Page 10 - Us Senate

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McCarthy's ouster as speaker could cost GOP its best fundraiser heading

Kevin McCarthy spent years raising mountains of Republican campaign cash, flying around the country to recruit top candidates in key districts and painstakingly building political relationships as he worked his way toward becoming speaker of the House. Now that he's been ousted from the post after less than nine months, some in the GOP are wondering if anyone can take his place as a fundraising dynamo and party builder. The House isn't scheduled to vote on who could replace McCarthy until at least next week with all legislative work suspended as the chamber navigates a situation never before seen in the nation's history. In the meantime, House Republicans have no clear leader heading into next year's election as they cling to a razor-thin majority. Nobody can raise money like him, said Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D. And no matter who is the next speaker of the House, none of them can do what Kevin McCarthy did. The National Republican Congressional Committee, the GOP's House campaign

Ukraine aid left out of funding package, raises questions about US support

Congressional supporters of Ukraine say they won't give up after a bill to keep the federal government open excluded President Joe Biden's request to provide more security assistance to the war-torn nation. Still, many lawmakers acknowledge that winning approval for Ukraine assistance in Congress is growing more difficult as the war between Russia and Ukraine grinds on. Republican resistance to the aid has been gaining momentum in the halls of Congress. Voting in the House this past week pointed to the potential trouble ahead. Nearly half of House Republicans voted to strip USD 300 million from a defence spending bill to train Ukrainian soldiers and purchase weapons. The money later was approved separately, but opponents of Ukraine support celebrated their growing numbers. Then, on Saturday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy omitted additional Ukraine aid from a measure to keep the government running until Nov. 17. In doing so, he closed the door on a Senate package that would have ...

Threat of govt shutdown ends as Congress passes temporary funding plan

On the brink of a federal government shutdown, the House on Saturday swiftly approved 45-day funding bill to keep federal agencies open as Speaker Kevin McCarthy dropped demands for steep spending cuts and relied on Democratic votes for passage to send the package to the Senate. The new approach would leave behind aid to Ukraine, a White House priority opposed by a growing number of GOP lawmakers, but the plan would increase federal disaster assistance by $16 billion, meeting President Joe Biden's full request. The House vote was 335-91. With hours to go for the midnight deadline to fund the government, the Senate was also in for a rare weekend session and prepared to act next. We're going to do our job, McCarthy said ahead of voting. We're going to be adults in the room. And we're going to keep government open. With no deal in place before Sunday, federal workers will face furloughs, more than 2 million active-duty and reserve military troops will work without pay and programmes a

On the brink of govt shutdown, US Senate tries to approve funding

The US is on the brink of a federal government shutdown after hard-right Republicans in Congress rejected a longshot effort to keep offices open as they fight for steep spending cuts and strict border security measures that Democrats and the White House say are too extreme. Come midnight Saturday with no deal in place, federal workers will face furloughs, more than 2 million active duty and reserve military troops will work without pay and programs and services that Americans rely on from coast to coast will begin to face shutdown disruptions. The Senate will be in for a rare Saturday session to advance its own bipartisan package that is supported by Democrats and Republicans and would fund the government for the short-term, through Nov. 17. But even if the Senate can rush to wrap up its work this weekend to pass the bill, which also includes money for Ukraine aid and U.S. disaster assistance, it won't prevent an almost certain shutdown amid the chaos in the House. On Friday, a ...

US Senator freezes during press conference, returns to say "I'm fine"

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell froze up during a press conference and was escorted back to his office by his colleagues in the Republican leadership

US may ban lawmakers from trading on Street, new poll shows public support

The bill from Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D, NY) and Josh Hawley (R, Mo) is the latest in a series of measures to be introduced in Congress in response to WSJ's Capital Asset series last year

Members of India Caucus bring bipartisan legislation to push weapons sales

Members of the powerful India Caucus have introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at providing India access to the weapons it needs to defend itself and boost its security goals with the US in the strategic Indo-Pacific region. Indian-American Democratic Congressmen Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna and Marc Veasey joined Republican Congressmen Andy Barr and Mike Waltz in introducing the legislation that will allow weapon sales to India from the US to be fast-tracked and deepen the US-India defence ties. Companion legislation has also been introduced by Democratic Senator Mark Warner and Republican Senator John Cornyn in the US Senate, a statement issued by Krishnamoorthi's office said. Barr's office said in a statement that this legislation would place India on equal footing with other U.S. partners and allies by streamlining and accelerating the review and sales process for Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and exports under the Arms Export Control Act. It subjects Indian FMS to the same

Investors relieved as US House passes debt ceiling Bill; Senate in focus

Asian markets were trading higher when the bill cleared the house and held their gains. Investors nudged S&P 500 futures from slightly negative back to flat. Treasury yields rose marginally

