Politics
NBC NewsGun owners, protesters and Donald Trump converge on Houston for NRA event
Thousands of gun owners, throngs of protesters and some prominent Republican politicians are expected in Houston for the National Rifle Association's annual
USA TODAYWhat did the May primaries teach us about the future of the U.S. Senate?
In May Senate primaries, GOP newcomers with ties to former President Donald Trump replaced more establishment Republicans running for Congress.
ReutersWhite House says no decision made on student loan forgiveness
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The administration of President Joe Biden has not made a final decision on student loan cancellation, a White House spokesperson said on Friday, after a news report said it was planning to cancel $10,000 in student debt per borrower. Two of them said the $10,000 debt forgiveness would apply to Americans who earned less than $150,000 in the previous year, or less than $300,000 for married couples filing jointly. White House spokesman Vedant Patel said the report was inaccurate.
The New York TimesRepublicans Signal Refusal of Jan. 6 Subpoenas, Setting Up a Showdown
WASHINGTON — Four House Republicans, including Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader, signaled Thursday that they would not cooperate with subpoenas from the committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, posing a dilemma for the panel that could have broad implications for the inquiry and for Congress itself. Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and Andy Biggs of Arizona each sent letters to the committee objecting to the investigation before the depositions sched
LA TimesWhy is O.C. Republican Rep. Young Kim suddenly spending more than $1 million in her primary?
GOP Rep. Young Kim is running in a new, more conservative Orange County district. Her sudden spending and red-meat messaging to the Republican base reflects the new challenges posed by redistricting.
Associated PressSenate GOP blocks domestic terrorism bill, gun policy debate
Democrats’ first attempt at responding to the back-to-back mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, failed in the Senate as Republicans blocked a domestic terrorism bill that would have opened debate on difficult questions surrounding hate crimes and gun safety. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., tried to nudge Republicans into taking up a domestic terrorism bill that had cleared the House quickly last week after mass shootings at a grocery store in Buffalo and a church in Southern California targeting people of color.
NBC NewsTexas Gov. Greg Abbott to skip NRA convention, return to Uvalde, instead
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will skip Friday's NRA convention and instead make a return trip to Uvalde, the rural town devastated by an elementary school shooting.
Business InsiderTed Cruz claims that the NRA 'stands up for your rights' just days after 21 people were shot and killed in a Texas elementary school massacre
Cruz said he would attend the NRA's event in Houston on Friday because "what Democrats and the press try to do" is "demonize the NRA."
PoliticoWill ‘extremism’ fracture the GOP? Cheney vs. Trump in Wyoming
Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza is in Wyoming this week talking to Victoria Eavis of the Casper Star-Tribune and Joseph McGinley, a Casper physician who led the Natrona County GOP for four years until 2021, and has repeatedly butted heads with a group of Trump-aligned activists.
USA TODAYBiden to address Naval Academy, Delaware commencements over Memorial Day weekend
President Joe Biden will address the graduating classes at the U.S. Naval Academy and the University of Delaware over Memorial Day weekend.
USA TODAYGuns will be banned during Donald Trump's speech at the NRA conference
Sen. Ted Cruz and Gov. Greg Abbott were expected to join Donald Trump at the NRA convention in Houston, days after a mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
Associated PressSenators talk expanded gun background checks, red flag laws
A bipartisan group of senators is considering how Congress should respond to the horrific shooting of 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, restarting gun control talks that have broken down many times before. Aware of the difficulty of their task, the Democrats and Republicans say they hope to find agreement on legislation that could help reduce the number of mass shootings in the United States. The Uvalde shooting came 10 days after a gunman opened fire in a racist attack killing Black people at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket.
Business InsiderLawmaker asks FBI to investigate police response to Uvalde massacre, including apparent failure to confront shooter
In a letter, Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Democrat from Texas, asks the FBI to "thoroughly examine the timeline of events and the law enforcement response."
USA TODAYBiden to travel to Texas to comfort families of Uvalde school shooting victims
President Joe Biden says he hopes to comfort the Uvalde, Texas community after an elementary school shooting that saw 19 children and 2 adults killed.
