US Politics

US Senate overwhelmingly approves Nato membership for Finland and SwedenIn 95-1 vote, body supports ‘slam-dunk for national security’ after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine The US Senate delivered near-unanimous bipartisan approval to Nato membership for Finland and Sweden on Wednesday, calling expansion of the western defensive bloc a “slam-dunk” for US national security and a day of reckoning for Vladimir Putin.The 95-1 vote for the candidacy of two European countries that, until Russia’s war against Ukraine, had long avoided military alliances took a crucial step toward expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and its 73-year-old pact of mutual defense among the United States and democratic allies in Europe.Joe Biden, who has been the principal player rallying global economic and material support for Ukraine, has sought quick entry for the two previously non-militarily aligned northern European countries.Approval from all member countries – currently, 30 – is required. The candidacies of Finland and Sweden have won ratification from more than half of the Nato member countries in the roughly three months since the two applied.“It sends a warning shot to tyrants around the world who believe free democracies are just up for grabs,” said Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, before the vote.“Russia’s unprovoked invasion has changed the way we think about world security,” she added.In Taiwan, as in Ukraine, the west is flirting with disaster | Simon JenkinsRead moreThe Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, who visited Kyiv earlier this year, urged unanimous approval. Speaking to the Senate, McConnell cited Finland’s and Sweden’s well-funded, modernizing militaries and their experience working with US forces and weapons systems, calling the decision a “slam-dunk for national security” of the United States.“Their accession will make Nato stronger and America more secure. If any senator is looking for a defensible excuse to vote no, I wish them good luck,” McConnell said.Senator Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican who often aligns his positions with those of the most ardent supporters of Donald Trump, has been one of the few to speak in opposition. Hawley took the Senate floor to call European security alliances a distraction from what he called the United States’ chief rival – China, not Russia.“We can do more in Europe … devote more resources, more firepower … or do what we need to do to deter Asia and China. We cannot do both,” Hawley said, calling his a “classic nationalist approach” to foreign policy.US state and defense department officials consider the two countries net “security providers”, strengthening Nato’s defense posture in the Baltics in particular. Finland is expected to exceed Nato’s 2% GDP defense spending target in 2022, and Sweden has committed to meet the 2% goal.Sweden and Finland applied in May, setting aside their longtime stance of military non-alignment. It was a major shift of security arrangements for the two countries after neighboring Russia launched its war on Ukraine in late February. Biden encouraged their joining and welcomed the two countries’ government heads to the White House in May.The US and its European allies have rallied with newfound partnership in the face of the Russian president’s aggression, strengthening the alliance formed after the second world war.“Enlarging Nato is exactly the opposite of what Putin envisioned when he ordered his tanks to invade Ukraine,” Senator Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat and chairman of the Senate Foreign relations committee, said on Wednesday, adding that the west could not allow Russia to “launch invasions of countries”.Biden sent the protocols to the Senate for review in July, launching a notably speedy process in the typically divided and slower-moving chamber.Each member government in Nato must give its approval for any new member to join. The process ran into unexpected trouble when Turkey raised concerns over adding Sweden and Finland, accusing the two of being soft on banned Turkish Kurdish exile groups. Turkey’s objections still threaten the two countries’ membership.TopicsNatoUS SenateUS CongressUS politicsSwedenFinlandEuropenewsReuse this content More

Kansas is an unlikely place for a triumph of abortion rights.Starting in the 1990s, abortion providers in the state were repeated targets of violence, and in 2009, physician George Tiller was assassinated in Wichita. The state is a reliable GOP vote in presidential elections, and mostly sends Republicans to represent it in the Senate and House of Representatives – all of whom currently oppose abortion.But as last night’s vote to keep abortion protections in the constitutions shows, its residents don’t necessarily share their views. Around 59 percent of voters rejected a measure to change the constitution to allow the procedure to be cracked down on – about matching the 58 percent of Americans Gallup found did not want Roe v. Wade overturned.Whether red or blue, many states appear to share this dynamic. The Public Religion Research Institute says only in 10 states do majorities of voters want to make abortion illegal in all or most cases. Nationally, only 40 percent of people would support doing that.Washington spent today digesting the results of primary elections across the country, in which Kansas voted to protect abortion rights while Trump-aligned candidates triumphed in Arizona and elsewhere. Here’s a recap of what happened today:
Indiana congresswoman Jackie Walorski was among four people killed in a car accident in the state.
The defamation trial of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones took a dramatic turn when his cellphone data was accidentally shared with attorneys for the plaintiffs in the case, drawing the attention of the January 6 committee.
A poll from Monmouth University showed Democrats have taken a narrow lead when it comes to control of Congress, while Biden’s approval rating plunge may have halted.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell called for the chamber to approve Sweden and Finland’s entry to Nato, which it is expected to do later today.
House speaker Nancy Pelosi concluded her visit to Taiwan with a reaffirmation that US leaders would stand up for the island, particularly against China.
New York Democrat Carolyn Maloney had to walk back a comment suggesting Biden wouldn’t stand for a second term.
The president, meanwhile, still has Covid-19, but he plans to sign a measure to boost semiconductor production next week in an outdoor ceremony.
