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      Biden appeals to governors for ‘less partisanship’ to help rebuild economy

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      Biden appeals to governors for ‘less partisanship’ to help rebuild economy President says at White House dinner that passage of infrastructure laws is evidence of ‘some bipartisan progress’ Joe Biden appealed to Republican and Democratic governors on Saturday to continue working across political divides to improve Americans’ lives and rebuild the economy after the hardships brought by the Covid-19 pandemic.Speaking at a black-tie dinner at the White House, the president told 31 governors that the passage of laws on investing in infrastructure and domestic manufacture of semiconductors was evidence of “some bipartisan progress” among Republicans and Democrats. Vice-President Kamala Harris was also in attendance.“I hope we’re going to get a little bit – I’m going to try – a little bit less partisan and work on things that we can really get done to change people’s lives,” Biden said after governor meetings in Washington this week.Biden said he was still “ready to fight, as you all are”, and though Republicans and Democrats would not always agree, it made a difference when they worked together.Republican governor Spencer Cox of Utah, vice-chairperson of the National Governors Association, said it was “very symbolic” to have Republicans and Democrats “breaking bread together” at the White House.Cox added that he believed the majority of Americans wanted to see more collaboration across the political aisle.“This is what is missing in our country,” he said, adding that “it’s hard to hate up close”.Notably absent from the dinner was Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican who has challenged Biden’s agenda on a wide range of fronts, from gun safety to LGBTQ+ rights.Country music singer Brad Paisley played guitar and performed his song “American Saturday Night” after the dinner, telling the crowd he had swapped out the second line of the song “because it mentioned Russia and I don’t do that any more”. Russia’s military invaded Ukraine last year, and Biden’s administration has provided more than $30bn in security aid to Ukraine’s defenders.Instead, Paisley sang: “She’s got Brazilian leather boots on the pedal of a German car. There’s a Ukrainian flag hanging up behind the bar.”Biden’s remarks echoed his State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday, when he challenged Republicans to help to unite the country.The bipartisan laws passed last year were game-changers for the US economy, New Jersey governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat, told reporters on Friday after the series of governor meetings at the White House.Murphy, who is chairperson of the National Governors Association, said states’ ability to work together on other issues, such as mental health, disproved the “narrative that politics has gotten completely divisive” and called the group a “beacon of bipartisan reality”.He said the association had appealed to lawmakers and the White House to end a dispute over raising the $31.4tn statutory debt ceiling before the Treasury department runs out of funds to pay US debts.Republicans want spending concessions from Biden, who has said he will not negotiate over raising the limit.Murphy said he left the meetings “more optimistic” about both sides’ willingness to negotiate while preserving social security, medicare and defense spending.TopicsJoe BidenUS politicsBiden administrationDemocratsRepublicansnewsReuse this content More

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      Biden’s on a winning streak and up for a fight: so why are voters so negative?

