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      Republican moderate refuses to disown Trump over constitution threat

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      Republican moderate refuses to disown Trump over constitution threatDave Joyce of Ohio, chair of the Republican Governance Group, says he will vote for Trump if he is nominee in 2024 A leader of moderate Republicans in the US House repeatedly refused to condemn Donald Trump on Sunday, even after the former president, running for re-election in 2024, said the US constitution should be “terminated” to allow him to return to power.DeSantis and Pence lead Republican wave – of presidential campaign booksRead more“Whoever the Republicans end up picking, I’ll fall in behind” them, Dave Joyce of Ohio told ABC’s This Week, adding that he thought Americans did not want to look back to the 2020 election, the subject of Trump’s lies about electoral fraud and demand for extra-constitutional action.Joyce’s host, George Stephanopoulos, said: “I don’t see how you can move forward if your candidate is for suspending the constitution but thank you for your time.”Trump maintains the lie that the 2020 election, which Joe Biden won by more than 7m votes and a clear margin in the electoral college, was subject to widespread voter fraud. In messages on his Truth Social account on Saturday, Trump said the constitution should therefore be “terminated”.The former president was condemned by Biden, Democrats and political commentators. On CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday another Ohio Republican, Mike Turner, said he “absolutely” did so too.“There is a political process that has to go forward before anybody is a frontrunner or anybody is even the candidate for the party,” Turner said. “I believe people certainly are going to take into consideration a statement like this as they evaluate a candidate.”Like Turner, Joyce was not among the 147 Republicans who objected to results in key states in the 2020 election, even after Trump supporters mounted their deadly attack on the Capitol, seeking to stop certification. But Stephanopoulos could not persuade Joyce to say he would not vote for Trump four years later.Joyce said: “Well, you know, when President Trump was in office, I didn’t make a habit of speaking out on his tweet du jour.“I don’t know what came out on … whatever his new social platform is. But, you know, people were not interested in looking backwards. The people who gave us the majority [in the midterm elections last month] … they gave us an opportunity, and we need to perform.”Ohioans, Joyce said, were more concerned about household budgets in a time of steep inflation.Stephanopoulos said: “But Donald Trump was your nominee in 2016 and 2020. You voted for him in 2016 and 2020. Now he’s talking about suspending the constitution. Can you support a candidate in 2024 who’s for suspending the constitution?”Joyce said: “Well, again, it’s early. I think there’s going to be a lot of people in the primary. I think, at the end of the day, whoever the Republicans end up picking, I’ll fall in behind because that’s – ”Stephanopoulos said: “Even if it’s Donald Trump and he’s called for suspending the constitution?”Joyce said: “Well, again, I think it’s going to be a big field. I don’t think Donald Trump’s going to clear out the field like he did in ’16.”Stephanopoulos said: “That’s not what I’m asking. I’m asking you, ‘If he’s the nominee, will you support him?’”Joyce said: “I will support whoever the Republican nominee is. And I just don’t think that at this point [Trump] will be able to get there because I think there’s a lot of other good quality candidates out there.”To the host, that was “a remarkable statement. You’d support a candidate who’s come out for suspending the constitution?”Joyce said: “Well, you know, [Trump] says a lot of things. You have to take him in context. And right now I have to worry about making sure the Republican Governance Group and the Republican majority make things work for the American people. And I can’t be really chasing every one of these crazy statements that come out … from any of these candidates.”‘It’s on the tape’: Bob Woodward on Donald Trump’s ‘criminal behavior’Read moreStephanopoulos said: “But that’s an extraordinary statement. You can’t come out against someone who’s for suspending the constitution?”Joyce said: “Well, first off, he has no ability to suspend the constitution. Secondly, I don’t –”Stephanapolous pointed out that Trump said he wanted to take that step.Joyce said: “Well, you know, he says a lot of things but that doesn’t mean that it’s ever going to happen. So you’ve got to accept exact fact from fantasy. And fantasy is that we’re going to suspend the constitution and go backwards. We’re moving forward and we’re going to continue to move forward as a Republican majority and as a Republican conference.”With that, Stephanopoulos closed the interview.“Thank you for having me,” Joyce said.TopicsDonald TrumpUS elections 2024RepublicansUS CongressUS constitution and civil libertiesUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

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      Teenager canvassing for Warnock shot in Savannah ahead of Georgia runoff

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      Teenager canvassing for Warnock shot in Savannah ahead of Georgia runoffPolice say no indication shooting politically motivated as teen working for Democrat is treated for non-life threatening injuries A teenager was shot outside a home in Georgia while campaigning for Raphael Warnock, the incumbent Democratic senator who faces a runoff against the Republican Herschel Walker on Tuesday, police said.Georgia runoff: full steam ahead for Democrats as they aim to solidify Senate majorityRead moreThe Savannah police department said a 42-year-old man shot at the teenager through a closed door on Thursday, striking the teen in the leg.The 15-year-old victim was taken to Memorial Medical Center for treatment of non-life threatening injuries, police said. A suspect, Jimmy Paiz, was arrested on charges of aggravated assault and aggravated battery.“At this point, there is no indication the shooting was politically motivated,” Savannah police said in a statement.Warnock and Walker are locked in a tight race that was triggered when Warnock won the first vote on midterms polling day last month but did not pass 50%. Polling now shows Warnock with a slight lead over Walker, a Trump-endorsed former NFL star, ahead of the vote on Tuesday.“I am saddened to learn about this incident. I am praying for the victim and their family and wish them a full recovery,” Warnock told the Savannah Morning News.The shooting took place on Thursday evening, police said.“While at the front door of one of the residences on Hartridge Street,” the statement said, “the suspect fired a shot through the closed door, striking the teen.”A victory for Warnock in the runoff would secure a 51-49 majority for Democrats in the Senate. They currently control an evenly split chamber by virtue of Kamala Harris, the vice-president, holding a tie-breaking vote.Walker’s campaign has been marked by accusations that he has abused girlfriends and paid for abortions, despite his current anti-abortion stance.The former running back, who has never served in office, has also faced claims that he actually lives in Texas, not Georgia. Walker has denied all allegations against him.TopicsGeorgiaUS crimeUS midterm elections 2022US CongressUS SenateUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

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      Hakeem Jeffries ‘stops talking’ when asked what he thinks of Kevin McCarthy

