Page 8 - Us Republicans

White House rejects House Republican effort to get Prez Biden to testify

The White House on Monday rejected a long-shot effort from House Republicans to get President Joe Biden to testify before lawmakers in the GOP's stalled impeachment inquiry. In a letter to House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, the White House dismissed the invitation sent to Biden last month, calling it a partisan charade in an impeachment probe that has unearthed no evidence implicating the president in any wrongdoing while in public office. House Republicans had been seeking information related to the Biden family's business dealings in what the GOP characterized as an alleged influence-peddling scheme. Your Committee's purported impeachment inquiry' has succeeded only in turning up abundant evidence that, in fact, the President has done nothing wrong, Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president, wrote in the letter sent to Comer on Monday. Sauber added, Your insistence on peddling these false and unsupported allegations despite ample evidence to the contrary makes

More Republican states sue to block Biden''s student loan repayment plan

Another group of Republican-led states is suing to block the Biden administration's new student loan repayment plan, which offers a faster path to cancellation and has already been used to forgive loans for more than 150,000 borrowers. Seven states led by Missouri filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday challenging Biden's SAVE Plan, which has become a new legal target for conservative opponents after the Supreme Court toppled the Democratic president's first attempt at student loan cancellation. It largely mirrors another suit filed last month by Republican attorneys general in 11 states, led by Kansas. Yet again, the President is unilaterally trying to impose an extraordinarily expensive and controversial policy that he could not get through Congress, according to the new suit. Filed just a day after Biden trumpeted a new proposal to cancel student loans for millions of borrowers, the lawsuit sets the stage for one legal battle and foreshadows another. The suit doesn't directly challenge

Trump camp slams Prez for declaring Mar 31 as Transgender Day of Visibility

President Joe Biden is facing criticism from Donald Trump's campaign and religious conservatives for proclaiming March 31 which corresponds with Easter Sunday this year as Transgender Day of Visibility. The Democratic president issued the proclamation on Friday, calling on all Americans to join us in lifting up the lives and voices of transgender people throughout our Nation and to work toward eliminating violence and discrimination based on gender identity. But in 2024, the March 31 designation overlaps with Easter, one of Christianity's holiest celebrations. Trump's campaign accused Biden, a Roman Catholic, of being insensitive to religion, and fellow Republicans piled on. "We call on Joe Biden's failing campaign and White House to issue an apology to the millions of Catholics and Christians across America who believe tomorrow is for one celebration only the resurrection of Jesus Christ," said Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign's press secretary. She assailed what she called

Biden impeachment inquiry at crossroads: Hunter Biden declines to appear

The House impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden has hit a crossroads, lacking the political appetite from within Republican ranks to go forward with an actual impeachment, but facing political pressure to deliver after months of work. The Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, James Comer, has signalled an interest in another direction. He is stopping short of drawing up articles of impeachment against the president, but eying criminal referrals of Biden family wrongdoing to the Justice Department for possible prosecution. With the panel's star witness, Hunter Biden, not expected to appear for Wednesday's public hearing after having testified privately last month, Comer telegraphed what was coming next. "If he does not show up, then it's not going to end well for the Bidens, Comer said over the weekend on Fox News. He said, There's going to be multiple criminal referrals." It's the start of a potential wind-down for the lengthy GOP-led probe that was launched

Robert F Kennedy Jr to announce VP running mate on March 26 in California

Robert F. Kennedy Jr plans to announce a running mate for his independent presidential campaign on March 26 in Oakland, California, his campaign said on Tuesday. The campaign did not say whom Kennedy will pick, but he told The New York Times this week that NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers and former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura are among the frontrunners. Kennedy is making an unusually early announcement because of ballot access rules in many states that require independent candidates to name their vice presidential nominees before they can begin the process. Ballot access for independent candidates is an expensive and time-consuming endeavour, with rules varying vastly across states. Kennedy's father was attorney general for the candidate's uncle, President John F. Kennedy. He began his presidential campaign as a primary challenge to Democratic President Joe Biden but later changed gears to run as an independent. His bid for the presidency, along with his embrace of conspiracy theorie

