DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ 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

☆ McCarthy Questions Strength of Trump’s Candidacy, Then Quickly Backtracks
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Annie Karni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The hurried attempt at ingratiating himself to Mr. Trump underscores Mr. McCarthy’s fear of alienating the former president as he struggles to keep together his fractious House majority and withstand mounting pressure from right-wing lawmakers loyal to Mr. Trump. And it reflected the precarious position of Mr. McCarthy, who has not endorsed Mr. Trump or any other candidate, as the G.O.P. His latest difficulties began on Tuesday morning when, during an interview with CNBC, Mr. McCarthy wondered whether it would be good for the party to have Mr. Trump as its presidential nominee given his legal troubles. Yeah, he can win that election,” Mr. McCarthy said. “The question is, is he the strongest to win the election; I don’t know that answer.”

Persons: Kevin McCarthy, Donald J, ”, Biden, Trump, ingratiating, McCarthy’s, Mr, McCarthy, “, ” Mr Organizations: Trump, Republican, CNBC

Earlier this month, a group of hard-right Republicans hijacked the floor of the House of Representatives in protest against Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The mutiny, staged by nearly a dozen members of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, raised questions about whether the speaker could continue to govern his slim and fractious majority. Annie Karni, a congressional correspondent for The Times, explains how and why this small group of members made the chamber ungovernable.

Persons: Kevin McCarthy, Annie Karni Organizations: Republicans, Caucus, The Times

☆ Divided House Sidesteps Biden Impeachment Vote but Starts Inquiry
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Annie Karni | Luke Broadwater | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Republican-led House on Thursday quashed a move to quickly impeach President Biden but voted along party lines to open an investigation into his removal, as reluctant G.O.P. leaders bowed to a member of their hard-right flank who demanded to move forward with charges that his immigration policies constitute high crimes and misdemeanors. By a vote of 219 to 208, the House referred two articles of impeachment against Mr. Biden — one for abuse of power and one for dereliction of duty — to the Homeland Security and Judiciary Committees. Speaker Kevin McCarthy engineered the move, which allowed the impeachment articles to advance without officially endorsing them. He sought with the referral to defuse pressure from right-wing lawmakers to immediately begin the process of removing Mr. Biden from office, despite a lack of evidence of any wrongdoing.

Persons: Biden, G.O.P, Mr, Kevin McCarthy, Lauren Boebert, McCarthy Organizations: Republican, Homeland Security, Republicans Locations: Colorado, United States

☆ Senate Democrats Seek to Highlight G.O.P. Opposition to Abortion Rights
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Annie Karni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

(The case that overturned the right to abortion is Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.) The outcome seems preordained: Republicans blocked many of those same bills last year. Last year, the Senate also failed to pass legislation to guarantee abortion rights nationwide, as Republicans and one Democrat in the Senate blocked an effort to enshrine the Roe v. Wade precedent in federal law. Since the overturning of Roe, 14 states have passed near-complete bans on abortion. An additional eight states have passed abortion bans that are temporarily blocked in court.

Persons: Dobbs, ”, Schumer, ’, Wade, Roe Organizations: Jackson, Health Organization, Republicans, Senate

☆ Hard Right Agrees to Allow House Votes but Threatens Continued Blockade
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Annie Karni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Hard-right House Republicans agreed late Monday to give their party leaders a temporary reprieve from a weeklong blockade of the House floor, allowing some legislative business to move forward on Tuesday but insisting they would withhold their support for future votes if their demands were not met. The move counted as progress for Speaker Kevin McCarthy, after days of paralysis in the House that showcased his weak grip on his fractious conference in the face of the rage of right-wing Republicans over the deal he cut with President Biden to suspend the debt limit and avert a federal default. But the agreement was only provisional, and the group of about a dozen ultraconservative lawmakers who have held the floor hostage made it clear they planned to continue using guerrilla tactics to keep a tight leash on Mr. McCarthy, effectively exercising veto power on what he is able to accomplish. The House remained at a standstill on Monday evening, after Mr. McCarthy canceled scheduled votes. In conversations on Monday, the people said, members of the rebel group were explicit with Mr. McCarthy that he could not count on their support for bringing up any other legislation next week or in the future, until they had worked out a power-sharing agreement that guaranteed them major influence on the legislative agenda.

