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      Bernie Sanders condemns Joe Manchin for sabotaging president’s agenda

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      Bernie Sanders condemns Joe Manchin for sabotaging president’s agenda Senator also rebukes Biden for Saudi Arabia trip: ‘I don’t believe we should maintain a warm relationship with a dictator like that’ Bernie Sanders harshly criticized prominent fellow Democrats on Sunday, accusing his Senate colleague Joe Manchin of sabotaging the president’s agenda and rebuking Joe Biden for traveling to Saudi Arabia last week.During an appearance on ABC’s This Week, Sanders interrupted host Martha Raddatz when she said Manchin had “abruptly pulled the plug” on supporting a scaled-back version of a spending bill that is crucial to Biden’s agenda. Manchin said he would not support provisions in the bill that increase spending to combat climate change and close tax loopholes. Democrats cannot pass the bill without Manchin’s support in a US Senate that is divided 50-50, with vice-president Kamala Harris serving as a tiebreaker in the event one is needed.The other Joe: how Manchin destroys Biden’s plans, angering DemocratsRead more“He didn’t abruptly do anything – he has sabotaged the president’s agenda,” Sanders said. “If you check the record, six months ago, I made it clear that you have people like Manchin, Sinema to a lesser degree, who are intentionally sabotaging the president’s agenda, what the American people want, what a majority of us in the Democratic caucus want.”“Nothing new about this,” he added. “The problem was that we continued to talk to Manchin like he was serious. He was not,” noting how the West Virginia senator and coal baron has benefited from campaign contributions from fossil fuel companies.Manchin said last week that he wants to delay any major decisions on the bill because of high inflation. Sanders said Sunday he wasn’t buying that justification, saying the people of West Virginia would support the provisions in the bill.“It’s the same nonsense Manchin has been talking about for a year,” he said. “In my humble opinion, Manchin represents the very wealthiest people in this country, not working families in West Virginia or America.”Biden tells summit of Arab leaders the US ‘will not walk away’ from Middle EastRead moreSanders also criticized Biden for his recent trip to Saudi Arabia, where the president fist-bumped and met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.The president has faced heavy criticism for the trip largely because Prince Mohammed personally approved the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, US intelligence agencies have concluded.As a presidential candidate Biden said he would make Saudi Arabia a “pariah”, but has defended the trip as necessary to promote US interests in the Middle East, including stabilizing troubled oil markets. Biden said to reporters on Friday that he personally told the Saudi crown prince he believed he was responsible for Khashoggi’s murder.Sanders said Biden should not have gone to Saudi Arabia.“You have a leader of that country who was involved in the murder of a Washington Post journalist,” Sanders said. “I don’t think that that type of government should be rewarded with a visit by the president of the United States.“I just don’t believe that we should be maintaining a warm relationship with a dictator like that.”TopicsJoe BidenBernie SandersJoe ManchinUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

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      The other Joe: how Manchin stands in the way of Biden, angering Democrats

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      The other Joe: how Manchin stands in the way of Biden, angering Democrats The centrist Democrat senator has repeatedly stood in the way of the president’s most ambitious legislative aspirations and derailed fragile negotiationsJoe Biden calls him “Jo-Jo”, an affectionate nickname for the West Virginia senator who, at critical moments during his presidency, has been the Joe holding all the cards.And this week Joe Manchin, a lonely coal state Democrat who has repeatedly stood in the way of the president’s most ambitious legislative aspirations, derailed weeks of negotiations in pursuit of a deal on a scaled-back version of Biden’s economic agenda that would win his support.Anger as Manchin kills Democrats’ climate plans – what happens now?Read moreWith control of Congress at stake, Democrats had hoped to reach a deal that fulfilled their campaign promises to combat global warming and expand the social safety net by the end of the month, giving lawmakers a legislative achievement to campaign on in the fall. But Manchin’s latest gambit all but ensured Democrats’ biggest ambitions would go unrealized.“Rage keeps me from tears,” Senator Ed Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts and sponsor of the Green New Deal, wrote on Twitter late Thursday, as news broke of Manchin’s opposition. “Resolve keeps me from despair.”In a private discussion on Thursday, Manchin told Democratic leaders that he could not support a bill that contains new spending to combat climate change or raises taxes on wealthy Americans and corporations.By Friday morning, he had clarified his position. It was “not prudent” for Democrats to approve a major spending package while Americans faced painfully high costs for food, fuel and rent, the 74-year-old said in a radio interview.“Inflation is wreaking havoc on everybody’s life,” Manchin told the host, Hoppy Kercheval.But he offered an ultimatum: Democrats could accept a narrow deal now or try to pass a larger plan later, if the economic forecast improves.With his economic agenda in peril, Biden urged Democrats in Congress to accept what they could get done immediately to lower healthcare costs and vowed to act unilaterally on the climate crisis.The demands came at an inauspicious moment for the party’s leaders: the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, who has been leading the fragile talks with Manchin, is stuck quarantining at home in Brooklyn after a Covid diagnosis while Biden was on a high-stakes trip to the Middle East. The president outlined his preferred course of action in a statement sent after he held a controversial meeting with the Saudi leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, during which rising fuel prices and oil production were top of the agenda.“Let me be clear: if the Senate will not move to tackle the climate crisis and strengthen our domestic clean energy industry, I will take strong executive action to meet this moment,” he said.It was in effect an acknowledgment that after more than a year of tortuous negotiations, Manchin could not be moved, not by activists, not by his colleagues, and not even by the president of the United States.“At some point you have to take the man at his word that he is not going to do that which he says he is not going to do,” said Christopher Regan, a former vice-chair of the West Virginia Democratic party who worked with Manchin.In a Senate divided evenly between the parties, any one Democrat could play king or queenmaker. But no one has done so more boldly or more frequently than Manchin.Fiscally conscious and socially conservative, Manchin is glaringly out of step with today’s Democratic party – and he knows it. At one point, he even offered to leave the Democratic party if his colleagues thought he’d become too much of an “embarrassment” – an offer he said they roundly rejected.Manchin comes from a political family in West Virginia, part of a legacy of Industrial-era Democrats who formed the party’s blue-collar base. Once one of the most reliably Democratic states, West Virginia began to turn sharply against the party, as the party bled support from white, working-class voters. In 2020, every single county in West Virginia voted for Donald Trump.Manchin, who began his career in state politics and served as governor, has so far defied the state’s lurch to the right. He was elected to the Senate in 2010, two years after Biden left to become vice-president, and won re-election in 2018.His victory helped Democrats build their fragile majority, with vice-president Kamala Harris serving as the 51st and tie-breaking vote.Reaching consensus hasn’t been easy. Manchin’s vote has been critical to approving Biden’s judicial nominees, and he ultimately signed off on the president’s massive Covid relief legislation over unanimous Republican opposition.But Manchin has joined Republicans to imperil some of Biden’s nominations, including Neera Tanden, who the president tapped to run the Office of Management and Budget and Sarah Bloom Raskin, who he chose to serve on the Federal Reserve. Neither were confirmed.Manchin is also a staunch defender of the filibuster, a Senate rule requiring 60 votes to advance legislation which he insists encourages consensus in a deeply tribal chamber. Even when Republicans tested that view by obstructing a voting rights bill he crafted as a compromise solution to the matter, Manchin, joined by Democratic senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, remained firm.It’s a stance that puts the Democrats at odds with Biden, an avowed institutional who has nevertheless endorsed changing the filibuster rules to pass votings right legislation and abortion protections.In recent weeks, Biden has made repeated reference to their opposition, telling Democrats “we need two more senators” to break the current gridlock that has paralyzed much of his agenda.Nothing has angered Democrats more than Manchin’s opposition to Biden’s economic agenda.Known as Build Back Better, it began with New Deal-sized ambitions that, even at its slimmest, would still have dramatically expanded the social safety net and invested in critical efforts to lower carbon emissions.After months of frantically trimming and tailoring the legislation to meet Manchin’s demands, the senator abruptly drove a stake through the heart of the Democrats’ plan. Adding insult to injury, in the eyes of his colleagues, he announced his decision during an interview on Fox News. The revelation was so unexpected, it startled the host, Bret Baier, who asked for clarity: “You’re done? This is a no?”He was done.Talks on a stripped-down version of the bill began quietly earlier this year. Democratic leaders and the White House sought to keep expectations low even as the party’s demoralized supporters demanded action. Manchin says he’s open to a plan that would lower the cost of prescription drugs and extend Affordable Care Act subsidies set to lapse at the end of the year.Manchin’s approach has infuriated Democrats, particularly progressives who feel he has negotiated in bad faith, raising hopes before dashing them right when a deal seems within reach.“What he makes clear over and over again is that he can’t close the deal, and that you can’t trust what he says,” Washington congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told reporters on Friday.Manchin, apparently impervious to liberal pressure, argues that it’s him who has been consistent from the outset, voicing concern over rising inflation even when the president was arguing, wrongly, that it would prove “transitory”. New data showing that prices rose by an astonishing 9.1% in June prompted Manchin’s apparent reversal on the tax and climate provisions of the Democrats’ plan. In a statement, Manchin warned that new spending proposals risked inflaming inflation, which he called a “clear and present danger to our economy”.Activists in West Virginia and Washington have tried to cajole him with protests, sit-ins and ad campaigns to . Once a group of climate advocates in kayaks held signs that read “don’t sink our bill” during a “flotilla” protest outside his houseboat, Almost Heaven, where he lives when he is in Washington. Even Senator Bernie Sanders weighed in, with an op-ed in a West Virginia newspaper that drew Manchin’s ire.The West Virginian has always argued that he votes in the interest of his state, historically poor and hurt by the coal industry’s decline.But critics are skeptical, particularly when it comes to his position on climate legislation. Manchin is the Senate’s top recipient of campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry and has made millions from his family’s coal firm.“Senators have told me and others that negotiating with Joe Manchin is like negotiating with an Etch-a-Sketch,” Norm Ornstein, an emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, said of Manchin’s opposition. “It appears to be a coal-powered Etch-a-Sketch.”In the radio interview on Friday, Manchin, who chairs the Senate energy and natural resources committee, indicated he might be interested in additional action on the climate crisis, if inflation begins to ease this summer.Whether Manchin and Biden can reach an agreement on the president’s biggest legislative priority before the November election will likely have profound implications for their party, but also, potentially, for the senator’s own political future.“There’s no friends for [Manchin] after this,” Regan, who worked in West Virginia Democratic politics, said. “He’s completely alienated the Democratic Party that supported him all the time and he’s nowhere near right-wing enough for the West Virginia Republican Party.”TopicsJoe ManchinJoe BidenDemocratsUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

