Trump news – live: Ex-president says Musk won’t buy Twitter at ‘ridiculous price’ as Pence backs Gov Kemp
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As Donald Trump’s chosen candidate David Perdue struggles to gain momentum in Georgia’s gubernatorial primary, Mike Pence has announced he will visit the state to get out the vote for incumbent Brian Kemp – a Republican who refused to bow to Mr Trump’s insistence that the state was stolen from Joe Biden in 2020.
Meanwhile, the select committee investigating the 6 January attack on the US Capitol has issued subpoenas to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and four other GOP lawmakers who are close allies of Donald Trump: Representatives Jim Jordan of Ohio, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, Andy Biggs of Arizona, and Mo Brooks of Alabama. Each was given the opportunity to voluntarily give evidence.
And the Department of Justice is now investigating whether former President Trump or any of his aides violated federal law by mishandling classified documents that ended up at Mar-a-Lago instead of at the national archives at the end of his term.
On Friday, the former president shared some thoughts on Elon Musk’s plan to buy Twitter, saying the billionaire would not pay a ‘ridiculous price’ for the platform as it is mostly “BOTS or spam accounts”.
Voices: What Alito hasn’t considered — Forced pregnancies will lead to job discrimination
Pregnant women already face a host of challenges at work – curbing women’s right to bodily autonomy will make things worse, writes Mariah Schug.
Alito should realize that forced pregnancies will mean job discrimination
Pregnant women already face a host of challenges at work – curbing women’s right to bodily autonomy will make things worse
Ukraine aid: Dan Crenshaw says Marjorie Taylor Greene is ‘going after that Russia Today slot’
Representatives Dan Crenshaw and Marjorie Taylor Greene feuded on Twitter after the two Republican members of Congress took different votes on an aid package to Ukraine.
On Tuesday, the House passed a $40bn aid package to Ukraine. Every Democrat present voted for the legislation, while 57 Republicans voted against the package, including Ms Greene.
Other Republicans who voted against the legislation included Representatives Paul Gosar of Arizona, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina and Lauren Boebert of Colorado.
Eric Garcia reports from Capitol Hill.
Rep Dan Crenshaw says Marjorie Taylor Greene is ‘going after that Russia Today slot’
Comes after Rep Greene voted against an aid package to Ukraine
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Biden warns GOP plans to reverse same-sex marriage rights next
President Joe Biden had a stark warning for his Democratic supporters and colleagues: Republicans are coming for gay marriage next.
That was the message he delivered to donors at a fundraiser on Wednesday hosted by the Democratic National Committee as the White House and Democrats nationally face questions about whether they have a strategy to see abortion rights protected at the federal level in the event that the Supreme Court overturns Roe v Wade.
“Mark my words: They’re going to go after the right of the — Supreme Court decision on the right of same-sex marriage,” he warned.
Biden warns Republicans plan to reverse gay marriage rights next
White House, president have faced criticism for not responding to Roe news more urgently
How the ‘pro-life’ movement killed Roe v Wade
Powerful legal groups, conservative Christian activists and right-wing figures shaped an anti-abortion agenda in the hands of the US Supreme Court, Alex Woodward reports.
Inside the ‘pro-life’ movement that killed Roe v Wade
Powerful legal groups, conservative Christian activists and right-wing figures shaped an anti-abortion agenda in the hands of the US Supreme Court, Alex Woodward reports
Biden ‘cutting red tape’ to ease baby formula shortage
President Joe Biden is directing federal agencies to take actions towards easing the baby formula shortages that have left many store shelves bare in the wake of a manufacturing shutdown and recall from the nation’s largest formula maker.
“We have been working on this issue since since the very beginning in the days leading up to to the recall,” said a senior administration official who briefed reporters on the actions late Thursday. “We absolutely recognize the frustration that American families are feeling right now, and that’s why the President has acted to direct the administration to pull additional levers and take additional action to make more supply available as quickly as possible”.
Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC.
Biden administration ‘cutting red tape’ to ease baby formula shortage
‘We recognize that this is certainly a challenge for people across the country, it’s something the President is very focused on, and we're going to do everything we can to cut red tape and take steps to increase supply on the marketplace’
GOP governors ask DoJ to block protests outside Supreme Court justices’ homes
The governors of Virginia and Maryland have sent a letter to US Attorney General Merrick Garland asking his Department of Justice to clamp down on protests outside the homes of conservative Supreme Court justices on the precipce of voting to restrict abortion rights.
Glenn Youngkin of Virginia and Larry Hogan of Maryland, both Republicans, wrote in the letter on Wednesday that the federal government must “take the lead and provide sustained resources to protect the justices and ensure these residential areas are secure in the weeks and months ahead”.
Abe Asher reports:
Governors ask DoJ to block protests outside Supreme Court justices’ homes
The governors of Virginia and Maryland sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland asking for increased protection for conservative justices
Jen Psaki says she and her children were target of ‘threats’
Outgoing White House press secretary Jen Psaki has detailed some of the tougher aspects of the job, including threats she received from angry critics of the Biden administration, in an interview with members of the press corps this week.
Speaking at the Christian Science Monitor breakfast on Thursday, Ms Psaki explained that throughout her time at the White House she received threatening messages mentioning both her and her children, with some even containing mentions of her home address.
“The thing that has been hardest, personally, is I have had threats, I have had nasty letters, texts to me with my personal address, the names of my children,” she said.
John Bowden has the story.
Psaki says she and her children were target of ‘threats’ for White House work
Top Biden aide says she was sent ominous messages that included her home address
Biden marks 1 million Americans dead from Covid as White House hosts global summit
The White will host world leaders for another global Covid-19 summit to urge preparedness for the next pandemic, as the US passed the grim milestone of 1 million American deaths from the coronavirus.
In a statement on Thursday, President Joe Biden said each of the million dead represented “an irreplaceable loss ... leaving behind a family, a community, and a nation forever changed”.
“As a nation, we must not grow numb to such sorrow. To heal, we must remember. We must remain vigilant against this pandemic and do everything we can to save as many lives as possible, as we have with more testing, vaccines, and treatments than ever before,” he said, adding that it is “critical” for Congress to “sustain” such resources by passing a supplemental Covid-19 funding bill.
Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC.
White House hosts global Covid summit as Biden marks 1 million Americans dead
‘We must remain vigilant against this pandemic and do everything we can to save as many lives as possible, as we have with more testing, vaccines, and treatments than ever before’
‘I had just hit my limit’: Psaki says she regrets comment about sending Covid tests to every American
Outgoing White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has said that she had hit her “limit” in terms of questions about Covid tests when she previously asked, “should we just send one to every American?” in response to a reporter’s question.
In December of last year, Ms Psaki was repeatedly asked about the availability of Covid tests in the US, leading to her eventually responding in a tone some considered sarcastic or mocking.
Almost two weeks later, the government bought 500 million tests to send to Americans.
Gustaf Kilander reports:
Psaki says she regrets comment about sending Covid tests to every American
‘I had said about 9,000 words about what we had done for testing’
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