Closing summary
We’re closing our US live politics blog after an eventful day in both chambers of Congress. Thanks for joining us.
In the Senate: The impeachment trial against Alejandro Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, was crawling towards a close after Democrats killed off one of the two articles against him, and were poised to dismiss the second. A campaign of delay and obfuscation by Republican members, in the form of a succession of points of order, motions to adjourn or calling for private session, slowed proceedings to a snail’s pace. Ultimately, the second charge, that Mayorkas broke the law by enacting Joe Biden’s immigration policies, was set for a similar fate as the first: dismissal on a party-line vote.
In the House: Members will vote Saturday on a package of foreign aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan after Mike Johnson, the beleaguered Republican speaker, finally unveiled details of four bills he hopes will appease hard-liners in his party seeking to oust him. Three of the bills provide aid funding, while the fourth, the text of which is forthcoming, is expected to include measures to redirect seized Russian assets toward Ukraine and force the sale of TikTok.
Here’s what else we were following:
Joe Biden said he was considering tripling tariffs on Chinese steel, with indications that he wants to go to 25%. “China is cheating, not competing on steel,” the president said at an event at the United Steelworkers union headquarters in Pittsburgh.
Republicans in Arizona again blocked an effort by Democrats to overturn an 1864 rule outlawing almost all abortions, enacted by a ruling earlier this month by the state’s supreme court. Respected pollster Larry Sabato says November’s Senate race in the key swing state now “leans Democratic” following the controversy, a change from “toss-up”.
Republicans Ron DeSantis and Jeb Bush, current and former Florida governors, led tributes to Bob Graham, a two-term governor of the state, three-term US senator and Democratic political heavyweight who has died aged 87.
Please join us again on Thursday.
Updated
Two more Republican points of order are stalling the vote to kill the second and final article of impeachment against Alejandro Mayorkas.
Rick Scott of Florida wanted an adjournment until 30 April, repeating an earlier motion that failed. It met the same fate, a 51-49 defeat.
Now John Kennedy of Louisiana is back again. He wants an adjournment until 1 May. No prizes for guessing how that motion will turn out.
Mayorkas impeachment articles
We’ve been talking a lot about the two articles of impeachment filed against Alejandro Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, but what exactly do they charge him with?
Here’s the official text from congress.gov. Both articles were introduced by Marjorie Taylor Greene, the firebrand Republican representative, in November 2023, and passed the House in February after a first vote to impeach failed.
Article 1 alleges Mayorkas “willfully and systemically refused to comply with the law”. It says he ignored congressional law and that “in large part because of his unlawful conduct, millions of aliens have illegally entered the US on an annual basis with many unlawfully remaining in the US”. It tries to pin the border crisis firmly on the shoulders of the Biden administration, and Mayorkas for delivering it.
Article 2 alleges “breach of public trust”. It says Mayorkas “knowingly made false statements, and knowingly obstructed lawful oversight of the department of homeland security, principally to obfuscate the results of his willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law”. One of the alleged “false statements” was telling Congress he believed the border was secure, which Greene and others insisted rose to the threshold of being a “high crime or misdemeanor”.
Updated
Senators kill first impeachment article against Mayorkas
The Senate has voted to kill the first article of impeachment – “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” – against Alejandro Mayorkas.
Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, voted “present”, neither for nor against, but all other senators voted along party lines, resulting in a 51-48 vote.
On to the second article, “breach of public trust”.
Updated
US Steel should stay a US-owned company, Joe Biden said on Wednesday during remarks to steelworkers at an event in Pittsburgh, Reuters reports.
US Steel, he said at a campaign event:
… should remain a totally American company. And that’s going to happen, I promise you.
US Steel Corp has agreed to be bought by Japan’s Nippon Steel for $14.9bn.
Updated
Republican tactics to handle the Mayorkas impeachment trial in the Senate this afternoon are becoming clear: delay proceedings as much as they can.
