An anti-immigration non-profit in the US has accused two successive governments of inaction on curtailing the H-1B visa programme, which it says has cost 1.2 million jobs to Americans.
Donald Trump
Trump impeachment: House prepares for crucial vote amid whistleblower row – live
Fury erupts over Republican naming the alleged whistleblower who triggered the congressional investigation into Trump and Ukraine
- Help us cover the critical issues of 2020. Consider making a contribution
The House has passed a major piece on healthcare legislation during the Judiciary committee impeachment hearing break.
The bill, HR 3, passed by 230 votes to 192 mostly along party lines. It would lower the cost of prescription drugs by allowing government to negotiate prices with manufacturers. It makes major changes to the US government’s Medicare program by capping out of pocket drug cost expenses under to the program to $2,000 and creates new dental and vision benefits.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s bill would cap Medicare recipients’ out-of-pocket costs for medicines at $2,000 a year. It would use about $360 billion of its projected 10-year savings from lower drug costs to establish Medicare coverage for dental care, hearing, and vision, filling major gaps for seniors.
But the legislation has no chance of passing the Republican-controlled Senate, and the White House has issued a veto threat. Still, Democrats saw a victory in the message their bill sends to voters.
Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren on Thursday accused her more moderate rivals of failing to stand up to the rich and pledged to fix a “rigged” US economy, as she sought to re-energize her stalled campaign.
Warren delivered pointed criticisms aimed at several others vying to win the Democratic nomination to face Donald Trump in the 2020 election, including former Vice President Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Reuters writes.In a speech to the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, Warren also faulted unnamed Democrats for soft-pedaling their rhetoric for political reasons.
Continue reading...
House releases transcripts from key witnesses in Trump impeachment inquiry – live
Committees release depositions with Marie Yovanovitch and Michael McKinley and say Volker and Sondland transcripts will follow
- Sign up for the US briefing and get a new perspective
8.45pm GMT
Joe Biden’s deputy campaign manager and communications director Kate Bedingfield has cast doubt over the feasibility of Elizabeth Warren’s payment plan for Medicare for all.
“At a...
Top Democrats criticize Elizabeth Warren’s Medicare for All plan – live
Biden campaign and others not sold on Warren’s $20tn proposal while Nancy Pelosi says any Trump impeachment case must be ‘ironclad’
- Sign up for the US briefing and get a new perspective
8.00pm GMT
Senior White House adviser Kellyanne Conway said that it was “certainly possible” the House would vote to impeach Trump.
Speaking to reporters on the White House driveway, Conway went on to at...
‘I took a stand’: the centrist Democrat navigating impeachment in a divided district
Abigail Spanberger caught in delicate balance of advancing policy agenda and ensuring Trump is held accountable
At a middle school auditorium three hours south of the capital, where an intensifying impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump consumes all aspects of political life, the Virginia congresswoman Abigail Spanberger greeted a restive crowd of constituents with a PowerPoint presentation on the American system of government.
Related: Make no mistake: Medicare for All would c...
Third Rudy Giuliani associate arrested at JFK airport – live
David Correia was detained in a campaign finance case involving associates of Trump’s personal lawyer with Ukraine links
joe biden: i did it, you owe me everything.
elizabeth warren:
pic.twitter.com/UTUVtiUzUnElizabeth Warren having to talk slow and quiet to Biden like you do the aggressive asshole at your job who is all, "I MADE YOU" is making my PTSD act up.
The fact that Biden yelled at Warren, “I got you the votes!” speaks to everything we know about peak white male fragility. #DemDebate
Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg is on the attack following last night’s debate – a shift in position for the mayor who largely avoided attacking his rivals.
Pete Buttigieg, continuing his criticism of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, says his 2020 rival has been "more specific and forthcoming about the number of selfies she's taken" than about laying out details of how she'd pay for "Medicare for All." https://t.co/nzy3E5BYfV
Buttigieg got a lot of early interest by saying things like “the compromise position is single payer” and “Republicans are going to call us socialists anyway.” It’s a real question whether the same voters who liked that approach will like his new one. https://t.co/Yu2tQfbUSr
Continue reading...
Democrats issue warning over Trump’s ‘dangerous’ whistleblower attacks – live
Pelosi and Schiff say any attempt to ‘stonewall’ inquiry ‘will be considered obstruction of justice’, while Bernie Sanders undergoes heart surgery
Bernie Sanders has tweeted his thanks to well wishers after he underwent heart surgery for a blocked artery. He has suspended campaign appearances but used his condition remind supporters of a key campaign goal: medicare for all.
Thanks for all the well wishes. I'm feeling good. I'm fortunate to have good health care and great doctors and nurses helping me to recover.
None of us know when a medical emergency might affect us. And no one should fear going bankrupt if it occurs. Medicare for All!
OK - here are some takeaways from that press conference. It was a long one involving a lot of incoherent and rambling answers from the president. But here’s my best shot of at some of the most important comments relating to impeachment and the ongoing Ukraine scandal.
Firstly, Trump responded to a New York Times report, published earlier today, stating that the whistleblower had approached a House Intelligence Committee staff aide days before filing his complaint. The report states that the committee chairman, Adam Schiff, was later made aware of the nature of the allegations but was not given any information on the whistleblower’s identity. A spokesman for Schiff has confirmed parts of this reporting, and stated it is standard procedure for the committee to offer advice to whistleblowers on how to file complaints.
Trump engages in contentious back and forth with @JeffMason1 after he dodges Ukraine question:
Continue reading...
Trump: We have the president of Finland, ask him a question.
Mason: I have one for him, I just wanted to follow up on the one I asked you—
Trump: Did you hear me? Ask him a question! pic.twitter.com/Co64SmxOmk
Trump suggests House intelligence chair should face ‘arrest for treason’ – live news
- Trump hits out at Adam Schiff over impeachment inquiry
- Sanders to roll out new proposal on chief executive pay
Jeff Flake, a former Republican senator, has written a Washington Post op-ed imploring fellow members of his party to oppose Trump’s re-election.
Two years ago I stood in the Senate chamber and said: ‘There are times when we must risk our careers in favor of our principles.’ ...
Now, two years later, it is my former Republican Senate colleagues who have a decision to make. Or, as I see it, two decisions to make. The first is difficult; the second is easy. ...
“TrumpCare” does not exist – this has not stopped some firms from advertising insurance products under this banner, according to a new report from Axios.
Continue reading...
