Thread: President Joe Biden

Biden, with NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg, offers more aid, reaffirms support to Ukraine

Biden reaffirms support of NATO alliance, announces more military aid to Ukraine

President Joe Biden met Tuesday with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House and reiterated that the alliance is united in defending Ukraine for as long as it takes to fight off Russian forces. But neither offered clarity about the unsettled question of who will lead the alliance after Stoltenberg departs later this year.

“We’ve strengthened NATO’s eastern flank, made it clear we’ll defend every inch of NATO territory. I say it again: The commitment of the United States to NATO’s Article 5 is rock solid,” Biden said, a reference to the charter’s fundamental provision under which an attack on one member nation is considered an attack against all.

The meeting, initially scheduled for Monday but then postponed following the president’s last-minute root canal, comes roughly a month ahead of NATO’s annual summit, which is being held in Vilnius, Lithuania. Ostensibly, it served as a routine visit to talk through the issues related to the ongoing war in Ukraine that are likely to dominate the July meetings. Before his meeting with Biden, Stoltenberg stood alongside Secretary of State Antony Blinken as he teased a “robust” new package of defense and political aid for Ukraine that would be unveiled at the Vilnius summit.

Blinken later announced a $325 million tranche, which includes more munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, anti-tank weapons, armored vehicles, artillery rounds and other equipment. “The United States is partnering with over 50 nations to lead efforts in support of Ukraine’s self-defense against Russian aggression,” Blinken said in a statement.

Later, after joining Biden in the Oval Office, Stoltenberg said that Ukrainian forces “are making progress” with their just launched counter-offensive. “The more land the Ukrainians are able to liberate, the stronger hand they will have at the negotiating table,” he said.

Stoltenberg emphasized the consistent and shared view within NATO that Russia’s 16-month-long war was a fight “against free people everywhere,” arguing that the repercussions of any victory for Moscow would be to make the world “more dangerous” by emboldening other countries “including China.”

The alliance, Stoltenberg said, will “agree to sustain and step up the support for Ukraine,” which includes a “stronger commitment to increase defense spending.” He also defended Europe’s contribution to Kyiv, and said “European allies are also doing their part, with tens of billions of economic military support.”

Those comments papered over somewhat the very real differences within NATO concerning the pace and nature of defense aid being delivered, Ukraine’s request for security guarantees against Russia and its bid for NATO membership. And they distracted from the matter of Stoltenberg’s eventual successor, which is becoming a major focus for the alliance behind the scenes.

In European capitals, where buzz is building around several successor candidates, officials have been anxiously awaiting some sort of signal from the White House about who Biden was likely to support. Known for being a slow and deliberate decision-maker, the president met last week with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen — who many European diplomats believe to be on a short list of potential secretary general candidates — and with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

But Biden has offered few clues afterward about his thinking. After speaking to the press for only a few minutes each, neither he nor Stoltenberg responded to shouted questions as aides shuffled reporters out of the Oval Office.

During a press conference last Thursday with Sunak, he was about his thoughts on the prime minister’s preferred candidate, British Defense Minister Ben Wallace. Biden only offered he wasn’t ruling that possibility out, stating blandly that the decision requires a broader consensus that’s yet to come into focus.

Stoltenberg, who’s led NATO for nine years after extending his initial four-year term three times, appears set to return to his native Norway in October. The Ukraine war, which has unified the alliance

“I have no other plans than to end my tenure,” he said during an interview Monday with PBS NewsHour, saying he was “confident” that the group’s 31 members will eventually agree on a successor. “I think the good thing for everyone is now to have another person at the helm of the alliance.”

John Kirby, the spokesperson for the National Security Council, has also refused to provide any clarity about the president’s thinking on the matter. He demurred when asked Monday if Biden had any criteria for a new secretary general, such as the person being or having been a head of state or coming from a nation that’s already meeting the benchmark of spending 2 percent of its GDP on defense.

“It has to be somebody that the whole alliance can get behind and can be a transformative leader,” he said in response to multiple questions on the subject.

Under NATO’s charter, electing a secretary general requires the support of all 31 member nations. That’s no easy feat in a diverse alliance. And while the job is likely to go to a European, the U.S., given its outsized role in funding the organization and determining its course, has often had more sway when it comes to blessing a candidate and rallying other nations behind them.

