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☆ By passing Ukraine aid, the accidental speaker became an unlikely Churchill
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

CNN —Republican Speaker Mike Johnson showed political courage that is rare in Washington and notable legislative skill for an inexperienced leader in forcing a long-delayed $60 billion aid bill for Ukraine through the House of Representatives on Saturday. And 112 Republicans — a majority of the conference — voted against the Ukraine bill. And any Republican speaker propped up by Democrats might hemorrhage support among GOP lawmakers and be forced to resign. “As we deliberate on this vote, you have to ask yourself this question: Am I Chamberlain or Churchill?” he said. The accidental speaker makes an unlikely Churchill, but on Saturday he proved to be a far more daring and substantial figure than many of his Republican and Democratic critics previously believed.

Persons: Mike Johnson, Johnson, Vladimir Putin, Ronald Reagan, Joe Biden’s, “, Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky, ”, ” CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen, Putin, —, Biden, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Greene, Johnson —, Kevin McCarthy’s, Marc Molinaro, CNN’s Manu Raju, Trump, Zelensky, Trump’s, Hakeem Jeffries, Mike Quigley, It’s, ” Quigley, Chuck Schumer, Jeffries, Mike McCaul, ‘, it’s, McCaul, Chamberlain, Churchill Organizations: CNN, West, GOP, America, MAGA, United States House, Representatives, Ukraine, Republican Party, Trump, Republicans, Georgia, Mar, Democratic, Congressional Ukraine Caucus, Illinois Democrat, Foreign, Texas Republican, Republican Locations: Washington, Ukraine, Russian, Louisiana, United States, Russia, Europe, Iran, China, Israel, Taiwan, Mexico, Georgia, New York, Kyiv, Texas, Nazi Germany

☆ House Speaker Mike Johnson remains undecided on best path ahead on Ukraine aid
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Lauren Fox | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —House Speaker Mike Johnson is pledging to act on Ukraine aid when lawmakers return to Washington next week, but behind the scenes the Louisiana Republican is still undecided on the best path forward and keenly aware of his narrow majority and the threat to his speakership that looms. “He’s got a gun to his head right now,” Rep. Don Bacon, a swing-district Republican, said of the speaker. Greene and Johnson are expected to talk later this week, but the Georgia Republican has remained steadfast in her opposition to Ukraine aid. Given fierce conservative opposition and a narrow margin, it’s possible Johnson could need to bring any Ukraine aid bill to the floor under a suspension of the rules. In recent days, Johnson has also floated the idea of easing natural gas exports, but it’s not clear that would do much to assuage conservative backlash against Ukraine aid.

Persons: Mike Johnson, Johnson, “ He’s, ” Rep, Don Bacon, Churchill, ” Johnson, Mitch McConnell, –, Mike McCaul, “, Mike, Chip Roy, Matt Gaetz, I’ve, he’s, they’d, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Greene, ” Greene, ”, Brian Fitzpatrick, Fitzpatrick, It’s, John Kirby, CNN’s Haley Talbot, Manu Raju Organizations: CNN —, Louisiana Republican, ”, Republican, GOP, Republican Rep, Fox News, CNN, Georgia Republican, Democratic, House, White, National Security Communications Locations: Ukraine, Washington, Louisiana, Russia, Israel, Taiwan, Texas, Pennsylvania, Gaza

☆ Marjorie Taylor Greene's threat to oust Mike Johnson could backfire and allow Congress to pass more Ukraine aid
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Marjorie Taylor Greene is threatening to oust Mike Johnson from the speakership. It could actually backfire on her — and make it more likely that Ukraine aid gets passed. Democrats could easily save Johnson, and many have named a vote on Ukraine aid as their price. So by filing her resolution on Friday in protest of Johnson's handling of government funding, Greene just handed a whole lot of leverage to House Democrats. Or it could mean individual votes on Ukraine and Israel aid, as Johnson has indicated he would like to see.

