The unexpected retirement of Republican Sen. Rob Portman has set off a frantic scramble in Ohio, leading numerous Republicans and a handful of Democratic lawmakers to consider making a run at the now open seat. The race, beyond being key to control of the Senate, will have significant implications for a state that has been
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The Senate tabled an effort by Sen. Rand Paul to force a vote on Tuesday on the constitutionality of former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, but the vote offered an indicator for support among Republican senators who have been sworn in as jurors for the trial. Paul’s motion was killed on a 55-45 vote, with
Continue Reading Seeking to fulfill a long-standing Democratic ambition, a coalition of lawmakers introduced a bill on Tuesday that would raise the national minimum wage to $15 an hour. The measure, which is also included in President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief package, calls for gradually increasing the hourly wage in increments until it hits $15 in
Continue Reading If there was any doubt about the urgency of President Joe Biden’s mission to tackle racial inequality, it was erased in the searing moment an insurrectionist rioter brazenly paraded the Confederate flag through the US Capitol. Just 20 days on from one of the most shocking moments in modern US history, Biden on Tuesday made
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President Joe Biden signed a series of executive actions revolving around racial equity policy on Tuesday, focusing on nondiscrimination policy, prison reform and public housing, saying it is “time to act.” “It’s what the core values of this nation call us to do. And I believe the vast majority of Americans — Democrats, Republicans and
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President Joe Biden held his first call Tuesday with his Russian counterpart, according to the White House, confronting President Vladimir Putin over a range of issues from a recent massive cyberattack to the suspected poisoning of the country’s leading opposition figure. The call, which occurred midday, amounted to Biden’s opening bid at diplomacy with one
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Senators will be sworn in for the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump on Tuesday amid an immediate challenge to the constitutionality of the trial from a Republican ally of the former President. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky said he would force a procedural vote on the trial on Tuesday afternoon, in what
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US Capitol Police officers are in preliminary discussions over holding a no-confidence vote targeting department leaders who were working on the day when Donald Trump supporters led an insurrection into the building, according to three people familiar with the discussions. The vote would target acting USCP Chief Yogananda Pittman, who was promoted into the agency’s
Continue Reading It was February 2008 when a snowstorm suddenly overwhelmed the flight path of two American helicopters, forcing them to make an unexpected landing on a mountaintop in Afghanistan. On board the aircrafts overlooking Taliban territory were Joe Biden and Antony Blinken, his then-top adviser on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with a few other
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President Joe Biden is set to speak Tuesday afternoon on his vision to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, and is expected in part to focus on actions his administration plans to take to increase the supply of vaccines, a senior White House official tells CNN. The President is also expected to address ways his administration hopes
Continue Reading Alejandro Mayorkas’ nomination to be Homeland Security secretary moved forward Tuesday after a Senate panel vote as a top Democrat rejected Republican calls for another hearing that would delay his confirmation. President Joe Biden’s nominee was voted out of the Senate Homeland Security Committee with all Democrats voting yes, paving the way for Mayorkas to
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The acting head of the US Capitol Police told congressional members during a closed-door briefing Tuesday that the “department failed to meet its own high standards” on January 6 when a crowd of pro-Trump rioters overran the Capitol building. Acting US Capitol Police chief Yogananda Pittman called the insurrection a “terrorist attack” and offered her
Continue Reading North Carolina state Sen. Jeff Jackson announced his 2022 bid for Senate on Tuesday, setting up a divisive Democratic primary for the open seat that will be pivotal to the party’s future control of the Senate. Jackson launched his “100-county campaign” in a video with his wife Marisa and his young sons, who are seen
Continue Reading Alejandro Mayorkas’ nomination to be Homeland Security secretary moved forward Tuesday after a Senate panel vote as a top Democrat rejected Republican calls for another hearing that would delay his confirmation. President Joe Biden’s nominee was voted out of the Senate Homeland Security Committee with all Democrats voting yes, paving the way for Mayorkas to
Continue Reading Sen. Rand Paul plans to force a test vote on Tuesday that will show how many Republicans support holding an impeachment trial for former President Donald Trump and how many believe a trial should not take place. Paul, a Kentucky Republican, told reporters he’s going to force a procedural vote on the constitutionality of a
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The Department of Homeland Security, largely hollowed out over the last four years, is moving with urgency to staff agencies with people who had front row seats to the hardline immigration limits rolled out under former President Donald Trump, in order to rescind them. The department — the third largest in the US government —
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The Senate voted Tuesday to confirm Antony Blinken as the new US secretary of state. Blinken, a longtime Biden associate, was approved by a vote of 78-22. With Blinken’s confirmation, President Joe Biden now has a number of key members of his national security team in place. In addition to National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan
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President Joe Biden is slated to sign a series of executive actions revolving around racial equity policy on Tuesday, focusing on nondiscrimination policy, prison reform and public housing, according to a senior Biden administration official. “America has never lived up to its founding promise of equality for all, but we’ve never stopped trying. Today, I’ll
Continue Reading President Joe Biden is set to speak Tuesday afternoon on his vision to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, and is expected in part to focus on actions his administration plans to take to increase the supply of vaccines, a senior White House official tells CNN. The President is also expected to address ways his administration hopes
Continue Reading In prepared remarks obtained by CNN, acting US Capitol Police chief Yogananda Pittman told congressional members the department was aware of a “strong potential for violence” and did not take the appropriate steps to prevent the January 6 riot at the Capitol. Read the statement as prepared:
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