Democratic congresswoman Katie Porter grills the housing and urban development secretary, Ben Carson, on a series of mortgage-related policy questions that he is unable to answer. In an uncomfortable exchange, Porter asks Carson about 'REOs', a basic term related to foreclosure, to which he replies: 'An Oreo ...'
Continue reading...Category Archives: Democrats
Thousands rally across US against abortion bans – in pictures
About 400 events were set to take place across all 50 US states in defense of abortion rights
Continue reading...‘Our subpoenas are not optional’: Democrats stonewalled again by Donald Trump
The US president blocked former White House counsel Donald McGahn from testifying before Congress about the special counsel’s report on Russian election interference, prompting fresh threats of impeachment. The House judiciary committee held a brief hearing on Tuesday morning in McGahn’s absence, with an empty chair where he was supposed to sit. The committee chairman, Jerry Nadler, said subpoenas were 'not optional' and the committee would hear McGahn's testimony even if it had to go to court to secure it
Continue reading...Don McGahn expected to be held in contempt over refusal to testify – live
The former White House counsel had been subpoenaed to appear before the House judiciary committee but Trump blocked his testimony
Organizations around the country are holding “Stop the Bans” day of action Tuesday to protest bans and restrictions on abortion in a growing number of states.
There will be a main event in Washington, D.C. outside the U.S. Supreme Court at noon, as well as rallies in all 50 states.
Kris Kobach demanded access to a government jet 24 hours a day and a chance to become homeland security secretary if he takes a job as Donald Trump’s immigration czar, the New York Times reported Monday evening.
The former Kansas secretary of state has given the White House a list of ten conditions. The full list, obtained by the Times:
1. Office in the West Wing.
2. Walk-in privileges with the president.
Continue reading...Don McGahn defies subpoena as Trump clash with Congress intensifies
- White House had blocked former counsel from testifying
- House Democrats push leadership to impeach
Democrats faced another brazen attempt by Donald Trump to stonewall their investigations on Tuesday, this time with former White House counsel Donald McGahn defying a subpoena to appear before Congress on orders from the White House.
The House judiciary committee held a brief hearing on Tuesday morning in McGahn’s absence, with an empty chair where he was supposed to sit.
Continue reading...Joe Biden says most important thing is to beat Donald Trump – video
Formally launching his third presidential campaign, Joe Biden appealed for party and national unity while accusing Donald Trump of leading the US with ‘a clenched fist, a closed hand and a hard heart’. But, he said, ‘we are the United States of America and there is not a single thing we cannot do if we are together’. Biden was a senator representing Delaware for 36 years and vice-president to Barack Obama from 2009 to 2017. He was a relatively late entrant to the sprawling field seeking the Democratic nomination in 2020, with 23 candidates now in the running
Continue reading...Biden rejects Trump’s ‘clenched fist’ in appeal for Democratic and US unity
- Former vice-president launches campaign in Pennsylvania
- Art Cullen: The Democratic frontrunners are too old
Formally launching his third presidential campaign, Joe Biden appealed for party and national unity while accusing Donald Trump of leading America with “a clenched fist, a closed hand and a hard heart”.
Related: Could climate change submerge Joe Biden's presidential bid?
Continue reading...Missouri House passes extreme eight-week abortion ban – live
State’s Republican-led House joins states such as Alabama by passing sweeping bill, which does not include exceptions for rape or incest
The bill just passed in Missouri is designed not to go into effect – but to go to court. It is unconstitutional.
We published this analysis of near total abortion bans from Prof. B Jessie Hill this week. Hill is a professor at Case Western Reserve school of law and an expert in reproductive rights law.
Related: Could abortion become illegal in America? All signs point to yes | B Jessie Hill
Rather than pursuing the sort of incremental strategy that anti-abortion activists have favored in the past – such as banning abortions late in pregnancy, or attempting to gradually regulate abortion clinics out of existence with increasingly burdensome regulations – these newer laws are written to prohibit virtually all abortions in the state.
Fetal cardiac activity can be detected beginning at about six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they’re pregnant. By banning all abortions after that point, “heartbeat” bans, if they take effect, would stop all but a very small percentage of abortions.
In addition to everything happening in Missouri today, the House debated the Equality Act, to expand protections for LGBT people.
The House just approved the Equality Act, a bill that would expand gay rights, extending to areas like employment, housing, loan applications, education and public accommodations.@SarahEMcBride of @HRC broke down the Equality Act for us ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ctY0DPxjqu
Continue reading...Bill de Blasio announces 2020 presidential bid
New York mayor has traveled to early primary states such as Iowa and Nevada with a message centered on economic inequality
New York’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, has jumped into the 2020 presidential race, joining at least 21 other declared Democratic candidates for the party’s nomination.
