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      Biden salutes January 6 heroes ‘who did not flinch’ in medal ceremony

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      Biden salutes January 6 heroes ‘who did not flinch’ in medal ceremony The president spoke with passion about police officers and election officials who held the line on the second anniversary of the attempted insurrectionJoe Biden has marked the second anniversary of the January 6 insurrection by awarding medals to heroes who “did not flinch” when the US Capitol came under attack and warning that democracy cannot be taken for granted.The US president on Friday awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal to 14 people, some posthumously, and spoke with passion – and flashes of humour – at a White House ceremony.Democrats commemorate January 6 attack with tears and silence at US CapitolRead moreThe event in the East Room, against a backdrop of seven flags and portraits of the founding US president and first lady, George and Martha Washington, struck a sharp contrast with the Capitol itself where Republicans were struggling for a fourth day to elect a speaker of the House of Representatives.Biden had commemorated the first anniversary of the riot by visiting the Capitol itself and denouncing former president Donald Trump, whose supporters staged the January 6 attack after he urged them to fight like hell. This time, he devoted most of his remarks to praising the heroes of that day who held the line.But his sense of rage at the attempted coup was undimmed.“Two years ago on January 6, our democracy was attacked,” the president said. “There’s no other way of saying it. The US Capitol was breached, which had never happened before in the history of the United States of America, even during the civil war.”He added: “All of it – all of it – was fueled by the lies” Trump told about being robbed of victory over Biden in the 2020 election.“But on this day two years ago, our democracy held because we the people – as the constitution refers to us – we the people did not flinch,” Biden said. “We the people endured. We the people prevailed.”Biden described the honourees, who entered the room to standing ovations and cheers, as “a remarkable group of Americans who embodied the best before, during and after January 6, 2021”.They included the former Arizona house speaker Rusty Bowers and the Michigan secretary of state, Jocelyn Benson, who resisted pressure to overturn the 2020 election results in their states. They also included Capitol police officer Eugene Goodman, who diverted rioters from the Senate floor while members were evacuating, and the Georgia election worker Ruby Freeman, falsely accused by Trump of election fraud and forced to flee her home after death threats.There were also awards for Capitol police officers Harry Dunn, Caroline Edwards and Sgt Aquilino Gonell; DC police officer Daniel Hodges; and former DC police officer Michael Fanone.Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick was awarded a posthumous medal. Washington’s chief medical examiner ruled that Sicknick died of natural causes following multiple strokes after the attack.“He lost his life protecting the citadel of democracy,” Biden said before telling Sicknick’s family directly: “I know you’re proud of the honour being bestowed on Brian. But I also know this difficult moment brings back everything as if it happened this very day.”There were two late additions to Friday’s list: Capitol police officer Howard Liebengood and Washington DC police officer Jeffrey Smith, both of whom took their own lives in the aftermath of the insurrection. Biden acknowledged that for family members of the fallen, the honour was “bittersweet”.He also noted that many of those present had testified to the House panel investigating the Capitol attack about what they were seeing and feeling. “It’s not an exaggeration to say America owes you – owes you all, I really mean that – a debt of gratitude,” Biden said. “One that we can never fully repay unless we live up to what you did. What you did was truly consequential.”Trump’s supporters attacked police, smashed through barricades and entered the Capitol on 6 January 2021 in a failed effort to prevent congressional certification of Biden’s 2020 election victory. Trump, who has announced another bid for the presidency in 2024, continues to claim falsely that only widespread voting fraud cost him the 2020 election.The House committee investigating the attack said last month that Trump should face criminal charges for his role in provoking the violence.Biden did not mention Trump or Republicans who rally around the Make America Great Again (Maga) slogan by name but cautioned: “We face an inflection point in our nation’s history. On January 6, it’s a reminder there’s nothing guaranteed about our democracy.”The Presidential Citizens Medal, created by President Richard Nixon in 1969, is the country’s second-highest civilian honour after the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is awarded to those who “performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens”.TopicsUS Capitol attackThe US politics sketchUS politicsJoe BidennewsReuse this content More

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      Republican McCarthy says he finally has enough votes to win House speaker – live

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      Kevin McCarthy says he has enough votes to win election as speaker of the House on Friday night in a what could be the final act of a drawn out saga.Speaking with reporters just now, the California Republican, who has lost 13 straight votes over four days, said he was confident he finally has enough support to prevail.House members have just voted to adjourn until 10pm, after which time, McCarthy says, colleagues will finally propel him to the speakership in a 14th vote:.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}We’ll come back tonight. I believe at that time we’ll have the votes to finish this once and for all.
      It just reminds me of what my father always told me. It’s not how you start. It’s how you finish. And now we have to finish for the American public.“The adjournment will allow two Republican congress members absent from today’s two votes so far to return to Washington DC, and for McCarthy’s allies to work further on two of the six holdouts who still block his pathway.In particular, Republicans Matt Rosendale of Montana and Eli Crane of Arizona are believed to be the two most likely members of the so-called “Never Kevins” to flip.McCarthy won Friday’s two votes so far, with 213 and 214 votes respectively, still shy of the threshold he needs. But he picked up significant momentum, flipping 15 of the 20 rebels who opposed him previously.In his brief comments to reporters just now, he brushed aside criticism that the length of the process had undermined Republicans’ ability to govern:.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Getting together and just finding the ability of how we’re going to work together… it’s new for us, being in a tight majority [but] at the end of the day, we’re going to be more effective, more efficient. And definitely government’s going to be more accountable.
      That’s the great part, because it took this long now we learned how to govern. So now we’ll be able to get the job done.Hi all – Sam Levin here continuing our live coverage for the rest of the day.Congressman Matt Gaetz, a vocal member of the “Never Kevins”, appeared to concede that Kevin McCarthy might ultimately become speaker, NBC News has reported.“I think the House is in a lot better place with some of the work that’s been done to democratize power out of the speakership and that’s our goal,” Gaetz said this afternoon, according to the station, which reported that he had been huddled with the rightwing extremist congresswoman Lauren Boebert, who has also staunchly opposed McCarthy.More here on the latest developments.House speaker election at ‘a turning point’ despite McCarthy’s 13th lossRead moreJoe Biden has honored the “heroes” who repelled the deadly January 6 Capitol riot, by awarding them presidential citizens medals at the White House on Friday on the second anniversary of the insurrection. He insisted there was “zero place in America for political violence”.The president delivered a powerful speech denouncing the rioters who overran the Capitol building at Donald Trump’s behest as he attempted to remain in office, and praising the law enforcement officers who stood in their way..css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}A violent mob of insurrectionists assaulted law enforcement, vandalized sacred halls, hunted down elected officials, all for the purpose of attempting to overthrow the will of the people and usurp the peaceful transfer of power.
      All of it was fueled by lies about the 2020 election. But on this day, two years ago, our democracy held because we the people, as the Constitution refers to us, did not flinch. We the people endured. We the people prevailed.Biden awarded the medals, the first of his administration, to 12 “extraordinary Americans”, including five law enforcement officers who lost their lives. Relatives of the fallen officers accepted the awards on their behalf, among them Gladys Sicknick, mother of fallen Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick:.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}History will remember your names, your courage, your bravery, your extraordinary commitment to your fellow Americans.
      America owes you all a debt of gratitude that we can never fully repay unless we live up to what you did.Read more:‘All I did was testify’: Republican who defied Trump will get presidential medalRead moreKevin McCarthy says he has enough votes to win election as speaker of the House on Friday night in a what could be the final act of a drawn out saga.Speaking with reporters just now, the California Republican, who has lost 13 straight votes over four days, said he was confident he finally has enough support to prevail.House members have just voted to adjourn until 10pm, after which time, McCarthy says, colleagues will finally propel him to the speakership in a 14th vote:.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}We’ll come back tonight. I believe at that time we’ll have the votes to finish this once and for all.
