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      Fani Willis thanks deputy Nathan Wade for ‘patriotism and courage’ after accepting his resignation – as it happened

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      Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor in the Georgia racketeering case against Donald Trump and his co-defendants, has resigned.Wade’s resignation comes after a ruling by the judge overseeing the Trump Georgia case that district attorney Fani Willis can continue to head the prosecution, as long as Wade steps down from the case.Here is a wrap-up of the day’s key events:
      Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor in the Georgia racketeering case against Donald Trump and his co-defendants, has resigned. Wade’s resignation comes after a ruling by the judge overseeing the Trump Georgia case that district attorney Fani Willis can continue to head the prosecution, as long as Wade steps down from the case.
      Donald Trump has responded to Nathan Wade’s resignation in yet another fiery Truth Social post. Writing on his social media platform, Trump said: “…Nathan was the ‘Special,’ in more ways than one, Prosecutor ‘engaged’ by Fani (pronounced Fauni!) Willis, to persecute TRUMP for Crooked Joe Biden and his Department of Injustice…”
      Donald Trump has endorsed John Barrasso for the next Senate Republican whip, the conference’s number two spot. Barrasso is a “fantastic” senator for Wyoming who will “never let you down”, Trump posted to Truth Social on Thursday evening.
      New York judge Juan Merchan has delayed Donald Trump’s hush money trial, which was set to begin on March 25, to mid-April. “There are significant questions of fact which this Court must resolve before it may rule on Defendant’s motion,” Merchant wrote.
      The White House’s top lawyer told House Republicans to give up on their impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden in a letter addressed to the House speaker, Mike Johnson. A spokesperson for Johnson said it was not up to the White House to decide what happened with the inquiry.
      Joe Biden defended the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, over comments he made on Thursday calling on Israel to hold new elections and harshly criticizing its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. “I’m not going to elaborate on the speech. He made a good speech,” Biden said.
      Joe Biden welcomed the Irish taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, at the White House. Varadkar told Biden that his priority was to get a ceasefire in Gaza as soon as possible to allow humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory.
      New York judge Juan Merchan has delayed Donald Trump’s hush money trial, which was set to begin on March 25, to mid-April.“There are significant questions of fact which this Court must resolve before it may rule on Defendant’s motion,” Merchant wrote.Earlier this month, Trump’s lawyers had argued for a 90-day delay, saying that they needed more time to review thousands of pages of evidence. However, they later said that they agreed to the 30-day delay “in an abundance of caution and to ensure that defendant has sufficient time to review the new materials.”The hush money case revolves around alleged payments Trump secretly made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016 during his presidential campaign in an attempt to conceal their alleged sexual encounter.Last year, Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges in the case.Donald Trump is the true winner in the decision on Fani Willis in the Georgia election interference case, the Guardian’s Sam Levine writes:Fani Willis may have survived a high-stakes effort to disqualify her from prosecuting the high-stakes election interference case in Georgia. But the biggest winner from the episode is likely Donald Trump.The Fulton county district attorney can now continue prosecuting her case against Trump and 14 co-defendants as long as Nathan Wade, a top deputy with whom she had a romantic relationship with, resigns, Fulton county superior court judge Scott McAfee ruled on Friday. Wade did just that a few hours later.But both the opinion and the extraordinary hearing that preceded it lends a hugely significant judicial imprimatur to Trump’s successful effort to diminish Willis’ credibility in the public eye.Trump and his co-defendants have waged a successful campaign to diminish the perception of her – puncturing her reputation as an impartial prosecutor seeking justice and instead offering up the image of a flawed public official whose romantic feelings led to a lapse in judgment.For the full story, click here:Donald Trump has responded to Nathan Wade’s resignation in yet another fiery Truth Social post.Writing on his social media platform, Trump said:“The Fani Willis lover, Mr. Nathan Wade Esq., has just resigned in disgrace, as per his and her reading of the Judge’s Order today. Nathan was the ‘Special,’ in more ways than one, Prosecutor ‘engaged’ by Fani (pronounced Fauni!) Willis, to persecute TRUMP for Crooked Joe Biden and his Department of Injustice, for purposes of Election Interference and living the life of the Rich & Famous…”In his resignation letter to district attorney Fani Willis, Nathan Wade said:“I am offering my resignation in the interest of democracy, in dedication to the American public, and to move this case forward as quickly as possible.I am proud of the work our team has accomplished in investigating, indicting and litigating this case. Seeking justice for the people of Georgia and the United States, and being part of the effort to ensure that the rule of law and democracy are preserved, has been the honor of a lifetime.”Nathan Wade’s resignation allows Fulton county district attorney Fani Willis to remain on the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump, but the long-term damage to her credibility and the public perception of the prosecution remains unclear.Despite Judge Scott McAfee’s ruling giving Willis the option to stay on the case, his decision offered a harsh analysis of her conduct and underscoring questions about her judgment that were exposed during a multi-day hearing.In his ruling, McAfee said Willis had demonstrated “tremendous lapse in judgment”, noting that Georgia law “does not permit the finding of an actual conflict for simply making bad choices – even repeatedly maintaining such a relationship.”Trump and allies are likely to seize on those punches as they continue to defend themselves in the case.Donald Trump has endorsed John Barrasso for the next Senate Republican whip, the conference’s number two spot.Barrasso is a “fantastic” senator for Wyoming who will “never let you down”, Trump posted to Truth Social on Thursday evening.Barrasso, 71, is the third-ranking Senate Republican as chair of the Senate Republican conference and relatively popular with the Republican right. He endorsed Trump in January and has also supported several “Make America great again” candidates for the Senate, including election denier Kari Lake in Arizona.Barrasso is running unopposed for the whip position to replace John Thune, who is running to replace Mitch McConnell as Senate Republican leader.Fulton county district attorney Fani Willis accepted Nathan Wade’s resignation from the election interference case against Donald Trump and his co-defendants in Georgia in a letter where she thanked him for his “patriotism, courage, and dedication to justice.”In the letter, Willis said she accepted her top deputy’s resignation effective immediately, and said she will “always remember … that you were brave enough to step forward and take on” the investigation into the former president and his allies. She wrote:
      I compliment you for the professionalism and dignity you have shown over the last 865 days, as you have endured threats against you and your family, as well as unjustified attacks in the media and in court on your reputation as a lawyer.
      She concluded the letter by writing:
      Please accept my sincere gratitude on behalf of the citizens of Fulton county Georgia for your patriotism, courage, and dedication to justice. I wish you the best in your future endeavors.
      The decision by Nathan Wade to step down from his role as special prosecutor in the Georgia racketeering case against Donald Trump and his co-defendants means that district attorney Fani Willis can continue leading the prosecution.The ruling earlier today by Judge Scott McAfee came after hearings that offered a dramatic deviation from the case against Trump and his allies as it investigated Willis’s romantic relationship with Wade, her top deputy.The question at the heart of the matter was whether Willis had a conflict of interest in the case because of her relationship with Wade. Michael Roman, one of the 14 remaining defendants in the case, filed a motion in January saying Willis should be disqualified from handling the case because of her romantic relationship with Wade, which was not publicly known at the time.The two eventually admitted their relationship, but said it did not begin until 2022, after Wade was hired to work on the Trump case. Wade acknowledged that he paid for vacations for the two of them to places such as Napa in California and Aruba, but he and Willis both said she paid him back in cash.In his ruling, the judge said Wade could withdraw from the case, “allowing the district attorney, the defendants, and the public to move forward without his presence or remuneration distracting from and potentially compromising the merits of this case”.Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor in the Georgia racketeering case against Donald Trump and his co-defendants, has resigned.Wade’s resignation comes after a ruling by the judge overseeing the Trump Georgia case that district attorney Fani Willis can continue to head the prosecution, as long as Wade steps down from the case.After the House fast-tracked a bill that would force China-based ByteDance to divest from TikTok or face a nationwide ban, senators say they want the chamber to take its time deciding whether to back the legislation.The House voted 352-65 on Wednesday, just eight days after the proposal was introduced. There is broad support in the Senate for taking action to address national security threats from foreign apps like TikTok but no agreement on the right approach.The Senate commerce committee chair, Maria Cantwell, said in an interview with Reuters she wants legislation to address broad concerns about foreign apps that will hold up in court and is not sure the House bill goes far enough.“We’ll probably have a better idea in a week what we think the options are,” Cantwell said, adding that she had thought about holding hearings.Senator Ron Wyden, a leading Democrat on tech issues, said he was still reviewing the House bill and has “serious concerns about any app that gives the Chinese government access to Americans’ private data.
      I’ll also say this: history teaches us that when lawmakers rush to legislate on tech and social media, mistakes get made.
      Fani Willis may have survived a high-stakes effort to disqualify her from prosecuting the high-stakes election interference case in Georgia. But the biggest winner from the episode is likely Donald Trump.The Fulton county district attorney can now continue prosecuting her case against Trump and 14 co-defendants as long as Nathan Wade, a top deputy with whom she had a romantic relationship with, resigns, Fulton county superior court judge Scott McAfee ruled on Friday.But both the opinion and the extraordinary hearing that preceded it lends a hugely significant judicial imprimatur to Trump’s successful effort to diminish Willis’ credibility in the public eye.Trump and his co-defendants have waged a successful campaign to diminish the perception of her – puncturing her reputation as an impartial prosecutor seeking justice and instead offering up the image of a flawed public official whose romantic feelings led to a lapse in judgment.Friday’s developments are extremely significant. The Georgia case has long been considered one of the strongest against Trump. Unlike the two criminal cases being pursued by the justice department, it is also insulated from any direct interference by Trump should he win the 2024 election since he cannot dismiss the prosecutor or pardon himself in Georgia, even if he occupies the White House.Read the full analysis by the Guardian’s voting rights reporter, Sam Levine: Trump is the true winner in the decision on Fani Willis in the Georgia caseThe Georgia judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal case over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election in the state on Friday declined to remove Fani Willis, the Fulton county district attorney, from leading the prosecution, finding there was no conflict of interest stemming from her romantic relationship with her top deputy.But the judge, Scott McAfee, ruled the relationship had the “appearance of impropriety” and gave Willis a choice: either she could step down, or the deputy, special prosecutor Nathan Wade, could do so.If, as seems likely, Wade is now to be dropped from the prosecution, the case against Trump can continue with Willis leading it. But it will be one that is deeply politically damaged, especially due to the scathing criticism of her by McAfee.Here are the top takeaways from the 23-page ruling.Leo Varadkar, the Irish taoiseach, is in Washington today visiting Joe Biden and attending happenings on Capitol Hill.Varadkar used his remarks at a luncheon to thank the United States for its work to bring peace between Ireland and Northern Ireland — part of the United Kingdom — with the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, The Associated Press reports.Joe Biden said:
      May the hinge of our friendship never grow rusty.”
      Both the US president and the Irish taoiseach, or prime minister, spoke up for continued international support for Ukraine in its grinding resistance two years into Russia’s invasion.
      Ukraine must not fall and together, we need to stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes. We look forward to working with America for the next 100 years,” said Varadkar.
      Joe Biden and Mike Johnson have been shaking hands, smiling, sitting next to each other. You’d almost think Congress was functioning and the Democratic-controlled White House was happy with everything that’s going on in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.The US president and the Speaker of the House are at, to quote the White House, the Friends of Ireland Caucus St Patrick’s Day Luncheon.You know that when someone says “luncheon” it’s an official function calling for decorum and delicacies, both diplomatic and gastronomic.The White House pool report says that Johnson stepped to the microphone first in the Rayburn Room. He introduced Biden, who was smiling while he sat nearby listening, as “someone who is known everywhere as America’s most famous Irishman.”Pool continues: The president, in a blue suit and green tie, then made general remarks about Ireland – Irish poets, Irish history, Irish American heritage.“And excuse me for saying this,” Biden said turning his attention to the situation in Ukraine after noting the shared US and Irish commitment to freedom, “but I think the vast majority of members of Congress” are willing to do their part” to stand up to Russian aggression.The latest tranche of US funding for Ukraine to counter the Russian invasion passed the Senate but has stalled in the House.Irish leader Leo Varadkar is visiting Biden today and is attending the luncheon.Israel said on Friday it would send a delegation to Qatar for fresh talks on a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza, keeping faint hopes for a truce alive despite rejecting a long-awaited counter-offer from Hamas, Reuters reports.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office also said he had approved a plan for an assault on Rafah, the city on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip where more than half of the territory’s 2.3 million residents are sheltering, though it gave no timeframe for such an attack.Negotiators failed this week to reach a ceasefire agreement for the Gaza war in time for the Ramadan Muslim holy month. But Washington and Arab mediators are still determined to reach a deal to head off an Israeli assault on Rafah and let in humanitarian aid to stave off mass starvation.Underlining growing disquiet in Washington, US Secretary of State Antony Blinkentold reporters in Austria that the United States needed to see a clear and implementable plan for Rafah, including to get civilians out of harm’s way.You can follow all the developments from the Middle East in our story coverage and, currently, our separate live blog on the situation in Gaza.The lawyer who filed the original motion against Fulton county district attorney Fani Willis has called the judge’s ruling “a vindication”.Ashleigh Merchant, who represents Donald Trump’s co-defendant Michael Roman, released the following statement:
      The judge clearly agreed with the defense that the actions of Willis are a result of her poor judgment and that there is a risk to the future of this case if she doesn’t quickly work to cure her conflict.
      While we do not agree that the courts suggested cure is adequate in response to the egregious conduct by the district attorney, we look forward to the district attorneys response to the demands by the court.
      The Georgia judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal case over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election in the state has ruled that the district attorney Fani Willis can continue to head the prosecution, as long as a special prosecutor in the case and her top deputy, Nathan Wade, steps down. The decision avoids catastrophe for Willis, but it still significantly harms her credibility and underscores questions about her judgment.
      Here are the top takeaways from the 23-page ruling by the judge, Scott McAfee.
      You can also read the judge’s full decision here.
      Trump lawyer Steve Sadow said his team will “use all legal options available” to continue to fight the Georgia election case.
      A former assistant US attorney, Andrew Weissmann, called on Willis to voluntarily recuse herself from the case against Trump and his allies.
      Republican senator Lindsey Graham called the judge’s decision “nonsensical” and “bizarre”.
      Also:
      The White House’s top lawyer told House Republicans to give up on their impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden in a letter addressed to the House speaker, Mike Johnson. A spokesperson for Johnson said it was not up to the White House to decide what happened with the inquiry.
      Joe Biden defended the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, over comments he made on Thursday calling on Israel to hold new elections and harshly criticizing its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
      The supreme court will hear oral arguments on Monday in a case with the potential to radically redefine how the US government interacts with social media companies.
      Biden welcomed the Irish taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, at the White House. Varadkar told Biden that his priority was to get a ceasefire in Gaza as soon as possible to allow humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory.
      A spokesperson for House speaker Mike Johnson has responded to a letter sent by the White House’s top lawyer urging House Republicans to give up on their impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden.In a scathing letter on Friday, White House counsel Ed Siskel told Johnson “it is clear the House Republican impeachment is over” and noting that despite collecting over 100,000 pages of records and conducting interviews with dozens of witnesses, including multiple public hearings, “none of the evidence has demonstrated that the president did anything wrong.”Raj Shah, a spokesperson for Johnson, accused Biden of lying and said it was not up to the White House to decide what happened with the inquiry. An email shared by Reuters reads:
      The White House does not get to decide how impeachment gets resolved, that is for Congress to decide. More