Jackie Walorski, a Republican House representative from Indiana, was among four people killed in a car accident while traveling in the state, WSBT reports:#BREAKING: U.S. Congresswoman Jackie Walorski (R-Indiana) has been killed in a crash that happened at 12:32 P.M. in Elkhart County on S.R. 19 south of S.R. 119. pic.twitter.com/SbvhWlHgxL— Erica Finke WSBT (@EricaFinkeTV) August 3, 2022
A northbound passenger car traveled left of center and collided head on with a southbound vehicle.Walorski, Zachary Potts with the St. Joseph County Republican Party, and Walorski’s comm. director Emma Thompson all passed away.— Erica Finke WSBT (@EricaFinkeTV) August 3, 2022
The northbound vehicle driver, Edith Schmucker, died as well. The investigation is continuing at this time.#RIP to everyone involved in this horrifying crash.— Erica Finke WSBT (@EricaFinkeTV) August 3, 2022
A federal grand jury investigating the January 6 attack has subpoenaed former White House counsel Pat Cipollone and his deputy Patrick Philbin, according to media reports.Both men were present in the White House during the time of the insurrection, and Cipollone has provided testimony to the House committee investigating the attack, which was a major part of its most recent hearing and showed the lawyer trying to get Donald Trump to call off his supporters as they assaulted the Capitol.CNN first reported Philbin’s subpoena today, while ABC News broke the story of Cipollone’s subpoena yesterday.The January 6 committee plans to subpoena phone data from Alex Jones that was accidentally revealed in a defamation case against him, Rolling Stone reports.Citing two sources, the magazine said investigators for the House committee investigating the attack were planning to take advantage of the the surprise development today in Jones’ trial, where it was revealed his lawyer had accidentally shared a copy of Jones’ phone data with attorneys for the parents of a child killed at Sandy Hook elementary school, who are suing Jones.According to Rolling Stone, “It’s unclear what, specifically, the committee will be looking for in Jones’ communications but attorneys for the Sandy Hook plaintiffs have accused the InfoWars host of intentionally withholding relevant communications about the Sandy Hook shooting and lying about having conducted a search for them.”Saying that Republicans “don’t have a clue about the power of American women”, Joe Biden cheered Kansas voters’ rejection of a ballot initiative that would have allowed lawmakers to ban abortion.He made the comments while appearing virtually at a meeting where he signed an executive order that could allow Medicaid, the government health plan for poor and disabled Americans, to cover the travel costs of people who must cross state lines to seek an abortion.“[Republicans] don’t have a clue about the power of American women. Last night in Kansas they found out.”— President Biden celebrates Kansas’ defeat of a ballot initiative that would have repealed the state’s right to abortion pic.twitter.com/AsGe5t8FpR— The Recount (@therecount) August 3, 2022
As the January 6 committee has explored the events surrounding the attack on the Capitol, one name has come up repeatedly: Rudy Giuliani. The former New York City mayor and lawyer for Donald Trump has been involved in that White House’s many scandals, but the New York Times reports today that one inquiry appears to be reaching a conclusion.Federal investigators are unlikely to file charges against Giuliani after looking into whether he illegally lobbied for officials from Ukraine who had offered damaging information about Joe Biden. Here’s more from the Times’ report:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;} While prosecutors had enough evidence last year to persuade a judge to order the seizure of Mr. Giuliani’s electronic devices, they did not uncover a smoking gun in the records, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a federal investigation.
The prosecutors have not closed the investigation, and if new evidence were to emerge, they could still pursue Mr. Giuliani. But in a telling sign that the inquiry is close to wrapping up without an indictment, investigators recently returned the electronic devices to Mr. Giuliani, the people said. Mr. Giuliani also met with prosecutors and agents in February and answered their questions, a signal that his lawyers were confident he would not be charged.This is unlikely to be the last time Giuliani hears from prosecutors, both at the federal or state level. In addition to the January 6 inquiry, he has been subpoenaed to appear before a special grand jury in Georgia that is investigating Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election result in that state.Giuliani ordered to go before grand jury in Trump election meddling caseRead moreThere was an unusual and dramatic turn in the defamation trial of Alex Jones this afternoon, when it was revealed that his attorney accidentally sent a copy of the data from Jones’ phone to a lawyer for the Sandy Hook parents who are suing him.The revelations seem to open up the possibility that Jones could have perjured himself during his testimony. Here’s the account of what happened from Ben Collins of NBC News:Wow. Sandy Hook parents’ lawyer is revealing that Alex Jones’ lawyers sent him the contents of Jones’ phone BY MISTAKE.”12 days ago, your attorneys messed up and sent me a digital copy of every text” Jones has sent for years.”You know what perjury is?” the lawyer asks.— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) August 3, 2022
Sandy Hook parents’ lawyer is now asking Jones about the times he has emailed about Sandy Hook over the last several years, despite testifying under oath he couldn’t find any emails about Sandy Hook. There are apparently a lot of them. One is on a screen right now.— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) August 3, 2022
Even Jones is stunned by the fact Sandy Hook parents seem to have his emails. Jones just called it their lawyers’ “Perry Mason moment.” It’s shocking.— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) August 3, 2022
Judge instructing the jury on the entire contents of Alex Jones’ phone, which was accidentally handed over from Jones’ lawyers to the Sandy Hook parents’ lawyers:”What we do know is that it was not properly turned over when it should have been.”— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) August 3, 2022