      It just reminds me of what my father always told me. It’s not how you start. It’s how you finish. And now we have to finish for the American public.“The adjournment will allow two Republican congress members absent from today’s two votes so far to return to Washington DC, and for McCarthy’s allies to work further on two of the six holdouts who still block his pathway.In particular, Republicans Matt Rosendale of Montana and Eli Crane of Arizona are believed to be the two most likely members of the so-called “Never Kevins” to flip.McCarthy won Friday’s two votes so far, with 213 and 214 votes respectively, still shy of the threshold he needs. But he picked up significant momentum, flipping 15 of the 20 rebels who opposed him previously.In his brief comments to reporters just now, he brushed aside criticism that the length of the process had undermined Republicans’ ability to govern:.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Getting together and just finding the ability of how we’re going to work together… it’s new for us, being in a tight majority [but] at the end of the day, we’re going to be more effective, more efficient. And definitely government’s going to be more accountable.
      That’s the great part, because it took this long now we learned how to govern. So now we’ll be able to get the job done.Joe Biden is speaking now at the White House to pay tribute to the law enforcement officers who defended the US Capitol against a violent mob of Donald Trump-incited insurrectionists two years ago.We’ll bring you the best of his comments very shortly..@POTUS: “But on this day two years ago, our democracy held because We the People did not flinch. We the People endured. We the People prevailed.And on this day of remembrance, we honor a remarkable group of Americans who embodied the best.”— Karine Jean-Pierre (@PressSec) January 6, 2023
      You can follow the president’s speech here:Happening Now: President Biden marks two years since the January 6th insurrection during a Presidential Citizens Medal ceremony. https://t.co/LVhkWzSs8e— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 6, 2023
      Kevin McCarthy has picked off at least one of the seven remaining Republican holdouts, Andy Harris of Maryland.It won’t change the outcome of the 13th vote for speaker – McCarthy will still lose this round – but it would appear to point to a successful strategy of picking off the rebels one by one.BIG — Andy Harris, one of the seven remaining holdouts, has just flipped to McCarthy. McCarthy’s critics picking off the remaining opponents one by one. Now the focus shifts to Rosendale & Crane.— Melanie Zanona (@MZanona) January 6, 2023
      So far today, 15 of the 20 Republicans who have voted against him consistently through 11 votes from Tuesday to Thursday have been persudade to join the McCarthy camp.The Californian will sense that he’s edging closer. Six of the seven hardline Republican holdouts blocking Kevin McCarthy’s path to the House speakership held firm in a 13th round of voting, thwarting once again the Californian’s pathway to the gavel.McCarthy won 214 votes, still shy of the threshold he needs. But he did flip the vote of Andy Harris of Maryland, potentially leaving him just two more votes away from victory assuming the chamber embarks on a 14th ballot on Friday afternoon.The other six so-called “Never Kevins” voted for Ohio’s Jim Jordan, who was not nominated, meaning there was not enough support for McCarthy to win on this vote.They included Andy Biggs of Arizona, Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Matt Gaetz of Florida, among the most vocal of McCarthy’s opponents. Earlier Friday, several House members walked out as Gaetz attacked McCarthy from the floor.McCarthy’s allies, meanwhile, will be encouraged by the apparently successful strategy of picking off the rebels one by one to put him on the brink of victory. It represents an astonishing turnaround in his fortunes from 11 votes over three days earlier this week, during which at least 20 Republicans opposed him every time.McCarthy agreed to many of the detractors’ demands, according to the Associated Press, including the reinstatement of a longstanding House rule that would allow any single member to call a vote to oust him from office. That change and others mean the job he fought so hard to gain will be somewhat weakened, assuming he emerges triumphant.There are now 6 GOP holdouts left in the election for Speaker of the House. McCarthy needs two votes from this group to win:Biggs AZBoebert COCrane AZGaetz FLGood VARosendale MTThe 6 all sat together in one row during this latest vote.— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) January 6, 2023
      There are seven holdout Republicans still standing in Kevin McCarthy’s path. Two of them, Andy Biggs of Arizona, and Lauren Boebert of Colorado, have voted for Ohio’s Jim Jordan, even though he was not formally nominated.If three more Republicans join Boebert and Biggs, McCarthy looks all but certain to lose again. But if McCarthy can flip four of the five rebels yet to vote, he will win.Rejuvenated allies of Kevin McCarthy have touted the California Republican for an imminent 13th House speaker vote, more confident that this time they may have the support he needs to secure the gavel.Round 12 earlier this afternoon saw McCarthy flip more than a dozen of the 20 Republican holdouts who have so far blocked his path to the speakership.Some frantic horse trading has taken place, and McCarthy’s team is optimistic and ready to go again.Kentucky Republican James Comer has just delivered a fiery speech nominating McCarthy, promising investigations into Joe Biden and his dealings with Ukraine and Russia.Congresswoman Veronica Escobar of Texas is nominating Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic party’s leader in the House, for speaker.There are no other nominations, for the first time.Voting is under way and it seems to be a two-way fight between McCarthy and Jeffries, potentially a good sign for the Republican that this could finally be the vote in which he wins the speaker’s gavel.It’s been a lively morning in US politics and there is a lot more drama ahead. The House still does not have a speaker but California Republican Kevin McCarthy is finally making some progress. In a few minutes, Joe Biden is due to speak at the White House on the second anniversary of the January 6 insurrection by extremist supporters of Donald Trump, encouraged by the-then president. Biden will also present medals to a group of people who upheld the law and US democracy on January 6, 2021, and in the 2020 election and its aftermath against dangerous opposition from the far right.Here’s where things stand:
      Kevin McCarthy lost a historic 12th round of voting in his tortured quest to become House speaker – but the California Republican picked up support from several of the hardline Republican rebels who have consistently opposed him.
      Tribute was paid in Washington, DC, this morning to the late law enforcement officers who defended the US Capitol against Trump’s mob of insurrectionists two years ago today. The “tremendous bravery” of the five law enforcement officers who lost their lives as a result of the riot, 140 more who were injured, and hundreds of others on duty that day were honored by current Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries and predecessor Nancy Pelosi, the most recent speaker.
      The House of Representatives reconvened for the fourth day of the 118th Congress without a speaker. And the voting began again. The House can do no business until a speaker is elected, including swearing in its members.
      Another lawsuit against Trump. The partner of Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick, who died after the January 6, 2021, attack on Congress, has sued Donald Trump.
      California’s governor Gavin Newsom, a rising star in the Democratic party, will be sworn in for his second term on Friday by comparing his leadership style with that of Republican governors and former president Donald Trump. He is widely seen as a future presidential candidate, though he says he plans to support Joe Biden in 2024.
