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      State department identifies Israeli citizens targeted by US sanctions as Netanyahu rejects them as ‘unnecessary’ – as it happened

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      The US state department has released the names of four Israeli nationals subjected to sanctions under Biden’s new executive order.
      David Chai Chasdai
      Einan Tanjil
      Shalom Zicherman
      Yinon Levi
      According to the state department, Chasdai “initiated and led a riot, which involved setting vehicles and buildings on fire, assaulting Palestinian civilians, and causing damage to property in Huwara, which resulted in the death of a Palestinian civilian”.It accuses Tanjil of involvement in the assault of “Palestinian farmers and Israeli activists by attacking them with stones and clubs, resulting in injuries that required medical treatment”.Zicherman was seen on video assaulting “Israeli activists and their vehicles in the West Bank, blocking them on the street, and attempted to break the windows of passing vehicles with activists inside,” it said. He “cornered at least two of the activists and injured both”.Levi “led a group of settlers who engaged in actions creating an atmosphere of fear in the West Bank. He regularly led groups of settlers from the Meitarim Farm outpost that assaulted Palestinian and Bedouin civilians, threatened them with additional violence if they did not leave their homes, burned their fields, and destroyed their property. Levi and other settlers at Meitarim Farm have repeatedly attacked multiple communities within the West Bank.”Good afternoon. It’s been another lively day in Washington. Thanks for reading.Here’s what we covered today:
      Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, announced that the long-awaited text of a border deal to unlock aid to Ukraine and Israel could be released as early as tomorrow and said to expect a vote next week. Despite months of painstaking, bipartisan negotiations between senators and the White House, the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, has already declared it “dead on arrival” amid opposition from Donald Trump, the Republican frontrunner who hopes to use immigration as a cudgel against Joe Biden.
      Meanwhile, Biden announced that the US will place sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank, via presidential executive order, citing “intolerable levels” of violence. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the action as “unnecessary.” The state department on Thursday released the names of four Israeli citizens targeted in a first round of sanctions under the new authority. For latest updates on the Middle East, you can follow our live coverage here.
      Defense secretary Lloyd Austin, was contrite in a Pentagon press briefing this morning, his first since being rushed to the hospital with complications from prostate cancer surgery that he kept secret from the president and the public for several days. “I want to be crystal clear: we did not handle this right and I did not handle this right,” Austin told reporters.
      Biden praised the Ukrainians people’s “incredible resolve and resilience against Putin’s aggression” and demanded afresh of Congress: “We must continue to help them.” The White House’s request to send nearly $110bn in additional security assistance and aid to Ukraine is on hold on Capitol Hill amid House Republican resistance.
      The US House of Representatives last night passed a nearly $79bn tax package that would expand the child tax credit for millions and revive a trio of tax breaks for businesses.
      Criticizing the policies included in the bipartisan border deal as “Republican light,” Democratic congressman Greg Casar lamented Joe Biden‘s recent statement indicating that he would move to “shut down the border” if the deal becomes law.“I’m a supporter of the president, but I think that he made a big mistake with that statement. The president’s statement reflects not just bad policy but bad politics,” Casar said.“‘Shutting down the border’ means that we’re further empowering cartels and criminal organizations to move people across the border. We need to be creating legal pathways for migration.”Republican lawmakers have demanded that Biden sign off on severe border measures in exchange for approving additional aid for Ukraine, and Casar advised the president against accepting those terms.“I do not think we should be playing into that kind of a hostage-taking situation. It’s bad policy,” Casar said. “And I don’t think that it will be good politics for the president either because these Republican policies are not going to create a more orderly situation at the border.”Conservative opposition to the border bill has received much of the attention. But progressives are also alarmed by the emerging proposal, as the Guardian’s Joan Greve reports.Congressman Greg Casar, a progressive Democrat of Texas, expressed grave concerns today about the border deal recently brokered by the Biden administration and a bipartisan group of senators.“It really worries me to hear these negotiations with the US Senate, where it feels that Republican, anti-immigrant policies could make their way into law even under a Democratic president,” Casar said on a press call.“I just don’t think that that is the way to go. We have to respond to this anti-immigrant propaganda with a proactive vision that recognizes that immigration is a good thing.”The Senate negotiators have not yet released bill text of the border deal, and it remains highly unclear whether the proposal can pass through Congress. Mike Johnson, the Republican House speaker, has already attacked the proposal as insufficient and has indicated that the legislation would be “dead on arrival” in the lower chamber.The group of senators working on the border deal have defended it against what they claim are rumors and misinformation about the bill’s contents. Conservatives are under pressure from Donald Trump to reject the deal, despite arguing that border enforcement is their top priority.Senator Kyrsten Sinema, an Independent of Arizona who has helped lead the talks, outlined some of the provisions for reporters on Capitol Hill yesterday.According to Axios, she said the plan would include strict new measures to tighten and speed up asylum claims as well as changes the way enforcement agents use detention, deportation and parole.Switching back for a moment to matters of domestic policy – albeit it an issue with major global implications for US immigration policy, aid to Ukraine and support for Israel and Taiwan: Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, just announced that the text of a long-awaited border security bill could be released as early as tomorrow (Friday), with a vote expected next week.For months, Senate negotiators have worked behind the scenes to broker a border deal that would unlock military aid to Ukraine and Israel. But it faces long odds in the Republican-controlled House, where the speaker, Mike Johnson, has already rejected the measure outright, despite not knowing what exactly is in the bill.My colleague Peter Beaumont notes in his full report on the sanctions that they follow a US visa ban for any Israeli settlers implicated in attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank announced last month.The new order will give the treasury department the authority to impose financial sanctions on settlers engaged in violence, but is not meant to target US citizens. A substantial number of the settlers in the West Bank hold US citizenship and they would be prohibited under US law from transacting with the sanctioned individuals.The Guardian’s Chris McGreal has a deeper dive into how American citizens have been leading the rise in settler-related violence in the West Bank, which you can read here:Biden has landed in the Detroit area, ahead of an event with auto workers. But expect senior administration officials to return to the state this month to meet with community leaders amid deep anger at the president’s handling of the war in Gaza, Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.Past outreach attempts by the administration have … not gone well. Participants have been open about their frustration with Biden and what they view as his failure to rein in Israel’s devastating military campaign in Gaza.Arab American voters are a relatively small but growing constituency that has historically favored Democrats. In battleground states such as Michigan and Georgia, home to large Arab and Muslim American communities, even the tiniest erosion of support could hurt Biden’s prospects for re-election. Representative Rashida Tlaib, the lone Palestinian American in Congress, who represents a Detroit-area district, has said so explicitly. In a video calling on the Biden administration to back a ceasefire, she appears before text that reads: “We will remember in 2024.”In a statement, the office of Benjamin Netanyahu said the vast majority of West Bank settlers as “law-abiding citizens” and described Biden’s executive order sanctioning settler extremists as “exceptional”.“Israel acts against all Israelis who break the law, everywhere; therefore, exceptional measures are unnecessary,” the statement continued.The US state department has released the names of four Israeli nationals subjected to sanctions under Biden’s new executive order.
      David Chai Chasdai
      Einan Tanjil
      Shalom Zicherman
      Yinon Levi
