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      Biden waited long to address the mysterious flying objects. Now we know why | Margaret Sullivan

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      Biden waited long to address the mysterious flying objects. Now we know whyMargaret SullivanThe president’s short address didn’t do anyone – including himself – much good, as it shed little light on what was going on After weeks of speculation about a Chinese spy balloon and other weird things in the skies over North America, President Joe Biden on Thursday did what he had to do.He finally talked about the subject in a formal setting – a brief address to the nation from the White House.With criticism coming from both Democrats and Republicans about the lack of information being shared with the public after four flying objects were shot down over the past two weeks, Biden really didn’t have any other option.Americans have been understandably puzzled and unnerved by what was happening, first as the spy balloon was shot down and then as the second, third and fourth objects appeared and were taken down over Alaska, Canada and Michigan.The president had to say something before another day went by.But Biden’s roughly eight-minute address didn’t do anyone – including himself – much good. Filled with fuzzy talk of parameters and protocols, and devoid of much useful information, the brief speech made it all too obvious why it took Biden so long.“Biden’s announcement was underwhelming, to say the least,” tech writer Matt Novak opined in Forbes. It was hard to argue, although it was helpful to hear the president confirm that the US military has adjusted its radar filters, which has led to being able to spot more objects flying about.Biden didn’t have much more to say, other than that he expected to speak soon with President Xi Jinping of China to object to the original surveillance balloon’s apparent violation of American airspace; it was shot down on 4 February over the Atlantic after being seen over Montana by civilians.As for the others, “we don’t yet know exactly what these three objects were, but nothing, nothing right now suggests they were related to China’s spy balloon program or that there were surveillance vehicles from any other country,” Biden said.The other three objects, he added, “were most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation or research institutions studying weather or conducting other scientific research”.It sounded plausible but speculative. And that lack of certainty, no doubt, is part of why he hesitated to speak earlier.Making it worse – in terms of transparency with the press and public – the president didn’t answer any reporters’ questions after his prepared remarks. He hesitated, and seemed to consider responding substantively, as he listened to the cacophony of shouts from the press.Then he apparently got annoyed after a question (“Are you compromised by your family’s business relationships?”) got under his skin. He snapped at the reporter with a characteristic phrase: “Give me a break, man.” Not long after, he walked away.It would have been far better to try to identify one or two reasonable questions on the subject at hand and to answer them respectfully – even if it meant saying “we don’t know that yet”.In a less fraught political environment, Biden might have been wise to heed Senator Chris Coons. A few days ago, the Delaware Democrat sounded as if he had beamed, like Michelle Yeoh, into the multiverse and had already experienced Thursday’s non-news event.“If I were advising the president on this, I’d say ‘wait until you’ve got clarity’, Coons told reporters. “I wouldn’t just stand up and give a speech to the nation saying ‘We don’t yet know the answer to all these questions,’ because I don’t think that would reassure anybody.”But that sensible-sounding notion had to be weighed against the predictable nastiness of Republican lawmakers like Josh Hawley of Missouri who said a formal presidential appearance “would at least show me that the president maybe is aware of what’s going on, and is lucid”.And Coons’ thinking had to be weighed, too, against strong urging from some fellow Democrats, including Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut: “The American people should be given more information. They’re ready for it. They can handle it. And they need and deserve to know it.”Given the apparent lack of hard information to be shared, this situation was probably a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t”. Still, it would have been worse to do nothing, and let the criticism continue to mount from all sides.Hearing from the president directly was moderately worthwhile but the address could have been much more valuable if Biden had thoughtfully responded to a few questions from the gathered press.If transparency was the major aim, not doing that was a missed opportunity.
      Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture
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      Joe Biden declared healthy and ‘fit for duty’ after exam at Walter Reed hospital

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      Joe Biden declared healthy and ‘fit for duty’ after exam at Walter Reed hospitalPresident lost weight since last year, but still suffers from arthritis and had small lesion removed from chest during annual check-up Doctors declared Joe Biden, 80, healthy and “fit for duty” on Thursday after a physical examination that included removing a lesion from his chest and declaring him free of symptoms of long Covid after his bout last year with the virus.FBI searched University of Delaware in Biden documents investigationRead more“The president remains fit for duty, and fully executes all of his responsibilities without any exemptions or accommodations,” White House physician Kevin O’Connor said in a summary of the health exam.The exam was closely watched as Biden prepares for his expected run for a second term in 2024. The summary said Biden did not have any “long Covid” symptoms and that his stiff gait has not worsened since his last exam in November 2021.Biden said his physical went well. “Everything really went well … Thank God for small favors,” he told NBC News.Biden’s three-hour session with doctors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in the Washington suburb of Bethesda, Maryland, was his second extensive exam since taking office in January 2021.Biden takes the statin drug Crestor to keep his cholesterol levels low, an anticoagulant in response to atrial fibrillation that remains asymptomatic and medication to treaty seasonal allergies and acid reflux, the summary said.Several small skin growths were moved from his face and head using liquid nitrogen and “one small lesion on the president’s chest was excised today and sent for traditional biopsy”, O’Connor said. The results are pending.The summary found that Biden’s weight had dropped six pounds, from 184 pounds in 2021 to 178. His body mass index was at 24.1, compared with 25.0 in 2021, and his blood pressure was at 126/78, compared with 120/70 in 2021.The summary made no mention of whether Biden underwent any cognitive tests sometimes given to people his age.O’Connor said Biden’s back stiffness is a result of significant spinal arthritis.“The president’s gait remains stiff, but has not worsened since last year,” he said.Biden, the oldest person ever to serve as US president, has waved off questions about his age, but polls indicate voters have concerns about his ability to serve four more years if he wins in 2024.Asked about the concerns over Biden’s age, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters: “This is a president that works day in and day out, you know, in a grueling fashion with a grueling schedule, and delivers.”About three-quarters of Americans – including more than half of Democrats and the vast majority of Republicans – say Biden is too old to work in government, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted on 6-13 February. Most Democratic respondents said the president remains mentally sharp but about half of them said he cannot handle the physical toll of the presidency.Biden said during a PBS interview last week that any Americans concerned about his age should “watch me” perform the duties of the presidency.TopicsJoe BidenDemocratsUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

