U.S. Politics

[Rick Plant]

President Biden @POTUS

This morning, I joined the first meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council.

Our commitment to Ukraine as it defends its freedom and rebuilds its future is unwavering.









Support. That's what NATO is all about.
 
Thank you for hosting this historic summit, President Nausėda.

I look forward to our close cooperation in the future and continuing to stand with you and the people of Lithuania.

Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1679187705396363265

Yesterday, Türkiye reached a historic agreement on the admission of Sweden into NATO. President Erdoğan, thank you for your courage, leadership, and diplomacy.

This summit reaffirms our commitment to the NATO defense, and I hope we can continue to make it even stronger.

Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1679198943174098944

Even after all of this time, Putin doubts our staying power.

He’s making his bad bet that the unity among the U.S. and our Allies and partners will break down.

He doesn’t understand that our commitment to freedom is something we will never walk away from – it's who we are.

Soon, NATO will be 32 free nations standing together to defend our people and our territory.
 
Bound by the democratic values that make us strong – and by our sacred oath:
 
An attack against one is an attack against all.

When Putin – with his craven lust for land and power – unleashed his brutal war on Ukraine, he was betting NATO would break apart.
 
He thought our unity would shatter at the first testing.
He thought democratic leaders would be weak.
But he thought wrong.





The United States' commitment to Ukraine will not waver.

Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1679273182946000897

Ukrainians have inspired the world with their courage.

The United States will continue doing everything we can to get Ukraine what it needs in the face of Putin's brutal war as rapidly as possible.



The road that lies before us is hard.
 
It will challenge us to summon the best of ourselves, to hold faith with one another, and to never give up.
 
Every day we must summon the strength to stand for what is right, for what is true, and for freedom.





https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1679258080704430082


President Biden Delivers Remarks with G7 Leaders

Vilnius, Lithuania

Watch:

[Rick Plant]

This picture is amazing. Children look on as President Biden delivers a speech in Lithuania.

The world admires and respects President Biden. When he speaks, people listen. Fantastic photo and a perfect demonstration of that respect!



Boisterous crowd in Lithuania for President Biden's speech about the united commitment from America and our allies to support Ukraine and defend our democratic values.



Chants of “U-S-A” and “Slava Ukraini” as President Biden wraps up his speech

The White House, citing the mayor of Vilnius, says 10,000 people attended the speech, including the overflow spaces in the town square.




Biden vows U.S. and allies 'will not waver' in defense of Ukraine

The NATO summit has been a test of Biden’s promise to repair America’s international relationships, which include the 31-country mutual defense pact forged in the aftermath of World War II.



VILNIUS, Lithuania — President Joe Biden promised Ukraine that its Western partners would not back away from its defense in a speech Wednesday after two days of high-stakes meetings with leaders at a NATO summit.

Speaking before a heaving crowd on a bright Wednesday evening, Biden said that “the defense of freedom is not the work of a day or a year. It’s the calling of our lifetime — of all time.”

“We are steeled for the struggle ahead,” he added. Of Ukraine’s partners, he said, “Our unity will not falter, I promise you.”

The event here proved a test of Biden’s promise upon taking office to repair America’s international relationships, which include NATO, the 31-country mutual defense pact forged in the aftermath of World War II. Top of the agenda was Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has raged on NATO’s doorstep for close to 18 months.

The lines built steadily in the hours before Biden was set to take the stage at Vilnius University, snaking through narrow cobbled streets.

“We will not waver. I mean that," Biden continued. "Our commitment to Ukraine will not weaken. We will stand for freedom today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes.”

He said the world was at a crossroads, with freedom hinging on America’s global alliances.

“We face a choice, a choice between a world defined by coercion and exploitation, where might makes right, or a world where we recognize that our own success is bound to the success of others — when others do better, we do better, as well,” Biden said.

He added, "The idea that the United States could prosper without a secure Europe is not reasonable."

A White House official previewing Biden’s remarks on Wednesday promised a speech that would highlight “the strength of the NATO alliance and how it remains a force for global security and stability."

“The president will talk about how the widespread support for Ukraine is reflective of the value of our alliances and partnerships, which he has revitalized since taking office,” said Amanda Sloat, the National Security Council's Europe director.

