List of All Articles with Tag 'us politics'

Fueled by surging revenues, states have been slashing taxes for individuals and businesses for the past three years.

Former President Donald Trump said in 2016 that a president under indictment would "cripple the operations of our government" and create an "unprecedented constitutional crisis" -- years before he himself was indicted on federal charges while running for a second term as president.

Former Trump administration press secretary Stephanie Grisham has claimed that she saw Donald Trump showing off documents to guests at Mar-a-Lago, as she slammed his lack of respect for the nation’s secrets. “I watched him show documents to people at Mar-a-Lago on the dining room patio,” Ms Grisham told MSNBC. “He has no respect for classified information [and] never did.” Her comments come after the former president was charged with 37 felonies last month over his handling of classified documents on leaving the White House. While his legal troubles are heating up, a conservative billionaire network is reportedly working to ensure he doesn’t win the 2024 Republican primary, according to a new report. Americans for Prosperity Action, a network of political organisations created by Charles and David Koch, will spend money for the first time on the Republican presidential primary. It has already raised more than $70million to fund races that officials hope will help the Republican party move past Mr Trump, according to The New York Times. Read More Kevin McCarthy knows he crossed the line with Donald Trump Trump's GOP support dips slightly after his indictment over classified documents, AP-NORC poll finds ‘Any Republican not named Trump’: Paul Ryan says former president is only candidate who would lose to Biden

The 2024 Republican presidential field has already made history months before the first nominating contest: A record six of the roughly dozen major candidates seeking to become their party's standard-bearer are people of color.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will travel to Beijing later this week as part of ongoing efforts by the Biden administration to deepen communication between the US and China after what has been a particularly fraught and unstable time, the Treasury Department announced Sunday evening.

Mike Pence cheered the end of affirmative action in US colleges and universities on Sunday in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling outlawing the practice. The former vice president discussed the issue on CBS’s Face the Nation and said that the time for policies aimed at improving outcomes for minority students in general had passed. A candidate for the presidency in 2024, Mr Pence is gunning for the GOP nomination against his own former boss, Donald Trump, and other conservatives like Florida Gov Ron DeSantis and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley. His comments came as activists and authorities in the higher education field vowed to keep fighting to ensure that diversity would remain a core value in student recruiting. “Fundamentally, do you believe that there are racial inequities in the education system in the United States?” asked host Margaret Brennan. “I really don’t believe there is [racial inequality in US schools]. I believe there was,” Mr Pence said. “I mean, it’s — there may have been a time when affirmative action was necessary simply to open the doors of all of our schools and universities, but I think that time has passed.” His response drew immediate backlash on Twitter, with many questioning whether Mr Pence’s children had attended schools and colleges with diverse student bodies. The three Pence children, Michael, Charlotte and Audrey, attended Purdue, DePaul, and Yale Universities. The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that universities and colleges may not consider race as a specific factor when choosing to admit individual students. They may, however, continue to take into account how race plays into the individual experiences that those prospective students describe in their applications, such as in personal essay prompts. “[T]he student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual—not on the basis of race,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts for the majority. The suit was brought on behalf of a group of Asian American students who argued that they were discriminated against by admissions staff at Harvard University. Critics of the ruling say it will gut efforts to improve representation of minority students in college classes. College enrollment rates remain noticeably lower among Black and Hispanic students compared to white and Asian American students. In addition, an analysis of US education data has shown that about 40 per cent of Black children attend schools where 90 per cent or more of the students are nonwhite. President Joe Biden responded to the ruling on Thursday after news of the decision broke, telling reporters simply: “This is not a normal court.” Read More Biden reveals ‘new path’ to student debt relief after Supreme Court strikes down president’s plan The Supreme Court risks inflaming the prejudices that America sought to banish In 370 days, Supreme Court conservatives dash decades of abortion and affirmative action precedents Mike Pence claims Biden is rehabilitating the Iran nuclear deal Trump returns to campaign rallies, draws thousands to small South Carolina city ahead of July 4 Biden blames GOP for student loan ruling as 2024 political consequences loom

Republican presidential candidate Will Hurd said Sunday he was working toward "hitting all the requirements" to qualify for next month's first GOP primary debate in Milwaukee. But when it came to the requirement to pledge support for the eventual GOP nominee -- even if that is former President Donald Trump -- Hurd said, "I can't lie to get access to a microphone."

Former Vice President Mike Pence was a surprise guest this weekend at a rally in Paris, France, hosted by Iranian dissidents in support of overthrowing Iran’s regime. Mr Pence, who’s running in the increasingly-crowded 2024 Republican primary, railed against the authoritarian government in Tehran and what he claimed were efforts by the Biden administration to revive the 2015 nuclear accord between Iran, the US, and several European countries. That deal was abandoned by the Trump administration who accused Tehran of violating the deal “in spirit”. “Now, a new administration is threatening to unravel all of the progress we made in marinalising the tyrannical regime in Tehran,” Mr Pence claimed. “They are working overtime to restore the Iran Nuclear Deal, putting Tehran back on the fast track to obtaining nuclear weapons.” The Independent has reached out to the White House for comment on those comments. He also claimed that Iran could develop a nuclear weapon in a year if sanctions were rolled back and the 2015 deal snapped back into place. However, the Biden administration has shown no signs, at least publicly, of reigniting the abandoned agreement. If there was any possibility of restarting Iran negotiations, those would now have likely hit a roadblock with the suspension of Rob Malley, Biden’s special envoy to Iran, over an internal State Department review into whether he mishandled classified material. Sources with knowledge of the situation described Mr Malley as a proponent of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal to The Independent. The State Department has refused to confirm in recent weeks whether talks regarding the nuclear deal are ongoing, and has only said that Mr Malley’s status is under review. Pence appeared at the annual event hosted by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) just days after an unannounced visit to Ukraine to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky. The dissident group’s event went off without a hitch and was attended by thousands despite an initial refusal by the French government to allow the group a permit for an outdoor rally. That decision was later reversed by a French court. Authorities had warned that the threat of a terror attack necessitated the rally’s cancelation. NCRI’s previous events in Paris have faced similar threats including in 2018 when a diplomat working for Iran’s government and three others were arrested and later convicted of a bomb plot. The former vice president’s European trip comes as his bid for the White House has yet to clear double-digit levels of support in any major polling, though he is likely to qualify for at least one presidential debate. Read More Mike Pence meets with Zelensky in Ukraine Indiana Supreme Court upholds abortion ban, says state constitution gives only limited protections Biden blames GOP for student loan ruling as 2024 political consequences loom Trump leaned on Arizona governor to flip state’s election results after 2020 loss, report says Biden condemns Supreme Court striking down affirmative action: ‘This is not a normal court’ Senator who once worked at a Planned Parenthood warns that Republicans are planning a national abortion ban

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Sunday slammed the Supreme Court's ruling in favor of a Christian web designer in Colorado who refuses to create websites to celebrate same-sex weddings out of religious objections, saying the case was designed "for the clear purpose of chipping away" at LGBTQ equality.

Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie on Sunday lamented what he called the teenage "food fight" between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis over LGBTQ rights in the 2024 GOP race, as rivals of the two front-runners seek to break out of the crowded race.

Former Vice President Mike Pence says he doesn't recall "any pressure" from Donald Trump in 2020 asking him to call Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey about their loss in the presidential election.

Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York said Sunday that some Supreme Court justices are "destroying the legitimacy of the court," amid a lack of oversight, calling it "profoundly dangerous" for democracy.