These texts and emails are FINALLY revealing financials behind Infowars.Some days in 2018, InfoWars was making $800,000 a day.”Well after your deplatforming, your numbers keep getting better,” Sandy Hook parents’ lawyer says.If they keep that up, that’s ~$300 mill. a year.— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) August 3, 2022
Per the Associated Press, closing arguments in the case are expected to begin today.The defamation trial of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones appears to be nearing a conclusion in Texas. The Associated Press reports Jones acknowledged in court that the Sandy Hook school shooting happened, after years in which he insisted it was a hoax:The conspiracy theorist Alex Jones said on Wednesday he now understands it was irresponsible to declare the Sandy Hook school shooting a hoax, and now believes it was “100% real”.He was speaking in his own defamation trial, a day after the parents of a six-year-old boy killed in the 2012 attack testified about suffering, death threats and harassment they have endured because of what Jones has trumpeted on his media platforms.“It was … especially since I’ve met the parents. It’s 100% real,” Jones said, at the trial that will determine how much he owes for defaming the parents of Jesse Lewis, one of 20 children and six adults killed at the school in Newtown, Connecticut.‘It’s 100% real’: Alex Jones admits in court Sandy Hook shooting not a hoaxRead moreMitch McConnell, the Republican Senate minority leader, has said Finland and Sweden’s applications for membership of Nato – motivated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – are “a slam dunk for national security that deserves unanimous bipartisan support”.McConnell made the remarks on the Senate floor today, before a vote scheduled later. The short version of what he said, provided by his office, is as follows:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Today, the Senate will approve ratification protocols to welcome Finland and Sweden as the two newest members of Nato … There is just no question that admitting these robust democratic countries with modern economies and capable, interoperable militaries will only strengthen the most successful military alliance in human history … This is a slam dunk for national security that deserves unanimous bipartisan support.Approval is expected, though one prominent (and notably sprightly) Republican has said he will vote no. In an op ed last month, Josh Hawley of Missouri said: “Finland and Sweden want to join the Atlantic Alliance to head off further Russian aggression in Europe. That is entirely understandable given their location and security needs. “But America’s greatest foreign adversary doesn’t loom over Europe. It looms in Asia. I am talking of course about the People’s Republic of China. And when it comes to Chinese imperialism, the American people should know the truth: the United States is not ready to resist it. Expanding American security commitments in Europe now would only make that problem worse – and America, less safe.” Joe Manchin, the man in the middle of most things in Washington these days, spoke to the Senate rules committee this morning about reforming the Electoral Count Act, the creaky old mechanism which just about stood up to Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn his defeat in 2020.Reform to the act has emerged as a rare subject of bipartisan interest on Capitol Hill – and Manchin, being the only Democrat in statewide office in otherwise deep Republican red West Virginia, is generally a fan of bipartisan things.He said: “As we saw on 6 January 2021, a lot of the ‘fixes’ established by the original Electoral Count Act are not merely outdated but actually serve as the very mechanisms that bad actors have zeroed in on as a way to potentially invalidate presidential election results.“As I am sure you will hear from the panel of distinguished experts who will testify before you today – the time to reform the ECA is long overdue. The time for Congress to act is now.“To that end, I am proud of the bipartisan bill introduced by [the Republican] Senator [Susan] Collins [of Maine], myself, and my colleagues last month: The Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act.”Manchin said the new act would “unambiguously clarifie that the vice-president is prohibited from interfering with the electoral votes; raise the objection [to electoral results] threshold from a single representative and a single senator to 20% of the members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate; and set a hard deadline for state governors to certify … electoral results – and if they fail to do so or submit a slate that does not match with the electoral results from the state, it creates an expedited judicial process to resolve”.This week, the spotlight once again will be on Democratic senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema (dubbed “Manchinema” by the Washington press corps when the two blocked much of Joe Biden’s agenda).Which is exactly where both of these politicians want it.It’s the Democrats’ last chance for a large package – Manchin agreed last week to $790bn – on the climate and healthcare, financed by a tax increase on the rich and big corporations. But will Sinema go along?It’s been joked that the word “politics” is derived from the Latin “poli”, meaning “many”, and “ticks”, meaning small blood-sucking insects. I don’t hold such a cynical view. But I do know from 50 years’ experience in and around Washington that most of the people who serve in our nation’s capital have very, very large – shall we say? – egos.Full column:Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema act out of ego, not principle | Robert ReichRead moreCould things be looking up for Democrats? Between the defeat of an anti-abortion ballot measure in Kansas and some positive polling data, president Joe Biden’s party has seen signs pulling out of the slump it fell into recently – but there’s still months to go before the November midterms.Here’s a look back at what has happened so far today:
House speaker Nancy Pelosi concluded her visit to Taiwan with a reaffirmation that US leaders would stand up for the island, particularly against China.
New York Democrat Carolyn Maloney had to walk back a comment suggesting Biden wouldn’t stand for a second term.
The president, meanwhile, still has Covid-19, but he plans to sign a measure to boost semiconductor production next week in an outdoor ceremony.
