White House news

• How do the experts select Christmas trees to place in the Blue Room and throughout the White House? Find out here: 45.wh.gov/S5g1iL

  09-12-2018 22:55 via twitter.com
  How do the experts select Christmas trees to place in the Blue Room and throughout the White House? Find out here: 45.wh.gov/S5g1iL
  
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• Omar says Johnson stirring up 'anger and hate' with Columbia visit

  25-04-2024 14:55 via thehill.com
  
  Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) took aim at Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) visit to Columbia University Wednesday, saying he was creating more “anger and hate” by making the visit.“This is a man who is holding on to his Speakership. He knows he might be on the chopping block," Omar said on MSNBC’s “Alex Wagner Tonight.” "And it is not surprising that he would go out to Columbia University and stir up really more anger and hate and endanger the lives of yo
  
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• Johnson defends Israel when asked about children's deaths

  25-04-2024 14:51 via thehill.com
  
  House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Wednesday doubled down on his support for Israel, pinning the blame on militant group Hamas for deaths of children in Gaza.
  "There have been civilians murdered, but that is not the fault of Israel, it's the fault of the terrorists — the Hamas operators and soldiers, the terrorists who have used these people and put them into harm's way," Johnson told CNN anchor Erin Burnett when asked about the loss of children's lives in Gaza."Israel — I'm convi
  
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• Pro-Palestinian campus protests roil political debate in Washington

  25-04-2024 12:00 via thehill.com
  
  College students demonstrating their support for Palestinians on campuses across the country are shaking up the political debate on Capitol Hill, pitting Israel’s closest allies in both parties against more liberal Democrats siding with the protesters in accusing the country of orchestrating a genocide in Gaza. The battle has emerged as a major election-year challenge for President Biden, who is attempting a tricky balancing act between demonstrating strong support for Washington&rsqu
  
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• Immigration advocates see work permits as Biden's best option

  25-04-2024 12:00 via thehill.com
  
  President Biden’s left flank is pushing for expanded work permits for undocumented immigrants, not just as a humanitarian imperative, but as a political boon ahead of November.Speculation over Biden’s next play on immigration has reached a fever pitch, with reports of imminent executive action on two fronts: expanded work permits and a crackdown on asylum at the border.While the administration is widely expected to do both, civil rights advocates say action on work permits will do mo
  
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• Biden to tout $6 billion deal with semiconductor manufacturer Micron during Syracuse trip

  25-04-2024 11:00 via thehill.com
  
  The Biden administration announced Thursday that it reached a preliminary agreement with Idaho-based semiconductor manufacturer Micron, the latest in a series of investments through the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act. President Biden will travel Thursday to Syracuse, N.Y., where he will tout the benefits of the agreement with Micron, which includes up to $6.1 billion in federal funding. The investment will support the construction of two manufacturing hubs, one in Clay, N.Y., outside
  
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• Johnson: Republicans ‘don’t have a functioning majority’ in the House

  25-04-2024 04:09 via thehill.com
  
  Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) joined Jesse Watters Wednesday to discuss the massive foreign aid package that recently passed both chambers, and the difficulties Republicans have faced getting immigration-related reforms passed with a Democratic Senate and President Biden in office.“Listen, we’re dealing with the smallest majority in U.S. history. We have a one-vote margin,” Johnson said on "Jesse Watters Primetime" on Wednesday. “Some people a
  
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• Fauci to testify before Congress for the first time since stepping down

  25-04-2024 01:14 via thehill.com
  
  Anthony Fauci, former chief medical advisor to President Biden, will testify before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic on June 3, making it the first time he will appear before a congressional panel since leaving government work at the end of 2022.
  Subcommittee Chair Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) announced the hearing on Wednesday. Fauci had committed to testify late last year along with agreeing to two days of interviews which took place in January.The closed-door interviews foc
  
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• Johnson, GOP lawmakers heckled at combative Columbia event

  24-04-2024 23:50 via thehill.com
  
  Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Republican lawmakers were repeatedly and loudly heckled during a combative press conference at Columbia University on Wednesday as they gathered to condemn antisemitism and the pro-Palestine demonstrations taking place on campus.Johnson — joined by GOP Reps. Virginia Foxx (N.C.), Mike Lawler (N.Y.), Anthony D’Esposito (N.Y.) and Nicole Malliotakis (N.Y.) — traveled to the Manhattan campus, where pro-Palestine protesters are refusing to
  
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• Maria Shriver talks teaming with Jill Biden to push for gender equity in medical research: It's not political, it's a 'human issue'

  24-04-2024 21:52 via thehill.com
  
  Maria Shriver says her work toward gender equity in medical research is a "human issue," not a political one."I don't see it as partisan at all because there are Republican women serving. Republican men came from Republican women," Shriver said. "I don't even look at it as a political issue. I look at it as a human issue," the NBC News correspondent and founder of the Women's Alzheimer's Movement (WAM) Prevention and Research Center at Cleveland Clinic, said.Jill Biden joined Shriver and le
  
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• Biden meets with 4-year-old American who was held hostage by Hamas

  24-04-2024 21:27 via thehill.com
  
  President Biden on Wednesday met at the White House with Abigail Edan, a four-year-old who was held by Hamas in Gaza and was released last November as part of a hostage deal.White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters the meeting was a moment of joy, as well as a reminder for Biden of the work that remains to be done as other hostages are still being held by Hamas months after its October terrorist attacks against Israel."This was a moment of joy as well because she was ab
  
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• Black lawmakers mourn the death of N.J. Rep. Donald Payne Jr.

