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      Biden commerce secretary shifts blame for inflation onto Russia’s war in Ukraine

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      Biden commerce secretary shifts blame for inflation onto Russia’s war in UkraineGina Raimondo’s comments seen as part of a White House push to deflect blame for nation’s economic troubles away from Biden Joe Biden’s commerce secretary Gina Raimondo attempted on Sunday to shift blame for the US inflation crisis back onto Russia’s war in Ukraine, days after another cabinet member admitted the presidential administration had made failures in predicting its impact on the economy.Janet Yellen, the treasury secretary, conceded last week she made an error in 2021 when she said inflation, which has only recently dropped from a near 40-year high, posed merely a “small risk”.“I think I was wrong then about the path that inflation would take,” Yellen told CNN last Tuesday.In her appearance on the same network’s State of the Union on Sunday, Raimondo pointed to “unexpected” developments that had derailed the global economy, and insisted: “We will get inflation under control.”She said: “I don’t think anyone predicted (Russian president Vladimir) Putin’s war in Ukraine, or various other things that have happened that have been unexpected. It’s worth noting that gas prices are up $1.40 a gallon since Putin moved troops into Ukraine.”Her comments will be seen as part of a concerted White House push to deflect blame for the nation’s economic troubles away from Biden, who has faced accusations of ignoring experts’ warnings over inflation and, more recently, the baby formula shortage.Calling inflation his “top domestic priority”, the president and his acolytes have embarked on a messaging campaign in recent weeks directed at voters in November’s midterm elections, and playing up his economic successes such as the bipartisan infrastructure act.It comes as gas prices reach almost record daily highs, up to $4.84 a gallon according to the AAA, the cost of groceries and services continue to soar, and new parents scramble to find baby formula.Raimondo herself appeared to torpedo the effort later in the interview by admitting she only learned of issues with formula in April, the same time as Biden. But production at the nation’s biggest manufacturing plant, owned by Abbott in Michigan, was closed down after bacteria was found during inspections as early as January, and problems were evident at the site late last year.“I’m not involved in the administration’s response here, but I think they’re doing a very good job and as soon as they learned that this could be a severe shortage they got on top of it,” she said.The Michigan facility resumed production this weekend after a lengthy shutdown, although it will likely be several weeks before formula appears on shelves.In another sign of growing disconnect in Democratic circles over the economy, California congressman Adam Schiff spoke out strongly on Sunday against Biden’s planned summer trip to Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s leading oil producing nations.“We should make every effort to lower oil prices, but going hat-in-hand to someone who’s murdered an American resident would not be on my list,” Schiff said on CBS’ Face the Nation, referring to the implication of Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the 2018 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey.“I wouldn’t go,” Schiff continued. “I wouldn’t shake his hand. I would want to see Saudi Arabia lower oil prices, or increase their production [and] I’d want to see them make changes in their human rights record. I want to see them hold people accountable that were involved in that (Khashoggi) murder … before I would extend that kind of dignity.”TopicsUS newsUS economyInflationUS politicsJoe BidenBiden administrationnewsReuse this content More

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      Biden gives far fewer interviews than his predecessors – could his caution backfire?

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      Biden gives far fewer interviews than his predecessors – could his caution backfire? With op-eds and speeches but no one-on-ones, observers say the president risks losing the public’s trust and reporters’ good will He delivered a primetime address to the nation. He wrote two columns in leading newspapers. And he took some off-the-cuff questions from reporters. But once again Joe Biden did not this week sit down for an interview with a broadcaster or newspaper. Nor did he hold a press conference.The US president, who promised to rebuild trust and transparency after Donald Trump’s adversarial tenure, is facing criticism as Sunday marks 116 days since his last press interview.“Biden’s refusal to address the American people about the many crises they are facing under his failed administration is inexcusable,” said Emma Vaughn, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee.As he approaches 18 months in office, a president eager to get his message out has settled into certain rhythms and comfort zones while sidestepping, to the frustration of the White House press corps, some traditional forums.This week he wrote a column for the Wall Street Journal about his plan for fighting inflation and another for the New York Times about US strategy for supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia.Biden delivered a speech about gun violence from the White House on Thursday evening in the hope of reaching a wide TV audience. He made further remarks from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Friday about the latest jobs figures and fielded a few questions from journalists.Like Trump, Biden frequently pauses to talk to reporters who shout questions over Marine One’s whirring propellers as he comes and goes from the White House – but such exchanges lack the depth or opportunities for follow-ups afforded by substantial one-on-ones.Biden’s last such interview – and his only one so far in 2022 – was with Lester Holt of NBC News back on 10 February. To put that in context, his interview rate is trailing far behind his recent predecessors at the same stage of their presidency.From taking office on 20 January 2021 up to 29 April 2022, Biden gave 23 interviews. Between 20 January 2017 and 29 April 2018, by contrast, Trump gave 95 interviews, according to the White House Transition Project, a non-partisan group that chronicles presidential communications.Over their equivalent periods, Barack Obama gave 187 interviews, George W Bush gave 60, Bill Clinton gave 64, George HW Bush gave 70 and Ronald Reagan gave 78, the Project found. Biden has also held fewer solo press conferences than other recent presidents.Bill Whalen, a former media consultant for politicians including former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, said: “We’ve gone from a flood with Donald Trump, who could not go a day without talking to the press – which would create a different set of problems for the Trump White House – to now a drought where this president has, for the better part of four months, not sat down one-on-one with a reporter.”Biden has earned a reputation for gaffes during half a century as a senator, vice-president and president. He recently caught his own staff by surprise with a blunt commitment to defend Taiwan militarily and a candid admission that he was not aware of the severity of the baby formula shortage until April.Such incidents, observers say, help explain why White House officials want to keep Biden away from grillings by the nation’s toughest interviewers.Whalen, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, added: “The strategy is pretty obvious. The White House does not trust the president to go out unscripted and doesn’t want to leave the president to his own devices. They just don’t trust him to get out the story clean without a problem.”But the cautious approach could backfire on 79-year-old Biden, he warned. “It could potentially in the back of voters’ minds question his competency, his energy, his ability to handle the job. It raises questions as to why are you secluding the president, why are you hiding the president, why won’t you let him talk to reporters?“Are you afraid he’s going to say something bad or is going to come across poorly? Secondly, slowly you build up resentment in the press corps so that with all this added pressure, by the time he finally sits down one-on-one, it might not be as friendly as they would like.”Biden’s media interviews so far have included the main TV networks, three CNN town halls, an appearance on MSNBC and three regional television interviews via Zoom, as well as conversations with the late-night host Jimmy Fallon and ESPN’S Sage Steele. He has given only three print interviews.Last month he hosted Thomas Friedman, a columnist at the New York Times, for a lunch of tuna salad sandwich with tomato, a bowl of mixed fruit and a chocolate milkshake. “But it was all off the record – so I can’t tell you anything he said,” Friedman wrote.Meanwhile media reports suggest that White House staff are divided over Biden’s communication strategy as his approval rating sinks, midterm elections loom and his set-piece speeches often fail to break through.CNN wrote this week: “Aides regularly talk about how little traction they’re getting from one-off Biden appearances or events and then – whether on inflation, the baby formula shortage or mass shootings or the other crises landing on Biden’s desk – he’s often left looking like he’s in a reactive crouch on the issues that matter most to voters rather than setting the agenda.”Biden has earned praise for restoring the daily White House briefing with the press secretary, Jen Psaki, and her successor, Karine Jean-Pierre. His chief of staff, Ron Klain, has emerged as an indefatigable champion of the administration on Twitter. And the president has maintained the tradition of holding joint press conferences with foreign leaders, most recently in Japan.Frank Luntz, a political consultant and pollster, said: “The average voter can’t tell whether Biden is doing a press conference or an interview or a speech. It all blurs together to them. But when the midterm election comes closer, that will be problematic. Biden is still a drag on the Democrats. The more that he shifts focus on to anything else, the better off Democrats will be.”The White House did not respond to a request for comment.TopicsJoe BidenNewspapers & magazinesUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