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      Biden pledges executive action after Joe Manchin scuppers climate agenda

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      Biden pledges executive action after Joe Manchin scuppers climate agendaWest Virginia senator refuses to support funding for climate crisis and says he will not back tax raises for wealthy Americans Joe Biden has promised executive action on climate change after Joe Manchin, the Democratic senator who has repeatedly thwarted his own party while making millions in the coal industry, refused to support more funding for climate action.Did Joe Manchin block climate action to benefit his financial interests?Read moreIn another blow to Democrats ahead of the midterm elections, the West Virginia senator also came out against tax raises for wealthy Americans.Manchin’s opposition became clear on Thursday night. On Friday, with Biden in Saudi Arabia, the White House issued a statement.Biden said: “Action on climate change and clean energy remains more urgent than ever.“So let me be clear: if the Senate will not move to tackle the climate crisis and strengthen our domestic clean energy industry, I will take strong executive action to meet this moment.“My actions will create jobs, improve our energy security, bolster domestic manufacturing and supply chains, protect us from oil and gas price hikes in the future, and address climate change. I will not back down: the opportunity to create jobs and build a clean energy future is too important to relent.”Biden and Democrats hope to include environmental measures in a $1tn version of the $2tn Build Back Better spending bill Manchin killed last year in dramatic fashion.Then, the Biden White House angrily accused Manchin of breaching “commitments to the president and [his] colleagues in the House and Senate”. Bridges were rebuilt but on Thursday night Manchin appeared to reach for the dynamite once again.According to a Democrat briefed on negotiations, Manchin told Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, he would oppose legislation if it included climate or green energy provisions or higher taxes on the rich and corporations.The Democrat also said Manchin told Schumer he would support a new spending package only if it was limited to curbing pharmaceutical prices and extending federal subsidies for buying healthcare insurance.Manchin disputed that version of events in a call to a West Virginia radio show. He said he told Schumer he would not commit to environmental or tax measures until he saw the inflation rate for July, which is due out on 10 August, and the size of the expected interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve at the end of July.“Let’s wait until that comes out, so we know that we’re going down a path that won’t be inflammatory, to add more to inflation,” Manchin said. “I can’t make that decision … on taxes … and also on the energy and climate because it takes the taxes to pay for the investment into clean technology that I’m in favor of. But I’m not going to do something and overreach that causes more problem.”Manchin said he asked Schumer for time.“I said, ‘Chuck, can we just wait. How much more and how much damaging is that going to be?’ He took that as a no, I guess, and came out with this big thing last night, and I don’t know why they did that.”In Riyadh, Biden told reporters: “I’m not going away. I’m using every power I have as president to continue to fulfill my pledge to move toward dealing with global warming.”Asked if Manchin had been “negotiating in good faith”, Biden said: “I didn’t negotiate with Joe Manchin.”In his earlier statement, Biden also promised progress on healthcare.He said: “After decades of fierce opposition from powerful special interests, Democrats have come together, beaten back the pharmaceutical industry and are prepared to give Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices and to prevent an increase in health insurance premiums for millions of families with coverage under the Affordable Care Act.“Families all over the nation will sleep easier if Congress takes this action. The Senate should move forward, pass it before the August recess, and get it to my desk so I can sign it.”To pass legislation, Democrats are dependent on Manchin’s vote in a Senate divided 50-50 and controlled by the vice-president, Kamala Harris.In March last year, Manchin backed Biden’s $1.9tn coronavirus relief package after tense negotiations during which, according to the Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, Biden told him: “Joe, please don’t kill my bill.”But the senator has since stood in the way of much of Biden’s agenda, from the Build Back Better package to measures which would require reform to the filibuster, the Senate rule which requires a 60-vote supermajority for most legislation.Democrats and progressives have argued for scrapping or reforming the filibuster in order to legislate on key issues under attack from the right, including voting rights and abortion.But Manchin and others opposed to such moves, prominently including Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, are in part aligned with Biden, a former senator opposed to abolishing the filibuster entirely.Manchin will not face re-election as the only Democrat in statewide office in West Virginia, a state with a powerful coal industry lobby, until 2024. His business, Enersystems, has earned millions of dollars as the only supplier of low-grade coal to a high-polluting power plant near Fairmont, West Virginia.‘A modern-day villain’: Joe Manchin condemned for killing US climate actionRead moreAccording to campaign finance filings, in 2021-22 Manchin is the senator who has received most money from donors in coal mining, natural gas transmission and distribution and oil and gas. He is second for donations from alternate energy production and services.Climate advocates reacted angrily to Manchin’s move.“It’s outrageous that Manchin and the Republican party have killed climate legislation this Congress,” said Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity advocacy group.Norm Ornstein, an emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, said: “Senators have told me and others that negotiating with Joe Manchin is like negotiating with an Etch-a-Sketch. It appears to be a coal-powered Etch-a-Sketch.”John Podesta, founder of the Center for American Progress, said: “It seems odd that Senator Manchin would choose as his legacy to be the one man who single-handedly doomed humanity. But we can’t throw in the towel on the planet.”TopicsJoe ManchinClimate crisisUS politicsDemocratsJoe BidenBiden administrationUS CongressnewsReuse this content More

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      ‘I will not back down’: Biden vows executive action if Senate cannot pass climate bill – as it happened

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      President Joe Biden has just issued a statement calling on the Senate to pass legislation that would lower prescription drug prices and extend health insurance subsidies, while vowing to sign executive orders meant to fight climate change. The announcement comes after Democratic senator Joe Manchin said yesterday he would not support legislation intended to curb America’s carbon emissions, nor new tax proposals to offset its costs. His statement was the latest complication for Democrats’ long-running efforts to pass a major spending bill despite their narrow majority in Congress, where they can afford to lose no votes in the Senate and few in the House. While the initial proposals for the bill released last year showed it would address a host of the party’s priorities, it is now set to be much narrower in scope.Here’s more from Biden’s statement:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;} Action on climate change and clean energy remains more urgent than ever.
      So let me be clear: if the Senate will not move to tackle the climate crisis and strengthen our domestic clean energy industry, I will take strong executive action to meet this moment. My actions will create jobs, improve our energy security, bolster domestic manufacturing and supply chains, protect us from oil and gas price hikes in the future, and address climate change. I will not back down: the opportunity to create jobs and build a clean energy future is too important to relent.
      Health care is also critical. After decades of fierce opposition from powerful special interests, Democrats have come together, beaten back the pharmaceutical industry and are prepared to give Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices and to prevent an increase in health insurance premiums for millions of families with coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Families all over the nation will sleep easier if Congress takes this action. The Senate should move forward, pass it before the August recess, and get it to my desk so I can sign it.=
      This will not only lower the cost of prescription drugs and health care for families, it will reduce the deficit and help fight inflation.After more than a year of negotiations, was today the beginning of the end for Democrats’ long-running effort to pass a spending bill improving America’s social services? It very well may have been, after Senator Joe Manchin nixed provisions to raise taxes and fight climate change, and President Joe Biden called on Democrats to pass a narrow agreement that would lower drug costs and extend health insurance subsidies.Here’s what else happened today:
      Democrats in the House passed two bills to preserve access to abortion nationwide, but they are unlikely to pass the Senate due to Republican opposition.
      Biden fist bumped Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after arriving in the country, drawing a rebuke from The Washington Post’s publisher. Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered in an operation US intelligence concluded the crown prince approved, wrote for the newspaper. The president later said he brought up Khashoggi’s murder with MBS.
      Peter Navarro, a former top advisor to Donald Trump, declined a plea deal from federal prosecutors over his refusal to cooperate with the January 6 committee.
      A House committee announced it would take up a Democratic proposal to ban assault weapons.
      A deposition of Donald Trump and his children was postponed due to the death of his first wife Ivana Trump.
      A Georgia district attorney has warned some Republicans lawmakers in the state that they could be indicted for their role in helping Donald Trump overturn the results of the 2020 election.
      In Riyadh, Joe Biden was also asked about Joe Manchin’s apparent torpedoing of Democrats’ attempt to pass spending legislation targeting the climate crisis, healthcare and other party priorities before the midterm elections.Asked for “your message to those Americans right now who were looking for that relief that would have a wide impact as it affects the climate and energy specifically”, the president said: “I’m not going away. I’m using every power I have as president to continue to fulfill my pledge to move toward dealing with global warming.”On his way out of the short and slightly testy briefing, Biden was asked if he thought Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat who has nonetheless stymied his party’s agenda over and over again, had been “negotiating in good faith” over the spending deal and its climate-related provisions.“I didn’t negotiate with Joe Manchin,” Biden said.It’s true that Manchin has been talking to Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic Senate majority leader, this time.It’s also true that Manchin has an outsized influence on Democratic policy priorities in the 50-50 Senate and has been at the centre of almost every legislative drama since Biden took back the White House.In their book Peril, about the end of Trump and the beginning of Biden, Bob Woodward and Robert Costa of the Washington Post devote considerable space to Manchin’s machinations around the $1.9tn Covid relief package Biden got through in March 2021.At one point, they write, Biden told the senator: “Joe, please don’t kill my bill.”He didn’t. That time.More:Biden pledges executive action after Joe Manchin scuppers climate agendaRead moreSpeaking from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Joe Biden said he brought up the murder of Jamal Khashoggi when he met with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman earlier today.“I made my view crystal clear. I said very straightforwardly, for an American president to be silent on an issue of human rights, is this consistent… with who we are and who I am? I will always stand up for our values,” Biden said.Asked how the crown prince responded, Biden replied, “He basically said that he he was not personally responsible for it. I indicated I thought he was”. The president has previously said he wanted to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah state” for the murder, and was asked if he wanted to take those words back. “I don’t regret anything that I said. What happened to Khashoggi was outrageous,” Biden said.The House committee investigating the January 6 insurrection has announced its next hearing for 8 pm eastern time on Thursday, July 21.Just in: Jan. 6 committee formally announces eighth hearing on Thursday, July 21 at 8p ET— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) July 15, 2022
      The lawmakers are expected to explore what Donald Trump was doing as the Capitol was attacked.New: Jan. 6 committee member Elaine Luria on CNN confirms @GuardianUS reporting that she and Adam Kinzinger will lead the eighth hearing, taking place in prime time next week, about how Trump did nothing during the 187mins of the Capitol attack.— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) July 14, 2022
      The publisher of The Washington Post has condemned Joe Biden’s fist bump with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whom US intelligence concluded ordered the operation that resulted in the murder of Jamal Khasshogi, a contributor to the newspaper.pic.twitter.com/l2EDKZOLsS— Kristine Coratti Kelly (@kriscoratti) July 15, 2022
      Biden, who is visiting Saudi Arabia, will address the press in about 20 minutes, according to CNN. The event was not previously scheduled.In a last minute addition to his schedule, President Biden will address reporters at 3:30 ET/10:30 P.M. local following his meeting with the Saudi crown prince.— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) July 15, 2022
      President Joe Biden has just issued a statement calling on the Senate to pass legislation that would lower prescription drug prices and extend health insurance subsidies, while vowing to sign executive orders meant to fight climate change. The announcement comes after Democratic senator Joe Manchin said yesterday he would not support legislation intended to curb America’s carbon emissions, nor new tax proposals to offset its costs. His statement was the latest complication for Democrats’ long-running efforts to pass a major spending bill despite their narrow majority in Congress, where they can afford to lose no votes in the Senate and few in the House. While the initial proposals for the bill released last year showed it would address a host of the party’s priorities, it is now set to be much narrower in scope.Here’s more from Biden’s statement:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;} Action on climate change and clean energy remains more urgent than ever.
      So let me be clear: if the Senate will not move to tackle the climate crisis and strengthen our domestic clean energy industry, I will take strong executive action to meet this moment. My actions will create jobs, improve our energy security, bolster domestic manufacturing and supply chains, protect us from oil and gas price hikes in the future, and address climate change. I will not back down: the opportunity to create jobs and build a clean energy future is too important to relent.
      Health care is also critical. After decades of fierce opposition from powerful special interests, Democrats have come together, beaten back the pharmaceutical industry and are prepared to give Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices and to prevent an increase in health insurance premiums for millions of families with coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Families all over the nation will sleep easier if Congress takes this action. The Senate should move forward, pass it before the August recess, and get it to my desk so I can sign it.=
      This will not only lower the cost of prescription drugs and health care for families, it will reduce the deficit and help fight inflation.Joe Biden is making his controversial visit to Saudi Arabia, with an increase in oil production seen as the goal. The Guardian’s Bethan McKernan reports:Three years after Joe Biden vowed to make Saudi Arabia a pariah state over the assassination of a prominent dissident, the US president greeted Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with a fist bump as his administration attempts to reset relations and stabilise global oil markets.Whereas Donald Trump was personally welcomed to the conservative Gulf kingdom on his first presidential visit by King Salman, Biden was met on the tarmac on Friday evening by the governor of Mecca and the Saudi ambassador to the US in a subdued ceremony before travelling to the city’s al-Salam palace, where he held talks with the 86-year-old king and his powerful heir, Prince Mohammed, before a working meeting.Fist bumps as Joe Biden arrives to reset ties with ‘pariah’ Saudi ArabiaRead moreLast week, we learned that Herschel Walker, who’s the Republican nominee for a Senate seat in Georgia, lied to his own campaign team about how many children he had. This is not his only misstep, but the longtime friend of Donald Trump continues to have the support of Georgia Republicans. The Guardian’s Jonathan Freedland speaks to Roger Sollenberger of the Daily Beast about why Walker might prove a fatal blow for the GOP in November’s midterm elections.Politics Weekly AmericaWhy Republicans are backing a controversial former NFL star: Politics Weekly AmericaSorry your browser does not support audio – but you can download here and listen https://audio.guim.co.uk/2020/05/05-61553-gnl.fw.200505.jf.ch7DW.mp300:00:0000:24:04The passage of two bills preserving the right to abortion is likely to temporarily buoy Democrats, even if both bills are extremely unlikely to pass the Senate.One thing is clear though: the issue of abortion access is not going away.According to the Wall Street Journal, Democrats are “increasingly talking about abortion in their midterm campaign advertising,” while Republicans are shying away from the issue.In June the Supreme Court reversed the Roe v Wade ruling which enshrined the right to abortion in federal law. On Friday almost all House Republicans voted against the bills which would restore and protect access to abortion – but the GOP is out of step with Americans, a majority of whom think abortion should be legal. Ahead of the November mid-term elections, Democrats seem to be tying Republicans to the reversal of Roe v Wade, the WSJ reported:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}[An analysis] of broadcast and national cable data from the ad-tracking firm AdImpact shows more than a third of all spots aired by Democrats and their allies in congressional and gubernatorial campaigns from July 1-12 have mentioned abortion.
