US Senate

Subterms

    More stories

    • 238 Shares149 Views

      in US Politics

      White House says ‘Trump will inherit economy primed for growth’ in defense of Biden record – US politics live

      by

      White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that Donald Trump will inherit a good economy, thanks to Joe Biden’s policies over the past four years.She also announced that Biden would promote his economic accomplishments in a speech on Tuesday, after government data released today showed that hiring remained strong in November.“Just today, we learned more than 220,000 jobs were created last month, making this the only presidency in 50 years to have job growth every single month,” Jean-Pierre said.“Over the last four years, the president has rejected trickle-down economics and written a new economic playbook that builds the economy from the middle out and bottom up, not the top down. This is a strong foundation for years to come … Trump will inherit an economy primed for growth.”Vice president-elect JD Vance backed Kash Patel’s nomination for FBI director, saying he is in a “very good spot” for Senate approval.Still, Vance was unsure whether he would join Patel on Capitol Hill next week, according to CNN, where Patel is expected to meet with senators.“I don’t know what I’ll be doing next week. We’re fully behind Kash’s nomination, and I’m not even sure if— I’m not sure where I’m gonna be tomorrow, much less next week, but we’re fully supportive of Kash’s nomination. I actually think he’s in a very good spot for his nomination,” Vance said.Melania Trump called her husband’s win “incredible” during her first post-election interview with Fox & Friends.“We are very, very busy … I’m establishing my transition team. And also, working on my office, putting my office together, and also, you know, organizing the residence and packing,” Melania Trump, who is set to return to the White House as first lady in January, said during the interview.She also announced her new Christmas ornament collection during an appearance on Fox News on Friday. One of the ornaments is priced at $90, while the other ornaments are $75 each.“After I left the White House, I established my Web3 and Web2 platforms where I design and offer collectibles like ornaments each season,” she said. “This is the third season, and there are many other collectibles available now.”The 2024 collection, titled Merry Christmas, America!, has four designs: a golden star with “USA” in the center, a golden Lady Liberty, a red-white-and blue snowflake, and a golden clover. Each ornament has Melania Trump’s signature.JD Vance defended Pete Hegseth after he toured western North Carolina, which was ravaged by Hurricane Helene in September.Vance said that Donald Trump’s defense secretary pick deserved a Senate confirmation hearing rather than a “sham hearing before the American media” over allegations of sexual assault and excessive drinking of alcohol.“Pete Hegseth is going to get his hearing before the Senate armed services committee, not a sham hearing before the American media. We believe that Pete Hegseth is the right guy to lead the Department of Defense,” Vance said. “We’re not abandoning this nomination.”North Carolina Democrats have filed a lawsuit in federal court to block a Republican candidate’s effort to throw out 60,000 votes in a state supreme court race that a Democrat leads by just a few hundred votes.Allison Riggs, a Democrat on the state supreme court, appears to have defeated Republican Jefferson Griffin by a little more than 700 votes in the race. A recount has already confirmed Riggs’ victory once, and a second recount tallying a sampling of precincts in each county is ongoing.Democrats are closely watching the race because they need to win it to have a chance at retaking control of the court in a few years. Republicans currently have a 5-2 majority on the court.After the election, Griffin’s campaign challenged the validity of 60,000 voters. The challenged voters include those whose voter registration lacked either a driver’s license or Social Security number, those who are the adult children of North Carolinians living abroad, and overseas voters who submitted ballots without voter ID. Many of the challenges rely on legal theories that have already been rejected by the courts.Several eligible voters have already spoken out in frustration against the challenges, saying they are eligible voters and have been casting a ballot without issue for years. Riggs’ parents are among those whose votes are being challenged.“Instead of respecting the results of the election, Jefferson Griffin and Republicans are attempting to throw out over 60,000 votes. Those 60,000 voters are Republicans, Democrats, veterans, seniors, teachers, our neighbors. No North Carolinian deserves to have their vote thrown out in a callous power grab – but this is no surprise from the party of insurrectionists,” Anderson Clayton, the chair of the North Carolina Democratic party, said in a statement.Among other issues, the lawsuit says that Griffin’s mass challenges are essentially an effort to conduct a mass purge of voters after election day. Doing so would violate a federal law that prohibits purging voters within 90 days of a federal election.“North Carolina Republicans’ attempts to throw out 60,000 lawful votes to overturn Justice Allison Riggs’ victory is a brazen and callous attack on the rule of law and North Carolinians’ right to vote, but it isn’t surprising. From trying to take power away from the newly elected Democratic governor to threatening to overturn the will of the voters, Republicans will stop at nothing in their quest for power,” said Sam Cornale, executive director of the Democratic National Committee.Austin Tice, an American freelance journalist who was kidnapped in Syria early into the country’s civil war, is alive, his mother said following a meeting with Biden administration officials at the White House.“The best thing that we want to share with you is that we have from a significant source that has already been vetted all over our government, Austin Tice is alive. Austin Tice is treated well, and there is no doubt about that, and so I think that is the most important thing,” Debra Tice said at the National Press Club.The press conference was held as rebels have swept across Syria in recent days, seizing major cities from president Bashar al-Assad’s forces. It is unclear who was behind Tice’s kidnapping in August 2012, but the Biden administration believes Syria’s government is holding him. Here’s more on what we know about Tice’s captivity, and the efforts to free him.Donald Trump will head to Paris this weekend to attend the reopening of Notre Dame.Joe Biden will not be there, but first lady Jill Biden will be in attendance at the ceremony to mark the church’s return after it nearly burned down in a fire five years ago.“The president has had a scheduling conflict, which is why he was not able to attend,” Jean-Pierre said, when asked about why Joe Biden would not attend.Here’s more on Trump’s trip in the midst of political chaos in France:White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that Donald Trump will inherit a good economy, thanks to Joe Biden’s policies over the past four years.She also announced that Biden would promote his economic accomplishments in a speech on Tuesday, after government data released today showed that hiring remained strong in November.“Just today, we learned more than 220,000 jobs were created last month, making this the only presidency in 50 years to have job growth every single month,” Jean-Pierre said.“Over the last four years, the president has rejected trickle-down economics and written a new economic playbook that builds the economy from the middle out and bottom up, not the top down. This is a strong foundation for years to come … Trump will inherit an economy primed for growth.”Former Biden administration official Jesse Lee pointed out on X that if Donald Trump stops the US Postal Service from electrifying their fleet, it will likely cost jobs.Fox Carolina reports that a manufacturer of the new electric vehicles for the postal service planned to hire 1,000 people to make them. That hiring would presumably be in jeopardy if Trump cancels the plan.“Trump planning to kill 1,000 jobs in South Carolina right off the bat,” Lee wrote.Donald Trump is considering canceling efforts to electrify the United State Postal Service’s fleet once he takes office, Reuters reports.The president-elect campaigned on killing electric vehicle incentives enacted during Joe Biden’s term to combat the climate crisis, and Reuters says his transition team is looking for ways to cancel contracts with vehicle manufacturers for electric vehicles that will be used by the postal service to move mail.Here’s more on the potential plan, from Reuters:
      The move, which could be unveiled in the early days of Trump’s administration that begins on Jan 20, is in line with Trump’s campaign promises to roll back President Joe Biden’s efforts to decarbonize US transportation to fight climate change – an agenda Trump has said is unnecessary and potentially damaging to the economy.
      Reuters has previously reported that Trump is planning to kill a $7,500 consumer tax credit for electric-vehicle purchases, and plans to roll back Biden’s stricter fuel-efficiency standards.
      The sources told Reuters that Trump’s transition team is now reviewing how it can unwind the postal service’s multibillion-dollar contracts, including with Oshkosh Corp (OSK.N) and Ford (F.N), for tens of thousands of battery-driven delivery trucks and charging stations.
      Oshkosh shares fell by roughly 5% to 105.65 per share after the Reuters report.
      Oshkosh and Ford did not respond to requests for comment.
      In 2023, Congress gave USPS $3 billion as part of a $430 billion climate bill to buy EVs and charging infrastructure. It plans to buy some 66,000 electric vehicles to build one of the largest electric vehicle fleets in the nation by 2028.
      As part of that, Oshkosh is expected to deliver about 45,000 electric vehicles, with the remaining coming from mainstream automakers like Ford, according to the USPS. The initial batch of 14,000 chargers are being supplied by Siemens, ChargePoint and Blink, according to the USPS.
      JD Vance on Friday surveyed damage from Hurricane Helene and talked to first responders in western North Carolina in one of his first public appearances since the November election.The hurricane struck in September and caused at least $53bn in damage in North Carolina, according to government estimates.Vance and his wife, Usha Vance, visited the Fairview volunteer fire department. There, he learned that the building had flooded with 4-6ins of water and that roughly a dozen people contracted walking pneumonia as they responded to the hurricane’s destruction.“At the height of it, I imagine y’all were working nonstop,” Vance said.After the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the US economy added more jobs than forecast in November, President Joe Biden said that “America’s comeback continues.” The unemployment rate, on the other hand, ticked higher last month.“This has been a hard-fought recovery, but we are making progress for working families,” Biden said in a statement.“While there is more to do to lower costs, we’ve taken action to lower prescription drug prices, health insurance premiums, utility bills, and gas prices that will pay dividends for years to come.”New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez officially announced her bid to serve as ranking member on the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, the key investigative arm of the legislature.“The responsibility of leading Democrats on the House Oversight Committee during Donald Trump’s second term in the White House is a profound and consequential one,” the progressive lawmaker said in a letter released Friday.Ocasio-Cortez seeks one of the most influential positions in the House as Democrats work to counter the incoming Trump administration and monitor the president-elect and his allies.These allies have pledged to retaliate against opponents and disregard political norms in Washington.“We must do all that we can, now, to mark a different future for the American people,” reads Ocasio-Cortez’s letter, “one that inspires us to reject the siren calls of division, corruption, and authoritarianism through a shining example of a government that works for the people, by the people – one that sees their struggles and fights for them, not just the powerful and the wealthy.”If Democrats regain control of the House in the 2026 midterms, the new Oversight chairperson would have significant authority to issue subpoenas and investigate the Trump administration.Democratic representative for South Carolina, James Clyburn, said President Joe Biden should issue preemptive pardons for some of the people who have attacked President-elect Donald Trump, although it is not how the pardon power was intended.“We have to use the pardon system, or the clemency system, to get everything in order to address the current situation that we live in,” Clyburn told CNN.These comments come as the Biden administration considers the possibility of him granting mass pardons to a broad range of public officials to protect them against the possibility of retribution and revenge from Donald Trump when he assumes power.After a federal appeals court upheld a law banning TikTok across the US unless the it was sold off by its China-based parent company, the viral video app posted the following statement on X:“The Supreme Court has an established historical record of protecting Americans’ right to free speech, and we expect they will do just that on this important constitutional issue. Unfortunately, the TikTok ban was conceived and pushed through based upon inaccurate, flawed and hypothetical information, resulting in outright censorship of the American people. The TikTok ban, unless stopped, will silence the voices of over 170 million Americans here in the US and around the world on January 19th, 2025.”Donald Trump and JD Vance have gone to bat for defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth, who has faced allegations of sexual assault, excessive drinking and financial mismanagement that could imperil his Senate confirmation. Trump said Hegseth “is doing very well”, while Vance said he and the president-elect have “got his back”. We’ll see if those statements move any wary senators. Meanwhile, TikTok suffered a setback when an appeals court rejected its attempt to block a law that will force its Chinese parent company to cut ties with the popular social media app by mid-January or face a ban. However, the story is far from finished: TikTok is expected to appeal to the supreme court, and Trump has made an about-face on the issue, saying he supports keeping TikTok available.Here’s what else is going on today:

      Trump aides believe that Hegseth is on track for confirmation, despite several Republicans saying the stories about his personal conduct make them hesitant to support him.

      Hakeem Jeffries, the top House Democrat, says his lawmakers will find ways to work with the “Department of Government Efficiency”, so long as what it proposes is a good idea.

      Joe Biden is reportedly considering preemptive pardons for potential targets of retaliation, once Trump takes office. At least one Democratic senator thinks such a move would be a bad idea.
      At his press conference today, Democratic House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries said his party is willing to work with the new “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), as long as what it proposes is reasonable.“It’s unclear to me what exactly the objective is related to this so-called DOGE initiative. From our perspective, we want a federal government that is effective and efficient in equilibrium. And, to the extent the other side of the aisle shares that objective, which is what is right for the American people, then we’ll see if there’s common ground as possible,” Jeffries told reporters.The GOP will remain the majority party in the House of Representatives beginning next year, but only by a mere two seats. Jeffries implied that their slim control of the chamber will make working with the Democrats essential:
      It’s clear that the incoming House Republican majority will not be able to do much without us. More

    • 125 Shares119 Views

      in US Politics

      Republican senator introduces bill to abolish US Department of Education

      by

      A bill that would accomplish Donald Trump’s goal of abolishing the federal Department of Education has been introduced into the US Senate.The Republican senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota introduced the bill, called the Returning Education to Our States Act, on Thursday. If passed, the bill would see $200bn in funding and the work of the education department redistributed to other federal agencies and states.“The federal Department of Education has never educated a single student, and it’s long past time to end this bureaucratic department that causes more harm than good,” Rounds said in a statement announcing the bill.He added: “For years, I’ve worked toward removing the federal Department of Education. I’m pleased that president-elect Trump shares this vision, and I’m excited to work with him and Republican majorities in the Senate and House to make this a reality. This legislation is a roadmap to eliminating the federal Department of Education by practically rehoming these federal programs in the departments where they belong, which will be critical as we move into next year.”Major responsibilities of the Department of Education would be rerouted to other offices: the administration of federal student loans would become the responsibility of the treasury department; the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which enforces protections for the 7.5 million students with special needs, would fall under the Department of Health and Human Services; the Fulbright-Hays Program would be overseen by the Department of State.The bill would require a supermajority of 60 votes in the soon-to-be Republican-controlled Senate to get passed. Notably, Rounds believes he can pass the bill with 50 votes, according to the Argus Leader. That feat would happen through reconciliation, a congressional loophole which allows the enactment of legislation on taxes and spending with only a majority. Despite Rounds’s ambition, reconciliation does not look promising as Democrats and some independents who oppose eliminating the department are still in control of the Senate and White House.Rounds could reintroduced the bill next term, when Republicans take control, but it would still require 60 votes to pass the Senate.Education and policy experts have expressed their concerns should the bill pass and for what else is ahead in another Trump administration.David DeMatthews, a professor in the University of Texas’s department of educational leadership and policy, said he did not think the education department “will be abolished ultimately, but I do have a lot of fears”.Education is one subject that “really cut[s] across the political divide”, he said.“People who are Republicans who voted for Trump, they may have a child with a disability or a traumatic brain injury that is in a special program that would cost that family $50-60,000. They want their child to be in a high-quality program that’s evaluated by the state. They want rights if the state is not doing a good job, and all of that comes from the federal special education law ‘Idea’ [the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act], and all of that is monitored and enforced by the US Department of Education.”It has long been a key objective of the Republican party to abolish the Department of Education since it was launched in 1980 by then president Jimmy Carter. Within that same year, Carter’s successor, Ronald Reagan, even campaigned on eliminating the newly formed department – though that desire was quashed after Reagan’s first education secretary, Terrel Bell, penned a report that “advocated for a strong federal role to ensure students received a high-quality education”, according to ChalkBeat.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionSince then, the department has seen a push and pull depending on the party in office. Under Democratic administrations, the department has leaned more progressive. A recent example was the Biden administration issuing new Title IX rules in April that offered more protections for LGBTQ+ students, victims of sexual misconduct and pregnant students; in July, House Republicans blocked it.In his campaign, Trump repeatedly emphasized that one of his education policies was to shutter the Department of Education and “create a new credentialing body that will be the gold standard anywhere in the world to certify teachers who embrace patriotic values support our way of life and understand that their job is not to indoctrinate children”.He has also pledged to return school choice to the states and cut federal funding for any school or program that teaches “critical race theory, gender ideology or other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content”.Shortly after winning the 2024 presidential election, Trump baselessly claimed the education department was staffed by many people who “in many cases, hate our children” and said “we want states to run the education of our children, because they’ll do a much better job of it” in a video.Earlier this month, Trump chose the former World Wrestling Entertainment executive Linda McMahon to serve as his as secretary of education, tasked with running the department he has vowed to close – a move DeMatthews calls “concerning”.“Across the board, what we’re seeing is already people in the Trump administration and some Republicans really trying to walk back some basic civil rights victories that happened in the 60s and 70s to support students with disabilities, low-income families, English learners,” DeMatthews said. “I think if the public understood it and knew about it, they wouldn’t be for taking away supports to help some of the most marginalized children in our country.” More

