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☆ Defense Bill’s Fate Teeters After G.O.P. Wedges In Social Issues
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Karoun Demirjian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The measures stand no chance of passing in the Democratic-led Senate, which is planning to begin considering its own version of the bill next week. Even if Republicans can muscle their bill through the House, the deep chasm between the chambers is expected to set off a protracted fight that could threaten Congress’s ability to maintain its six-decade track record of passing defense policy bills each year. Representative Adam Smith of Washington, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, lamented the Republican approach to the legislation, saying it had ruined a bill that had emerged from the panel on a near-unanimous vote. They spent weeks agitating for reluctant G.O.P. leaders to include the socially conservative amendments in the defense bill debate, ultimately forcing the issue by threatening to block progress on the legislation until they got their way.

Persons: Adam Smith of, Smith, “, Kevin McCarthy, G.O.P Organizations: Defense, Democratic, Armed Services, Republicans Locations: United States, Adam Smith of Washington

☆ Slow pace of Biden’s reelection campaign feeds Democrats’ 2024 anxiety
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Edward-Isaac Dovere | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

It’s a persistent sense that the inner circle of advisers to the president and several of the very few aides who have been hired for his reelection campaign dismiss as absurd. “They are so underestimated, and they keep getting it right,” said Jim Messina, former president Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign manager, who has been one of the people privately advising Biden’s team to ramp up gradually. “We will grow and ramp up alongside the Biden campaign, probably in late fall or early next year,” Barnes said. “The most important power of incumbency is taking time to plan and build your campaign while your challenger is busy with a primary,” a Democratic campaign veteran said. “You can raise more now, but President Biden is raising less,” a veteran Democratic fundraiser on the West Coast said.

Persons: –, Joe Biden won’t, Biden, “, ”, Jim Messina, Barack Obama’s, Obama, aren’t, Donald Trump, ‘, “ I’m, Trump’s, David Axelrod, “ Trump, ” Axelrod, Biden’s, Kevin Munoz, Harris, Roe, Wade, Mitt Romney, Trump, Jen O’Malley Dillon, Messina, ” Messina, Roy Cooper, you’re, ” Cooper, Kamala Harris, Lavora Barnes, Julie Chávez Rodriguez, Barnes, ” Barnes, ’ ”, Axelrod, who’s, – “ it’s, Larry Cohen, Bernie Sanders, Obama’s –, Lis Smith Organizations: CNN, Democratic, Trump, GOP, Republicans, MAGA Republicans, Biden, Democratic National Committee, Republican, America, White, North Carolina Gov, ” Michigan Democratic Party, Communications Workers of America, Obama, Biden pessimists Locations: America, Wilmington, Capitol Hill, Washington, Chicago, stoke

☆ Analysis: U.S. crypto lobbyists court Democrats in fresh legislative push
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Michelle Price | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

That effort escalated last month when the SEC sued crypto exchanges Coinbase and Binance for failing to register some crypto tokens. Most crypto companies dispute the SEC's jurisdiction. It would expand the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) oversight of the crypto industry, while clarifying the SEC's jurisdiction. With Democrats' support, the bill could have a shot in the Senate. McHenry and Thompson are discussing the proposal with crypto companies, regulators and Democrats, and hope the committees will vote on it before the August recess, senior Republican policy staff said.

Persons: Cody Carbone, Patrick McHenry, Glenn Thompson, Brett Quick, McHenry, Thompson, Maxine Waters, David Scott, Scott, Vicente Gonzalez, Sylvia Garcia, Carbone, Spokespeople, Waters, Gonzalez, Garcia, Sam Bankman, Fried, Kristin Smith, Coinbase, spender, Kara Calvert, It's, Michelle Price, Hannah Lang, Douglas Gillison, Richard Chang Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Capitol, Blockchain Association, Chamber of Digital Commerce, Crypto, Innovation, Coinbase, Financial Services, Agriculture, Trading, Republican, Thomson Locations: Washington, United States

The guarantors were listed as Elma Santos Preven and Gercino Dos Santos, according to signatures on the court documents that were unsealed. But Santos’ father and aunt “agreed to be personally responsible” for the congressman’s compliance with the terms of his release, the order noted. The family members’ names were revealed Thursday after Santos and his lawyer lost an appeal to keep the identities of the bond co-signers under seal. Santos had argued that he needed to shield his bond co-signers to protect their privacy and risked having them with withdraw their support once their names became public. Santos Preven, who also has donated to her nephew’s congressional campaign, was described as a mail handler for the US Postal Service, in an FEC donation record from October 2021.

