Politics Election category, Page 242
In Pittsburgh visit, Biden unveils $2 trillion American Jobs Plan
President Joe Biden traveled to suburban Pittsburgh on Wednesday afternoon to unveil a $2.3 trillion plan intended to revive the nation’s pandemic-battered economy through new infrastructure and transportation-related projects around the country. Biden deemed his newly released American Jobs Plan to be the greatest American investment “since we built the...
Hunter Biden says he wouldn’t repeat work for Ukrainian firm
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s son Hunter says his service on the board of a Ukrainian gas company, which Republicans tried to turn into a negative during the 2020 presidential campaign, wasn’t unethical and didn’t represent a lack of judgment on his part. But the younger Biden wouldn’t do it...
Biden heads to Pittsburgh region to unveil major infrastructure plan
Moments before boarding a plane at the Allegheny County Airport in late August, then-Democratic nominee for president Joe Biden paused to talk directly to Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. While masked up and keeping 6 feet back, “He looked me in the eye and said, ‘I’ll be back when we...
House ethics panel rejects Louie Gohmert’s appeal of $5,000 metal detector fine
WASHINGTON — The House Ethics Committee rejected Rep. Louie Gohmert’s appeal of a $5,000 fine levied against him for evading the new metal detectors outside the House chamber in early February after he stepped out of the chamber to use the nearby restroom and then returned to the floor. Gohmert...
GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz investigated over alleged sexual relationship with underage girl
WASHINGTON — Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, a prominent conservative in Congress and a close ally of former President Donald Trump, said Tuesday he is being investigated by the Justice Department over a former relationship but denied any criminal wrongdoing. Gaetz, who represents parts of western Florida, told Axios that his...
Pennsylvania election law reforms won’t be ready for primary
HARRISBURG — Five months after the state’s narrow and bitterly contested presidential race drew Republican claims of improper election procedures, it’s clear no changes will be enacted in time for Pennsylvania’s spring primary election. The GOP majorities in both legislative chambers have convened a series of hearings on election law...
Tennessee lawmakers sending governor permitless carry gun bill
NASHVILLE — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee can soon sign off on his proposal to let most adults 21 and older carry handguns — concealed or openly — without a license that now requires a background check and training. Republican lawmakers in the supermajority finished their work on the bill Monday...
Arkansas Senate OKs ban on treatments for transgender youth
LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Senate on Monday approved banning gender confirming treatments for minors, sending the governor a restriction on transgender youth that has been criticized by medical and child welfare groups. The majority Republican Senate voted 28-7 in favor of the legislation. If the bill is enacted it...
Republican announces run for Murkowski’s Alaska Senate seat
JUNEAU, Alaska — An early Republican candidate announced plans Monday to seek the Alaska U.S. Senate seat that has been held since 2002 by Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Kelly Tshibaka, who has led the sprawling Alaska Department of Administration since early 2019, in a statement said she is running “for...
Former Trump adviser takes prominent role in voting battle
A GOP lawyer who advised former President Donald Trump on his campaign to overturn the 2020 election results is now playing a central role coordinating the Republican effort to tighten voting laws around the country. Cleta Mitchell, a longtime Republican lawyer and advocate for conservative causes, was among the Trump...
Arizona GOP wants felony for protesters who damage statues
PHOENIX — Republicans in the Arizona Legislature are reacting to last year’s wave of damage to Confederate monuments by civil rights protesters here and across the nation by working to make it a felony to damage or destroy any public or private monument or statue. Rep. John Kavanagh supported his...
GOP 2024 contenders enter Iowa, wary of Trump’s long shadow
DES MOINES, Iowa — Ambitious Republicans are starting to make moves in Iowa, long a proving ground for future presidents. Their first step is finding out whether activists there have gotten over the last one. Former President Donald Trump remains a hulking presence in Iowa, where he won twice by...
