new video loaded: How Trump Could Gain Control of the Fed
By Ben Casselman, Melanie Bencosme, June Kim, Gabriel Blanco and Jon Hazell•
President Trump’s attempt to fire Lisa Cook has laid bare the erosion of the Federal Reserve’s independence, which could lead to economic consequences for Americans, The New York Times’s chief economics correspondent explains.
Recent episodes in Behind the Reporting
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Ben Casselman, Melanie Bencosme, June Kim, Gabriel Blanco and Jon Hazell
new video loaded: Trump Announces Firing of the Fed Governor Lisa Cook
transcript
transcript
Trump Announces Firing of the Fed Governor Lisa Cook
President Trump justified Lisa Cook’s removal from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors based on allegations that she may have falsified information on her mortgage records. Ms. Cook has vowed to fight the dismissal.
Just a move of the hand saying we’re going to lower interest rates, you would save a $1 trillion a year — and there’s nothing you can do to save that kind of money.
Since Congress approved President Trump’s request to claw back $1.1 billion in funding for public broadcasting, local stations in rural areas are at risk of going dark. Megan Mineiro, a congressional reporter for The New York Times, went to rural Alaska to see how the cuts affect one radio station and a town that relies on it.
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Megan Mineiro, Melanie Bencosme, Christina Shaman, Laura Salaberry, Haiyun Jiang, Alexandra Ostasiewicz and June Kim
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are not expected to be at schools in the nation’s capital when classes kick off on Monday, acting director Todd Lyons recently told NBC News.
Newsweek has reached out to ICE for comment via email on Saturday.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump has pledged to launch the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history. The initiative has seen an intensification of ICE raids across the country, with thousands of people having been swept up, arrested, and detained. Shortly after taking office, Trump threw out Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policies to limit where ICE arrests can take place, granting it the right to conduct raids in places of worship, schools, and hospitals.
The nation’s capital has been in the limelight over the past few weeks after Trump said on August 11 that the city had been “overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people.” He has deployed federal troops, officers and agents to Washington, D.C., as part of a crackdown on crime and homelessness.
What To Know
As the school year is kicking off across the U.S., the first day of class for D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) is on Monday, August 25. Lyons told NBC News in an interview earlier this week that “day one, you’re not going to see us,” but noted that there might be circumstances when ICE officers may need to come to schools in the future.
Lyons said one of those circumstances might be to conduct safety and wellness checks on students, stating, “We want to use our special agents and our officers to go ahead and locate these individuals. And if [there are] some we haven’t, and the last known address was at a school, we just want to make sure that child is safe. If we have the opportunity to reunite that parent with that child, that’s what we want to do.”
Lyons noted that under “exigent” circumstances would officers arrive at school, including “something violent going on.” Nationwide, there have been several ICE arrests of parents at school property, including one at an Oregon preschool. In addition, some students, including a teenage boy in Los Angeles, have also been detained.
A Stanford University researcher reported in June that ICE “raids increased student absences from schools because parents fear being separated from their children,” finding “recent raids coincided with a 22 percent increase in daily student absences with particularly large increases among the youngest student.”
Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) speaks to the press on the agility course at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) in Brunswick, Georgia, on August 21. Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) speaks to the press on the agility course at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) in Brunswick, Georgia, on August 21. AP Photo/Fran Ruchalski
What People Are Saying
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel said at a press conference this week: “I think people who have that concern for themselves personally and for all of us who are concerned for them and their safety are making adjustments.”
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a previous statement shared with Newsweek: “Under Secretary Noem, we are delivering on President Trump’s and the American people’s mandate to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens to make America safe. Secretary Noem unleashed ICE to target the worst of the worst and carry out the largest deportation operation of criminal aliens in American history.”
new video loaded: Fed Chair Hints at Interest Rate Cuts, While Emphasizing Caution
transcript
transcript
Fed Chair Hints at Interest Rate Cuts, While Emphasizing Caution
Jerome H. Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, signaled that interest rate cuts may be coming during his final speech as Fed chair on Friday at an annual conference hosted by the Reserve Bank of Kansas City in Jackson, Wyo.