Biden vetoes legislation rolling back EPA emissions standards

President Joe Biden on Wednesday vetoed SJ Res. 11, a Republican-backed bill that would’ve rolled back a 2022 EPA rule that set stronger vehicle emissions standards to reduce air pollution set to take effect in model year 2027.

“Earlier today, President Biden vetoed SJ Resolution 11, the most recent attempt by congressional Republicans to pollute the air our children breathe,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters during a White House press briefing.

“Just think about it – while millions of Americans were taking shelter to escape unhealthy wildfire smoke made worse by climate change, congressional Republicans were pushing a bill to repeal the president’s efforts to make our air cleaner and safer.”

The final rule, which was adopted by the Environmental Protection Agency in December, sets “new emission standards that are significantly more stringent and that cover a wider range of heavy-duty engine operating conditions compared to today’s standards,” according to the EPA, which said the change is needed because emissions from those trucks are “important contributors to concentrations of ozone and particulate matter and their resulting threat to public health.”

Republicans were able to pass the measure through the Senate with the help of Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin; California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein did not vote on the legislation. The House passed it about a month later in May.

A veto override would require a two-thirds vote in both chambers, a high threshold not expected to be reached.

Republicans criticize the emissions rule as overly burdensome, arguing it will hurt the trucking industry and have negative ripple effects through the economy. Democrats say the rule is needed to limit pollution and improve air quality across the US.

In a statement announcing the veto Wednesday, Biden wrote the EPA rule “cuts pollution, boosts public health, and advances environmental justice in communities across the country,” adding “It will prevent hundreds, if not thousands, of premature deaths; thousands of childhood asthma cases; and millions of missed school days every year.” Biden also tweeted a photo of him vetoing the bill from the Oval Office earlier Wednesday.

“President Biden won’t let congressional Republicans take us backwards in our fight for cleaner air – he vetoed this health-harming bill today, as I just mentioned,” Jean-Pierre said Wednesday, pointing to additional steps Biden has taken since taking office to protect the environment, including provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act to curb climate change.

The veto is the sixth of Biden’s presidency.

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House fails to override Biden veto on DC accountability bill

The House on Tuesday failed to override President Biden’s veto of a resolution that would block Washington, D.C.’s police accountability bill from taking effect.

The chamber voted 233-197 to override Biden’s veto, which was short of the two-thirds support needed. Thirteen Democrats voted with Republicans in support of the veto override: Reps. Nikki Budzinski (Ill.), Angie Craig (Minn.), Henry Cuellar (Texas), Don Davis (N.C.), Jared Golden (Maine), Susie Lee (Nevada), Wiley Nickel (N.C.), Jimmy Panetta (Calif.), Chris Pappas (N.H.), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.), Pat Ryan (N.Y.), Kim Schrier (Wash.) and Eric Sorensen (Ill.).

The House OK’d the disapproval resolution in April and the Senate followed suit in May, leading Biden to veto the measure on May 25, as the White House said he would.

House Republicans have introduced a number of disapproval resolutions taking aim at D.C. policy since transition into the majority. They saw success with the effort in March when the president signed a disapproval resolution overturning D.C.’s crime bill after the White House initially said it was opposed to it — a move that drew ire from several Democrats.

Republicans have specifically zeroed in on crime-related policies in an effort to put a spotlight on a hot-button issue that resonated with voters during the 2022 midterm elections. It also forces lawmakers to go on the record on the matter.

The D.C. measure in Tuesday’s resolution — a police accountability bill titled the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act — would permanently enact some reforms that the District put in place temporarily after George Floyd was killed in 2020. The measure, for example, limits police searches based on receiving consent instead of a warrant, restricts the use of nonlethal weapons when trying to mitigate riots, adds civilians to disciplinary review boards, and cements a requirement that videos captured on body cameras are released publicly in the cases of police-involved shootings.

The legislation passed through the D.C. Council in December, but Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) did not sign or veto the measure. In Washington, D.C., legislation can be enacted even if it is not signed by the mayor.