Sweeping changes to Georgia elections signed into law by Gov. Kemp amid outcryVideo
ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp quickly signed a vast rewrite of Georgia’s election rules into law Thursday, imposing voter ID requirements, limiting drop boxes and allowing state takeovers of local elections after last year’s close presidential race. Kemp finalized the bill just over an hour after it cleared the General...
Lawmakers press Big Tech CEOs on speech responsibilityVideo
WASHINGTON — The CEOs of tech giants Facebook, Twitter and Google faced a grilling in Congress Thursday as lawmakers tried to draw them into acknowledging their companies’ roles in fueling the January insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and rising covid-19 vaccine misinformation. In a hearing by the House Energy and...
Biden leaves door open for Senate changes to advance agendaVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden at his first news conference Thursday left the door open to backing fundamental changes in Senate procedure to muscle key parts of his agenda like immigration and voting rights past Republican opposition “if there’s complete lockdown and chaos.” The 78-year-old president also for the first...
Biden: ‘My plan is to run for reelection’ in 2024
NEW YORK — President Joe Biden on Thursday said he would likely seek reelection in 2024, but the 78-year-old Democrat left open the possibility of stepping aside after one term. “My plan is to run for reelection. That’s my expectation,” Biden told reporters in a wide-ranging news conference, the first...
West Virginia House passes transgender athlete bill
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Transgender athletes in West Virginia middle and high schools would be banned from competing on teams relating to their preferred sexual identity under a bill passed Thursday by the House of Delegates. The bill passed on a 78-20 vote with two delegates absent. It now goes to...
Rep. Greene agrees not to block critics from Twitter account
LOS ANGELES — U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and a Los Angeles-based political action committee have reached a settlement that bars the Georgia Republican from blocking anyone from her public Twitter account or other social media while she’s in office. Greene also agreed to pay $10,000 to cover legal fees...
Biden leaves door open for U.S. to stay longer in AfghanistanVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday left the door open for U.S. troops to stay in Afghanistan through the end of the year, and one of his top generals told Congress that Afghanistan’s military forces need American assistance to successfully counter the Taliban. Biden, at his first news conference...
U.S. women’s soccer stars join Biden to promote closing pay gap
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is making the case Wednesday that the pay disparity between men and women has hurt the economy, bringing members of the U.S. women’s national soccer team to the White House to help set new goals for equality. Wednesday marked “Equal Pay Day” — which is...
White House officials, lawmakers to tour border facility
WASHINGTON — A delegation of White House officials and members of Congress was traveling to the southern border on Wednesday to tour a facility being used to house migrant children as increasing numbers of unaccompanied young people cross into the United States. The visit to a facility in Carrizo Springs,...
Atlanta spa killings prompt new proposals from Georgia Democrats
ATLANTA — Georgia Democrats have introduced a slate of legislation in response to the massage business shootings that killed eight people, including six women of Asian descent — though it’s unlikely the bills will see movement in the Republican-controlled legislature. The proposals would require a five-day waiting period for gun...
Biden readies for 1st news conference, White House tradition
WASHINGTON — He’d led allied armies in the defeat of Nazi Germany only to find himself, a decade later, a tad intimidated before the cameras in an echoey room of the Old Executive Office Building, ready to make history again. “Well, I see we’re trying a new experiment this morning,”...
Judge in Capitol riot case blasts DOJ over ‘60 Minutes’ interviewVideo
WASHINGTON — A federal judge in charge of one of the highest-profile cases stemming from the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot rebuked the Justice Department for discussing its probe in public. “These defendants are entitled to a fair trial, not one that is conducted in the media,” U.S. District Judge...
Newly confirmed surgeon general to focus on covid, opioidsVideo
WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed a soft-spoken physician as President Joe Biden’s surgeon general Tuesday. While Dr. Vivek Murthy says ending the coronavirus pandemic is his top priority, he’s also raised concerns over a relapsing opioid overdose crisis. The vote on Murthy was 57-43, giving him bipartisan support. Biden’s coronavirus...
