by tyler | Oct 17, 2023 | CNN, politics
A US Marine rapid response force is headed to the waters off the coast of Israel and the Pentagon is preparing American troops for a potential deployment to the country, escalating the US’ show of force in the region as it works to prevent the conflict between Israel and Hamas from widening any further.
A defense official familiar with the planning said the rapid response force, consisting of 2,000 Marines and sailors, is being sent. It will join a growing number of US warships and forces converging on Israel as the US seeks to send a message of deterrence to Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
On Sunday evening, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered that roughly 2,000 troops prepare for a potential deployment to Israel to help with tasks like medical and logistical support, multiple defense officials said.
Taken together, the moves are aimed at forestalling a wider regional war, officials said. But they also risk deepening the US’ involvement in a conflict in which the Biden administration is trying to avoid direct military action.
Officials have stressed that the US has no plans to put American boots on the ground to fight in the war between Israel and Hamas, which Israeli officials have warned could be prolonged and difficult.
But the planning and movements offer a window into the kind of assistance the US might provide, including managing logistics away from the front lines and offering medical support. That could be particularly valuable if Israel launches a ground invasion of Gaza, which could be complicated and bloody, experts have warned.
The decisions also come as the US military has been steadily bolstering its presence in Middle East, including deploying a second aircraft carrier to the eastern Mediterranean Sea to join the USS Ford strike carrier group there, and sending Air Force fighter jets to the region.
The Pentagon has been deliberately cautious about how it discusses any potential deployment of US troops to Israel, officials said, because the Biden administration does not want to give the impression that American troops could become embroiled in a hot war.
But there are preparations underway for a range of contingencies should things devolve further.
The 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), which specializes in tasks such as amphibious operations, crisis response, humanitarian assistance, and certain special operations, had been stationed near Kuwait in recent weeks as part of a scheduled exercise there. But it departed early “as a result of emerging events,” Capt. Angelica White, a spokeswoman for the unit, told the Marine Corps Times on Wednesday.
CNN previously reported that the unit was preparing for a possible move toward Israel.
Officials would not specify where exactly the Marine unit will now go, other than to say it is headed toward Israel. But it could remain in the Red Sea off the southern coast of Israel, which would put US forces near the country’s two coastlines. The unit is on board the USS Bataan, an amphibious assault ship which is currently in the Gulf of Oman, officials said.
The USS Bataan and the 26th MEU have been operating in the Middle East since August as part of an effort to deter Iranian aggression in the critical waterways around of the region, including the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz.
Austin’s order to prepare troops for a possible deployment, meanwhile, does not mean they will definitely deploy, or that any will serve in a combat role if they do go to Israel, officials said. But the secretary’s decision has shortened the time the identified troops will have to prepare for the mission if they are ordered to go, officials said.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report about the potential deployment of troops to Israel. Asked about the possible movement, Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said on Monday, “I don’t have more to provide at this time. I might be able to give you more details later, but at this time I just don’t have anything more specific to add to.”
by tyler | Oct 17, 2023 | CNN, politics
Advocacy group Climate Power is committing $80 million in advertising to call attention to President Joe Biden’s climate and environment agenda ahead of the 2024 election, the group announced Monday.
The ad campaign broadly aims to inform voters about the president’s wide-ranging climate and clean energy agenda. As he took office, Biden set ambitious targets to cut the country’s planet-warming emissions. He also presided over the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest legislative climate investment in US history.
Yet even as Biden has directed his administration to prioritize climate change and clean energy, polling this summer shows his message isn’t getting through to voters.
A July Washington Post/University of Maryland poll found that less than a third of Americans polled knew a great deal about the IRA, compared to 71% who had heard a little or nothing about it. But the same poll found respondents broadly supportive of the initiatives in the bill, including tax subsidies to defray the cost of purchasing an electric vehicle, solar panels, or energy efficient heating and cooling systems.
The same poll found 57% of Americans disapproved of how Biden has handled the issue of climate change.
“People overwhelmingly support what President Biden has done to combat climate change — but only if they hear about it,” said Lori Lodes, executive director of Climate Power. “Our campaign plans to bridge the information gap around the clean energy plan by meeting Americans where they are and telling the story of our climate progress.”