Biden would make the case for NATO’s “vital” role, a hard-won outcome “that didn’t happen by accident,” Sloat said.

“Vladimir Putin thought he could break our resolve when he invaded Ukraine, but our NATO allies and our partners around the world responded by coming together to support the brave people of Ukraine as they defend their freedom, their independence and their democracy,” she added.

Kyiv has campaigned for a fast track into the defense alliance, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mounting a full-court press for membership in the lead-up and into the summit. Zelenskyy hopscotched across European capitals in search of the unanimous approval expansion demands.

The campaign has tested the alliance, as its leaders echoed Zelenskyy’s argument that Ukraine “deserves” membership.

In remarks before a packed crowd in Vilnius on Tuesday, Zelenskyy said, “Ukraine will make NATO stronger.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-make-case-natos-vital-role-vilnius-speech-rcna93816


President Biden Delivers Speech in Vilnius, Lithuania

President Biden delivers a speech highlighting how the United States, alongside our allies and partners, are supporting Ukraine, defending democratic values, and taking action to address global challenges.

Watch:

[Richard Smith]

Poor Old Joe.  The entire world is laughing as they see him lost on stage and confused.  It is sad.  His family should intervene and find a facility for him.   To think the world has been brought to the brink of WWIII because of the pathological hate of Trump by some radical leftists that resulted in the election of a cognitively impaired old man.  The deep state seems nervous.  They are suddenly opening the doors on his corruption and misdeeds.  Even leftist CNN and NY Times are being critical of him.   They must not think he can win in 2024.  If so, they will pressure him to step aside with threats of criminal prosecution of his corrupt family.  Wray indicated yesterday that Old Joe was under investigation. 

[Rick Plant]

President Biden showed us on the world stage that competent leadership matters.

The president went in to this summit strengthening NATO by bringing in Sweden as a new NATO member and weakening Putin. 

The president unified all of our NATO allies in support of Ukraine as tens of thousands of Lithuanians heard him speak.   

President Biden was the leader of this summit and his wisdom, knowledge, and experience shows why he is the right leader for this time.   

This is historic leadership folks!


Keep it up’: Biden rallies democracies and urges global cooperation

The president addressed a crowd of 10,000 American- and Ukrainian-flag waving onlookers who cheered Biden’s promotion of democracy.



VILNIUS, Lithuania — President Joe Biden used his last moments here to rally NATO allies and the world’s democracies to stick together as Russia’s war on Ukraine extends beyond 500 days.

Standing in the heart of a capital of a former Soviet republic, Biden boasted that democracies who champion freedom against authoritarianism’s creep have held strong, even in the face of the largest land war in Europe since World War II. He pushed for the protection and promotion of global democracy not just in Ukraine against Vladimir Putin’s Russia, but well into the future to keep dictators and other global threats at bay.

“The defense of freedom is not the work of a day or a year. It’s the calling of our lifetime. We’re steeled for the struggle ahead. Our unity will not falter, I promise you,” he told a crowd of 10,000 American- and Ukraine-flag toting onlookers who gathered at Vilnius University. Before the president walked on stage, a group could be heard chanting “Slava Ukraini.”

The president’s address was a paean to NATO and the transatlantic security architecture he has toiled to strengthen well before the invasion began. But Biden also used the opportunity to call for more cooperation among nations to address challenges like climate change, poverty and economic inequality.

“The choices we make now are going to shape the direction of our world for decades to come. With nations working together with common cause, we can answer these questions,” he said.

“Keep it up, keep going,” he rallied the crowd, packed tightly into a square flanked by the university’s yellow walls.

In many ways, Biden’s address was a rehash of a speech he gave in February in Warsaw. Fresh off a surprise visit to Kyiv, Biden encouraged NATO allies and partners to further boost Ukraine’s defenses against Russia. He used the dramatic moment to argue transatlanticism wasn’t withering, but rather rebuilding its muscle under his leadership.

“NATO is stronger, more energized and yes, more united than ever in its history,” he further claimed in Lithuania.

