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      The Right review: conservatism, Trump, regret and wishful thinking

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      The Right review: conservatism, Trump, regret and wishful thinkingMatthew Continetti’s history of 100 years of the American right is ambitious, impressive and worrying America’s tribes frequently clash but they rarely intersect. Over the past 60 years, the Democratic party has morphed into an upstairs-downstairs coalition, graduate-degree holders tethered to an urban core and religious “nones”. Meanwhile, Republicans have grown more rural, southern, evangelical and working class.Overcoming Trumpery review: recipes for reform Republicans will never allow Read moreWithin the GOP, Donald Trump has supplanted the legacies of Ronald Reagan and Abraham Lincoln. According to Matthew Continetti, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, being a conservative in 2022 is less about advocating limited government and more about culture wars, owning the libs and denouncing globalization.Subtitled The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism, Continetti’s third book examines a century of intellectual and political battles. He seeks to explain how Trumpism became the dominant force within the Republican party. In large measure, he succeeds.The Right is readable and relatable, well-written and engaging. The author’s command of facts is impressive. For decades, he has lived around and within the conservative ecosystem.Continetti chronicles the tumult of 1960s, the emergence of Richard Nixon’s “southern strategy” and the migration of blue-collar ethnic Catholics to what was once the home of the white Protestant establishment. He also looks back, at the pre-New Deal Republican party and at conservatism after the civil war.Continetti is sensitive to the currents that swirl in and around this country and its people. He laments that in the 21st century blood, soil and grievance have overtaken the conservative orthodoxies of free markets, personal autonomy and communal virtue. He is discomforted by how contemporary conservatism acquired a performative edge.On the page, his dismay is muted but present. He wistfully recalls the collapse of the Weekly Standard, where he worked for Bill Kristol, his future father-in-law. George W Bush’s war in Iraq was one thing that helped do-in the magazine.Similarly, the Republican establishment’s call for immigration reform left many Americans feeling unwanted and threatened. The US immigrant population hovers near a record high, almost 14%. More than 44 million people living here were born elsewhere. Even before the pandemic, the fertility rate hit a record low. The populist impulse is not going to disappear.Trump’s inaugural address, replete with images of “American carnage”, is illustrative of the new conservative normal. Continetti quotes George W Bush: “That was some weird shit.” Nonetheless, on 20 January 2017, Trump struck a nerve.Continetti is mindful of broader trends, and the havoc assortative marriage has brought to society and politics. On that point, he gives Charles Murray his due. Continetti is pessimistic. Marriage predicated upon educational attainment has helped concentrate intellectual capital and financial advantage within a narrow caste.Twenty years ago, David Brooks, once Continetti’s colleague, described an idyllic urban existence, Bobos in Paradise. Those who can’t get in, however, face life in purgatory. The meritocracy got what it clamored for, only to discover it wasn’t loved by those it left behind.Continetti seemingly attempts to downplay similarities between Trump’s Maga movement and the hard-right in Europe. He omits all reference to Nigel Farage in Britain and Marine le Pen in France. Farage led Britain to Brexit and made a cameo appearance in Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the US. Le Pen twice forced Emmanuel Macron into a run-off for president.On the other hand, Continetti does capture how part of the US right adores Vladimir Putin: his authoritarianism, his unbridled nationalism, his disdain for classic liberalism.“Putin held the same allure for the national populist right that Che Guevara held for the cold war left,” Continetti writes. “No wonder President Trump was a fan of the Russian autocrat.”Continetti also says conservatism “anchored to Trump the man will face insurmountable obstacles in attaining policy coherence, government competence, and intellectual credibility”. Here, he stands on shaky ground.In 2016, Trump assembled a winning coalition and beat Hillary Clinton. In power, he loaded the federal judiciary. Whether Jeb Bush could have replicated such success is doubtful. As for intellectual credibility, in 2008 Kristol, Continetti’s mentor, helped pluck Sarah Palin from obscurity. And we all know where that led.In 2009, Continetti himself wrote The Persecution of Sarah Palin: How the Elite Media Tried to Bring Down a Rising Star. He now says “attacks on Palin” caused him “to rally to her defense”. Intellectual slumming, more like it. Palin was unfit for the top job. She resigned as Alaska governor 18 months before her term expired.Continetti also argues that conservatism needs once again to embrace the Declaration of Independence, the constitution and the Bill of Rights.“One cannot be an American patriot without reverence for the nation’s enabling documents,” he says.January 6 demonstrates otherwise. Conservatism’s commitment to democracy and the constitution appears situational. Members of the conservative establishment provided intellectual sinew for America’s Caesar. It wasn’t just about Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert and folks dressed as Vikings.The Presidency of Donald Trump review: the first draft of historyRead moreJohn Eastman, a former clerk to Clarence Thomas; Ted Cruz, a former clerk to Chief Justice William Rehnquist; Mike Lee, son of Rex Lee, Ronald Reagan’s solicitor general. Together with Ginni Thomas, the justice’s wife, they played outsized roles around the Capitol attack. Fifteen months later, Eastman is in legal jeopardy, Cruz is under growing suspicion and Lee looks like a weasel. Ms Thomas merits our scorn.The reckoning Continetti hopes for may never arrive. Gas prices surge. Crime rises. Together, they portend a Republican midterm landslide. Such realities ushered in Reagan’s 1980 landslide over Jimmy Carter.A one-term Biden presidency looms. A second Trump term is a real possibility. The latest revelations surrounding Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell teach us that inconvenient truths are quickly discarded. In politics, a win is a win.
      The Right is published in the US by Basic Books
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      ‘We’re not attacking Russia,’ Biden says as he asks for $33bn in Ukraine aid – as it happened