      According to the state department, Chasdai “initiated and led a riot, which involved setting vehicles and buildings on fire, assaulting Palestinian civilians, and causing damage to property in Huwara, which resulted in the death of a Palestinian civilian”.It accuses Tanjil of involvement in the assault of “Palestinian farmers and Israeli activists by attacking them with stones and clubs, resulting in injuries that required medical treatment”.Zicherman was seen on video assaulting “Israeli activists and their vehicles in the West Bank, blocking them on the street, and attempted to break the windows of passing vehicles with activists inside,” it said. He “cornered at least two of the activists and injured both”.Levi “led a group of settlers who engaged in actions creating an atmosphere of fear in the West Bank. He regularly led groups of settlers from the Meitarim Farm outpost that assaulted Palestinian and Bedouin civilians, threatened them with additional violence if they did not leave their homes, burned their fields, and destroyed their property. Levi and other settlers at Meitarim Farm have repeatedly attacked multiple communities within the West Bank.”White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre just wrapped up the media briefing on Air Force One, as the flight was about to descend towards the Detroit area, where Joe Biden is heading to a campaign event to meet auto workers.Jean-Pierre was asked whether the executive order setting up sanctions against certain Israeli settlers in the West Bank was announced today to, essentially, appease Muslim Americans incensed by America’s tenacious support and funding for Israel even as its military decimates Gaza in response to the attack by Hamas on southern Israel on October 7.The Detroit area has a huge Arab American population and protests are expected during Biden’s visit today.Jean-Pierre denied that the timing was intentional, adding that “these types of sanctions take a long time” to plan and impose.The US government informed the Israeli government before it publicly announced earlier today that Joe Biden was issuing an executive order in relation to the occupied West Bank, the White House just confirmed.The US will place sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank, with the US president citing “intolerable levels” of violence against Palestinians there.John Kirby, the national security spokesman, based in the White House, was asked in the press briefing now underway whether Biden had informed Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu before he issued the executive order.“We informed the Israeli government before it was announced,” Kirby said.Asked again if that communication had been at the level of president to prime minister, Kirby repeated his answer.The Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, has called on the Biden administration to “immediately sanction” what Cair termed far-right Israeli officials who enable violence by illegal Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank.Biden issued an executive order today imposing sanctions on Israeli settlers who have been attacking Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
      The Biden administration should use this executive order to immediately sanction Israeli government officials who are enabling settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Just as importantly, President Biden must end American support for the Israeli government’s genocidal war on the people of Gaza. It makes no sense for the Biden administration to oppose killing Palestinian civilians in the West Bank while enabling the killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” Cair national deputy director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said.
      Hello, it’s been a lively few hours in Washington, on Capitol Hill and at the White House. We await a briefing from press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and national security spokesman John Kirby, so stand by for that. Looks like that will go ahead at 1.30pm ET as the two spox and reporters accompany Joe Biden to Michigan, aboard Air Force One.Here’s how the day is going:
      Joe Biden announced that the US will place sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank, via presidential executive order, citing “intolerable levels” of violence.
      Americans’ views of the economy are improving, but their views of Biden are not. That’s according to a new AP-Norc poll that found a notable increase in the percentage of US adults who called the US economy “good”, but that’s not translating into support for the president.
      Defense secretary Lloyd Austin, was contrite in a Pentagon press briefing this morning, his first since being rushed to the hospital with complications from prostate cancer surgery that he kept secret from the president and the public for several days. “I want to be crystal clear: we did not handle this right and I did not handle this right,” Austin told reporters.
      Joe Biden praised the Ukrainians people’s “incredible resolve and resilience against Putin’s aggression” and demanded afresh of Congress: “We must continue to help them.” The White House’s request to send nearly $110bn in additional security assistance and aid to Ukraine is on hold on Capitol Hill amid House Republican resistance.
      The US House of Representatives last night passed a nearly $79bn tax package that would expand the child tax credit for millions and revive a trio of tax breaks for businesses. Yes, that House – the Republican-controlled one that booted its Speaker and has repeatedly brought the US government to the brink of a shutdown!
      The Israeli newspaper Haaretz suggested the move to sanction Israeli settlers was without precedent, calling it “arguably the most punitive measure ever taken from the US government against Israeli citizens”.Four Israelis are expected to be sanctioned under the new authority, according to several news reports, with more expected to be punished in the future. Doing so blocks these individuals from engaging with the American financial system and from accessing their assets and property in the US as well as bars them from traveling to the US.In a statement following the announcement of sanctions against Israeli settlers, Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, said the “record” spike in violence by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank “poses a grave threat to peace, security, and stability in the West Bank, Israel, and the Middle East region, and threatens the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States”.He said the executive order allows the US to impose financial sanctions against those it deems to have directed or particpated in acts of violence against civilians as well as those who have sought to displace them from their homes, destroyed property or engaged in “terrorist activity” in the West Bank.“Today’s actions seek to promote peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike,” Sullivan said.In December, the state department imposed a travel ban on some settlers.In an executive order released moments ago, Biden announced that the US will place sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank, citing “intolerable levels” of violence.Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed by security forces and settlers across the occupied West Bank since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, according to the United Nations. The violence is separate from Israel’s military assault on Gaza, where the death toll is approaching 27,000 Palestinians.In the notice to Congress, Biden said actions by Israeli settler extremists “constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States” and declared a national emergency to address it.
      I, Joseph R Biden Jr, President of the United States of America, find that the situation in the West Bank – in particular high levels of extremist settler violence, forced displacement of people and villages, and property destruction – has reached intolerable levels and constitutes a serious threat to the peace, security, and stability of the West Bank and Gaza, Israel, and the broader Middle East region,” reads the order.
      “These actions undermine the foreign policy objectives of the United States, including the viability of a two-state solution and ensuring Israelis and Palestinians can attain equal measures of security, prosperity, and freedom. They also undermine the security of Israel and have the potential to lead to broader regional destabilization across the Middle East, threatening United States personnel and interests.”
      Americans’ views of the economy are improving, but their views of Biden are not. That’s according to a new AP-Norc poll that found a notable increase in the percentage of US adults who called the US economy “good”.Last year, just 24% of Americans rated the national economy as good, compared with 35% who do so now. It’s also an improvement from late last year when just 30% said so. The rosier outlook tracks with positive economic indicators: inflation has begun to recede and growth is strong.While nearly two-thirds of Americans still call the economy poor, it’s an improvement from a year ago, when 76% described it that way, the survey found.Still, that is not translating into support for the president, whose approval ratings are languishing at 38%, where it has stood mostly unchanged for the past two years. Just 35% of Americans approve of Biden’s handling of the economy. The evidence of a stronger economy has yet to spill over into greater support for Biden: the new poll puts his approval rating at 38%, which is roughly where that number has stood for most of the past two years. Biden’s approval rating on handling the economy is similar, at 35%.Voters’ perceptions of the economy often shape elections, which is why Biden and his team are working to emphasize any sign of economic strength. But if Americans aren’t feeling it personally, the message is unlikely to resonant.New reporting from the Associated Press reveals that Biden is expected to issue an executive order targeting Israeli settlers in the West Bank, where violence against Palestinians has surged in the occupied territory.The report, based on four officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the White House was expected to announce the order later today. It comes as Biden departs for Michigan, a battleground state and home to a sizable Arab American population that is furious with the president over his handling of Israel’s war in Gaza.Biden has faced growing criticism from Democrats amid rising Palestinian death toll and the destruction in Gaza. The move reflects the administration’s growing frustration with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, as the US ramps up pressure on its ally to show more restraint in its military operations in Gaza.
      The AP reports: Israel Defense Forces stepped up raids across the West Bank after the war began. Hamas militants are present in the West Bank, but largely operate underground because of Israel’s tight grip on the territory. Palestinians complain that the Israeli crackdown in the West Bank have further blurred the line between security forces and radical, violent settlers.
      The executive order is expected to set the ground for imposing sanctions on individuals who have engaged in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan met on Wednesday at the White House with Ron Dermer, the Israeli minister of strategic affair. It was not clear whether the executive order was discussed.
      Read the full report here. More

