DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Romney to Retire, Calling For a ‘New Generation’ Beyond Biden and Trump
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Annie Karni | More About Annie Karni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mr. Romney, who describes his career in politics as a moral mission driven by his Mormon faith, has in recent years been marginalized in a party that has shifted to the right under the sway of Mr. Trump. Utah is a solidly Republican state, so Mr. Romney’s departure is highly unlikely to affect the balance of power on Capitol Hill. Mr. Romney was also cognizant that he would face a tough primary fight if he decided to run again. In the 2022 midterm elections, four House Republicans who voted to impeach Mr. Trump declined to run for re-election. In the book, Mr. Romney is said to quote his colleagues by name in discussing how Republican lawmakers really view and talk about Mr. Trump in private when the former president is not present.

Persons: Romney, Trump, “ I’m, ”, Romney’s, Mr, Scribner, McKay Coppins Organizations: Senate, Republican, Capitol, Republicans Locations: Utah

☆ Pelosi Says She Will Seek Re-election in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Annie Karni | More About Annie Karni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, who was the Democratic Party’s long-serving House leader and the first woman to hold the post, announced on Friday that she would seek re-election in 2024, ending months of speculation about her political future. Since stepping down from leadership last year, Ms. Pelosi, 83, has kept people guessing about her plans. Some Democrats have speculated that she would leave Congress before the end of her term, potentially clearing the way for her daughter Christine Pelosi, a party activist and Democratic National Committee executive committee member, to run for her seat. “Now more than ever, our city needs us to advance San Francisco values and further our recovery,” Ms. Pelosi said in announcing her plans. “Our country needs America to show the world that our flag is still there, with liberty and justice for all.”

Persons: Nancy Pelosi, Pelosi, Christine Pelosi, Biden, Hakeem Jeffries, Ms, ” Organizations: Democratic, Democratic National Committee Locations: California, New York, Francisco, “, America

☆ Here Are the 20 Oldest Members of Congress
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Annie Karni | More About Annie Karni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the 81-year-old longtime Republican leader, has batted away questions about his health after twice freezing on camera, insisting he has no plans to step down ahead of schedule as the leader of his party in the Senate. Representative Nancy Pelosi, 83, the long-serving former House speaker, announced she would run for re-election in 2024, surprising some colleagues and observers by seeking a 20th term that she would finish at age 86. Both were reminders that some veteran lawmakers are still hanging onto their jobs running the country at an age when most people are well into retirement. Ms. Pelosi, who runs predominantly on a diet of chocolate and hot dogs, still hustles around the Capitol in her signature stilettos and shows little sign of age slowing her down. She did, however, step aside from leadership at the end of last year after Democrats lost the House majority.

Persons: Mitch McConnell of, Nancy Pelosi, Ms, Pelosi Organizations: Republican, Capitol Locations: Mitch McConnell of Kentucky

☆ McConnell, Dismissing Health Questions, Insists He Will Continue as Leader
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Annie Karni | More About Annie Karni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Monahan covered the subject fully,” Mr. McConnell said Wednesday, referring to a letter his office released from Dr. Brian P. Monahan, the attending physician of Congress. They cast doubt on Dr. Monahan’s assessment that the incidents were merely part of a normal recovery from a concussion Mr. McConnell had sustained in March after falling at a Washington hotel. But on Wednesday, after three consecutive questions about his health, Mr. McConnell abruptly ended the news conference. Famously tight-lipped and difficult to read even in his prime, Mr. McConnell offered his colleagues little more detail in the semi-privacy of the weekly Senate Republican lunch, the first time G.O.P. Mr. McConnell told them that he had only frozen up twice, and simply had the misfortune of doing it both times on camera.

Persons: Dr, Monahan, Mr, McConnell, Brian P, Dr . Monahan, John Kennedy Organizations: Washington, Republican, Mr Locations: Washington, Louisiana

☆ McConnell Releases Letter Declaring Him ‘Medically Clear’ to Work After Episode
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Annie Karni | More About Annie Karni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

After Wednesday’s spell, a spokesman said Mr. McConnell planned to be examined by a doctor before continuing on to his next event, but no update was provided about a diagnosis. But the second public episode, which took place on Wednesday in Covington, Ky., increased the pressure on Mr. McConnell to offer some explanation of what was going on. It also prompted at least one call from the Republican establishment outside Congress for Mr. McConnell to give up his leadership post. Mr. McConnell’s latest medical incident came at the tail end of Congress’s long summer recess, a time when senators are traveling all over the world on official trips. Mr. McConnell spoke with members of his leadership team on Wednesday after the incident, and connected on the phone with President Biden on Thursday.