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      US politics live with Joan E GreveUS politics‘We’re not attacking Russia,’ Biden says as he asks for $33bn in Ukraine aid – as it happened
      ‘We’re helping Ukraine defend itself,’ says president
      Full report: Biden asks Congress for more Ukraine aid
      Russia-Ukraine war – latest updates
      Sign up to receive First Thing – our daily briefing by email
       Updated 1h agoJoan E Greve in WashingtonThu 28 Apr 2022 16.03 EDTFirst published on Thu 28 Apr 2022 09.13 EDT Show key events onlyLive feedShow key events onlyThat’s it from the US politics live blog today. Here’s how the day unfolded in Washington:
      Joe Biden asked Congress to provide Ukraine with $33bn of additional funding to assist its fight against Russian aggression. The request includes another $20bn in military aid, as well as $8.5bn in economic aid to Kyiv and $3bn in humanitarian relief. “The cost of this fight is not cheap, but caving to aggression is going to be more costly if we allow it to happen,” Biden said at the White House today.
      Biden emphasized America’s ongoing assistance to Ukraine should not be taken as an attack on Russia. “We’re not attacking Russia. We’re helping Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression,” Biden said. “Russia is the aggressor — no ifs, ands or buts about it.” Russia has warned the US against providing Ukraine with more weaponry, but the White House has insisted it will continue to aid its ally.
      Nancy Pelosi said she expected a “strong, bipartisan vote” in the House to approve the next Ukraine aid bill. “The assistance appropriated by Congress has made a significant difference for Ukraine, but much more is needed to fight back against Putin’s brutal aggression,” the Democratic House speaker said in a statement.
      The White House dodged a question about whether it was now a US policy goal for Ukraine to win its war against Russia. “We’re not going to define that from here,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at her daily briefing.
      The US economy shrank in the first three months of the year, contracting by -0.4% in the first quarter, marking its weakest performance since the early days of the pandemic. Biden blamed the contraction on “technical factors” caused by the ongoing pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
      The Guardian’s live blog on the war in Ukraine is still running, so be sure to follow along with that for more updates:Russia-Ukraine war: Kyiv rocked by missile strikes as UN chief visits Ukraine capital – liveRead moreOne reporter asked Jen Psaki whether it was now a policy goal of the United States for Ukraine to beat Russia in the war.“We’re not going to define that from here,” the White House press secretary said, adding that the question of strategic goals was a matter for Ukrainians to determine.“What we are going to do from here is to continue to provide them with a range of security and military assistance, as evidenced by the package that the president proposed and put forward to Capitol Hill today,” Psaki said.Joe Biden’s defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, said earlier this week that the US hoped the war in Ukraine would result in a “weakened” Russia.“We want to see Russia weakened to the degree that it can’t do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine,” Austin said. A reporter asked Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, about the expected timeline for Congress approving the requested $33bn in Ukraine aid, as well as additional pandemic response funds.“I’m not here to set new deadlines, but I can tell you that both needs are urgent,” Psaki said.Psaki underscored the crucial need to provide Ukraine with more resources as it fights off Russian attacks more than two months after the war began.“In order to continue to help assist them, help make sure they have the the weapons they need, the artillery they need, the equipment they need, it is certainly urgent to move forward on this funding,” Psaki said.The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, is now holding her daily briefing, and a reporter kicked off today’s questioning by asking about student debt cancelation.Joe Biden said earlier today, “I am not considering $50,000 [student] debt reduction, but I am in the process of taking a hard look at whether or not there will be additional debt forgiveness.”Asked whether the White House has concluded that Biden can cancel student debt via executive order, Psaki replied, “There’s been no conclusion of any process internally yet.”The president said today that he would provide an update on his student debt policies “in the next couple weeks”. Progressives have called on Biden to cancel all federal student debt, but Biden has signaled opposition to that proposal.Republican Senator Rick Scott has released a statement denouncing Joe Biden’s criticism of his tax proposals after the commerce department reported the US economy contracted during the first quarter of 2022.“Joe Biden is clearly obsessed with my plan to rescue America and very confused about his own agenda that is devastating American families. Unlike Joe Biden, I’m a proven tax cutter,” Scott said.The Florida senator noted a recent Washington Post analysis concluded the White House had made false claims about Scott’s proposal, which has even attracted some criticism from fellow Republicans. “As long as Biden and the Democrats keep trying to destroy this great country, I’ll be fighting to rescue it,” Scott said.Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell said he would probably support a bill appropriating another $33bn in aid to Ukraine, as Joe Biden has requested.“Very likely yes,” McConnell told ABC News.Asked @LeaderMcConnell if he is supportive of the $33 billion Ukraine aid supplemental request the administration has put forward.“Very likely yes,” he said.— Allison Pecorin (@AllisonMPecorin) April 28, 2022
      However, some Senate Republicans have warned Democrats against trying to combine the Ukraine aid and pandemic response funding into one bill, as the Covid money remains tied up over a dispute about a controversial border policy known as Title 42.Asked earlier today whether he thought the two proposals should be linked in one bill, Biden said, “I don’t care how they do it. I’m sending them both up. They can do it separately or together, but we need them both.”Joe Biden is now meeting with small business owners to “discuss the small businesses boom under his leadership,” per his official schedule.The president was joined at the White House meeting by Isabella Casillas Guzman, administrator of the Small Business Administration.“These enterprises and entrepreneurs know the American economy is strong because America’s small businesses are strong,” Biden said at the start of the meeting.In an instance of rather bad timing, the meeting came hours after the commerce department reported the US economy contracted in the first quarter of 2022, marking its worst performance since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.At the meeting, Biden once again attacked Republican Senator Rick Scott’s plan to raise income taxes for millions of Americans, a proposal that has divided Scott’s own party and become a Democratic punching bag.“It’s just not right,” Biden said. “Our administration wants to make it easier to start a business, easier for a small business to succeed.”Nancy Pelosi said she expected a “strong, bipartisan vote” in the House to approve the next Ukraine aid bill, which Joe Biden has requested.“The assistance appropriated by Congress has made a significant difference for Ukraine, but much more is needed to fight back against Putin’s brutal aggression,” the Democratic House speaker said in a statement.“The forthcoming supplemental package will deliver critical funding including for more defensive systems and weaponry, support for Ukraine’s energy and healthcare infrastructure, and food assistance to address a growing hunger crisis around the globe stemming from this conflict.”Biden has asked Congress to approve another $33bn in assistance to Ukraine, including $20bn in military funding and $3bn in humanitarian relief.“The cost of this fight is not cheap, but caving to aggression is going to be more costly if we allow it to happen,” Biden said at the White House earlier today.Joe Biden reiterated his message that Russia is the aggressor in Ukraine, even as the Kremlin tries to villainize the West over its efforts to aid Ukraine.“Despite the disturbing rhetoric coming out of the Kremlin, the facts are plain for all to see: We are not attacking Russia,” Biden said on Twitter. “We are helping Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression. And just as Putin chose to launch this brutal invasion, he could make the choice to end it.”Earlier today, Biden asked Congress to approve another $33bn in aid to Ukraine, including $20bn in military funding. Russia has warned the US to stop providing arms to Ukraine, but the White House has remained firm in its commitment to helping its ally.Despite the disturbing rhetoric coming out of the Kremlin, the facts are plain for all to see: We are not attacking Russia. We are helping Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression. And just as Putin chose to launch this brutal invasion, he could make the choice to end it.— President Biden (@POTUS) April 28, 2022
