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
Democrats cut deal with Manchin to get party behind long-shot voting overhaul bill
By Manu Raju, Senate Democrats are proposing new legislation to overhaul voting laws after months of discussions to get all 50 of their members behind a single bill, allowing their caucus to speak with one voice on the issue even though it stands virtually no chance of becoming law. The proposal — announced in a statement by a group of Senate Democrats on Tuesday — comes in the aftermath of their party’s failed effort to open debate on the issue in June. Even though they unified behind the procedural vote at the time, Senate Democrats were not on the same page over
5 takeaways after Gov. Gavin Newsom prevails in California recall
By Eric Bradner and Dan Merica, California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom delivered a decisive answer to the question of whether voters would penalize those who enacted strict policies aimed at slowing the coronavirus pandemic, triumphing over an effort to recall him Tuesday. Newsom faced the first recall election in California in 18 years. At one point, weeks before the election, he appeared to be in serious enough jeopardy that Democrats decided to dispatch President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to campaign for him. Republicans sought a replay of 2003, when actor Arnold Schwarzenegger attracted support across ideological lines and voters decided to boot then-Gov. Gray Davis. This time,
Obamas, Bushes and Clintons teaming up in effort to aid Afghan refugees
By Betsy Klein, The Presidents’ club is teaming up to aid in a massive, bipartisan effort to welcome and support Afghan refugees that is being launched Tuesday. Former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama — along with former first ladies Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush and Michelle Obama — are serving as honorary co-chairs for the group Welcome.US. Welcome.US, the group said in a news release, is aimed at engaging “all Americans to welcome and support refugees, beginning with the individuals and families who fled Afghanistan” following the American withdrawal from the nation in recent weeks. After the biggest military evacuation
Democrats cut deal with Manchin to get party behind long-shot voting overhaul bill
By Manu Raju, Senate Democrats are proposing new legislation to overhaul voting laws after months of discussions to get all 50 of their members behind a single bill, allowing their caucus to speak with one voice on the issue even though it stands virtually no chance of becoming law. The proposal — announced in a statement by a group of Senate Democrats on Tuesday — comes in the aftermath of their party’s failed effort to open debate on the issue in June. Even though they unified behind the procedural vote at the time, Senate Democrats were not on the same page over
Biden agenda faces make-or-break moment as Democrats struggle to finalize deal
By Clare Foran and Manu Raju, House and Senate Democratic leaders are scrambling to unite their party behind a massive economic package to implement much of President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda, but substantial disagreements remain and could threaten to derail the effort. Top Democrats have set a Wednesday deadline to finalize a deal and present a proposal that would dramatically expand the social safety net and address key priorities like health care and climate change, but it still remains a daunting task to unite the competing demands from moderates and progressives who have been at odds over the price tag, scope and
New network will offer free legal help to election officials to fight attacks and intimidation
By Fredreka Schouten, Two prominent election lawyers have joined forces to launch a network that will provide free legal assistance to election officials who have faced unprecedented threats during and after the 2020 election. Democrat Bob Bauer, former White House counsel in the Obama administration, and Ben Ginsberg, a leading Republican election lawyer who represented President George W. Bush’s campaign, on Wednesday announced the creation of the Election Official Legal Defense Network. The group will help election officials with a range of issues — from protecting themselves and their families against threats to navigating partisan subpoenas and a raft of new state laws
Shelby County ruling could make it easier for states to get away with extreme racial gerrymandering
By Tierney Sneed, The 2013 Supreme Court ruling that gutted the Voting Rights Act still finds new ways to scramble the Justice Department’s enforcement of the landmark 1965 law. As legislation that restores a key element of the law makes its way toward a likely Senate GOP filibuster, the Justice Department is heading into the first redistricting cycle in a half century without the Voting Rights Act’s so-called preclearance requirement. At stake is whether millions of minority voters will have their political power protected from certain racial gerrymanders in elections ranging from local school boards all the way up to US congressional
Harris rallies with Newsom to send a message to female voters in final days of California recall campaign
By Maeve Reston, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been doing everything he can to persuade women to vote “no” on the Republican effort to oust him in Tuesday’s recall election, and in Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday he got his most high-profile surrogate to date to help deliver that message. The former California senator, who remains enormously popular among Democratic women and progressive voters of color, argued that the national consequences of this election could be huge if Newsom is replaced by a Republican. “You have to understand that this recall campaign is about California, and it’s about a whole lot more,” Harris
The new Texas voting law includes these 7 major changes
By Eric Bradner, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law Tuesday a bill that imposes a raft of new restrictions on voting in one of the nation’s fastest-growing and diversifying states. Abbott signed Senate Bill 1 after the Republican-led Legislature approved it during the second special session that the second-term GOP governor had called this year. Democrats had blocked previous versions of the measure by fleeing the state for weeks, preventing the House from having the quorum necessary to do business. Marc Elias, a leading Democratic elections lawyer, said that Texas will be sued over its new law as soon as Abbott signs it. Here’s a look