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      Democrats and Republicans at an impasse over US gun control as Biden demands action – as it happened

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      Washington is ending its week on a quiet note, with few major developments in Congress or at the White House as officials continue grappling with the fallout from the shooting in Uvalde, Texas.Here’s what happened today:
      Peter Navarro, a top former White House adviser to Donald Trump, was taken into custody after being indicted by a federal grand jury on Friday on two counts of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena issued by the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack.
      A fourth grader who survived the Uvalde, Texas shooting will testify before a US House panel next week, as Democrats attempt to convince their GOP counterparts that something must be done to prevent the epidemic of mass shootings.
      People affected by the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas that killed 19 students and two teachers last month have taken initial steps to sue Daniel Defense, manufacturer of the weapon used in the massacre.
      US Capitol police say they arrested a man outside the building carrying a BB gun, high-capacity magazines, a fake badge and body armor.
      May employment data confirmed that robust job growth is continuing in the United States, with the economy adding a better-than-expected 390,000 positions and the unemployment rate remaining at 3.6% – a hair above where it was before the pandemic caused tens of millions of people to lose their employment.
      John Fetterman, the Pennsylvania lieutenant governor and Democratic nominee for US Senate, said he “almost died” after suffering a stroke last month, the Washington Post is reporting.“The stroke I suffered on May 13 didn’t come out of nowhere,” Fetterman said in a statement. “Like so many others, and so many men in particular, I avoided going to the doctor, even though I knew I didn’t feel well. As a result, I almost died.”He added: “I didn’t do what the doctor told me. But I won’t make that mistake again.”Fetterman did not give a date for his return to the campaign trail. On Friday he released a letter from his doctor saying he had been diagnosed with an irregular heart rhythm in 2017 , but had not scheduled a follow up appointment, and had not visited any doctor for five years since that 2017 appointment. John Fetterman, who has been criticized for not providing more details about his health following his stroke, releases a letter from his doc saying he was first diagnosed in 2017 with an irregular heart rhythm. Said he ignored doctor’s advice for five years until he had a stroke pic.twitter.com/1LpZ1J214S— Manu Raju (@mkraju) June 3, 2022
      Pennsylvania is a crucial contest for Democrats as they aim to avoid losing the Senate in the November midterm elections. Fetterman, 52, had previously faced criticism for not providing a timetable on his return to campaigning.Ohio’s House of Representatives has passed a bill that would ban transgender girls from school sports and require verification from a doctor if a student’s sex is called into question, Reuters reported.The Republican-sponsored legislation comes in the run-up to the 2022 midterm elections, with transgender rights emerging as a major front in the US culture wars.The bill next goes to a vote in the state Senate when it reconvenes in several months after a recess.Several other states have passed anti-trans sports bills in recent months, but few are as extreme as the Ohio legislation, which would require students whose sex is “disputed” to provide a physician’s statement verifying “internal and external reproductive anatomy” and other criteria.These provisions target “a handful of Ohio students and their families who simply want to play sports like everyone else,” LGBTQ+ rights group Equality Ohio said in a statement.People affected by the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas that killed 19 students and two teachers last month have taken the initial steps to sue Daniel Defense, manufacturer of the weapon used in the massacre, Reuters reports. An attorney representing Alfred Garza, father of Robb Elementary School student Amerie Jo Garza, sent the Georgia-based gun manufacturer a request for information about its marketing to children and teens. “We ask you to begin providing information to us now, rather than force Mr. Garza to file a lawsuit to obtain it,” his lawyers wrote in a letter to the company.School employee Emilia Marin has also filed a petition in Texas state court to depose Daniel Defense over its marketing, and to turn over documents.Daniel Defense did not respond to Reuters’s request for comment. Remington Arms, manufacturer of the weapon used in the Sandy Hook school shooting that left 20 students and six adults dead in 2012, agreed earlier this year to pay $73 million to some of the victims of that attack, though a federal law complicates many lawsuits against gun makers.Sandy Hook families reach $73m settlement with gun manufacturerRead moreImagine that you are wanted for a crime. Imagine that you are in the United States, perhaps in a state not far from the Mexican border. You may think, based on what you’ve seen in movies or read on the news, that if you can get to Mexico, you can go scot-free. You would be wrong, according to an excellent Washington Post article that profiles the “Gringo Hunters,” a Mexican police unit tasked with tracking down foreign criminals on the run in their country.American politicians, most famously Donald Trump along with other conservatives, have characterized Mexico as a source of criminals who flood over the border into the United States. The piece flips that stereotype on its head, as reporter Kevin Sieff goes on the hunt with the officers who go after the many alleged murderers, rapists and child abusers that pour into their country from their northern neighbor:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}It was late March. The unit had been busier than at any other time in its history. While politicians in Washington argued over whether there was a crisis at the border, it felt to the Gringo Hunters that crime was spilling over in the opposite direction.
      “Honestly, I think it’s all the drugs over there,” said Moises, the liaison unit’s commander. Like other unit members, he spoke on the condition that his last name be withheld so he can continue to work undercover.
      In its office, the unit keeps a whiteboard with the month’s apprehensions tallied by name, date and charge. In the first three weeks of March, there were eight accused of drug trafficking, two of murder and one of pedophilia.US Capitol police say they have arrested a man outside the building carrying a BB gun, high-capacity magazines, a fake badge and body armor.Officers encountered the man after he parked his Dodge Charger at Peace Circle on the US Capitol’s west side around 5am on Friday, the agency said in a statement:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;} The man was identified as 53-year-old Jerome Felipe out of Flint, Michigan.
