Page 27 - White House

PM Modi, Prez Biden to discuss Indo-Pacific tech partnership: White House

US and India have a strategic alliance. In their last in-person meeting in Indonesia, PM Modi and President Biden took into account areas like crucial and emerging technologies and AI

White House remarks on Indian democracy 'tight slap' on Rahul Gandhi: BJP

The BJP took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday, saying it is "ironical" that while he "shamelessly" continues to criticise India's democracy during his US visit, the White House says India is a vibrant democracy. It is a tight slap on the "yuvraj" of the Congress, BJP national spokesperson Syed Zafar Islam said. The White House said Monday that India is a vibrant democracy and anybody who happens to go to New Delhi can see that for themselves, as it dismissed concerns about the health of democracy in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a state visit to the US later this month. "Isn't it ironical that while Rahul Gandhi shamelessly continues to criticise our democracy during his US visit, the White House says India is a vibrant democracy. What a tight slap on Yuvraj of the Congress. Under PM Shri Narendra Modi our democracy is safe," Islam said. He was reacting to the comments of John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in th

US wants to engage Russia on nuclear arms control in post-treaty world

The White House is ready to have talks with Russia without preconditions about a future nuclear arms control framework even as it is enacting countermeasures in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to suspend the last nuclear arms control treaty between the two countries. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan will make clear the Biden administration's desire for talks on building a new framework during an address to the Arms Control Association on Friday, according to two senior administration officials who previewed the address on the condition of anonymity. Putin announced in February he was suspending Russia's cooperation with the New START Treaty's provisions for nuclear warhead and missile inspections amid deep tensions between Washington and Moscow over Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Russia, however, said it would respect the treaty's caps on nuclear weapons. The officials said that Sullivan would underscore that the U.S. remains committ

Debt ceiling deal advances pipeline and tweaks rules, but more work remains

Despite weeks of negotiations, the White House and House Republicans were unable to reach a comprehensive agreement to overhaul environmental regulations and streamline federal permitting as part of their debt ceiling deal, instead settling for limited changes that could simplify and expedite some project reviews. The legislation, approved late Wednesday by the House, includes provisions to speed up infrastructure projects under the landmark National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA. However, it does not clear the way to build large-scale electricity transmission lines, instead ordering a two-year study of the issue. The budget deal was being debated Thursday in the Senate, where lawmakers are working to meet a Monday deadline before the U.S. risks a devastating default. One project got special treatment: the legislation essentially ensures construction of the long-delayed Mountain Valley Pipeline, a $6.6 billion project to transport natural gas through Appalachia. The White House

White House, Republicans reach deal to raise debt ceiling, avert US default

The deal includes a two-year debt limit increase and a two-year appropriations agreement that keeps non-defense spending roughly flat with current levels

Will work on issue of immigration, says Biden's top aide Neera Tanden

Indian-American public policy expert Neera Tanden has said her experience as a daughter of immigrants is akin to many immigrants in the US and she will work on the issue of immigration in her new role as the White House Domestic Policy Advisor. Tanden, 52, on Saturday replaces former US National Security Advisor Susan Rice as the White House Domestic Policy Advisor, which is considered to be one of the most powerful positions inside the White House. Currently I'm Staff Secretary, and tomorrow I'm going toI'm extremely enthusiastic about taking over as Domestic Policy Council Advisor. My experience is like many immigrants in the United States as children of immigrants," Tanden told PTI on Friday. "My father came here from India in the early 1950s, and my mother came in the 1960s. They moved to Bedford, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. They were the only Indian family in that community. So, I felt a part of that community, but also a little bit different, she said. Tanden, a close

Biden getting requests for Modi's state dinner invite shows excitement: WH

President Joe Biden receiving a large number of requests to the state dinner he is hosting for Prime Minister Narendra Modi shows the excitement level, the White House has said. I think that is a good thing. That shows the excitement of the prime minister being here on June 22, White House Press Secretary Karine jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference on Tuesday. She was responding to a question on President Biden receiving a large number of requests from Indian-Americans across his administration, lawmakers and corporate sector leaders seeking an invitation to the much sought after state dinner he and First Lady Jill Biden are hosting for Modi next month. I think that is a good thing, to get those requests. I think that is important and show why it is critical to continue growing that partnership that we have with India, Jean-Pierre said. The president and the first lady looking forward to welcoming Prime Minister Modi for the official state visit, which is as we .

