Politico

“The schedule has always been a challenge to accomplish what we need to accomplish in the timeframe,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) “We’re committed to do it and we’ll use every available tool to get there.” And the potential hurdles are many — from high-powered lawyers representing the former president’s inner circle to the tech companies sitting on potential witnesses’ communications to possibly even fellow lawmakers who aided Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. But they’re already getting results from some corners. A select committee aide said the panel has received responses from seven executive-branch agencies to its first, sweeping […]

“The United States’ commitment to the security of our friend and ally Israel is ironclad. Replenishing interceptors used to protect Israel from attacks is our legal and moral responsibility,” DeLauro (D-Conn.) said in a statement Wednesday. “While this funding would ordinarily be included in a year-end spending package, we are advancing this legislation now to demonstrate Congress’ bipartisan commitment to Israel’s security as part of a Middle East with lasting peace.” Iron Dome, which is built by a joint venture of U.S. defense contractor Raytheon Technologies and Israeli firm Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, enjoys wide support on Capitol Hill. The U.S. […]

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, joined by Sen. Ron Wyden, speaks to reporters after a weekly policy meeting at the Capitol on Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), facing one of the toughest reelection campaigns next year, said that while he wants a bipartisan debt increase, “at the same time we can’t allow the government to shut down.” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said it’s not worth a shutdown to pressure Republicans to change their mind about the debt ceiling: “We definitely want to avoid a shutdown, at all costs.” Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) said […]

“After months of exhausting every possible pathway to a bipartisan deal, it remains out of reach right now, even after working collaboratively with and securing the support of policing groups,” Booker said Wednesday. “Unfortunately, even with this law enforcement support and further compromises we offered, there was still too wide a gulf with our negotiating partners and we faced significant obstacles to securing a bipartisan deal.” Booker added that “the time has come to explore all other options to achieve meaningful and common sense police reform.” The failed bipartisan negotiations almost certainly close the door on police reform this Congress, absent […]

As a pool of potential refugees grows, “there’s always concerns that a terrorist organization can take advantage of a mass movement of people,” Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chair Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said in a brief interview. “But I don’t know how that gets better by not providing funding for it.” The House-passed funding bill includes $6.3 billion in emergency spending to assist Afghans seeking asylum in the U.S. It’s set to stall in the Senate as Democrats labor to avert a government shutdown later this month, raise the federal borrowing limit and fund disaster recovery efforts. Although Republicans opposed the funding […]

Many of those restive Democrats have been waiting weeks for their president, who has spent the summer largely focused on crises off the Hill, to turn his attention to the House. And Biden’s attempt at a kumbaya moment could hardly come at a more critical time, with the narrowly divided House nearing an uncertain vote Monday on the Senate’s infrastructure deal. The president’s sales pitch for unity won’t be easy. Progressive leaders are still publicly threatening to tank the infrastructure bill despite warnings from leadership that doing so won’t deliver them the multitrillion social spending plan. Liberals are holding firm, daring […]

The bill, dubbed the HAVANA Act, authorizes new funding for treatment and gives the CIA director and the secretary of state increased flexibility on how the money is spent. It also requires both to report regularly to Congress on the funding initiatives. Behind closed doors, lawmakers have expressed frustration with the intelligence community for what they perceive to be a failure to sufficiently address the matter in recent years. “There’s no higher priority than ensuring the safety of our people, and the individuals who’ve served our country now suffering from these troubling health incidents deserve answers and our support,” said House […]

The Pentagon’s new assistant secretary for space, a position Congress recently created, will absorb the responsibility for nuclear and missile defense, one of the people said. The deputy position was eliminated as part of the reorganization, the person said. It was unclear to some congressional staffers why Tomero was on her way out of the administration after only eight months. Communications from the Pentagon about her departure were “very vague,” one aide told POLITICO. Tomero didn’t return an immediate request for comment. Quarantello declined to comment once reached by phone, saying she doesn’t talk to reporters. When reached for comment, a […]

China had been the subject of a pressure campaign by the United States and other G-7 nations to halt its overseas support of coal power plants. U.S. climate envoy John Kerry had made coal the central topic of his meetings with officials in China earlier this month. “This is the announcement China could deliver right now and the one that the U.S. wanted. Investment already trending in this direction,” Joanna Lewis, an associate professor at Georgetown University and an expert on Chinese climate policy, said in a tweet. The policy change could help bring momentum to the global climate talks this […]

Sens. John Kennedy and Bill Cassidy, the two Louisiana Republicans, are viewed as probable “yes” votes after their state’s Hurricane Ida experience. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) declined to say if she’d vote to advance the bill, reiterating instead her hopes to keep the debt ceiling separate from government funding. Asked if she was undecided on how she might vote, Murkowski replied: “I’m just not telling anybody.” But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is making sure that foursome stays isolated. He made the case again in a private caucus lunch meeting Tuesday that Republicans should not vote to raise the debt […]

Mayorkas said that the administration is continuing to ramp up “the frequency and number” of repatriation flights for the migrants, the bulk of whom hail from Haiti. He said that DHS is also transporting them to other processing centers in order to expedite the process and get them out of the makeshift campsite along the U.S.-Mexico border that has ballooned in recent days to include thousands of would-be asylum seekers. Mayorkas had been peppered with questions about the fast-developing situation involving Haitian migrants, as well as the Biden administration’s approach to border security and illegal border crossings more broadly. Images of […]

“We also have to support the countries of people that will be hit the hardest and that have the fewest resources to help them adapt,” Biden said, saying that spending combined with leveraging private financing would bring rich countries closer to the $100 billion in annual climate finance it promised to poorer nations. “This will make the U.S. the leader of public climate finance.” The U.N. climate conference is viewed as a political watershed moment for the world’s bid to keep temperatures from rising 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. The U.N. said last week that achieving current commitments to cut […]

A federal judge last week ruled against the Biden administration’s use of the Trump-era public health order known as Title 42 to expel migrants without the opportunity to seek asylum, an order that’s set to go into effect within days. Schumer’s remarks come as the Biden administration is under fire for images of Border Patrol on horseback pushing back Haitian migrants. The New York Democrat described the images as “completely unacceptable” and said that “the horrible treatment of these innocent people who have come to the border must stop immediately.” The White House on Monday condemned the images, and the Department […]

“The Democrats have the House, the Senate, the White House, and they have the capacity to raise the debt ceiling,” Rep. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said on Monday night. He reiterated the GOP stance that Democrats should handle the debt limit through the filibuster-proof reconciliation process they used to pass their $1.9 trillion pandemic aid package earlier this year and are deploying to enact up to $3.5 trillion of President Joe Biden’s social spending commitments. The House Rules Committee met Tuesday morning to tee up the funding package for floor action, with Republicans quickly panning the legislation as a waste of time. […]

“If the $3.5 trillion reconciliation push dies, there will be more GOP support,” said centrist Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), referring to the filibuster-proof process Democrats are using for their separate social spending bill. Bacon, a member of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, said its members would lend a hand on infrastructure “if there is a standalone vote.” Of course, Democrats are staying yoked to what they’ve called their two-track approach: linking the infrastructure bill crafted by their centrists to a bigger, progressive-leaning measure that would expand Medicare, boost paid leave and fight climate change. But as that latter reconciliation push teeters […]

Those headwinds threaten to sap the momentum from this summer, when Biden clinched a bipartisan infrastructure deal in the Senate and found support from all corners of his party for a budget setting up his sweeping spending bill. Now, Manchin is calling for a pause, moderates are resisting key components of the legislation and a new fiscal fight over the debt limit is heating up. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Capitol Hill Sept. 14, 2021. | Francis Chung/E&E News Those dynamics have Democrats essentially looking for an internal reset from a monthslong debate over Biden’s agenda that keeps publicly playing out […]

“While I understand the passion and I understand the sentiment behind it, I think it’s not necessarily constructive at this point,” Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) told reporters Monday. He reiterated that Democrats will present alternatives with the hope of achieving a ”positive result.” Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus were similarly quick to pivot to next steps when they returned to Washington on Monday, less than 24 hours after the Senate referee’s verdict. While they offered few details about how they’d tweak their strategy, those Democrats insisted they could find a way to steer immigration past the Senate’s byzantine rules. Privately, […]

The majority party is eyeing a stopgap spending bill through Dec. 10, with Dec. 3 as another possible option, including billions of dollars in relief for hurricane-battered red states across the Southeast and funding to help Afghan allies and partners. They’ll have to pass some sort of spending measure by Sept. 30, otherwise the federal government will shut down. Some Republicans have said they’re willing to back a continuing resolution with that extra aid — as long as Democrats drop their debt limit dare, which would mean ceding a major point of leverage. “The debt limit is a shared responsibility, and […]

“Rising temperatures pose an imminent threat to millions of American workers exposed to the elements, to kids in schools without air conditioning, to seniors in nursing homes without cooling resources, and particularly to disadvantaged communities. My Administration will not leave Americans to face this threat alone,” President Joe Biden said in a statement. Context: The actions come as part of the Biden administration’s interagency efforts to address extreme heat, sparked in part by record-breaking heat and wildfires this summer that resulted in hundreds of deaths and illnesses. It is “virtually certain” that climate change, mostly from burning fossil fuels, has made […]

“He has a tremendous amount of admiration and respect for Cheney,” House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn said of Thompson. “If he didn’t have, he never would’ve named her vice chair. Nancy Pelosi didn’t do that.” Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), another Jan. 6 panel member, said Cheney and her fellow anti-Trump committee Republican, Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, raise ideas “that we might not think through completely” without them in the room. “What’s surprised me a little is, she not only is strong on these issues, she’s passionate, she cares,” Aguilar said of Cheney. “But she also does a lot of the diplomacy […]

What the parliamentarian lets stay or forces out of the multitrillion-dollar measure could have enormous consequences for its ultimate success and Biden’s legacy. And the referee has stymied Democrats’ plans before, most notably when she ruled out a minimum wage hike for a coronavirus aid bill they passed earlier this year using reconciliation. Here are four more issues to watch for parliamentarian decisions on as the legislation takes shape: A boost for organizing efforts: With their signature legislation overhauling federal labor law and promoting unions stuck in the Senate, Democrats are eyeing an insertion of parts of that bill into their […]

Samuel Corum/Getty Images The Senate parliamentarian ruled against allowing Democrats to include a pathway to legal status for an estimated 8 million undocumented immigrants in their massive social spending plan. The decision by the Senate’s rules arbiter is a blow to congressional Democrats and the White House, who viewed the legislation as their best chance this Congress to enact immigration reform. Democrats argued that providing green cards to Dreamers, essential workers, farmworkers and those with Temporary Protected Status would affect the federal budget and thus complied with Senate rules. Lawmakers and advocates have vowed to offer alternative arguments to the parliamentarian. […]

The House and Senate return to Washington together this week with Democrats facing four tasks that would be challenging on their own — but, taken together, are the legislative equivalent of Hercules’ labors. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) summed up the party’s wildly urgent to-do list with the drama of a movie trailer: "Keep the government open. Don’t default on the debt. Make sure the president gets a win on the infrastructure bill … and, obviously the mother of all legislation, the reconciliation package,” he said, referring to the mega-bill that Democrats want to pass along party lines to spend trillions of […]

Klobuchar and other Senate Democrats unveiled legislation Tuesday called the Freedom to Vote Act. The legislation, designed to replace more expansive voting rights bills that have stalled, includes measures meant to increase early voting and make it easier to register to vote, among other things. It was designed to possibly attract Republican support, though Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and others have already spoken against it. Speaking to host Jonathan Capehart, Klobuchar said it was obvious to her that Republicans in a number of states around the country want to reduce the turnout among minorities and lower-income voters. “When you take […]

He added: “The question is, are we going to work to get to our goal for Sept. 27? Yes, we are going to work hard to reach that goal, and sometimes you have to kind of stop the clock to get to the goal. We’ll do what’s necessary to get there.“ Yarmuth (D-Ky.), the House budget chair, echoed Clyburn’s prediction, noting that passing the social spending priorities wouldn’t be possible before the vote set for the physical infrastructure package, which has bipartisan support. “I would say we’re probably going to slip past the Sept. 27 date, sometime into early October would […]

“Having communications with counterparts around the world is routine,” said Mullen, who was chair of the joint chiefs from 2007 to 2011. Mullen said what he found most “worrisome“ about the reports involving Milley, which come from a new book by Woodward and Costa called “Peril,” was that China interpreted the situation in American politics to suggest that an attack was possible. “It speaks to the need to have these open communications so that we don’t miscalculate,” Milley said. Mullen also said that it appeared that Milley was in a difficult situation all around during the waning days of President Donald […]

“Even if there were Republicans that come along” to help the Senate infrastructure bill pass the House this month, said Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), “we will have more individuals, more Democrats who are going to vote it down without the reconciliation bill.” Jayapal said more than half of her 96-member caucus has privately indicated they’re willing to block the bipartisan Senate bill without their party-line bill in tow — far more than the roughly two dozen liberals who have gone public with their threat. “I feel very confident in our numbers, and it is far beyond 20,” the […]

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer leaving this week’s policy lunch, where members discussed reconciliation legislation. | Alex Wong/Getty Images Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office on Friday warned Democrats to be ready to work late nights and weekends this month, a sign of the strenuous weeks ahead, according to two Democratic aides. Leadership’s notice comes as Senate Democrats face an intense fall schedule, with multiple fiscal deadlines hitting as the chamber also works to confirm President Joe Biden’s nominees. In the coming weeks, Democrats will need to fund the government past Sept. 30, as well as address the debt ceiling. Senate […]

Decoupling government funding from the debt limit would leave many Republicans more willing to back a short-term government funding bill that includes billions of dollars in disaster aid for hurricane-battered red states across the southeast, which was requested by President Joe Biden. That detachment of debt from government funding would rob Democrats of a potential messaging opportunity against the recalcitrant GOP. Democratic leaders have been mulling whether to tie the two together, thus daring Republicans to go on the record against a plan to avoid a shutdown and debt default while offering disaster aid. But some Republicans have indicated their willingness […]

Descriptions of the calls made last October and in January were first aired in excerpts from the forthcoming book “Peril” by Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa. The book says Milley told Li that he would warn Li in the event of an attack. Milley on Friday offered only a brief defense of his calls, saying he plans a deeper discussion about the matter for Congress when he testifies at a hearing later in September. “I think it’s best that I reserve my comments on the record until I do that in front of the lawmakers who have the […]

“As usual, a lot of Democrats are choosing to play on the ground created by Republicans, are choosing to fit into the narrative that they’ve constructed — and I think that’s a mistake,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), among the Biden team’s most vocal defenders amid a sea of bipartisan criticism. “There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be prepared to go on the offensive to talk about why we got to the summer of 2021.” While the congressional probes will initially focus on the Biden administration’s missteps, Democrats leading them have promised a broad look at the failures by officials who […]

When it comes to document after document relevant to the Jan. 6 panel’s expansive request, Biden White House lawyers will likely face the same tough dilemma: They can either send Congress the material over Trump’s objections, entering unprecedented legal territory about the treatment of former presidents; or they can withhold materials from Hill allies, thereby stymieing investigators’ access and potentially generating significant political fallout. Here’s how it’s playing out: On Aug. 25, the committee investigating the Capitol attack sent a 12-page document request to the National Archives. The committee asked for materials that could be highly sensitive, including any internal communications […]

He said he knows supporters will find the news disappointing, “given the political realities of the day.” “While my desire to build a fuller family life is at the heart of my decision, it is also true that the current state of our politics, especially many of the toxic dynamics inside our own party, is a significant factor in my decision,” Gonzalez said in a statement. Gonzalez, who insisted he could win his seat, was set to face what he said would be a “brutally hard primary” against Max Miller, a former Trump White House aide who was endorsed by the […]

Zhao hinted that the Chinese government may accuse Australia of violating its commitment under the Treaty of Rarotonga, which includes prohibitions on the production, possession or acquisition of nuclear weapons. That tactic would ignore or misconstrue the fact that the AUKUS deal includes equipping Australia with technology for nuclear propulsion, not nuclear weapons. Both President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison emphasized that Australia doesn’t seek a nuclear weapon. The three countries will undertake discussions over the next 18 months to figure out how best to deliver the technology, which the U.S. traditionally has only shared with the U.K. […]