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      Senate to vote next week on bipartisan border bill, Schumer says

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      The US Senate will vote next week on a bipartisan bill that would strengthen security at the US-Mexico border and also provide more aid to Ukraine and Israel, the chamber’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, said on Thursday.“We cannot simply shirk from our responsibilities just because the task is difficult,” Schumer said on the Senate floor, adding that the text of the package will be released by Sunday, with the initial vote taking place no later than Wednesday.Senate negotiators have been in talks over the package for months. Donald Trump, who is seeking re-election to the White House and is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, has urged lawmakers to reject the deal.The Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, has also voiced skepticism about the talks, saying that if it emerged from the Senate the bipartisan legislation would be “dead on arrival” in the GOP-controlled House.A bipartisan group of senators have for weeks been looking for an agreement to implement stricter immigration policies and stop undocumented migrants at the southern border with Mexico. Numbers have fluctuated during Joe Biden’s presidency but are currently at record levels.Republicans have named passing the legislation as their price for approving aid to Ukraine, whose cause rightwing lawmakers have soured on as the war has dragged on and as Donald Trump, who has been ambivalent about sending arms to Kyiv, draws closer to winning the Republican presidential nomination.Congresses and presidents since the days of George W Bush have tried and failed to reform the US’s system for admitting workers and immigrants, including screening undocumented migrants and asylum seekers.The long odds of the latest negotiations succeeding were underscored last week when the Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, told his lawmakers that because Trump wanted to campaign on immigration reform, he doubted that the party would support any agreement that emerges from the talks. Biden is suffering at the polls on economic factors but also on conservative voters calling for greater security at the border.Senators from both parties expressed outrage over Trump’s apparent and sudden influence after almost daily talks. Chris Murphy, the main Democratic negotiator in the talks, said: “I hope we don’t live in a world today in which one person inside the Republican party holds so much power that they could stop a bipartisan bill to try to give the president additional power at the border to make more sense of our immigration policy.”The following day, Politico reported that McConnell had changed his tone, telling Republicans in a meeting that he still supported the talks.Now Schumer has signaled that the bill may be ready in the Senate. Details of what is in the legislation have not been disclosed.Meanwhile, the homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, who has been involved in the talks, is facing a rare impeachment of a cabinet member by the House, over his handling of the southern border.Reuters contributed reporting More

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      Trump political action committees spent over $50m last year on legal bills