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      Can US Congress control the abuse of AI in the 2024 election? – podcast

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      In January, voters in New Hampshire answered a phone call from what sounded like President Joe Biden. What turned out to be an AI-generated robocall caused a stir because it was trying to convince Democratic voters not to turn up to polling stations on election day.
      In response to this scam, just a couple of weeks later, the US government outlawed robocalls that use voices generated by artificial intelligence. But experts are warning that this story is just one example of why 2024 will be a year of unprecedented election disinformation in the US and around the world.
      This week, Jonathan Freedland and Rachel Leingang discuss why people are so worried about the influence of artificial intelligence on November’s presidential election, and what politicians can do to catch up

      How to listen to podcasts: everything you need to know More

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      Schumer faces backlash after calling for new Israeli elections to oust Netanyahu

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      Chuck Schumer, the US Senate leader and a top ally of Joe Biden, on Thursday broke with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his handling of the invasion of Gaza and called for Israel to hold new elections, in comments that upset its ruling party and allies on Capitol Hill.The shift by Schumer, the Democratic Senate majority leader and the highest-ranking Jewish official in the United States, came as he continued to press lawmakers to pass a military assistance package for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, the countries Biden has named as America’s top national security priorities.In remarks from the Senate floor, Schumer said he had a longstanding relationship with Netanyahu but believed he “has lost his way by allowing his political survival to take precedence over the best interests of Israel”.Noting the prime minister’s inclusion of far-right officials in his government, Schumer said Netanyahu “has been too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza, which is pushing support for Israel worldwide to historic lows. Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah”.Israel’s ruling Likud party responded to Schumer by defending the prime minister’s public support and saying Israel is “not a banana republic”.“Contrary to Schumer’s words, the Israeli public supports a total victory over Hamas, rejects any international dictates to establish a Palestinian terrorist state, and opposes the return of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza,” it said in a statement.“Senator Schumer is expected to respect Israel’s elected government and not undermine it. This is always true, and even more so in wartime.”The Republican Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, struck a similar tone. “Israel is not a colony of America whose leaders serve at the pleasure of the party in power in Washington. Only Israel’s citizens should have a say in who runs their government,” he said from the chamber’s floor, shortly after Schumer spoke.“Either we respect their decisions, or we disrespect their democracy.”Republican speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who has refused to allow a vote on the military assistance package despite its passage in the Senate, said Schumer’s remarks were “highly inappropriate” and accused him of playing “a divisive role in Israeli politics”.Schumer’s appeal comes amid rising concern among Biden’s Democratic allies over the civilian deaths in Gaza, which recently passed 30,000, according to health authorities in the Hamas-run administration. Biden threw his support behind Israel following Hamas’s 7 October terror attack, causing a domestic backlash that has seen protesters disrupt his speeches and tens of thousands of people cast protest votes in the Democratic primaries, including in swing states that will be crucial to his re-election in November.Biden says he supports the implementation of a temporary ceasefire in Gaza that would accompany the release of the remaining hostages taken by Hamas on 7 October. This month, US planes began airdrops of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and Biden says the military will construct a pier to deliver assistance by sea, as humanitarians warn the enclave could soon face a famine.Schumer has positioned himself as a strong ally of Israel’s government, visiting the country days after Hamas’s attack. But in a sign of how much his thinking has shifted, Schumer on Thursday declared: “The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after October 7. The world has changed – radically – since then, and the Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past.”He listed Netanyahu, who has long opposed Palestinian statehood, as among several roadblocks to implementing the two-state solution supported by the United States, alongside rightwing Israelis, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas.“These are the four obstacles to peace, and if we fail to overcome them, then Israel and the West Bank and Gaza will be trapped in the same violent state of affairs they’ve experienced for the last 75 years,” Schumer said.He added that the US could not dictate the outcome of an election in Israel, but “there needs to be a fresh debate about the future of Israel after October 7”.Netanyahu’s cabinet is dominated by ultranationalists who share the prime minister’s opposition to Palestinian statehood and other aims that successive US administrations have seen as essential to resolving Palestinian-Israeli conflicts in the long term.The US vice-president, Kamala Harris, Schumer and other lawmakers met last week in Washington with Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s war cabinet and a far more popular rival of Netanyahu – a visit that drew a rebuke from the Israeli prime minister.Gantz joined Netanyahu’s government in the war cabinet soon after the Hamas attacks. But Gantz is expected to leave the government once the heaviest fighting subsides, signaling that the period of national unity has ended. A return to mass demonstrations could ramp up pressure on Netanyahu’s deeply unpopular coalition to hold early elections.At the White House, the national security spokesperson, John Kirby, did not comment on Schumer’s statement, saying the Biden administration was concentrating on getting agreement on a temporary ceasefire.“We know Leader Schumer feels strongly about this and we’ll certainly let him speak to it and to his comments,” Kirby said. “We’re going to stay focused on making sure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself while doing everything that they can to avoid civilian casualties.” More