The president’s apparent good mood and optimistic outlook came hours after a NATO summit with undeniable wins. The biggest victory of all happened before the gathering even began, when Turkey on Monday ended its year-long blockade of Sweden’s entreé into the alliance, paving the way for the military bloc to welcome its 32nd member.

"It is very clear that this question of NATO membership will not be an issue that can be raised by others who are not part of this partnership — in other words, Russia will not be able to mandate this,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on his way home from Lithuania.

For now, Biden is leaving the Lithuanian capital buoyant that transatlantic security was strengthened on his watch and at his urging.

“We will not waver,” the president boomed before underscoring: “We’ll stand for liberty and freedom today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes.”

As Biden left the podium, chants of U-S-A rang out through the venue.

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/12/biden-nato-russia-ukraine-00105907



Biden can leave Vilnius feeling like he got almost everything he wanted from the NATO summit



CNN — President Joe Biden got almost everything he wanted from the NATO summit.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shot for the stars and reached the moon – securing a permanent rearmament pipeline well into the future from G7 nations but failing to win the collective defense guarantee that membership in NATO would bring.

And Russia saw its strategic and military failure entrenched but will surely view the institutionalizing of support for Ukraine as confirming its suspicions of the West.

Poignantly, the meeting hosted by a former Soviet vassal state whose NATO status secured the freedom, independence and prosperity that Zelensky craves for his country, was overshadowed by the torment of the Ukrainian people.

“It’s just like something out of the 14th century the way they are acting,” Biden said, narrowing his eyes in disbelief at the Russian assault on civilians.

What the summit achieved

The summit ended on Wednesday with a joint declaration from G7 leaders for their nations to negotiate long-term bilateral security commitments for Ukraine to build up its land, sea and air defenses to deter future Russian attacks. The move is a halfway house measure designed to tide Ukraine over until a future moment when it could join NATO and enjoy the “attack on one, is an attack on all” umbrella its members enjoy – a moment that the alliance has yet to determine.

The summit ended on Wednesday with a joint declaration from G7 leaders for their nations to negotiate long-term bilateral security commitments for Ukraine to build up its land, sea and air defenses to deter future Russian attacks. The move is a halfway house measure designed to tide Ukraine over until a future moment when it could join NATO and enjoy the “attack on one, is an attack on all” umbrella its members enjoy – a moment that the alliance has yet to determine.

The other landmark moment of the summit was Turkey’s sudden dropping of its veto on Sweden becoming the alliance’s 32nd member – which followed months of behind-the-scenes diplomacy by the Biden administration — overseas and in the US Congress.

The president will highlight the post-Ukraine invasion expansion of the alliance, a significant part of his legacy, later on Wednesday by traveling to another new member, Finland. The two Nordic neighbors left behind decades in Moscow’s shadow to apply for NATO membership, after feeling threatened by Putin’s effort to rewrite the map of post-Cold War Europe. Finland’s entry illustrates how the invasion backfired for Putin on a broader continental stage by delivering NATO a frontier hundreds of miles long with Russia itself.

How Biden controlled the summit

Biden, NATO’s most important leader, went into the summit determined to maintain his balancing act of bolstering Western support for Ukraine’s existential struggle while avoiding the outbreak of a war with Russia, a nuclear superpower. He also needed to remind Americans why billions of dollars of taxpayer cash must continue to be sent to Kyiv, which is becoming a 2024 campaign issue. And before he left Lithuania, he warned Putin that the summit was evidence the Western alliance would not waver.

“When Putin and his craven lust for land and power unleashed his brutal war on Ukraine, he was betting NATO would break apart … he thought our unity would shatter at the first testing. He thought democratic leaders would be weak. But he thought wrong,” Biden said in a speech at in speech at Vilnius University.

The President told CNN before leaving that membership for Ukraine at this time was impossible, given the raging war with Russia. But he also told Zelensky on Wednesday that he understood how irksome the West’s conditions may seem given the horror unfolding in Ukraine.

"The frustration, I can only imagine,” Biden said.