Labor market remains near maximum employment and inflation, though still somewhat elevated, has come down a great deal from its post-pandemic highs. At the same time, the balance of risks appears to be shifting. Our policy rate is now 100 basis points closer to neutral than it was a year ago, and the stability of the unemployment rate and other labor market measures allows us to proceed carefully as we consider changes to our policy stance.
new video loaded: California and Texas Face Off in Redistricting Fight
By Laurel Rosenhall, David Goodman, Rebecca Suner, Leila Medina and Stephanie Swart•
The battle over redistricting is playing out in the country’s two largest states. Texas and California passed redistricting efforts this week that counter each other. David Goodman and Laurel Rosenhall explain how redistricting is playing out in both states and what the final outcome could look like.
Recent episodes in Behind the Reporting
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Laurel Rosenhall, David Goodman, Rebecca Suner, Leila Medina and Stephanie Swart
Democratic Governors Gavin Newsom and Kathy Hochul of California and New York, respectively, issued brief warnings to Texas after the Republican-led state legislature voted Wednesday evening to advance a controversial congressional redistricting plan.
Newsweek reached out to GOP Texas Governor Greg Abbott‘s office via email for comment.
Why It Matters
The vote occurred after weeks of partisan standoffs in Austin, including a Democratic walkout, as it heightened concerns that states could spark a mid‑decade redistricting “arms race” ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Texas Republicans said the map could produce as many as five additional GOP‑leaning seats; Democrats said they would mount legal challenges and urged broader pushback from governors and allies.
The Lone Star State’s GOP also felt partisan pressure and backing from President Donald Trump to press the plan further along and approve it.
What To Know
Posting to X after the vote passed, Newsom said, “It’s on, Texas.”
The Texas House approved the proposed congressional map by an 88-52 party‑line vote, advancing the legislation to the state Senate, where passage is expected.
What People Are Saying
Trump on Truth Social Tuesday: “CONGRATULATIONS TEXAS! The July Border Statistics are in and, once again, they are the LOWEST RECORDED NUMBERS IN UNITED STATES HISTORY. The U.S. Border Patrol reported ZERO releases of Illegal Aliens into the Country. Texas’ Border is Safe and Secure, and the entire World knows it. All we need to do is keep it this way, which is exactly why Texas Republicans need to help us WIN the 2026 Midterm Elections, and pass their new Bill, AS IS, for the ONE BIG, BEAUTIFUL CONGRESSIONAL MAP!
“With the Texas House now in Quorum, thanks to GREAT Speaker Dustin Burrows, I call on all of my Republican friends in the Legislature to work as fast as they can to get THIS MAP to Governor Greg Abbott’s desk, ASAP. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
This is a developing story that will be updated with additional information.
Republican Governor Greg Abbott speaks at a news conference on July 8 in Hunt, Texas. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) Republican Governor Greg Abbott speaks at a news conference on July 8 in Hunt, Texas. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
In the first presidential election since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald J. Trump bring sharply different records on abortion. Maggie Astor, a political reporter for The New York Times, describes where the candidates stand on the issue.
Approximately three million undecided voters in seven battleground states will most likely decide the outcome of the 2024 presidential election, and surveys show that these voters are pessimistic about the country’s future. Jonathan Swan, a reporter covering the presidential campaign for The New York Times, examines how these voters are responding to Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald J. Trump.
new video loaded: ‘Declaration of Progress’: Biden Hails Fed Rate Cuts
transcript
transcript
‘Declaration of Progress’: Biden Hails Fed Rate Cuts
President Biden hailed the Federal Reserve’s move to begin cutting interest rates during a speech at the Economic Club of Washington.
