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.”

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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.”

Rand Paul staffer stabbed over the weekend

Misty Severi

March 27, 08:53 PM March 27, 08:53 PM

A staffer for Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) was hurt in a stabbing in Washington, D.C., over the weekend, the senator's office confirmed in a statement on Monday.

The staffer, who was not identified, was stabbed in broad daylight and was taken to a hospital. The staffer is still recovering, and a suspect has been arrested, the senator said.

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“This past weekend, a member of my staff was brutally attacked in broad daylight in Washington, D.C.," Paul said in a statement shared with the Washington Examiner.

"I ask you to join Kelley and me in praying for a speedy and complete recovery and thanking the first responders, hospital staff, and police for their diligent actions. We are relieved to hear the suspect has been arrested. At this time, we would ask for privacy so everyone can focus on healing and recovery,” he continued.

Paul's office additionally confirmed that the staffer who was attacked was the same person who was stabbed on H Street NE on Saturday, according to NBC News Washington. The suspect in that incident, 42-year-old Neal Glynn, was arrested on Monday. Glynn has been charged with assault with intent to kill (Knife).

The staffer was transported to a local hospital and treated for life-threatening injuries, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.

The attack comes one month after Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) was attacked in an elevator at her Washington apartment. It also comes shortly after President Joe Biden blocked changes to the district's criminal code that critics claimed were too soft on crime.

Excess CHIPS: GOP senators say Biden pushing unrelated agenda in semiconductor law

Haisten Willis

March 22, 05:30 AM March 22, 05:30 AM

Companies will soon be able to bid on billions of government dollars intended to boost American semiconductor manufacturing, but the Biden administration will make them jump through a lot of hoops to land them.

Any firm hoping to get some of the $39 billion on offer will need to provide child care, detail its relationships with unions, share profits beyond a certain threshold with the government, and purchase supplies from domestic producers, among other things.

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Team Biden announced these provisions in late February, angering Republican senators whose votes made passage of the CHIPS and Science Act possible.

"We are in strong opposition to regulations your Department is putting in place that will use this legislation and the funding it provides as a tool to pursue controversial policies that go beyond the requirements of the law and reduce American jobs and high-tech investments in the process," a quartet of GOP senators wrote to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. "Among these were several costly mandates that represent significant federal intervention in the private sector and fly in the face of the congressional intent of this legislation.”

Raimondo has been open about her intentions to go beyond what Congress intended, telling aides, “If Congress wasn’t going to do what they should have done, we’re going to do it in implementation."

But that's not what Congress voted for, critics say. Worse, by adding costs and red tape, the restrictions undercut the bill's primary purpose of making American computer chip manufacturing more competitive.

“Taxpayers are really getting a raw deal," Scott Lincicome, the director of general economics at the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute, previously told the Washington Examiner. "To the extent that taxpayers support chip subsidies, it's because they want semiconductors. They're not doing it because they want child care."

The government will begin accepting applications later this month, though it's unknown when awards will actually be given.

The $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act passed the Senate by a vote of 64-33, with 17 Republicans putting it across the filibuster threshold. Some may now have buyer's remorse.

"We urge you to immediately remove these and any other impositions on this critical funding which threaten the expansion of America’s semiconductor manufacturing capacity and job creation in our country," reads the letter from Sens. Steve Daines (R-MT), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and John Cornyn (R-LA), all of whom voted yea.

The Commerce Department did not respond to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner.

President Joe Biden sold the bill last year as a way to compete with China and boost manufacturing in the electorally important Midwest. Weeks after signing the bill, Biden traveled to Licking County, Ohio, to celebrate the opening of a $20 billion Intel semiconductor manufacturing plant. He promised the act would help bury the "Rust Belt" label

All of that is undermined by the requirements rolled out since, argues American Action Forum President Douglas Holtz-Eakin.

“The idea was to have semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S.,” Holtz-Eakin said. “It wasn’t to promote unionism or create child care, and it certainly wasn’t to create profit sharing with the federal government. This is classic bureaucratic overreach that has nothing to do with the problem for which this legislation was aimed.”

There is also some evidence that the chip shortage the bill was intended to ease is also abating.

Nonetheless, Politico reported last week that a wide range of companies have hired lobbyists to try to get a piece of the billions on offer, including labor unions, social media company Snap, heating and air conditioning firms, and FedEx.

The Biden administration could be setting itself up for yet another courtroom showdown with its after-the-fact actions, Holtz-Eakin argues, joining litigation the White House has faced on COVID-19 mask and vaccine mandates, Title 42, evictions, and student loans.

“There is no disciplined thinking [in the administration],” Holtz-Eakin said. “They try to do everything with everything, and as a result, they accomplish much less.”

Biden goes big on banking regulations as Republicans push back

Haisten Willis

March 18, 07:00 AM March 18, 07:33 AM

President Joe Biden is hoping to turn the Silicon Valley Bank collapse into a legislative victory, but he'll face plenty of Republican resistance along the way.

The president spent last week calling to reinstate banking regulations that were rolled back five years ago while seeking new punishments for banking executives whose operations fail.

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"I'm firmly committed to accountability for those responsible for this mess," Biden said Friday. "No one is above the law — and strengthening accountability is an important deterrent to prevent mismanagement in the future."

Echoing Biden, Democrats are sounding the alarm on Capitol Hill.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) have introduced legislation to reverse the partial Dodd-Frank Act rollback that Congress approved in 2018, while Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) laid the blame at the feet of Donald Trump.

“Let’s be clear. The failure of Silicon Valley Bank is a direct result of an absurd 2018 bank deregulation bill signed by Donald Trump that I strongly opposed,” Sanders said. Biden himself has also blamed the former president.

But Republicans say there's more to the story than the simple cause and effect of regulations relaxed, banks fail.

For one, 17 Senate Democrats voted to approve the rollback on midsized banks, as did 33 Democrats in the House. But Republicans also point to existing regulations that should have placed a red flag over SVB, arguing that better enforcement is the answer.

“This bank was supervised by the Federal Reserve and the state of California — SVB’s failure is the result of mismanagement and failed supervision," said a spokesperson for Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC). "Regulators said SVB was 'idiosyncratic.' If that’s the case, how did they miss the idiosyncrasies and the risk? If this is such an outlier in the system, why wasn’t action taken? Regulators failed to do their job with regards to SVB, and if regulators can’t do their job with what the law gives them now, why is giving them more regulations the better route?”

