House approves $3.5 trillion budget plan in key step for Democrats to pass legislation expanding social safety net
By Clare Foran, Kristin Wilson, Daniella Diaz and Annie Grayer The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a budget framework that will pave the way for Democrats to spend up to $3.5 trillion on a sweeping economic package to expand the social safety net that President Joe Biden has made a signature agenda item. The House vote came after painstaking negotiations between Democratic leaders and a group of moderates yielded a compromise that paved the way for passage. But deadlock over the issue led to a standoff that derailed efforts to move forward Monday evening. The issue underscored the challenge leadership faces in attempting
Headstones in historic Black cemetery were desecrated. The recovery offers ‘symbolic justice’
By Emma Tucker and Laura Ly Five years ago, Virginia State Sen. Richard Stuart stumbled upon a two-mile stretch of erosion control filled with gravestones along the riverfront of the property he had just purchased in King George County. Historians revealed that the gravestones once belonging to a historic African American cemetery in 1960 were dug up and dumped along the Potomac River to make way for commercial development. On Monday, 55 gravestones that were once part of the prominent Columbian Harmony Cemetery in Washington, DC, were repatriated to a memorial park in Maryland. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, Maryland Gov.
Herschel Walker launches Senate campaign in Georgia
By Alex Rogers Herschel Walker, the former football star, announced his campaign for US Senate in Georgia on Wednesday, after months of speculation marked by both former President Donald Trump’s public encouragement and some Republicans’ rising concerns about the political newcomer’s ability to win a crucial seat. “Our country is at a crossroads, and I can’t sit on the sidelines anymore,” said Walker in a statement. “In the United States Senate, I will stand up for conservative values and get our country moving in the right direction. It is time to have leaders in Washington who will fight to protect the American
Texas lieutenant governor falsely implies Black people to blame for Covid surge
By Holmes Lybrand and Tara Subramaniam The blame game over rising cases of Covid-19 continues along largely partisan lines, with Democrats attacking GOP governors who have banned measures like mask mandates and vaccine passports, and Republicans blaming the Biden administration’s border policy for the uptick in cases. The attacks heated up Thursday when Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick claimed that African Americans were to blame for the ever-increasing wave of coronavirus cases. Patrick was asked on Fox News to respond to criticisms over his state’s handling of the pandemic. “The Covid is spreading,” Patrick said, “particularly, most of the numbers are with
Progressives stand by dual track plan following impasse with moderates over budget vote
By Annie Grayer Progressives in the House are not backing down from their requirement that the final reconciliation package move at the same time as the Senate’s bipartisan infrastructure bill in order for their caucus to vote for both bills. Their continued demand comes after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a deal with moderates to give the bipartisan legislation a vote by September 27, which moves up the timetable and threatens the prospect of keeping these two crucial bills linked. Shortly after the budget resolution passed, the Congressional Progressive Caucus released a statement squarely stating that their position had not changed. “Our position
House passes bill named after John Lewis that strengthens Voting Rights Act
By Alex Rogers The House passed a bill Tuesday increasing the power of the federal government and racial minorities to block or challenge election rules they find discriminatory. Democrats named the legislation the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancements Act after the civil rights icon and longtime Georgia congressman who died last year. “John knew that the fight for justice never truly ends,” tweeted Democratic Rep. Terri Sewell of Alabama. “Each generation must fight & fight again to preserve the progress of the past and advance it. Now it’s our turn.” The bill would restore an aspect of the 1965 Voting Rights
Civil rights groups hail court ruling they say will allow tens of thousands of ex-felons to cast ballots in North Carolina
By Fredreka Schouten A preliminary ruling by a three-judge panel in North Carolina is clearing the way for roughly 56,000 of the state’s residents who have been convicted of felonies — but who aren’t currently serving prison time — to register to vote, civil rights groups said. The action comes out of a lawsuit by civil rights groups and ex-offenders who have challenged a North Carolina law that denies the right to vote to felons until they have completed all aspects of their sentence, including probation and parole. On Monday, Superior Court Judge Lisa Bell told participants during a brief hearing that two
Afghanistan fallout engulfs Harris’ first day of Southeast Asia trip
By Jasmine Wright Vice President Kamala Harris, undertaking a suddenly high-stakes visit to Southeast Asia this week amid the first major foreign policy crisis of the Biden administration, was on the receiving end of questions Monday about the US’ withdrawal from Afghanistan for the first time since the chaotic fall of Kabul. Harris’ stops in Singapore and Vietnam have assumed outsized importance for their potential to reassure foreign leaders of the United States’ continued commitment to its allies. Particularly in Vietnam where Harris heads Tuesday — as images of the 1975 fall of Saigon have stirred comparisons to evacuations in Kabul — the vice president will
Kathy Hochul becomes governor of New York as Cuomo leaves in disgrace
By Gregory Krieg Kathy Hochul was sworn in as New York’s first female governor shortly after the stroke of midnight on Tuesday, replacing her disgraced predecessor, Andrew Cuomo, who resigned amid multiple scandals, including a report from the state attorney general that found he sexually harassed 11 women. A Buffalo native, Hochul served as Cuomo’s lieutenant governor since 2015. But the pair were rarely seen together outside of campaign seasons. In her public comments after Cuomo announced he would step down, Hochul sought to stress her distance from the tainted executive as she prepared to take the reins and launch her own
House Democrats gear up for a showdown amid divisions over infrastructure strategy
By Clare Foran Divisions among House Democrats over how to enact President Joe Biden’s sweeping infrastructure agenda are poised to come to a head when lawmakers return to Washington this week, beginning with a key budget vote. The House is expected to vote as soon as Tuesday on a budget resolution for the President’s spending package after the Senate approved a $3.5 trillion measure earlier this month. But Democratic divisions are jeopardizing its passage in the House. The goal is for Democrats to be able to craft a sweeping legislative package to expand the social safety net under a budget process known as reconciliation,