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☆ Biden will threaten Social Security and Medicare and 'bumble into the first default in our nation's history' if he doesn't negotiate raising the debt ceiling with Republicans, Kevin McCarthy says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said a debt ceiling vote will come in weeks in Monday remarks. McCarthy said if Biden doesn't come to an agreement with the GOP, it could lead to the first default. Republicans want to attach spending cuts to a debt ceiling package, while Biden wants a clean raise. Independent analysis from Moody's shows congressional Republicans' budget cuts could throw 720,000 to over 2.5 million Americans out of work. "President Biden must hold firm on behalf of working families, and insist Republicans raise the debt limit swiftly and cleanly as they did time and time again under President Trump."

[1/2] U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) is asked questions by a journalist as he walks to the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, U.S., January 25, 2023. REUTERS/Leah MillisNEW YORK, April 11 (Reuters) - Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Tuesday sued Republican U.S. Representative Jim Jordan to stop what Bragg called an "unconstitutional attack" on the ongoing criminal prosecution of former President Donald Trump in New York. The lawsuit aims to block a subpoena of Mark Pomerantz, a former prosecutor who had led the Manhattan district attorney's investigation of Trump. The subpoena, issued last week by the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, which Jordan chairs, seeks Pomerantz's appearance before the committee for a deposition. Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York and Kanishka Singh in Washington; editing by Doina Chiacu and Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. VP Harris takes Biden's jobs message to Marjorie Taylor Greene's district
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, April 6 (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday takes the Biden administration's jobs agenda to a right-wing Georgia congressional district represented by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, an avid supporter of former President Donald Trump. Harris is announcing a further expansion, including an order for 2.5 million new solar panels involving Summit Ridge Energy, according to administration officials. But Dalton is the seat of a county where Trump won 2.4 votes for every one for Biden. "Instead, congressional Republicans want to roll back this progress and put investments in manufacturing, clean energy and good jobs at risk." Georgia is expected to again be one of the most contested states in the 2024 presidential election that may pit Biden against Trump once again.

☆ Trump, newly charged, urges defunding US Justice Department and FBI
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Rami Ayyub | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

But Trump faces two Justice Department criminal investigations led by Special Counsel Jack Smith, who was appointed by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. "REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS SHOULD DEFUND THE DOJ AND FBI UNTIL THEY COME TO THEIR SENSES," Trump wrote on his social media platform. The FBI, part of the Justice Department, is the U.S. domestic intelligence and security agency. Trump backed spending increases for the Justice Department while serving as president from 2017 to 2021. The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.

☆ Trump calls on Republicans to defund law enforcement in all-caps social media tirade after being indicted
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Trump called on Republicans in an all-caps tirade to "DEFUND THE DOJ AND FBI" on Wednesday. It was a remarkable comment from Trump, who built his brand around bolstering law enforcement. His Truth Social rant came after he was indicted on 34 felony counts by the Manhattan DA's office. His tirade came one day after he was arraigned in downtown Manhattan after the Manhattan DA's office indicted him on 34 felony counts of falsification of business records. But Trump and his lawyers deny knowledge of the payment, and Trump has also denied the alleged affair.

☆ Trump rallies supporters in campaign-style speech after first-ever arraignment of an ex-president: 'The only crime that I've committed is to fiercely defend our nation'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

"The only crime that I've committed is to fiercely defend our nation," he added. "The only crime that I've committed is to fiercely defend our nation," Trump said, addressing each of the pending investigations against him, in addition to the charges brought in New York. The rambling, 27-minute speech, Trump called the charges against him "a persecution, not an investigation" and evidence the country "is going to hell," adding that the charges should be dropped immediately. The arraignment on Tuesday "solidified" a Trump win in 2024, MyPillow CEO and Trump ally Mike Lindell told Insider ahead of the Mar-a-Lago speech. He accused the Manhattan DA of having political motivations because Trump didn't "go away" after the 2020 election.

☆ Congressional Republicans gobsmacked by Trump arraignment fear America is now ruined: 'This is what banana republics do'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Former President Donald Trump was charged with 34 felony counts Tuesday in Manhattan. Congressional Republicans outraged by the court appearance likened it to "what banana republics do." "They hate him so much they don't care how much they harm our country & our justice system," Hageman wrote online. Rep. August Pfluger told Fox News that prosecuting polarizing political leaders is typical in "banana republics" and "failed states." "They're coming for President Trump because he stands in the way of what they want to do to you," the Arizona Republican wrote online.

☆ Trump indictment pulls DeSantis-leaning Republicans back to MAGA fold
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Tim Reid | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

"Now I am absolutely voting for Trump," said White, 75, a composer and musician in Nevada. "The indictment was the last straw for me, because Trump has suffered so much political abuse. The reason was the indictment, Longwell added. Steven Cheung, a Trump spokesman, said in an email to Reuters that the charges had "surged" support for Trump. "Americans from all backgrounds are sick and tired of the weaponization of the justice system against President Trump and his supporters," Cheung said.

