Hakeem Jeffries: Nancy Pelosi’s likely successor formally declares Democratic leadership bid

Republicans are set to hold an extremely slim majority in the House of Representatives

Nancy Pelosi steps down as Democratic leader after losing House

With the Republican Party projected to win a slim majority in the US House of Representatives and Nancy Pelosi stepping down from the Democratic leadership, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries has officially declared he is running for his party’s top job – and so far, he is unopposed.

In an emotional address on the House floor on Thursday, Ms Pelosi said lawmakers “must move boldly into the future” and remain “open to fresh possibilities.” She will continue to serve her district as the congresswoman representing San Francisco, but she will not seek re-election to a leadership role.

Current House minority leader Kevin McCarthy has already cleared the first hurdle toward being elected House Speaker but with more than 30 of his members declining to back him.

The Republican was notably absent from Ms Pelosi’s announcement in the lower chamber – a rebuke after several other GOP figures turned out to join Democrats in applauding the long-running lawmaker.

When asked by reporters why he missed the speech, he claimed he “had meetings”.

Key points

• Nancy Pelosi will not seek re-election for Democratic leadership
• Republicans win control of the House
• Senate Republicans re-elect Mitch McConnell as minority leader
• Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer celebrates Democrats holding the Senate
• Kevin McCarthy clears first test in bid to become House speaker

[16 November 2022 16:30 · Alex Woodward]

All eyes are on Colorado as remaining ballots are processed

Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert of Colorado is in a tight race to hold on to her seat, with roughly 1,100 votes separating her from Democratic candidate Adam Frisch.

County clerks will process and tally ballots received on deadline today that were postmarked by Election Day, and voters who had issues with their mail-in ballots – like signature verification – have until 11.59pm to fix or “cure” those errors.

The candidates are hoping that those last batches of votes from across the large district – which encompasses 27 counties in the Centennial State – will determine the outcome.

Far-right Trump loyalist Boebert was elected to Congress in 2022.

A decision in the race is not imminently expected. It could take several more days for those votes to be processed and for the Associated Press and major networks to make their projection.

[16 November 2022 17:00 · Alex Woodward]

Texas governor calls for criminal investigation over ‘widespread’ election issues

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, is calling for a criminal investigation into “widepspread problems” and “allegations of improprieties” over elections in Harris County, the third-largest county in the US and largest in the state, after polling precincts faced issues with understaffing, voting machines and paper ballot shortages.

Harris County’s Democratic District Attorney Kim Ogg is performing a probe and has requested assistance from the Texas Rangers, according to emails reviewed by The New York Times and The Washington Post.

Civil rights groups argued that the governor’s criminal probe is “clearly a targeted attack” against a district that leans Democratic and is “the most diverse county” in the state. Advocates have called on the governor to stop the investigation and allow election officials, administrators and agencies responsible for those issues to do their jobs.

“This announcement is exactly what we were worried about when we called for the [Department of Justice] to send federal monitors to Harris County,” according to a statement from the Texas Civil Rights Project.

“The state has proven ... that a bad-faith actor when it comes to protecting voters,” according to the group’s voting rights director Hani Mirza.

“The allegations of election improprieties in our state’s largest county may result from anything ranging from malfeasance to blatant criminal conduct,” the governor said in a statement Monday. “Voters in Harris County deserve to know what happened. Integrity in the election process is essential. To achieve that standard, a thorough investigation is warranted.”

The Harris County GOP has also filed a lawsuit.

[16 November 2022 17:37 · Alex Woodward]

GOP megadonor splits with Trump: Time for ‘new generation of leaders’

An influential conservative donor will not support Donald Trump’s campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, a move reflecting the growing fractures within the GOP that are likely to continue after last week’s midterm elections.

Stephen Schwarzman, CEO of Blackstone, made the announcement in a statement to Axios.

"America does better when its leaders are rooted in today and tomorrow, not today and yesterday," he told the news outlet. "It is time for the Republican Party to turn to a new generation of leaders and I intend to support one of them in the presidential primaries.”