      Felipe, who is a retired police officer out of New York, presented the USCP officers with a fake badge that had “Department of the INTERPOL” printed on it. Felipe also made a false statement that he was a criminal investigator with the agency.
      Felipe gave officers permission to search his vehicle. The officers discovered a BB gun, two ballistic vests, several high capacity magazines, and other ammunition in the car. No real guns were found.
      Investigators are still working to determine the reason Felipe was parked near the US Capitol.
      Felipe is facing charges for Unlawful Possession of High Capacity Magazines and Unregistered Ammo.A top deputy to Mike Pence warned the Secret Service about a security risk to the then vice-president the day before the January 6 attack, the New York Times is reporting.The warning was conveyed by Pence’s chief of staff, Marc Short, to his main Secret Service agent, Tim Giebels, on 5 January, before a crowd of more than 2,000 people stormed the US capitol following a speech by Donald Trump. In their conversation before that happened, Short warned Giebels that Trump was going to publicly repudiate Pence, whom he had chosen as his running mate during his successful 2016 run for the White House.According to the Times:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Mr Short did not know what form such a security risk might take, according to people familiar with the events. But after days of intensifying pressure from Mr Trump on Mr Pence to take the extraordinary step of intervening in the certification of the Electoral College count to forestall Mr Trump’s defeat, Mr Short seemed to have good reason for concern. The vice president’s refusal to go along was exploding into an open and bitter breach between the two men at a time when the president was stoking the fury of his supporters who were streaming into Washington. Trump’s election advisers were like ‘snake oil salesmen’, ex-Pence aide saysRead more
      The need for meaningful gun control reforms, following the mass shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo, continues to dominate political conversation, but Republicans and Democrats appear no closer to a consensus.
      On Thursday Joe Biden asked: “How much more carnage are we willing to accept?” and called for a series of gun control measures. But Republicans snubbed serious discussion of stricter gun laws at a hearing on Thursday.
      A fourth grader who survived the Uvalde, Texas shooting will testify before a US House panel next week, as Democrats attempt to convince their GOP counterparts that something must be done to prevent the epidemic of mass shootings.
      Peter Navarro, a top former White House adviser to Donald Trump, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of contempt of Congress, after he defied a subpoena issued by the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack.
      Democrats are increasingly blaming Joe Biden’s climate office for holding up progress on measures that could cut US emissions, according to Politico. “Micromanaging” by the office of other government bodies has stalled a series of environmental efforts, Politico reported.
      With Biden having failed to get his major proposals to fight rising global temperatures through Congress, Politico reports that Democrats are increasingly blaming his climate office for holding up progress on other measures that could cut US emissions.The Climate Policy Office headed by Gina McCarthy has gotten in the way of actions that Biden could take without Congress’s approval, according to the article, which cited nine Democratic sources both inside and outside the Biden administration:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;} The office’s micromanaging of other government bodies has weakened the Interior Department’s efforts to rein in oil and gas leases on federal lands, stalled a redo of federal ethanol policies and slowed White House efforts to address pollution in low-income and minority communities, said the Democrats, who include congressional staff and current or former Biden administration officials.Much of Biden’s emissions-cutting strategy was contained in Build Back Better, his failed attempt to spend potentially trillions of dollars revamping American social services and also fighting climate change. Despite passing the House, it failed to win enough votes among Senate Democrats, and the fate of its proposals remains up in the air. Why the collapse of Biden’s Build Back Better would be a major blow to the climate fightRead moreA fourth-grader who survived last week’s mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas will testify before a US House panel next week, alongside the parents of victims killed in both the Uvalde and Buffalo shootings.Miah Cerrillo, a student at Robb elementary school in Uvalde, will appear before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Wednesday, as Congress faces calls to take meaningful action on gun control. Cerrillo will be joined by Felix Rubio and Kimberly Mata-Rubio, the parents of Lexi Rubio, who was ten-years-old when she was killed at Robb elementary.Zeneta Everhart, the mother of Zaire Goodman, who survived after being shot at the mass shooting at a Buffalo grocery store, will also speak before the House committee.Carolyn Maloney, the New York Democrat who chairs the committee, said the hearing “will examine the terrible impact of gun violence and the urgent need to rein in the weapons of war used to perpetrate these crimes”.“It is my hope that all my colleagues will listen with an open heart as gun violence survivors and loved ones recount one of the darkest days of their lives,” Maloney said. “This hearing is ultimately about saving lives, and I hope it will galvanize my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass legislation to do just that.”Until the US senate is accountable to America, we’ll never get gun control | Osita NwanevuRead morePeter Navarro may not be the only former Trump official facing Washington’s wrath. My colleague Peter Stone has reported that there is evidence the Justice Department is looking into lawyers who advised the former president on how to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Legal experts believe the US Justice Department has made headway with a key criminal inquiry and could be homing in on top Trump lawyers who plotted to overturn Joe Biden’s election, after the department wrote to the House panel probing the January 6 Capitol attack seeking transcripts of witness depositions and interviews.
      While it’s unclear exactly what information the DoJ asked for, former prosecutors note that the 20 April request occurred at about the same time a Washington DC grand jury issued subpoenas seeking information about several Trump lawyers including Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, plus other Trump advisers, who reportedly played roles in a fake electors scheme.
      Giuliani, Trump’s former personal lawyer, worked with other lawyers and some campaign officials to spearhead a scheme to replace Biden electors with alternative Trump ones in seven states that Biden won, with an eye to blocking Congress’ certification of Biden on January 6 when a mob of Trump loyalists attacked the Capitol.US Justice Department could be zeroing in on Trump lawyers, experts sayRead more More