Going on the attack, Republicans point at high inflation, which the Federal Reserve has been combating with aggressive interest rate hikes that played a role in SVB's collapse. Republicans blame Biden, and specifically the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act he signed soon after taking office, for pushing inflation from 1.4% the month he took office to a peak of 9.1% last summer, spurring the rate hikes.

Some conservatives argue that banks will work their way around any new regulations and question the need for government interference in the sector.

“When any other business is reckless or irresponsible, we allow them to go bankrupt,” said EJ Antoni, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation. “I’m not sure why we treat banks differently. And I’d say the fact that we do is partly why we keep having problems in the banking industry. These people know that when things go South, they will get bailed out.”

Biden is attempting to address that issue by calling for punishments on executives when banks fail. His Friday statement called for empowering regulators to reclaim compensation from executives, impose civil penalties, and even ban executives from the industry.

Any accompanying fact sheet cited the SVB CEO reportedly selling more than $3 million worth of shares before the collapse as activity that should be regulated.

And while the president is calling on Congress, he could try to make a go of things on his own as well. The Biden administration has been aggressive about taking action on its own, from student loans to child care to gas stoves to gig workers.

With skeptical Republicans leading the House of Representatives and conservatives dominating the Supreme Court, Biden may have trouble getting his initiatives through.

But the president is likely winning the all-important battle to reach voters, argues Democratic strategist Brad Bannon.

“It’s a great message from the Biden administration about cause and effect — you deregulate banks, they start blowing up,” Bannon said. “The reality is, besides Republicans, most Americans favor the strict regulation of banking institutions.”

While inflation played a major role in the Fed jacking up interest rates, which played a major role in the SVB collapse, Bannon says most voters are going to connect more directly with the regulation argument.

“It speaks to populism. It speaks to big businesses failing the public,” said Bannon. “The Republicans failed the public by deregulating banks. This is a battle that Joe Biden definitely wants to fight with House Republicans.”

SVB collapse: Biden calls for harsher penalties on banking executives

Haisten Willis

March 17, 12:17 PM March 17, 12:17 PM

President Joe Biden on Friday called for harsher penalties for banking executives in the wake of Silicon Valley Bank's collapse.

While acknowledging he is limited in what he can do under existing law, the president called on Congress to step up punishment for the leaders of failed banks.

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"I'm firmly committed to accountability for those responsible for this mess," the president said in a statement. "No one is above the law — and strengthening accountability is an important deterrent to prevent mismanagement in the future."

But action from the legislative branch will be needed in order for it to happen, and Biden called on Congress to do just that.

"The law limits the administration’s authority to hold executives responsible. When banks fail due to mismanagement and excessive risk taking, it should be easier for regulators to claw back compensation from executives, to impose civil penalties, and to ban executives from working in the banking industry again. Congress must act to impose tougher penalties for senior bank executives whose mismanagement contributed to their institutions failing," he said.

The president and top Democrats have been in favor of new laws and more banking regulations since SVB failed one week ago. The California bank's collapse has the entire banking system teetering, with drastic actions being taken in both the public and private sectors to stabilize the situation.

Biden defended the choice to guarantee bank deposits fully at SVB and stressed that the banking system is stable even while calling for stricter regulations.

"This week, we took decisive action to stabilize the banking system without putting taxpayer dollars at risk," the president said. "That action was necessary to protect jobs and small businesses, and no losses will be borne by the taxpayers. Our banking system is more resilient and stable today because of the actions we took. On Monday morning, I told the American people and American businesses that they should feel confident that their deposits will be there if and when they need them. That continues to be the case."

The clock is ticking for Biden on COVID-19 origins declassification bill

Haisten Willis

March 16, 05:55 AM March 16, 07:42 AM

President Joe Biden has less than a week to decide whether to sign or try to stop a bill declassifying COVID-19 origins intelligence that passed with veto-proof majorities.

Both chambers of Congress unanimously passed legislation that would force the Biden administration to declassify all the information it has gathered on how the virus started as federal agencies are split between whether it began in nature or a lab leak.

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“Transparency is a cornerstone of our democracy,” Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), the intelligence committee's top Democrat, said during debate. “Because without transparency, the American people can’t make the sounds that they need to make responsibly as citizens of a democracy.”

The House passed the COVID Origins Act by a 419-0 vote and the Senate by unanimous consent, yet the White House has been noncommittal.

"We will continue to use every tool to figure out what happened here while also protecting classified information," press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. "We're going to take a look at the bill. I just don't have anything to share on how we're going to move forward at this time."

Biden said he hadn't "made that decision yet" when asked whether he'd sign the bill. The White House could have declassified the information on its own and has thus far chosen not to.

The House vote came last Friday, March 10, and presidents have 10 days, excluding Sundays, to sign or veto. That would land Biden's deadline on Wednesday, March 22.

Should the president veto, a two-thirds majority in both chambers would be needed to override, which could come at any point during the 118th Congress.

Only 106 out of 1,484 presidential vetoes from 1789 through 2004 were overridden, according to the Congressional Research Service. However, with a unanimous vote, Biden would likely not be able to sustain a veto.

Dr. Steven Quay hopes the information does come to light.

“I’m cautiously optimistic,” said Quay, who favors the lab leak theory. “I’d like to see records from the fall of 2019 and more communications. The concept that the virus came from a market requires that it started in December. Any evidence that it’s anywhere else in the fall before that is evidence against it beginning in a market in December.”

If signed into law, the bill would require within 90 days the declassification of “any and all information relating to potential links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origin of the Coronavirus Disease," including whether any researchers grew ill.

The legislation's passage marks a striking departure from the early days of the pandemic when the lab leak hypothesis was dismissed as a conspiracy theory. Since then, the nation's 18 intelligence agencies have said both theories are plausible, yet the debate continues to divide the intelligence and scientific communities.

Although the bill garnered overwhelming support on the House floor, Democrats and Republicans engaged in a drawn-out debate before casting their votes. Several Republicans in their speeches sought to blame not only the Chinese government but also some U.S. officials, namely Dr. Anthony Fauci.

"Big government bureaucrats like Anthony Fauci abused their positions of power to disguise and distort the facts and a further tyrannical approach to our country," Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX) said of the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. "Fauci knew as early as March of 2020 that coronavirus leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China."