Debt limit talks start, stop as Republicans, WH face 'serious differences'

Debt limit talks between the White House and House Republicans stopped, started and stopped again Friday at the US Capitol, a dizzying series of events in high-stakes negotiations to avoid a potentially catastrophic federal default. President Joe Biden's administration is reaching for a deal with Republicans led by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy as the nation faces a deadline as soon as June 1 to raise the country's borrowing limit, now at $31 trillion, to keep paying the nation's bills. Republicans are demanding steep spending cuts the Democrats oppose. Negotiations came to an abrupt standstill earlier in the day when McCarthy said it's time to pause talks. But the negotiating teams convened again in the evening only to quickly call it quits for the night. The president, who has been in Japan attending the Group of Seven summit, had no immediate public comment. But White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden was still optimistic that a deal could be reached. The presid

PM Modi's US visit to affirm deep and close partnership: White House

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the United States next month will affirm the "deep and close partnership" between the two nations, the White House said

White House national security adviser meets Saudi prince amid tensions

US President Joe Biden's top national security aide met Sunday night with Saudi Arabia's crown prince amid long-standing tensions between the White House and the kingdom. The state-run Saudi Press Agency acknowledged the meeting between Jake Sullivan and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, the Red Sea port city now at the heart of seaborne evacuations from the fighting in Sudan. The state news report said only that the men reviewed strategic relations in a meeting that included other American officials. Later, Sullivan took part in a meeting with the crown prince and Indian national security adviser Ajit Doval and Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the national security adviser of the neighbouring United Arab Emirates. The White House did not immediately acknowledge the meeting or provide a readout about them. Saudi state media did not immediately publish either video or photographs of the meeting as well. Biden campaigned on a promise to make Saudi Arabia a pariah after

Debt deadline: Yellen's alarm sets White House meeting, but no solution yet

Facing the risk of a an unprecedented U.S. government default by month's end, President Joe Biden has invited the top four congressional leaders to face-to-face talks at the White House next week. It's the first concrete step toward negotiations on averting a potential economic catastrophe, but there's a long way to go: Biden and Republicans can't even agree on what's up for negotiation. WHAT'S THE PROBLEM? If the government's legal borrowing limit of $31.4 trillion is not raised or suspended in the next few weeks, the result could be financial havoc. If the government can't borrow money to keep paying its bills for an extended period, there could be millions of job losses, businesses left bankrupt, crashes piling up across financial markets and lasting economic pain. The damage would be financial, but the cause would be political, a breakdown between Republicans and Democrats, rather than a problem with the underlying health of the U.S. economy. The scheduling of next Tuesday's Wh

US probes how companies use AI to monitor and manage workers

White House is probing how companies use artificial intelligence to monitor and manage workers, practices the Biden Administration says are increasingly prevalent and can inflict significant harm

Prez Biden, top lawmakers to discuss debt limit at White House May 9

President Joe Biden has sought to ease a debt limit standoff by inviting the four Congressional leaders to the White House on May 9 signalling the growing fears of a default as the federal government might be unable to pay its bills as soon as June 1. Administration and congressional officials confirmed the individual calls to lawmakers and the meeting date, insisting on anonymity to discuss the plans. Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he spoke with Biden and expects to speak with him again, though he did not say whether he will attend the meeting. Biden plans to stress that Congress must take action to avoid default without conditions and will discuss the urgency of preventing default, as well as how to begin a separate process for passing a separate fiscal 2024 budget. But if even the lawmakers talk, there is no guarantee of progress on an issue that has revealed a gulf in how Democrats and Republicans think the country should be governed. Biden and House Speaker