Bowser and D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) penned a letter to leaders of the House and Senate in March opposing the push by GOP lawmakers to block the District’s policing bill.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) on Tuesday called the disapproval resolution “profoundly undemocratic.”

“Our Nation’s painful history looms large over today’s decision. In the not-so-distant past, Native children were stolen from the arms of the people who loved them,” Biden said in a statement.

• Statement from President Joe Biden on Supreme Court Decision in Haaland v. Brackeen

I stand alongside Tribal Nations as they celebrate today’s Supreme Court decision. This lawsuit sought to undermine the Indian Child Welfare Act – a vital law I was proud to support. The Indian Child Welfare Act was passed to protect the future of Tribal Nations and promote the best interests of Native children, and it does just that. The touchstone law respects tribal sovereignty and protects Native children by helping Native families stay together and, whenever possible, keeping children with their extended families or community who already know them, love them, and can help them understand who they are as Native people and citizens of their Tribal Nations. The Indian Child Welfare Act safeguards that which is most precious to us all—our children. Today’s decision from the Supreme Court keeps in place a vital protection for tribal sovereignty and Native children.

Our Nation’s painful history looms large over today’s decision. In the not-so-distant past, Native children were stolen from the arms of the people who loved them. They were sent to boarding schools or to be raised by non-Indian families—all with the aim of erasing who they are as Native people and tribal citizens. These were acts of unspeakable cruelty that affected generations of Native children and threatened the very survival of Tribal Nations. The Indian Child Welfare Act was our Nation’s promise: never again.

Tribal Nations fought hard to pass the Indian Child Welfare Act, and I am proud to have joined them in the ongoing efforts to defend it. Vice President Harris and I will continue to stand with Tribes to protect Native children, honor tribal sovereignty, and safeguard the essential principals of the Indian Child Welfare Act.

Biden strikes economic populist tone during campaign rally before exuberant union members

Biden finds receptive union crowd at first big event of his 2024 reelection campaign

President Joe Biden on Saturday cloaked himself in the most pro-labor president ever label, reveling in cheers from exuberant union members at the first major political event of his reelection campaign as he said his economic agenda is boosting the middle class.

He spotlighted the sweeping climate, tax and health care package signed into law last year that has cut the cost of prescription drugs and lowered insurance premiums, pocketbook issues that are part of his administration’s focus on his achievements during his first two years in office — and he centerpiece argument for a second term.

“I’m looking forward to this campaign,” the Democrat said. “We’ve got a record to run on.”

His choice of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania – and a friendly union audience -- reflected their crucial role in his reelection effort. The city was the site of his campaign headquarters in 2020 and the state was one of a handful that had voted for Republican Donald Trump in 2016 but flipped back to Democrats four years later.

Until now, Biden’s primary campaign activity has been fundraising as the campaign tries to amass an impressive fundraising haul before the year’s second quarter concludes at the end of the month. The president raised money at a private home in Greenwich, Connecticut, on Friday and soon will hold fundraisers in California, Maryland, Illinois and New York.

More than 1,000 union workers in different color T-shirts bearing their organization’s logos began chanting “Let’s go, Joe!” and “We want Joe” and blowing whistles hours before Biden arrived. Members of unions representing professions from carpenters to airport service workers to entertainers to heavy service equipment engineers praised Biden — some speaking in Spanish with translators.

Gotta love sleepy joe.

Finishes a speech with "God Save the Queen, man".

Biden pick Choudhury becomes first Muslim woman confirmed as federal judge

Nusrat Jahan Choudhury, President Biden’s pick for a federal judgeship in New York, was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday, making her the first Muslim woman on the federal bench.

Choudhury, who is also the first Bangladeshi-American confirmed to a federal judgeship, will serve the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn.

She was confirmed in a 50-49 vote, with Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) the only Democrat to vote against her confirmation.

Before being nominated to the bench by Biden in January 2022, Choudhury spent her entire legal career with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). She was most recently the legal director of the ACLU of Illinois.

She previously worked with the ACLU’s racial justice program, filing lawsuits fighting racial discrimination around the country. That included against the federal government — charging the FBI “no-fly-list” violated due process — and against the NYPD over alleged discriminatory practices, among others.