      Republicans are focusing their ads on inflation, which voters have consistently cited as their top concern heading into November’s elections. Less than 3% of all spots run by GOP candidates and their allies during that period included the abortion issue, the analysis showed.A second bill protecting the right to abortion has passed the US House.HR 8297, the Ensuring Access to Abortion Act of 2022, passed by 223 votes to 205 no votes. Three Republicans did not vote.The bill would prohibit restrictions on out-of-state travel for the purpose of obtaining an abortion service.Like HR 8296, the bill is likely to fail in the Senate, where there is not enough support for either bill to survive the 60-vote filibuster threshold. There are 50 Republicans in the Senate.223-205: House passes abortion access legislation prohibiting restrictions blocking out of state travel to obtain an abortion in response to Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.3 Republicans joined all Democrats in voting Yes.Ensuring Access to Abortion Act now heads to Senate. pic.twitter.com/a3nAuTLnvp— Craig Caplan (@CraigCaplan) July 15, 2022
      The US House of Representatives has approved a law which would preserve access to abortion nationwide at the federal level – but the bill is still expected to fail in the Senate.HR 8296, the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2022, passed the House by 219 yes votes to 210 no votes. Two members did not vote.The law would preserve access to abortion, after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v Wade.The bill is expected to fail in the Senate, however. In May a vote in the Senate failed, with Joe Manchin, the Democrat who has repeatedly blocked his own party’s legislative efforts, joining Republicans to vote the bill down by 51 votes to 49.The House will now consider another abortion rights bill, HR8297 – the Ensuring Access to Abortion Act of 2022. That bill would protect individual’s right to travel for abortion access.President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda is reeling after a crucial senator said he wouldn’t support proposals to address climate change or raise taxes to pay for it. Meanwhile, Democrats in the House are moving to pass a measure to codify abortion rights.Here is what has happened today so far:
      Peter Navarro, a former top advisor to Donald Trump, declined a plea deal from federal prosecutors over his refusal to cooperate with the January 6 committee.
      A House committee announced it would take up a Democratic proposal to ban assault weapons.
      A deposition of Donald Trump and his children was postponed due to the death of his first wife Ivana Trump.
      A Georgia district attorney has warned some Republicans lawmakers in the state that they could be indicted for their role in helping Donald Trump overturn the results of the 2020 election.
      House lawmakers have taken to the floor to speak for and against a proposal from the chamber’s Democratic leadership to protect abortion rights nationwide.The speeches split along party lines, with Republicans decrying the bill and Democrats casting it as a necessary response to the supreme court’s decision last month overturning Roe v. Wade and handing states the power to ban the procedure outright.California Democrat Barbara Lee condemned Republicans’ proposals to restrict abortion access, asking, “What in the world is this?” Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) directly addresses Republicans during debate on bill protecting right to travel for an abortion:“You’re trying to take away people’s right to travel. What in the world is this? Is this America? … They come for me today, they’re coming for you tomorrow.” pic.twitter.com/Qkv7at6h9m— The Recount (@therecount) July 15, 2022
      Brian Mast, a Republican from Florida, put a $20 bill on the table and said to Democrats, “Any one of you or your colleagues wants to speak up and tell us when life begins, it’s sitting here for you.”Pelosi and her allies are pushing for bills that would allow abortion to the very last moment before birth. I asked if they can tell me when a life begins, but I was met with silence. pic.twitter.com/xytK5yUYza— Rep. Brian Mast (@RepBrianMast) July 15, 2022
      A Georgia district attorney has sent “target” letters to prominent Republicans in the state, warning them they could face indictments for their attempt to help Donald Trump overturn the results of the 2020 election, Yahoo! News reports.Fani Willis, the Democratic district attorney for Fulton county, which includes the capital and largest city Atlanta, has sent the letters to Republicans including Burt Jones, a state senator who is standing as Georgia governor Brian Kemp’s running mate in this year’s election, and David Shafer, chair of the state’s Republican party, as well as state senator Brandon Beach.According to the report:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;} Jones and Shafer were among those who participate in a closed-door meeting at the state Capitol on Dec. 14, 2020, in which 16 Georgia Republicans selected themselves as the electors for the state, although they had no legal basis for doing so. Shafer, according to a source who was present, presided over the meeting, conducting it as though it was an official proceeding, in which those present voted themselves as the bona fide electors in Georgia — and then signed their names to a declaration to that effect that was sent to the National Archives.In an interview with Yahoo! News, Willis said she was also considering asking Donald Trump to testify before the grand jury investigating the plot.A colleague of Indiana doctor Caitlin Bernard, who provided the 10-year-old girl from Ohio with an abortion after her rape, has written an op-ed in The New York Times about how the episode, and the downfall of Roe v. Wade, has affected reproductive health.Tracey A. Wilkinson, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine, wrote:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;} Political attacks on abortion providers are, of course, nothing new. And that’s not all that providers and their staff face: They have been targeted, harassed and in some cases even murdered for providing legal health care to their patients; some types of attacks against them recently have increased. This moment, post-Roe v. Wade, feels particularly frightening and is chilling to anyone who cares for patients, especially those providing reproductive health care.
      This saga has had real-world repercussions for Dr. Bernard. The local police have been alerted to concerns for her physical safety.
      My colleagues and I have watched all this in horror. We are worried that this could happen to us, too. A law that recently went into effect in Indiana mandates that doctors, hospitals and abortion clinics report to the state when a patient who has previously had an abortion presents any of dozens of physical or psychological conditions — including anxiety, depression, sleeping disorders and uterine perforation — because they could be complications of the previous abortion. Not doing so within 30 days can result in a misdemeanor for the physician who treated the patient, punishable with up to 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.Here’s more on the story, which has become an example of the real consequences of the supreme court’s landmark decision last month:Man charged with rape of 10-year-old who had abortion after rightwing media called story ‘not true’Read moreThe depositions of Donald Trump and two of his children planned for Friday will be delayed following the death of Ivana Trump, his first wife and the childrens’ mother. “In light of the passing of Ivana Trump yesterday, we received a request from counsel for Donald Trump and his children to adjourn all three depositions, which we have agreed to,” the New York Attorney General’s Office said. “This is a temporary delay and the depositions will be rescheduled as soon as possible,” the office also said. “There is no other information about dates or otherwise to provide at this time.”Trump and his two eldest children, Ivanka and Donald Jr., were scheduled to give sworn testimony in the office’s three-year civil investigation into potential misconduct surrounding property values. The office is probing whether the Trump Organization provided inaccurate valuation to secure loans at favorable rates, or improperly claim tax breaks. Trump’s attorney has reportedly indicated that the former president will invoke his constitutional right against self-incrimination and refuse to respond to questions. The Trump Organization’s longtime chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, is facing a tax fraud trial amid a parallel investigation by the Manhattan district attorney’s office. House Democrats will today make a renewed push to pass legislation protecting the right to abortion nationwide and the ability of Americans to cross state lines to seek the procedure. But the bills’ chances of passing the Senate are slim due to opposition from Republicans.House speaker Nancy Pelosi just held an event with other Democrats prior to the vote, declaring, “As we pass his landmark legislation today, Democrats will not stop ferociously defending freedom for women and for every American. And we want everybody to know, women out there who are concerned about their own personal reproductive freedom and what it means to their health, that… the message from the House Democrats in our groups here today is, we are not going back”, sparking a chant that was joined by the lawmakers assembled behind her.You can watch the full speech below:Join @DemWomensCaucus and me at the U.S. Capitol ahead of the passage of legislation to protect women’s reproductive freedom and to stop Republicans from criminalizing women exercising their constitutional right to travel to obtain an abortion. https://t.co/yHypmYBTR5— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) July 15, 2022 More

