll all be here for that one final moment—not of celebration, but of relief. Let them exhale." https://t.co/NkJuIoh4fP pic.twitter.com/p7PI4cLDOc

The House has just voted to limit Trump’s authority to make war in Iran as part of a bill which also restricts the president’s budget request for the Pentagon.

Republicans joined the majority Democrats for a 251-170 vote.

Trump said last month he believes he does not need congressional approval to strike Iran. The vote Friday amounted to a pointed and bipartisan rebuttal — led by strange ideological bedfellows, Representatives Ro Khanna, a liberal Democrat from California, and Matt Gaetz of Florida, one of Trump’s most strident Republican allies in Congress.

“When this passes, it will be a clear statement from members of Congress on both sides of the aisle that this country is tired of endless wars, that we do not want another war in the Middle East,” Khanna said before the amendment vote.

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Yazmin Juárez delivers searing testimony on death of her daughter in Ice custody – video

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In the House oversight committee, Yazmin Juárez, whose 21-month old baby daughter died in Ice custody, delivered searing testimony before Congress on Wednesday afternoon. 'We came to the United States where I hoped to build a better safer life for us,' said Juárez. 'Instead I watched my baby girl die slowly and painfully just a few months before her second birthday'

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Pelosi: Trump wants to ‘make America white again’ with census question – live

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Pelosi attacks Trump’s 2020 citizenship question as ‘disgraceful’, while Trump says US will no longer deal with UK ambassador Kim Darroch

As House Democrats began issuing subpoenas for President Trump’s financial records, the Justice Department fought a federal judge’s decision to allow the lawsuit accusing Trump of profiting off the presidency to go forward, the Associated Press is reporting:

Justice Department lawyers want an appeals court to take the case instead.

They filed papers Monday seeking to move the case from federal court in D.C. to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia. They also want to stop subpoena requests seeking Trump’s business tax returns, and documents from Trump’s D.C. and New York hotels, Mar-a-Lago Club and Trump Tower.

Our climate and environment reporter, Susie Cagle, listened in on President Trump’s speech about “maintaining a healthy environment.” Here are some choice quotes from the speech:

Related: What Trump gets wrong about wildfires, by a fire scientist

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Homeland security chief orders inquiry into US border patrol Facebook group – live

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Kevin McAleenan called report that officers allegedly belong to a secret group where they have made abusive statements ‘disturbing’

Hello everyone! This is Julia Carrie Wong picking up the politics blog in San Francisco, where the holiday weekend hasn’t started yet.

A federal judge in Ohio has issued a preliminary injunction preventing Ohio’s six-week abortion ban from going into effect as scheduled, next week.

Here’s a summary of where things stand:

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House lawmakers sue Trump administration for president’s tax returns

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Ways and means committee’s lawsuit is latest salvo in clash between Democrats and president

A House committee sued the Trump administration in federal court Tuesday for access to Donald Trump’s tax returns, setting up a legal showdown over the records.

The House ways and means committee said it needed the documents for an investigation into tax law compliance by the president, among other things. It asked the court to order the administration to turn over the documents.

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Texas migrant detention facilities ‘dangerously overcrowded’ – US government report

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Report from government’s own auditors includes images of children and adults penned into rooms

New images of children and adults in “dangerously” overcrowded US border patrol facilities in Texas have been released as part of a report from government auditors.

The congressional House oversight committee announced on Tuesday it will hold a hearing next week on the treatment of migrants held in detention facilities at the southern border after a series of reports of poor treatment.

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