Persons: Marjorie Taylor Greene, Mike Johnson, Johnson, —, Greene, Johnson —, Abigail Spanberger, Matt Gaetz, Kevin McCarthy, Joe Biden, McCarthy, Alexandria Ocasio, Cortez, doesn't, Hakeem Jeffries, Mike McCaul Organizations: Service, Marjorie Taylor Greene of, House Democrats, GOP, Senate, Democratic, Republican, House Republicans, Rep, CNN, House Foreign Affairs Committee, CBS Locations: Ukraine, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Georgia, Johnson, Israel, Virginia, Florida, Alexandria, Cortez of New York, Cortez

☆ Marjorie Taylor Greene would have a major role in DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas' impeachment trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is set for one of the highest profile roles of her short career. Greene would be one of 11 House impeachment managers if the chamber votes to impeach DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. House managers are responsible for formally presenting arguments to the Senate during a trial in which senators become akin to jurors. Sen. Lindsey Graham was one of the House managers for then-President Bill Clinton's trial. On Monday, Greene spent part of the day fighting with Rep. Jim McGovern, the top Democrat on the House rules committee.

Persons: Marjorie Taylor Greene, Greene, Alejandro Mayorkas, Mayorkas, —, Biden, Sen, Lindsey Graham, Bill Clinton's, Adam Schiff, Donald Trump's, Kevin McCarthy's, speakership, Hunter Biden, Jim McGovern, McGovern, Mark Green, Mike McCaul of, Andy Biggs of, Clay Higgins Lousiana, Ben Cline of, Michael Guest of, Andrew Garbarino, Pfluger, Harriet Hageman of, Laurel Lee Organizations: Service, Republican, GOP, Homeland, Senate, Republicans, Biden, California Democrat, House Democrats, Democrats, Twitter, House Homeland Security, House Foreign Affairs, Rep Locations: California, Washington, Mike McCaul of Texas, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Ben Cline of Virginia, New York, Texas, Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, Laurel Lee of Florida

Lawmakers have conveyed as much directly to the White House, a US official told CNN. Biden met with House and Senate lawmakers at the White House on Wednesday to outline what is at stake for Ukraine. House Speaker Mike Johnson makes a statement alongside Reps. Mike Turner, Mike Rogers and Mike McCaul on January 17, outside the White House. Privately, some US and Western officials say there could be as many as five more years of fighting. In the near term, Ukraine may be able to hang on, albeit in a stalemate, without US support, a Western intelligence source said.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Jake Sullivan, National Intelligence Avril Haines, Mike Johnson, I’ve, ‘, ’ ” Johnson, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, ”, ” Biden, Mike Turner, Mike Rogers, Mike McCaul, Samuel Corum, Donald Trump, Trump, Mike Quigley, CNN Max, “ He’s, Putin, outlast, “, Sen, Lindsey Graham, Michael McCaul, ” Said, Kostiantyn, don’t, Volodymyr Zelensky, Gitanas Nauseda, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ints Kalnins, ” Zelenskyy, ” Trump, Alexi J . Rosenfeld, frontloading Organizations: CNN, Ukraine, White, Pentagon, Defense, National Intelligence, White House, NATO, Republicans, Getty, Kyiv, ” Democratic, Administration, Trump, Republican, Biden, Ukrainian National Guard, Army Tactical Missile Systems, Reuters, Russian Central Bank Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Afghanistan, Kyiv, Europe, Ukrainian, Kreminna, Donetsk Oblast, Moscow, Iran, North Korea, Crimea, Sevastopol, Melitopol, Vilnius, Lithuania, New York City, West

☆ Republican head of the House's foreign policy committee said the current GOP caucus is 'one of the biggest threats' around
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Rep. Mike McCaul said the House GOP caucus is 'one of the biggest threats' around. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementAdvertisementWhile the US is in the middle of funding wars in Ukraine and Israel, the Republican head of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs said that the GOP caucus itself is 'one of the biggest threats' around. McCaul said he told the GOP caucus that the party's failure to speedily appoint a new speaker amidst global turmoil validates Chinese Leader Xi Jinping's claims that "Democracy doesn't work."

Persons: Mike McCaul, McCaul, —, Xi Jinping's, Kevin McCarthy, Matt Gaetz, Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry Organizations: GOP, House Foreign Affairs, Service, Republican, Foreign Affairs, Texas Republican, Homeland Security, Democratic Caucus, Hamas, Pro Tempore Locations: Ukraine, Israel, Texas

☆ Iran intelligence: Initial US intel suggests Tehran was surprised by the Hamas attack on Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Zachary Cohen Katie Bo Lillis Natasha Bertrand Jeremy Herb | Zachary Cohen | Katie Bo Lillis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The United States has collected specific intelligence that suggests senior Iranian government officials were caught by surprise by Saturday’s bloody attack on Israel by Hamas, according to multiple sources familiar with the intelligence. The existence of the intelligence has cast doubt on the idea that Iran was directly involved in the planning, resourcing or approving of the operation, sources said. The sources stressed that the US intelligence community is not ready to reach a full conclusion about whether Tehran was directly involved in the run-up to the attack. They continue to look for evidence of Iranian involvement, which caught both Israel and the United States by surprise. “We’re looking to acquire further intelligence,” national security advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters at the White House on Tuesday.

