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WASHINGTON — The U.S. military shot down a "high altitude object" in American airspace off the coast of Alaska on Friday, the White House announced, less than a week after a similar object was shot down off the coast of South Carolina. "We're calling this an object because that's the best description we have right now," said White House spokesman John Kirby, adding "we don't know what entity owns this object." The spy balloon shot down this past weekend was approximately the size of three school buses, according to Pentagon officials. The latest incident differed significantly from the previous high-altitude balloon in that this object was shot down within hours of its detection. The larger, previous balloon was permitted to float across the United States for a week.

☆ Angry senators grill Pentagon officials over Chinese spy balloon response
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Christina Wilkie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Rear Admiral Fred Kacher, director for operations of the Joint Staff, during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) questions witnesses during a Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill about the suspected Chinese spy balloon that was shot down in Washington, U.S., February 9, 2023. The hearing was part of a series of events Thursday morning in Congress, all related to the spy balloon. In the House, a resolution condemning "the Chinese Communist Party's use of a high-altitude surveillance balloon" passed unanimously, 419-0. That vote took place shortly after House members received a classified briefing about the balloon and the recovery efforts from defense and intelligence officials.

☆ Watch live: Senate holds first hearing on the suspected Chinese spy balloon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Christina Wilkie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Senate on Thursday is holding its first hearing on the Chinese spy balloon that floated over the United States last week before it was shot down over the weekend. The hearing comes as the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard complete a recovery operation of the downed spy balloon roughly six miles off the coast of South Carolina. On Saturday, Biden gave the order to take the 200-foot-tall spy balloon out of the sky. The operation resulted in an F-22 fighter jet shearing a hole in the bottom of the balloon with a sidewinder missile. "In our engagements, we are again hearing from our partners that the world expects China and the United States to manage our relationship responsibly.

Cooperman says he voted for Biden in 2020, but he accused Democrats of deliberately misleading people about how the billionaire tax proposal would work. The billionaire tax proposal is "completely dead on arrival," said Charles Myers, a 2020 bundler for Biden's presidential campaign and the chairman of Signum Global, an investment advisory firm. Myers said the purpose of Biden's billionaire tax announcement, however, was never to jumpstart a negotiation in Congress. But for some in the party, Biden's billionaire tax contains a fatal flaw. With plans for a billionaire tax stalled in Washington, wealth tax advocates and activists are turning to the states.

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, March 1, 2022. U.S. President Joe Biden will face a divided Congress and stubbornly high inflation when he delivers the annual State of the Union address later Tuesday night. Despite record job growth and new data indicating that inflation is slowing, Americans remain deeply pessimistic about the state of the economy. Biden will address the U.S.-China relationship in the speech, but he will not announce new retaliatory actions against Beijing over the balloon, White House aides told NBC News. Following Biden's address, Arkansas Republican Gov.

☆ Watch live: U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy speaks on the debt ceiling
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Christina Wilkie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will deliver an address Monday on the debt ceiling. Biden and McCarthy are engaged in the early phases of what is expected to be a months long negotiation on a debt ceiling vote. If Congress does not pass a bill to raise or suspend the nation's debt limit by early June, it could wreak economic havoc around the world. "I believe you have to lift the debt ceiling, but you do not lift the debt ceiling without changing your behavior. The White House has so far refused to "negotiate" on a debt limit hike, however.

☆ Chinese spy balloon fallout roils Washington and Beijing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Christina Wilkie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — In the wake of a U.S. missile attack Saturday that destroyed a Chinese surveillance ballon, political and diplomatic fallout ramped up Monday in both Beijing and Washington. The decision to shoot down the balloon over the Carolina coast was "unacceptable and irresponsible," a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said at a press conference in Beijing Monday. The Chinese government insists the balloon that moved across the United States for the past week was "a civilian airship used for meteorological and other research purposes," and not a spy balloon. On Tuesday at 10 a.m., the House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing on "Combatting the Economic Threat from China." The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing Thursday morning entitled "Evaluating U.S.-China Policy In The Era of Strategic Competition."

☆ U.S. military shoots down suspected Chinese surveillance balloon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The U.S. military on Saturday shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that had been transiting across the country for several days, according to NBC News. Department of Defense officials have not yet confirmed the balloon being shot down. Defense officials said the Pentagon considered shooting down the balloon earlier this week but decided against it after briefing Biden. Biden concluded that the U.S. would not shoot down the balloon because debris from it could cause damage on the ground, a Pentagon official said. A senior Pentagon official told reporters Thursday night that the object was clearly a surveillance balloon that was flying over sensitive sites to collect intelligence.