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      Biden’s on a winning streak and up for a fight: so why are voters so negative? The president sparred with Republicans at the State of the Union and has won legislative victories but polls show little enthusiasm for a re-election bidIt was the moment that America’s State of the Union address, once a staid affair punctured only by applause, turned into a verbal brawl more akin to Britain’s House of Commons.Joe Biden accused some Republicans of wanting to “take the economy hostage” and slash social welfare entitlements. “Booo!”, “No!” and “Liar!” came the response. US presidents typically ignore hecklers but Biden chose to take them on.Feisty Biden offers bipartisan vision while still triggering RepublicansRead more“So, folks, as we all apparently agree, social security and Medicare is off the books now, right?” he sparred. “They’re not to be touched? All right. All right. We got unanimity!” He gave Republicans an offer they could not refuse: to rise from their seats and stand in support of the elderly.At a stroke, the combative Biden had bested his opponents and at least partially assuaged doubts that, at the age of 80, he has the fight and fortitude for a gruelling re-election campaign next year. It was an important victory at a moment when opinion polls show that even most fellow Democrats hunger for a new generation of leaders.John Zogby, an author and pollster, said: “Like Muhammad Ali, he floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee.”Even so, one speech will not be enough to solve the continuing political puzzle of the two Joe Bidens. One is the Biden visibly energised by Republican jeers who found a way to squash them without smugness; the Biden who rallied the west to support Ukraine and helped Democrats defy history in the midterm elections; the Biden who reeled off the most consequential list of legislative accomplishments since President Lyndon Johnson more than half a century ago.But the other Biden has not gone away. He is the one who began his lengthy State of the Union address – which drew the second smallest audience TV audience in at least 30 years – somewhat lethargically, describing Chuck Schumer as Senate minority leader when he should have said majority and saying relatively little about abortion rights. This is the Biden who presided over soaring food and petrol prices, bungled America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and left classified documents in his garage.A survey in late January by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that just 37% of Democrats say they want Biden to seek a second term, down from 52% in the weeks before last year’s midterm elections. Overall, 41% approve of how Biden is handling his job as president and only 22% say he should run again.Among Democrats aged 45 and over, 49% say Biden should run for re-election, nearly as many as the 58% who said that in October. But among those under age 45, just 23% now say he should run for re-election, after 45% said that before the midterms.Interviews with poll respondents suggest that many voters believe the president’s age is a liability, with people focused on his coughing, gait and gaffes and the possibility that the world’s most stressful job would be better suited for someone younger.A separate Washington Post-ABC Newspoll showed that 62% of Americans think Biden has accomplished “not very much” or “little or nothing” during his presidency, while 36% say he has accomplished “a great deal” or “a good amount”. Some 60% say he has not made progress creating more good jobs in their community, even though he has overseen the fastest pace of job growth in US history and unemployment sits at its lowest level since 1969.The disconnect might feel like a kick in the teeth for Biden after notching four big legislative victories with coronavirus relief, a bipartisan infrastructure law, legislation boosting domestic production of computer chips and tax and spending measures that help to address the climate crisis and improve the government’s ability to enforce the tax code.The gap between perception and reality is hard to explain. The chaos of the Donald Trump years, a pandemic that killed more than a million Americans and an ongoing reckoning over racial justice have inevitably left the nation disoriented. But some critics argue that the White House is failing to communicate its achievements.Michael Steele, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, said: “The messaging by the administration has been lacklustre. It has not been well coordinated. It has not been well reinforced by agency heads and cabinet members who can take that work that they’re doing out to the country.”Steele pointed to the $1.2tn infrastructure bill, signed by Biden in late 2021, as an example. “Everybody’s jumping up and down but what they did not explain to the country was, now we’ve got to go put in place the regulations that would correspond to the allocation of those dollars … That part of the conversation never happened so voters are sitting there going, ‘Well, I don’t see any impact from this. They’re not doing anything in my community.”The misstep cost Democrats control of the House of Representatives, Steele added. “I’m now watching commercials of the president delivering on his promises and I would say, yeah, that’s probably about four or five months late.”There have been frustrations for Biden over police reform and votings rights, which could potentially cause disillusionment among Black voters. In his address, he continued to urge reform but did not explicitly call for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to pass.But activists argue that he should call out Republicans and make clear that they are the ones standing in the way.Rashad Robinson, president of Color of Change, an advocacy group, said: “There’s a reason why we don’t have those pieces of legislation and it’s not President Biden. But if he doesn’t tell a story for people about why we didn’t win those things, who stood in the way of those things, who is profiting from preventing those things, he will be blamed by people.”Biden’s defenders argue that there has been a concerted effort to sell his agenda and accomplishments. A day after his State of the Union address he travelled to Wisconsin, and a day after that he went to Florida, while other top officials are crisscrossing the country to spread the message. It can be effective at a local level but struggles to compete with eye-catching national headlines like the flight of a Chinese spy balloon. Some argue there is no substitute for concrete results that affect people’s everyday lives.Elaine Kamarck, a former official in the Bill Clinton administration, said: “You’ve got to see things happening. You have to see the bridges being built. You have to see the tunnels being fixed. You have to see the airports. That’s the reality. The challenge is to make this real. This is a problem of political timing, which in the term of a president is very short but often getting big things done takes a long time.”Kamarck, now a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution thinktank in Washington, added: “He’s got to get something on the books. He’s got to get something going. He can say it till the cows come home but if there’s no reality on the ground it won’t matter.”Biden’s biggest first-term legislative accomplishments are almost certainly behind him. He must now work with an aggressive Republican majority in the House that wants to cut spending in return for lifting the government’s legal borrowing authority, as well as launching myriad investigations into the pandemic response, Afghanistan withdrawal and business dealings of the president’s son, Hunter Biden.He also faces nagging doubts within his own party. Having first been elected to the Senate from Delaware in 1972, he has been on the national political stage for more than half a century and is the oldest US president in history. His verbal stumbles – he recently called Congressman Don Beyer by the name “Doug” four times – receive more scrutiny than ever.Biden could face another election against Trump, a twice impeached former president who instigated a violent coup attempt on 6 January 2021. Yet in a hypothetical rematch, 48% of registered voters said they would favor Trump compared with 45% who prefer Biden, according to the Washington Post-ABC News poll.Julián Castro, a former housing secretary under President Barack Obama, noted that this finding undermines the general consensus that Democrats are content with Biden taking on Trump. “Two years is forever and it’s just one poll, but if he’s faring this poorly after a string of wins, that should be worrisome,” he tweeted.But Biden, who has not yet officially announced he is running, benefits from a lack of obvious successor. His vice-president, Kamala Harris, has endured similarly low approval ratings and is yet to distinguish herself as the automatic choice. The transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, is still only 41 and a promising generation of Democratic governors are widely perceived as not yet ready.Steele, who served as lieutenant governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007, said: “The question I ask those Democrats who like to wax poetically about Biden not being their nominee is this: tell me which Democratic governor or former senator or current elected official is going to challenge an incumbent United States president.“Every time we’ve seen that happen – which is in our lifetime has only been twice – it has not ended spectacularly well for the challenger, so I don’t know what the hell they’re thinking. This is the horse that got you through the storm. This is the horse you’re going to need to ride into the sunset and that’s just how it is.”Joe Biden has steadied the nation – why don’t his polling numbers reflect this? | Robert ReichRead moreMany Republicans acknowledge that Biden had a good night at the State of the Union and quelled doubts about his age. But they believe that he could be vulnerable in the 2024 election if he faces a candidate promising generational change and who does not carry Trump’s political and legal baggage. Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, and Nikki Haley, the ex-governor of South Carolina, are among potential contenders.Ed Rogers, a political consultant who worked in the administration of Ronald Reagan, the oldest man to serve as president until Trump, said: “There would be all this talk about Reagan’s losing it, Reagan’s out of it, Reagan’s not mentally hitting on all cylinders – and then Reagan would do something and people would observe for themselves and it would clear the bar and calm that talk for a while.“Biden certainly did that. The speech was well delivered … It’s not like people see their lives improving because Biden says it is or people are not fearful of crime, the future, the state of the schools because Biden says they’re OK. That’s part of what’s not good about the Biden administration. The speech was a net plus. It wasn’t transformative for the Biden political condition.”Rogers reckons Biden will win the Democratic nomination for 2024 and is well placed in the general election – but nothing is guaranteed. “We re-elect 75% of our presidents. If you had to bet today, you’d bet on the incumbent. But if it’s not Trump, if somebody showed up as an energetic change candidate, Biden could be beat.”TopicsJoe BidenThe ObserverUS elections 2024US politicsDemocratsState of the Union addressfeaturesReuse this content More