House Democrats have proposed just over $2 trillion worth of tax increases in legislation unveiled Monday, according to the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, roughly split between corporate tax provisions despised by powerful Washington business groups and individual rate hikes aimed at the country’s biggest earners. The increases, along with money for increased IRS enforcement and drug pricing reforms fiercely opposed by the deep-pocketed pharmaceutical lobby, are meant to offset what could be a once-in-a-generation investment in climate change mitigation and expansion of the social safety net. The draft text released by House Ways and Means Chair Richard Neal (D-Mass.) this […]

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Mark Milley participates in a news briefing at the Pentagon. | Alex Wong/Getty Images Milley also, according to Woodward and Costa’s book, held a secret Jan. 8 meeting designed to limit Trump’s ability to take military action in the waning days of his presidency. The Jan. 6 committee had already sought documents from the Pentagon covering the time period in question, but their request took on heightened significance amid the new reporting about Milley’s actions. The panel is in the process of obtaining and reviewing documents from across the federal government connected to the Jan. […]

While they prepare the bill for floor action, majority party leaders are deciding whether to pair the must-pass funding package to avoid a shutdown with a measure to tackle the approaching debt cliff — a plan Republicans vehemently promise to reject. A bill that addresses both fiscal threats would likely pass the House, but its odds are highly questionable in the Senate, where all but four GOP lawmakers have promised to vote against raising the debt limit. “The premise that Republicans are not going to vote in any way, shape, form or fashion for a debt limit increase is a correct […]

“I certainly plan to do everything that I can to help Amy be successful in this race,” Turner said. Her endorsement comes about two months after one from Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), another liberal icon. “Our movement is not losing — I mean, if you look at the influence that we have collectively.” Vilela first got into politics in 2018 when she competed in a primary for a neighboring seat, coming in third behind then-former Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) — a campaign that was documented by Netflix’s “Knock Down the House” along with Bush and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). Vilela supports […]

Rose has begun hiring a campaign team since leaving his post on President Joe Biden’s Covid task force in June, as well as reaching out to supporters in anticipation of another run, according to sources close to the former congressman. “He’s rocking and rolling,” said a source close to Rose who addressed the planned campaign on condition of anonymity. “He’s been assembling a team, talking to donors, speaking with community leaders. He’s been doing all the steps to line up to potentially make an announcement.” Rose lost to Malliotakis in November by 6 points after she aggressively attacked him as anti-police […]

“General Li, you and I have known each other for now five years. If we’re going to attack, I’m going to call you ahead of time. It’s not going to be a surprise,” Milley is reported to have said. A defense official familiar with the calls said that description is “grossly mischaracterized.” The official said the calls were not out of the ordinary, and the chairman was not frantically trying to reassure his counterpart. The people also said that Milley did not go rogue in placing the call, as the book suggests. In fact, Milley asked permission from acting Defense Secretary […]

Multiple lawmakers and lobbyists tipped POLITICO off to Graham’s efforts, and the senator himself confirmed his work in his characteristic free-wheeling style. Such freelance PR from a minority-party senator underscores the precarious status of the debate in Washington about engaging with the Taliban-led government in Kabul. It also shows that, even with Trump out of power, the gregarious Graham has a unique ability to influence the capital’s political machinery. “I want his voice out,” Graham said of Saleh in an interview this week. “I’m gonna go all in. [The Taliban are] holding our people hostage. They’re a terrorist group. They’re a […]

And as Democrats’ long-running internal debate over the fate of the filibuster nears its decisive moment, some in the party want to press pause on what could be a messy fight over the Senate’s rules until other must-pass matters advance, given their thin majorities in the House and Senate. That sentiment was borne out by interviews with more than a dozen Democrats on Tuesday. But some of Manchin’s caucus colleagues are unsure when he and other leery moderates will be ready for that conversation, if ever. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), a close ally of President Joe Biden, said of the filibuster […]

The suggestion of selling or sending new air defense systems to Kyiv would likely increase tensions with Moscow, which has been fighting a proxy war in eastern Ukraine since 2014 and would regard such a transfer close to its border as a provocation. Russia has long complained about an American ballistic missile defense system in Romania, claiming it could be used for offensive purposes, an accusation the U.S. and NATO have dismissed. Since being deployed in Israel in 2011, the system, built by the Israeli defense company Rafael in partnership with Raytheon, has proven itself one of the world’s most effective […]

Democrats have said they want lifting the debt ceiling to be a bipartisan exercise, particularly since much of the current debt was racked up under Trump. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Tuesday that “neither party can wash its hands of responsibility to pay the bills. Leader McConnell keeps talking about the new spending that Democrats have done. That’s not this debt.” But Republicans could ease that path by declining to request 60 votes, a step they mulled in 2014 as well before Cruz made clear he’d filibuster that effort too. Asked why the GOP shouldn’t allow Democrats to raise […]

The latest package is meant to serve as a substitute for a sweeping piece of legislation that included a slew of ethics and campaign finance provisions that would have completely remade how candidates and officeholders can raise and spend money, along with the much-discussed election provisions. The House and Senate designated the original bill H.R. 1 and S. 1, respectively, to mark its importance to Democratic leadership. The new version of the ethics and elections reform bill includes standards for states that require voter identification. In addition, lawmakers added a provision that’s intended to protect the certification of election results and […]

Under Biden’s new target, car makers would need to show a 13-fold increase in the current market share of zero-emission vehicles by the end of the decade. “This is a paradigm shift,” a senior administration official told reporters on Wednesday. Biden signed the order setting the national 50 percent by 2030 goal at an event Thursday at the White House alongside representatives from the three major U.S. automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, formerly Fiat Chrysler — and the United Auto Workers. In addition to fully electric vehicles, the target will also include plug-in hybrids, which have gasoline engines to […]

