Democratic congresswoman Katie Porter grills JP Morgan’s billionaire CEO, Jamie Dimon, on the real-world consequences his bank’s low wages have had on a single mother’s life. Porter found that the woman, a Chase bank teller on a starting salary, was $567 short at the end of each month.
Continue reading...Category Archives: US Politics
William Barr claims Trump campaign was ‘spied’ on under Obama – live
Attorney general tells Senate subcommittee he intends to release reacted version of Mueller’s Trump-Russia report itself
Washington Gov. and presidential candidate Jay Inslee has been writing and illustrating children’s books for his grandkids for the last decade, CNN reports.
And they’re very on brand, with several of the books focusing on the warming climate and its effect on the environment.
Senator Elizabeth Warren raised $6 million for her presidential campaign in the first three months of the year.
She got 213,000 contributions from more than 135,000 donors, with an average donation of $28, according to the New York Times.
Continue reading...Is Donald Trump a rhetorical genius? – video explainer
‘People don’t like to hear this but Donald Trump is a rhetorical genius,’ says Jennifer Mercieca, an expert on political communication from Texas A&M University. Delving into Trump’s choice of rhetorical devices offers clues into how successive scandals have failed to make a dent on his popularity among his supporters. She says Trump’s mastery of rhetoric has enabled him to avoid being held accountable, make his audience feel like they are part of a secret club and have even helped him get out of a court case
Continue reading...All the presidents’ busts – in pictures
Standing nearly 20 feet high, 43 US presidents’ busts, remnants from a bankrupted theme park, are stored in Croaker, Virginia, on the property of Howard Hankins who is seeking to restore the massive sculptures. Hankins has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money to relocate the statues to a place where they can be visited by all
Continue reading...Trump on border cages: ‘President Obama separated the children’ – video
President Trump said on Tuesday that he would not restart child separation at the border, blaming his predecessor President Obama for the policy. Previously footage had shown children being separated from their families in cages at the border. Speaking in the Oval Office, he said: 'Just so you understand, President Obama separated the children. Those cages that were shown – I think they were very inappropriate.' Trump said that he was the one who changed the policy
Continue reading...William Barr says redacted Mueller report will be made public ‘within a week’ – live
The attorney general says the Trump-Russia investigation findings will be available and any redactions will be color coded
Barr says he doesn’t not know why members of Mueller’s team might be frustrated with him as reported in several outlets.
No I don’t. I suspect that they wanted more put out but in my view, I was not interested in putting out summaries.”
Barr declines to get into more detail about whether the Mueller report cleared Trump, as the president insists and relies on his letter.
Rep. GRAVES tries to get Barr to agree that his four-page memo concluded "No collusion, no obstruction."
BARR doesn't bite: "Well, the letter speaks for itself."
Nielsen’s exit is another victory for Trump adviser Stephen Miller
The senior adviser and speechwriter is behind of some of the most restrictive components of Trump’s immigration agenda
As news broke of the abrupt departure of Kirstjen Nielsen, Donald Trump’s second homeland security secretary, reports swiftly followed that the move had been orchestrated by Stephen Miller, one of the administration’s sharpest anti-immigration voices.
Nielsen’s resignation on Sunday, following months of speculation, cast a spotlight on the forces behind the president’s controversial policies on immigration, where Miller has been shown to be squarely at the center of influence.
Continue reading...Trump removes Secret Service director after ousting Kirstjen Nielsen – live
Trump ordered firing of Randolph Alles, White House confirms, a day after forcing out Homeland Security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen
CNN reports Trump tried to order the border closed at El Paso late in March.
Trump eventually talked off of the decision, which would shut down a major port of entry into the United States.
Jerry Nadler, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, has agreed to have special counsel Robert Mueller appear before the committee.
Today, Ranking Member Collins called for Special Counsel Mueller to appear before @HouseJudiciary. I fully agree. Special Counsel Mueller should come before the Committee to answer questions in public about his 22 month investigation into President Trump and his associates. 1/2
In order to ask Special Counsel Mueller the right questions, the Committee must receive the Special Counsel’s full report and hear from Attorney General Barr about that report on May 2. We look forward to hearing from Mr. Mueller at the appropriate time. 2/2
Continue reading...Kirstjen Nielsen resigns as Trump homeland security secretary
- Departure comes amid claims of crisis at southern border
- Opinion: Climate change is pushing migrants to the US
Kirstjen Nielsen, the homeland security secretary who has been the public face of some of the Trump administration’s most contentious policies, has resigned.
Related: Identifying separated migrant families may take two years, US government says
Continue reading...Nadler: Barr is ‘biased’ and Mueller’s Trump-Russia report must be released
- Democrat: attorney general is ‘agent of the administration’
- President tweets angrily about leaks to ‘fake news media’
Senior Democrats are keeping up pressure on attorney general William Barr to release the full Mueller report, claiming collusion between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia happened “in plain sight”.