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      US senator John Fetterman discharged from Washington DC hospital

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      US senator John Fetterman discharged from Washington DC hospital Senator from Pennsylvania was admitted after feeling light-headed but tests confirmed he did not suffer a second stroke John Fetterman was discharged from George Washington University Hospital on Friday, his staff said, two days after the US senator was admitted to the Washington DC facility because he was feeling light-headed.US congresswoman poured coffee over attacker to deter him, chief of staff saysRead moreFetterman, 53, suffered a stroke last year. Tests showed he did not suffer a second stroke during the latest incident, the hospital said.“In addition to the CT, CTA, and MRI tests ruling out a stroke, his EEG test results came back normal, with no evidence of seizures,” the senator’s office said in a written statement. “John is looking forward to spending some time with his family and returning to the Senate on Monday.”Fetterman had a stroke last year while campaigning for one of Pennsylvania’s two Senate seats.It initially left lingering problems with his speech and hearing that sometimes caused verbal miscues, but Fetterman’s doctor said the politician could serve in office with no restrictions as long as he followed recovery instructions.Fetterman, in a statement on his recovery last year, said he had been diagnosed with a heart condition years earlier but had stopped taking his medication, avoided going to the doctor and ignored warning signs.TopicsUS SenateDemocratsPennsylvaniaUS politicsReuse this content More

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      US confirms ‘high-altitude object’ taken down over Alaska – live