Lawmakers pushing for an aggressive climate offensive hope the report will finally jolt some action out of Washington. Democrats have managed to include some climate measures in the Senate’s $550 billion infrastructure compromise bill in the Senate and are calling for more sweeping efforts in their expected $3.5 trillion reconciliation package. “This is why I’m anxious to see the IPCC report,” Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) said in an interview. “It seems as though it may point to tipping point disasters that could warn that we have far less time than previously thought.” Chu added, “I do not think that Washington, D.C. […]

Before the Biden administration can respond to the latest petition, it needs more information. “We have a lot of work to do,” McCarthy said. Air-conditioning access is just one area of focus, she noted. Places where people rarely needed to be cooled off in the summer, now do. But there’s no national inventory of air-conditioning units. McCarthy said the federal government needs to leverage its public housing and grant programs to expand access for low-income individuals, precisely the type of people who get no relief from heat at work. Indeed, one of the greatest factors influencing heat stress is whether people […]

The Saturday rally defending some rioters arrested during the Capitol insurrection is reminding the GOP of an uncomfortable reality: Part of its base believes the Jan. 6 attack was justified. Saturday’s rally comes as some conservative lawmakers fan outrage on the right over former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the election was stolen from him — rhetoric that worries some fellow Republicans, who warn that their colleagues are riling up the biggest fans of the former president. That still-simmering discord within the GOP puts party leaders in an awkward position ahead of the Sept. 18 "Justice for J6" rally on […]

“They’re really the first kind of signs of this new climate condition,” Alexander Ruane, a research physical scientist at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and a report author, said in an interview. “And I wish I could say that there is a new normal that is a decade away, but of course, it will be continuing to change until some kind of climate policy disrupts the emissions.” While critics have for decades complained that the climate warnings lacked details about how to prepare for catastrophic change, the new report highlights the increased precision, particularly in scientists’ understanding of the […]

Federal laws bar cannabis from crossing state lines, driving up the cost — and the emissions — of an industry using indoor grow operations. Source link

When asked if more needed to be done on capturing methane from the energy sector, Scott replied, “I don’t want to raise taxes on anybody.” The GOP reactions to the report came from interviews with senators as they voted on the Senate infrastructure bill, which includes $550 billion in new spending for items such as strengthening infrastructure to withstand worsening natural disasters, carbon capture technology, and electric vehicle charging stations. And every Republicans in the Senate except for Susan Collins of Maine voted against an amendment that Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) attached to the budget bill that called for ambitious action […]

His resignation is effective at the end of the year. The details: Brune oversaw an expansion of the 129-year-old group’s scope to include social justice, labor rights and racial equity, pushing the traditionally conservation-minded organization to embrace progressive policies. He also openly repudiated the Sierra Club’s past dalliances with the natural gas industry, including a long-secret arrangement — which Brune exposed in 2012 — in which the group accepted $26 million of industry money while promoting natural gas as a clean “bridge fuel” to renewable energy. Brune said in a statement Friday that he was proud of the group’s work but […]

Henry declared a one-month state of emergency for the whole country and said he would not ask for international help until the extent of the damages was known. He said some towns were almost completely razed and the government had people in the coastal town of Les Cayes to help plan and coordinate the response. “The most important thing is to recover as many survivors as possible under the rubble,” said Henry. “We have learned that the local hospitals, in particular that of Les Cayes, are overwhelmed with wounded, fractured people.” He said the International Red Cross and hospitals in unaffected […]

“Biden can’t be the climate leader he thinks he is if he’s lobbying oil states to produce more fossil fuels,” said Deirdre Shelly, an organizer for the Sunrise Movement, a grassroots climate group that endorsed Biden after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) dropped out of the presidential race. Shelly noted the awkward timing of Biden’s OPEC plea, given that just days ago, the United Nations’ latest climate assessment warned that the world will surpass a crucial warming threshold up to a decade sooner than previously predicted. Even environmental groups that credit Biden with pursuing the most aggressive climate policy of any U.S. […]

As the nation convulsed in the wake of the killing of Floyd, an unarmed Black man, by a white policeman, Brune implored in a public July 22, 2020, post that his group must “take down some of our own monuments, starting with some truth-telling about the Sierra Club’s early history.” He chastised Muir, the storied conservationist who influenced President Theodore Roosevelt and helped spur the National Park Service, for his “derogatory comments about Black people and Indigenous peoples that drew on deeply harmful racist stereotypes.” But the post’s contents and framing of Muir are a misrepresentation, Aaron Mair, a Sierra Club […]

In a separate farewell note, Olick also said: “Though too often underappreciated by our fellow citizens, I am continually struck by how many millions of Americans sleep in safety every night because so many at DHS do not sleep.” Olick didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. The shakeup comes as the Biden administration tries to grapple with the flow of migrants at the southern border. Higgins is a career civil servant and has worked for the federal government for over 20 years, whereas Olick was most recently a prominent official at SKDK, the powerful Democratic strategic communications firm. She recently […]

“I hope it will be an ATF professional,” King said. “And I would be delighted and I am very much [for it]. And I have a couple names.” Meanwhile, Tester, who was noncommittal about Chipman’s nomination, said there “absolutely” needs to be an ATF director. It’s a controversial position. The Senate has only confirmed one nominee to lead the ATF — B. Todd Jones in 2013 — and the agency has not had a confirmed director since 2015. But with the 2022 midterms set to heat up in the coming months, Democrats want to see someone confirmed quickly who won’t risk […]