Some Democrats, on the other hand, urged caution.

"We shouldn't be so certain ... that we're willing to impugn the character and motives of other Americans, especially if those Americans are in positions of responsibility that need to be trusted in the next pandemic," said Himes. "We just don't know. And we're entitled to speculate, we're entitled to have a theory, but I would just urge caution about impugning people's motives, impugning their character, based on those theories."

There is a real chance Biden could veto the bill, argues Cato Institute senior fellow Patrick Eddington, at which point the question would be whether GOP leadership can convince enough Democrats to override.

One concern Biden may have is that human sources could be compromised, for example, if a source within the Chinese government is named in the intelligence. However, any information released is subject to redaction.

The smart play, Eddington argues, is to let the bill pass.

"Biden would be wise to just sign the bill and direct [Director of National Intelligence Avril] Haines to comply," he said. "Asking for Democrats in House swing districts to fall on their sword over this issue would be bad political strategy, to say the least."

Hockey coach experience helps House Majority Whip Tom Emmer in new leadership role

Juliegrace Brufke

March 05, 07:32 AM March 05, 07:32 AM

Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) played a key role in building the new House Republican majority. Now, as House majority whip, he's helping to coach it, a familiar position going back to his ice hockey days.

Emmer, first elected in 2014 to Minnesota's 6th Congressional District in the northern and western Minneapolis exurbs, was twice chairman of the House Republicans' campaign arm, where he had a strong run. Heading the National Republican Congressional Committee in 2020, Emmer oversaw the effort that shaved down the House majority that the Democrats won two years earlier, boosting House Republicans' ranks by 14 seats. And in 2022, with Emmer again chairing the NRCC, Republicans nabbed the House majority halfway through President Joe Biden's White House term — although they only have a narrow 222-213 edge over the Democrats.

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Emmer's House Republican colleagues rewarded him by backing him for majority whip in a contest where he beat out rival Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-GA) on the first ballot and Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) on the second, by a 115-106 vote. That made Emmer the third-highest House Republican leader behind Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA).

The majority whip's job is officially to whip House votes for the party's position on leadership, but the role is as much about being the eyes and ears of the conference and knowing how to make members succeed. That's all hard-earned experience from Emmer's eight years in the House, on top of six years as a state representative, his work as a city councilman, and his work as an attorney and establishing a youth hockey team in the 1990s, where the father of seven and onetime collegiate hockey player himself learned how to get people to work together.

Emmer immediately drew on those skills in the opening days of the closely divided House. He helped McCarthy rally the support needed to secure the speaker's gavel amid a group of conservatives threatening to derail the California Republican’s bid. The effort took 15 ballots, and three-and-a-half days, before McCarthy finally won in the wee hours of Jan. 7.

“It's like problem-solving, right? People are entitled to their opinions," Emmer told the Washington Examiner about trying to overcome dissension in the House GOP ranks. "We're entitled to our emotions. We're entitled — all of that is just human stuff, right?"

Emmer recalled working in his office with House Chief Deputy Whip Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) to figure out a way to victory for McCarthy.

"We did the [speaker] first vote that Tuesday — I can't remember how many we did before we went to adjourn. And then we ended up in here, Guy and I ended up in here with just a few members," Emmer said. "I won't get into which ones, but having a discussion — and by the way, they were on the opposite side of Kevin. So the discussion was, 'Is there a path?' How do we get there? And at that point, they weren't too inclined to talk that way.”

It helped grease the ultimate agreement that led to McCarthy's eventual win. The rules package that will govern the operations and priorities of the 118th Congress passed the House after McCarthy used it to barter a deal with conservatives in exchange for the speaker's gavel. The 55-page package includes an end to proxy voting as well as a return to the traditional "motion to vacate," which allows any member to bring forward a motion to oust the speaker.

Additionally, instead of an omnibus bill, all 12 appropriations bills will be considered and passed separately. Two new committees also were created: one to investigate China and the other to investigate the "weaponization" of federal agencies under the Biden administration. The rules package further calls for lawmakers to have 72 hours to review bills before voting on them. Moreover, the House side of the Capitol would be reopened to the public.

"It's like, 'You guys can make some significant changes — and significant changes, by the way, that the entire conference agrees with,” Emmer said about GOP House holdouts against McCarthy.

Emmer, who was the 2010 Minnesota Republican gubernatorial nominee, noted that he doesn’t expect his job to be easy over the course of the next two years. But the speaker’s race was a good “practice run” for what’s ahead, noting that hearing out members about their concerns and maintaining strong communication on where members of the conference stand will be a key part of his strategy.

“It was a great practice run for us. I mean, we literally set up our whip team on the fly, the whip counters, we couldn't rely on others to do things on the floor. So we literally stepped it up, put that together. I called it practice," Emmer said. "Imagine this is what we're going to be doing as a whip operation, so just we're going to use it, we're going to do some test things right and see how it works like a fire drill.”

The Minnesota Republican said he believes his background as a hockey coach has also provided him with a skill set that will be beneficial for his new leadership gig.

"A good coach celebrates the team when they're successful and, by the way, takes all the responsibility when they fail. I think that's the No. 1 rule," Emmer said. "And you also have to get your team to believe in the mission that you're setting out to — if they trust in the leadership, and if the leadership knows what they're doing, teams can achieve things that they really never should have been expected to achieve.”

Emmer offered a more specific hockey analogy.

“It's recognizing, like I did with every team I've coached, that every player has a role, and if that player is not performing, it affects everybody else," he said. "That comes from the top scorer on the team to the penalty kill guy that's out there for just a few minutes of every game, and you were only as strong as your weakest link. So everybody gets held to the same standard, everybody has the same consequences, and then they all start leaning on each other.”

With the razor-thin majority, Emmer acknowledged that there are likely to be significant hurdles during the course of the next two years, with factors like occasional absences potentially being a problem.

“I think the biggest challenge is going to be human issues," he said. "We've got members who have lives at home and, you know, making sure that people take care of themselves and stay healthy.”

But while Democrats utilized proxy voting during the 117th Congress, making it easier to pass legislation, Emmer said that he is glad that Republicans got rid of the pandemic-era practice. Proxy voting was being abused and shouldn’t have been extended for as long as it had, according to the congressman.