    • 175 Shares99 Views

      in US Politics

      Trump reportedly considering former senator and loyalist Kelly Loeffler for agriculture secretary – live

      by

      Donald Trump is expected to offer Kelly Loeffler, the former Georgia Republican senator, the position of agriculture secretary, CNN and The Hill report.According to people familiar with the matter who spoke to the outlet, Trump is set to meet with Loeffler at Mar-a-Lago on Friday afternoon.Loeffler, who is co-chairing Trump’s inauguration events, was previously appointed to the Senate by Georgia’s governor Brian Kemp and then lost in 2021 to Raphael Warnock, the Democratic senator.Vivek Ramaswamy appeared to confirm he and Elon Musk will try to stop the flow of funds that go to Planned Parenthood.“The federal government shouldn’t be in the business of giving away free money to non-governmental organizations. That should be obvious,” a Thursday post on X by Ramaswamy read.The post was a quoted reposting of a story from Life News, an anti-abortion digital news site, that bore the headline: “Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy Call for Defunding Planned Parenthood Via DOGE”.The pair will lead what they plan to call the Department of government efficiency and have made prior comments about defunding organizations like the Internal revenue service and Department of education, Forbes reported.Read more of the Guardian’s coverage about the concerted efforts to topple Planned Parenthood and deliver blows to women’s healthcare here.US Senate majority whip Dick Durbin has released a statement on Donald Trump’s nomination of Pam Bondi as the next attorney general, calling for the Senate judiciary committee to follow convention rules on customary FBI background checks. Durbin said:
      “Serious questions have been raised about Ms. Bondi’s conduct as Florida’s Attorney General and President-elect Trump’s personal attorney. The Trump transition team is moving forward with an Attorney General nominee without the customary FBI background check. After the controversial announcement and awkward withdrawal of Matt Gaetz, the Senate and the Senate Judiciary Committee should insist that President-elect Trump, like prior Presidents-elect of both parties, follow the rules.
      The Committee must uphold its constitutional responsibility of advice and consent on this critical position.”
      Here’s a look at where things stand:

      Donald Trump has been granted permission by the New York Judge Juan Merchan on Friday to seek dismissal of his hush money criminal case. The permission follows his presidential victory on 5 November and multiple sentencing delays surrounding the case of which he was found guilty earlier this year.

      In a statement filled with multiple falsehoods, the Donald Trump campaign hailed Merchan’s decision to grant Trump permission to seek dismissal of his hush money criminal case. Calling the decision a “decisive win”, Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung falsely claimed the case – which found Trump guilty on 34 felony counts of falsified business records – was a “hoax.”

      Donald Trump is expected to offer Kelly Loeffler, the former Georgia Republican senator, the position of agriculture secretary, CNN reports. According to people familiar with the matter who spoke to the outlet, Trump is set to meet with Loeffler at Mar-a-Lago on Friday afternoon.

      Melania Trump’s office has appointed Haley Harrison, a longtime aid, as her new chief of staff ahead of her husband Donald Trump’s second term in the White House. In a statement on Friday, Trump’s office said: “She has a strong understanding of White House operations, and as Chief of Staff, Mrs. Harrison will oversee and manage the East Wing’s team.”

      In a new interview on Friday, Matt Gaetz revealed that he will not be returning to Congress next year. Speaking to conservative talk show host Charlie Kirk, Gaetz, who withdrew his attorney general nomination yesterday, said: “I’m still going to be in the fight, but it’s going to be from a new perch. I do not intend to join the 119th Congress,” CNN reports.