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      Bipartisan group of US senators push for compromise on gun control legislation – as it happened

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      Democratic and Republican US Senators are holding talks this week, mostly virtually, as efforts continue to forge what Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy has called “a significant package” of gun safety measures that will actually pass.There’s no avoiding the fact that expectations are limited and Murphy demurred when asked at the weekend if Republicans in the talks are ready to raise the age when you can buy an assault rifle from 18 to 21.Senators aren’t expected to even broach ideas for an assault weapon ban or other restrictions that could be popular with the public as ways to curb the most lethal mass shootings, the Associated Press noted, adding that the US has not passed a major federal gun control measure since soon after the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting in Connecticut that left 26 dead.The sessions are being led by Murphy and John Cornyn of Texas, whom Joe Biden has called a rational Republican.Democrat Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Republican Thom Tillis are involved and talks so far a “very constructive conversation”.House judiciary committee chairman and New York Democrat Jerry Nadler plans to hold a hearing tomorrow on the “Protecting our Kids Act”, the AP reports – a package of eight bills that has almost no hopes of passing the Senate but would serve as a marker in the debate.It includes calls to raise the age limits on semi-automatic rifle purchases from 18 to 21; create a grant program to buy back large-capacity magazines; establish voluntary safe practices for firearms storage and build on executive measures to ban bump stock devices and so-called ghost guns made from 3-D printing.Murphy has mentioned measures in Senate talks such as red flag laws and more widespread (though not universal) background checks before gun purchases.Murphy just retweeted star of stage and screen Marg Helgenberger who quote tweeted him on gun control.We can’t become numb to gun violence in our country. Stay vigilant & stay loud! https://t.co/8i3g08JfsE— Marg Helgenberger (@MargHelgen) June 1, 2022
      It was a quieter day than we are used to in Washington, perhaps because much of the media’s gaze was directed beyond the capital to a celebrity trial in Fairfax, Virginia.Here’s what happened today:
      The president convened a roundtable with infant-formula manufactures to outline the steps the administration was taking to address what many participants described as a crisis – a shortage of baby formula on US shelves. Amid criticism that the administration was slow to respond, Biden asked several of the CEOs when they realized the closure of an Abbott plant would affect supply. Several said the knew immediately. Pressed by reporters after the roundtable, Biden said: “They knew. I didn’t.”
      Ahead of the meeting, the White House announced airlifts of infant formula from the UK and Australia in an effort to relieve the shortages causing deep anxiety for parents in the US. The transports, part of the administration’s Operation Fly Formula initiative launched last month, will deliver millions of bottles-worth of baby formula to California and Pennsylvania stores across the country in the coming weeks, the White House said.
      A bipartisan group of senators is continuing negotiations in an effort to find some compromise on gun control legislation in the wake of the Uvalde massacre.
      In a glass ceiling-shattering moment, Admiral Linda Fagan takes the oath this afternoon as commandant of the US Coast Guard, becoming the first woman to lead one of the US military services.
      Biden is now posing questions to some of the manufactures who are participating in the roundtable. Of the Reckitt’s CEO, Biden asked a question that has been posed to the administration by its critics: when the Abbott recall happened, and its plant shut down, did his company anticipate immediately the impact this would have on the supply of infant formula?“We knew from the very beginning this would be a very serious event,” said Robert Cleveland, the SVP North America and Europe Nutrition at Reckitt.Several other CEOs echoed the response, saying it was immediately clear that the recall and closure of the Abbott plant would have huge consequences for the infant formula market.In closing, Biden thanked the manufactures for stepping up: “I ask you to keep focused, stay focused. Stay in high-gear. We can’t let up on the infant-formula market until it’s all the way back to normal and that’s going to take a couple more months but we’re making significant progress.”When the meeting concluded, Biden was pressed on why the administration didn’t act sooner. A CNN reporter notes that the manufacturers say they knew the Abbott plant closure would cause major disruptions to the supply of infant formula. “They did, but I didn’t,” Biden replied. President Biden tells us he didn’t realize the depth of the baby formula shortage until April. The Abbott facility — which caused most of the issues — was shuttered in April.— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) June 1, 2022
      “As a father and a grandfather, I understand how frustrating this shortage has been,” Biden says at the start of the roundtable with infant-formula manufacturers.He says the US has been ramping up production of “safe formula,” noting the closure of the Abbott Nutrition’s plant in Sturgis, Michigan due to contamination problems. Biden said Abbott accounts for 40% of the overall infant-formula market in the United States, and the Sturgis factory was one of their largest plants. Abbott is not among the companies invited to participate in today’s roundtable. “The last thing we should ever do is allow unsafe formula to be sold to parents,” Biden said. The administration recently announced plans to re-start production at the factory, but it would still take several weeks or more before the product is available again on shelves.Biden then outlined the major steps the US has taken to ramp up production of infant-formula, including invoking the Defense Production Act as well as Operation Fly Formula to transport bottles and powder from abroad to the US. The Food and Drug Administration is also taking a series of new steps to make it easier to increase supply of infant formula, he said. “We have work to do though, but we’re making critical progress,” Biden said.Biden has now convened the virtual infant formula roundtable, in the White House’s South Court auditorium. The administration officials participating in person include Health and Human Services secretary Xavier Becerra and the surgeon general Vivek Murthy. Among the infant-formula manufactures participating virtually are CEOs and senior officials from ByHeart, Bubs Australia, Gerber, Reckitt and Perrigo Company.Biden will meet shortly with the manufacturers of infant formula, a meeting meant to highlight the efforts the administration is making to address the shortage that has left shelves empty and parents desperate. Ahead of the meeting, the White House announced that 3.7m bottles-worth of Kendamil infant will be shipped to the US from the UK, to be made available at Target stores across the country and online in the coming weeks. The White House also announced that the administration had sourced two flights to transport 4.6m bottles-worth of Bubs Australia infant formulas from Melbourne, Australia to Pennsylvania and California on 9 June and 11 June respectively. It said more shipments would be announced in the “coming days.”This comes amid reporting that the shortage is getting worse, not better. The Wall Street Journal reported today that the crisis is deepening, hitting low-income families in the south and southwest the hardest. It cites new data by the market-research firm IRI that found 23% of powdered baby formula was out of stock nationally in the week that ended on 22 May, compared with 21% during the previous week. By comparison, in early January before Abbott Laboratories recalled the formula produced in its facilities, just 11% of powdered baby formula was out of stock because of pandemic-related supply-chain shortages and inflation. Read the full WSJ report here.Republicans have seized on the issue as part of their midterm messaging hammering Biden over his handling of the economy. On Wednesday, the RNC released a statement accusing the administration of doing “nothing to prevent the empty shelves parents experience today.” Then, broadening then attack to blame Biden for inflation, the statement concluded: “No excuses from Biden will relieve parents’ worries about feeding their children, affording groceries, and filling up their cars.”In a surprising revelation General Paul Nakasone, the head of US cyber command, told Sky News’ Alexander Martin that American military hackers have “conducted a series of operations” in support of Ukraine since the Russian invasion. It is the first time the US has acknowledged its participation.“We’ve conducted a series of operations across the full spectrum; offensive, defensive, [and] information operations,” Nakasone said in the interview, conducted in Tallinn, adding that the operations were lawful and conducted under proper oversight. “My job is to provide a series of options to the secretary of defense and the president, and so that’s what I do,” he said. 🚨 Scoop: In an exclusive interview with Sky News, General Paul Nakasone confirmed that Cyber Command has conducted offensive operations in support of Ukraine.https://t.co/HdLmwM17Uq— Alexander Martin (@AlexMartin) June 1, 2022
