Biden vows aid for Israel in face of ‘sheer evil’
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President Biden condemned “abhorrent” attacks by Hamas against Israel in an address Tuesday afternoon, saying he would push Congress to provide aid and additional support to Israel as it fights the militant group. “This is what they mean by human tragedy: an atrocity on an appalling scale,” the president said of the attacks launched against Israel. Biden also confirmed reports that Americans are among the hostages taken by Hamas. His address followed updates that more than 1,000 people in Israel had been killed since the attacks began, including 14 Americans.
- Biden said he’ll ask Congress to “take urgent action to fund the national security requirements of our critical partners.”
- The president is expected to tie foreign aid to Israel to additional Ukraine aid, but administration officials said they also have alternative ways to support Israel without more congressional action.
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While some Republicans have voiced opposition to more Ukraine aid, Congress overwhelmingly supports maintaining its support for Israel.
The administration said it believes at least 20 Americans are still missing in Israel. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also plans to travel to the country this week in a show of support.
Read more here from Brett Samuels. |
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New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) warned residents to beware of “lone wolves” amid the fighting in Israel and Gaza, adding, “We’re the largest Jewish population outside of Israel. And we want our synagogues, our personnel to be extremely conscious.”
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Jordan, Scalise whip ahead of GOP Speaker forum
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House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) met with members of the moderate Republican Governance Group this afternoon as each tries to garner support for his Speaker candidacy.
The House GOP conference will hold a forum this evening to hear from the candidates, with no clear frontrunner having yet emerged. A conference vote is planned for tomorrow. Based on current rules, a candidate needs support from a majority of Republican members to be the party’s nominee, though members can advance other nominations during the full House vote. The next Speaker will need majority support from the full chamber. Follow The Hill’s live blog for updates. |
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Lake set to launch Senate campaign
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Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake (R) is expected to officially launch her campaign for the Senate seat held by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) on Tuesday night, setting up a potential three-way race. Sinema, who switched from Democratic to Independent at the end of last year, hasn’t said yet whether she’s seeking reelection in 2024. Lake, a 2022 gubernatorial candidate, was one of the higher-profile election-denying candidates to lose a competitive race that year. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) is running as a Democrat. |
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Special counsel wants to protect juror IDs in Jan. 6 trial
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Special counsel Jack Smith has asked the judge overseeing the federal case into 2020 election interference, in which former President Trump was indicted, to conceal the identities of prospective jurors.
The motion from Smith’s team cited “the particular sensitivities of this case, stemming both from heightened public interest and the defendant’s record of using social media to attack others.” Read more here. |
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Hogan rails against GOP infighting, Gaetz
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Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) called Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who spearheaded the effort to strip Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) of the Speakership, “a cancer on the party and on the Congress.” Hogan, a No Labels honorary chair, also said he hasn’t ruled out a 2024 presidential bid.
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Stephanopoulos to release book on Situation Room |
George Stephanopoulos‘s upcoming book, “The Situation Room,” promises readers a “vivid retelling of the harrowing hours during the 9/11 attack,” “new details from Obama administration officials leading up to the raid on Osama bin Laden” and more, according to a news release. |
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“Silence on Section 702 surveillance reform was not an option” — Sharon Bradford Franklin, chair of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. (Read here)
“An epidemic of missing Black women has been ignored for too long” — Kamila A. Alexander, Ph.D., associate professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, and Tiara C. Willie, Ph.D., M.A., a Bloomberg assistant professor of American Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. (Read here) |
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29 days until the third GOP presidential debate.
38 days until the next government funding deadline. |
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Wednesday: The Supreme Court hears oral arguments in a case on South Carolina’s redistricting. |
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