Democrats

Axios reports: House Democrats aren’t committing themselves to saving Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) should Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) take another shot at removing him. Greene caught colleagues in both parties by surprise by forcing an ouster vote on Wednesday, leading some lawmakers to fear she’s not above repeated attempts. Democrats told Axios they expect – at minimum – to …

The Washington Post reports: President Biden said Wednesday that he would halt the shipment of U.S. offensive weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if the country moves ahead with a long-planned ground invasion of Rafah — the first time he has threatened to withhold U.S. military aid, and the most direct threat …

The Sacramento Bee reports: California grocery and drug stores would be prohibited from operating self-service checkout stations without adequate staffing, under a proposed law being considered in Sacramento. The bill is being championed by organized labor and opposed by business groups. Under Senate Bill 1446, by Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, D-Los Angeles, grocery and drug stores would be required to provide …

Axios reports: New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday that the Department of Correction and Rikers Island would be “ready” if former President Trump is sentenced to jail for violating the gag order in his hush money trial. “Our amazing commissioner, she is prepared for whatever comes on Rikers Island,” Adams said during an unrelated media availability on Tuesday. …

The New York Times reports: At the Milken Institute Global Conference, the annual gathering of billionaires and business leaders in California, Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York was given a spotlight on Monday to expound on her new artificial intelligence initiative. In an exchange with the moderator, Jonathan Capehart, Ms. Hochul said that “right now we have young Black kids …

The Washington Post reports: Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) stepped to the microphone on the House floor Monday to speak about one of her latest pieces of legislation, as she has done many times before during her five years in Congress. But the voice that gave the speech wasn’t hers — it was from a text-to-voice application, an assistive device she …

The Hill reports: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) emphasized the stakes of the 2024 election in a “60 Minutes” interview on Sunday, warning that much more than abortion rights are at risk if former President Trump gets a second term. “And the extreme MAGA Republicans have set in motion the erosion of reproductive freedom,” he said. “We’re gonna fight …

Politico reports: Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) aired concerns over Arizona Senate hopeful Kari Lake’s call to voters last month to “strap on a Glock” saying Lake’s remarks could get someone injured — or worse. “It’s dangerous,” Kelly told NBC’s Kristen Welker during an interview on “Meet the Press.” “What Kari Lake said could result in people getting hurt or killed.” …

ABC News reports: President Joe Biden will honor 19 people with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Friday, the nation’s highest civilian honor. The diverse group of names from politics to activists and entertainment include Biden’s 2020 Democratic primary opponents and former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg, former Vice President Al Gore, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Jim …

CBS News reports: Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar and his wife were indicted on more than a dozen federal charges alleging they took hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from an oil company owned by the government of Azerbaijan and a Mexican bank, the Justice Department said Friday. The 54-page indictment filed in federal district court in Houston was unsealed …

NBC News reports: The Justice Department is expected to announce the indictment of longtime Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, on Friday, two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News. Cuellar’s home and campaign office in Laredo, Texas, were raided in January 2022 as part of a federal investigation into Azerbaijan and a group of U.S. businessmen who have ties to …

CBS News reports: President Biden will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, to 19 recipients, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former Vice President Al Gore and Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky. he awards will be presented at the White House on Friday. “These nineteen Americans built teams, coalitions, movements, organizations, and businesses that shaped America …

Axios reports: President Biden defended students’ right to protest peacefully during a speech Thursday, but condemned the “chaos” that has broken out on campuses nationwide amid protests against the Israel-Hamas war. When asked by a reporter, the president said he is not reconsidering U.S. policy. “There’s the right to protest, but not the right to cause chaos,” Biden said from …

NBC News reports: Democrats won a special election for a House seat in western New York on Tuesday, further shrinking the GOP’s narrow majority in the House. Democratic state Sen. Tim Kennedy defeated Republican town supervisor Gary Dickson in the 26th District, a reliably blue area that includes Buffalo and some of its surrounding suburbs. Democrats will now control 213 …

Politico reports: House Democratic leaders announced Tuesday that they’d block a looming effort to boot Speaker Mike Johnson, an unprecedented development they attributed to the GOP leader’s help to pass foreign aid. “We will vote to table Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Motion to Vacate the Chair. If she invokes the motion, it will not succeed,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, …

The Washington Post reports: There were some 2,600 people at Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. But, really, it came down to only two men: Joe Biden and Donald Trump. “The 2024 election is in full swing and, yes, age is an issue,” President Biden told the black-tie crowd. “I’m a grown man running against a 6-year-old.” “Can we just …

Politico reports: President Joe Biden participated in a surprise live interview on Friday with radio host Howard Stern, the latest example of the White House favoring media personalities and nontraditional outlets ahead of the president’s reelection. Biden said in the interview that he planned to debate former President Donald Trump this election cycle, but did not know when or where …

The San Francisco Chronicle reports: Hello to the city, goodbye to your luggage. That was Senatorial candidate Adam Schiff’s rude introduction to San Francisco’s vexing reputation for car burglaries Thursday when thieves swiped the bags from his car while it sat in a downtown parking garage. The heist meant the Democratic congressman got stuck at a fancy dinner party in …

The New Jersey Globe reports: Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-Newark) – an immensely likable, low-key but effective, progressive six-term congressman from New Jersey with a passion for social justice and constituent service – died today. He was 65. Payne suffered a heart attack on April 6 and had been unconscious and on a ventilator since then at Newark Beth Israel …

The Birmingham News reports: A bill to adjust the deadline in Alabama law for political parties to certify their nominees for president and vice president in order to get on the ballot in November has passed the state Senate. The Senate passed SB324 by Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove, by a vote of 31-0 on Tuesday. Twenty-five Republicans and six …