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      Donald Trump’s political action committees spent more than $50m on legal fees over the course of 2023, as the former president’s legal troubles intensified in the face of 91 felony counts across four criminal cases.According to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Wednesday night, Save America, Trump’s leadership Pac that has shouldered most of the financial burden of his legal battles, entered 2024 with just $5m in cash on hand after spending more than $25m on legal expenses over the last six months of 2023.Another Trump-affiliated group, Make America Great Again, spent another $4m on legal bills over the second half of the year. Earlier filings showed that Save America also spent more than $21m on legal fees during the first six months of last year, bringing Trump’s total 2023 legal bill to more than $50m.As Trump’s legal woes have escalated, his political action committees have been forced to redistribute their financial resources. Filings show that Maga Inc refunded $30m to Save America in the second half of 2023, after already transferring more than $12m to the group earlier in the year. Save America had distributed $60m to Maga Inc back in 2022 to bolster Trump’s campaign efforts, but the group has now reclaimed most of those funds in the face of the former president’s mounting legal fees. After those transactions, Maga Inc reported roughly $23m in cash on hand heading into 2024.The FEC filings show that Trump-affiliated groups distributed payments to lawyers such as John Lauro, Steven Sadow and Chris Kise, all of whom have assisted in the former president’s legal defense. The new reports underscore how much of Trump’s impressive fundraising haul has been diverted away from his presidential campaign and redirected toward his legal battles – a fact that has caught the attention of his opponent in the Republican presidential primary, Nikki Haley.Haley said on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday: “Another reason Donald Trump won’t debate me … His PAC spent 50 MILLION in campaign dollars on his legal fees. He can’t beat Joe Biden if he’s spending all his time and money on court cases and chaos.”Despite the former president’s mounting legal troubles, the Trump campaign still began 2024 with $33m in cash on hand, but that total fell short of Joe Biden’s re-election campaign. The Biden campaign began 2024 with roughly $46m in the bank, while the Biden victory fund, a joint fundraising committee, reported $37.5m in cash on hand. The Democratic National Committee also reported more than twice as much cash on hand compared with its Republican counterpart, which started 2024 with just $8m in the bank.The figures prompted celebration among Biden campaign officials, who boasted about the president’s superior fundraising on social media.TJ Ducklo, a Biden campaign spokesperson, said in a statement: “While Donald Trump lights money on fire paying the tab on his various expenses, Team Biden-Harris, powered by grassroots donors, is hard at work talking to the voters who will decide this election and building the campaign infrastructure to win in November.”skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionBeyond his legal fees, Trump is dealing with other financial strain, after a New York jury recently awarded $83.3m to E Jean Carroll in her defamation lawsuit. Last year, another jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll, awarding her $5m.And Trump’s civil lawsuits will soon be the least of his concerns. Two of his criminal cases are scheduled to go to trial in March, although at least one of those trials is expected to be delayed. Trump’s legal troubles – and their associated fees – will probably only worsen in the months ahead. More

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      House passes US bill to expand child tax credit and revive business tax breaks

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      The House accomplished something unusual Wednesday in passing, with broad, bipartisan support, a roughly $79bn tax cut package that would enhance the child tax credit for millions of lower-income families and boost three tax breaks for business, a combination that gives lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle coveted policy wins.Prospects for the measure becoming law are uncertain with the Senate still having to take it up, but for a House that has struggled to get bills of consequence over the finish line, the tax legislation could represent a rare breakthrough. The bill passed by a vote of 357-70.Speaker Mike Johnson threw his support behind the bill on Wednesday morning. He spent part of the previous day meeting with GOP lawmakers who were concerned about particular features of the bill, namely the expanded child tax credit. Some were also unhappy that it failed to address the $10,000 cap on the total amount of property taxes or state or local taxes that consumers can deduct on their federal returns. Raising the cap is a top priority of lawmakers from the Republican members of the New York congressional delegation, whose victories in 2022 helped the GOP take the majority.Johnson committed to moving a bill that addresses the cap, but there is no bill text yet and legislation would have to move through the House rules committee, which leaves the timing very much in flux. Athina Lawson, a spokesperson for Johnson, said the speaker and the chairman of the House ways and means committee, Republican representative Jason Smith, agreed to work with lawmakers to “find a path forward”.Johnson also emphasized the importance of the bill moving through the House ways and means committee before coming to the full House for a vote, saying it was a good example of how Congress is supposed to work.House Republicans were anxious to restore full, immediate deductions that businesses can take for the purchase of new equipment and machinery, and for domestic research and development expenses. They argue such investments grow the economy and incentivize American companies to keep their manufacturing facilities and operations in the United States. The bill also provides businesses more flexibility in determining how much borrowing can be deducted.“Each of these policies will help American businesses grow, create jobs and sharpen their competitive advantage against China,” Smith said as debate began on the House floor.Democrats focused on boosting the child tax credit. The tax credit is $2,000 per child, but not all of that is refundable. The bill would incrementally raise the amount of the credit available as a refund, increasing it to $1,800 for 2023 tax returns, $1,900 for the following year and $2,000 for 2025 tax returns. The bill also adjusts the topline credit amount to temporarily grow at the rate of inflation.Households benefitting as a result of the changes in the child tax credit would see an average tax cut of $680 in the first year, according to estimates from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.Democrats pushed to restore the more generous tax credit they passed in 2021 in Joe Biden’s first year in office with payments occurring on a monthly basis. The credit was $3,600 annually for children under age six and $3,000 for children ages six to 17. But most lawmakers were willing to take what gains they could get through the compromise bill.“You know, I’ve been told that a half a loaf is better than none,” said Democratic Danny Davis. “This isn’t even half a loaf, but I’m going to vote for it because our families and businesses need help.”“What’s in front of us tonight is pretty simple,” said Representative Richard Neal. “Sixteen million children will benefit from the improvement to the child tax credit. That’s a fact.”But for some Democrats, it wasn’t enough.“This bill provides billions of dollars in tax relief for the wealthy, pennies for the poor,” said Representative Rosa DeLauro. “Big corporations are richer than ever. There is no even split.”And for some Republicans, it was too much. The chief critics of the expanded child tax credit likened it to “welfare”.“What is a refundable tax credit? It’s welfare by a different name. We’re going to give cash payments, checks, to people who don’t even pay taxes,” said Representative Thomas Massie.Representative Drew Ferguson, chafed at that characterization, saying “we all believe on this side of the aisle that you should work in order to receive federal benefits. That is something that this bill does.”While there were complaints about the tax bill from some of the most conservative and liberal members of the House, a significant majority from each party voted for it. Proponents are hoping the strong show of support will stir action in the Senate.The bill keeps a threshold of a household having $2,500 in income to be eligible for refundable child tax credit payments.The bill also would enhance a tax credit for the construction or rehabilitation of rental housing targeted to lower-income households, adding an estimated 200,000 housing units around the country. That was a key priority of lawmakers from states with acute housing shortages and soaring prices. And it would ensure victims of certain natural disasters and the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment don’t get hit with a big tax bill for payments they received as compensation for their losses. More

