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Post by Webster on Jan 29, 2024 15:05:58 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Just what are Republicans accusing Alejandro Mayorkas of doing? Over the weekend, the announced their articles of impeachment against the homeland security chief, and the Guardian’s Richard Luscombe took a gander: Republicans published two articles of impeachment against homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Sunday, and plan to formally advance them on Tuesday towards a full House vote, despite two hearings failing to produce any evidence of his wrongdoing.
The politically charged move comes amid a raging battle in Washington DC over immigration, with a senior Democrat announcing Sunday that senators had reached a bipartisan agreement to tighten border security, even as Donald Trump took credit for likely sinking it.
The impeachment charges against Mayorkas allege, first, that he ignored laws passed by Congress and court orders, in order to pursue policies that led to a surge in illegal immigration; and second, that he breached the public trust by making false statements and obstructing oversight of the homeland security department. “Congress has a duty to see that the executive branch implements and enforces the laws we have passed. Yet Secretary Mayorkas has repeatedly refused to do so,” Tennessee Republican congressman Mark Green, chair of the House homeland security committee, said in a statement.
A homeland security official responded by calling the charges “a sham” and a distraction from “other vital national security priorities”. “This markup is just more of the same political games from House homeland security committee Republicans,” the official said in a statement.
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Post by Webster on Jan 29, 2024 15:09:27 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Joe Biden’s use of the GOP’s “shut down the border” rhetoric over the weekend and endorsement of the immigration deal under negotiation in the Senate did not placate Republican speaker of the House Mike Johnson. In a statement released Saturday, Johnson argued that the president already has the legal authority to bar new arrivals from Mexico. “The Immigration and Nationality Act coupled with recent Supreme Court precedent give him ‘ample authority’ to ‘suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate,’” Johnson wrote. It was Johnson’s latest shot across the bow at the potential immigration policy deal. On Friday, he sent a letter to Republican lawmakers saying that based on what he’s heard about the negotiations, the proposal would be “dead on arrival” in the House.
Donald Trump doubled down on his opposition to the Senate immigration policy bill over the weekend. At a campaign rally in Nevada, where he’s set to win its Republican caucus on 8 February, the Washington Post reported that Trump said, “As the leader of our party, there is zero chance I will support this horrible open borders betrayal of America.” He continued: I’ll fight it all the way. A lot of the senators are trying to say, respectfully, they’re blaming it on me. I say, that’s okay. Please blame it on me. Please.Trump’s comments appeared to be an allusion to reports from last week that Mitch McConnell, the Senate’s Republican minority leader who has had a tense relationship with Trump, told his party behind closed doors that the immigration deal may have to be rejected so the former president could campaign on the issue. The comments sparked an outcry, and McConnell reportedly walked them back the following day.
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Post by Webster on Jan 30, 2024 13:59:17 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Republican House speaker Johnson declares Senate immigration deal 'dead' - reportRepublican speaker of the House Mike Johnson told his lawmakers that an immigration policy compromise under negotiation in the Senate that is seen as crucial to getting military aid to Ukraine and Israel approved is “absolutely dead” in his chamber, CNN reports. The comment comes from rightwing lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has already rejected the measures that a bipartisan group of senators are reportedly bargaining over: Greene’s remarks bode ill for the compromise, the text of which has not yet been released. Republicans have demanded changes to the immigration system to cut down on undocumented migrants crossing in from Mexico, in exchange for their support for Joe Biden’s proposal to help the militaries of both Ukraine and Israel. If the House indeed rejects the compromise legislation, it’s unclear how Ukraine aid, which is opposed by rightwing Republicans, will be approved by Congress.
Mike Johnson may make his opposition to the immigration compromise official this afternoon. The Republican House speaker announced he would make a floor speech – his first since being elected the chamber’s leader – at 12.30pm. On Friday, Johnson strongly hinted that he would oppose the deal, telling Republicans, “if rumors about the contents of the draft proposal are true, it would have been dead on arrival in the House anyway”. The text of the deal hasn’t been released yet, but if Johnson makes good on his threats, it will greatly complicate efforts to pass military aid to Ukraine and Israel.
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Post by Webster on Jan 30, 2024 14:07:04 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Earlier today, Republican House speaker Mike Johnson denied that he opposed the Senate’s bipartisan immigration talks because Donald Trump wants to campaign on his own hardline approach to the issue. Last week, it was reported that the Senate’s top Republican, Mitch McConnell, told his lawmakers behind closed doors that even if the negotiations lead to an agreement, he may not support it so that Trump can run on immigration reform. While McConnell later reportedly walked those comments back, it bodes ill for Congress’s chances of passing legislative fixes to one of the most contentious issues in American politics months in a presidential election year.