Climate Power is launching digital and television ads and plans to continue spending on both platforms heading into 2024, according to a fact sheet provided by the group. It is launching a campaign to mobilize Latino voters on the issue and focusing on digital campaigns to reach young voters on social media. The group is also organizing in-person events in key battleground states including Arizona, Georgia and Michigan.
Climate Power has an ad campaign partnership with Future Forward, a leading Democratic super PAC, which helped pay for some of its spots so far this year.
In addition to Climate Power’s new campaign, Biden also received the support of four environmental groups earlier this year: LCV Action Fund, NextGen PAC, the Sierra Club and the NRDC Action Fund jointly endorsed Biden in June, the first time all four groups have done so.
The Biden administration has also received praise from the youth-led climate group the Sunrise Movement after moving to create the first ever American Climate Corps. But the president has also been criticized by environmental groups for green lighting some major fossil fuel projects, including the Willow Project in Alaska and the Mountain Valley Pipeline in West Virginia.
by tyler | Oct 17, 2023 | CNN, politics
Rep. Jim Jordan won the support of several key skeptics in the Republican conference Monday, bolstering momentum for his bid for speaker ahead of a planned floor vote on Tuesday.
House Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers and House Appropriations Defense subcommittee Chairman Ken Calvert – two key defense hawks, the GOP bloc perhaps most weary of Jordan – announced Monday morning they would back Jordan on the House floor. And Rep. Ann Wagner of Missouri, who called Jordan a “non-starter” for speaker last week, said Monday that she would support the Ohio Republican, too – as did Rep. Vern Buchanan of Florida, another previous holdout.
“Jim Jordan and I spoke at length again this morning, and he has allayed my concerns about keeping the government open with conservative funding, the need for strong border security, our need for consistent international support in times of war and unrest, as well as the need for stronger protections against the scourge of human trafficking and child exploitation,” Wagner said in a statement. “Jim Jordan is our conference nominee, and I will support his nomination for Speaker on the House floor.”
Even with the additional support, Jordan still faces an uphill climb to be elected speaker. On the floor, he can afford to lose only four Republicans if every member votes, because a speaker needs a majority of the full House to be elected.
Several Republicans said heading into a GOP conference meeting Monday evening they remain opposed to Jordan, including Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska, Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida and Ken Buck of Colorado.
“I never use the term ‘hard no’ or ‘never, never,’ but I am opposed,” Bacon told CNN.
Jordan told CNN he will go to the floor for a speaker vote at noon ET Tuesday, whether or not he has the votes locked down. Asked Monday evening whether he had the votes he needed, Jordan said, “I hope so. I think so.”
If Jordan is able to secure the votes to become speaker Tuesday, it would put an end to a chaotic and unprecedented two weeks in the House following McCarthy’s ouster. Without a speaker, the House is unable to pass legislation despite the international crises and a government shutdown one month away, though some members have explored empowering interim Speaker Patrick McHenry, a North Carolina Republican who was appointed to the position following Kevin McCarthy’s ousting.
But if Jordan is unable to corral enough support to win a floor vote, Republicans would be back at square one, leaving the House in a speakerless paralysis.
Last week, 55 Republicans voted inside the GOP conference against committing to supporting Jordan on the floor. The Ohio Republican then sent the conference home for the weekend, saying he planned to speak to the members one-by-one.
GOP activists, meanwhile, went on the attack against those opposing Jordan, arguing that doing so would empower House Democrats.
Jordan and allies look to flip holdouts
On Sunday, a senior Republican House member told CNN he believes there are still roughly 40 “no” votes, noting he’d spoken to 20 members willing to block Jordan’s path to the floor in a potential roll-call vote Tuesday. But another GOP source familiar with the matter said Jordan has had positive conversations with members, and believes by Tuesday evening he will be elected speaker.
As a series of one-time Jordan holdouts announced Monday they were now backing Jordan, an ally helping whip votes told CNN Jordan believes he is within “striking distance” of having the votes to secure the gavel.
