White House news

• Johnson condemns Columbia's main commencement ceremony cancellation

  06-05-2024 17:20 via thehill.com
  
  Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) sent out a statement Monday blasting Columbia University for cancelling its main graduation ceremony. “President Shafik and Columbia University administrators have displayed a shocking unwillingness to control their campus. They’ve allowed outside agitators and terrorist-sympathizing students and faculty to rewrite campus rules and spew vile, anti-Jewish aggression. Now, thousands of students who’ve worked hard to achieve their degrees will not
  
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• AOC calls Israeli attack on Rafah camp 'an indefensible atrocity'

  27-05-2024 22:53 via thehill.com
  
  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) blasted an Israeli strike on Rafah that killed at least 45 people over the weekend as “an indefensible atrocity,” as criticism rises of the Israeli military operation in the southern Gaza city.The Israeli strike on the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood of Rafah targeted a humanitarian zone filled with tents, where Israel’s military previously instructed displaced Palestinians to shelter from the ongoing war against militant group Hamas, the Gaza
  
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• Biden honors late son Beau in somber Memorial Day message: 'The hurt is still real'

  27-05-2024 18:03 via thehill.com
  
  President Biden addressed a packed Arlington National Cemetery Monday to mark Memorial Day, making somber remembrance of members of the armed forces killed in combat.“We gather at this sacred place at this solemn moment to remember and to honor the sacrifice of the hundreds of thousands of women and men have given their lives to this nation,” Biden said. “Each one, literally, a link in the chain of honor stretching back to our founding days, each one bound by common commitment
  
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• Leaders in Congress join together to honor the fallen on Memorial Day

  27-05-2024 17:51 via thehill.com
  
  Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle came together Monday to honor fallen soldiers this Memorial Day.Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said America honors the “brave men and women of the U.S. Military who have paid the ultimate sacrifice while defending our country.”“We owe them, and the families they left behind, an eternal debt of gratitude,” he posted on social media platform X.House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) shared a video honoring the military members who de
  
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• GOP in limbo on Garland contempt vote as some Republicans cast doubts

  27-05-2024 12:00 via thehill.com
  
  The House GOP effort to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress is in limbo, with Republicans unsure whether they have the votes to pass the measure.Two committees last week easily passed resolutions to censure Garland, and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has since projected confidence, saying he expects the measure to pass “handily” once lawmakers return from their weeklong Memorial Day recess. But a source familiar with behind-the-scenes discussions said the
  
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• GOP rep Gonzales doubles down on criticism of 'neo-Nazi' opponent in runoff

  27-05-2024 00:15 via thehill.com
  
  Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) again called his primary opponent a “neo-Nazi” on Sunday as he prepares for a close runoff election Tuesday that has divided the GOP.The two-term border district congressman fought back against members of his party who have backed his primary rival, social media influencer Brandon Herrera. Neither candidate won a majority of the vote in a March runoff election, leading to Tuesday’s primary.“Are we going to be the party that governs and gets th
  
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• Climate change is already impacting transportation: Buttigieg

  26-05-2024 21:32 via thehill.com
  
  Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg sounded the alarm bell on climate change, warning that it is already affecting modes of transit.“The reality is, the effects of climate change are already upon us in terms of our transportation,” Buttigieg said in an interview that aired on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday.“We’ve seen that in the form of everything from heat waves that shouldn’t statistically even be possible, threatening to melt the cables
  
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• Lawmakers: We are setting a terrible example

  26-05-2024 20:27 via thehill.com
  
  Reps. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) and Steve Womack (R-Ark.) expressed concern that today's lawmakers are setting bad examples for the next generation of American leaders, in a Sunday joint interview.On NewsNation's "The Hill Sunday" with Chris Stirewart, Crow and Womack—two U.S. veterans—stressed the value of military service and urged greater bipartisan cooperation and civility for the country's sake.“I think, more than anything, we are setting a terrible example for the ne
  
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• Lawmakers urge Congress to take action on southern border to keep migrant decline

  26-05-2024 20:05 via thehill.com
  
  A pair of lawmakers on opposite sides of the aisle on Sunday warned the decline in migrants at the U.S.-southern border is likely not permanent and called for Congressional action to maintain the drop.
  Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), in two separate interviews on CBS News's "Face the Nation," agreed illegal crossings have decreased in recent months but poured cold water over the numbers staying that way.When asked by "Face the Nation" anchor Margaret Brennan if the
  
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• Pennsylvania Democrat blasts Alito for blaming flag controversy on his wife

  26-05-2024 17:36 via thehill.com
  
  Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Penn.), in a Sunday interview, blasted Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito for blaming his wife for displaying the upside-down flag outside his home in the days following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.In an interview on NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday,” Dean invoked Memorial Day as she stressed the importance of abiding by a code of ethics – when asked to respond to the latest Alito controversy.“I think I'll end where I started, which i
  
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• Donalds responds to MSNBC’s Joy Reid: ‘Crabs in a barrel’