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      US gunmakers summoned to Congress to justify soaring profits from gun violence – as it happened

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      Democrats in Congress are summoning the CEOs of firearm manufacturers to testify at a hearing later this month on gun violence.“I am deeply troubled that gun manufacturers continue to profit from the sale of weapons of war, including AR-15-style assault rifles that were used by a white supremacist to murder ten people in Buffalo, New York, and in the massacre of 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas,” Carolyn Maloney, the Democratic chair of the House Oversight Committee, wrote in letters to the leaders of Daniel Defense, Smith & Wesson, and Ruger, which make AR-15 style rifles. “Products sold by your company have been used for decades to carry out homicides and even mass murders, yet your company has continued to market assault weapons to civilians.”Under her leadership, the committee began investigating gun manufacturers last May. The following month, it held a hearing featuring gut-wrenching testimony from survivors of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.The latest hearing is set for July 20.President Joe Biden honored notable Americans with the country’s highest civilian honor, while details emerged of the January 6 committee’s plans for its next – and potentially last – hearings.Here’s what else happened today:
      American women’s basketball star Brittney Griner pleaded guilty to drug charges in Russia, the latest development in a case that has captured the attention of the Biden administration.
      Another Democratic senator said she would support creating an exemption to the filibuster for abortion rights legislation. Meanwhile, lawmakers in South Carolina began debate on a bill to almost completely ban abortion.
      Details are trickling out about a new effort by Democrats to pass a big spending bill in what could be their final months controlling both houses of Congress.
      The CEOs of firearms manufacturers have been summoned by a congressional committee investigating the gun industry.
      Illinois police will investigate the father of the man who opened fire at an Independence Day parade on Monday for his involvement in his son’s purchase of a firearm.
      Sacha Baron Cohen, the comedian best known for portraying Borat, fended off a lawsuit from a former Republican Senate candidate in Alabama.
      California’s Democratic senator Dianne Feinstein has come out in support of creating an exception to the Senate’s filibuster rules in order to pass legislation protecting abortion rights nationwide.Let me be clear: If it comes down to protecting the filibuster or protecting a woman’s right to choose, there should be no question that I will vote to protect a woman’s right to choose. pic.twitter.com/rpHANTjyqn— Senator Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) July 7, 2022
      Reproductive rights activists are pressuring Democrats to pass a law protecting access to abortion nationwide after the supreme court last month overturned Roe v. Wade. But the filibuster, which allows the Republican minority to stop legislation in the Senate that does not win at least 10 of their party’s votes, has stood in the way of that, and until now, Feinstein hasn’t said if she would support modifying it to get an abortion law passed.Biden backs exception to Senate filibuster to protect abortion accessRead morePresident Joe Biden has handed out the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States’s highest civilian honor, to 17 people, including Olympic gymnast Simone Biles.Here’s more from when Biles received the award:.@Simone_Biles receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom. pic.twitter.com/5MPnIzDWTW— CSPAN (@cspan) July 7, 2022
      Former congresswoman and gun control advocate Gabrielle Giffords was also honored:.@GabbyGiffords receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom. pic.twitter.com/vzE1IdrhdD— CSPAN (@cspan) July 7, 2022
      As was soccer star Megan Rapinoe:Megan Rapinoe (@mpinoe) receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom pic.twitter.com/GGc4JGwJxg— CSPAN (@cspan) July 7, 2022
      Three people were given the award posthumously: Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, president of the AFL-CIO trade union federation Richard Trumka and senator John McCain. His wife Cindy McCain accepted on his behalf:”John McCain was a giant among Americans from a family of patriots.” @cindymccain accepts the Presidetial Medal of Freedom on behalf of her late husband, Sen. John McCain. pic.twitter.com/7ejuKszzWe— CSPAN (@cspan) July 7, 2022
      Biden, a longtime Democratic senator, remarked on his relationship with McCain, a Republican.President Biden on John McCain: “I never stopped admiring John. I never said a negative thing about him in my life because I knew his honor, his courage and his commitment. That was John McCain.” pic.twitter.com/DSJD9scTAv— CSPAN (@cspan) July 7, 2022
      Actor Denzel Washington was also due to get the award, but could not attend the White House ceremony due to a positive Covid-19 test, according to a White House official:President Biden on Denzel Washington: “He’s couldn’t be with us here today. I’ll be giving him this award at a later date when he’s able to get here.” pic.twitter.com/N15bEG3gxv— CSPAN (@cspan) July 7, 2022
      South Carolina lawmakers have begun considering a bill to ban nearly all abortions in the state, Reuters reports.The proposal would “ban all abortions from conception, except to save the life of the mother, and would make performing an abortion a felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison,” according to the report. The measure would be more stringent than a law that a federal judge allowed to go into effect last month which outlaws the procedure after about six weeks of pregnancy. The court ruling followed the supreme court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade and allowing states to ban abortions.The January 6 committee has for the past month held carefully choreographed hearings that are meant to be attention-grabbing to a degree rarely seen in Congress, but a poll released today found they aren’t doing much to sway Americans’ beliefs about what happened that day.The survey from Monmouth University found only six percent of Americans say the hearings have changed their mind about January 6, in part due to the relatively few Republicans who are following the testimony. Only 10 percent of GOP supporters are turning in, versus 45 percent of Democrats and 16 percent of independents. For Republicans who did watch the hearings, only five percent said it changed their minds, with some telling Monmouth, “they learned about the pressure Trump was exerting or that election fraud claims were spurious.” The poll said that other respondents “claim they have ‘learned’ that ‘police officers were not killed in that protest,’ or that ‘the Democrats were highly involved as well as the F.B.I.’”The poll also documents a decline in Americans’ faith in their government. Only 36 percent of respondents told Monmouth that the American system of government is basically sound, a decline from February 2020, when it was 55 percent.In the words of Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;} There’s more than just partisanship at work in declining faith in the institutional framework of American democracy. Yes, electoral outcomes play a role. Yes, the current economic crisis plays a role. But attacks on our fundamental democratic processes – and the lack of universal condemnation of those attacks by political leaders from both sides of the aisle – have taken a toll.The head of the IRS has asked for an investigation into a report that former FBI director James Comey and his deputy Andrew McCabe, both of whom clashed with ex-president Donald Trump, were subject to rare, intrusive audits, the Associated Press reports:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}The IRS commissioner has asked the Treasury Department’s inspector general to immediately review the circumstances surrounding intensive tax audits that targeted ex-FBI Director James Comey and ex-Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, both frequent targets of President Donald Trump’s anger.