      While we vote for the next stage of the House voting, here’s a video of the tribute in Washington DC this morning paid to the late enforcement officers who defended the US Capitol against Donald Trump’s mob of insurrectionists two years ago today.The “tremendous bravery” of the five law enforcement officers who lost their lives in the riot, 140 more who were injured, and hundreds of others on duty that day were honored by current Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries and predecessor Nancy Pelosi, the most recent speaker.Here’s the fillip for Kevin McCarthy, the chairman of the hard-right Freedom Caucus among House Republicans, Scott Perry, has swung behind him.This could make the difference. Clearly McCarthy is not there yet to get the majority needed to elect him speaker of the House. But he’s a lot closer.We’re at a turning point. I’ve negotiated in good faith, with one purpose: to restore the People’s House back to its rightful owners. The framework for an agreement is in place, so in a good-faith effort, I voted to restore the People’s House by voting for @gopleader McCarthy.— RepScottPerry (@RepScottPerry) January 6, 2023
      McCarthy has now flipped 14 hold-outs out of the 19 or 20 who’ve been opposing him since Tuesday – not enough to get him across the line yet, but noises are coming from his camp about momentum.Kevin McCarthy appears to have lost a 12th vote to become House speaker, but picked up support from several of the hardline Republican rebels who have consistently opposed him.Voting is still under way but enough Republicans have voted against him to deny the Californian Republican the 217 votes he needed. (The threshold had fallen by one from 218 because at least two House members voted only “present”).In 11 previous votes over three days, 20 Republican holdouts voted consistently against McCarthy. In Friday’s first vote, at least six switched their support to him, after overnight negotiations between the rebels and McCarthy’s team, and a conference call this morning.The next steps remain unclear, although more negotiations are likely this afternoon to win over more of the holdouts as McCarthy’s allies attempt to build on the momentum.McCarthy spoke optimistically as he entered the chamber ahead of the vote.“I feel good, I think you’re going to see an improvement in the vote today, we have a couple members who unfortunately are out so we’re seeing progress,” he told reporters.“My father always told me one thing, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.”Several House members reportedly walked out of the chamber during Matt Gaetz’s speech nominating Jim Jordan.Also notable was that his address failed to gain the applause of a single congress member.people walk out during Gaetz’s speech, which is for Jim Jordan pic.twitter.com/tfFjuN2v87— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 6, 2023
      As voting continues, McCarthy has picked up at least five votes from the 20 rebels who had previously opposed him, indicating significant momentum to his cause.It remains to be seen if the shift is enough to get McCarthy to the 218 votes he needs during this round of voting, but it’s the first time in 12 rounds of voting he has picked up support, and his allies will be encouraged.Proceedings in the House are already growing rancorous as Florida Republican Matt Gaetz tears into Kevin McCarthy.Gaetz, a leading member of the “Never Kevins” who have barred McCarthy’s path to the speakership over the last three days, and who on Thursday nominated Donald Trump for the role (the fortmer president got one vote, that of Gaetz), says the 12th vote will have the same result as the previous 11.“One must wonder,” Madam Clerk, is this an exercise in vanity?” Gaetz wonders.“Mr McCarthy doesn’t have the votes today. He will not have the votes tomorrow, and he will not have the votes next week, next month, next year.”Gaetz nominates Jim Jordan of Ohio.Now another Republican maverick, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, is on her feet, nominating Kevin Hern of Oklahoma.Despite all the talk this morning of “glimmers of hope” and “breakthroughs”, it’s not looking good for McCarthy as things stand. Voting is under way.Mike Garcia, a Republican congressman from California, is on his feet nominating Kevin McCarthy for speaker (again), and a 12th vote looks like it’s imminent.“This is not about Kevin McCarthy,” Garcia is insisting, even though it is. He’s paying tribute to US service members, and addressing the fentanyl crisis even as he’s urging his colleagues to support McCarthy.He’s also talking directly to Democrats, and drawing boos, as he takes a dig over them voting from home during the pandemic. He’s been rebuked for not directing his remarks through the chair.“We are on the verge of a very important victory… a victory for the future of our nation,” he insists, although it’s far from clear McCarthy has even close to the 218 votes he will need to win the speaker’s gavel.Democrat James Clyburn of South Carolina is nominating Hakeem Jeffries as his party’s nominee for a 12th time. Jeffries, the party’s leader in the House, has won all 212 Democrat votes in every round of voting so far. More

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      House still without speaker as McCarthy pleads with Republican holdouts – live

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      Kevin McCarthy’s team insists there has been progress in negotiations with the hard-right Republican rebels who have denied him the speakership through 11 straight votes, but whether it’s the breakthrough the California Republican so desperately needs is far from certain.The House reconvenes at noon Friday in what has already been the lengthiest search for a speaker in 159 years, with an increasingly anguished McCarthy offering more concessions to the holdouts to try to secure the 218 votes he needs.The Washington Post on Friday was among several media outlets reporting signs emerging of a possible deal to end the impasse yet, crucially, notes that while it reflects “considerable momentum” for McCarthy, the expectation is he “will not get all the votes necessary to become speaker”.Moderate Republicans are also growing restless after three days of voting in which McCarthy has failed to show any progress towards the winning threshold, and a group of 20 House Republicans has consistently voted against him.There is, therefore, something of a “make or break” feel to today’s proceedings.One Republican lawmaker told Politico Playbook on Friday:.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}There is a limit to how much of this crap we can take.The website reports mounting frustration among a sizeable number of others, some of whom want to be out of Washington DC to be with sick relatives, attend family funerals or meet new babies for the first time.“There’s a lot more at stake than whether Kevin McCarthy’s going to be able to get the gavel,” the lawmaker told Playbook.“We’ve got lives that are being impacted right now, and this is tough for people.”The other area of concern is how much McCarthy seems to be giving away to the hardliners in order to make a deal.The Post, and others, say he has now consented to reduce the threshold from five to one of the number of House members needed to raise a “vacate the chair” motion, making it easier for the speaker to be ousted.Read more:McCarthy fails in speakership bid for third day after 11th voteRead moreA number of prominent politicians and others have taken to Twitter to express their thoughts on today’s second anniversary of the deadly January 6 Capitol insurrection. Some are linking it to the current paralysis in Congress caused by Republicans’ failure to elect a speaker after three days and 11 votes.Here’s Democrat Nancy Pelosi, the most recent speaker:Tomorrow, we solemnly observe the January 6th Attack on the Capitol.As we mark a day that threatened our Democracy, let us show our respect for the great institution of the Congress.We must open the House and proceed with the People’s work.— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) January 6, 2023
      Presidential historian Michael Beschloss: Any political leader who planned, abetted, praised or excused the violent attack on our Congress and Capitol of January 6, 2021, and that insurrection against our sacred democracy should never be trusted on the issue of law and order.— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) January 6, 2023
      Democratic Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer:This January 6th anniversary should serve as a wakeup call to the GOP to reject MAGA radicalism—which keeps leading to GOP failures.But the pandemonium wrought by House Republicans this week is one more example of how MAGA radicalism is making it impossible for them to govern.— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) January 6, 2023
      Democratic New Jersey congressman Donald Norcross:On #January6th 2021, rioters breached the Capitol, threatening the peaceful transition of power and democracy itself. Looking back at the footage I took gives me chills.Two years later, I am more committed than ever to protecting our democracy. pic.twitter.com/2bVql6GfU4— Congressman Donald Norcross 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@DonaldNorcross) January 6, 2023
      The official Senate Democrats account:Today marks two years since the deadly insurrection at the Capitol. We must defeat extremism and hold the Republicans who promote it accountable.We will not forget January 6. pic.twitter.com/AyPIaPodtI— Senate Democrats (@dscc) January 6, 2023
      Today marks the second anniversary of the deadly January 6 Capitol riot. This afternoon, Joe Biden will award the nation’s second highest civilian honor, the Presidential Citizens Medal, to 12 people, including law enforcement officers and politicians, who resisted Donald Trump’s insurrection. Ed Pilkington reports:Rusty Bowers, the former top Republican in Arizona’s house of representatives who stood up to Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and was punished for it by being unseated by his own party, is to receive America’s second-highest civilian honor on Friday.Bowers will be among 12 people who will be awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by Joe Biden at the White House at a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the 6 January 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol. It will be the first time that the president has presented the honor, which is reserved for those who have “performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens”.All 12 took exceptional personal risks to protect US democracy against Trump’s onslaught. Many are law enforcement officers who confronted the Capitol rioters, others are election workers and officials in key battleground states who refused to be bullied into subverting the outcome of the presidential race.Several of the recipients paid a huge personal price for their actions. Brian Sicknick will receive the presidential medal posthumously – he died the day after the insurrection having suffered a stroke; a medical examiner later found he died from natural causes, while noting that the events of January 6 had “played a role in his condition”.Bowers’ award, first reported by the Deseret News, came after he refused effectively to ignore the will of Arizona’s 3.4 million voters and switch victory from Biden to Trump. As a result, he incurred the wrath of Trump, who endorsed a rival candidate in last year’s Republican primary elections.David Farnsworth, the Trump-backed opponent, went on to