      More than half of Americans, 53%, approve of Donald Trump’s plans and policies for his second presidential term, a new Pew Research survey has found. The survey, which was conducted between November 12 and 17 and among 9,609 adults, also found that 59% of Americans said they are very or somewhat confident in Trump to make good decisions about economic policy.
      Pam Bondi, a staunch Donald Trump loyalist and his pick to be attorney general, is continuing to receive support from Republicans on her nomination.In a post on X, senator John Cornyn of Texas wrote: “An excellent nomination by Donald Trump for attorney general.”Missouri senator Josh Hawley said Bondi will “be a fabulous AG” who will “be a fantastic partner in this effort to clean up the FBI and DOJ.”Similarly, senator Mitt Romney said Bondi “will be a highly capable leader at DOJ.”Melania Trump’s office has appointed Haley Harrison, a longtime aid, as her new chief of staff ahead of her husband Donald Trump’s second term in the White House. In a statement on Friday, Trump’s office said:
      Mrs. Harrison has maintained an integral role and exceptional leadership on the First Lady’s team over the past seven years. She has a strong understanding of White House operations, and as Chief of Staff, Mrs. Harrison will oversee and manage the East Wing’s team while strategically liaising with other parts of government.
      Donald Trump is expected to offer Kelly Loeffler, the former Georgia Republican senator, the position of agriculture secretary, CNN and The Hill report.According to people familiar with the matter who spoke to the outlet, Trump is set to meet with Loeffler at Mar-a-Lago on Friday afternoon.Loeffler, who is co-chairing Trump’s inauguration events, was previously appointed to the Senate by Georgia’s governor Brian Kemp and then lost in 2021 to Raphael Warnock, the Democratic senator.Karl Rove, a Republican strategist, has rebuked Donald Trump for bringing “chaos” back.Martin Pengelly reports for the Guardian:As Matt Gaetz, Donald Trump’s first nominee for attorney general, withdrew after eight days amid allegations of sexual misconduct and more, and as Trump’s new pick, Pam Bondi, faced scrutiny of her own, a leading Republican strategist rebuked the president-elect for bringing “chaos” back to Washington.“Inadequate vetting, impatience, disregard for qualifications and a thirst for revenge have created chaos and controversy for Mr Trump before he’s even in office,” said Karl Rove, once known as George W Bush’s “Brain”, in the Wall Street Journal.“The price for all this will be missed opportunities to shore up popular support for the incoming president. But at least it’ll make great TV.”For the full story, click here:In a statement filled with multiple falsehoods, the Donald Trump campaign hailed New York judge Juan Merchan’s decision to grant Trump permission to seek dismissal of his hush money criminal case.Calling the decision a “decisive win,” Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung falsely claimed the case – which found Trump guilty on 34 felony counts of falsified business records – was a “hoax.”Repeating Trump’s unfounded claim that he “won a landslide victory,” Cheung added that the “American people have issued a mandate to return him to office and dispose of all remnants of the witch hunt cases” – another unfounded claim propelled by Trump in his attacks against his political enemies.Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Republican representative, is reportedly set to lead a new House subcommittee that will work with the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, a government body that Trump claims he’ll create, to be led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, according to CNBC.A source familiar with the situation told the network that Greene, along with James Comer, the Republican House oversight chairman, have already met with Ramaswamy and his team, and they are “already working together”.In a statement to CNBC, Greene said she was “excited to chair this new subcommittee designed to work hand in hand with President Trump, Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, and the entire DOGE team”.Republican Derek Merrin has officially conceded the race for Ohio’s ninth congressional district to his Democratic opponent and veteran congresswoman, Marcy Kaptur.In a video statement posted to X, Merrin said that he had called and congratulated Kaptur for winning two more years in Congress.“I want to thank each and every person who supported our campaign,” he said. “We ran a strong race and I’m proud of the effort we made for NW Ohio.”Merrin, a fourth-term state representative who was endorsed by the president-elect, Donald Trump, lost by about 2,300 votes – or 0.7% of the vote – according to the Associated Press.“Guys, they spent over $10m against us” Merrin said in the video. “Democrats propped up a third party candidate to siphon votes from us, they hit us hard for almost 100 days in the media, and, that’s life, man, that’s politics.”He continued: “We were fortunate enough to have the money to get our message out, and outside groups were able to talk about Marcy’s record, and it was mainly a fair fight that way – and Marcy Kaptur got more votes than we did, and I accept that.”Merrin did not rule out the possibility of running for Kaptur’s seat again in the future, but stated that his immediate plans are to rest and recharge with his family.“We stood up for our constitution, we fought for lower taxes, fiscal responsibility, set a vision out for more prosperity in northwest Ohio and we weren’t able to win,” Merrin said, “but our message and team across America won.”Chuck Grassley, the incoming Senate judiciary chair, praised Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, Pam Bondi, in a statement.“Pam Bondi is a longtime prosecutor & effectively led FL large AttyGeneral’s office for 8yrs” wrote Grassley, the Republican senator from Iowa and the oldest member of the senate at 91 years old.He went on to describe Bondi as “well regarded” and “experienced” noting that he got to know her during Trump’s first term.“Will learn more as we vet her nom in judic Cmte” he added.There are several actions Joe Biden can take to protect civil liberties before Donald Trump takes the White House.The Guardian’s Gloria Oladipo reports:In less than two months, Donald Trump will take office, threatening several areas of American life and international policy. The president-elect has pledged to take aim at LGBTQ+ rights, specifically for transgender and gender-non-conforming people. He has promised to conduct mass deportations and raids as a part of a far-right approach to US immigration. And he is expected to roll back data collection practices on police misconduct and stifle any hope of passing police reform in Congress – specifically the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.Trump will largely be able to roll out his agenda, outlined in the 900-plus-page Project 2025 document, as Republicans took control of Congress during the 2024 general election. Joe Biden’s actions in his remaining time in office could be a crucial buttress against the expected impacts of the next four years.Six experts spoke with the Guardian about what the US president could do in his remaining time to protect the most vulnerable people.For the full story, click here: More

    • 150 Shares99 Views

      in US Politics

      Trump names Pam Bondi as attorney general pick after Gaetz steps aside

      by

      Donald Trump announced that he would nominate for attorney general Pam Bondi, the former Florida state attorney general, hours after the former representative Matt Gaetz withdrew in the face of opposition from Senate Republicans who had balked over a series of sexual misconduct allegations.The move to name Bondi reflected Trump’s determination to install a loyalist as the nation’s top law enforcement official and marked another instance of Trump putting his personal lawyers in the justice department.Trump almost immediately settled on Bondi as a replacement pick for Gaetz, according to people familiar with the matter. Bondi had not auditioned for the role and her loyalist credentials coupled with her willingness to defend Trump on television made her an attractive pick.View image in fullscreenThe fact that Bondi could count on broad support inside Trump’s world and the Senate Republican conference, in contrast with Gaetz who always faced an uphill struggle, also earned her the endorsement from most of Trump’s senior advisers on Thursday, the people said.“I am proud to announce former Attorney General of the Great State of Florida, Pam Bondi, as our next Attorney General of the United States. Pam was a prosecutor for nearly 20 years, where she was very tough on Violent Criminals,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.“Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again. I have known Pam for many years — She is smart and tough, and is an AMERICA FIRST Fighter, who will do a terrific job as Attorney General!”Should Bondi be confirmed by the Senate in the coming months, it would be a reward for years of her loyalty to Trump which started during the 2016 campaign, when she became an outspoken but fierce defender of his candidacy.She also helped with Trump’s legal defense during his first impeachment trial, parroted claims that the 2020 election was stolen, and continued working as a surrogate through the 2024 campaign when she attended Trump’s criminal trial in New York.Bondi’s elevation to lead the justice department would also come as a result of extraordinary serendipity, after Trump picked Gaetz almost on a whim after he decided against more conventional lawyersThe selection process for major positions has involved Trump pulling up each candidate on a bank of screens at his Mar-a-Lago club and looking for various qualities, including on their perceived loyalty and how they might play on television.Trump did not like the initial list of names that included Mark Paoletta, the former counsel at the White House office of management and budget; Missouri’s attorney general, Andrew Bailey; and Robert Guiffra, co-chair of the New York law firm Sullivan and Cromwell, and decided he preferred a pugilist like Gaetz.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionBut the Gaetz nomination sank after a series of meetings on Wednesday with Republican senators. Later that evening, they broadly expressed to the Trump team their continued opposition to the Gaetz nomination, the people said.On Thursday morning, Trump called Gaetz and told him that it was clear he did not have the votes in a rare moment of realpolitik for Trump. Gaetz agreed and took himself out of the running, one of the people said.Gaetz told associates after he announced he was withdrawing his nomination that he faced the reality that at least three senators – Mitch McConnell, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski – and senator-elect John Curtis, would vote against him and block his confirmation, the people said.From his Mar-a-Lago club, Trump said in a statement: “I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be attorney general. He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the administration, for which he has much respect.” More