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      Hakeem Jeffries ‘stops talking’ when asked what he thinks of Kevin McCarthyMcCarthy seeking votes to be speaker when Republicans take over the House next year party In his first major interview since being elected the first Black leader in Congress, the New York Democrat Hakeem Jeffries was asked what he thought of Kevin McCarthy, the Californian now seeking the votes to be speaker when Republicans take over the House next year.Georgia runoff: full steam ahead for Democrats as they aim to solidify Senate majorityRead more“We serve in Congress together,” Jeffries said.Then, CNN reported, the new House minority leader “stopped talking”.Given the rancorous nature of US politics, particularly in the House of Representatives, Jeffries’ reluctance to speak warmly of his opponent, or even to comment at all, was not particularly surprising.Pressed, he said: “I respect the fact that [McCarthy] is the current House Republican leader, and depending on what happens on 3 January, may be the next Republican speaker.”McCarthy’s party took the House in last month’s midterm elections but not with the “red wave” many expected, the result a narrow majority and a would-be speaker at the mercy of the pro-Trump far-right.Jeffries said: “It’s incredible to me that even at this point in time, as [Republicans are] on their way temporarily into the majority, they have not articulated a vision for addressing the economic concerns of the American people. It’s because there’s a real risk that the incoming Republican majority is being hijacked by the extremists who have grown in ranks.”On Sunday, CNN asked Mike Lawler, a Republican congressman-elect from New York, a state where the party performed relatively well, if he would back McCarthy.Lawler said: “We’re not going to be held hostage by a handful of members when the overwhelming majority of the conference is in full support of Kevin McCarthy.”Speakers need only 218 votes, a simple majority, regardless of party lines. The longest such contest, concluding in February 1856, went through 133 ballots. Lawler said he would back McCarthy through numerous rounds if necessary.“I will only be voting for Kevin McCarthy for speaker,” he said. “I know many of my colleagues within the conference feel the same way. This is potentially something that could come to a head, but I do think cooler heads will prevail and I do think on 3 January, Kevin will have the necessary votes to become speaker.”Also on Sunday, Jeffries told ABC’s This Week his mission would be “to find ways to work with Republicans whenever possible to get things done for the American people … but we will also oppose them when we must, particularly as it relates to any effort to go down this rabbit hole of unnecessary, unconscionable, unacceptable investigations of the administration.”House Republicans have indicated targets for investigation will include Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden, immigration policy and the House committee investigating Trump’s election subversion and the January 6 Capitol riot.Jeffries said he had “not had any conversations with Republicans yet. We are in the process of organising as Democrats. They are in the process, of course, of organising as Republicans. But I look forward to those conversations, certainly.”He was also asked about suggestions that a moderate Republican challenger to McCarthy might attract enough Democratic votes to become speaker. Jeffries hedged, saying, “I think the question right now is, what are the Republicans going to do?” Pressed on the matter, asked if the door was “still open” to such a scheme, he said: “Well, let’s see.”Dave Joyce of Ohio, chair of the moderate Republican Governance Group, told ABC the right of his party had not suggested a plausible alternative to McCarthy.“You can’t beat somebody with nobody,” he said. “And right now you hear, ‘We’re just not going to vote for Kevin.’ Well, who then? Kevin deserves the opportunity. And he has done the hard work that was necessary to bring together the majority.”Biden rebukes Trump for saying constitution should be ‘terminated’Read moreJoyce said that though a moderate Republican with Democratic support “probably would be a perfect resolution … so we could start moving forward”, he did not “see it happening … I think the Democrats are going to vote for Democrats, Republicans will vote for Republicans. And I think, at the end of the day, Kevin will be the next speaker of the House.”In the Senate, Democrats held control even before the Georgia runoff on Tuesday which will decide if they continue to rely on the vote of the vice-president, Kamala Harris, or by a 51-49 majority.In his CNN interview, Jeffries was asked about comments by Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, who this week called Jeffries “a past election denier” over remarks about the 2016 presidential election, the legitimacy of which he questioned because of Russian interference, and Donald Trump.Jeffries said: “If McConnell wants to lean into the fact that I’ve been critical of Trump’s presidency – the overwhelming majority of the world is critical of Trump’s presidency. That didn’t seem to make a lot of sense to me. But he’ll do what he does, and I want to stay focused on fighting for the people.”TopicsUS midterm elections 2022House of RepresentativesUS CongressUS politicsDemocratsnewsReuse this content More

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      Newt Gingrich warns Republicans that Joe Biden is winning the fight

