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If Congress fails to act, some legal experts say Democratic President Joe Biden has another option to avert a crisis: Invoke the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to ensure the United States can continue to pay its bills. Section Four of 14th Amendment, adopted after the 1861-1865 Civil War, states that the "validity of the public debt of the United States ... shall not be questioned." HOW WOULD MARKETS REACT IF BIDEN USES THE 14TH AMENDMENT? Administration officials and economists have warned that a default triggered by a debt-ceiling breach would roil the world financial system and plunge the United States into recession. That immediate catastrophe might be avoided if Biden invoked the 14th Amendment.

☆ Factbox: U.S. debt ceiling: A 'clean' increase is not the rule
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Republicans in the House of Representatives have passed legislation that would pair a $1.5 trillion increase in the debt ceiling with $4.8 trillion in spending cuts. Democratic President Joe Biden has insisted that Congress must pass a "clean" debt ceiling hike, without imposing other conditions. The House of Representatives automatically raised the debt ceiling 10 times between 1980 and 2010 when it passed its annual budget plan, under a rule named after Democratic leader Dick Gephardt. SUSPENDING ITCongress voted seven times between 2013 and 2019 to suspend the debt ceiling for a set amount of time, rather than raising it. That deal also reversed the usual calculus by allowing the president to raise the debt ceiling unless a majority of Congress voted against it, which they conveniently failed to do.

☆ Factbox: U.S. debt ceiling standoff: Platinum coins, the 14th Amendment could be paths out
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

14TH AMENDMENTSection Four of 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, adopted after the 1861-1865 Civil War, states that the "validity of the public debt of the United States ... shall not be questioned." Some experts have suggested that Biden could invoke this amendment to raise the debt ceiling on his own if Congress does not act. BYPASS REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIPDemocrats and rank-and-file Republican allies in the House could bypass McCarthy and force a vote on a "clean" debt ceiling increase, free of spending cuts or other conditions. GET RID OF ITCongress could vote to abolish the debt ceiling entirely, which would eliminate the need to vote on the issue periodically but also erode Congress's authority on fiscal matters. Attempts to abolish the debt ceiling have gotten no traction in Congress in recent years.

[1/2] Solar panels are built at the QCells solar energy manufacturing factory in Dalton, Georgia, U.S., March 2, 2023. The Inflation Reduction Act, which passed last year without a single Republican vote, is a signature Biden accomplishment and offers $369 billion investment to address climate change. This includes $270 billion in tax incentives. Republicans have portrayed the tax credits as a distortion of the free market that gives unfair advantage to clean-energy producers over fossil fuels. Frisone, of CZAR-Power, said he plans to call Republican officeholders to make his case, adding, "This is a political stunt -- why are we doing it?"

☆ Factbox: What's in the US House Republicans' debt-ceiling spending-cut bill?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

SPENDING RESTRAINTSThe bill would cut a wide swath of government spending to last year's levels, a decrease of about 9%. That would save roughly $3.2 trillion, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, compared with current projections. That would save $30 billion, according to CBO. That would save $540 billion, according to CBO. That would save $3 billion, according to CBO.

☆ Explainer: Tax cuts, balanced budget: What's not in Republican McCarthy's debt plan?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Some House Republicans have called for balancing the budget within 10 years, but McCarthy's proposed cuts would almost certainly not hit that goal. McCarthy's plan would not repeal two tax hikes secured by Democrats in last year's Inflation Reduction Act: a 15% minimum tax on large corporations and a 1% excise tax on stock buybacks. It also does not try to make permanent the temporary individual tax cuts contained in the 2017 Republican tax-cut package that are due to expire in 2025. His former budget director, Russell Vought, called for cuts to housing, education and health programs in a proposal released earlier this year. McCarthy's plan would not repeal Obamacare, or roll back enhancements secured by Democrats in 2021 and 2022.

Failure to raise the debt ceiling would lead to default that would shake the U.S. and world economies. McCarthy said the package would lower spending by $4.5 trillion over the coming 10 years. Biden reiterated his position that Congress should raise the $31.4 trillion debt limit without conditions, as it did three times under his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump. POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCESThe nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget praised McCarthy's plan as a "realistic and extremely welcome first step." A lengthy 2011 standoff over the debt ceiling led to a first-ever downgrade of the federal government's credit rating, which rattled markets and raised borrowing costs.

[1/4] Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivers a speech announcing his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., April 19, 2023. REUTERS/Brian SnyderApril 19 (Reuters) - Anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a member of a storied U.S. political dynasty, announced on Wednesday a long-shot bid to challenge incumbent President Joe Biden for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination. He is the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963, and the son of former U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968 during his own presidential bid. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kennedy criticized social-distancing requirements and vaccine mandates.

April 19 (Reuters) - Anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a member of a storied U.S. political dynasty, is due to announce on Wednesday a long-shot bid to challenge incumbent President Joe Biden for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination. He is the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963, and the son of former U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968 during his own presidential bid. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kennedy criticized social-distancing requirements and vaccine mandates. Kennedy said on Twitter last month that he was considering a presidential run to "end the corrupt merger between state and corporate power."

☆ Factbox: What's in Republican McCarthy's debt-limit spending cut package
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

At that point, Congress would have to address the issue again, as the 2024 presidential campaign heats up. Those caps would effectively serve as spending cuts, as they would not keep up with projected inflation and population growth. Congress agreed to similar spending caps in 2011 during another debt-ceiling standoff, though it often did not adhere to them in the following years. CLAW BACK UNSPENT COVID-19 FUNDSThe plan would cancel the remaining pots of money from the $5.2 trillion Congress approved between 2020 and 2022 to fight COVID-19. According to the White House, the remaining money amounted to less than $80 billion in January and is likely lower now.

☆ Factbox: What's in Republican McCarthy's debt-limit spending cut package?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SPENDING RESTRAINTSThe plan would cut a wide swath of government spending to last year's levels, a decrease of about 9%. It is not clear how the spending caps would affect specific government operations, from air traffic control to housing to the military. The caps would reduce spending in real terms as they would not keep up with projected inflation and population growth. CLAW BACK UNSPENT COVID-19 FUNDSThe plan would cancel the remaining funds from the $5.2 trillion Congress approved between 2020 and 2022 to fight COVID-19. TIGHTEN WORK REQUIREMENTSThe plan would stiffen work requirements for participants in some antipoverty programs.

April 7 (Reuters) - Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has chosen a finance director for his prospective presidential campaign, two sources close to DeSantis said on Thursday. DeSantis' support stood at 21% in the Thursday poll. Others who have joined DeSantis' political operation include Jason Johnson, who served as Cruz's chief strategist in 2016, the sources said. Several high-profile operatives supporting DeSantis are Cruz alums. While the Texas senator ultimately lost to Trump, Cruz won the pivotal state of Iowa and finished second in a crowded field to the former president.

The news outlet said the frequency of the gifts have "no known precedent in the modern history of the U.S. Supreme Court." Thomas and Chief Justice John Roberts did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "This cries out for the kind of independent investigation that the Supreme Court — and only the Supreme Court, across the entire government — refuses to perform," Whitehouse said on Twitter. The ProPublica report is the latest revelation to prompt ethics concerns about Thomas. Thomas's failure to report the trips provided by Crow appears to violate a federal law requiring justices, judges and other federal officials disclose most gifts, ProPublica reported, citing legal ethics experts.

☆ Stormy Daniels says Trump should not go to prison in hush money case
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Katharine Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 6 (Reuters) - Stormy Daniels, the adult film star at the center of the criminal case against Donald Trump, said she does not think the former president should go to prison if convicted of concealing hush money payments he made to her. Prosecutors in Manhattan accused Trump, the first sitting or former U.S. president to face criminal charges, of trying to conceal a violation of election laws during his successful 2016 campaign. Trump, the front-runner in the race for the Republican nomination in 2024, denies having an affair with Daniels but has acknowledged the payment. Daniels told Morgan that if the case goes to trial, she would like to testify. Reporting by Katharine Jackson; Editing by Andy Sullivan and Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ex-DOJ lawyer tells jury he met with Chinese to further illegal lobbying campaign
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | Thomson Reuters | Sarah N. Lynch Is The Lead Reporter For Reuters Covering The U.S. Justice Department Out Of Washington | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

George Higginbotham testified that he made money on the side while working at the Justice Department by offering legal advice to Michel, a long-time friend. But he did so anyway, telling the jury he let his friendship with Michel cloud his judgment. "This could get me in a lot of trouble," he told the jury he recalled thinking, adding that his actions were "definitely outside of official lines." Higginbotham, who pleaded guilty in 2018 for his role in the foreign influence campaign, testified that Justice Department investigators later found out about his meeting and questioned him. Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Andy Sullivan and Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Americans divided over criminal charges against Trump - Reuters/Ipsos poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Richard Cowan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, April 6 (Reuters) - The prosecution of former President Donald Trump has evenly divided Americans but appears to have boosted his chances of winning the Republican nomination for the 2024 election, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Thursday. read moreThe survey found that 49% of all Americans think it was right for prosecutors to pursue the first criminal case against a U.S. president or former president. That is up from 48% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Monday. However, 76% of Republicans think some in law enforcement are working to delegitimize Trump through politically motivated investigations, compared to 34% of Democrats. Some 51% of all respondents, but only 18% of Republicans, said the charges should disqualify Trump from again running for president.