  24-04-2024 20:56 via thehill.com
  
  Following the news Wednesday of the passing of Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-N.J.), Black lawmakers shared memories and statements of support for the late lawmaker's family. In a statement, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) highlighted the work Payne, 65, focused on during his six terms in Congress, including racial justice, reproductive freedom, free college tuition and expanding voting rights. “Representative Payne will be remembered by all those who knew him for his ki
  
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• Black lawmakers mourn the death of New Jersey Rep. Donald Payne Jr.

  24-04-2024 20:56 via thehill.com
  
  Following the news Wednesday of the passing of Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-N.J.), Black lawmakers shared memories and statements of support for the late lawmaker's family. In a statement, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) highlighted the work Payne, 65, focused on during his six terms in Congress, including racial justice, reproductive freedom, free college tuition and expanding voting rights. “Representative Payne will be remembered by all those who knew him for his ki
  
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• George Will: House Republicans voted to endanger 'civilization' with Ukraine aid opposition

  24-04-2024 20:55 via thehill.com
  
  George Will, a conservative columnist for The Washington Post, went after House Republicans who recently voted against more aid to Ukraine in a Wednesday opinion piece in the Post.In the opinion, highlighted by Mediate, Will said the 112 Republicans House Republicans who voted against Ukraine aid “voted last Saturday to endanger civilization,” calling them “ignoble.”“Hoping to enhance their political security in their mostly safe seats, and for the infantile satisfa
  
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• Democrats seen as more successful at passing legislation: Survey

  24-04-2024 20:08 via thehill.com
  
  Democrats are seen as more successful at passing legislation in the House of Representatives than their party counterparts, according to a new Monmouth University poll. More than half of Americans, 53 percent, said that Democrats have been more successful at getting legislation passed when they are in control of the lower chamber. Almost one in four, around 39 percent, said they were “unsuccessful.” In contrast, less than one-third of Americans in the poll said th
  
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• Biden leans into courting union workers by bashing Trump: ‘He looks down on us’

  24-04-2024 19:47 via thehill.com
  
  President Biden put his strategy of appealing to union workers on display Wednesday by painting himself as more like them and less like former President Trump.Biden has spoken to crowds of union workers twice in the last week, using each occasion to bash Trump about his upbringing in working to appeal to the critical voting bloc on a personal level.“Folks, we all know people like Trump who look down on us. Don’t we? We all know somebody we grew up with like that,” Biden said at
  
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• Abbott endorses Texas congressman who called colleagues 'scumbags'

  24-04-2024 19:00 via thehill.com
  
  Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) endorsed Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) on Wednesday, defending the congressman as he faces criticism from fellow Republicans after dubbing two far-right members of the caucus “scumbags.”Gonzales went after Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Bob Good (R-Va.) over the weekend, saying the Freedom Caucus members “walk around with white hoods,” and referencing allegations that Gaetz "paid minors to have sex with him at drug parties.” Gaetz has denied
  
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• Just 1 in 5 want Johnson replaced as Speaker: Survey

  24-04-2024 18:51 via thehill.com
  
  Only one in five Americans want Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to be replaced, according to a new poll, which also found Democrats are more positive about him than they were late last year. A quarter of respondents are opposed to replacing Johnson, according to the Monmouth University survey. Most people in the survey, 55 percent, said they do not have a view on the issue. The passing of the foreign aid package that included money for Ukraine and Israel slightly improved Johnson&rsq
  
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• New Jersey Rep. Donald Payne Jr. dead at 65

  24-04-2024 18:24 via thehill.com
  
  Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-N.J.), who represented New Jersey in the House for more than a decade, has died at the age of 65.New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) confirmed Payne's death in a statement on Wednesday."Tammy and I are deeply saddened by the tragic passing of our friend, and a steadfast champion for the people of New Jersey, Congressman Donald Payne, Jr.," he wrote.Payne suffered what his office called a "cardiac episode" related to complications from diabetes more than two weeks ago and had
  
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• Buttigieg: US needs more air traffic controllers

  24-04-2024 18:07 via thehill.com
  
  Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that more air traffic controllers are needed to address the concerns of them being overworked. Buttigieg said the administration is requesting funding from Capitol Hill lawmakers to hire 2,000 additional controllers. “We need more, and we're hiring more,” Buttigieg said Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “If you look at just a chart over the last 30 years or so the number of air traffic controllers h
  