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      Newt Gingrich warns Republicans that Joe Biden is winning the fightFormer speaker who led charge against Bill Clinton raises eyebrows with column heralding Democrat’s first-term success Republicans must “quit underestimating” Joe Biden, the former US House speaker Newt Gingrich said, because the president is winning the fight.Biden tells Democrats to revise primary calendar to boost Black voters’ voicesRead moreWriting on his own website, Gingrich said: “Conservatives’ hostility to the Biden administration on our terms tends to blind us to just how effective Biden has been on his terms.“… We dislike Biden so much, we pettily focus on his speaking difficulties, sometimes strange behavior, clear lapses of memory and other personal flaws. Our aversion to him and his policies makes us underestimate him and the Democrats.”Gingrich’s words pleased the White House – Ron Klain, Joe Biden’s chief of staff, tweeted a link with the message: “You don’t have to take my word for it, any more.”The column also caused consternation among Washington commentators, in part because, as Axios put it, “a leader of the GOP’s ’90s-era New Right [is] arguing that Joe Biden is not just a winner – but a role model”.Gingrich has been a fierce partisan warrior ever since he entered Congress, in 1979, then as speaker led the charge against Bill Clinton, culminating in a failed attempt to remove the Democrat via impeachment. In the conclusion to his column, he used the term “Defeat Big Government Socialism” – a version of the title of his latest book.Gingrich told Axios: “I was thinking about football and the clarity of winning and losing. It hit me that, measured by his goals, Biden has been much more successful than we have been willing to credit.”Biden recently turned 80. He has said he will use the Christmas holiday to decide if he will run for re-election.Gingrich, 79, compared Biden to Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan, the latter previously the oldest president ever in office, having been 77 when he left the White House in 1989.Reagan and Eisenhower, Gingrich said, “preferred to be underestimated” and “wanted people to think of them as pleasant – but not dangerous”, and thereby enjoyed great success.“Biden has achieved something similar,” Gingrich continued, by taking “an amazingly narrow four-vote majority in the US House and a 50-50 tie in the Senate and turn[ing] it into trillions of dollars in spending – and a series of radical bills”.Gingrich also accused Biden of pursuing “a strategy of polarizing Americans against Donald Trump supporters” – more than 950 of whom have been charged over the deadly Capitol riot they staged after the former president’s defeat in 2020 – and “grossly exaggerat[ing] the threat to abortion rights”, after the supreme court removed the right this year.But Gingrich also gave Biden credit on the chief foreign policy challenge of his first term in power. The president, the former speaker said, had “carefully and cautiously waged war in Ukraine with no American troops … US weapons and financial aid [helping] cripple what most thought would be an easy victory for Russian president Vladimir Putin”.The result, Gingrich said, was that last month “the Biden team had one of the best first-term off-year elections in history. They were not repudiated.”Gingrich advised Republicans “to look much more deeply at what worked and what did not work in 2020 and 2022”, as they prepare to face “almost inevitable second-time Democrat presidential nominee Biden”.According to Axios, Biden is thought likely to run. Friends of the first couple, the site said, “think only two things could stop him: health or Jill”, the first lady.TopicsJoe BidenBiden administrationNewt GingrichDemocratsRepublicansUS midterm elections 2022US elections 2024newsReuse this content More

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      Matt Gaetz friend handed 11-year prison term in US sex trafficking case

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      Matt Gaetz friend handed 11-year prison term in US sex trafficking case Former tax collector Joel Greenberg apologizes in court for ‘shameful conduct’ after pleading guilty to six federal crimes A former Florida tax collector whose arrest led to a federal investigation into the US congressman Matt Gaetz has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for sex trafficking of a minor and other offenses.Joel Greenberg, former tax collector for Seminole county, was accused of stalking a political opponent, public corruption, making fake licenses and scheming to submit false claims for a federal loan.He pleaded guilty to six federal crimes, including identity theft, stalking, wire fraud and conspiracy to bribe a public official. Prosecutors said he paid at least one girl to have sex with him and other men.Trump had dinner with two avowed antisemites. Let’s call this what it is | Francine ProseRead more“Nothing justifies my actions. My conduct is so shameful. I feel remorse for what I’ve done,” Greenberg said on Thursday before US district judge Gregory Presnell sentenced him in an Orlando courtroom.Greenberg also directly apologized to the residents of Seminole county, his family and a schoolteacher he smeared when the educator decided to run against him.Presnell said that in his 22 years as a federal judge, he had never experienced a case like Greenberg’s and “a defendant who has committed so many different types of crimes in such a short period of time”.Greenberg’s attorney had asked for leniency, saying that his client had assisted in investigations of 24 people, including eight for sex crimes. Defense attorney Fritz Scheller said that Greenberg’s cooperation had led to four federal indictments, and that he believed additional ones were expected in the coming month.Greenberg’s cooperation could play a role in an investigation into his friend Gaetz over whether he paid a 17-year-old girl for sex. Gaetz has denied the allegations and previously said they were part of an extortion plot. No charges have been brought against the Republican congressman, who represents a large part of the Florida Panhandle.Greenberg has been linked to other Florida politicians and their associates. So far, none has been implicated in the sex trafficking investigation.After the hearing, Scheller called Greenberg’s sentence just.Scheller said he was shocked that Greenberg’s cooperation had not yet resulted in more prosecutions and that Greenberg had been in communication with federal investigators in the past three months. When asked whether he thought others would be charged with sex crimes, the defense attorney said, “I do.”“There should be, and I think part of my frustration is that I have a pretty good insight into the evidence in this case,” Scheller said.TopicsFloridaUS politicsUS CongressRepublicansnewsReuse this content More