      Nakasone also told the news network that he is concerned “every single day” about the risk of a Russian cyber attack targeting the US. It’s been a talkative day on Capitol Hill and at the White House and there more to come, so please stay tuned.Here’s where things stand:
      Connecticut Democratic US Senator Chris Murphy continues to lead negotiations with a select group of fellow Democrats and what the president terms “rational Republicans” over moderate action on gun control.
      The House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack has reportedly told Republican congressman Jim Jordan it expects him to comply with its subpoena by 11 June.
      In a glass ceiling-shattering moment, Admiral Linda Fagan takes the oath this afternoon as commandant of the US Coast Guard, becoming the first woman to lead one of the US military services.
      Democratic and Republican US Senators are holding talks this week, mostly virtually, as efforts continue to forge what Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy has called “a significant package” of gun safety measures that will actually pass.There’s no avoiding the fact that expectations are limited and Murphy demurred when asked at the weekend if Republicans in the talks are ready to raise the age when you can buy an assault rifle from 18 to 21.Senators aren’t expected to even broach ideas for an assault weapon ban or other restrictions that could be popular with the public as ways to curb the most lethal mass shootings, the Associated Press noted, adding that the US has not passed a major federal gun control measure since soon after the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting in Connecticut that left 26 dead.The sessions are being led by Murphy and John Cornyn of Texas, whom Joe Biden has called a rational Republican.Democrat Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Republican Thom Tillis are involved and talks so far a “very constructive conversation”.House judiciary committee chairman and New York Democrat Jerry Nadler plans to hold a hearing tomorrow on the “Protecting our Kids Act”, the AP reports – a package of eight bills that has almost no hopes of passing the Senate but would serve as a marker in the debate.It includes calls to raise the age limits on semi-automatic rifle purchases from 18 to 21; create a grant program to buy back large-capacity magazines; establish voluntary safe practices for firearms storage and build on executive measures to ban bump stock devices and so-called ghost guns made from 3-D printing.Murphy has mentioned measures in Senate talks such as red flag laws and more widespread (though not universal) background checks before gun purchases.Murphy just retweeted star of stage and screen Marg Helgenberger who quote tweeted him on gun control.We can’t become numb to gun violence in our country. Stay vigilant & stay loud! https://t.co/8i3g08JfsE— Marg Helgenberger (@MargHelgen) June 1, 2022
      In more midterms news, independent Tiffany Bond of Maine has secured enough verified signatures to qualify for a spot on the ballot this November, according to the Press Herald. This upends one of the most closely-watched races of the cycle: a rematch between Democratic congressman Jared Golden and former Republican congressman Bruce Poliquin for Maines second congressional district. Maine uses a ranked-choice voting system, which was put to use in 2018 when Poliquin won a plurality but not a majority. That year Bond came in third and was eliminated. After the second-place votes were tabulated, Golden won. Roughly two-thirds of Bonds’ voters chose Golden as their second choice.Republicans are favored to win the House this cycle, and Golden is seen as one of the most vulnerable Democrats. But the entry of a third-party candidate changes the dynamics of the race making a competitive race even more uncertain. Golden is a conservative Democrat who often breaks with his party. He was the only House member to split his vote during Trump’s first impeachment trial, voting for one article and not the other. The House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack has told Republican congressman Jim Jordan it expects him to comply with its subpoena by 11 June, according to a letter sent to Jordan from the panel’s chairman Bennie Thompson, per CNN.The committee had initially asked for Jordan to comply by 27 May, but is giving him more time. The Jan. 6 committee tells Rep. Jim Jordan it still expects him to comply with its subpoena but is giving him a little more time to do so, setting a new deadline for June 11, per new letter sent to the Ohio Republican. Story w/ @ryanobles https://t.co/Dt5Z8uQ23H— Zachary Cohen (@ZcohenCNN) June 1, 2022
      Last week, Jordan responded to the committee’s subpoena by asking House investigators to share with him all materials they intended to rely upon in questioning, materials in which he is referenced, and legal analyses about subpoenaing members of Congress. In his response, he also questioned the constitutionality of the committee, writing: “Your subpoena was unprompted and, in light of the unaddressed points from my January 9 letter, plainly unreasonable. I write to strongly contest the constitutionality and validity of the subpoena in several respects.”Kevin McCarthy, the top Republican in the House, offered a similar response to the committee last week, telling investigators that he would not cooperate with a subpoena unless he could review deposition topics and the legal rationale justifying the request.Elsewhere in the sprawling investigation into the January 6th attack, Hugo Lowell reports that Trump’s lawyer Kenneth Chesebro wrote in a memo dated 13 December 2020 to Giuliani that vice president Mike Pence should recuse himself from running the electoral count and hand the gavel to a senior Republican, such as South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally. A day before the January 6 attack, senior Republican senator, Chuck Grassley, said he didn’t expect Pence to preside, Lowell notes. NEW: Trump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro said in 13 Dec 2020 memo to Giuliani that VP Pence should recuse himself from running the electoral count and hand the gavel to a senior GOP senator like Graham — recall that Sen. Grassley said on Jan. 5 he didn’t expect Pence to preside pic.twitter.com/iqyqg9U1sr— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) June 1, 2022
      Jim Jordan demands material on him before complying with January 6 subpoenaRead moreKevin McCarthy refuses to comply with January 6 attack panel subpoenaRead moreIt’s official: admiral Linda Fagan is the 27th commandant of the United States Coast Guard, making her the first woman ever to lead any branch of the US armed services. After the change of command, Fagan takes to the podium to outline her vision for the Coast Guard. Touching on the historic nature of her promotion, she expresses gratitude to one of her predecessors, the late Owen Siler, for his decision to integrate the service academies in 1975. “If it was not for Owen Siler’s courage I do not believe I would be standing here today,” she said, adding that she was wearing the “shoulder boards that he wore as the 15th commandant just to acknowledge the long blue line.”Biden is now at the US Coast Guard headquarters in southwest Washington, where he is speaking at the change of command ceremony. “There’s no one more qualified to lead the proud women and men of the Coast Guard and she will also be the first woman to serve as Commandant of the Coast Guard, the first woman to lead any branch in the United States Armed Forces – and it’s about time,” Biden said to loud applause. Biden thanked her daughter, Aileen, for following in her mother’s footsteps as a graduate of the US Coast Guard