Page 16 - Us President

Biden thanks far-right Italian Premier Meloni for her support of Ukraine

President Joe Biden on Thursday thanked far-right Premier Giorgia Meloni for Italy's steady backing of Ukraine, offering a warm welcome to the White House to a leader that his administration saw with some trepidation when she rose to power last year as the head of Italy's first far-right-led government since the end of World War II. Biden administration concerns about her ideology have been eased by her support for Ukraine and her seeming openness to pull back from Italy's participation in China's infrastructure-building Belt and Road Initiative. Her visit came as Italy prepares to take up the presidency next year of the Group of Seven industrialized nations. Italy and the United States are also standing strong with Ukraine, and I compliment you on your very strong support in defending against Russian atrocities, and that's what they are," Biden told Meloni at the start of their Oval Office meeting. And I thank the Italian people. I want to thank them for supporting you and supportin

Biden is building his reelection bid around an organisation Obama shunned

President Joe Biden is staking his reelection bid on the political and financial muscle of the Democratic National Committee. As it prepares for a bruising 2024 contest, his campaign plans to raise and spend around $2 billion. But it will do so in coordination with the national and state Democratic parties, in an effort to establish a coordinated campaign around the country. The idea is to bolster field, volunteer and data organizations, and ensure they work jointly to promote Biden and down-ballot Democratic candidates. The president is really rewriting the playbook when it comes to what a reelection campaign looks like and how we are in deep partnership with the DNC, said Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Biden's campaign manager, and will continue to show, by all metrics, that we're running a successful campaign. The strategy is different from the way the last Democratic president treated the DNC. Barack Obama largely shunned the party's traditional fundraising apparatus and instead raised

Biden still concerned about judicial overhaul as he invites Netanyahu

President Joe Biden on Monday invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to meet with him in the US this fall, the White House said, even as he expressed ongoing concern about Netanyahu's controversial plans to overhaul his country's judicial system. Monday's phone conversation between the US and Israeli leaders came one day before Israel's figurehead president Isaac Herzog is set to visit to the White House and as Netanyahu's government pushes forward with the judicial changes that have sparked widespread protest in Israel. The Biden administration declined to say whether Biden would host Netanyahu at the White House as the Israeli leader has hoped or in New York on the margins of the UN General Assembly. White House visits are typically standard protocol for Israeli prime ministers, and the delay in Netanyahu receiving one has become an issue in Israel, with opponents citing it as a reflection of deteriorating relations with the US. National Security Council spokesman Jo

Order on limiting Biden govt's contact with social media companies refused

A federal judge in Louisiana refused Monday to put a temporary hold on his own order limiting Biden administration officials contacts with social media companies. Biden administration attorneys had asked U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty in Monroe to stay his own order, which was issued last Tuesday, while they pursue an appeal. That order came in a lawsuit filed by Republican attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri, as well as a conservative website owner and four individual critics of government COVID-19 policies. The lawsuit claimed the administration, in effect, censored free speech by using threats of regulatory action or protection while pressuring companies to remove what it deemed misinformation. COVID-19 vaccines, legal issues involving President Joe Biden's son Hunter and election fraud allegations were among the topics spotlighted in the lawsuit. Doughty was nominated to the federal bench by former President Donald Trump. His injunction blocked the Department of Healt

Biden to embark on Europe trip from July 9-13 to bolster Nato alliance

During his trip from July 9-13, President Biden will first travel to London, United Kingdom for engagements with King Charles III and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to further strengthen relationship

Disagree with Supreme Court's decision to end race-based admissions: Biden

The US Supreme Court on Thursday struck down race-based admission programs at the University of Harvard and the University of North Carolina, The Washington Post reported

GOP moves to push off Biden impeachment, as hard-right clamours for action

Eager to impeach President Joe Biden, hard-right House Republicans forced a vote Thursday that would send the matter to congressional committees in a clear demonstration of the challenge that Speaker Kevin McCarthy faces in controlling the majority party. The ability of single lawmaker, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., to push forward the impeachment resolution caught Republicans off guard by the unscripted move this week. Many viewed it as a political distraction from other priorities. The measure charges Biden with high crimes and misdemeanors over his handling of the U.S. border with Mexico. Boebert, backed by her allies, showed how a lone lawmaker in the 435-member House could use the chamber's rules to force a snap vote on such a grave constitutional matter. The vote would send impeachment to committees for possible consideration, like any other bill. The House is taking historic action, Boebert said during the debate. The dayslong episode underscores the hold tthat he House ...

Yellen says critical to maintain China ties after Biden's dictator remarks

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday that it's critical the US and China maintain a relationship so they can work together on global challenges, coming just after President Joe Biden's remarks calling Chinese leader Xi Jinping a dictator drew condemnation from Beijing. Speaking at a news conference in Paris, Yellen said that with respect to the comments, I think President Biden and I both believe it's critical to maintain communication ... to clear up misperceptions, miscalculations. We need to work together where possible." But we have disagreements, and we are also forthright in recognising we do have disagreements, she added. Yellen has recently advocated for improving relations between the US and China, arguing cooperation is needed for the sake of maintaining global stability. Biden's remarks at a fundraiser Tuesday, when he also said China had real economic difficulties, opened a new rift just after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded a visit to ...