Rep. Chip Roy of Texas predicted there were fewer than 10 holdouts that remained on Monday. “We are somewhere south of 10 who are still being recalcitrant,” Roy said on the Erick Erickson Radio Show Monday morning.
Jordan allies say they believe they can get the no votes down to the teens by Tuesday, although a source cautioned it’s hard to know for sure until the voting begins. If Jordan has around 20 or fewer holdouts, the thinking is – like McCarthy – he can grind it out on the floor.
It’s one thing, allies say, to be opposed to Jordan on a secret ballot in a closed-door meeting. It’s another thing to vote against him on the floor.
McCarthy on Monday told CNN, “yes,” he believes Jordan will be able to pull it off on the floor Tuesday, when asked about Jordan’s chances on his way into the speaker’s office.
The strategy comes as there is still serious work to do. Bacon told CNN he spoke to Jordan on Sunday and told him he still would not support him. Among the reasons he listed: Jordan’s vote against a short-term spending bill, as well as out of principle that a handful of members have been controlling every move of the conference for months.
“I can’t get past the fact that a small group in our conference violated the rules to get rid of Kevin, and then blocked Steve,” Bacon said. “You don’t have a process where I play by the rules and these other people can’t and then they get what they want.”
Bacon also told Jordan he wouldn’t be a thorn in his side if he’s ultimately elected, saying he doesn’t intend to act like Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida did toward McCarthy.
Other members say they are still weighing their options, but another holdout warned that if Jordan allies intend to try and bully members into being a “yes,” they ought to think twice and warned it could backfire.
Another senior GOP aide told CNN that some moves deployed over the weekend had rubbed members the wrong way. The source shared an email from a Fox News producer for Sean Hannity that asked them to answer a series of questions about their boss’ position on Jordan.
The Hannity producer asked if it was true their boss opposed Jordan, and then wrote, “If true, Hannity would like to know why during a war breaking out between Israel and Hamas, with the war in Ukraine, with the wide-open borders, with a budget that’s unfinished why would Rep. [X} be against Rep. Jim Jordan for speaker?”
“Please let us know when Rep. [X] plans on opening the People’s House so work can be done,” the producer wrote.
The email, which CNN reviewed from a source, was first reported by Axios.
Hannity, the Fox host, has been publicly advocating for Jordan, telling his supporters to “call your member and tell them” to support the Ohio Republican.
Jordan sent GOP lawmakers a “dear colleague” letter on Monday urging the conference to come together.
“The country and our conference cannot afford us attacking each other right now,” he wrote. “It is time we unite to get back to work on behalf of the American people.”
Republicans are expected to meet again behind closed doors Monday evening ahead of Tuesday’s vote.
If Jordan wins the vote, his election as speaker would come after his own supporters blocked Majority Leader Steve Scalise’s path to the speaker’s gavel. While Jordan said he would support Scalise, more than a dozen of his supporters refused to support the House majority leader after Scalise defeated Jordan in a conference vote last week, 113 to 99.
Scalise dropped out in the face of the entrenched opposition, giving Jordan the opportunity to get the conference behind him.
Now Jordan is making the pitch to his skeptics to do what the Ohio Republican’s backers would not, urging the conference to coalesce around him, even after more than 50 Republicans said they were opposed. The statements from Rogers and Wagner noted they were supporting the nominee chosen by the conference.
“Since I was first elected to the House, I have always been a team player and supported what the majority of the Republican Conference agrees to,” Rogers wrote on X. The Alabama Republican said that he had “two cordial, thoughtful, and productive conversations over the past two days” with Jordan about passing legislation, including the annual defense authorization bill and the farm bill.
There are still signs that Jordan doesn’t have the entire conference on board. GOP Rep. Steve Womack of Arkansas demurred when asked by CNN’s Kate Bolduan if he would vote for Jordan on the floor.
“You will know how I vote when I vote, but I have serious issues about where we stand right now as a conference,” he said.