No one should confuse why I’m here. I’m not here to take a victory lap. I’m not here to say a job well done. I’m not here to say we don’t have a hell of a lot more work to do. We do have more work to do. But what I am here to speak about is how far we come, how we got here, and most importantly, the foundation that I believe built for a more prosperous and equitable future in America. So let’s be clear: The Fed lowering interest rates isn’t a declaration of victory. It’s a declaration of progress. It’s a signal we’ve entered a new phase of our economy and our recovery. I believe it’d important for the country to recognize this progress because if we don’t, the progress we’ve made will remain locked in the fear of the negative mind-set that dominated our economic outlook since the pandemic began.
It’s just after 6 a.m. at a mosque in suburban Georgia, and the topic of discussion over breakfast is Kamala Harris. “Let’s see what happens, right. The South Asian community knows that they have a really pivotal role and that their turnout, their engagement could shift the election one way or another. Asian Americans are the fastest-growing voting bloc in Georgia, and South Asians make up the largest percentage of that group, totaling around 86,000 eligible voters. Joe Biden won the state by just over 11,000 votes in 2020. “The path to the White House runs right through this state.” Kamala Harris is presumed to be the first Democratic presidential nominee of South Asian heritage. “There’s so much hope that I feel now.” Here in Fulton County, we found new enthusiasm, but also some waiting to see where Harris will stand on the issues. “I’m definitely re-engaged. I consider myself an independent. I’m not sure if I’m going to vote before Kamala Harris entered because I was so unenthusiastic about both candidates.” “But I don’t know if anyone really expected how exhilarating it would feel. As a South Asian, you know, I feel a connection to her. This time, I would like to be more engaged and actually doing something besides just voting.” Parul Kapur is now hosting meetups with friends as she prepares to organize a fund-raiser for the very first time. When did you guys hear and what was your reaction when you heard that?” “She’s been a U.S senator. Now, she’s been vice president for four years. That’s a pretty impressive résumé. But deep inside, I was like someone who looks like me is going to be the next president of the United States.” “That’s very true.” “A lot of people, I think, were, you know, like going to vote for somebody like Biden regardless because they were scared. And, you know, it felt very much like they were going to bite the bullet. Whereas now people feel energized and you want to vote.” And while shared identity resonates for the group, the conversation ultimately shifts back to policy. “And somehow we forget that there is a middle class for a lot of us. Taxation, inflation, all those are important issues for us.” “The economy, essentially, which is what I think ultimately this election is going to come down to anyway.” Back at the mosque, the conversation turns to one specific issue: the war in Gaza. “The Asian American community doesn’t always fit into a nice box along the political spectrum. We all carry different identities. I’m a Muslim American. And how I see the election is kind of a combination of these different factors. Gaza is still the primary issue that I’m looking to see where Kamala Harris will differentiate herself from Biden.” Asian American voters here decisively chose Biden in 2020, but in the four years since, their support for him has declined. These voters could be crucial for Harris to win or lose the state. “She has the potential to change the equation of how things are done for the better. The entire society is changing. I have seen that because when I arrived is when the change started, right — ’69 until today. That has been what they call the ‘browning of America,’ Asians, Indians.” “It’s an open conversation. So I think the Asian American vote, they can be convinced to switch loyalty for candidates and parties. I’m pretty confident I’ll vote now, but I’m going to leave a little bit of wiggle room because so much can happen.”
After years planning to face President Biden, Donald J. Trump and his team will now be campaigning against Kamala Harris. Maggie Haberman, a senior political correspondent for The New York Times, describes how Mr. Trump may try to frame his new opponent.
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Maggie Haberman, Christina Shaman, Mona Lalwani, Noah Throop, James Surdam and Alexandra Ostasiewicz
new video loaded: How Donald Trump Shaped the 2024 G.O.P. Platform
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Whether it’s reporting on conflicts abroad and political divisions at home, or covering the latest style trends and scientific developments, Times Video journalists provide a revealing and unforgettable view of the world.
