For Taiwan, Pelosi visit is about US, China controlling risk
The crisis sparked by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s potential visit to Taiwan misses a key point, experts say: that the real focus should be on how the United States and China manage their differences so the risks of confrontation don’t spiral out of control.
A richer, stronger China warns Pelosi not to visit Taiwan
Beijing grumbled but swallowed its irritation in 1997 when then-Speaker Newt Gingrich of the U.S. House of Representatives visited Taiwan, the island democracy claimed by the mainland’s ruling Communist Party as its own territory. China had other priorities. President Jiang Zemin’s government was preparing to celebrate Hong Kong’s return and wanted to lock in Beijing’s emergence from diplomatic isolation after its 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square.
news.yahoo.comPelosi to Taiwan would be career capstone, despite warnings
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi launched her political career being tough on China -- a new congresswoman who dared to unfurl a pro-democracy banner in Beijing's Tiananmen Square during a 1991 visit with other U.S. lawmakers shortly after the student massacre. More than 30 years later, her interest in traveling to Taiwan presents a powerful diplomatic capstone. It has also contributed to tensions at the highest levels in Washington and Beijing among officials who worry a trip could prove provocative.
news.yahoo.comTom Emmer tries to temper Republican optimism at House rout
Placeholder while article actions loadRep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) knew he had a problem when Newt Gingrich showed up at the House GOP retreat in Florida in March. Republicans gained more than 10 House seats in the 2020 elections even as Joe Biden won the presidential popular vote by more than 7 million. “He can use whatever numbers he wants to use with that big brain,” Emmer recalled telling his colleagues. According to Emmer, the NRCC has run seven polls of the most competitive districts and found that independent voters and GOP voters have the same priorities: inflation, the economy and crime. If about 35,000 votes had broken the other way in five races, Emmer would have delivered the majority.
washingtonpost.comNewt Gingrich says Georgia GOP gubernatorial candidate David Perdue thought Trump was 'a magic wand' in the race against Brian Kemp
"In retrospect, it's hard to understand David's campaign, and it's certainly not the campaign those of us who were for him expected," Gingrich told The New York Times of Perdue's race.
news.yahoo.comPlanners of Jan. 6 Trump rally subpoenaed by House panel
The House panel investigating the U.S. Capitol insurrection has issued subpoenas to two Republican strategists and a Trump administration official regarding their involvement in the planning and preparation of one of the rallies that preceded the deadly attack.
Child tax credit tussle reflects debate over work incentives
President Joe Biden and leading Democratic lawmakers, including Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet and Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, have been fighting to make permanent a child tax credit that would give families at least $300 a month per child.
Newt Gingrich Goes Full ‘Great Replacement Theory’ on Fox
Fox BusinessFormer House Speaker Newt Gingrich appeared to fully subscribe to the racist “Great Replacement Theory” in an interview with Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo Wednesday.In a conversation about Mexican immigrants traveling to the country amid rising COVID-19 cases and low job numbers, Gingrich claimed the immigrants did nothing to represent “traditional, classic Americans.”“The anti-American left would love to drown traditional, classic Americans with as many people as they can who know n
news.yahoo.comGOP purged Cheney for 'unity,' but Trump bent on retribution
Republican leaders insisted that purging Trump critic Rep. Liz Cheney from their ranks was necessary to unify the party ahead of next year’s midterm elections. “Whatever the rest of the country thinks or whatever his opponents in the news media think, he believes that he lost the White House illegitimately, and that’s a pretty big grudge, so I don't think he's going to give up that sense of grievance very easily,” said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a longtime Trump friend and informal adviser.
news.yahoo.comRepublicans seize on immigration as border crossings surge
Team Brownsville, a humanitarian group, is helping the migrants reach their final destination in the U.S. A surge of migrants on the Southwest border has the Biden administration on the defensive. Still, the encounters of both unaccompanied minors and families remain lower than at various points during the Trump administration, including in spring 2019. They deride the policies Trump implemented to deter asylum as cruel and inhumane and an abdication of the country’s humanitarian responsibilities. "The Trump administration did everything in their power for four years to make the already broken immigration system as cumbersome and ineffective as possible. ... You leave yourself nowhere to go.”Ad“They’re kind of stuck in a corner,” agreed Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies think tank, which advocates on behalf of more restrictive immigration policies.