The supreme court has announced a new argument calendar for its cases in the fall, where the conservative majority could again move to upend laws across the United States.New #SCOTUS argument calendar. Affirmative action cases to be heard Oct. 31. pic.twitter.com/hgyVlENvRj— Adam Liptak (@adamliptak) August 3, 2022
Of note is the 31 October argument of two cases against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in which the court could bar the usage of race as a factor in college admissions.Supreme court could strike blow against affirmative action in Harvard case rulingRead moreBiden remains positive for Covid-19 but is otherwise feeling well, the White House doctor said in an update on the president’s health.“The President continues to feel well,” Kevin O’Connor wrote, noting Biden “remains fever-free and in good spirits” and had completed “a light workout” today.Biden contracted the virus last month and appeared to have recovered, testing negative last week. But over the weekend, he tested positive again.Biden tests positive for Covid only days after testing negativeRead moreNew York Democratic House representative Carolyn Maloney is doing a bit of clean-up this morning after suggesting in a debate last night that president Biden won’t run for re-election.“I don’t believe he’s running for reelection,” Maloney said during the debate, according to CNN. The lawmaker appeared to be saying the quiet part out loud when it comes to Biden’s viability as a candidate in 2024, given his age (he’ll be 81 when the election is held) and dismal approval ratings.In a series of tweets Wednesday, Maloney tried to clear the matter up:I will absolutely support President Biden, if he decides to run for re-election. Biden’s leadership securing historic investments for healthcare, climate & economic justice prove once again why he is the strong and effective leader we need right now. 🧵— Carolyn B. Maloney (@CarolynBMaloney) August 3, 2022
I urge all Democrats to stay united & focused on working towards winning the midterms. Right now, I am concentrating on the upcoming Democratic primary on August 23rd & the issues that matter to the voters of #NY12. Request your absentee ballot by Monday, August 8th— Carolyn B. Maloney (@CarolynBMaloney) August 3, 2022
Maloney represents a district that encompasses part of New York City, but after redistricting, she’s vying to keep her seat against congressman Jerry Nadler, a fellow Democrat. More

China to begin series of unprecedented live-fire drills off Taiwan coastIsland accuses Beijing of planning to breach sovereign territory in wake of controversial visit by Nancy Pelosi China is to begin a series of unprecedented live-fire drills that would effectively blockade the island of Taiwan, just hours after the departure of US House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, whose controversial visit this week has sparked fears of a crisis in the Taiwan strait.Taiwan has characterised the drills, which will last until Sunday afternoon – and will include missile tests and other “military operations” as close as nine miles to Taiwan’s coastline – as a violation of international law.Ahead of the drill, it said 27 Chinese warplanes had entered its air defence zone.Pelosi arrived in Taipei on Tuesday night under intense global scrutiny, and was met by the foreign minister Joseph Wu and the US representative in Taiwan, Sandra Oudkirk.She addressed Taiwan’s parliament on Wednesday before having public and private meetings with the president, Tsai Ing-wen.“Our delegation came to Taiwan to make unequivocally clear we will not abandon Taiwan, and we are proud of our enduring friendship,” Pelosi said on Wednesday, when she was given Taiwan’s highest civilian order by Tsai.She said US solidarity with Taiwan was “crucial” in facing an increasingly authoritarian China.In a later statement, she said China could not prevent world leaders from travelling to Taiwan “to pay respect to its flourishing democracy”.Planned live fire military drillsAs Pelosi’s plane took off from Songshan airport on Wednesday evening, Wu waved goodbye from the tarmac. But as the American left, Taiwan was facing days of military activity which threaten to escalate into a fourth Taiwan strait crisis.Taiwan’s defence ministry accused Beijing of planning to violate the international convention on the law of sea, by breaching Taiwan’s sovereign territory.While China’s military often holds live-fire exercises in the strait and surrounding seas, those planned for this week encircle Taiwan’s main island and target areas within its territorial sea.Veerle Nouwens, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based thinktank, said the location of the six exclusion zones was noteworthy.“In particular, the exclusion zones appear to no longer be focused on China’s coastline, but rather encircle Taiwan,” she said, adding that China has a different interpretation as to which laws apply to what it considers its own maritime zones.Taiwanese authorities have said the proximity to some major ports combined with orders for all aircraft and sea vessels to steer clear of the area amount to a blockade.China on Wednesday also expanded its trade suspensions on Taiwan to include additional agriculture products, following a ban on imports earlier in the week from more than 100 Taiwanese food companies. China is Taiwan’s largest trading partner.Taipei has remained defiant in its rhetoric. Tsai said on Wednesday that Taiwan “will not back down” in the face of heightened military threats, and would “do whatever it takes to maintain Taiwan’s peace and stability”. Beijing said its drills were “necessary and just”.Beijing’s latest drills are being closely followed by Taiwan, the US and other regional powers, said Nouwens.“The US will be looking for the PLA’s [People’s Liberation Army’s] use of conventional missiles in their inventory – eg, will China conduct anti-ship ballistic missile tests or use air-launched and ship-launched variants of ASBMs?“They will also be paying attention to the types of exercises – eg, whether, how often and how far the PLA cross over the median line, which they did today … crossing well over the median line.