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☆ Opinion | Speaker McCarthy Is Feeling the Heat
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Michelle Cottle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Having sold his soul and torched his dignity to win his dream gig, the fledgling speaker of the House is struggling to find his groove. Even as the House gears back up after recess, Mr. McCarthy is having relationship troubles with key members of his own team. The speaker is said to have lost confidence in — and been privately dumping on — both men, The Times reported. (Mr. McCarthy has rejected that family fissures exist.) Some Capitol Hill denizens suspect Mr. McCarthy remains disgruntled about his messy speaker’s race, during which, The Times noted, Mr. Arrington reportedly floated Mr. Scalise’s name for the top job.

☆ The Chinese military posted an animated video simulating how China's forces would attack Taiwan if war breaks out
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Aditi Bharade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An animated video from the Chinese military shows how China's forces could attack Taiwan. The video showed a targeted, multi-prong assault on Taiwan executed by aircraft and navy vessels. An animated video from the Chinese military's Eastern Theatre Command's official WeChat account was re-posted to Twitter by the state-linked media outlet Global Times. Taiwan's Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Monday that 70 Chinese aircraft and 11 Chinese navy vessels encircled the island on Monday morning. But China considers Taiwan as part of its territory, a breakaway province with a democratic government that poses a threat to China's Communist Party.

☆ Taiwan Warns of Subtle China Responses as U.S. Lawmakers Embrace Taipei
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Joyu Wang | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

TAIPEI—Taiwan warned its allies not to be fooled by China’s relatively low-key response to warming U.S.-Taiwan ties, saying that Beijing is working to subtly undermine Taipei without sparking a broader conflict. In the most pivotal event of a groundbreaking visit to the U.S., Taiwan’s Tsai Ing -wen met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California on Wednesday, marking the highest-level political meeting that a Taiwanese president has held while on U.S. soil. Beijing repeatedly lashed out at the encounter and threatened unspecified retaliation, leading to speculation that it might reprise wargames that it launched when Mr. McCarthy’s predecessor Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan last year.

☆ Stunning endorsement: DeSantis ally Rep. Byron Donalds backs Trump for president in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Byron Donalds, who has said he'd be interested in becoming governor of Florida, has endorsed Trump. Ron DeSantis, has endorsed Donald Trump for president in 2024. "President Trump is the leader in the clubhouse right now," he said. He added, however, that he thought DeSantis could beat Trump in a primary. "The current legal problems have rallied more Republican voters around Donald Trump," Donalds said.

☆ Kevin McCarthy says he's 'very concerned' he won't reach a deal to raise the debt ceiling because Biden 'never wants to meet'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Kevin McCarthy said he's "very concerned" he and Biden won't reach a deal to raise the debt ceiling. But Biden has been adamant that Congress must past a clean debt ceiling bill without spending cuts. Congress passed a clean spending-cut-free debt ceiling increase three times under former President Donald Trump. "I'm very concerned about the debt ceiling. "He's just having the toughest time satisfying those demands either when it comes to passing a budget or to putting a bill on the floor — clean — to raise the debt ceiling."

☆ China’s Warnings Loom Over Speaker McCarthy’s Meeting With Taiwan’s Leader
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Charles Hutzler | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

SIMI VALLEY, Calif.—Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are due to hold a much-anticipated meeting Wednesday amid concerns in Taipei and Washington over how far Beijing will go to retaliate over the encounter. Increasingly broad American support for Taiwan is fueling Beijing’s anxiety: Mr. McCarthy will be the highest-level political leader a Taiwan president has ever met while in the U.S. The California Republican is bringing Congress members from both political parties to see Ms. Tsai, who arrived in Los Angeles on Tuesday after visiting diplomatic allies in Central America.

