Page 9 - Us Republicans

I am not interested in VP post, says presidential candidate Nikki Haley

Indian-American senior Republican Party leader Nikki Haley, the lone woman in the party's presidential race, has said she is not interested in being the vice president, asserting that she's running to be the next US president and is contending "to win". Haley's remarks came ahead of the Iowa caucuses on Monday, which formally kicks off the beginning of the long process by which the Republicans and Democrats choose their nominees for the presidential election on November 5. Replying to a question about how she felt about some voters saying they would prefer her as a vice president rather than a president, the 51-year-old former US Ambassador to the UN said, I don't play for a second. I've never played for a second. I'm not going to start now." "I'm not interested in being vice president. I'm running to be president, and I'm running to win, and we will, the former South Carolina governor said in a CBS News interview. With the Republican contest to choose the nominee for the November

Your votes can help me punish enemies, says Trump to Iowa Republicans

Donald Trump implored his supporters on Sunday to brave frigid temperatures and deliver him a decisive victory in Monday's Iowa caucuses, saying their vote would help bring to Washington the retribution he has repeatedly promised if he returns to the White House. The former president has set sky-high expectations for his own performance in the first contest of the race for the Republican presidential nomination. He spent the day before the caucuses trying to ensure he meets them. His main GOP rivals all spent Sunday in Iowa as well, making last-minute appeals to Iowans open to hearing them. At a rally in Indianola, Trump said his supporters could fight back against his political enemies, claiming that the four indictments he faces were driven by politics and renewing his false claims about the 2020 election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. Many in the crowd wore white and gold caps identifying them as Trump caucus captains who will help round up support for him Monday night. "These .

Trump can wait to testify at sex abuse victim's defamation trial: Judge

Former President Donald Trump can wait a week to testify at a New York defamation trial where he could face millions of dollars in damages after a jury concluded that he sexually abused a columnist in the 1990s, a federal judge said on Sunday. Judge Lewis A Kaplan issued a one-page order saying Trump could testify on January 22 even if the trial that starts on Tuesday is over by Thursday, except for testimony by the Republican front-runner in this year's presidential race. He said he previously denied Trump's request to delay the start of the trial by a week so Trump could attend the funeral Thursday of his mother-in-law because it would disrupt and inconvenience prospective jurors, lawyers, court staff and security, who were notified of the trial date seven months ago. The judge also noted that he has learned that Trump, even while seeking to postpone the trial, had scheduled an evening campaign appearance on Wednesday in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He said Trump's lawyers notified

Republicans try to stop US govt's anti-abortion counselling fund reduction

In a new twist to the fight over abortion access, congressional Republicans are trying to block a Biden administration spending rule that they say will cut off millions of dollars to anti-abortion counselling centres. The rule would prohibit states from sending federal funds earmarked for needy Americans to so-called crisis pregnancy centres, which counsel against abortions. At stake are millions of dollars in federal funds that currently flow to the organisations through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programme, a block grant programme created in 1996 to give cash assistance to poor children and prevent out-of-wedlock pregnancies. Programmes that only or primarily provide pregnancy counselling to women only after they become pregnant likely do not meet the ... standard, the Health and Human Services agency said in its rule proposal released late last year. More than 7,000 comments have been submitted on the proposed rule, which includes a series of restrictions

Haley, DeSantis quickly tear into each other's records in Republican debate

Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis called each other liars and insulted each other's records and character in the opening minutes of Wednesday's Republican primary debate, underscoring the high stakes for each of them with less than a week before the Iowa caucuses. We don't need another mealy-mouthed politician who just tells you what she thinks you want to hear, just to try to get your vote and then to get in office and to do her donors' bidding, DeSantis said in an early barb. "He's upset that his campaign is exploding," Haley said in her reply. The former UN ambassador directed viewers to a website her campaign created chronicling what she said were DeSantis' lies. The Florida governor in turn tried to send people to his website, where he said he collected "all the greatest hits of Haley's false statements. Standing at lecterns an arm's length apart, DeSantis and Haley both sought a strong debate performance in Iowa without their lower-polling rivals by their side to lift their campai

Haley accuses Biden of giving offensive speech where mass shooting occurred

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley took aim Monday night at the Democrat she'd like to face in the November election, calling it offensive that President Joe Biden gave a political speech at the South Carolina church where nine Black parishioners were slain in a 2015 racist attack. For Biden to show up there and give a political speech, it's offensive in itself," the former United Nations ambassador and South Carolina governor said during a town hall on Fox News in Des Moines, Iowa. "I don't need someone who palled around with segregationists in the '70s and has said racist comments all the way through his career lecturing me or anyone in South Carolina about what it means to have racism, slavery, or anything related to the Civil War. Biden was in Haley's home state Monday, delivering jabs at some of his possible GOP general election opponents without naming them. He took the pulpit at Mother Emanuel, a historic AME church in Charleston where nine Black parishioners were .

