Politics Election category, Page 175
George Santos steps down from House panels amid ethics issuesVideo
WASHINGTON — Republican Rep. George Santos of New York told GOP colleagues Tuesday he is temporarily stepping down from his two congressional committees, a move that comes amid a host of ethics issues and a day after he met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Santos has faced numerous calls for...
Ex-Indiana Gov. Daniels won’t seek state’s open Senate seat
INDIANAPOLIS — Former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels announced Tuesday that he wouldn’t seek that state’s open U.S. Senate seat next year, ending weeks of speculation about whether the longtime Republican figure would enter a possibly vicious GOP primary fight with a combative defender of former President Donald Trump. The decision...
GOP leaders in Florida want to get rid of gun permits
TALLAHASSEE — Saying gun owners don’t need a government permission slip to protect their God-given rights, Florida’s House speaker proposed legislation Monday to eliminate concealed weapons permits, a move Democrats argue would make a state with a history of horrific mass shootings less safe. Republican leaders, including Gov. Ron DeSantis,...
President Biden to end covid-19 emergencies on May 11
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden informed Congress on Monday that he will end the twin national emergencies for addressing covid-19 on May 11, as most of the world has returned closer to normalcy nearly three years after they were first declared. The move to end the national emergency and public...
West Virginia advances school mandate on ‘In God We Trust’
CHARLESTON — Public schools in West Virginia may soon be required to display the phrase “In God We Trust” in every building if a bill passed by the state Senate on Monday becomes law. The bill was introduced by Republican Sen. Mike Azinger, who said he wants to give kids...
Trump used records requests to get look behind scenes of talks over his taxes
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump demanded reams of information from the Internal Revenue Service as it was preparing to turn over his personal tax returns to a congressional committee, papering the agency with a deluge of Freedom of Information Act requests in search of a behind-the-scenes look at its deliberations, new...
For ‘Amtrak Joe’ Biden, Baltimore rail tunnel visit personal
BALTIMORE (AP) — Ulysses S. Grant was still president when travelers sped through the Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel, connecting Philadelphia and Washington by rail for the first time. A century and a half later, the tunnel that runs under Baltimore residential neighborhoods is more of a chokepoint than a lifeline....
George Santos scandal consumes Congress, chafes lawmakers on both sides of aisle
Trailed constantly by shouting reporters, Rep. George Santos has become one of the most watched first-term congressmen in history. The New York Republican’s every word is parsed. His preppy sartorial selections are analyzed. Even the treats his staff leaves for journalists outside his office have carried news cycles. Three weeks...
Biden, McCarthy to discuss debt limit in talks on Wednesday
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Sunday he is looking forward to discussing with President Joe Biden a “reasonable and responsible way that we can lift the debt ceiling ” when the two meet Wednesday for their first sit-down at the White House since McCarthy was elected to the...
Concerns over prayer breakfast lead Congress to take it over
WASHINGTON — The National Prayer Breakfast, one of the most visible and long-standing events that brings religion and politics together in Washington, is splitting from the private religious group that had overseen it for decades, due to concerns the gathering had become too divisive. The organizer and host for this...
Trump opens 2024 run, says he’s ‘more committed’ than ever
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Former President Donald Trump kicked off his 2024 White House bid with a stop Saturday in New Hampshire before heading to South Carolina, appearances in early-voting states marking the first campaign events since announcing his latest run more than two months ago. “We’re starting. We’re starting right...
Pence: ‘Mistakes were made’ in classified records handling
MIAMI — Former Vice President Mike Pence said Friday that he takes “full responsibility” after classified documents were found at his Indiana home. “Let me be clear about something: Those classified documents should not have been in my personal residence,” Pence said at an appearance at Florida International University in...
GOP Chair Ronna McDaniel defeats rival in leadership vote
Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel won her bid Friday to lead the GOP for two more years, prevailing in an election that highlighted fierce internal divisions that threaten to plague the party into the next presidential season. McDaniel, whom Donald Trump tapped as RNC chair in 2016, won the...
