Category Archives: Republicans

The woman seeking to unseat Republican extremist Marjorie Taylor Greene

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Democrat Holly McCormack is ready to take on the Trump devotee in 2022 – but it’s no easy task in a deep-red Georgia district

“I’m taking on the queen of Qanon: Marjorie Taylor Greene,” reads one tweet from Holly McCormack. “Retweet if you think Marjorie Taylor Greene is an embarrassment to our country,” says another.

America’s midterm elections may be 20 months in the future, but a campaign is already under way to unseat the extremist Republican congresswoman and Donald Trump devotee. In a rural district of Georgia that Taylor Greene won last November with three-quarters of the vote, effectively unopposed after her Democratic opponent quit the race, no one thinks it is going to be easy.

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Biden’s make or break moment: president aims to build on success of relief bill

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Analysis: Biden is riding high in polls and his American Rescue Plan is popular with Americans – he must build momentum to avoid the fate of Obama

In the White House Rose Garden, where for four years Donald Trump raucously celebrated political wins with his allies, it was now the turn of Democrats to take a victory lap – masked and physically distanced, of course.

Kamala Harris, the vice-president, heaped praise on Joe Biden for signing a $1.9tn coronavirus relief bill, the biggest expansion of the American welfare state in decades. “Your empathy has become a trademark of your presidency and can be found on each and every page of the American Rescue Plan,” Harris said.

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Former Pentagon chief blames Trump’s speech for inciting Capitol attack – live

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It’s been a busy day in Washington ahead of Biden’s prime-time address this evening. Before we hand over the reigns to Maanvi Singh in California, here’s a look back at what happened on this unusually warm spring day in the nation’s capital.

In an astonishing piece of attempted backside-covering, former acting defense secretary under the outgoing Donald Trump, Chris Miller, tried to explain in an interview with Vice that the delay in National Guard troops deploying to the US Capitol on the afternoon of 6 January to help overwhelmed police was basically because “it’s complicated”.

Miller said: “It’s not like a video game” ie going up and down the chains of government and command to deploy troops is a complex process.

Chris Miller translator: " Hey, I had to take orders from the White House on this." https://t.co/ihRrvlvjGc

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‘It’s every man for himself’: the Texans defying end of mask mandate

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Governor Greg Abbott lifted the mask mandate on 2 March but not everyone in the state is ready to embrace the change

The parking lot was packed at The Shops at La Cantera, a partially outdoor mall in north-west San Antonio, on the day that Texas officially ended mandatory mask wearing. But it was clear not everyone was ready to embrace the change, with most people who wandered in and out of stores still donning face coverings, and many shops requiring customers to wear one before entering.

Related: Texans scramble to get vaccinated after Republican governor says no more masks

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House will vote Wednesday morning on $1.9tn Covid relief bill – as it happened

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By Jessica Goodheart for Capital and Main:

Sara Fearrington, a North Carolina waitress, joined the Fight for $15 campaign two years ago. A server at a Durham Waffle House, her take-home pay fluctuates between $350 and $450 a week, leaving her struggling to pay bills every month. She voted for Joe Biden, who had pledged to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. It was the first time Fearrington, who is 44, had ever voted in a presidential election.

Related: Senate minimum wage battle could play out in midterm elections

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Trump reportedly told Republican party to stop using his name for fundraising

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Party bodies have used former president’s name while fundraising for Republicans who voted for his impeachment

Donald Trump has told the Republican National Committee and other party bodies to stop using his name and likeness in fundraising efforts, it was reported on Saturday.

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Biden hails ‘giant step’ as Senate passes $1.9tn coronavirus relief bill

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  • Republican opposition holds through marathon ‘vote-a-rama’
  • Speaker Pelosi has said measure should be law by 14 March

Joe Biden hailed “one more giant step forward on delivering on that promise that help is on the way”, after Democrats took a critical step towards a first major legislative victory since assuming control of Congress and the White House, with a party-line vote in the Senate to approve a $1.9tn coronavirus relief bill.

Related: Biden urged to 'go big' on New Deal-like economic plan – but can he bridge left-right gap?

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Sanders’ minimum-wage effort looks doomed as Covid relief votes go through night

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Biden’s $1.9tn relief package struggles through Senate but majority leaders vows passage ‘however long it takes’

A fiery speech and last-ditch effort by Bernie Sanders to secure a place for a federal minimum wage hike in the $1.9tn coronavirus relief package appeared as good as doomed on Friday, following a day that saw the flagship legislation hit grinding delays in the Senate.

Senate leaders and moderate Democratic senator Joe Manchin struck a deal late on Friday over emergency jobless benefits, breaking a nine-hour logjam.

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White House defends Biden’s ‘Neanderthal thinking’ comment on ending mask mandates

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Texas governor Greg Abbott, who lifted face covering requirement, said it was ‘not the type of word a president should be using’

The White House has defended Joe Biden’s criticism of the Republican governors of Texas and Mississippi, after the president called their decisions to end mask mandates “Neanderthal thinking”.

Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, emphasized that the president was comparing the governors’ actions to “the behavior of a Neanderthal, just to be very clear, the behavior”. She also said Biden’s comments were “a reflection of his frustration” about Americans not following public health guidance to limit their risk of contracting coronavirus.

