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 previously little-known rightwinger from Louisiana shows all the hallmarks of the ex-president’s voice
After engineering this month’s unceremonious defenestration of the hapless Kevin McCarthy, some far-right Republicans openly dreamed of installing their hero Donald Trump to replace him as speaker of the House of Representatives.
Trump himself, meanwhile, suggested that only Jesus Christ was certain to be elected to the role – apparently overlooking practical concerns of presumed unavailability.
Continue reading...Louisiana congressman known as ‘Maga Mike’, elected House speaker Wednesday, is staunch Trump supporter and election denier
The Louisiana congressman Mike Johnson, whom Republicans in Congress elected as their speaker after more than three weeks of leaderless chaos, played a key role in Donald Trump’s attempts to subvert the results of the 2020 election.
Johnson amassed enough support to win the speakership because of his allegiance to Trumpian ideals, earning him the nickname on the far right of “Maga Mike”. A litmus test of sorts for the speakership was alignment with rightwing views, including believing in a stolen election, though the firebrand approach of failed speaker candidate Jim Jordan soured moderate members, despite his election-denying bonafides.
Continue reading...Getting approval for nuclear submarine plan through legislature a question of ‘not if, but when’
Joe Biden has played down congressional jitters over the Aukus nuclear-powered submarine deal and has revealed he assured Xi Jinping that the countries involved are not aiming to “surround China”.
The US president welcomed the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, to the White House and insisted he was “confident that we’re going to be able to get the money for Aukus because it’s overwhelmingly in our interest”.
Continue reading...Support for political violence increased over past two years, poll finds, offering snapshot of America’s deepening polarisation
Nearly one in four Americans believe that political violence may be justified to “save” the country, a national opinion poll has found.
The 14th annual American Values Survey, carried out by the non-profit Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) in partnership with the Brookings Institution thinktank, offers a snapshot of America’s deepening polarisation and willingness to contemplate taking up arms.
Continue reading...Up to 26 Republicans may sink Minnesota lawmaker Emmer’s chance to become next House speaker, reports say
Per the Hill, here’s a breakdown of the full vote totals from the first ballot:
As you can see, Tom Emmer received the most votes, but other candidates received more votes overall. It’s a secret ballot, so members don’t necessarily know each other’s choice, but we’ll see if Emmer picked up more support from other candidates in the second round of balloting.
Continue reading...It remains unclear whether House majority whip – the third nominee in three weeks – can win enough support on the floor
Tom Emmer of Minnesota emerged as House Republicans’ new speaker nominee after five rounds of voting on Tuesday, but it remained unclear whether the House majority whip could win enough support on the floor to capture the gavel.
Ahead of the Tuesday vote, seven House Republicans had launched speakership bids: Emmer, Jack Bergman of Michigan, Byron Donalds of Florida, Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Austin Scott of Georgia and Pete Sessions of Texas.
Continue reading...Moderate, whose opposition to former president had cost her a congressional seat, considers a 2024 presidential run
Donald Trump is “the single most dangerous threat” the US faces as he seeks a return to the Oval Office, according to Liz Cheney, the moderate Republican whose opposition to her party leader’s presidency had cost her a congressional seat she held for six years.
“He cannot be the next president because if he is, all of the things that he attempted to do but was stopped from doing by responsible people … he will do,” Cheney – the daughter of former congressman, defense secretary and vice-president Dick Cheney – said on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. “There will be no guardrails. And everyone has been left warned.”
Continue reading...Nine congressmen had registered by Sunday’s noon deadline following Jim Jordan’s failed bid to claim the gavel
After more than two weeks of failing to choose a speaker, Republicans in the US House plan to reconvene on Monday to begin the process of nominating a third candidate to try to get the 217 votes needed to secure the speakership.
So far, Steve Scalise, the No 2 Republican in the House, and Jim Jordan, the far-right congressman, have both failed in their bids.