Persons: Kevin McCarthy, Biden, McCarthy Organizations: Republicans, Caucus

☆ House Is Paralyzed as Far-Right Rebels Continue Mutiny Against McCarthy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Annie Karni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Hard-right Republicans pressed their mutiny against Speaker Kevin McCarthy into a second day on Wednesday, keeping control of the House floor in a raw display of their power that raised questions about whether the speaker could continue to govern his slim and fractious majority. Mr. McCarthy, who enraged ultraconservative Republicans by striking a compromise with President Biden to suspend the debt limit, has yet to face a bid to depose him, as some hard-right members have threatened. But the rebellion has left him, at least for now, as speaker in name only, deprived of a governing majority. “House Leadership couldn’t Hold the Line,” Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida and a leader of the rebellion, tweeted on Wednesday. In a remarkable act of intraparty aggression, about a dozen rebels ground the chamber to a halt on Tuesday by siding with Democrats to defeat a procedural measure needed to allow legislation to move forward, and business cannot resume until they back down and vote with their own party.

Persons: Kevin McCarthy, McCarthy, Biden, Matt Gaetz Organizations: Republicans, Republican, Caucus Locations: Florida

A group of hard-line Republicans hijacked the House floor on Tuesday, grinding legislative business to a halt for several hours in a striking display of ire at Speaker Kevin McCarthy for making a deal with President Biden to suspend the debt limit and banding together with Democrats to muscle it to passage. The mutiny, staged by nearly a dozen members of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus as leaders sought to bring up legislation to guard against restrictions on gas stoves and other federal regulations, reflected the bitter acrimony lingering in the Republican ranks after passage of the debt limit measure last week. It indicated that, even as right-wing lawmakers suggest they are not yet inclined to try to oust Mr. McCarthy from his post over the compromise, they plan to use their clout in the closely divided House to make the speaker’s job impossible unless he bows to their will. “We’re concerned that the fundamental commitments that allowed Kevin McCarthy to assume the speakership have been violated as a consequence of the debt limit deal, and the answer for us is to reassert House conservatives as the appropriate coalition partner for our leadership, instead of them making common cause with Democrats,” Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida told reporters.

Persons: Kevin McCarthy, Biden, Mr, McCarthy, “ We’re, Matt Gaetz Organizations: Republicans, Caucus, Republican Locations: Florida

“Why would Biden say what a good deal it is before the vote?” he asked reporters at one point, referring to himself in the third person. From the start of the clash with Mr. McCarthy’s Republicans, Mr. Biden has followed the instincts he has developed through long, hard and sometimes painful experience. The agreement crafted by Mr. Biden and Mr. McCarthy in the end was a whittled-down version of the original proposals on the table. Image The agreement crafted by Mr. Biden and Mr. McCarthy in the end was a whittled-down version of the original proposals on the table. Even as his allies and even his own White House issued incendiary statements, Mr. Biden acted like the person who has been there before.

Persons: Biden, ”, reticence, Kevin McCarthy, McCarthy, McCarthy’s, Mr, Jamaal Bowman, Kenny Holston, Biden’s, Ro Khanna, shrugged, —, “, Doug Mills, “ I’ve Organizations: Capitol, White, Democratic, McCarthy’s Republicans, Republicans, Republican Party, ”, New York Times, Congressional, Internal, Service, Twitter Locations: Washington, New York, reining, California

☆ Feinstein, Back in the Senate, Relies Heavily on Staff to Function
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Annie Karni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

They push her wheelchair, remind her how and when she should vote and step in to explain what is happening when she grows confused. All senators rely heavily on staff. But for years, Ms. Feinstein’s memory problems have meant that she has needed far more support than other senators. Briefing her on the news of the day requires longer sessions and more background information. At times she has expressed confusion about the basics of how the Senate functions.

