The Democratic contender defeated Republican Gerry Leonard to win the state’s first congressional district
The Democrat Gabe Amo defeated Republican Gerry Leonard to win Rhode Island’s first congressional district seat Tuesday, becoming the state’s first Black candidate elected to Congress.
The former White House aide succeeds David Cicilline, a former Democratic representative, who stepped down this summer to become president and CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation.
Continue reading...House of delegates still too close to call as Republican governor Glenn Youngkin’s goal of full control of legislature slips away
Virginia Democrats appeared to be on track to retain their majority in the state senate on Tuesday, depriving Republican governor Glenn Youngkin of a legislative trifecta that would have allowed him to swiftly enact his policy agenda.
Two hours after polls closed in Virginia, where all 140 seats of the state legislature were up for grabs, the house of delegates remained too close to call. Virginia Republicans still hoped to keep their majority in the lower chamber, even as their goal of taking full control of the legislature slipped away.
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Gaza’s health ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory says more than 10,000 Palestinians have been killed there since 7 October.
We have a separate live blog covering the conflict, and you can follow it here:
Continue reading...Polls continue to show both presidential frontrunners ‘as tied as tied can be’, with third-party candidates tying for a distant third
Americans are one year away from a presidential election that’s shaping up to be a historically unpopular rematch between the oldest ever sitting president, Joe Biden, a Democrat, and his Republican predecessor, the twice-impeached, serially indicted Donald Trump.
With less than 10 weeks to go before Iowa’s caucuses launch the 2024 Republican nominating contest, much can still change. As it stands, the country appears to be hurtling toward an election few Americans want – but that might be one of the most consequential in modern US history.
Continue reading...Michigan Democrat is only Palestinian American in Congress and warns Biden voters ‘will remember in 2024’
Michigan Democratic congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American member of Congress, has released a video accusing Joe Biden of supporting the “genocide of the Palestinian people”.
Tlaib has been a withering critic of Biden’s staunch backing of the Israeli war against Hamas in Gaza and the White House refusal to listen to demands from some progressive Democrats to back calls for a ceasefire.
Continue reading...Congressional progressives say proposed $14.3bn breaches 1997 Leahy act as assault on Gaza has overwhelmingly harmed civilians
Leftwing Democrats in Congress have invoked a landmark law barring assistance to security forces of governments deemed guilty of human rights abuses to challenge the Biden administration’s emergency military aid program for Israel.
Members of the Democratic party’s progressive wing say the $14.3bn package pledged by the White House after the 7 October attack by Hamas that killed more than 1,400 Israelis breaches the Leahy Act because Israel’s retaliatory assault on Gaza has overwhelmingly harmed civilians. An estimated 9,000 people have been killed in Gaza so far, among them 3,700 children, according to the Gaza health ministry, run by Hamas.
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One minute after the House approved an Israel aid package that excluded providing similar assistance to Ukraine, the top Republican in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, tweeted this:
This what some would call a “subtweet”: McConnell does not mention the House proposal at all nor its architect, Republican speaker Mike Johnson, but he is clearly referring to the just-passed bill. While some Republicans are ready to cut off aid to Kyiv, McConnell remains a steadfast backer of the country’s defense against Russia.
Continue reading...Democratic rivals Adam Schiff, Barbara Lee and Katie Porter have near identical platforms and Israel-Gaza could be a deciding factor
As three leading California Democrats vie for a rare opening in the Senate, the Israeli offensive in Gaza has exposed rare fault lines in the candidates’ otherwise aligned platforms.
Following Hamas’s attack on Israel last month, all three leading candidates in the race to fill Dianne Feinstein’s seat – representatives Barbara Lee, Adam Schiff and Katie Porter – condemned the group’s actions. But as Israel ramped up its attacks on Gaza in retaliation, their divergent approaches to foreign policy became clear.
Continue reading...Jamie Raskin says it was ‘an easy call’ because Santos hasn’t been convicted of a crime, though he faces 23 federal criminal charges
Thirty-one Democrats voted not to expel the Republican lawmaker George Santos from the US House of Representatives because he has not been convicted of any crime and to eject him would set a dangerous precedent for Republicans to expel their ideological opponents, a leading congressman said.
“For me this was an easy call,” said Jamie Raskin of Maryland, a law professor and influential progressive who sat on the January 6 committee and was lead manager in Donald Trump’s impeachment for inciting the attack on Congress.
Continue reading...Led by House speaker Mike Johnson, Republican plan passes Thursday 226-196 as Biden threatens veto
The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed a Republican plan to provide $14.3bn in aid to Israel as it fights Hamas, despite Democrats’ insistence it has no future in the Senate and the White House’s promise of a veto.