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      Biden says latest objects shot down over US not linked to China spy program

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      Biden says latest objects shot down over US not linked to China spy program‘Private companies’ conclusion set to fuel criticism that downings were overreaction amid pressure over initial balloon discovery01:19Joe Biden has broken his silence on unknown aerial objects shot down over North America during the past week, assessing that they were “most likely” operated by private companies or research institutions rather than China.The US president’s tentative conclusion is likely to fuel criticism that his orders to take down the objects were an overreaction amid political pressure over the discovery of a suspected Chinese spy balloon that transited much of the country.FBI searched University of Delaware in Biden documents investigationRead moreBiden spoke for eight minutes at the Eisenhower executive office building on Thursday after Republicans and some Democrats expressed concerns that his unwillingness to comment on the issue could allow conspiracy theories to thrive.“We don’t yet know exactly what these three objects were but nothing right now suggests they were related to China’s spy balloon program or that they were surveillance vehicles from any other country,” the president told reporters, against a backdrop of flags and the presidential seal.“The intelligence community’s current assessment is that these three objects were most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation or research institutions studying weather or conducting other scientific research.”Earlier this month an American fighter jet downed a balloon sent by the Chinese government off the coast of South Carolina. The incident prompted accusations from Republicans that Biden had been too slow to react and should have shot it down before it passed over the continental US.When three additional unidentified objects were spotted on Friday off the coast of Alaska, on Saturday over Canada and on Sunday over Lake Huron, Biden was quick to order that they be taken down.But on Thursday, with efforts to relocate the wreckage hampered by weather, he acknowledged that many objects are sent up by countries, companies and research organisations for reasons that are “not nefarious”, including legitimate scientific research.“I want to be clear,” Biden said. “We don’t have any evidence that there has been a sudden increase in the number of objects in the sky. We’re now just seeing more of them partially because the steps we’ve taken to increase our radars.”The president, who has directed national security adviser Jake Sullivan to lead an “interagency team” to review procedures, said the US is developing “sharper rules” to track, monitor and potentially shoot down unknown aerial objects.These rules would help “distinguish between those that are likely to pose safety and security risks that necessitate action and those that do not,” he added. “Make no mistake, if any object presents a threat to the safety and security of the American people I will take it down.”The downing of the Chinese surveillance craft was the first known peacetime shoot down of an unauthorised object in US airspace and continues to send out diplomatic ripples.The White House national security council has said the balloon had the ability to collect communications and that China has previously flown similar surveillance balloons over dozens of countries on multiple continents, including some of the US’s closest allies.The US blacklisted six Chinese entities it said were linked to Beijing’s aerospace programmes.China has denied that the balloon was a surveillance airship. Wang Wenbin, a foreign ministry spokesperson, told a press conference that the balloon’s entry into US airspace was “an unintended, unexpected and isolated event”, adding: “China has repeatedly communicated this to the US side, yet the US overreacted by abusing the use of force and escalating the situation.“It also used the incident as an excuse to impose illegal sanctions over Chinese companies and institutions. China is strongly opposed to this and will take countermeasures in accordance with law against relevant US entities that have undermined China’s sovereignty and security to firmly safeguard China’s sovereignty and legitimate rights and interests.”US relations with China have been tested over the last year due to tensions over cybersecurity, competition in the technology sector, the looming threat to Taiwan and China’s failure to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine.On Thursday Biden criticised China’s surveillance programme, saying the “violation of our sovereignty is unacceptable,” but said he looks to maintain open lines of communication with Beijing. “We’re not looking for a new cold war.”Secretary of state Antony Blinken postponed his first planned trip to China as the balloon was flying over the US and a new meeting with his Chinese counterpart has yet to be scheduled.“I expect to be speaking with President Xi and I hope we can get to the bottom of this,” Biden said. “But I make no apologies for taking down that balloon.”Senators from both sides of the aisle have complained about being denied detailed information. John Cornyn, a Republican senator for Texas, told the Politico website that the White House was “creating a bigger problem for themselves by the lack of transparency because people’s minds, their imaginations begin to run wild. I think they’re behind the curve on this and they really need to be more transparent.”On Monday, just to be sure, the White House felt compelled to announce that there was no indication of “aliens or extraterrestrial activity”.TopicsJoe BidenUS politicsUS militarynewsReuse this content More

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      Biden says three objects shot down over US ‘most likely’ private, and not more Chinese spy balloons – live

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      Joe Biden says the intelligence services haven’t determined the purpose of the three objects American planes shot down in recent days, but there’s no sign they were used for surveillance or connected to China.“Our intelligence community is still assessing all three incidences. They’re reporting to me daily and will continue the urgent efforts to do so, and I will communicate that to the Congress,” Biden said in an address from the White House.“We don’t yet know exactly what these three objects were, but nothing right now suggests they were related to China’s spy balloon program, or they were surveillance vehicles from other any other country. The intelligence community’s current assessment is that these three objects were most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation or research institutions, studying weather or conducting other scientific research.”01:19In a White House address, Joe Biden tried to reassure Americans about what fighter jets shot down over North America in recent days, saying there were no signs the still-unidentified objects were connected to China or used for surveillance. Earlier in the day, a Georgia court released portions of a special grand jury’s report into Donald Trump’s election meddling campaign, which indicated jurors were worried about being lied to, but did not reveal if they think the former president or his allies committed crimes. The ball is now in Atlanta-area district attorney Fani Willis’s court, since she’s using the document to determine the next steps in her investigation of the former president’s attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia.Here’s what else happened today:
      Senator John Fetterman checked himself into the hospital to receive treatment for depression. The Democrat’s election in Pennsylvania last November was crucial to the party gaining an outright majority in the Senate.