☆ Debt ceiling deal no closer as McCarthy, Biden vow to continue talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Christina Wilkie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

McCarthy said he and Biden did not discuss any details of their next meeting, such as whether White House aides or members of McCarthy's leadership team would participate. Both Biden and McCarthy say passing a debt limit bill is absolutely essential. "I believe you have to lift the debt ceiling, but you do not lift the debt ceiling without changing your behavior. Biden and the White House have so far refused to "negotiate" on a debt limit hike, however. "We will not pass a clean debt ceiling here without some form of spending reform.

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he had a "very good discussion" with President Joe Biden at the White House on Wednesday about the looming debt ceiling and federal spending. The White House readout of the meeting reflected McCarthy's sentiments, stating the two had a "frank and straightforward dialogue" as part of an ongoing conversation. "It is their shared duty not to allow an unprecedented and economically catastrophic default," the White House statement read. The House speaker later said the meeting had gone better than he expected. The White House said the president agrees that addressing the national debt is a priority, but it should be a separate conversation.

House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., effusively praised Twitter owner Elon Musk Wednesday for "being transparent" about the tech platform. "God bless Elon Musk," Comer said in an interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box." Comer's comments came just days after Musk visited Washington and met with House Republican leaders for over an hour, a group that included Comer. So while McCarthy and Republicans met with Musk for over an hour, Jeffries literally just "met" him. WATCH: Elon Musk polls Twitter users over whether he should remain as CEO

House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy speaks to reporters following a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden and other congressional leaders at the White House in Washington, U.S., November 29, 2022. But while McCarthy says he is preparing for a negotiation, the White House is battening down the hatches for a fight. A White House memo circulated Tuesday sought to portray the 3:15 p.m. McCarthy has consistently said cuts to the popular Social Security and Medicare programs are "off the table" in any debt ceiling talks. It's a promise that, if made, would effectively strip McCarthy of any leverage he has in the debt ceiling process.

☆ House Republicans pass bill to limit drawdowns on Strategic Petroleum Reserve
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Christina Wilkie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A maze of crude oil pipe and equipment is seen with the American and Texas flags flying in the background at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in Freeport, Texas. WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Friday aimed at limiting the president's ability to draw down the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve for any reason other than a "severe energy supply disruption." Friday's legislation marked the second time that the GOP-controlled House has passed a bill related to the SPR. Following Friday's passage, the bill's chief sponsor, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, applauded the vote. "President Biden has turned a longtime bipartisan strategic asset, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, into a political tool to cover up the consequences of his expensive rush-to-green agenda," she said in a statement.

☆ Putin's nuclear threats move Doomsday Clock closest ever to Armageddon, atomic scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Christina Wilkie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The 2023 Doomsday Clock is displayed before a live-streamed event with members of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists on January 24, 2023 in Washington, DC. The group has been measuring real and existential threats to humankind, from climate change to the prospects of nuclear war, for more than 70 years. The renewed global threat of nuclear war was compounded by the ongoing Covid pandemic, experts noted. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was founded in 1945 by the late physicist and Nobel laureate Albert Einstein, as well as scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project to build the first atomic bomb. The clock's threats "focus on manmade threats: nuclear risk, climate change and new disruptive technologies, including bio technologies," said Bronson.

☆ Arizona Senate hopeful Ruben Gallego posts record-breaking fundraising haul in bid for Kyrsten Sinema's seat, breaking state record
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Kevin Breuninger Christina Wilkie | Kevin Breuninger | Christina Wilkie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Rep. Ruben Gallego's Senate campaign said Tuesday it raised more than $1 million in one day after the Democrat launched his bid for Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's coveted seat in the 2024 election cycle. "There's a lot of really important work left on the table to get done for Arizona," Sinema said in that Friday interview. That Senate math shifted after Democrats outperformed expectations in the November midterms, extending their hold to an outright Senate majority, 51-49. When Sinema left the Democratic Party last month, she called the change "a reflection of who I've always been." "I think it is a big dilemma for the Senate Democratic majority to decide whether to support her or to support somebody running on the Democratic ticket," McConnell said.

☆ GOP House targets China, abortion, IRS funding in McCarthy's first week as speaker
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Christina Wilkie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., conducts a news conference in the U.S. Capitol's Statuary Hall on Thursday, January 12, 2023. WASHINGTON - The new Republican House majority used its first full week in office to quickly pass six pieces of legislation that showcased the party's political priorities. Following Republicans' historic intraparty battle for the speakership earlier this month, GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's first week was an exercise in party unity. "Voters have elected George Santos," McCarthy told reporters Thursday in the Capitol. Rather than move to expel Santos, McCarthy appeared to put his faith in a House Ethics Committee investigation of the lawmaker.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Friday notified Congress that the U.S. will reach its statutory debt limit next Thursday. Yellen said it is "critical that Congress act in a timely manner to increase or suspend the debt limit." Congress in December 2021 increased the federal debt limit to about $31.4 trillion. This can extend the clock for weeks or months while Congress hashes out a bill to raise the borrowing limit. Yellen added, "Increasing or suspending the debt limit does not authorize new spending commitments or cost taxpayers money.

