Page 108 - Joe Biden

Indo-American Iyengar Plumb confirmed as Deputy under Defence Secretary

The US Senate has confirmed Radha Iyengar Plumb, a national security expert, as the Deputy Under Secretary of Defence for Acquisition and Sustainment, the latest Indian-American to be named by the Biden administration for a key position. President Joe Biden had nominated Plumb, currently serving as Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary of Defence, to this prestigious position in June 2022. By a vote of 68-30, the Senate confirmed Radha Iyengar Plumb to be the Deputy Under Secretary of Defence, US Senate Periodical Press Gallery tweeted on Tuesday. Prior to her appointment as the Chief of Staff, she was the Director of Research and Insights for Trust and Safety at Google and had previously served as the Global Head of Policy Analysis at Facebook. Plumb previously was a Senior Economist at the RAND Corporation where she focused on improving the measurement and evaluation of readiness and security efforts across the Department of Defence. She also held a number of senior staff posit

US President Biden prepares to announce re-election campaign next week

US President Biden and his team are preparing to announce his re-election campaign next week

President Joe Biden touts US efforts as oil overshadows climate summit

President Joe Biden touted unprecedented climate efforts by his administration on Thursday in an annual White House summit that was overshadowed by Russia's war in Ukraine and other immediate threats to the world's short-term oil and gas supply. Biden used the Major Economies Forum, convened virtually, to announce that the U.S. hoped to give $500 million to Brazil over the next five years to help slow the destruction of the Amazon, one of the world's vital natural reserves soaking up the climate-damaging fumes from oil, natural gas, coal and methane. The funding would require congressional approval. Climate leaders and scientists have sharply criticised the U.S. and many other nations, though, for responding to oil and gas shortages and greater supply concerns by ramping up oil and gas production and expansion plans, saying it is impossible to keep global warming to hoped-for limits while increasing drilling. Biden, a Democrat, pointed to climate achievements including the United .

Biden to huddle with donors next week as prez poll 2024 launch nears

President Joe Biden is summoning top Democratic donors to Washington next week as he prepares to launch his 2024 reelection bid, according to two people familiar with the matter. The event, which is being organised by the Democratic National Committee, is not a fundraiser, but is meant to energise the top party donors for Biden's campaign, the people said. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly. Biden is expected to meet for dinner with the assembled donors, who are also set to hear from some of his top political advisers. Biden has repeatedly said he intends to run for reelection, but aides say he feels little pressure to formally launch a campaign, especially since he's warded off any serious challenge from within his party for the nomination. We are here and ready, said Michael Smith, who along with his partner, James Costos, hosted Biden's first Hollywood fundraiser of the 2020 primary, and will be meeting with ..

US Health Secretary Xavier Becerra violates Hatch Act: Govt watchdog

Becerra is one of a handful of Biden administration officials to be cited for violating the Hatch Act

Joe Biden, wife paid 23.8% taxes on $579,514 earnings, returns show

President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, made $579,514 last year and paid $137,658 in federal income taxes. That works out to a 23.8 per cent tax rate, more than the average of roughly 14 per cent for all US households. The Bidens' earnings have trended slightly downward over the past three years, after averaging more than $600,000 in 2020 and 2021. The median US household income was $69,717 in 2021, according to the US Census Bureau. The White House on Tuesday released the tax returns of the Bidens and Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff. This once routine rite of passage for presidents and aspirants to the Oval Office became a source of controversy under Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, who declined to release his taxes and ultimately had six years' worth of returns released last year by a House committee. The Bidens' income has dropped since 2019, when they earned nearly $1 million, primarily from book sales, speeches and their teaching positions at the ...

PM Narendra Modi most popular, visionary leader: US Secretary of Commerce

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the most popular leader and is a visionary, United States Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said adding that his commitment to the people of India

US Prez Biden says he'll announce on 2024 re-elections 'relatively soon'

"I've already made that calculus. We'll announce it relatively soon. But the trip here just reinforced my sense of optimism about what can be done," Biden said

EPA predicts 67% of US vehicle sales will have to be electric by 2032

To hit the targeted reductions, the Environmental Protection Agency predicts that 67% of US vehicle sales will have to be electric by 2032

US embarrassed after 21-year-old arrested in classified documents leak

As Pentagon jobs go, Teixeira's was pretty junior and his job description says workers like him "keep our communications systems up and running and play an integral role in our continuing success"

Biden administration highlights infrastructure investments with new bridges

The Biden administration is closing out a three-week push to highlight the benefits of infrastructure investments in local communities by awarding nearly USD 300 million to help repair or replace more than a dozen bridges across the country. Events in four states on Thursday will mark the end of the beginning phase of a more expansive White House push heading into President Joe Biden's expected 2024 reelection race to remind voters of his accomplishments. During the administration's Investing in America tour, Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and other officials held more than 50 events across 25 states at projects benefiting from the landmark infrastructure, climate and high-tech manufacturing laws passed during the Democratic president's first two years in office. There will be much more talk about Biden's record to come. This is the focus of the next year-plus, White House chief of staff Jeff Zients, who got the job in February with a mandate to oversee implementation of the .