      Biden wants to speak with China’s president Xi Jinping after the spy balloon incident, though it’s not clear when the leaders plan to jump on the phone.
      Nikki Haley thinks Trump could pass one of the “mental competency tests” she wants to force politicians older than 75 to take.
      Democrats are beginning to worry that Biden is too old to run for re-election.
      A bill to prevent police from using search warrants to access data from menstrual tracking apps failed in Virginia’s legislature, apparently due to interference from Republican governor Glenn Youngkin.
      A theory has emerged from the amateur radio community about what exactly a US jet shot down over Canada’s Yukon territory.The unidentified object, one of three downed by American planes in recent days, may have been a “pico” balloon equipped with a GPS module and a solar panel that was launched from Illinois last October, and in the middle of circumnavigating the earth for the seventh time, according to this report on hobbyist website RTL-SDR.As the article makes clear, the details of the K9YO-15 amateur radio balloon and US and Canadian authorities’ description of the object encountered on 11 February sure seem to line up:.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}The launch blog post indicates that the K9YO-15 balloon was flying a silver mylar 32” sphere SAG balloon which appears to be this one from balloons.online. Unlike latex or rubber weather balloons which inflate and stretch as they rise into lower atmospheric pressures, these mylar balloons can’t stretch, so their fully inflated ground size will be the same as their size at high altitudes, meaning the pico balloon won’t get much bigger than 32”. The payload was a GPS module, Arduino, SI5351 used as a WSPR and APRS transmitter and a solar panel, all together weighing 16.4 grams. A pentagon memo notes that the object shot down over Canada was a “small metallic balloon with a tethered payload” which fits the description of the pico balloon exactly.
      The K9YO-15 balloon ceased all WSPR telemetry transmissions while flying just below Alaska since Feb 11 00:18 UTC (just before sunset in Alaska when the solar panels would stop working).
      By using NOAA wind models and the last known location by Alaska, K9YO-15 was projected to have been over Yukon when the US Air Force shot down the unknown balloon object at Feb 11 20:41 UTC (3:41 PM EST / 1:41 PM Yukon time according to Canadian Defense Minister Anand). Reports put the altitude of the shot down object at approximately 40,000ft (~12000 meters), which matches the projected ~11500 meters of K9YO-15. Based on the previous days transmission times, it is suspected that if it were operational, the balloon would have begun transmitting again sometime later in the Yukon afternoon when the sun was stronger, but no transmissions have been seen.A town in Ohio is demanding answers after a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in their community, but the Guardian’s Lauren Aratani and Michael Sainato report that rail executives refused to provide any in a meeting last night:Nearly two weeks after a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, community members packed a local high school auditorium on Wednesday night wanting answers to their health and safety concerns.Norfolk Southern Corporation, the Atlanta-based operator of the derailed train, ultimately skipped the meeting, which was the first community meeting in the town of 5,000 people since the incident.“We know that many are rightfully angry and frustrated right now. Unfortunately, after consulting with community leaders, we have become increasingly concerned about the growing physical threats to our employees and members of the community around this event stemming from increasing likelihood of the participation of outside parties,” the company said in a statement. “With that in mind, Norfolk Southern will not be in attendance this evening.”Ohio residents demand answers two weeks after toxic chemical train derailmentRead more01:23The New York Times has obtained an email from John Fetterman’s wife to the Democratic senator’s supporters:Email from @giselefetterman to supporters: “our family is in for some difficult days ahead, and we ask for your compassion on the path to recovery.””I’m sad, and worried, as any wife and mother would be.”— Annie Karni (@anniekarni) February 16, 2023
      John Fetterman, the newly elected Democratic senator whose victory in Pennsylvania gave Joe Biden’s allies an outright majority in the chamber after last November’s midterms, has checked himself into the hospital for clinical depression, his office announced.“Last night, Senator John Fetterman checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to receive treatment for clinical depression. While John has experienced depression off and on throughout his life, it only became severe in recent weeks,” Fetterman’s chief of staff Adam Jentleson said in a statement.“On Monday, John was evaluated by Dr. Brian P. Monahan, the Attending Physician of the United States Congress. Yesterday, Dr. Monahan recommended inpatient care at Walter Reed. John agreed, and he is receiving treatment on a voluntary basis. After examining John, the doctors at Walter Reed told us that John is getting the care he needs, and will soon be back to himself.”The three recent shootdowns are among the more mysterious national security happenings in recent time, particularly because days have passed since they occurred, and Washington has yet to come out with an explanation of what American jets encountered in the skies.But Joe Biden seems to be preparing Americans for the possibility that the unidentified objects were simply innocuous vessels in the wrong place at the wrong time. While he didn’t say what was shot down in his White House speech today, he did note that he asked American intelligence agencies to look into reports of UFOs.“When I came into office, I instructed our intelligence community to take a broad look at the phenomenon of unidentified aerial objects,” Biden said. “We know that a range of entities including countries, companies and research organizations operate objects at altitudes for purposes that are not nefarious, including legitimate scientific research.”He also noted that “our military and the Canadian military are seeking to recover the debris so we can learn more about these three objects.” There’s no indication there that they’ve managed to get their hands on them yet, even though it’s been days since they were downed.The president announced he would look to speak with China’s leader Xi Jinping in the wake of the downing of a spy balloon belonging to Beijing off American’s eastern coast.“The other thing I want to point out is that we are going to keep our allies and the Congress contemporaneously informed of all we know and all we learn, and I expect to be speaking with President Xi, and I hope we have we are going to get to the bottom, as I make no apologies for taking down that balloon,” Biden said.He also noted that, “Our (experts) have lifted components of the Chinese balloon’s payload off the ocean floor, we’re analyzing them as I speak, and what we learn will strengthen our capabilities.”Biden says the government is coming up with practices to better detect and deal with unknown aerial objects in the wake of the recent shootdowns over North America.