Republicans seize on immigration as border crossings surge
Team Brownsville, a humanitarian group, is helping the migrants reach their final destination in the U.S. A surge of migrants on the Southwest border has the Biden administration on the defensive. Still, the encounters of both unaccompanied minors and families remain lower than at various points during the Trump administration, including in spring 2019. They deride the policies Trump implemented to deter asylum as cruel and inhumane and an abdication of the country’s humanitarian responsibilities. "The Trump administration did everything in their power for four years to make the already broken immigration system as cumbersome and ineffective as possible. ... You leave yourself nowhere to go.”Ad“They’re kind of stuck in a corner,” agreed Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies think tank, which advocates on behalf of more restrictive immigration policies.
Pentagon chief purges defense boards; Trump loyalists out
During the last two months of his tenure, former acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller removed a number of longtime members from several defense policy, health, science and business boards and replaced many with loyalists of former President Donald Trump. And he ordered all committee members who were appointed by the defense secretary to resign no later than Feb. 16. In November, however, Trump appointed him to that same post, just days after firing then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper and putting Miller in the job. Miller appointed Tata to the Defense Policy Board on Jan. 19, his last full day on the job. AdOne new congressionally mandated commission is also being purged of the four members that Miller appointed in early January.
Trump pardons in California extend to former congressman
The disgraced former San Diego congressman received one of the pardons issued Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, by President Donald Trump in the final hours of his term. The disgraced former San Diego congressman received one of the pardons issued Wednesday by President Donald Trump in the final hours of his term, which included several others with California connections. Trump granted him a conditional pardon, saying Cunningham tutored inmates while in prison and now volunteers for a local fire department. ELLIOTT BROIDYTrump granted a full pardon to Broidy, of Beverly Hills, a major Trump fundraiser and former Republican National Committee deputy finance chairman. Those supporting the pardon included California Republican Reps. Devin Nunes and Ken Calvert.
Trump's pardon largesse a boon for well-connected fraudsters
Trump is expected to pardon Bannon, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, as part of a flurry of last-minute clemency action that appears to be still in flux in the last hours of his presidency. For instance, joining Cunningham on the pardon list was Steve Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist. The pardon nullified the prosecution of Bannon while the trial was still months away, eliminating the prospect for any punishment for him. He pleaded guilty last fall to acting as an unregistered lobbyist and was awaiting sentencing at the time of his pardon. In the final minutes of his term, Trump pardoned Al Pirro, the ex-husband of Fox News Channel host Jeanine Pirro, in a tax evasion case.
Sheldon Adelson, billionaire casino mogul and GOP power broker, dies
Adelson died Monday night from complications related to treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Las Vegas Sands announced Tuesday. “If you do things differently, success will follow you like a shadow,” he said during a 2014 talk to the gambling industry in Las Vegas. In politics, Adelson was a record-breaking campaign donor who had the ear of domestic and international leaders, including President Donald Trump. Late in 2015, Adelson secretly purchased the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Soon his Macao revenue outstripped that of his Las Vegas holdings.
Hurt feelings, anger linger after Pence, Trump clash
But for more than four years, President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence made their marriage of political convenience work. Pence, for his part, was left feeling “hurt” and “upset” by the episode, according to people close to him. Pence's decision to publicly defy Trump was a first for the notoriously deferential vice president, who has been unflinchingly loyal to Trump since joining the GOP ticket in 2016. “If Mike Pence does the right thing we win the election,” Trump wrongly insisted. He repeatedly returned to Pence throughout his speech as he tried to pressure the vice president to fall in line.
Trump push on $2K checks flops as GOP-led Senate won’t vote
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., walks off of the Senate floor on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. Opening the Senate on Thursday, McConnell called the House-passed bill matching Trump's $2,000 request “socialism for rich people” who don't need the federal help. The Republican-led Senate acquitted the president in 2020 of the charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Trump’s push for $2,000 checks gained sudden momentum when dozens of House Republicans joined Democrats in approving the measure Monday. But the GOP leader has scheduled no votes on his measure and it would be unlikely to have enough support in Congress to pass.
