US Politics News

The GOP leader made the move in an effort to court votes after suffering two rare failures on a vote to advance the defense bill this week. The $300 million for training Ukraine's troops will now be voted on separately. 'I just voted NO to the rule for the Defense bill because they refused to take the war money for Ukraine out and put it in a separate bill,; Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene , R-Ga., typically a McCarthy ally, posted on X after the second rule vote. The separate vote on Ukraine aid would likely pass and even attract Democratic votes, unlike the defense spending bill itself, which was loaded up with conservative policy riders. But this way anti-Ukraine aid lawmakers like Greene could vote for the defense bill and against the aid for training.

Democratic Senator Bob Menendez on Friday denied the corruption charges against him and claimed he is being 'falsely accused' because he is a 'Latin American' who rose from a humble childhood to the United States Senate. Menendez and his wife Nadine Arslanian Menendez have been indicted by a federal grand jury over corruption allegations in an investigation that focused on a luxury car, $400,000 in gold bars and cash, plus payments toward a home mortgage allegedly received by the couple. The four-term senator, the son of Cuban immigrants, denied the charges and refused to resign.

The story of now-indicted lovebirds Senator Bob Menendez and Nadine Arslanian had humble beginnings over pancakes at a Union City, New Jersey IHOP where the owner had introduced the pair. 'I didn't know at that time that Bob was a senator,' the Lebanon-born Arslanian, 58, told the New York Times of Menendez, 69. 'He was very intelligent and had a great sense of humor, and he was very, very hot.' The Democratic senator described Arslanian as 'beautiful and bright and had such a great personality. There was just this aura about her.' Their romance was fast and furious: they traveled the world together, visiting four continents in five months before Menendez proposed in India in October 2019.

Sen. John Fetterman became emotional during a committee hearing and began tearing up as he addressed criticism and mockery that he has faced over his disabilities. Fetterman, 54, spoke in front of other guests with disabilities at the US Senate Special Committee on Aging on Thursday.  The democrat from Pennsylvania went on a three minute rant about his 'inability to fully process language' relating to his auditory disabilities stemming from a stroke he had prior to securing the Democratic nomination last year. 

The Senate will return on Tuesday and the House is unclear when it will be voting again, but many members have already hightailed it out of town. The House canceled votes, and told members to be 'on call' for future votes, after a series of two embarrassing failures over the rule to advance the bill that funds the Pentagon for fiscal year 2024. House GOP leadership seems to have tabled a movement for a continuing resolution, or CR, and will try to move forward with 11 more appropriations bills with steeper spending cuts over the next week. The 12 total appropriations bills would never pass the Senate even if they move through the House next week, all but ensuring a shutdown unless they can cobble together the votes for a CR once members see progress on separate spending bills.

President Joe Biden mistakenly praised the ' Congressional Black Caucus' during a speech to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. He had celebrated Sister Norma Pimental, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, for her gala award win moments before the mistake. Biden praised her for living the lessons based on the Gospel of Matthew before adding: 'The Congressional Black Caucus embodies all those values.' The incident sparks further concern about his age and health after he seemingly wandered off a stage failing to shake hands with Brazil 's president and repeated the same story within minutes at a private fundraising event on Wednesday.

Joe Biden told the same story twice within minutes at a private fundraising event in New York on Wednesday. It led to further concerns about his age following a string of recent gaffes. The story was one he ha told many times about how neo-Nazis descending on Charlottesville in 2017, and Donald Trump's reaction, inspired him to run.

GOP presidential hopeful Nikki Haley said Thursday that former President Donald Trump will be remembered as 'thin-skinned and easily distracted' and criticized him for becoming 'weak in the knees' on Ukraine . Haley was hopping around New Hampshire , a state where she has seen her 2024 fortunes rise.

Volodymyr Zelensky brought his battle for more funds and weapons to the White House, hinting to President Joe Biden he wants more missiles as conservative Republicans are refusing to budge on aid to the Ukraine. The Ukrainian president spent Thursday morning on Capitol Hill, lobbying lawmakers for their support. But far-right GOP lawmakers in the House are stiffling aid even as many GOP senators support sending more funds to Kyiv. In the Oval Office, Zelensky, speaking in English from note cards, said he had frank conversations with members of Congress. He said he looked forward to discussion military support from the U.S. with Biden "with a special emphasis on air." 

President Joe Biden appeared to wander off the UN stage without shaking hands with Brazil 's Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at the end of a joint speech, leaving the leader looking visibly irritated. Biden, 80, shared a stage with Lula, 77, in a gaffe-filled presentation about their vision to jointly improve workers' rights in their countries. But their diplomatic meeting got off to a labored start when Biden shuffled into a seven-foot Brazilian flag, leaving it teetering slightly as he approached the podium.