“I’ve directed my team to come back to me with sharper rules for how we will deal with these unidentified objects moving forward, distinguishing between those that are likely to pose safety and security risks that necessitate action and those that do not,” Biden said.“But make no mistake: if any object presents a threat to the safety, security of the American people, I will take it down. I’ll be sharing with Congress these classified policy parameters when they’re completed, and they’ll remain classified so we don’t give our roadmap to our enemies to try to evade our defenses.”He also addressed why the United States found itself suddenly responding to three unidentified objects in its airspace just days after shooting down a confirmed Chinese spy balloon.“We don’t have any evidence that there has been a sudden increase in the number of objects in the sky. We’re now just seeing more of them, partially because the steps we’ve taken to increase our radars, to narrow our radars, and we have to keep adapting our approach to dealing with these challenges.”Joe Biden says the intelligence services haven’t determined the purpose of the three objects American planes shot down in recent days, but there’s no sign they were used for surveillance or connected to China.“Our intelligence community is still assessing all three incidences. They’re reporting to me daily and will continue the urgent efforts to do so, and I will communicate that to the Congress,” Biden said in an address from the White House.“We don’t yet know exactly what these three objects were, but nothing right now suggests they were related to China’s spy balloon program, or they were surveillance vehicles from other any other country. The intelligence community’s current assessment is that these three objects were most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation or research institutions, studying weather or conducting other scientific research.”01:19Joe Biden has started his address about the UFOs shot down over North America in recent weeks, as well as the Chinese spy balloon.Follow along here for the latest. More

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      FBI searched University of Delaware in Biden documents investigation

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      FBI searched University of Delaware in Biden documents investigationThe justice department is looking into how classified documents came to be found in Joe Biden’s home and former office The FBI searched the University of Delaware in recent weeks for classified documents as part of its investigation into the potential mishandling of sensitive government records by Joe Biden.The search, first reported by CNN, was confirmed to the Associated Press by a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss it publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The person would not say whether anything was found.Why prosecutors might get Trump – and not Biden – for classified documentsRead moreA justice department special counsel is investigating how classified documents from Biden’s time as vice-president and senator came to end up in his home and former office – and whether any mishandling involved criminal intent or was unintentional. Biden’s personal lawyers disclosed in January that a small batch of documents with classified markings had been found weeks earlier in his former Washington office, and they have since allowed FBI searches of multiple properties.The university is Biden’s alma mater. In 2011, Biden donated his records from his 36 years serving in the US Senate to the school. The documents arrived on 6 June 2012, according to the university, which released photos of the numbered boxes being unloaded at the university alongside blue and gold balloons.Under the terms of Biden’s gift, the records are to remain sealed until two years after he retires from public life.Biden’s Senate records would not be covered by the Presidential Records Act, though prohibitions on mishandling classified information would still apply.The White House referred questions to the justice department, which declined to comment. The University of Delaware also referred questions to the justice department.The university is the fourth known entity to be searched by the FBI following inspections of Biden’s former office at the Penn Biden Center in Washington DC, where records with classified markings were initially found in a locked closet by Biden’s personal lawyers in November, and more recently of his Delaware homes in Wilmington and Rehoboth Beach.Those searches were all done voluntarily and with the consent of Biden’s legal team.The FBI took six items that contained documents with classified markings during its January search of the Wilmington home, Biden’s personal lawyer said. Agents did not find classified documents at the Rehoboth Beach property but did take some handwritten notes and other materials relating to Biden’s time as vice-president for review.The justice department is separately investigating the retention by former president Donald Trump of roughly 300 documents marked as classified at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago. The FBI served a search warrant at the home last August after months of resistance by Trump and his representatives to returning the documents to the government.The FBI also searched the Indiana home of former vice-president Mike Pence last week after his lawyers came forward to say they had found a small number of documents with classified markings. A Pence adviser said one additional document with classified markings was found during that search.TopicsJoe BidenFBIUS politicsDelawareBiden administrationnewsReuse this content More

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      US could default this summer unless $31.4tn debt ceiling is raised, CBO warns