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      Netanyahu’s Likud party says Israel ‘not a banana republic’ after Chuck Schumer calls for new elections – live

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      Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party has responded to Chuck Schumer’s calls for new elections, saying that Israel is “not a banana republic”.It went on to say, “Contrary to Schumer’s words, the Israeli public supports a total victory over Hamas, rejects any international dictates to establish a Palestinian terrorist state, and opposes the return of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza.”“Senator Schumer is expected to respect Israel’s elected government and not undermine it. This is always true, and even more so in wartime,” it added.Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
      Prosecutors in Donald Trump’s hush-money case said they were not opposed to a 30-day delay in the trial, currently set to begin on 25 March, due to a recent disclosure of thousands of pages of documents by federal prosecutors.
      Kamala Harris visited a Planned Parenthood clinic in Minnesota, marking what her office said was the first time a president or vice-president has toured a facility that performs abortions, as the White House escalates its defense of reproductive rights in this year’s election.
      Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer called for Israel to hold new elections, saying he believed the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, had “lost his way” and risked turning the country into a pariah with its bombardment of Gaza and the worsening humanitarian crisis it caused. Schumer also called for Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas to step down.
      Republican Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell hit back at Schumer’s comments calling for new Israeli leadership, describing them as “grotesque and hypocritical”. Republican House speaker Mike Johnson said Schumer’s comments were “highly inappropriate”. House Republican conference chair Elise Stefanik said Schumer “does not stand with Israel”.
      Israel’s ruling Likud party responded to Schumer by defending Netanyahu’s public support and saying Israel is “not a banana republic”.
      Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Michael Herzog, said Schumer’s remarks were “unhelpful” and “counterproductive to our common goals”.
      Dozens of American Muslim and Palestinian-American organizations and leaders in Chicago turned down a White House meeting over the lack of policy change on Israel’s ongoing killings in Gaza.
      Donald Trump attended a hearing in Fort Pierce, Florida, as a federal judge heard arguments from the former president’s lawyers to dismiss the classified documents prosecution.
      Jim Jordan, the chair of the House judiciary committee, threatened Fulton county district attorney Fani Willis with contempt of Congress if she does not comply with his committee’s investigation into her office.
      Joe Biden came out in opposition to the planned sale of Pittsburgh’s US Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel.
      The Manhattan district attorney’s office said they will not oppose Donald Trump’s request to delay his hush money trial by 30 days, citing newly disclosed evidence from the US attorney’s office.Jury selection was scheduled to begin on 25 March, marking the former president’s first criminal trial. But in a court filing on Thursday, Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg wrote:
      Although the People are prepared to proceed to trial on March 25, we do not oppose an adjournment in an abundance of caution and to ensure that defendant has sufficient time to review the new materials.
      The Biden administration imposed sanctions on three extremist Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank who are accused of harassing and attacking Palestinians.Two Israeli outposts were also targeted in the latest sanctions, which the US state department said had been bases for violence against Palestinians.Washington has repeatedly asked Israel to hold violent settlers accountable and complained that its actions allowing settlement expansion diminish hopes for a two-state solution.In response, Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the sanctions were “further proof that the US administration does not understand who is an enemy and who is its supporter”, adding:
      The settlers are the best of our sons who build, settle and bring security to the country, they deserve a salute not a knife in the back.
      Dozens of American Muslim and Palestinian-American organizations and leaders in Chicago have turned down a White House meeting over the lack of policy change on Israel’s ongoing killings in Gaza.In a letter sent to White House officials, the organizations said:
      “First, there is no point in more meetings … With a genocide that has flattened Gaza … the White House has not only refused to call for a ceasefire, but also enabled this blatant campaign of ethnic cleansing to take place by providing financial and military means, as well as diplomatic support at the United Nations. A meeting of the minds is nowhere in sight.
      Second, there is no confusion as to our consistent demand for an immediate and permanent ceasefire to end the mass murder of civilians and stave off the worst humanitarian crisis in modern times. We believe another meeting would only act to whitewash months of White House inaction followed by meek handouts …
      … we demand, at minimum, an immediate and permanent ceasefire, complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, ultimately ending the siege and blockade of Gaza, allowing the natural flow of humanitarian aid, reinstating funding to UNRWA, a cessation of weapons sales or transfers to Israel, and accountability measures for all war crimes, crimes against humanity, the crime of genocide, and justice and liberation for the Palestinians.
      That is what history will judge us by, not more token meetings when every day is of the essence.”
      In addition to his calls for new Israeli elections, Chuck Schumer is also calling for Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas to step down.According to Schumer, Abbas must step down for a “new generation of Palestinian leaders who’ll work towards attaining peace with a Jewish state”.“The PA under new leadership must reform to viably serve as the basis for a Palestinian state with the trust of the people,” he added.Schumer has already sparked backlash among Republican leaders and the Israeli government over his calls from earlier today for new elections in Israel.In a series of tweets on Thursday, Chuck Schumer is maintaining his calls for new Israeli elections, saying Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has “lost his way by allowing his political survival to take precedence”.Schumer went on to accuse Netanyahu of pushing support for Israel “to new lows” and said that Israel “can’t survive if it becomes a pariah”.Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party has responded to Chuck Schumer’s calls for new elections, saying that Israel is “not a banana republic”.It went on to say, “Contrary to Schumer’s words, the Israeli public supports a total victory over Hamas, rejects any international dictates to establish a Palestinian terrorist state, and opposes the return of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza.”“Senator Schumer is expected to respect Israel’s elected government and not undermine it. This is always true, and even more so in wartime,” it added.Chuck Schumer is continuing to defend his calls for new Israeli elections, writing in another post on X:
      “People on all sides are turning away from a two-state solution—including Israel’s PM Netanyahu who has been rejecting Palestinian statehood and sovereignty.
      As the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in America and a staunch defender of Israel, I say:
      This is a grave mistake.”
      House Republican conference chair Elise Stefanik has joined a handful of Republican leaders who have criticized Chuck Schumer over his calls for new Israeli elections.In a statement on Thursday, Stefanik said: “Instead of meddling in elections of a sovereign nation, Chuck Schumer should follow House Republicans’ lead in supporting our ally in their darkest hour. The obstacle to peace is … Chuck Schumer … Chuck Schumer does not stand with Israel. House Republicans do.”Since 7 October, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet have faced increasing opposition and condemnation over their handling of the hostage crisis and Israel’s subsequent war on Gaza where its forces have killed more than 30,000 Palestinians while forcibly displacing about 2 million survivors.Despite fierce criticisms from Republican leaders, Chuck Schumer is sticking to his word over his calls for new Israeli elections. In a post on X, Schumer wrote:
      “At this critical juncture, I believe a new election in Israel is the only way to allow for a healthy and open decision-making process about the future of Israel, at a time when so many Israelis have lost their confidence in the vision and direction of their government.”
      John Cornyn, the Republican senator of Texas, said Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer was “out of line” in his comments calling for Israel to hold new elections.Schumer was “undermining” America’s “closest ally and the only democracy in the Middle East,” Cornyn posted to X. He added:
      This is a blatant attempt to appease extremists in his party to the detriment of our relationship with Israel. More

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      Kamala Harris puts abortion front and center with visit to Minnesota clinic