defeat Bowers and usher him out of the Arizona legislature. Farnsworth is an avid proponent of the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, going so far as to tell voters that the White House had been satanically snatched by the “devil himself”.Ahead of Friday’s ceremony, Bowers described the news of his award as “something of a shock”. He said that though some of his detractors were likely to denounce his call to the White House a political stunt, he thought it was designed to “create unity and put behind us the division of the past. I’m certainly in favor of that, no matter what.”He added: “I don’t think this is to stir up division, it’s to honor those who stood up and did their job as best they could. And that’s kind of what America is about.”Read the full story:‘All I did was testify’: Republican who defied Trump will get presidential medalRead moreKevin McCarthy’s team insists there has been progress in negotiations with the hard-right Republican rebels who have denied him the speakership through 11 straight votes, but whether it’s the breakthrough the California Republican so desperately needs is far from certain.The House reconvenes at noon Friday in what has already been the lengthiest search for a speaker in 159 years, with an increasingly anguished McCarthy offering more concessions to the holdouts to try to secure the 218 votes he needs.The Washington Post on Friday was among several media outlets reporting signs emerging of a possible deal to end the impasse yet, crucially, notes that while it reflects “considerable momentum” for McCarthy, the expectation is he “will not get all the votes necessary to become speaker”.Moderate Republicans are also growing restless after three days of voting in which McCarthy has failed to show any progress towards the winning threshold, and a group of 20 House Republicans has consistently voted against him.There is, therefore, something of a “make or break” feel to today’s proceedings.One Republican lawmaker told Politico Playbook on Friday:.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}There is a limit to how much of this crap we can take.The website reports mounting frustration among a sizeable number of others, some of whom want to be out of Washington DC to be with sick relatives, attend family funerals or meet new babies for the first time.“There’s a lot more at stake than whether Kevin McCarthy’s going to be able to get the gavel,” the lawmaker told Playbook.“We’ve got lives that are being impacted right now, and this is tough for people.”The other area of concern is how much McCarthy seems to be giving away to the hardliners in order to make a deal.The Post, and others, say he has now consented to reduce the threshold from five to one of the number of House members needed to raise a “vacate the chair” motion, making it easier for the speaker to be ousted.Read more:McCarthy fails in speakership bid for third day after 11th voteRead moreGood morning and happy Friday, US politics readers. The longest of weeks on Capitol Hill continues today with Kevin McCarthy still chasing the speakership after losing 11 straight House votes.The California Republican’s team has been pleading with conservative holdouts overnight, trying to reach a deal to get him to the 218 votes he needs. But the troops are growing restless, and frustration among moderates is rising at how much control McCarthy seems willing to cede to the party’s extremist fringe.“There is a limit to how much of this crap we can take,” one Republican lawmaker tells Politico’ Playbook after three days and nights of stalemate.The circus tent opens again when the House reconvenes at noon, and we’ll know pretty soon thereafter if McCarthy has achieved any kind of breakthrough.Also happening today:
      It’s the second anniversary of the deadly January 6 Capitol riot. Joe Biden will present the Presidential Citizens Medal, the nation’s second highest civilian award, to 12 people, including law enforcement officers and politicians, who stood up to Donald Trump’s insurrection.
      Security services are on high alert with several rallies planned to take place at or near the Capitol building. Democrats fear the safety of lawmakers and staff has been compromised by a weakening of security measures since Republicans won the House majority.
      Karine Jean-Pierre, White House press secretary, will deliver her final briefing of the week at 12.45pm. More

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      Finally, some modest good news for abortion rights in America | Moira Donegan

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      Finally, some modest good news for abortion rights in AmericaMoira DoneganThe Biden administration made two moves to protect medication abortion There have been so few victories for the pro-choice movement over the past year that women’s rights advocates can be forgiven for taking pleasure in two moves that the Biden administration made this week.The first, from the Department of Justice (DoJ), was a statement meant to push back against a legal absurdity that is gaining popularity on the anti-choice right: the idea that the 1873 Comstock Act, an archaic anti-obscenity law, prohibits the sending of abortion medication through the mail. The second was a move by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow mifepristone, one of the two drugs used in medication abortions, to be distributed at retail pharmacies, rather than exclusively from doctors.Neither move by the Biden administration is likely to significantly improve abortion access, especially not for the millions of women living in the 13 states that have banned abortion outright, or the five that have severely limited the procedure, since the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade last summer in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health. But the rule changes show a new willingness by the Biden administration to make at least some tepid and belated efforts to expand women’s rights as the crises created by Dobbs continue to worsen.The FDA’s move, frankly, is especially overdue. Since mifepristone, a medication that blocks the pregnancy hormone progesterone, was finally approved by the agency for use in America in 2000 (it had been in use in Europe since the 1980s), the drug has been subject to intense, labyrinthine and medically unnecessary bureaucratic restrictions.For years, doctors who want to provide abortions have had to stock mifepristone themselves. Unlike other drugs – including misoprostol, the other medication used in abortions – it had to be given out directly by the prescribing physician. Until the pandemic, the pill had to be administered by abortion providers in person, and could not be distributed remotely – a rule that was temporarily suspended during coronavirus lockdowns, and quietly lifted permanently by the FDA in December 2021. The new rule will allow mifepristone to be distributed by regular pharmacies, with a regular prescription.But the FDA’s new guidance still maintains distinctions around mifepristone that mark it as distinct from other medications – distinctions that have nothing to do with the safety or efficacy of the drug, which have long been proven, and everything to do with the politics and stigma surrounding abortion. Some restrictions have been left in place.Not all healthcare providers, for instance, can prescribe mifepristone: those that do must first prove to agency satisfaction that they are competent to perform abortions. Patients, too, must still sign a consent form, something not required of other medicines. And there are new obligations for the pharmacies that want to distribute the drug. Each pharmacy must appoint and train a compliance officer who is in charge of ensuring that all the rules surrounding mifepristone are followed, for example; steps must be taken to conceal the names of prescribing doctors, including from internal company databases, to protect them from violence and harassment.The move does seem likely to marginally expand access to abortion pills, at least in Democratic-led states. On Thursday, CVS and Walgreens indicated that they would begin distributing mifepristone. The change is a small and important step toward removing the needless and bigoted bureaucratic obstacles that both stigmatize abortion care and place it out of reach, and towards placing these medications where they belong: over the counter.But it’s still unclear how the FDA rule change will affect the biggest battles over medication abortion – the ones playing out in the courts. Since the Dobbs decision, demand for the pills has exploded, and a growing number of abortion providers have set up online operations – based both overseas and in the more robustly protective Democratic states – that send abortion medications through the mail.These prescribers have opened a new era of abortion access in which abortion pills have become widely available even in states with strict bans, and women with internet connections, mailing addresses and a little bit of experience in covering up their digital tracks have found themselves able to terminate unwanted pregnancies safely, even in defiance of misogynist local laws. The anti-choice movement has succeeded in shuttering clinics across the south and midwest, but they haven’t managed to shut down the internet.Enter the Comstock Act, a long-obscure federal law which has enjoyed a revival in anti-choice legal thinking since Dobbs. Passed in 1878, in the midst of a misogynist moral panic, the Comstock Act prohibits the mailing of “obscene” materials, including any “article or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion”. The first arrests under the act were meant to suppress the distribution of a feminist pro-contraception tract.The act has been largely defunct since the establishment of a right to contraception – and a right to privacy – in the 1965 supreme court ruling in Griswold v Connecticut. Recently, however, anti-choice forces have argued in court – repeatedly and aggressively – that since Roe has been overruled, Comstock applies, and sending abortion pills through the mail is once again illegal.On Tuesday, the DoJ disagreed, publishing a legal memo arguing that the drugs can be legally sent through the mail, including to states with abortion bans – that is, so long as the sender believes that the recipient will use them in accordance with local law. The DoJ opinion clears the US Postal Service to keep delivering the packages – and provides a bit of legal cover and plausible deniability to those who send abortion medications into conservative states.Will it hold up in court? Who knows. The memo issues one interpretation of current law, but the federal courts, packed with conservative ideologues and mealy-mouthed centrists who view hostility to women’s rights as a marker of their seriousness, might disagree.Still, the moves are encouraging signs from the Biden administration, whose response to Dobbs, and to the mounting civil rights and public health crises that it has unleashed, has tended to vacillate between incompetence, indifference and outright contempt. The Democratic party has long treated the left, and feminism in particular, as an annoying younger sibling that it needs to keep in line.But the midterms should have broken this spell: the Democrats performed much better than expected, and abortion was a big part of why. The elections should put to bed forever the dusty centrist conventional wisdom that support for abortion rights is electorally damaging to the Democrats – quite the opposite has proved to be the case. Hopefully, the Biden administration is listening.
      Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist
      TopicsUS politicsOpinionAbortionBiden administrationJoe BidencommentReuse this content More

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      ‘All I did was testify’: Republican who defied Trump will get presidential medal

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      ‘All I did was testify’: Republican who defied Trump will get presidential medalRusty Bowers is one of 12 people who took risks to protect US democracy who will be honored on anniversary of January 6 Rusty Bowers, the former top Republican in Arizona’s house of representatives who stood up to Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and was punished for it by being unseated by his own party, is to receive America’s second-highest civilian honor on Friday.Bowers will be among 12 people who will be awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by Joe Biden at the White House at a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the 6 January 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol. It will be the first time that the president has presented the honor, which is reserved for those who have “performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens”.Ousted Republican reflects on Trump, democracy and America: ‘The place has lost its mind’ Read moreAll 12 took exceptional personal risks to protect US democracy against Trump’s onslaught. Many are law enforcement officers who confronted the Capitol rioters, others are election workers and officials in key battleground states who refused to be bullied into subverting the outcome of the presidential race.Several of the recipients paid a huge personal price for their actions. Brian Sicknick will receive the presidential medal posthumously – he died the day after the insurrection having suffered a stroke; a medical examiner later found he died from natural causes, while noting that the events of January 6 had “played a role in his condition”.Bowers’ award, first reported by the Deseret News, came after he refused effectively to ignore the will of Arizona’s 3.4 million voters and switch victory from Biden to Trump. As a result, he incurred the wrath of Trump, who endorsed a rival candidate in last year’s Republican primary elections.David Farnsworth, the Trump-backed opponent, went on to defeat Bowers and usher him out of the Arizona legislature. Farnsworth is an avid proponent of the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, going so far as to tell voters that the White House had been satanically snatched by the “devil himself”.Ahead of Friday’s ceremony, Bowers described the news of his award as “something of a shock”. He said that though some of his detractors were likely to denounce his call to the White House a political stunt, he thought it was designed to “create unity and put behind us the division of the past. I’m certainly in favor of that, no matter what.”He added: “I don’t think this is to stir up division, it’s to honor those who stood up and did their job as best they could. And that’s kind of what America is about.” Last June, Bowers testified before the House committee investigating the January 6 insurrection. He told the hearing that shortly after the November 2020 election he had received a phone call personally from Trump, who asked him to take the state’s 11 electoral college votes away from Biden and hand them to him. Bowers replied: “Look, you’re asking me to do something that is counter to my oath … I will not do it.” January 6 officer Michael Fanone warns ‘democracy is still in danger’Read moreIn an interview with the Guardian from his desert ranch outside Phoenix in August, Bowers characterized the plot to overturn the election as fascism. “Taking away the fundamental right to vote, the idea that the legislature could nullify your election, that’s not conservative. That’s fascist. And I’m not a fascist,” he said.Among the other recipients at Friday’s medal presentation will be Eugene Goodman, the Capitol police officer who drew angry rioters away from the Senate chambers where lawmakers were hiding in fear. Jocelyn Benson, who in the role of Michigan’s top election official fended off a virulent campaign of misinformation during the presidential vote count, will also be honored.Bowers was demure about the role he played to scupper Trump’s anti-democratic ambitions. “All I did was testify before the commission and do my own thing at home, go through my own little trials,” he said.He was heartened that all of the election-denier candidates endorsed by Trump who stood in statewide races last November had been defeated. They included Kari Lake who lost in the Arizona governor’s election and Mark Finchem, a state lawmaker who was present at the US Capitol on January 6, who failed to become the state’s top election official.“I’m very happy that they were so strongly defeated,” Bowers said. “The outcome to me is illuminative.”TopicsUS Capitol attackArizonaJoe BidenRepublicansDonald TrumpnewsReuse this content More

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      Republican Kevin McCarthy falls short on ninth ballot for House speaker – live

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      Kevin McCarthy’s epic humiliation in the House of Representatives continues as he fails to be elected to become speaker in the eighth round of voting.The California Republican is being blocked by a phalanx of far-right rebels and, if anything, his votes are declining, not growing. On Tuesday, when the 118th Congress convened and voting for the speakership began, McCarthy garnered 203 votes in the first round – a massive 15 short of the simple majority needed.In this once-in-a-century eighth round of voting, he managed 201 votes, with 21 Republicans refusing to vote for him, either spoiling their votes, essentially, or placing them for strategic-disrupter nominee Byron Donalds.As we’ve been expecting for several hours, it looks very unlikely that we’ll see a speaker elected today. The House business now paused between votes (but is not in recess).Republican Don Bacon of Nebraska condemned the members of his party holding out against Kevin McCarthy, saying that the chaotic scene in Congress might prompt totalitarians to say, “This is why we don’t want democracy.” Here’s him on CNN: Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) slams the Republicans who oppose Kevin McCarthy for House Speaker:“I think there’s totalitarian states out there, look at those 20 and say, ‘This is why we don’t want democracy.’” pic.twitter.com/B6CuaOGYvo— The Recount (@therecount) January 5, 2023
      The vote tally in the ninth round: Hakeem Jeffries – 212 Kevin McCarthy – 201 Byron Donalds – 17 Kevin Hern – 3 Present – 1McCarthy is on track to lose in the ninth round of voting, surpassing the previous record set in 1923, when Frederick Huntington Gillett won the position after nine rounds of voting. The longest speaker’s race prior to that was in 1859, when it took 44 rounds of voting. And before that, in 1855, it took 133 ballots to decide the speaker’s race. Joe Biden said today the US would immediately begin turning away Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans who cross the border from Mexico illegally, his boldest move yet to confront the arrivals of migrants that have increased since he took office two years ago, the Associated Press reports.The new rules expand on an existing effort to stop Venezuelans attempting to enter the U.S., which began in October and led to a dramatic drop in Venezuelans coming to the southern border. Together, they represent a major change to immigration rules that will stand even if the Supreme Court ends a Trump-era public health law that allows U.S. authorities to turn away asylum-seekers..css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Do not, do not just show up at the border. Stay where you are and apply legally from there,” Biden said as he announced the changes, even as he acknowledged the hardships that lead many families to make the dangerous journey north.Biden made the announcement just days before a planned visit to El Paso, Texas,on Sunday for his first trip to the southern border as president. From there, he will travel on to Mexico City to meet with North American leaders on Monday and Tuesday.Homeland Security officials said they would begin denying asylum to those who circumvent legal pathways and do not first ask for asylum in the country they traveled through en route to the U.S.Instead, the U.S. will accept 30,000 people per month from the four nations for two years and offer the ability to work legally, as long as they come legally, have eligible sponsors and pass vetting and background checks. Border crossings by migrants from those four nations have risen most sharply, with no easy way to quickly return them to their home countries..css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}This new process is orderly. It’s safe and humane, and it works,” Biden said.The move, while not unexpected, drew swift criticism from asylum and immigration advocates, who have had a rocky relationship with the president..css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}President Biden correctly recognized today that seeking asylum is a legal right and spoke sympathetically about people fleeing persecution.
