Category Archives: US Senate

Pence documents discovery sparks scrutiny on US classification system – live

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Some lawmakers on both sides now asking if discoveries mean it’s time to look at how government manages its secrets

Joe Biden will at 12 pm eastern time speak about the United State’s support for Ukraine, amid reports that Washington plans to send its Abrams tanks to help Kyiv defend against the Russian invasion.

Earlier in the day, the White House announced the American president had spoken to president Emmanuel Macron of France, Britain’s prime minister Rishi Sunak, chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany and prime minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy “as part of our close coordination on support for Ukraine.”

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Biden honors Roe v Wade’s 50th anniversary as anti-abortionists rally in Washington – as it happeend

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Top Republicans are welcoming the annual March for Life to Washington DC, including Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell:

As well as speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy:

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White House condemns appointments of far-right Republicans to House oversight panel – as it happened

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Donald Trump remains the most popular man in the GOP, or at least among those running for president, pollster Morning Consult finds in a survey released today:

Deeper in the survey, you’ll find Florida governor Ron DeSantis the leader among second choices for the nominations, distantly followed by former vice-president Mike Pence.

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Republican targeting Hunter Biden says: ‘I don’t target individuals’

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Wisconsin senator Ron Johnson grilled on why Jared Kushner should escape scrutiny for profiting from proximity to presidency

The Wisconsin senator Ron Johnson refused to say Republicans planning investigations of Hunter Biden for profiting from his connection to the presidency should also investigate Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser who secured a $1.2bn loan from Qatar while working in the White House.

“I’m concerned about getting to the truth,” Johnson insisted. “I don’t target individuals.”

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House’s Republican majority gets to work with two abortion measures – as it happened

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House to vote on medical protections for ‘babies that survive an attempted abortion’ and ‘attacks on pro-life’ groups and churches

Venture to certain corners of conservative media today and you’ll find lots of discussion of gas stoves. The Guardian’s Alaina Demopoulos explains why:

After Joe Biden’s administration announced it was considering regulating – or banning – gas stoves, Richard Trumka of the US consumer product safety commission (CPSC) offered some words of clarity: “To be clear, CPSC isn’t coming for anyone’s gas stoves,” he tweeted.

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Kevin McCarthy faces rocky first day as House speaker – live

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California Republican takes reins of Congress’s lower chamber after 15 rounds of voting last week

The Guardian’s Kira Lerner reports that the GOP has been waging a legal assault on voting nationwide, with more lawsuits aimed at restricting ballot box access filed last year than ever before:

The Republican party filed a record number of anti-voting lawsuits in 2022, a sign that they are shifting the battle over voting access and election administration to courtrooms in addition to state legislatures.

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Republican McCarthy says he finally has enough votes to win House speaker – as it happened

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House party leader says he’s confident he has the votes after losing 13 straight rounds

It’s just after noon and the House is reconvening now to pick up the already tortuous quest to seat a speaker. But two Republicans at least won’t be there.

Congressman-elect Wesley Hunt of Texas is heading home to be with his premature newborn son.

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House without a speaker as McCarthy fails to secure majority in six rounds of voting – as it happened

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US Capitol police officer Michael Fanone, who testified to the January 6 committee, visited McCarthy’s office today to highlight McCarthy’s failure to secure his House speaker vote.

While posing outside of McCarthy’s office, Fanone said he visited McCarthy to “rub it in”, referring to McCarthy’s election failure.

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House adjourns after Kevin McCarthy falls short in three rounds of voting for speaker – as it happened

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Leader of slim Republican majority has been negotiating to secure backing of hardliners but voting could go to multiple rounds

A crescendo of bipartisan outrage will accompany the swearing in due today of George Santos, one of the Republican party’s most controversial new Congress members, who has admitted large parts of his biography are a fantasy.

The New York politician, caught in lies over his family background, education and work history, is facing calls to step down from several senior figures within his own party before he even sets foot on the floor of the chamber.

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McCarthy faces long battle for House speaker after he falls short on third vote

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House adjourned until noon tomorrow as McCarthy becomes the first nominee for speaker in 100 years to fail to win the first vote

In a historic delay, the House Republican leader, Kevin McCarthy, was on Tuesday facing a protracted battle to secure the speaker’s gavel after failing to win the first three votes on the opening day of the new Congress.