Trump's Colorado ballot fight rallies Republicans before key primaries

The ruling once again illustrates the difficulty that Trump's Republican rivals have had in addressing the former president's legal problems head-on

Nikki Haley, Ramaswamy oppose court decision barring Trump from presidency

Indian-American presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy on Wednesday opposed the Colorado Supreme Court decision to disqualify Donald Trump from the presidency next year in the state because of his role in the attack on the US Capitol in 2021. The disqualification of the 77-year-old former president on Tuesday was based on the Constitution's 14th Amendment, which says officials who take an oath to support the US Constitution are banned from future office if they "engaged in insurrection." Trump is currently the front-runner in the Republican Party's nomination process for the race for the White House in 2024. Responding to Trump's disqualification, two-term former South Carolina Governor and a rival to Trump in the Republican primaries, Haley, said that "the last thing we want" is judges deciding who can and cannot be on the presidential ballot. "I will tell you that I don't think Donald Trump needs to be president. I think I need to be president. I think that's goo

House okays impeachment inquiry into Biden as Opposition rally behind probe

The House on Wednesday authorized the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, with every Republican rallying behind the politically charged process despite lingering concerns among some in the party that the investigation has yet to produce evidence of misconduct by the president. The 221-212 party-line vote put the entire House Republican conference on record in support of an impeachment process that can lead to the ultimate penalty for a president: punishment for what the Constitution describes as high crimes and misdemeanors, which can lead to removal from office if convicted in a Senate trial. Authorizing the monthslong inquiry ensures that the impeachment investigation extends well into 2024, when Biden will be running for reelection and seems likely to be squaring off against former President Donald Trump who was twice impeached during his time in the White House. Trump has pushed his GOP allies in Congress to move swiftly on impeaching Biden, part of his broader calls .

Zelenskyy to arrive on Capitol as Biden's Ukraine package risks collapse

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will arrive on Capitol Hill to a darker mood than when he swooped in last winter for a hero's welcome, as the Russian invasion is grinding into a third year and US funding hangs in balance. Zelenskyy's visit on Tuesday comes as President Joe Biden's request for an additional USD 110 billion US aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other national security needs is at serious risk of collapse in Congress. Republicans are insisting on strict US-Mexico border security changes that Democrats decry as draconian in exchange for the overseas aid. It is maddening, said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., a close ally of Biden, of the stalemate. A very bad message to the world, to the Ukrainian people. The White House said the time was right for Zelenskyy's trip to Washington as Biden pushes lawmakers to approve the aid package before the year-end holidays. But the mood turned grim at the Capitol on the eve of his arrival. Zelenskyy will meet privately with senat

Ramaswamy calls Haley fascist; she says responding not worth her time

Calling her fascist and corrupt, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy launched a tirade against his Republican presidential rival and fellow Indian-American Nikki Haley, who refrained from a verbal duel, saying it is not worth her time to respond to him. Ramaswamy launched the volley of charges against the former South Carolina governor and US ambassador to the UN in Arizona during the Republican Party's fourth presidential debate, which was attended by just four candidates, the other two being former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The front-runner for the Republican Party's nomination, former President Donald Trump, skipped the debate once again and held a fundraiser in Florida instead. Participating in the debate, Ramaswamy, 38, accused Haley of having a corruption problem and held up a pad of paper with NIKKI = CORRUPT written on it. This resulted in a mix of boos and cheers from the audience. He called her a puppet and accused her of using

US polls: Haley and Ramaswamy qualify for 2th Republican Party debate

Indian-American presidential hopefuls Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy are among the four candidates who have qualified for the fourth Republican primary debate scheduled to take place in Alabama on Wednesday, the smallest debate stage lineup so far this year. The Republican Party's third presidential debate took place in Miami, Florida, on November 8. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, two-term former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy will participate in the fourth primary debate of the 2024 election cycle, the Republican National Committee (RNC) announced on Monday. The four candidates, comprising the smallest debate stage lineup so far this year, will face off at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, CBS News reported. Former President Donald Trump, who continues to be the most popular leader in the Republican Party with an approval rating of over 60 per cent, is not expected to participate in the ..

US lawmakers move to force a vote on expelling Rep. Santos from House

House lawmakers from both parties moved on Tuesday to force a vote this week on the expulsion of Rep. George Santos, a Republican from New York who was the subject of a scathing ethics investigation released earlier this month and is facing nearly two dozen charges in federal court. Santos responded to the competing expulsion resolutions by taking to the House floor and asking colleagues to understand what kind of precedent it would set for him to be removed before federal charges against him are resolved. He made clear he would not be resigning beforehand. This expulsion vote simply undermines and underscores the precedent that we've had in this chamber, Santos said. It starts and puts us in a new direction, a dangerous one. Santos has survived two prior expulsion votes. But a report released by the House Ethics Committee following a monthslong investigation has prompted new outrage. The report released November 16 was unsparing in its criticism, concluding that Santos sought to ..