“Finally, they’ll also be seeking to get a better sense of the PLA’s coordination between air and maritime forces, particularly given the various scenarios that they’ve highlighted they will be exercising for.”Across the region, there is a growing sense of uncertainty, with the exercises having also upset regional neighbours. Japanese analysts said the northern drills were also a clear warning to their government about islands over which Tokyo and Beijing both claim ownership.“Those plans show that the Sakishima Islands, including Yonaguni, Ishigaki, and Miyako, could be affected by People’s Liberation Army operations as they assume the PLA is operating to the east of Taiwan,” Tetsuo Kotani, a professor of global studies at Meikai University, told the Japan Times.China’s ruling Communist party government, which regards Taiwan as its territory despite it having never ruled the island, has repeatedly warned of retaliation for the visit.On Tuesday night, China’s vice-foreign minister, Xie Feng, “urgently summoned” the US ambassador, Nicholas Burns, to lodge stern representations. China’s ambassador to the UK, Zheng Zeguang, also warned that “those who play with fire will get burned”.The Guardian view on Taiwan diplomacy: a delicate balance | EditorialRead morePelosi’s flight took a non-direct path from Kuala Lumpur, with a detour over Indonesia and the Philippines, avoiding the South China Sea, to fly into Taiwan. There had been concerns that China might send PLA aircraft to intercept or tail her plane into Taiwanese airspace.There are also fears of an escalation in cyberwarfare and disinformation. In 7-Eleven stores across Taiwan on Wednesday, the message “Warmonger Pelosi get out of Taiwan” flashed across in-store TV screens.According to local reports, some customers thought the message was a statement of the views of the 7-Eleven franchise owner. But Uni-president, the parent company, told local media it suspected it had been hacked.Sign up to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every weekday morning at 7am BSTShortly before Pelosi’s arrival, Chinese state media reported that Beijing’s Su-35 fighter jets were flying across the Taiwan strait. Taipei subsequently dismissed the announcement as “fake news”.Pelosi earlier said China was making “a big fuss” about this visit because of her status as speaker of the US House of Representatives. “I don’t know if that’s a reason or an excuse,” she said, adding: “Whatever China will do, they will do in their own good time.”Additional reporting by Chi Hui LinTopicsTaiwanAsia PacificChinaNancy PelosiUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

Peter Meijer, Republican who voted to impeach Trump, loses Michigan seatTrump-backed challenger John Gibbs triumphs, while Democrats hopeful Kansas abortion vote will energize voters in November On one of the most consequential nights of the US primary season, amplifiers of Donald Trump’s stolen-election myth won in Arizona and Michigan – in the latter state defeating a Republican who voted for Trump’s impeachment – while voters in Kansas decisively rejected an attempt to remove abortion protections from the state constitution.‘We could feel it’: Kansans celebrate upset abortion rights victoryRead moreWith fewer than 100 days left before the November midterm elections, the results confirmed Trump’s grip on Republican voters and advanced his efforts to purge critics and elevate loyalist standard-bearers.The verdicts rendered on Tuesday night are likely to have major implications for both parties.Democrats face a difficult election cycle, hampered by Joe Biden’s low approval ratings and widespread dissatisfaction with leadership in Washington in the face of economic problems. Historically, the opposition party makes gains in the first midterms of any presidency, often by framing the election as a referendum on the president.With narrow majorities in Congress, Democrats cannot afford to lose any seats in the Senate and only a handful in the House. But party leaders were hopeful on Tuesday that the abortion rights verdict in Kansas might energize voters and boost Democrats in close contests to come.Another midterm strategy employed by Democrats – boosting far-right candidates in Republican primaries in the hope of facing weaker opponents in November – met with success, despite bipartisan warnings that the approach could backfire, with dangerous consequences for US democracy.In a congressional primary in Michigan, John Gibbs defeated Peter Meijer, the Republican incumbent who was one of 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach Trump over the Capitol attack, after Democrats ran ads highlighting Gibbs’s pro-Trump credentials.In a statement, Meijer said: “I’m proud to have remained true to my principles, even when doing so came at a significant political cost.”But he published angrier words on Monday, assailing Democrats who spent heavily in support of Gibbs.In an online essay, Meijer wrote: “The Democrats are justifying this political jiu-jitsu by making the argument that politics is a tough business. I don’t disagree.“But that toughness is bound by certain moral limits: those who participated in the attack on the Capitol, for example, clearly fall outside those limits. But over the course of the midterms, Democrats seem to have forgotten just where those limits lie.”Meijer was the second Republican who voted to impeach to lose a primary contest. Four have opted to retire rather than to seek re-election. Two others were on the ballot on Tuesday in Washington state. Jaime Herrera Beutler and Dan Newhouse were in close races against Trump-backed challengers which had yet to be called.So far, only one Republican who voted to impeach Trump, David Valadao of California, has survived, with a narrow victory in California.Michigan also saw a Trump-backed candidate win the Republican nomination for governor. Tudor Dixon, a conservative media personality, will face the Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, in November.In an incumbent-on-incumbent Democratic primary for a newly redrawn Michigan House