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Post by Webster on Feb 6, 2024 17:13:07 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Feb 7, 2024 16:01:00 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Feb 7, 2024 16:15:50 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Johnson acknowledges 'mess' in the House, again vows to impeach MayorkasIn remarks to reporters in the Capitol, the House speaker, Mike Johnson, said Republicans will try impeaching homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas again, but did not say when that would happen: Last time was a setback, but democracy is messy. We live in a time of divided government. We have a razor-thin margin here and every vote counts. Sometimes, when you’re counting votes, and people show up when they’re not expected to be in the building, that changes the equation. But, listen, we have a duty and a responsibility to take care of this issue. We have to hold the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security accountable, and Mayorkas needs to be held accountable. The Biden administration needs to be held accountable, and we will pass those articles of impeachment. We’ll do it on next round.Last night’s defeat of the impeachment effort was an embarrassment for Johnson, who has only been in the speaker’s job for about three months. Asked to respond to comments from a fellow House Republican that it was a mistake to remove Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House, Johnson said: “It was a mess, what happened here, but we’re cleaning it up.” He was also noncommittal about how the House would react if the Democratic-led Senate approves a bill that would fund aid to Israel and Ukraine. “We’ll see what the Senate does. We’re allowing the process to play out and we’ll handle it as it is sent over,” he said.
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Post by Webster on Feb 16, 2024 22:02:12 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Top Republican says he hopes Navalny's death will send message about 'who Mr Putin really is'Michael McCaul, the Republican chair of the House foreign affairs committee, said of Navalny: I hope that out of his death will come something to send a message to the world and to the American people about who Mr Putin really is - not to have this charm offensive that Mr Putin is somehow a misunderstood man. His intentions are very clear to me.As a traditional national security conservative, McCaul is at odds with Maga Republicans who are loyal to Donald Trump, a Putin admirer, and who follow media figures like Tucker Carlson, who this week did a softball interview with Putin and broadcast from Russian supermarkets giving a rosy depiction of Russian life. McCaul was sceptical on whether the dissident’s death would bring any closer a vote on a supplemental budget bill that would resume US arms supplies to Ukraine, currently being held up by the Republican leadership. Asked whether Republican members of congress might be moved to change their minds on the issue by Navalny’s death in prison, he replied: Well, to the extent members of Congress know who he is.
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Post by Webster on Feb 22, 2024 17:30:25 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Ocasio-Cortez calls Biden weighing action to restrict migrants from asylum 'outrageous'Top progressive lawmaker Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized Biden for reportedly considering executive action that would restrict migrants from seeking asylum in the US. The New York representative called out Biden for potentially using federal laws previously implemented by Donald Trump to crack down on migration. “Doing Trump impressions isn’t how we beat Trump,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a post to X, formerly known as Twitter. “Seeking asylum is a legal right of all people. In the face of authoritarian threat, we should not buckle on our principles – we should commit to them. The mere suggestion is outrageous and the President should refuse to sign it,” she added.
Representative Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said that Biden would be making a “mistake” if he took executive action to stop migrants from seeking asylum at the US-Mexico border. “This would be an extremely disappointing mistake,” Jayapal said on X of Biden’s potential unilateral action. “Cruel enforcement-only policies have been tried for 30 years and simply do not work,” Jayapal added. “Democrats cannot continue to take pages out of Donald Trump and Stephen Miller’s playbook – we need to lead with dignity and humanity.” Biden is facing mounting backlash from progressives over reports that he will attempt to curtail migration by using Trump-era federal law.
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Post by Webster on Feb 22, 2024 17:59:11 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Republican House speaker Johnson says immigration actions Biden is reportedly considering are 'election year gimmicks'Republican House speaker Mike Johnson is none too impressed by reports that Joe Biden is considering using his powers under existing law to curb migrants crossing into the United States from Mexico. In a statement, Johnson demanded Biden take tougher actions, such as forcing asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while their claims are processed. He also said the reports that the president is wiling to act unilaterally prove that there’s no need for Congress to pass new laws to curb undocumented migrants: Americans have lost faith in this President and won’t be fooled by election year gimmicks that don’t actually secure the border. Nor will they forget that the President created this catastrophe and, until now, has refused to use his executive power to fix it.
These reports also underscore just how brazenly and intentionally President Biden misled the public when he claimed he had done everything in his power to secure the border. Specifically, the President’s alleged desire to invoke Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which the White House dismissed using for months, is particularly telling.
