Biden administration incandescent lightbulb ban normally takes effect

Breanne Deppisch

August 01, 05:02 AM August 01, 05:02 AM

The Biden administration’s new lightbulb efficiency rule will take outcome on Tuesday, effectively prohibiting the sale of all new incandescent bulbs in favor of more energy-welcoming alternatives.

The new lightbulb effectiveness rules ended up announced very last April by the Department of Vitality and involve all bulbs offered by suppliers to develop a minimum of 45 lumens, the evaluate of gentle and brightness, per watt. (There are exceptions for sure appliances that make the most of incandescent bulbs, nonetheless, these types of as microwaves.)

TIM SCOTT'S MESSAGING AND Techniques COULD Change DESANTIS OUT OF 2nd Put

In convert, customers will be minimal to buying additional effective resources of lighting, these as LED bulbs, which have a greater upfront value but final roughly 15 to 20 occasions as very long as incandescent bulbs.

DOE estimates that over the future 30 years, the lightbulb efficiency conventional will slash carbon emissions by 222 metric tons, the equal of emissions produced by 28 million residences in a 12 months.

Buyers are also anticipated to help you save almost $3 billion for each calendar year on their utility expenses, officials explained.

When DOE introduced the rule in 2022, incandescent bulbs however created up all over 30% of the retail sector. Its announcement of the rule experienced been fulfilled with criticism from some teams, which includes the American Lights Association. They experienced pushed for a slower rollout of the new efficiency typical, arguing that if it was finished too swiftly, it could result in “major financial losses” for lights companies and merchants.

Regulators have mentioned the a lot more than a person 12 months of notice offers merchants and brands a sufficient runway to comply with the rule and market out their current provide of lower-watt bulbs.

“By boosting power effectiveness expectations for lightbulbs, we’re placing $3 billion back again in the pockets of American buyers and significantly reducing domestic carbon emissions,” Electrical power Secretary Jennifer Granholm claimed in a statement after the rule was finalized.

“The lights marketplace is already embracing extra power economical items, and this measure will speed up development to provide the greatest products and solutions to American shoppers and develop a improved and brighter potential,” Granholm additional.

US threatens to exit Niger as Russia's Wagner Team revels in army coup attempt

Joel Gehrke

July 31, 04:00 AM July 31, 04:00 AM

President Joe Biden has threatened to minimize armed forces ties with Niger if a coup in opposition to the West African democracy’s incumbent president proceeds, in accordance to U.S. officials nervous to reduce his bodyguards from keeping ability.

“We remind these trying this electric power seize by power that an overthrow of a democratically elected president ... would location the U.S.’s sizeable cooperation with the federal government of Niger at risk,” White Residence Countrywide Protection Council spokesman John Kirby explained to reporters Friday. “Specifically, a armed forces takeover might bring about the United States to stop stability and other cooperation with the governing administration of Niger, jeopardizing present stability and non-safety partnerships.”

DONALD TRUMP INDICTED: 3 Factors WE Realized IN JACK SMITH'S SUPERSEDING INDICTMENT

The warning reflects U.S. hopes that the overthrow of Nigerien President Mahmoud Bazoum still can be averted, regardless of presidential guard Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani’s announcement that he has seized electric power. Nevertheless the nature of U.S. leverage in Niger also factors to the large stakes of the political disaster, as the withdrawal of American troops could simplicity stress on terrorist corporations and pave the way for Russia’s Wagner Team paramilitary forces to acquire root in a state they have very long coveted.

“After the coup in Burkina Faso in October last year, there were Telegram accounts joined to Wagner that have been brazenly stating ‘Niger is our subsequent focus on,’” Africa Centre for Strategic Scientific tests research director Joseph Siegle advised the Washington Examiner. “Russia has been interested in seeing a military takeover, which probably presents an chance for them to get extra impact.”

Tchiani is perceived to have introduced the coup in get to protect against Bazoum from changing him as head of the presidential guards, a place he has held given that 2011.

“Such a takeover would reinforce violent extremist organizations, undercut steadiness in the state, and exacerbate regional insecurity and violence,” Kirby explained. “Further, a military takeover would undermine Niger’s authority as a regional chief — and they are. The United States and Niger’s associates in Africa, as nicely as other worldwide associates, are closely looking at this problem to decide our upcoming steps collectively."

Tchiani’s maneuver has drawn condemnation from the African Union and major Western powers, but Russian authorities have taken a extra ambiguous posture. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov referred to it as “an anti-constitutional act,” but claimed that it is analogous to the Ukrainian movement that culminated in the Ukrainian parliament voting to get rid of the pro-Russian president from electric power just after security forces fired on protesters in 2014.

"This has practically nothing to do with Russia. We hardly ever interfere in [other country’s] inner affairs,” Russian Deputy Overseas Minister Mikhail Bogdanov mentioned Friday, per state-operate TASS. "Unfortunately, this is not the first time this has took place in Africa ... And I am worried that it will not be the previous. This kind of are the inner processes there.”

But Russia’s Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin reportedly hailed the Nigerien general’s emergence as a defeat for the West.

"What happened in Niger is absolutely nothing other than the wrestle of the persons of Niger with their colonizers,” Prigozhin is reputed to have reported in an audio message printed by Wagner-aligned social media accounts. “Thousands of Wagner fighters are capable of bringing purchase and of destroying terrorists and of not letting them to harm the area populations of these states.”

Russian point out media pundits also implied that the coup could be connected to Bazoum’s refusal to send any Nigerien officers to attend Putin’s summit.

"You really don't go to St. Petersburg, you get a coup,” as a person media identity claimed Friday.

Prigozhin’s forces have benefited from several coups in African states in the latest decades, which include amongst Niger’s neighbors. President Joe Biden’s administration blacklisted 3 officials from Mali on the grounds that they have enabled Prigozhin to “expand Wagner’s presence in Mali due to the fact December 2021,” with dolorous penalties in Mali and outside of. And Niger, with its wealth of all-natural means — which includes “about 5% of environment mining output from Africa's highest-quality uranium ores,” for every the Entire world Nuclear Affiliation, could present a money and geopolitical bonanza.

“The deeply disturbing pattern of military coups in the region are unable to be tolerated,” Senate International Relations Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) explained in a joint assertion with Idaho Sen. James Risch, the top Republican on the panel. “The United States will have to choose swift action to hold anti-democratic forces accountable and ship a apparent signal that attacks on constitutional democracy will not be satisfied with impunity.”

Prigozhin’s operations in Africa are of large value to the Russian government, as evidenced by his attendance at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s summit with African leaders in St. Petersburg this week, in spite of his quick but mutinous march on Moscow.

“Without investing incredibly a lot on the continent, Wagner has greatly magnified Russian influence by means of its irregular techniques,” Siegle claimed. “It just would be unstrategic for Russia to pull the rug out from less than Wagner in Africa, because they really do not have something comparable that can create the influence that they’re having.”