Related: William Barr: attorney general plays Republican spear-catcher again
Continue reading...Democrats will ‘never’ see Trump tax returns – White House chief of staff
- Mick Mulvaney to Fox: ‘That is not going to happen’
- House ways and means panel wants returns by 10 April
Democrats in Congress will “never” see Donald Trump’s tax returns, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said on Sunday.
Related: ‘Pete! Pete! Pete!’ Buttigieg fever hits New Hampshire – can he keep up the pace?
Continue reading...Trump under fire over Islamophobia after man threatens to kill Ilhan Omar
Ocasio-Cortez also makes direct link between controversial remarks by Fox News’s Jeanine Pirro and threat against Omar
Donald Trump and Fox News are coming under fire for contributing to a climate of Islamophobia, following the arrest of a supporter of the president who threatened to kill Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota who was one of the first Muslim women elected to the US Congress.
Related: Ilhan Omar: man arrested after he made death threat – then left contact details
Continue reading...Trump: Mueller report a ‘total waste of time’ – but it proves no collusion
- President issues Saturday morning tweet storm from Las Vegas
- Opinion: Trump wants to distract from Mueller. Don’t let him
Donald Trump said on Saturday he has not read Robert Mueller’s report about contacts between his 2016 campaign and Russia, which his Democratic opponents say should be released in full.
Related: Barack Obama warns progressives to avoid 'circular firing squad'
Continue reading...Barack Obama warns progressives to avoid ‘circular firing squad’
- Remarks come as Democrats battle for 2020 nomination
- Former president was addressing young Europeans in Germany
Barack Obama warned on Saturday that US progressives risk creating a “circular firing squad” at a time when prospective presidential candidates are competing fiercely against each other to run against Donald Trump.
Related: 'Our mantra is chaos': Republican researchers target 2020 Democrats
Continue reading...Don’t get your hopes up about Chicago’s first black lesbian mayor | Arwa Mahdawi
While the election of Lori Lightfoot made history, many fear her reign will simply maintain the status quo
Sign up for the Week in Patriarchy, a newsletter on feminism and sexism sent every Saturday.
Continue reading...‘Our mantra is chaos’: Republican researchers target 2020 Democrats
The America Rising committee monitors everything the candidates do, hoping the large field will work in Trump’s favor
Democrats are more than a year away from selecting their presidential nominee. Nonetheless, Republicans are already taking aim at the leading contenders.
Related: 'He gave me permission': Joe Biden jokes about touching complaints
Continue reading...Joe Biden jokes about inappropriate touching complaints – live
Former vice-president makes joke at union event in Washington, while 20 states move to block funding for Trump’s border wall
A source tells CNN Donald Trump is willing to fight all the way to the Supreme Court to block a House Democratic request for his tax returns.
“This is a hill and people would be willing to die on it,” the official said.
California has filed its 50th lawsuit against the Trump administration. This one targets the feds’ withholding of data on the weakening of car emission standards, CNBC reports.
California files 50th lawsuit against Trump administration - Office of Gov. Gavin Newsom just announced state is suing fed govt "for withholding data on efforts to weaken vehicle emission regulations that place the health of millions of kids, families and communities at risk."
Continue reading...‘He gave me permission’: Joe Biden jokes about touching complaints
Former vice-president’s comments came during first public appearance since allegations from at least seven women surfaced
Joe Biden on Friday twice made joking references to complaints from women that his physical behavior made them uncomfortable.
The former vice-president’s comments came during his first public appearance since the allegations began to surface last week.
Continue reading...White nationalism a ‘persistent, pervasive threat’, says FBI chief – live
- Christopher Wray’s remarks contrast with Trump’s
- President backtracks on threat to close border with Mexico
- Go beyond the headlines: sign up to our US morning briefing
•FBI director Christopher Wray warned that white nationalism is a “persistent, pervasive threat”, breaking with Donald Trump’s comments in the wake of the New Zealand terror attacks. “The danger. I think, of white supremacists, violent extremism or another kind of extremism is of course significant,” Wray said. Trump played down the threat of white nationalism after a white nationalist murdered 50 people in Christchurch, New Zealand in March.
•Congress has passed a resolution to end US military assistance for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen, in an unprecedented attempt to curtail the president’s power. The House voted 247 to 175 to send the resolution to the president’s desk, where it is likely to be met with a veto. The Senate passed the resolution last month, with seven Republicans breaking rank to support the resolution.
Lindsay Graham has joined those calling for Donald Trump to release his tax returns, in an extremely rare act of defiance towards the president.
“I think you should release your tax returns if you’re running for president in 2020,” Graham told reporters on Thursday,
Continue reading...House Democrats formally demand Trump’s tax returns from IRS
Chairman of ways and means committee says request for six years of returns is ‘within our rights’
House Democrats have formally demanded Donald Trump’s tax returns from the Internal Revenue Service, marking a major bid to obtain information about the president’s finances and business dealings.
Richard Neal, the chairman of the House ways and means committee, issued the request on Wednesday evening, stating: “It is critical to ensure the accountability of our government and elected officials.”
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