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Neera Tanden withdraws from nomination to direct budget office – live

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Tanden’s letter to Biden requesting her withdrawal said:

Dear President Biden,

I am writing to you to withdraw my nomination for Director of the Office of Management and Budget. It has been an honor of a lifetime to be considered for this role and for the faith placed in me.

The withdrawal marks the first cabinet nominee by Biden to fail to get confirmation.

“I have accepted Neera Tanden’s request to withdraw her name from nomination for Director of the Office of Management and Budget,” Biden said in a statement. “I have the utmost respect for her record of accomplishment, her experience and her counsel, and I look forward to having her serve in a role in my Administration. She will bring valuable perspective and insight to our work.”

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Trump grasps for relevance in first post-presidential speech at CPAC

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Twice-impeached ex-president used speech at rightwing event to propagate the lie of a ‘rigged’ 2020 election and hinted at 2024 run

An embittered Donald Trump has used his first post-presidential speech to propagate the lie of a “rigged” election in 2020 and hint that he might try to beat Democrats “for a third time” in 2024.

Grasping for continued relevance, Trump returned to his political comfort zone by fearmongering about immigrants and unleashing angry tirades against Joe Biden, his Republican critics and the media.

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CPAC: Trump teases 2024 run and denounces Biden at rightwing summit

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Ex-president repeats false claims that he won 2020 election and floats possible run in 2024 in speech

Donald Trump on Sunday launched his attempted political comeback, teasing a possible run for the presidency in 2024 and denouncing Joe Biden for “the most disastrous first month of any president in modern history”.

The former president made his first speech since leaving the White House at the rightwing Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida, to an effusive reception.

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Republican predicts Trump won’t be party’s presidential nominee in 2024

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Senator Bill Cassidy points to seats lost in House and Senate during Trump presidency and says ‘if we idolize one person, we will lose’

Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana Republican senator, predicted on Sunday morning that Donald Trump will not be the party’s nominee for president in 2024, pointing to the number of seats lost by Republicans in the House and Senate over the four years Trump was in office.

Cassidy was asked on CNN’s State of the Union show whether he would support Trump if the former president runs for another term in 2024, or if he would support him if he did run and won the Republican nomination to challenge Joe Biden.

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Golden Trump statue turning heads at CPAC was made in … Mexico

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Artist Tommy Zegan reveals figure was constructed in country the former president has assailed and demonized

A golden statue of Donald Trump that has caused a stir at the annual US gathering of conservatives was made in Mexico – a country the former president frequently demonized.

Related: Mitch McConnell says he'd 'absolutely' support Trump as 2024 nominee

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House approves $1.9tn Covid aid bill despite minimum wage setback

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Relief bill represents Biden first big legislative win but wage hike proposal to be removed from Senate version

The US House of Representatives has passed Joe Biden’s $1.9tn coronavirus aid bill in his first major legislative victory.

Related: Criticism builds over Biden's failure to lift Trump sanctions on ICC prosecutors

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‘The base is solidly behind him’: Trumpism expected to thrive at CPAC

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Lineup at annual gathering features former president’s allies – and Trump himself – suggesting his dominance is undiminished by his election loss

Ronald Solomon spent five days making the 2,300-mile drive from Las Vegas, Nevada, to Orlando, Florida, where he will sell about 75 different hat designs, 15 types of flag, 10 T-shirt designs and a range of eight face masks.

Solomon is the president of the Maga Mall, a retailer of Donald Trump and “Make America great again” merchandise. Undeterred by the former president’s 2020 election defeat and disgrace, he expects to do brisk business when the biggest annual gathering of grassroots conservatives opens on Thursday.

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Manhattan district attorney reportedly subpoenas Bannon’s financial records – live

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Joe Biden is meeting with a bipartisan group of Congress members to discuss improving US supply chains to better prepare for future crises.

“The last year has shown some of the vulnerability we have with some of the supply chains, including the PPE we needed badly but had to go abroad to get,” Biden told reporters at the start of the meeting.

Biden, meeting in Oval with members of Congress about supply chain problems, including a shortage of computer chips for the autos industry, says it’s causing some production lines to slow down and “people might be laid off.” pic.twitter.com/nHNN2CofN5

Congresswoman Deb Haaland, Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the interior department, faced more pointed questions from Republicans during her second confirmation hearing today.

Republican Senator John Barrasso pressed Haaland, who would be the first Native American cabinet secretary if confirmed, on her past statements against fracking on public lands.

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Trump to tell CPAC he is Republican ‘presumptive 2024 nominee’ – report

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Unnamed source tells news site Axios Trump’s speech to the rightwing event will have the message ‘I’m still in charge’

Donald Trump will reportedly tell the Conservative Political Action Conference in Florida this week he is the man to drain the Washington swamp – as Republicans’ “presumptive 2024 nominee”.

Related: Republicans failing to toe the Trumpist line feel wrath of their state parties

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Republicans aim to purge anti-Trump officials from state parties in sign of battles ahead

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Analysis: members of Senate and House are targets but some doubt wisdom of enforcing fealty to the one-term president

Republican state parties have been lashing out at elected officials of their own party in a sign of ongoing fealty to Donald Trump.

The moves by state party officials are highly unusual and an indication of the heated internal battles the Republican party is facing in the months and years to come as it struggles with the legacy of its capture by Trump, his allies and his loyal supporters.

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