Academy graduate and her husband John for supporting her service to the nation. “With her trailblazing career, Admiral Fagan shows young people entering the service that we mean what we say: there are no doors – no doors – closed to women,” Biden said. “Now we need to keep working to make sure Admiral Fagan may be the first but not the only.”Turning to his Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Biden said when Mayorkas finally sent him Fagan’s name to nominate her the post he joked: “what in the hell took you so long?”Speaking before Biden, Mayorkas said: “Today is an historic day for the Coast Guard and a historic day for the United States.”Biden is making his way to the US Coast Guard headquarters for a change of command ceremony, where retiring Admiral Karl Schultz will be relieved by Admiral Linda Fagan as the commandant of the branch. This is a glass ceiling-shattering moment: When Fagan takes the oath this afternoon, she will become the first woman to lead one of the US military services.Fagan has been the Coast Guard’s second in command since last summer. She graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 1985, only the sixth class that accepted women. She steadily rose through the ranks, serving on all seven continents, where she worked as an icebreaker and earned the distinction as the longest-serving Marine Safety officer. She is also the first woman to hold the rank of four-star admiral in the Coast Guard.“We’re getting past the ‘firsts,’” Fagan said recently, according to the New York Times. “I hope sometime soon we’re talking about the second female commandant, and the third female commandant, and that we’ll have a Black male commandant.”This just in: vice president Kamala Harris will travel to Reno Nevada to speak at the Conference of Mayors’ Annual Meeting. She will then travel to Los Angeles, where she will attend the Ninth Summit of the Americas.According to Politico, Harris’s western tour is part of the administration’s new push on the economy to better “communicate … our accomplishments” to voters who say their top concern is inflation. In Reno, she will outline the administration’s plan to tackle risings costs and detail actions the White House has already taken to boost the economy. All this month the administration is dispatching senior officials and cabinet secretaries across the country to make the case that the president is acting to help the economy.The aftershocks of New York’s new maps continues to reverberate through Empire State politics. New York congressman Mondaire Jones told NY1’s Kevin Frey that congressman Sean Patrick Maloney, a fellow New York Democrat and the chair of the DCCC, called to apologize for failing to give Jones a ‘heads up’ that he was planning to run in Jones’ newly-drawn district. “I don’t want to speak for my friend Mondaire Jones. But I think you will find that he is focused and excited about the opportunity before him, and so am I. And I think it’s all worked out,” @spmaloney also says. #NY10— Kevin Frey (@KevinFreyTV) May 31, 2022
      Maloney, already facing heat for his handling of the Democrats’ midterm strategy, announced he would run for re-election in New York’s 17th congressional district after his district was re-drawn to become more Republican. This sparked furious criticism among progressives that the chair of the DCCC would jump into the district currently held by a Black freshman lawmaker viewed as a rising star in the party. Jones is now running for New York’s 10th congressional district. “I could have handled things better. And I tried to take accountability for that,” Maloney told NY1, after Jones revealed that the DCCC called him to “apologize for not giving me a heads up.”In that interview, Jones would not say whether he accepted Maloney’s apology or whether Maloney should continue as DCCC chair. In a separate interview, Maloney attempted to spin the debacle as a win for everyone. “I don’t want to speak for my friend Mondaire Jones. But I think you will find that he is focused and excited about the opportunity before him, and so am I. And I think it’s all worked out,” he told NY1.”I don’t want to speak for my friend Mondaire Jones. But I think you will find that he is focused and excited about the opportunity before him, and so am I. And I think it’s all worked out,” @spmaloney also says. #NY10— Kevin Frey (@KevinFreyTV) May 31, 2022
      But but but… it’s not necessarily alls well that ends well. Maloney faces a tough re-election battle in a year where Republicans are favored to take control of the House. Meanwhile, the Democratic primary for New York’s 10th congressional district is hotly contested and rapidly expanding. Just today Axios reported that Dan Goldman, best known as the lead counsel for House Democrats during their first impeachment of former president Donald Trump, intends to run for Congress in New York’s 10th Congressional District.Should Goldman jump into the race for the heavily Democratic district, he would face Jones, as well as former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, and New York Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou. A new story from Politico this morning provides an inside look at the concerted effort by Republicans to “target and potentially overturn” votes in heavily Democratic precincts. The story, based on video recordings of GOP operatives meeting with conservative activists, offers new details about Republicans’ plans to engineer a partisan takeover of state and local election administration. The strategy is blessed by the Republican National Committee and includes installing party loyalists and election conspiracy theorists as poll workers and linking them with party attorneys. Here is how reporter Heidi Przybyla describes it:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}The plan, as outlined by a Republican National Committee staffer in Michigan, includes utilizing rules designed to provide political balance among poll workers to install party-trained volunteers prepared to challenge voters at Democratic-majority polling places, developing a website to connect those workers to local lawyers and establishing a network of party-friendly district attorneys who could intervene to block vote counts at certain precincts.The results could spell chaos in 2022 and 2024. “This is completely unprecedented in the history of American elections that a political party would be working at this granular level to put a network together,” Nick Penniman, founder and CEO of Issue One, an election watchdog group, tells Przybyla. “It looks like now the Trump forces are going directly after the legal system itself, and that should concern everyone.”Read the full report here. In a new op-ed published by the New York Times, Joe Biden lays out the US’ intentions in Ukraine. In the piece, titled What America Will and Will Not Do in Ukraine, Biden also extrapolates on what he views as the US’ “aims” in Ukraine, after rushing billions of dollars in weapons and aid to help the nation beat back a Russian invasion, now in its fourth month. .css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}America’s goal is straightforward: We want to see a democratic, independent, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine with the means to deter and defend itself against further aggression, Biden writes.Biden says that the US will not pressure privately or publicly to “make any territorial concessions’’ as part of its negotiations to end the conflict. The US president again emphasized that the US would not engage in direct combat in Ukraine or Russia. “We are not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders,” he writes. “We do not want to prolong the war just to inflict pain on Russia.”In the essay, Biden confirms that the US will provide Ukraine with advanced rocket systems and munitions, a development our sister blog on Ukraine has covered in depth. Read the full essay here. Good morning, and welcome to Wednesday’s US politics blog.What we’re watching this morning:
      Both the House and the Senate are on recess. But a bipartisan group of senators, led by Connecticut senator Chris Murphy, are continuing discussions as part of an effort to reach an ever-elusive compromise on gun control legislation in response to the Uvalde massacre that left 17 children and two teachers dead. The senators will hold another virtual meeting today. The talks are centered around background checks and so-called “red flag” laws, which allows law enforcement to remove firearms from individuals deemed by a court to be a threat to themselves or other people. These are not major steps. In fact, most gun reform advocates are frustrated at how little is on the table given the extraordinary toll of gun violence.

