Biden pledges to codify abortion rights if Democrats win midterms: ‘I’ll sign it in January’ – as it happened

That’s it for the US live politics blog today!

Here’s a summary of what we covered today:

• Biden promised to codify Roe v wade in his first post-midterms legislation if Democrats keep control of Congress, saying “I’ll sign it in January” during a speech at a DNC event in Washington DC.

• Biden also promised to veto any federal abortion ban that comes across his desk, as Republicans push for a federal ban following the overturn of Roe v wade in June.

• Biden pledged to ban assault weapons during the DNC speech. Biden said, “I did it once, I’ll do it again”, in reference to a ban he helped negotiate as a senator.

• Candidates across key races in Utah, Georgia, and Ohio had heated debates yesterday, with November midterms less than a month away.

Thank you for reading; see you tomorrow!

Could Kathy Hochul be in trouble in New York

New York is not a state that too many Democrats have been worried about in recent years. But a couple of recent polls have shown governor Kathy Hochul with only a relatively narrow lead over her Republican opponent.

Politico has the details:

Two polls Tuesday showed the race for New York governor getting closer than perhaps many had initially expected in the deep-blue state.

A Siena College Research Institute poll early Tuesday found Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul held an 11-percentage-point edge over Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin in a state where Democrats have won every statewide race over the past two decades. That was down from a 17-point lead a month ago.

Then an even closer poll came out in the afternoon: A Quinnipiac University survey found Hochul with a razor-thin 50 percent to 46 percent lead over Zeldin — putting Zeldin within striking distance of a potentially major upset.

“In the blue state of New York, the race for governor is competitive,” Quinnipiac polling analyst Mary Snow said in a statement.

Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward announced today that he will be releasing a new audiobook entitled “The Trump Tapes,” which features eight hours of raw interviews with former president Donald Trump.

Here’s more background on the book from CNN:

.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}The interviews offer unvarnished insights into the former president’s worldview and are the most extensive recordings of Trump speaking about his presidency — including explaining his rationale for meeting Kim, his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Trump’s detailed views of the US nuclear arsenal. The audio also shows how Trump decided to share with Woodward the letters Kim wrote to him – the letters that helped spark the DOJ investigation into classified documents Trump took to Mar-a-Lago…

Woodward said in the book’s introduction that he is releasing the recordings in part because “hearing Trump speak is a completely different experience to reading the transcripts or listening to snatches of interviews on television or the internet.”

He describes Trump as “raw, profane, divisive and deceptive. His language is often retaliatory.”

“Yet, you will also hear him engaging and entertaining, laughing, ever the host. He is trying to win me over, sell his presidency to me. The full-time salesman,” Woodward said. “I wanted to put as much of Trump’s voice, his own words, out there for the historical record and so people could hear and judge and make their own assessments.”

Jean-Pierre also mentioned student loan forgiveness applications that opened on Monday, as lawsuits are still being waged against Biden’s proposal.

Jean-Pierre has been asked several questions about the economy, specifically about gas prices and inflation.

One question centered on the strength of the economy, as Bloomberg economists predict a “100% chance” of a recession, but Jean-Pierre contended that the economy is resilient given economic policies put forth by Biden.

On oil, Jean-Pierre said that the oil production under Biden has increased, a seeming conflict given Biden’s past comments about transitioning towards cleaner energy options.

A reporter asked a question about Brittney Griner, who turned 32 years old today.

Jean-Pierre has said that it is a priority of Biden to get Griner home, as well as Paul Whelan, a former US marine who has been incarcerated in Russia since 2018.

Jean-Pierre would not provide information on Griner’s condition, what access to the WNBA star looks like, or other questions.

Jean-Pierre was just asked what Biden’s plan is if Democrats do not keep control in the midterm elections come November.

Jean-Pierre responded with: “The way that we make Roe into law is to make sure we have legislation and we codify it. That is the best way to protect women’s rights.”

Jean-Pierre added that the president believes that it’s important for people to “make their voices heard”.

Jean-Pierre also refused to give a specific number of how many more votes would be enough for Biden to codify Roe.

Press briefing is now underway.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre opened up the conference about the overturning of Roe v wade.

Jean-Pierre confirmed again that Biden plans on making Roe v wade the “law of the land” around the 50th anniversary of the Roe v wade’s decision next year.

The White house press briefing should be happening shortly, scheduled for 1:45 pm eastern time.

Stay tuned!

Biden will be speaking on gas prices tomorrow, said White house chief of staff on Twitter.

In a response to comments from Hill reporter Hanna Trudo about Biden’s speech on abortion, Ronald Klain responded that Biden will be speaking about gas prices tomorrow.

Biden also pledged to veto any federal abortion ban, warning that Republicans have made efforts to push such legislation.

Biden also touched on gun control, promising that if Democrats kept control of Congress in January, he would sign a ban on assault weapons.

“And by the way if you give me a Democratic congress we’re going to ban assault weapons again”, said Biden.

Biden added: “I did it once, I’ll do it again”, referring to a 10-year ban he negotiated as a senator in 1994.

There it is. Biden has officially announced that if Democrats gain control of Congress, his first move will be to send a bill codifying Roe v Wade and sign such legislation ahead of the 50th anniversary of the 1973 decision.

“I believe Congress should codify Roe, once and for all,” said Biden as the crowd cheered.

Biden added: “The first bill that I will send to the Congress will be to codify Roe v Wade … and if Congress passes it, I’ll sign it in January.

“Together, we’ll restore the right to choose to every woman, in every state in America,” said Biden, emphasizing that the crowd needed to vote to ensure such protections.

Biden is currently speaking at a DNC event at Howard Theatre.

So far, Biden has mentioned that 16 states have passed bans on abortions since the overturning of Roe v Wade in June.

Biden also warned about the decision having consequences on other issues, calling out justice Clarence Thomas’ opinion that same-sex marriage, contraception, and other issues should be re-examined.

The DNC event has started, with abortion rights remaining in the spotlight.

From journalist Kellie Meyer: