US Politics

When I came out of the closet in rural, upstate New York almost two decades ago, I never thought I’d go back in. I was wrong.In the last few months, I’ve started to change my appearance to accommodate a growing hostility toward the LGBTQ+ community in the US – even in New York, a state often touted as a beacon for queer communities.I wear a baseball cap when I’m out of the house to hide my bright, blonde hair, as if that’s a shade exclusive to gay men. I’ve ditched brighter, lighter colors that pop when I wear them for darker shades that mask any expression of what could be considered femininity.I speak differently when I’m in public, leaving out the excessive niceties I’d usually exhibit in hopes of throwing strangers off the scent of who I actually am.I started to change how I present myself in public this spring, when someone approached my open car window in traffic, screamed a slur in my face, and walked away without another thought.I was shaken. It was far from the first time I’d been called a slur, but the aggression and confidence with which he confronted me were startling. The next day, I bought a baseball bat, which now lives in my car in case I’m ever followed and attacked.It’s difficult to understand how we got here and why our perception of safety in public has changed so rapidly in just a few years, but it has.But we can find clues in polling data related to the LGBTQ+ community and how others feel about the country’s queer population.A recent Gallup poll found the sharpest decline in acceptance of same-gender relationships among adults in the US since at least 2001, the earliest data available from the polling firm.While about two-thirds of adults in the US – 64% – consider same-gender relationships to be morally acceptable, according to the poll, 33% do not. That’s a jump of eight percentage points compared with last year, when 25% of US adults felt the same way.At the same time, more people now identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community than ever. A separate poll from Gallup last year estimated that about 7.1% of US adults identify with our community – double the 3.5% recorded in 2012.That means more people are coming out at a time when acceptance of same-gender relationships has gone down, creating a recipe for hostility and – in some cases – danger for queer people, and their allies.Laura Ann Carleton, a 66-year-old woman from California, was shot dead in August after her killer took issue with an LGBTQ+ pride flag that was hung outside the store she’d owned and operated for the last decade. She had a husband and a family.At least 15 transgender and gender non-conforming people have been violently killed this year alone, according to data compiled by the Human Rights Campaign, in some cases in possible hate crimes.Those are the instances we know about; because not everyone is out, and because data collection on LGBTQ+ adults can be difficult, researchers from the US Bureau of Justice Statistics say we don’t have a clear picture of how severe the situation is.In just the past year, threats of violence against the LGBTQ+ community have been on the rise, according to the US Department of Homeland Security. The agency even warned that public spaces, and healthcare sites, could be the site of an attack.And now, Canada is warning its LGBTQ+ residents that some states in the US have enacted laws and policies that may affect them, creating a new, unspoken guidance for our queer neighbors to the north: be careful.Those laws were born from culture war in the US, but their impetus remains unclear.The catalyst appears to be the false, decades-old trope that queer people, men in particular, are more likely to act inappropriately around children.It’s an idea that researchers have debunked repeatedly, according to the Zero Abuse Project, a non-profit geared toward ending child sex abuse.And in New York, where the state legislature recently allowed decades-old claims of child sex abuse to be revived in civil court, no pattern emerged that showed members of the LGBTQ+ community as the likely perpetrators of those acts.Opponents of the LGBTQ+ community have also claimed that children will be indoctrinated into a different sexual orientation or gender identity if they spend time with us.Queer people will be the first to tell you that argument is asinine. For one, it implies that children will be able to choose, or change, who they’re attracted to after they’ve reached puberty, which just isn’t possible.If it was, it would raise a question for every person who advocates against us: when did you experience same-gender attraction and how did you reject it? Curious minds would like to know.The notion also presents the false idea to children that they could be happy and loved if they just stopped being themselves – a cruel notion that can manifest into a trauma that some don’t recover from, myself included.This doesn’t have to be a partisan issue; compassion, empathy, and understanding are ideas that hold value for everyone, regardless of their political affiliation.And if you disagree with that, there’s a good chance you’re part of the problem.
Dan Clark is a broadcast journalist in New York, where he produces and hosts a weekly, statewide public affairs program and podcast for the state’s PBS member stations More

The US Senate is “the most privileged nursing home in the country”, the Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said.The former South Carolina governor and ambassador to the United Nations, 51, was speaking to Fox News a day after the Republican leader in the Senate, 81-year-old Mitch McConnell, suffered a second freeze in a month, this time while speaking to reporters in Kentucky.“What I will say is, right now, the Senate is the most privileged nursing home in the country,” Haley said. “I mean, Mitch McConnell has done some great things, and he deserves credit. But you have to know when to leave.”On Thursday, the congressional physician said McConnell was clear to work, perhaps while suffering the after-effects of concussion, sustained in a fall in March, or dehydration. Other falls have been reported, including a “face plant” at a Washington airport, but McConnell has said he will complete his current six-year term, his seventh, which ends in 2026.It was reported on Thursday that some Republican senators were discussing whether to force a confrontation on the issue of their leader’s health.Haley said: “No one should feel good about seeing [McConnell’s freezes] any more than we should feel good about seeing Dianne Feinstein, any more than we should feel good about a lot of what’s happening or seeing Joe Biden’s decline.”Feinstein, 90, is a Democrat and the senior senator from California. Her health and mental capacity long in question, she has said she will retire next year.Biden, 80, is the oldest president ever elected and would be 86 by the end of his second term if he wins re-election. A recent poll showed that more than 75% of Americans think he is too old to run again. This week, the Guardian reported a claim in a new book that Biden has privately admitted he is occasionally tired.The current Senate is the oldest in US history. An old political saying, that the word “Senate” comes from the same Latin word as “senile”, is circulating again.Polling shows support for upper age limits for elected officials. Haley has called for mental competency tests for candidates over 75, though aiming such remarks more at Biden than Trump, the 77-year-old Republican frontrunner.“I wouldn’t care if they did [tests] over the age of 50,” Haley told Fox News. “But these people are making decisions on our national security. They’re making decisions on our economy, on the border.“We need to know they’re at the top of their game. You can’t say that right now, looking at Congress.”Haley is not at the top of Republican primary polling, which Trump dominates despite facing 91 criminal charges and other forms of legal jeopardy including being adjudicated a rapist.Haley performed strongly in the first debate, in Wisconsin last week. She was also among candidates who indicated they would support Trump as the nominee even if he was convicted on criminal charges. More

After the supreme court overturned Roe v Wade last year, district attorneys from major counties in Texas vowed not to vigorously prosecute people under the state’s anti-abortion laws.Now, Texas has a plan to punish them if they don’t fall in line.On Friday, Texas will enact Senate Bill 20, a law that forbids prosecutors from adopting a “policy” of refusing to prosecute particular types of crimes, such as abortion cases. Under the new law, these policies constitute “official misconduct” and could lead to prosecutors being removed from office.This kind of legislation flies in the face of prosecutors’ normal ability to choose whether and how to pursue cases, said Miriam Krinsky, executive director of Fair and Just Prosecution, an organization that works to support local prosecutors. Krinsky called the new law “scare tactics”.“This is not about seeking to see enforcement of laws,” said Krinsky, a former federal prosecutor. “This is about trying to erode the rights of individuals to make choices around their own personal healthcare. And that is incredibly sad, because the collateral damage of that political agenda is the erosion of democratic principles.”Laws like Senate Bill 20 are the latest volley in a long series of battles about the role of small government in regulating abortion. Before the supreme court overturned Roe and abolished national protections for abortion rights, opponents of the procedure had long argued that states should be allowed to write their own abortion laws. Now, however, some powerful anti-abortion groups like Susan B Anthony Pro-Life America are calling for federal abortion restrictions, such as a 15-week ban.Texas is far from the only state where prosecutors have said that they will refuse to go after people for violating abortion bans. Within days of Roe’s overturning, 90 elected prosecutors released a statement – organized by Fair and Just Prosecution –publicly announcing that they would “refrain from prosecuting those who seek, provide, or support abortions”. (US abortion bans typically penalize individuals who provide abortions or help others get the procedure, rather than abortion patients.)Of those 90 prosecutors, five are district attorneys from Texas, which currently outlaws almost all abortions. Three of those prosecutors’ offices did not immediately return a request for comment on the new Texas law or what it may mean for their pledge. One declined to comment.Wesley Wittig, a spokesperson for the Fort Bend county district attorney, Brian Middleton, said that Middleton’s office reviews every case.“We do not, and have not, had any policies that categorically refuse to consider a specific type of crime,” Wittig said in an email. Fort Bend county includes parts of the Houston metropolitan area.The Nueces county district attorney, Mark Gonzalez, whose jurisdiction includes Corpus Christi, Texas, told Rolling Stone this week that he still believed no one should be prosecuted for making a personal decision like having an abortion. But, Gonzalez added: “We don’t have any actual policies in place that say: ‘We will not take this case or take case.’”Republicans in at least three other states introduced legislation this year that would undermine prosecutors’ power to refuse to pursue abortion cases. But Democrats are also trying to curtail local officials’ ability to handle abortion cases: Earlier this summer, the Democratic Arizona governor, Katie Hobbs, signed an executive order stripping local prosecutors of their ability to charge abortion providers. More

As he attempts to meet mounting legal fees incurred in large part through his work for Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani will reportedly not get “a nickel” from one billionaire who backed his campaign for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination – or, apparently, much from many others previously big donors.“I wouldn’t give him a nickel,” the investor Leon Cooperman told CNBC. “I’m very negative on Donald Trump. It’s an American tragedy. [Rudy] was ‘America’s mayor’. He did a great job. And like everybody else who gets involved with Trump, it turns to shit.”Brian France, a former Nascar chief executive, was slightly more conciliatory. But he told the same outlet his wallet was staying shut: “I was a major supporter of Rudy in 2008 and at other times. I’m not sure what happen[ed] but I miss the old Rudy. I’m wishing him well.”Donald Trump happened to Rudy.Giuliani, now 79, was once a crusading US attorney who became New York mayor in 1993 and led the city on 9/11 and after. Capitalising on the resultant “America’s mayor” tag, he ran for the Republican nomination to succeed President George W Bush. Briefly leading the polls, he raised $60m but flamed out when the race got serious.When Giuliani struggled with drink and depression, his former wife has said, Trump gave him shelter. When Trump himself entered presidential politics, in 2016, Giuliani became a vociferous surrogate. When Trump entered the White House, Giuliani failed to be named secretary of state but did become the president’s aide and attorney.In that capacity he fueled Trump’s first impeachment, over attempts to find dirt on opponents in Ukraine, and helped drive the hapless attempt to overturn Trump’s defeat by Joe Biden in 2020, which has spawned numerous criminal charges.Of 91 criminal counts faced by Trump, 17 are related to election subversion. Four were brought by the justice department special counsel Jack Smith. Thirteen were brought by Fani Willis, the district attorney of Fulton county, Georgia.Giuliani also faces 13 counts in Georgia, under racketeering and conspiracy statutes. Like Trump he denies wrongdoing. Also like Trump, he faces other challenges too.Smartmatic, a voting machines company, made Giuliani a target of a $2.7bn defamation suit. This week, Giuliani was ruled liable for defamation against two Georgia elections workers. A former personal assistant, Noelle Dunphy, sued for $10m, alleging sexual assault and harassment. Giuliani has also been investigated by legal authorities.A lawyer for the former mayor has said in court he is struggling to meet his expenses. On the Upper East Side in New York, his luxury apartment is up for sale.CNBC found other former supporters to say they would not help Giuliani now. A personal assistant to Ken Langone said the co-founder of Home Depot did not plan to donate to Giuliani’s legal defense fund. A “Wall Street veteran” said he did not want to be named because “he didn’t want to be bothered by Trump or Giuliani”.Ted Goodman, a Giuliani adviser, told CNBC: “I get that it’s more expedient to say nasty things about the mayor in order to stay in good graces with New York’s so-called ‘high society’ social circles and the Washington cocktail circuit, but I would remind these same people that Rudy Giuliani is the most effective federal prosecutor in American history, he improved the quality of life for more people than any mayor in American history, and he comforted the nation following September 11.“No one can take away his great accomplishments and contributions to the country.”Attempting to stave off attempts to take away his freedom, Giuliani is due on 7 September to host a fundraiser at Trump’s Bedminster club in New Jersey. The Republican frontrunner is due to appear, but he is widely reported to have resisted pleas for significant monetary assistance.CNBC also quoted two anonymous New York Republican operatives. One said: “Rudy should have a statue built in his honor for saving the city. But instead he is a clown figure amongst the donor class and needs to run begging for money to pay for a legal defense in which he tried to overturn an election.” More

He’s an entrepreneur, a former libertarian, a lover of rap, and has been labelled ‘Trump 2.0’ by some. He’s also campaigning to be the Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election. So why is he polling well despite angering many?
Jonathan Freedland speaks to Charlie Sykes of The Bulwark about Ramaswamy’s credentials, his campaign style and his chances of winning

How to listen to podcasts: everything you need to know More

Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the US Senate, was given a clean bill of health by the congressional physician, a day after freezing in front of reporters for the second time in a month.In a short statement, the physician, Brian P Monahan, said he had consulted with McConnell and told him “he is medically clear to continue with his schedule as planned”.At the same time, however, it was reported that a “handful” of Republican senators were weighing an attempt to force the party to confront the issue of their 81-year-old leader’s uncertain health and ability to fulfill the role.In Covington, Kentucky, on Wednesday, McConnell appeared to freeze during questions from reporters. He was eventually escorted away. It followed a similar incident in Washington in July, at the US Capitol. McConnell then returned to resume the session, saying he had been “sandbagged” – a reference to a fall suffered by Joe Biden at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado in May.Four months previously, in March, McConnell fell himself, sustaining a concussion and a rib injury that kept him away from Congress. After his first freeze, other falls were reported.On Wednesday, a spokesperson for McConnell said the senator had felt lightheaded and would consult a doctor. On Thursday, Monahan said: “Occasional lightheadedness is not uncommon in concussion recovery and can also be expected as a result of dehydration.”But with the health of ageing politicians increasingly at issue in Washington – also over reports of Biden, 80, feeling “tired” and the California Democratic senator Dianne Feinstein appearing confused at 90 – McConnell’s health remains in the spotlight.Polling shows majorities of voters believe many politicians stay in their jobs too long. More than half support maximum age limits for elected officials.Frank Luntz, a leading Republican pollster, told CNN: “It’s one of the problems that we have with Washington, which is that there is a time to lead and a time to pass on the torch to another generation.”Calling the response by McConnell’s office to his Wednesday freeze “insufficient”, Luntz added: “I understand why the public is saying about some of these people – give somebody else the chance to do the job.”Three Johns – Thune of South Dakota, Cornyn of Texas and Barrasso of Wyoming – are in line to contest the Republican succession when McConnell does step down. All have avoided stoking speculation. Thune is 62, Cornyn and Barrasso both 71.On Wednesday, it was widely reported that McConnell had sought to reassure those three and other Republican senators about his fitness to lead to the end of his seventh six-year term, in 2026.A Thune aide told news outlets McConnell “sounded like himself and was in good spirits”. Jim Banks, a House Republican running for Senate in Indiana, posted a photo with McConnell, saying they “enjoyed a wide-ranging discussion” that evening. Banks told Axios: “He was engaging. Very dialed in on my race and following closely.”The next day, Politico reported the discussions among Republicans about whether to move to confront the issue of McConnell’s health. But the only senator who was quoted, speaking anonymously, predicted any attempt to move McConnell aside would fail, just as a direct challenge from Rick Scott of Florida failed conclusively last year.“If a handful goes down that path, it will be a rerun of the last time,” the unnamed senator was quoted as saying.Scott told CBS News: “I expect [McConnell will] continue to be the Republican leader through this term … We’ll have another election after the 2024 elections.”Elected in 1984, McConnell is the longest-serving party leader in Senate history, having taken charge of the minority in 2007. As majority leader, between 2015 and 2021, he presided over a radical reshaping of the federal judiciary, stocking lower courts with conservatives and installing three rightwingers on the supreme court.Memorably, McConnell described himself as “stronger than mule piss” in support of Brett Kavanaugh, the second of those supreme court justices whose confirmation was rocked by allegations of sexual assault.Despite McConnell’s long record as a ruthless political warrior, he has maintained at least superficially friendly relations with Joe Biden, who sat alongside him for 23 years as a senator from Delaware.On Thursday, Biden told reporters: “I spoke to him today. He was his old self on the telephone.”The president, who suffered two brain aneurysms in 1988, added: “It’s not at all unusual to have the response that sometimes happens to Mitch when you’ve had a severe concussion. It’s part of the recovery. I’m confident he’ll be back to his old self.” More

From 6h agoDonald Trump has entered a plea of not guilty to the charges brought against him by Fulton county district attorney Fani Willis for trying to overturn Georgia’s presidential election results in 2020.By entering his plea, Trump opted to skip an in-person arraignment of the 19 suspects charged by Willis, which is scheduled to take place in Atlanta next week.Donald Trump will not be appearing in a Georgia courtroom for his arraignment next week, instead deciding to enter his plea of not guilty in writing and skipping another trip to Atlanta. Separately, Republican governor Brian Kemp rejected an effort by a small group of rightwing lawmakers to call the state legislature back in session to remove Fani Willis, the Fulton county district attorney who indicted Trump and 18 others for trying to overturn Georgia’s elections in 2020. And next week, we may get more details about the special grand jury whose work led to the indictments, when their full report is potentially made public by a judge.Here’s what else happened today:Jenna Ellis, a former attorney for Donald Trump who advised on ways to prevent Joe Biden from taking office, has pled not guilty to charges brought against her in the Georgia election subversion case, Reuters reports.Once a prosecutor in Colorado, Ellis spread multiple statements claiming voter fraud during the 2020 election and sent at least two memos advising Mike Pence to reject Biden’s victory in Georgia and other states. The Colorado supreme court censured Ellis earlier this year and she acknowledged making false statements.Ellis was among the 19 people indicted by Fulton county district attorney Fani Willis last week, along with Trump, who today pleaded not guilty to charges including racketeering.The editorial board of influential conservative publication National Review is calling on Mitch McConnell to step down as Republican leader in the Senate.They cite the two instances of the 81-year-old freezing up in public in recent months as evidence that it’s time to hand leadership of the minority party to someone else, though they do not call for him to resign his seat representing Kentucky.Here’s more from their piece:
The details can be left to McConnell, who deserves a large measure of deference. A leadership transition doesn’t need to happen urgently, but the wheels should be turning.
Stepping aside from leadership would not necessarily require leaving the Senate; McConnell could, like Nancy Pelosi, remain in office, and he would doubtless remain influential so long as he is capable of serving. But the job of caucus leader demands more.
The time will come for a fuller appreciation of McConnell’s legacy. But his strenuous opposition to campaign-finance reform, effective resistance to the Obama agenda, stalwart refusal to fill the Scalia seat prior to the 2016 election, fruitful cooperation with President Trump on judges, and, lately, strong support for American leadership abroad when the winds in the party are blowing the opposite way easily make him one of the most consequential politicians of our era.
Prudence and realism have been hallmarks of his leadership and now are called for in considering his own future.
Joe Biden’s national infrastructure advisory council has recommended privatization and long-term leases of water systems to help revitalise the nation’s aging water infrastructure – a move that has not gone down well with water justice advocates.Nationwide, one in 10 people already depend on private water companies, whose bills are on average almost 60% higher than those supplied by public utilities. Private ownership is the single largest factor associated with higher water bills, more than aging infrastructure or climate disasters.“Water privatisation is a terrible idea,” said Mary Grant, the Public Water for All campaign director at Food & Water Watch. “Wall Street wants to take control of the nation’s public water systems to wring profits from communities that are already struggling with unaffordable water bills and toxic water. Privatisation would deepen the nation’s water crises, leading to higher water bills and less accountable and transparent services.”The council is also recommending the creation of a federal water department or an equivalent cabinet-level agency to oversee a national strategy to shore up the nation’s ageing water infrastructure. Federal funding for water and wastewater peaked in 1977, since when utilities have mostly relied on loans and raising bills to fund infrastructure upgrades. After decades of federal austerity for water, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act provided a major cash injection – but is still just a fraction, around 7%, of what experts say is needed to provide safe, clean, affordable drinking water for every American.Biden’s advisory council includes public and private sector representatives, but notably the chair is the CEO of Global Infrastructure Partners, an infrastructure investment bank with an estimated $100bn in assets under management that targets energy, transportation, digital and water infrastructure.Joe Biden just announced he will travel to Florida on Saturday to survey damage caused by Hurricane Idalia:Earlier in the day, the White House announced he spoke to Florida’s Republican governor and 2024 presidential contender Ron DeSantis, and signed a major disaster declaration that will steer federal resources to the state.Biden and DeSantis are adversaries, but have put politics aside to make joint appearances when Biden has traveled Florida state following disasters, most recently in October in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.Now a tropical storm, Idalia is menacing the Carolinas. Follow our live blog for the latest on its path:Punchbowl News reports that Capitol physician Brian Monahan says Mitch McConnell, the top GOP lawmaker in the Senate who yesterday appeared to freeze up while addressing the press, is “medically clear” to work.Monahan attributed the episode, the second in as many months, to “occasional lightheadedness” as the Kentucky lawmaker continues to recover from a concussion he sustained earlier this year:Meanwhile, Joe Biden said he had spoken to McConnell, and his former senate colleague “was his old self on the telephone”. Here’s a clip of the president’s remarks:Scott McAfee, the judge presiding over the trials of Donald Trump and his 18 co-defendants in the Georgia election subversion case, says the proceedings will be streamed live on YouTube, Atlanta News First reports:McAfee cited the practice of Robert McBurney, the judge who presided over the grand jury investigation and indictment phase of the case:It’s unclear when Trump’s trial will start, but proceedings in his former attorney Kenneth Chesebro’s case are scheduled to start on 23 October.Why does Donald Trump want his trial severed from two other his fellow co-defendants?Because those two defendants, Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell, both former lawyers for his campaign, have made motions for speedy trials – which is exactly what Trump doesn’t want. In a sign of just how speedy those trials will be, a