  26-05-2024 17:13 via thehill.com
  
  Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) on Sunday pushed back against criticism that he was being used as a “prop” while campaigning with former President Trump in the Bronx this past week.Donalds – a prominent Black Republican lawmaker and close ally of the former president’s – defended himself after MSNBC host Joy Reid said Trump was using Donalds as a prop. “The one Black guy that Republicans love to roll out as fake proof that Black people, the Blacks, are MAGA,
  
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• Donalds responds to MSNBC’s Joy Reid: 'Crabs in a barrel'

  26-05-2024 17:13 via thehill.com
  
  Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) on Sunday pushed back against criticism that he was being used as a “prop” while campaigning with former President Trump in the Bronx this past week.Donalds — a prominent Black Republican lawmaker and close ally of the former president’s — defended himself after MSNBC host Joy Reid said Trump was using Donalds as a prop.“The one Black guy that Republicans love to roll out as fake proof that Black people, the Blacks, are MAGA, they&r
  
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• Democrat says ICC as ‘irrelevant’ as “Harry Potter School of Magic’

  26-05-2024 16:43 via thehill.com
  
  Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) blasted the International Criminal Court (ICC) as political and irrelevant in a Sunday interview with Fox News’s Shannon Bream.“This is totally political. The ICC is irrelevant. They have no jurisdiction. We might as well call them the Harry Potter School of Magic,” Moskowitz said in an interview on “Fox News Sunday.”Moskowitz criticized the ICC for targeting Israel, while not similarly targeting China and Syria – even though none
  
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• Fight over sanctions on international court splinters Democrats

  26-05-2024 16:20 via thehill.com
  
  The bipartisan effort to punish the International Criminal Court (ICC) for its proposal to charge Israeli leaders with war crimes is splintering Democrats in the House, where liberal human-rights advocates are defending the world court against party leaders poised to slap it with sanctions.The dispute is just the latest in a long-running feud between Israel’s Democratic allies — who have accused the ICC’s top prosecutor of promoting false equivalencies between the democratic le
  
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• Moskowitz: Nate Silver's idea of Biden leaving ticket is 'ridiculous'

  26-05-2024 15:55 via thehill.com
  
  Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) said in a Sunday interview that pollster Nate Silver’s suggestion that President Biden leaves the presidential ticket is “ridiculous” at this stage in the election cycle.“No, it’s not a conversation worth having,” Moskowitz told Fox News’s Shannon Bream when asked in an interview on “Fox News Sunday” whether Biden should consider leaving the ticket.Silver, who founded the prominent polling website Five
  
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• Democrat: Nate Silver idea of Biden leaving ticket is ‘ridiculous’

  26-05-2024 15:55 via thehill.com
  
  Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) said in a Sunday interview that pollster Nate Silver’s suggestion that President Biden leaves the presidential ticket is “ridiculous” at this stage in the election cycle.“No, it’s not a conversation worth having,” Moskowitz told Fox News’s Shannon Bream when asked in an interview on “Fox News Sunday” whether Biden should consider leaving the ticket.Silver, who founded the prominent polling website FiveT
  
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• Democrat: Biden leaving ticket is ‘ridiculous’

  26-05-2024 15:55 via thehill.com
  
  Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) said in a Sunday interview that pollster Nate Silver’s suggestion that President Biden leaves the presidential ticket is “ridiculous” at this stage in the election cycle.“No, it’s not a conversation worth having,” Moskowitz told Fox News’s Shannon Bream when asked in an interview on “Fox News Sunday” whether Biden should consider leaving the ticket.Silver, who founded the prominent polling website FiveT
  
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• Biden administration puts pressure on China to halt military drills near Taiwan

  25-05-2024 19:28 via thehill.com
  
  The Biden administration said Saturday that U.S. officials are "deeply concerned" about the extensive military drills in the Taiwan Strait, putting pressure on China to "act with restraint."“The United States is deeply concerned over the People’s Liberation Army joint military drills in the Taiwan Strait and around Taiwan,” a Saturday statement from State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller reads. “We are monitoring [People’s Republic of China] activities closely
  
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• Dems urge action on police bill in honor of George Floyd on 4th death anniversary

  25-05-2024 18:41 via thehill.com
  
  Democratic lawmakers made a new push for federal police reform Saturday on the fourth anniversary of George Floyd's death.Floyd, a Black man, died May 25, 2020, after a white Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for more than nine minutes. His final words, "I can't breathe," became a rallying cry for worldwide protests following the incident.The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which was reintroduced by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), earlier this week. The bill, first introduc
  
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• Harris unveils plan to double internet access in Africa

  25-05-2024 14:46 via thehill.com
  
  Vice President Kamala Harris announced a new partnership Friday that will double internet access across Africa.Roughly 40 percent of the continent has access to the web, and the new partnership looks to increase it to 80 percent. Harris’s announcement follows a trip last year to Africa and came as Kenyan President William Ruto visited Washington for a state visit.
  During a conversation with Ruto, the vice president stressed that the U.S. wants to reimagine its relationship with Africa. She
  