Persons: McConnell, “, ”, Biden, Jim Banks Organizations: Capitol, Major League Baseball, Republican, Mr, Review, Republicans, Kentucky, Senate Locations: Covington , Ky, Indiana

☆ Republican Women, Fearing Backlash on Abortion, Pivot to Birth Control
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Annie Karni | More About Annie Karni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

She had barely opened her town hall to questions when Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks, a Republican from a competitive district in Iowa, was pressed to defend her opposition to abortion rights. “One of the main functions of the federal government is to protect life,” Ms. Miller-Meeks, who won election in 2020 by just six votes, told a sparse crowd this month in Iowa City, a younger, more progressive part of her district where she rarely campaigns. Ms. Miller-Meeks then quickly pivoted to politically safer terrain, telling her constituents about how she had also sponsored legislation aimed at expanding access to contraception. “The best way to prevent abortion is to prevent pregnancy,” she said. It is an increasingly common strategy among vulnerable House Republicans — especially those in politically competitive districts — who are trying to reconcile their party’s hard-line anti-abortion policies with the views of voters in their districts, particularly independents and women.

Persons: Mariannette Miller, Meeks, Ms, Miller, . Miller, ”, Republicans — Organizations: Republican, Republicans Locations: Iowa, Iowa City

☆ McConnell Freezes Up a Second Time While Addressing Reporters
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Annie Karni | More About Annie Karni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the longtime Republican leader who suffered a serious head injury in a fall earlier this year, experienced another alarming freeze-up at a news conference on Wednesday in Covington, Ky., the second such episode caught on camera in recent weeks. Mr. McConnell, 81, was taking questions from reporters after an event hosted by the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce when he was asked for his thoughts on running for re-election in 2026. Mr. McConnell, who appeared thinner and frailer than he has in recent months, began to answer the question with a slight chuckle when he abruptly stopped speaking, standing motionless behind a lectern with his mouth pursed and his eyes wide. When an aide approached to ask if he had heard the question, he mumbled “yes,” but he seemed unable to continue speaking or to move. It was the second such incident in two months, and the scene intensified questions about Mr. McConnell’s future in the Senate.

Persons: Mitch McConnell of, McConnell, McConnell’s Organizations: Republican, Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Mr Locations: Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Covington , Ky

Representative Steve Scalise, Republican of Louisiana and the majority leader, said Tuesday he had been diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer, but planned to return to Washington to continue working as he undergoes treatment over the next several months. Mr. Scalise, 57, said in a statement that he had begun treatment for multiple myeloma, which he described as “a very treatable blood cancer,” after feeling ill over the August congressional recess and having tests that led to his diagnosis. “I am incredibly grateful we were able to detect this early and that this cancer is treatable,” Mr. Scalise said in a statement. “I will tackle this with the same strength and energy as I have tackled past challenges.”Mr. Scalise was gravely wounded in 2017 when a gunman opened fire on members of the Republican congressional baseball team at a practice field in Alexandria, Va. Mr. Scalise was shot in the hip and underwent many surgeries to relearn how to walk.

Persons: Steve Scalise, Scalise, Mr, “, ” Mr Organizations: Republican Locations: Louisiana, Washington, Alexandria, Va

☆ John Fetterman, Hoodie and All, Is Adjusting to Life in the Senate
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Annie Karni | More About Annie Karni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

He also spoke emotionally about the toll his new job has taken on his family. The interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity. You’ve now been in Congress for just over six months. The fact that we’re playing with something like that is antithetical to the stability of our democracy. Does all of that political posturing make you cynical about Washington?

Persons: Hanger, Hangry . Organizations: The New York Times Locations: Hangry

Mr. McConnell, who had polio as a child, often has trouble with stairs and has long walked with a wobbly, uneven gait. The old McConnell, they said, would have not stayed on the sidelines, and many Senate Republicans were ultimately unhappy with the outcome. Last year, Mr. McConnell weathered a rare challenge to his leadership when Senator Rick Scott, Republican of Florida, decided to oppose him and received 10 votes. In the past, Mr. McConnell has been named leader with no contest. Senator Josh Hawley, Republican of Missouri, who voted for Mr. Scott, declined on Thursday to comment on Mr. McConnell’s health, but he said that he still wants new Republican leadership in the Senate.