The coup in Mali, and Wagner Group’s subsequent emergence as a crucial electricity participant, set the stage for the scuttling of France’s counterterrorism functions in the place, as perfectly as the new regime’s latest desire that United Nations peacekeepers leave the state. Some of the 2,400 French troops in Mali had been redeployed to Niger.

“France does not recognize the authorities that emerged from the armed forces coup led by Normal Tchiani,” the French International Ministry reported Friday. "We reiterate in the strongest terms the intercontinental community’s crystal clear requires calling for the speedy restoration of constitutional get and the democratically elected civilian governing administration in Niger.”

There are “a small bit far more than a thousand” U.S. military personnel in Niger, as Kirby set it Friday, and Biden’s staff is hoping that Nigerien authorities will regard their withdrawal as a bug, not a element.

“We've produced crystal clear to leaders in Niger that our safety cooperation is predicated on rule of legislation and aid for democracy and civilian control,” Kirby reported. “And yet again, as I said at the really starting, we however believe that you will find room for diplomacy here.”

Trump attacks Biden above bribery allegations in 1st ad because new expenses

Emily Jacobs

July 30, 12:14 PM July 30, 12:14 PM

Former President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign produced its to start with advertisement more than the weekend given that specific counsel Jack Smith unveiled a few new charges in a superseding indictment in the labeled paperwork scenario.

The more counts carry the total charges against Trump for improperly mishandling sensitive documents to 40, up from the first 37 federal counts. The former president is now accused of attempting to delete stability footage at his Mar-a-Lago property along with upkeep employee Carlos De Oliveira and his other co-defendant, Walt Nauta. Trump has slammed the expenses as politically motivated.

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES Exam HOW Considerably THEY CAN GO IN CRITICIZING TRUMP

Smith said in May well that the initial 37 prices ended up linked to "felony violations of our national safety rules as very well as participating in a conspiracy to hinder justice.”

The video starts with photographs of President Joe Biden along with recent media headlines, including the Washington Examiner's short article on how the Durham report disclosed that the 46th president was briefed in 2016 about an alleged program by Hillary Clinton to tie Trump to Russia to distract from her personal use of an illicit personal e mail server when secretary of state.

"What do you connect with an individual this weak? Someone caught in a bribery scandal that created them tens of millions, complicit in a federal government address-up, and takes advantage of your govt to get specific specials for his spouse and children? You call them Joe Biden," the narrator suggests in the advertisement.

"And performing just like a corrupt 3rd earth dictator, Biden has unleashed a cadre of unscrupulous govt bureaucrats he controls to act like rabid wolves and assault his best threats, launching one particular of the best witch hunts in heritage."

The previous president has maintained he would not fall out of the 2024 race regardless of his legal woes.

"It would not cease me," Trump reported Friday morning about any achievable sentencing. Trump has denied any wrongdoing, as a substitute attacking Smith as "deranged" and deriding the indictments as "election interference."

White House refines its messaging war on debt ceiling ahead of McCarthy meeting

Naomi Lim

May 05, 06:46 PM May 05, 06:46 PM

The White House is tinkering with its criticism of Republicans before President Joe Biden sits down with Democratic congressional leaders, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to discuss the debt ceiling.

From warning of a "fire-alarm fire" and the country's risk of being perceived as a "deadbeat nation" to the debt ceiling fight being a "manufactured crisis," complementing claims Republicans will cut Meals on Wheels to law enforcement funding, the White House is still workshopping its response to the GOP as new polling reveals a public opinion split on who will be held responsible if there is a default.

BIDEN MAKES WOMEN THE KEY TO HIS 2024 REELECTION PLANS

The White House does not have a message regarding the debt ceiling because they do not have a strategy for negotiating with Republicans, according to Dan Schnur, the communications director of the late Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) 2000 presidential campaign and founder of the University of Southern California-Los Angeles Times state poll.

"They have misunderstood and under-estimated McCarthy every step of the way, and they still can’t decide if he’s an ally or an enemy," Schnur told the Washington Examiner.

The House has passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act, which would raise the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion if non-defense discretionary federal spending is decreased to fiscal 2022 levels, budget increases are capped at 1% per year, and entitlement program work requirements are introduced, in addition to COVID-19 funding, Inflation Reduction Act green energy tax credit and IRS provisions, and Biden's student loan forgiveness proposal being repealed, per former Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS).

"Now Joe Biden and the Senate Democrats are on the clock,” Huelskamp, a former House Tea Party Caucus chairman, and veteran of multiple debt ceiling squabbles, said. “Rather than attacking Republicans, it’s time for Biden and the rest of the Democrats to do their job and provide a solution that ends their out-of-control spending spree."

It is difficult for the public to know who to blame in the debt ceiling impasse after Biden scheduled talks with McCarthy and McConnell next Tuesday following months of declining to, Brookings Institution governance studies senior fellow Darrell West added.

Almost 40% of respondents to a Washington Post-ABC poll published Friday, for example, would blame congressional Republicans if there is a default and 36% Biden. Another 16% contend both the president and the GOP would be responsible if the country cannot pay its bills when the Treasury Department can no longer use cash on hand and so-called extraordinary measures this summer. Interestingly, almost 60% agree with Biden that the debt ceiling and spending cuts should be dealt with separately. Roughly a quarter side with Republicans in that the borrowing cap should only be raised in return for spending decreases.

"In a polarized world, people assume anyone on the other side is to blame so if Congress is unable to lift the ceiling, most people [will] side with their own group so there may not be a clear political winner," West said. "It will be easy to blame the other side for the intransigence that led to a government shutdown. The president [holds] big cards in a shutdown because he gets to decide what gets shutdown first."

"One popular tactic during summertime is to close the national parks knowing that the public will be outraged and will demand an end to the stalemate," TechTank's editor-in-chief went on. "Other popular bargaining chips could be Social Security payments, veterans benefits, and food programs because each has a ready-made constituency for its cause. The only safe prediction is political blame will be unpredictable and lots of people will end up being angry if Congress cannot resolve this issue."

Biden appeared to address the debt ceiling polling divide, repeating that he hoped to speak directly with the public during remarks to reporters before a Roosevelt Room meeting.

"This is becoming an issue in other countries. 'What is the United States going to do? Are they really fooling around with not paying the debt?'" he said. "So next week I'm going to reiterate to congressional leaders that they should do what every other Congress has done: that is pass the debt limit, avoid default. As I have said all along, we can debate where to cut, how much to spend, how to finally move the tax system where everybody has to pay their fair share or continue the route they're on, but not under the threat of default."

While Biden and Republicans may have publicly reiterated their positions, the White House is reportedly privately considering a short-term stopgap to the debt ceiling, a stance Office of Management and Budget director Shalanda Young confirmed during a briefing this week.