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• Americans in new poll split on foreign aid package

  24-04-2024 18:07 via thehill.com
  
  Just over 40 percent of Americans approve of the sizable foreign aid package signed into law on Wednesday, according to a new poll, underlining a divide in opinion on the $95 billion expenditure.The Monmouth University survey found that 43 percent of Americans support the bill, while 35 percent oppose it, with a sizable partisan divide over whether the U.S. should support allies in conflicts abroad.The package allocates $61 billion for Ukraine aid, most of which will be spent to replenish U.S. m
  
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• Biden administration sets national goal to cut freight emissions to zero

  24-04-2024 17:52 via thehill.com
  
  The Biden administration on Wednesday laid out a national goal to cut emissions from freight shipping down to zero. A White House fact sheet did not include a date for this goal, but it comes on top of existing goals to reach net-zero emissions for the the transportation sector, as well as the whole U.S. economy, by 2050. The administration also said that its strategy, announced in tandem with a Wednesday meeting with zero-emission freight, will seek to prioritize high-pollution areas.
  
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• Biden signs 'vital' Ukraine, Israel foreign aid bill

  24-04-2024 17:32 via thehill.com
  
  President Biden on Wednesday signed the $95 billion emergency foreign aid package, calling out “MAGA Republicans” for the hold up to send aid to Ukraine.“It’s a good day for America, it’s a good day for Europe, and it’s a good day for world peace,” Biden said, announcing that he signed the legislation. “It’s going to make America safer, its going to make the world safer, and it continues America’s leadership in the world and everyo
  
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• Biden speaks on Ukraine, Israel aid, expected to sign bill: Watch live

  24-04-2024 16:50 via thehill.com
  
  President Biden will deliver remarks related to the aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other foreign priorities Wednesday morning. The president has said he will sign the legislation.The quartet of bills is the result of months of negotiations between leaders of both parties, and an internecine fight within the GOP that has threatened to boot Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) from his post.In addition to military aid to Ukraine and Israel, the package includes support for Taiwan and a new ultimatum
  
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• Johnson calls for Columbia president to resign ahead of university visit

  24-04-2024 16:43 via thehill.com
  
  House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) called for Columbia University’s president to resign, ahead of his visit to the school Wednesday."This President Shafik has shown to be a very weak, inept leader. They cannot even guarantee the safety of Jewish students? They are expected to run for their lives and stay home from class? It’s maddening," Johnson said in a radio interview with Fox News's Hugh Hewitt. Numerous lawmakers have visited Columbia after pro-Palestine protesters set up a
  
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• FBI is working with colleges to warn of antisemitic threats, violence amid protests

  24-04-2024 15:57 via thehill.com
  
  FBI Director Christopher Wray said his agency is working with colleges and universities to warn them of threats of violence amid a wave of protests surrounding the Israel-Hamas war on campuses around the country.Wray, in an interview with NBC News's Lester Holt Tuesday, said the bureau does not directly track college protests, but is providing information to schools as it becomes aware of possible threats.The FBI is “keenly focused on working with state and local law enforcement, campus la
  
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• Biden grants clemency to 16 people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses

  24-04-2024 15:41 via thehill.com
  
  President Biden on Wednesday granted clemency to 16 people who were convinced of nonviolent drug offenses, arguing the pardons and commutations reflect his commitment to address racial disparities.The president pardoned 11 individuals and commuted the sentences of five others, noting that many of them received “disproportionately longer sentences” than they would have under current practice. He added that the pardon recipients “demonstrated their commitment to improving th
  
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• GOP senator: Greene 'dragging our brand down'

  24-04-2024 14:01 via thehill.com
  
  Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) took a shot at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) Tuesday, saying she is “dragging our brand down."“She is a horrible leader,” Tillis said of Greene, according to audio played on CNN's “Erin Burnett OutFront." “She is dragging our brand down. She — not the Democrats — are the biggest risk to us getting back to a majority.”He added that the Georgia Republican is “uninformed” and “a total waste of time,&rd
  
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• Ocasio-Cortez emerges as key Biden surrogate for progressives, young people

  24-04-2024 12:00 via thehill.com
  
  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is emerging as a key surrogate for President Biden’s reelection campaign for young people and progressives, pushing his climate agenda as a win for those critical voting blocs.Ocasio-Cortez’s surrogacy comes with parameters. She said she supports Biden’s reelection bid and will stand by him during a climate event, but she has also put pressure on him as an outspoken critic of the Biden administration’s handling of Israel’s war
  
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• GOP lawmakers take Trump’s policy orders with a grain of salt

  24-04-2024 12:00 via thehill.com
  
  Republicans in Congress are taking former President Trump's policy directives with more than a few grains of salt, signaling they view what he says about issues as mainly for dramatic effect on the campaign trail.Congress passed an extension of the warrantless surveillance program, and sent to President Biden a major foreign aid package that includes $61 billion for Ukraine. Trump supported neither effort; he publicly opposed the reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveil
  
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