Freshman Sen. Raphael Warnock, whose surprise victory in Georgia helped give Democrats the narrowest of majorities, now finds himself squarely in the center of an intensifying battle over tightening election laws and protecting the Senate’s filibuster — a debate that could directly affect his own chances of keeping his seat next year. Republicans in Georgia
Continue Reading The Biden administration has so far denied journalists access to border facilities amid a surge of unaccompanied minors crossing the US-Mexico border, which has raised questions about its commitments to increased transparency. Senators from both sides of the aisle have called on the administration to allow journalists access to the facilities. White House press secretary
Continue Reading Rep. Jody Hice had an interesting Monday. Hice, a Georgia Republican who has been in Congress since 2015, announced that he was running for Georgia secretary of state. He received the endorsement of former President Donald Trump. Then Hice argued that the District of Columbia should not be a state, in part because it does
Continue Reading Attorney General Merrick Garland is quietly ushering in a change in tone at the Justice Department, making few public comments and staying out of sight — and unlike his predecessor — eschewing commentary about ongoing investigations. That’s one reason why an interview by Michael Sherwin, the former acting US attorney for the District of Columbia,
Continue Reading Rep. Mo Brooks announced his campaign for Senate on Monday, placing his baseless opposition to the certification of the 2020 presidential election at the center of his candidacy. “Our republic’s election system, which is the underpinning of every republic, is under attack,” said the Alabama Republican. “In 2020, America suffered the worst voter fraud, and
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President Joe Biden is the first president in more than 30 years to have all of his original Cabinet secretary nominees confirmed to their posts. The Senate confirmed the final nominee, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, as Labor secretary Monday evening. He was the last of the 15 major agency heads to receive confirmation from the
Continue Reading The US Border Patrol has detained more than 11,000 unaccompanied migrant children between February 28 to March 20, according to preliminary government data reviewed by CNN, already eclipsing the number of minors apprehended in the full month of February. In recent weeks, the number of encounters of children crossing the US-Mexico border alone has continued
Continue Reading The Senate confirmed Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to be Labor secretary, elevating the former union boss to oversee the federal department in charge of workplace conditions, benefits and rights. The vote was 68 to 29. Walsh first joined the Laborers’ Union Local 223 at age 21. By 2011, he had risen to lead the Boston
Continue Reading Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont and the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, is set to unveil a trio of bills designed to lower the cost of prescription drugs and give American consumers access to the competitive global drug market. On Tuesday, Sanders will introduce the three bills ahead of a hearing in
Continue Reading Republican lawmakers in Georgia are racing to pass sweeping bills that would clamp down on ballot access and give state officials more powers over local elections, following record voter turnout in 2020 that helped Democrats seize the White House and control of the US Senate. Crucial action comes this week. The state’s GOP-controlled General Assembly
Continue Reading House Democrats are facing political backlash from all sides for opening an investigation into a state certified election in Iowa that Republicans narrowly won after railing against former President Donald Trump and his allies for seeking to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The House Administration Committee, blessed by Democratic leadership, according to a senior Democratic
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As the number of unaccompanied migrant children crossing the US-Mexico border continues to rise, hundreds have been kept in US Border Patrol facilities not meant for minors. The Biden administration has not allowed journalists to independently visit the facilities, but several lawmakers have visited sites. Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar provided these photos revealing the conditions
Continue Reading The San Diego Convention Center, best known for hosting the annual Comic-Con International convention, will soon be used to house unaccompanied migrant children, the city and county announced Monday. The use of San Diego’s convention center will assist the Department of Health and Human Services by providing a physical shelter for the children, along with
Continue Reading Democrats expressed urgency as Congress prepares to once again consider giving statehood to Washington DC, vowing that legislation on the issue would be considered by both chambers. On Monday, the House Oversight and Reform Committee held a hearing on HR 51, the Washington, DC Admission Act, which would grant the nation’s capital statehood, and featured
Continue Reading White House advisers are expected to present a two-part, $3 trillion jobs and infrastructure proposal to President Joe Biden as soon as this week, according to two people familiar with the plan. The proposal, which Biden’s top advisers have been deliberating over for weeks, would be segmented into two separate parts — one focused on
Continue Reading Several Supreme Court justices seemed sympathetic on Monday to the arguments of a California strawberry grower who is challenging a state law that allows union organizers onto his property to speak to workers unannounced. A ruling against the union position in the case would come after the Supreme Court in 2018 dealt a major blow
Continue Reading A man accused of carrying the bear spray used in the assault of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick during the January 6 insurrection will stay in jail for the time being, a judge decided on Monday in a court hearing that revealed for the first time video of Sicknick and others reacting to being sprayed.