Whether it’s reporting on conflicts abroad and political divisions at home, or covering the latest style trends and scientific developments, Times Video journalists provide a revealing and unforgettable view of the world.
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Shane Goldmacher, Nikolay Nikolov, Farah Otero-Amad, John Pappas, Laura Salaberry, Christina Shaman and Rebecca Suner
Egon Cholakian, an esteemed intelligence teaching expert who served in the White House during Reagan’s administration and currently specializes in national security, has unveiled results of a 30-year long investigation which uncovered a danger to America and the entire democratic world.
WASHINGTON, April 16, 2024 (Newswire.com)
– Dr. Cholakian, through a meticulously researched three-hour video, published on his international platform Earth Save Science Collaborative, invites everyone who cares about the future of America and democracy to engage in dialogue and open investigation.
Essential Investigation Results Unveiled:
Origins of Global Disbalance
Dr. Cholakian delves into the heart of global turmoil, questioning who has benefited from the world’s conflicts over the past three decades. Notably, he sheds light on the strategy of how such conflicts are being organized by hidden anti-democratic forces.
As Cholakian aptly puts it, “If we see, hear, or read information that contains models of dissatisfaction, denial, hatred, or disappointment with our country and its people, we must not allow these messages to pass through our critical thinking, and we must consciously stop them… Here, everyone must take responsibility for themselves and for America as a whole.”
Disinformation campaigns uncovered
In a thought-provoking analysis, Egon Cholakian presents compelling case studies that reveal the tactics employed by disinformation campaigns. These orchestrated efforts aim to sway public opinion, fostering disillusionment with democratic systems.
ALLATRA, a global volunteer movement addressing climate change, becomes a notable case study. Its participants have faced unfair anti-democratic measures against them. Dr. Cholakian explains how such defamatory campaigns inflict significant harm on the very foundation of democracy. He emphasizes that when journalists engage in these campaigns, they unwittingly contribute to a perilous path and democracy’s demise.
Egon Cholakian’s video is a must-watch for those seeking a comprehensive understanding of the current geopolitical landscape, willing to develop their own critical thinking and protect our future. It is a guide to keep our nation safe in this perilous historical moment of time.
About Dr. A. Egon Cholakian National Security Expert, Federal Lobbyist – U.S. Congress and White House. Registered Foreign Agent, U.S. Department of Justice – National Security Division. Member, International Association of Intelligence Educators, United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation and Founding Member, OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) Foundation. Worked with: 4 U.S. Presidents, 3 U.S. National Security Advisors, 1 Central Intelligence Agency Director
From the picket lines of the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War, to social media posts surrounding the Israel-Hamas conflict today, expressing free speech — and how to better define it — continues to test higher education decision-makers.
Updated: 12:00 AM EDT Apr 16, 2024
The increase in student-led protests at U.S.-based colleges and universities surrounding the October 2023 Israel-Hamas conflict has brought free speech on campus, back into popular discourse. After the actions and suspensions of some student groups led to televised congressional hearings and then the resignation of two elite university presidents, defining and outlining free speech on campus appeared to be at a stalemate. Groups such as, The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE are attempting to keep the dialogue going. FIRE is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works on a national scale to spread awareness regarding free speech rights on college campuses. “We’re seeing large amounts of students professing self-censorship and the culture of free speech being deteriorated on college campuses,” Zach Greenberg said, the senior program officer within campus advocacy at FIRE. “And so while the law remains solid, we do worry about how it’s being applied and how universities actually are defending students’ free speech rights.” By expressing and exercising their free speech rights, student-led groups have consistently influenced federal legislation especially during the 1960s and 1970s. Most notably, the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and Nixon signing the 26th Amendment in 1971, which lowered the voting age from 21 to 18-years-old at the federal level. In the 1960s, the Civil Rights movement was amplified by courageous students such as Claudette Colvin, Diane Nash, the Little Rock Nine, and the Greensboro Four, and several student-led and founded groups such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Black Panther Party. However, protests reached a fever pitch on May 4, 1970, with the Kent State Massacre, in which four students were