Each motion, or point of order, a Republican makes must be subjected to a roll call of all 100 members. Ted Cruz, the Texas senator, made a motion to debate the articles of impeachment in closed session. Senators voted along party lines and the motion failed 49-51.
Next up, John Kennedy of Louisiana made a point of order to adjourn the hearing until 30 April. One more roll call later, it also fell.
Now Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Senate minority leader, has tabled a point of order to try to block a first vote to dismiss the first article of impeachment. The roll call on that is under way.
It too will fail on straight party lines, but each of these Republican efforts soaks up more and more time.
Updated
Biden just drew laughs from the steel union members watching his campaign event in Pittsburgh, when he made several mentions of “my predecessor” Donald Trump, saying he “is busy right now”.
He was referring to the fact that his rival is standing trial in New York, the first-ever criminal trial of a former US president.
Updated
Biden floats ramping up tariffs on Chinese steel
Joe Biden just confirmed what had been flagged before his trip – that he is considering tripling tariffs on Chinese steel, with indications that he wants to go to 25%.
“China is cheating, not competing on steel,” the US president said, at an event at the United Steelworkers union headquarters in Pittsburgh.
He protested that “for too long, the Chinese state has poured money into their steel industry” and that it was not fair competition.
He also said that Donald Trump “and the Maga” Republicans want to impose tariffs across the board on all imports, which the president said will hurt American consumers. He referred to the Make America Great Again slogan of Trump’s election campaign, which has come to signify the hard right of the Republican party.
“Trump simply does not get it,” he said.
Updated
"I'm president because of you guys" – Biden
Joe Biden is now speaking at the steelworkers’ union headquarters in Pittsburgh.
The US president is 45 minutes behind schedule. Pro-Palestinian protesters are demonstrating outside the event.
Biden is on a three-day swing through the vital battleground state of Pennsylvania.
He was in his home town of Scranton yesterday, where he contrasted how his roots have kept him humble while presidential rival Donald Trump trades on his rich man’s persona.
Tomorrow, Biden will visit Philadelphia again; it has been a frequent stop on the campaign trail.
Biden just raised cheers and claps from the gathered union members when he said: “I’m president because of you guys.”
Updated
Chuck Schumer has now made a motion to dismiss the first article of impeachment on the grounds it “does not allege conduct that rises to the level of a high crime or misdemeanor”.
A formal vote will follow shortly, unless there are any efforts or motions to delay it.
It could be at least an hour or two before any vote to dismiss the articles of impeachment against Alejandro Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary. Or it could all be over very quickly.
Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, has just told the chamber he wants to allow up to 60 minutes of debate on each article before he calls a vote to dismiss.
Republican senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri isn’t happy. He says Schumer’s efforts to kill the impeachment are unprecedented:
Never before in the history of our republic has the Senate dismissed or tabled articles of impeachment when the impeached individual was alive and did not resign.
I will not assist Senator Schumer in setting our constitution ablaze, bulldozing 200 years of precedent.
There’s now a debate about whether the articles of impeachment actually meet the high bar of “high crimes and misdemeanors” required, which would make them invalid if it’s found they don’t.
If it is determined the articles are unconstitutional, then the vote to kill will likely follow in short order, and without the need for more debate.
Watch this space …
Updated
Mayorkas impeachment trial under way
Senators are lining up to sign the oath book in the chamber, the opening formalities of the impeachment trial that’s just got under way against Alejandro Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary.
It’s a slow process, as each of the 100 members must sign individually. But things are expected to pick up pretty quickly at its conclusion, with opening statements.
It’s unclear at what point Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate majority leader, will call a vote to dismiss the two articles of impeachment received from the Republican-controlled House yesterday.
But Schumer says he will do so after “a period of debate”. Such a vote will effectively kill the impeachment outright.
There is no chance of Mayorkas being convicted, even if the trial were allowed to conclude. Prosecutors would need 60 votes in a chamber controlled by Democrats, and several Republicans have already indicated they would acquit him.