    • 188 Shares149 Views

      in US Politics

      House committee reportedly told of second sexual encounter between Matt Gaetz and 17-year-old – live

      by

      According to CNN, the woman who says she had sex when she was 17 years old with then-Representative Matt Gaetz told the House ethics committee that she had two sexual encounters with him at one party in 2017.The CNN report cites unnamed sources, who claim that the second sexual encounter, not previously been reported, included another adult woman.The network also states that after being asked for comment regarding the new allegations, the former representative announced that he was withdrawing from the attorney general nomination.Gaetz has repeatedly denied the allegations against him.The other woman in the alleged second sexual encounter, who was an adult at the time, has also denied taking part in the encounter, according to multiple sources familiar with her ethics testimony, CNN reported.Elon Musk, who Trump has tapped to lead a new Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), has also faced allegations of sexual misconduct and overseeing a culture of sexual harassment at his companies.Guardian Opinion columnist Arwa Mahdawi recapped them recently:
      In 2021, for example, just weeks after the billionaire’s “Texas Institute of Technology” quip, a Tesla factory worker called Jessica Barraza filed a complaint alleging the car company had a “pervasive culture of sexual harassment … including frequent groping on the factory floor.” Barraza claimed she was frequently propositioned and subject to comments like “Look at those titties” and “She’s got cakes”. Barraza is just one of a number of former Tesla workers who have filed sexual harassment lawsuits against the Musk-led company.
      These issues aren’t confined to Tesla. Last week SpaceX (the entrepreneur’s rocket company) and Musk were sued by eight engineers who said they were illegally fired in 2022 for raising concerns about alleged sexual harassment and discrimination against women. The plaintiffs allege that they experienced harassing comments from co-workers that “mimicked Musk’s [Twitter] posts” and created a hostile work environment. The court filings claim Musk also participated in a video making light of sexual misconduct which, inter alia, demonstrated the “correct” way to spank a co-worker. “Musk trumpets SpaceX as the leader to a brave new world of space travel, but runs his company in the dark ages – treating women as sexual objects to be evaluated on their bra size,” the complaint proclaims. Tesla and SpaceX deny any wrongdoing.
      The SpaceX lawsuit coincided with a new Wall Street Journal report about the entrepreneur’s behaviour headlined “Musk’s boundary-blurring relationships with women at SpaceX.” Those blurred boundaries being that he, to quote the piece: “had sex with an employee and a former intern, and asked a woman at his company to have his babies”
      The progressive women’s group UltraViolet has celebrated Matt Gaetz’s withdrawal from consideration as attorney general, but noted that several others among Donald Trump’s nominees have also been accused of sexual abuse.Shaunna Thomas, executive director at UltraViolet, wrote:
      Gaetz isn’t the only abuser who should have no place in our government. Trump has nominated an abhorrent cabinet of abusers thus far; including Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who was nominated to lead the Department of Health and Human Services; and Pete Hegseth, who was nominated to lead the Department of Defense. Both Hegseth and Kennedy have long records of allegations of sexual abuse–and in RFK, Jr’s case, owned up to groping his children’s babysitter. Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Education, Linda McMahon, is also being sued for enabling child sex abuse.
      The Republican-controlled US House on Thursday passed a bill that would give the government broad powers to punish non-profit organizations it deems support “terrorism”.This was the second time members voted on the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, or HR 9495. Last week, after suspending House rules to fast-track the bill, the lower chamber failed to garner the two-thirds majority required to pass. This time, after passing the House committee on rules, the bill – requiring only a simple majority to pass – survived by a vote of 219-184. Fifteen Democrats joined Republicans in supporting the measure.The bill, which gives the treasury the power to strip non-profits it claims support “terrorism” of their tax-exempt status, does not require the treasury to adhere to any evidentiary standard in releasing its findings. Although groups targeted could appeal to the IRS or the courts for review, simply being identified as a supporter of terrorism could have a chilling effect on advocacy groups, critics warn.In the days since the first vote last week, non-profit organizations that have historically worked closely with Democrats have pushed against the passage of the bill, arguing that it would give Donald Trump sweeping powers to crack down arbitrarily on his political opponents in civil society. Thirty-seven fewer Democrats supported it during the Thursday vote than last week.The bill merges the non-profit measure with another, uncontroversial measure that would grant tax relief to Americans unjustly imprisoned abroad.“A sixth-grader would know this is unconstitutional,” said the Maryland congressman Jamie Raskin, a Democrat, during debate over the bill on Monday. “They want us to vote to give the president Orwellian powers and the not-for-profit sector Kafkaesque nightmares.”Nikki Haley, the former UN ambassador and Republican presidential hopeful, criticized two of Donald Trump’s cabinet picks, calling his choice for director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, “a Russian, Iranian, Syrian, Chinese sympathizer” and Robert F Kennedy Jr, tapped for health secretary, a “liberal Democrat” with no background in relevant policy.“So now she’s defended Russia, she’s defended Syria, she’s defended Iran, and she’s defended China,” Haley said of Gabbard on her SiriusXM radio show on Wednesday. “No, she has not denounced any of these views. None of them. She hasn’t taken one of them back.“This is not a place for a Russian, Iranian, Syrian, Chinese sympathizer,” Haley continued, adding that the director of national intelligence “has to analyze real threats” to US security.Gabbard, 43, is a former progressive congresswoman who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 but who has since become a Republican.Kennedy, 70 and a scion of a famous political family turned vaccine conspiracy theorist, ran for the Democratic nomination this year before switching to run as an independent and then dropping out to back Trump.Haley said: “He’s a liberal Democrat, environmental attorney, trial lawyer who will now be overseeing 25% of our federal budget and has no background in healthcare. Some of you may think RFK is cool, some of you may like that he questions what’s in our food and what’s in our vaccines, but we don’t know, when he is given reins to an agency, what decisions he’s going to make behind the scenes.”Haley was governor of South Carolina before becoming UN ambassador in Trump’s first administration, resigning in 2018. This year, she ran second to Trump in the Republican presidential primary – a race in which she called her opponent “unhinged”, “diminished”, “confused” and not “mentally fit”, and said voting him into office would be “like suicide for our country”.Still, after Trump won the Republican nomination, Haley endorsed him. No job offer has been forthcoming.Here’s a look at where things stand:

      Matt Gaetz has withdrawn his name from consideration as Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general. In a full statement on Thursday, Gaetz, who has been swept in a series of sexual allegation controversies, said: “While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition.”

      Donald Trump has released a statement on Matt Gaetz’s attorney general nomination withdrawal, saying on Truth Social. “I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be attorney general. He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the administration, for which he has much respect,” he said.

      According to CNN, the woman who says she had sex when she was 17 years old with then-Representative Matt Gaetz told the House ethics committee that she had two sexual encounters with him at one party in 2017. The CNN report cites unnamed sources, who claim that the second sexual encounter, not previously been reported, included another adult woman.

      Rainn, the US’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, has issued a response to Matt Gaetz’s attorney general nomination withdrawal, saying, “This decision was in response to survivors and advocates using their voices to demand accountability.” “We could not reconcile the justice department – the department responsible for providing survivors with avenues for justice – being led by an alleged abuser of women,” it said.

      Incoming Senate majority leader John Thune says that he respects Gaetz’s decision to withdraw. “I think everybody has to make a decision that’s good for them and for their family,” Thune said, according to CNN.

