Multiple Republican members of Congress on Thursday responded to the release of WNBA player Brittney Griner from Russian custody by blaming the Biden administration for not also rescuing veteran Paul Whelan, who is also being held in Russia. Russia has alleged that Whelan is a spy and isn’t eligible for the same sort of prisoner swap as Griner. Griner was arrested at a Russian airport in February...
Second Gentleman Emhoff: ‘Antisemitism is dangerous, we cannot normalize this’
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, speaking on Wednesday at a White House roundtable with a group of Jewish leaders, called out antisemitism as “dangerous” and argued that all Americans “have an obligation to condemn these vile acts.” Referring to his Jewish identity, Emhoff said in his remarks, “I’m in pain right now, we’re all in pain right now. Our...
Department of Homeland Security extends protections for Haitian refugees to 2024
The Department of Homeland Security announced on Monday that it was extending the Temporary Protected Status for Haiti an additional 18 months, until Aug. 3, 2024. That status was originally set to expire on Feb. 3, 2023. The department also said that Haitian nationals living in the United States as of Nov. 6 can apply for protected status. Temporary Protected Status, a designation Congress...
President Biden refuses to support GOP proposal to remove military vaccine mandate
President Joe Biden and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin both said they oppose an effort by congressional Republicans to make the removal of the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate one of the conditions for their support for the National Defense Authorization Act. Congress is considering the $847 billion defense legislation, which sets out the spending priorities and levels of expenditure for...
$20 billion allocated to Indian Country under American Rescue Plan
The Treasury Department on Wednesday released a report detailing the impact that the 2021 American Rescue Plan has had on Indian Country, noting that the $20 billion delivered was the “largest single infusion” of federal funds into tribal governments, communities, and businesses in U.S. history. In a statement issued by the Treasury Department to announce the report, Marilynn Malerba...
National poll shows support for top Biden agenda items, opposition to GOP investigations
A national poll released by Navigator, a progressive polling company, shows a majority of voters aligned with President Joe Biden on several key issues in the coming year and opposed to Republican investigations of the president’s family and attempts to cut safety net benefits. Navigator describes itself as a resource for “developing and distributing winning progressive messages and...
White House condemns visit to Mar-a-Lago by white supremacist antisemite Fuentes
The White House on Sunday condemned a dinner hosted by former President Donald Trump and reportedly attended by white supremacist Nick Fuentes at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Nov. 22. Meanwhile, Republican congressional leaders and other high-profile Republicans have failed to comment on the event. According to Axios, Fuentes was at Mar-a-Lago in the company of Trump’s...
Republicans criticize Biden administration for freezing student loan payments again
The Department of Education announced on Tuesday that a moratorium on student loan repayments would be extended while the Department of Justice undertakes appeals of lower court rulings against President Joe Biden’s plan for permanent debt relief. The extension will remain in effect until either 60 days after the Supreme Court reviews and resolves the case, or 60 days after June 30, 2023, the...
Republicans attack military for supporting diversity but experts say it leads to success
A new report released by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) criticizes military efforts to increase diversity, even though the U.S. military itself, along with experts and military leaders, say increased diversity improves military effectiveness. Rubio and Roy provided early access to the report, titled “Woke Warfighters,” to Fox News, which has publicly...
GOP congressman makes up claim about ‘suspicious’ banking activity to attack Biden family
Rep. James Comer (R-KY) has repeatedly insisted that “suspicious activity” claims filed against Hunter Biden and other members of President Joe Biden’s family are rare and indicate possible illegal behavior. But the Treasury Department says it expects millions of such claims to be filed in the next year. Suspicious activity reports, known as SARs, are filed by financial...