☆ Why Dianne Feinstein, Like Many Before Her, Refuses to Let Go
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Annie Karni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It is not just the perks, like free, reserved parking spots at D.C. airports, that make it appealing to hang on. Ms. Feinstein, after all, is wealthy, and has flown on private planes for the majority of her career. But with long years in Congress also comes more seniority, more seasoned staff, committee chairmanships and the ability to funnel more money toward one’s state. There’s the built-in soapbox of the Senate floor, where members can champion their priorities, or rail against policies they oppose. There’s the camaraderie of being part of a team, drawn closer together by the built-in adversary that is the opposing party.

☆ Feinstein Suffered More Complications From Illness Than Were Publicly Disclosed
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Annie Karni | Carl Hulse | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When she arrived at the Capitol last week after a more than two-month absence recovering from shingles, Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, 89, appeared shockingly diminished. Ms. Feinstein’s frail appearance was a result of several complications after she was hospitalized for shingles in February, some of which she has not publicly disclosed. The shingles spread to her face and neck, causing vision and balance impairments and facial paralysis known as Ramsay Hunt syndrome. Characterized by swelling of the brain, post-shingles encephalitis can leave patients with lasting memory or language problems, sleep disorders, bouts of confusion, mood disorders, headaches and difficulties walking. And even before this latest illness, Ms. Feinstein had already suffered substantial memory issues that had raised questions about her mental capacity.

☆ House Democrats Move to Force a Vote on Expelling Santos From Congress
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Annie Karni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Democrats moved on Tuesday to force a vote within days on removing Representative George Santos of New York from Congress, an attempt to press Republicans to either endorse or abandon a serial liar in their ranks who has been indicted on charges of wire fraud, money laundering, stealing public funds and lying to the government. The measure has little chance of passage in the Republican-led House, where it would require a two-thirds supermajority to pass. But by bringing it up, Democrats were increasing the pressure on Republicans to register a position on Mr. Santos’s conduct. “Now is an opportunity to hold him accountable,” Representative Robert Garcia, Democrat of California, said on Tuesday after he rose on the House floor to call up his resolution to expel Mr. Santos from Congress. “The Republicans in the House are actually going to have to go on record and make a decision about if they’re actually going to stand for truth and accountability, or if they’re going to stand with someone that’s clearly a liar.”

☆ Speaker McCarthy is not calling on Santos to resign.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Annie Karni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who has made no move to penalize or marginalize Representative George Santos even in the face of mounting allegations of misconduct and lies by the first-term New York Republican, has signaled that Mr. Santos will be allowed to continue to serve in Congress even after being indicted on federal charges. “I’ll look at the charges,” Mr. McCarthy told reporters on Tuesday, before an indictment charging Mr. Santos with wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and lying to Congress was unsealed. “If a person is indicted, they’re not on committees. “He was already removed from all his committees,” Representative Steve Scalise, Republican of Louisiana and majority leader, said during a morning news conference. “In America, there is a presumption of innocence but they’re serious charges.

☆ Feinstein Returning to Senate, Bringing Democrats Back to Full Majority
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Annie Karni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It was not clear if Ms. Feinstein, 89, would make it back in time for a vote scheduled for Tuesday night, a spokesman said. But her return to the chamber would restore a Democratic majority to the Judiciary Committee, where Democrats were becoming increasingly concerned about their limited ability to move forward with judicial nominations. Ms. Feinstein, who was hospitalized in February for shingles, for weeks gave no detailed updates about her health as she recovered in San Francisco, and provided no timeline for her planned return to the Senate. Her prolonged absence left her colleagues in the Senate fearing that they would be short a vote not only on the Judiciary Committee but also on other crucial matters. “The bottom line is the business of the committee and the Senate is affected by her absence,” Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois and chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

☆ Nancy Mace, a ‘Caucus of One’ in the G.O.P., Says She’s Trying to Change Her Party
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Annie Karni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It was just after Representative Nancy Mace, Republican of South Carolina, had fired off a blunt text to the No. “Now I’ll look like a flip-flopper,” Ms. Mace worried aloud. She anticipated criticism for the turnabout, but consoled herself with the fact that she had leveraged her vote to force her party to take on issues she cared about. “This is a way I can drive the debate,” she said as she walked back to her office. “It’s a way of using my position to push those issues.”