      US FDA moves forward with proposal to ban menthol cigarettesThe Food and Drug Administration on Thursday issued a long-awaited proposal to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars.The move is a major victory for anti-smoking advocates but one that could dent sales at tobacco companies.The proposal, which comes a year after the agency announced the plan, still needs to be finalized and can take years to implement as it is likely to face stiff opposition from the tobacco industry. “The proposed rules would help prevent children from becoming the next generation of smokers and help adult smokers quit,” said the health and human services secretary, Xavier Becerra, Reuters reported. For decades, menthol cigarettes have been in the crosshairs of anti-smoking groups who have argued that they contribute to disproportionate health burdens on Black communities and play a role in luring young people into smoking.‘I hope we’ll get through this’: the Ukrainian refugees arriving in TijuanaIn recent weeks Mexico has been the second-to-last stop on a journey to a semblance of normal life for some Ukrainian families hoping to get to safety in the United States. The Guardian has published a dispatch from Tijuana by Jo Napolitano who writes: Just over the zigzag pathway of the Tijuana border crossing, a mile or so from the taco and churros stands that feed locals and tourists alike, rests a pop-up encampment for Ukrainian and Russian refugees fleeing an invasion they could neither endure nor support.Tijuana has been a two- or three-day respite on their journey before trying to enter the US. There, these displaced families – a flight away from Washington state or Illinois or South Carolina – are fanning out across the country, staying with friends and relatives, applying for food stamps and social security cards and enrolling their children in school. While they are far further in their relocation than the Mexican, Central American and Haitian asylum seekers waiting years for that same opportunity, these newcomers still face many hurdles.“Everything is so different here in the US,” said Anastasiia Puzhalina, a Ukrainian refugee who arrived in the States in early April with her family. “We must learn so much. I hope we’ll get through this.”The piece is published in partnership with the the 74, a non-profit, non-partisan news site covering education in America. ‘I hope we’ll get through this’: the Ukrainian refugees arriving in TijuanaRead moreNAACP calls on Biden to cancel all student debt “President Biden, we agree that we shouldn’t cancel $50,000 in student loan debt. We should cancel all of it,” the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) said in a statement on Thursday.The statement came after the president told reporters he was open to cancelling some debt but poured cold water on the $50,000 number. “$50,000 was just the bottom line. For the Black community, who’ve accumulated debt over generations of oppression, anything less is unacceptable,” the NAACP said. The NAACP has a petition calling on Biden to take action to cancel student debt, which it says would :
      Provide Black borrowers with opportunities to pursue homeownership
      Develop economy-boosting discretionary income
      Fuel upward mobility in the Black community and equitable efforts to close the racial wealth gap
      Here’s where the day stands so far:
      Joe Biden asked Congress to provide Ukraine with another $33bn in funding to assist its fight against Russian aggression. The request includes another $20bn in military aid, as well as $8.5bn in economic aid to Kyiv and $3bn in humanitarian relief. “The cost of this fight is not cheap, but caving to aggression is going to be more costly if we allow it to happen,” Biden said at the White House today.
      Biden emphasized America’s ongoing assistance to Ukraine should not be taken as an attack on Russia. “We’re not attacking Russia. We’re helping Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression,” Biden said. “Russia is the aggressor — no ifs, ands or buts about it.” Russia has warned the US against providing Ukraine with more weaponry, but the White House has insisted it will continue to aid its ally.
      The US economy shrank in the first three months of the year, contracting by -0.4% in the first quarter, marking its weakest performance since the early days of the pandemic. Biden blamed the contraction on “technical factors” caused by the ongoing pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
      The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.Unrelated to the war in Ukraine, Joe Biden was asked whether he plans to cancel more student loan debt via executive order in the coming weeks.Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said yesterday that the White House is “more open to it now than ever before” when it comes to canceling student loan debt.“There’s nothing done yet, but I am really hopeful that the goal that we have had, $50,000 of student loans canceled, is getting more and more likely,” Schumer said, per NBC News.President Biden: “I am not considering $50,000 debt reduction but I am in the process of taking a hard look on whether or not there will be additional debt forgiveness. I’ll have an answer on that in the next couple weeks.” pic.twitter.com/gpwPf2ghs5— CSPAN (@cspan) April 28, 2022
      Biden threw cold water on that idea today, telling reporters that he is not comfortable with the $50,000 number but is open to some debt cancelation.“I am not considering $50,000 debt reduction, but I am in the process of taking a hard look at whether or not there will be additional debt forgiveness,” Biden said. “And I’ll have an answer on that in the next couple weeks.”Biden has previously expressed openness to the idea of canceling up to $10,000 in student debt per borrower, but many progressives have criticized that proposal as insufficient.After finishing his prepared remarks, Joe Biden took several questions from reporters about his request to Congress for more Ukraine aid and other legislative matters.Asked for his message to Ukrainian refugees who are waiting at the southern border to enter the US, Biden said they are being allowed to come directly into the country.“We’ve said there’s no need to go to the southern border,” Biden said. “Fly directly to United States. We set up a mechanism whereby they can come directly with a visa.”Another reporter asked Biden about how the US will respond if Russia starts escalating its aggression toward Ukraine’s allies in response to their ongoing assistance to the country.“We are prepared for whatever they do,” Biden said.As he asked for more funding to assist Ukraine, Joe Biden also emphasized the importance of Congress appropriating more money for America’s pandemic response efforts.“That’s why I’m again urging Congress to act on our request for $22.5bn in emergency resources so the American people can continue to protect themselves from Covid-19,” Biden said.The president said the federal government would only be able to prepare more vaccine doses to help protect against future variants if Congress approves more money to preorder treatments.Noting that the US has also donated vaccine doses to other countries, Biden said, “Without additional funding, the United States won’t be able to help stop the spread around the world.”After concluding his prepared remarks, a reporter asked Biden whether he believed the Ukraine assistance and pandemic funding should be tied together in one bill, which lawmakers are currently at odds over.“I don’t care how they do it. I’m sending them both up,” Biden said. “They can do it separately or together, but we need them both.”NewestNewestPrevious1 of 2NextOldestOldestTopicsUS politicsUS politics live with Joan E GreveJoe BidenRepublicansDemocratsUS CongressUS foreign policyUkraineReuse this content More