“If you don't want to come to work, then get a different job — proxy voting and Zoom hearings and all of this nonsense should never have happened," Emmer said.

Biden’s border visit leads to blowback from Left

Haisten Willis

January 07, 07:00 AM January 07, 07:00 AM

President Joe Biden satisfied long-standing calls from conservatives by deciding to visit the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, over the weekend.

The visit comes alongside a host of new immigration measures designed to stem the record flow of illegal crossings. While border hawks remain skeptical, the move also comes with the risk of alienating Biden's more progressive supporters.

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Heritage Foundation border specialist Lora Ries told the Washington Examiner last August that Biden had "made the political calculation that he’d rather be beat up by the Right than by the Left" on the border issue, fearing he'd be labeled the deporter in chief in the way former President Barack Obama was in 2014 if he embraced enforcement.

Sure enough, Democratic resistance emerged soon after Biden's announcement.

A quartet of senators released a statement slamming the president's revitalized southern border strategy, pinning some of the blame on Republican "obstruction."

"While we understand the challenges the nation is facing at the Southern border exacerbated by Republican obstruction to modernizing our immigration system, we are deeply disappointed by the Biden Administration’s decision to expand the use of Title 42,” the senators wrote.

They described Title 42 as a "failed and inhumane Trump-era policy" that will exclude thousands of immigrants fleeing violence and persecution.

Polling shows a sharp partisan divide on the issue of immigration, which helps explain the delicate balance Biden seeks to strike. A Pew Research Center survey from September found that 73% of all respondents said increasing border security should be a goal, with 91% of Republicans and 59% of Democrats agreeing.

But while 79% of Republicans wanted to see an increase in deportations, just 39% of Democrats agreed. Meanwhile, 80% of Democrats favored establishing a way for most illegal immigrants to stay legally, compared to just 37% of Republicans.

After ignoring the issue for most of his presidency, the record-smashing number of people crossing the border as 2022 drew to a close may have made the issue too big for Biden to ignore.

Between 2,378,944 Border Patrol encounters and an estimated 600,000 illegal crossers who slipped through without any contact, nearly 3 million people crossed the border in fiscal 2022. That's up from 2.1 million in 2021, which itself was a record high. The figure was just 300,000 as recently as 2017 and 2020.

Border state Democrats, such as the mayor of El Paso and Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), began calling out the president in the final weeks of the year.

Biden himself tried to carve out a nuanced view of the issue this week, acknowledging the need for a balance between asylum and order.

“We should all recognize that as long as America is the land of freedom and opportunity, people are going to try to come here. And that’s what many of our ancestors did, and it’s no surprise that it’s happening again today," he said. "We can’t stop people from making the journey, but we can require that they come here in an orderly way under U.S. law.”

Asked if he agreed with activists that migration is a human right, Biden said it is for families who are being persecuted but then acknowledged that people already in the United States have a right to be assured that those who are coming are not criminals and have passed background checks.

Andrew Arthur, a fellow with the Center for Immigration Studies, agreed with Ries that any level of border enforcement is bound to upset some on the Left.

"They like the nearly unlimited migration which exists right now," he said. "So anything that impinges on that is going to be something they will complain about."

Border hawks aren't necessarily thrilled with Biden's moves either, with some calling it too little, too late.

Arthur disagrees strongly with the administration's plan to admit up to 30,000 Venezuelan, Cuban, Haitian, and Nicaraguan nationals with a U.S. sponsor into the country per month, calling Biden's moves ill-advised and illegal.

The move may have been necessitated by a record number of illegal crossings last year, but it still carries political risk for Biden among progressives, who are likening Biden to his hated predecessor.

"The plan [Biden] announced further ties his administration to the poisonous anti-immigrant policies of the Trump era," reads a statement from the American Civil Liberties Union, "instead of restoring fair access to asylum protections.”

McCarthy elected House speaker following high-drama floor fight

Juliegrace Brufke

January 07, 12:31 AM January 07, 12:51 AM

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) won enough votes to become the next speaker of the House on Friday night after a heated, dayslong stalemate that broke when the GOP leader finally agreed to a series of concessions to his Republican opponents.

All of the remaining GOP holdouts voted "present" on the 15th ballot, lowering the threshold enough for McCarthy to get a majority of the votes. The vote followed a high-drama 14th ballot in which Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) could be seen pulling Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) back as he appeared to nearly get in an altercation with Gaetz over his vote, which tanked McCarthy in that round.

The GOP leader ultimately received 216 votes, to incoming Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries's (D-NY) 212.

The California Republican’s path to the speakership was rocky, with a group of conservatives withholding their support unless their demands for substantial rules changes were met. Multiple members cast doubt that he could ever get across the finish line after coming up significantly short on the first 13 rounds. But after reaching a consensus with the conservative hard-liners, caving to the majority of their asks, McCarthy was able to gain momentum on the fourth day of ballots, leaving just six "no" votes for his allies to flip.

After days of negotiations, McCarthy reached an agreement with most of his critics to allow a single member to force a vote to oust a sitting speaker; place more conservatives on coveted committees, including the powerful Rules Committee; cap discretionary spending at fiscal 2022 levels; establish a “church”-style committee to investigate the “weaponization” of the federal government; require that a raise in the debt ceiling be paired with spending cuts; and ban McCarthy’s super PAC from interfering in open primaries.

House Republicans falling short of their projected red wave in November left McCarthy with little room for error.

Thirty-six GOP lawmakers voted against him during their internal conference election on Nov. 15, putting before him a daunting task, as he could only lose four votes to get to 218 unless critics voted "present."

Five conservative hard-liners — former House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Biggs (R-AZ) and Reps. Bob Good (R-VA), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Matt Rosendale (R-MT), and Ralph Norman (R-SC) — quickly came out against him as “Never Kevin" members.

While the group pledged they would vote as a bloc and would not vote present to bring down the threshold, McCarthy was ultimately able to pick them off.

MCCARTHY CRITICS TAKE AIM AT SPEAKER HOPEFUL'S TACTICS TO SWAY VOTES

For weeks, the California Republican held forums on rules changes and meetings with members hesitant to back him, making compromises on an array of issues in hopes of flipping defectors. As his opponents dug in, he insisted he would bring the battle to the floor until he got the votes.