Persons: Mike McCaul, “, Tehran doesn’t, Jake Sullivan, ” Organizations: CNN, Capitol, Foreign, Texas Republican, Hamas, White Locations: United States, Israel, Iran, Tehran, Texas, Gaza

While the impetus on Republicans to pick a new speaker escalated after the terrorist attack in Israel over the weekend, the House GOP conference remains bitterly divided over how it should proceed – and who can get the 217 votes needed to lead it. Republicans are preparing for the prospect that neither House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana nor House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio can get the votes to be elected speaker, leaving the conference with no clear path forward. In some corners of the conference, there was a push to quickly settle on a speaker. House Foreign Affairs Chairman Mike McCaul called for a new speaker by Wednesday to avoid appearances of weakness and dysfunction amid war in Israel. Until a new speaker is selected, the House can’t pass legislation to address the crisis, McCaul noted.

Persons: Kevin McCarthy, Steve Scalise, Jim Jordan, They’re, McCarthy, “, ” Scalise, Derrick Van Orden, ”, Max Miller, Steve Womack, GOP appropriator, ” Womack, Jordan, Cory Mills, who’ve, Chip Roy, Texas, –, Mike McCaul, McCaul Organizations: CNN — House Republicans, GOP, Republicans, CNN, Florida Republican, Foreign Locations: coalescing, Israel, Louisiana, Ohio, Scalise, Jordan, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Florida

CNN —The House speakership drama enters a new week under increased urgency as Israel declared war Sunday following unprecedented surprise attacks by Hamas. Kevin McCarthy’s historic ouster as speaker leaves the House in uncharted legal territory regarding what it can do under acting Speaker Patrick McHenry. As the Biden administration looks to provide additional assistance to Israel, officials were unsure Saturday about what could be accomplished without a sitting speaker. As Jordan and Scalise vie for their colleagues’ support, Jordan said Sunday that he would lay out his plan to address the government funding deadline to his caucus Tuesday. “We’ve got to have 218 votes for a Republican speaker, and we’ve got to have 218 votes for how we deal with November 17 when the funding bill for the government comes due.

Persons: Kevin McCarthy’s, Patrick McHenry, Biden, Hakeem Jeffries, ” Jeffries, CNN’s Dana, Mike McCaul, Bash, ” McCaul, ” McCarthy, McCarthy, Steve Scalise, Jim Jordan, Donald Trump, Kevin Hern, “, Jordan, Scalise, “ We’ve, we’ve, ”, ” Jordan Organizations: CNN, Republican Party, Democratic, White, National Security, Union, Foreign, The Texas Republican, Saturday, Fox, Ohio, Jordan . Oklahoma Rep, ”, Republicans, Sunday, Fox News Locations: Israel, Washington, McHenry, recessing, “ State, Louisiana, Jordan, Scalise

☆ Biden takes a political hit but brings Americans home
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

After all, the United States does not do deals with its well-meaning friends to free hostages or wrongly detained Americans. There is no perfect deal to free imprisoned Americans and the agreement with Iran is especially divisive. In this way dealing with US enemies can be a sign of political strength rather than weakness. Criticism from the likes of former President Donald Trump and Pence is politicized in the context of their presidential campaigns – and ignores their own deals to free Americans. Moscow is subsequently currently driving a relentless bargain over the fate of imprisoned Americans Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, Mike Pence, Donald Trump, Pence, –, Trump, Wang, Kim Jong, Trump’s, Biden, Mike McCaul, Viktor Bout, Brittney Griner, Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, ”, Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan, foments, Neda Sharghi, Emad Sharghi, “, Paul Whelan’s, Morad, Namazi – Organizations: CNN, Washington, Biden, Trump, Texas, House Foreign Affairs, Wall Street, White, GOP, US Treasury Department Locations: Iran, United States, Russia, Venezuela, Qatar, China, North Korea, Tehran, Moscow