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      US could default this summer unless $31.4tn debt ceiling is raised, CBO warnsHistoric federal debt default could occur before July, cautions non-partisan agency The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on Wednesday said the US treasury department will exhaust its ability to pay all its bills sometime between July and September, unless the current $31.4tn cap on borrowing is raised or suspended.In a report issued alongside its annual budget outlook, the non-partisan CBO cautioned that a historic federal debt default could occur before July if revenue flowing into the treasury in April – when most Americans typically submit annual income tax filings – lags expectations.US inflation eases again for seventh consecutive monthRead moreThe pace of incoming revenue, coupled with the performance of the US economy in the coming months, makes it difficult for government officials to predict the exact “X-date”, when the treasury could begin to default on many debt payments without action by Congress.“If the debt limit is not raised or suspended before the extraordinary measures are exhausted, the government would be unable to pay its obligations fully,” the CBO report said. “As a result, the government would have to delay making payments for some activities, default on its debt obligations, or both.”Separately, the CBO said annual US budget deficits will average $2tn between 2024 and 2033, approaching pandemic-era records by the end of the decade – a forecast likely to stoke Republican demands for spending cuts.Meanwhile, the CBO estimated an unemployment rate of 4.7% this year, far above the current 3.4%.CBO director Phillip Swagel attributed the rise to higher interest rates that particularly are hitting the housing industry, coupled with slowing business investment.The sobering analysis reflects the full impact of recent spending legislation, including investments in clean energy and semiconductors and higher military spending, along with higher healthcare, pension and interest costs. It assumes no change in tax and spending laws over the next decade.“Over the long term, our projections suggest that changes in fiscal policy must be made to address the rising costs of interest and mitigate other adverse consequences of high and rising debt,” Swagel said in a statement.The need to raise the debt ceiling is driven by past spending laws and tax cuts, some enacted under Joe Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump.Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, want to withhold a debt limit increase until Democrats agree to deep spending cuts. Democrats in turn say the debt limit should not be “held hostage” to Republican tactics over federal spending.After hitting the $31.4tn borrowing cap on 19 January, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the treasury can keep up payments on debt and federal benefits and make other outlays at least through 5 June using cash receipts and extraordinary cash management measures.Year of the debt limitSo far in 2023, not a day has gone by on Capitol Hill without lawmakers jousting over the debt limit, as Democrats press for a quick, clean increase in treasury borrowing authority and Republicans insist on first nailing down significant reductions in future government spending.Social security and Medicare, the government’s popular pension plan and its healthcare program for Americans ages 65 and older, are at the center of the debt limit and government funding debate, as both parties also jockey to define the contours of the 2024 presidential and congressional election campaigns.“There has been a Republican drumbeat to cut social security and Medicare,” Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, told reporters on Tuesday.Republican Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell has labored, without much success so far, to smother such talk.“Let me say one more time. There is no agenda on the part of Senate Republicans to revisit Medicare or social security. Period,” he said at a news conference.Most Americans do not closely follow Washington’s debt-ceiling saga, but they still worry it could hurt their finances, according to a Reuters/Ipsos public opinion poll conducted between 6-13 February.In that poll, 55% of US adults said they have heard little or nothing about the debate, but three-quarters of respondents said Congress must reach a deal because defaulting would add to their families’ financial stress, largely through potentially higher borrowing costs.TopicsUS economyBiden administrationJoe BidenUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

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      US could default on debt in July unless Congress raises ceiling, CBO warns – as it happened

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      Congress’s budget analysts estimate the United States will exhaust its bank accounts and could default on its obligations for the first time in history sometime between July and September, unless lawmakers agree to increase the debt limit.In a just-released report, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) notes that “the projected exhaustion date is uncertain because the timing and amount of revenue collections and outlays over the intervening months could differ from CBO’s projection.” They point to the amount of tax revenue brought in by the April filing deadline as particularly important in determining when the US government will exhaust its cash on hand.The United States is one of the few countries with a legal limit on how much debt the government can accrue, and that ceiling was hit last month. The Treasury then began taking “extraordinary measures” to allow the government to pay its bills without issuing new debt. The CBO report warns that if tax revenue ends up being less than expected, “the extraordinary measures could be exhausted sooner, and the Treasury could run out of funds before July.”“If the debt limit is not raised or suspended before the extraordinary measures are exhausted, the government would be unable to pay its obligations fully. As a result, the government would have to delay making payments for some activities, default on its debt obligations, or both,” the CBO wrote.The estimate is further out than one given by the Treasury last month, when it announced the debt limit had been reached and the government’s cash could be exhausted in June.In separate forecasts released today, the CBO estimates that economic growth will weaken this year but rebound beginning in 2024, hitting a peak of 2.7% in 2025 before averaging 1.8% from 2028 to 2033. However it warns America is on a trajectory for the national debt to hit more than $46.4tn by 2033, equivalent to 118 percent of GDP and the highest level ever recorded.Nikki Haley officially kicked off her presidential campaign with a South Carolina speech in which she quipped about imposing “mental competency tests” for elderly politicians (think Donald Trump and Joe Biden) and won a few interesting endorsements. Kamala Harris was meanwhile heading to Germany for a meeting with some of Washington’s top allies, while downplaying the impact of the spy balloon saga on the relationship with China. In the afternoon, Congress’s budget analysts were out with sober new reports that estimated when the US government will run out of cash, and warning that the country is on track to hit a level of debt never seen before.Here’s what else happened today:
      The justice department will not charge rightwing congressman Matt Gaetz following his investigation over sex-trafficking allegations.
      Biden is considering a national address about the three still-mysterious UFOs shot down over North America in recent days, and the Chinese spy balloon.
      Democrats were doing all they can to make sure the public doesn’t forget Haley’s ties to Trump, whom she served as United Nations ambassador.
      Despite all the lies, George Santos may run for re-election in 2024.
      House Republicans have issued a new wave of subpoenas, this time targeting America’s biggest tech companies.