For the past few months, a single lawmaker has prevented Democrats from carrying out their agenda in Congress. For now, there is no simple solution in sight. Annie Karni, a congressional correspondent for The Times, explains the issue surrounding Senator Dianne Feinstein.

☆ After a Hellish Start and a Honeymoon, McCarthy Faces His First Big Test
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Annie Karni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON — Grinning through 15 excruciating rounds of votes to become speaker of the House in January may have been unpleasant, but Kevin McCarthy was determined to focus on the silver lining. “See, this is the great part,” Mr. McCarthy told reporters who questioned how — if he could barely get his colleagues to elect him — he would ever be able to govern his slim and unruly House Republican majority. “Because it took this long, now we learned how to govern. Mr. McCarthy is set as early as Wednesday to bring to the floor his proposal to lift the debt ceiling for a year in exchange for spending cuts and policy changes. With a slim majority — with all Democrats present and voting no, he could afford to lose no more than four votes — it is still not clear whether he has the votes to pass a bill that has no chance of enactment.

☆ Signed Letters, Mar-a-Lago Dinners: Trump’s Personal Touch in Fighting DeSantis
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Michael C. Bender | Annie Karni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

When Anna Paulina Luna’s father was killed in a car crash in January 2022, she received notes from two prominent Florida Republicans. One was from former President Donald J. Trump, a condolence letter that he signed‌, “Donald.”The second letter came not from Gov. The letters meant something to Ms. Luna, who was endorsed by both Mr. Trump and Mr. DeSantis in the House race she won last year. But in the end, she backed Mr. Trump for president in 2024. “Trump’s operation is personal,” Ms. Luna said in an interview on Capitol Hill, hours before flying to Mar-a-Lago for a dinner with Mr. Trump and the Florida congressional lawmakers who have endorsed him.

☆ House Passes Bill to Bar Transgender Athletes From Female Sports Teams
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Annie Karni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON — House Republicans on Thursday approved legislation that would bar transgender women and girls from participating in athletic programs designated for women, the latest effort in a nationwide push by conservatives to restrict transgender rights as they make culture issues a centerpiece of their political message. The bill has no chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate or being signed by President Biden. In a statement of administration policy, the White House said Mr. Biden would veto it if it made its way to his desk. A national ban that does not take into account competitiveness or grade level “targets people for who they are and therefore is discriminatory,” the White House said. In debating the bill, Republicans sought to present themselves as the party of common sense fighting against an extreme agenda on the left.

☆ G.O.P. Vows to Block Feinstein Swap, Leaving Democrats in a Conundrum
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Annie Karni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Pressure is mounting for Ms. Feinstein, 89, who was hospitalized with shingles in February and has announced she will not seek re-election in 2024, to resign now. Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, said later Tuesday that he still planned to move forward with a request to replace Ms. Feinstein temporarily with Senator Benjamin L. Cardin of Maryland. But the move would take the unanimous consent of the Senate — or at least 60 votes — and Mr. McConnell made it clear that would not happen. “Senate Republicans will not take part in sidelining a temporarily absent colleague off a committee just so Democrats can force through their very worst nominees,” Mr. McConnell told reporters. The sentiment was echoed throughout the Republican conference.

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene Republican of Georgia Suggested Mr. Pelosi knew his attacker. Elon Musk Chief executive of Twitter and Tesla Amplified a conspiracy theory about male prostitution. Finding life on far-right websites and the so-called dark web, conspiracy theories and falsehoods leaped from the fringes to the mainstream. Each comment Friday, Oct. 28 6 p.m. A conspiracy theory circulates widely that the attack was the result of a sexual affair. saturday, oct. 29 at 9 p.m. A conspiracy theory circulates widely that the attack was the result of a sexual affair.

Search resuls for: "Annie Karni"

23 mentions found