Republicans and Manchin shared concerns that some of Choudhury’s past remarks about police violence against Black people could show a bias.

“Previous statements call into question her ability to be unbiased towards the work of our brave law enforcement,” Manchin said in a statement Wednesday.

Choudhury’s confirmation has been lauded by Muslim-American advocacy groups. She is the second Muslim to be confirmed to the federal bench after Zahid Quraishi in 2021.

“Representation matters. Too long, Muslim women in this country have not been adequately heard by the Courts, leading to decisions such as an employer allowing to discriminate against women wearing hijab because of the fear their customers might be Islamophobic,” Justin Sadowsky, a trial lawyer for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said in a statement.

“Choudhury has a long history of commitment to the civil rights not only of Muslims but of all Americans,” he added.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Gotta love sleepy joe.

Finishes a speech with "God Save the Queen, man".

Scary shit!

I hate when he starts to hop off pretending to show us how fit he is.

Loosing my faith in democracy

Originally Posted by AdolphtheGerman

Loosing my faith in democracy

We can’t have that. Once you loose your faith in democracy, there’s no way to tighten it back up.

President Biden attends National Safer Communities Summit in CT, speaks out on stricter gun control

President Joe Biden made an appearance over the state line in Connecticut on Friday. He spoke at the national safer communities’ summit about the need for stricter gun control.

The president was greeted by a large crowd here at the University of Hartford and wrapped up his speech just a short time ago.

During his remarks, he talked about the bipartisan safer communities’ act, a package of gun reforms passed by Congress a year ago. In the wake of the Uvalde School shooting that left 19 students and two teachers dead.

Under that legislation, it toughened background checks for the youngest gun buyers, sought to keep firearms from domestic violence offenders and aimed to help states put in place red flag laws that make it easier for authorities to take weapons away from people considered to be dangerous.

The president used Friday’s event to push for stricter universal background checks and the banning of assault weapons. He also addressed the various gun violence survivors who also spoke, admiring their bravery.

“There’s a lot we have to do, and it takes courage to tell a story that you’ve been through,” said President Biden. “I’ve spent a lot of time as president, and I’ve spent 30 some times in Afghanistan...And I watch when we have post-traumatic stress disorder for soldiers. What’s the difference between post-traumatic stress for a soldier in Afghanistan and a 4th grader in a classroom when they have to duck and cover?”

Hundreds of other gun reform advocates attended the summit, and many spoke throughout the day. Those including survivors of gun violence from across the country, parents from sandy hook who lost their children to gun violence in 2012, CT senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal, and former politician and gun reform advocate, Gabby Giffords.

Biden touts his climate credentials in California

President Joe Biden on Monday touted his administration’s record on climate change, which he called “the most aggressive climate action ever,” while hitting Republicans in Congress for trying to block it.

“What we’re seeing here is an amazing success story of how you can work together to make our communities more climate resilient – that matters, it matters, resiliency matters,” he said from the Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center and Preserve in Palo Alto, California, after a tour.

“I’ve toured many sites across the country that clearly show climate change as a genuine existential – as the existential threat to humanity – the existential threat to humanity.”

Biden’s defense of his climate record comes less than one week after four major environmental groups endorsed his 2024 reelection for president in the first-ever joint endorsement from the LCV Action Fund, NextGen PAC, the Sierra Club, and the NRDC Action Fund.

Biden heavily courted climate and environmental justice groups during his last campaign and has made the climate crisis central to his governing agenda with new announcements over the last couple months on environmental justice initiatives and aggressive new rules to regulate planet-warming pollution from natural gas power plants.

However, some groups have expressed frustration over his administration’s approval of a major Alaska oil project earlier this year.

During his remarks Biden recounted previous trips to California during which he surveyed wildfire damage, noting that last year natural disasters caused $165 billion in damages across the country.

“But the worsening impacts are not inevitable – building on our incredible efforts locally, my administration is doing all we can to help recover and build, so we can be prepared to adapt,” he said, outlining a series of new steps specifically focused on climate resilience.

Among those steps are the $575 million “Climate Resilience Regional Challenge,” which will be launched by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The initiative will help coastal and Great Lakes communities “become more resilient to extreme weather and other impacts of the climate crisis,” according to a White House fact sheet.

