Biden dismisses document controversy; abortion marches; live updates

News Desk

2 years ago

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While congressional Republicans start zeroing in on the Biden administration, the president prepares to meet the nation’s mayors on an issue he loves to talk about: infrastructure.

President Joe Biden speaks Friday with members of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and delivers remarks on his administration’s record. Elsewhere in Washington, D.C., anti-abortion activists hold their annual march. And a key senator could announce he won’t run in 2024.

Here are some of the latest political developments:

Biden is scheduled to meet with the bipartisan group of mayors at the White House before flying home to Delaware for the weekend.
Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine is expected to announce Friday whether he’ll seek reelection in 2024, according to numerous media reports.
An anti-abortion march Friday is designed to pressure Congress into passing new legislation, but their prospects are dim because Democrats control the Senate.
The Supreme Court says it is unable to find out who leaked a draft of its anti-abortion ruling last year.

Haley dismisses Pompeo’s VP claims as ‘lies and gossip’

Former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley dismissed former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s claims that she plotted to replace Mike Pence as vice president in the 2020 election.

“It’s really sad when you’re having to go out there and put lies and gossip to sell a book,” Haley told Fox News. “It was gossip, it was never discussed. If somebody else discussed it, they certainly didn’t discuss it with me.”

In his new book, “Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love”, Pompeo accused Haley of scheming with former White House advisors Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump to replace Pence, the Guardian reported after obtaining a copy of the memoir.

According to Pompeo, Haley sidestepped Trump’s then chief of staff, John Kelly, and secured a personal meeting with Trump accompanied by Kushner and Ivanka Trump to present “a possible ‘Haley for vice-president’ option.”

The exchange is a sneak peek into what could be a heated 2024 Republican primary. Both Pompeo and Haley have suggested they will run for president in 2024.

— Ken Tran

Donald Trump, lawyers ordered to pay nearly $1m for Clinton lawsuits

A federal judge in Florida has ordered Former President Donald Trump and his attorneys to pay nearly $1 million in sanctions for a lawsuit Trump filed against Hillary Clinton and many others over claims the 2016 presidential election was rigged.

“This case should never have been brought. Its inadequacy as a legal claim was evident from the start,” U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks wrote in his order Thursday. “”No reasonable lawyer would have filed it.”

The order comes as Trump, who is kicking off another run for president, is facing an array of legal troubles and criminal investigations.

— Holly Rosenkrantz

Abortion highlighted in weekend marches

Both the annual Women’s March and National March for Life are set to take place this weekend on what would have been the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, establishing their very different worldviews on abortion.

Anti-abortion groups will march on Washington, D.C. Friday following an assortment of events in the days leading up to the march, including exhibitions for individuals to connect with pro-life organizations and “pro-lifers” from around the country.

Unlike previous years, the Women’s March is set to take place in Madison, Wisconsin, on Sunday as the state has become home to a closely watched race for the state Supreme Court.The battle for abortion rights has shifted to the state level after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade last year.

– Sarah Elbeshbishi

Biden to deliver remarks to mayors before leaving for Delaware

President Joe Biden is set to deliver remarks Friday to more than 175 mayors at the White House where he’s expected to tout federal funding for infrastructure and COVID-19 recovery efforts that’s flowed to cities during his administration.

Biden’s remarks, set for 2 p.m., will celebrate “the achievements of the past 18 months,” the White House said. Mayors across the country are in Washington for the annual U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting.

The president will also meet with a bipartisan group of mayors as some cities worry Republicans may try to take back the unspent portion of the $350 billion awarded to cities and states through the American Rescue Plan. Other mayors are expected to raise concerns about the influx of migrants on the southern border.

– Joey Garrison

Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine to announce his future plans: reports

Sen. Tim Kaine is expected to announce whether he’ll run for reelection next year or retire, opening up another seat Democrats will have to fight to keep blue, according to media reports.

The two-term senator and former Virginia governor is expected to discuss his future after he hosts an economic development roundtable in Richmond, according to a news release from his office.

Several media reports suggest Kaine, who turns 65 next month, could announce a decision to retire when his term expires. Democrats have a challenging Senate map two years from now even without having to replace the former 2016 vice presidential nominee.

– Ledyard King

Oversight committee conservatives could spell added trouble for Biden

Ultra-conservative members of the Republican caucus received appointments to two influential House committees that will spearhead investigations targeting the Biden administration, including the discovery of classified documents at the president’s private home and residence.

And they’ve already started.

Republicans, with control of the House, can leverage their investigatory power and launch probes into the Biden administration ahead of the 2024 presidential election, specifically into his family’s business dealings and the classified documents found in his Delaware home and private office in Washington.

– Rachel Looker

With debt ceiling milestone reached, congressional fight comes into focus

The Treasury Department Thursday began “extraordinary measures” to pay the nation’s bills after reaching a limit on how much it’s allowed to borrow, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Congress.

While the United States has been in this position before, fears are rising over whether political brinkmanship will prevent the limit from being raised as it has in the past, risking an economic calamity.

The amount of time the Department can continue taking steps to avoid defaulting on the debt unless the $31.381 trillion limit is raised is uncertain, Yellen wrote in her letter to lawmakers. But the government is expected to be able to keep operating until at least June.