US President Joe Biden's son Hunter to plead guilty to tax charges

Hunter Biden is expected to reach an agreement with prosecutors on another felony charge of illegally possessing a firearm as a drug user

Joe Biden returning to his union roots as his 2024 campaign gears up

Joe Biden opened his 2020 presidential run at a Pittsburgh union hall, declaring, I'm a union man. Period." As he gears up for reelection, the president's first political rally is being held at a union gathering on the other side of Pennsylvania, punctuating just how much Biden is counting on labor support to carry him to a second term especially in a critical battleground state. The symmetry is no accident. Rallying labour activists on Saturday at Philadelphia's convention center can help Biden's campaign spark enthusiasm and tap early organizing muscle. That may eventually boost Democratic voter turnout in the city's suburbs and other key parts of Pennsylvania, which in 2020 helped him flip the state where Biden was born from Donald Trump. It speaks to this president's visceral understanding that, when the labor movement in the United States is strong, the economy and our democracy are strong, said Mary Kay Henry, international president of the 2-million-member Service Employees

'Different times call for different leaderships': Pence's US President bid

Former Vice President Mike Pence promised the best days of the greatest nation on earth are yet to come" in a video released on Wednesday formally launching his campaign for the Republican nomination for president. Different times call for different leadership, Pence says in the video, released via Fox News and Twitter hours ahead of a kickoff event in Des Moines. Today our party and our country need a leader that'll appeal, as Lincoln said, to the better angels of our nature." While it would be easy to stay on the sidelines, he adds, that's not how I was raised. That's why today, before God and my family, I'm announcing I'm running for president of the United States. Pence is staking his presidential hopes on Iowa as he launches a campaign that will make him the first vice president in modern history to take on his former running mate. Pence's campaign will also test the party's appetite for a socially conservative, mild-mannered and deeply religious candidate who has denounced t

US Ex-VP Pence filing paperwork declaring campaign for president in 2024

Former Vice President Mike Pence is filing paperwork on Monday declaring his campaign for president in 2024, setting up a challenge to his former boss, Donald Trump, just two years after their time in the White House ended with an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and Pence fleeing for his life. Pence, the nation's 48th vice president, will formally launch his bid for the Republican nomination with a video and kickoff event in Des Moines, Iowa, on Wednesday, which is his 64th birthday, according to people familiar with his plans. He was set to file papers making his candidacy official with the Federal Election Commission. While Trump is currently leading the early fight for the nomination, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis polling consistently in second, Pence supporters see a lane for a reliable conservative who espouses many of the previous administration's policies but without the constant tumult. While he frequently lauds the accomplishments of the Trump-Pence administration, a Pen

CEO Jamie Dimon has 'no plans' to run for office, says JPMorgan spokesman

Bill Ackman said last week that Dimon should run for president in 2024, describing him as a political centrist who could beat President Joe Biden in a primary or Trump in election

Biden falls onstage at graduation ceremony; White House says he's 'fine'

Joe Biden on Thursday tripped and fell as he completed handing out diplomas at the US Air Force Academy commencement in Colorado

White House, Republicans reach deal to raise debt ceiling, avert US default

An agreement in principle between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy would raise the nation's legal debt ceiling, but now Congress has only days to approve a package that includes spending cuts and would avert a potentially disastrous US default. The compromise announced late Saturday risks angering both Democratic and Republican lawmakers as they begin to unpack the concessions. Negotiators agreed to some Republican demands for increased work requirements for recipients of food stamps that House Democrats had called a nonstarter. But bargainers stopped short of greater spending cuts overall that Republicans wanted. Support from both parties will be needed to win congressional approval before a projected June 5 government default on US debts. Lawmakers are not expected to return to work from the Memorial Day weekend before Tuesday, at the earliest, and McCarthy has promised lawmakers he will abide by the rule to post any bill for 72 hours before voting. White Hous

Biden's reelection pitch says he can govern well, face challenges with debt

A showdown with Congress that has the nation's creditworthiness at stake; a frenzied scene at the border as pandemic restrictions ease; a pivotal foreign trip meant to sustain support for Ukraine and contain a more assertive China in the Indo-Pacific. Three weeks since launching his reelection campaign, President Joe Biden is confronting a sweeping set of problems in his day job that defy easy solutions and are not entirely within his control. If, as his advisers believe, the single best thing Biden can do for his reelection prospects is to govern well, then the coming weeks can pose a near-existential test of his path to a second term. Economists warn that the country faces a debilitating recession and worse if Biden and lawmakers can't agree on a path to raising the debt limit. Biden wants Congress to raise it without precondition, equating Republicans' demands for spending cuts with ransom for the country's full faith and credit. The expiration of the COVID-19 public health ..

$5mn verdict in sex abuse, defamation case clouds Trump's election bid

The federal jury verdict ordering former US President Donald Trump to pay $5 million in damages to a woman who accused him of rape clouds his election bid with rumblings against him in his own party

Prez Joe Biden wants airlines to pay passengers in US for lengthy delays

The US Department of Transportation did not specify how much cash it aims to require airlines to pay passengers for significant delays

US President Joe Biden issues order setting path for sanctions in Sudan

President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Thursday setting the path to sanction individuals involved in the recent violence in Sudan that's left hundreds dead and thrown the African nation into chaos. Biden said in a statement that his order will hold individuals responsible for threatening the peace, security, and stability of Sudan; undermining Sudan's democratic transition; using violence against civilians; or committing serious human rights abuses. He said the violence taking place in Sudan is a tragedyand it is a betrayal of the Sudanese people's clear demand for civilian government and a transition to democracy." I join the peace-loving people of Sudan and leaders around the world in calling for a durable ceasefire between the belligerent parties, Biden said. Sudan's fighting broke out April 15 between two commanders who just 18 months earlier jointly orchestrated a military coup to derail the nation's transition to democracy. The power struggle between the armed forc

US President Joe Biden launches 2024 reelection bid in a promotional video

Already the oldest person ever elected US president, Biden would be 86 at the end of a second term and faces intense scrutiny about his fitness to serve another four years in the White House