House speaker McCarthy says ‘I see the path’ to debt ceiling deal with Democrats – live

0 0 Thursday, May 18, 2023 Edit this post

McCarthy: ‘I see the path’ to debt ceiling deal The Republican House speake,r Kevin McCarthy , told reporters at the Capitol that he s...

McCarthy: ‘I see the path’ to debt ceiling deal

The Republican House speake,r Kevin McCarthy, told reporters at the Capitol that he sees “the path” towards a deal with Democrats to raise the debt ceiling.

Here’s video of the exchange, from CNN:

News — For the first time, Speaker McCarthy sounding positive about direction of debt talks. He just told us “I see a path” to a deal. Wants a bill on floor next week. Very positive about WH negotiators Young and Ricchetti. Has spoken to Schumer about floor schedule and timing pic.twitter.com/rKY1A9Ooqq

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) May 18, 2023

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News — For the first time, Speaker McCarthy sounding positive about direction of debt talks. He just told us “I see a path” to a deal. Wants a bill on floor next week. Very positive about WH negotiators Young and Ricchetti. Has spoken to Schumer about floor schedule and timing pic.twitter.com/rKY1A9Ooqq

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) May 18, 2023

Congress has till about 1 June to raise the US government’s legal limit on how much debt it can take on or face the prospect of a default. Republicans want Joe Biden and his allies to agree to cut spending, and also to scrap administration priorities such as the president’s plan to cancel some federal student debt.

After months of refusing to negotiate, Biden agreed to appoint deputies to reach a deal with McCarthy’s team, and if the speaker’s comments are any indication, those talks are paying off.

Eleven Democratic senators have signed a letter to Joe Biden urging him to consider invoking the 14th amendment to prevent the United States from defaulting if the debt ceiling is not raised.

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The letter, which first became public yesterday, was signed by Democrats Tina Smith, Elizabeth Warren, Jeff Merkley, Ed Markey, Mazie Hirono, Peter Welch, Richard Blumenthal, Jack Reed, Sheldon Whitehouse, John Fetterman and Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats.

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“The choice we face is clear. We cannot reach a budget agreement that increases the suffering of millions of Americans who are already living in desperation,” the lawmakers write in the letter, which accuses Republicans of “not acting in good faith”.

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“We write to urgently request that you prepare to exercise your authority under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which clearly states: ‘the validity of the public debt of the United States … shall not be questioned,’” the signatories conclude.

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“Using this authority would allow the United States to continue to pay its bills on-time, without delay, preventing a global economic catastrophe.”

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The Republican House speake,r Kevin McCarthy, told reporters at the Capitol that he sees “the path” towards a deal with Democrats to raise the debt ceiling.

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Here’s video of the exchange, from CNN:

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News — For the first time, Speaker McCarthy sounding positive about direction of debt talks. He just told us “I see a path” to a deal. Wants a bill on floor next week. Very positive about WH negotiators Young and Ricchetti. Has spoken to Schumer about floor schedule and timing pic.twitter.com/rKY1A9Ooqq

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) May 18, 2023

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After months of refusing to negotiate, Biden agreed to appoint deputies to reach a deal with McCarthy’s team, and if the speaker’s comments are any indication, those talks are paying off.

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Florida governor Ron DeSantis is set to officially launch his 2024 presidential bid, according to multiple reports citing sources familiar with the matter.

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One Republican source told CNN that the Republican governor will file candidacy paperwork next week with the Federal Election Commission and is set to make an official announcement in his home town of Dunedin, Florida, the following week.

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The reports follow DeSantis’s visit to Iowa last week where he participated in a public gathering hosted US House representative Randy Feenstra in the crucial early-voting stage. Prior to his visit, DeSantis rolled out a hefty list of endorsements from 37 Republican Iowa lawmakers, including senate president Amy Sinclair and house majority leader Matt Windschitl.

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“I think we need to restore sanity in this country,” DeSantis told a crowd of Iowa supporters last week, adding, “We must reject the culture of losing that has impacted our party in recent years. The time for excuses is over.”

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DeSantis’s comments appeared to be a subtle jab at Donald Trump, currently the Republican frontrunner who has repeatedly attacked his ex-ally and is currently leading in the polls. Should DeSantis enter the presidential race, he will become Trump’s chief challenger.

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In the past year, DeSantis has ramped up his “culture war” in Florida, from signing the state’s so-called “don’t say gay” bill into law to approving abortion bans after six weeks. Most recently, the rightwing governor signed a bill on Monday that defunds diversity, equity and inclusion programs across the state’s public colleges.

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Florida governor Ron DeSantis is set to officially launch his 2024 presidential bid, according to multiple reports citing sources familiar with the matter.

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Earlier this week, reports emerged that DeSantis is poised to sign a bill that would modify a Florida law and allow him to run for president while serving as governor. The bill is also expected to impose new voting restrictions across Florida and will make it increasingly difficult for non-profits to conduct voter registration drives.