Updated
Florida governor Ron DeSantis has signed a bill mandating that kindergartners in the state learn “the truths about the evils of communism”.
The hard-right Republican, who frequently touts an agenda promoting “freedom” in education, and giving parents rights over choices for their children’s curriculum, has made it compulsory for students up to 12th grade to attend the “history of communism” class, beginning in the 2026 school year.
Lessons must be “age appropriate and developmentally appropriate”, according to the bill. The state’s board of education will draw up academic standards for the lessons.
Florida high schoolers are already required to attend a 45-minute instruction class about “Victims of Communism Day” before they can graduate.
Wednesday’s bill-signing took place at the Assault Brigade 2506 museum in Hialeah Gardens, near Miami. DeSantis was flanked by former Cuban rebels who took part in the failed 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, which took place 63 years ago today against the island’s communist dictator, Fidel Castro.
Updated
The voting-equipment company Smartmatic has agreed to settle a defamation lawsuit with the far-right One America News Network (OAN) over lies broadcast on the network about the 2020 election.
Erik Connolly, a lawyer for Smartmatic, confirmed the case had been settled, but said the details were confidential. Attorneys for Smartmatic and OAN notified a federal judge in Washington on Tuesday that they were agreeing to dismiss the case, which Smartmatic filed in 2021.
Smartmatic sued OAN in November 2021, saying the relatively small company was a victim of OAN’s “decision to increase its viewership and influence by spreading disinformation”.
Smartmatic was only involved in the 2020 election in a single US county, Los Angeles, but OAN repeatedly broadcast false claims that its equipment had flipped the election for Joe Biden.
Donald Trump allies Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell played a key role in advancing the outlandish claims.
Read the full story:
Updated
The extent of the opposition by hardline Republicans to speaker Mike Johnson’s foreign aid bills unveiled Wednesday is becoming clear, with some promising to block their passage.
“The Republican Speaker of the House is seeking a rule to pass almost $100bn in foreign aid - while unquestionably, dangerous criminals, terrorists, & fentanyl pour across our border,” Chip Roy, the Texas representative, tweeted.
The Republican Speaker of the House is seeking a rule to pass almost $100 billion in foreign aid - while unquestionably, dangerous criminals, terrorists, & fentanyl pour across our border. The border “vote” in this package is a watered-down dangerous cover vote. I will oppose. https://t.co/8LHlnZlgjd
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) April 17, 2024
“The border ‘vote’ in this package is a watered-down dangerous cover vote. I will oppose.”
Roy is among those refusing to consider US aid for Israel, and particularly Ukraine, without massive investments in border security, which he and others say isn’t included in Johnson’s just-released package.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, the extremist Georgia representative who has threatened to call a vote to oust Johnson, is also furious.
News flash for Speaker Johnson, we have already passed HR2, the Senate has it and refuses to secure our border, they want 5,000 illegals per day to come in.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) April 17, 2024
The House passed $14 Billion for Israel aid in November and the Senate refuses to pass it.
You, Speaker Johnson, voted…
“You are seriously out of step with Republicans by continuing to pass bills dependent on Democrats. Everyone sees through this,” she wrote, also on X.
Johnson says the House will vote on the bills on Saturday night. There’s no guarantee he will still be speaker at that point if Greene, or others, deliver on their threat to call a “motion to vacate” vote.
Updated
Interim summary
It’s been a busy morning in US politics on several fronts. An impeachment trial in the Senate is about to get under way for homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and there have been developments in efforts to progress funding for Israel and Ukraine.
Here’s what we’ve been following:
Democratic Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer is preparing to hold a vote that could dismiss the two articles of impeachment filed by House Republicans on Tuesday alleging that Mayorkas broke the law in enacting Joe Biden’s immigration policies. Schumer called the charges an “illegitimate and profane abuse of the US Constitution” and said the votes would come after a brief “period of debate”.
Embattled speaker Mike Johnson said the House would vote Saturday evening on three foreign aid bills, including money for Ukraine and Israel. The Louisiana Republican has been walking a fine line trying to find a solution that will appease rightwingers seeking to oust him, while standing a chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Democrats in Arizona are resurrecting an effort to overturn an 1864 rule outlawing almost all abortions, enacted by a ruling earlier this month by the state’s supreme court. Respected pollster Larry Sabato says November’s Senate race in the key swing state now “leans Democratic” following the controversy, a change from “toss-up”.
Republicans Ron DeSantis and Jeb Bush, current and former Florida governors, led tributes to Bob Graham, a two-term governor of the state, three-term US senator and Democratic political heavyweight who has died aged 87.
And still to come this afternoon:
Joe Biden meets with steelworkers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as he touts his fair tax plan for workers and high earners. The president is due to deliver remarks at 1.45pm ET.
Updated
McConnell: Democrats failing obligations to assess evidence by tanking Mayorkas impeachment
In response, Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate minority leader, is not happy that the impeachment trial is about to be tanked.
He’s accusing Democrats of failing to live up to their obligations to assess the evidence and render a verdict, and taking potshots at Joe Biden’s border policies:
Today it falls to the Senate to determine whether and to what extent Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas enabled and inflamed this crisis. Under the Constitution and the rules of impeachment, it is the job of this body to consider the articles of impeachment brought before us and to render judgment.
The question right now should be how best to ensure that the charges on the table receive thorough consideration. But instead, the more pressing question is whether our Democratic colleagues intend to let the Senate work its will, at all.
Tabling articles of impeachment would be unprecedented in the history of the Senate. Tabling would mean declining to discharge our duties as jurors.
It would mean running both from our fundamental responsibility and from the glaring truth of the record-breaking crisis at our southern border.
Absent from McConnell’s statement blaming Democrats for the border crisis is any mention that his own Republican senators negotiated, then sank, bipartisan legislation to address it.
The about-face came apparently at the urging of Donald Trump, Biden’s presumptive opponent in November, who did not want Republicans to hand the president a pre-election victory on a campaign issue.
Updated
Chuck Schumer has released a lengthy statement about the commencement (and presumably very swift termination) of the impeachment trial of homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas this afternoon.
It is the “least legitimate, least substantive, and most politicized impeachment trial in the history of the United States,” the Democratic Senate majority leader said, encapsulating remarks he made in the chamber just now and posted to Facebook:
The charges brought against Secretary Mayorkas fail to meet the high standard of high crimes and misdemeanors. To validate this gross abuse by the House would be a grave mistake and could set a dangerous precedent for the future.
For the sake of the Senate’s integrity, and to protect impeachment for those rare cases we truly need it, Senators should dismiss today’s charges.
So, when we convene in trial today, to accommodate the wishes of our Republican Senate colleagues, I will seek an agreement for a period of debate time that would allow Republicans to offer a vote on trial resolutions, allow for Republicans to offer points of order, and then move to dismiss.
Let’s not kid ourselves about what’s going on today: the impeachment of Alejandro Mayorkas has nothing to do with high crimes and misdemeanors and everything to do with helping Donald Trump on the campaign trail.
The votes could come in very short order, once Republicans have had their (very brief) say. The chamber has just convened to begin the proceedings.
Schumer concludes:
It is beneath the dignity of the Senate to entertain this nakedly partisan exercise.
Impeachment should never be used to settle policy disagreements. That would set a disastrous precedent for the Congress and could throw our system of checks and balances into endless cycles of chaos.
House to vote Saturday on foreign aid packages
Speaker Mike Johnson has announced the House will vote on Saturday evening on a foreign aid package, including money for Ukraine and Israel.
It looks like Congress members will vote on three separate bills, CNN’s chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju reports, even though their text has not yet been released.
Saturday evening vote on foreign aid package, Johnson tells members in message pic.twitter.com/Wuwx6mOb56
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) April 17, 2024
“After significant member feedback and discussion, the House rules committee will be posting soon today the text of three bills that will fund America’s national security interests and allies in Israel, the Indo-Pacific, and Ukraine, including a loan structure for aid, and enhanced strategy and accountability,” a message from Johnson to colleagues states.