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      Biden asks Congress for $33bn Ukraine aid package

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      Biden asks Congress for $33bn Ukraine aid packagePresident’s request includes over $20bn in military aid, $8.5bn in economic aid to Kyiv and $3bn in humanitarian relief

      Russia-Ukraine war – latest updates
      Joe Biden has called for a giant $33bn package of military and economic aid to Ukraine, more than doubling the level of US assistance to date, in an emphatic rejection of Russian threats of reprisals and escalation.A few hours after Biden spoke, Kyiv was shaken by two powerful cruise missile strikes, while the UN secretary general, António Guterres, was visiting the Ukraine capital following a meeting with Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin.A senior Ukrainian presidential aide, Mykhailo Podolyak, called the attack a “postcard from Moscow” and asked why Russia still had a seat on the UN security council.Biden asked Congress to give immediate approval for spending that would include over $20bn in military aid, involving everything from heavy artillery and armoured vehicles to greater intelligence sharing, cyber warfare tools and many more anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.Biden also requested $8.5bn in economic aid to Kyiv and $3bn in humanitarian relief, as well as funds to help increase US production of food crops and strategic minerals to offset the impact of the war in Ukraine on global supplies.The total of $33bn is more than twice the last supplemental request approved by Congress in March and dwarfs the entire defence budget of Ukraine and of many other countries. The US president said it was aimed at helping Ukraine repel the renewed Russian offensives in the east and south of the country, but also to transition to assuring the nation’s longer-term security needs.On the same day, Congress agreed to update the 1941 lend-lease legislation with which Franklin D Roosevelt sought to help Britain and other allies fight Nazi Germany. The updated law is intended to make it easier for the US to provide military equipment to Ukraine.It comes in the face of Russian warnings that increased western weapons supplies to Ukraine would endanger European security, that western intervention could bring instant Russian reprisals and raise the risk of nuclear conflict.Making the case for western aid, Biden argued that on the contrary, if Putin was not stopped in Ukraine he would continue to threaten global peace and stability.The president framed the request principally in terms of defending Ukraine, and did not explicitly repeat the declaration earlier this week by his defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, that one of US aims in Ukraine was to weaken Russia to stop it attacking other countries.“Despite the disturbing rhetoric coming out of the Kremlin, the facts are plain for everybody to see. We’re not attacking Russia. We’re helping Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression,” Biden said. But he added the cost involved was “a small price to pay to punish Russia and aggression, to lessen the risk of future conflicts”.“Throughout our history, we’ve learned that when dictators do not pay the price for their aggression, they cause more chaos and engage in more aggression,” he said. “The threats to America and the world keep rising. We can’t let this happen.”The new military assistance the congressional funding will finance will include:
      More artillery and armored vehicles, as well as anti-tank missiles and anti-aircraft systems.
      Help to build up Ukraine’s cyber warfare capabilities.
      More intelligence sharing.
      Support to increase Ukraine’s ability to produce munitions and strategic minerals.
      Assistance in clearing landmines and other explosives and in Ukraine’s defence against chemical, biological and dirty bomb attacks.
      A further buildup in the US military presence on Nato’s eastern flank.
      The Kremlin’s official spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, warned on Thursday that an increased western supply of heavy weapons to Kyiv would endanger European security.“The tendency to pump weapons, including heavy weapons, into Ukraine, these are the actions that threaten the security of the continent, provoke instability,” Peskov said.The day before, Vladimir Putin had threatened a “lightning fast” response to western intervention in Ukraine, adding: “We have all the weapons we need for this.” His foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has accused the US and its allies of fighting a proxy war in Ukraine and warned of the rising danger of a nuclear conflict.Biden rejected the accusation he was fighting a proxy war, describing the claim as part of the Kremlin’s domestic propaganda to explain the inability of Russian forces to achieve their goals.“I think it’s more of a reflection, not of the truth, but of their failure,” the president said. He added: “No one should be making idle comments about the use of nuclear weapons.”The package of proposals the administration is sending to Congress also includes measures to strengthen the hand of the justice department in pursuing Kremlin-aligned oligarchs seizing their assets and using the proceeds to support the Ukraine war effort.UN secretary general describes war in Ukraine as ‘absurdity’ in 21st centuryRead moreBiden said the measures would allow for “expanded and expedited measures for investigating, prosecuting, and forfeiting assets of Russian oligarchs to be used for the benefit of Ukraine”.“We’re going to seize their yachts and luxury homes and other ill-begotten gains of Putin’s kleptocracy,” he added. The president made his announcement as the UN secretary general was visiting Ukraine, where he described the war as “an absurdity” in the 21st century.Guterres was touring Borodianka on Thursday, where Russian forces are accused of massacring civilians before their withdrawal, on his first visit to Ukraine since the start of the invasion on 24 February, before talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.01:23In nearby Bucha, where dozens of civilian bodies, some with their hands tied, were discovered this month, Guterres backed an investigation by the International Criminal Court into possible war crimes in Ukraine. “I appeal to the Russian Federation to accept, to cooperate with the ICC,” he said.The humanitarian impact of the Russian invasion has been devastating. The UN refugee agency UNHCR said nearly 5.4 million Ukrainians had fled their country since the attack began, with more than 55,000 leaving in the past 24 hours. While the outflow has slowed significantly since March, it forecast that the conflict in Ukraine could produce 8.3 million refugees by the end of the year.Maria Zakharova, Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson, warned the west on Thursday to stop encouraging Ukraine to strike at targets inside Russian territory, saying it was “trying our patience”. Multiple targets, including fuel and ammunition depots, have been hit in Russian provinces bordering Ukraine in recent days.“Such aggression against Russia cannot remain without an answer,” Zakharova said. “We would like Kyiv and western capitals to take seriously the statement that further provocation prompting Ukraine to strike against Russian facilities will be met with a harsh response from Russia.”Podolyak, the Ukrainian presidential aide, defended the country’s right to strike inside Russia, saying: “Ukraine will defend itself in any way, including strikes on the warehouses and bases of the killers in Russia. The world recognises this right.”Britain’s defence secretary, Ben Wallace, on Thursday also repeated the UK’s assertion that it was “legitimate under international law” for Ukrainian forces to target Russian logistics infrastructure, but he said such attacks were unlikely to use British weapons.The US on Thursday accused Russia of planning fake independence votes to justify its conquest of Ukrainian territory, saying the Kremlin might attempt “sham referenda” in southern and eastern areas it had captured using “a well-worn playbook that steals from history’s darkest chapters” and must “never be recognised as legitimate”.TopicsUS foreign policyJoe BidenUkraineRussiaUS CongressUS politicsEuropenewsReuse this content More