      A handful of Republican senators reacted to Matt Gaetz’s withdrawal, issuing a variety of responses. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell called the decision “appropriate” according to the Washington Post. Meanwhile, senator Cynthia Lummis told CNN that it was good that Gaetz recognised he was a distraction, and that this will allow Trump to appoint someone “equally tenacious” to lead the justice department.
      A woman accusing Robert F Kennedy Jr of sexual assault says she chose to speak out following his release of a campaign ad based on an advertisement of his uncle and former president, John F Kennedy. Martin Pengelly reports for the Guardian:“I literally was just watching the Super Bowl and saw the ad and thought, ‘You’ve gotta be kidding me,’” Eliza Cooney told USA Today.Released when Kennedy was running for president as an independent, the ad attracted criticism from members of the famous Democratic political family. Kennedy Jr apologized – but kept the ad online.Nine months later, after dropping out of the presidential race and backing Donald Trump, Kennedy is Trump’s nominee for US health secretary.A hugely controversial choice given his promotion of vaccine conspiracy theories and other disputed health claims, Kennedy is also one of a number of Trump cabinet picks to be accused of sexual misconduct.Cooney initially told Vanity Fair about how she went to work for Kennedy in 1998, when she was 23 and he was a 45-year-old environmental attorney. Describing a series of unwanted advances, she said Kennedy ultimately “came up behind her … and began groping her, putting his hands on her hips and sliding them up along her rib cage and breasts”, before being interrupted by someone walking into the room.For the full story, click here:The liberal super-PAC American Bridge 21st Century also responded to Matt Gaetz’s attorney general nomination withdrawal, saying:“Donald Trump simply didn’t care that he was nominating someone who allegedly preyed on children, engaged in sex trafficking, and bragged about it to anyone who would listen. Trump didn’t see a predator in Matt Gaetz; he saw a loyal henchman who would carry out his revenge fantasies and put their MAGA allegiance ahead of their commitment to the country. “Republicans in Congress who chose the path of least resistance and decided not to release the House Ethics Committee’s report on Gaetz are complicit in letting an accused sexual predator come within an arm’s reach of becoming the top cop in the nation. If they have a shred of integrity they will release the report and shed light on why Gaetz chose to leave his only job as a member of the House of Representatives. “Matt Gaetz is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Trump choosing predators and extremists to fill out major cabinet positions in his administration.”Rainn, the US’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, has issued a response to Matt Gaetz’s attorney general nomination withdrawal, saying, “This decision was in response to survivors and advocates using their voices to demand accountability.”
      “We could not reconcile the justice department – the department responsible for providing survivors with avenues for justice –— being led by an alleged abuser of women. RAINN heard you, Matt Gaetz heard you, and survivors will not be silenced.
      “For the other nominees facing allegations of sexual assault: We ask the relevant Senate committees to gather and consider all the facts before voting on any such nomination …
      Sexual assault happens to someone in the US every 68 seconds. It occurs in our places of business, our schools, our doctors’ offices; urban or rural, in private and in public. Every single political appointee will have to confront their role in sexual assault response, prevention and recovery. And it starts now.”
      Matt Gaetz has responded to Donald Trump’s statement following his decision to withdraw his nomination for attorney general.In response to Trump who said Gaetz “has a wonderful future”, Gaetz wrote: “Thank you President Trump!” on X.Gaetz has repeatedly denied the sexual assault allegations surrounding him and resigned from Congress shortly after Trump announced his nomination last week.It remains to be seen what Gaetz’s political future holds, now that he is no longer a representative in the House.Matt Gaetz reportedly called Donald Trump and JD Vance separately to inform them of his attorney general nomination withdrawal, CNN reports, citing a source familiar with the call.In a statement on Thursday, Trump said Gaetz “did not want to be a distraction” while JD Vance has yet to release a statement.Incoming Senate majority leader John Thune says that he respects Gaetz’s decision to withdraw.“I think everybody has to make a decision that’s good for them and for their family,” Thune said, according to CNN. “And, you know, for whatever reason, he decided not to pursue it, so we respect the decision.”Florida senator Rick Scott says he is “disappointed” about Gaetz’s withdrawal.“I’m disappointed. I’ve known Matt since I started running for governor, and he was a smart guy, worked hard,” Scott told CNN. “I had a great, great working relationship with him”.When asked about who should be nominated to the role now that Gaetz has withdrawn, Scott told CNN that “the American public has completely lost trust of the federal government, and so we’re going to have to have somebody in there that goes and creates trust.”Speaking to a reporter, Representative Michael Guest, who chairs the House Ethics Committee, said that Gaetz’s withdrawal should end the discussion about whether the committee should “continue to move forward in this matter.”This comes as just a day ago, the House ethics committee was deadlocked regarding the release of a report examining allegations of sexual misconduct against Gaetz.Lawmakers from both parties had called for the report to be released before the Senate was scheduled to vote on whether to confirm Gaetz’s nomination as attorney general.More Republican Senators are reportedly reacting to the news of former representative Matt Gaetz’s withdrawal from the nomination for attorney general.Here’s a quick roundup of some responses:Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell called the decision “appropriate” according to the Washington Post.Senator Cynthia Lummis told CNN that it was good that Gaetz recognised he was a distraction, and that this will allow Trump to appoint someone “equally tenacious” to lead the justice department.“He must have gotten some signals yesterday during conversations that he was having with senators that this was going to be a distraction,” Lummis reportedly said.Senator Susan Collinsexpressed that she was “surprised” but “pleased” with Gaetz’s decision, adding that he “has put country first, and I’m pleased with his decision”.Senator Roger Wickerreferred to the withdrawal as a “positive development”.Republican senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma describes Matt Gaetz’s decision to withdraw as “probably a good decision”.“I think because of the reports that were coming out, it was probably a good decision” Mullin told reporters, adding that “I’m sure he talked to the President about it first.”According to CNN, the woman who says she had sex when she was 17 years old with then-Representative Matt Gaetz told the House ethics committee that she had two sexual encounters with him at one party in 2017.The CNN report cites unnamed sources, who claim that the second sexual encounter, not previously been reported, included another adult woman.The network also states that after being asked for comment regarding the new allegations, the former representative announced that he was withdrawing from the attorney general nomination.Gaetz has repeatedly denied the allegations against him.The other woman in the alleged second sexual encounter, who was an adult at the time, has also denied taking part in the encounter, according to multiple sources familiar with her ethics testimony, CNN reported.Republican senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina says that he respects former Representative Matt Gaetz’s decision to withdraw from the attorney general nomination.His statement reads:
      I respect former Representative Matt Gaetz’s decision to withdraw his name from consideration and appreciate his willingness to serve at the highest level of our government.
      He is very smart and talented and will continue to contribute to our nation’s wellbeing for years to come.
      I look forward to working with President Trump regarding future nominees to get this important job up and running.
      Donald Trump has released a statement on Matt Gaetz’s attorney general nomination withdrawal, saying on Truth Social:
      I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be attorney general.
      He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the administration, for which he has much respect. Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!
      Gaetz reportedly informed Trump late Thursday morning that he will be withdrawing his nomination, ABC reports, citing sources familiar with the matter. More