US elections 2024: America has its first presidential rematch since 1956

Just when Americans thought they were out, Joe Biden and Donald Trump pulled them back in. The sequel to the 2020 election is officially set as the president and his immediate predecessor secured their parties' nominations. Biden and Trump have set up a political movie the country has seen before even if the last version was in black and white. The last presidential rematch came in 1956, when Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower again defeated Adlai Stevenson, the Democratic opponent he had four years prior. Grover Cleveland, meanwhile, was the nation's 22nd and 24th president, winning elections in 1884 and 1892. As sequels go, fans of politics and film may hope the Biden-Trump rematch ends up like the acclaimed The Godfather II rather than the often-derided The Godfather III. But the Biden-Trump rematch is expected to take its place alongside historical analogues that date back to the nation's founding. Here's how it stacks up in history: When was the last rematch of a ...

US elections 2024: Trump wins GOP nomination, setting up rematch with Biden

Donald Trump, whose single turbulent term in the White House transformed the Republican Party, tested the resilience of democratic institutions in the U.S. and threatened alliances abroad, will lead the GOP in a third consecutive presidential election after clinching the nomination Tuesday. With wins in Georgia, Mississippi and Washington state, Trump surpassed the 1,215-delegate threshold needed to become the presumptive Republican nominee. He'll formally accept the nomination at the Republican National Convention in July, by which point he could be in the remarkable position of being both a presidential candidate and convicted felon. Trump has been indicted in four separate criminal investigations and his first trial, which centers on payments made to a porn actress, is set to begin March 25 in New York City. Trump's victory in the GOP primary ushers in what will almost certainly be an extraordinarily negative general election campaign that will tug at the nation's already searing

US elections 2024: Republican Nikki Haley wins District of Columbia primary

Nikki Haley has won the Republican primary in the District of Columbia, notching her first victory of the 2024 campaign. Her victory Sunday at least temporarily halts Donald Trump's sweep of the GOP voting contests, although the former president is bound to pick up several hundred more delegates in this week's Super Tuesday races. Despite her early losses, Haley has said she would remain in the race at least through those contests, although she has declined to name any primary she felt confident she would win. Following last week's loss in her home state of South Carolina, Haley remained adamant that voters in the places that followed deserved an alternative to Trump despite his dominance thus far in the campaign. The Associated Press declared Haley the winner Sunday night after D.C. Republican Party officials released the results. Washington is one of the most heavily Democratic jurisdictions in the nation, with only about 23,000 registered Republicans in the city. Democrat Joe Bi

US Congress comes out with 6 spending bills to avoid partial shutdown

Congressional leaders on Sunday came out with a package of six bills setting full-year spending levels for some federal agencies, a step forward in a long overdue funding process beset by sharp political divisions between the two parties as well as infighting among House Republicans. The release of the text of legislation over the weekend was designed to meet the House's rule to give lawmakers at least 72 hours to study a bill before voting. And it's a promising sign that lawmakers will avoid a partial shutdown that would kick in at 12:01 am Saturday for those agencies covered under the bill, such as Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Transportation, Justice and others. Congressional leaders hope to complete votes on the package this week and continue negotiations on the remaining six annual spending bills to pass them before a March 22 deadline. House Speaker Mike Johnson highlighted some key policy and spending wins for conservatives, even as many of his GOP colleagues consider the ..