☆ Army, Marine units involved in Afghanistan withdrawal to receive Presidential Unit Citation two years later
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Haley Britzky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —US service members deployed on the Afghanistan withdrawal mission will receive the Presidential Unit Citation, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Thursday, the two-year anniversary of the withdrawal. The Air Force does not appear to be included in the units receiving citations under Thursday’s announcement, an Air Force official said, though Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said at a news briefing on Thursday that more units could receive the citation in the future. “So in the statement that we put out today, it highlighted the units that have currently been awarded that recognition. The Biden administration conducted an after-action review of the Afghanistan withdrawal and released a summary of findings in April this year.

Persons: Lloyd Austin, ” Austin, “, Pat Ryder, ” Ryder, Hamid Karzai, Austin, Mike McCaul, they’d, Biden, Trump, Ashraf Ghani, Christine Wormuth, ” Wormuth Organizations: CNN, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Force, Central Command, 82nd Airborne Division, Gold Star, Army National Guard and, The Air Force, Air Force, Pentagon, Hamid, Capitol, House Foreign Affairs, Republican, Biden, Department, Marines, The Defense Department, US Central Command, Army, Marine Corps, 82nd Airborne, Command Locations: Afghanistan, Kabul

The lobbying comes amid a sustained effort by TikTok to play down fears raised by lawmakers who want to ban the app, which has 150 million monthly active users in the U.S. She defended the work of TikTok's team in Washington and said the company is trying to address lawmakers' privacy and safety concerns. At the furthest end of the extreme is the legislation from Hawley and Buck that simply seeks to ban TikTok outright by directing the president to block transactions with ByteDance. Hawley has not eased his campaign to ban TikTok. But after, "our phones were ringing off the hook," with the majority of callers voicing opposition to a TikTok ban.

☆ Republican lawmakers press Biden to send cluster bombs to Ukraine -letter
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Mike Stone | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, March 21 (Reuters) - Four Republican members of Congress urged U.S. President Joe Biden to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, alleging in a Tuesday letter to the White House that the administration fears doing so would be seen as an escalation by Russia. Kyiv had urged members of Congress to press the White House to approve sending the weapons. The letter criticized Biden for "reluctance to provide Ukraine the right type and amount of long-range fires and maneuver capability to create" a breakthrough against Russian forces. It urged Biden to send the Dual-Purpose Conventional Improved Munitions (DPICM) found in several types of U.S. munitions, including 155 millimeter artillery, GMLRS and ATACMS. Cluster munitions, banned by more than 120 countries, normally release large numbers of smaller bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area, threatening civilians.

☆ After Ron Desantis got testy over a reporter’s question about Ukraine, he told Tucker Carlson the war should not be a US priority, moving closer to Trump’s position
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | Hannah Getahun | Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ron DeSantis has previously avoided taking a hard stance on the US's Ukraine policy. On Monday, DeSantis said in a statement the Ukraine war is not of "vital national interest." The US has since provided Ukraine with billions of dollars of military aid, which has had bipartisan support. For Biden and his European allies, support for Ukraine is framed as a vital part of protecting the sovereignty of the country. Prominent House Republicans Rep. Mike McCaul and Rep. Mike Turner have even called on Biden to increase existing support for Ukraine.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee voted Wednesday to advance a bill that would grant President Joe Biden the authority to ban TikTok, the Chinese social media app used by more than 100 million Americans. Yet even as Democrats objected, many of them said they did so regretfully, and they would have much preferred to support a version of McCaul's TikTok ban. "My bill empowers the administration to ban TikTok or any other software application that threatens U.S. national security." "It would be unfortunate if the House Foreign Affairs Committee were to censor millions of Americans," TikTok spokeswoman Brooke Oberwetter told CNBC in an email Monday. On Monday, the Biden administration released new implementation rules for a TikTok ban that applies only to federal government-owned devices, which was passed by Congress in December.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee plans to take up legislation Tuesday that would give President Joe Biden the authority to ban TikTok, the Chinese social media app used by more than 100 million Americans. 1153 will effectively leap frog several other proposals to ban TikTok that were previously introduced in the House and Senate, but haven't yet advanced through the committee process. My bill empowers the administration to ban TikTok or any software applications that threaten U.S. national security," McCaul said in a statement Monday. "It would be unfortunate if the House Foreign Affairs Committee were to censor millions of Americans," TikTok spokeswoman Brooke Oberwetter told CNBC in an email Monday. At the time, ByteDance was looking to potentially spin off TikTok to keep the app from being shut down.

