Category Archives: Democrats

How Sanders left political wilderness to become leader of Democratic pack

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The senator has effectively not stopped campaigning since 2015 as the political landscape has shifted – but can he grow his 2020 support?

There is an saying in US politics, perhaps truer now than ever: every senator looks in the mirror and sees a president looking back. Before Bernie Sanders ran for the White House, his rumpled appearance and shock of unruly white hair suggested that this US senator gave his reflection no more than a fleeting glance each morning.

And yet, nearly two months into his second presidential run Sanders sits atop an unsettled Democratic field. It is a remarkable transformation for a democratic socialist from Vermont, deep into his 70s, who spent most of his decades-long career in the political wilderness.

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‘I won’t be silent’: Ilhan Omar answers Trump 9/11 attack

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Congresswoman says rightwing vitriol cannot threaten her ‘unwavering love for America’ as president pushes video

In the face of attacks from Donald Trump, Republicans and rightwing media outlets, the Minnesota representative Ilhan Omar said on Saturday no one could “threaten” her “unwavering love for America”.

Related: Yemeni bodegas boycott New York Post over attacks on Ilhan Omar

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William Barr claims Trump campaign was ‘spied’ on under Obama – live

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Attorney general tells Senate subcommittee he intends to release reacted version of Mueller’s Trump-Russia report itself

Washington Gov. and presidential candidate Jay Inslee has been writing and illustrating children’s books for his grandkids for the last decade, CNN reports.

And they’re very on brand, with several of the books focusing on the warming climate and its effect on the environment.

Senator Elizabeth Warren raised $6 million for her presidential campaign in the first three months of the year.

She got 213,000 contributions from more than 135,000 donors, with an average donation of $28, according to the New York Times.

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Trump removes Secret Service director after ousting Kirstjen Nielsen – live

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Trump ordered firing of Randolph Alles, White House confirms, a day after forcing out Homeland Security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen

CNN reports Trump tried to order the border closed at El Paso late in March.

Trump eventually talked off of the decision, which would shut down a major port of entry into the United States.

Jerry Nadler, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, has agreed to have special counsel Robert Mueller appear before the committee.

Today, Ranking Member Collins called for Special Counsel Mueller to appear before @HouseJudiciary. I fully agree. Special Counsel Mueller should come before the Committee to answer questions in public about his 22 month investigation into President Trump and his associates. 1/2

In order to ask Special Counsel Mueller the right questions, the Committee must receive the Special Counsel’s full report and hear from Attorney General Barr about that report on May 2. We look forward to hearing from Mr. Mueller at the appropriate time. 2/2

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Nadler: Barr is ‘biased’ and Mueller’s Trump-Russia report must be released

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  • Democrat: attorney general is ‘agent of the administration’
  • President tweets angrily about leaks to ‘fake news media’

Senior Democrats are keeping up pressure on attorney general William Barr to release the full Mueller report, claiming collusion between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia happened “in plain sight”.

Related: William Barr: attorney general plays Republican spear-catcher again

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Democrats will ‘never’ see Trump tax returns – White House chief of staff

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  • Mick Mulvaney to Fox: ‘That is not going to happen’
  • House ways and means panel wants returns by 10 April

Democrats in Congress will “never” see Donald Trump’s tax returns, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said on Sunday.

Related: ‘Pete! Pete! Pete!’ Buttigieg fever hits New Hampshire – can he keep up the pace?

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Barack Obama warns progressives to avoid ‘circular firing squad’

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  • Remarks come as Democrats battle for 2020 nomination
  • Former president was addressing young Europeans in Germany

Barack Obama warned on Saturday that US progressives risk creating a “circular firing squad” at a time when prospective presidential candidates are competing fiercely against each other to run against Donald Trump.

Related: 'Our mantra is chaos': Republican researchers target 2020 Democrats

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‘Our mantra is chaos’: Republican researchers target 2020 Democrats

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The America Rising committee monitors everything the candidates do, hoping the large field will work in Trump’s favor

Democrats are more than a year away from selecting their presidential nominee. Nonetheless, Republicans are already taking aim at the leading contenders.

Related: 'He gave me permission': Joe Biden jokes about touching complaints

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Joe Biden jokes about having child’s permission to touch him – video

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The former vice-president joked that a child gave him 'permission to touch him' in his first public appearance since allegations last week by at least seven women that his physical behavior made them uncomfortable. Biden, who is widely expected to enter the 2020 presidential race, was speaking at a gathering of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Washington 

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez talks popcorn, politics and DIY with Instagram followers – video

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In her latest Instagram live, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez takes questions from followers while assembling furniture in her chair-less Washington DC apartment. Covering topics from popcorn flavours to staying focused on the issues that matter,  Ocasio-Cortez demonstates her ability to use social media in an authentic way that engages potential young voters

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White nationalism a ‘persistent, pervasive threat’, says FBI chief – live

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•FBI director Christopher Wray warned that white nationalism is a “persistent, pervasive threat”, breaking with Donald Trump’s comments in the wake of the New Zealand terror attacks. “The danger. I think, of white supremacists, violent extremism or another kind of extremism is of course significant,” Wray said. Trump played down the threat of white nationalism after a white nationalist murdered 50 people in Christchurch, New Zealand in March.

•Congress has passed a resolution to end US military assistance for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen, in an unprecedented attempt to curtail the president’s power. The House voted 247 to 175 to send the resolution to the president’s desk, where it is likely to be met with a veto. The Senate passed the resolution last month, with seven Republicans breaking rank to support the resolution.

Lindsay Graham has joined those calling for Donald Trump to release his tax returns, in an extremely rare act of defiance towards the president.

