Politics Election category, Page 354
Judges: Michigan must redraw congressional, legislative maps
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan must redraw dozens of congressional and legislative districts for the 2020 election because Republicans configured them to unconstitutionally guarantee their political dominance and dilute the power of Democratic voters, federal judges ruled Thursday. In a 3-0 ruling — which will be appealed — the panel gave...
Joe Biden spotted on Amtrak train after announcing presidential run
“Amtrak Joe” lived up to his old nickname Thursday when he took a modest train ride after becoming a 2020 candidate. Former Vice President Joe Biden was photographed riding an Amtrak train to New York just hours after his campaign announced his candidacy for president via an online video. BBC...
George Conway launches ‘Deranged Donald’ nickname in Trump Twitter rant
The husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway on Thursday coined a new nickname for President Trump: Deranged Donald. George Conway started using the hashtag #DerangedDonald and it didn’t take long to start trending nationally on Twitter. “Deranged Donald is at back at it again. Deranged Donald can do things...
Democratic candidates: Guide to 20 potential presidents
With the entrance of former Vice President Joe Biden into the 2020 Democratic presidential contest on Thursday, the field is largely set, with all the big names included. The sprawling Democratic field features candidates ranging from 37 to 77 years old; liberals and moderates; senators, governors and mayors; and an...
Trump disputes finding that he directed McGahn to seek Mueller’s ouster
President Donald Trump disputed Wednesday that he had told former White House counsel Donald McGahn to seek the firing of special counsel Robert Mueller in the midst of his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The episode, detailed in the report by Mueller that was publicly released last...
Sen. Bob Casey endorses Biden in Democrats’ 2020 race for president
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey is endorsing Joe Biden for president, just minutes after the former vice president entered the crowded 2020 race. In a statement Thursday, Casey touted Biden as a fighter for the middle class who can beat President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania if Biden...
Joe Biden to kick off 2020 presidential campaign in Lawrenceville
Democrat Joe Biden will kick off his campaign for president in the Pittsburgh area Monday. The former vice president announced his candidacy Thursday morning, after months of hints and “will he or won’t he” speculation. His first campaign event will be at the Teamsters Local 249 banquet hall in Lawrenceville,...
Ex-Vice President Joe Biden officially launches 2020 presidential campaign
WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Joe Biden formally joined the crowded Democratic presidential contest on Thursday, betting that his working-class appeal and ties to Barack Obama’s presidency will help him overcome questions about his place in today’s increasingly liberal Democratic Party. He made his announcement in a video posted on...
Former DHS head Kirstjen Nielsen took up cyber despite White House aversionVideo
WASHINGTON — A top White House official told Kirstjen Nielsen, then Homeland Security secretary, not to bring up election security with President Trump, steering her away from discussing a critical national security threat with a president who bristles at suggestions that Russian interference contributed to his 2016 victory, according to...
2020 Democrats confronting debate over letting felons vote
Democratic presidential contenders are facing a new debate over whether criminals in prison, even notorious ones like the Boston Marathon bomber, should be able to win back their right to vote. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders says they should and that voting is “inherent to our democracy — yes, even for...
Trump’s threat to go to court on impeachment defies ruling
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Wednesday he’ll go directly to the U.S. Supreme Court “if the partisan Dems” ever try to impeach him. But Trump’s strategy could run into a roadblock: the high court itself, which said in 1993 that the framers of the Constitution didn’t intend for the...
Citing Trump, Iowa’s longest-serving GOP lawmaker turns Democrat
Iowa’s longest-serving Republican legislator, State Rep. Andy McKean, ditched the GOP on Tuesday as he offered a searing renunciation of President Donald Trump, saying he could no longer support Trump as the party’s standard-bearer because of his “unacceptable behavior” and “reckless spending.” McKean revealed he would join the Democratic Party,...
Straight talk on race becoming a must for white candidates
After touring the National Lynching Memorial recently, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper spoke of the “shame” he felt that some white people “kind of looked the other way during these lynching incidents.” Former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas has acknowledged he “clearly had advantages” as a white man. Sen....
Democrats clash with Trump officials on subpoenas, tax returnsVideo
WASHINGTON — The struggle between House Democrats and the Trump administration over investigations intensified Tuesday as a former White House official defied a subpoena and the Treasury Department ignored a deadline for providing President Trump’s tax returns. Rep. Elijah Cummings, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said the White...
Trump meets with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey at White House
President Trump on Tuesday met privately with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, a huddle at the White House between one of the site’s most prolific users and an executive who’s faced criticism for the way Twitter has handled the president’s tweets. The meeting comes as Trump continues to attack the tech...
Trump baby blimp is back, could be even bigger for UK visit
The balloon that depicted Donald Trump in a diaper during protests against his visit to the United Kingdom in July will return in June. The Donald Trump baby blimp will fly again during Trump’s three-day state visit in the first week of June and could be joined by an even...
Moulton highlights military service in presidential bid
Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts launched a bid Monday for the Democratic nomination for president, becoming the 19th candidate in the most crowded primary in the party’s modern history. “I’m running because I’m a patriot, because I believe in this country and because I’ve never wanted to sit on the...
House chair subpoenas former White House lawyer Don McGahn
WASHINGTON — House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler on Monday subpoenaed former White House Counsel Don McGahn for testimony following the special counsel’s report that said McGahn refused President Trump’s request to curb or cut off the Russia investigation. The New York Democrat announced his court action to compel McGahn...
Herman Cain withdraws from consideration for Fed, Trump says
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday that Herman Cain has withdrawn from consideration for a seat on the Federal Reserve’s board amid a focus on past scandals and doubts about his qualifications for the role. Cain is a former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza who dropped out of the 2012...
Pelosi says Democrats can hold Trump accountable without impeachment hearings
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday appeared to tap the brakes on impeachment discussions, arguing in a letter to her colleagues that while Democrats would hold President Donald Trump accountable following the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report, they could do so without initiating impeachment hearings. The...
High school journalists barred from Betsy DeVos event take her to task in editorial
The students were on deadline, and they were on a mission. They piled into a car last Wednesday and pulled away from Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, their public school in Lexington, Kentucky. With permission, they drove across town to a community college where Gov. Matt Bevin, R, was hosting...
Sen. Bob Casey lobbies for Democratic primary debate in Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG — Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania is lobbying for a presidential primary debate in his home state, which is a projected battleground in the 2020 presidential election. Casey’s letter Monday to Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez says holding a primary debate in Pennsylvania would benefit the...
Trump sues in bid to block congressional subpoena of financial records
President Donald Trump and his business on Monday sued House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., in a bid to block a congressional subpoena of his financial records. The lawsuit seeks a court order to prevent Trump’s accounting firm from complying with what his lawyers say is an improper use...
Trump administration’s proposed hiring rule alarms criminal justice advocates
WASHINGTON — President Trump was joined by 300 guests at the White House one evening early this month to celebrate the criminal justice system’s most significant retooling in a decade. The president applauded the First Step Act, which revises sentencing laws and expands reentry and early release programs, as a...
Adam Schiff says Democrats will debate impeachment amid left pressureVideo
WASHINGTON — House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said Sunday that the Democrats will discuss whether to begin impeachment hearings of President Trump after progressives ratcheted up the pressure on a reluctant party leadership. “We’re going to have a caucus about this over the next couple weeks to try to...