Continue Reading A fresh batch of Covid stimulus payments will be issued this week, the Biden administration announced Monday, including paper checks and debit cards for those whose bank information is not on file with the government. Some of these payments are being sent via direct deposit with an official pay date of Wednesday, March 24. Money
Continue Reading Reluctance among conservatives to get vaccinated against Covid-19 has caused growing concern inside the White House, according to people familiar with the matter, even as President Joe Biden’s administration rapidly scales up nationwide efforts to administer shots. The topic has been the subject of several high-level conversations between administration advisers and health experts, including at
Continue Reading US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced new sanctions against members of Myanmar’s military on Monday for the ongoing crackdown on pro-democracy protests since the military seized power in a February 1 coup. The penalties were the second set that the US announced in coordination with allies on Monday. Earlier in the day, the US
Continue Reading The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to review a lower court opinion that wiped away the death sentence of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the brothers convicted in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three spectators and injured hundreds. Last July, a federal appeals court said that Tsarnaev will remain in prison for the rest
Continue Reading Minority Leader Mitch McConnell explained his support for the legislative filibuster’s 60-vote threshold, making the case in an op-ed in his home state paper, the Courier-Journal, published Monday that the filibuster is actually “Kentucky’s veto” to prevent “radical” changes that would hurt the state. The piece comes a week after a stark warning to Democrats
Continue Reading Senior Biden administration officials are traveling to Mexico on Monday to discuss managing migration with government officials amid a surge of unaccompanied minors crossing the US-Mexico border. Roberta Jacobson, the Biden administration’s coordinator for the southern border, and Juan Gonzalez, the National Security Council’s senior director for the Western Hemisphere, will be making the trip,
Continue Reading Democratic Rep. Filemon Vela of Texas, who is serving his fifth term in Congress, confirmed to CNN Monday he will not run for reelection for his House seat in 2022. “It has been an honor to represent the citizens of the 34th District of Texas in the United States House of Representatives for the last
Continue Reading The US is expected to announce sanctions Monday against China in coordination with the European Union for Beijing’s ongoing repression of Uyghur Muslims, a campaign that Secretary of State Antony Blinken has described as genocide. The coordinated sanctions announcement, including US penalties that are expected to come Monday, according to an administration official, come days
Continue Reading Former President Donald Trump endorsed GOP Rep. Jody Hice for Georgia Secretary of State on Monday, after attacking incumbent Republican Brad Raffensperger for overseeing his loss in the state last year. “Unlike the current Georgia Secretary of State, Jody leads out front with integrity,” said Trump. I have 100% confidence in Jody to fight for
Continue Reading Sunrise Movement, the progressive youth-led climate activist group, on Monday announced it is endorsing Jennifer Carroll Foy in the Virginia gubernatorial race. If elected, Carroll Foy would be the first Black female governor in the United States. In a statement, Sunrise said it believes that Carroll Foy, a former Virginia delegate, will be a leader
Continue Reading President Joe Biden is wasting no time establishing his vision for the Affordable Care Act and reversing many Trump-era measures aimed at weakening it. In his first two months in office, Biden has taken several steps to bolster the landmark health reform law, which marks its 11th anniversary on Tuesday, and to embed it even
Continue Reading The former top prosecutor for the US Capitol riot said former President Donald Trump might be “culpable” for the January 6 insurrection and federal investigators are “looking at everything,” according to an interview airing on CBS Sunday night. Michael Sherwin, the former acting DC US attorney, also said he believes sedition could be a charge
Continue Reading Republican Julia Letlow won the special election in Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District Saturday night, becoming the first Republican woman elected to Congress from the state. Letlow will take the seat that her late husband Luke, who won last year’s election but died in December after being diagnosed with Covid-19, was never able to hold. The
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