US Senate releases draft bill to toughen border measures while securing aid to Ukraine and Israel

Biden urges Congress to pass bill which includes measures to temporarily close border if over 5,000 undocumented people cross a day

US senators on Sunday evening released the details of a highly anticipated $118bn package that pairs federal enforcement policy on the US-Mexico border with wartime aid for Ukraine, Israel and others, launching a long-shot effort to push the bill past sceptical, hard right House Republicans – whom Democrats accuse of politicizing immigration while being in thrall to Donald Trump.

The proposal is the best chance for Joe Biden to bolster dwindling US wartime aid for Ukraine – a major foreign policy goal that is shared by both the Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, and top Republican, Mitch McConnell. The Senate was expected this week to hold a key test vote on the legislation, but it faces a wall of opposition from conservatives.

Continue reading...

US House to vote next week on standalone $17.6bn bill for aid to Israel

Speaker Mike Johnson is pushing for the package without addressing aid to Ukraine or security for the US-Mexico border

The US House of Representatives plans to vote next week to advance $17.6bn in military aid to Israel without any accompanying spending cuts or assistance for Ukraine, according to Mike Johnson, the chamber’s speaker.

Johnson announced to his fellow House Republicans on Saturday that the vote would take place, while also criticizing a parallel move in the US Senate to pair funding for Israel in its military strikes in Gaza with aid for Ukraine as it fends off Russia’s invasion. The Senate measure also aims to attach a raft of tough border and asylum measures favored by rightwingers to aid for Israel.

Continue reading...

State department identifies Israeli citizens targeted by US sanctions as Netanyahu rejects them as ‘unnecessary’ – as it happened

This live blog is now closed. For more on the US involvement in the Middle East crisis, you can read:

During the news conference, Austin said the US would have a “multi-tiered response” to the Jordan attacks that killed three US service personnel. He added that the US had the ability to respond a “number of times depending on what the situation is”.

Austin said the deadly attack was carried out by groups funded and trained by Iran, but said it remains unclear how much Tehran knew in advance.

Continue reading...

House passes US bill to expand child tax credit and revive business tax breaks

Lawmakers pass a $79bn tax cut package with broad bipartisan support, giving both parties coveted policy wins

The House accomplished something unusual Wednesday in passing, with broad, bipartisan support, a roughly $79bn tax cut package that would enhance the child tax credit for millions of lower-income families and boost three tax breaks for business, a combination that gives lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle coveted policy wins.

Prospects for the measure becoming law are uncertain with the Senate still having to take it up, but for a House that has struggled to get bills of consequence over the finish line, the tax legislation could represent a rare breakthrough. The bill passed by a vote of 357-70.

Continue reading...

Biden signs measure to avert shutdown but Ukraine aid remains frozen

Hard-right Republicans ensure chances of more money and weapons for Kyiv hinge on immigration reform negotiations

Joe Biden signed a measure to keep the US government funded on Friday but as Washington shivered under its second major snowfall in a week, the bill did not unfreeze funding for Ukraine.

Hard-right House Republicans, led by the speaker, Mike Johnson, are ensuring the chances of more money and weapons for Kyiv in its fight with Moscow hinge on negotiations for immigration reform.

Continue reading...

Congress agrees on stopgap bill to fund federal government into March

US media reports congressional leaders have agreed on a ‘continuing resolution’, which extends deadlines

US congressional leaders have agreed on a two-tranche stopgap spending bill to keep the federal government funded into March and avert a partial government shutdown starting late next week, US media reported on Saturday.

Politico, CNN and Punchbowl reported that congressional leaders have agreed on what is called a “continuing resolution” or “CR”, that would fund the government – extending two deadlines through 1 March and 8 March. The media outlets reported that House of Representatives Republicans will unveil the plan Sunday night.

Continue reading...

House speaker’s Christian nationalist ties spark first amendment fears

Mike Johnson’s links to key leaders prompts alarm he might try to erode elements of constitution on separation of church and state

Links between the new Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, and key Christian nationalist leaders have sparked fears the devout Louisiana congressman might seek to erode elements of the first amendment, which protects key US civil liberties including freedom of religion and the separation of church and state.

Long before th eevangelical conservative Johnson became speaker, he had forged close ties with Christian nationalists like David Barton, whose writings claiming the country’s founders intended to create a Christian nation have been widely debunked by religion scholars.

Continue reading...

Liz Cheney: Speaker Mike Johnson can’t be trusted to defend the constitution

Former congresswoman makes comments as she continues to warn of dangers that a second Trump presidency would present

US House speaker Mike Johnson and his fellow Republicans who comprise a majority in the chamber cannot be trusted to protect the American constitution, former congresswoman Liz Cheney said Sunday.

Cheney made the comments on ABC’s This Week as she continued to warn of the dangers that a second Donald Trump presidency would present following the release of her book Oath and Honor: A Warning and a Memoir. In the book, she is deeply critical of Johnson, who played a key role in Trump’s legal strategy to contest the election and organized an amicus brief signed by 126 US House members urging the supreme court to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election won by Joe Biden.

Continue reading...

Kevin McCarthy, ousted House speaker, says he will leave Congress at end of the year – US politics live

McCarthy, who was ousted from the House weeks ago, said in his announcement, ‘I’m leaving the House but not the fight’

Former speaker Kevin McCarthy has announced that he will resign from the House at the end of the year.

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed published on Wednesday and titled “I’m leaving the House but not the fight,” McCarthy said that he had decided to depart the House at the end of this year and “serve America in new ways”.

I know my work is only getting started. I will continue to recruit our country’s best and brightest to run for elected office. The Republican Party is expanding every day, and I am committed to lending my experience to support the next generation of leaders.”

