Politics Election category, Page 339
Trump says he wants background checks, reassures NRA
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday he believes he has influence to rally Republicans around stronger federal background check laws as Congress and the White House work on a response to last weekend’s mass shootings in Texas and Ohio. At the same time, Trump said he had assured the...
Trump picks Joseph Maguire as new acting national intelligence director
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Thursday named Joseph Maguire, the nation’s top counterterrorism official, as acting national intelligence director, part of a leadership shake-up at the agency that oversees 17 U.S. spy agencies. Maguire will become acting director on Aug. 15, the same day that National Intelligence Director Dan Coats’...
Mitch McConnell wants to consider gun background checks in fall
WASHINGTON — Shifting the gun violence debate, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday he now wants to consider background checks and other bills, setting up a potentially pivotal moment when lawmakers return in the fall. The Republican leader won’t be calling senators back to work early, as some are...
Trump fundraiser puts billionaire host Stephen M. Ross on the defensiveVideo
WASHINGTON — A billionaire New York investor and owner of the Miami Dolphins who is hosting a high-dollar fundraiser for Donald Trump on Friday also has a financial interest in the president’s business empire — including his iconic Manhattan tower. Shortly after Trump’s election, Stephen M. Ross tried to take...
Ex-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe sues Justice Department over his firingVideo
WASHINGTON — Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe sued the Justice Department and Attorney General William Barr, claiming he was illegally fired last year for allegedly failing to fully disclose conversations he had with a reporter about pending investigations. Barr’s predecessor, Jeff Sessions, fired McCabe in March 2018, just before...
Trump says he’s considering commutation for Blagojevich
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says he’s “very strongly” considering commuting the sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who is serving a 14-year prison term on multiple federal corruption convictions. Trump suggested more than a year ago that he was considering a commutation for Blagojevich, who then filed paperwork...
Poll: Majority of Pennsylvanians support additional regulations on gun ownership
Retired steelworker Arthur Flowers of Derry Township is among thousands of Pennsylvanians who have a license to carry a concealed handgun. But he’s also among nearly two-thirds of registered voters in a recent statewide poll who said they favor some type of additional laws regulating gun ownership. A Franklin &...
House Judiciary sues to force former White House counsel Don McGahn to testifyVideo
WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee took another step toward possible impeachment proceedings, filing a lawsuit in federal court on Wednesday aimed at forcing former White House counsel Donald McGahn to testify about his interactions with President Trump. McGahn was a star witness in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation who...
Trump faces protests as he visits Dayton, El Paso
DAYTON, Ohio — Protesters greeted President Donald Trump’s arrival in Dayton Wednesday, blaming his incendiary rhetoric for inflaming political and racial tensions in the country, as he visited survivors of last weekend’s mass shootings and saluted first responders. The president and first lady Melania Trump began their visit at the...
Bipartisan ‘red flag’ gun laws plan has support in Congress
WASHINGTON — Despite frequent mass shootings, Congress has proved to be unable to pass substantial gun violence legislation, largely because of resistance from Republicans. But a bipartisan proposal by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., is gaining momentum following weekend mass shootings in Texas and Ohio that left...
Trump, Republican party sue over California tax return law
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Trump campaign and Republican Party sued California on Tuesday over a new law requiring presidential candidates to release their tax returns to run in the state’s primary, legislation that was aimed at prying loose President Trump’s returns. California’s law is “a naked political attack against the...
Peter Strzok sues FBI for firing him over anti-Trump texts
WASHINGTON — A veteran FBI agent who wrote derogatory text messages about Donald Trump filed a lawsuit Tuesday charging that the bureau caved to “unrelenting pressure” from the president when it fired him. The suit from Peter Strzok also alleges he was unfairly punished for expressing his political opinions, and...
Senators promote law to standardize gun denial notifications
Three days after a pair of mass shootings rocked the nation, a bipartisan coalition of U.S. senators is promoting legislation that would standardize procedures for gun license denials across the country. Pennsylvania is among 13 states that operate their own background checks on individuals attempting to purchase firearms using the...
Mitch McConnell campaign blasted for photos of tombstones for political foesVideo
It is not a good look for Team Mitch. The Mitch McConnell campaign tweeted an image during the weekend of a mock graveyard with the names on tombstones of the Senate majority leader’s political opponents. And the timing could not be worse. Two mass shootings where more than 30 people...
Democrats: Trump should demand Senate vote on gun bill
WASHINGTON — If President Donald Trump is serious about strengthening gun laws in the wake of two mass shootings, he should demand that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell put a House-passed bill strengthening background checks up for a vote, congressional Democrats said Monday. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said the...
Putin urges arms talks with U.S. after nuclear pact demise
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that Russia will only deploy new intermediate-range missiles if the United States does, following the demise of a key nuclear pact, and called for urgent arms control talks to prevent a chaotic arms race. Putin issued his statement after the 1987 Intermediate-Range...
2020 Democrats lay blame on Trump’s rhetoric for shootings
MANCHESTER, N.H. — Democratic presidential candidates sought to lay blame Sunday on President Donald Trump following a pair of mass shootings in Ohio and Texas, saying his language against minorities promotes racial division and violence. At public events and on television, several candidates pointed to a need for more gun...
Cummings urges Trump to ‘come to Baltimore’
BALTIMORE — Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings took the high road in inviting President Donald Trump and other Americans to visit Baltimore but declining to respond in kind to the barrage of presidential tweets and comments disparaging him and the majority-black city he has long represented. “We are a great community,”...
2020 Dems back gun limits after El Paso mass shooting
LAS VEGAS — Democratic presidential candidates expressed outrage Saturday that mass shootings have become chillingly common nationwide and blamed the National Rifle Association and its congressional allies after a gunman opened fire at a shopping area near the Texas-Mexico border. “It’s not just today, it has happened several times this...
States sue Trump administration over fuel economy penalties
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A coalition of states sued the Trump administration Friday for the second time to block a planned reduction in the penalties automakers pay when they fail to meet fuel economy standards. Twelve states and the District of Columbia sued the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for replacing...
Analysis shows Bernie Sanders with most donors and money in U.S., Western Pa.; Joe Biden still leads in polls
Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders — once again making a play for blue-collar workers — has received donations from across the country, including much of Southwestern Pennsylvania. Maps created by The New York Times show Sanders receiving a higher number of donations across Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh region — areas with...
Trump pick for national intelligence director is withdrawing
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says his pick for national intelligence director has decided to withdraw from the running, citing unfair media coverage. In a tweet Friday, Trump said Republican Rep. John Ratcliffe of Texas had decided to stay in Congress. Questions about Ratcliffe’s experience have dogged him since Trump...
U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings says he scared away home intruder; Trump tweets ‘Too bad!’
BALTIMORE — U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings provided details Friday of a break-in at his Baltimore home last weekend, saying he scared the intruder away by yelling. President Donald Trump alluded to the incident with a new tweet Friday morning: “Really bad news! The Baltimore house of Elijah Cummings was robbed....
Trump declares he will rid U.S. of AIDS and cure pediatric cancer ‘very shortly’
President Donald Trump on Thursday said that he will put an end to two deadly diseases for Americans. “The things we’re doing in our country today, there’s never been anything like it. We will be ending the AIDS epidemic shortly in America and curing childhood cancer very shortly,” he said...
Texas Rep. Will Hurd, lone black House Republican, won’t run again
SAN ANTONIO — U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, an ex-CIA undercover officer and the lone black Republican in the House of Representatives, says he won’t seek a third term next year. The San Antonio Republican’s announcement came in a statement Thursday posted on his House web page. He’s the third Texas...