Involving the G7 nations in a permanent flow of arms to Ukraine was a creative solution to fulfilling its future needs while navigating constraints on a tighter relationship between Kyiv and NATO. If carried out, the scheme could effectively make Ukraine a Western-armed vanguard that may not formally be ‘in’ NATO but will still be a linchpin of its forward posture in Europe. The certainty offered by the prospect of long-term defense purchases may also trigger expansions in defense industries in Europe and the US and ease a crisis in getting sufficient ammunition to Ukraine.

It’s ironic that the G7 was the G8 until Russia was kicked out over its invasion of Crimea in 2014 and will now be the entity that could turn Ukraine into a modern defense state in the future.

The G7 agreement also goes some way to cementing the commitment to Ukraine of US and allied leaders in years to come and making Biden’s policies harder to reverse. Ukraine must worry that a future US president – perhaps the former commander-in-chief, Donald Trump – may downgrade American support. Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence for instance warned on CNN Tuesday for instance that his ex-boss’s vow to end the war in 24 hours could only be honored by “giving Vladimir Putin what he wants.”

While critics may complain the administration is doing too little to help Ukraine – or in the eyes of some conservatives, too much – the summit highlighted Biden’s comfort on the world stage.

His experience on Capitol Hill – and choice of a former Republican senator, Jeff Flake, as US ambassador to Ankara who worked to overcome congressional worries about the sale of F-16 fighters to Turkey – could be the key to greasing Sweden’s entry into NATO. The president’s understanding of political forces weighing on fellow leaders was also noticeable when he twice publicly praised Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for signing up to the G7 aid program for Ukraine.

He also got some good news to return home to Wednesday with new data showing that the rise in the annualized cost of living cooled to 3% in June, raising his hopes of neutering GOP attacks over “Bidenflation.”

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/12/politics/biden-nato-summit/index.html


Biden delivers speech at NATO summit after meeting with Zelenskyy

President Biden delivered remarks at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, after holding meetings with leaders including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. NBC News' Josh Lederman reports.

Watch:

[Rick Plant]

President Biden inherited multiple disasters from the failed 4 years of Donald Trump.

One of these disasters included a crisis at the southern border which Donald Trump caused with his severe incompetence. His disastrous "Title 42" policy allowed immigrants to flood the border in unprecedented numbers which was left for President Biden to deal with.

In usual Donald Trump and right wing fashion, the radical right and Trump himself falsely blamed President Biden for Donald Trump's own border crisis. They lied about the president having an "open border" and "no plan". What they didn't tell you, is that Trump caused this border crisis and President Joe Biden was hamstrung until Trump's disastrous "Title 42" policy expired.

As soon as it expired, President Biden implemented his own border policy and immediately we saw results with illegal border crossings plummeting.   

And here we are today, with illegal border crossings plummeting with stricter asylum rules which totally debunks the right wing lie of an "open border". The radical right just lost another one of their bogus right wing talking points, but you can be sure they'll manufacture new lies in order to try to falsely discredit President Biden. They are totally pathetic.

Just another Trump disaster fixed by President Joe Biden.

And an historic week for President Biden with low inflation, illegal immigration plummeting, record high fundraising for his 2024 campaign, and his historic success at the NATO summit in Lithuania by receiving the highest award bestowed to anyone and bringing Sweden into NATO.     

That's real leadership folks! 


Yes, There’s a Crisis on the Border. And It’s Trump’s Fault.
Instead of wasting his time on a wall, the president should fix the asylum system.
April 05, 2019
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/04/05/border-crisis-donald-trump-226573/


Migrant crossings along U.S.-Mexico border plummeted in June amid stricter asylum rules
JULY 12, 2023

The number of migrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without authorization in June plummeted to the lowest level since the start of the Biden administration following the enactment of stricter asylum rules, according to unpublished government data obtained by CBS News.

Border Patrol agents recorded just over 100,000 apprehensions last month of migrants who entered the U.S. illegally along the southern border, a sharp drop from the 169,000 apprehensions reported in May, the preliminary statistics show.

Border Patrol apprehensions denote the number of times the agency processed migrants who crossed into the U.S. in between legal ports of entry, which is illegal. They do not include migrants processed at ports of entry, where the Biden administration has been admitting tens of thousands of asylum-seekers each month.

