Politics
AxiosRight-wingers making McCarthy sweat for future Speaker post
Right-wing elements in the Republican Party are complicating House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's attempts to become the next speaker of the House should the GOP take back the majority in 2022.Why it matters: While McCarthy has worked carefully to build trust among the conservatives who tanked his chances at clinching the speakership in 2015, they're still circling ahead of the next Speaker vote in January 2023.Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.These me
AxiosConservative group targets Biden court pick ahead of Mississippi abortion case
A conservative group is targeting Dale Ho, President Biden’s judicial nominee to serve on the Southern District Court of New York, with a six-figure ad buy — launching the first TV campaign against a Biden court pick.Why it matters: The Supreme Court is set to hear a Mississippi abortion law case on Wednesday, and conservatives and progressives are bracing for the political fallout from additional legal showdowns, as well as a battle over the president’s effort to fill some 70 vacancies througho
Associated PressBoebert in call refuses to apologize for anti-Muslim remarks
Days after firebrand conservative Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado was harshly criticized for making anti-Muslim comments about Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat whom she likened to a bomb-carrying terrorist, the two spoke by phone. Monday's conversation, which Boebert sought after issuing a tepid statement last Friday, offered an opportunity to extend an olive branch in a House riven by tension. Instead, it ended abruptly after Boebert rejected Omar's request for a public apology, amplifying partisan strife that has become a feature, not a bug, of the GOP since a mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Associated PressAppeals court to weigh Trump arguments to withhold records
Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers will try to persuade a federal appeals court to stop Congress from receiving call logs, drafts of speeches and other documents related to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol led by his supporters. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will hear arguments Tuesday from lawyers for Trump and the House committee seeking the records as part of its investigation into the riot. Trump’s attorneys want the court to reverse a federal judge’s ruling allowing the National Archives and Records Administration to turn over the records after President Joe Biden waived executive privilege.
BBCCovid: Omicron lockdown not needed for now, Biden says
The president urges Americans not to panic about the new Coronavirus variant, saying a lockdown is avoidable.
Business InsiderCongressional failure to raise the debt ceiling could "eviscerate" pandemic recovery, warns Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen
Yellen also advised Congress to pass Biden's social safety net plan, the Build Back Better Act, saying it will lead to a long-term GDP increase.
ReutersPentagon releases few details after months-long review on global posture
A nearly 10-month Pentagon review released on Monday provided few details on the future of the military's global posture but said that President Joe Biden's administration would make decisions by working with allies and looking at long-term objectives. The review is an attempt to move away from how former President Donald Trump made major decisions that impacted the military and allies - often on Twitter and with little discussions within his own administration that caught officials by surprise. During his tenure Trump announced that U.S. troops would be leaving Syria on several occasions and at one point ordered a large troop cut from Germany, which Biden reversed.
ReutersCall between Republican Boebert, Democrat Omar ends in rancor after anti-Muslim slur
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A phone call between Republican U.S. Representative Lauren Boebert and Democratic counterpart Ilhan Omar ended in rancor on Monday after Boebert refused to publicly apologize for suggesting she viewed her colleague as a threat, the two said. Boebert, a first-term lawmaker who has courted controversy by vowing to ignore Washington gun laws https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-congress-boebert/gun-toting-u-s-representative-boebert-aims-to-pack-more-than-her-lunch-on-d-c-streets-idUSKBN2992HC and criticizing fellow Republicans, placed the call after a video emerged showing her calling Omar, who is Muslim, a member of a "jihad squad https://www.reuters.com/world/us/republican-lawmaker-boebert-apologizes-anti-muslim-slur-2021-11-26." But on Monday, Boebert showed no sign of remorse, posting a video that described her call with Omar and doubled down on her comments.
USA TODAYUnvaccinated federal workers won't be fired during holiday season despite missing deadline
Most federal workers who failed to meet the deadline to get vaccinated will not be suspended or fired until next year, the Biden administration said.
Yahoo NewsJan. 6 committee to hold contempt vote for Trump DOJ official Jeffrey Clark
Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department lawyer, assisted Trump in his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
NBC NewsBiden administration won't take action against unvaccinated federal workers until next year
Last Monday was the deadline for workers to get vaccinated or face suspension or firing.
Associated PressJan. 6 panel sets contempt vote for former DOJ official
A House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection will vote Wednesday to hold a former Justice Department official in contempt, demanding criminal charges against a defiant witness for a second time as lawmakers seek answers about the violent attack. The committee on Monday scheduled a vote to pursue contempt charges against Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department lawyer who aligned with President Donald Trump as he tried to overturn his election defeat. If approved by the panel, the recommendation of criminal contempt charges would then go to the full House for a vote and then to the Justice Department.
