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Post by Webster on Apr 16, 2024 15:46:31 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Apr 23, 2024 13:47:34 GMT -5
(The Guardian) That the House passed the foreign aid bill is somewhat of a surprise. Anti-Ukraine sentiment is rife and growing among the Republicans who hold a slim majority in that chamber, and speaker Mike Johnson’s decision to put the foreign aid bill up for a vote – and passing it with the help of more Democrats than Republicans – puts him in peril of losing his job. But though Donald Trump counts himself as a skeptic of funding Kyiv’s defenses, the Guardian’s Martin Pengelly reports that he recently praised Johnson – a bad sign for the nascent attempt to remove the speaker: Mike Johnson is a “good person” and is “trying very hard”, Donald Trump said, after the US House speaker oversaw passage of military aid to Ukraine, long opposed by Trump, in the face of fierce opposition from the right of the Republican party.
“Well, look, we have a majority of one, OK?” Trump said in a radio interview on Monday night, after a day in court in his New York hush-money trial.
“It’s not like he can go and do whatever he wants to do,” Trump said of Johnson. “I think he’s a very good person. You know, he stood very strongly with me on Nato when I said Nato has to pay up … I think he’s a very good man. I think he’s trying very hard. And again, we’ve got to have a big election.”
Johnson faces opposition from rightwingers in his party, in particular from Marjorie Taylor Greene, a fervent Trump ally who has threatened to trigger a motion to vacate, the mechanism by which a speaker can be removed, and called for Johnson to quit.
No less than 112 House Republicans voted against Ukraine aid, leaving Johnson reliant on Democratic support. A similar scenario saw his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, removed last year, but with an election looming, many see Johnson as safe for now.
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Post by Webster on Apr 23, 2024 13:58:27 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Republican senators demand Biden administration 'restore order' on campuses hit by pro-Palestinian protestsTwenty-five Republican senators have demanded that the Biden administration send federal law enforcement to respond to college campuses where pro-Palestinian protests have occurred, and called the demonstrators “anti-Semitic, pro-terrorist mobs”. “The Department of Education and federal law enforcement must act immediately to restore order, prosecute the mobs who have perpetuated violence and threats against Jewish students, revoke the visas of all foreign nationals (such as exchange students) who have taken part in promoting terrorism, and hold accountable school administrators who have stood by instead of protecting their students,” the group wrote in a letter addressed to the US attorney general, Merrick Garland, and the education secretary, Miguel Cardona. Among the signatories is the party’s Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, and his deputy, John Thune. Josh Hawley, the Missouri senator who separately demanded the president deploy national guard troops to college campuses, also signed the letter.
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Post by Webster on Apr 29, 2024 12:12:30 GMT -5
(The Guardian) House Republicans convene to push immigration, environmental policies as Johnson ouster threat stagnatesThe House of Representatives is back in business today and its Republican majority is trying to make the most of their time in control of Congress’s lower chamber, with plans to take up a host of bills reflecting conservative priorities on immigration and the environment. Among these is a resolution denouncing Joe Biden for the wave of undocumented people that have crossed the southern border during his presidency, and bills to allow oil production on protected land in Alaska and to remove the classification of gray wolves as an endangered species. While some Democrats may lend support from across the aisle, many of these proposals are simply messaging bills meant to impress GOP voters back home ahead of the November elections, and will probably be rejected by the Democratic-led Senate. Of course, it wouldn’t be a work day for the House GOP without some infighting. Rightwing congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has proposed ousting speaker Mike Johnson from office, citing, among other things, his support for Ukraine. The warning has lingered for more than a month and only one other Republican has signed on, but Greene continues to insist that Johnson’s “days as Speaker are numbered” – we’ll see if she makes any progress when she returns to Capitol Hill today.
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Post by Webster on Apr 29, 2024 12:28:58 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Top House Democrat calls for vote on legislation to counter antisemitismThe Democratic House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries has released a letter to Republican speaker Mike Johnson requesting consideration of a bipartisan bill to counter antisemitism. The chamber is expected this week to consider the Antisemitism Awareness Act, a different bill that would require the education department to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism – which has been criticized for equating criticism of Israel with prejudice against Jews. In his letter, Jeffries asks Johnson to allow a vote on the Bipartisan Countering Antisemitism Act, which would create a federal coordinator to fight anti-Jewish sentiment. It’s unclear if Johnson will take his Democratic counterpart up on his request. Here’s Jeffries’s letter:
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Post by Webster on Apr 29, 2024 14:06:36 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Johnson calls reports of ICC considering charges against Netanyahu, Israeli officials 'disgraceful'Republican House speaker Mike Johnson has condemned the International Criminal Courts amid reports that it is considering bringing charges against Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials over their handling of the invasion of Gaza. “It is disgraceful that the International Criminal Court (ICC) is reportedly planning to issue baseless and illegitimate arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials,” Johnson said in a statement. “Such a lawless action by the ICC would directly undermine U.S. national security interests. If unchallenged by the Biden administration, the ICC could create and assume unprecedented power to issue arrest warrants against American political leaders, American diplomats, and American military personnel, thereby endangering our country’s sovereign authority.”
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