"Congressional leaders are going to have to figure out a way to do this," she said. "You saw the length in the congressional Republicans’ bill that would take us into this situation again, this time next year. So I'm sure one of the things on the table we will have to work through is how long. I'm not going to take anything off the table."

Biden tries to break through as GOP primary brawl starts

Naomi Lim

April 17, 04:00 AM April 17, 04:01 AM

President Joe Biden was hoping to underscore his record with the public before announcing a highly anticipated reelection campaign.

But declared and undeclared Republican presidential candidates, including former President Donald Trump, are hogging the political spotlight as the 2024 primary enters the spring, though not always to Biden's disadvantage.

BIDEN TRIES TO CONTAIN CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS LEAK FALLOUT: 'STAKES JUST GOT HIGHER'

Biden acting presidential compared to "the dumpster fire engulfing the Republican Party" is a proverbial political split-screen "I’d take any day of the week," according to former White House principal deputy press secretary Eric Schultz.

"President Biden is not going to get as much attention as his [predecessor] does for getting indicted, and that’s OK because this contrast is why Democrats have prevailed in the last three election cycles," Schultz told the Washington Examiner.

But Schultz encouraged reporters assessing a president's success by their media coverage to engage in "some self-reflection" as Biden returns from a five-day trip to Northern Ireland and Ireland.

"The journalists who ask if Biden is going to get drowned out are the same journalists breathlessly covering Donald Trump wall-to-wall," he said.

Democratic strategist Tracy Sefl contended Biden's accomplishments, such as the partisan American Rescue Plan Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, will be promoted "in a more subtle way" amid "the Trump-GOP food fights."

"What I mean by that is, for example, a voter may be inundated with news about the latest Republican outrage, but they‘ll be listening to the coverage while driving home from a doctor’s appointment in their newly affordable electric vehicle over a local bridge that’s been fully repaired," she said.

But fellow strategist Mark Mellman disputed the assumption Biden is not commanding the public's attention, despite the White House taking advantage of preplanned trips across the country to attract local news coverage while national and international outlets were focused on Trump's indictment.

"[Presidents] always have competition, apathy and disinterest most important, but President Biden will always have the opportunity to talk to the American people," he said. "On any given day, Trump’s grave legal perils may well dominate the news. But President Biden has access to the public every and any day."

At the same time, Biden's trips to Minnesota and North Carolina were overshadowed by Trump speculating about being indicted in New York before Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg advised the former president he was proceeding with charges.

For Duke University Polis Center Director Mac McCorkle, Biden's trip to semiconductor manufacturer Wolfspeed in Durham, North Carolina, to launch his "Investing in America Tour" and discuss his economic agenda was not "buried," but he did recall MSNBC leading with Trump's potential indictment instead.

"If it's Trump in the general [election], it's still going to be a referendum on Trump in many respects, so I just don't know that there's anything that Biden can do about it," he said. "And I'm not sure he has to do anything about that."

But University of Minnesota Center for the Study of Politics and Governance Director Lawrence Jacobs pointed to Biden's 43%-52% approval-disapproval rating after his visit to the Cummins Power Generation Factory, north of Minneapolis, where the president also cited his clean energy achievements.

"Plenty of bad news now: inflation, possible decline of [the] economy, massive intel breach, etc.," he said. "Ducking coverage in 2023 [is] probably better than having headlines on bad news."

The White House has been trying to strike a balance between criticizing the Republican field without amplifying any presidential hopeful's message. But Biden aides do not seem to mind relitigating abortion access, entitlement reform, and gun control, with Democrats attributing their outperformance in last year's midterm elections to their positions on those issues.

As the Republican contenders attack one another on Social Security and Medicare, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was ready with a statement scrutinizing Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) for signing a bill into law that will further restrict Florida's abortion ban from 15 to six weeks into a pregnancy.

"At every opportunity following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, from the Kansas ballot initiative in August to five abortion ballot initiatives in November to last week’s elections in Wisconsin, the message has been clear: Americans demand the freedom to make their own decisions about their own bodies without government interference," she wrote Friday.

White House spokesman Andrew Bates similarly criticized "MAGA Republicans" for attending this weekend's National Rifle Association's convention in Indianapolis. Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence, Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD), Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH), former Arkansas GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and multimillionaire entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy addressed the conference in person. DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley recorded video remarks.

"Unlike MAGA House Republicans, President Biden is acting to keep kids safe by providing communities with funding for well-trained school resource officers and appropriate school physical security improvements, among other school safety strategies that communities may choose for their schools," Bates wrote in a statement. "But we can’t stop there. We have to keep weapons of war off our streets and out of our schools, and take other commonsense steps to keep guns out of dangerous hands."

Biden re-ups calls for gun safety reforms after Alabama and Louisville shootings

Ryan King

April 16, 05:37 PM April 16, 05:37 PM

President Joe Biden once again dusted off his entreaties for gun safety reforms in the wake of the Alabama birthday and Kentucky park shootings.

"Jill and I are praying for their families, and for the many others injured and fighting for their lives in the wake of this weekend’s gun violence," Biden said in a statement. "Guns are the leading killer of children in America, and the numbers are rising – not declining. This is outrageous and unacceptable."

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On Saturday evening, four individuals were killed and roughly 15 were injured at a Sweet 16 birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama. Many of the victims are undergoing treatment for their injuries and an investigation remains ongoing, police said.

Meanwhile, in Louisville, Kentucky, two were killed and four others were injured at near Chickasaw Park after a gunman opened fire into a crowd Saturday evening. Police indicated the suspect remains at large. That shooting came on the heels of an Old National Bank shooting last week that left five dead.

"What has our nation come to when children cannot attend a birthday party without fear? When parents have to worry every time their kids walk out the door to school, to the movie theater, or to the park?" Biden asked.

Late last month, a gunman killed three children and three adults at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee. Following that attack, which killed a friend of his wife, Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) signed an executive order to bolster background checks. Biden made sure to praise him for taking that action.

"I commend Tennessee Governor Bill Lee for signing an Executive Order to expand background checks and calling on the Tennessee statehouse to pass a red flag law. I hope more Republican officials will follow suit and take action," Biden said.

Biden also chastised Republican leaders for standing "alongside the NRA in a race to the bottom on dangerous laws that further erode gun safety." Top Republicans attended the recent National Rifle Association conference in Indianapolis. Biden then quickly outlines some of the specific reforms he'd like Congress to take up.

"It is within Congress’ power to require safe storage of firearms, require background checks for all gun sales, eliminate gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability, and ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines – and this should happen without delay," Biden said.

Biden tries to contain classified documents leak fallout: 'Stakes just got higher'

Naomi Lim

April 14, 05:05 AM April 14, 05:28 AM

A Massachusetts Air National Guardsman has been arrested after the leak of classified information that has already had consequences for the Ukraine war and the United States's relationship with critical allies, including Egypt, Israel, and South Korea.