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      The Trumpian right keeps pushing rule of law to the brink. But the law is winning | Norman L Eisen and Dennis Aftergut

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      The Trumpian right keeps pushing rule of law to the brink. But the law is winningNorman L Eisen and Dennis AftergutSome Republicans in Congress allegedly considered using martial law to keep Trump in office. Thankfully our institutions have held the line This week has seen developments in two important legal battles. At stake is whether we are a society ruled by law or not. Without law, we face not survival of the fittest but survival of the fiercest – those most willing to use intimidation, force and violence to get their way.First, a New York judge held Donald Trump in contempt for stiffing a subpoena from the state attorney general, Letitia James, for documents relating to her civil investigation of the Trump Organization. She is investigating Trump’s businesses for allegedly inflating financial statements to lenders.Judges do not hold parties in contempt lightly. There needs to be an act so egregiously contemptuous of the law’s authority that a court cannot ignore it.In this case, the New York state court found team Trump’s efforts to locate documents in response to the New York attorney general’s subpoena “woefully insufficient” and showing complete disdain for the legal process. Trump was fined $10,000 for every day he continues in noncompliance.That court stood up for the rules that make our society work.Second, and on the same day, we saw evidence of attempts to destroy those rules and put allegiance to Trump above allegiance to country. New text messages – uncovered by the House committee investigating the January 6 siege of the Capitol, and disclosed by CNN – revealed the extent of rightwing Republicans’ attacks on the US constitution.Marjorie Taylor Greene texted Trump chief of staff urging martial law to overturn electionRead moreThe most striking text was an exchange from Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Republican congresswoman from Georgia. On 17 January, 11 days after the violent Capitol insurrection and three days before the scheduled transition of power to Joe Biden, she wrote: “In our private chat with only [House] Members several are saying the only way to save our Republic is for Trump to call Marshall [sic] law.”She wasn’t referring to Thurgood Marshall. Nor was she referencing the former secretary of state George Marshall. Rather, she was referring to “martial law”, the use of the military to control all features of American life and to shut down our constitutional system of government. Greene was telling the then White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, that some Republican members of Congress were allegedly advocating to end the 225-year tradition of power transferring peacefully after elections and instead using force to keep the loser in office. By passing the idea along, she suggests she is willing to entertain it herself.Stop and think about that for a moment. Multiple elected federal officials sworn to uphold the constitution were contemplating abandoning it for the law of the jungle. We should not be so inured to extremism from the Republican right that such a text message fails to shock us.These texts take on an even more ominous cast when read together with emails disclosed by the January 6 committee’s recent legal filing in a civil suit Meadows brought to block the committee’s subpoenas. His meritless effort to rehash legal arguments already rejected by other courts is nothing more than a ploy to run out the clock, and the damaging evidence filed by the committee makes clear why.To pick but one example from almost 200 pages of exhibits, there is testimony that the secret service warned Meadows and others of the risk of January 6 violence, and they proceeded to discuss sending marchers to the Capitol. The evidence of efforts to overturn the election includes step-by-step plans which, taken together with yesterday’s texts, read like a recipe book for a coup, including all the ingredients and even the cooking instructions.For those on the American right who profess to believe in liberty, imposing martial law to put a strongman atop American government a la Putin should be unthinkable.But do not hold your breath waiting for outrage from the right over texts such as the one Greene was just revealed to have sent Meadows. Greene is a charter member of the anything-goes-for-Trump club. For its members, the end justifies any means.From ancient Greek democracy to the Roman republic to the French Revolution, history tells us again and again that gravitating to autocracy comes back to haunt a nation. As John Adams, signer of the declaration of independence and second president of the United States, wrote in 1775 to his wife, Abigail, “[A] Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty once lost is lost forever.”This week, we were reminded again how close we came to a coup here in the US. Fortunately, a New York judge also showed us that the institutions of law remain strong and the impulse to autocracy is being held at bay.
      Norman L Eisen served as President Barack Obama’s ethics czar, was special impeachment counsel to the House judiciary committee in 2019–20 and is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. His latest book is Overcoming Trumpery
      Dennis Aftergut is a former federal prosecutor, currently of counsel to Lawyers Defending American Democracy
      TopicsRepublicansOpinionUS Capitol attackUS CongressDonald TrumpUS politicscommentReuse this content More

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      McConnell was ‘exhilarated’ by Trump’s apparent January 6 downfall, book says