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      John Kirby confirmed that a second “high-altitude object” was taken down over Alaska, during today’s press briefing.Kirby confirmed that the Department of Defense was tracking the flying object, which could be a second balloon, and that the object posed a “reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight”.Kirby said that Biden ordered the military to “down” the object within the last hour.Biden administration to end national Covid emergency in MayThe Biden administration confirmed in a statement on Friday it anticipates ending the national Covid emergency on 11 May. The proclamation had been in place since the president declared a national emergency concerning the Covid-19 pandemic on 13 March 2020.“Today, we are in a different phase of the response to that pandemic than we were in March of 2020, and my Administration is planning for an end to the national emergency, but an orderly transition is critical to the health and safety of the Nation,” Biden said in the statement.Experts have expressed concern that once it is lifted Americans will have less access to the Covid treatments, vaccines, and tests that have been made more widely available under the state of emergency.Once the order is lifted most Americans will still be able to get vaccines at no cost but fewer free tests will be available. See our full story on what health experts are saying about the end of the national state of emergency here.Family of Tyre Nichols urges the United Nations to condemn his killingAttorneys for the family of Tyre Nichols, the man who was fatally beaten by Memphis police last month, have filed an urgent appeal before the United Nations asking it to condemn the killing.Civil rights attorney and international legal counsel Jasmine Rand and Yetunde Asika released the following statement on behalf of the family:.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Today, we filed an Urgent Appeal before the United Nations asking it to condemn the tragic killing of Tyre Nichols, to demand transparency from the police department, and to demand that Officer Preston Hemphill and all officers that participated in the incident are criminally charged. The video evidence shows that all who were involved in Tyre’s death committed reprehensible acts that require international condemnation.The family has also urged the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, reform legislation introduced by Democrats that is stuck on Capitol Hill, and made an appearance at Joe Biden’s State of the Union address to the nation on Tuesday night.Hello readers, Kari Paul here on the West Coast taking over the blog for the next couple hours. Stand by for updates.Here’s more information on Biden’s upcoming trip to Poland, from a statement released by the White House..css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}From February 20th – 22nd, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. will travel to Poland. He will meet with President Andrzej Duda of Poland to discuss our bilateral cooperation as well as our collective efforts to support Ukraine and bolster NATO’s deterrence.
      He will also meet with the leaders of the Bucharest Nine (B9), a group of our eastern flank NATO Allies, to reaffirm the United States’ unwavering support for the security of the Alliance.
      In addition, President Biden will deliver remarks ahead of the one year anniversary of Russia’s brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, addressing how the United States has rallied the world to support the people of Ukraine as they defend their freedom and democracy, and how we will continue to stand with the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes.The FAA closed off an area near Deadhorse, Alaska, in the state’s northern area, as the US military took action against a high-altitude object.From CNN correspondent Jim Sciutto:The Federal Aviation Administration issued a temporary flight restriction Friday in the area around Deadhorse, Alaska, as the military took action against a high-altitude object. The notice tells aircraft to clear airspace the FAA classifies as National Defense Airspace.— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) February 10, 2023
      The Pentagon is now providing more information about the high-altitude object that was shot over US territorial water in Alaska.The object was shot at 1.45 pm eastern time and was at around 40,000ft, said a spokesperson during a Pentagon briefing.A Pentagon spokesperson added that an F22 fighter aircraft assigned to NORTHCOM shot down the “high altitude airborne object”.Pentagon spokesman BGen Pat Ryder: U.S. fighter aircraft assigned to NORTHCOM took down a “high altitude airborne object” over US territorial water in Alaska.— Jennifer Hlad (@jhlad) February 10, 2023
      The Pentagon reiterated that it is unsure about the origin of the object, but is hoping to learn more after assessing any recovered debris.Unidentified object shot down over Alaska by US military, White House saysRead moreThe FBI has removed at least one additional classified document from Mike Pence’s Indiana residence after a five hour search.Pence’s team tweeted about the search and discovery, noting that the search did not require a warrant and was “thorough”.At least one document marked ‘classified’ was removed from Pence’s residence and six additional pages that did not include the marking.Pence has “directed his legal team to continue its cooperation with appropriate authorities and to be fully transparent through the conclusion of the matter,” noted Pence advisor Devin O’Malley.From CBS correspondent Robert Costa:New statement from Pence adviser Devin O’Malley: “Following the discovery and disclosure of a small number of potentially classified documents that had inadvertently been transported to his home in Indiana, Vice President Pence and his legal team have fully cooperated… “— Robert Costa (@costareports) February 10, 2023
      “… with the appropriate authorities and agreed to a consensual search of his residence that took place today. The Department of Justice completed a thorough and unrestricted search of five hours and removed one document with classified markings and six additional pages… “— Robert Costa (@costareports) February 10, 2023
      “…. without such markings that were not discovered in the initial review by the vice president’s counsel.”— Robert Costa (@costareports) February 10, 2023
      “The vice president has directed his legal team to continue its cooperation with appropriate authorities and to be fully transparent through the conclusion of this matter.”— Robert Costa (@costareports) February 10, 2023
      The knowledge about the object came last evening, said Kirby.Kirby misspoke at one point, calling the object a balloon. Kirby quickly clarified that officials are not sure of what the object is and that the object’s debris could help get more knowledge on what the object was.In response to questions about if the US has spoken to Chinese officials about the recently discovered object, Kirby said: “We don’t know who owns this object.”Kirby noted that a pilot assessment of the object, prior to it being shot down, found that the object was unmanned.Kirby also added that the the object was at 40,000 ft, noting that the object could have posed a threat to civilian aircrafts.Kirby also said that the object did not appear to have maneuvering capabilities, compared to the Chinese surveillance balloon, and was largely steered by the wind.Unlike the object that was shot down, the Chinese surveillance balloon was on a flight path that took it over sensitive military sites, added Kirby.More details are emerging on the high-altitude object that was taken down within the last hour.Kirby confirmed that Biden ordered the object be taken down at the advice of Pentagon leaders and that a fighter aircraft was used for the operation.The object is being called an “object” as officials are unsure of who owns it. Kirby added that officials are unsure if the object is state owned or private owned, and that the purpose of the object has not been determined.Kirby also noted that the object is “much smaller” than the Chinese surveillance balloon that was shot down last week.The object that was taken down within the house is “roughly the size of a car”, said Kirby.John Kirby confirmed that a second “high-altitude object” was taken down over Alaska, during today’s press briefing.Kirby confirmed that the Department of Defense was tracking the flying object, which could be a second balloon, and that the object posed a “reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight”.Kirby said that Biden ordered the military to “down” the object within the last hour.The White House press briefing with press security Karine Jean-Pierre has begun.The briefing opened up with an announcement that Biden will travel to Poland on 20 February to 22 February to meet with Poland president Andrzej Duda and discuss the situation in Ukraine.John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the National security council in the White House, is giving remarks ahead of Biden’s visit with Brazil president Lula.Kibry also announced that the US plans to increase aid to support those impacted by the deadly earthquake in Syria and Turkey.Kate Bedingfield, the White House Communications director, will leave her job at the end of February, reported the White House earlier today.In a statement, the White House confirmed Bedingfield’s departure and said that Ben LaBolt will succeed her as Communications director.Biden commented on Bedingfield’s departure in the statement:.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Since my time as Vice President, Kate has been a loyal and trusted adviser, through thick and thin…She was a critical strategic voice from the very first day of my presidential campaign in 2019 and has been a key part of advancing my agenda in the White House.