The mayor announced his run with a video released by his campaign.
Continue reading...White House refuses to sign on to Christchurch call to combat online extremism – live
White House said in response to an international agreement to to curb hate speech that ‘productive speech’ is the best tool to defeat it
The White House has criticized House Democrats’ investigation into obstruction of justice by the president as serving “political theater.” In turn, the lawmaker in charge of those investigations called the White House position “preposterous” in an interview.
The letter was sent by White House council Pat Cipollone, in response to a March request by Congressional investigators for documents. In a 12-page letter, Cipollone asked the committee to narrow its “sweeping” request and provide a legislative reason why the documents should be released, according to Reuters.
The White House will not participate in the committee’s ‘investigation’ that brushes aside the conclusions of the Department of Justice after a two-year-long effort in favor of political theater pre-ordained to reach a preconceived and false result,” Cipollone’s 12-page letter said.
The documents requested relate to everything from the contents of Trump’s meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin to his communications with former White House counsel Donald McGahn, the firing of former White House national security advisor Michael Flynn and former FBI director James Comey, and possible pardons for Trump associates who pleaded guilty to crimes stemming from the probe.
The committee also seeks documents aimed at probing whether Trump has used the White House to enrich himself in violation of the Constitution’s emoluments clause.
Jameela Jamil, formerly a presenter on BBC Radio 1 and now one of the stars of the sitcom The Good Place, opened up about an abortion she had when she was young.
Jamila called it the “best decision I have ever made.”
I had an abortion when I was young, and it was the best decision I have ever made. Both for me, and for the baby I didn’t want, and wasn’t ready for, emotionally, psychologically and financially. So many children will end up in foster homes. So many lives ruined. So very cruel.
Continue reading...Barr assigns attorney to find how Trump-Russia investigation began – live updates
Attorney general’s new investigation follows years of Trump and supporters claiming justice department and FBI spied on his campaign
On the subject of markets – the Dow Jones Industrial Average has opened up slightly, a half a point in the green on the day so far. It fell a bit more than three points on Monday.
Donald Trump spent at least an hour and some 1,400 characters on Tuesday morning tweeting a defense of his tariffs on Chinese goods, which China has responded to with retaliatory tariffs, precipitating a dive on Monday in the US markets. Asian markets fell less sharply and European markets opened Tuesday slightly up.
Trump said on Tuesday that “Tariffs have rebuilt our Steel Industry - it is booming!”, “we are in a fantastic position”, “We are in a much better position now than any deal we could have made” and “Other countries are already negotiating with us because they don’t want this to happen to them.”
Related: Trump defends China tariffs as trade war leaves allies and opponents in bind
Continue reading...Montana governor Steve Bullock enters 2020 presidential race
- Democrat has pushed progressive policies in conservative state
- Bullock stresses campaign finance reform in launch video
Steve Bullock, the Democratic governor of Montana, announced on Tuesday that he is entering the presidential race after pushing a progressive agenda in a conservative state.
Among a crowded field of more than 20 Democratic candidates, Bullock attempted to distinguish himself in his campaign launch video by touting his ability to work with Republicans and his record of fighting corporate spending in elections.
Continue reading...Could climate change submerge Joe Biden’s presidential bid?
The former vice-president has yet to put forward a plan to address global warming, which polls suggest is the single most important issue for Democrats
Climate change is transforming life by redrawing coastlines, turning vast areas of forest into infernos, stirring enormous storms and spreading exotic diseases. An indirect casualty of this upheaval could be Joe Biden’s hopes of becoming US president.
Biden, frontrunner in the polls to secure the Democratic nomination, has not laid out a plan to address the crisis.
Continue reading...House Democrat subpoenas six years of Trump tax returns
Committee chair Richard Neal says treasury secretary and IRS commissioner must provide documents by 17 May
A top House Democrat on Friday issued subpoenas for six years of Donald Trump’s tax returns, giving the treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, and the IRS commissioner, Charles Rettig, a deadline of next Friday to deliver them.
Richard Neal, the chairman of the House ways and means committee, , issued the subpoenas days after Mnuchin refused to comply with demands to turn over Trump’s returns. Mnuchin told the panel he wouldn’t provide Trump’s tax records because the panel’s request “lacks a legitimate legislative purpose”, as supreme court precedent requires.