judge set out a schedule for Chesebro’s trial that will see it start on 23 October.Politico reports that Trump’s attorney Steven Sadow argues that if the former president is put on trial at the same time, he won’t have enough time to mount a proper defense:In a fast-moving and ever more complex situation, lawyers for Donald Trump have moved to sever his election racketeering case in Georgia from two defendants who have asked for their own trials to be speeded up.As local Georgia court journalist Sam Gringlas reports:“Trump moves to SEVER his case from 2 defendants who want a speedy trial, slated for Oct. “We’re in a huge state of flux right now,” attorney Bob Rubin told me. “The case involving these 19 defendants seems to be going in a lot of different directions all at the same time.”His fellow senators may be keeping mum, but at least one Republican politics watcher thinks it’s time for Mitch McConnell to step down, the Guardian’s Martin Pengelly reports:It may be time for Mitch McConnell to “pass the torch”, a leading Republican pollster said, after the 81-year-old GOP Senate leader suffered a second apparent freeze while talking to reporters.“It’s one of the problems that we have with Washington, which is that there is a time to lead and a time to pass on the torch to another generation,” Frank Luntz told CNN.A spokesperson for McConnell said the senator felt “light-headed” on Wednesday, when he appeared to freeze during questions from reporters in Covington, in his home state of Kentucky, and was eventually escorted away. McConnell would consult a doctor, the spokesperson said.But the freeze followed a similar incident in Washington in July, when McConnell was speaking at the US Capitol. He said then he had been “sandbagged” – a reference to Joe Biden’s fall at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado in May – and returned to talk to reporters.On Wednesday, Biden called McConnell “a good friend”, and said he would “try and get in touch with him later this afternoon”.Tucker Carlson warns of Trump assassinationFar-right media personality Tucker Carlson is known for his outrageous statements and bigoted positions, as well as a degree of paranoia. They can mostly be found on social media these days, after being taken off air by Fox News.But even by his own low standards, Carson might have gone too far on comedian Adam Corolla’s podcast when he predicted that someone would try to kill Donald Trump, the Hill reports.“Begin with criticism, then you go to protest, then you go to impeachment, now you go to indictment, and none of them work. I mean what’s next? You know, graph it out man! We’re speeding toward assassination, obviously. No one will say that, but I don’t know how you can’t reach that conclusion,” Carlson said.It’s not the first time Carson has gone there though. In a recent interview with Trump himself – held to distract people from the Republican debate – Carson asked bluntly: “Are you worried that they’re going to try and kill you? Why wouldn’t they try and kill you?”Following the second instance in as many months where the Senate’s top Republican Mitch McConnell froze up while addressing the press, Politico reports that some senators want to convene a special meeting to discuss his health.McConnell, 81, is the longest-serving party leader in Senate history, but suffered a concussion earlier this year that he took weeks to recover from, as well as a fall in July. The Kentucky lawmaker was challenged for the party’s leadership post earlier this year by Florida’s senator Rick Scott, but easily defeated him, and it remains unclear if a majority of his fellow Republicans want him to step down.Here’s more from Politico:
Some rank-and-file Republicans have discussed the possibility of a broader conversation once senators return to Washington next week, according to a person directly involved in the conversations who confirmed them on condition of anonymity. Party leadership is not currently involved in those discussions, and nothing has been decided yet, this person added.
It takes just five Republican senators to force a special conference meeting, which is the most direct way to have a specific discussion about the minority leader after his public pause on Wednesday revived questions about his condition. But the Senate GOP also holds private lunches two or three times a week, giving members another forum for hashing out the direction of the party’s leadership — one that could forestall the need for a special confab.
And McConnell’s health is a touchy subject: The 81-year-old, the longest-serving party leader in Senate history, doesn’t like to discuss it. Even detractors of the Kentucky Republican’s leadership style are sensitive to the health issues he faces after falling in March and suffering a concussion.