Wealthy voters are 'mythical middle' in Georgia Senate races
Peterson, like many voters in this area of Atlanta, voted for Democrat Joe Biden but also cast votes for Republican Senate candidates in November. Some of Georgia's most affluent voters, formerly reliable cornerstones of the state's once-ascendant Republican majority, live in million-dollar houses here. Perdue led Ossoff by about 88,000 votes, although the incumbent fell short of the majority required in Georgia because of votes won by a Libertarian. Perdue also ran ahead of Trump in wealthier areas of DeKalb County, a Democratic bastion where Trump won only two of 191 precincts and lost some areas 20-to-1. Once a registered Republican in Pennsylvania — Georgia doesn't register voters by party — Levin said she has “zero respect” for Perdue and Loeffler.
Georgia US Senate race: Ossoff again campaigning in overtime
Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate from Georgia Jon Ossoff speaks after voting early in Atlanta on Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020. For the second time in three years, Jon Ossoff is campaigning in overtime. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)ATLANTA – Though still chasing his first victory, Jon Ossoff is no stranger to the pressure of campaigning in overtime — this time for one of two crucial U.S. Senate seats that will determine control of the chamber. Ossoff ran a formidable campaign even while being mocked by Republicans as a lightweight unqualified to occupy the seat once held by Republican Newt Gingrich. Biden received nearly 100,000 more votes in Georgia than Ossoff.
Stimulus checks, marijuana and Trump’s loss all come back to: How will it play in Georgia?
Washington Republicans and Democrats have kept the Georgia Senate races front of mind, calculating how their moves would help or hurt their candidates. Moderate Democrats worried a vote to legalize marijuana would paint Democrats as radicals. AdvertisementDemocrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock have framed some of their message around helping Biden and his agenda — such as a stimulus bill — by delivering control of the Senate. Republicans Perdue and Loeffler have capitalized on this opposition, suggesting the Democrats oppose stimulus altogether. Loeffler, Perdue and many other congressional Republicans supported the bill.
latimes.comWhat mandate? Biden's agenda faces a divided Congress
"That’s a mandate to flip the switch.”The idea of a Biden mandate, though, is relative, certainly embraced by Democrats who want to push ahead with his agenda. California Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the House's Republican leader, said the election “was a mandate against socialism," stepping up the relentless GOP attacks, even though Biden is a centrist Democrat. Biden comes to the presidency like few in recent history, with a rare mix of experience but also a potentially divided Congress. Whether McConnell emerges in the new Congress as majority or minority leader with a narrowly divided Senate, the longest serving Republican leader in history will have great leverage over legislation that arrives on Biden's desk. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York and even McCarthy will have oversize roles because of the changed makeup of the new Congress.
Vatican calling: Pope congratulates Joe Biden on election
It’s not exactly divine intervention, but even the pope considers the U.S. presidential race over. President-elect Joe Biden, a lifelong Roman Catholic, spoke to Pope Francis on Thursday, despite President Donald Trump refusing to concede. Trump claims — without evidence — that the election was stolen from him through massive but unspecified acts of fraud. Biden has said he accepts church doctrine about abortion on a personal level, but does not want to impose that belief on everyone. Having the pope on board, too, likely has special significance for Biden.
Trump books will continue after Trump leaves office
NEW YORK – One of publishing's most thriving genres of the past four years, books about President Donald Trump, is not going to end when he leaves office. In 2021 and beyond, look for waves of releases about the Trump administration and about the president's loss to Democratic candidate Joe Biden. “But there are tens of millions of Americans who look to the Trump presidency as an important time and are fans of his administration. Center Street, a Hachette Book Group imprint, has published Donald Trump Jr., Newt Gingrich and Judge Jeanine Pirro among others. Any publisher signing with Trump or a top administration official might face the anger not just of Trump critics among the general public, but from within the industry.
Stacey Abrams credited for boosting Democrats in Georgia
Abrams, the onetime candidate for Georgia governor who has become perhaps the nation's leading voice on voting rights, is being credited for paving those inroads. “There’s a lot of work that’s gone into this, but Stacey really is the architect of what’s been built in Georgia,” said Dubose Porter, the former Georgia Democratic Party chairman and an Abrams mentor. The 2018 campaign marked a notable shift in Georgia Democrats’ overall approach. They’d do it by reshaping the electorate, by exciting the expanding universe of potentially Democratic voters: the youngest native white Georgians; whites from beyond Georgia; Black voters who cast ballots sporadically; Black voters moving to Georgia from other regions; and a growing Latino and Asian-American population. “We’ll take on Antifa, Black Lives Matter, Fair Fight, Stacey Abrams and all of them.”Trump himself was an accelerating variable in Georgia’s shift, pushing some white suburbanites toward Democrats.