But while the suspected source of the leak, 21-year-old intelligence information technology officer and gamer Jack Teixeira, has been identified, the national security and political implications of his actions for President Joe Biden are only now being understood.

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Former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East Mick Mulroy excoriated Teixeira's alleged leak for threatening national security by undermining the country's collection of intelligence.

"It is bad enough that our adversaries know what we know, or at least in part," Mulroy told the Washington Examiner. "It is really bad if our adversaries know how we know it. That goes to our sources and methods. They will review what documents are out there and use that to launch their own counterintelligence operations."

Teixeira reportedly started sharing photos of classified information in a pandemic-era online chatroom he led on the Discord social media website that is popular with gamers months ago before they were found on other platforms and located by the Biden administration last week. And his leak has caused "substantive damage" to Ukraine by disclosing secret U.S. assessments of Ukraine's capabilities and how the U.S. has compromised Russia's communication channels, according to American Enterprise Institute foreign policy senior fellow Dalibor Rohac.

"Our allies, such as Korea, which has been helping Ukraine discreetly, may not appreciate being suddenly in the public spotlight," Rohac said. "The main political damage has not materialized yet, but it will if Ukraine’s efforts indeed fail to make significant advances in the coming weeks and months, as the documents seem to suggest."

The leak, discovered months after Biden became embroiled in his own classified information scandal, coincides with a pivotal period in the Ukraine war and for public support of the conflict as the president seeks to restore the country's reputation abroad after former President Donald Trump's more contentious relationships with many international leaders.

"The main question is whether the administration can help change conditions on the ground in Ukraine to ensure that Ukrainians can liberate their country by providing them with more long-range artillery, fighter jets, [and] tanks," Rohac added. "We definitely have the means to change [the] picture painted by the leaks; the question is one of political will — and the stakes just got higher for Biden."

Former deputy national security adviser Victoria Coates offered a different perspective, asking what the U.S. is doing in Ukraine if current decisions are "perpetuating a stalemate."

"Especially because [Biden's] stated policies, best we can divine, is 'As much as it takes, as long as it takes,''' she said. "Clearly, if these documents [are] accurate, they're not doing as much as it takes. And so I think every American taxpayer should be saying, the American people support Ukrainians, they want you to push back on Putin's aggression, but what's happening here, I think, is a very legitimate question."

Meanwhile, Michael O'Hanlon, Brookings Institution foreign policy research director, believes the leak will likely "be subsumed by larger forces and trends in the war sooner rather than later."

"But it’s too soon to be sure," he said.

As the Department of Defense continues its investigation into the leak and the Department of Justice and FBI prepare for Teixeira's first court appearance on Friday in Boston, Mulroy called for a review into "how we store classified info," "how people can access it," and "how many."

"There are electronic devices that are more secure," the Vandenberg Coalition advisory board member said. "They can erase themselves on a time designated and/or on a geofence if someone tries to remove them. Printed copies of classified information are very difficult to track and allow this individual or individuals to do what he did."

Heritage Foundation Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy Vice President James Carafano noted leakers have tended to be "ideologues," people who have "a grudge," or people who "want money." And while Teixeira apparently had complained of government overreach, initial reports indicate he was also grandstanding to his friends.

"This kid's doing this because he thinks this kind of behavior is OK," Carafano said. "And that is, I think, way, way scarier. Our system is designed to stop people who are malicious, not people who are too stupid enough to know that what they're doing is incredibly risky."

Carafano additionally recommended improving the management of classified information and making sure people with sensitive documents "act responsibly," as opposed to encouraging the Pentagon and intelligence community to monitor social media more.

Biden has been briefed on Teixeira's arrest but hours earlier seemed to downplay the leak to reporters, who traveled with him to Northern Ireland and Ireland.

"I'm not worried about the leak, but I'm concerned that it happened," he said in Dublin. "But I don't know anything there that would be of great importance."

Biden labor secretary pick's nomination on the rocks with Senate support unclear

Emily Jacobs

April 03, 07:08 PM April 03, 07:08 PM

Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su's nomination to the top job appears to be in jeopardy as some Senate Democrats facing tough reelection fights next year mull voting with a united GOP conference against her confirmation.

President Joe Biden nominated Su in February to replace outgoing Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, who left his post to lead the National Hockey League Players' Association. Her nomination has been met with heavy criticism from Senate Republicans based on her time leading California's Labor and Workforce Development Agency during the pandemic. On Su's watch, the state fulfilled between $20 billion and $32 billion in fraudulent unemployment claims, and roughly 5 million Californians saw their benefits payments severely delayed.

BIDEN STANDS BY LABOR SECRETARY PICK IN FACE OF PANDEMIC TRACK RECORD CRITICISM

The GOP conference has stood united in opposition to Su's nomination, meaning Senate Democrats can only afford one defection in her confirmation vote.

“I think it’s going to take some work,” Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee that will vote on Su's nomination, told the Hill of getting her confirmed. “It’s sort of what they used to say about the NFL — on any given Sunday.”

Democrats currently control the Senate by a 51-49 margin, meaning that a single absence could give Republicans an opportunity to block Biden's nominees and legislative efforts. The fluctuating makeup of the Senate in recent months, caused by several absences from members of both parties, complicated Democrats' ability to push certain priorities through the chamber and underscored just how tenuous their majority is.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) will return to work on April 17 when the current recess ends after a six-week hospital stay for in-patient depression treatment that kept him from the chamber. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has been absent due to medical troubles since March, and her team has yet to say if she will be back at work when the Senate reconvenes later this month. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) was forced to miss votes when he traveled home after his mother died in late February, while Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) was absent for just under two weeks that month when he underwent surgery for prostate cancer.

On the GOP side, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) was missing for most of March after suffering a fall that resulted in a two-week rehab stay. He is expected to return to the Senate after the recess, though that has not been confirmed.

The changing number of present senators is one of two major factors that have Su's nomination as labor secretary on the rocks.

Su barely survived her confirmation vote for the deputy secretary post in 2021, only being approved by a three-vote margin on party lines. While Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Jon Tester (D-MT), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), and Angus King (I-ME) voted to confirm Su to the deputy post, none of the five have gotten behind her nomination to the top job.

Asked about his 2021 vote for Su, Manchin told reporters last week that his support was based on his confidence in Walsh.

"My vote for her last time was all predicated on Marty," he said before noting that he wanted someone like Walsh to replace him in the role. "I had Marty Walsh and I am looking for a Marty Walsh."

Manchin told Bloomberg Law last week that he would not make a decision on Su's nomination before her April 20 confirmation hearing, saying, "I haven’t gotten into that yet; I’m waiting till her hearing’s over. There’s concerns, I’m sure."

King, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, told the outlet he has a meeting scheduled with Su where he expects to address policy issues related to independent contractors and the joint employer standard.

“They’re things I’m concerned about,” King said of her nomination.

Biden condemns spyware in democracies amid Israel row

Joel Gehrke

March 29, 06:29 PM March 29, 06:29 PM

President Joe Biden condemned government use of commercial spyware in a repudiation of Israeli-made surveillance technology that coincided with deepening anxiety about Israel's democracy under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“One key focus of our democracy work will be in making sure that technologies can continue to develop that are used to advance democratic governance, not used to undermine it,” Biden told a virtual session of the 2023 Summit for Democracy. “U.S taxpayer dollars should not — should not — support companies that are willing to sell their products to convey human rights violations and violations.”

BIDEN SAYS NETANYAHU NOT WELCOME AT WHITE HOUSE IN ‘NEAR TERM’

Biden couched that statement as an assurance that U.S. agencies would not use such systems just months after revelations that the FBI considered the use of spyware developed by an Israeli tech company. Biden’s team restricted that company's access to the U.S. market in 2021, but this week’s move to renounce such programs put a spotlight on an embarrassing subject for Netanyahu as the two leaders clash about a proposed overhaul of the Israeli judiciary that Biden and Netanyahu’s domestic critics regard as a threat to Israel’s system of governance.

“Israel and the United States have had their occasional differences, but I want to assure you that the alliance between the world's greatest democracy and a strong, proud, and independent democracy, Israel, in the heart of the Middle East is unshakable,” Netanyahu affirmed in his own virtual appearance at the summit. “Nothing can change that.”

Netanyahu’s certitude was belied by the eruption of an acrimonious international dispute over the fate of a draft legislation that would cripple the Israeli Supreme Court’s ability to strike down laws passed by the Israeli parliament. On Monday, Netanyahu paused the process of passing the legislation in the face of a nationwide strike, but Biden acknowledged while traveling Tuesday that he remains “very concerned” about the ramifications of the initiative for Israeli society.

“They cannot continue down this road,” Biden said Tuesday evening. “Hopefully, the prime minister will act in a way that he is going to try to work out some genuine compromise. But that remains to be seen.”

Netanyahu was quick to retort that Israeli “makes its decisions by the will of its people and not based on pressures from abroad, including from the best of friends.” His allies were more dismissive.

“They need to understand that Israel is an independent country and no longer a star on the U.S. flag,” said Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, one of the far-right leaders who has led the charge for the law.

A more mainstream Netanyahu ally and former envoy to the United States responded with an even sharper barb by arguing that Biden should avoid “preaching democracy” so soon after the Jan. 6 crisis at the Capitol.

“I don't think a country that has experienced, not so long ago, an insurrection is in a position to be preaching democracy to Israel or in fact to anybody,” former Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren said Wednesday. “It is not exactly in a position to tell us what is democratic and what is not democratic.”

Netanyahu struck a more conciliatory note during his appearance at the democracy summit.

“Israel is undergoing, in its robust democracy, a very intensive public debate, and the debate is how do we ensure a proper democracy,” he said. “Democracy means the will of the people as expressed by a majority, and it also means protection of civil rights, individual rights. It's the balance between the two. I want to assure you that Israel was, is, and it will always remain a proud, strong, and vibrant democracy, as a beacon of liberty and shared prosperity in the heart of the Middle East.”

U.S. officials welcomed Netanyahu’s more modulated tone — “There’s a lot to like about it,” as White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday — but Biden didn’t give Netanyahu any reason to believe that he’ll drop the issue.

“As you can probably tell, strengthening democracy is a subject about which I am somewhat passionate,” Biden told the summit. "I believe this is a defining challenge of our age.”

Bipartisan duo looks to force Biden's hand on US-Saudi relations

David Sivak

March 24, 05:10 AM March 24, 05:11 AM

A bipartisan pair of senators is trying to force President Joe Biden's administration to reevaluate its relationship with Saudi Arabia with new legislation targeting the human rights record of the oil-rich Middle Eastern ally.

Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced a privileged resolution this month that would require the State Department to submit to Congress a report on Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses within 30 days. If the administration failed to do so, security aid to the kingdom would be cut off.

The bill is a novel approach to the debate on Washington’s alliance with Saudi Arabia, which Murphy says is not a reliable partner and often works against U.S. national security interests.

The senators, usually ideological foes on Senate legislation, are utilizing a never-before-used provision of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, which would fast-track consideration of the resolution. Under the law, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee would have 10 days to consider the measure before Murphy and Lee can force a floor vote to discharge it from the committee.

Although those 10 days have now passed — the resolution was introduced on March 15 — Murphy says he’s letting the process play out in committee before deciding whether to request a vote.

“We're talking to the committee about their disposition,” he told the Washington Examiner on March 22. “You know, we have the right to bring it before the Senate after 10 days, but the committee can still work on it, you know, after the 10-day period of time.”

Murphy has for years railed against Saudi Arabia for backing the neighboring Yemeni government in a civil war that has killed thousands of civilians. He and Lee say the United States is complicit in those deaths due to its military assistance to the Saudis.

The complaints are a common refrain among Democrats, who argue America’s strategic partnership with the kingdom (which seeks to counter Iranian influence in the region) undermines America’s commitment to advance human rights abroad.

Those concerns reached a fever pitch in 2018 after the gruesome killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, believed to be ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Biden channeled Democratic outrage on the campaign trail, promising to make the kingdom a "pariah." But the president has sought to improve relations with the oil-producing country after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which sent already-high gas prices soaring.

Biden made a trip to Saudi Arabia last summer to lobby for higher oil production by OPEC+. Yet the diplomatic overtures ended after the cartel, led by the Saudis, announced in October it would cut output by 2 million barrels a day, a move that came weeks before the midterm elections.

The White House accused the Saudis of aiding Russia’s war effort by driving up oil revenues and promised to work with Congress to reevaluate America's relationship with the kingdom in its aftermath. But five months later, Murphy says Biden has failed to live up to that pledge.

“The administration has made several public statements about reorienting Saudi policy. I'm disappointed we haven't seen that reorientation,” Murphy said. “And I think it's time for Congress to have a discussion about whether we're going to continue business as usual with a country that doesn't seem too interested in acting like our national security matters to them.”

The senator told the Washington Examiner the Biden administration has consulted with Congress on the topic, including multiple conversations with Murphy himself, but that the dialogue has yet to produce a change in strategy.

“They are very aware of my belief that our policy should have changed,” he said. “But I'll let them speak for themselves as to why they generally kept things on a steady track notwithstanding all of the bad behavior we're seeing every day.”

In addition to requiring an account of Saudi Arabia’s human rights violations, including its crackdown on political dissidents, Murphy and Lee's resolution would require the administration to detail how the U.S. has responded to those abuses and evaluate whether continued military assistance is warranted.