Associated PressBiden vaccine rule for health workers blocked in 10 states
A federal judge on Monday blocked President Joe Biden’s administration from enforcing a coronavirus vaccine mandate on thousands of health care workers in 10 states that had brought the first legal challenge against the requirement. The court order said that the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid had no clear authority from Congress to enact the vaccine mandate for providers participating in the two government health care programs for the elderly, disabled and poor. The preliminary injunction by St. Louis-based U.S. District Judge Matthew Schelp applies to a coalition of suing states that includes Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.
ReutersWalmart CEO says Biden supply chain push is easing bottlenecks
Walmart Inc Chief Executive Doug McMillon on Monday hailed the Biden administration's efforts to ease supply chain bottlenecks as the holiday season gets underway, noting the decision to extend port hours was having a positive impact on the flow of goods. McMillon added that Walmart had noticed a 51% improvement in flow through Southern California ports, a big help for key holiday categories like toys.
Associated PressUS Rep. Tom Suozzi says he's running for New York governor
Democratic U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi said Monday that he is running for New York governor in next year's election, joining a competitive primary race that became wide open when former Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned. Suozzi told reporters on a virtual news conference that he's jumping into the 2022 race. “I’m a common sense Democrat," Suozzi said.
ReutersRecord number of U.S. firms change tack on political spending after Jan. 6 attack
The number of S&P 500 companies that have either stopped political giving or plan to disclose it hit a record in 2021 after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and recent social justice protests, according to a study viewed by Reuters. According to the study from the Center for Political Accountability, U.S. companies see new risks in political giving in light of the country's hyper-partisan environment, leading corporations to either halt contributions or disclose them. "Unrest and angry political conflict have defined the past two years," according to the study, which cited as examples the violent assault on the U.S. Capitol, the two-time impeachment of former President Donald Trump and attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
HuffPostWhite House Doctor Who Raved About Trump's Health Now Says Omicron Is Election Ruse
GOP Rep. Ronny Jackson insisted that the highly transmissible variant is just a trick to "push" midterm mail-in ballots.
The GuardianTrump called aides hours before Capitol riot to discuss how to stop Biden victory
Sources tell Guardian Trump pressed lieutenants at Willard hotel in Washington about ways to delay certification of election result Trump on the afternoon of 6 January. Multiple sources described Trump’s involvement in the effort to subvert the election result. Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images Hours before the deadly attack on the US Capitol this year, Donald Trump made several calls from the White House to top lieutenants at the Willard hotel in Washington and talked about ways to stop
HuffPostRepublican Colleague Tom Reed Calls Lauren Boebert's Vile Attacks A 'Pox On All Our Houses'
“We have degraded" in Congress to a "level of hate I’ve never felt before," said the New York lawmaker.
Associated PressHonduras leftist leader could present opportunities for US
If Xiomara Castro’s wide lead in Honduras’ presidential election holds, her leftist government could present challenges, but also opportunities for a Biden administration that has struggled with how to work on the country’s problems while keeping current President Juan Orlando Hernández at arm’s length. There will be some painful history to overcome, primarily the U.S. government’s refusal to call the ouster of Castro’s husband José Manuel Zelaya in 2009 what it was — a military coup — and then proceeding to work closely with conservative National Party presidents who followed. The U.S. government has not commented on the election.
USA TODAYGlobal risk of omicron variant is 'very high;' Biden urges vaccinations, masks; judge blocks vaccine mandate: Latest COVID-19 updates
Meanwhile, Biden on Monday urged Americans to get vaccinated, obtain a booster shot, and wear masks in public places.
AxiosCongress sprints to meet debt limit, funding deadlines
Congressional leaders have been pushing off vital action for months — and a lot of it will catch up with them in December, which begins Wednesday.Driving the news: Funding for the federal government is set to expire at midnight on Friday. There are also consequential deadlines related to the debt limit, President Biden's agenda and annual actions like voting on the National Defense Authorization Act.Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for f
CBS NewsOmicron: What we know — and don't know — about the new COVID variant
President Biden said he plans to outline a new strategy on Thursday to curb the virus this winter.
HuffPostPresident Joe Biden Reaches Out To Another Child Struggling With A Stutter
"I promise you it will go away if you just keep at it," Biden assured a girl while vacationing in Nantucket.
NBC NewsSenior Biden official reassures Colombian Americans after fallout over FARC decision
Biden administration official Juan Gonzalez reassured Colombian Americans in Miami after criticism over removing the former rebel group FARC from a terrorism list.
“I know it doesn’t feel like it, but inflation is both a feature and a bug of a normalizing economy.”
“What is not going to work, and hasn’t worked, is trying to talk people out of the lived reality of higher prices.”
“When inflation expectations rise, actual inflation tends to follow.”
“The Fed must acknowledge that its monetary policy has been a source of inflation, and that it will need to raise interest rates.”
“The supply chain logjams are the core of the problem right now, and that should work itself out over time.”