Continue reading...#ConstitutionalCrisis? Trump’s battle with Congress comes to a head
The president’s claims of executive privilege over the Mueller report have set new alarm bells ringing for the fate of democracy
Police this week arrested an alleged arsonist who started a fire outside the National Archives building in Washington, claiming that voices told him to “burn buildings down”. The archives display a four-page handwritten document to countless tourists and schoolchildren: the US constitution.
While the physical object remains fragile but secure, the political framework it represents is facing one of the severest threats in its 232-year history. The arsonist is Donald Trump and he is getting ever closer with his tiki torch.
Continue reading...House Democrats vote to hold attorney general Barr in contempt of Congress
Panel takes action after Barr refused to provide unredacted Mueller report, as Schiff subpoenas attorney general
House Democrats voted on Wednesday to hold the US attorney general, William Barr, in contempt of Congress, citing his failure to hand over the full, unredacted version of the special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The decision came on a day of escalating tensions between Congress and the White House.
Earlier on Wednesday, the White House invoked executive privilege to block the House judiciary committee’s request for the full Mueller report and underlying evidence.
Continue reading...Mueller report: Mitch McConnell attacks ‘Groundhog Day spectacle’ – live
McConnell says ‘case closed’ as prosecutors say Trump would face ‘multiple charges of obstruction of justice’ if he were not president
House speaker Nancy Pelosi and senate minority leader Chuck Schumer have issued a joint letter calling McConnell’s “case closed” speech this morning “a stunning act of political cynicism and a brazen violation of the oath we all take”:
Joint Pelosi-Schumer statement calls McConnell’s Mueller speech this morning “a stunning act of political cynicism and a brazen violation of the oath we all take” pic.twitter.com/ey7XmpNkC1
Warren brings her call for Trump’s impeachment from the campaign trail to the floor of the US senate:
On the Senate floor, Sen. Warren calls for impeachment proceedings against President Trump:
"We took an oath to protect and serve the Constitution of the United States of America, and the way we do that is we begin impeachment proceedings now against this president." pic.twitter.com/3IjR0NSrdK
Who will win Iowa’s support in 2020? That depends on who’s really listening to us
Joe Biden and 20 other Democrats are crawling over the state. But folks here would like to know: who’s in it for us?
Former vice-president Joe Biden returned to familiar turf in Cedar Rapids and Dubuque, Iowa, last week, fresh off his presidential announcement in Pittsburgh and enjoying a nice bump in some national polls.
He scored 35-40% support of Democrats just after jumping in, up 10 points from March. Bernie Sanders is maybe 10-15 points behind him. Truth be told, in Iowa half the likely caucus-goers eight months hence remain undecided. Many of Biden’s supporters in Iowa remain persuadable. The Des Moines Register’s Iowa Poll hasn’t weighed in since March.
Continue reading...Trump and Putin discussed Mueller report during phone conversation, says White House – as it happened
Sarah Sanders says pair had ‘very good’ talk on Friday morning in which Venezuela was also discussed
Here’s an updated recap of today’s political news as we close out the Friday night live politics blog:
The president elaborated his complaints about conservative “censorship” on social media, highlighting his concerns about the treatment of Diamond and Silk, two online commenters who have been championed by Republicans for being black women who support Trump, James Woods, and Paul Watson, a British editor of Infowars, Alex Jones’ conspiracy site.
Trump appeared on Infowars, which has promoted multiple conspiracy theories, including the conspiracy that the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting was a hoax, in 2015, and told host Alex Jones “Your reputation is amazing. I will not let you down.”
The wonderful Diamond and Silk have been treated so horribly by Facebook. They work so hard and what has been done to them is very sad - and we’re looking into. It’s getting worse and worse for Conservatives on social media!
So surprised to see Conservative thinkers like James Woods banned from Twitter, and Paul Watson banned from Facebook! https://t.co/eHX3Z5CMXb
He is very very very very very very very very very very very obviously an extremist. https://t.co/4pK2klhbqi
Continue reading...Democrat mocks absent William Barr with fried chicken – video
Steve Cohen, a representative from Tennessee, brings a bucket of fried chicken to Thursday morning’s House judiciary committee in a pointed message to the attorney general, who refused to appear for questioning after he testified before the Senate judiciary committee on Wednesday
- Barr testimony: attorney general refuses to appear for questioning – live
- A ‘snitty’ day: five takeaways from Barr's testimony on the Mueller report
- William Barr: attorney general’s refusal to testify riles Democrats