☆ Manhattan DA office blasts House Republicans for collaborating with Trump's efforts to paint his indictment as 'politically motivated'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Manhattan district attorney's office blasted House Republicans in a letter dated Friday. Three committee chairmen have subpoenaed DA Bragg over the office's investigation into Trump. "What neither Mr. Trump nor Congress may do is interfere with the ordinary course of proceedings in New York State," the DA's general counsel, Leslie Dubeck, added. In the aftermath of the indictment, he rallied his congressional Republican allies, who had been trying to investigate the Manhattan district attorney's office, for support, according to CNN. Friday's letter says any interference in an ongoing criminal investigation would be "unprecedented and illegitimate," and jeopardize Trump's privacy rights.

☆ Exclusive: Biden would veto Republican bill blocking Washington, D.C., police reform
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 30 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will veto a Republican-backed bill to overturn police reforms in Washington, D.C., if it passes in Congress, a White House official said on Thursday. Some Republicans say the Washington, D.C., law is hostile towards the police. Biden took heat from within his own party for signing a Republican-led bill last week that blocked a D.C. law lowering penalties for some crimes. Congressional oversight of Washington, D.C., is written into the U.S. Constitution, and the city's 700,000 residents do not have voting representation in Congress. Tensions often flare between Republican lawmakers and the heavily Democratic city, including over policing, criminal code and voting reforms just this year.

☆ Exclusive: Biden would veto Republican bill blocking Washington, D.C., police reform -official
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

☆ Republican Senator Rand Paul opposes TikTok ban push in Congress
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - Republican Senator Rand Paul on Wednesday opposed efforts in Congress to ban popular Chinese-owned social media app TikTok, which is used by more than 150 million Americans. Republican Senator Josh Hawley said this week he hoped to get unanimous consent for a TikTok ban bill. TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew appeared before Congress last week and faced tough questions about national security concerns over the ByteDance-owned app. Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a TikTok video Friday opposed a TikTok ban, calling it "unprecedented" and said Congress has not gotten classified TikTok briefings. Last week, three Democrats in the House of Representatives opposed a TikTok ban, as do free speech groups like the American Civil Liberties Union.

☆ Sen. Rand Paul says the GOP would 'permanently lose elections for a generation' if TikTok is banned
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sen. Rand Paul is speaking out against a possible ban on TikTok, contradicting much of his own party. He said a ban amounts to a "national strategy to permanently lose elections for a generation" for the GOP. "Before banning TikTok, these censors might want to discover that China's government already bans TikTok," wrote Paul. In recent weeks, calls to ban TikTok over concerns over Chinese government surveillance have only grown in Washington. Marco Rubio of Florida and Josh Hawley of Missouri, who have both introduced nationwide TikTok ban bills.

☆ 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.

☆ Manhattan prosecutor's office says Trump created a 'false expectation' of immediate arrest and accuses House Republicans of interfering with investigation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office fired back at Republicans on Thursday. In a letter, the DA's office accused the GOP of interfering in a legal investigation. Former President Donald Trump had earlier claimed he would be arrested on Tuesday. The letter from Bragg's office was published Thursday afternoon by Axios. That came after Trump, over the weekend, asserted that he would be arrested on Tuesday of this week.

☆ The Manhattan DA's likely case against Trump would be far from a 'slam dunk conviction'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

New York state prosecutors have never brought an election law case involving a federal campaign, per NYT. If the DA's office brings a criminal case against Trump, it would be far from a "slam dunk conviction," one ex-prosecutor said. Among the charges Trump could face is violating New York's business records statute, which bars individuals from falsifying business records with an intent to defraud. Some legal experts have pointed out that New York has a long history of bringing felony prosecutions based on falsifying business records. If Trump is charged with falsifying business records, "expect to see this defense."

☆ 5 ways House Republicans' budget plan 'will be a disaster for families,' according to the White House
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The House Freedom Caucus unveiled a plan to address the debt ceiling through major spending cuts. The White House launched a campaign attacking the plan on Monday, saying it would be disastrous for families. In a release, the White House said that they're joining forces with Congressional Democrats to go on the offense as House Republicans head to Florida for their retreat. Specifically, the White House is hitting out at how the proposal would weaken public safety and national security, according to a White House official. —House Freedom Caucus (@freedomcaucus) March 13, 2023"It should shock no one that financially responsible proposals terrify and confuse this administration," it wrote.

☆ Battle Heats Up Between Hunter Biden and the GOP
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( C. Ryan Barber | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Hunter Biden filed suit against a computer-repair-store owner over dissemination of his personal information. The Washington skirmishing between Hunter Biden and the GOP escalated this week as congressional Republicans ramped up their investigation into his business dealings and the president’s son followed with a lawsuit against a computer-repair-shop owner who said in a court filing that he disseminated a copy of the contents of Mr. Biden’s electronically stored data. The moves by both sides could draw greater attention to a difficult period in Hunter Biden’s life, when he has acknowledged a serious drug problem. GOP lawmakers are seeking to discover whether the younger Mr. Biden’s various business arrangements with wealthy foreigners involved his father, President Biden.