      Joe Biden is will participate in the US Coast Guard change of command ceremony at 11am, where Linda Fagan will take over as the commandant to become the first female service chief in US history. Later on Wednesday he will meet virtually with administration officials and major infant formula manufacturers to discuss his administration’s efforts to address the shortage at 2:45pm.

      The White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, will brief reporters at 3:30pm. More

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      Can Anything About US Foreign Policy Be Normal?

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      BTS visit White House to discuss anti-Asian hate crime – video

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      BTS visited the White House to discuss hate crimes targeting Asians with the US president.
      The band members J-Hope, RM, Suga, Jungkook, V, Jin and Jimin joined the White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, at her briefing with reporters before their meeting with Joe Biden.
      Jimin said the group had been ‘devastated by the recent surge’ of hate crime and intolerance against Asian Americans and others that has persisted since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
      ‘It’s not wrong to be different,’ Suga said through an interpreter. ‘Equality begins when we open up and embrace all of our differences’ 

      BTS-mania sweeps the White House as band speaks on anti-Asian hate More

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      Clinton lawyer acquitted of lying to FBI when he briefed them on Trump-Russia links – as it happened

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      A lawyer for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign was acquitted Tuesday of lying to the FBI when he pushed information meant to cast suspicions on Donald Trump and Russia in the run-up to the 2016 election.The jury in the case of Michael Sussmann deliberated on Friday afternoon and Tuesday morning before reaching its verdict, the Associated Press said.The case was the first courtroom test of special counsel John Durham since his appointment three years ago to search for government misconduct during the investigation into potential ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 campaign.Michael Sussman not guilty — eminently predictable, given Durham’s desperate stretching of the law and facts.I wrote this back in September:https://t.co/EUWxptnMYd— Elie Honig (@eliehonig) May 31, 2022
      The verdict represents a significant setback for Durham’s work, the AP says, especially since Trump supporters had looked to the probe to expose what they contend was sweeping wrongdoing by the FBI.In the indictment filed in September 2021, Sussmann was accused of falsely telling FBI general counsel James Baker in September 2016 that he did not represent any client when he met him to give the bureau white papers and other data files containing evidence of questionable cyber links between the Trump Organization and a Russia-based bank.The indictment alleged that in fact Sussmann had turned over this information not as a “good citizen” but rather, as an attorney representing a US technology executive, an internet company and Clinton’s presidential campaign.Trump is suing Clinton, the Democratic National Committee and other people and entities tied to the investigation of Russian election interference in 2016, claiming they attempted to rig the election he won.Read more: Trump sues Hillary Clinton, alleging ‘plot’ to rig 2016 election against himRead moreThank you for reading the US politics blog today. We’ll be back on Wednesday.For all the detailed news on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, please consult our global war blog here.Here are the main events that occurred today:
      The White House is making efforts to communicate that Joe Biden and Mitch McConnell may disagree on what the problems are at the root of America’s repeated mass shootings, but the US president can still call the Senate majority leader a “rational Republican” and try to find common ground on gun violence.
      US supreme court clerks may be required to release their phone records as the investigation into who leaked the Roe v Wade opinion draft widens.
      A lawyer for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, Michael Sussmann, was acquitted Tuesday of lying to the FBI when he pushed information meant to cast suspicions on Donald Trump and Russia in the run-up to that election.
      Joe Biden has been speaking at the White House with Jacinda Ardern, the New Zealand prime minister, ahead of their mini-summit.
      The US president is meeting with Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, today to discuss the economy in the US and globally, and what steps can be taken to ease inflation and lower prices. Biden is calling the issue his “top domestic priority”.
      An emergency gun reform package, the Protecting Our Kids Act, will be presented to the House judiciary committee on Thursday as politicians grapple with the aftermath of mass shootings in New York and Texas this month that killed 31 people, including 19 elementary school children.
      The White House is making efforts to communicate that Joe Biden and Mitch McConnell may disagree on what the problems are at the root of America’s repeated mass shootings, but the US president can still call the Senate majority leader a “rational Republican” and try to find common ground on gun violence.Kentucky Republican McConnell, and many Republican leaders, including in Texas where the small city of Uvalde is devastated by last week’s school shooting, continually hone in on mental health issues and a need for more school security.White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre noted that: “We are the only country that is dealing with gun violence at the rate we are, so what’s the problem here? The problem is with guns and not having legislation to deal with something that’s a pandemic here.”Biden spoke at length yesterday outside the White House, as he returned from Delaware the day after he’d visited Uvalde, about how the idea of 18-year-olds legally being able to buy military-style assault rifles in the US – the weapons used in the Uvalde massacre and the racist attack on a supermarket in a majority-Black neighborhood of Buffalo, New York, days before – made no sense.Jean-Pierre noted that Republicans’ insistence on mental health and “hardening schools” and away from great gun control are “two things he [Biden] does not agree on [with McConnell].”But she added: “But I think there is a way potentially for the Senate to come together and legislation to come together, they need to.”A group of Senate Democrats and Republicans are currently discussing on Capitol Hill the potential for a bipartisan “significant package” of measures, according to Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy.But indications are that any such bill will include a collection of more minor measures, not sweeping change such as an assault weapons ban, freshly urged upon by US vice president Kamala Harris on Saturday when she attended the last funeral for the 10 people killed in Buffalo.‘America is killing itself’: world reacts with horror and incomprehension to Texas shootingRead moreKarine Jean-Pierre says Biden is “considering” more executive actions on gun reforms following the mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, but did not give details of what they might be.She confirmed that the president, and a White House team, is also discussing legislation with lawmakers:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}He’s calling on Congress to act. He’s hopeful, he wants to make sure there’s action.