district, Haley Stevens, a moderate backed by the political arm of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, defeated Andy Levin, a progressive from a prominent political family. Elsewhere, progressive members of “the Squad”, Rashida Tlaib in Michigan and Cori Bush in Missouri, beat back moderate challengers.In Arizona, a battleground state that became the epicenter of election denialism in the wake of Biden’s 2020 victory, the Trump-endorsed Blake Masters won a crowded Republican primary to face Mark Kelly, the Democratic incumbent, in a contest that could determine control of the US Senate.In the race for Arizona secretary of state, a post that oversees elections, Republicans nominated Mark Finchem, a self-identified member of the far-right Oath Keepers militia who has amplified false claims about the 2020 election and was backed by Trump.The Republican primary for governor was too close to call but by Wednesday Kari Lake, a former TV anchor backed by Trump, was narrowly leading Karrin Taylor Robson, backed by the former vice-president Mike Pence.Trump’s quest for retribution against Republicans who crossed him gained a win when Rusty Bowers, Arizona’s Republican House speaker, who rose to prominence when he testified to the House committee investigating the January 6 insurrection, lost his bid for a state Senate seat to David Farnsworth, who had Trump’s support.In Missouri, where Trump urged voters to choose “Eric” without specifying which in a Senate primary contest with three Erics, Republican leaders were relieved it was Eric Schmitt, the attorney general, who emerged victorious.Eric Greitens, the scandal-plagued former governor who resigned in 2018 and was attempting a political comeback, finished third. Schmitt will now face Trudy Busch Valentine, a deep-pocketed beer heiress who Democrats nominated over the more populist Lucas Kunce.Justice department urged to investigate deletion of January 6 texts by PentagonRead moreThough Trump’s endorsement record is mixed, his string of victories on Tuesday night underscored conservatives’ enduring allegiance to the former president despite a stream of damaging revelations about his efforts to overturn the election and his conduct during the deadly assault on the Capitol.Perhaps the most closely watched vote on Tuesday wasn’t an election, but a referendum. In the first test of the potency of abortion as electoral issue in the post-Roe era, voters in Kansas resoundingly rejected an amendment that would have erased the right to abortion from the state constitution.The decisive vote in a state that voted overwhelmingly for Trump in 2020 is the first major electoral victory for supporters of reproductive rights since the the supreme court invalidated the constitutional right to an abortion in June.It also serves as a warning to Republicans who have sought to downplay the significance of the issue in an election year otherwise dominated by inflation and economic woes.TopicsRepublicansUS midterm elections 2022US politicsDemocratsMichiganArizonaWashington statenewsReuse this content More

Republican candidates who deny 2020 election results win key primariesVictories underscore the continued political potency of the stolen election myth, with most significant win in Arizona Candidates who question the 2020 election results won a handful of key primaries on Tuesday, underscoring the continued political potency of the myth of a stolen election in US politics.The most significant victory was in Arizona, where Mark Finchem, who was endorsed by Donald Trump, easily won the GOP nomination for secretary of state, placing him one step closer to overseeing elections in a key battleground state.Finchem, who has self-identified with the far-right Oath Keepers, vigorously fought to block certification of Joe Biden’s legitimate victory in Arizona and has sought to overturn it ever since.He told reporters on Tuesday he received a subpoena from the Department of Justice, which is investigating the January 6 attack, about a month ago. He has also been subpoenaed by the congressional committee investigating the attack.Finchem joins prominent election deniers in Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania who have earned the Republican nomination for positions in which they would wield considerable power over elections.Kansas’ vote to protect abortion rights upends US midterm elections – liveRead moreIn the Arizona gubernatorial primary, Kari Lake, a Trump-backed former news anchor who has made election misinformation a centerpiece of her campaign, narrowly led rival Karrin Taylor Robson on Wednesday morning.Even before she took the lead in ballot counting, Lake, who has already alleged fraud in the vote, claimed victory.“There is no path to victory for my opponent and we won this race, period,” Lake said at her election night party. On Wednesday morning she led by just over 11,300 votes with 20% of the vote left to count.Blake Masters, a Trump-backed US Senate candidate in Arizona who has questioned election results also easily won the GOP primary to take on the Democratic senator Mark Kelly.Rusty Bowers, the speaker of the Arizona house who faced censure from his party and Trump’s fury after testifying in front of the January 6 committee, lost his primary for state senate to a Trump-backed challenger.There were other signs of how election conspiracies continue to dominate Arizona politics. In Maricopa county, a Republican candidate for the board of supervisors urged voters to steal pens the county provided to fill out ballots, a nod to a baseless fraud claim promoted on Gatewaypundit, a far-right website.In Michigan, Peter Meijer, one of 10 Republicans to support Trump’s impeachment, lost a primary battle against John Gibbs, who served in the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the Trump administration.In a debate last month, Gibbs said there were “mathematically impossible anomalies” in the 2020 race, which is not true. Meijer blasted Democrats for boosting Gibbs’s campaign as part of a strategy to elevate more extreme candidates who might be easier to beat in November.Michigan Republicans nominated