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      Kamala Harris visited a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic on Thursday, becoming what is believed to be the first vice-president ever to do so.Harris stopped by a clinic in Minnesota, a state where abortion remains legal following the overturning of Roe v Wade, as part of her nationwide tour to highlight the impact of Roe’s downfall. Harris also toured the clinic, which remained open to patients as the nation’s first female vice-president made her historic visit.“Walking through this clinic, that’s what I saw, … people who have dedicated their lives to the profession of providing healthcare in a safe place that gives people dignity,” Harris told reporters after her tour. “And I think we should all want that for each other.”Protesters had already assembled outside the clinic by the time of Harris’s arrival. They carried signs with messages such as “Planned Parenthood = abortion” and “abortion is not healthcare”.Harris and Joe Biden are banking on outrage over Roe to help propel them to a second term in the White House come November. Anger over the landmark decision’s demise was credited with helping stop a much-promised “red wave” of Republican victories in the 2022 midterms, as well as leading abortion rights to triumph in multiple ballot initiatives, including in red states such as Kentucky, Kansas and Ohio.One in eight voters now say that abortion is their top issue in the 2024 elections, according to a KFF poll released last week. Harris and Biden have said that they would like to codify Roe’s protections into law – legislation that is unlikely to move anytime soon, given the degree of inaction and polarization in the US Congress.Biden’s record on and ability to talk about abortion rights dims in comparison to his running mate’s. Biden, a devout Catholic, has said that he is personally “not big” on abortion. And while Biden highlighted the threat to “reproductive freedom” in his State of the Union address to Congress last week, he did not say the word “abortion”.In contrast, Harris has spoken far more openly about the issue. On Thursday, she mentioned “abortion care” and said that the overturning of Roe has led to a “healthcare crisis”.“Elections matter,” Harris told reporters. “When it comes to national elections and who sits in the United States Congress, there’s a fundamental point on this issue that I think most people agree with, which is that one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government should not be telling women what to do with her body.”Asked about her role in this issue, Harris said: “My role is to do what I just did, which is to articulate exactly these points and to continue to articulate them, and to organize folks around what I know is an issue that is impacting more people than you will ever really know.” More

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      Israeli PM Netanyahu ‘obstacle to peace’ in Gaza, says US Senate majority leader – video

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      The Democratic Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, has said Benjamin Netanyahu has emerged as a ‘major obstacle to peace’ in Gaza, in a further sign of growing tensions between the US and its ally Israel. Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish official in the US, accused Netanyahu of bowing to pressure from ‘extremists’ in his cabinet and appealed to Israel to ‘change course’, warning that the US would be prepared to use its leverage to shape Israeli policy if it failed to do so More

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      Biden’s ‘bear-hugging’ of Netanyahu a strategic mistake, key Democrat says

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      Joe Biden has committed a “strategic mistake” by “bear-hugging” the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, as he prosecutes war with Hamas, a leading congressional progressive Democrat and Biden campaign surrogate said.“The bear-hugging of Netanyahu has been a strategic mistake,” Ro Khanna said, accusing the Israeli leader of conducting “a callous war” in Gaza, in defiance of the United States.Speaking to One Decision, a podcast co-hosted by Sir Richard Dearlove, a former British intelligence chief, Khanna, from California, also called Netanyahu “insufferably arrogant”, for acting as if he is “somehow an equal” to Biden.But his comments about Biden’s mistakes may land with a thud at the White House.Liz Landers, a One Decision guest host, asked Khanna about a recent trip to Michigan to meet leaders of the state’s large Arab American community.“What did they tell you about the Biden administration’s policy with Israel?” Landers asked.“They were opposed,” Khanna said, adding: “I’ve been a longtime supporter of the US-Israel relationship. I’ve been in Congress eight years and my record reflects that I unequivocally condemned the brutal Hamas attack [on Israel] on 7 October, the rapes, the murders. I’ve called Hamas a terrorist organisation, which obviously they are.“They committed a terrorist act on 7 October, but the bear-hugging of Netanyahu has been a strategic mistake. Netanyahu has conducted a callous war in defiance of the United States.“I did not support a ceasefire for the first six weeks. I thought [Israel] would go and get the people responsible [for the 7 October attacks]. But they started bombing refugee camps, bombing hospitals, defying the United States and not letting aid in.”Biden, Khanna said, needed to set out “clear consequences for Netanyahu” if Israel does not change course.“He needs to say, ‘I’m for Israel, but I’m not for this extreme rightwing government.’ And that means if [Netanyahu] defies the United States, not allowing aid, or going into Rafah” – which Biden has said must not happen but Netanyahu has said will – “[then] no more weapons transfers … unconditionally.“It means not protecting [Netanyahu] from the entire international community at the United Nations, it means recognising a Palestinian state. And those are the things I think some of the Arab American community want.”Asked about a looming clash over Rafah, Khanna highlighted Netanyahu’s behaviour, refusing to heed Biden’s warning that the attack would represent a “red line”.“What I disagree with and sort of the media narrative on this [is that] Netanyahu and Biden, somehow they’re equals,” Khanna said.“They’re not. We’re the greatest superpower in the world. We’re giving Netanyahu weapons. He needs to be deferential with respect to the American president, whoever that is. And I find it insufferably arrogant for him to act as if he’s somehow an equal to the American president. And that’s just going to rub people the wrong way.“So if he defies the American secretary of defense, the American president, then we should stop the arms shipments now. We can stop the offensive arms shipments … I voted for defensive funding and we need to continue to protect Israel against an invasion from Hezbollah or Iran. But we certainly shouldn’t be giving Netanyahu the offensive weapons to go kill more people in Gaza when he’s acting in defiance to the president of the United States.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotion“You can act as an equal if you’re not begging for weapons at the same time.”Biden’s Israel policy has also had an effect in domestic politics, protest votes in Democratic primaries sounding a warning for the presidential election to come. Landers asked Khanna if Biden could lose his re-election fight against Donald Trump because of such protests as seen in Michigan, where about 100,000 voted “uncommitted”.Khanna said: “I think the president’s gonna win. I mean, he won Michigan [by] almost 150,000 votes.”But he said anger with Biden was spreading “probably beyond the Muslim or Arab American community. It’s more young people, voters of colour, the broader Democratic coalition.“And I think if this war continues, particularly if it’s continuing when we head to the Democratic convention in Chicago, then it creates a problem for us with the coalition that Barack Obama built, which was young people, progressives, voters of colour, that really turned out.”Khanna said there was potential for the convention, in mid-August, to generate unwelcome echoes of chaos in Chicago in 1968, the year of an election won by the Republican Richard Nixon amid protests against the Vietnam war.“I still believe the president will win, but this should be a warning sign that there are large parts of our base that are unhappy,” Khanna said.“My hope is that the president, I believe, has changed tone and changed course. He’s now using the word ‘ceasefire’. He’s saying that weapons will not be indefinitely transferred to Netanyahu. So my hope is this pressure is going to work on getting a ceasefire and release of the hostages” held by Hamas. More