shot and killed by Ohio State National Guardsmen. Less than two weeks later, on May 15, 1970 at Jackson State in Mississippi, law enforcement fired into a crowd, killing a pre-law student and a local high school student, who was on campus at the time. Following these national tragedies, the Nixon administration assembled a task force to study campus unrest on a national scale. What resulted was a 400-plus page magnum opusEditSign titled, “The Report of the President’s Commission on Campus Unrest,” which analyzed the Kent State and Jackson State tragedies, the history of campus protests stretching back to the American Revolution, and suggestions for students, faculty, and law enforcement moving forward. Although, the Nixon administration hesitated to implement the commission’s suggestions from the lengthy tome, today’s students aren’t limited by formal case studies to share their thoughts and reach a wider audience. Whether students speak formally through congressional hearings (that are subsequently shared on YouTube to view beyond traditional airtimes) or informally through social media posts, clarifying free speech for students in the digital age may continue to be a challenging, but a necessary, discussion. “Students aren’t really having the kind of discussions that they were having, perhaps 10 or 15 years ago,” Greenberg said. “The first step to defending your rights is knowing your rights.”
The increase in student-led protests at U.S.-based colleges and universities surrounding the October 2023 Israel-Hamas conflict has brought free speech on campus, back into popular discourse. After the actions and suspensions of some student groups led to televised congressional hearings and then the resignation of two elite university presidents, defining and outlining free speech on campus appeared to be at a stalemate.
Groups such as, The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE are attempting to keep the dialogue going. FIRE is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works on a national scale to spread awareness regarding free speech rights on college campuses.
“We’re seeing large amounts of students professing self-censorship and the culture of free speech being deteriorated on college campuses,” Zach Greenberg said, the senior program officer within campus advocacy at FIRE. “And so while the law remains solid, we do worry about how it’s being applied and how universities actually are defending students’ free speech rights.”
By expressing and exercising their free speech rights, student-led groups have consistently influenced federal legislation especially during the 1960s and 1970s.
In the 1960s, the Civil Rights movement was amplified by courageous students such as Claudette Colvin, Diane Nash, the Little Rock Nine, and the Greensboro Four, and several student-led and founded groups such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Black Panther Party.
However, protests reached a fever pitch on May 4, 1970, with the Kent State Massacre, in which four students were shot and killed by Ohio State National Guardsmen. Less than two weeks later, on May 15, 1970 at Jackson State in Mississippi, law enforcement fired into a crowd, killing a pre-law student and a local high school student, who was on campus at the time.
Following these national tragedies, the Nixon administration assembled a task force to study campus unrest on a national scale. What resulted was a 400-plus page magnum opus
Although, the Nixon administration hesitated to implement the commission’s suggestions from the lengthy tome, today’s students aren’t limited by formal case studies to share their thoughts and reach a wider audience.
Whether students speak formally through congressional hearings (that are subsequently shared on YouTube to view beyond traditional airtimes) or informally through social media posts, clarifying free speech for students in the digital age may continue to be a challenging, but a necessary, discussion. “Students aren’t really having the kind of discussions that they were having, perhaps 10 or 15 years ago,” Greenberg said. “The first step to defending your rights is knowing your rights.”
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, of Washington state, is known for being an outspoken advocate of social justice, reproductive freedoms, and immigrants’ rights. Ahead of International Women’s Day, we wanted to hear more about her own immigration story and her message to young voters in a crucial election year. Read it all, in her own words, below.
It was a dream of my parents to give me the opportunity of education in the United States and everything that would provide, so they really made that ultimate sacrifice. I don’t know if any of us really understood what a sacrifice it would be, because I would never end up living on the same continent as them again. Now, decades later, I understand what that meant, and I’m very, very grateful. I think it’s part of what drove me as a teenager — I was only 16, I was here by myself and in a brand-new country, trying to make my way on my own — I think I have this sense of, I have to pay it forward, I have to be successful, I have to make sure I make my parents’ sacrifice worthwhile. Maybe it’s every immigrant’s story.