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      Mike Johnson says he does not believe Senate talks would ‘stop the border catastrophe’ – live

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      Mike Johnson reiterated his attack on the Senate’s immigration policy deal, saying that, though its exact provisions have not been released yet, he does not think it would cut down on migrant arrivals to the degree he demands.“Last Friday, President Biden came out in support of the Senate’s deal, which we haven’t seen yet. There is no text yet. But from what we’ve heard, this so-called deal … does not include … these transformational policy changes that are needed to actually stop the border catastrophe,” the House speaker said.He specifically took issue with reports that, under the deal’s proposed terms, the border would be closed once crossings exceeded 5,000 people in a given day:
      Apparently, we’re concocting some sort of deal to allow the president to shut down the border after 5,000 people break the law. Why is it 5,000? If you add that up, that’d be a million more illegals into our country every year before we take remedial measures. It’s madness. We shouldn’t be asking what kind of enforcement authority kicks in at 5,000 illegal crossings a day. The number should be zero.
      “Anything higher than zero is surrendering our border, surrendering our sovereignty and our security,” Johnson said.He has now concluded his remarks.In his first speech on the House floor since winning the speaker’s gavel, Mike Johnson recited familiar rightwing talking points regarding undocumented migrants, while again warning that he did not like what he was hearing about measures under discussion in the Senate to tighten immigration policy. That’s a bad sign for a potential deal Republicans have demanded to support Joe Biden’s request for another round of military assistance to Ukraine, and to Israel. In the Senate, Democratic majority leader Chuck Schumer made clear he did not think much of the House GOP’s impeachment of homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, indicating the chamber would acquit him if a trial occurs.Here’s what else happened today:
      Congresswoman Cori Bush demanded an apology from rightwing lawmaker Troy Nehls, who referred to her husband as a “thug”, and Bush as “loud”. Yesterday, Bush acknowledged she was under investigation by the justice department over allegedly misusing federal funds.
      James Biden will appear for an interview with a House committee leading the impeachment inquiry into his brother, the president.
      Nikki Haley says America doesn’t need any more “Grumpy Old Men”.
      Rob Menendez, a Democratic House lawmaker from New Jersey, accused Republicans of kowtowing to “the orange Jesus” with their charges against Mayorkas.
      Taylor Swift is the latest subject of a rightwing conspiracy theory.
      Later this evening, the House is expected to vote on a bipartisan bill that would extend tax credits for low-income families, as well as restore some tax breaks for businesses.It’s unclear if it will pass the House, but the below comment, captured by Semafor, from Republican senator Chuck Grassley is raising eyebrows nonetheless. Asked about the bill’s chances in Congress’s upper chamber, Grassley seems to imply that passing the legislation would be a bad idea, because measures to assist poor families could boost Joe Biden’s re-election chances:It’s unclear how many Republican lawmakers feel the same way, but the sentiment could bode ill for Congress getting any major legislation passed prior to November’s presidential election.A high-profile lawsuit filed by entertainment giant Walt Disney alleging retaliation by Florida governor Ron DeSantis has been dismissed by a federal judge, but the company appears set to file an appeal, Reuters reports:
      A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed Walt Disney’s lawsuit against the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, and members of a state board for allegedly retaliating after the company criticized state limits on classroom discussion of sexuality, according to a court filing.
      “This is an important case with serious implications for the rule of law and it will not end here,” a Disney spokesperson said.
      “If left unchallenged, this would set a dangerous precedent and give license to states to weaponize their official powers to punish the expression of political viewpoints they disagree with. We are determined to press forward with our case.”
      DeSantis and other defendants had urged Allen Winsor, the US district judge in Tallahassee, Florida, to dismiss the case because Disney could not sue them over constitutionally enacted state laws.
      The dispute began after Disney criticized the classroom discussion ban, dubbed the “don’t say gay” law by opponents. DeSantis began repeatedly attacking what he termed “woke Disney” in public appearances as he geared up for his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, an effort he abandoned earlier this month.
      State lawmakers stripped Disney of its control over the special development district that since 1967 had given the company virtual autonomy around its theme parks, including the Walt Disney World Resort.
      In the latest clash between pro-Palestine protesters and the Biden-Harris campaign, two women claim they were kept out of an event with Kamala Harris because they were wearing hijabs. The campaign says they had disrupted other events. Here’s what we know about the incident, from the Guardian’s Gloria Oladipo:Two women have accused Biden-Harris campaign staffers of Islamophobia, claiming they were profiled and disinvited from a campaign event because they were wearing hijabs.Staff with the campaign have since countered that the women were barred after disrupting other events held by Democratic leaders.The incident was captured on video and shared to X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday by an account named Nevadans for Palestinian Liberation.The viral video, which has garnered over 2m views, shows an unidentified staffer for the Get the Vote Out event in Las Vegas on Saturday telling the women that they are not allowed to enter the venue.“We are choosing who’s going in and out of the event. I’m sorry,” the staffer said.Off camera, one woman responds: “Why are you choosing us not to go in when we have an invite?”A separate woman, also off camera, says: “You specifically singled us out.”Speaking of Donald Trump, he’s within striking distance of winning the Republican presidential nomination, but his last remaining rival, Nikki Haley, is not giving up.Today, she launched another salvo at one thing the former president and the current president have in common: their advanced age. Joe Biden is 81, Trump is 77, and both are too old for the presidency, Haley argues. She also debuted a meme that will look familiar to those fluent in early 90s cinema:Atlanta-area district attorney Fani Willis, who indicted Donald Trump and 18 others on charges related to trying to overturn Georgia’s election result in 2020, has been subpoenaed to testify regarding her relationship with a prosecutor she hired for the case, ABC News reports.Ashleigh Merchant, an attorney for co-defendant Michael Roman, earlier this month accused Willis and Nathan Wade, who she hired to work on the case, of having an improper relationship that resulted in financial gain for both of them. Merchant has asked for Willis to be removed, and the indictment dismissed.Here’s more on what the subpoena means, from ABC News:
      Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Nathan Wade, one of her top prosecutors in the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump and 18 others, have been subpoenaed to testify at an upcoming evidentiary hearing set to examine allegations that they were involved in an improper relationship while investigating the former president, according to a new lawsuit filed in Georgia this week.
      The claim that Willis and Wade had been subpoenaed to testify was contained in a copy of the lawsuit, obtained by ABC News, that was filed by the attorney for one of Trump’s co-defendants in the election case, accusing the Fulton county district attorney’s office of “intentionally withholding information”.