In May, daily illegal border crossings peaked at 10,000, a record, before officials terminated the Title 42 pandemic measure that allowed them to expel many migrants on public health grounds, without allowing them to claim asylum. In June, average daily migrant apprehensions dropped below 4,000.

The U.S. has also increased regular deportations, which impose stiffer penalties, such as five-year banishments and the threat of criminal prosecution, since halting the Title 42 expulsions. While Title 42 allowed officials to summarily expel hundreds of thousands of migrants, it did not impose these penalties, and fueled a massive jump in repeat crossings among those expelled to Mexico.

"Some of that drop can be attributed to the strengthened consequences that we are implementing at the border," Blas Nuñez Neto, the assistant secretary for immigration and border policy at the Department of Homeland Security, told CBS News in an interview Wednesday.

Nuñez Neto said the administration is staging the "most significant expansion of the use of expedited removal in DHS history," describing a process dating back to the 1990s that allows U.S. border officials to deport migrants without court hearings if they don't ask for refuge or if they fail their initial asylum screenings.

That expansion of expedited deportations has been facilitated by a Biden administration rule that disqualifies migrants from asylum if they enter the U.S. illegally without first seeking protection in another country. Nuñez Neto said the measure has deterred migration by reducing the percentage of migrants who pass their initial asylum interviews from the pre-pandemic average of over 80% to below 50%.

"What we've seen in the past is that, because of the congressional inaction and inability to address the underlying factors in our immigration system that are contributing to these now-regular surges in migration under presidents of both parties, migrants are coming to the border to claim asylum because they know that the system is broken and it will take years for them to go through the process," Nuñez Neto added.

Nuñez Neto also credited the Biden administration's efforts to increase opportunities for migrants to enter the country legally for the decrease in illegal entries. A phone app known as CBP One is allowing up to 44,950 asylum-seekers in Mexico to enter the U.S. each month at ports of entry, while another program is giving 30,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans the chance to fly to the U.S. monthly.

Other countries south of the U.S. have simultaneously staged operations to crack down on migration.

"You're seeing Mexico taking actions on its southern border to disincentivize migrants from entering Mexico. You're seeing Guatemala do the same. Colombia and Panama are currently doing an operation, a coordinated operation, in the Darién (jungle) that is unprecedented in its scope," Nuñez Neto said.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/migrant-crossings-us-mexico-border-down-in-june-stricter-asylum-rules/



Playbook: Why Biden is smiling this week



President JOE BIDEN is having a good week. A really good week, actually.

ON THE ECONOMY: Yesterday, the latest consumer price index numbers revealed inflation cooling to 3% — its lowest rate since March 2021.

In Washington and on Wall Street, that’s spurring hopes that the economy may be finally turning the corner. (Though the Fed is likely to raise interest rates again later this month, the new CPI numbers “really fortify the argument around July’s hike being the last of this campaign,” DAVID WILCOX, senior economist at Bloomberg Economics, told the WSJ.)

In Biden world, it’s the latest in a “string of economic developments that’s bolstered the administration’s confidence it can set the U.S. on a glide path without first plunging it into a downturn,” our colleague Adam Cancryn reports.

ON NATIONAL SECURITY: Biden is in Finland today, meeting with Nordic leaders after a NATO trip with “undeniable wins,” our colleagues Alexander Ward and Jonathan Lemire write: (1) Turkey ended its blockade of Sweden joining the alliance, and (2) Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, initially apoplectic about NATO’s reluctance to invite Ukraine to join the bloc, ultimately hailed the summit as a “significant security victory.”

ON THE CAMPAIGN: And there may be a cherry on top coming over the next couple of days for the president. This Saturday is the deadline to report Q2 fundraising numbers to the FEC. While Biden’s numbers have been kept close hold, high-level insiders in Biden world whom we’ve talked to say they feel confident in how well Biden’s fundraising has shaken out.

ON THE BORDER: Notable numbers here in a scoop by CBS News’ Camilo Montoya-Galvez: “Migrant crossings along U.S.-Mexico border plummeted in June amid stricter asylum rules”: “The last time Border Patrol apprehensions along the U.S.-Mexico border were lower was in February 2021, President Biden’s first full month in the White House.”