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      McConnell was ‘exhilarated’ by Trump’s apparent January 6 downfall, book saysNew York Times reporters show how Senate leader’s opposition to Trump dwindled in face of hard political reality Hours after the deadly Capitol attack on 6 January 2021, the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, told a reporter he was “exhilarated” because he thought Donald Trump had finally lost his grip on the party.Biden finds Murdoch ‘most dangerous man in the world’, new book saysRead moreClose to a year and a half later, however, with midterm elections looming, Trump retains control over the GOP and is set to be its presidential candidate in 2024.What’s more, McConnell has said he will support Trump if so.McConnell’s short-lived glee over Trump’s apparent downfall is described in This Will Not Pass, an explosive new book by Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns of the New York Times which will be published next week. The Guardian obtained a copy.The two authors describe a meeting between one of them and McConnell at the Capitol early on 7 January 2021. The day before, a mob Trump told to “fight like hell” in service of his lie about electoral fraud attempted to stop certification of Joe Biden’s election victory by forcing its way into the Capitol.A bipartisan Senate committee connected seven deaths to the attack. In the aftermath, 147 Republicans in the House and Senate nonetheless lodged objections to electoral results.According to Martin and Burns, McConnell told staffers Trump was a “despicable human being” he would now fight politically. Then, on his way out of the Capitol, the authors say, McConnell met one of them and “made clear he wanted a word”.“What do you hear about the 25th amendment?” they say McConnell asked, “eager for intelligence about whether his fellow Republicans were discussing removing Trump from office” via the constitutional process for removing a president incapable of the office.Burns and Martin say McConnell “seemed almost buoyant”, telling them Trump was now “pretty thoroughly discredited”.“He put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger,” McConnell is quoted as saying. “Couldn’t have happened at a better time.”The authors say McConnell indicated he believed he would regain control of his party, alluding to a previous confrontation with the far right and saying: “We crushed the sons of bitches and that’s what we’re going to do in the primary in ’22.”McConnell also said: “I feel exhilarated by the fact that [Trump] finally, totally discredited himself.”McConnell’s words ring hollow, in fact, as the 2022 midterms approach. Trump endorsements are highly prized and Republicans who voted for impeachment are either retiring or facing Trump-backed challengers.Trump was impeached for a second time over the Capitol attack but as Burns and Martin describe, McConnell swiftly realised that most Republican voters still supported the former president – many believing his lie about electoral fraud – and that most Republicans in Congress were going to stay in line.Burns and Martin describe how in Trump’s Senate trial, Democratic House managers sought to convince McConnell of their case, knowing his loathing for Trump and hoping he would bring enough Republicans with him to convict.But McConnell, grasping a legal argument that said Congress could not impeach a former president, did not join the seven Republicans who did find Trump guilty of inciting an insurrection.After voting to acquit, McConnell excoriated Trump, saying he was “practically and morally responsible” for the Capitol attack.That did not change the fact that thanks in large part to McConnell, Trump remains free to run for office again.TopicsBooksDonald TrumpUS Capitol attackUS politicsUS SenateUS CongressRepublicansnewsReuse this content More

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      Joe Biden’s message drowned out by beat of the Republican culture-war drum

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      Joe Biden’s message drowned out by beat of the Republican culture-war drumDemocrats struggle to tell a good-news story, raising fears of midterm losses in November The interruption was unplanned but Joe Biden immediately knew this was no ordinary heckler. “I agree!” he told a babbling baby as the audience laughed. “I agree completely. By the way, kids are allowed to do anything they want when I speak so don’t worry about it.”It was a welcome note of light relief during a speech that could not be described as blockbuster television. Beside a blue sign that said “Building a Better America”, perched on a white boat at the New Hampshire Port Authority in Portsmouth, the US president was last week trying to gin up enthusiasm about infrastructure investment and supply chains.Biden’s choice of state was telling: Democratic senator Maggie Hassan faces New Hampshire voters in November as she seeks a second term in elections that will decide the control of Congress. And not for the first time, there are fears the Democrats have a messaging problem.The party does have a story to tell about the creation of 7.9 million jobs – more over his first 14 months in office than any president in history – along with progress against the coronavirus pandemic, the passage of a $1tn bipartisan infrastructure law, diverse judicial appointments and leading the Nato alliance against Russia’s Vladimir Putin.But opinion polls suggest this could be overwhelmed by Republicans’ characteristically blunt and visceral campaign targeting 40-year high inflation, rising crime, immigration at the Mexico border and “culture wars” over abortion, transgender rights and how race is taught in schools.“Hearts beats charts,” said John Zogby, an author and pollster. “Very simply, look at the Democrats who’ve won the presidency: Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden. Contrast the obvious empathy and real-life stories with Michael Dukakis, Al Gore, John Kerry, Hillary Clinton.“It’s the ability to tell a story that relates to all Americans. All of which is to suggest that Republicans will tell stories that matter and Democrats will show statistics.”The stakes this time could hardly be higher: the Senate is currently split 50-50, while Democrats can afford to lose only three seats in the House of Representatives if they want to retain control. Given the headwinds typically faced by the president’s party in midterms, Republicans believe both chambers are within their grasp.Such an outcome could turn Biden into a lame-duck president, able to do little more than issue executive orders and veto legislation, while empowering congressional Republicans to launch investigations into his son, Hunter Biden, and other foes while paving the way for the return of the former president, Donald Trump.The polls look bleak for Democrats. Last month, NBC News found that 46% of registered voters prefer a Republican-controlled Congress while 44% want Democrats in charge – the first time Republicans have led in this survey since September 2014.Inflation fears dominate, according to online focus groups run last week by Navigator Research with swing voters in Nevada, North Carolina and Wisconsin. They found that presenting economic facts “only modestly moves the needle” and pervasive inflation concerns outweigh job creation.A North Carolina woman who took part said of the economy: “So you can tell me it’s doing great but if I’m struggling to buy groceries and gas and will be out of a job in two months, that to me is saying no, it’s not really doing that great.”Biden has attempted to shift blame for rising fuel costs to “Putin’s price hike” but with limited success. His public approval rating stands at 43%, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, with disapproval of his job performance at 51%.Democrats’ four most-endangered Senate incumbents – Hassan of New Hampshire, Mark Kelly of Arizona, Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada – duly seem to be distancing themselves from the president, for example by visiting the southern border and criticising his plan to lift a pandemic-era restriction there known as Title 42.Biden, touring the country and refocusing on domestic concerns after two months dominated by Ukraine, wants to convince voters that investing in roads and bridges is a major accomplishment after years of unfulfilled promises from his predecessor. But most of the benefits will not be felt for years and even the word “infrastructure” tends to land with a thud.There are further worries that the Democratic base, including many voters of colour, will stay at home on election day, disenchanted by the party’s failure to get gun safety, police reform and voting rights legislation through Congress. Biden no longer uses the phrase “Build Back Better” and is struggling to salvage parts of that plan to address the climate crisis.Henry Olsen, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center thinktank in Washington, said: “The difficulty that Democrats have is that a message that would energise the base is not one that resonates with the centre. The swing voter doesn’t prioritise voting rights, climate change, big expansion of spending. They want much more pedestrian things and Democrats have not yet figured out how to have a narrative that combines both.”Biden launches $6bn effort to save America’s distressed nuclear plantsRead moreRepublicans have the luxury of opposition, Olsen added. “When you don’t have the power to be for anything, it’s easier to be against something and that’s what you’re going to see: Biden inflation, Biden weakness, Biden liberalism, Biden socialism.“They will try to paint the Democratic party as a whole with its left wing but, by and large, they will attack Biden and the Democratic party as out of touch and producing bad results for the average American on the things they care most about: crime, immigration and the economy. This is one of, if not the most, favourable environment for an out party that I’ve seen in my lifetime.”Indeed, Republicans are exuding confidence despite still being in thrall to a former president who incited a deadly insurrection and despite offering no policy agenda. Florida senator Rick Scott, the chairman of the national Republican senatorial committee, published his own 11-point plan that includes forcing poorer Americans who do not currently pay income tax to do so, but it was swiftly disowned by minority leader Mitch McConnell.Instead, Republicansare filling the vacuum by assailing rising prices at the petrol pump and at the supermarket (“Bidenflation”), increasing crime rates in major cities and Biden’s reversal of Trump-era policies on immigration. US authorities arrested 210,000 migrants attempting to cross the southern border in March, the highest monthly total in two decades.The party has also reverted to its playbook of social and cultural hot-button topics, railing against a caricature of “critical race theory” (CRT) in schools and pushing state legislation to restrict abortions and ban transgender children from sport. It casts itself as a champion of “parental rights” while portraying Democrats as “woke” socialists bent on controlling lives’ and “cancelling” dissent.Addressing the conservative Heritage Foundation thinktank in Washington last month, Scott warned:“We survived the war of 1812, world war one, world war two, Korea, Vietnam and the cold war. But now, today, we face the greatest danger we have ever faced: the militant left wing in our country has become the enemy within.”Come election season, Democrats are often accused of bringing a power-point presentation to a bar brawl: trying to explain policies in intellectual paragraphs while Republicans spin slogans ready-made for car bumper stickers. But this time some Democrats say they are ready to take the fight to their opponents.Congressman Eric Swalwell of California has just launched the Remedy political action committee, which turns Scott’s message on its head by contending that American democracy is “under attack from within” and promising to “hold accountable those who choose party over country”.Swalwell said: “At the end of the day, elections are about A or B. It’s about drawing a contrast and we can just make it as simple as chaos or competency. When it comes to transitions of power, do you want violence or voting? When it comes to the character of who runs the country, do you want indecency or integrity?”“When [pro-Trump members of Congress] Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene proudly declare that they’re not the fringe, they’re the base of the party, we’re going to make sure every voter knows that. That’s what they’re going to get if they give Republicans the keys to the country.”One dilemma for Democrats is how much time they should spend harking back to Trump, reminding voters of the existential threat that his party still poses to democracy, versus a positive forward-looking vision that encompasses bread-and-butter concerns.Swalwell acknowledges that Democrats must identify with the pain that people are feeling from inflation while also offering solutions. He points to last month’s example of the House passing a bill to limit the cost of insulin to $35 a month (Americans currently pay around five to eight times more than Canadians). Some 193 Republicans opposed the bill while just 12 voted in favour.Swalwell said: “We’re going to make them own walking away from solutions that would help people. Their plan for the economy is that 100 million people will pay more in taxes: that’s Rick Scott’s rescue plan that they’re running on. As people pay more already at the checkout stand, Rick Scott would have most Americans pay more in taxes.“It’s going to be about choices and, if we have the resources to tell America what the choices are, we’re going to win. Right now I see the punditry betting against us but I don’t see our supporters betting against us because, when you look at Democratic versus Republican fundraising quarter after quarter, we’re beating them. There’s no fatigue in our base. They get it.”The four embattled Senate Democrats – Cortez Masto, Hassan, Kelly and Warnock – outraised their Republican opponents in the first quarter of this year, boosting hopes that supporters will remain energised. Trump’s determination to insert himself into dozens of races with risky endorsements, campaign rallies and his “big lie” of a stolen election could also galvanise Democrats and independents.Michael Steele, the former chairman of the Republican national committee, predicts that Republicans will pick up 30 to 35 seats in the House but Democrats might just hold the Senate. He said: “The Republicans’ main message is going to be Democrats can’t run the country. ‘I give you the economy. I give you culture. I give you crime.’ And the Democrats’ message is, ‘Can we get back to you in a moment?’ That sums up the 2022 election.”He added: “Republicans don’t have to run on anything substantive; all they have to do is say, ‘gee, look how screwed up these guys are.’ You’re going to see Republicans run a culture war-based strategy that drives the fear and loathing that white suburban families, particularly women, have over things that are not even relevant to their children’s lives, like CRT. And Democrats will be sitting there pissed off at all the wrong stuff.”TopicsUS midterm elections 2022The ObserverJoe BidenDemocratsRepublicansUS CongressHouse of RepresentativesUS SenatenewsReuse this content More