      The country is better off as a result of her hard work and I’m so grateful to her – and to her husband and two young children – for giving so much. Ben has big shoes to fill.Trump has received his 5th Senate endorsement ahead of his 2024 presidential run. Republican senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma endorsed the former president on Friday, calling Trump “the strongest president of my lifetime” in a statement.“Not only am I proud to endorse President Trump, I’m proud to call him my friend,” said Mullin.#NEWS: I’m proud to endorse the strongest president of my lifetime, Donald J. Trump, for a second term in 2024. 🇺🇸Full statement: ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/xXFH61XCvh— Markwayne Mullin (@MarkwayneMullin) February 10, 2023
      Mullin was elected to the Senate through a special election and received Trump’s endorsement, reported NBC News.Four other senators have endorsed Trump, including Ohio senator JD Vance, Alabama senator Tommy Tuberville, and South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham.Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has agreed to apologize and pay $3.3m in taxpayer money to four former staffers who accused him of corruption in 2020, igniting an ongoing FBI investigation of the three-term Republican.Under terms of a preliminary lawsuit settlement filed Friday, Paxton made no admission of wrongdoing to accusations of bribery and abuse of office, which he has denied for years and called politically motivated, the Associated Press writes.But Paxton did commit to making a remarkable public apology toward some of his formerly trusted advisers whom he fired or forced out after they reported him to the FBI. He called them “rogue employees” after they accused Paxton of misusing his office to help one of his campaign contributors, who also employed a woman with whom the attorney general acknowledged having an extramarital affair.Both sides signed a mediated agreement that was filed in the Texas Supreme Court and will be followed by a longer, formalized settlement.“Attorney General Ken Paxton accepts that plaintiffs acted in a manner that they thought was right and apologizes for referring to them as ‘rogue employees,’” the final settlement must state, according to court records.In all, eight members of Paxton’s senior staff joined in the extraordinary revolt in 2020, and they either resigned or were fired. The attorney general said he settled with the four who sued under Texas’ whistleblower law to put to rest “this unfortunate sideshow.”“I have chosen this path to save taxpayer dollars and ensure my third term as attorney general is unburdened by unnecessary distractions,” Paxton said in a statement.The $3.3 million payout would not come from Paxton’s own pocket but from state funds, which means it would still require approval by the GOP-controlled Texas Legislature.Settlement of the case, which Paxton’s office fought in court for years, means he will avoid sitting for a civil deposition at a time when a corruption investigation by federal agents and prosecutors remains open. In turn, the attorney general’s office agreed to remove an October 2020 news release from its website that decries Paxton’s accusers and to issue the statement of contrition to former staffers David Maxwell, Ryan Vassar, Mark Penley and James Blake Brickman.Hello again, it’s been a lively day so far with developing and breaking news mainly revolving around former US vice president Mike Pence. Ordinary business is going on at the White House, with Joe Biden meeting US state governors and preparing this afternoon to receive Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva (AKA Lula) to the White House. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is due to brief the media at 1.30pm ET.Here’s where things stand:
      It appears Joe Biden will not do the traditional presidential TV interview with the company airing the Super Bowl, the climax to the football season, given that this year it’s Fox. Who snubbed whom? The politics and media chatterverse is abuzz.
      The FBI is searching former VP Mike Pence’s Indiana home for any more classified documents, after Donald Trump’s former sidekick and possible 2024 rival for the Republican presidential nomination previously acknowledged that he had some classified docs at home. Biden’s in similar bind, whereas Trump is under criminal investigation for something on a much larger scale – boxes of secret government documents hoarded at Mar-a-Lago that he refused to hand over.
      Jill Biden has cancelled her events for the day, with a White House official reporting that Biden is not feeling well but has tested negative for Covid. Let’s hope the first lady is shipshape by Sunday, as she’s a big Philadelphia Eagles fan, apparently, as they take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
      Donald Trump and writer E Jean Carroll have jointly filed a plan for the April civil trial in the case where Carroll is suing Trump for rape and defamation.
      Mike Pence and his legal team are weighing the subpoena issued to the former-veep by special counsel Jack Smith who is, on the request of the Department of Justice, investigating Trump’s role in the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol by thousands of the-then president’s most extreme supporters who wanted Pence to block the Congressional certification of Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
      It looks as though Joe Biden won’t be doing the traditional presidential pre-Super Bowl TV interview.The President was looking forward to an interview with Fox Soul to discuss the Super Bowl, the State of the Union, and critical issues impacting the everyday lives of Black Americans. We’ve been informed that Fox Corp has asked for the interview to be cancelled.— Karine Jean-Pierre (@PressSec) February 10, 2023
      There has been much chatter about the annual interview between the US president and the channel airing the Super Bowl. Fox is broadcasting the Super Bowl, so some people had assumed the interview would be with Fox News, likely Brett Baier.But now the White House press secretary has tweeted that Biden will not be doing an interview – and it looks like it was supposed to be with Fox Soul, a Fox streaming service.Last night and this morning, various outlets were abuzz with chatter about how the US president had been “ghosting” Fox News, as, if the traditional interview was going ahead they would have been making arrangements ages ago, but were experiencing radio silence. Variety magazine did a story yesterday afternoon, headlined “Fox news believes interview with President Biden won’t take place.”CNN’s Reliable Sources news letter chimed in, quoting “a source at Fox News” who told the outlet that they had “not heard back on whether Biden will grant it the traditional pre-Super Bowl interview, and that at this point the outlet is proceeding as if it is not going to take place. ‘We don’t have a formal no, but we are operating like it’s not happening’,” the source explained to CNN, which goes on: “Bret Baier first hinted at the possibility of a potential Biden rebuff during State of the Union coverage on Tuesday, telling viewers that Biden had yet to commit to an interview. At the time, he had signaled that he hoped the White House would ultimately agree to a sit-down.“Biden has sat down for at least two interviews this week, one with PBS NewsHour and another with Telemundo, which would make the possible snub all the more notable. It goes without saying that Biden has had a frosty relationship with Fox News … If Biden were to agree to an interview with Fox News, it would almost certainly be conducted by Baier.”We’ll no doubt hear more from Jean-Pierre at the White House press briefing due at 1.30pm. Fox Soul is the Fox Corp-owned streaming service geared towards a Black audience, and we assume if the interview had gone ahead it would be with a Black anchor, not Baier. Eagerly awaiting clarifying details!Biden and Harris are currently in a meeting with several governors as apart of the annual National Governors Association meeting, which includes a bipartisan group of governors.⁦@POTUS⁩ arrives at a gathering of state governors from around the nation – not including the governors of Florida, Texas or indeed Arkansas (whose governor says Biden’s Democrats are all “crazy”) pic.twitter.com/0TWSPgbjyh— Sebastian Smith (@SebastianAFP) February 10, 2023
      In meeting with governors, Biden is pressing what the infrastructure bill, CHIPS act and other priorities have meant for states — lots of money for improvements.— Elizabeth Crisp 🦩 (@elizabethcrisp) February 10, 2023
      A stream of the meeting is available here. More