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2023/07/13/why-biden-is-smiling-this-week-00106072 

[Rick Plant]

'Not even hiding the racism': GOP Rep. Eli Crane blasted for referring to 'colored people' on House floor



Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) set off a firestorm Thursday with a stunning choice of words to explain an amendment he was pitching for the National Defense Authorization Act, Forbes reported.

“Crane said his amendment to the NDAA would have prevented ‘race, gender, religion, or political affiliations,’ from being used in the recruitment of military members, adding the amendment had ‘nothing to do” with ‘whether colored people, or Black people, or anybody can serve,” Forbes reported.

Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), who is Black, “responded on the floor that Crane’s remarks were offensive and very inappropriate and move to have his offensive words stricken from the record," the report said.

“Crane later claimed he meant to say, “people of color,’” Forbes reported. But it also noted that Crane’s amendment was one of several submitted Thursday centered around culture war issues, as the House passed multiple amendments that may hinder the passage of the must-pass NDAA.”

That context wasn’t lost upon angry legislators who took to Twitter, apparently not buying Crane’s curious explanation for his comments:

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) tweeted, “The GOP is not even hiding the racism anymore.”

Rep. Jasmine Crockett D-Texas) tweeted: “You can’t make this up. This is who these people are, and who they’ve always been.”

Rep. Don Beyer tweeted about Crane’s comment, saying, “A House Republican just referred to Black Americans serving in our military as ‘colored people.’ In 2023.”

Crane has been allied with fellow Arizona Reps. Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs on various far-right causes, including a recent Qanon-inspired hearing on COVID-19 conspiracies.

Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1679617269758930944



Republicans look to give themselves a pay raise after securing benefit cuts for the poor



After taking the global economy hostage to secure painful cuts to aid programs and other federal spending, House Republicans are proposing a pay raise for themselves and other members of Congress for the coming fiscal year.

Roll Call reported Thursday that under spending legislation approved by the Republican-controlled House Appropriations Committee last month, members of Congress "would stand to receive a 4.6%, or $8,000, pay increase" in 2024. Most members of Congress currently make an annual salary of $174,000, putting them in the top 10% of U.S. earners.

"Lawmakers last received a cost-of-living increase in 2009," the outlet noted, "but House Republicans left out the traditional language blocking a cost-of-living increase for members from this year's Legislative Branch bill."

House Legislative Branch Appropriations Chairman Mark Amodei (R-Nev.) told Roll Call that it is "not exactly greedy" to pursue a pay raise for lawmakers after more than a decade of no cost-of-living increase, but he acknowledged the optics are horrible.

"The policy supports, hey, once every twelve years, you can have a cost-of-living increase," Amodei said. "But the politics is—you know how that will go."

"House Republicans are moving to give themselves a raise while taking an ax to education, health, and other essential programs that help grow the economy by growing the middle class."

Colin Seeberger, senior communications adviser at the Center for American Progress Action, urged congressional Democrats to "raise hell over this."

"This is outrageous," Seeberger wrote on Twitter. "House Republicans are moving to give themselves a raise while taking an ax to education, health, and other essential programs that help grow the economy by growing the middle class."

One Democrat, Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.), slammed House Republicans for "trying to give themselves a raise while working families struggle to make ends meet."

"That's not what our constituents want—and certainly not what members of Congress need," Craig added.

But Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the former House majority leader, expressed support for a raise, telling Roll Call that "precluding members from a COLA adjustment simply decreases their salary every year," which he said "doesn't make any sense."

The Republican-led push for a congressional pay increase comes just weeks after GOP leaders negotiated a debt ceiling agreement with President Joe Biden that imposes new work requirements on older recipients of federal food aid, a change that experts say is likely to strip benefits from around 750,000 low-income people.

Congressional Republicans are also pushing for even steeper cuts to federal spending than were agreed upon in the debt ceiling deal, threatening a government shutdown.

Meanwhile, the House GOP is working to pass legislation that would hand the top 1% of U.S. earners $28 billion in tax cuts next year.