Fed up with the election? Science explains how politics got so awful
A report in this week’s issue of Science offers an explanation — political sectarianism. The rise of social media makes it even easier for people to cut themselves off from contrary points of view. That helped drive a wedge between people on opposite sides of the political spectrum, according to a report in Science. They’ve also got ideas for tweaking social media, but it’s not as simple as you might think. “Political sectarianism is neither inevitable nor irreversible,” they write, though reversing it won’t be easy.
latimes.comGeorgia's McBath seeks 2nd win in once-famed GOP district
ATLANTA – Karen Handel is looking for Republicans to mobilize in Georgia's 6th District, once an incubator of high-profile Republicans. But Democrat Lucy McBath, who unseated Handel in 2018, is trying to show that Atlanta's wealthiest suburbs have changed. But McBath is hitting Handel with a range of attacks, with the most concerted sparring around health care. “My opponent's record on health care is absolutely dismal,” McBath said. “Right now we have a single-issue, completely disengaged member of Congress representing this congressional district,” Handel said.
Trump intensifies focus on Harris in final weeks of campaign
Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks at Carpenters Local Union 1912 in Phoenix, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020, to kick off a small business bus tour. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)If you need help with the Public File, call 210-351-1241.
Trump intensifies focus on Harris in final weeks of campaign
During the past week, Trump told Sean Hannity of Fox News that Harris would assume the presidency within “three months” of Biden's inauguration. During a conversation with Rush Limbaugh, he warned that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would “replace” Biden with Harris. Trump's focus on Harris is building as he tries to regain an advantage against Biden, who is leading most national and battleground state polls three weeks before the election. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Trump ally, is pushing the president to make Harris a campaign centerpiece. “This is a desire not to run against Joe Biden, to run against anybody but Joe Biden,” he said.
Trump's task: Resetting campaign that GOP fears is slipping
This year's campaign, other Republicans worry, may instead resemble 1980 or 2008: a close race until, at the end, it decidedly wasn’t. Reviewing data afterward, campaign aides worried as they started to see Trump’s support begin to slip. Trump’s campaign worries that it is losing support among suburban voters, women and older voters. The Democrat on Monday will make a trip to Ohio for his general election campaign, another state Trump won convincingly in 2016. Trump’s campaign believes the hearings could change the political narrative away from the virus and draw attention to Biden’s refusal to say whether he would expand or “pack” the Supreme Court.
Newt Gingrich says reporters wouldn't be in the White House if it were up to him
Newt Gingrich, the Republican House Speaker in the late '90s, said on Monday that there would be no reporters who he calls "enemies of the president" at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue if it was up to him. "If I had had the ability to do it, there wouldn't be a White House press corps in the White House," Gingrich responded. "Well this is the opportunity for the president to speak to the people, right?" He doesn't need to speak to a bunch of reporters who are then going to be distorted by their editors," Gingrich said. The U.S. now ranks 48th in the world for press freedom, according to Reporters Without Borders.
cbsnews.com7/17: Manafort, Gingrich, Barbour
"Face the Nation" brings you the latest on the Republican national convention on the eve of the Cleveland kickoff, with Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, Cleveland police chief Calvin Williams, and others.
cbsnews.comOpen: This is Face the Nation, July 17
"Face the Nation" brings you the latest on the Republican national convention on the eve of the Cleveland kickoff, with Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, Cleveland police chief Calvin Williams, and others.
cbsnews.comOpen: This is Face the Nation, January 4
Open: This is Face the Nation, January 4 The latest on the incoming Congress and the uneasy conversation about race and policing in America, with Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, and Chris Coons, D-Delaware, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and others.
cbsnews.comJanuary 4: Schumer, Coons, and Cummings
January 4: Schumer, Coons, and Cummings The latest on the incoming Congress and the uneasy conversation about race and policing in America, with Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, and Chris Coons, D-Delaware, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and others.
cbsnews.comFlashback: Newt Gingrich details the Contract with America
Flashback: Newt Gingrich details the Contract with America On September 27, 1994, then-House Minority Whip Newt Gingrich, R-Georgia, detailed the Republican Party's Contract with America, which the GOP eventually rode to an historic victory in the 1994 midterm elections.
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