Biden aide speaks to Saudi prince on 'progress' towards Yemen war end

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan spoke by phone with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday amid signs that the Saudis and Iran-allied Houthis in Yemen are making "remarkable progress" toward finding a permanent end to their nine-year conflict, according to the Biden administration. The crown prince, often referred to by his initials MBS, has had a strained relationship with President Joe Biden over human rights and oil production concerns. But the de facto Saudi leader and the president's top national security adviser decided to talk amid encouraging signs on winding down the long and bloody war, a top priority for Biden. The call came after Saudi diplomat Mohammed bin Saeed al-Jaber met with Houthi officials in Yemen's capital Sanaa on Sunday for talks that were aimed at accelerating negotiations on ending the war. The White House said in statement that Sullivan "welcomed Saudi Arabia's extraordinary efforts" to pursue a more comprehensive ...

US prez Biden visits Belfast for 'Good Friday Agreement' anniversary

US President Joe Biden has landed in Northern Ireland's Belfast at the start of his four-day visit to the island of Ireland

US President Biden ends Covid national emergency after Congress acts

The US national emergency to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic ended Monday as President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan congressional resolution to bring it to a close after three years weeks before it was set to expire alongside a separate public health emergency. The national emergency allowed the government to take sweeping steps to respond to the virus and support the country's economic, health and welfare systems. Some of the emergency measures have already been successfully wound-down, while others are still being phased out. The public health emergency it underpins tough immigration restrictions at the US-Mexico border is set to expire on May 11. The White House issued a one-line statement Monday saying Biden had signed the measure behind closed doors, after having publicly opposed the resolution though not to the point of issuing a veto. More than 197 Democrats in the House voted against it when the GOP-controlled chamber passed it in February. Last month, as the measure ...

Joe Biden plans to run for a second term, but not announcing it yet

Though an official announcement has not been made yet, there are every indication that the US President will run for second term, defying questions about his age, including by members of his own party

British PM Sunak to meet US President Biden in Northern Ireland next week

British PM is set to meet US President in Belfast, Northern Ireland next week when the US president flies in to take part in events to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday peace accord

Biden review blames Trump for 'chaotic' 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal

A U.S. review led by the National Security Council of the chaotic 2021 withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan largely lays the blame on former President Donald Trump, saying President Joe Biden was severely constrained" by the decisions of his predecessor. The White House on Thursday publicly released a 12-page summary of the results of the so-called hotwash of U.S. policies around the ending of the nation's longest war, taking little responsibility for its own actions during some of the darkest moments of Biden's presidency. The administration said most of the after-action reviews, which were transmitted privately to Congress on Thursday, were highly classified and would not be released publicly. President Biden's choices for how to execute a withdrawal from Afghanistan were severely constrained by conditions created by his predecessor, the White House summary states, noting that when Biden entered office, the Taliban were in the strongest military position that they had been

Biden is set to propose toughest-ever rules on car pollution to spur EVs

Limits on car pollution are key to helping the US meet its Paris Agreement commitment to slash greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% from 2005 levels by the end of the decade

World can face nuclear World War III under Biden administration: Trump

The world is likely to face an all-out nuclear World War III under the Biden administration, former president Donald Trump has said and accused the current US government of destroying the country. The comments by 76-year-old Trump came during his first public address since being arraigned on Tuesday. Trump, the first former US President to be criminally charged, has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records at his arraignment in a Manhattan court on charges relating to hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels. The former president said that there are open threats by various countries of the use of nuclear weapons, something which was never mentioned or discussed by other nations during his administration. This could very well lead under the Biden administration's leadership to an all-out nuclear World War III can happen. We're not very far away from it, believe it or not, Trump said during the address at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, soon

President Biden offers $450 mn for clean energy projects at coal mines

President Joe Biden's administration is making USD450 million available for solar farms and other clean energy projects at the site of current or former coal mines, part of his efforts to combat climate change. As many as five projects nationwide will be funded through the 2021 infrastructure law, with at least two projects set aside for solar farms, the White House said Tuesday. The White House also said it will allow developers of clean energy projects to take advantage of billions of dollars in new bonuses being offered in addition to investment and production tax credits available through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. The bonuses will "incentivize more clean energy investment in energy communities, particularly coal communities,,'' that have been hurt by a decade-plus decline in U.S. coal production, the White House said. The actions are among steps the Biden administration is taking as the Democratic president moves to convert the U.S. economy to renewable energy such as wi