    • 150 Shares189 Views

      in US Politics

      US Senate rejects Bernie Sanders effort to block arms sales to Israel

      by

      The US Senate has blocked legislation that would have halted the sale of some US weapons to Israel, which had been introduced out of concern about the human rights catastrophe faced by Palestinians in Gaza.Senator Bernie Sanders had introduced what are called joint resolutions of disapproval, seeking to block the Biden administration’s recent sale of $20bn in US weapons to Israel.Moves to advance three resolutions all failed, garnering only about 20 votes out of the chamber’s 100 members, with most Democrats joining all Republicans against the measures.The Senate was to vote later on Wednesday on two other resolutions that would stop shipments of mortar rounds and a GPS guidance system for bombs.Sanders introduced the measures in September as Israel continued its assault on Gaza – which has killed at least 43,000 people.“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s extremist government has not simply waged war against Hamas – it has waged war against Palestinians,” Sanders said a press conference held on Tuesday ahead of the vote.“Much of what’s been happening there has been done with US weapons and American taxpayer support,” Sanders continued, adding that the US has provided more than $18bn in military aid to Israel and delivered more than 50,000 tons of armaments and military equipment.“The United States of America is complicit in these atrocities. This complicity must end.”The Sanders-led effort to stop the flow of arms to Israel came after the country failed to meet the US-imposed deadline of 12 November to increase humanitarian aid and allow at least 350 trucks into Gaza a day. Despite Israel’s failure, the US took no action.Under US law, military assistance must not be given to foreign security forces that have committed human rights violations. However, the Biden administration has largely refused to stop the transfer of weapons to Israel, despite persistent accusations of war crimes from human rights experts.Senator Elizabeth Warren had vocalized support for the resolutions and condemned the Biden administration for not taking action against Israel for failing to meet its deadline for aid into Gaza.“The failure by the Biden administration to follow US law and to suspend arms shipments is a grave mistake that undermines American credibility worldwide,” Warren said in a statement. “If this administration will not act, Congress must step up to enforce US law and hold the Netanyahu government accountable through a joint resolution of disapproval.”It is not the first time Sanders has led such an effort, and this one was not expected to pass. But backers hoped significant support in the Senate would encourage Israel’s government and Joe Biden’s administration to do more to protect civilians in Gaza.The Democratic senator Jeff Merkley, who co-sponsored the resolutions, said he opposed the transfer of offensive weapons used for bombing, which has “produced massive deaths, massive injuries, massive destruction”.“I stand before you today as someone who has spent a lifetime advocating for Israel’s economic success and for their security in a very difficult part of the world,” Merkley said, adding: “But the Netanyahu government has taken policies that are out of sync with American values.”More than 65% of housing, schools and healthcare facilities have been destroyed by Israeli forces, according to UN data. All 12 universities in the territory have been damaged or destroyed, according to Wafa, the Palestinian news agency. The UN also estimates that about 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians have been displaced. Humanitarian groups on the ground have reported malnutrition and starvation and global food security experts say famine in northern Gaza is imminent.A spokesperson from Oxfam, a British non-governmental organization that has been providing aid to the displaced in the region, said: “The Senate must vote to finally end arms transfers to Israel, as we see the crisis continue to escalate with warnings of imminent famine and entire communities being permanently erased in North Gaza governorate.“Israel is blocking humanitarian aid, and is meanwhile using US weapons in attacks that have killed thousands of children, aid workers, and journalists, destroyed schools, hospitals, vital infrastructure for clean water and more, and displaced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, where there is nowhere safe.”It has been more than a year since Hamas’s surprise and deadly attacks last 7 October. Negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas have repeatedly failed.AFP and Reuters contributed reporting More

    • 225 Shares199 Views

      in US Politics

      House ethics committee fails to agree on Gaetz report; Sarah McBride responds to Capitol bathroom ban – live

      by

      Susan Wild, the ranking Democrat on the House ethics committee, accused the committee’s chair, Michael Guest, of “betraying the process” and mischaracterizing the meeting.She said that the committee voted on whether to release the report but were in deadlock along party lines.“In order to affirmatively move something forward, somebody has to cross party lines and vote with the other side,” Wild told reporters, noting that there were five Democrats and five Republicans on the committee.She said that the committee will reconvene on 5 December to discuss.The state of Texas has offered thousands of acres of land to Donald Trump “to construct deportation facilities”.Texas land commissioner Dawn Buckingham wrote in a letter to Trump that her “office is fully prepared to enter into an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or the US border patrol to allow a facility to be built for the processing, detention, and coordination of the largest deportation of violent criminals in the nation’s history”.In October, Buckingham’s office, the Texas general land office (GLO), purchased 355,000 acres (144,000 hectares) of land – equivalent to half the size of Rhode Island. Of this, 1,402 acres have been offered to the federal government.The land sits on a ranch in Starr county in the Rio Grande valley on the US-Mexico border.Terms of the purchase were not disclosed, but Buckingham writes in his letter that the land was purchased from a woman who previously had refused to let state officials build a border wall on her property. Now, the state plans to build 1.5 miles (2.4km) of the border wall where they were once denied.The rest of the 353,598 acres, collectively known as “Brewster Ranch”, located near Big Bend national park, were purchased in October for roughly $245m from billionaire and tobacco tycoon Brad Kelley, the state’s largest private landowner. It was one of the most significant public purchases of land in the history of Texas.More than two weeks after election day, there are more than half a million ballots left to count in California, and one of the most closely watched US House races remains too close to call with a razor-thin margin between Michelle Steel and Derek Tran.Democratic challenger Tran has a 314-vote lead over the Republican incumbent in the congressional contest in the southern California district. Republicans already control the US House, as well as the Senate, but picking up the seat would be a big win for Democrats, who lost it to Steel in 2020.Although Steel initially had a commanding lead, the race became neck and neck as election workers tallied more ballots. There are nearly 40,000 ballots left to process in Orange county and more than 30,000 in Los Angeles county, where the district is based.Michael Guest, the chair of the House ethics committee, told reporters that “there was not an agreement by the committee to release the report” on Matt Gaetz, Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general.Guest did not say if the committee took an official vote, but did not say when it would meet again.The committee is evenly split between the two parties.The panel has previously said it was investigating claims that Gaetz “may have engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift”.The justice department launched its own inquiry into accusations that Gaetz engaged in a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl, but the department closed its investigation last year without filing charges. Gaetz has consistently denied the allegations.Sean Casten, a Democratic congressman from Illinois, has threatened to move to force a vote on the House floor to release the House ethics committee’s report on Matt Gaetz, Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general.If the House ethics committee does not vote to release the Gaetz report on Wednesday, Casten said he will introduce a privileged resolution forcing a vote to require the committee to release its report.“The allegations against Matt Gaetz are serious. They are credible. The House ethics committee has spent years conducting a thorough investigation to get to the bottom of it,” he said in a statement.“If the Ethics Committee chooses to withhold this information, later today I will introduce a privileged resolution to require a vote by the full House of Representatives on the release of the Gaetz report.”Tech entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have laid out their plans for the new Department of Government Efficiency, or Doge, in a Wall Street Journal op-ed published today.The pair said they will follow recent Supreme Court rulings that they say can be used to take power away from federal agencies to reduce rules that are unnecessary, costly and inefficient, Reuters reports.With an electoral mandate and the 6-3 conservative majority in the court, Musk and Ramaswamy said, the panel has an opportunity to enact substantial structural downsizing within the federal government.“The two of us will advise DOGE at every step to pursue three major kinds of reform: regulatory rescissions, administrative reductions and cost savings,” they wrote.The panel will give its list of regulations to president-elect Donald Trump, “who can, by executive action, immediately pause the enforcement of those regulations and initiate the process for review and rescission,” they wrote.A vote to block arms sales to Israel will be held on Wednesday in the Senate.The joint resolutions of disapproval (JRDs), introduced by the senator Bernie Sanders in September, would prevent the Pentagon from sending another $20bn to Israel as it continues its assault on Gaza – which has killed at least 43,000 people.The resolutions to be voted on the floor, and would block the sale of 120mm mortar rounds, joint direct attack munitions (JDAMS), and tank rounds, must pass both the Senate and the House with a simple majority. If they pass, they go to the president.The Sanders-led effort to stop the flow of arms to Israel comes after the country failed to meet the US-imposed deadline of 12 November to increase humanitarian aid and allow at least 350 trucks into Gaza a day. Despite Israel’s failure, the US took no action.Joe Biden marked his 82nd birthday on Wednesday as Democrats began searching for a younger generation of party leaders following Kamala Harris’s morale-sapping defeat in this month’s presidential election.Democrats are engaged in seeking replacements for the octogenarian leadership represented by the president and 84-year-old Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker who was recently re-elected to a 20th term as a member of Congress and continues to wield much influence.New leadership may also be on the horizon in the Senate, where the Democrats’ leader, Senator Chuck Schumer, is 73 and recently oversaw the loss of the party’s single-seat majority to the Republicans, who have just replaced their 82-year-old leader, Mitch McConnell.At 54, Hakeem Jeffries, Pelosi’s successor as the party’s leader in the House, is less vulnerable to challenge on age-related grounds, but youth – at least in relative terms – is on Democrats’ minds as they contemplate the road to recovery from a catastrophic reversal at the polls.The party is looking at a younger generation of state governors to emerge as presidential candidates in four years’ time, many of whom would have been in the mix had Biden passed the torch earlier and had there been an open primary or had he not immediately endorsed Harris when he finally stepped aside. They include Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, 51, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, who is 53, Gavin Newsom, 57, of California, 49-year-old Jared Polis, the governor of Colorado, and Andy Beshear, 46, the governor of Kentucky.Future leadership may also be available in the person of Pete Buttigieg, 42, the transportation secretary, who has been notably effective in arguing the Democrats’ case in conservative forums like Fox News.Sarah McBride, the first out transgender person elected to Congress, has issued a longer statement after Republican House speaker Mike Johnson announced that transgender women are not permitted to use women’s bathrooms in the Capitol building.“I’m not here to fight about bathrooms. I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families,” McBride said in a statement posted to X.“This effort to distract from the real issues facing this country hasn’t distracted me over the last several days, as I’ve remained hard at work preparing to represent the greatest state in the union come January.”The Delaware congresswoman-elect goes on to say that she is looking forward to getting to know her future colleagues on both sides of the aisle, adding: “Each of us were sent here because voters saw something in us that they value.“I have loved getting to see those qualities in the future colleagues that I’ve met and I look forward to seeing those qualities in every member come January. I hope all of my colleagues will seek to do the same with me.”Democratic Representative Mark Pocan, who is the chair of the congressional Equality Caucus, has released a statement condemning Speaker Mike Johnson’s announcement that transgender women are not permitted to use women’s bathrooms in the Capitol building.The statement reads:
      Speaker Johnson’s holier-than-thou decree to ban transgender people from using bathrooms that align with their identity is a cruel and unnecessary rule that puts countless staff, interns, and visitors to the United States Capitol at risk.
      How will this even be enforced? Will the serjeant at arms post officers in bathrooms? Will everyone who works at the Capitol have to carry around their birth certificate or undergo a genetic test? This policy isn’t going to protect anyone-but it is going to open the door to rampant abuse, harassment, and discrimination in the Capitol.
      Republicans can’t even pass a Farm Bill or pass major appropriations bills, so they turn to using these cruel attacks to distract from their inability to govern and failure to deliver for the American people.
      President-elect Donald Trump’s team is reportedly discussing with the digital asset industry whether to create a new White House post dedicated to crypto policy and is vetting candidates, Bloomberg reported this afternoon.If created, it would be the first-ever crypto-specific White House job, per Bloomberg.The House Ethics Committee meeting has begun, according to Politico and the Washington Post.At the meeting, members are expected to discuss whether to release a report on their investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct involving Donald Trump’s attorney general pick, Matt Gaetz. More