Persons: George Santos ’, Elma Santos Preven, Gercino Dos, Santos ’, “, ”, Santos, Santos Preven Organizations: CNN, New York Republican, Representatives, Commission, US Postal Service, Congressional, New York Republicans Locations: New York, York, Long

☆ Why Robert Kennedy Jr.’s 2024 Bid Is a Headache for Biden
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Reid J. Epstein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Biden might seem to be on cruise control until the heat of the 2024 general election. Nearly all of the nation’s top Democrats have lined up behind him, and the Republican nomination fight seems set to revolve around Donald J. Trump’s legal problems. But he is nevertheless facing his own version of a primary: a campaign to shore up support among skeptical Democratic voters. He still has to find ways to promote his accomplishments, assuage voters wary of his age and dismiss the Democratic challengers he does have without any drama. Mr. Kennedy’s support from Democrats, as high as 20 percent in some surveys, serves as a bracing reminder of left-leaning voters’ healthy appetite for a Biden alternative, and as a glaring symbol of the president’s weaknesses.

Persons: Biden, Donald J, Trump —, Robert F, Kennedy Jr Organizations: Republican, Democratic, Mr, Biden

WASHINGTON, June 14 (Reuters) - The top Republican on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee said on Wednesday he was blocking a $735 million arms sale to Hungary because its government has refused to approve Sweden's bid to join NATO. "Hungary should take the actions necessary to allow Sweden into the alliance, and soon," he said. Under U.S. law, major arms deals are reviewed by the top Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee. Sweden applied last year to join NATO as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Objections from Turkey and Hungary have delayed the bid and Sweden now hopes to join by a NATO summit in Lithuania next month.

Persons: Jim Risch, Jens Stoltenberg, Joe Biden, Patricia Zengerle, Gergely Szakacs, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Republican, U.S . Senate Foreign Relations, NATO, U.S, Republicans, Senate Foreign Relations, Representatives Foreign, Committee, Washington Post, Hungarian Defense Ministry, White, Thomson Locations: Hungary, Sweden, Washington, U.S, Ukraine, Turkey, Lithuania, Budapest

☆ Saudi's crown prince and Putin are teaming up to keep oil prices high in a geopolitical gambit likely to annoy the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Saudi Arabia said it is cutting oil production to stabilize oil markets. The move is likely to irk Joe Biden, who has clashed with the Saudis on oil production. The Saudis have previously worked with Russia to cut production, thus boosting prices. Saudi Arabia is the world's biggest oil producer and most influential member of the group, so has significant power over global oil markets. The production cut will likely be among the issues discussed when US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visits Saudi Arabia next week.

Persons: irk Joe Biden, —, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman al, Saud, Prince Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabia's, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Alexander Novak, Biden, State Anthony Blinken Organizations: Saudis, Service, Privacy Policy, Reuters, Brent, White, State, New York Times, Kremlin Locations: Saudi Arabia, Russia, Privacy Policy Saudi Arabia, Saudi, Vienna, Austria, Russian, Riyadh, Ukraine, Opec, India

☆ Top Democrats say Biden should make this year’s ‘craziness’ the last debt limit fight ever
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Edward-Isaac Dovere | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Given the current math in the chamber, every senator in the Democratic Caucus would need to support such a change. The president’s focus, Kikukawa said, remains preventing default, and “other options are a question for another day.”Originally Boyle backed eliminating the debt limit entirely. She and Jeffries both pointed out that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had in 2011 supported a backdoor solution to that debt limit fight, which would have given then-President Barack Obama power to raise it on his own just that one time. Several swing district Democrats, though, told CNN that they were wary of supporting a change, calling the debt limit authority an important check on the presidency and on spending, despite their opposition to how it was used this time. This has been such a torturous experience for my Democratic colleagues that I hope they will not forget,” Boyle said.

Persons: Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer, couldn’t, West Virginia Sen, Joe Manchin, Arizona Sen, Kyrsten Sinema, Massachusetts Sen, Elizabeth Warren, Brendan Boyle –, Hakeem Jeffries, Pramila Jayapal, Nancy Pelosi, –, Boyle, “, ” Boyle, Biden, wasn’t, Michael Kikukawa, Kikukawa, ”, MAGA, ” Jeffries, he’s, ‘, ’ ” Warren, “ It’s, Warren, ” Warren, Steve Ricchetti, Pelosi, Schumer, Jeffries, Mitch McConnell, Barack Obama, ” Pelosi, ” Jayapal, Hawaii Sen, Brian Schatz, ’ ” Schatz, who’ve Organizations: CNN, Capitol, Democratic Caucus, West, Pennsylvania, White, Treasury Department, Senate, Congressional Progressive Caucus, SNAP, Democratic Locations: West Virginia, Arizona, Massachusetts, United States, Hawaii

☆ Top Democrats in Philadelphia Mayoral Race Call for More Policing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Scott Calvert | Photographs Rachel Wisniewski For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PHILADELPHIA—The five Democrats best positioned to win their party’s nomination for Philadelphia mayor have each landed on a central pitch to voters: The city needs a bigger role for police. In response to historically high crime, the top Democratic candidates have called for measures such as more patrol officers, bolstered detective ranks and faster 911 response, and they are debating the merits of police investigative stops—often called “stop-and-frisk”—as a tool for getting illicit guns off the streets. They have also called for expanded violence-prevention efforts, increased youth employment and other steps that don’t involve law enforcement, but the role of police has dominated the debate.