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• Austin resumes Pentagon duties after minimally invasive procedure

  25-05-2024 13:26 via thehill.com
  
  Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin resumed his powers after temporarily transferring them to his deputy as he underwent a medical procedure Friday evening. The Pentagon announced Friday that Austin would be undergoing a "scheduled, elective, and minimally invasive" nonsurgical procedure on his bladder at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. His powers were temporarily transferred to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks.The procedure began at 6 p.m. EDT and lasted appro
  
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• GOP gets scalps in COVID probe, but origin of virus still a mystery

  25-05-2024 12:00 via thehill.com
  
  The GOP-controlled subcommittee on the coronavirus pandemic appears to be swaying the Biden administration with its exhaustive examinations targeting groups and individuals with links to the unproven COVID-19 lab leak theory. In the past month, the subcommittee has heard testimony from EcoHealth Alliance President Peter Daszak and Lawrence Tabak, principal deputy director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It also called in David Morens, a top deputy to former COVID czar Anthony Fa
  
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•  Crockett says GOP colleagues gave her a 'thumbs up, winks' after Greene tiff

  25-05-2024 04:21 via thehill.com
  
  Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) signaled Friday that several of her Republican colleagues showed their approval of her response to the fracas with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) last week, even giving her a "thumbs up."Asked by MSNBC host Joy Reid about the spat and how it is to work alongside Greene, Crockett said it is "completely unproductive."“Listen, she is showing the world who she is and the fact that the Republicans continue to give her cover, it tells us who they are as well,
  
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• Crockett says GOP colleagues gave her a 'thumbs up, winks' after Greene tiff

  25-05-2024 04:21 via thehill.com
  
  Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) signaled Friday that several of her Republican colleagues showed their approval of her response to the fracas with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) last week, even giving her a "thumbs up."Asked by MSNBC host Joy Reid about the spat and how it is to work alongside Greene, Crockett said it is "completely unproductive."“Listen, she is showing the world who she is and the fact that the Republicans continue to give her cover, it tells us who they are as well,
  
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• Amendment killing nationally legal cannabis makes it into House Farm Bill

  24-05-2024 23:24 via thehill.com
  
  A ban on intoxicating hemp products has made it into the House version of the Farm Bill.If the amendment makes it through a polarized House and divided Congress, it would end America's brief experiment with nationally legal cannabis.The language added to the House version of the Farm Bill by Rep. Mary Miller (R-Iowa) in effect repeals a sweeping legal change passed by an all-Republican coalition in 2018’s Farm Bill. That previous bill made it fa
  
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• Austin will undergo procedure, transfer Pentagon powers

  24-05-2024 22:46 via thehill.com
  
  Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will transfer his powers to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks temporarily, as he undergoes a medical procedure, the Pentagon announced Friday.The nonsurgical procedure on his bladder is “scheduled, elective, and minimally invasive” and will be performed at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Pentagon spokesperson Major Gen. Patrick Ryder said in a statement.The bladder issue is not related to his prostate cancer diagnosis and his &ld
  
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• Biden to welcome Kansas City Chiefs to White House

  24-05-2024 15:36 via thehill.com
  
  President Biden will welcome the Kansas City Chiefs to the White House on May 31, the White House announced on Friday.The Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers to win the 2023 Super Bowl in Las Vegas. The also won the Super Bowl the year prior and visited the White House in June 2023.During last year's visit, Biden, who often quips that he’s a Philadelphia Eagles fan by marriage, said he predicts Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes will be considered one of the best quarterbacks ever.The White House
  
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• Space guard, COVID amnesty and other House Defense bill highlights

  24-05-2024 11:30 via thehill.com
  
  The House has advanced its mammoth $883.7 billion Defense policy bill for fiscal 2025, legislation that includes a number of controversial measures including the rehiring of troops kicked out for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine and one giving state governors veto power over a Space Force transfer.The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was approved Wednesday night by the House Armed Services Committee in a vote of 57-1 after more than 700 amendments were negotiated over roughly 12 hours. Rep
  
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• Here's what's in the mammoth $883.7B Defense bill the House passed

  24-05-2024 11:30 via thehill.com
  
  The House has advanced its mammoth $883.7 billion Defense policy bill for fiscal 2025, legislation comprising a number of controversial measures, including the rehiring of troops kicked out for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine and one giving state governors veto power over a Space Force transfer.The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was approved Wednesday night by the House Armed Services Committee in a 57-1 vote after more than 700 amendments were negotiated over roughly 12 hours. Rep. Ro
  
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• Here's what's in the mammoth $883.7B defense bill passed by the House

  24-05-2024 11:30 via thehill.com
  
  The House has advanced its mammoth $883.7 billion Defense policy bill for fiscal 2025, legislation that includes a number of controversial measures including the rehiring of troops kicked out for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine and one giving state governors veto power over a Space Force transfer.The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was approved Wednesday night by the House Armed Services Committee in a vote of 57-1 after more than 700 amendments were negotiated over roughly 12 hours. Rep
  
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