Senate Democrats, and Joe Biden, have said they will not accept standalone bills, although Republican sources have said Johnson could wrap up whatever passes the House into a single package.
We await reaction from Republican rightwingers, who have indicated disapproval of any measure that includes money for Ukraine, and have threatened to remove Johnson as speaker over it.
Updated
Schumer: Mayorkas impeachment 'illegitimate and profane abuse of constitution'
It’s looking increasingly likely that Senate Democrats will move to kill the impeachment trial of homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in the coming few hours.
“This is an illegitimate and profane abuse of the US constitution,” Democratic Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer just told colleagues, according to reporting from the Guardian’s Lauren Gambino.
He said he would move to dismiss the two articles of impeachment after a “period of debate time”.
We reported earlier that Schumer was primed to call for a dismissal vote soon after senators were sworn in as jurors at lunchtime. It would deny Republican House impeachment managers an opportunity to present their case that Mayorkas is guilty of “high crimes and misdemeanors” for defying US law in pursuing immigration policies.
Some Republicans are already accusing Schumer of a “whitewash” and “cover-up” even before the trial has begun. Democrats, meanwhile, say the impeachment is “an embarrassing political stunt”.
Developments in Arizona over abortion, and the state’s supreme court paving the way for an 1864 act outlawing the procedure to take effect, have prompted a significant change in prospects for Republicans’ fortunes in November elections.
According to Sabato’s Crystal Ball, the website of the University of Virginia’s respected pollster Larry Sabato, Arizona’s open Senate race between Republican Kari Lake (if she wins her primary race, as expected) and challenger Ruben Gallego has shifted from “toss-up” to “leans Democratic”.
Crystal Ball rating changes this morning in ARIZONA --
— Kyle Kondik (@kkondik) April 17, 2024
AZ-SEN Toss-up to Leans D
Juan Ciscomani (R, AZ-6) Leans R to Toss-up
Explained here: https://t.co/7v9T3h4Ivs
Similarly, the congressional race in AZ district six, currently held by Republican Juan Ciscomani, has moved from “leans Republican” to “toss-up”.
Arizona Republicans have faced a huge backlash over the abortion issue, and particularly after they blocked Democrats’ early efforts to repeal the 1864 law.
Terry Greene Sterling writes for the Guardian today about how Democrats in Arizona expect abortion to fuel a “blue wave” in November:
Updated
It’s a day off in Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial in New York, but the Republican presumptive presidential nominee is keeping busy.
He’s meeting Poland’s president Andrzej Duda, who once proposed naming a military base in his country Fort Trump, according to the Associated Press.
The pair will meet over dinner, the AP says, citing “a person familiar with the matter”. The agency states European leaders are preparing for the possibility of Trump’s return to the White House, with Nato leaders especially concerned given his support of Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin.
Some in Poland fear the get-together could hurt the country’s relationship with the Biden administration, the AP says, while others welcome the prospect of Duda leveraging ties with Trump to make the case for backing Ukraine.
Trump’s trial for covering up a payment to an adult film star resumes on Thursday, with seven jurors already seated, and five more, plus six alternates, still needed. Judge Juan Merchan has said opening arguments could begin as early as Monday.
Have a read of the Guardian’s latest Trump on Trial newsletter here:
Bob Graham, a veteran Democratic politician who served two terms as Florida governor, three terms in the US Senate, and ran for president in 2004, has died at the age of 87.
Known for his dislike of partisan politics, Graham enjoyed a career that spanned five decades. He was massively popular with Florida’s voters, and founded the concept of “workdays”, where he would join citizens in their daily life and talk to them about the issues that concerned them.