Read More Here: https://rollcall.com/2023/07/13/house-gop-anti-spending-fervor-may-not-apply-to-member-pay-raise/



Biden urges Republicans to stand up against senator's military holds



(Reuters) - President Joe Biden said on Thursday he expects Republicans to stand up against what he called Senator Tommy Tuberville's "ridiculous" block of top U.S. military appointments over the Pentagon's abortion policy.

It was bizarre and irresponsible to inject a domestic social debate into fundamental foreign policy, the Democratic president said in Helsinki after meeting with Nordic country leaders.

Tuberville, a conservative Republican from Alabama, has held up 250 nominees to senior Pentagon posts since March, when he began the holds to protest a Defense Department policy enacted last year that provides paid leave and reimburses costs for service members who travel to get an abortion.

"He's jeopardizing U.S. security with what he's doing. I expect the Republican Party to stand up - stand up and do something about it," Biden told reporters.

"I'm confident that the mainstream Republican Party no longer - does not support what he's doing, but they've got to stand up and be counted. That's how it ends," Biden said.

Biden said he would be willing to talk to Tuberville if there were any possibility of changing the senator's "ridiculous position."

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to Tuberville on Thursday, the Pentagon said.

"Secretary Austin explained to Senator Tuberville the impact the holds are having to military readiness and uncertainty in the force," Pentagon spokesperson Patrick Ryder told a news briefing.

Austin and Tuberville agreed to speak again next week, Ryder said.

Speaking earlier on Thursday, Austin told CNN: "He needs to lift the holds."

"This is a national security issue. It's a readiness issue. And we shouldn't kid ourselves," Austin said.

Tuberville said in a Twitter post late on Wednesday he had a 10-minute call with Austin months ago and accused Democrats of political theater.

On Tuesday, Biden's nominee to become the top U.S. general warned that Tuberville's blockade of military promotions could have a far-reaching impact across the armed forces, affecting U.S. troops and their families.

"We will lose talent," General Charles "CQ" Brown, the outgoing Air Force chief of staff, told his Senate confirmation hearing to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Senior military nominations are approved by the Armed Services Committee and eventually the full Senate. Although the review is usually routine, a single senator can pause the process by putting a hold on nominations that force them to be considered one at a time, taking many hours each.

Tuberville's action already has had an impact. On Monday, when retiring General David Berger formally relinquished command, the Marine Corps was left without a Senate-confirmed leader for the first time in more than a century.

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Phil Stewart in Washington, Steve Holland in Helsinki; Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Frances Kerry and Will Dunham)

© Reuters



'Step into the alternate universe': Jerry Nadler welcomes witness to Jim Jordan's 'MAGA' hearing

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) blasted House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) for holding hearings in an "alternate universe" to support Donald Trump.

During a hearing on Thursday, Nadler told Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan that Jordan had a history of spouting conspiracy theories.

"Mr. Chairman, yesterday, the director of the FBI sat at the witness table for nearly six hours, enduring a steady stream of baseless attacks and conspiracy theories meant to fit a far-right narrative that may resonate on Fox News but that lacks any basis in fact," Nadler said. "Today it is the chair of the Federal Trade Commission's turn to step into the alternate universe that is the House Judiciary Committee under MAGA Republican leadership."

"Unfortunately, I expect that today you will be the target of a barrage of personal attacks and wild accusations about the work of the FTC under your leadership," he added. "Ultimately, Chair Kahn, you will face attacks today because you are doing your job. That is what threatens Republicans the most."

Watch:

[Rick Plant]

'Not FBI's fault Trump surrounded himself with criminals': Dem lawmaker exposes 'cesspool of corruption' around ex-president



Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) methodically took apart Republican complaints about the politicization of the Department of Justice and the FBI during a contentious hearing of the House Judiciary Committee.

FBI director Christopher Wray appeared before the panel to address GOP complaints about investigations involving Donald Trump, and Lieu used his time to highlight a litany of the former president's allies, associates and advisers who had been convicted of crimes during his own administration.