Even so, the question now facing the GOP is whether McConnell’s health hastens a transition atop the conference leadership that has to happen eventually. McConnell squashed his first-ever challenge last fall from Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) on a 37-10 vote.
If a special conference meeting doesn’t happen, the issue could be punted until after the 2024 election. However, a special meeting would undoubtedly draw more media attention that would amplify the risk of specifically broaching the touchy topic of McConnell’s leadership. And his own support may be relatively unchanged even after the two summer pauses.
Donald Trump will not be appearing in a Georgia courtroom for his arraignment next week, instead deciding to enter his plea of not guilty in writing and skip another trip to Atlanta. Separately, Republican governor Brian Kemp rejected an effort by a small group of rightwing lawmakers to call the state legislature back in session to remove Fani Willis, the Fulton county district attorney who indicted Trump and 18 others for trying to overturn Georgia’s elections in 2020. And next week, we may get more details about the special grand jury whose work led to the indictments, when their full report is potentially made public by a judge.Here’s what else has happened today so far:
A self-described organizer for the Proud Boys militia group was just given a 17-year prison sentence for his actions on January 6.
Clarence Thomas, the conservative supreme court justice, released his delayed financial disclosure reports, in which he acknowledged luxury trips taken with Republican mega-donor Harlan Crow.
Trump remains way ahead in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, poll aggregator FiveThirtyEight reports, though his support may have slipped a little bit since the Georgia indictment.
Joseph Biggs, a self-described organizer for the Proud Boys militia group who entered the Capitol on January 6, was just handed a 17 year jail sentence by a judge after being convicted on seditious conspiracy charges.The term was much less than the 33 years prosecutors requested, which would have been the highest meted out in the cases stemming from the attack on the Capitol. Biggs is one of five Proud Boys scheduled to be sentenced in the coming days, a group that also includes its former leader Enrique Tarrio.A report produced by a special grand jury that Fulton county district attorney Fani Willis used to indict Donald Trump and 18 others for trying to overturn Georgia’s election in 2020 could be released in full on 8 September, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.Judge Robert McBurney had earlier this year made public parts of the report, but kept other sections sealed at the request of Willis, who cited due process concerns. In particular, a chapter where jurors recommended who should be indicted was kept out of the public eye. If it was released, it could answer whether there were people who the jurors thought should face charges whom Willis ultimately did not indict.McBurney said the due process concerns were alleviated by the announcement of charges in the case, and said he would release the report next Friday, unless any parties object.Here’s more from the Journal-Constitution:
Such an “exceedingly public development” eliminates due process concerns, at least for the 19 defendants charged in the case and who might have been named in the special grand jury’s final report, McBurney wrote. For that reason, he said, he plans to release the final report at 10 a.m. on Sept. 8.
At the same time, McBurney said, if “any concerned party believes something less than everything should be published,” they have until close of business on Sept. 6 to raise an objection. “If objections are timely filed, they will be carefully considered and a new publication date will be announced,” he said.
Objections would likely come from individuals who were not indicted but who may believe the special grand jury voted that they be charged. They may want to keep such a recommendation from being made public.
When the full special grand jury’s final report is published, it will show the vote tallies from the 23-member panel on each recommendation as to who should be indicted, grand jurors told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in prior interviews. This will allow the public to know whether the panel was overwhelmingly in favor or closely divided on each person.