If these reports are true and the President intends to take action, he can show he’s serious by changing more than asylum policy. He should begin by reinstituting the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy and ending his administration’s abuse of the parole system, along with other critical reforms.Earlier this month, Johnson and his fellow House Republicans torpedoed a bipartisan Senate deal that would have authorized another round of military assistance to Ukraine as well as Israel, while also imposing hardline immigration policies. Among Johnson’s objections were his belief that Biden didn’t need any new legislation to stop people from entering from Mexico – but Donald Trump also encouraged him to reject the deal, reportedly so he can use frustration with migrants in his campaign.
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Post by Webster on Feb 27, 2024 17:14:03 GMT -5
(The Guardian) While the Republican House speaker Mike Johnson is at the White House to negotiate with Joe Biden, a member of his party is trying to get Joe Biden declared too old to serve, the Guardian’s Martin Pengelly reports: A Colorado Republican introduced a congressional resolution calling for Kamala Harris to invoke the 25th amendment to the US constitution and remove Joe Biden because he is too old.
The resolution from the US House member Ken Buck has little chance of success.
John Dean, who was White House counsel under Richard Nixon, the president who resigned under pressure from his own party, said: “Just when you think there may be a few normal Republicans, you discover they are all crazy. “This man [Buck] is leaving public office. He is the person with the cognitive problem not Joe Biden.”
Section four of the 25th amendment provides for the replacement, by the vice-president, of a president deemed incapable. It has never been used. Calls for its use intensified in 2021, after the deadly January 6 attack on Congress, which Donald Trump incited in an attempt to stay in the Oval Office.
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Post by Webster on Feb 28, 2024 13:47:44 GMT -5
(The Guardian) House speaker remains noncommittal on Ukraine aid after open letter from global parliament leadersThe leaders of 23 parliaments across the world have signed a letter to Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, urging him to allow a vote on more military aid to Ukraine. “We believe that thanks to your personal leadership, the Congress will demonstrate historic bipartisan unity in support of the collective effort to assist Ukraine; therefore we ask you to take the next step toward adopting a historic decision on HR815 that will secure US assistance to foreign countries and provide Ukraine with the necessary funds to continue its fight,” reads the letter, which was organized by Ruslan Stefanchuk, the chair of Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada. It has been signed by the leaders of several European parliaments and legislatures, including in France, Spain, Austria and Italy. Johnson has been noncommittal about holding a vote to approve Ukraine aid after earlier this month killing a bipartisan Senate deal that would have authorized assistance to Kyiv as well as Israel and Taiwan in exchange for stricter immigration policies. In response to the letter from the parliaments, Johnson’s office said: While Speaker Johnson believes we must confront Putin, and is exploring steps to effectively do so, as he said at the White House, his immediate priority is funding America’s government and avoiding a shut down.
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Post by Webster on Feb 29, 2024 17:24:38 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Mar 1, 2024 19:18:02 GMT -5
(The Guardian) A group of pro-Israel House Democrats have written to Joe Biden backing “a temporary pause in fighting” between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Nearly 30 Democratic lawmakers, led by Brad Schneider and Jimmy Panetta, are urging the president to continue talks for a temporary pause in fighting to allow for a hostage release and provide aid for civilians in Gaza. The letter writes that: A temporary pause in fighting will not only help release the hostages and give desperately needed relief to the millions of civilians displaced by this war, it can also open a path to permanently ending the conflict.The letter is signed by mostly moderate, pro-Israel Democrats, about half of whom voted for the Republican-led Israel-only aid package that failed last month, according to Punchbowl News. Schneider, a Democratic congressman for Illinois, told the outlet that he was motivated to organize the effort after Biden expressed cautious optimism that a temporary ceasefire and hostage release deal was imminent. “The war could end tomorrow if Hamas would release the hostages,” Schneider said. “We need to find a path to get to peace and that’s what this letter talks about.”
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Post by Webster on Mar 5, 2024 18:17:36 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Third-ranking Senate Republican Barrasso won't run to replace McConnellSenator John Barrasso of Wyoming has decided not to run for Senate Republican leader to succeed Mitch McConnell, and instead will run for the No. 2 position of whip, according to multiple reports. Barrasso, 71, is the third-ranking Senate Republican as chairman of the Senate Republican Conference and relatively popular with the Republican right. He endorsed Donald Trump in January and has the closes relationship with the former president of the “three Johns”. His decision not to run for Senate GOP leader means the race is now effectively between senators John Thune of South Dakota and John Cornyn of Texas, although Barrasso’s departure could pave the way for another Trump ally to throw their hat in the ring. Senator Rick Scott of Florida met with Trump on Monday night amid speculation that he could launch a bid for leader. Trump has also privately urged Steve Daines of Montana to run for the position, Axios reported.
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