[16 November 2022 18:11 · Alex Woodward]

Mitch McConnell re-elected as Senate GOP leader

Kentucky’s Mitch McConnell has been re-elected as the Senate’s Republican leader for the upcoming congress, with Democratic Senators retaining controll of the upper chamber of Congress.

Mr McConnell won the secret ballot vote among party members, who largely shot down a challenge from Republican Rick Scott of Florida for the role.

[16 November 2022 18:30 · Alex Woodward]

Democrats pounce on Trump’s 2024 announcement to help fundraise for Raphael Warnock

Democratic senators used the disgraced ex-president’s announcement of a 2024 presidential campaign as a chance to help support Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock, who is facing a December runoff election to hold on to his seat against Trump-endorsed Herschel Walker.

“The main thing you need to know about Trump announcing for reelection is that Raphael Warnock is in a runoff and it’s exactly 3 weeks from now and we don’t just need money we need it kinda fast,” Hawaii’s Democratic Senator Brian Schatz said in a post that linked to Mr Warnock’s campaign.

The post was shared by several Democratic officials.

Mr Warnock also posted a link to his fundraising page, adding: “I know you may be focused on Donald Trump tonight, but first we gotta focus on Georgia.”

In his remarks from Mar-a-Lago, Trump said “we must all work very hard for a gentleman and a great person named Herschel Walker.”

[16 November 2022 19:00 · Alex Woodward]

Senate Republicans re-elect Mitch McConnell as minority leader

The Kentucky senator will be the longest-serving GOP leader in Senate history.

Andrew Feinberg reports:

[16 November 2022 19:37 · Alex Woodward]

Fox News slammed over ‘pathetic’ attacks on Gisele Fetterman over Senate photo: ‘She’s not white enough for them’

Gisele Fetterman, wife of Pennsylvania Senator-elect John Fetterman, has been subjected to mocking and misogynistic remarks on Fox News, where guests accused her of being hungry for power while commenting on her appearance.

The network has spent weeks scrutinising Ms Fetterman, who has been a central figure to her husband’s winning campaign.

[16 November 2022 20:00 · Alex Woodward]

Here is two minutes of Herschel Walker talking about vampires

Herschel Walker, who is back on the campaign trail ahead of a December runoff election for a Senate seat currently held by Raphael Warnock, appeared to spend roughly two uninterrupted minutes describing a movie he watched, vampires, and faith, somehow connecting those ideas to his Democratic opponent.

[16 November 2022 20:30 · Alex Woodward]

Far-right figures lay into Trump after 2024 campaign launch: ‘Shut the f*** up'

Some of Donald Trump’s most vocal – and most infamous – supporters are making clear they are decidedly not on board with his decision to launch a third presidential campaign after the disgraced ex-president announced his 2024 bid last night.

Right-wing commentator Ann Coulter told him “you had your chance, with a Republican House and Senate.”

“You handed domestic policy to your son-in-law and Gary Cohn. You handed foreign policy to your son-in-law and a country that gave your son-in-law $2 billion,” she wrote. “Shut the f*** up, forever”.

[16 November 2022 21:00 · Alex Woodward]

AOC says Kevin McCarthy ‘intends to reward’ some of the most racist Republicans when they gain the majority

New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticised House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy for rewarding “some of the most racist” Republicans in Congress as the GOP prepares to retake the majority.

The House stripped far-right Representatives Paul Gosar of Arizona and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia of their committees in the current Congress.

Specifically, the House also censured Mr Gosar after he posted an anime video that depicted a character with Mr Gosar’s face killing a character with Ms Ocasio-Cortez’s face.

Ms Greene appeared to back Mr McCarthy, who has indicated that he would reinstate the members if Republicans regain the House majority after midterm elections.

“I mean beyond unpunished, Kevin McCarthy has made a very clear statement – has stated that he intends to reward some of the most racist members of Congress that we have served in recent years,” she told The Independent.