      But the plan he announced further ties his administration to the poisonous anti-immigrant policies of the Trump era instead of restoring fair access to asylum protections,” said Jonathan Blazer, the American Civil Liberties Union’s director of border strategies.The House is now in its 9th round of voting, with Lauren Boebert again delivering remarks about Kevin Hern shortly before the roll call. “We need to get to a point where we start evaluating what life after Kevin McCarthy looks like,” she said, claiming that “threats were made” behind closed doors regarding committee assignments for those who plan to not vote for Kevin McCarthy. “But we don’t govern in fear, we govern for the people on principle, don’t be afraid to do the right thing,” she added. As she nominates Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) for House Speaker, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) claims those who don’t vote for Kevin McCarthy were threatened with not getting committee assignments. pic.twitter.com/aLW0FygYmb— The Recount (@therecount) January 5, 2023
      During the eighth round of voting, hardline Republican representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado voted for Kevin…Hern as speaker of the House. Speaking about the Republican representative from Oklahoma, Boebert said that Kevin Hern is a “businessman from humble beginnings” and a “true consensus candidate.” As Boebert spoke, murmurs across the House soon echoed into loud side conversations as those around Boebert looked around in stunned confusion. Whoa, I missed this originally:Lauren Boebert trolls Kevin McCarthy and her fellow Republican caucus members by feinting as though she’s going to vote for McCarthy and instead voting for Kevin Hern.pic.twitter.com/wathK9rU8q— Leah McElrath (@leahmcelrath) January 5, 2023
      Kevin McCarthy’s epic humiliation in the House of Representatives continues as he fails to be elected to become speaker in the eighth round of voting.The California Republican is being blocked by a phalanx of far-right rebels and, if anything, his votes are declining, not growing. On Tuesday, when the 118th Congress convened and voting for the speakership began, McCarthy garnered 203 votes in the first round – a massive 15 short of the simple majority needed.In this once-in-a-century eighth round of voting, he managed 201 votes, with 21 Republicans refusing to vote for him, either spoiling their votes, essentially, or placing them for strategic-disrupter nominee Byron Donalds.As we’ve been expecting for several hours, it looks very unlikely that we’ll see a speaker elected today. The House business now paused between votes (but is not in recess).As the latest round of voting for Speaker of the House is underway, all the signs are it will be another long day on Capitol Hill.Here’s where things stand:
      California Republican Kevin McCarthy, the frontrunner for speaker, moments ago lost his seventh round of voting for the position, putting himself the GOP in the House in deep trouble.
      Joe Biden, accompanied by vice-president Kamala Harris, announced new security measures at the US-Mexico border and, in remarks at the White House, once again admitted that the US immigration system is a mess.
      In Senate news, Democratic senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan announced on Thursday morning hat she will not be seeking re-election and will be retiring once her fourth term ends in 2025.
      North Carolina’s Republican representative Dan Bishop nominated Byron Donalds, a Florida lawmaker nominated by hard-right Republican representatives as an alternative to Kevin McCarthy.
      Alaska freshman member of congress Mary Peltola just placed her vote for speaker for fellow Democrat Hakeem Jeffries.But, meanwhile, she has tweeted about the ludicrous spectacle of all the new representatives being in the House without actually being sworn in yet.It’s the strange limbo because the House can’t proceed with any business at all until it has a speaker. Day three of the 118th Congress, and counting….I’m never getting sworn in am I? pic.twitter.com/aSeD5Z5kvT— Mary Peltola (@MaryPeltola) January 5, 2023
      Peltola is the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress and won her bid to retain the state’s sole seat in the House of Representatives, at the midterm elections last November.Peltola made history when she won a special election last summer to replace the Republican Don Young after his death.She is also the first woman to represent Alaska in the House of Representatives since it became a state in 1959, if you can believe that in this day and age.Mary Peltola, first Alaska Native in Congress, wins bid to retain seatRead moreThe Democrats’ Hakeem Jeffries once again prompted clapping, hooting, cheering and hollering of support from his own side as he was obliged to rise from his seat in the House and vote for himself as Speaker, for the eighth time this Congress.Moments before, Jeffries was chatting with a fellow lawmaker, looking cool as a cucumber in a blue suit, blue shirt and pink tie.As his name was called in the roll, he started very slightly, having been somewhat distracted, grinned broadly and rose to speak. The clerk said: “Jeffries.” Jeffries said: “Jeffries” and sat back down.If he thought it was dignified to have a bucket of popcorn at his feet, he surely would have one. As a reminder, Jeffries cannot become speaker without something absolutely out of the ordinary occurring in the House (ie a massive GOP defection, which is not likely to happen), because the Democrats don’t have the majority and you need a simple majority of the votes.He is the House minority leader and has succeeded Nancy Pelosi to the leadership position.The eighth round of voting is underway in the House as California Republican Kevin McCarthy flounders in his efforts to become speaker, while refusing to step aside.Talks still ongoing behind the scenes, as well as inter-vote huddles on the floor, as McCarthy believes he can still win if he sticks it out through round after round.Right now, with four votes for Republican hard-right-winger Byron Donald, and two spoiled votes, that means McCarthy already looks set to lose this round.It’s the first time for a century that a House speaker has not been elected on the first round of voting. It took nine rounds and three days in 1923…..is the record about to fall?As a reminder, no other House business can take place until there is a speaker, including swearing in the lawmakers formally – especially significant for the brand new members elected in November’s midterm elections.Gaetz casts a second vote for “Donald John Trump.” Trump has now tied John Quincy Adams for the most Speaker votes cast for a former president. Adams received two votes in the 1835 Speaker’s election— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) January 5, 2023
      Meanwhile, in Senate news, Democratic senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan announced on Thursday morning hat she will not be seeking re-election and will be retiring once her fourth term ends in 2025. In a statement, Stabenow said: .css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}“Inspired by a new generation of leaders, I have decided to pass the torch in the U.S. Senate. I am announcing today that I will not seek re-election and will leave the U.S. Senate at the end of my term on January 3, 2025.
      “As part of my own new generation, I was elected to the Ingham County Commission in 1974 at the age of 24. As the youngest and first woman to chair the Board, this began years of breaking barriers, blazing trails, and being the ‘first’ woman to reach historic milestones as an elected official, including the honor of being the first woman from Michigan elected to the U.S. Senate. But I have always believed it’s not enough to be the ‘first’ unless there is a ‘second’ and a ‘third’…”Stabenow went on to add that for the next two years, she will continue to focus on various ways to improve the lives of Michiganers, including leading the passage of the next five-year Farm Bill which determines food and agricultural policies across the country. Kevin McCarthy has failed to secure 218 votes needed to become House speaker … yet again.McCarthy received 201 votes among GOP lawmakers.The same 20 hardline Republicans who voted against him yesterday also voted against him today during the seventh ballot.Nineteen of them voted for Floridian representative Byron Donalds, while Matt Gaetz voted for former president Donald Trump.Florida’s Republican representative Matt Gaetz has nominated Donald Trump for House speaker.“Donald John Trump,” Gaetz said, standing up and smiling, as his name was called for the vote. Next to him, Georgia’s Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene smiled as murmurs of surprise spread across the House..@RepMattGaetz votes for former President Donald Trump for Speaker of the House. #118thCongress pic.twitter.com/VCQgi0bgLA— CSPAN (@cspan) January 5, 2023
      Gaetz’s vote for Donald Trump – a day before the January 6 riots anniversary – comes not only as an embarrassing blow to Kevin McCarthy who is trying to unite Republican representatives into casting a vote towards him but also towards the GOP in assuming control of the House as Republican infighting continues. North Carolina’s Republican representative Dan Bishop nominated Byron Donalds, a Florida lawmaker nominated by hard-right Republican representatives as an alternative to Kevin McCarthy. “Yesterday, we could have elected the first black Speaker of the United States House of Representatives,” Bishop said of Byron, to which Democrats responded with cheers of “Hakeem! Hakeem!”, referring to Hakeem Jeffries, the Democrats’ nominee for House speaker..css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}“He ain’t no prop… He’s a man of personal conviction,” Bishop said of Donalds.
