Biden takes the lead role he’s always craved in his high-stakes first trip abroad as president
By Kevin Liptak, Jeff Zeleny and Kaitlan Collins When President Joe Biden told officials this spring that he wanted to meet soon with his Russian counterpart for a summit, his team quickly set out to make it happen — even if some wondered what he really hoped to achieve. The last two administrations — including the one Biden served as vice president — had tried and failed to develop better ties with Moscow. Experienced foreign policy advisers had watched as Russian President Vladimir Putin hijacked meetings before with outlandish whataboutism. They wondered what Biden could possibly gain from meeting him
Obama criticizes Republicans for embracing 2020 falsehoods
By Dan Merica Former President Barack Obama said Republicans have been “cowed into accepting” a series of positions that “would be unrecognizable and unacceptable even five years ago or a decade ago,” telling CNN’s Anderson Cooper he is worried about the state of democracy in the United States in an exclusive interview that aired Monday. Obama, in an interview that comes after his latest memoir, “A Promised Land,” was published in late 2020, said he never thought some of the “dark spirits” that began rising within the Republican Party during his tenure would get this dark and reach the epicenter
Harris faces first major diplomatic test
By Jeremy Diamond and Nikki Carvajal Vice President Kamala Harris is facing the first major diplomatic test of her vice presidency as she looks to tackle the root causes of migration toward the US in her full day of meetings in Guatemala. Harris has been eager to burnish her foreign policy credentials after entering office with little experience in that realm. Harris and her team see this first foreign trip as an opportunity to advance that effort after weeks spent laying the groundwork for meetings in the region. Speaking in Guatemala City, Harris said her trip and President Joe Biden’s
Democrat calls Manchin ‘the new Mitch McConnell’ and says he is working to thwart Biden’s agenda
By Chandelis Duster New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman on Monday compared fellow Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and said he is trying to thwart President Joe Biden’s agenda after the West Virginia lawmaker stood by his decision to vote against a sweeping voting rights bill and opposition to gutting the filibuster. “Joe Manchin has become the new Mitch McConnell. Mitch McConnell during Obama’s presidency said he would do everything in his power to stop (then-President Barack Obama),” Bowman told CNN’s John Berman on “New Day.” “He’s also repeated that now during the Biden presidency by
Ransomware attacks saddle Biden with grave national security crisis
Analysis by Stephen Collinson The Biden administration Sunday confronted the implications of a sudden and grave national security challenge as ransom-demanding cyber hackers target the staples of American life — food, gas, water, hospitals and transport. The assaults, which have led the FBI director to make comparisons to 9/11, are targeting the country’s vulnerable infrastructure as it struggles back to life after pandemic shutdowns and are putting civilians on the front lines of an invisible conflict likely to defy quick fixes to lessen the threat. They leave President Joe Biden, who took office amid multiple crises, with thorny dilemmas about
Key week for infrastructure talks arrives as Biden’s agenda faces major obstacles in Congress
By Lauren Fox, Jessica Dean, Daniella Diaz, Clare Foran and Ted Barrett President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda faces a critical month ahead as he and congressional Democrats work to secure agreements with Republicans on several key items — including a far-reaching infrastructure bill and a policing overhaul — and gear up for action on voting legislation they believe must pass to overcome efforts in GOP-led states to restrict voting rights. But major obstacles for Democrats lie ahead. The two parties remain far apart on key aspects of an infrastructure package, leading some Democrats to argue that time is running out
The political risks of Kamala Harris’ mission on immigration
Analysis by Stephen Collinson It’s time for Kamala Harris to step out of Joe Biden’s shadow. Since becoming the first female Vice President in January, Harris has done what number twos are supposed to do: avoiding one-upping the commander-in-chief during his crucial first few months in office. But now, Harris is on a high profile and politically risky first foreign trip to Guatemala and Mexico,seeking to ease a tide of immigration at the US border. She is tackling an issue critical to America’s foreign and domestic policy, and one laced with traps for a politician expected to run for the
Biden floats bringing down infrastructure price tag but wants GOP concessions
By Manu Raju, Maegan Vazquez and Phil Mattingly President Joe Biden offered to bring his price tag on an infrastructure package down to $1 trillion but wants to ensure it amounts to “new money” — not redirected from funding already approved by Congress as Senate Republicans have been demanding, according to a GOP source briefed on the talks. Biden also reiterated his call for new taxes to pay for much of his plan, the source said. It’s the latest sign of the major gulf between the two parties as they try to cut an infrastructure deal. The offer made to
Harris aiming to deepen US relationship with Guatemala and Mexico on first foreign trip
By Jasmine Wright Kamala Harris will try to deepen the United States’ “strategic partnership and bilateral relationship” with Guatemala and Mexico on her first foreign trip as vice president, according to her senior staff members. Harris will visit the region next week as part of her role leading diplomatic efforts to stem the flow of migration from Central America, and she will focus on economic development, climate and food insecurity, and women and young people, according to her staff. The trip underscores the administration’s heightened focus on Central America and migration from the region, especially as record numbers of unaccompanied
Supreme Court ruling in Arizona case will be another front in the voting rights wars
By Ariane de Vogue The battle lines have been drawn in the voting rights wars as several Republican-led states consider ever restrictive laws and Democrats fight a frantic battle in courts to combat what President Joe Biden has called an “assault on democracy.” Now, within the next few weeks, the Supreme Court will enter the melee and weigh in on the scope of the Voting Rights Act in a way that could bolster efforts by Republicans in states like Georgia and Texas to limit access to the polls. The decision will come down in the last turbulent weeks of the