Biden taps Zients as White House chief of staff
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Jeff Zients on Friday as his next White House chief of staff, tapping an experienced technocrat who headed his administration’s response to the covid-19 pandemic as Biden prepares for a reelection bid while facing an onslaught of investigations from a newly empowered House Republican...
Past U.S. presidents, VPs asked to recheck for classified docs
WASHINGTON — The National Archives has asked former U.S. presidents and vice presidents to recheck their personal records for any classified documents following the news that President Joe Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence had such documents in their possession, two people familiar with the matter said Thursday. The...
Doug Mastriano wants to classify drag shows like strip clubs and adult bookstores
A prom for LGBTQ youth in Doylestown sponsored by a state senator is drawing online attacks — and inspiring legislation from former GOP gubernatorial nominee State Sen. Doug Mastriano. The Rainbow Room, a Planned Parenthood-sponsored LGBTQ youth center that’s been serving Bucks County teens for more than 20 years, hosted...
Questions persist on source of George Santos campaign fundsVideo
NEW YORK — Of all the questions swirling around U.S. Rep. George Santos, one of the most serious has been how he amassed the personal fortune he claimed to have used to finance his campaign. The Republican fabulist filed new campaign finance reports this week that only elevated the confusion...
Donald Trump reinstated to Facebook after 2-year ban
Facebook parent Meta is reinstating former President Donald Trump’s personal account after a two-year suspension following the Jan. 6 insurrection. The company said in a blog post Wednesday it is adding “new guardrails” to ensure there are no “repeat offenders” who violate its rules. “In the event that Mr. Trump...
Manchin bill would delay tax credits for electric vehicles
WASHINGTON — Ratcheting up his criticism of the Biden administration, Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin on Wednesday moved to delay new tax credits for electric vehicles, a key feature of President Joe Biden’s landmark climate law. Manchin said guidelines issued by the Treasury Department allow manufacturers in Europe and other countries...
Leaders are meant to keep state secrets; just not at home
WASHINGTON — Democrats responded with aggrieved fury when former President Donald Trump was found in possession of classified documents that should have been turned over to the government when he left office. Then disclosures that President Joe Biden also mishandled secret papers set loose a Republican “well, what about” roar....
West Virginia Senate passes guns-on-campus bill at colleges
CHARLESTON — Senators in West Virginia overwhelmingly voted to pass a bill Tuesday allowing people with concealed carry permits to bring firearms onto college and university campuses, despite ardent opposition from higher education leaders. “Thank God for West Virginia and freedom,” the bill’s lead sponsor Republican Sen. Rupie Phillips said,...
Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley will introduce legislation to ban TikTok nationwide
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley said Tuesday he will introduce a bill to ban the app TikTok in the United States. “(TikTok) is China’s backdoor into Americans’ lives,” Hawley, R-Mo., said. “It threatens our children’s privacy as well as their mental health. Last month Congress banned it on all...
Classified documents at Mike Pence’s home, too, his lawyer saysVideo
NEW YORK — Documents with classified markings were discovered in former Vice President Mike Pence’s Indiana home last week, his lawyers says, the latest in a string of recoveries of confidential information from the homes of current and former top U.S. officials. The records “appear to be a small number...
Trump posed for picture with former Philly mob boss Joey Merlino at South Florida golf club
They share an affinity for golf and an aversion to cooperating witnesses who “flip” to help federal investigators. But former President Donald Trump and former Philly mob boss Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino don’t have much to say about how they wound up in a photo together at a South Florida...
Debt ceiling: 2011 showdown leaves lessons for Biden, GOP
WASHINGTON — The debate around raising the debt ceiling sounds eerily similar: Newly elected House Republicans, eager to confront the Democratic president in the White House, refused to raise the debt limit without cuts to federal spending. Negotiations over the debt ceiling consumed Washington in 2011, a high-stakes showdown between...