The measure passed 226-196, largely along party lines, with most Republicans supporting the bill and most Democrats objecting.
Continue reading...Donald Trump’s daughter could appear on witness stand in New York civil fraud trial as early as next week
George Santos has been a target of protesters and hecklers from practically the day he arrived in the Capitol, and there were plenty of those waiting for him as he departed federal court this morning:
Santos was there to enter a “not guilty” plea to a slate of new federal charges, and learn he would stand trial on the allegations on 9 September.
Continue reading...Minnesota representative has voted for majority of Biden’s legislative agenda but says it’s time for next generation of leaders
Dean Phillips, a Democratic congressman from Minnesota who is relatively unknown on the national US stage, is set to launch a long-shot campaign to primary Joe Biden in New Hampshire on Friday.
The New Hampshire secretary of state’s office confirmed Phillips is scheduled to file paperwork to get on the ballot there on Friday morning.
Continue reading...The Democratic senator stepped down from the foreign relations committee chair after accusations of being a foreign agent
Bob Menendez returned to court in New York on Monday and entered a not guilty plea to a charge alleging that the US senator conspired to act as an agent of the Egyptian government when he chaired the Senate foreign relations committee.
Menendez, 69, spoke up to say “not guilty” when offered the chance to make his plea during his first appearance before Judge Sidney Stein at federal court in lower Manhattan. Stein is expected to preside over a trial tentatively scheduled for May.
Continue reading...Minnesota congresswoman blames ‘dishonest smearing’ for surge in violent threats in wake of Israel-Hamas conflict
Ilhan Omar, a Muslim US representative, said she fears for her family’s safety after receiving an onslaught of threats for criticizing Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.
The Democratic congresswoman from Minnesota opened up in a statement about the increase in Islamophobic remarks and threats she has received, including threats directed at her family. NBC News first reported on the statement, which was later shared with the Guardian.
Continue reading...Lindsey Graham, who said he wants to see Gaza ‘levelled’, among bipartisan group expected to visit Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt
A bipartisan congressional delegation will visit the Middle East on Friday in a high-profile gesture of support for Israel following the Hamas attacks, it was reported on Thursday.
Among the group’s most prominent members is the Republican senator Lindsey Graham, who has prompted outrage in some quarters with his aggressive criticism of Hamas combined with a seeming lack of regard for Palestinian civilian lives, saying he wants to see Gaza flattened.
Continue reading...Thirteen lawmakers call on Biden administration to facilitate de-escalation and send humanitarian aid into Gaza
A group of prominent progressive US lawmakers introduced a resolution on Monday calling for a ceasefire in the fast-escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas that has resulted in a death toll in the thousands, as fears grow that the war could spiral into a wider regional conflict.
The two-page resolution, brought by 13 Democratic members of Congress, urges the Biden administration to “immediately call for and facilitate de-escalation and a ceasefire to urgently end the current violence” as well as to “promptly send and facilitate the entry of humanitarian assistance into Gaza”.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed. House remains without speaker as Jordan only has a backing of 152 Republican members
Georgia’s Republican representative Austin Scott criticized certain Republicans whom he said “like to go on the TV and are not necessarily negotiating for anything other than TV time.”
Speaking to CNN following yesterday’s closed-door meetings, Scott, who is not supporting Jim Jordan, added, “It makes us look like a bunch of idiots.”
Continue reading...Steve Scalise doesn’t yet have the support he needs from his own party to become speaker
Here’s a little more from South Carolina’s Republican representative Nancy Mace’s interview on CNN during which she said she would not vote for Steve Scalise as House speaker.
Mace, who has thrown her support behind far-right Ohio representative Jim Jordan, said that she “actually talked to Democrats who trust him at his word.”
Continue reading...Jim Jordan plans to vote for the man who beat him, a source with direct knowledge tells the Guardian
Several former Ohio State University wrestlers are voicing their opposition towards Republican representative Jim Jordan’s speaker candidacy.
The former students have accused Jordan of ignoring sexual abuse and failing to protect them from a sexual predator while he was the team’s assistant coach.
“The first order of business under speaker Steve Scalise is going to be bringing a strong resolution expressing support for Israel. We’ve got a very bipartisan bill … ready to go right away to express our support for Israel.
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Special counsel for the federal January 6 case has also requested that Trump be restricted from doing juror research and publishing the identities of jurors, the Guardian’s Hugo Lowell reports.
The request is, in part, because of Trump’s previous use of social media to “attack others”, argued the special counsel.
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