☆ House panel to vote on bill empowering Biden to ban TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The legislation — introduced Friday and fast-tracked by Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Mike McCaul — would empower the Biden administration to impose a nationwide TikTok ban under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Legal experts and even some TikTok creators have cited the Berman Amendment as a potential barrier to a nationwide TikTok ban because it may violate the Berman Amendment’s protections for electronic information. US officials have said that the data could benefit China by facilitating targeted misinformation campaigns or by providing it with intelligence targets. In seeking to restrict access to a specific social media platform, the bill risks violating Americans’ First Amendment rights to free expression, the ACLU said. “Would an entity be under the influence of China if the CEO’s sister had moved there, or married a Chinese person?

☆ Exclusive: White House sets deadline for purging TikTok from federal devices
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The White House on Monday gave government agencies 30 days to ensure they do not have Chinese-owned app TikTok on federal devices and systems. TikTok did not immediately comment on the White House memo. Many government agencies including the White House, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and the State Department had banned TikTok from government devices before the vote. "My bill empowers the administration to ban TikTok or any software applications that threaten U.S. national security," Representative Mike McCaul, the committee chair, said. The White House memo said within 90 days, agencies must address any use of TikTok by IT vendors through contracts and with 120 days agencies will include a new prohibition on TikTok in all new solicitations.

China's launch of a spy balloon on a high-altitude journey over the United States was unacceptable and irresponsible, he said, but he was postponing - not canceling - his visit. Biden has said the balloon needed to be shot down, but has played down both the security threat and the impact on U.S.-China relations. GIVE TALKS A CHANCEShort of a high-level visit, there are opportunities for diplomacy. "The Chinese don't want to look weak and they probably don't want to admit that they lied (about the balloon). President Biden is also under pressure from Republicans in Congress who insist the balloon should have been shot down sooner," said Glaser.

☆ Odds 'very high' of U.S. military conflict with China, top Republican says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Mike Segar/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - A top Republican in the U.S. Congress said on Sunday the odds of conflict with China over Taiwan "are very high," after a U.S. general caused consternation with a memo that warned the United States would fight China in the next two years. Both the United States and Taiwan will hold presidential elections in 2024, potentially creating an opportunity for China to take military action, Minihan wrote. McCaul said that if China failed to take control of Taiwan bloodlessly then "they are going to look at a military invasion in my judgment. "The odds are very high that we could see a conflict with China and Taiwan and the Indo Pacific," McCaul said. On Saturday, a Pentagon official said the general's comments were "not representative of the department's view on China."

☆ How Silicon Valley could be impacted by a Republican-controlled House
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Democrats have hammered away at online platforms’ handling of hate speech and white nationalism, while promoting legislation that could drastically affect the business models of big tech companies. The return of heated tech CEO hearingsIn general, tech companies may face more political noise with a Republican House but potentially less policy risk. With Republicans likely to take control of the House, tech companies could face more hearings, but not necessarily more legislation. Privacy legislationMultiple Congress-watchers told CNN that support for federal privacy legislation is still bipartisan and the area remains one of a handful where lawmakers could make progress in the next Congress. It was approved by a key House committee this year and policy analysts say it could see more opportunities to advance next year.

☆ Peter Thiel's picks Masters, Vance split key Senate races in Arizona, Ohio after billionaire spent $32 million on 2022 midterms
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Peter Thiel, president and founder of Clarium Capital Management LLC, speaks during the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami, Florida, on Thursday, April 7, 2022. Billionaire and Republican megadonor Peter Thiel's $32 million investment in the 2022 midterm elections saw mixed results, as two of his former employees split U.S. Senate races that will help to decide control of the chamber. Thiel instead opted to pile more money into Republican Blake Masters' bid to unseat Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly in Arizona. Thiel jolted Masters' Senate bid early on with a $15 million donation to a pro-Masters super PAC during Arizona's primary election, according to Federal Election Commission records. Records show that Thiel contributed similar amounts to Republican Reps. Mike McCaul, Chris Stewart, Michael Waltz, Tom Cole and Mario Diaz-Balart.

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