      California is hoping to enshrine the right to same-sex marriage in its constitution by repealing a proposition voters approved in 2008 that banned such unions, the Associated Press reports.If the legislature repeals Proposition 8 with the required two-thirds majority vote, the issue will then go to voters, according to the AP. The effort is a response by the state’s Democrats, who dominate control the legislature and governor’s mansion, to conservative US supreme court justice Clarence Thomas’s suggestion last year that its decision allowing same-sex marriage nationwide should be revisited.Thomas’s comment spurred Congress to in December approve the Respect for Marriage act, which protected same-sex and interracial marriage rights nationwide. The legislation doesn’t require states to allow same-sex unions, but instead prevents them from rejecting marriage licenses issued in other states. California’s lawmakers fear that if the supreme court decision is overturned while Proposition 8 remains part of its constitution, same-sex marriage could end up banned in the state.Governor Gavin Newsom supports the effort, as does at least one Republican lawmaker, the AP reports.In the latest move in its investigation campaign against the Biden administration, the House judiciary committee has subpoenaed the leaders of five of America’s biggest tech companies for “documents and communications relating to the federal government’s reported collusion with Big Tech to suppress free speech,” according to a statement.“Congress has an important role in protecting and advancing fundamental free speech principles, including by examining how private actors coordinate with the government to … suppress First Amendment-protected speech. These subpoenas are the first step in holding Big Tech accountable,” said the statement from the committee’s Republican chair Jim Jordan.Jordan noted that his office had attempted to get information from the tech firms last December, before he officially took over as the committee leader, but received no response. In his letters to the CEOs of Meta, Amazon, Google, Alphabet and Microsoft, Jordan wrote, “Big Tech is out to get conservatives, and is increasingly willing to undermine First Amendment values by complying with the Biden Administration’s directives that suppress freedom of speech online.”“This approach undermines fundamental American principles and allows powerful government actors to silence political opponents and stifle opposing viewpoints. Publicly available information suggests that your companies’ treatment of certain speakers and content may stem from government directives or guidance designed to suppress dissenting views.”Those who watched last week’s State of the Union address will remember an unusual moment when Joe Biden engaged with Republican hecklers, and came out with what looked like a promise not to cut Social Security or Medicare in exchange for their votes to raise the debt ceiling.He referred back to that interaction today in his speech before Maryland union members as he accused Republicans of pursuing policies that would drive the national debt higher.Republican say they want “to reduce the deficit, but their plans are going to increase the deficit by $3tn, based on what they introduced so far,” the president said. “So where are they going to cut? They’re gonna cut Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, they’re going to cut Social Security or Medicare, veterans benefits, aid to farmers. At the State of the Union they seemed to say they’re not going to cut Social Security and Medicare. OK, great. I hope that’s true. But how are they going to make these numbers add up?”Then came a pledge familiar to anyone who has heard Biden speak in the past: “If Republicans try to take away people’s healthcare, increase costs for middle class families or push Americans into poverty, I’m going to stop them.”Joe Biden hasn’t made any news yet in his speech before union members, but the Guardian’s Lauren Aratani reported earlier today that his administration is teaming up with Tesla on a step that could help more Americans drive electric cars:The White House is partnering with Tesla to expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the US, with the company opening at least 7,500 of its chargers to all electric vehicles (EVs) by the end of 2024, the White House announced Wednesday.Tesla charging stations currently use a certain power connector that require non-Tesla EV to use an adapter. The White House said that Tesla will work to include at least 3,500 new and existing 250 kW superchargers along highways and level 2 destination chargers at locations like hotels and restaurants across the country. Tesla is also planning to double its network of Superchargers.The Biden administration in 2021 set goals of having 50% of new vehicle sales in the country to be EVs and 500,000 EV chargers along highways by 2030. The US currently has around 3m electric vehicles on the road and about 60,000 charging stations across the country.The administration’s goals “have spurred network operators to accelerate the buildout of coast-to-coast EV charging networks”, the White House said in a statement. “Public dollars will supplement private investment by filling gaps, serving rural and hard to reach locations and building capacity in communities.”Tesla to expand supercharger stations to all electric vehicles, White House saysRead moreJoe Biden has just kicked off his speech about the economy at a union hall in Maryland, where he could touch on the new debt limit and economic growth forecasts from the Congressional Budget Office.The White House has said Biden will use the speech to accuse Republicans of wanting to drive the US national debt higher. This blog will keep an eye on the address for any news the president might make.Congress’s budget analysts estimate the United States will exhaust its bank accounts and could default on its obligations for the first time in history sometime between July and September, unless lawmakers agree to increase the debt limit.In a just-released report, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) notes that “the projected exhaustion date is uncertain because the timing and amount of revenue collections and outlays over the intervening months could differ from CBO’s projection.” They point to the amount of tax revenue brought in by the April filing deadline as particularly important in determining when the US government will exhaust its cash on hand.The United States is one of the few countries with a legal limit on how much debt the government can accrue, and that ceiling was hit last month. The Treasury then began taking “extraordinary measures” to allow the government to pay its bills without issuing new debt. The CBO report warns that if tax revenue ends up being less than expected, “the extraordinary measures could be exhausted sooner, and the Treasury could run out of funds before July.”“If the debt limit is not raised or suspended before the extraordinary measures are exhausted, the government would be unable to pay its obligations fully. As a result, the government would have to delay making payments for some activities, default on its debt obligations, or both,” the CBO wrote.The estimate is further out than one given by the Treasury last month, when it announced the debt limit had been reached and the government’s cash could be exhausted in June.In separate forecasts released today, the CBO estimates that economic growth will weaken this year but rebound beginning in 2024, hitting a peak of 2.7% in 2025 before averaging 1.8% from 2028 to 2033. However it warns America is on a trajectory for the national debt to hit more than $46.4tn by 2033, equivalent to 118 percent of GDP and the highest level ever recorded.The Guardian’s Lauren Aratani reports on news out of the White House today that the Biden administration is partnering with Tesla to expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure nationwide, Elon Musk’s company agreeing to open at least 7,500 of its chargers to all electric vehicles by the end of next year…Tesla charging stations currently use a certain power connector that require non-Tesla EV to use an adapter. The White House said that Tesla will work to include at least 3,500 new and existing 250 kW superchargers along highways and level 2 destination chargers at locations like hotels and restaurants across the country. Tesla is also planning to double its network of Superchargers.The Biden administration in 2021 set goals of having 50% of new vehicle sales in the country to be EVs and 500,000 EV chargers along highways by 