Category Archives: Democrats

Is the US really heading for a second civil war?

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With the country polarised and Republicans embracing authoritarianism, some experts fear a Northern Ireland-style insurgency but others say armed conflict remains improbable

Joe Biden had spent a year in the hope that America could go back to normal. But last Thursday, the first anniversary of the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol, the president finally recognised the full scale of the current threat to American democracy.

“At this moment, we must decide,” Biden said in Statuary Hall, where rioters had swarmed a year earlier. “What kind of nation are we going to be? Are we going to be a nation that accepts political violence as a norm?”

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Strategy shift: Biden confronts Trump head on after year of silent treatment

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President strikes different tone in tacit admission that ignoring the most powerful force in the Republican party is risky

In the first moments of his presidency, Joe Biden called on Americans to set aside their deep divisions inflamed by a predecessor he intentionally ignored. He emphasized national unity and appealed to Americans to come together to “end this uncivil war”.

Nearly a year later, as a divided nation reflects on the first anniversary of the 6 January assault on the US Capitol, the uncivil war he sought to extinguish rages on, stronger than ever. In a searing speech on Thursday, Biden struck a different tone.

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Democrats could still salvage Build Back Better – and perhaps their midterm prospects

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Best-case scenario: a scaled down plan that saves popular programs and a billionaire tax to pay for it

Democrats were already facing a bleak landscape for this year’s midterm elections, with Joe Biden’s approval rating languishing in the low 40s and his party holding narrow majorities in both the House and the Senate.

Now, with Senator Joe Manchin’s refusal to support the Build Back Better Act, the chances of Republicans regaining control of the House of Representatives, and possibly the Senate as well, appear higher than ever.

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Biden addresses pandemic: ‘We’re going to be able to control this’ – live

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There’s been a lot of back-and-forth about the efficacy of the Covid-19 vaccine – which, reminder, while everybody here is highly educated in law, nobody is an epidemiologist – and Justice Elena Kagan went hard at Ohio solicitor general Ben Flowers.

“You said we understand that 18- to 29-year-olds, even though they’re not going to die or end up with very serious injuries, they can spread. You don’t doubt that, that they can spread to other people who are more vulnerable?” Kagan asked Flowers.

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Biden condemns Trump’s ‘web of lies’ a year on from deadly Capitol assault

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Joe Biden on Thursday forcefully denounced Donald Trump for spreading a “web of lies” about the legitimacy of the 2020 election in a desperate attempt to cling to power, accusing the former president and his allies of holding a “dagger at the throat of American democracy”.

The US president condemned his predecessor’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election as a “failed” pursuit, but one that continues to imperil American democracy one year after the 6 January insurrection at the US Capitol, when a violent mob of Trump loyalists breached the Capitol in an effort to stop the certification of Biden’s presidential election victory.

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Trump cancels news conference for Capitol attack anniversary – US politics live

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While the Republicans of Congress may be a little wishy-washy when it comes to the 6 January attack on the US Capitol - and exactly who bears responsibility for it - the White House said Americans should be prepared for Joe Biden to speak tomorrow about “the singular responsibility of President Trump for the chaos and carnage that we saw”.

“President Biden has spoken repeatedly about how the former president has abused his office, undermined the constitution and ignored his oath to the American people in order to amass more power for himself and his allies,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at today’s press briefing.

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US Congress reports unprecedented surge in Covid-19 cases – as it happened

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More than 140 mayors have asked the US Senate to act to pass two pieces of sweeping voting rights legislation. Both bills have been stalled for months because no Republicans support them.

Senate Democrats are expected to make a new push in the coming days to do away with the filibuster, a senate rule that requires a 60-vote supermajority to advance legislation. Republicans used the rule to block the voting rights bills several times last year.

One bill, the Freedom to Vote Act, would set sweeping national guarantees for voting access, including 15 days of early voting, as well as guaranteed automatic and same-day voter registration. The second measure, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, would restore a critical provision of the Voting Rights Act that gives the federal government more oversight over US elections.

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Republicans woo Joe Manchin as senator clashes with Democrats

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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.

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Why the collapse of Biden’s Build Back Better would be a major blow to the climate fight

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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.

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White House rebukes Manchin after ‘no’ to Biden spending plan deals huge blow

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  • $1.75tn domestic spending plan all but dead in the water
  • Senator accused of ‘breach of commitment’ to president

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.

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Joe Manchin says he ‘cannot get there’ on Build Back Better bill – video

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Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat who is key to President Joe Biden's hopes of passing a $1.75tn domestic investment bill, has said he will not support the package.

Manchin has been a key holdout on the White House's Build Back Better plan, which aims to bolster the social safety net and fight climate change, and is the cornerstone of Biden's legislative agenda.

'I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation,' Manchin told Fox News, citing concerns about inflation. 'I just can't. I have tried everything humanly possible.'

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Rahm Emanuel leads confirmed Biden nominees in late-night logjam break

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Ex-Obama chief of staff will go to Japan after deal for vote on Russia pipeline sanctions ends Republican Senate resistance

The former Obama White House chief of staff and Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel was among more than 30 ambassadors and other Biden nominees confirmed by the Senate early on Saturday.

The Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, broke a Republican-stoked logjam by agreeing to schedule a vote on sanctions on the company behind the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that will deliver natural gas from Russia to Germany.

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Biden: ‘I’ve never seen anything like the unrelenting assault on the right to vote’ – live

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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.

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Democrats fear threats to US democracy: ‘We were one vice-president away from a coup’ – live

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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.

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Biden faces vaccine mandate pushback from own party despite support of scientists

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Two Democratic senators push back against president’s rules for large businesses as cases continue to rise in the US

Two Democratic senators have resisted Joe Biden’s vaccine-or-test mandate for large businesses, illustrating problems the US president faces even within a faction of his own party, despite having the support of scientists and public health experts.

The US Senate on Wednesday evening voted to overturn the mandate as new cases and hospitalizations continue rising in the country.

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Biden’s carbon-neutral order praised for ‘aligning government power with climate goals’ – live

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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.”

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Biden holds virtual summit with Putin amid fears of Ukraine invasion – live

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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.

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Covid: Biden says to beat Omicron variant ‘we have to shut it down worldwide’ – as it happened

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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.

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House leaders reach deal to fund government as shutdown looms – live

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White House press secretary Jen Psaki responded to questions on the departure of top Kamala Harris staffer Symone Sanders saying that departures from the White House after the first year is expected, downplaying reports that Sanders’ departure confirms reports of turmoil in the vice president’s office.

“It’s a normal course of events that people are ready to do something new, they’re ready to spend time with their families, they’re ready to sleep more. That’s to be expected in the first 18 months to two years of any White House,” Psaki said.”

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Trump chief of staff Meadows to cooperate with Capitol attack panel – live

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Mark Meadows, formerly Donald Trump’s chief of staff, has reached an agreement to cooperate, at least initially, with the bipartisan House committee investigating the insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6 this year by extremist supporters of the-then president, according to CNN.

Meadows is providing records and agreeing to appear for an initial interview, the cable news company is reporting in an exclusive published moments ago.

Meadows’ lawyer George Terwilliger said in a statement to CNN that there is now an understanding between the two parties on how information can be exchanged moving forward, stating that his client and the committee are open to engaging on a certain set of topics as they work out how to deal with information that the committee is seeking that could fall under executive privilege.

But the agreement could be fragile if the two sides do not agree on what is privileged information. News of the understanding comes as Trump’s lawyers argued in front of a federal appeals court in Washington that the former President should be able to assert executive privilege over records from the committee.

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