Month: March 2021

President Joe Biden is still working through the process of replacing Neera Tanden’s failed Office of Management and Budget director nomination, as congressional Democrats ramp up pressure for Shalanda Young, a well-respected congressional staffer, according to multiple officials. With Tanden’s nomination on the ropes for more than a week, White House officials have been quietly

Sen. Susan Collins, a key moderate Republican from Maine, said Wednesday she will vote to confirm Democratic Rep. Deb Haaland as Interior secretary, further securing a likely successful confirmation for one of President Joe Biden’s nominees. “After examining Representative Deb Haaland’s qualifications, reviewing her hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and meeting

The Department of Defense inspector general has issued a scathing review of Rep. Ronny Jackson during his time serving as the top White House physician, concluding that he made “sexual and denigrating” comments about a female subordinate, violated the policy for drinking alcohol while on a presidential trip and took prescription-strength sleeping medication that prompted

In the years prior to taking office, President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and many of their administration’s top officials harshly criticized President Donald Trump’s lack of action against Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Biden is now facing

First lady Jill Biden will make a trip to Meriden, Connecticut, and Waterford, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday to visit two public schools that have recently reopened for in-person learning. Biden will be joined on the trip by newly confirmed Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, who was sworn-in Tuesday evening by Vice President Kamala Harris. “(Biden and

The Biden administration never considered sanctions as a viable option against the powerful Saudi crown prince named as responsible for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, even though the new President promised to punish senior Saudi leaders during the election. Administration officials tell CNN there was little debate or tension inside the White House last

Standing onstage in December at the Queen Theater in Wilmington, Delaware, Joe Biden described his freshly nominated pick to run the White House budget office, Neera Tanden, as “brilliant.” He cited her hardscrabble upbringing. And he even quoted his father to emphasize her set of values. “Don’t tell me what you value. Show me your

March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, or at least that’s what they say. Wait, why do they say that? Here’s what you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day. (You can also get “5 Things You Need to Know Today” delivered to your

The House is expected to vote Wednesday on HR 1, a sweeping government, ethics and election bill that Democrats have made a signature legislative priority. HR 1 passed the House during the last Congress after Democrats won back the majority, but it failed to advance in the Republican-controlled Senate. Now that Democrats also control the

President Joe Biden is barreling into his first science-vs.-politics showdown with powerful Southern Republican governors, one that could define the outcome of the race to vaccinate enough Americans before variants take hold. Biden on Tuesday warned the country to dig in for a while longer as he flexed sweeping wartime powers under the Defense Production

The White House on Tuesday pulled Neera Tanden’s nomination to lead the Office of Management and Budget amid opposition from key senators, dealing the first Cabinet-level defeat for President Joe Biden. Biden said in a statement that Tanden had requested to withdraw her name from consideration, and that she would still serve in his administration.

The Biden administration imposed a raft of sanctions on Russian officials and entities on Tuesday in response to the poisoning and imprisonment of opposition leader Alexey Navalny. The actions — taken in coordination with the European Union, which also unveiled sanctions — represent the first significant move against Moscow since Joe Biden became President. The

Two big projects originally slated to be part of the Covid-19 relief bill but criticized as being unrelated to coronavirus relief will be pulled from the package, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office confirmed to CNN on Tuesday. The original bill, passed by the House, included $1.425 billion in funding to help with transit rail capital

Chief Justice John Roberts has singlehandedly slowed a conservative revolution at the Supreme Court in recent years, but he has for even longer — 40 years — opposed racial remedies and narrowly construed the landmark Voting Rights Act. During oral arguments Tuesday in an Arizona voting rights case with national implications, Roberts sounded ready to

The historic winter storm that crippled Texas during the third week of February spotlighted the Lone Star State’s pervasive history of structural racism. Similarly, it revealed how seemingly universal crises, such as climate change and catastrophes sometimes referred to as “acts of God” affect some communities much more severely than others. During the height of

Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo made an unwanted advance toward a woman at a 2019 wedding, The New York Times first reported on Monday evening and a friend of the woman who says they witnessed the incident told CNN on Tuesday. The latest allegation adds to an escalating crisis for the governor in the

FBI Director Christopher Wray was live on CNN and MSNBC when he told a Senate committee hearing on Tuesday morning that the FBI had not yet found any evidence that subscribers to the Antifa movement were involved in the January attack on the US Capitol. At that moment, Fox News was in a commercial break

The Supreme Court is poised on Tuesday to hear a case that supporters of voting rights fear will lead the court’s new conservative majority to weaken a key provision of the Voting Rights Act that prohibits laws that result in racial discrimination. The dispute comes in the aftermath of a contentious election which prompted former

The Pentagon is ready to defend itself if necessary at a Senate hearing Wednesday against accusations it delayed or hindered the deployment of the National Guard on January 6, a senior defense official said, as two competing narratives emerge about the response to US Capitol riot. During hearings last week, the former chief of the

The 2024 presidential race is a long way off, but it’s being fought right now, not by candidates and not in front of voters, but with legislation and in the courts. Republicans are pushing hard at the state level to generally make it more difficult to vote, and say they want to make the vote

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley has voted to confirm Cecilia Rouse as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers on Tuesday, breaking a streak of opposition to Joe Biden’s Cabinet nominees. Hawley’s support came after he defended on Monday his prior record of not voting to advance any Biden Cabinet secretary nominees, insisting that he evaluates

South Carolinian William Robert Norwood III is facing federal charges after allegedly telling a family member he assaulted and stole gear from police officers during the Capitol riot. “I’m dressing in all black,” Norwood wrote under the name “Robbie” on January 5, the day before the riot and insurrection, according to text messages cited in

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley on Monday defended his role as the only US senator to oppose every one of President Joe Biden’s Cabinet nominees, insisting that he evaluates each pick individually. “I take them one at a time, if there is someone I think will be good to Missouri, that I can defend to my