2030. The US currently has around 3m electric vehicles on the road and about 60,000 charging stations across the country.The administration’s goals “have spurred network operators to accelerate the buildout of coast-to-coast EV charging networks”, the White House said in a statement. “Public dollars will supplement private investment by filling gaps, serving rural and hard to reach locations and building capacity in communities.”Along with its partnership with Tesla, the White House is working with other companies, including car manufacturers like General Motors, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo, to build out more chargers. The rental car company Hertz is working with BP to bring chargers to locations in major cities. Hertz is planning to make a quarter of its fleet electric by 2024.Funding for the EV charging network expansion comes largely from the bipartisan infrastructure bill passed in 2021.The bill allocates $7.5bn for charging infrastructure, including a $2.5bn community grant program. In September, the White House said all 50 states have plans to build chargers using funding from the bill.Full story:Tesla to expand supercharger stations to all electric vehicles, White House saysRead moreA setback for Donald Trump in New York, where a judge today rejected a gambit that might have delayed the looming trial over the writer E Jean Carroll’s claim the former president raped her in the city in the mid-1990s. The Associated Press has the following report:Donald Trump missed his chance to use his DNA to try to prove he did not rape the writer E Jean Carroll, a federal judge said on Wednesday, clearing a potential roadblock to an April trial.The judge, Lewis A Kaplan, rejected the 11th-hour offer by Trump’s legal team to provide a DNA sample to rebut claims Carroll first made publicly in a 2019 book.Kaplan said lawyers for Trump and Carroll had more than three years to make DNA an issue in the case and both chose not to do so.He said it would almost surely delay the trial scheduled to start on 25 April to reopen the DNA issue four months after the deadline passed to litigate concerns over trial evidence and weeks before trial.Trump’s lawyers did not immediately comment. Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, declined to comment.Carroll’s lawyers have sought Trump’s DNA for three years to compare it with stains found on the dress Carroll wore the day she says Trump raped her in a department store dressing room in late 1995 or early 1996. Analysis of DNA on the dress concluded it did contain traces of an unknown man’s DNA.Trump has denied knowing Carroll, saying repeatedly he never raped her and accusing her of making the claim to stoke sales of her book. She has sued him for defamation and under a New York law which allows alleged victims of sexual assault to sue over alleged crimes outside the usual statute of limitations.Full story:Judge rejects Trump DNA offer in E Jean Carroll rape defamation caseRead moreJamie Raskin of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the House oversight committee, has sent a letter to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law who was Trump’s chief White House adviser, renewing a request for documents related to a $2bn deal with Saudi Arabia Kushner secured shortly after the end of the Trump administration.The benefits to Kushner and Trump of their closeness to Saudi Arabia while in power have been the subject of extensive reporting and speculation, not least given Kushner’s closeness to Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince who US intelligence said was behind the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident resident in the US who wrote for the Washington Post.Raskin writes: “Your efforts to protect the crown prince may have allowed him to maintain his position at the top of the Saudi government and, thus, his ability to deliver significant financial benefits to you and your father-in-law after the end of the Trump administration.“Abdullah Alaoudh, the director for the Gulf at Democracy for the Arab World Now, has stated that ‘[w]ithout the absolute protection of Trump and Kushner, MBS would definitely have fallen’.“President Trump expressed an explicit awareness of the crown prince’s debt: when Secretary [of state Mike] Pompeo embarked on a state visit to the Middle East to visit the crown prince, he wrote that President Trump told him, ‘My Mike, go and have a good time. Tell him he owes us.’”Here’s more about Pompeo’s view of the Khashoggi affair … and the Post’s condemnation of it.Raskin goes on to say Kushner and his investment firm, A Fin Management, LLC (Affinity), have “failed to cooperate with the Committee Democrats’ investigation”, which was launched last summer, when Democrats held the House.What’s Raskin after? “Documents, including communications between Mr Kushner and Saudi government officials, and documents sufficient to show the identity of all foreign investors in Affinity”.When does he want it? “By 1 March 2023.”Will he get it? Seems unlikely.Raskin also noted that though the new Republican oversight chairman, James Comer of Kentucky, had “acknowledg[ed] the unresolved conflicts-of-interests crisis left by the Trump administration”, he had declined to sign the letter to Kushner.The scandal-blasted New York Republican congressman George Santos is reportedly contemplating running for re-election in 2024, despite being at the centre of an extraordinary rolling political controversy since his election last November.CNN reported the change in Santos’s thinking today.Yesterday, Santos tweeted his defiance, writing: “Let me be very clear, I’m not leaving, I’m not hiding and I am NOT backing down. I will continue to work for New York’s third district and no amount of Twitter trolling will stop me. I’m looking forward to getting what needs to be done, DONE!”Santos’s résumé has been shown to be largely made up, his claims about family heritage debunked, his past scoured for alleged criminal behaviour and his campaign finances investigated amid questions over missing money and the source of his personal wealth.Santos’s very identity has been questioned, given past activities under a different name, Anthony Devolder.Republicans have joined Democrats in calling for Santos to resign but though he has admitted embellishing his résumé he denies wrongdoing.Republican leaders have stuck by him. Santos supported the House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, through 15 rounds of voting for the position. McCarthy must now work with a very slim majority, making Santos’s seat all the more valuable.Santos has raised sufficient funds to have to announce whether he will run again by a deadline in mid-March. Two other New York Republican freshmen told CNN Santos would lose a primary if he chose to contest it.“George Santos will not be on any ticket in 2024,” said Marc Molinaro, adding that he would support a resolution to expel Santos from Congress if it made it to a vote.Democrats have introduced such a resolution but only five members of the House have ever been expelled – three for fighting for the Confederacy in the civil war.Anthony D’Esposito, who represents a neighbouring district, told CNN: “I am confident that George Santos will not be on any ticket come 2024. I am confident that we’ll do everything in our power to make sure we have the right candidate, the honest candidate, the truthful candidate, and the one who was honest about his entire being.”Two anonymous but senior Republicans, meanwhile, pointed to hard political realities.One, asked about House ethics investigations said: “I think he’ll be indicted before we get to him.”Another, described as a “senior GOP member”, pointed to the party’s need to avoid a new election in a district Joe Biden won with ease.“We don’t want a special,” he said.Nikki Haley officially kicked off her presidential campaign with a South Carolina speech in which she quipped about imposing “mental competency tests” for elderly politicians (think Donald Trump and Joe Biden) and won a few interesting endorsements. Kamala Harris was meanwhile heading to Germany for a meeting with some of Washington’s top allies, while downplaying the impact of the spy balloon saga on the relationship with China. Later this afternoon, Biden will launch a counterattack against the GOP and their demands for spending cuts with a speech intended to convince voters that Republicans are the real money wasters.Here’s what else has happened today so far:
      The justice department will not charge rightwing congressman Matt Gaetz following his investigation over sex-trafficking allegations.