Continue reading...Republican Senate minority leader says he and president are ‘in the same place’ on support linked to both conflicts
Mitch McConnell offered a strong endorsement on Sunday of the Joe Biden White House’s $106bn aid proposal to Israel and Ukraine, saying he and the president were essentially “in the same place” on the issue.
McConnell, the powerful Republican leader in the Senate, also rebuffed some of his GOP colleagues in the Senate who have called for a package separating assistance for the two countries, saying it would be “a mistake” during an interview on CBS’s Face the Nation.
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...Republican colleagues vote against Ohio congressman’s continued bid after his third failed attempt to corral support
Jim Jordan of Ohio was forced out of the House speakership race on Friday after his Republican colleagues voted against his continued bid for the seat in a secret ballot after his third failed attempt to corral enough support to win the gavel.
Jordan’s lost bid followed a contentious week on Capitol Hill, during which he and his allies attempted to cajole more moderate Republicans into backing Jordan.
Continue reading...This live blog is now closed. For latest reporting on Jim Jordan and the House speaker race, you can read our latest report:
The number of Republicans who show up for today’s vote will also be a factor in determining whether Jordan wins or loses.
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that the GOP congressman Derrick Van Orden will not be in attendance, as he’s on a trip to Israel:
Continue reading...Violations have soared but legislative effort to strengthen protection for young workers have received little support
Child labor violations have been soaring in the US, but efforts to render solutions through legislation have received little support, and Republicans at the state level continue pushing bills that would roll back current child labor protections.
In most recent fiscal year, the US Department of Labor wage and hour division reported 835 cases of child labor violations affecting 3,876 minors, and 688 minors employed in violation of hazardous occupation, a 283% increase since 2015. Civil penalties against employers totaled just under $4.3m.
Continue reading...Jim Jordan says he plans to speak with the 20 Republicans who did not vote for him
With Sidney Powell pleading guilty, Thursday’s developments mark a significant win for Fulton county district Fani Willis who delivered a 41-count indictment against ex-president Donald Trump and his operatives earlier this year.
Here are the six counts Powell pleaded guilty to:
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...House Republicans unable to break impasse as Jim Jordan vows to press on with candidacy despite opposition
The leaderless House was plunged deeper into chaos on Thursday after Republicans refused to coalesce around a speaker and a plan to empower an interim speaker collapsed.
Angry and exhausted, the House Republican conference left a pair of tense closed-door sessions no closer to breaking the impasse that has immobilized the House for a 17th day. The party’s embattled nominee for speaker, congressman Jim Jordan, the Donald Trump loyalist who led the congressional effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election and now chairs the House judiciary committee, had vowed to press ahead with his bid to ascend to the post.
Continue reading...Fundraising email from Florida congressman said ‘Rinos are working with radical Democrats … to block Jim Jordan’
The Florida Republican representative Matt Gaetz has issued an apology over a fundraising email sent out allegedly without his team’s approval.
On Wednesday, Gaetz apologized for an email “sent by a vendor without my team’s approval” and said that “it should have never been sent”.
Continue reading...Tally showed 22 members of his own party opposing him, including four Republicans who supported Jordan a day earlier
The House of Representatives again failed to elect a new speaker on Wednesday, after the hard-right congressman Jim Jordan failed to win the gavel in the second round of voting.
The second vote tally showed 199 Republicans supporting Jordan and all 212 Democrats supporting their leader, Hakeem Jeffries of New York. Twenty-two Republicans opposed Jordan on Wednesday, leaving him far short of the 217 votes needed to ascend to the speakership. Because of Republicans’ razor-thin majority in the House, Jordan can only afford four defections within his party and still become speaker.
Continue reading...Republican hardliner’s bid hangs in the balance but ally Scott Perry says loss of votes is part of what he calls fight to change status quo
Despite the seemingly stiff opposition against him becoming speaker of the House, Jim Jordan told reports he is not in favor of empowering Patrick McHenry to take the job:
Note that McHenry is also a Republican.
Continue reading...