After the report is submitted, Congress would then have the right to pass a joint resolution, privileged at a 50-vote threshold, ending or paring back U.S. military support for the kingdom. To become law, it would have to be signed by the president.

The Biden administration only allows defensive weapons to be sold to Saudi Arabia, and in 2021, it imposed sanctions and visa bans on Saudi agents whom it believes perpetrated the slaying of Khashoggi, penalties that notably exempted the crown prince. Yet Murphy believes the actions are not enough, and he has called for the Biden administration to “right-size” its relationship with Saudi Arabia, a shift that would include a freeze on all new military aid to the kingdom.

It’s a move that Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, himself called for in response to the oil cuts in October.

Yet it’s not clear whether the resolution will get taken up by his panel. “I haven’t seen it,” Menendez told the Washington Examiner. “I’m not sure whether or not it'll get a hearing in the committee.”

Asked about the timing of the measure, Murphy hinted that recent positive developments in the U.S.-Saudi relationship, such as last week’s release of a dual national imprisoned for tweets critical of the crown prince, may delay its consideration. Murphy does not expect it to come before the Senate before the April 3 recess.

This is not the first time Murphy has partnered with Lee, a constitutional conservative who says the president does not have the authority to insert the U.S. into Yemen’s civil war.

In 2019, the pair sponsored legislation to end America’s involvement in the conflict that made it all the way to the White House. Then-President Donald Trump, who stood by the crown prince despite Khashoggi's death, vetoed the resolution, saying it was an “unnecessary, dangerous attempt” to weaken the office of the president.

Biden under fire from Democrats for moderating approach ahead of 2024 contest

Cami Mondeaux

March 17, 08:11 AM March 17, 08:12 AM

As President Joe Biden prepares to launch his reelection bid for 2024, he has begun using some familiar tactics from old playbooks: inching toward the middle to win over centrists and some Republicans he’ll need to secure the White House for another term.

Over the last few weeks, Biden has made a series of moves siding with conservatives on key matters such as crime, immigration, and oil. Although the White House has insisted those decisions are not part of a larger reelection strategy, the recent shift is not sitting well with many of his party's more liberal members.

HOUSE DEMOCRATS BLAST BIDEN FOR DC CRIME BILL ABOUT-FACE

“I think the devil is in the details, and we will see what happens,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) told Politico. “But has he made decisions that progressives disagree with? Absolutely. We will see what comes up in the next year.”

Biden first broke with Democrats earlier this month when he announced he would sign a GOP-led bill seeking to strike down the newly rewritten criminal code in Washington, D.C., which reduces the penalties for some crimes. The White House initially expressed opposition to the bill before Biden reversed course and said he would not veto the measure.

Several House Democrats were furious with Biden over the decision, accusing the president of flip-flopping on previous pledges to defend the district’s self-governance.

“This ain’t it. DC has a right to govern itself, like any other state or municipality. If the President supports DC statehood, he should govern like it,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) tweeted. “Plenty of places pass laws the President may disagree with. He should respect the people’s gov of DC just as he does elsewhere.”

Biden once again broke with his party after announcing earlier this week he would approve an $8 billion Willow Project in Alaska that plans to extract 600 million barrels of oil from federal lands. The plan breaks from pledges Biden made on the campaign trail in 2020 to halt drilling on federal lands, prompting widespread criticism from members of his party.

“Youth voter turnout was at its highest in 2020 & young folks supported him because of commitments such as ‘no more drilling on federal land,’” Rep. Maxwell Frost (R-FL), the first Gen-Z member of Congress, tweeted this week. “That commitment has been broken.”

Democrats have also grown concerned that Biden is eyeing a move to the right on key topics such as immigration, particularly after it was reported the president is considering a revival of a Trump-era immigration policy that detains migrant families who attempt to cross the border illegally. Biden lifted the detention policy shortly after taking office in 2021, but now, officials are looking at ways to reinstate some of its provisions — stoking anger from Democrats who say Biden has been mum on his plans.

“The lack of communication on immigration-related policy decisions is an insult," Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), who is heavily involved with immigration reform in Congress, told Axios. "It would be like making civil rights legislative ideas and thoughts without checking with the Congressional Black Caucus.”

The White House has maintained that Biden’s recent decisions are not campaign-related strategies but coincidental timing. Aides pointed to previous instances in which Biden broke with liberals on key matters during the 2020 campaign, arguing his actions are par for the course.

Biden has not announced his reelection campaign, but the president is likely to make a decision in the coming weeks.

WATCH: Cruz blasts Biden as ‘best thing that ever happened to the Mexican drug cartels’

Heather Hamilton

March 08, 06:39 AM March 08, 06:39 AM

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) did not hold back when expressing his frustration over what he called President Joe Biden’s weak leadership concerning the border crisis.

Cruz said the recent kidnapping of four Americans, two of whom have been confirmed dead, is indicative of the “chaos” that Biden’s policies have created.

TWO OF FOUR KIDNAPPED AMERICANS FOUND DEAD IN MEXICO

“Those who kill American citizens must be held accountable,” Cruz said on Jesse Watters Primetime. “This wouldn’t happen if we had responsible presidential leadership. Joe Biden created the chaos at the border. Joe Biden stopped building the wall, he reinstated 'Catch and Release.' He pulled out of ‘Remain in Mexico,’ and what Joe Biden has done is he has turned these vicious narco-terrorists into billionaires.”

"Joe Biden becoming president is the best thing that ever happened to the Mexican drug cartels," Cruz added.

The Texas senator blasted the Biden administration, including White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, for “no shortage of disastrous statements when it comes to the open border.”

“Karine Jean-Pierre saying fentanyl has never been better — I actually wonder if the reporters in the briefing room scooted back afraid that lightning was going to hit the podium,” Cruz said. “I mean, good God!”

“Last year, we had the highest number of drug overdoses in the history of our country. Over 100,000 drug overdoses in the United States, a majority of which came from Chinese fentanyl flooding across this border,” Cruz continued. “Joe Biden and the Democrats are responsible for turning these vicious murderers into multi-billionaires.”

Cruz suggested additional “pressure” must be placed on the Mexican government to stop the border crisis.

“The answer is put pressure on Mexico and have the Mexican army show up, arrest these guys, extradite them to the United States,” Cruz said. “They need to be prosecuted and face the full force of American justice, and if we had a president with a scintilla of willingness to stand up to other nations, that’s exactly what would be happening right now.”

Democrats furious with Biden over DC crime bill won't pull support for reelection bid

Cami Mondeaux

March 04, 09:30 AM March 04, 09:30 AM

House Democrats from all corners of the party are rallying behind President Joe Biden ahead of his expected reelection bid, offering him support despite rising tensions stemming from Biden’s decision not to block a GOP-led resolution overturning and overhauling Washington’s century-old criminal code.