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      Overcoming Trumpery review: recipes for reform Republicans will never allow

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      Overcoming Trumpery review: recipes for reform Republicans will never allow The depth of Trump’s corruption is familiar but still astonishing when presented in the whole. Alas, his party shares itThe great abuses of power by Richard Nixon’s administration which are remembered collectively as Watergate had one tremendous benefit: they inspired a raft of legislation which significantly strengthened American democracy.The Presidency of Donald Trump review: the first draft of historyRead moreThis new book from the Brookings Institution, subtitled How to Restore Ethics, The Rule of Law and Democracy, recalls those far-away days of a functioning legislative process.The response to Watergate gave us real limits on individual contributions to candidates and political action committees (Federal Election Campaign Act); a truly independent Office of Special Counsel (Ethics in Government Act); inspector generals in every major agency (Inspector General Act); a vastly more effective freedom of information process; and a Sunshine Law which enshrined the novel notion that the government should be “the servant of the people” and “fully accountable to them”.Since then, a steadily more conservative supreme court has eviscerated all the most important campaign finance reforms, most disastrously in 2010 with Citizens United, and in 2013 destroyed the most effective parts of the Voting Rights Act. Congress let the special counsel law lapse, partly because of how Ken Starr abused it when he investigated Bill Clinton.The unraveling of Watergate reforms was one of many factors that set the stage for the most corrupt US government of modern times, that of Donald Trump.Even someone as inured as I am to Trump’s crimes can still be astonished when all the known abuses are catalogued in one volume. What the authors of this book identify as “The Seven Deadly Sins of Trumpery” include “Disdain for Ethics, Assault on the rule of law, Incessant lying and disinformation, Shamelessness” and, of course, “Pursuit of personal and political interest”.The book identifies Trump’s original sin as his refusal to put his businesses in a blind trust, which led to no less than 3,400 conflicts of interest. It didn’t help that the federal conflict of interests statute specifically exempts the president. Under the first president of modern times with no interest in “the legitimacy” or “the appearance of legitimacy of the presidency”, this left practically nothing off limits.The emoluments clause of the constitution forbids every government official accepting “any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State” but lacks any enforcement mechanism. So a shameless president could be paid off through his hotels by everyone from the Philippines to Kuwait while the Bank of China paid one Trump company an estimated $5.4m. (As a fig leaf, Trump gave the treasury $448,000 from profits made from foreign governments during two years of his presidency, but without any accounting.)Trump even got the federal government to pay him directly, by charging the secret service $32,400 for guest rooms for a visit to Mar-a-Lago plus $17,000 a month for a cottage at his New Jersey golf club.The US Office of Special Counsel catalogued dozens of violations of the Hatch Act, which prohibits political activity by federal officials. Miscreants included Peter Navarro, Dan Scavino, Nikki Haley and most persistently Kellyanne Conway. The OSC referred its findings to Trump, who of course did nothing. Conway was gleeful.“Let me know when the jail sentence starts,” she said.There was also the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, addressing the Republican convention from a bluff overlooking Jerusalem during a mission to Israel. In a different category of corruption were the $43,000 soundproof phone booth the EPA administrator Scott Pruitt installed and the $1m the health secretary Tom Price spent on luxury travel. Those two actually resigned.The book is mostly focused on the four-year Trump crimewave. But it is bipartisan enough to spread the blame to Democrats for creating a climate in which no crime seemed too big to go un-prosecuted.Barack Obama’s strict ethics rules enforced by executive orders produced a nearly scandal-free administration. But Claire O Finkelstein and Richard W Painter argue that there was one scandal that established a terrible precedent: the decision not to prosecute anyone at the CIA for illegal torture carried out under George W Bush.This “failure of accountability” was “profoundly corrosive. The decision to ‘look forward, not back’ on torture … damaged the country’s ability to hold government officials to the constraints of the law”.However, the authors are probably a little too optimistic when they argue that a more vigorous stance might have made the Trump administration more eager to prosecute its own law breakers.The authors point out there are two things in the federal government which are even worse than the wholesale violation of ethical codes within the executive branch: the almost total absence of ethical codes within the congressional and judicial branches.The ethics manual for the House says it is “fundamental that a member … may not use his or her official position for personal gain”. But that is “virtually meaningless” became members can take actions on “industries in which they hold company stock”.Dignity in a Digital Age review: a congressman takes big tech to taskRead moreThe Senate exempts itself from ethical concerns with two brilliant words: no member can promote a piece of legislation whose “principal purpose” is “to further only his pecuniary interest”. So as long as legislation also has other purposes, personal profit is no impediment to passage.The authors argue that since the crimes of Watergate pale in comparison to the corruption of Trump, this should be the greatest opportunity for profound reform since the 1970s. But of course there is no chance of any such reform getting through this Congress, because Republicans have no interest in making government honest.Nothing tells us more about the collapse of our democracy than the primary concern of the House and Senate minority leaders, Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell. Their only goal is to avoid any action that would offend the perpetrator or instigator of all these crimes. Instead of forcing him to resign the way Nixon did, these quivering men still pretend Donald Trump is the only man qualified to lead them.
      Overcoming Trumpery is published in the US by Brookings Institution Press
      TopicsBooksDonald TrumpTrump administrationUS politicsUS political financingUS voting rightsUS constitution and civil libertiesreviewsReuse this content More