His efforts ultimately proved successful, with pro-McCarthy lawmakers working up until the final hours ahead of the vote late Friday evening.

“Persistence paid off,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) told the Washington Examiner.

Former President Donald Trump was enlisted to make calls in hopes it would get conservatives on board, with McCarthy also enlisting the help of lawmakers popular among the base such as incoming House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).

McCarthy has long sought the speaker’s gavel, unexpectedly dropping out of the race to succeed former Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) prior to the internal leadership elections in 2015 amid conservative opposition. Critics at the time took aim at a gaffe related to the Benghazi committee and raised questions about his personal life.

McCarthy was first elected to Congress in 2006 and saw a swift ascent in the leadership ranks, first being tapped to serve as chief deputy whip in 2009, then elected to serve as whip in 2011 before becoming House majority leader in 2014 and minority leader in 2019.

McCarthy scrambles for support on eve of Speaker vote

Juliegrace Brufke

January 02, 10:34 PM January 02, 10:34 PM

On the eve of the Speaker vote, House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) made an eleventh hour push to get the votes needed to lock down the support needed as a group of conservative defectors continue to threaten to derail his ability to get the gavel.

In the Speaker’s office in the Capitol — which McCarthy has moved into despite uncertainties over whether he will prevail on the floor — the California Republican met with a group of his supporters followed by a short meeting with three of his defectors — Reps. Scott Perry (R-PA), Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO), with members trickling in-and-out in hopes of getting the backing of the 218 members needed to secure the position.

MCCARTHY CRITICS TAKE AIM AT SPEAKER HOPEFUL'S TACTICS TO SWAY VOTES

Gaetz — one of the five early “Never Kevin” conservatives along with former House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Reps. Bob Good (R-VA), Matt Rosendale (R-MT) and Ralph Norman (R-SC) — called the meeting “brief and productive,” but asserted he remains a hard no. One source familiar with the meeting stated that conservatives reiterated their demands for substantial rules changes, with critics arguing that McCarthy’s major concession in lowering the threshold on the motion to vacate the chair — a mechanism used to oust a sitting Speaker — down to five, asserting their call that it should be restored to its original form.

His critics are calling for additional changes, including placing conservative hardliners on “A” committees, a ban on leadership playing in primaries and “allowing ‘open rules’ on all major rule legislation” to provide rank-and-file members with more opportunities to amend bills, with outside conservative groups including Club for Growth pushing members to reject any Speaker who does not agree to implement their demands,

Both McCarthy allies and foes have voiced skepticism that he can get the gavel on the first ballot, with both sides asserting that they will stand by their respective positions as long as it’s necessary.

The Monday night meetings come on the heels of McCarthy — who won the internal leadership election with 36 GOP members voting against him — holding calls, meetings and forums on the rules in an effort to show that he is taking strides to hear conservatives concerns. But despite his efforts, due to the razor-thin majority after Republicans fell short of their anticipated red wave, the California Republican has faced significant hurdles similar to his first attempt to become Speaker in 2016, when members of the House Freedom Caucus voiced they would not support him on the floor, leading him to ultimately drop out of the race and remain on as majority leader.

While McCarthy has vowed to bring the fight to the floor this time around, his conservative critics have continued to cast doubt that he has a path to the position, with some voicing that they have concerns beyond the rules package, with some stating they have overarching trust issues.

Some members in the “Only Kevin” faction have asserted that they will vote down the rules package if anyone by McCarthy is elected

Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), a McCarthy advocate, has repeatedly stated he is willing to work across the aisle to find a moderate alternative if conservatives take down McCarthy.

Conservatives have largely remained mum on who they would like to see as a “consensus candidate,” with names including House Majority Leader-elect Steve Scalise (R-LA), House Financial Services Committee Chairman-elect Patrick McHenry (R-NC), House Rules Committee Chairman-elect Tom Cole (R-OK) and House Republican Conference Vice Chairman Mike Johnson (R-LA) as potential contenders that they could support for the role.

Bacon told reporters on Monday that moderates have not ruled out putting up a candidate even if Scalise is pushed toward the position by conservatives, but noted that he maintains a good working relationship with the Louisiana Republican.

And conservative firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who has gone to bat for McCarthy, expressed frustrations with conservative holdouts.

“The problem is the people need to realize that, you know, the art of the deal. They're all Trump supporters, and you can't be successful if you're not willing to take the wins when you get them,” she said. “... Anyone that is going in there making deals for positions, committees, things for themselves, that's not the right thing to do.”

The House Republican conference is slated to meet at 9:30 a.m. to discuss a path forward on Tuesday, with the House gaveling in for official proceedings at noon.

Escape Hatch: 10 times the White House cited this law to avoid questions in 2022

Haisten Willis

December 30, 05:30 AM December 30, 05:30 AM

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre takes the Hatch Act seriously. Passed in 1939 to prohibit government employees from overt political campaigning, the Hatch Act has caught up many a presidential staffer over the years.

But Jean-Pierre may have found a new twist on the law in 2022, citing the act early and often during her press briefings, arguably as a way to skirt unwanted inquiries.

IS THE WHITE HOUSE OVERUSING A FEDERAL LAW TO AVOID ANSWERING QUESTIONS?

"It sounds to me like she's overusing it and arguably using it as an excuse to avoid answering questions," Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz told the Washington Examiner in October. "Disclosing a schedule would not be a violation of the Hatch Act."

Other scholars say they're fine with the White House citing the act as often as they'd like; better to overcite than undercite or ignore it, as some Trump staffers often did.

Jean-Pierre began mentioning the act in early August as the midterm elections neared and hasn't stopped in the weeks since elections ended, naming the Hatch Act in more than two dozen different press briefings since Aug. 4.

Though there are many more examples, here are 10 times she cited the act in refusing to answer a question.

What will Biden's schedule look like?

Jean-Pierre cited the Hatch Act as the reason she couldn't say what President Joe Biden's schedule would look like ahead of the midterm elections — one of six times she mentioned the act in a single briefing on Oct. 17.

"[Biden] hasn’t attended any rallies or public-facing events with candidates in recent weeks," a reporter said. "What will his schedule look like in the coming weeks as the midterms get closer?"

"I have to be careful because we do respect the Hatch Act and our strict limits from here," she responded. "So, I want to be very, very careful."

Jean-Pierre did follow that up by mentioning two upcoming trips and several previous ones but then reiterated that she couldn't say more.