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Last Saturday, DeSantis rolled out a hefty list of endorsements from Iowa lawmakers and visited the crucial early-voting state in an attempt to garner support for his likely bid.

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Here are other developments in US politics:

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Dianne Feinstein, the oldest serving senator, has prompted renewed scrutiny over her fitness to serve following her return to Capitol Hill after a months-long absence due to shingles.

California representative Adam Schiff said he is “not backing down” in the face of a Republican-led effort to expel him from Congress.

The Pentagon leaks suspect was warned repeatedly about his mishandling of classified material, according to prosecutors.

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Democratic senators urge Biden to consider 14th amendment in debt standoff

Eleven Democratic senators have signed a letter to Joe Biden urging him to consider invoking the 14th amendment to prevent the United States from defaulting if the debt ceiling is not raised.

“Using this authority would allow the United States to continue to pay its bills on-time, without delay, preventing a global economic catastrophe.”

Speaking of CNN, one of its best known anchors is apparently not a fan of how it handled last week’s town hall with Donald Trump, the Guardian’s Gloria Oladipo reports:

The CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour has strongly criticized her own network for hosting a town-hall event with Donald Trump last week, saying she had “a very robust exchange of views” with Chris Licht, the chief executive under fire for approving and then defending the decision to stage it.

Amanpour, giving the commencement address at Columbia Journalism School in New York on Wednesday, said in comments reported by Variety: “We know Trump and his tendencies – everyone does. He just seizes the stage and dominates.

“No matter how much flak the moderator tries to aim at the incoming, it doesn’t often work. I would have dropped the mic at ‘nasty person’, but then that’s me.”

If Democrats and Republicans are indeed on the path to reaching an agreement to increase the debt ceiling, they’ll have to overcome the thorny issue of work requirements for anti-poverty programs.

The GOP wants to tighten rules for recipients of aid such as SNAP or TANF to have to work, arguing that’s the best way out of poverty. A major government study released last year disputed this, while many Democrats, particularly progressives, say such requirements would be unacceptable to them.

Here’s House Democrat Katie Porter saying so, in an interview with CNN:

“I think President Biden should hold the line on this,” Rep. Katie Porter tells @PoppyHarlowCNN regarding Republican demands for stricter work requirements for federal aid in a debt limit deal. pic.twitter.com/yfghifvHTO

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) May 18, 2023

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“I think President Biden should hold the line on this,” Rep. Katie Porter tells @PoppyHarlowCNN regarding Republican demands for stricter work requirements for federal aid in a debt limit deal. pic.twitter.com/yfghifvHTO

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) May 18, 2023

McCarthy: ‘I see the path’ to debt ceiling deal

The Republican House speake,r Kevin McCarthy, told reporters at the Capitol that he sees “the path” towards a deal with Democrats to raise the debt ceiling.

Here’s video of the exchange, from CNN:

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) May 18, 2023

News — For the first time, Speaker McCarthy sounding positive about direction of debt talks. He just told us “I see a path” to a deal. Wants a bill on floor next week. Very positive about WH negotiators Young and Ricchetti. Has spoken to Schumer about floor schedule and timing pic.twitter.com/rKY1A9Ooqq

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) May 18, 2023

After months of refusing to negotiate, Biden agreed to appoint deputies to reach a deal with McCarthy’s team, and if the speaker’s comments are any indication, those talks are paying off.

Ron DeSantis’s latest attempts to swing elections may have floundered, but he’s been more successful at getting lawmakers in Florida to react to his demands.

As the Guardian’s Sam Levine reported earlier this week, his Republican allies, who control both the state Senate and House of Representatives, have approved laws that will allow DeSantis to remain governor while running for president, and also reduce scrutiny of his campaign financing.

Here’s more from Sam’s story:

DeSantis is poised to sign a bill that would exempt him from Florida’s “resign-to-run” law, so that he won’t have to give up his office in order to run for president. Under existing state law, if he were to run, DeSantis would have had to submit a resignation letter before Florida’s qualifying deadline this year and step down by inauguration day in 2025. Last month, Republicans in the state legislature passed a measure that says the restriction does not apply to those running for president or vice-president.

The bill also imposes sweeping new voting restrictions in the state and will make it much harder for non-profits to do voter registration drives.

“I can’t think of a better training ground than the state of Florida for a future potential commander-in-chief,” Tyler Sirois, a Republican state lawmaker, said when the bill was being debated.

Some Democrats questioned why lawmakers would allow DeSantis to take his attention away from being governor. “Why are we signing off on allowing Ron DeSantis the ability to not do his job?” Angie Nixon, a legislator from Jacksonville, said last month.