☆ Justice Elena Kagan was worried about the ethics of accepting bagels from friends, while Clarence Thomas was enjoying expensive vacations paid for by a GOP megadonor: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan once turned down a care package of bagels and lox, per Forward. She was concerned she could be violating the court's ethics rules for accepting gifts, friends said. Meanwhile, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was accepting lavish holidays from a GOP megadonor. And unlike the rest of the federal judiciary, the Supreme Court is not bound by a code of conduct. The Supreme Court did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

CNN —Federal prosecutors have filed criminal charges against New York Rep. George Santos, the Republican lawmaker whose astonishing pattern of lies and fabrications stunned even hardened politicos, according to three sources familiar with the matter. Santos is expected to appear as soon as Wednesday at federal court in New York’s eastern district, where the charges have been filed under seal. Spokespeople for the Brooklyn US Attorney’s Office, the Justice Department and the FBI declined to comment. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he will look at the charges before determining if he thinks Santos should be removed from Congress. But as Santos’ past came under closer scrutiny, with large chunks of his official biography revealed to be conjured from nothing, he increasingly adapted the persona of a right-wing troll.

☆ Biden, Lawmakers Look to Break Impasse on Debt Ceiling
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( David Harrison | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

President Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen during a meeting at the White House on Friday. Photo: Evan Vucci/Associated PressWASHINGTON—Top Democrats and Republicans are racing to try to find a politically acceptable way to raise the nation’s borrowing limit in the coming weeks, diving into talks that President Biden has avoided during months of impasse. Mr. Biden will host House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) and other congressional leaders at the White House on Tuesday, the first direct contact in months as officials grapple with the prospect of the first-ever U.S. default as soon as June 1.

WASHINGTON, May 7 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Sunday warned that a failure by Congress to act on the debt ceiling could trigger a "constitutional crisis," with consequences for financial markets and interest rates. Yellen in an interview on ABC News's "This Week" said debt ceiling negotiations should not take place "with a gun to the head of the American people," and reiterated a warning to lawmakers the government could pay its bills only through early June without increasing the limit, which the government hit in January. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo also sounded the alarm on Sunday about the risks of a default during an interview on MSNBC's "The Sunday Show." "If we were to default on our debt, it would have a terrible impact on interest rates." Reporting by John Kruzel, editing by Deepa BabingtonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Biden says Republicans manufacturing a crisis over debt limit
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden sharply criticized 'MAGA' Republicans for their refusal to vote in a higher federal debt ceiling, signaling that there would be little compromise from the White House at a key May 9 meeting with congressional leaders. Republicans are "divided" on the debt ceiling, Biden said, speaking ahead of a meeting on U.S. investment at the White House, and so-called MAGA Republicans are pushing "draconian" cuts in the budget. Biden criticized House Republicans for threatening not to raise the debt limit unless Biden and Democrats agree to steep cuts in the upcoming budget. When you pay the debt or not it doesn’t have a damn thing to do with what your budget" is, he said. Republicans and Democrats should be "debating our vision of the future" in front of the American people, he said.

☆ Analysis: Bank failures and looming debt default test American confidence in the economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Two converging crises are testing American confidence in their financial well-being. And there’s a debt crisis, which is becoming more urgent as the US approaches the “X-date” – when it would default – and on which opposing lawmakers aren’t currently talking to each other. First Republic Bank was taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on Monday, and most of its assets were sold to JPMorgan Chase. Maintaining confidenceNone of that means this is a golden chapter for the American financial system. Now, the debt crisis and the X-dateIf only American lawmakers could take a cue from the First Republic saga and get into a room to solve the debt crisis.

☆ Democrats Reject Starting Talks on Debt Ceiling
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Natalie Andrews | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty ImagesWASHINGTON—Democrats continued to say that the nation’s borrowing limit must be raised without conditions, waving away Republican demands to begin talks after the House passed a bill coupling an increase in the debt ceiling with sharp spending cuts. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) said the legislation showed Republicans are unified on a plan and that President Biden now needs to come to the table. But the White House and top Democrats said they wouldn’t budge on their stance that Congress should pass a “clean” debt ceiling with no conditions attached before moving on to any talks on fiscal policy.