☆ Republican House chairman subpoenas former prosecutor Pomerantz in Trump probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, April 6 (Reuters) - Jim Jordan, the Republican chair of the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, on Thursday issued a subpoena to Mark Pomerantz, a former prosecutor who led the Manhattan district attorney's investigation of Donald Trump. Bragg told reporters Tuesday the charges were part of the office's history of "vigorously enforcing white collar crime." Pomerantz, who left the office early last year, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He previously led a sprawling probe into Trump's business practices but he resigned shortly after Bragg, a Democrat, took office in 2022 and declined to pursue an indictment of Trump based on that probe. "Pomerantz's public statements about the investigation strongly suggest that Bragg's prosecution of President Trump is politically motivated," Jordan said in a statement on Thursday.

☆ 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.

[1/3] Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley arrives for a campaign event in Dover, New Hampshire, U.S., March 27, 2023. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File PhotoWASHINGTON, April 5 (Reuters) - Republican U.S. presidential candidate Nikki Haley has raised more than $11 million since declaring her candidacy in February, her campaign said on Wednesday, a significant sum that could help her expand her support in the coming months. It noted that Haley's fundraising figure exceeded the $9.5 million raised by rival Donald Trump in the fourth quarter of 2022, when he declared his candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. "That's a very solid number and a testament to what a strong launch she had," Alex Conant, a Republican strategist, said of Haley's fundraising numbers.

☆ Trump, facing criminal charges, calls for defunding the FBI
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Rami Ayyub | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS SHOULD DEFUND THE DOJ AND FBI UNTIL THEY COME TO THEIR SENSES," Trump wrote on his social media platform. Trump, who served as president from 2017 to 2021, backed spending increases for the Justice Department and FBI while in office. Trump faces two Justice Department criminal investigations led by a special counsel appointed by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. Trump himself appointed the current FBI director, Christopher Wray, after firing the agency's previous chief, James Comey, in 2017. Prosecutors said the payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal constituted an attempt to conceal a violation of election law.

Sentencing Commission approved new guidelines on Wednesday that will expand federal inmates' ability to qualify for compassionate release from prison. The First Step Act, signed into law by former President Donald Trump in 2018, expanded compassionate release criteria for sick and elderly federal inmates. Requests for compassionate release then surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, with 7,014 motions filed in fiscal year 2020. The new compassionate release guidelines approved on Wednesday expanded the criteria for what can qualify as "extraordinary and compelling reasons" to grant compassionate release, and it will give judges more discretion to determine when a sentence reduction is warranted. Among the new categories that could make an inmate eligible for compassionate release is if he or she becomes the victim of sexual assault by a corrections officer.

☆ Explainer: Who is Karen McDougal, the Playboy model in the Trump case?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, April 4 (Reuters) - The criminal case against former President Donald Trump, unveiled on Tuesday, rests not just on his high-profile alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels but also on a separate liaison with Playboy model Karen McDougal. A 52-year-old former model and actress from Indiana, McDougal was a Playboy magazine Playmate of the Year in the late 1990s. They said Trump, his lawyer Michael Cohen and AMI former chief executive David Pecker, a longtime friend of Trump, agreed that Trump would reimburse AMI. McDougal later sued AMI and reached an agreement that allowed her to discuss her relationship with Trump. ONE OF TWOThe transaction is one of two involving alleged affairs that are at the heart of the criminal case against Trump.

☆ Republican presidential hopeful Hutchinson says Trump should exit race over Jan. 6 attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Nathan Layne | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

It's unacceptable, and former president Trump bears significant responsibilty," Hutchinson, 72, said. His comments came on the same day that Trump flew to New York City to face charges in the hush money probe. Trump, who is seeking to regain the presidency in 2024, is the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released Monday found that 48% percent of Republican voters wanted Trump to be their nominee, up from 44% last month. Reporting by Nathan Layne in Wilton, Connecticut; editing by Andy Sullivan and Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Factbox: Details from New York prosecutor's Trump hush-money indictment
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Daniels said she and Trump had a sexual encounter in 2006, the year after he married Melania Knauss, his third wife. Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to federal campaign-finance charges related to the payments and said he acted at Trump's direction. Pecker made the payment after discussing it with Cohen and Trump, according to the charges, with the understanding that Trump would pay him back. Trump and Cohen discussed repayment in a conversation captured in an audio recording in September 2016 and made plans to do so. Around that time, Pecker connected Cohen with a lawyer for Daniels, who said she had an affair with Trump as well.

☆ Trump widens lead in 2024 Republican presidential primary
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Richard Cowan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, April 3 (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Donald Trump has widened his lead over his rivals in the 2024 Republican presidential nominating contest, even as he faces criminal charges in New York, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Monday. Some 48% of self-described Republicans say they want Trump to be their party's presidential nominee, up from 44% in a March 14-20 poll. Trump has stepped up his attacks on DeSantis, who has not formally announced his candidacy but is expected to run. Some 71% of Americans, including 58% of Republicans, say it is believable that Trump paid porn star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an affair ahead of the 2016 presidential election. At the same time, 51% of poll respondents, including 80% of Republicans, said they believed the charges are politically motivated.

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