Yahoo NewsGeorgia investigation into Trump's efforts to overturn 2020 election ramps up
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is stepping up the pace of her investigation into Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
HuffPostTed Cruz Stops Interview Rather Than Answer Why America Has So Many Mass Shootings
“You know, I’m sorry you think American exceptionalism is awful. You’ve got your political agenda. God love you…” the Texas Republican told Sky News.
NBC News5 GOP candidates blocked from Michigan governor's primary over alleged false signatures
Five Republican candidates for governor in Michigan, including James Craig and Perry Johnson, failed to qualify for the primary due to alleged signature fraud.
USA TODAYBiden says he's not a 'mind reader' - but baby formula problems were apparent months ago
Biden said he would have needed to be a ‘mind reader’ to respond quicker to the baby formula shortage, but analysts said he should have acted sooner.
ReutersWisconsin election official quits, citing Republican criticism over 2020
An election official in Wisconsin has resigned, saying he lost the backing of fellow Republicans because of his refusal to support former President Donald Trump's false claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election. The announcement by Wisconsin Elections Commission member Dean Knudson, a Republican, creates more uncertainty as the embattled panel plans to elect a chairman ahead of competitive congressional and gubernatorial elections in November. "It's become clear to me that I cannot be effective in my role of representing Republicans on the commission," Knudson said at a Wednesday meeting of the bipartisan commission, which oversees elections in the Midwestern industrial state.
Yahoo NewsOn guns, White House sees small but significant victory in likely ATF director confirmation
It’s been nearly a decade since the Senate confirmed a director for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. But after Wednesday’s hearing for its nominee, federal prosecutor Steve Dettelbach, the White House increasingly believes that streak will be broken.
LA TimesBiden to travel to Los Angeles for Summit of the Americas on June 8
Biden to travel to Los Angeles for Summit of the Americas on June 8
PoliticoCentrist Schrader ousted in Oregon primary
Rep. Kurt Schrader, a seven-term centrist Democrat from Oregon, has lost his primary to a progressive challenger, handing a massive win to the party’s left flank.
The Daily BeastModerate Dem Congressman Loses to Progressive Challenger in Oregon
REUTERSProgressive challenger Jamie McLeod-Skinner has defeated incumbent Rep. Kurt Schrader (D) in Oregon’s fifth congressional district, according to the Associated Press, kicking one of Congress’ most moderate Democrats to the curb.The two candidates were forced to wait more than a week for the results of the May 17 primary, in part caused by ballot-counting delays in Clackamas County, one of the state’s most populous. The state is also navigating a new vote-by-mail provision that allows retu
The Daily BeastJudge Allows New York's Trump Investigation to Move Forward
Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty ImagesFor the second day in a row, a court has informed former President Donald Trump that yes, the New York Attorney General’s investigation of him will indeed continue.On Friday morning, a federal judge shut down Trump’s attempt to halt a probe by New York AG Letitia James. U.S. District Judge Brenda K. Sannes dismissed the lawsuit in which the former president claimed he had been improperly singled out with a flawed political prosecution.Just one day earlier, a sta
ReutersU.S. Senator Manchin could back climate provisions in slimmer spending bill, sources say
Key Senate Democrats are working to revive U.S. President Joe Biden's legislative agenda with a current focus on energy, environment, climate and tax reform rather than the social safety net, according to three people familiar with the matter. Plans to revive the "Build Back Better" legislation now revolve around talks between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and the key Democratic swing vote in the chamber, Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, the people said. Manchin, who stymied earlier attempts to pass the bill over concerns about the deficit and inflation, has signaled he could support some climate provisions in a trimmed down version of the bill, including a fee on emissions of the greenhouse gas methane and a carbon border tax, according to two of the people.
“It could give millions a chance to finally buy a house or start their business or help their kids get an education, too.”
“You signed a contract…If you don’t want to deal with the financial pressure of debt, don’t take out the loan.”
“Without action from Biden, Black student debt will hinder his agenda with respect to eliminating racial inequities.”
“Blanket relief could end up routing too much relief to those who do not need it and too little to those who do.”
“Unlike a number of other policy issues, student debt relief doesn’t need to be pushed through a narrowly controlled Congress.”