☆ U.S. Treasury says record FDIC cash draw won't affect debt ceiling 'X-date'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] A sign reads “FDIC Insured” on the door of a branch of First Republic Bank in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., March 13, 2023. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File PhotoMarch 14 (Reuters) - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said its withdrawal of a record $40 billion in U.S. Treasury Funds on Friday as it seized control of Silicon Valley Bank will not affect when the Treasury runs out of operating room under the debt ceiling. The FDIC withdrawal from the Treasury General Account was many times larger than any previous largest draws, according to data from the Daily Treasury Statement for March 10 released late on Monday. The Treasury has not altered that early June estimate, but Yellen has acknowledged that April tax receipts "will be informative" on the timing of the X-date. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the Treasury could hold out until sometime between July and September without a debt ceiling increase, but the timing was uncertain due to the pace of revenues and economic developments.

☆ Biden’s Budget Plan Offers Blueprint for 2024 Campaign Fights With GOP
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Catherine Lucey | Ken Thomas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

President Biden’s budget plan will find little support in the House, where Speaker Kevin McCarthy is preparing his own proposal. WASHINGTON—President Biden’s $6.9 trillion budget proposal is a road map for his fights to come with congressional Republicans and his GOP opponent in his expected 2024 re-election campaign. The plan Mr. Biden released Thursday will find little support in the House, where Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) is preparing his own budget proposal and must overcome his intraparty divisions. The document will showcase the president’s differences with Republicans on Capitol Hill and in the 2024 field. Republicans in turn will use Mr. Biden’s budget—including its plans to raise taxes and increase spending—as fuel for their case that he doesn’t deserve a second term.

☆ Biden budget would cut deficit by $3 trillion over next decade with 25% minimum tax on richest Americans
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

President Joe Biden released his budget on Thursday, vowing to cut $3 trillion from the federal deficit over the next decade, in part, by levying a 25% minimum tax on the wealthiest Americans. "It does this in part by reforming our tax code to reward work, not wealth, including by ensuring that no billionaire pays a lower tax rate than a teacher or firefighter and by quadrupling the tax rate on corporate stock buybacks," Young said. In addition to social spending, the budget includes robust defense funding. House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington told CNN on Wednesday the GOP budget should be ready by the second week in May. Preempting Republican concerns, Rouse stressed the ways the Biden White House has repeatedly bucked economic expectations.

☆ Biden budget would cut deficit by nearly $3 trillion, White House says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden's budget proposal will aim to cut U.S. budget deficits by nearly $3 trillion over 10 years, the White House said on Wednesday, far more than the $2 trillion Biden had said he would aim for earlier. "That’s nearly a $6 trillion difference between the president’s budget and Congressional Republicans' agenda,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, saying the opposition’s plans would add $3 trillion to the debt. Biden, who intends to unveil his budget plan on Thursday, had floated the $2 trillion deficit reduction figure during his State of the Union address in February. "We see this as a value statement" about the future of the country, Karine Jean-Pierre said. Ultimately, it will be up to Congress, where Republicans control the House of Representatives, to write related budget legislation.

☆ McCarthy refuses Zelenskyy's invitation to visit Kyiv, reiterating that he's against 'blank checks' for Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

McCarthy rejected an invitation from Zelenskyy to visit Kyiv. Zelenskyy invited McCarthy to show him how US aid is being put to use in the war against Russia. "I don't have to go to Ukraine or Kyiv to see it," McCarthy said. McCarthy also reiterated that he does not support providing Ukraine with "blank checks." "I will continue to get my briefings and others, but I don't have to go to Ukraine or Kyiv to see it.

☆ Biden is set to use his first veto to save what Republicans call a "woke" rule that lets retirement fund managers consider companies' social and environmental records
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Senate voted to overturn a Labor Department measure allowing investment managers to make socially and environmentally conscious investing decisions. "Republicans' hypocritical resolution to nullify @USDOL's ESG rule ties investors' hands & would force their extremist views on investors," she wrote on Twitter following the vote. It's the latest back-and-forth in an ESG debate triggered by former President Donald Trump, who prohibited financial managers from making such considerations when he was in office. However, the White House has said that Biden will use his first veto as president to protect ESG considerations. As CNBC's Brian Schwartz reported this week, Trump allies and wealthy donors have funded Republicans' fight against ESG investing.

☆ Republicans want to replace federal taxes with a flat sales tax. It'll either add trillions to the national deficit or you'll have to pay a lot more for everything.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Some Republicans want to abolish the IRS and replace most federal taxes with a flat sales tax. However, a report from Brookings finds that the sales tax at the currently proposed rate would add to the deficit. Buddy Carter, who introduced the legislation, said the US "doesn't have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem." "Our country doesn't have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem. This is on top of the $3 trillion that Republicans want to add to the debt with tax giveaways to wealthy tax cheats, Big Pharma, big corporations, and other special interests.

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