Party members in the House have expressed support for Biden’s likely reelection campaign, with many arguing he is the best chance for Democrats to maintain control of the White House in 2024.

HOUSE DEMOCRATS BLAST BIDEN FOR DC CRIME BILL ABOUT-FACE

“I do think he should run; I think he will win,” Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA), the No. 3 House Democrat, said during a Punchbowl News event in Baltimore this week. “Time and time again, you know, he was able to deliver with House Democrats, with Senate Democrats, and so I think that he can and should run.”

Aguilar touted some of Biden’s accomplishments during his first two years in office, such as the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill passed in 2021, which has become a key tenet of the president’s legislative agenda. Should Biden launch a second White House bid, he would have the support of the House Democratic Caucus, Aguilar added.

Other Democrats pointed to Biden’s performance in the 2020 election, arguing the voter base he attracted would “come back even stronger in 2024.”

“In those 18 districts that are held by Biden Republicans, he’s the best in terms of his message and how he approaches this,” said Rep. Ann McLane Kuster (D-NH), according to the Hill.

It’s unclear when Biden plans to announce his reelection campaign, although it’s widely expected to happen sometime in April. However, some Democrats are pushing the president to do it sooner, including Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), who leads the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Jayapal’s support comes even after she endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in the 2020 election when he ran against Biden for the nomination.

“Nobody’s surprised that Biden was not my choice in the first election for the primary,” Jayapal said during the Baltimore retreat this week. “But the [Progressive Caucus] and the president and his administration have formed an incredibly strong partnership.”

House Democrats are likely to stand firm in their support for the president even after Biden announced earlier this week he would not veto a Republican-led bill seeking to overturn Washington’s revised criminal code — a decision that blindsided and angered several party lawmakers who voted against the measure. The legislation is poised to pass the Senate next week, and without Biden’s veto, it sets the stage for Congress to override local legislation passed by the D.C. Council for the first time in 30 years.

Democrats accused Biden of walking back his previous stance on the issue, pointing to comments the White House made last month that the president opposed the resolution seeking to overturn the criminal code. Biden didn’t tell lawmakers he planned to sign the GOP-led measure until weeks after it passed the House.

“This ain’t it. DC has a right to govern itself, like any other state or municipality. If the President supports DC statehood, he should govern like it,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “Plenty of places pass laws the President may disagree with. He should respect the people’s gov of DC just as he does elsewhere.”

At least two Democratic senators, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Patty Murray of Washington, said they would vote to overturn the criminal code. That all but guarantees its passage in the upper chamber, where Democrats have temporarily lost their outright majority with the absences of Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). Both are currently out of office due to health problems.

Top Senate Democrat lines up behind Biden on DC crime law

Juliegrace Brufke

March 03, 03:20 PM March 03, 03:20 PM

Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) said she would vote to repeal the Washington crime bill, one day after President Joe Biden told Senate Democrats at a caucus lunch that he would not veto the legislation should it arrive on his desk.

Murray's decision, which follows centrist Democrat Joe Manchin (WV) announcing that he'd oppose Washington's crime code overhaul earlier this week, signals other Democrats may soon line up behind the president, who initially opposed the resolution. With two Democratic senators absent from the upper chamber, Manchin's vote suggested the GOP-led measure had the support to pass.

"I absolutely respect that decision," Murray, the president pro tempore of the Senate, told CNN of Biden's announcement. "I'll be voting the same way the president is."

MIKE POMPEO’S PAC PURCHASED $42,000 WORTH OF BOOKS ON SAME DAY OF MEMOIR RELEASE

Centrist Democrats have largely voiced support for the resolution as Republicans have looked to hit the party over allegations it is soft on crime. The decision, however, has sparked backlash from a sizable number of members in both chambers.

“I’m disappointed. First of all, I hope the Senate would not pass it. But I think it’s pretty clear they will,” Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) told Politico. “And to me, the Congress should not substitute its judgment for the elected representatives of the people of the District of Columbia.”

Washington Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) said it was a “sad day” for the district and a step in the wrong direction for the city’s ability to self-govern.

“We had hoped that with more Senate support, we would have been able to ensure that neither disapproval resolution pending before the Senate would reach the president’s desk, but with the nationwide increase in crime, most senators do not want to be seen as supporting criminal justice reform," she told the Hill.

Washington’s new crime laws eliminated a large portion of mandatory minimum sentences for violent crimes and reinstated the use of jury trials for misdemeanors. Its repeal passed the House last month with the support of 31 Democrats.

Democrats keep memory of Jan. 6 alive as party looks ahead to 2024

David M. Drucker

January 06, 06:01 PM January 06, 06:01 PM

The Democratic Party is keeping the memory of Jan. 6, 2021, from fading in a bid to cast Republicans as foes of good governance who would rather sow political chaos than deliver for voters.

President Joe Biden marked the second anniversary of the Capitol ransacking Friday with a White House ceremony recognizing law enforcement who defended the Capitol from rioters seeking to overturn the 2020 election, as well as election workers who resisted pressure from former President Donald Trump and GOP allies to manipulate the outcome. Top congressional Democrats are being more pointed, accusing Republicans of continuing to stoke the flames of an “insurrection” fomented by grassroots Trump supporters.

DESANTIS PUSHES BILL TO STRIP DISNEY WORLD OF SELF-GOVERNANCE

“While democracy prevailed, the threats remain as far-right extremists and leaders of the Republican Party continue to embrace lies, promote dangerous conspiracy theories, and fail to condemn colleagues who incite violence,” Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA), the new chairwoman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in a statement.

“Today, there are members of Congress that perpetuated the ‘Big Lie’ that led to the insurrection,” she added. “And yet, their party is now tasked with leading a branch of government whose objective is to protect and defend our democratic values.”

On Jan. 6, 2021, the majority of House Republicans then in office voted against certifying Biden’s Electoral College victory and paving the way for his inauguration. They voted that way even after the riot was quelled and the certification process continued. Two years later, a relatively small faction of Trump-aligned Republicans still insists the former president’s unfounded claims about the 2020 election are true.

But that has not stopped Biden from warning that they threaten the health of American democracy. Indeed, Biden’s concern was a key component of his campaign messaging in the 2022 midterm elections. He even devoted a major speech to the topic as Election Day approached.

Biden’s decision to award the Presidential Citizens Medal to law enforcement and election workers affected by the aftermath of the 2020 election suggests he plans to continue to use the issue to put the GOP on the defensive as 2024 and a possible White House reelection campaign approaches. Judging by DelBene’s comments and the statements issued by congressional Democrats, that appears to be a strategy being adopted by the Democratic Party writ large.