“I never could have imagined the journey when I first threw my hat into the ring. I go knowing I left it all on the field—as always, with a smile on my face. And looking back, I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Only in America.”

“Common sense should dictate that we need to secure our own border in addition to helping Ukraine and Israel secure theirs. In the greatest country on Earth, we do not have to choose between protecting our homeland and defending our allies.

My support for Israel and Ukraine is unwavering but it does not supersede my commitment to my own country. We need major, structural reforms to limit the number of illegal crossings at our southern border and regain operational control.

Continue reading...

US House close to vote on Biden impeachment inquiry, speaker says

After months of Republican investigations, Mike Johnson told Fox he believed GOP conference has enough votes to launch

The US House speaker Mike Johnson signaled on Saturday that Republicans are nearing holding a formal vote to launch an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden.

“I think it’s something we have to do at this juncture,” Johnson said during a Saturday appearance on Fox and Friends Weekend.

Continue reading...

Mike Johnson to publicly release 44,000 hours of sensitive January 6 footage

US House speaker to make good on promise to far-right Republicans including Matt Gaetz and Donald Trump

House speaker Mike Johnson said Friday he plans to publicly release thousands of hours of footage from the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, making good on a promise he made to far-right members of his party when he was campaigning for his current job.

“This decision will provide millions of Americans, criminal defendants, public interest organizations and the media an ability to see for themselves what happened that day, rather than having to rely upon the interpretation of a small group of government officials,” Johnson said in a statement.

Continue reading...

‘No ceasefire!’: tens of thousands march for Israel in Washington DC

Speakers from Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer to Republican House speaker Mike Johnson greeted crowds

Tens of thousands of Israel supporters gathered in Washington DC on Tuesday to show support for its war against Hamas, declare their opposition to a ceasefire and decry a global rise in antisemitism.

Massed ranks of demonstrators bearing placards and draped in Israeli flags gathered in the capital’s National Mall amid ultra-tight security and under clear blue skies in an event designed, at least partially, as a riposte to large recent US rallies demanding an immediate halt to Israel’s military offensive.

Continue reading...

House passes bill to avert shutdown – as it happened

The blog is now closed, but read about the House vote here:

Donald Trump’s disdain for Letitia James, the New York attorney general who brought a $250m fraud case against the former president, and Arthur Engoron, the judge adjudicating it, is pretty well known. Trump was fined twice last month for breaching a gag order.

On Tuesday, Trump ramped up the rhetoric further, promoting a post on his Truth Social network calling for a citizen’s arrest of the pair “for blatant election interference and harassment”.

Continue reading...

US House passes bill to avert government shutdown

Democrats and mainstream Republicans join forces with vote of 336 to 95 to advance stopgap spending package

The House on Tuesday approved a novel plan to prevent a government shutdown, with the recently-installed Republican House speaker Mike Johnson relying on Democratic votes as the far-right flank of his caucus dissented.

By a vote of 336 to 95, a coalition of nearly every Democratic representative and more mainstream Republicans joined forces to advance the stopgap spending package that would fund government departments into early 2024, easily clearing the two-thirds threshold needed for passage under an expedited process. Ninety-three Republicans and two Democrats opposed the measure.

Continue reading...

House speaker Mike Johnson faces race against the clock as shutdown is just days away – US politics live

Johnson’s proposal unveiled at weekend would stretch funding until 19 January but doesn’t include cuts Republican colleagues are asking for

“Tim Scott is a good man of faith and an inspiration to so many. The Republican primary was made better by his participation in it,” Haley said on X. “South Carolina is blessed to continue to have him as our senator. Scott announced conceded on Sunday, just six months after launching his campaign.”

Scott conceded on Sunday, just six months after launching his campaign.

Continue reading...

House speaker unveils Republican plan to avert government shutdown

Stopgap spending bill, which omits funding for Israel or Ukraine, faces opposition from both parties in Congress

US House speaker Mike Johnson unveiled a Republican stopgap spending measure late Saturday aimed at averting a government shutdown in a week, but the measure quickly ran into opposition from lawmakers from both parties in Congress.

Unlike ordinary continuing resolutions that fund federal agencies for a specific period, the measure announced by Johnson would fund some parts of the government until 19 January and others until 2 February. House Republicans hope to pass the measure Tuesday.

Continue reading...

House speaker Mike Johnson faces key test as government shutdown is days away with no deal in sight – US politics live

Kevin McCarthy’s replacement tasked with passing legislation to fund the government but issues that toppled predecessor persist

Meanwhile in South Carolina, Kamala Harris officially filed the Biden campaign’s paperwork to appear on its primary ballot:

Joe Biden’s victory in the state’s primary three years ago revived a presidential campaign that appeared to be flagging. After winning the White House, he successfully pushed to make it the first state to vote in the Democrats’ nominating calendar, arguing the process should better reflect the country’s diversity, though not all Democrats were happy about the decision.

Continue reading...

Mike Johnson says in resurfaced video he uses app that helps people ‘quit porn’

House speaker says in clip he and son use Covenant Eyes, which bills itself as a tool that ‘helps you live porn-free with confidence’

Mike Johnson, the hardline conservative and outspoken Christian who was elected House speaker in October, has raised eyebrows after he admitted using an app which bills itself as a tool to help people “quit porn”.

A year-old clip posted online over the weekend showed Johnson discussing how he and his son use Covenant Eyes, an app which tracks users’ phone and computer use, to monitor each others’ online activity.

Continue reading...

US House passes $14.3bn aid package for Israel despite Democratic opposition

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...