US Politics

Trump is the predictable result of the deteriorating economic conditions in the U.S. since the 1980s and the political machinations that brought those economic conditions about. More

Jerome Powell said on Sunday that the Department of Justice had threatened him with a criminal indictment and served grand jury subpoenas over Congressional testimony he gave last summer regarding a Federal Reserve building renovation project. Powell says this action is a pretext aimed at putting further pressure on the central bank to lower interest ratesJustice department opens investigation into Jerome Powell as Trump ramps up campaign against Federal Reserve Continue reading… More

Thousands of people protested in Minneapolis, Minnesota over the weekend to decry the fatal shooting of 37‑year‑old Renee Good by a US immigration agent, one of more than 1,000 rallies planned nationwide against the federal government’s deportation drive. Demonstrators marched towards the residential street where Good was shot in her car and mourned at a makeshift memorial‘Hundreds more’ federal agents being deployed in Minnesota after killing of Renee Good – US politics live Continue reading… More

Party aims to turn tables after struggling to deal with criticisms about inflation during Biden presidencyIn their quest to undo Donald Trump’s grip on voters, Democrats have staked their hopes on one word above all others: affordability.It has become a staple of press conferences, a priority of candidates and a subject of legislation ahead of the November midterm elections. When Democrats don’t like something that Trump does – a frequent occurrence – their counter-argument is that Americans would have been better off if the president instead concentrated on making life less expensive. Continue reading… More

As it did in 2003, the US is underestimating the potential for instability as Trump resurrects one of the Iraq war’s biggest myths“Ladies and gentlemen, we got him!” Paul Bremer, the US proconsul in Iraq, memorably declared at a press conference in Baghdad on 14 December 2003, a day after US troops had captured Saddam Hussein. Iraqis in the audience broke out in cheers, leapt up from their seats and pumped their fists in the air – many had waited decades for that moment. “This is a great day in Iraq’s history,” Bremer said, adding: “The tyrant is a prisoner.”I was in the audience that day in Baghdad, covering the Iraq invasion’s aftermath as a correspondent for a US newspaper. It quickly became clear that Bremer and other jubilant US officials would use the occasion – US soldiers dragged the disheveled former Iraqi dictator out of a hole in the ground where he had been hiding near his home town – to declare that America’s war had reached a decisive turn. Despite a growing insurgency led by ex-members of the Iraqi security forces, US officials in Baghdad and Washington projected confidence that victory was in sight now that Saddam was locked up and headed for the gallows.Mohamad Bazzi is director of the Center for Near Eastern Studies, and a journalism professor, at New York University Continue reading… More

US president claims ‘Iran wants to negotiate’ as rights groups report that regime’s crackdown on protest has killed hundreds Donald Trump has claimed Iran has reached out and proposed negotiations, as he considers “very strong” military action against the regime over a deadly crackdown on protesters that has reportedly killed hundreds.Asked on Sunday by reporters aboard Air Force One if Iran had crossed his previously stated red line of protesters being killed, Trump said “they’re starting to, it looks like.” Continue reading… More

Fed chair accuses DoJ of threatening criminal charges over building renovation projects because central bank defied Trump’s interest rate demandsThe Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into Jerome Powell and the Federal Reserve, a significant escalation in Donald Trump’s extraordinary attack on the US central bank.Powell said the Department of Justice had served the Fed with grand jury subpoenas on Friday, threatening a criminal indictment related to his testimony before the Senate banking committee in June last year, regarding renovations to the Fed’s historic office buildings in Washington DC. Continue reading… More

Possible next steps for US include military strikes, sanctions and cyber attacks – key US politics stories from 11 JanuaryDonald Trump is weighing up his options for responding to protests in Iran, including “very strong” military action, as deaths mount in a crackdown on demonstrations against the regime in Tehran.Possible actions for the US include military strikes, deploying secretive cyber weapons against Iranian military and civilian sites, placing more sanctions on Iran’s government and boosting anti-government sources online, sources say. Continue reading… More