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      US congresswoman poured coffee over attacker to deter him, chief of staff says

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      US congresswoman poured coffee over attacker to deter him, chief of staff saysMan, 26, arrested after attack in elevator in Angie Craig’s Washington apartment building early on Thursday morning Angie Craig, a Democratic congresswoman from Minnesota who was assaulted in her Washington apartment, reportedly deterred her attacker by pouring hot coffee over him, it emerged on Friday.“Representative Craig defended herself from the attacker and suffered bruising, but is otherwise physically OK,” her chief of staff, Nick Coe, said in a statement on Thursday.George Santos: puppy theft charge news follows Romney’s ‘sick puppy’ barbRead moreCoe said Craig called 911 and the attacker fled the scene. He said there was “no evidence” that the incident was politically motivated.Craig was elected to the House of Representatives in 2018. She became the first openly gay person elected to Congress from Minnesota.District of Columbia police said on Thursday night that they had arrested a suspect. The police report noted that Craig tossed hot coffee at her assailant.Craig was assaulted in the elevator in her Washington apartment building around 7.10am on Thursday, police said, but the assailant fled when she defended herself.Craig suffered bruises while escaping serious injury in the attack, which did not appear to be politically motivated, Coe had said in a statement.Washington’s Metropolitan police department said it had arrested 26-year-old Kendrick Hamlin, of no fixed address, and charged him with simple assault.Craig, 50, is in her third term in the House and later headed for Capitol Hill to vote.The police said Craig told them that she initially saw the stranger in her building and said good morning before she entered the elevator and the man followed her in. He apparently began randomly doing push-ups. She told the police he was “acting erratic as if he was under the influence of an unknown substance”.However, he then punched Craig on the chin and grabbed her by her neck, the police noted. She told them that she managed to throw her coffee on him and he then fled.Law enforcement who responded to her emergency call searched the building and the parking garage and asked for tips from the public, offering a potential $1,000 reward and, a few hours later, apprehended the suspect.To give you a sense of how strong @AngieCraigMN is, she went straight to the Hill this morning and attended a meeting in the Senate with the Governor and me and several members of our delegation about legislation for the people of her district. No one messes with Angie. https://t.co/D7TizOeTQ9— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) February 9, 2023
      Senator Amy Klobuchar, a fellow Minnesota Democrat, tweeted: “To give you a sense of how strong Angie Craig is, she went straight to the Hill this morning and attended a meeting in the Senate with the Governor and me and several members of our delegation about legislation for the people of her district. No one messes with Angie.”Hakeem Jeffries, House leader of the Democrats, said his caucus was “horrified” by Craig’s assault.TopicsUS CongressDemocratsHouse of RepresentativesUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