“Joe is Joe. Joe is going to hammer it out, the way he wants to hammer it out and go from there. We both have similar values but we certainly don’t think alike,” added Tester, who’s been more comfortable with the $3.5 trillion spending number that Manchin has rejected but wants it paid for. He said the two have not discussed the reconciliation bill in detail. As consideration of the partisan spending bill hits crunch time, Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Sinema (D-Ariz.) are aiming at shaving the package down so much that it could endanger much of the House’s work so far […]

Left unsaid is how the Democrats would allay the concerns of moderates like Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) who’ve chafed at the overall price tag of the $3.5 trillion package, and the contents of climate change provisions specifically, in Manchin’s case. Nonetheless, Schumer’s comments amount to significant leadership buy-in as green activists and Democrats push corporate America to back their climate efforts in the reconciliation package. Manchin on Sunday appeared cool to a centerpiece of Democratic plans to address climate change, a national clean electricity proram that would pay utilities for steadily expanding their portfolio of clean electricity while penalizing those that […]

The court also ruled that the endangered species review FWS made under the previous administration ”is not in accordance with the law because it lacks the requisite specificity of mitigation measures for the polar bear.” “Because the Court concludes that portions of FWS’s biological opinion are invalid, BLM’s reliance on it is unlawful,” the court concluded. Environmental groups and Alaskan tribes that had been fighting the project hailed the court decision. “Today’s court win recognizes that our land and our people deserve dignity and a pursuit of greater meaning,” said Siqiñiq Maupin, executive director of Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic. […]

The investigatory process, which had been underway since at least September 2020, found that the organization’s decentralization and use of “volunteers” to lead local chapters created major accountability problems, senior and favored leaders were often reassigned after complaints to keep them in the organization, and shoddy harassment and discrimination reporting procedures kept claims from being addressed. “One of the most prevalent themes we heard was that there was generally a culture at the Sierra Club that tolerated, excused, or failed to correct those managers and leaders who regularly displayed anger and aggression — yelling, berating, shaming, and otherwise demonstrating unprofessional and […]

Henri was veering a bit further west than originally expected, placing eastern Long Island in its bull’s-eye rather than New England. That gave people directly in the storm’s path less time to prepare. A mandatory evacuation order was issued for some residents closest to the water in Madison, Connecticut. First Selectwoman Peggy Lyons wrote in a public notice, that any “residents who do not leave the evacuation zone by 9 p.m. tonight are putting their lives at risk and public safety crews will not be able to respond to you once winds exceed 50 mph.” Residents and visitors on Fire Island, […]

By Sunday afternoon, Henri had sustained winds of about 50 mph as it moved inland across Connecticut, according to the National Hurricane Center. When it made landfall near Westerly, R.I., it had sustained winds of about 60 mph and gusts of up to 70 mph. Several major bridges in Rhode Island, which stitch together much of the state, were briefly shuttered Sunday, and some coastal roads were nearly impassable. Westerly resident Collette Chisholm, a 20-year resident, said the waves were much higher than normal, but said she wasn’t concerned about her home suffering extensive damage. “I love storms,” she said. “I […]

The dead included twin toddlers who were swept from their father’s arms, according to surviving family members, and a foreman at county music star Loretta Lynn’s ranch. The sheriff of the county of about 18,000 people some 60 miles west of Nashville said he lost one of his best friends. Up to 17 inches of rain fell in Humphreys County in less than 24 hours Saturday, appearing to shatter the Tennessee record for one-day rainfall by more than 3 inches, the National Weather Service said. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee toured the area, stopping on Main Street in Waverly where some homes […]

The decision to revoke the Keystone permit cheered Democrats but was criticized bitterly by Republicans. Jane Kleeb, chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party who has been opposing pipelines including Keystone XL for years, said the GAO report highlighted issues that environmental groups had already voiced concern over. But having the information in an official government report would help people in future protests against pipelines, she said. “These are not new weapons per se,” Kleeb said of the report’s description of the faulty material and subpar construction. “But I am deeply grateful that this is now in the formal record.” The study […]

But wrestling methane is presenting a new round of political and practical complications for the Biden administration: Agriculture, including livestock and land-based systems, accounts for 40 percent of global methane emissions — spurring concern among Republicans and farm-state Democrats about regulatory efforts to tackle the problem. Senate Democrats plan to include a so-called “methane polluter fee” in their $3.5 trillion budget resolution that would hit energy producers that vent or burn off excess methane and compressors used to pressurize and transport natural gas. Several also introduced legislation this month requiring refiners and oil and gas producers operating in the United States […]

Biden pledged in April to curb U.S. greenhouse gas emissions 50 percent by 2030 from 2005 levels. He has also vowed to reach 80 percent clean electricity from utilities in the same period. It’s unclear how Schumer’s analysis, which he said he developed through “the best available data from a wide range of organizations that specialize in policy analysis,” will land with climate hawks. They have loudly vowed they would not bless an infrastructure deal without sufficient climate change provisions for months. Schumer argued two envisioned policies in particular would drive nearly two-thirds of emissions reductions. One is a clean electricity […]

“We’re going to catch it head-on,” said Bebe McElroy as she prepared to leave her home in the coastal Louisiana village of Cocodrie. “I’m just going around praying, saying, ‘Dear Lord, just watch over us.’” Ida was poised to strike Louisiana 16 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Mississippi and Louisiana coasts. A Category 3 storm, Katrina was blamed for 1,800 deaths and caused levee breaches and catastrophic flooding in New Orleans, which took years to recover. “We’re not the same state we were 16 years ago,” Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said Saturday, pointing to a federal […]