      The lawsuit accuses the office of “stonewalling” the attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, in her efforts to obtain records from the office through public information requests.
      In a statement to ABC News, a spokesperson for the DA’s office said they had not yet been served the lawsuit, and said, “We provided her with all the materials she requested and is entitled to.”
      In a letter sent to Merchant on Friday, provided to ABC News by the DA’s office, the DA’s office pushed back on her allegations that they have failed to meet their obligations, writing they “disagree with your disingenuous implication”.
      The issuing of the subpoenas could set up a high-stakes battle for both Willis and Wade, who have remained virtually silent on the issue but may now have to testify under oath during the televised hearing on 15 February, as Trump and other co-defendants seek to use the allegations to have the two removed from the case and the indictment thrown out.
      Away from domestic politics, the AP is reporting that the US has attributed a drone attack that killed three American troops in Jordan to umbrella group Islamic Resistance in Iraq.James Biden will appear before House Republicans for a private interview next month as lawmakers seek to regain some momentum in their monthslong impeachment inquiry into his brother, Joe Biden, The Associated Press reports.The House Oversight and Accountability Committee announced on Wednesday that the Democratic president’s younger sibling will come to Capitol Hill on February 21. The date was set after months of negotiations between the sides.
      We look forward to his interview,” the committee posted on X, the website formerly known as Twitter.
      James Biden’s interview will take place just days before the president’s son Hunter Biden will be deposed in private by the Republican-run committee, which has been investigating the Biden family’s overseas finances for the past year.Both James and Hunter Biden were subpoenaed by the committee in November. So far, the GOP investigation has failed to uncover evidence directly implicating the president in any wrongdoing.A lawyer for James Biden said at the time that there was no justification for the subpoena because the committee had already reviewed private bank records and transactions between the two brothers. The committee found records of two loans that were made when Joe Biden was not in office or a candidate for president.
      There is nothing more to those transactions, and there is nothing wrong with them. And Jim Biden has never involved his brother in his business dealings,” lawyer Paul Fishman said in a statement in November.
      Joe Biden kicked his re-election campaign into high gear earlier this month. So, too, have protesters upset over his policy towards Israel’s invasion of Gaza, the Guardian’s Ed Pilkington reports:Joe Biden had barely started speaking at a high-profile re-election campaign rally focusing on abortion rights in Virginia last week when the carefully choreographed made-for-TV spectacle exploded into a cacophony of angry yelling.“Genocide Joe!”, a protester holding up a Palestinian flag cried from the back of the hall. “How many kids have you killed in Gaza? How many women have you killed in Gaza?”Biden looked bemused, blinking silently into the cameras. In all, he was to be interrupted at least 13 more times. “This is going to go on for a while,” he said at one point. “They’ve got this planned.”As Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign gets under way, it is becoming increasingly clear that they have indeed got it planned. A decentralized network of pro-Palestinian groups and individuals, including Muslim Americans, Jewish Americans and anti-war organizations, are hounding Biden over his firm support for Israel despite the heavy cost in civilian lives of its war against Hamas.“Our community is going to be active, with actions big or small, until this genocide ends and there’s a permanent ceasefire,” Mohamad Habehh told the Guardian. He was the individual who stood up and shouted: “Genocide Joe!” in Virginia.Habehh said that Biden should expect much more of the same as election year unfolds. “Every event the president does, no matter where it is, not matter what state or city, there will be Americans who stand against his stance on Gaza.”In his first speech on the House floor since winning the speaker’s gavel, Mike Johnson recited familiar rightwing talking points regarding undocumented migrants, while again warning that he did not like what he was hearing about measures under discussion in the Senate to tighten immigration policy. That’s a bad sign for a potential deal Republicans have demanded to support Joe Biden’s request for another round of military assistance to Ukraine, and to Israel. In the Senate, Democratic majority leader Chuck Schumer made clear he did not think much of the House GOP’s impeachment of homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, indicating the chamber would acquit him if a trial occurs.Here’s what else is going on:
      Congresswoman Cori Bush demanded an apology from rightwing lawmaker Troy Nehls, who referred to her husband as a “thug”, and Bush as “loud”. Yesterday, Bush acknowledged she was under investigation by the justice department over allegedly misusing federal funds.
      Rob Menendez, a Democratic House lawmaker from New Jersey, accused Republicans of kowtowing to “the orange Jesus” with their charges against Mayorkas.
      Taylor Swift is the latest subject of a rightwing conspiracy theory.
      Mike Johnson reiterated his attack on the Senate’s immigration policy deal, saying that, though its exact provisions have not been released yet, he does not think it would cut down on migrant arrivals to the degree he demands.“Last Friday, President Biden came out in support of the Senate’s deal, which we haven’t seen yet. There is no text yet. But from what we’ve heard, this so-called deal … does not include … these transformational policy changes that are needed to actually stop the border catastrophe,” the House speaker said.He specifically took issue with reports that, under the deal’s proposed terms, the border would be closed once crossings exceeded 5,000 people in a given day:
      Apparently, we’re concocting some sort of deal to allow the president to shut down the border after 5,000 people break the law. Why is it 5,000? If you add that up, that’d be a million more illegals into our country every year before we take remedial measures. It’s madness. We shouldn’t be asking what kind of enforcement authority kicks in at 5,000 illegal crossings a day. The number should be zero.
      “Anything higher than zero is surrendering our border, surrendering our sovereignty and our security,” Johnson said.He has now concluded his remarks.This speech by Mike Johnson has thus far amounted to a lengthy attack on the Biden administration’s immigration policy, and migrants themselves.The Republican speaker said he had received a letter from former FBI officials warning of “a soft invasion along our southern border”, and said the migrants trying to enter the United States from Mexico “are not huddled masses of families seeking refuge and asylum. These are people coming into our country to do only God knows what and we are allowing it – the Biden administration is allowing it. And we’ve noted that they’re coming from adversarial nations, from terrorist regions. We have no idea what they’re planning.”Speaking out the House floor, Republican speaker Mike Johnson has again signaled he is not happy with the Senate’s immigration policy negotiations.He kicked off his speech decrying the impact of undocumented immigrants on communities nationwide, before describing the Senate talks as focused on “a so-called border security deal”. That’s not a good sign for the prospects of the deal, if one emerges, in the House, and, by extension, aid to Ukraine and Israel.Republican Mike Johnson is set to give his first speech on the floor of the House since becoming speaker, where he is expected to discuss immigration policy.Johnson has criticized the Senate’s bipartisan negotiations on the border, the success of which Republicans have linked to supporting another round of aid for Ukraine’s military.We’ll let you know what Johnson has to say. More