Republicans have used immigration reform as political tool: White House

The opposition Republican party has used comprehensive immigration reform as a political stunt and a political tool and they are not interested in resolving the issue, the White House has said. As we've seen, Republicans have continued to use this as a political stunt, a political tool, and not actually come to the table to have a conversation on how to protect Dreamers and farm workers. You know, more immigration judges and asylum officers are needed. More funding for border security is needed, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference on Monday. This is something that we have put forward in that legislation and so much more. They don't want to do that. They want to do political stunts, as we've seen from governors and mayors across the country, she alleged responding to a question on comprehensive immigration reform in particular on legal immigration. President Joe Biden on the very first day of his administration, put forth ...

No plans to add new members to Quad at this time, says White House

There is no plan to add new members to the Quad at this point in time, the White House has said ahead of the summit of Quad leaders in Australia later this month. Head of State from Quad countries -- Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Prime Minister Narendra Modi from India, and US President Joe Biden are scheduled to meet in Australia on June 24. The Quad was established two years ago. The Quad is still a relatively young partnership. There are no plans for new members at this time, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference. Quad members, she said, have agreed that for now, they'll focus on cementing the quad's many strengths. However, the Quad welcomes opportunities to work with a wide range of Indo-Pacific partners, such as through its Indo-Pacific partners on maritime domain awareness, which is delivering cutting edge maritime domain awareness technology around the region, she ...

Biden plans to stringent limits on GHG emissions on coal, gas power plants

The White House is in the final stages of reviewing a draft proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency, which would target both new and existing power plants

US committed to working together with India in groups like Quad: WH

"The United States and India have a strong bilateral relationship, and that's including trade as well," the White House added

India-US people-to-people ties to get stronger, better: WH official

There is no stronger people-to-people ties between any country than what the US enjoys with India, a top White House official has said and observed that in many areas, governments need to get out of the way and let people from the two democracies work together. Kurt Campbell, the Indo Pacific Coordinator of US National Security Council, also said that the over the years the tow countries have built a "stronger relationship" that will only get better. "This is not just a meeting of elites. It is not just about technology. It's not just about working together on security issues. This is a relationship that is based at the people-to-people level. There is no stronger people-to-people ties between any country that the US enjoys than with India," he said while addressing a gathering of hundreds of Indian Americans at an event organised here by the Indian Embassy to celebrate the country's diversity. "This is the most powerful connectivity between two people I've ever experienced. In many

Trump raised $34 mn so far in 2023, including indictment bump: Report

Former President Donald Trump has raised more than USD 34 million for his 2024 White House run since the start of the year, according to his campaign. Trump's latest fundraising report due to be filed Saturday with the Federal Election Commission will show he raised more than USD 18.8 million between his main campaign account and a joint fundraising account over the the first three months of the year, the campaign said. Of that USD 18.8 million, USD 4 million was raised after March 30, when Trump was indicted by a grand jury in Manhattan on charges related to a hush money case stemming from the 2016 election. The fundraising numbers were first reported by Politico. Trump began raising money off the news of his indictment, and his campaign said he took in USD 15.4 million in the two weeks after the charges were filed and the reporting period closed for the fundraising reports. Trump, who is also facing several other criminal investigations, has tried to use his legal troubles to ...

US recognises Arunachal Pradesh as India's integral part: White House

The US has recognised Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India and strongly opposes any unilateral attempts to advance territorial claims by renaming localities, the White House has said. The US reaction came in response to Beijing announcing Chinese names for 11 more places in Arunachal Pradesh which the neighbouring country claims as the southern part of Tibet. The official names of the 11 places were released on Sunday by China's ministry of civil affairs. "The United States has recognised that territory (Arunachal Pradesh) for a long time (as an integral part of India). And we strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to advance territorial claims by renaming localities, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday. "And so, again, this is something that we have long stood by, Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference. India on Tuesday outrightly rejected China renaming some places in Arunachal Pradesh, asserting that the state is an integra