Persons: McConnell, “, Chuck Schumer, Kevin McCarthy, Rick Scott, Josh Hawley, Scott Organizations: Capitol, Republicans, Republican Locations: Washington, Helsinki, Florida, Republican, Missouri

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia was voting on the floor of the House on the morning of June 23 when she saw her name trending on Twitter. Ms. Greene, a high-profile, right-wing Republican who is no stranger to trending online, flicked through her feed and learned from the internet that two hours earlier, her colleagues in the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus had voted to remove her from the group. Just then, an emissary from the caucus, Representative Ben Cline, Republican of Virginia, approached Ms. Greene. He asked if she would attend a one-on-one meeting with its chairman, Representative Scott Perry, Republican of Pennsylvania, who had been waiting to officially announce her ouster until he had spoken to her in person. Ms. Greene balked.

Persons: Marjorie Taylor Greene, Greene, Ben Cline, Scott Perry, Kevin McCarthy’s, Cline, Ms, Perry Organizations: Republican, Caucus Locations: Georgia, ultraconservative, Virginia, Pennsylvania

☆ For One Democrat, the Price of Bucking Her Party Is a Flood of Bad Reviews
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Annie Karni | More About Annie Karni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Dean’s Car Care, an auto repair shop in Portland, Ore., used to regularly rack up five stars and gushing accolades on Yelp and Google Reviews for its reliable and friendly service. “Honest and affordable. What else could you ask for?” one happy repeat customer wrote online in 2016. These days, Ms. Gluesenkamp Pérez is one of the most vulnerable Democrats in Congress, and Dean’s — the family business named for her husband — has become the target of vicious online trolling from the left. Progressives from around the country are review-bombing the establishment with posts expressing their ire at the first-term congresswoman for siding with Republicans on a bill to repeal President Biden’s student loan relief initiative.

Persons: Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez, Gluesenkamp, Dean’s, —, Biden’s Organizations: Democrat, Congress, Progressives Locations: Portland ,, “

☆ Vulnerable Republicans Take a Political Risk With Abortion Vote
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Annie Karni | More About Annie Karni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The policy reimburses travel costs for personnel who must travel out of state to obtain an abortion or related services. Democrats pointed to the vote as a prime example of Republicans taking votes that could ultimately cost them their House majority. Strategists in both parties have suggested that the Supreme Court’s abortion decision, and Democrats’ subsequent efforts to spotlight Republican opposition to abortion rights, weakened the G.O.P. “It wouldn’t be the way I would run the place, but at the end of the day as long as we pass N.D.A.A. Mr. Gonzales, who voted for the abortion amendment and others barring transgender health services and limiting diversity training for military personnel, voted against amendments that sought to cut funding for Ukraine.

Persons: “ I’m, ”, “, ’, Courtney Rice, Tony Gonzales, Gonzales Organizations: Republican, Department, “, Democratic Congressional, Republicans, Democrat, Ukraine Locations: Texas

☆ Democrats Try a Novel Tactic to Revive the Equal Rights Amendment
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Annie Karni | More About Annie Karni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Democrats in Congress are making a fresh push for the nearly century-old Equal Rights Amendment to be enshrined in the Constitution, rallying around a creative legal theory in a bid to revive an amendment that would explicitly guarantee sex equality as a way to protect reproductive rights in post-Roe America. The resolution states that the national archivist, who is responsible for the certification and publication of constitutional amendments, must immediately do so. It is a novel tactic for pursuing a measure that was first proposed in Congress 100 years ago and was approved by Congress about 50 years later but not ratified in time to be added to the Constitution. Proponents say the amendment has taken on new significance after the Supreme Court’s ruling last year in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned the abortion rights long guaranteed by Roe v. Wade. “In light of Dobbs, we’re seeing vast discrimination across the country,” Ms. Gillibrand said in an interview.

Persons: Kirsten Gillibrand, Cori Bush, Roe, Wade, “, Ms, Gillibrand, ” Organizations: Roe America, New, Congress, Jackson, Health Organization Locations: Roe, New York, Missouri, Dobbs v, Dobbs

Search resuls for: "More About Annie Karni"

14 mentions found