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      Biden pledges billions to rebuild cities ‘torn apart’ by highways decades ago

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      Joe Biden hailed the beginning of $3.3bn in infrastructure spending on US projects on Wednesday “to right historic wrongs” with efforts to reconnect city neighborhoods riven by interstate highways that plowed with particular impunity through many Black, brown, Asian American and Hispanic communities decades ago.The US president was in Milwaukee, where he traveled to announce new infrastructure investment and officially open his election campaign’s Wisconsin office in the vital swing state.Democratic party campaigns in Wisconsin are typically run from the state capital, Madison, whereas the Biden re-election campaign has picked Milwaukee, the more industrial and diverse city on Lake Michigan, where 40% of residents are Black. The Republicans will hold their convention in Milwaukee in July.Biden is striving to make an impact on the campaign trail in a number of swing states this week after his fiery State of the Union speech last week.He travels to Michigan on Thursday, part of the “blue wall”, along with Pennsylvania, where Biden was born and has made more campaign trips than any other state.Donald Trump flipped all three states to win the White House in 2016, but Biden took them back four years ago and almost certainly needs to hold them if he is to secure a second term.Biden and Trump unofficially clinched their parties’ respective nominations on Tuesday night after more primary wins, and expect to be officially anointed at their party conventions this summer.The rare presidential election rematch, the first since 1956, comes while Trump is due in court later this month for the first-ever criminal trial of a former US president, with more to come as he faces 91 criminal charges across four cases at federal and state levels.On Wednesday, the White House declared that $3.3bn in federal funding is being allocated in more than 40 states, originating from the Biden administration’s 2021 infrastructure legislation, to help areas “divided by transportation infrastructure decades ago and [that] have long been overlooked”.Biden announced a $36.6m federal grant on his Milwaukee visit to upgrade sidewalks and create cycle lanes, greater access to mass transit and more greenery in the South 6th Street area of Bronzeville, a historic majority African American neighborhood.Biden said the construction of interstate highways there led to the demolition of roughly 17,000 homes and 1,000 businesses, disproportionately impacting Black and poor neighborhoods in the 1960s, with a losses of prosperity and opportunities “that still reverberate today”.He pledged “to right historic wrongs and, in the process, deliver environmental justice to disadvantaged neighborhoods”.The US transportation department estimates that at least a million people and businesses in the US were displaced by decades of harmful urban renewal projects in the buildout of the federal highway system, a statement from the White House said.Biden said: “The story of Bronzeville here in Milwaukee is one we see all across the country. Our interstate highway system laid out in the 1950s was a groundbreaking connection of our nation, coast to coast … but instead of connecting communities, it divided them.”He added: “These highways actually tore them apart … along with redlining, they disconnected entire communities from opportunities, sometimes, in an effort to reinforce segregation.”Biden also took a jab directly at Trump’s conduct in dealing with the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, when he was president.“My predecessor failed at the most basic duty any president owes the American people – the duty to care,” he said.The Associated Press contributed reporting More