Why is Biden doing closed-door fundraisers with no photographers?

"I understand you have the Hatch Act to consider," a reporter asked on Oct. 18, hoping to preempt a citation.

"But what I was curious about is: Even though we're seeing the president out there, he's been doing these smaller events with smaller audiences. He's been doing closed-door fundraisers with no photographers. Why aren’t we seeing big campaign rallies?"

The attempted preemption was not successful.

"Look, I can't answer that question from here," Jean-Pierre said. "It is an election — an election that's currently happening at this time, so I'm very limited to what I can say from the podium."

Why are Democrats backing far-right candidates?

Democrats raised a few eyebrows in the fall by backing far-right candidates in Republican primaries, hoping they could beat them in November. A reporter tried to ask about this on Aug. 4, only to get the Hatch Act as an answer.

"Can I quickly get you to respond to the Peter Meijer situation?" the inquiry began. "He's one of the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump. He went down on Tuesday night. But the DCCC (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) and other groups were going hard to boost his pro-Trump opponent. Does the president have a view of playing ball in primaries like that in a way that helps Trumpists?"

The answer was no.

"Because of the Hatch Act, I cannot speak to any political campaigns or elections — midterms including," said Jean-Pierre. "And so I just can't speak to that at this time."

Why isn’t Biden visiting battleground states?

Biden employed a low-profile campaign strategy in the midterm elections, one which ultimately proved successful. But some questioned why a sitting president would avoid campaigning in battleground states, with the response often including the Hatch Act.

"Can you talk to us a little bit about the thinking on the president's upcoming travel?" a reporter asked on Oct. 11. "He's going to the West Coast tomorrow. He isn’t visiting Arizona or Nevada. I mean, we have four weeks until the midterms. Should we expect to see him travel to some of the more competitive states, campaign alongside some of the candidates who are in very competitive races?"

"As I've said many times, we, here at the White House, this administration, we respect the Hatch Act," Jean-Pierre said. "I'm going to be very mindful of that. And I cannot speak of the 2022 midterm elections or any elections from this podium."

Was John Fetterman impaired by his stroke?

Sen.-elect John Fetterman (D-PA) made a lot of headlines after suffering a stroke in May and being rather coy about his recovery afterward. After Biden met with Fetterman in October, a reporter asked about the president's impressions of his health.

"After speaking with John Fetterman, does the president believe that he has any impairments from the stroke?" came an Oct. 14 question. "And then, did he have any advice to him about stroke recovery?"

Jean-Pierre would not say.

"So first, can't speak to the midterms or the elections," she said. "I want to be very clear. I've got to respect the Hatch Act. This administration does respect that."

The press secretary did add that Biden respects Fetterman and that "they have a relationship" but would not go further.

What should Biden be telling voters about inflation?

Inflation began running hot during the summer of Biden's first year in office and hasn't let up since. But an Oct. 19 question on this topic still merited a Hatch Act mention.

"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in an interview posted today by Punchbowl News, said that Democrats need to improve their messaging when it comes to inflation over the next three weeks before the midterms," a reporter said. "She calls inflation a 'global issue' and points out, or argues, that because unemployment has decreased under Democrats and Biden that inflation has gone up. ... What's your response to the speaker of the House saying that there is a messaging issue?"

Jean-Pierre responded that she's got to be mindful because of the Hatch Act and elaborated following some back-and-forth with the reporter.

"I want to make sure that I adhere to the Hatch Act," she said. "We have always been very clear, the president has always been very clear. We understand — I know you were talking about polls and what the American people are feeling. We understand what they're feeling. We understand that they are feeling a bit of a crunch because of inflation."

Jean-Pierre then listed off some of the administration's policies, contrasting them with Republicans who she said want to get rid of Social Security and Medicare.

Is Biden’s democracy message undermined by Democrats supporting election deniers?

Another inquiry about Democrats financially backing election deniers in the GOP primaries came on Nov. 3.

"Karine, does the president feel like his message on threats to democracy is undermined by Democrats who spend millions to elevate election-denying Republicans in the primaries?" came the question. "And will he call out those Democrats if some of those election-denying Republicans win on Tuesday?"

The only thing called out was the Hatch Act.

"I've been asked that question many times, and I'm just not going to get involved in any political strategy that's related to the midterms. I'm not going to do that from here," Jean-Pierre said. "I hear you. I'm just not going to answer that question because there's the Hatch Act, and you're talking about a specific election strategy. And so I'm not going to comment about that."

Has the president spoken to the DNC about the 2024 primary calendar?

Lately, Jean-Pierre has begun saying she's "covered" by the Hatch Act, making explicit the defensive nature of the citations.

When discussions arose about the Democratic National Committee making South Carolina rather than Iowa the first state to hold 2024 presidential primaries, questions arose about Biden's role since the Palmetto State helped fuel his 2020 campaign.

"Karine, has the president had any discussions with DNC members about their 2024 primary calendar," a reporter asked on Nov. 29.

"So, look, that's a political question that — I'm covered under the Hatch Act — that I can't speak to," Jean-Pierre said. "So, any specifics on that, I would refer you to the DNC."

Will Biden support Kyrsten Sinema after her party switch?

The Hatch Act-ing of questions didn't stop even once the midterm elections and Georgia's runoff election ended. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) shocked Democrats in early December by announcing she'd become an independent, prompting questions about how Biden might react.

"Does Sen. Sinema have the support of the president in this decision and moving forward into 2024?" a reporter asked on Dec. 9.

"So, cannot speak to 2024," came the response. "I'm covered by the Hatch Act. And as far as I understand it, she hasn't announced her plans for 2024 yet. So it's just not something that I'm going to speak to."

The press secretary did add a moment later that the White House sees Sinema as a "key partner" and that "we understand her decision to register as an independent."

Should Biden return campaign contributions from Sam Bankman-Fried?

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's fall from grace embroiled Washington as it was revealed that he donated huge sums to Democrats and wined and dined with a top government regulator before the walls closed in. Naturally, reporters began asking questions.

"The president received campaign donations from [Bankman-Fried], and many prominent Democrats did, some Republicans did as well," one correspondent asked on Dec. 13. "Will the president return that donation? Does he call on all politicians who got campaign donations that may have come from customer money to return those funds?"