DeSantis also signed a bill last week that will shield records related to his travel from public view. The new law exempts all of DeSantis’s past and future travel from disclosure under Florida’s public records law, one of the most transparent in the US. It also exempts the state from having to disclose the names of people who meet with the governor at his office or mansion or travel with him, said Barbara Petersen, the executive director of the Florida Center for Government Accountability, who has worked on transparency laws for more than three decades in the state.

Republican lawmakers and DeSantis have cited security concerns to justify the law. But Democrats and transparency advocates have said it is a brazen effort to keep DeSantis’s travel secret.

As Ron DeSantis gears up for a likely presidential bid, the rightwing Florida governor has suffered a few political blows in recent days in his state and beyond.

On Tuesday, voters in Jacksonville, Florida elected their first female mayor, Donna Deegan, a Democrat who beat Republican Daniel Davis despite the endorsements of DeSantis and a handful of business leaders.

“Love won tonight, and we made history,” Deegan said as she won the election.

“We have a new day in Jacksonville because people chose unity over division – creating a broad coalition of people across the political spectrum that want a unified city,” she added.

Meanwhile, in Kentucky, the Florida governor suffered another blow when Donald Trump-backed Daniel Cameron won against DeSantis-backed Kelly Craft in the state’s Republican primary.

Cameron, the first major-party Black nominee for governor in Kentucky, will face off against Democratic incumbent Andy Beshear in November.

Marjorie Taylor Greene has said that being called a “white supremacist” by New York representative Jamaal Bowman is equivalent to a person of color being called the “N-word.”

On Wednesday, Greene and Bowman got into a shouting match on the Capitol steps with Bowman and New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, both Democrats who called for Republican New York representative George Santos’s resignation following his recent indictment on federal charges of wire fraud and money laundering, among other charges.

“Save the party!” Bowman yelled as Greene shouted, “Save the country!” At one point, Bowman told Greene, who has spread various conspiracy theories, “No more QAnon, no more MAGA, no more debt ceiling nonsense.”

Minutes after, Greene pointed to her temple and said, “Hey let me tell you something Jamaal. Not very smart.”

Addressing the interaction afterwards, Greene said:

“I was swarmed. It’s all on video. Everyone can see this, but I will tell you what’s on video is Jamaal Bowman shouting at the top of his lungs, cursing calling me … horrible … calling me a white supremacist, which I take great offense to. That is like calling a person of color the n-word, which should never happen. Calling me a white supremacist is equal to that. And that is wrong.”

Marjorie Taylor Greene says that when people like Jamaal Bowman call her a white supremacist it's “like calling a person a color the n-word”

“His physical mannerisms are aggressive … I feel threatened by him,” Greene adds of Bowman pic.twitter.com/c0JtNN0Z5R

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 18, 2023

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Marjorie Taylor Greene says that when people like Jamaal Bowman call her a white supremacist it’s “like calling a person a color the n-word”

“His physical mannerisms are aggressive … I feel threatened by him,” Greene adds of Bowman pic.twitter.com/c0JtNN0Z5R

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 18, 2023

Banking regulators testifying before the Senate banking committee on Thursday morning proposed a slew of recommendations that would strengthen regulation and supervision in light of Signature Bank and Silicone Valley Bank’s financial collapse.

“The underlying issue was concern about insolvency … Stronger capital will guard against the risk that we may not fully appreciate today. And we’ll also reduce the costs of bank failures,” said Michael Barr, the second vice chair of the Federal Reserve for supervision.

“In addition, we need to reconsider our prudential requirements. These include evaluating how we treat available for sale securities and our capital regulations, how we supervise and regulate a bank’s management of interest rate risk, how we supervise and regulate liquidity risk and how we oversee incentive compensation practices,” he added.

“Supervision should intensify at the right pace as a bank grows in size or complexity. Once identified issues should be addressed more quickly both by the bank and by supervisors. Moreover, we need to ensure that we have a culture that empowers supervisors to act in the face of uncertainty,” he continued.

DeSantis gears up to face Trump directly with launch of presidential bid

Florida governor Ron DeSantis is set to officially launch his 2024 presidential bid, according to multiple reports citing sources familiar with the matter.

Ron DeSantis to launch 2024 presidential bid next week: report

Florida governor Ron DeSantis is set to officially launch his 2024 presidential bid, according to multiple reports citing sources familiar with the matter.

Last Saturday, DeSantis rolled out a hefty list of endorsements from Iowa lawmakers and visited the crucial early-voting state in an attempt to garner support for his likely bid.

Here are other developments in US politics:

Dianne Feinstein, the oldest serving senator, has prompted renewed scrutiny over her fitness to serve following her return to Capitol Hill after a months-long absence due to shingles.
California representative Adam Schiff said he is “not backing down” in the face of a Republican-led effort to expel him from Congress.
The Pentagon leaks suspect was warned repeatedly about his mishandling of classified material, according to prosecutors.