If you are wondering if Donald Trump’s indictment in Georgia has changed his political fortunes, poll aggregator FiveThirtyEight took a look at the numbers and the answer is … no.“Looking at the big picture – including FiveThirtyEight’s averages of the national Republican primary and Trump’s overall favorable and unfavorable ratings – it’s clear that public opinion about Trump has not changed in a major way in several months, even after he was indicted on nearly 100 criminal charges in four different jurisdictions. After what is expected to be his final indictment, he remains the strong favorite in the GOP primary and a competitive candidate in the general election,” they write.The conclusion comes in a piece that analyzes some of the more recent polls that have come out of Republican primary voters, which show some fluctuations in Trump’s level of support, but no change to his status as the far and away frontrunner for the party’s presidential nomination. He’s currently at 50% support in FiveThirty Eight’s polling average, down from 53% before news of the Georgia indictment broke, but still an overwhelming advantage.Here’s the moment from his press conference today where Georgia governor Brian Kemp rejected using the legislature to oust Fulton county district attorney Fani Willis.His remarks amounted to both a repudiation of the effort to stop her prosecution, and a defense of her conduct:Georgia’s Republican governor Brian Kemp says he will not call the legislature into a special session to impeach Fani Willis, the Fulton county district attorney who last week brought charges against Donald Trump and 18 others for trying to overturn the state’s presidential election result in 2020, Atlanta’s WSB-TV reports.A handful of GOP lawmakers have requested Kemp convene the legislature outside of their normal session to remove Willis from the case, but the governor, who has publicly rejected the former president’s baseless insistence that Joe Biden’s election victory in the state was fraudulent, turned down doing that.“We have a law in the state of Georgia that clearly outlines the legal steps that can be taken if constituents believe their local prosecutors are violating their oath by engaging in unethical or illegal behavior,” Kemp said at a press conference today, according to WSB-TV.He characterized a special session targeting Willis as unfeasible and potentially also unconstitutional, and said, “As long as I am governor, we’re going to follow the law and the constitution, regardless of who it helps or harms politically.” More

The conservative supreme court justice Clarence Thomas faced further controversy on Thursday after the release of his financial disclosure form for 2022 provided evidence of more flights and stays with Harlan Crow, a Republican mega-donor.Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democratic senator from Rhode Island and judiciary committee member, called the form a “late-come effort at ‘clean-up on aisle three’” which would not “deter us from fully investigating the massive, secret, rightwing billionaire influence in which this court is enmired”.A series of bombshell reports have detailed long relationships between Thomas, rich donors and influential rightwing figures. In the case of Crow, a real-estate baron and collector of Nazi memorabilia, ProPublica has reported gifts of luxury travel and resort stays, a property purchase involving Thomas’s mother and school fees paid for his great-nephew.Thomas is the senior conservative on a court dominated 6-3 by the right, a majority that has handed down epochal rulings including Dobbs v Jackson, which removed the right to abortion.From the left, calls for Thomas to resign or be impeached have proliferated. In the Senate, Democrats have advanced supreme court ethics reform. Given that Republicans have sufficient votes to prevent all such actions – and that the chief justice, John Roberts, has rebuffed calls to testify – chances of change seem slim.Thomas, 75, has denied wrongdoing, saying he was advised he did not need to disclose trips and gifts from rich donors as they were “hospitality from close personal friends”.His 2022 disclosure form was released on the last day of August after he – and another conservative beset by reporting about donor relationships, Samuel Alito – requested 90-day extensions to the usual deadline. In an unusual move, Thomas’s form included a lengthy defence of previous filings.In one striking contention, the justice claimed protests over the Dobbs decision, after it leaked in May 2022, justified his use of Crow’s private plane for a trip to Texas to speak at a rightwing conference.“Because of the increased security risk following the Dobbs opinion leak,” the form said, “the May flights were by private plane for official travel as filer’s security detail recommended noncommercial travel whenever possible.”Thomas’s lawyer, Elliot S Berke, said the justice had “always strived for full transparency and adherence to the law, including with respect to what personal travel needed to be reported”.Berke also criticised “ethics complaints filed against Justice Thomas by leftwing organisations … diametrically opposed to his judicial philosophy” and “leftwing ‘watchdog’ groups … attacking Justice Thomas for alleged ethical violations stemming from his relationships with personal friends who happen to be wealthy”.In his own statement, Kyle Herrig, senior adviser to the watchdog Accountable.US, said: “It’s no surprise that Justice Thomas has kept up his decades-long cozy relationship with billionaire benefactor Harlan Crow with even more lavish jet rides and vacation reimbursements.“For years, Thomas has used his position on our nation’s highest court as a way to upgrade his own lifestyle – and that hasn’t stopped.“… Harlan Crow, Justice Thomas, Leonard Leo, and other key players … may believe they exist above the law, but they don’t. We need accountability and reform now.”Another court observer, Gabe Roth of Fix the Court, addressed the unusual statement appended to Thomas’s declarations form.“Justice Thomas’s lengthy explanation as to why he omitted various gifts and free trips on previous disclosures does not countermand his decades of willful obfuscation when it comes to his reporting requirements,” Roth said.“What’s more, he’s chosen not to update earlier reports with details about the tuition gift, the RV loan” – from Anthony Welters, a healthcare magnate, and first reported by the New York Times – “or his countless private plane fights, all of which were reportable.“It’s time for the Judicial Conference, as required by the disclosure law, to refer these issues to the [US] justice department for further investigation.” More