Womack also expressed frustration with his conference and many of Jordan’s supporters. “The goalposts just continue to move,” he said. “The people that are promoting Jim Jordan, for the most part, are the people who presided over the ouster of Kevin McCarthy, so it is kind of interesting to see all the bedfellows here.”
Last week, the Senate was in recess while House Republicans tried to elect a speaker. But the upper chamber will be back Monday and plans to quickly consider an aid package to Israel – allowing Senate Democrats to paint a stark contrast between the two chambers if the speaker fight drags on.
“We’re not waiting for the House,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Sunday at a news conference in Israel, where he was leading a bipartisan congressional delegation. “We believe that if the Senate works in a strong bipartisan way, it may indeed improve the chances that the House, even with its current dysfunction, will act.”
In addition to passing a new aid package for Israel, government funding runs out in roughly a month, and the White House is still pushing for Congress to approve additional aid to Ukraine – all issues that a new speaker will need to navigate.
As the speaker fight has dragged on, lawmakers have looked at alternative ways to get the House moving. There’s been discussion as to whether McHenry could be given expanded powers, though it’s not clear there would be support in the chamber to do so.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Sunday there have been “informal conversations” about a bipartisan governing coalition, though he did not say whether there was a candidate on the Republican side who could garner Democratic votes.
“There are informal conversations that have been underway. When we get back to Washington tomorrow, it’s important to begin to formalize those discussions,” Jeffries said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Texas Republican, told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” Sunday that the “manufactured divisions” inside the conference make it hard for any candidate to get the necessary votes.
“Nothing’s impossible,” Crenshaw said of Jordan’s chances. “But it’s going to be really, really difficult, based on what I’m hearing.”
This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.
by tyler | Oct 17, 2023 | CNN, politics
Senate Republican Whip John Thune told CNN there is “a lot of resistance” to the nomination of Jack Lew to be the US ambassador to Israel, a sign that Democratic efforts to push for his quick confirmation could hit roadblocks in the chamber.
Lew, who is scheduled to have a confirmation hearing Wednesday, would need the support of all 100 senators to schedule a quick confirmation vote. But if any one member objects it would force Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to take time-consuming procedural steps to overcome the objection.
Thune’s comments suggest that there could be a fight over getting Lew confirmed to the post. It would require a simple majority of 51 senators to advance the nomination.
“I think it’ll depend a lot on how the process goes, what’s the confirmation hearing look like,” Thune told CNN. “But as you know we’ve got a lot of resistance to it over Iran. And I think that’s, I think that’ll probably play heavily. But I’m sure will be a subject of conversation (Tuesday) at our policy lunch.”
Republicans have been criticizing Lew over his role in the Iran nuclear deal during the Obama administration when he served as treasury secretary. Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas told Fox News on Sunday that Lew was bad for the United States and Israel.
“We need to defeat Jack Lew’s nomination to show we have a new approach to Iran,” Cotton said.
Lew’s confirmation hearing is before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday.
On Monday, Schumer called for the Senate to quickly confirm Lew.
“I urge the committee to approve Mr. Lew as soon as possible, without any costly partisan delays, so we can bring him to the floor and confirm him with all due haste,” Schumer said. “Mr. Lew has proven himself a strong public servant, a ferocious ally of Israel. So delaying him would be egregious at a time like this, we must move him quickly.”
by tyler | Oct 17, 2023 | CNN, politics
Amy Coney Barrett on Monday became the latest Supreme Court justice to address ethics concerns, saying that she thought it would be a “good idea” for the justices to adopt a formal code of conduct that would directly bind the justices.
Her comments came during an appearance that was briefly interrupted by protesters at University of Minnesota Law School in a talk moderated by Professor Robert A. Stein. “Not the Court, not the State, People must decide their fate,” chanted the protesters, who appeared to make reference to her controversial vote last year to overturn Roe v. Wade – a decision that has triggered protests nationwide.
When the talk resumed, Barrett confirmed that the justices have been discussing ethics concerns and are committed to holding themselves to the “highest standards.”
It would be a “good idea” to adopt a formal code, she said, “particularly so that we can communicate to the public exactly what it is that we are doing in a clearer way than perhaps we have been able to do so far.”