We still don't know.

"So, look, I am covered here by the Hatch Act," said Jean-Pierre. "I’m limited on what I can say. And anything that's connected to political contributions from here, I would have to refer you to the DNC."

The reporter tried to clarify that it was only Biden's opinion that was of interest.

"No, you asked me two questions," Jean-Pierre said. "You asked me about will he return the donations, and then you asked me about his opinion. I’m answering the first part, which is: I’m covered by the Hatch Act from here. I am limited on what I can say. And I just can't talk to political contributions or anything related to that. I cannot speak about it from here."

The reporter followed up again.

“Are you covered by the Hatch Act?" the correspondent asked.

"I am covered by the Hatch Act," said Jean-Pierre, "which I’m happy to say over and over again because we believe in the rule of law here.”

Year in Review: Biden's top 10 blunders of 2022

Haisten Willis

December 26, 07:00 AM December 26, 07:00 AM

Not since the verbal miscues of George W. Bush 20 years ago has America had as blunder-prone a president as Joe Biden.

The 46th president's record of slip-ups dates back for decades, and he even called himself a "gaffe machine" long before taking office. As such, 2022 was no exception to the rule, with Biden issuing verbal slip-ups on a near-weekly basis.

'MATH IS HARD': BIDEN HAS 'TWO WORDS: MADE IN AMERICA'

Though there are too many to recount on such a short list, the Washington Examiner dug through and found what we felt were the top 10 Biden blunders of the year. In no particular order, they are as follows.

"Repeat the line"

The president endured a major teleprompter fail in July when he accidentally read instructions rather than doing what those instructions told him to do.

"End of quote. Repeat the line," he said at a White House event.

Though a White House staffer claimed Biden was saying, "Let me repeat that line," the damage was done, and another slip-up entered the history books.

"I... have cancer"

During the same month, the president raised eyebrows by appearing to say he had cancer during a speech in Massachusetts.

The president was speaking in Massachusetts to announce $2.3 billion in new funding to combat climate change when he detailed a story from his childhood about air pollution.

"That's why I and so damn many other people I grew up [with] have cancer," Biden said. "For the longest time, Delaware had the highest cancer rate in the nation, but that's the past."

Biden's latest presidential bill of health noted that prior to entering office, he had a number of cancerous lesions removed. He was also diagnosed with asthma as a child, which kept him from serving in Vietnam. But he does not have cancer today.

During the same speech, Biden referred to a male Massachusetts lawmaker as "she" and said Glasgow was in England rather than Scotland.

"Where's Jackie?"

One of the most cringe-inducing blunders came during a September speech, in which Biden appeared to call out for Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-IN), who had died in a tragic car crash almost two months prior.

"Jackie, are you here?" Biden asked. "Where's Jackie? I thought she was going to be here — to help make this a reality."

Just as bizarre as the statement was the White House press team's response, which involved press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre repeatedly saying that Biden simply had Walorski "top of mind."

"The president was naming the congressional champions on this issue and was acknowledging her incredible work," she told reporters, adding he will soon see her family. "So, of course, she was on his mind."

Jean-Pierre even claimed, "I don't think it's at all unusual" that the president called for the deceased congresswoman. Reporters persisted with several follow-ups, but the press secretary stuck with her line.

Selfish troops

The military at home and abroad received a lot of attention following the brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine in February. But Biden appeared to say the opposite of what he meant during a summer speech in the Middle East.

“For the first time since 9/11, an American president is visiting this region without American troops being engaged in combat — in a combat mission in the region,” Biden said in Saudi Arabia. “We’ll always honor the bravery and selfishness — selflessness — of the, and sacrifices of the Americans who served, including my son, Maj. Beau Biden, who was stationed in Iraq for a year."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, situated near the president during the speech, became noticeably uncomfortable after the awkward slip of the tongue.

Wrong country

Also in reference to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Biden said President Vladimir Putin will never win over the people — of Iran.

“Putin may circle Kyiv with tanks,” the president declared, less than a week after Russia launched its invasion. “But he will never gain the hearts and souls of the Iranian people.”

How many Delaware senators?

Biden is proud of his adopted home state, which he represented in the Senate for 36 years before becoming vice president in 2009. He often mentions the First State in speeches, usually with accurate statements.

That wasn't the case in May, when the president appeared to suggest he's the first-ever senator from Delaware.

“There have not been many of the senators from Delaware. It’s a small state. As a matter of fact, there has never been one," he said at a White House event marking the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month. "And so I want to take advantage of making sure I introduce [a fellow Delaware native]."

In case it isn't obvious, Biden meant to say president rather than senator. There have in fact been 58 Delaware senators since 1788.

Swiss Miss

The president switched Sweden for its European neighbor Switzerland in touting the former's ascension to NATO in a June speech.

"Some of the American press will remember when I got a phone call from the leader of Finland saying could he come and see me," Biden said. "He came the next day and said, 'Will you support my joining, my country joining NATO?' We got on the telephone, and he suggested we call the leader of Switzerland — Switzerland, my goodness. I'm getting really anxious here about expanding NATO — of Sweden."

Switzerland is a historically neutral nation that shares a border with NATO members Italy, France, and Germany, but it has yet to express interest in joining the alliance. However, Sweden has applied for NATO membership, a point on which Biden quickly corrected himself.

"Accommodate the Russian oligarchs"

Biden issued plenty of tough talk about Russia and its infamous oligarchs throughout 2022 as he decried the invasion of Ukraine. But there were still blunders to go around.

“I’m also sending to Congress a comprehensive package of — that will enhance our underlying effort to accommodate the Russian oligarchs and make sure we take their ill-begotten gains,” Biden said in April.

“Ha, we’re going to ‘accommodate’ them,” he added, laughing at his own mistake. He also struggled to pronounce the word "kleptocracy."

"But these are bad guys," he added.

Kamala's president?

Biden has referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as president more than once. Perhaps he's giving a subtle nod toward which Democrat he wants to replace him in the Oval Office — or maybe it's just another slip-up.

"Kamala won't be the last woman to be vice president or president," Biden said in September.

Three is more than two

Biden began an October speech in Maryland with one of his quickest blunders, which went unnoticed among most of the gathered crowd.

"Let me start off with two words," he said from a Volvo factory in Hagerstown. "Made in America."

Math is hard.