A series of upcoming challenges, from the ongoing war in Ukraine to a still-uncertain economy, could provide hurdles to Biden’s reelection. The Washington beltway event may be indicative of what’s to come for the Biden reelection campaign strategy. “Just like four years ago—I’m off to teach and Joe’s launched his (re-election) campaign! Obama held his first reelection campaign rally in May 2012, 13 months after announcing his bid for a second term. The wait for a Biden reelection rally could be just as long.

☆ Top Democrats demand that Chief Justice John Roberts open investigation into Clarence Thomas after report claims he accepted free vacations worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from a GOP mega donor
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Democrats are urging the Supreme Court to address ethics concerns around Justice Clarence Thomas. ProPublica reported this week that Thomas has accepted free vacations worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. They close by urging Chief Justice Roberts to ensure that the highest court's ethics code is treated are more than just a suggestion. "The highest court in the land should have the highest ethical standards," Kyle Herrig, president of the advocacy group Accountable.US, said in a statement. A spokesperson for the Supreme Court did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

☆ Top Democrats demand that Chief Justice John Roberts open investigation into Justice Clarence Thomas after report claims he accepted free vacations worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from a GOP me
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

☆ This 40-year veteran lawmaker shows top Democrats one eye-popping chart revealing her party's problem winning over the working class
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

She made a chart showing Democrats overwhelmingly represent the wealthiest congressional districts. Kaptur, the longest-serving female member of Congress in American history, has represented a Toledo-era House district since 1983. "You could question yourself and say, well, the blue districts are the wealthiest districts, so it shows that the Democrats are doing better to lift people's incomes," said Kaptur. By contrast, many other well-known Democrats represent higher-earning districts. According to her, Democrats ranging from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries down to rank-and-file lawmakers are often taken aback by the visual.

☆ Regulators need to report SVB executives' potential 'outrageous and indefensible' behavior to Congress to avoid mistakes made after the 2008 financial crisis, 2 top Democrats say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal are calling on the SEC and DOJ to look into the collapse. "The nation's bank regulators cannot make the same mistake twice," they continued. Warren and Blumenthal wrote in their letter that "SVB officials showed a pattern of risky and questionable decision making" that may have contributed to the bank's collapse. They also noted the lack of stress tests that would have helped regulators determine whether the bank could respond to rising interest rates. But Warren has been persistent in her message, already introducing legislation alongside Rep. Katie Porter to roll back the 2018 changes.

☆ Schumer, Jeffries pressure Murdoch, Fox News over Trump's false election fraud claims
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Trump has repeatedly spread false claims that the election was stolen from him. Earlier this week, Dominion filed court papers that revealed parts of the testimony from Murdoch and other top Fox Corp leadership. In his deposition, Murdoch acknowledged that some of Fox's top TV hosts endorsed false election fraud claims. When Murdoch was asked if he was "now aware that Fox endorsed at times this false notion of a stolen election," Murdoch responded, "Not Fox, no. Fox News has consistently denied that it knowingly made false claims about the election.

☆ Kevin McCarthy gave Tucker Carlson access to secret January 6 footage. Mitch McConnell and other Republicans have little to say about it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Kevin McCarthy recently gave Fox News host Tucker Carlson access to security footage from January 6. McConnell repeatedly told reporters that he was simply concerned about Capitol security. "Going back to when Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi was Speaker, my main concern is the security of the Capitol," said McConnell. "Good try," replied McConnell, before again repeating his statement about Capitol security. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

☆ Marjorie Taylor Greene — who's gaining power in the GOP-led House — suggests splitting up the United States on President's Day
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Shriya Bhattacharya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene once against suggesting splitting up the US by "red" and "blue" states. Greene called the idea a "national divorce" for people sick of Democrats' "traitorous" policies in a tweet on President's Day. However, Greene has recently made a concentrated effort to walk back some of her most controversial statements, Insider previously reported. She apologized for her statements supporting QAnon — and, at the same time, became a staunch supporter of Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy as he pushed to become Speaker of the House. "Past comments from and endorsed by Marjorie Taylor Greene on school shootings, political violence, and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories do not represent the values or beliefs of the House Republican Conference," he said in February 2021.

☆ McCarthy kicks 2 top Democrats who spearheaded Trump impeachment efforts off of the intelligence committee
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy rejected two democrats' bids to be on the intelligence committee. McCarthy said that Reps. Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell were not fit to serve on the committee. The two democrats served on it from 2015 to 2019 and headed up impeachment efforts against Trump. Previously, McCarthy had argued that because of Swalwell's past association with a Chinese spy, he should not serve on the committee. He claimed that Schiff "lied to the American public" about his knowledge of the whistleblower at the center of the first impeachment proceedings.

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