US defence chief on defensive: Lawmakers to confront him on hospital stay

Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin will face Congress publicly for the first time Thursday to explain his failure to quickly notify the president and other senior leaders about his hospitalisation last month for complications from prostate cancer surgery. He is expected to hear some sharp questions and criticism from members of the House Armed Services Committee for keeping his hospital stay secret for days, including from President Joe Biden. A number of Republicans have blasted him for the lack of transparency and used the incident to slam the Biden administration for not keeping Congress informed. The lapse has raised questions about whether there were gaps in the command and control of the nation's armed forces, including its nuclear arsenal. The Pentagon has insisted there was no break in control as Austin transferred authorities to the deputy secretary. Austin's remarks to the committee will likely mirror a mea culpa that he delivered in a press briefing early this month. He has

Biden highlights how federal money is being used to boost safety efforts

President Joe Biden used a meeting with police chiefs on Wednesday to spotlight his administration's efforts to help cities and police departments manage crime while also providing job opportunities for youth in communities affected by that violence. The president underscored how the American Rescue plan has helped Detroit pay for bonuses and hire 200 additional officers, Milwaukee fund gun crime investigations and Chicago better focus on community violence intervention efforts. He also took a glancing shot at Republicans, suggesting that his administration has helped cities around the U.S. reduce violent crime without Republican help. "We stepped up thanks to my American Rescue Plan, which I might note, not a single person on the other team voted for," Bidens said at the start of the White House meeting that included the heads of police departments from Buffalo, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Chicago, DeKalb County, Georgia, Miami, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia. Doug Emhoff, the husband of .

Hunter Biden tells House GOP he did not involve his father in his business

Hunter Biden appeared on Wednesday on Capitol Hill for a defiant, closed-door deposition with lawmakers, a critical moment for Republicans as their impeachment inquiry into his father and the family's business affairs teeters on the brink of collapse. I am here today to provide the committees with the one uncontestable fact that should end the false premise of this inquiry: I did not involve my father in my business, Hunter Biden said in an opening statement obtained by The Associated Press. The deposition could mark a decisive point for the 14-month Republican investigation into the Biden family, which has centred on Hunter Biden and his overseas work for clients in Ukraine, China, Romania and other countries. Republicans have long questioned whether those business dealings involved corruption and influence peddling by President Joe Biden, particularly when he was vice president. We're deposing Hunter Biden because he's a key witness in our investigation of President Joe Biden, Rep

Hunter Biden set to appear for closed-door interview with Republicans

Hunter Biden is set to appear on Wednesday on Capitol Hill for a closed-door deposition with lawmakers, a critical moment for Republicans as their impeachment inquiry into his father and their family's business affairs teeters on the brink of collapse. The deposition will mark a decisive point for the 14-month Republican investigation into the Biden family, which has centred on Hunter Biden and his overseas work for clients in Ukraine, China, Romania and other countries. Republicans have long questioned whether those business dealings involved corruption and influence peddling by President Joe Biden, particularly when he was vice president. Yet after conducting dozens of interviews and obtaining more than 100,000 pages of documents, Republicans have yet to produce direct evidence of misconduct by the president. Meanwhile, an FBI informant who alleged a bribery scheme involving the Bidens a claim Republicans had cited repeatedly to justify their probe is facing charges from federal

Russian efforts to create anti-satellite weapons are cause for US concern

The US has gathered highly sensitive intelligence about Russian anti-satellite weapons that has been shared in recent weeks with the upper echelons of government, according to four people who have been briefed on the intelligence. The people, who were not authorised to comment publicly, said the capability was not yet operational. The intelligence sparked an urgent but vague warning Wednesday from the Republican head of the House Intelligence Committee, who urged the Biden administration to declassify information about what he called a serious national security threat. Rep. Mike Turner gave no details about the nature of the threat, and the Biden administration also declined to address it. But several leading lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, cautioned against being overly alarmed. A congressional aide said he understood that the threat relates to a space-deployed Russian anti-satellite weapon. Such a weapon could pose a major danger to U.S. satellites that transmit .