" Trump adviser Roger Stone was convicted in a federal court, correct?" Lieu said, and Wray agreed. "Trump donor Elliott Broidy was convicted in a federal court, correct? The attorney general at the time for those two convictions was Bill Barr. Which president nominated Bill Barr for attorney general?"

Wray responded that Trump had nominated Barr, and Lieu listed former Trump attorney Michael Cohen's two convictions in federal court, and the FBI director recalled that the Trump-appointed acting attorney general at that time was Matthew Whitaker.

"Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted in federal court, correct?" Lieu said, and Wray agreed. "Trump's former deputy campaign manager Rick Gates was convicted in federal court, correct? Trump's campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos was convicted in federal court, correct?"

Wray recalled that Papadopoulos had pleaded guilty, and he agreed that the attorney general for all three of those cases was Trump appointee Jeff Session, and he stated that he had been FBI director for all the cases Lieu had listed and that he himself had been appointed by the former president.

"What these facts show is that we don't have a two-tier system of justice," Lieu said. "We have one Department of Justice that goes after criminals regardless of party ideology. All of these folks were convicted under the administrations of three separate Republican attorneys general. It is not the fault of the FBI that Donald Trump surrounded himself with criminals. Donald Trump brought that on himself. Thank you to the FBI for exposing the cesspool of corruption of these Trump associates."

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Ex-FBI official says GOP is telling agents: 'If you investigate our party, you are going to pay the price'



Former FBI official Frank Figliuzzi wasn't happy after watching Republicans grill FBI director Christopher Wray in the House Wednesday.

While Democrats questioned Wray for ignoring warnings about Jan. 6, Republicans sought answers to a slew of conspiracy theories and culture war grievances that go all the way back to mask requirements during the COVID crisis.

"Look, I understand that many Americans will see this as nothing more than political theater," Figliuzzi said on MSNBC. "Yes, there's an element of that. What I'm seeing is actually far worse than mere political theater. I see a strategy here. A strategy to enact death by a thousand cuts to some of our key institutions. It's not just the FBI. It's not just the DOJ. It's a larger strategy to cause Americans to distrust the institutions that actually represent the values of democracy."

He explained that what FBI rank-and-file agents will see from the hearing is doing their jobs will still face consequences if they investigate Republicans.

"If you investigate our party, you are going to pay the price. We will suggest de-funding you, breaking you up, impeaching your director," he continued. "There's something more nefarious than just political theater. The FBI is really about protecting communities. Over 200,000 violent predators and hundreds of sex trafficking victims recovered. That's what is under attack. It defies logic."

Turning the FBI into a political agency is part of the GOP strategy, he explained. He mentioned Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) who walked through a slate of questions about Donald Trump's own appointees and Republican leaders who have worked to bring down many of the people that the House Republicans take issue with.

"All the people that have been investigated, arrested, and convicted around Trump have had that happen to them under an FBI director that was appointed by Trump," he explained. "Under attorneys general that were appointed by Trump. It defies logic. People seem to be buying into this myth. It undermines the mission of the men and women who come to work every day simply trying to make our communities safer."

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'The whole thing is for show': Ex-FBI counsel says Wray hearing wasn't for finding answers



A Wednesday hearing during which GOP representatives grilled FBI director Christopher Wray was "for show," and not for holding the agency to account for any mistakes, according to former FBI general counsel Andrew Weissmann.

Weissmann, who previously predicted Trump's conviction in the classified documents case, appeared on MSNBC Wednesday night alongside Rep. Eric Swalwell. Weissmann discussed how, when hearings like the recently publicized one don't have cameras present, the performative nature was downplayed and things could actually get done.

"You actually get work done. People actually ask you real questions. You go there with a sense of obligation to give answers to congress," he said. "It doesn't matter whether it's a Democrat or Republican. And that's the purpose."

Weissmann further disagreed with labeling the Wray event a "hearing."

"This is, when you asked the congressman what he took from this hearing, this isn't a hearing. This is soundbites for people to play on TV. The witness is not a witness... they are not there to give answers. The whole thing is just for show," he said.

He further added:

"What is unfortunate is, there are a lot of issues with respect to the FBI. There's a lot of good, a lot of things they are doing really well, but there are also issues where they've had failures."

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