      IRS spokesperson Jodie Reynolds said Thursday that IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig had personally reached out to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. Reynolds said the agency has officially referred the matter to the inspector general.
      But Reynolds insisted it is “ludicrous and untrue to suggest that senior IRS officials somehow targeted specific individuals for National Research Program audits.”Here’s the original New York Times article that led to the investigation.The Guardian’s Hugo Lowell has more detail about what we can expect from next week’s two January 6 committee meetings – one of which will shine more light on what was happening inside the White House as the Capitol was being attacked:NEW: Jan. 6 committee members Jamie Raskin and Stephanie Murphy will lead Tuesday hearing on Trump sending extremist groups to DC and pinpointing the 6th, and Elaine Luria and Adam Kinzinger will lead expected Thursday primetime hearing on inside the WH during the Capitol attack.— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) July 7, 2022
      Tentative schedule is tentative, per sources familiar with the tentative schedule. But the Thursday prime time hearing is expected to be the final one held by the Jan. 6 committee — for now.— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) July 7, 2022
      President Joe Biden has weighed in on the resignation of British prime minister Boris Johnson, though the White House statement makes no mention of his name:JUST IN: @POTUS Biden statement on @BorisJohnson’s resignation: “the special relationship between our people remains strong and enduring. I look forward to continuing our close cooperation with the government of the United Kingdom, as well as our Allies and partners…” pic.twitter.com/sk4X6vWOxb— Ed O’Keefe (@edokeefe) July 7, 2022
      For the latest developments in the political upheaval across the pond, The Guardian is here for you:Boris Johnson resigns and says no new policies until next prime minister announced – liveRead morePresident Joe Biden will soon hold a ceremony at the White House to give the medal of freedom to a group of recipients, including some of the country’s best known politicians, actors and athletes.Perhaps the biggest names are two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington and Simone Biles, the most decorated American gymnast ever. Women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe will also be honored, as well as former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was badly injured during a mass shooting in 2010. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and Republican senator John McCain will receive the award posthumously in the event vice-president Kamala Harris and her husband will also attend.The White House has a full rundown here. Simone Biles and nurse who received first Covid vaccine to get top US honorRead moreDeSantis appoints elections police chiefFlorida governor Ron DeSantis caused shock when he announced the creation of the Office of Election Crimes and Security in the state, to keep an eye on election fraud: a crime for which there is usually very little evidence that it exists.Now, a CBS station in Orlando reports, we know the identity of the man who will head up that unit: Pete Antonacci, a former prosecutor and onetime supervisor of elections.CBS reports: “Antonacci, 73, has a long history of being called upon by state leaders as a fix-it man of sorts. His career includes stints as executive director of the South Florida Water Management District, president of the state business-recruitment agency Enterprise Florida and state attorney in Palm Beach County.”But in a sign that may ease – a few – fears about voter suppression in the state, it seems some Democrats welcome the appointment.CBS added: “This elections police thing is terrible. However, Antonacci is a pretty no-nonsense administrator. Even us Dems praised his work in Broward. He is by far the best that could be hoped for. So much so I could see DeSantis growing to hate him if he doesn’t go on witch hunts,” Matt Isbell, a Tallahassee-based consultant for Democrats, tweeted Wednesday.”The January 6 committee will hold a hearing on Thursday of next week that will be broadcast at the prime-time TV hour, Punchbowl News reports.The Jan. 6 committee is scheduled to hold hearings Tuesday AND Thursday next week, sources tell me.— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) July 7, 2022
      Thursday night is slated to be another primetime hearing, sources tell me https://t.co/WWlpehZj9P— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) July 7, 2022
      The House committee investigating the insurrection had earlier this week announced it will hold its next hearing on Tuesday, 12 July, which is expected to focus on the links between Donald Trump and extremist groups.Trump’s possible ties to far-right militias examined by January 6 committeeRead moreCongress is on recess, but details are slowly emerging about Democrats’ plans for a spending bill to be revealed perhaps in the coming weeks, while the party has announced a hearing to take firearms manufacturers to task over gun violence.Here’s what has happened today:
      American women’s basketball star Brittney Griner pleaded guilty to drug charges in Russia, the latest development in a case that has captured the attention of the Biden administration.
      Illinois police will investigate the father of the man who opened fire at an Independence Day parade on Monday for his involvement in his son’s purchase of a firearm.
      Sacha Baron Cohen, the comedian best known for portraying Borat, fended off a lawsuit from a former Republican Senate candidate in Alabama.
      A winner has been declared in the showdown between comedian Sacha Baron Cohen and former judge and failed Senate candidate Roy Moore, at least for now.Reuters reports that Cohen, who is perhaps best known for portraying the Borat character, has fended off a defamation lawsuit by Moore over an interview broadcast on his show, “Who Is America?”:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;} In a 3-0 vote, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said the interview was constitutionally protected speech, agreeing with a lower court judge that it was “clearly comedy and that no reasonable viewer would conclude otherwise.”
      The court also said Moore waived his right to pursue his $95 million lawsuit by signing a standard consent agreement before the interview, which he knew would be televised. It also dismissed related claims by Moore’s wife Kayla.
      Larry Klayman, the Moores’ lawyer, called the decision a “travesty,” saying the consent agreement was ambiguous because Judge Moore crossed out a provision waiving claims related to alleged sexually oriented behavior and questioning.
      “This should not have been taken away from the jury,” Klayman said in an interview. The Moores will ask the entire 2nd Circuit to review the case.Accusation of sexual misconduct swirled around Moore when he stood as a Republican to represent Alabama in the US Senate in 2017, a race he lost to Democrat Doug Jones despite the state being among the most conservative in the country.Alabama election: Democrats triumph over Roy Moore in major blow to TrumpRead more More

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      Last remaining Medal of Honor recipient from second world war to lie in state at US Capitol