“Two years ago, on Jan. 6, our democracy was attacked. There’s no other way of saying it,” Biden said as he presided over the medal ceremony. “A violent mob of insurrectionists assaulted law enforcement, vandalized sacred halls, hunted down elected officials — all for the purpose of [attempting] to overthrow the will of the people and usurp the peaceful transfer of power.”

“All of it — all of it — was fueled by lies about the 2020 election.”

The continued focus on what happened on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2021, by Biden and the Democrats makes some political sense.

The first midterm elections under the 46th president was predicted to be a Republican wave. Many political observers, Democrats among them, questioned the wisdom of Biden’s decision to give so much attention to Jan. 6 rather than place more emphasis in speeches close to Election Day on kitchen table issues such as inflation and crime. But on Nov. 8, Democrats increased their Senate majority and stemmed their losses in the House.

Republicans won the House majority. However, their advantage in the chamber is just roughly a handful of seats.

Judging by the internal divisions roiling House Republicans that threatened to block Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), their designated choice for speaker, from the gavel, their ability to govern in the 118th Congress could prove nearly impossible. Democrats are using this week’s events and the second anniversary of Jan. 6 together to make the case that Republicans cannot be trusted with any more control of the government than they have already accrued.

“If we were in a presidential election cycle, we would be unable to certify the Electoral College results because we still have no #HouseofRepresentatives due to House Republican chaos,” Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) said in a Twitter post. “The American people will not want House Republicans in charge in two years. Guaranteed.”

‘Could hear the president cursing’: Biden furious about border early on in administration

Cami Mondeaux

December 30, 08:33 AM December 30, 08:33 AM

President Joe Biden was reportedly furious about the surge of immigrants illegally crossing the southern border during the first months of his administration, making him angrier than any other policy issue.

In the first six months of Biden’s White House term, the president could often be heard cursing in frustration at the lack of action taken at the southern border, according to the forthcoming book The Fight of His Life: Inside Joe Biden’s White House by Chris Whipple. Biden had already appointed Vice President Kamala Harris as the “border czar,” a position that led to harsh criticism as the number of immigrants arriving at the border continued to increase.

ABBOTT HITS BACK AT ‘HYPOCRITE IN CHIEF’ AFTER CRITICISM FOR BUSING IMMIGRANTS TO DC ON CHRISTMAS EVE

“Illegal immigrants kept arriving. And Biden was furious,” Whipple wrote, according to a copy of the book obtained by the Hill. “From all over the West Wing, you could hear the president cursing, dropping f-bombs (he’d always apologize when women were present).”

Biden was especially frustrated by the lack of solutions to address the problem, a struggle the president is still grappling with nearly two years into his presidency amid record-high immigration numbers. Roughly 411,000 illegal immigrants were encountered at the southern border in October and November, according to the Center for Immigration Studies — surpassing the total number of immigrants who were apprehended at the border for all of fiscal 2020.

Harris’s allies reportedly complained about the vice president’s responsibility on the issue, according to Whipple, often lamenting that Biden was setting her up for failure by giving her the position. Others pointed to Republicans’ criticisms of her job performance as a way to get rid of her.

“I think there is a definite targeting of the vice president that has nothing to do with her assignment,” a senior adviser told Whipple. “And it has everything to do with who she is and the desire by some in the right wing to make her gone.”

The Fight of His Life: Inside Joe Biden’s White House is set to be released on Jan. 17.

Four years later, brother speaks out on Paul Whelan's imprisonment in Russia

Mike Brest

December 28, 06:30 AM December 28, 06:31 AM

Wednesday marks four years since former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan was arrested by the Russian Federal Security Service and charged with espionage.

Whelan, who had been in Russia for a wedding, was caught by the FSB “while on a spy mission,” the agency’s public relations center said in a statement at the time, though he and the U.S. government refuted the claims. The Biden administration continues to consider Whelan "wrongfully detained" while engaging in negotiations with the Kremlin to bring him home.

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION SAYS WHELAN'S ESPIONAGE CHARGE COMPLICATES HIS RELEASE

"Milestones are always hard," his brother David Whelan told the Washington Examiner in a statement. "Four birthdays, four Christmases, and now the 4th anniversary of Paul's wrongful detention. I think we share the same concern as every family in this situation, which is that, with each passing year, it will become harder to bring Paul home."

Paul Whelan, who was discharged from the Marines for bad conduct in 2008 after being convicted of charges related to larceny, was sentenced to 16 years in a Russian prison in June 2020.

"It has already become hard to combat compassion fatigue, to keep up Paul's morale and help him to survive as fewer people remember his plight, fewer people write to him, and he starts to worry about being forgotten," David Whelan continued. "We hope that Paul will be home before the next milestone that reminds him, and us, that, despite good intentions, these efforts can be fleeting. We will need to remember that there are months and possibly still years before he is free."

The White House said last week that "there are active conversations" ongoing between the administration and their Russian counterparts surrounding Whelan's freedom, though U.S. officials have also said that the Kremlin views him differently from other Americans the U.S. has sought to swap for due to the espionage charge.

A State Department spokesperson told the Washington Examiner that they “continue to press for the immediate release of Paul Whelan at every opportunity,” and that, “despite their best efforts, the Russian government has failed to negotiate in good faith on his case. Paul and his family continue to suffer the consequences of the Russian government’s decision to wrongfully detain U.S. citizens."

“Our efforts to bring Paul Whelan home will not cease until he is back home with his family where he belongs,” the spokesperson continued. “Using wrongful detention as a bargaining chip represents a threat to the safety of everyone traveling, working, and living abroad. The United States opposes this practice everywhere.”

President Joe Biden agreed to prisoner exchanges with the Kremlin this year, though Whelan was left out of both of them.

Biden agreed to exchange convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for U.S. basketball superstar Brittney Griner earlier this month, whom the administration considered wrongfully detained after she was arrested and charged with bringing vape cartridges that contained minimal amounts of marijuana. Griner was subsequently sentenced to nine years in prison. The other prisoner exchange freed convicted Russian drug smuggler Konstantin Yaroshenko for former Marine Trevor Reed in April.

Activists, athletes, and institutions pleaded with the Biden administration to get Griner home, raising awareness of not just her plight, but of the situation surrounding Whelan and other Americans across the globe wrongfully detained by foreign governments.

"We were fortunate that, in the wake of Brittney Griner's release, both she and the U.S. government spoke up in support of Paul," David Whelan explained. "Despite tomorrow's anniversary, we know people are aware of Paul's imprisonment and are doing what they can to help. Americans are writing to him, and the American government is working to secure his freedom."

While Whelan's situation has received additional media coverage given the Russian connection to Griner, there are roughly 60 Americans, according to various non-profits, who are being wrongfully detained globally, many of whom have been detained longer than him.

"Mark Swidan has been held in China for nearly 10 years, Kai Li for nearly seven," David Whelan said. "Siamak Namazi has been held in Iran for more than seven. Austin Tice has been missing for more than 10 years."