Tudor Dixon, a conservative commentator, to take on Gretchen Whitmer for governor. Dixon has said the 2020 election was stolen in Michigan, where Trump lost by more than 150,000 votes, but has been vague about what exactly she says went wrong.In Missouri, Eric Schmitt, who lead a coalition of attorneys general urging the US supreme court to overturn the 2020 election, won the Republican nomination for US Senate. Trump endorsed “Eric” in the race, declining to say whether he was backing Schmitt or another challenger, Eric Greitens.In Washington state, two US House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump appeared to be doing fairly well as votes continued to be counted. With about half of the vote counted, Jaime Herrera Beutler and Dan Newhouse were both leading Trump-backed opponents.TopicsRepublicansThe fight to voteUS midterm elections 2022US politicsArizonaMichiganMissourinewsReuse this content More

‘This is huge’: Democrats hail abortion rights victory in KansasDemocrats celebrated the Kansas vote as a testament to the desire for abortion rights nationwide, even in Republican-held states01:01Democrats including Joe Biden hailed the outcome of an abortion rights ballot question in Kansas, after a majority voted to protect the right in the state constitution.‘We could feel it’: Kansans celebrate upset abortion rights victoryRead moreIn a statement, the president said: “Voters in Kansas turned out in record numbers to reject extreme efforts to amend the state constitution to take away a woman’s right to choose and open the door for a statewide ban.“This vote makes clear what we know: the majority of Americans agree that women should have access to abortion and should have the right to make their own healthcare decisions.”The Kansas vote was the first time abortion rights had been on the ballot since the conservative-dominated supreme court overturned Roe v Wade, the 1973 ruling which guaranteed the right, in June.A yes vote would have allowed the conservative Kansas legislature to restrict abortion or ban it completely.Other senior Democrats celebrated the Kansas vote as a testament to the desire for abortion rights nationwide, even in Republican-held states.The Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren tweeted: “This is huge: abortion rights were on the ballot for the first time since Roe, and the people of Kansas voted to preserve access. I’m grateful down to my toes for everyone who helped stop this dangerous ballot measure in its tracks.”The chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Jaime Harrison, tweeted a congratulatory message – but did not mention the abortion referendum.“While the GOP is pushing their ultra-MAGA agenda, Dems are nominating candidates who will work to cut costs and protect our freedoms,” he wrote.To many Democrats and analysts, the Kansas vote suggested that an emphasis on abortion rights could pave the way to success in the November midterms.The referendum question brought out a surge of new voters, with more than 800,000 people turning out, up on the 470,000 who participated in the 2018 gubernatorial primary, Insider reported.Republicans who celebrated the supreme court ruling on abortion rights have since rushed to pass state abortion bans.But the Kansas vote presents an unexpected challenge for Republicans seeking to galvanize the issue for support in November. Even in more conservative states, voters largely support abortion rights.“Kansans bluntly rejected anti-abortion politicians’ attempts at creating a reproductive police state,” Kimberly Inez McGuire, executive director of Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity, told the Associated Press.“Today’s vote was a powerful rebuke and a promise of the mounting resistance.”TopicsKansasAbortionDemocratsUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

Tuesday’s primaries offered a glint of hope for Democrats this fallLloyd GreenKansas voters affirmed a women’s right to choose. Meanwhile, Republicans across the US elevated extremist candidates who may be unpopular in general elections Republican candidates from Arizona to Pennsylvania ought to worry. On Tuesday, voters in Kansas rejected efforts to gut a woman’s right to choose. In 2020, Donald Trump trounced Joe Biden there 56-42. Two years later, an anti-choice referendum went down in defeat 59-41. Suburban moms and dads had thundered; turnout soared. The supreme court’s wholesale attack on Roe backfired.The competing opinions authored by Justices Alito, Thomas and Kavanaugh may gift the Democrats a two-seat gain in the Senate, and doom Republican pick-ups of governorships in Michigan and Pennsylvania. Grasp more than you can hold, and you will be left with nothing, the Talmud says. On primary day, the high court’s decision in Dobbs seems to have energized plenty of otherwise loyal Republicans. By the numbers, 65% of Americans believe the constitution enshrines a right of privacy even as they hold doubts about abortion.Trump-endorsed Senate hopefuls JD Vance (Ohio), Mehmet Oz (Pennsylvania), Herschel Walker (Georgia) and Blake Masters (Arizona) must now answer for the Republicans’ war on autonomy. Vance also wants to ban pornography as he gives a greenlight to guns and embraces Marjorie Taylor Greene. He claims smut harms fertility rates.A recent Fox News poll shows Democrats with double-digit leads in Pennsylvania’s Senate and governor’s races. Doug Mastriano, the Keystone state’s Republican gubernatorial candidate, came under recent fire for his embrace of Christian nationalism and ties with antisemitic figures. And Dr Oz is Dr Oz.Tudor Dixon, the Trump-backed winner of Tuesday’s Michigan Republican gubernatorial primary, believes that a 14-year-old raped by a relative should be forced to carry her pregnancy to term. “Yeah, perfect example,” she told an interviewer.Her remarks now are a centerpiece of incumbent Democrat Gretchen Whitmer’s re-election efforts. Dixon opposes exceptions to an abortion ban in cases of rape and incest. She trailed Whitmer by 11 points in a July poll.The Michigan Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative may also appear on the