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      Last remaining Medal of Honor recipient from second world war to lie in state at US CapitolWest Virginia senator Joe Manchin announced move at memorial for late marine The last remaining Medal of Honor recipient from the second world war will lie in state at the US Capitol, West Virginia senator Joe Manchin announced at a memorial on Sunday where the late marine was remembered for his courage, humility and selflessness.“He never quit giving back,” Manchin said of Hershel W “Woody” Williams. That included raising money for gold star families – immediate family members of fallen service members – with an annual motorcycle ride.“It’s raised hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Manchin said. He joked that the annual ride would not “be stopping, because Woody would come after me in a heartbeat”.Manchin, a Democrat, said he would miss Williams’ phone calls, noting how the military veteran would always give him directions and to-do lists. “I’ll miss him telling me how I’m supposed to vote,” Manchin said. “And when I didn’t, how I made a mistake.”Williams, who died on Wednesday aged 98, was a legend in his native West Virginia for his heroics under fire over several crucial hours at the Battle of Iwo Jima.As a young US marine corporal, Williams went ahead of his unit in February 1945 and eliminated a series of Japanese machine-gun positions. Facing small-arms fire, Williams fought for four hours, repeatedly returning to prepare demolition charges and obtain flamethrowers.Later that year, Williams – then 22 – received the Medal of Honor from President Harry Truman. The Medal of Honor is America’s highest award for military valour.The commandant of the US Marine Corps, General David Berger, said at the memorial that Williams always took exception to the notion that he accomplished that feat alone. He always acknowledged the other men on his team, some of whom never returned home.“Woody may be the most genuine person I ever met,” Berger said, noting his unique combination of humility and humour. “He could make you laugh. He could make you care. That was his gift.”Williams remained in the marines after the war, serving a total of 20 years. He later worked for the Veterans Administration for 33 years as a veterans service representative.In 2018, a medical centre in Huntington, Virginia, was renamed in his honour, and the navy commissioned a mobile base sea vessel in his name in 2020.“He left an indelible mark on our Marine Corps,” Berger said. “As long as there are marines, his legacy will live on.”TopicsUS newsUS politicsJoe ManchinSecond world warnewsReuse this content More

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      Did Joe Manchin block climate action to benefit his financial interests?

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      Did Joe Manchin block climate action to benefit his financial interests? Recent revelations that Democratic West Virginian senator quietly made millions from his coal business could come back to haunt him as he eyes a run for re-electionNancy Hilsbos, a former coal miner living in the West Virginia county that Senator Joe Manchin calls home, barely noticed the nondescript office block she passed almost daily.The property, at the top of a rise on the road out of the small city of Fairmont, bears a large sign: “Manchin Professional Building”. Nameplates announce the offices of accountants, financial advisors and insurers. But there is no mention of the most profitable and influential company registered at the address – the Democratic senator’s own firm, Enersystems.Manchin was recently revealed to have quietly made millions of dollars from Enersystems over the past three decades as the only supplier of a low grade coal to a high-polluting power plant near Fairmont. That came as news to Hilsbos and just about everyone else in the city.“What surprised me was that we didn’t know it. One of the most shocking things was that I’ve driven by that place thousands of times in the last 30 years and I had no idea that’s where his business operation was headquartered because there’s no sign,” said Hilsbos.“I wonder why he’s not prouder of what he’s done. Why doesn’t he have a big sign that says Enersystems?”In 2020, Manchin earned nearly half a million dollars from the company, and $5.6m over the previous decade.But Hilsbos, who worked underground for 13 years and was also a union activist, is less bothered by the senator keeping the source of his wealth shielded than what else may have been hidden from view.For years, Manchin has justified voting against curbs on the burning of fossil fuels and other measures to tackle the climate crisis on the grounds that they were bad for West Virginia with its economy and culture rooted in coal mining. Last year, he used his vote in a hung US Senate to block President Biden’s $3.5tn economic plan in part because he said he was “very, very disturbed” that its climate provisions would kill the coal industry.But following the revelations that Manchin has made what most West Virginians would regard as a small fortune from the Grant Town power plant, Hilsbos was left wondering if US climate policy, and by extension the global response to the crisis, has been held hostage to the senator’s financial interests.“If he used it to slow the responsible addressing of climate change issues then that’s an international responsibility,” she said. “What’s wrong is him throwing so much weight against the public interest when he has so much to gain by the continued existence of this kind of facility.”Hilsbos is not alone in her concern.Christopher Regan, a former vice-chair of the West Virginia Democratic party who worked as an aide to Manchin, recalled a time when the senator painted prominent Republican officials in the state as “involved in self-service as opposed to public service”, a line Regan then promoted.“This thing with the coal plant turns that around on him. What’s he doing? Is this for West Virginia? Or is this just strictly for his own narrow pecuniary interest?” he said.Regan said that’s a question that could haunt Manchin as he eyes a run for re-election in two years.Manchin founded Enersystems in 1988 with his brother, Roch, at about the time the state was considering an application to build a power plant in Grant Town, a small former mining community less than 20 minutes drive north of Fairmont.Manchin, then a state senator, helped clear the way for the construction of the power plant while negotiating a deal to become the only supplier of its fuel. Not just any fuel but discarded coal known as “garbage of bituminous”, more popularly called “gob”, that is even more polluting than regular coal.When the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) raised concerns that the Grant Town plant was too close to other coal burning facilities, increasing pollution levels in the area, Manchin intervened and the objections went away. Later, as his state’s governor, Manchin used his political influence to win approval for an increase in the rate charged for electricity charged by the plant which increased bills for ordinary West Virginians. The New York Times reported that, in a highly unusual arrangement, the senator has been getting a cut of those bills.After his election to the US Senate in 2010, Manchin sat on the energy committee, and then became its chair, from where he has blocked environmental regulations that would have hit the Grant Town plant and other gob burning facilities. Manchin also stood in the way of Biden’s multi-trillion dollar Build Back Better plan which potentially threatened the power plant with tighter federal climate regulations. The senator defended the move as necessary in the midst of the Covid crisis, economic uncertainty and with fuel supplies threatened by Russia’s war on Ukraine.But the suspicion remains that he was, at least in part, acting in his own interests. Hilsbos said that the first she knew about the source of Manchin’s wealth came from recent revelations in The Intercept and later the New York Times. They prompted demonstrations outside the power plant in April to demand its closure because of the additional pollution caused by gob.Although Hilsbos said she sympathised with the protesters concerns, she also understood the fears of people in Grant Town, once home to the largest underground mine in the world by the amount of coal produced. The mine closed in the mid-80s, shedding hundreds of jobs. Now the power plant, with about 50 workers, is the only major private employer in a town without a gas station or convenience store.“Some neighbours came forward and said, I’ve always hated that place. But when we went to the town council meeting and tried to explain to them why people were coming from everywhere to demonstrate here, they said, ‘We don’t want you here, don’t come’,” said Hilsbos.“A lot of the people involved in the town council have worked in the mines themselves. They feel like this is what we can do to hold on to our homeland, not have to move away, have this little plant as long as we can.”While few in neighbouring Fairmont knew where Enersystems was, Manchin also maintained a highly visible campaign office opposite the county courthouse in the heart of the city, between Bill’s Bail Bonds and a yoga studio. From there, he built a strong loyalty among West Virginia voters as a conservative Democrat prepared to stand up to the liberal wing of his party and to defend coal.Regan said the senator spent years cultivating an image of himself as his own man, above party politics.“He’s done a good job of it. He had his famous rifle ad, shooting the climate bill during the Obama administration, that he used to gain distance from the Democratic party on the national scale. But the effectiveness of that strategy may be running out. The magnitude of the shift within the state is too large for it to work anymore,” he said.In 2010, Democrats had a firm grip on the West Virginian legislature. Today, the Republicans are in control and they hold the governor’s office.All of West Virginia’s congressional seats have fallen to the Republicans, leaving Manchin as the last Democrat holding statewide office. Manchin won his Senate seat in 2012 with nearly 61% of the vote, beating the Republican candidate by more than 24 points. Six years later, his margin of victory was just three points and he took less than half the vote after openly criticising Donald Trump in a state where the then president was hugely popular and remains so.For all that, Greg Thomas, a prominent West Virginia Republican operative and Manchin opponent, does not think the coal plant revelations will damage the senator with most voters.“If you’re a West Virginia politician and you’re not under some sort of investigation, you’re not trying hard enough to help your people,” he said.“No one here cares about environmentalists protesting Joe Manchin’s personal financial holding. It’s gotten to the point where it’s like, who cares if he does? We assume they’re all corrupt.”Thomas said that Manchin’s political stands against his fellow Democrats have reinvigorated support.“His popularity in West Virginia is coming back after it dropped over his fights with Trump. Pushing back against Biden has helped. His position on energy issues has been big, he said.Manchin’s approval rating among West Virginia voters has surged to 57% from just 40% early last year – and is even higher among Republicans.Regan disagreed, saying that suspicions about his actions over the power plant are “threatening” to the senator because they come on the back of disenchantment among the state’s dwindling band of Democratic voters over his failure to support Biden’s agenda. Manchin’s vote against enshrining abortion rights into federal law as the supreme court appears poised to strike down Roe v Wade will further alienate some Democratic voters in the state.Regan said the last election left Manchin with a margin of victory of fewer than 20,000 votes – a narrow cushion to soak up the loss of angry Democrats who will not turn out to vote for him. He said the Grant Town power plant revelations are likely to stoke the dissatisfaction within that part of the electorate.“Those Democrats he has alienated by being against Build Back Better and the child tax credit, and those very, very popular provisions among Democrats, may cost him in terms of people who don’t vote or people who just simply won’t vote for him anymore. That may cost him the margin he has left and leave him in a bad situation in 2024.”Then there is Trump. West Virginia voted for him in both presidential elections by the largest margin of any state except Wyoming.“I think anybody in 2024 who is not prepared to say that Trump won the election – is not going to be an acceptable candidate anymore,” he said. “He can’t walk into the Republican camp, and he’ll have alienated too many Democrats to win.”TopicsJoe ManchinWest VirginiaUS politicsCoalFossil fuelsfeaturesReuse this content More