☆ Kevin McCarthy Prepares to Meet Taiwan’s President as Tensions With China Swirl
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Joyu Wang | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen is set to land in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening ahead of a meeting with the U.S. House speaker. TAIPEI—Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and the Biden administration are heading into the most pivotal event in her closely watched travels through the U.S.—a meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy that will test Beijing’s and Washington’s ability to manage tensions. Ms. Tsai is set to land in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening for the second of two multiday stopovers in the U.S. on her way to and from visiting Taiwan’s diplomatic partners in Central America. At the top of her agenda in California is a long-anticipated meeting with Mr. McCarthy in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Wednesday that Beijing has warned would lead to unspecified retaliation.

☆ McCarthy’s Debt-Ceiling Offer
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Kimberley A. Strassel | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Joe Biden has been betting his debt-ceiling strategy on continued GOP House disunity—not a bad wager in light of initial Republican turmoil. But what does the White House do if Speaker Kevin McCarthy gets his team onside? Mr. McCarthy unveiled his debt-ceiling strategy this week, and the party looks to have found a landing spot. In a Tuesday letter to Mr. Biden, Mr. McCarthy notes the rapidly approaching “X” date for hitting the country’s borrowing limit and asks for a meeting. More notably, he unveils the GOP’s term sheet—laying out several spending reduction proposals as examples of what House Republicans might trade for a debt-ceiling hike.

☆ Peloton shares are on the up — but will it last? Here's what Wall Street thinks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Shares of Peloton Interactive are making a comeback, with the stock up by 30% this year. But many investors who bought into the connected fitness company during the pandemic are still nursing big losses; shares are down 93% from their all-time high in late 2020, currently trading around $10.40. The consensus price target of 30 analysts ($17) points toward a 63% upside over the next 12 months. They also noted that digital-only subscriptions, which are separate from the connected fitness subscribers, fell marginally in the latest quarter. UBS' price target of $8 represents a more than 20% drop from the current share price.

China said it would retaliate if House Speaker Kevin McCarthy meets with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen during her planned stop in California next week, further stoking tensions around a highly scrutinized visit that is poised to test strained ties between Beijing and Washington. Ms. Tsai is set to meet with Mr. McCarthy and other Republican members of Congress at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley on her way back from visits to Guatemala and Belize. It is the second of two planned stops in the U.S. bookending her trip to Central America.

China says it will retaliate if Kevin McCarthy, the House speaker, meets with Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen. China said it would retaliate if House Speaker Kevin McCarthy meets with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen during her planned stop in California next week, further stoking tensions around a highly scrutinized visit that is poised to test strained ties between Beijing and Washington. Ms. Tsai is set to meet with Mr. McCarthy and other Republican members of Congress at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley on her way back from visits to Guatemala and Belize. It is the second of two planned stops in the U.S. bookending her trip to Central America.

☆ Biden pushes for Republican proposal in U.S. debt-ceiling standoff
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( David Morgan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Biden urged the top congressional Republican to spell out his proposals before lawmakers leave Washington for a two-week recess set to start on Thursday. McCarthy told CNBC earlier that he was prepared to lay out $4 trillion in spending cuts for Biden, if he would agree to meet. Republicans have not yet produced a budget plan of their own and could be weeks or months away from doing so. McCarthy's proposals, though lacking detail, paralleled the demands of hard-right House Republicans far more closely than ideas put forward by moderate Republicans. Republicans have sought to blame Biden, but only Congress has the authority to raise the debt ceiling.

☆ Kevin McCarthy Pushes for Debt-Ceiling Talks as Unity Eludes GOP
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Natalie Andrews | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—House Speaker Kevin McCarthy tried to prod President Biden into starting talks over spending cuts as a condition for raising the debt ceiling, just as Republicans are struggling to unite around a blueprint for negotiations ahead of dual deadlines later this year. The White House released its own budget proposal earlier this month and has said it won’t negotiate on spending until Republicans put forward their own plan. Mr. McCarthy has rejected that notion and said in a letter to Mr. Biden that talks should start as soon as possible. While neither budget would have a chance of becoming law, they serve to outline the parties’ policy intentions.