"One of the most congresswoman"

Speaking of math, we're going off-script to offer an 11th entry in our top 10 list. In this bonus entry from October, Biden offered a head-scratcher in introducing "one of the most congresswoman in the Congress" from New York.

And with that, the calendar turns to 2023, wherein the president is likely to add several more entries to the list during his third year in office. Stay tuned.

Retired Gen. Jack Keane tells Iranian protesters that freedom is coming at DC event

Misty Severi

December 17, 10:15 PM December 17, 10:15 PM

Retired Gen. Jack Keane told an audience of Iranian-Americans that freedom was coming to the people of Iran, during an Iranian policy event in Washington D.C. on Saturday.

Keane, who has served as the Army's acting chief of staff and vice chief of staff, told the audience that the people of the United States stood with the Iranian protesters that are protesting the death of Mahsa Amini. Amini died while in Iranian police custody earlier this year, for not wearing her hijab correctly.

IRAN AUTHORITIES ARREST ACTRESS OF OSCAR-WINNING MOVIE

"The Iranian people are showing the world that they are willing to put at risk everything that they care about in their lives, to fight for freedom," Keane said. "We in the United States who live every day in freedom, and who also fought to get freedom, stand strong with the people of Iran. Because this is different. We can see it, we can hear it, and we can feel it. This is a revolution that has taken place. I say to the people of Iran that it is coming, free at last, free at last."

Keane said the uprising in Iran felt different this year, than the previous protests in 2009 and 2019, because the Iranian people are calling for a change in the regime. Protesters are also demanding a nuclear-free Iran, a democratic Iran, and equal rights for women.

"This is about the young and the old. It is about Persians, Arabs and Kurds. It's about a hundred plus cities that are protesting across the entire swath of the nation," Keane said. "This is about a nation uniting behind a single goal. That goal is the mullahs must go, and the Iranian Republic must end."

The U.S. has felt the effects of Iranian regimes as well, Keane said, highlighting the attacks on U.S. troops in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait in the second half of the 20th century. Keane then echoed the demands of the Iranian protesters, urging the Biden administration to end talks of a nuclear agreement with Iran.

"Now is the time but the United States to take a strong, aggressive leadership role inspired by the people of Iran and what we've been witnessing for over 90 days," Keane said. "The policy decision should be to stop negotiations with Iran right now, to double down on sanctions, and to reach out to the Arab States and Israel to strengthen and expand the Abraham accords."

Protesters in Iran have not asked the U.S. to send troops to help overthrow the current regime, instead only asking for an end to the nuclear talks. The Biden administration has declined those requests.

Keane's comments occurred during a bipartisan Iranian policy summit put on by the Organization of Iranian American Communities, which included speeches from former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a former official during the Ronald Reagan administration Linda Chavez, and former U.S. ambassadors Sam Brownback and Gary Locke. It also included a message from Maryam Ravaji, who is the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran.

Protests in Iran have been ongoing for four months now, but has been met with a violent crackdown by Iranian police. The regime executed its first protester, who injured a paramilitary officer during the civic unrest, earlier this month.

Biden keeps calling for an 'assault weapons ban,' but is anyone listening?

Haisten Willis

December 15, 04:00 AM December 15, 04:00 AM

As the lame-duck session of Congress nears a close, President Joe Biden continues to repeat calls to ban assault-style weapons before Republicans take over the House of Representatives.

But whether he has the votes to get it done, and whether his work behind the scenes matches his public rhetoric, remains to be seen. Biden made his latest plea on the 10-year anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

BIDEN CALLS FOR 'ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN' ON SANDY HOOK SHOOTING ANNIVERSARY

"Ten years ago today at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, our nation watched as the unthinkable happened," Biden said in a prepared statement. "Twenty young children with their whole lives ahead of them. Six educators who gave their lives protecting their students. And countless survivors who still carry the wounds of that day."

Biden has been making the assault-style weapons pledge since before taking office, promising to implement a ban similar to the one he helped create in 1994 that lasted for a decade. The president repeated his calls for a new ban following mass shootings in June, July, and November before doing so again on Wednesday.

"The idea we still allow semi-automatic weapons to be purchased is sick," Biden said following mass shootings in Virginia and Colorado. "It has no, no social redeeming value. Zero. None. Not a single, solitary rationale for it except profit for the gun manufacturers."

Such a call will likely be even harder to make good on following the GOP takeover of the House in January. But amid Biden's stringent rhetoric, questions have been asked about his commitment to the cause.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has been questioned about whether Biden is meeting with legislators behind the scenes or counting votes.

"I don't have anything to preview at this time on any calls that the president might make or will make," Jean-Pierre said last Friday.

Biden had also said in November he would "start counting the votes" needed to ban assault-style weapons. But Jean-Pierre responded, "I don't have any determination to share with you at this time," when asked about the statement last week.

Still, now is the right time to make the calls, argues Democratic strategist Michael Stratton.

"Biden is as strong now as he's ever been since his election," said Stratton, who says he's a gun owner and Second Amendment supporter. "The outcome of the midterms are proof of that."

And even if the effort isn't successful, Stratton argues he should continue pursuing it.

"Keeping the issue in front of the public is important," Stratton said. "And I think they've been trying to do more behind the scenes for a long time."

Though Biden was successful in helping secure a previous assault-style weapons ban nearly 30 years ago, that effort bore mixed results. Democrats lost control of the House for the first time in decades following passage of the sweeping crime bill, and it also included mandatory minimum sentences Biden later said he regretted.

Since becoming president, Biden already signed into law the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which closed the so-called boyfriend loophole, incentivized the introduction of red-flag laws, and rolled out enhanced background checks for people younger than 21.

Those reforms were considered modest but still represent the most significant new federal gun laws in decades. Biden promised they would save lives going forward but added that it's "not enough."

The issue of gun control could also prove important in the 2024 presidential election, providing another reason for Biden to keep it front and center.

But for now, getting the new ban in place remains a long shot.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), a vocal gun reform advocate after the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting in his state, supports Biden's push to revive a version of the 1994 law that lapsed in 2004 since the House has already passed draft legislation. But he is realistic concerning the measure's chances of clearing the Senate.

"Does it have 60 votes in the Senate right now? Probably not," Murphy told CNN last weekend. "But let’s see if we can try to get that number as close to 60 as possible.”