List of All Articles with Tag 'politics'

President Joe Biden arrived in Japan on Thursday for a truncated Asia visit meant to bolster allies amid China's growing military and economic ambitions.

Naysa Woomer, the communications director of embattled representative George Santos, resigned and accused him of failing to take even “one point of professional advice". “With respect for my colleagues, the people of New York, and most importantly, myself, I am honoured to tender my resignation,” Ms Woomer said in her resignation email, according to Scripps News. "Unfortunately, you never took one point of professional advice given." Ms Woomer's resignation came after she was caught on tape bashing Mr Santos as "not a good person". "I actually hope he does [get kicked out of Congress],” she was recorded saying by the O’Keefe Media Group. “He’s not a good person, sorry,” she continued. Ms Woomer had previously worked for GOP Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker and representatives Ryan Costello, Thomas Massie, and Tim Huelskamp. Her departure comes amid a string of negative developments for Mr Santos, who was indicted on 13 counts, including fraud and money laundering, last week by the Department of Justice. Mr Santos on Wednesday narrowly survived Democrats’ move to expel him from Congress, with the Republicans voting largely along party lines, 221-204, to the ethics panel. The freshman member of Congress has been charged with embezzling money from his campaign, falsely receiving unemployment funds, and lying about his finances. He has denied the charges and has pleaded not guilty. The Long Island representative has also been facing multiple calls for his resignation after admitting to a plethora of lies on his resume, starting from his high school to college and employment. Representative Robert Garcia introduced a resolution in February to expel Mr Santos, something the House has only done twice in recent decades. He sought to force a vote on that resolution under a process that left three options for Republicans: a vote on the resolution, a move to table, or a referral to committee. House speaker Kevin McCarthy chose the third option, much to the chagrin of Democrats who described it as a “complete copout”. Mr Santos on Wednesday compared Congress to the film Mean Girls and compared himself to Cady Heron, the protagonist portrayed by Lindsay Lohan. Mr Santos spoke on the Macrodosing podcast and was asked what Congress was like. “Have you ever watched ‘Mean Girls’?” Mr Santos asked the interviewer. “That’s Congress in a nutshell. There is a mean girl there.” “I don’t come from a political background,” Mr Santos said, despite the fact he ran for Congress in 2020 and lost before he mounted his successful campaign in the Long Island district in 2022. Read More AOC heckles George Santos after Congress votes on his future: ‘Resign! Resign bro!’ George Santos says Congress is like ‘Mean Girls’: ‘I’m Cady’ George Santos expulsion coming before House as Democrats force vote Effort to expel Santos falters as Republicans vote to send measure to Ethics Committee George Santos bizarrely compares himself to a Mean Girls character AOC heckles George Santos after Congress votes on his future: ‘Resign! Resign bro!’

A lawyer for former president Donald Trump announced on Wednesday he would be leaving the legal team representing Mr Trump in an investigation by the Justice Department into classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago. The lawyer, Timothy Paraltore, told the Associated Press his departure had nothing to do with Trump nor was a reflection of the investigation which he has long called misguided and overly aggressive. Over the last several months, Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith has been looking into the hundreds of classified documents found at the former president’s Florida home and possible efforts to obstruct the probe. Mr Paraltore’s announcement comes just as Mr Trump has taken credit for the Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade. Mr Trump claimed in multiple interviews, as well as on Truth Social, that without his three Supreme Court Justice nominations, abortion bans would not be possible. As he boasted about the landmark Supreme Court case, the former president also implied that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ six-week abortion ban may be ‘too harsh’ as he is losing popularity among female voters. Read More Trump lawyer exits legal team as Mar-a-Lago classified documents probe heats up CNN’s Kaitlan Collins named as new primetime host after Trump town hall debacle Don’t look now, but Ron DeSantis just suffered some big losses Oral sex on Trump calls and pardons for sale: The most disturbing allegations from the Giuliani lawsuit

The National Archives has informed former president Donald Trump that it is set to hand over to special counsel Jack Smith 16 records that show Trump and his top advisers had knowledge of the correct declassification process while he was president, according to multiple sources.

Nevada Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo on Wednesday vetoed three Democratic-led gun control bills that attempted to increase the age to possess certain firearms and restrict who can obtain them.

The US Secret Service is investigating how an intruder entered US national security adviser Jake Sullivan's home last month without being detected by Secret Service agents guarding his home.