“I think you should release your tax returns if you’re running for president in 2020,” Graham told reporters on Thursday,

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House Democrats formally demand Trump’s tax returns from IRS

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Chairman of ways and means committee says request for six years of returns is ‘within our rights’

House Democrats have formally demanded Donald Trump’s tax returns from the Internal Revenue Service, marking a major bid to obtain information about the president’s finances and business dealings.

Richard Neal, the chairman of the House ways and means committee, issued the request on Wednesday evening, stating: “It is critical to ensure the accountability of our government and elected officials.”

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Joe Biden issues statement on misconduct allegations – video

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The former vice-president and potential 2020 presidential candidate says it is his ‘responsibility’ to be more careful after several women said his touching made them uncomfortable. Biden used the video to say 'social norms have begun to change. They have shifted, and the boundaries of protecting personal space have been reset, and I get it' 

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Biden vows to respect women’s personal space amid new allegations

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The former vice-president issued a video after two more women described interactions that made them feel uncomfortable

Joe Biden doubled down on his defense as he faced fresh allegations from women who said their past physical interactions with him left them uncomfortable, foreshadowing the former vice-president’s perils as he weighs a bid for the Democratic Party’s 2020 nomination.

In a video and statement released to his Twitter feed Biden said that he had always seen politics as about “personal connection” and defended his habit of hugging and touching people he met. But he also added that he would change his habits in the future.

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Has Joe Biden’s US presidential bid ended before it began? – video explainer

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In the past week Joe Biden has been the subject of damaging news reports after two women accused the former US vice-president of inappropriate behaviour. Biden - who has hinted at launching a bid to be the Democratic candidate for the US presidency in 2020 – responded by saying he does not believe he has acted inappropriately during his long public life. The recent developments have underscored some of the challenges he will face if he does make a bid for the White House

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Donald Trump gripes about Puerto Rico hurricane aid – live updates

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President says all island’s politicians do is ‘complain & ask for money’ and that he is ‘the best thing that ever happened to Puerto Rico

Donald Trump is tweeting this morning and on a bit of a roll.

Puerto Rico got 91 Billion Dollars for the hurricane, more money than has ever been gotten for a hurricane before, & all their local politicians do is complain & ask for more money. The pols are grossly incompetent, spend the money foolishly or corruptly, & only take from USA....

....The best thing that ever happened to Puerto Rico is President Donald J. Trump. So many wonderful people, but with such bad Island leadership and with so much money wasted. Cannot continue to hurt our Farmers and States with these massive payments, and so little appreciation!

In 1998, Rep.Jerry Nadler strongly opposed the release of the Starr Report on Bill Clinton. No information whatsoever would or could be legally released. But with the NO COLLUSION Mueller Report, which the Dems hate, he wants it all. NOTHING WILL EVER SATISFY THEM! @foxandfriends

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Washington and all things politics.

Before we dive in, let’s take a moment to recognize Equal Pay Day – the day into the year that women must work to earn what men earned in the previous year, according to the National Committee on Pay Equity. It’s 2 April.

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Mueller report ‘more than 300 pages’, raising questions over four-page summary – live

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The Oklahoma Democratic Party’s headquarters were vandalized with anti-semitic graffiti early on Thursday morning, KFOR.com is reporting.

“Employees of the building on NW 37th and Classen Blvd reported Swastika drawings, neo-Nazi messages, and death threats spray painted in the parking lot and on the door of the property,” KFOR said.

It’s upsetting to the extent that our culture now and our country, it drives people to this type of expression [...] It encourages people to speak out violently. It’s clearly a crime. It’s clearly a hate crime.

Kirsten Gillibrand, senator for New York and Democratic presidential hopeful, released her tax returns yesterday – the first candidate for president to do so.

The return showed that she earned about $218,000 in 2018: $167,634 from her salary and $50,000 from book sales. The New York Times reported that Gillibrand paid $29,170 in federal taxes.

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Ex-Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe reportedly ‘leaning toward’ 2020 run – live

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Meanwhile, key Republican reportedly tells Trump renewed plan to scrap Affordable Care Act ‘makes no sense’

Gabrielle Canon here, taking over for Jessica Glenza

Former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe is getting closer to a decision on whether or not to enter the already heavily-saturated Democratic race for the white house in 2020, CNN reports.

While McAuliffe has spent the last week on a spring break vacation with his family, he has also been making calls to donors and longtime friends as he comes closer to making a final decision. One friend described him as ‘almost ready to jump in — he sees no reason not to’”.

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Biden condemns ‘white man’s culture’ as he laments role in Anita Hill hearings

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Potential 2020 contender regrets not giving Hill ‘the hearing she deserved’ during Clarence Thomas confirmation process

The former vice-president Joe Biden condemned “a white man’s culture” on Tuesday night as he lashed out against violence against women and, more specifically, lamented his role in the supreme court confirmation hearings that undermined Anita Hill’s credibility nearly three decades ago.

Biden, a Democratic presidential prospect who often highlights his white working-class roots, said Hill, who is African American, should not have been forced to face a panel of “a bunch of white guys”.

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Trump set to weaponize Mueller report in war on Democrats and media

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Findings play into the president’s narrative of ‘no collusion’ as he embraces the role of victim

Donald Trump is set to weaponise the special counsel’s finding of no collusion with Russia in his bid for re-election, turning vindication into vengeance with an assault on Democrats and the media.

Robert Mueller found no evidence Trump’s campaign “conspired or coordinated” with Russia to influence the 2016 election and reached no conclusion on whether the president obstructed justice, according to a four-page summary of his findings by the attorney general, William Barr.

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