      The President has done everything he can from from the federal government. We are looking at other executive actions that we could possibly do. But it’s not up to him alone. He cannot do this alone. Congress needs to act.White House economic adviser Brian Deese followed the band to report on Joe Biden’s lunchtime meeting with the Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, and treasury secretary, Janet Yellen.“I get to go home and tell my kids that BTS opened for me,” he jokes.Deese says Biden underscored that he respects the independence of the federal reserve and will give the fed the space and independence it needs to tackle inflation.“It’s a global challenge,” Deese says of inflation.“It’s hitting American families and creating anxiety and economic hardship. He [Biden] gets this”.But he says because of Biden’s economic achievements, and US economic strengths including a robust jobs market, few countries are better placed for the challenge ahead.He predicts the recovery moving forward will look different than it has so far. “It’s a marathon and we have to move and shift to stable and resilient growth,” Deese adds, noting that the recovery since the Covid-19 pandemic has been at a furious pace.Soaring gas and food prices remain Biden’s top economic priority, Deese says.“He’s focused on the right policy decisions and choices. We have to address this issue, we need some help working with Congress”. An interpreter has now kindly informed us what the BTS band members were saying.Jungkook, although it might have been J-Hope, said: “Today is the last day of AA and NHPI heritage month (Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander), we join the White House to stand with the AA and HPI community and to celebrate”.The interpreter has raced through the names, and this blogger can’t determine if he said Jimmy or Ji-min, so either Kim Seok-jin (known as Jinny) or Park Ji-min said: “We were devastated by the recent surge of hate crimes, including Asian American hate crimes, [it’s time] to put a stop on this and support the cause. We’d like to take this opportunity to voice ourselves once again”.Another band member who probably was Jungkook said: “We still feel surprised that music created by South Korean artists reaches so many people around the world, transcending languages and cultural barriers. We believe music is always an amazing and wonderful unifier of all things”.The band were hustled out as reporters shouted questions to them in vain.The seven members of K-pop band BTS are flanking White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, wearing black suits and looking more like a security detail than pop stars.“It is a great honor to be invited to the White House to discuss important issues of anti-Asian hate crimes, Asian inclusion and diversity,” the first band member says in perfect English.A second band member steps up and speaks in Korean, as do the others, one by one. There seems to be no interpreter, but they look very earnest in what they’re saying.The English-speaking band member returns:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}We thank President Biden and the White House for giving us this important opportunity to speak about these important causes and remind ourselves of what we can do as artists.One of the most extraordinary White House press briefings in recent memory is about to get under way, with South Korean K-pop band BTS set to take the podium with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.The popular music combination is in town to meet with Joe Biden and discuss “the need to come together in solidarity, Asian inclusion and representation, and addressing anti-Asian hate crimes and discrimination”. You can watch it live here.There’s been reaction to the acquittal earlier today of Michael Sussmann, a lawyer for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, who was accused of lying to the FBI.Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse in Washington DC, Sussmann said he “told the truth to the FBI, and the jury clearly recognized that with their unanimous verdict today”.Sussmann was accused of concealing from the FBI that he was working for the Clinton campaign when he met with the bureau’s general counsel James Baker in September 2016 and handed over documents purporting to show links between the rival campaign of Donald Trump and Russia.Sussmann added: “Despite being falsely accused, I am relieved that justice ultimately prevailed in this case”.In a statement, special counsel John Durham, who was appointed three years ago to search for government misconduct during the investigation into potential ties between Russia and Trump’s campaign, effectively investigating the investigators, said he and his team were “disappointed” by the verdict.“While we are disappointed in the outcome, we respect the jury’s decision and thank them for their service,” Durham said.“I also want to recognize and thank the investigators and the prosecution team for their dedicated efforts in seeking truth and justice in this case”. Read more:Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer acquitted of lying to the FBIRead moreAs the first of the funerals takes place on Tuesday for the victims of last week’s elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, local media outlets are casting a spotlight on a company that worked with families to create 19 custom-made children’s caskets to honor their lives.Trey Ganem, his son Billy and their team at SoulShine Industries of Edna, Texas, donated, constructed and painted 19 caskets in three days.“We’re creating the last thing that the parents can ever do for their child,” Ganem told NewsNation. And we’re making it with passion and purpose. We put all of our heart and soul into this thing”. Meet the TX man who’s making customized caskets for each of the 19 young victims and two teachers from the school shooting in #Uvalde. Trey Ganem visited with the families last week so each casket is personalized to include each child’s interests.📷: SoulShine Industries pic.twitter.com/eeoOZHcrfF— John-Carlos Estrada (@Mr_JCE) May 31, 2022
      Read more:First funerals of Uvalde school shooting victims to beginRead moreIt’s been a lively morning in US politics news, do stay tuned as we take you through the next hours with fresh updates as they happen.For all the detailed news on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, please consult our global war blog here.Here’s where things stand in the US:
      US supreme court clerks may be required to release their phone records as the investigation into who leaked the Roe v Wade opinion draft widens.
      A lawyer for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, Michael Sussmann, was acquitted Tuesday of lying to the FBI when he pushed information meant to cast suspicions on Donald Trump and Russia in the run-up to that election.
      Joe Biden has been speaking at the White House with Jacinda Ardern, the New Zealand prime minister, ahead of their mini-summit.
      The US president is meeting with Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, today to discuss the economy in the US and globally, and what steps can be taken to ease inflation and lower prices. Biden is calling the issue his “top domestic priority”.
      An emergency gun reform package, the Protecting Our Kids Act, will be presented to the House judiciary committee on Thursday as politicians grapple with the aftermath of mass shootings in New York and Texas this month that killed 31 people, including 19 elementary school children. More

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      Time for the US to Rethink Its Failed Cuba Policy

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