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      Up, up and away: will rising prices blow Democrats’ midterms hopes off course?

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      Up, up and away: will rising prices blow Democrats’ midterms hopes off course?Inflation hit 8.5% in March as a mix of post-pandemic demand, price gouging and the Ukraine war dragged down Biden’s ratings In the days leading up to the release of the US labor department’s latest inflation report, the White House tried to deflate expectations. White House officials said they expected the March inflation rate to be “extraordinarily elevated” because of rising gas prices, driven largely by war in Ukraine.Unfortunately for Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats, they were proven right. The inflation report, released on Tuesday, showed US prices increased by 8.5% between March 2021 and March 2022 – the highest level of US inflation since 1981.US inflation climbed to 8.5% in March, highest rate since 1981Read moreThe White House tried to downplay concerns last year by arguing price increases were caused by the coronavirus pandemic and would prove “transitory”. Now, more than a year after vaccines became widely available, Democrats are grappling with how to help families struggling under the weight of inflation. Centrists and progressives alike warn that unless Democrats come up with an effective plan, Republicans could be on the way to a historic victory this November.Democrats’ prospects in the midterm elections were already considered lackluster at best. The president’s party usually loses seats, particularly the House, in midterm years. Democrats have very little margin for error, given slim majorities. Biden’s approval rating, in the low 40s for months, is not helping matters.Republicans are clearly aware of the opportunity they have. On Tuesday, hours after the inflation report was released, the Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, said the “atmosphere for Republicans is better than it was in 1994” – when the party flipped eight Senate seats and gained a net of 54 House seats.“From an atmospheric point of view, it’s a perfect storm of problems for Democrats because it’s an entirely Democratic government,” McConnell said.Voters’ concerns over inflation are certainly contributing to Democrats’ electoral woes. A CNBC poll this month showed 48% of Americans chose inflation as the number one or two issue facing the country, making it the most common answer among respondents.“This issue is top-of-mind for voters,” said Kelly Dietrich, chief executive of the National Democratic Training Committee, which trains candidates. “I think it’s going to stay top of mind because it directly affects them every day. And successful candidates need to address it directly.”The White House has tried to deflect criticism over inflation by blaming high gas prices on Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine. Speaking in Menlo, Iowa, on Tuesday, Biden noted that more than half of the March inflation was caused by the rise in gas prices.“Even as we work with Congress, I’m not going to wait to take action to help American families,” Biden said. “I’m doing everything within my power, by executive orders, to bring down the prices and address the Putin price hike.”Biden has indeed taken steps to curb gas prices. He announced on Tuesday that his administration would approve an emergency waiver to expand use of biofuels, and he has pledged to release a million barrels a day from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, for the next six months.But the price increases the country has seen extend well beyond gasoline, and economists warn that inflation will probably remain elevated in the coming months.Austan Goolsbee, an economics professor at the University of Chicago who chaired the Council of Economic Advisers under Barack Obama, said: “There are two questions. One is, is this peak inflation? But even if it is peak inflation and the numbers are coming down, what are they going to come down to?”Goolsbee noted that so-called “core inflation”, which excludes the more volatile prices of gas and food, rose by just 0.3% last month. That increase was less than most economists expected, providing some hope of inflation cooling off in the near future.“That was a welcome surprise, but I don’t think anybody should kid themselves,” Goolsbee said. “There’s a long way to go before prices, inflation would be anywhere considered back to normal.”For Democrats, that likelihood means their approach has had to change. Instead of claiming price increases will prove temporary, Democrats are acknowledging the reality of tightened budgets and trying to make a case for how they can help.“The good news is the entire Democratic party is very focused on inflation,” said Gabe Horwitz, senior vice-president of the economic program at Third Way, a center-left thinktank. “We are well past this time last year, when there was a question over whether it was going to be transitory or not. It’s here, it’s real, it looks like it’s going to stay at least for a little while.”As Democrats look ahead to November, strategists are urging candidates to pitch an economic vision that will both improve working Americans’ finances and mobilize voters.“First and foremost, American families need help,” Dietrich said. “Secondly, to get them more help Democrats need more wins to improve our standing to continue these policies.”But enacting those policies has proven difficult. The Build Back Better Act, a $1.9tn package that included provisions to lower healthcare and childcare costs, stalled in the Senate due to opposition from Joe Manchin, a centrist Democrat.The West Virginia senator has been outspoken about his frustrations over high inflation, criticizing fellow Democrats who call for more spending as prices rise.“Here is the truth: we cannot spend our way to a balanced, healthy economy and continue adding to our $30tn national debt,” Manchin said on Tuesday, in response to the latest inflation report.Manchin’s stance has outraged progressives, who insist high inflation underscores the urgent need to pass Build Back Better and provide assistance to families.“Americans are being price-gouged. Inflation is hitting their bottom line, and the number one job of any politician is to raise the standard of living of their constituents,” said Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of the progressive group Our Revolution.Looking ahead to the midterms, Geevarghese added: “It’s already going to be very difficult to win, I think. And then you’ve got the obstructionists who are making it harder for the president and our party to prevail.”Horwitz said he remained optimistic that Democrats will be able to pass some version of Build Back Better that will lower costs for families. Manchin has indicated he would be open to a proposal if it did not add to the federal deficit. That would require Democrats to further trim spending but could give them a victory to sell to voters.“You can do both,” Horvitz said. “You can have a plan that raises a significant amount of money by changing the tax code, and you can use some of that money to pay down debt and deficits. And you can use some of that money for programs that alleviate inflation and help consumers.“It is not a slam dunk, but it is something that could happen. We’re going to know more in the next two months about how likely that is.”TopicsUS politicsUS midterm elections 2022InflationDemocratsJoe BidenJoe ManchinanalysisReuse this content More