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      in US Politics

      George Santos: puppy theft charge news follows Romney’s ‘sick puppy’ barb

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      George Santos: puppy theft charge news follows Romney’s ‘sick puppy’ barbRepublican at centre of string of scandals was charged in Pennsylvania with theft over purchase of puppies in 2017 The New York Republican congressman George Santos, who is at the centre of a bizarre string of scandals and who the Utah senator Mitt Romney this week called a “sick puppy”, was charged with theft in Pennsylvania in 2017 – over a purchase of “puppies”.George Santos is a ‘sociopath’, fellow New York Republican congressman saysRead moreThe scandal, reported by Politico, is not Santos’s first involving dogs and his charity, Friends of Pets United. A New Jersey veteran alleges Santos raised money for an operation for his dog, then absconded with the money.In the Pennsylvania case, in Amish Country, $15,125 in bad checks were made out for “puppies”, Politico reported.Days later, Santos held an adoption event at a Staten Island pet store. Citing court records and a lawyer who helped Santos, Politico said the theft charge was dropped and Santos’s record expunged, after Santos said someone had stolen his checkbook.It is not Santos’s first case involving a checkbook. Prosecutors in Brazil have reopened a case involving the alleged use of a stolen checkbook.Santos denies all alleged wrongdoing and says he will not resign. He did not comment about the Amish Country case. The lawyer, Tiffany Bogosian, told Politico “she now doesn’t believe” his story, given subsequent developments.Bogosian told the New York Times: “I should have never got involved. He should have went to jail. And I wish nothing but bad things for him.”Santos, 34, won in New York’s third district last year. He has since admitted embellishing his résumé.Bizarre claims, including playing volleyball for a college he didn’t attend and being a producer on the Spider-Man musical, have been exposed. Claims about his family, including descent from Holocaust survivors and that 9/11 “claimed” his mother’s life, have been disproven. Santos has denied reports he was a drag queen in Brazil.He has also been accused of sexual harassment, by a former aide. His charity is being investigated.Republicans, Democrats and constituents have called for Santos to quit. But Santos supported Kevin McCarthy through 15 votes for House speaker and the Republican leader, who must work with a narrow majority, has not said Santos should go.McCarthy and other senior Republicans have said they are waiting on investigations of Santos’s campaign finance filings, amid questions about the source of his wealth and activities under a different name, Anthony Devolder.Resignations from Congress are common but expulsions are not. Only five representatives have been expelled – three for fighting for the Confederacy in the civil war. Regardless, on Thursday Democrats filed a resolution for Santos’s expulsion.“We gave him plenty of time to resign and he has chosen not to do so,” said Robert Garcia of California.Santos said again he would not resign voluntarily.00:28Romney’s clash with Santos came at the State of the Union address on Tuesday.Romney said he told Santos he did not belong in Congress. He also called Santos a “sick puppy” and poured scorn on his résumé claims. Santos claimed Romney called him an “ass” and to have called the senator an “asshole”.On Thursday, Santos told Newsmax that the same night, the independent Arizona senator Kyrsten Sinema was “very polite, very kindhearted” and said: “Hang in there buddy.”On Friday, a spokesperson for Sinema told CNN: “This is a lie.”TopicsGeorge SantosUS politicsRepublicansUS CongressHouse of RepresentativesUS SenateMitt RomneynewsReuse this content More