A fourth vote – and perhaps more, into the night – was avoided when the House adjourned, by voice vote, until noon on Wednesday.

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January 6 panel releases transcripts of key witness Cassidy Hutchinson – as it happened

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Committee releases closed-door testimony of former White House chief of staff’s aide but full report is still delayed

White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson said she felt she had “Trump himself looking over my shoulder” as she discussed with her attorney her upcoming testimony to the January 6 committee earlier this year.

Hutchinson, an assistant to then-president Donald Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows, makes the revelation in a transcript of a deposition to the panel that was released on Thursday morning.

It wasn’t just that I had Stefan sitting next to me; it was almost like I felt like I had Trump looking over my shoulder. Because I knew in some fashion it would get back to him if I said anything that he would find disloyal.

And the prospect of that genuinely scared me. You know, I’d seen this world ruin people’s lives or try to ruin people’s careers. I’d seen how vicious they can be.

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Senate on track to pass $1.7tn funding bill to avert US government shutdown

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Bill includes $45bn in military aid to Ukraine after lawmakers reached agreement on a final series of votes

The US Senate appeared back on track Thursday to pass a $1.7tn bill to finance federal agencies through September 2023 and provide roughly $45bn in military and economic assistance to Ukraine, after lawmakers reached agreement on a final series of votes.

The Democratic majority leader, Chuck Schumer, announced an agreement to consider 15 amendments before voting on final passage. Most of the amendments would be subject to a 60-vote threshold to pass, generally dooming them to failure in the 50-50 Senate.

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House committee votes to release Donald Trump’s tax returns – as it happened

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It’s lunchtime, and an opportunity to look at where we stand on a busy Tuesday in US politics. The House ways and means committee will meet shortly to discuss and vote on releasing Donald Trump’s tax returns to the public.

Here’s what else we’ve been looking at:

The fallout continues from Monday’s bombshell criminal referral by the House January 6 panel of former President Trump on charges including insurrection. Some Republicans don’t seem to be happy.

Long-serving Democratic senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont delivered an emotional farewell speech to the chamber, condemning the January 6 Capitol riot as an assault on democracy, and calling on colleagues to return to a more civil age of bipartisanship.

Details have emerged of the $1.7tn omnibus government spending package agreed by congressional leaders in Tuesday’s early hours. The bill includes more financial aid for Ukraine, more visas for Afghans who helped the US, and banning the TikTok app on government devices.

When I arrived here, bipartisan cooperation was the norm, not the exception.

Make no mistake, the Senate of yesterday was far from perfect. [But] the Senate I entered had one remarkable, redeeming quality. The overwhelming majority of senators of both parties believed they were here to do a job.

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Jan 6 committee refers Donald Trump for criminal prosecution on four counts – as it happened

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Four Republicans referred to House ethics committee for refusing to comply with panel’s subpoenas, including Kevin McCarthy

Joe Biden is condemning growing antisemitism, in remarks for a Hanukah reception at the White House that will include a menorah lighting and blessing.

The US president will tell guests at tonight’s event that silence is complicity, according to White House officials, and will add that it’s imperative that hate, violence and antisemitism are condemned, the Associated Press reports.

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Joe Manchin says he doesn’t intend to leave Democratic party for now

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Remarks comes after fellow centrist Kyrsten Sinema announced she was leaving party and becoming an independent

The centrist Democratic senator Joe Manchin does not intend to change his party affiliation – at least for now, he said Sunday.

Manchin’s remarks on CBS’s Face the Nation came after fellow centrist senator Kyrsten Sinema sent shock waves through Congress by announcing that she was leaving the Democratic party and listing herself as an independent.

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Federal investigators focus on emails between Trump lawyers and congressman – as it happened

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Revelation casts light on direction of the criminal inquiry into the former president’s insurrection efforts

Joe Biden is at a town hall for veterans in New Castle, Delaware, choking with emotion when talking about his late son Beau, a former National Guard major for whom the center he was speaking at is named.