Breaking precedent, Fetterman took his seat in a dark, short sleeve button down, as everyone around didn't seem to take the to the adjusted dress code. Others have argued that a more formal dress code is symbolic of the sense of seriousness and dignity that Senators go by, but Fetterman thinks otherwise. 'I don't know why the right side seems to be losing their minds over it,' the Democratic senator from Pennsylvania told Fox News . On Wednesday Fetterman did offer to 'save democracy' as he has vowed to wear a suit on the Senate floor next week, but only if House Republicans 'stop trying to shut our government down'.

He made the first of five planned visits to Iowa on Wednesday and addressed crowds in Maquoketa and Dubuque as he seeks to win the Republican Party's 2024 presidential nomination. But the former president, 77, was later spotted giving out pizza to delighted fans at Kathy's Treehouse Pub & Eatery in Bettendorf. Trump was filmed handing people pizza boxes, signing autographs and engaging with the crowd who chanted: 'We want Trump'. It comes as Trump brushes off claims he told an aide she should deny any knowledge of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.

Saudi Arabia 's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has refused to directly answer a question about his country's wealth fund injecting $2 billion into Jared Kushner's fledgling private equity. In a wide-ranging interview with Fox News , the controversial leader also admitted 'mistakes' over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and warned that Saudi Arabia will get nukes if Iran does. Six months after Donald Trump left the White House in 2020, his son-in-law and former senior adviser Jared Kushner secured a $2 billion investment from the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) led by MbS. When asked by Fox presenter Bret Baier whether this created a conflict of interest and if the royal family would pull the money should Donald Trump win re-election, MbS said 'if it's legal, what's the problem?'

Frustrated Republican Rep. Chip Roy told his GOP colleagues they are going to 'eat a s*** sandwich' and 'probably deserve it' for opposing a stopgap spending bill that would avoid a government shutdown. The Texas Congressman tore into critics of the plan to cut non-defense spending by eight percent and ramp up border security that he believes would appeal to all sides of the party. Roy wrote the proposal that would keep the government funded for 30 days, and held Defense and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding at 2023. But the Republican Study Committee (RSC) added an amendment would make the deal even more conservative. His fired-up comments came with the party in chaos over plans to avoid a federal government shutdown in 11 days.

Attorney General Merrick Garland got emotional when telling Congress about how he treats his position with respect as a way of 'repaying this country for the debt my family owes' for accepting them when fleeing the Holocaust. During his opening remarks before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, Garland insisted that he has not improperly interfered in the probe into President Joe Biden's son Hunter. His voice broke and tears appeared in his eyes at one point as he was brought before the panel to testify against Republican accusations that his agency exhibits extreme political bias.

U.S. border apprehensions hit daily numbers not seen since a May surge linked to the end of Title 42 authority. A Mexican railway suspended cargo routes with so many migrants hitching rides.

President Joe Biden took a shot at the press during his meeting Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 'Surprised they haven't asked me about the auto strike. They usually ask about things that have nothing to do with what we're talking about,' Biden was heard telling the Israeli leader as journalists were removed from the room.

Mark Meadows' ex-chief of staff Cassidy Hutchinson claims Rudy Giuliani groped her on January 6 in her shocking new memoir. The 27-year-old former Trump aide alleges Giuliani put his hand 'under my blazer, then my skirt' and was like a 'wolf closing in on his prey'. The former New York Mayor 'fingered the fabric' and said, 'I'm loving this leather jacket on you', she claims in the explosive excerpt. Hutchinson then describes feeling his 'his frozen fingers trail up my thigh'.

The mayor of New York City, asked if he had any plans to meet Joe Biden while he is in town for the UN meeting, replied: 'Everybody knows where I am.' The two men have not spoken in months. Adams has frequently demanded Biden do more to stem the flow of arrivals: More than 113,000 migrants have arrived in his city since spring 2022, including nearly 60,000 currently being housed in an overwhelmed shelter system. He has been tearing into the migrant crisis crippling NYC - which he warned will 'destroy' the city without urgent action. Biden arrived in New York City on Sunday evening for the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly. He will leave on Wednesday.

House GOP leadership yanked a vote to advance a short-term spending deal Tuesday in a sign of the dwindling chances of the federal government avoids a shutdown by September 30. The deal, brokered between the right-wing Freedom Caucus and the pragmatic conservative Main Street Caucus, would have held Defense and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding at 2023 levels and triggered an eight percent cut to all other agencies. It would also institute the provisions of House Republicans' border bill, H.R. 2, aside from E-Verify. The bill leaves out funding for Ukraine and disaster relief. The short-term continuing resolution (CR) would have punted the funding deadline to October 30, giving Congress an extra month to pass appropriations bills and fund the government for fiscal year 2024.