Former SVB chief Greg Becker set to testify to Senate on bank collapses

Scott Shay and Eric Howell, the former chair and president of Signature Bank, which also failed in March, are to appear on May 16

US House to vote on Republican debt limit bill this week, says McCarthy

McCarthy floated a plan last week that would pair $4.5 trillion in spending cuts with a $1.5 trillion increase in the $31.4 trillion U.S. debt limit

Meeting to strengthen US-India relations on April 26 at US Capitol

The Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans has announced a meeting to strengthen US-India partnership by bringing key stakeholders together. To be held on April 26 at the US Capitol, the meet has bipartisan support and has gained momentum in the past decade. "I am very excited that leading members of the Indian American community, senior members of the Congress, critical Administration leaders and foreign policy experts will be convening on April 26 to chart out a comprehensive strategy for strengthening US-India partnership," Indian American Congressman Ro Khanna told PTI. Khanna, who is co-chair of the Congressional India Caucus, is instrumental in organising the first of its kind India-US meeting at the US Congress. Eminent Indian Americans from across the country have been invited for the meet. The US' new ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, is flying back from New Delhi to address the event along with his Indian counterpart Taranjit Singh Sandhu. Among other key

US lawmaker calls for India to join 'team America', abandon China-Russia

A US lawmaker of a key Congressional committee on the increasingly contentious relationship with China, called on India to choose "team America" over Russia and China.

US Senate passes bill to end national Covid-19 emergency, declared by Trump

The US Senate has passed a bill to end the national Covid-19 emergency which was declared by former President Donald Trump on March 13, 2020

Bill to reform H-1B and L-1 visa programme introduced in US Senate

A group of influential lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan legislation in the US Senate to comprehensively overhaul the H-1B and L-1 visa programmes and usher in more transparency in the recruitment of foreign workers. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. The L-1 is the other type of work visa the US issues to professionals looking to work in the country. Unlike the H-1B, where an individual is looking to join an American company, the L-1 visa is issued to those who are already employed by the company in another country, and who are merely relocating to an American office. Two influential Senators -- Dick Durbin and Chuck Grassley -- have introduced this legislation in the US Senate. The co-sponsors include Senators Tommy Tuberville,

US Senate votes to keep 2001 authorization for use of force against terror

The Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to continue congressional authorization for the use of military force in the global fight against terror, turning back an effort by Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul to repeal the 2001 measure. Senators rejected the amendment 86-9 as they are debating a separate repeal of two authorizations of military force in Iraq. There is broad bipartisan support to withdraw that congressional approval granted in 1991 and 2002 for military strikes against Saddam Hussein's regime. While those two authorizations are rarely used and focused on just one country, Iraq, the 2001 measure gave President George W. Bush broad authority for the invasion of Afghanistan and the fight against terrorism, approving force against those nations, organizations, or persons that planned or aided the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. Passed in October 2001, it is still used to this day to justify U.S. military action against terror groups including al-Qaida and its ...

US Senate takes step in repealing Iraq War authorisations to end authority

The Senate took a first step Thursday toward repealing two measures that give open-ended approval for military action in Iraq, pushing to end that authority as the United States marks the 20th anniversary of the Iraq War. Senators voted 68-27 to move forward on legislation that would repeal the 2002 measure that greenlighted the March 2003 invasion of Iraq and also a 1991 measure that sanctioned the U.S.-led Gulf War to expel Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's forces from Kuwait. Nineteen Republicans joined Democrats in supporting the repeal. The bipartisan effort comes as lawmakers in both parties are increasingly seeking to claw back congressional powers over U.S. military strikes and deployments, arguing that the war authorizations are no longer necessary and subject to misuse if they are left on the books. President Joe Biden has backed the push, and the White House issued a statement Thursday in support. "Repeal of these authorizations would have no impact on current U.S. military .

Eric Garcetti: Everything you need to know about new US ambassador to India

Eric Garcetti's tenure as mayor of Los Angeles saw several high points, like adopting a $15 minimum wage and his regular briefings during the Covid-19 pandemic. But, it had some setbacks as well

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US Senate to vote on nomination of Eric Garcetti as envoy to India

The United States Senate will vote on the nomination of Eric Garcetti as the country's next ambassador to India on Wednesday. Such a move by Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer came amidst fresh round of campaign against Garcetti by his distractors on allegations of sexual assault against one of his staffers when he was the mayor of Los Angeles. If confirmed by the Senate, Garcetti would soon head to India as US Ambassador, a position that has remained vacant for more than two years. The confirmation vote on his nomination is scheduled at 2.15 pm local Washington time. This would be preceded by a vote on the cloture motion on his nomination, which indicated that Schumer is confident of having enough votes to get Garcetti confirmed as the US Ambassador to India. Garcetti's nomination has been pending before the US Congress since July 2021, when he was nominated for the prestigious diplomatic posting by President Joe Biden. Last week, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, at its