☆ House Republican disunity could create debt ceiling dilemma
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Christina Wilkie | Brad Howard | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHouse Republican disunity could create debt ceiling dilemmaCNBC's Christina Wilkie explains why Kevin McCarthy's tough fight for the House Speakership could mean a debt ceiling clash in 2023.

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy speaks to members of the news media outside of a Steering Committee meeting at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, U.S., January 11, 2023. Leah Millis | ReutersHouse Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday said he would not urge embattled Republican Rep. George Santos to resign from Congress, hours after local GOP officials tore into the New York legislator and pushed him to step down. "Look, the voters decide," McCarthy, R-Calif., told reporters on Capitol Hill when asked whether he would welcome Santos' resignation if it was offered, according to NBC News. "That's what his decision is to make," McCarthy said, adding, "The voters elected him to serve. The GOP lawmaker has apologized for embellishing pieces of his resume but has said he did not commit any crimes.

☆ GOP-led House creates a new committee to tackle threats from China, McCarthy's first big bipartisan win
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Christina Wilkie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is seen outside a House Republican Steering Committee meeting to select committee chairs in the U.S. Capitol Monday 9, 2023. WASHINGTON — Members of the U.S. House from both the Democratic and Republican parties voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to establish a new select committee to address the multifaceted threats that China poses to the United States. The new panel will be called the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party. According to the resolution creating the new select committee, its powers will be largely investigative, not legislative. There will 16 members on the committee, nine Republicans and seven Democrats.

US House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Republican of Louisiana, speaks alongside House Republican Conference Chair Representative Elise Stefanik (L), Republican of New York, as they speak during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, January 10, 2023. House Republican Majority Leader Steve Scalise sidestepped thorny questions Tuesday on whether Congress would allow the U.S. to default on its debt after lawmakers adopted new rules making it more difficult to raise federal limits. It includes the total amount of federal debt outstanding, about $24.5 trillion, as well as the nearly $6.9 trillion the government has borrowed from itself. "America over time occasionally hits the debt ceiling because it's like a credit card limit," Scalise, R-La., said at a press conference in the Capitol building. The last major rift over the debt ceiling was in late 2011, driven by holdout from a newly-elected Republican congressional majority.

The chair of the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives sits empty as the House embarks on another round of voting for a new House Speaker on the second day of the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 4, 2023. The longer the infighting on Capitol Hill delays the election of a new House Speaker, the more havoc it will wreak on the federal government. While it doesn't necessarily pose an imminent threat to the U.S. economy, it paralyzes all action on the Hill. Without a speaker, the House can't vote on a rules package governing the new Congress. If the House does not pass rules by Jan. 13, committee staff could start to lose pay, according to guidance sent to those panels reported by Politico.

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., lost a seventh vote for House speaker Thursday, despite conceding to several new demands from his far-right opponents. An eighth vote was expected, although there were few signs that McCarthy's fortunes would improve. "I think everyone in the conversation wants to find a solution," McCarthy said on his way into the House chamber for the vote. With 222 Republicans in the House, he can't afford to lose more than four votes. Ahead of Thursday's votes, Democratic Party leaders berated Republicans for the party's dysfunction, and emphasized the harm that going days without a House speaker was inflicting on the legislative branch and the nation.

The latest vote saw a core group of GOP holdouts nominate and vote for Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, a sophomore Republican lawmaker who on Tuesday had publicly shifted his support away from McCarthy. While the vote is still ongoing, enough Republicans have abandoned McCarthy to leave him shy of the 218 he needs to win the coveted seat. WASHINGTON — In the fourth vote in two days, Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., again failed to secure enough support to win the U.S. House speakership. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is seen at the US Capitol in Washington, DC on December 21, 2022. Kevin McCarthy will do a good job, and maybe even a GREAT JOB – JUST WATCH!"

☆ House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy appears to lack support to become speaker hours ahead of key vote
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Christina Wilkie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON — As the House prepares to usher in the 118th Congress and new Republican majority on Tuesday, GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy is struggling to secure enough support for his bid to be House speaker to avoid a protracted and historic fight on the House floor. In order to be elected speaker, McCarthy needs support from a majority of the members who vote Tuesday, or 218 of the 434 House members expected to vote. But with only 222 Republicans total, and no Democrats expected to vote for him, McCarthy can afford to lose only four members of his caucus. As of Tuesday morning, six current Republican members and three members-elect, all conservatives, still publicly opposed McCarthy. McCarthy's failure to win public support from his entire caucus has already cast a shadow over the new Republican majority, exposing divisions within the party that have existed for decades.

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