The Bob Graham Center community is deeply saddened by the death of our beloved founder, former Florida Governor and U.S. Senator Bob Graham. We honor his historic legacy and life of service: https://t.co/522qmA9Aoc pic.twitter.com/YwMEo9e3ko
— Bob Graham Center (@GrahamCenter) April 17, 2024
During 408 such days, Graham enjoyed stints as a housewife, boxing ring announcer, flight attendant and arson investigator.
He gained national prominence as chairman of the Senate intelligence committee in the aftermath of the September 2001 terrorist attacks, and as an early critic of the Iraq war that followed. He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic party’s presidential nomination in 2004.
“We are deeply saddened to report the passing of a visionary leader, dedicated public servant, and even more importantly, a loving husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather,” Graham’s family said in a statement.
Republicans Ron DeSantis, the current Florida governor, and Jeb Bush, governor from 1999 to 2007, were among those paying tribute on Wednesday.
Florida mourns the loss of former Governor and U.S. Senator Bob Graham today.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) April 17, 2024
He was a devoted public servant who, among other important work, made enormous achievements in conserving Florida's natural resources.
We are grateful for his service to our state and nation. May he…
Florida and our country has lost a great public servant. Bob Graham served Floridians with a servants heart, with integrity and with civility. Columba and I are praying for the Graham family. https://t.co/vbvWd58Mn0
— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) April 17, 2024
There’s news from Michigan, where the Guardian’s Alice Herman reports on Democrats seizing control of the state’s lower house following special elections there:
Special elections for two vacant seats in the Michigan house of representatives flipped control back to Democrats, who organizers say could use their restored trifecta in the state to pass legislation protecting voting rights and election administration.
A push to codify voter protections stalled after two Democratic lawmakers resigned and the party lost their majority in the house of representatives last November. With the election on Tuesday of Mai Xiong and Peter Herzberg, who represent sections of Detroit and its suburbs, legislators could use their newfound majorities to renew those efforts.
Michigan state house
— umichvoter 🏳️🌈 (@umichvoter) April 17, 2024
🟦 56
🟥 54
Michigan state senate
🟦 20
🟥 18
In November 2022, Michigan voters passed a constitutional amendment enacting sweeping election reforms, including establishing early voting, expanding absentee voting and pre-empting the creation of stringent voter ID laws. The following year, the Democratic-controlled state legislature passed legislation to enact the amendment, setting aside more than $40m in the state budget to fund a measure to expand early and absentee voting, which was adopted by election clerks across the state.
Despite some hiccups along the way, election offices across the state have succeeded in enacting the newly guaranteed nine days of early voting. Ahead of the 27 February presidential primary, more than 1 million voters cast their ballots early and absentee – a record, according to the state. The secretary of state’s office attributed the high turnout to the expanded early voting measure.
In their last legislative session, Michigan lawmakers introduced other measures to protect voting rights – including establishing, through a package of bills, a state-level Voting Rights Act and a ban on prison gerrymandering. The Michigan Voting Rights Act forms part of a slew of measures states have taken to fill in the gaps left by weakened federal voting rights protections: New York, Connecticut, Virginia, Oregon, Washington and California have already passed such legislation.
Read the full story:
Democrats plot to squash Mayorkas impeachment trial
The Senate impeachment trial of homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas could be over before it even begins on Wednesday, as Democrats advance a plan to smother it.
According to the Associated Press, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer is expected to call votes to dismiss two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas after senators are sworn in as jurors at lunchtime.
Such a move could scuttle the trial, and frustrate Republicans who presented the articles and announced impeachment managers on Tuesday in expectation of being able to make their case that Mayorkas repeatedly ignored the law in pursuing immigration policy.
Republicans needed a second House vote in February to narrowly impeach Mayorkas after the first one ended in humiliation, and Democrats seized on it as “an embarrassing political stunt”.
No one should take the extreme MAGA Republican impeachment effort against the Homeland Security Secretary seriously.
— Hakeem Jeffries (@hakeemjeffries) April 16, 2024
It’s an embarrassing political stunt led by Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Good riddance.