Immigrants are huge to building this country. They’re doing all types of jobs, from low-skilled to high-skilled. But if you look at how families survive, if you look at the food that people eat, the hotels or restaurants that they eat or sleep in, if you look at domestic work, care work, across the board, so much of this is powered by immigrants and immigrant women. The level of deep resilience, courage, and contribution to community, family, and country that immigrants bring — I see how that contribution is really not recognized in policy and that the other side puts immigrants through so much nasty rhetoric. I feel that even Democrats don’t always stand up in the way we should for immigrants, without whom we literally would not be able to function as a country.
I know we say that it’s incredibly important to vote in multiple elections — we certainly said it in 2016 and we saw what happened when Donald Trump came in and worked to destroy everything we hold dear, including our democracy. And he’s back. So the stakes are incredibly high. And at the same time, I know it is deeply frustrating for young people in particular to look at how screwed up the world is and to feel like somehow maybe they can’t make a difference. And the message I have is: you absolutely can make a difference. We don’t have perfection in our democracy, we don’t have perfection on our ballots, but we do have progress. And the most progress is made when people use their voices and use their votes to demand better.
We don’t have perfection in our democracy, we don’t have perfection on our ballots, but we do have progress.
I think this is going to be a very tough election, and I’ve come out strong for a cease-fire. I think the Gaza war is an issue that people feel are deep moral issues. So I know there’s a lot of work to do. But I also know that what we got done in the first two years of a Democratic White House, barely Democratic Senate, and a Democratic House was kind of incredible. Because of young people, we got the first gun legislation passed in decades. Because of young people, we got the biggest investment ever in climate change. There’s so much more I could go through. It’s not to say we’re done, it’s to say that people can make a difference, that it matters who controls Congress. And it matters to get more of us who are women of color, immigrants, Gen Z into Congress who can help to shift from the inside as well as the outside.
I’m inspired every day by my grandmother, who is an incredible woman who got a high school education and married very young and would still go out there and do things that just weren’t done. A woman who would go out there and play tennis in a sari. She’s passed, but I still feel her presence with me. Also women whose shoulders I stand on, and for me, Sojourner Truth is a really important figure in my life because of who she was, because of the courage she had to speak truth to power, and because she was fundamentally shifting public perception of what was possible. She’s incredibly important. And then the third is — I have been on the streets and in civil disobedience protests, getting arrested with undocumented women and immigrant women from all over the world, and I bring them into every room with me. The joy, the courage, the resilience, the risk I take — it reminds me every day that what I’m doing is nothing compared to what they’re doing, and it gives me the courage to keep fighting.
— As told to Lena Felton
Lena Felton is the senior director of features and special content at POPSUGAR, where she oversees feature stories, special projects, and identity content. Previously, she was an editor at The Washington Post, where she led a team covering issues of gender and identity.
Former Republican Representative David Jolly warned that the GOP members running for the House speakership position could be just as “dangerous” as Representative Jim Jordan while speaking to Newsweek on Sunday.
On October 3, Representative Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, became the first House speaker in U.S. history to be ousted from the role by a floor vote, after a motion to vacate was brought against him by GOP Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida. Since then, successive GOP candidates for speaker have failed to garner the necessary majority of votes, an issue worsened by the party’s razor-thin margin of control in the House.
Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana was the first candidate chosen, but he ultimately failed to get the votes needed on the chamber floor and withdrew from consideration. Jordan of Ohio, the candidate initially endorsed by Trump, was next up, but he also failed to garner the needed votes, losing more and more support in three consecutive rounds of voting.
Nine Republicans announced their candidacy to be the next House speaker including: Representatives Tom Emmer of Minnesota, Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, Pete Sessions of Texas, Austin Scott of Georgia, Byron Donalds of Florida, Jack Bergman of Michigan, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania, and Gary Palmer of Alabama.
