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.
Here are some of the latest political developments:
- Nikki Haley 2024?: The former South Carolina governor and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations hinted at a presidential run.
- Kaine seeks reelection: Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine announced Friday he'll seek reelection in 2024.
- Anti-abortion marches in D.C.: An anti-abortion march Friday is designed to pressure Congress into passing new legislation, but their prospects are dim because Democrats control the Senate.
- Biden meets with mayors: Biden is scheduled to meet with the bipartisan group of mayors at the White House before flying home to Delaware for the weekend.
- SCOTUS can't find leaker: The Supreme Court says it is unable to find out who leaked a draft of its anti-abortion ruling last year.
Nikki Haley teases 2024 presidential run: 'I think I can be that leader'
Former South Carolina governor and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, teased a potential presidential bid in 2024 this week.
"When you’re looking at a run for president, you look at two things. You first look at: ‘Does the current situation push for new leadership?’” Haley explained in an interview with Fox News' Bret Baier that aired Thursday. “The second question is: 'Am I that person that could be that new leader?’”
“And can I be that leader? Yes I think I can be that leader,” Haley continued.
Haley’s statements come ahead of what could be an intensely competitive 2024 Republican primary. Former President Donald Trump has already announced his candidacy and is seen as the frontrunner in the race.
“If I run, I’m running against Joe Biden,” Haley said. “That’s what I’m focused on because we can’t have a second term of Joe Biden.”
— Ken Tran
Biden commemorates Roe anniversary
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden issued a proclamation on Friday commemorating the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade and affirming his commitment to protecting reproductive rights.
“The court got Roe right 50 years ago,” Biden said, calling the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling that established a constitutional right to abortion “a balanced decision with broad national consensus.”
Sunday marks the 50th anniversary of the ruling, which the Supreme Court overturned last summer. That decision, which held there is no right to abortion in the Constitution, shifted one of the nation’s most divisive debates back to the states. At least 13 states have banned abortion outright, while others have restricted access to the procedure.
Biden used his proclamation to call again for Congress to pass legislation enshrining into federal law the right to access abortion.
— Michael Collins
Tim Kaine announces he will run for reelection in 2024
Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine announced he will be running for reelection, an announcement that comes as a relief for Democrats as they face a difficult map in the 2024 elections.
“I am happy to announce that I will seek reelection in 2024 to keep delivering results for Virginia,” Kaine told reporters. “I’m a servant. I love Virginia. I’m proud of what I’ve done.”
Thirty-four Senate seats will be up for reelection in 2024 where Democrats will have to play heavy defense – 23 of those seats are currently held by Democrats.
– Ken Tran
They cost millions and last years:Biden documents probe means US has 3 special counsel investigations at once. What are they?
Nikki Haley dismisses Mike 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
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Biden, Trump documents expose problem: Missing classified records not uncommon
But both cases underscore how the U.S. system of safeguarding classified presidential documents is in urgent need of improvement, security analysts say, especially during the critical period when one administration hands over the White House keys to another.
The massive volume of records generated or used by the president, vice president and their large National Security Council staff are among the most closely held secrets in the U.S. government. Yet problems with safeguarding such documents have been known for years, if not decades. And current and former government officials, security analysts and private watchdog groups have been pushing for reforms, with little success, according to Lauren Harper, the director of Public Policy and Open Government Affairs at the non-partisan National Security Archive in Washington, D.C.
— Josh Meyer
Biden and Trump documents expose wider problem:Missing classified records not uncommon
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
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
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.
Around the political world
Women's march:'We will not go quietly': Women's March organizes more than 650 marches nationwide for reproductive rights
Debt ceiling reached:U.S. hits debt ceiling. Amid fears of debt default, Treasury begins 'extraordinary' measures
Abortion opinion mystery:Supreme Court says investigators have been unable to identify leaker of draft abortion opinion
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