    • 150 Shares169 Views

      in US Politics

      House ethics committee fails to decide whether to release Matt Gaetz report

      by

      The House ethics committee deadlocked on releasing a report examining allegations of sexual misconduct against Matt Gaetz, the former Republican representative and Donald Trump’s choice to lead the US justice department, after the panel met behind closed doors on Wednesday.Emerging from the meeting after roughly two hours, most members of the panel declined to offer details on their discussion, but the Republican chair, Michael Guest, told reporters that there was “not an agreement by the committee to release the report”.Susan Wild, the top Democratic representative on the ethics committee, told reporters that the panel did hold a vote on the matter, but there was “no consensus”. Wild implied that the committee, which is evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, broke along party lines and thus could not reach a decision. The panel plans to reconvene on 5 December, Wild added.The panel has previously said it was investigating claims that Gaetz “may have engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift”.Guest told reporters before the meeting on Wednesday that he had “some reservations” about releasing the report when it had not yet gone through a review process.“That is something that we will be talking about today, and that’s another reason I have some reservations about releasing any unfinished work product,” Guest said.The justice department launched its own inquiry into accusations that Gaetz engaged in a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl, but the department closed its investigation last year without filing charges. Gaetz has consistently denied the allegations.Two women testified to congressional investigators that Gaetz paid them for sex and that he was seen having sex with the 17-year-old, a lawyer for the women has said.As the ethics committee is evenly split between the two parties, it would take only one Republican siding with every Democrat on the panel to have the report released. But prominent Republicans, including the House speaker, Mike Johnson, have cautioned against releasing the report on Gaetz, who resigned his seat immediately after Trump announced his nomination as attorney general.“I think that would be a Pandora’s box,” Johnson told CNN on Sunday. “I don’t think we want the House ethics committee using all of its vast resources and powers to go after private citizens, and that’s what Matt Gaetz is now.”Gaetz was on Capitol Hill on Wednesday with the vice-president-elect, JD Vance, meeting with some of the senators who will decide his fate. After his conversation with Gaetz, Senator Lindsey Graham, a Trump loyalist, indicated he was open to supporting the attorney general nominee and condemned the “lynch mob” raising concerns about the sexual misconduct allegations.“My record is clear. I tend to defer to presidential cabinet choices unless the evidence suggests disqualification,” Graham said in a statement. “I would urge all of my Senate colleagues, particularly Republicans, not to join the lynch mob and give the process a chance to move forward.”Other Republicans, including Senator Markwayne Mullin, have suggested the report should be at least made available to the senators who will vote on confirming Gaetz’s nomination.“I believe the Senate should have access to that,” Mullin told NBC News on Sunday. “Now, should it be released to the public or not? I guess that will be part of the negotiations. But that should be definitely part of our decision-making.”skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionDemocrats have appeared open to the idea of releasing the report. Nearly 100 House Democrats signed a letter requesting the ethics committee’s findings be released, noting that there was some precedent for issuing reports on former members who resigned amid scandal.Representative Sean Casten, who led fellow Democrats in signing the letter, indicated on Wednesday that he would introduce a privileged resolution to require a full House vote on releasing the report. Casten would need the support of only a handful of Republicans to get the resolution approved in the House, where Gaetz has made enemies on both sides of the aisle.Democratic members of the Senate judiciary committee, which will hold Gaetz’s confirmation hearings, have also requested the FBI’s file on the attorney general nominee.“The Senate has a constitutional duty to provide advice and consent on presidential nominees, and it is crucial that we review all the information necessary to fulfill this duty as we consider Mr Gaetz’s nomination,” the Democrats wrote on Wednesday in a letter to the FBI director, which was obtained by Politico. “The grave public allegations against Mr Gaetz speak directly to his fitness to serve as the chief law enforcement officer for the federal government.”RThe representative Susan Wild, the top Democratic representative on the ethics committee, said on Monday that she supported the report’s release, echoing comments made over the weekend by a fellow Democrat on the committee, Rthe representative Glenn Ivey.“It should certainly be released to the Senate, and I think it should be released to the public, as we have done with many other investigative reports in the past,” Wild told reporters, peraccording to NBC News. “There is precedent for releasing even after a member has resigned.”If the ethics committee report is released, it could further damage Gaetz’s prospects of Senate confirmation, but Trump has floated the idea of installing his nominees via recess appointment to circumvent the confirmation process. More