      “This is the tired, old, grotesquely racist rhetoric that we have seen far too long,” he added. Michigan’s Republican representative-elect John James nominated Kevin McCarthy for House speaker.“I don’t need DC politicians to tell me about how broken DC is… The American people have already told us how broken DC is,” he said..css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}“The American people have told us…they want Republicans to lead,” he added.“Right now, the people are left out. Right now, they don’t have a Congress to speak for them,” James said of the current impasse.He also brought up the slavery debate regarding the “value of man,” which he described as “drawn out painful process, but it needed to happen.”.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}“He’s earned my trust,” James said of McCarthy. “We’ve come so far…you don’t fire a guy whose winning… We need to learn how to win… We need a conservative fighter to help this country get back on track.”The House of Representatives has convened on Capitol Hill for the third time in attempts to elect a speaker. Guardian readers, feel free to follow the House session via our livestream at the top of this page!President Joe Biden announced new border enforcement actions on Thursday, according to a statement released by the White House. .css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}“These measures will expand and expedite legal pathways for orderly migration and result in new consequences for those who fail to use those legal pathways. They also draw on the success of the Venezuela initiative, which launched in October 2022 and has resulted in a dramatic drop in the number of Venezuelan nationals attempting to enter the United States unlawfully,” it said. The Biden administration said that new consequences will be imposed onto individuals who attempt to cross the border unlawfully, including increasing the use of expedited removal. .css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}“Effective immediately, individuals who attempt to enter the United States without permission, do not have a legal basis to remain, and cannot be expelled pursuant to Title 42 will be increasingly subject to expedited removal to their country of origin and subject to a five-year ban on reentry,” the White House said. The Biden administration will also expand the parole process for Venezuelans to Nicaraguans, Haitians and Cubans. Up to 30,000 individuals from these countries who have an eligible sponsor and pass venting and background checks can come to the US each month for a period of two years and receive worth authorization. Meanwhile, Mexico will also be accepting the return of 30,000 individuals per month from these four countries who cross the border unlawfully. The Biden administration said that it also plans to welcome up to 20,000 refugees from Latin American and Caribbean countries during 2023 and 2024, in turn “putting the United States on pace to more than triple refugee admissions from the western hemisphere this fiscal year alone.” More

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      Kevin McCarthy again falls short in second round of voting for House speaker – live

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      It’s an epic defeat for Kevin McCarthy and warring House Republicans. The second round of voting – which has not happened in a century – is over and California Republican McCarthy is still nowhere near a majority.The clerk of the House, Cheryl Johnson, will announce the official tally shortly, but the pen-and-paper watchers have Democrat Hakeem Jeffries on 212 votes, McCarthy on 203, the same desultory number he got in the first round, and fellow-Republican Jim Jordan on 19 votes.Once again it is unclear what will happen next, the chamber is still in session and, unless McCarthy drops out, we have a third round of voting pending. If Democrats could leave the chamber they’d probably pop to the proverbial popcorn cart and settle in for the rest of the spectacle.Representative Byron Donalds, a Republican of Florida, has become the first McCarthy supporter to switch his vote from McCarthy to Jordan.The vote got a few claps in the chamber.Hi there, is Maanvi Singh, reporting from West Coast. It seems Kevin McCarthy is on the verge of losing for the third time today, after five Republicans so far voted in support of Jim Jordan. Democrats, meanwhile, have remained united in voting for Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries. Hello again, US politics blog readers, the drama in Washington is far from over as the election for House Speaker is still inconclusive.Republican Kevin McCarthy is suffering a humiliating drubbing at the hands of his supposed fellows, as right-wing rebels turn the first day of GOP control of the House in the new Congress into a crisis for the party.We are about to witness the third round of voting. Louisiana’s Steve Scalise just rose to his feet to nominate McCarthy for speaker.My colleague in California, Maanvi Singh, will take the helm of this blog now and we’ll continue to bring you the developments as they happen.Here’s where things stand:
      As we head for an excruciating third round of voting in the election for House Speaker, there is no sign of California Republican Kevin McCarthy, who has long aspired to step into the role, gaining a majority of the votes.
      Kevin McCarthy suffers defeat in second round of voting in House speaker election. It’s an epic loss for McCarthy and warring House Republicans. The second round of voting – which has not happened in a century – ended with McCarthy nowhere near a majority.
      Right-winger Jim Jordan of Ohio, who is a McCarthy supporter but was nominated by anti-McCarthy rebel Matt Gaetz to disrupt everything, already took 19 votes in the second round of voting in the election for House speaker.
      The first round of voting delivered a humiliating defeat for Kevin McCarthy’s bid to become House speaker. He just made history in the worst way. The first person in a century to lose the vote for speaker in the first round.
      After the roll call vote in the first round, Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries had 212 votes, McCarthy had just 203, Republican strategic thorn Andy Biggs (nominated by rightwing rebel Paul Gosar) had 10 votes and nine lawmakers supported none of the three hats in the ring.
      All the new members of Congress elected in the midterm elections in November will arrive on Capitol Hill today, many with family in tow, waiting to be sworn in to the brand new 118th Congress. There will be exuberant scenes but the House speaker vote comes first.
      House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy faces historic struggle to clinch speakership, with a battle royale on Capital Hill.