The president kept his comments tightly focused on the expansion of benefits and services for veterans resulting from the Pact Act, introducing a second world war pilot, and talking of the need to support and improve the physical and mental health of retired military members.

The Pact Act was the first step of being sure that we leave no-one behind.

We also need to pass the bipartisan government funding bill so we can deliver on the act’s promise.

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Nancy Pelosi tells of ‘proud’ record as speaker in likely final press conference – live

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Nancy Pelosi has given what she suggests will be her final press conference as House speaker, telling reporters this is “maybe the last time I see you in this way”.

She’s been reflecting on some of the successes of her tenure, and paying tribute to Joe Biden and Barack Obama for most of them, from the passing of the Affordable Care Act to this week’s signing of the same-sex Respect for Marriage Act.

He has been a remarkable president. He has a record that is so outstanding, and for such a short period of time as well.

People compare him to Lyndon Johnson, to Franklin Roosevelt, but I’d remind you all that Roosevelt had 319 Democrats in the House, President Biden 222, whatever it is, and even fewer now.

Passing the American rescue plan, getting vaccines at arms, money in pockets, children back to school and people safely back to work, the bipartisan infrastructure law, building roads, bridges, ports and water systems…

Bringing people together, not projects that divide communities but bringing people together, and this such a source of pride, putting justice and equity front and center.

We won’t relent until the job is done, until we can have background checks, and have banned assault weapons.

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Biden says he’s ‘all in’ on Africa’s future at leadership summit – as it happened

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President commits to strengthening Africa’s food supplies, tackling climate and partnering to take on rising global power

Back at the House oversight hearing into anti-LGBTQ+ violence, Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) says her group has recorded an alarming surge in hate-related killings:

Over the last 10 years, the campaign has tracked over 300 incidents of fatal violence against transgender and gender non-conforming people. In 2022 so far, we’ve recorded the murder of 35 people.

It’s fueled by nearly unfettered access to guns, political extremism and rhetoric that is deliberately devised to make our community less safe, less equal, and less free. Violence has become a lived reality for so many in our community.

We should have societal guilt for taking too long to deal with this problem. We have a moral obligation to pass and enforce laws that can prevent these things from happening again. We owe it to the courageous, young survivors and to the families who lost part of their soul 10 years ago to turn their pain into purpose.

A few months ago, I signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law. We’ve reined in so-called ghost guns which have no serial numbers and are harder to trace. We’ve cracked down on gun trafficking and increased resources for violence prevention.

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US announces fusion energy success ‘that could revolutionize the world’ – live

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Breakthrough came after experiment with 192 high-energy lasers, say US energy officials

The energy department’s press conference on the breakthrough in its fusion experiment has wrapped up, but before it concluded, a top official said it could be a long time before the technology becomes commonly used.

“There are very significant hurdles, not just in the science but in technology,” said Kim Budil, director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where the experiment was conducted. “This is one igniting capsule one time, and to realize commercial fusion energy, you have to do many things. You have to be able to produce many, many fusion ignition events per minute, and you have to have a robust system of drivers to enable that.”

Inside that was a small, spherical capsule about half the diameter of a BB. One hundred and ninety two laser beams entered from the two ends of the cylinder and struck the inner wall. They didn’t strike the capsule, they struck the inner wall of this cylinder and deposited energy, and that happened in less time than it takes light to move 10 feet, so it’s kind of fast.

X-rays from the wall impinged on the spherical capsule. Fusion fuel in the capsule got squeezed. Fusion reaction started.

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Sanders says Sinema ‘helped sabotage’ some of Congress’s key legislations

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Senator adds to chorus of detractors against Arizona lawmaker who left Democratic party and declared herself an independent

The popular progressive US senator Bernie Sanders would consider supporting any Democrat who might mount a challenge against his chamber colleague Kyrsten Sinema after she recently left the party and declared herself an independent like him, arguing that she has “helped sabotage” some of Congress’s most important legislation.

Sanders’s comments on Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union added to the chorus of detractors against the Arizona lawmaker who has undermined the agenda of the Joe Biden White House and other progressives, including by voting down raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour and reforming the Senate filibuster so that voting rights legislation can pass.

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