Some Senate Republicans are also skeptical. Utah’s Mitt Romney is open to voting with Democrats to dismiss the impeachment, Axios reports. Romney was among six moderate Republican senators who did not sign a letter from colleagues to Schumer demanding a trial, according to Newsweek.
Mayorkas, meanwhile, says he’s focused on running the homeland security department.
“As they work on impeachment, I work on advancing the mission of the department. That’s what I’ve done throughout this process,” he told CBS Mornings.
Read more:
Updated
Republican dysfunction overshadows Ukraine funding effort
The Republican infighting that has both stalled and overshadowed efforts to pass funding packages for Israel and Ukraine is still raging today, as speaker Mike Johnson clings to his job in the face of a growing rightwing rebellion.
So far, there’s no sign of a formal plan for the urgently needed aid as Johnson mulls his best approach. Kentucky extremist Thomas Massie on Tuesday gave his support to a threat by Georgia’s Marjorie Taylor Greene to invoke a “motion to vacate” if Johnson follows through with a plan to tie tens of billions of dollars in funding for Ukraine to money for Israel and Taiwan.
But standalone bills, which Johnson is also said to be considering, won’t cut it in the Democratic-controlled Senate, or with Joe Biden, who has indicated he won’t sign anything other than an all-in-one package.
And a number of Republican congress members insist they cannot support anything that would help Ukraine unless legislation includes money for strengthening the border.
It’s a delicate dance, with no predictable outcome. Johnson, who can only afford to lose two Republican votes in any push to remove him, says he won’t resign, calling moves to oust him “absurd”.
Meanwhile, some Democrats are ready to step in to try to save him. Florida congressman Jared Moskowitz is among those who says he’s ready to keep Johnson in place in any House vote in order to secure the advancement of US aid for overseas allies.
My position hasn’t changed. Massie wants the world to burn, I won’t stand by and watch. I have a bucket of water. https://t.co/bn61J6N2y3
— Jared Moskowitz (@JaredEMoskowitz) April 16, 2024
According to Politico Playbook, Johnson is “second guessing” his approach, resulting in a delay to publication of his plan, and growing unease among Republican leadership at the increasing dysfunction and chaos.
We’ll keep an eye on developments and bring you news of any proposals as they’re published.
Read more:
Updated
House Republicans spar over foreign aid bill as Senate Democrats plot to crush Mayorkas impeachment
Good morning and happy hump day to US politics readers. Wednesday could finally see the publication of speaker Mike Johnson’s long-awaited plan to save his job, quell Republican infighting and advance urgent foreign aid for Israel and Ukraine.
There’s been plenty of talk, and little action so far, on how the Republican leader plans to present solutions for the funding impasse that has further highlighted fractures in his divided caucus.
Any misstep could trigger a “motion to vacate” by rebel-rousers Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie, and potentially see Johnson’s departure from the speaker’s chair, unless Democrats step in to save him.
We’ll bring you news of any firm proposals as we get them.
Elsewhere today, the Senate’s Democratic majority is plotting to sink the impeachment of homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, following Tuesday’s presentation of two articles by the Republican House majority.
Majority leader Chuck Schumer has a plan to bring votes to dismiss the charges, after senators are sworn in as jurors on Wednesday, but before arguments can begin, according to the Associated Press.
And Joe Biden is on the campaign trail with steelworkers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this afternoon. The president is pitching a plan to increase taxes on high earners, and is expected to continue bashing Donald Trump, whose hush-money trial in New York has an off-day today.
Here’s what else we’re following:
Democrats in Arizona are preparing to try to repeal the controversial 1864 abortion bill that has prompted huge blowback and poses a threat to Republican candidates in November’s elections.
Attorney general Merrick Garland and energy secretary Jennifer Granholm are testifying before the Senate’s appropriations subcommittee this morning.
Long-serving Florida governor and US senator Bob Graham, a Democratic political heavyweight who also ran for president in 2004, has died aged 87.
Updated