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      in Elections

      Federal investigators arrive at Mike Pence’s Indiana home – live

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      Mike Pence is weighting a response to a subpoena he received related to January 6, ABC News first reported.Jack Smith was appointed in 2020 to lead the January 6 investigation. Smith is also leading a separate inquiry into classified documents that were found at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.The issued subpoena related to January 6 is viewed by many as an escalation in the investigation on Trump and his allies’ efforts to overturn the 2020 election.The subpoena was reported by at least two people on the matter, both who spoke on the condition of anonymity as they are not authorized to discuss investigation proceedings publicly.It is unclear if Pence will attempt to resist the subpoena or invoke executive privilege, which could trigger a lengthy legal battle, reported ABC.The subpoena came after months of negotiation between Pence’s team and the Department of Justice, suggesting to many that negotiations had reached a breaking point.We know that the subpoena issued after months of negotiation b/t Pence team and DOJ. So eventually Smith just said screw it, see you at the Grand Jury or in court. Compare Mueller and his timidity with subpoenaing Trump, which he never did.— Harry Litman (@harrylitman) February 10, 2023
      Federal investigators have arrived at the Indiana home of Pence, blocking off his driveway.Carmel Police have blocked off the driveway to the home of former Vice President Mike Pence. @Mike_Pence We have been reporting the FBI was expected to search his home this week for any other classified documents. He turned over about a dozen already. @FOX59— Angela Ganote (@angelaganote) February 10, 2023
      It is unclear what this is related to, but an FBI search of his home was expected in relation to other classified documents.More on this as the situation develops.Meanwhile, a number of investigations related to Trump are underway.Trump faces probes into his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago residence.Trump also could soon face criminal charges in Georgia related to interfering with the 2020 election, with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis saying on Monday that her decision is “imminent” on whether to indict Trump, reported Bloomberg.Here’s more on Willis’ decision to pursue criminal charges and its potential impact from Bloomberg..css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}That decision will have a ripple effect on the Justice Department’s special counsel probe and other investigations circling Trump.
      If Willis goes first, that case would road-test possible testimony, helping to determine what evidence holds up in court and providing a blueprint for prosecutions involving other battleground states where Trump and his supporters tried to undermine President Joe Biden’s win.
      Legal experts say nothing stops a US special counsel overseeing the federal Trump probe from pursuing similar charges at the federal level, regardless of what Willis ultimately does.Read the full article here (paywall).Pence faces limited options on how to respond to a subpoena issued in relation to January 6 but may evoke executive privilege, experts say.CNN reported that Pence’s team may choose to argue that at least some of the sought testimony is covered by executive privilege:.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Pence’s attorney Emmet Flood is known as a hawk on executive privilege, and people familiar with the discussions have said Pence was expected to claim at least some limits on providing details of his direct conversations with Trump. Depending on his responses, prosecutors have the option to ask a judge to compel him to answer additional questions and override Trump’s executive privilege claims.But others have pointed out that Pence has already divulged privileged information in his book, “So Help Me God”.From the Guardian’s Hugo Lowell:On the VP Pence subpoena: worth noting that he pierced what would have otherwise been executive privileged when he discussed key moments with Trump in his book — including Dec. 19 chat about Jan. 6 rally, Jan. 5 chat with Eastman, Jan. 6 call with Trump— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) February 10, 2023
      Notable that VP Pence made public privileged material with Trump in his book some of the key moments right before Jan. 6 — but also notable what he mostly left out, including details about the Dec. 21 WH meeting with Trump and GOP members about plans for stopping certification— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) February 10, 2023
      Read the full article here.Mike Pence is weighting a response to a subpoena he received related to January 6, ABC News first reported.Jack Smith was appointed in 2020 to lead the January 6 investigation. Smith is also leading a separate inquiry into classified documents that were found at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.The issued subpoena related to January 6 is viewed by many as an escalation in the investigation on Trump and his allies’ efforts to overturn the 2020 election.The subpoena was reported by at least two people on the matter, both who spoke on the condition of anonymity as they are not authorized to discuss investigation proceedings publicly.It is unclear if Pence will attempt to resist the subpoena or invoke executive privilege, which could trigger a lengthy legal battle, reported ABC.The subpoena came after months of negotiation between Pence’s team and the Department of Justice, suggesting to many that negotiations had reached a breaking point.We know that the subpoena issued after months of negotiation b/t Pence team and DOJ. So eventually Smith just said screw it, see you at the Grand Jury or in court. Compare Mueller and his timidity with subpoenaing Trump, which he never did.— Harry Litman (@harrylitman) February 10, 2023
      Good morning!Former vice-president Mike Pence is weighting his response to a subpoena he received related to an investigation into the January 6 insurrection and Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, according to a person familiar with the matter.Jack Smith, the special counsel in charge of the January 6 investigation, is also leading a separate inquiry into classified documents that were found at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.But an unnamed person reports that Pence’s subpoena is related to 6 January and follows months of discussion between Pence and the Department of Justice, ABC first reported.The individual spoke on the condition of anonymity as they are not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.Here’s what else is happening today:
      Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will host US governors at the White House this morning. The governors are joining for the annual National Governors Association meeting, where the president will revisit economic initiatives from Thursday’s State of the Union address.
      The White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, is due to brief at 1.30pm eastern time.
      Biden will meet with Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, at 3.30 pm. The meeting comes as Brazil attempts to revive US-Brazil relations after the presidency of rightwinger Jair Bolsonaro. More

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      in US Politics

      Biden shakes up Democrats’ primary calendar: Politics Weekly America podcast

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      Last weekend, members of the Democratic National Committee voted through a plan to reshuffle the party’s presidential primary calendar, meaning voters in South Carolina will pick their candidate first, bumping Iowa and New Hampshire off top spot. This was done at the behest of Joe Biden. So why did he want to shake things up?
      Jonathan Freedland is joined by Adam Gabbatt, Holly Ramer in New Hampshire and Joseph Bustos in South Carolina to discuss the ramifications of messing with political tradition

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      Archive: MSNBC, CBS, CNN, BBC Listen to Wednesday’s episode of Politics Weekly UK. Buy tickets for the Bernie Sanders live event here. Send your questions and feedback to podcasts@theguardian.com. Help support the Guardian by going to theguardian.com/supportpodcasts. More