☆ Kevin McCarthy tells Biden time is running out to negotiate spending cuts to raise the debt ceiling — even as Republicans have yet to put forth a concrete plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy sent a letter to President Joe Biden saying it's time to tackle the debt ceiling. The US faces a potentially disastrous default in just a few months, and the GOP wants major spending cuts. Biden has insisted that raising the debt ceiling should be bipartisan and not tied to cuts. On Tuesday, the Republican speaker of the House sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to negotiate spending cuts to raise the debt ceiling. Democrats are still waiting for a concrete plan from Republicans on what exactly they want to cut to raise the debt ceiling.

☆ As McCarthy laments 'no progress,' here's where U.S. debt ceiling talks stand
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Tuesday that there has been "no progress" in debt ceiling negotiations between House Republicans and the White House, as the U.S. inches closer to risking a first-ever default. House Republicans have refused to lift the debt ceiling without promises of spending cuts. The U.S. already hit its debt limit, forcing the Treasury to take so-called extraordinary measures to keep paying its bills. It has been nearly two month since McCarthy and Biden met to discuss debt ceiling measures. Not lifting the debt ceiling would have catastrophic effects on the U.S. economy.

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured a video of a tornado churning on the sun. The fiery formation of boiling solar plasma grew to an estimated height of 14 Earths. SDO/NASAThe magnetic structure that caused this tornado is actually a lot bigger than what we're seeing. As these move around the sun, they create magnetic fields that erupt through the solar surface. The sun is getting more activeA video from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory shows the massive hole in the sun's atmosphere.

☆ Kevin McCarthy Boasts of GOP Unity, but Tests Loom on Spending Cuts, Trump
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Natalie Andrews | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other top Republicans speaking to reporters in Orlando, Fla.ORLANDO, Fla.—For House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, it could be the calm before another political storm. At House Republicans’ retreat, Mr. McCarthy projected a unified picture of a party seeking conservative wins as well as bipartisanship, pointing to votes on issues related to crime and the Covid-19 pandemic. But he now heads into tough challenges that will test his leadership, including how deeply to try to cut government spending as a condition for raising the debt ceiling, as well as how to handle the re-emergence of former President Donald Trump as a center of attention in the party.

☆ US House Republicans launch investigation of Manhattan DA in Trump probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( David Morgan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

His fellow Republicans including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have accused Bragg, a Democrat, of abuse of power and using his office to pursue a political agenda. McCarthy had also said he would direct House committees to determine whether federal funds have been used in the district attorney's probe. The letter was signed by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil. "Congress has no jurisdiction to investigate the Manhattan DA, which receives no federal funding nor has any other federal nexus," added Goldman, who was lead counsel in a 2019 House impeachment of Trump. Trump, who is seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has said he would continue campaigning even if charged with a crime.

☆ U.S. House speaker declines Zelenskiy invitation to visit Ukraine -CNN
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he has no plans to visit Ukraine after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy extended an invitation, CNN reported on Wednesday. In an interview with CNN set to air on Wednesday, Zelenskiy asked McCarthy, a Republican, to see the situation in Ukraine firsthand. The United States has extended nearly $32 billion in aid to Ukraine since Russian troops invaded on Feb. 24, 2022, but some far-right Republicans have balked at sending more. Asked about Zelenskiy's invitation, McCarthy told CNN he did not need to travel to the country and would get information in other ways. The invitation came as the United States wrestled with a budget deficit and the prospect of possibly hitting its debt limit in coming months.