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      ‘You singled us out’: women accuse Biden-Harris staff of Islamophobia for barring them from event

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      Two women have accused Biden-Harris campaign staffers of Islamophobia, claiming they were profiled and disinvited from a campaign event because they were wearing hijabs.Staff with the campaign have since countered that the women were barred after disrupting other events held by Democratic leaders.The incident was captured on video and shared to X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday by an account named Nevadans for Palestinian Liberation.The viral video, which has garnered over 2m views, shows an unidentified staffer for the Get the Vote Out event in Las Vegas on Saturday telling the women that they are not allowed to enter the venue.“We are choosing who’s going in and out of the event. I’m sorry,” the staffer said.Off camera, one woman responds: “Why are you choosing us not to go in when we have an invite?”A separate woman, also off camera, says: “You specifically singled us out.”The women then accuse the staffer of being “racist” and asks if they were prevented from attending because they are wearing hijabs.As the women and the staffer talk, the staffer allows others to enter the event venue.“They’re disinviting us because we have hijabs on our heads. That’s why,” one woman shouts to attendees as they enter the venue.When a separate attendee asks the staffer if the women can enter, he says: “No, I’m sorry.”Nevadans for Palestinian Liberation accused the Biden-Harris campaign of “explicitly turning away Muslim constituents from attending campaign events” in a statement shared to X.“It is shameful to see the Biden-Harris staff and [Nevada] Dems staff use post-9/11 racist tactics to target Muslims and Arab Americans in 2024,” the group said in a statement.A spokesperson with the Biden-Harris campaign said that the women were specifically barred after staff discovered that they had disrupted previous events with Democratic lawmakers.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotion“These individuals were among the group of people not allowed to attend Saturday’s event after previously disrupting and shutting down events with Democratic elected officials,” Ammar Moussa, a spokesperson for the campaign, said in a statement shared to X.A spokesperson with the Clark County Democrats in Nevada forwarded the Biden-Harris campaign’s response to the Guardian when asked for comment.A source close to the Biden-Harris campaign added that the women had previously protested during a speech by the Nevada senator Jacky Rosen earlier this month.After being disinvited from Saturday’s event, the women reportedly continued to protest across the street from the event, the source added.The government affairs director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair), Robert McCaw, said in a statement issued on Tuesday that “the American people deserve to know whether these women were profiled and barred from an event featuring Vice President Harris because they were visibly Muslim”.“Throughout her term, Vice President Harris has been respectful in her interactions with American Muslims, even during a time of intense disagreement. We encourage Vice President Harris to take appropriate action to address this apparent incident of profiling,” he added.Harris was notably in attendance at the event on Saturday.Also on Tuesday, Cair released new civil rights data showing that it has received 3,578 complaints in just the last three months of 2023 – marking a 178% increase in complaints compared to a similar period the previous year. More

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      Progressive congressman’s personal blog promoted 9/11 conspiracy theories

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      The progressive US congressman Jamaal Bowman is seeking to distance himself from conspiracy theories about the deadly September 11 terrorist attacks which he published on a personal blog that he ran before his career in elected office.The New York representative was linked to the blog in question by the Daily Beast on Monday as he faces a substantial primary challenge from a fellow Democrat over his criticism of Israeli military strikes in Gaza in response to Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack.Bowman was also grappling with the Daily Beast’s reporting after his 2023 fine and misdemeanor guilty plea for apparently pulling a fire alarm at the US Capitol shortly before the US House was supposed to vote on a government funding bill. Though he maintained that the fire alarm pull was accidental, the House censured Bowman, who was accused of trying to delay the funding bill vote.“I don’t believe anything that these cranks have said, and my life’s work has proved that,” said a statement that Bowman distributed to media outlets about the far-right conspiracy theories once featured on a blog.Bowman’s statement alluded to a resolution that condemned the racist white replacement theory that drove a gunman to murder 11 Black people in Buffalo in 2022 and said: “My life’s work has proved that … I’ve called out the endless bullshit of the far right.”The deactivated relentless-strongback.blogspot.com blog contained Bowman’s thoughts on the news and other topics when he was a New York City middle school principal. Some of the writings seemed to express doubts about the established history of the September 11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in 2001 after terrorists hijacked and crashed passenger planes into New York’s World Trade Center, the Pentagon in Washington DC and a field in Pennsylvania.“Hmm … / Multiple explosions / Heard before / And during the collapse / Hmm … ,” one piece of writing, resembling free verse, at the blog said.Another piece read: “Allegedly / Two other planes / The Pentagon / Pennsylvania / Hijacked by terrorist / Minimal damage done / Minimal debris found / Hmm.”As the Daily Beast reported, those writings appeared to refer to the disproven fringe theory that one of the World Trade Center buildings that collapsed on 9/11 was actually felled by an intentional, controlled demolition. The writings also seemed to refer to the Pentagon strike that caused the facility’s outer wall to collapse while killing 184 people. And they also seemingly made short mention of the hijacking that ended in Pennsylvania with dozens of deaths and considerable debris.Bowman’s blog also suggested that readers watch Loose Change and Zeitgeist, films that propagated 9/11 conspiracies peddled among the far right. The Daily Beast noted that both were favored by the gunman who shot six people to death and wounded then congresswoman Gabby Giffords in 2011. Meanwhile, the Daily Beast added, Alex Jones has spoken flatteringly of Zeitgeist and served as an executive producer of the final cut of Loose Change – before the rightwing provocateur was hit with a $1.5bn judgment for spreading lies that the deadly 2012 school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, was a hoax aimed at forcing Americans to accept gun control.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionBowman’s statement maintained “few people ever read” his blog, parts of which can still be accessed through the Internet Archive. He added that some of its posts were inspired by research he conducted into “a wide range of books, films and articles” as he debated pursuing a doctorate.“I of course do not believe any of these conspiracy theories that are pushed by the same right-wing fanatics who have always been opposed to my candidacy and presence in Congress,” Bowman’s statement said.Since joining the House in 2021, Bowman’s brand of leftwing progressive politics has indeed been pilloried by conservatives, including some who tried to compare him to the Donald Trump supporters who attacked Congress on 6 January 2021.Bowman said his office was also inundated with angry calls after he joined a few House members who opposed a resolution supporting Israel’s ongoing strikes in Gaza. And by December, George Latimer, a pro-Israel Democratic politician from Westchester county, New York, announced he would run for Bowman’s seat as the incumbent seeks a third term in the House during the upcoming election cycle. More