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      10 years since Sandy Hook – what’s changed? Politics Weekly America special – podcast

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      On 14 December it will be 10 years since the Sandy Hook elementary school mass shooting, when a 20-year-old killed 20 children aged six and seven, as well as six adults.
      The Guardian’s Joan E Greve travelled to Newtown, Connecticut to speak with Nicole Hockley and Mark Barden of Sandy Hook Promise, the parents of Dylan and Daniel, who were killed that day. She meets teenagers from the Junior Newtown Action Alliance, who now go through terrifying lockdown drills as preparation for another shooting, who want to see more change in gun legislation. She also speaks with Senator Chris Murphy, who helped draft the first significant gun control policy in the US in 30 years this year.
      Together they discuss what more could and should be done to stop such tragedies

      How to listen to podcasts: everything you need to know

      Archive: CBS, CNN, NBC, BBC, CSPAN Send your questions and feedback to podcasts@theguardian.com Help support the Guardian by going to theguardian.com/supportpodcasts More

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      Rural Arizona county certifies midterm results after judge orders vote

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      Rural Arizona county certifies midterm results after judge orders voteThe Cochise county board of supervisors voted 2-0 to approve the results after threat of lawsuits A rural Arizona county finally certified its election results on Thursday after a judge ordered the county’s board of supervisors to do their jobs just a couple of hours earlier.The Cochise county board of supervisors voted 2-0 to approve the midterm results, allowing the statewide canvass of the election to continue as planned on 5 December. A third member of the board who had spearheaded the effort to delay certification, Tom Crosby, did not attend the vote.Obama heads to Georgia as Herschel Walker faces new violence claimRead moreSupervisor Peggy Judd, who initially voted to delay the certification, later voted in favor after the court order.“I am not ashamed of anything I did,” Judd said during Thursday’s certification vote. “And today … because of a court ruling, and because of my own health and situations that are going on in our life, I feel like I must follow what the judge did today or asked us to do, but I feel I don’t like to be threatened.”After the county refused to certify by the 28 November deadline set by state law, it faced lawsuits from the Arizona secretary of state and the Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans. The lawsuits were heard in court Thursday, with Pima county superior court judge Casey McGinley swiftly ruling that the board was required to canvass its results by that afternoon. McGinley said there was no legal basis for the board to delay or refuse to certify.The county attorney would not represent the two supervisors who voted against certifying the election, and neither would an outside attorney the board first wanted to help. Instead, an attorney was only named earlier on Thursday and did not make it to the court hearing, leaving the sued supervisors without legal representation. While Crosby wanted to continue the hearing to allow the new lawyer to get to know the case, McGinley said it would move forward immediately.A delay of the statewide certification process held huge potential consequences: Two statewide recounts, required by law, couldn’t start until the canvass was complete. Lawsuits from candidates and other groups can’t begin without official results. Voters in the county could be disenfranchised if their votes weren’t included in statewide totals. The continuity of state government itself may have been in danger, the secretary of state’s office warned.Ann English, the chair of the board and its lone Democrat, has repeatedly voted for certifying the election and against previous efforts by her colleagues to conduct a full hand count of ballots, later declared unlawful. During Thursday’s certification, she said she hopes the people pushing for not certifying realize “there’s a place for change in the legislation, and it isn’t here – we react to the legislation, we don’t create legislation for the state”.‘Extremists didn’t make it’: why Republicans flopped in once-red ArizonaRead moreAlthough the lawsuits were successful in getting the county to do its election duties, others want to see the two supervisors face criminal charges for flouting election law. One state law says a person charged with any election-related duty who refuses to perform that duty in violation of law is guilty of a class-six felony.Terry Goddard, a former Arizona attorney general, and Rick Romley, a former Maricopa county attorney, wrote a letter to the current attorney general, Mark Brnovich, and Cochise county attorney Brian McIntyre asking them to investigate and consider criminal charges for Crosby and Judd. McIntyre has said he’s weighing whether to bring charges.“Failing to hold supervisors Crosby and Judd accountable for their violations of law could embolden other public officials to abandon their legal duties in future elections,” Goddard and Romley wrote. “This would pose a substantial threat to election administration in Arizona.”TopicsUS midterm elections 2022ArizonaUS CongressUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