      Biden is considering a national address about the three still-mysterious UFOs shot down over North America in recent days, and the Chinese spy balloon.
      Democrats were doing all they can to make sure the public doesn’t forget Haley’s ties to Trump, whom she served as United Nations ambassador.
      The justice department will not charge rightwing congressman Matt Gaetz after investigating him on sex trafficking allegations, CNN reports:BREAKING: DOJ formally decides not to charge Congressman Matt Gaetz in sex-trafficking probe. Prosecutors have been informing witnesses today of final decision by DOJ leadership after investigators recommended not moving forward back in the fall. More to come on @CNN— Paula Reid (@PaulaReidCNN) February 15, 2023
      Federal agents had been looking into whether the Republican representing part of northwestern Florida in the House of Representatives paid a 17-year-old girl for sex. In December, an ex-tax collector and friend of Gaetz whose arrest sparked the investigation of the congressman was sentenced to 11 years in jail for offenses including the sex trafficking of a minor.As the Guardian’s Lauren Gambino reports, Nikki Haley would like to see “mental competency tests” implemented for politicians of a certain age:Haley just vowed that in her America she would make voter ID the law of the land, institute term limits for Congress and implement “mental competency tests” for politicians over 75— Lauren Gambino (@laurenegambino) February 15, 2023
      Who could she be referring to? Likely Joe Biden, who is 80, but perhaps also Donald Trump, who is 76.At her presidential campaign launch event in South Carolina, Nikki Haley has received the endorsement of Cindy Warmbier, whose son Otto died after his release from a North Korean prison, the Washington Post reports:Cindy Warmbier, mother of Otto Warmbier (who died after being released from North Korean prison), is speaking now. She calls Haley “a glimmer of light” during the darkest period of her life.— Dylan Wells (@dylanewells) February 15, 2023
      Donald Trump succeeded in getting Otto Warmbier returned to the United States in 2017. The then president later implied that he didn’t think North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un knew about Warmbier’s torture while in custody – a comment that his family rebuked. More

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      Biden drops candidate’s nomination to human rights post over Israel remarks

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      Biden drops candidate’s nomination to human rights post over Israel remarksProfessor says his selection was dropped for describing Israel as an ‘apartheid state’ and accusing Jeffries of being ‘bought’ by Aipac The Biden administration has withdrawn the nomination of a leading law professor to an international human rights post, for describing Israel as an “apartheid state” and accusing the top Democrat in Congress of being “bought” by pro-Israel groups.James Cavallaro, of Wesleyan and Yale universities, said he was told by the US state department on Tuesday it had dropped his selection to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) “due to my statements denouncing apartheid in Israel/Palestine”.The withdrawal of his nomination followed an article by a New York Jewish newspaper, the Algemeiner, that also highlighted Cavallaro’s retweeting of a Guardian story about the gratification of pro-Israel groups at the election of the New York Democratic congressman Hakeem Jeffries as House minority leader.Jeffries is closely tied to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) and other hardline pro-Israel lobby groups. One of them, Pro-Israel America, was his largest single donor over the past year.Cavallaro retweeted the Guardian story with the comment: “Bought. Purchased. Controlled.”The state department spokesman, Ned Price, said the administration had not been acquainted with Cavallaro’s views when his nomination was announced on Friday.“We were not aware of the statements and writings,” he said. “His statements clearly do not reflect US policy, they are not a reflection of what we believe and they are inappropriate to say the least.”Cavallaro, who was IACHR president six years ago, said he reminded state department officials that Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the leading Israeli human rights group, BTselem, “have issued reports naming the conditions in Israel/Palestine as apartheid”.“My nomination would not have affected US policy on Israel. What has the withdrawal of my nomination achieved? The removal from the [IACHR] of the potential return of a committed, experienced advocate for human rights in the Americas,” he said on Twitter.Cavallaro described the withdrawal of his nomination as part of broader “censorship of human rights advocates who denounce apartheid in Israel”, making reference to the Harvard Kennedy School’s blocking of a post for the former Human Rights Watch director Kenneth Roth over his criticisms of Israeli policies. The school backed down following a public outcry.Cavallaro, the founder and director of the University Network for Human Rights, said he deleted “many” of his controversial tweets because he was “proactively and in good faith addressing concerns the state department had raised during the vetting process about public expressions of my personal views on US policy”.TopicsBiden administrationUS politicsJoe BidenHakeem JeffriesnewsReuse this content More