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      House showdown as Republicans try to escalate border and immigration issues

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      A partisan showdown was on display on Tuesday as House Republicans attempted to escalate immigration and border issues on two fronts.Republicans moved forward with efforts to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, as they lambasted the border deal recently brokered between the Joe Biden White House and a bipartisan group of senators, in a split-screen that Democrats criticized as hypocritical.A House committee convened on Tuesday to consider two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas, who attacked Republicans’ accusations against him as “false”, “baseless” and “inaccurate”.In a letter sent to the Republican chair of the House committee on homeland security just hours before the markup hearing began, Mayorkas dismissed the impeachment process as “politically motivated”. House Republicans have presented no clear evidence that Mayorkas committed high crimes and misdemeanors, which is the requirement for impeachment, but their resolution accuses the cabinet secretary of refusing to comply with the law and breaching public trust.“I have been privileged to serve our country for most of my professional life. I have adhered scrupulously and fervently to the oath of office I have taken six times in my public service career,” Mayorkas wrote in his letter. “I assure you that your false accusations do not rattle me and do not divert me from the law enforcement and broader public service mission to which I have devoted most of my career and to which I remain devoted.”The Republican chair of the committee, Mark Green of Tennessee, criticized Mayorkas’s letter as a woefully inadequate response to concerns about the situation at the US-Mexican border, where arrests for illegal crossings have reached record highs.“This 11th-hour response demonstrates the lack of seriousness with which Secretary Mayorkas views his responsibilities,” Green said in his opening statement at the markup hearing. “We cannot allow this man to remain in office any longer. The time for accountability is now.”Democrats retorted that Republicans were making a farce out of the impeachment process by rushing to oust a cabinet official without evidence of wrongdoing.“We’re here based on two completely fabricated, unsupported and never used before articles of impeachment,” Dan Goldman, a Democrat of New York, said at the hearing. “This is completely debasing and demeaning the impeachment clause of the United States constitution, and it is a gross, gross injustice to the credibility of this institution.”The Republican-controlled committee is expected to advance the resolution, and the House speaker, Republican Mike Johnson of Louisiana, has indicated that the full chamber will vote on impeaching Mayorkas in the coming days. Even if the resolution passes the House, it will certainly fail in the Senate, where Democrats hold a majority.To demonstrate his scorn over the proceedings, the ranking Democrat on the committee, Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, introduced several procedural motions to delay the progress of the hearing. Thompson accused Republicans of attempting to impeach Mayorkas to boost the political prospects of Donald Trump, who is widely expected to win his party’s presidential nomination.“If House Republicans were serious about improving conditions along the border, they would provide the department the funding necessary to do so. They have not,” Thompson said in his opening statement. “They don’t want progress. They don’t want solutions. They want a political issue. And most of all, they want to please their disgraced former president. The extreme Maga [‘Make America Great Again’] Republicans who are running the House of Representatives are deeply unserious people.”While the House moves forward with impeaching Mayorkas, Trump has called on Republicans to sink the bipartisan border and national security deal. Johnson has said that the proposal, which would grant Joe Biden the authority to shut down the border between ports of entry when attempted crossings increase to a certain level, would be “dead on arrival” in the House.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionAt a press conference held on Tuesday, Johnson dismissed claims that House Republicans were doing Trump’s bidding as “absurd” and insisted they were focused on addressing the situation at the border.“Our duty is to do right by the American people, to protect the people. The first and most important job of the federal government is to protect its citizens. We’re not doing that under President Biden,” Johnson said. “Our majority is small. We only have it in one chamber, but we’re trying to use every ounce of leverage that we have to make sure that this issue is addressed.”The White House then attacked Johnson for flip-flopping on the passage of a bipartisan immigration bill, noting that the speaker previously called on members of both parties to “come together and address the broken border”.“Today, Speaker Johnson claimed he believes action should be taken to secure the border,” said the White House spokesperson Andrew Bates. “That’s exactly what President Biden and Republicans and Democrats in the Senate are doing. Speaker Johnson should join them.”Speaking on the House floor, Jim McGovern, a Democrat of Massachusetts, mocked Republicans’ assertions that they were entirely focused on policy concerns and emphasized the challenges of the current divided Congress. While Republicans hold a narrow majority in the House, Democrats control both the Senate and the White House.“I will say to my Republican friends: you are not in control of everything. You don’t have a dictatorship,” McGovern said. “If you want to get something done, we’re going to have to compromise.” More