Summary Taiwan says will not allow "repeated provocations" from ChinaChina warns US not to cross red line on TaiwanTaiwan President, US House Speaker plan to meet in USTAIPEI/BEIJING, March 7 (Reuters) - Taiwan will not allow "repeated provocations" from China, the island's defence minister said on Tuesday, as China's foreign minister said Taiwan was the "first red line" that must not be crossed in Sino-U.S. relations. Speaking to reporters at parliament, Taiwan Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said he was not aware of a planned meeting between Tsai and McCarthy. In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said it was "absurd" for U.S. officials to say that Taiwan is not an internal affair of China's. "The United States has unshakable responsibility for causing the Taiwan question." Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Ryan Woo; Editing by Gerry Doyle and Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ House Speaker Kevin McCarthy plans to meet Taiwan's president in the U.S., sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy wields the speaker's gavel as members of Congress gather to attend U.S. President Joe Biden's State of the Union address on Feb. 7, 2023. Leah Millis | ReutersU.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy plans to meet Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen in the U.S. in coming weeks, two sources told Reuters on Monday, a move that could replace the Republican Speaker's anticipated but sensitive trip to the democratically governed island claimed by China. One of the sources said should the U.S. meeting go forward — likely in April — it did not necessarily rule out McCarthy visiting Taiwan in the future. During a CNBC interview earlier on Monday, McCarthy declined to answer whether he would visit Taiwan, saying he would announce any travel plans when he had them. Taiwan's de facto embassy in Washington said it had "no information to share" when asked about the meeting.

☆ US House Speaker McCarthy plans to meet Taiwan's president in the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Michael Martina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Leah MillisWASHINGTON, March 6 (Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy plans to meet Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen in the U.S. in coming weeks, two sources told Reuters on Monday, a move that could replace the Republican Speaker's anticipated but sensitive trip to the democratically governed island claimed by China. One of the sources said should the U.S. meeting go forward - likely in April - it did not necessarily rule out McCarthy visiting Taiwan in the future. During a CNBC interview earlier on Monday, McCarthy declined to answer whether he would visit Taiwan, saying he would announce any travel plans when he had them. Since then, Taiwan has welcomed a wave of U.S. lawmakers, and speculation has swirled around whether McCarthy would travel there this year. McCarthy last year expressed interest in visiting Taiwan if he became speaker, a role he assumed in January after Republicans took control of the House in November's midterm elections.

Chart showing the percentage cut the committee would make to each area of government spending to balance the budget over 10 years. 8 8 8 Deficit 6 6 6 4 4 4 Spending Spending Spending Revenue Revenue Revenue 2 2 2 2023 2033 2023 2033 2023 2033 Current projections Deficits are projected to grow to $2.7 trillion by 2033. 8 8 8 Deficit 6 6 6 4 4 4 Spending Spending Spending Revenue Revenue Revenue 2 2 2 2023 2033 2023 2033 2023 2033 Eliminate by increasing taxes Current projections Eliminate by cutting spending Deficits are projected to grow to $2.7 trillion by 2033. plan to balance budget 50% Projections 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 Current trajectory 200% of G.D.P. plan to balance budget 50% Projections 1930 1960 1990 2020 2050 Sources: Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget; Congressional Budget Office; Republican Study Committee Note: Both plans were released in 2022 and are based on outdated baseline projections; their debt reduction may differ modestly.

☆ Speaker McCarthy Puts the House Back in Order
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Karl Rove | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The 15 ballots it took for Rep. Kevin McCarthy to become speaker left an image of dysfunction and chaos. Yet important actions that Mr. McCarthy has taken since becoming speaker paint a different picture. Mr. McCarthy is determined to reduce whatever needless partisanship he can in the House. Republicans and Democrats will continue to disagree, but their leaders need not be in perpetual personal war with each other. So the speaker told Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries that he will treat him as Mr. McCarthy wished he’d been treated when he was minority leader.

☆ Nikki Haley on Republicans' tepid midterms: The party 'looked like chaos'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Republicans came across as chaotic during the midterms, Nikki Haley said. And from an independent standpoint it looked like chaos, and they didn't want to be a part of that." Democrats have also singled out Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green of Georgia as representative of the party. In preliminary exit polls following the midterms, about equal proportions of voters said both Republicans and Democrats were "too extreme." Despite Republican disappointment over the midterms, the party did secure a narrow majority in the US House.

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