“We have lesser systems of protection built along the coast, where the levees aren’t as high and they’re not as fortified and we’re very concerned there. This will be a tremendous test of those systems. Quite frankly, it will be the strongest test we’ve had yet for the current hurricane and storm risk reduction system itself.” During Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, multiple levees were breached, notably in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, which suffered some of the storm’s worst damage. Katrina left more than 1,800 people dead and according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, inflicted approximately […]

“Activities will support a phased, multi-year seismic acquisition program targeted to begin in 2022,” AIDEA announced in the press release. But that process is now on hold until the new environmental impact statement is completed. In the June 1 secretarial order suspending the leases, DOI said the supplemental EIS was necessary because of “multiple legal deficiencies” in the original review. It also stated that any activity related to the oil and gas leasing program, including exploration work, would be paused and that any future or pending applications would not be processed. The new review could take a year or longer, dealing […]

In his talks with Koizumi, Kerry was expected to discuss decarbonization efforts and cooperation between the two countries ahead of the U.N. climate conference, known as COP26, to be held in Glasgow in the first half of November. During a visit to London last month, Kerry called on global leaders to work together and accelerate actions needed to curb rising temperatures to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels. He urged China to join the U.S. in urgently cutting carbon emissions. China is the world’s top carbon emitter, followed by the United States. Japan is fifth. Many countries have […]

Meanwhile, progressive House Democrats are resisting efforts to pass the infrastructure bill quickly. They first want to ensure that the Senate will pass a separate $3.5 trillion bill aimed at addressing the root causes of climate change. This is no time for such squabbling, backers of the infrastructure bill say — noting warnings from scientists that climate change is already making hurricanes, floods, wildfires and similar calamities more intense. The bill’s supporters also call the climate resilience efforts an example of how Washington can work if it comes together. “There’s a lot of talk about how great the barriers in Louisiana […]

Officials said at least five people died in Pennsylvania, including one killed by a falling tree and another who drowned in his car after helping his wife to escape. A Connecticut state police sergeant, Brian Mohl, perished after his cruiser was swept away. Another death was reported in Maryland. Sophy Liu said she tried using towels and garbage bags to stop the water coming into her first-floor New York City apartment, but the flood rose to her chest in just a half hour. She roused her son from bed, put him in a life jacket and inflatable swimming ring and tried […]

Biden argued that now is the time to take prompt action, including on his infrastructure plans. “This is an opportunity,” Biden said as he met with officials in Hillsborough, N.J., before touring nearby Manville. “The country has finally acknowledged the fact that global warming is real, and it’s moving at an incredible pace, we’ve got to do something about it.” The destruction from heavy rain and flooding from Ida’s remnants was “incredible,” and the losses “profound,” the president said. In New Jersey, 27 people were among the dozens killed across the Northeast. In New Jersey, Biden spoke with several people who […]

Just how to strengthen the grid to keep power flowing remains an open question. President Joe Biden traveled to Louisiana on Friday to survey the damage and meet with state and local leaders, and called for strengthening the power grid to withstand more powerful storms. “When you guys are putting back up those high-tension wires again — and that’s working — you’re not going to put up the same exact system,” he told a briefing in LaPlace, La. “You’re going to have to build it better, and its resiliency.” And while the infrastructure question looms large in Washington and state capitals […]

Environmentalists and their supporters in Congress have a message for those companies: Pick a side. With much of the country still recovering from the death and wreckage of Hurricane Ida and after a summer of heat waves and wildfires across the globe, they are promising that businesses will face lasting repercussions to their reputations if they waffle on what could be their best opportunity to take on climate change. “It’s a really hard test for corporations: Was it all bullshit?” said Lori Lodes, executive director of Climate Power, a group whose leaders include veterans of Hillary Clinton’s and Elizabeth Warren’s presidential […]

“The study illuminates the fact that solar, our cheapest and fastest-growing source of clean energy, could produce enough electricity to power all of the homes in the U.S. by 2035 and employ as many as 1.5 million people in the process,” said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm in a statement. Details: The Solar Futures Study, prepared by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, found that by 2050, solar energy could provide almost 1,600 gigawatts of power capacity on a zero-carbon grid if the U.S. enacts aggressive policy changes. But the report modeled several potential scenarios, including a “business-as-usual” future based on existing state […]

Details: Judge John Michael Vazquez of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, an Obama appointee, on Wednesday ordered the case sent back to state court. “Ultimately, none of Defendants’ grounds for removal are sufficient for this Court to exercise subject-matter jurisdiction,” Vazquez wrote. Like most other judges who have addressed this issue, Vazquez wrote that Hoboken’s lawsuit is not subject to “complete preemption” under the Clean Air Act or the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and that no federal officer is implicated in the city’s suit. He rejected several other legal arguments made by the companies and […]

Environmental groups have long accused FERC of “rubber-stamping” new gas pipelines and other fossil fuel infrastructure projects, although Glick and fellow Democratic Commissioner Allison Clements have sought to examine both the climate effects and the consumer need for such projects. A third Democrat could give Glick and Clements a critical swing vote as the commission revisits its 1999 gas certification policy governing pipeline approvals, mulls the impact of recent court rulings and weighs new projects. Recent court decisions largely rejecting the commission’s current approach to gas projects have put the commission under greater scrutiny when it comes to environmental justice and […]

The images that have spread across the world over the past week of Taliban fighters posing in front of captured helicopters and light attack aircraft have allowed the group to further humiliate the former Afghan and American governments. But these images don’t concern longtime extremism watchers as much as the proliferation of guns, bullets and grenades. “I have full confidence that some of this equipment is going to end up in the hands of al Qaeda and other bad actors, it’s inevitable,” said Colin Clarke, director of policy and research at The Soufan Group. “This is not going to just end […]