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      Biden announces another $800m in military aid for Ukraine: ‘We’re in a critical window’ – as it happened

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      US politics liveUS politicsBiden announces another $800m in military aid for Ukraine: ‘We’re in a critical window’ – as it happened
      President also announces ‘Unite for Ukraine’ refugee program
      US will take in 100,000 refugees, says Biden
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       Updated 1h agoVivian Ho (now) and Richard Luscombe (earlier)Thu 21 Apr 2022 16.31 EDTFirst published on Thu 21 Apr 2022 09.22 EDT Show key events onlyLive feedShow key events only
      The Florida legislature approved a congressional map approved by governor Ron DeSantis that will severely curtail Black voting power in the state – and also passed a bill dissolving the self-governance status of Disney World. This all took place despite Democrats staging a sit-in on the legislature floor in protest of the new congressional map.
      Joe Biden is scheduled to deliver remarks momentarily in Portland, Oregon on infrastructure. He is then staying in Portland to participate in a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee, before flying to Seattle to participate in yet another fundraiser for the DNC.
      A federal judge temporarily blocked an anti-abortion law in Kentucky that was so restrictive that the two remaining abortion clinics had to halt procedures.
      A federal judge has temporarily blocked enforcement of a sweeping new anti-abortion law in Kentucky that banned abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy and called for a combination birth-death or stillbirth certificate for each abortion. The restrictive law forced Kentucky’s two remaining abortion clinics to halt procedures. NEWS: Abortions can happen again in Kentucky — for now.A federal judge has temporarily blocked the state’s sweeping new abortion law, HB3, which clinics said made it impossible to provide care.If Roe is overturned this summer, KY has a trigger ban that would outlaw abortion.— Shefali Luthra (@shefalil) April 21, 2022
      Despite the efforts of Florida Democrats, the Florida legislature approved a congressional map approved by governor Ron DeSantis that will severely curtail Black voting power in the state.Earlier today, Florida Democrats staged a sit-in on the floor of the state legislature to interrupt the special legislative session.“What we see today is an overreach, and it’s something we see as unacceptable,” Democratic representative Kamia Brown, who chairs the legislative Black caucus, told the Associated Press after the session adjourned. “Today was one thing we could not just take and stand. We’re sick and tired of being sick and tired.”The congressional map passed today favors the GOP in 20 of the state’s 28 congressional districts in an increase of four seats for the party, by eliminating two congressional districts where Black voters have the ability to elect the candidate of their choosing. One of those, the fifth congressional district, which stretches from Jacksonville to Tallahassee and has a voting population that is 46% Black, will be chopped up into four districts where Black voters comprise a much smaller share of the population. Rep. Al Lawson, whose district is on the chopping block in maps passed by FL legislation, tees off on DeSantis “Once again, DeSantis is showing Florida voters that he is governing the state as a dictator.” pic.twitter.com/TUVALHiV1S— Nicholas Wu (@nicholaswu12) April 21, 2022
      Florida will be sued. https://t.co/wkoecH0Qbb— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) April 21, 2022
      Donald Trump is in the news again, this time for…not being on the news? Trump is denying that he stormed out of a televised interview with Piers Morgan, claiming instead that the clip released yesterday promoting “the most explosive interview of the year” was misleadingly edited to give the impression that he shouted “turn the camera off” while rising from his chair in anger. Trump’s team provided audio to US media outlets that suggested that he had said “turn the camera off” after he and Morgan exchanged pleasantries at the end of the interview. “This is a pathetic attempt to use President Trump as a way to revive the career of a failed television host,” said Taylor Budowich, Trump’s spokesperson.“He says it’s a rigged election, and he now says I have a rigged promo,” Morgan said. “What I would say is watch the interview. It will all be there. We won’t be doing any duplicitous editing.”Read more here: Donald Trump denies storming out of Piers Morgan interviewRead moreIt’s been quite a day in Florida. First Florida Democrats staged a sit in on the floor of the state legislature, halting a special legislative session in which Republicans are poised to pass new congressional districts that would severely curtail Black voting power in the state. All while this was happening, the Florida legislature passed a bill dissolving the self-governance status of Disney World.BREAKING: The Florida legislature has passed the bill dissolving Disney World’s self-governance status in retaliation for Disney’s (belated) opposition to Florida’s Don’t Say Gay law. It now heads to DeSantis’ desk to be signed into law.— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) April 21, 2022
      This bill dissolving Disney World’s self-governance came after Disney’s opposition to what critics call the state’s “don’t say gay” law that bars instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.If Florida governor Ron DeSantis signs the bill into law, it could have huge tax implications for Disney – but Democrats also warned that the move could cause local homeowners to get hit with big tax bills if they have to absorb bond debt from Disney.Politico-Morning Consult poll:75% of voters consider themselves “fans” of Disney’s movies and TV shows31% have a favorable view of Ron DeSantis— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) April 21, 2022
      This week in FL politics:-DeSantis announces a May special session on property insurance (+ other topics?)-DeSantis adds bills affecting Disney to redistricting special session-Lawmakers take up and pass Disney bills-Democrats stage unprecedented House sit-in.It’s Thursday.— Kirby Wilson (@KirbyWTweets) April 21, 2022
      ABC News is reporting that in the coming days, Donald Trump Jr is expected to meet with the House select committee tasked with investigating the 6 January attack on the US Capitol. Sources tell ABC News that the meeting is voluntary and the committee did not have to subpoena the eldest son of Donald Trump. Trump Jr joins his sister Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, as the most recent Trump family members to speak to the panel. An auction of artwork, including pieces by Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol, and other personal items owned by the late supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is expected to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars next week.Much of her collection of paintings and ceramics forms a 115-lot modern art auction hosted by the Potomack company of Alexandria, Virginia, in an online catalog. An additional collection entitled “chambers and home” features 145 more lots of miscellaneous curios, including pewter bowls, crystal vases and numerous other personal items.Ginsburg, the iconic human and civil rights pioneer who died in 2020 aged 87 from complications of pancreatic cancer, owned a multitude of artefacts spanning the last two centuries, by artists including Picasso and Warhol.One of the most valuable items is a 1953 oil painting, Presagio-Premonition, by the Mexican artist Gunther Gerzso, which is expected to raise up to $100,000.Among the most personal is a “Gartenhaus natural black mink coat” with Ginsburg’s name embroidered in a pocket. By Thursday morning, bidding for that was already above $2,000, more than twice its original estimate.Ceramics by Picasso, and a Warhol painting of a can of tomato soup, are among the other highlights.“These items are truly tangible pieces of her life and times as one of America’s greatest supreme court justices,’’ Elizabeth Haynie Wainstein, owner of the Potomack Company, told the New York Times.Read more:Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s personal art collection up for auctionRead moreThe much vaunted and heavily promoted CNN+ subscription streaming service, which the network intended to be a value-added supplement to its regular news programming, has folded, less than a month after it was launched.The decision to halt the service on 30 April will be seen as a massive humiliation for CNN, which was relying on its big-name presenters to draw in customers at $5.99 a month.Take up was slow, however, and the new corporate owners of CNN+, Warner Bros Discovery, decided to pull the plug on Thursday. The company’s hopes of 2m subscribers in the first year appeared hugely optimistic, with reports saying it had attracted barely 150,000 in the three weeks since its launch. In a statement to staff attempting to paint the abrupt closure as a reshuffle of resources, CNN’s incoming president Chris Licht said:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}While today’s decision is incredibly difficult, it is the right one for the long-term success of CNN. It allows us to refocus resources on the core products that drive our singular focus: further enhancing CNN’s journalism and its reputation as a global news leader. Breaking: CNN+, the streaming service that was hyped as one of the most signifiant developments in the history of CNN, will shut down on April 30, just one month after it launched. Here’s our initial story – more to come https://t.co/JElI3cVyDF— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) April 21, 2022
      Black Democrats have staged a sit-in protest in the Florida legislature to disrupt approval of Republican governor Ron DeSantis’s congressional redistricting plans, which they say seeks to eliminate representation for Black voters.According to the Miami Herald, the special legislative session called by DeSantis was adjourned just before lunchtime Thursday as the Black lawmakers began chanting, and were joined in the protest by White colleagues.The Herald reports: “The House was halfway through a three-hour debate on the map when Rep Yvonne Hinson, a Gainesville Democrat, was cut off because she had exceeded the five-minute time limit set for member debate. “As her microphone was silenced, Rep Angie Nixon, a Jacksonville Democrat, walked on the floor with a T-shirt under her suit jacket that read ‘Stop the Black Attack’ and held a sign in protest.“As Black Democrats started chanting and white Democrats joined the protest, House Speaker Chris Sprowls ordered the House in recess and stunned Republicans slowly walked off the floor.”DeSantis has proposed his own redrawn map for Florida’s congressional districts, which the Republican-controlled legislature has said it will pass without change, despite it being lawmakers’ responsibility to draw up boundaries.The governor’s proposal would chop up the fifth congressional district into four new ones where Black voters would comprise a much smaller share of the vote. Critics say his “racist” plan would eliminate the seats of two Black congress members.Read more:‘A racist move’: Florida’s DeSantis threatens Black voter power with electoral mapsRead moreJoe Biden must act to reduce mounting economic pressure by ditching “woke advisers”, Mitt Romney said.The Utah senator and former Republican presidential nominee made the demand in a column for the Wall Street Journal.“A new set of priorities requires a new set of principals,” Romney wrote. “President Biden needs to ditch his woke advisers and surround himself with people who want to get the economy working again.”Romney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about what a “woke adviser” was or who might qualify for the title. The White House did not comment. As midterm elections approach, the Biden administration faces strong economic headwinds. Inflation is at long-term highs, adding to a cost-of-living crisis fueled by the coronavirus pandemic and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.Biden’s favourability rating has plummeted as polling shows disapproval of his handling of economic affairs.Read more:Joe Biden must ditch ‘woke advisers’ to fix US economy, Mitt Romney saysRead more
      Joe Biden announced that the US would be providing another $800m military assistance package to Ukraine, in addition to $500m in economic assistance. He acknowledged that he had nearly exhausted the drawdown authority authorized by Congress in a bipartisan spending bill last month, and that he would be making a supplemental budget request in order to continue funding Ukraine as it defends itself from Russia.
      In this same address, Biden announced the creation of Unite for Ukraine, a humanitarian parole program to expedite the migration of Ukrainian refugees from Europe to the US through sponsorship.
      In addition to more sanctions announced yesterday, Biden announced that Russian-affiliated ships are now banned from American ports.
      Ukraine prime minister Denys Shmyhal is in Washington, and met briefly with Biden and some of his cabinet members before Biden gave his remarks. Shmyhal then went on to Capitol Hill, where he met with House speaker Nancy Pelosi.
      A new book by reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns has new details of the days following the 6 January attack on the US Capitol in which Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell, the two top Republican leaders in Congress, privately told associates that they believed Donald Trump should be held responsible for the insurrection. McCarthy has come out strongly against the New York Times report on the book’s findings, calling it “totally false and wrong”. My statement on the New York Times pic.twitter.com/PWi2WkoWzh— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) April 21, 2022
      Read more here: Top Republicans held ‘atrocious’ Trump responsible for Capitol attack, book saysRead moreDelta Airlines will restore flight privileges to the 2,000 customers who were barred from flights for failing to comply with the federal mask mandate, Reuters is reporting. Now that a federal judge has ruled the mandate unlawful and the Biden administration will no longer enforce it on public transit – though the justice department appealed the ruling yesterday at the request of public health officials – Delta said it will restore passengers “only after each case is reviewed and each customer demonstrates an understanding of their expected behavior when flying with us.”“Any further disregard for the policies that keep us all safe will result in placement on Delta’s permanent no-fly list,” Delta said. This will not affect the 1,000 or so passengers “who demonstrated egregious behavior and are already on the permanent no-fly list.”Delta joins United Airlines in overturning a ban on passengers who had been banned for not wearing masks on a “case by case basis.”Here’s the White House readout of the meeting between Joe Biden and Ukraine prime minister Denys Shmyhal:NEW: White House releases readout of Pres. Biden’s meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. “President Biden conveyed the continued commitment of the United States to support the people of Ukraine and to impose costs on Russia.” https://t.co/CzlbOnpowT pic.twitter.com/l0z52cIK6z— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) April 21, 2022
      Now Ukraine prime minister Denys Shmyhal is on Capitol Hill with House speaker Nancy Pelosi. Earlier, Shmyhal spoke with Joe Biden, which delayed his remarks. Ukrainian PM Denys Shmyhal is here on the Hill with Speaker Pelosi today. pic.twitter.com/s7el1TuErZ— Nicholas Wu (@nicholaswu12) April 21, 2022
      After providing an update on Ukraine, Joe Biden is now off to Portland, Oregon to talk about infrastructure and attend a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee.NewestNewestPrevious1 of 2NextOldestOldestTopicsUS politicsUS politics liveJoe BidenRepublicansDemocratsUS CongressHouse of RepresentativesUS SenateReuse this content More