Pelosi faces internal Democratic strife as key deadline could sink Biden agenda
By Lauren Fox and Manu Raju, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is facing a major dilemma: September 27 — the day she promised a vote on a trillion-dollar infrastructure deal that passed the Senate last month — is fast approaching. But no matter how she maneuvers from now until then, a new problem emerges. If, by that date, the House and Senate have not approved a separate, $3.5 trillion package to expand the social safety net, progressives have vowed to sink the infrastructure bill crafted by a bipartisan group of centrists. Yet there is little chance both chambers can reconcile their vast intraparty differences to
Biden set to address world leaders at the UN General Assembly
By Maegan Vazquez, President Joe Biden on Tuesday is set to deliver his first speech to the United Nations General Assembly since taking office, where he’s expected to present his long-term vision for the global community, defend the withdrawal from Afghanistan and emphasize the importance of reestablishing alliances. Biden’s appearance at the assembly in New York comes as he continues to deal with a number of foreign policy crises, including blowback from the French over a recent deal to give Australia nuclear-powered submarines, the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan and a bungled US drone strike in Kabul that killed Afghan civilians. Biden’s speech, which will come
Clyburn says there is a ‘possibility’ infrastructure vote could be delayed
By Daniella Diaz, Aaron Pellish and Devan Cole, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn said Sunday that there is a “possibility” the vote on a bipartisan infrastructure package will be delayed, despite Democratic House leaders promising moderate members a vote by September 27. “There’s always a possibility that the vote would get delayed, but the question is, ‘Are we going to work to get to our goal for September 27?’ Yes, we’re going to work hard to reach that goal, and sometimes you have to kind of stop the clock to get to the goal. We’ll do what’s necessary to get there,” Clyburn,
One of America’s oldest cities has only elected White men as mayors. In November, that changes
By Nicquel Terry Ellis, Boston is poised to make history in November with two women of color competing for a mayor’s seat that has been won by White men for the last 200 years. City Councilors Michelle Wu, an Asian American, and Annissa Essaibi George, a first-generation American whose father emigrated from Tunisia and whose mother was born in Germany to Polish parents, claimed the two top spots in Tuesday’s primary, forcing City Councilor Andrea Campbell and Acting Mayor Kim Janey to concede. Campbell and Janey’s losses dashed the hopes of many Boston residents and community leaders who believed it was time for a Black
North Carolina court blocks state voter ID law, citing ‘intent to target African American voters’
By Tierney Sneed, Dianne Gallagher and Rachel Janfaza, A North Carolina state court panel on Friday blocked a voter identification law, citing discrimination against Black voters. The law, known as SB 824, was passed in 2018 after Republicans lost their supermajority in the legislature but before the new legislature took over. It was already on hold under a preliminary injunction, after North Carolina’s Court of Appeals said voter ID provisions could negatively impact Black voters. But now the state court has permanently blocked the law, which required photo identification to vote. The majority of the three-judge panel said Friday that the law
Biden says Republican governors undermining his vaccine mandates are putting lives at risk
By Kate Sullivan, President Joe Biden on Thursday defended his administration’s new vaccine mandates and said Republican governors undermining the requirements are putting lives at risk. “We’re facing a lot of pushback, especially from some of the Republican governors. The governors of Florida and Texas are doing everything they can to undermine the life-saving requirements that I’ve proposed,” Biden said, specifically calling out GOP Govs. Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron DeSantis of Florida. Biden also took aim at Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, who blasted Biden’s vaccine requirements as “clearly unconstitutional” and likened them to “tyranny.” Biden said: “In Mississippi, children are required to be vaccinated against measles, mumps, rubella,
Minnesota Supreme Court rules Minneapolis voters may decide on abolishing the police department in upcoming elections
By Raja Razek, The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Thursday that voters in Minneapolis may decide on abolishing the police department in the upcoming municipal elections. The measure, if approved, would amend the city charter to replace the Minneapolis Police Department with a new Department of Public Safety. The DPS would employ a “comprehensive public health approach to the delivery of functions” of public safety, according to the amendment, and “could include licensed peace officers (police officers), if necessary, to fulfill its responsibilities.” Essentially, the measure would also remove the police chief and the mayor’s power over the agency, and would be led
Justice Clarence Thomas says judges are ‘asking for trouble’ when they wade into politics
By Ariane de Vogue, On the verge of a new term in which the Supreme Court will wade back into the culture wars, Justice Clarence Thomas reflected Thursday on the role of the judiciary and warned against judges weighing in on controversial issues that he said are better left to other areas of government. “When we begin to venture into the legislative or executive branch lanes, those of us, particularly in the federal judiciary with lifetime appointments, are asking for trouble,” he said during a sweeping lecture at the University of Notre Dame that also touched on themes of equality, race and
Pennsylvania Republicans approve subpoena for partisan investigation into recent elections
By Sara Murray, Pennsylvania Senate Republicans voted Wednesday to subpoena the Pennsylvania Department of State for millions of voters’ personal information and voting histories as they launch a review that appears designed to relitigate the 2020 presidential election. The Pennsylvania Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee voted along party lines to authorize a wide-ranging subpoena aimed at the Pennsylvania Department of State. The demand covers an array of voter data — including voters’ names, addresses, driver’s license numbers and partial social security numbers. The request spans not just the nearly 7 million Pennsylvanians who voted in November 2020, but all of the roughly 9
Democrats eye end-of-month showdown with GOP on debt ceiling as anxiety grows in the ranks
By Manu Raju and Ted Barrett, Democratic leaders are actively discussing attaching an increase to the national debt limit onto a must-pass spending bill to keep the government open, setting up an end-of-the-month partisan standoff with Republicans on the eve of a key deadline to keep federal agencies operating. What’s still unknown: What will happen next if Republicans block that plan. And that’s causing anxiety in the Democratic ranks with the full faith-and-credit of the United States hanging in the balance ahead of a potential debt default next month. “Yes, very much so,” said Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat, when asked Wednesday