      Is Kevin McCarthy’s bid to be House speaker doomed? As we head for an excruciating third round of voting in the election for speaker, there is no sign of the California Republican, who has long aspired to step into the role, gaining a majority of the votes.Some speculate that if this goes on, McCarthy could step aside and nominate prominent Louisiana congressman Steve Scalise to be speaker in his stead.Any idea of Ohio rightwinger Jim Jordan leapfrogging into the seat and grasping the gavel seems far-fetched.Jim Jordan isn’t gaining much traction among House Republicans voting for Speaker. If Kevin McCarthy can’t twist enough arms or offer enough inducements to get to 218, look for Steve Scalise of Louisiana to be among the nominees eventually, possibly next@AJEnglish— John Hendren (@johnhendren) January 3, 2023
      And…After @Jim_Jordan fails to garner the support of House Republicans, @SteveScalise will become the Speaker.Will @GOPLeader drag this out for several hours?Days?Or simply bow out?Remember, Kevin McCarthy pretends he’s very concerned about not stalling the oversight agenda. https://t.co/XeC84RkBGA— 🇺🇸 Mike Davis 🇺🇸 (@mrddmia) January 3, 2023
      It’s surreal.So Jim Jordan endorsed Kevin McCarthy… but keep an eye on Steve Scalise… he’s had his head down all day. @NEWSMAX— Rob Finnerty (@RobFinnertyUSA) January 3, 2023
      Steve Scalise is also a stalwart of the right wing known for hanging around with white supremacists and Klan types.Steve Scalise says attending white supremacist conference was a ‘mistake’Read moreScalise was badly wounded in a mass shooting targeting members of Congress at a baseball practice in 2017.It’s an epic defeat for Kevin McCarthy and warring House Republicans. The second round of voting – which has not happened in a century – is over and California Republican McCarthy is still nowhere near a majority.The clerk of the House, Cheryl Johnson, will announce the official tally shortly, but the pen-and-paper watchers have Democrat Hakeem Jeffries on 212 votes, McCarthy on 203, the same desultory number he got in the first round, and fellow-Republican Jim Jordan on 19 votes.Once again it is unclear what will happen next, the chamber is still in session and, unless McCarthy drops out, we have a third round of voting pending. If Democrats could leave the chamber they’d probably pop to the proverbial popcorn cart and settle in for the rest of the spectacle.The humiliations for Kevin McCarthy just keep coming. Right-winger Jim Jordan of Ohio, who is a McCarthy supporter but was nominated by anti-McCarthy rebel Matt Gaetz to disrupt everything, already has 19 votes in the election for House speaker.Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, the minority leader, is also ahead of McCarthy, with 196 votes compared with McCarthy’s 183. Jeffries won’t be able to get a majority, with Republicans controlling the House, but he is playing a big part in the epic embarrassment for McCarthy.We’re up to the Ws already in the roll call vote, so McCarthy’s second go around of twisting on a skewer is about to wrap up.McCarthy is doing his best to keep a fixed smile on his face in the chamber, but the giveaway is his left hand reflexively tapping his leg with nerves.The last time the vote went to multiple ballots was in 1923, when a small bloc of Republicans refused to reelect Rep. Frederick Gillett (R-Mass.) as speaker. (The rebels were part of the party’s progressive faction, in contrast to the conservatives threatening to block McCarthy’s rise today, but like their modern counterparts, they were pressing for changes to House rules), the Washington Post reports today.The Washington Post continues:“So powerful and determined was the grip of the insurgents that after the fourth ballot Nicholas Longworth, the Republican floor leader, moved an adjournment until tomorrow, when the struggle will be resumed,” the New York Times reported at the time.Gillett did not prevail until the ninth ballot, two days after voting began. He was elected with 215 votes, the lowest total of any speaker since the House reached its modern size. (Others have come close, though: Pelosi prevailed with 216 votes in 2021, as did Boehner in 2015.)Older fights over the speakership dragged on even longer, such as the 1855 deadlock that ended with the election of Representative Nathaniel Banks as speaker. It took 133 ballots. “This will not take that [long],” former House speaker Newt Gingrich told The Early last month.The second round of voting for the speakership has begun. There was no recess between votes, only frantic minutes of huddling horse-trading on the floor.This has not happened in century. All other speakers have managed to get elected on one round of voting.Arizona rightwinger Andy Biggs, who was nominated in the first round as a spoiler and got 10 votes, just voted for Jim Jordan, the Ohio rightwinger who’s just been nominated by Florida rebel Matt Gaetz as a spoiler against McCarthy in this round.Freedom caucus extremist Lauren Boebert just voted for Jordan, too.Here’s Axe:This is awful for Rs. Good for the Ds. But likely bad for the country as a whole over the next two years, as the crazy right holds the House hostage.This was foreshadowed by the anemic R margin in the fall, a rejection by Americans of the very extremism that is seizing the day.— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) January 3, 2023
      Ohio right-winger Jim Jordan has just re-nominated Kevin McCarthy to become House Speaker.Jordan said: “We need to rally around him.” He then quoted the Bible, calling on the caucus to “keep the faith” and unify around McCarthy.It’s a crisis for the Republicans in the House, no doubt about it.California Democrat Pete Aguilar is now once again nominating Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries as that party’s choice for speaker.Freedom caucus and right-wing rebel Matt Gaetz of Florida has now risen. he’s nominating Jim Jordan to become speaker. We’re definitely in sitcom territory now, other than this is about one of the highest offices in the land and third in line to the presidency.Wry smiling from McCarthy, who’s sitting feet from Gaetz. In the first round, Arizona congressman Paul Gosar nominated Andy Biggs. He’s not being nominated this time around. The reading clerk is now going to call the roll and voting will begin.House clerk Cheryl Johnson is now formally reporting the vote in the first round for House Speaker, where Kevin McCarthy slumped to a humiliating defeat.Johnson confirms that Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries received 212 votes. McCarthy received 203 votes. Rightwinger Andy Biggs of Arizona received 10 votes. Rightwinger Jim Jordan, who was not formally nominated, received six votes.There were 434 votes vast. Republicans hold 222 seats and should have been able to reach a majority behind one nominee – but civil war prevails.Johnson announced: “No person, having received a majority of the whole number of votes cast … as speaker has not been elected.”She notes that for the first time since 1923, the voting will now go to a second round.Astonishingly, because it is the first day of the new Congress, the floor of the House of Representatives is not just full of representatives, there is a smattering of children, babies, even, miniature adults in suits and a variety of family members.They’re there to see their relatives sworn in for the 118th Congress. There are many freshman members who won their races in the midterm elections in November and are now waiting to take their seats.On the first day of a new congress, new members bring family along. What these folk are now witnessing is an historic mess as Republican civil war in the House produces a scene of chaos.No-one is being sworn in until the House has a Speaker, which it is currently missing, the Speaker’s seat sitting vividly unoccupied, the gavel silent.Right-winger and conspiracy theory-fan Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia is huddling with Kevin McCarthy right now, after he just lost the first round of voting to elect the House Speaker.She voted for him, unlike other right-wing rebels such as Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz, Paul Gosar and Scott Perry.Jim Jordan, who backs McCarthy, is trying to swing support behind McCarthy now, doing the rounds on the floor.🚨🚨 NEWS: Sources tell me TEAM MCCARTHY wants to move DIRECTLY into second ballot.JORDAN making the rounds on the floor to whip his supporters.— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 3, 2023
      Much huddling and milling about on the floor of the House of Representatives before the chamber is expected to proceed to an historic second round of voting for the election of House speaker.California Republican Kevin McCarthy just spectacularly failed to win a majority of House votes to become speaker in the first round. The House currently has no speaker. The chamber is not in recess, it’s still in session. It’s not entirely clear what will happen in the moments between now and the next round of voting.McCarthy has been handed his pride on a plate by a knot of right-wing rebels in his own party who refused to vote for him, who he has failed to win over despite intense days and, indeed, weeks of negotiating.Six lawmakers voted for representative Jim Jordan, even though he was nor formally on the ballot. Will Jordan try to get those people to switch to McCarthy? That still won’t give McCarthy the requisite 218-vote majority he needs.McCarthy can be seen laughing loudly as he talks to allies on the floor. One wonders what he is feeling inside.The first round of voting is over and it’s a humiliating defeat for California Republican Kevin McCarthy’s bid to become House speaker.He just made history in the worst way. The first person in a century to lose the vote for speaker in the first round.After the roll call, Democrat Hakeem Jeffries had 212 votes, McCarthy had just 203, Republican strategic thorn Andy Biggs (nominated by rightwing rebel Paul Gosar) had 10 votes and nine lawmakers supported none of the three hats in the ring.McCarthy needed 218 votes to be elected speaker and he technically could have garnered that many based on Republican numbers, but failed spectacularly.This immediately plunges House Republicans into crisis on their first day in control of the House after the midterm elections.We’re coming up on the end of the alphabet and not only is Kevin McCarthy far short of winning a majority in the election for House Speaker, he’s behind Democratic minority leader HakeemJeffries in the voting.This is a disaster for Republicans on their first day supposedly in control of the House of Representatives.They can’t recess without the clerk of the House, Cheryl Johnson, agreeing to a vote, it seems, so the Democrats might just keep everyone on the floor and force the second round of voting to proceed with McCarthy having any chance to twist more arms on his side. More