She stressed there is “unanimity among all nine justices that we should and do hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards possible.”
Although Barrett didn’t address specific concerns, news reports over the last several months have detailed alleged ethics lapses on the part of some of the justices and Democrats in Congress are pushing for legislation that would enforce a code conduct.
Other justices have confirmed in recent months that talks about ethics are ongoing, although no concrete steps have been announced. Barrett said she couldn’t speak to the timing of any announcement.
Barrett, who voted with her conservative colleagues last year to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that established a constitutional right to an abortion, was also asked about when a justice should vote to overturn precedent.
She said that there are several considerations a judge thinks about when voting to overrule precedent, including the “effects of that error” on the law today and whether the error “has distorted other areas of the law.”
“Overturning precedent is not something to be done lightly,” Barrett said.
On a different note, Barrett, who has seven children, also spoke of the perils of being a working mother – noting that she shares the same struggles as many working parents.
She recounted a morning last term where one of her children had been listening to the Baha Men’s “Who let the dogs out” just before the school bus arrived.
Hours later, Barrett confessed, she found herself walking down the austere marble hallways of the court humming the hit because she couldn’t get it out of her head.
Motherhood, Barrett said, is very “grounding” and keeps her “very much rooted in real life.”
Asked if she was enjoying herself on the high court, Barrett said the job has its “ups and downs” and that she feels a “grave responsibility” at times.
“Enjoying myself is not quite the word I would use, but it is a privilege to serve, and I have no regrets about undertaking the service, and I am fully conscious that everything I am doing is very important for the people of America and those are the people for whom I work,” she said.
by tyler | Oct 17, 2023 | CNN, politics
Former President Donald Trump said Monday that if elected again to the White House, he would reinstate and expand a travel ban on people from predominantly Muslim countries, suspend refugee resettlements and aggressively deport those whom he characterized as having “jihadist sympathies.”
During a campaign event in Clive, Iowa, Trump pointed to the deadly attacks by Hamas in Israel and raised fears about a potential assault on the US as he sought to make the case for his hard-line immigration policies. His proposals would amount to a sweeping overhaul of America’s immigration system and would almost certainly face legal challenges if implemented.
During his presidency, Trump’s travel ban was a signature policy that limited travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iran, Libya, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. The administration later extended the travel ban to include several African countries. President Joe Biden revoked the travel ban after he took office in 2021.
Trump said Monday that he would implement “strong ideological screening of all immigrants to the United States” and said the US would block “dangerous lunatics, haters, bigots and maniacs to get residency in our country.”
He also said he would ban travel from Gaza, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, Libya” or anywhere else that threatens our security.”
The former president said he would revoke student visas of “radical anti-American and antisemitic foreigners” enrolled in US colleges and universities and deport them. Trump criticized pro-Palestinian protests and said he would send Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to what he described as “pro-jihadist demonstrations.”
“We have to protect our own country,” Trump said.
Other Republican presidential candidates on Monday called for revoking student visas and deporting foreign nationals in the US who have aligned themselves with Hamas. The escalating rhetoric by GOP candidates comes as the Israel-Hamas conflict deepens and the death toll from the war sharply climbs.
“Anyone who stands up and says they want to kill Jews, they support terrorism, they should have that visa revoked,” Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina said in a radio interview on “The Sean Hannity Show.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also endorsed such a proposal, saying on “The Guy Benson Show” that he thought if someone on a visa expressed support for Hamas, “You don’t have a right to be here on a visa, you don’t have a right to be studying in the United States.”
DeSantis was responding to a question about whether he supported Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida asking US Secretary of State Antony Blinken over the weekend to revoke immigrant visas of recipients in the US who have endorsed terrorist activity by Hamas.
Republican presidential candidates have sought to position themselves as steadfast supporters of Israel after Hamas launched a deadly surprise attack on the country, which then declared war on the terrorist group. Trump has denounced the attacks and expressed support for Israel, but he received considerable backlash from his GOP rivals and others last week for criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and saying Netanyahu was caught unprepared by Hamas’ attack. Trump also praised the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah as “very smart.”