fall ballot. Once upon a time opponents of Roe claimed the ruling was wrong because it was “anti-democratic”.Adding fuel to this Great Lakes dumpster fire, Matt DePerno, Michigan’s prospective Republican attorney general, openly mused about restricting accessibility to contraception. At a Republican debate, he questioned the validity of Griswold, the pertinent 1965 supreme court ruling. For good measure, DePerno previously spearheaded efforts to undo Biden’s 150,000-vote win in Michigan.Tuesday’s contests were also about the 45th president exacting revenge and promoting the “big lie” – that he was defrauded of victory.To be sure, not all Republicans were buying what the former guy was selling. But he had greater success than Kansas’s pro-lifers. Trumpism remains very much alive.In the state of Washington, incumbents Jaime Herrera Beutler and Dan Newhouse stand on the verge of rebuffing primary bids by Trump-endorsed challengers. Both Representatives Herrera Beutler and Newhouse voted to impeach the ex-reality show host over his role in the January 6 insurrection.On the other hand, Michigan’s Representative Peter Meijer, who voted for Trump’s impeachment, lost to John Gibbs, a Trump-backed challenger. Gibbs had received a boost from congressional Democrats, as part of an audacious strategic move to empower Republicans they think will lose in the general elections. Meijer, a supermarket chain scion, lost by four points.With the rightwing Gibbs as the Republican nominee, the Democrats may actually pick up a House seat. Had Meijer emerged with the Republican nod, he would have been favored. All this raises the question of whether Democratic talk about putting the country ahead of party is partisan blather.Elsewhere, Trump claimed the head of Republican Rusty Bowers, the outgoing speaker of the Arizona senate. He had opposed efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and appeared before the January 6 select committee.Days after Bowers testified, Trump declared: “Bowers must be defeated, and highly respected David Farnsworth is the man to do it.”Farnsworth believes that Satan stole the 2020 election. Really.“This is a real conspiracy headed up by the devil himself,” he explained at a debate.Along with Farnsworth, Mark Finchem, a diehard election denier and conspiracy theorist, notched the Arizona Republican nomination for secretary of state. He too had Trump’s blessing.As for the state’s Republican primary for governor, Kari Lake holds a two-point lead with more than 80% of precincts reporting. Like Finchem and Farnsworth, Lake garnered a Trump endorsement and rejects Biden’s legitimacy as president. Whether she actually wins the primary and can prevail against Democrat Katie Hobbs, the current secretary of state, remains to be seen.With Kansas’s resounding no vote, Democrats have good reason to make abortion a major issue for the midterms. Of course, as Republicans learned on Tuesday, it is all too easy to go off the deep-end.
Lloyd Green is a regular contributor and served in the Department of Justice from 1990 to 1992
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Jon Stewart celebrates after Senate passes bill to assist veterans exposed to toxinsBill passed after weeks of criticism from veterans’ groups and advocates including the former Daily Show host After a week of anger and criticism from veterans groups and advocates, including the comedian Jon Stewart, Senate Republicans finally agreed to pass a bill that expands healthcare and benefits to veterans exposed to toxins.“I’m not sure I’ve ever seen this situation where people who have already given so much had to fight so hard to get so little,” said Stewart, who joined veterans to push for the bill. “I hope we learned a lesson.”Known as the Pact Act, the bill passed in the Senate on Tuesday night in an 86-11 vote.It will provide assistance to veterans who were exposed to harmful chemicals during their service, such as Agent Orange during the Vietnam war, or toxins from pits used to burn military waste in Iraq and Afghanistan.The Department of Defense estimates that about 3.5 million service members could have been exposed to burn pits in the Middle East. Such chemicals can cause respiratory illnesses and cancer to those exposed, medical experts said.Currently veterans have had to prove that illnesses were connected to their service, and the Department of Veterans Affairs did not consider exposure to toxins a service-related condition. The department has denied about 75% of veterans’ burn pit claims.The Pact Act passed the House last month and had support from a majority of Republican senators until last week, when a coalition of them held up the bill’s passage. The senators said they no longer supported the bill after Democrats announced they reached a deal on a major tax and climate bill on Wednesday.Veteran advocates sharply denounced the Republicans’ U-turn. Stewart called them “stab-vets-in-the-back senators”. Protests erupted outside the Capitol.On Tuesday night, the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, announced that he and his Republican counterpart, the minority leader, Mitch McConnell, had reached a deal on the bill. At a news conference, McConnell said Republicans’ objections were part of the “legislative process”.“These kind of back and forths happen all the time in the legislative process, you’ve observed that over the years,” he said. “I think in the end, the veterans service organizations will be pleased with the final result.”Joe Biden praised the bill’s passage, saying: “We should all take pride in this moment.” In his most recent State of the Union address earlier this year, the US president mentioned that his son Beau, who served a year-long tour of Iraq and later died of brain cancer, could have been a victim of burn pit toxins.“The Pact Act will be the biggest expansion of [veterans affairs] healthcare in decades,” Biden tweeted. “We’ll never be able to repay the debt we owe to those who have worn the uniform, but today, Congress delivered on a promise to our veterans and their families.”TopicsUS SenateRepublicansDemocratsUS politicsnewsReuse this content More