A Republican lawmaker in the North Carolina statehouse has apologised after questioning whether one of his Black Democratic colleagues in the legislature was only admitted to Harvard due to his race. It was an appalling moment that occurred during official proceedings and led to the white Republican who made the remarks, Jeff McNeely, walking them back only a few hours later. The remarks in question were directed at state Rep Abraham Jones, a Democrat who has represented Wake County, North Carolina, since 2021. Mr Jones is a graduate of both Harvard’s undergraduate program as well as the university’s law school. "Would you have not been able to achieve these if you were not an athlete or a minority?" Mr McNeely asked Mr Jones on Wednesday. Mr Jones responded by noting his student rank at Harvard, the second-highest out of five, before commenting calmly in response: “I earned my place, and I did well.” Mr McNeely was reportedly suspended from speaking further during the proceedings at hand and later issued an apology. “I respect Representative Jones. I think he’s a great legislator. I think he’s a great man. What I tried to ask or say did not come out right. That happens a lot, and I apologize,” said Mr McNeely, according to statehouse reporter Bryan Anderson. North Carolina’s legislature is home to a supermajority of Republican lawmakers, thanks to a recent surprise defection of a Democratic lawmaker who blamed the mistreatment supposedly coming from her colleagues for her shift in ideology. But the state also is presided over by a Democratic governor and is often a purple state in presidential elections. Mr McNeely’s statements were condemned by Democrats in the state legislature, including Mr Jones himself who described the “thinly-veiled racial aspect” of the encounter in his statement. He added separately: “I worked hard to get where I am today. It is disappointing that another member of our chamber would imply that I have been successful simply because of the color of my skin, or because I am an athlete. I appreciate the member apologizing for his remarks.” Read More EPA rule would force clean-up of toxic waste from coal-fired power plants Minnesota prosecutors drop state sex charges against R&B singer R. Kelly, citing federal convictions North Carolina’s 12-week abortion ban joins sweeping restrictions across US South Key abortion debates this week in US courts and statehouses AP News Digest 3:30 am 'Mississippi miracle': Kids' reading scores have soared in Deep South states

The roughly two hours of oral arguments that an extremely conservative appeals court heard Wednesday in a blockbuster abortion pill case suggested that the judges were not buying the Biden administration's arguments for why courts should not second guess how the government has regulated a medication abortion drug.

The Biden administration proposed a new rule Wednesday meant to prevent students from taking on an unaffordable amount of student loan debt to attend for-profit colleges and certificate programs at nonprofit colleges.

Lauren Boebert has denied a claim that her husband flew into a rage and set his dogs on a man after he was served with divorce papers. The Republican from Colorado called the claim by a process server in the state who handed the divorce papers to Jayson Boebert a “complete lie.” The allegations were made in an affidavit, which stated that Mr Boebert was drinking a beer “out of a glass” and was cleaning a gun when he was served at his home in Silt, Colorado, last month, reported The Daily Beast. Now Boebert has bashed the claims in a text message to the outlet. “Jayson doesn’t sit around cleaning guns and he certainly doesn’t drink beer out of a glass, just as much as he doesn’t drink Bud Light,” she said, referencing the recent right-wing controversy. She added that the dogs were already out in the yard when the papers were served. “Our divorce is a private matter, but the misrepresentations must be addressed,” Ms Boebert added. “Jayson deserves his privacy, not slanderous stories.” Ms Boebert announced on Tuesday that she was ending her marriage. “It is with a heavy weight on my heart that I have filed for divorce from my husband,” the Colorado congresswoman said in a statement. “I am grateful for our years of marriage together and for our beautiful children, all of whom deserve privacy and love as we work through this process. I’ve always been faithful in my marriage, and I believe strongly in marriage, which makes this announcement that much more difficult. “This is truly about irreconcilable differences. I do not intend to discuss this matter any further in public out of respect for our children and will continue to work hard to represent the people of Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District.” Ms Boebert and her husband, Jayson, have been married for more than a decade and a half. They live in Silt, Colorado with their four sons and operated a restaurant in nearby Rifle until last summer, when the business’s lease was not renewed. A staunch conservative and outspoken Christian, Ms Boebert announced in March that her 17-year-old son and his girlfriend were expecting a baby, making her a grandmother at 36. The MAGA supporter re-won her seat in November after the race between the mother-of-four and Aspen Democrat Adam Frisch became so close that it forced a recount. Mr Frisch has launched a second campaign to unseat her. Ms Boebert, along with Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene, is one of the most caustic and controversial stars of the GOP, following along the vein of the 45th president’s brand of politics. Mr Frisch targeted her national presence, arguing that she seemed far less concerned about matters within her district. He ran on a moderate platform; in the end, the congresswoman kept her seat by just 546 votes. Mr Frisch continued: ”Ranchers and farmers in western and southern Colorado are pragmatic, and they don’t see a representative that’s doing the job that they want to see happen,” Mr Frisch told The Independent one day after announcing his new campaign earlier this year. He said the campaign chose to announce early on 14 February because “the momentum that we had from the last campaign was still there” and because he believes any possible Boebert “course correction ... it’s pretty solidified that it’s not happening.” He outlined “three hurdles that we had last time: We had a short period of time, we had very low name recognition, and even though we raised more money than she did — during July through the end of the campaign — she had more money saved up than we did. “And and I think if we had another quarter million dollars or another two weeks of the race, we probably would have won,” Mr Frisch told The Independent. “And I think if the race would have been run a week later, we would have won.” Read More Trump goes after AOC’s ‘bad looking boyfriend’ in wild rant Marjorie Taylor Greene faces wave of mockery after saying she ‘stands with Tucker Carlson’ Donald Trump mourns ‘very good man’ Tucker Carlson after shock departure of Fox’s MAGA mouthpiece Mississippi sends National Guard to US-Mexico border, GOP governor says Republican-appointed federal judges grill FDA in mifepristone hearing More Trump indictments would give Biden and Democrats huge 2024 boost, poll finds

The Air National Guardsman who is accused of posting a trove of classified documents to social media was repeatedly warned by his superiors in the Air Force over his mishandling of classified documents, prosecutors say.

The Senate passed a resolution Wednesday to stop a Biden administration immigration rule that eliminates potential hurdles for immigrants using some public benefits and trying to obtain legal status, known as "public charge."