Representative Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, speaks at the U.S. Capitol on Friday in Washington, D.C. Inset, former GOP Representative David Jolly of Florida is seen on March 13, 2014, in Washington, D.C. Jolly warned that the GOP members running for the House speakership position could be just as “dangerous” as Jordan while speaking to Newsweek on Sunday. Alex Wong/ Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Jolly, who served Florida’s 13th Congressional District from 2014 to 2017, told Newsweek via phone on Sunday that Jordan is “one of the more dangerous Republican leaders in his willingness to undermine democracy and as he sought to assist Trump in stealing the election in 2020, I’m sure he would try to do so in 2024.”
He continued: “So his elimination from the speakership race, I think is a net positive all around. That does not mean that there’s a wide gap between him and who comes next, to be honest. If you look at the field of current candidates for speaker, they probably lack the tactics of Jordan, but I think many of them would arrive at the same destination.”
Jolly explained that the candidates may not start off at such a dangerous spot as Jordan, but may end up there.
“I made that point for those who thought Jordan was so much worse than McCarthy. My point was McCarthy always ended up where Jordan started. It just took him longer to get there,” he said. “McCarthy blessed the impeachment of Joe Biden, he covered for Trump on the January 6th stuff, [and] he negotiated in bad faith with Biden and then broke his promise. So it’s not as though other leading Republicans are significantly and qualitatively less dangerous than Jordan, but Jordan just starts from a very dangerous spot.”
Although the Republicans hold a slight majority in the House of Representatives and have been struggling to find a nominee that can garner at least 217 votes necessary to win the House speaker vote, Jolly said he is “cautiously optimistic” and that he believes Republicans are close to resolving this issue.
He added that “all of the high-profile potential speakers have been vetted and lost,” so the Republicans will go with a candidate that “the country largely doesn’t know.”
Jolly, who left the Republican Party in 2018, questions if the “hardliner” Republicans will agree to anything.
“The next speaker will have to compromise with [Hakeem] Jeffries, [Chuck] Schumer, and Biden. The next speaker will lose the appropriations fight coming up in 30 days,” he said. “The House Republican Conference hardliners are not grounded in reality. They are not grounded in the reality of governing. And, if they’re going to hold their speaker to that alternate reality, I don’t know how anyone gets to 217, but I think that this week will be the closest anyone could come.”
House Democrats have not moved from their position at electing their nominee, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, in all three rounds of voting, but Jolly said there is “zero” chance of swaying enough House Republicans to vote him in.
However, Jolly does see a scenario where there could be a consensus with Democratic support of a Republican nominee, but not without concessions. Jolly suggested Patrick McHenry, a North Carolina Republican, who is currently presiding as Speaker pro tempore, but is not one of the candidates running.
“So we would have to be in a scenario where things fell apart,” the former congressman said. “And to a lesser extent Emmer or Austin Scott. Simply because they did both vote to certify the [2020] election.”
Jolly said that for Democrats to vote for a Republican speaker they would most likely ask House Republicans to agree to “three pieces of legislation that would come up under an open rule where every member could offer an amendment. Those three would be Israel, Ukraine, and the final appropriations package.”
However, Jolly said he does not believe Republicans would agree to those concessions.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
President Biden said shareholders would lose their investments, but depositors would be protected, after federal regulators seized First Republic Bank and sold it to JPMorgan Chase.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testified before the Senate Finance Committee, days after regulators were forced to step in and take over Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.
new video loaded: How the Proud Boys Breached the Capitol on Jan. 6: Rile Up the Normies
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Using evidence that’s hidden in plain sight, our investigative journalists present a definitive account of the news — from the Las Vegas massacre to a chemical attack in Syria.
Using evidence that’s hidden in plain sight, our investigative journalists present a definitive account of the news — from the Las Vegas massacre to a chemical attack in Syria.
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Natalie Reneau, Stella Cooper, Alan Feuer and Aaron Byrd
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