SOUTHCOM’s Joint Task Force-Haiti planned to deliver a field surgical hospital to the southern city of Les Cayes on Thursday. It will be operated by Samaritan’s Purse, a nongovernmental organization that provides spiritual and physical aid globally. On Tuesday, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said four field hospitals were expected to be set up this week. Since Saturday, the U.S. military has deployed three Coast Guard helicopters that have assisted hundreds of people and transported nearly 7,000 pounds of medical supplies and three U.S. Coast Guard cutters to Haiti. The U.S. also provided eight military helicopters from Joint Task Force-Bravo in Honduras. […]

“We’re also aware that some people, including Americans, have been harassed and even beaten by the Taliban,” Austin said on the call, according to multiple sources. “This is unacceptable and [we] made it clear to the designated Taliban leader.” Austin added that “with the exception of those cases, we continue to see Americans and appropriately credentialed Afghans continue to move through.” When asked about Austin’s remarks, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby reiterated that the U.S. has told the Taliban that it wants “free passage through these checkpoints for documented Americans,” adding: “By and large, that’s happening.” The House briefing — which […]

On Sunday, the British military acknowledged the seven deaths of civilians in the crowds in Kabul. There have been stampedes and crushing injuries in the crowds, especially as Taliban fighters fire into the air to drive away those desperate to get on any flight out of the country. “Conditions on the ground remain extremely challenging but we are doing everything we can to manage the situation as safely and securely as possible,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement. On Saturday, British and Western troops in full combat gear tried to control the crowds pressing in. They carried away some who […]

Austin said Biden was faced with “no good options,” inheriting a May 1 deadline to take out all forces from Afghanistan from the deal the Trump administration struck with the Taliban last year. Biden “had to very rapidly go through a detailed assessment, and look at all options in terms of what, you know, what he could do. And none of those options were good options. He went through a very rigorous process, very detailed process,” Austin said. “He listened to the input that was provided by all of the stakeholders in the interagency process. And so, at the end of […]

Sullivan’s message is on par with President Joe Biden’s vow on Friday to evacuate all Afghan allies of the U.S. who are seeking protection from the Taliban. In that same address, Biden indicated he may be willing to expand the U.S. military presence in the city of Kabul beyond just the international airport, where all evacuations are taking place. Biden also said last week he would extend his self-imposed Aug. 31 deadline for pulling all troops out of Afghanistan if the evacuation operations were not yet completed. Sullivan didn’t say how many Afghans still needed to be evacuated from the country. […]

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the military was analyzing the North Korean launches based on U.S. and South Korean intelligence. Kim during a congress of the ruling Workers’ Party in January doubled down on his pledge to bolster his nuclear deterrent in the face of U.S. sanctions and pressure and issued a long wish list of new sophisticated assets, including longer-range intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear-powered submarines, spy satellites and tactical nuclear weapons. Kim also said then that his national defense scientists were developing “intermediate-range cruise missiles with the most powerful warheads in the world.” North Korea’s weapons tests are […]

Meanwhile, the West Wing is looking increasingly disconnected from reality as the Biden White House strives to project a sense of calm competence — even as the Taliban tighten their grip on Afghanistan. “We are actually overperforming in terms of the evacuation numbers,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Monday of the massive evacuation effort underway at Kabul airport to extract thousands of Americans and tens of thousands of Afghan allies from the city. “If you look at what we’re doing now and taking — evacuating thousands of people every day, it really has been a tremendous piece of […]

But a completed withdrawal by the end of the month will be dependent upon the Taliban’s continued cooperation, Biden said, adding that he’d asked the Pentagon and State Department for contingency plans in need of an extension. “The completion by Aug. 31 depends upon the Taliban continuing to cooperate and allow access to the airport for those who we’re transporting out and no disruptions to our operations,” he said. The announcement reflects Biden’s continued determination to extricate the U.S. from the 20-year war in Afghanistan, as well as the deteriorating situation on the ground as the Taliban tighten their grip on […]

“To defend this Nation, we need a healthy and ready force,” Austin said in the memo. “After careful consultation with medical experts and military leadership, and with the support of the President, I have determined that mandatory vaccination against coronavirus disease…is necessary to protect the Force and defend the American people.” Troops will be able to get their Pfizer shots at their bases and from their commands around the world. The Pentagon has said it has enough vaccine supply to meet demand. Individual service members may also go out and get any of the other Covid vaccines on their own. Fulfilling […]

House Armed Services Chair Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and Rogers have discussed how to handle the money ahead of the committee’s consideration of its version of the National Defense Authorization Act next week. The new wrinkle comes as pressure mounts on the House to back a significant increase in military spending after the Senate tacked an extra $25 billion onto President Joe Biden’s proposed defense budget. House Armed Services slashed nearly all of the Pentagon’s $3.3 billion request for Afghan forces in 2022 in a draft full committee version of the defense bill obtained Wednesday by POLITICO, though exactly how and to […]

Although Meijer and Moulton “got a chance to talk to commanders … [and] to talk to troops” while on the airfield, Kirby indicated the lawmakers’ presence was disruptive and unnecessary as the Pentagon seeks to evacuate thousands of Americans and Afghan allies from Kabul in the few days remaining before President Joe Biden’s Aug. 31 withdrawal deadline. “To say that there wasn’t a need to flex and to alter the day’s flow — including the need to have protection for these members of Congress — that wouldn’t be a genuine thing for me to assert,” Kirby said. “I mean, there was […]