The El Paso port of entry with Mexico is shut down while personnel at that crossing point are diverted to assist with processing the massive surge of illegal migrants who arrived between entry ports in Texas. In a Friday statement, Custom and Border Protection (CBP) announced 'temporary suspension' at the busy Bridge of the Americas (BOTA) port shared between El Paso and Ciudad Juárez. There was no specification in the statement on when the port will return to normal operation, just a note that SBP would do so 'as quickly as feasible.'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky watched President Joe Biden warn Tuesday that no nation is safe if Ukraine is 'carved up' by Russia. Biden was addressing the United Nations General Assembly, with both Zelensky - dressed in his traditional military fatigues - and Russian Amb. Vaisily Nebenzya in the audience.

President Joe Biden blasted former President Donald Trump and the so-called 'MAGA Republicans ' at a Broadway fundraiser Monday night, claiming they are 'determined to destroy American democracy' and said they 'bow down' to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The president is in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly but also used his time in the Big Apple to raise funds for his 2024 reelection campaign.

Rep. Lauren Boebert has been removed from the Texas Youth Summit's speakers list after video footage showed her vaping and fondling her beau Quinn Gallagher during a Denver performance of Beetlejuice the musical. On Friday, organizers for the event, aimed at young conservatives ages 12 to 26, announced that Boebert had been added to the lineup, despite it already being public knowledge that she had been kicked out of the Buell Theatre for disruptive behavior.

More than 2,000 migrants crossed the Rio Grande River from Mexico into Texas, in one of the largest documented instances of mass illegal border crossings. The influx appears to have been orchestrated by drug cartels with the intent of causing chaos between US Customs & Border Patrol officials/ The tactic diverts resources away from border security, enabling Mexican cartels to carry out their illicit human trafficking and drug smuggling activities. Video footage captured by Fox News depicted the migrants descending a hillside and reaching the riverbanks under the cover of darkness. The sheer number of migrants formed a human chain, stretching from one shore to the other, as they waded through the river's deep waters towards the U.S. side.

Democratic U.S. congresswoman from Virginia Jennifer Wexton, 55, announced on Monday she won't seek reelection after receiving a diagnosis of a form of progressive Parkinson's Disease. Rep. Wexton currently represents Virginia's 10th congressional district, which is a competitive area encompassing highly wealthy Washington, D.C. suburb communities like Loudon County and Fairfax County. The Monday announcement follows Wexton revealing in April that she was diagnosed with Parkinson's but was planning to continue serving in Congress.

Joe Biden was in New York City on Sunday ahead of the UN General Assembly. The president was spotted at Il Cantinori on Sunday and being led out by daughter Ashley, 42. The family, including Jill Biden, gathered for what was believed to be Finnegan Biden's 23rd birthday. Her dad, Hunter Biden, was not spotted in the crowd as he faces new federal indictments on gun charges. The visit to New York City for the Biden caused traffic headaches as roads were closed, causing traffic backups and headaches for motorists throughout Manhattan.

A freight train, packed to capacity with migrants, has been captured on video as it travels at full speed toward the Mexican border with the United States. Footage shows the FerroMex train departing from the Central Mexican city of Zacatecas, heading north on a 750-mile journey toward the U.S.. The train's containers were filled with migrants, offering them an easy ride as the train raced by, The video comes as recent data from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol reveals an increase in encounters with migrants at the Southern Border. In July, nearly 184,000 migrant crossings into the U.S. were recorded, up from 144,000 encounters in June.

Donald Trump says it was his call to take actions to try and reverse the 2020 presidential election results in a bombshell new claim where the ex-President takes ownership for his actions. The stunning new admission reveals that Trump was not acting on the advice of lawyers, which could impact the multiple lawsuits against him involving his efforts to overturn President Joe Biden's victory. Trump offered some of his most extensive reactions to what happened on and after January 6, 2021 during an interview with NBC News where he told new Meet the Press host Kristen Welker that he was the one driving the efforts to reverse his reelection loss.

A man with a gun protested down President Joe Biden's hometown street in Wilmington, Delaware on Sunday.  Donning a yellow and orange safety vest, the lone protester held a sign reading: 'Biden$ are ctiminal$. 20 $hell comapnie$?! Where's the laptop? '10% for the big guy.''  The other side of the sign read: 'Joe has aliases?! Robert L. Peters, Robin Ware, JRN Ware.'