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      Senate moves quickly to avert US rail strike by passing key bill

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      Senate moves quickly to avert US rail strike by passing key billBill goes to Biden’s desk for his signature after legislation that binds rail firms and workers to settlement plan passes 80-15 The Senate moved quickly on Thursday to avert a rail strike that the Biden administration and business leaders warned would have had devastating consequences for the nation’s economy.The Senate passed a bill to bind rail companies and workers to a proposed settlement that was reached between the rail companies and union leaders in September. That settlement had been rejected by some of the 12 unions involved, creating the possibility of a strike beginning 9 December.The Senate vote was 80-15. It came one day after the House voted to impose the agreement. The measure now goes to Joe Biden’s desk for his signature.“I’m very glad that the two sides got together to avoid a shutdown, which would have been devastating for the American people, to the American economy and so many workers across the country,” the Democratic majority leader, Chuck Schumer, told reporters.Schumer spoke as the labor secretary, Marty Walsh, and transport secretary, Pete Buttigieg, emphasized to Democratic senators that rail companies would begin shutting down operations well before a potential strike would begin. The administration wanted the bill on Biden’s desk by the weekend.Shortly before Thursday’s votes, Biden – who had urged Congress to intervene earlier this week – defended the contract that four of the unions had rejected, noting the wage increases it contains.“I negotiated a contract no one else could negotiate,” Biden said at a news briefing with Emmanuel Macron, the French president. “What was negotiated was so much better than anything they ever had.”Critics say the contract that did not receive backing from enough union members lacked sufficient levels of paid leave for rail workers. Biden said he wanted paid leave for “everybody” so that it wouldn’t have to be negotiated in employment contracts, but Republican lawmakers have blocked measures to require time off work for medical and family reasons.The US president said that Congress should now impose the contract to avoid a strike that Biden said could cause 750,000 job losses and a recession.Senators also voted on Thursday on a measure, passed in the House on Wednesday along party lines, that would provide seven days of paid sick leave to railroad workers.It fell eight votes short of a 60-vote threshold needed for passage in the Senate.The rail companies and unions have been engaged in high-stakes negotiations. The Biden administration helped broker deals in September but four of the unions rejected them. Eight others approved five-year deals and are getting back pay for their workers for 24% raises retroactive to 2020.The unions maintain that railroads can easily afford to add paid sick time when they are recording record profits. Several of the big railroads involved in these contract talks reported more than $1bn profit in the third quarter.TopicsUS SenateUS CongressRail industryRail transportUS economyUS politicsJoe BidennewsReuse this content More