Justice Clarence Thomas asks the first question and other highlights from opening day at the Supreme Court
By Ariane de Vogue, The Supreme Court — for the first time in more than a year — returned to its majestic courtroom on Monday to begin a new blockbuster term that will include a major Second Amendment dispute and a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade. The justices are taking the bench at a fraught time. Polls show that public confidence in the court is at an all-time low, and the justices find themselves at the center of the political spotlight after a 5-4 court allowed a Texas six-week abortion ban to take effect last month, rendering Roe v. Wade a dead letter, for
Biden tells House progressives spending package needs to be between $1.9 trillion and $2.2 trillion
By Manu Raju, Annie Grayer and Ryan Nobles, President Joe Biden said in a virtual meeting with a group of House progressives on Monday that the top line of the social safety net package needs to come down to somewhere between $1.9 trillion and $2.2 trillion, according to two sources familiar with the call. Biden told the group, according to one of the sources, that was the range he felt Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema would accept but did not specify further within that range. Leaving a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and White House officials Monday night, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Supreme Court’s new term could see landmark rulings on abortion, guns and vouchers
By Ariane de Vogue, For the first time in more than a year, the Supreme Court will convene in its crimson velvet-lined majestic chamber Monday to begin a new term and hear some of the most divisive issues of the day at a time when the Court’s institutional legitimacy is under attack and the majority of the public doesn’t approve of the job the justices are doing. In the coming months the nine — six appointed by Republican presidents and three by Democrats — will tackle abortion, the Second Amendment, religious liberty and perhaps even affirmative action, all the while fending off
Biden faces a reckoning on his agenda as top aides start to temper expectations
By Kevin Liptak, President Joe Biden faced a reckoning Thursday after House Democratic leaders, facing a shortfall of support, put off plans to vote on a trillion-dollar infrastructure plan amid sour disagreements over the size and scope of his sweeping domestic agenda. The delayed vote does not mean the end of Biden’s quest to fundamentally change the country’s social safety net and reorient its tax code. But it does amount to an embarrassing setback for a President who ran on his experience as a master dealmaker and convener of the disparate wings of the Democratic Party. The postponed vote was the culmination of a day
Biden nominates 10 more to federal bench, with continued focus on diversity
By Jeremy Diamond, President Joe Biden on Thursday named 10 nominees to the federal bench, continuing his efforts to diversify the judicial branch with picks who would notch demographic firsts on their respective courts. The eighth slate of federal judicial nominations brings Biden’s total to 53 nominees, nearly three-quarters of whom are women, a White House official told CNN. Fifteen of the nominees — more than a quarter of the total — are African American, while 21% are Hispanic and 23% are Asian American or Pacific Islanders (AAPI), the official said. The White House said the latest slate of nominees would mark several historic firsts.
Lawmakers race the clock to avert shutdown ahead of midnight deadline
By Clare Foran, Government funding expires at midnight and Congress has not yet passed a stopgap funding bill to avert a shutdown, though Democratic leaders are on track to do so later Thursday. Lawmakers are racing the clock with the Senate and House both expected to vote to approve a short-term funding patch to keep the government open. Democrats, who control both chambers of Congress, have so far projected confidence that a shutdown will not occur, but with the deadline rapidly approaching, lawmakers have no room for error. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Wednesday evening that an agreement had been reached, paving
Oregon approves the nation’s first new congressional map
By Chandelis Duster and Ethan Cohen, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown signed the state’s redistricting bills Monday, hours before a deadline that would’ve taken the process out of the legislature’s hands and making Oregon the first state with a new congressional map after the 2020 Census. The new congressional map is a compromise that’s expected to create four Democratic-leaning seats, one Republican-leaning seat and one more competitive seat. An earlier proposal would’ve made that sixth district more Democratic as well. “For the first time in forty years, Oregon is gaining a congressional seat — another delegation member to advocate for the common good
Kamala Harris’ office frustrated with ‘The View’ after last week’s Covid fiasco, sources say
By Oliver Darcy, The office of Vice President Kamala Harris is vexed with “The View” after the false Covid-19 positive tests revealed just before Harris was to appear on the show last week sent the program into chaos, people familiar with the matter told CNN on Tuesday. One of the people explained that Harris’ office required the hosts of “The View” to take a PCR test within 24 hours of the interview. That person said that a representative of the ABC talk show suggested the night before Harris’ appearance that the tests had come back negative. Harris and her staff didn’t learn
Senate Republicans block bill to suspend debt limit and avert shutdown in key vote
By Clare Foran, Ted Barrett and Ali Zaslav, Senate Republicans blocked a House-passed bill to suspend the debt limit and avert a government shutdown from advancing in the Senate on Monday. The move comes after Republicans had insisted that Democrats act alone to address the debt limit and leaves Congress without a clear plan to keep the government open with the threat of a potential shutdown looming by the end of the week. Government funding is set to expire on September 30, and the stopgap bill the House approved last week would extend funding and keep the government open through December 3.
Democrats concede bipartisan infrastructure plan vote won’t happen Monday
By Kevin Liptak and Devan Cole House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday night that the House will vote Thursday on the $1 trillion infrastructure plan, as the future of President Joe Biden’s sweeping economic agenda remains uncertain. The vote is set to come as Pelosi works to unite disparate wings of the Democratic Party on both the infrastructure bill and broader $3.5 trillion social and environmental package, all as Congress works to stave off a lapse in government funding by Thursday and hitting the debt limit in October. Pelosi, along with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and senior White House officials,