In a historic rebuke, House Republicans impeach Alejandro Mayorkas

The US House voted on Tuesday to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, with the Republican majority determined to punish the Biden administration over its handling of the US-Mexico border after failing last week in a politically embarrassing setback. The evening roll call proved tight, with Speaker Mike Johnson's threadbare GOP majority unable to handle many defectors or absences in the face of staunch Democratic opposition to impeaching Mayorkas, the first Cabinet secretary facing charges in nearly 150 years. In a historic rebuke, the House impeached Mayorkas 214-213. With the return of Majority Leader Steve Scalise to bolster the GOP's numbers after being away from Washington for cancer care and a Northeastern storm impacting some others, Republicans recouped -- despite dissent from their own ranks. President Joe Biden said in a statement released after the vote, "History will not look kindly on House Republicans for their blatant act of unconstitutional ...

'World is watching', say Senators as Republicans oppose to Ukraine aid

As a growing number of Republicans oppose US aid to Ukraine, the Senate's leaders are arguing in strong terms that the money is crucial to pushing back against Russian President Vladimir Putin and maintaining America's global standing. In the Capitol for a rare weekend session, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky issued stark warnings about the consequences of abandoning longtime US allies in Europe. Today it's no exaggeration to say that the eyes of the world are on the United States Senate, McConnell said. Our allies and partners are hoping that the indispensable nation, the leader of the free world, has the resolve to continue. A test vote Sunday on the $95.3 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other countries comes as former President Donald Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, is trying to kill the assistance and has escalated his attacks on the NATO military alliance. Trump said Saturday

Gallagher won't run for US Congress after he angered fellow Republicans

US Representative Mike Gallagher, a key Republican Congressman who has spearheaded House pushback against the Chinese government, announced on Saturday that he won't run for a fifth term. The announcement comes just days after he angered his fellow Republicans by refusing to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The GOP has been looking to oust Mayorkas as a way to punish the Biden administration over its handling of the US-Mexico border. A House impeachment vote on Tuesday fell just one vote short. Gallagher was one of three Republicans who opposed impeachment. His fellow Republicans surrounded him on the House floor in an attempt to change his mind but he refused to change his vote. Record numbers of people have been arriving at the southern border as they flee countries around the globe. Many claim asylum and end up in US cities that are ill-prepared to provide for them while they await court proceedings. The issue is potent line of attack for Donald Trump as he

House Republicans announce bill that provides more military aid to Israel

House Republicans will move forward with a USD 17.6 billion package next week that provides military aid to Israel and replenish US weapons, but leaves out more help for Ukraine, underscoring the challenges facing supporters of a comprehensive national security package that would also include billions of dollars for immigration enforcement. The move gives Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republicans the chance to show support for Israel even though there is little chance the Senate will go along. Meanwhile, text of a broader Senate compromise is expected to be released this weekend and a key test vote on that package will be held during the week. Johnson said that Senate leadership is aware that by failing to include the House in their negotiations, they have eliminated the ability for swift consideration of any legislation. As I have said consistently for the past three months, the House will have to work its will on these issues and our priorities will need to be addressed, Johnson

House passes bill to enhance child tax credit, revive tax breaks for biz

The House accomplished something unusual Wednesday in passing with broad, bipartisan support a roughly USD 79 billion tax cut package that would enhance the child tax credit for millions of lower-income families and boost three tax breaks for businesses, a combination that gives lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle coveted policy wins. Prospects for the measure becoming law are uncertain with the Senate still having to take it up, but for a House that has struggled to get bills of consequence over the finish line, the tax legislation could represent a rare breakthrough. The bill passed by a vote of 357-70. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., threw his support behind the bill on Wednesday morning. He spent part of the previous day meeting with GOP lawmakers who were concerned about particular features of the bill, namely the expanded child tax credit. Some were also unhappy that it failed to address the $10,000 cap on the total amount of property taxes or state or local taxes that

It's time for Republican Party to come together as one team: Donald Trump

He, however, also gave a message calling on his GOP rivals to come together and move into the presidential polls as a team