Helped lower inflation: Biden as he hosts meeting of supply chain council

President Joe Biden opened the first meeting of his supply chain resilience council by warning companies against price gouging and saying that his administration was working to lower costs for US families. "We know that prices are still too high for too many things, that times are still too tough for too many families," Biden said on Monday. "But we've made progress." The president has blamed inflation on issues such as supply chains and Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, while Republican lawmakers say the run-up in prices was triggered by the USD 1.9 trillion in coronavirus relief that Democrat Biden signed into law in 2021. Biden used the council meeting to announce 30 actions to improve access to medicine and needed economic data as well as other programmes tied to the production and shipment of goods. He said he was tackling "junk fees", hidden charges that companies sneak into bills just because they can and customers have no alternative. The council follows an earlier task f

Prez candidate Ramaswamy struggles to gain traction with Iowa Republicans

Ten minutes before Vivek Ramaswamy was to take the stage in a dated casino hotel in western Iowa, no one was in the conference room except for two staffers from the Iowa GOP, which organised the event, and a group of journalists. Guests started trickling in at the time the event was scheduled. By the time Ramaswamy began his remarks an hour later, there were about 60 people. While Ramaswamy is packing his schedule with stops across Iowa, he has failed to move up in the 2024 Republican primary race and is increasingly at risk of becoming an afterthought. He is polling in the mid to high single digits and has left critics asking what his endgame is or if he is staying in the race only to boost former President Donald Trump. Ramaswamy is falling behind just as the GOP campaign enters the critical final weeks before the Iowa caucuses on January 15. After an earlier flurry of attention, the 38-year-old biotech entrepreneur and first-time political candidate is gaining more notice for h

'Fundamental ideological divide' with Haley, says prez candidate Ramaswamy

Indian-American biotech entrepreneur presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has said that he has a "fundamental ideological divide" with his Republican rival Nikki Haley who represents an older generation in the party. Both Haley and Ramaswamy have clashed publicly during the last two of the three Republican primary debates. I think there's a fundamental ideological divide. She represents an older generation of Republicans, Ramaswamy, 38, told Fox News in an interview on Monday about the 51-year-old former governor of South Carolina. She talks a lot about how we need a new generation of leadership. I agree with her. It's just that she's on the wrong side of that generational divide, taking us back to the Dick Cheney era, pointless wars that wasted USD 7 trillion of national debt that we accumulated, thousands of America's sons and daughters of lives sacrificed, people my age, Ramaswamy said. That's a mistake. I think that anybody who has made money off those wars, people who have b

US election: Nikki Haley's presidential bid gains traction, Trump leads

The 2024 presidential election campaign of Indian-American politician Nikki Haley seems to have gained momentum as several key donors from rival camps have switched to her side as she announced a USD 10 million media blitz in the early primary states of New Hampshire and Iowa, hoping to further propel the momentum. Former US President Donald Trump, however, continues to be the most popular leader in the Republican Party with an approval rating of over 60 per cent. Florida Governor comes second with nearly 14 per cent. But his popularity, which once was earlier in the 30s, has been declining over the past few months. On the other hand, riding on her impressive performances in the Republican presidential debates, Haley's popularity has been on the upswing with her approval rating now crossing double digits. Over the past week, several donors from the rival camps have moved to her side. Prominent among them include Harlan Crow and Bruce Kovner of Caxton Alternative Management. Ken ...

Democrats fend off Republican sweep in win for women's right to abortion

Going into the race, Republicans held a narrow majority in the House of Delegates and had ambitions of flipping the Senate

Workplace is becoming more political as Gen Z comes of age: Report

Once considered taboo, talking politics at the watercooler is now quite common, especially among Gen Z

Maine mass shooting puts spotlight on array of laws and massive failures

Across the nation, much of the debate around gun rights and restrictions centers on mental health. Many advocates on both sides agree that getting people with serious mental illness into treatment, and then preventing those who are dangerous from accessing guns, is key to preventing mass shootings. Yet in the weeks and months before the mass shooting in Lewiston, there were so many red flags that people all around the killer were raising concerns to authorities. He was still able to kill 18 people, wound another 13 and shatter a community's sense of security. Lawmakers want answers as to why laws in two states Maine and New York didn't prevent the tragedy. It's a massive failure, said Republican state Sen. Lisa Keim, sponsor of Maine's so-called yellow flag law, noting that it has been successfully invoked 82 times previously. Maine's law requires more hurdles than red flag laws in more than 20 states, including New York, which generally allow someone to directly petition a jud