Other moves include $2 billion in Department of Energy funding – including $67 million for California alone – to modernize the electrical grid and make it more climate resilient, and the first-ever White House Climate resilience summit.

The funding is provided through the Inflation Reduction Act, the president’s signature health care and climate legislation.

However, that law has been under siege by congressional Republicans who are trying to repeal some of its provisions.

“This is how we’re going to meet the moment – unfortunately, some of our MAGA Republican friends in Congress are continuing to try to undo all the progress we’ve already made in the first two and a half years,” Biden said.

“They were holding the country hostage over the debt limit unless I would gut the climate provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act – I had determined not to let that happen … and in the end, we didn’t just protect some of the climate money and clean energy provisions, we protected every single solitary one.”


Newsom gives political boost to Biden in California

Biden welcomes Modi to White House in closely watched visit

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden have faced direct questions at the White House over alleged human rights abuses committed under Modi’s leadership, as the leaders hail the need for an enduring partnership in the years ahead.

Biden and Modi held the brief news conference on Thursday during the Indian prime minister’s official state visit to the United States, which was set to be capped later in the night by a high-profile state dinner at the White House.

“The prime minister and I had a good discussion about democratic values,” Biden said, when asked to respond to criticism the Biden administration was overlooking alleged rights abuses committed by Modi in the name of geopolitics. “And it’s a common Democratic….character of both our countries…and our people – our diversity our culture our open, tolerant, robust debate.”

“It is in American’s DNA, and I believe in India’s DNA that the whole world has a stake in our success, both of us, in maintaining our democracies,” he said.

When asked about the wide range of rights groups who have accused Modi’s government of restricting freedom of expression, discriminating against minorities, and stifling critics, Modi struck a defiant tone, saying he was “surprised” by the criticism.

“We have always proved that democracy can deliver. And when I say deliver, this is regardless of caste, creed, religion, gender, there’s absolutely no space for discrimination,” he said.

“And when you talk of democracy, if there are no human values, and there is no humanity, there are no human rights, then it’s not a democracy,” added Modi, who rarely takes direct questions from reporters.

‘Defining relationship’

Earlier in the day, Biden greeted the Indian leader on the South Lawn of the White House, an event marked by chants of “Modi, Modi, Modi” from supporters and the playing of the countries’ national anthems by a military band.

On Wednesday, Modi hosted a Yoga event at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

In Washington, both leaders hailed the need for a strong partnership in the years ahead, with concerns over stability in the Indo Pacific – and China’s growing influence – looming large.

Biden said the bond between the two countries will be a “defining relationship of the 21st century”.

Following a subsequent Oval Office meeting, the two leaders vowed to boost cooperation on trade, protecting supply chains, strengthening emerging technologies, climate change and defence, among other areas of “strategic partnership”.

“Peace and security in the Indo Pacific is a common priority,” Modi told reporters. “We agree that the development and success of this region is important for the entire world.”

Modi has been to the United States five times since becoming prime minister in 2014, but this trip will be his first with the full diplomatic status of a state visit, a fact analysts said underscores how significant the Biden administration sees India’s role going forward.

Reporting from Washington, DC on Thursday, Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett noted that only one other leader has been given such a welcome – with both a state dinner and an address to Congress – since Biden took office.

“The fact that he has kind of this double honour, it’s something that’s been bestowed only on one other world leader under the Biden presidency, and that is the leader of South Korea,” Halkett said, referring to South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s visit in April, another event in which Biden sought to shore up support against China.

“It really underscores just how important this relationship is to the United States,” she said.

French President Emmanuel Macron did not speak to Congress during his state visit to Washington last December.

Still, seventy-five legislators from the president’s Democratic Party have also pushed the Biden administration to address the rights concerns during the visit. Three progressive Democrats – US Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib – called on other elected officials to boycott Modi’s address to Congress.

“I encourage my colleagues who stand for pluralism, tolerance and freedom of the press to join me in doing the same,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a Twitter post on Wednesday.

On Thursday, former US President Barack Obama also weighed in, saying India risks “pulling apart” if rights of Muslim minority not respected.

“I think it is true that if the president meets with Prime Minister Modi, then the protection of the Muslim minority in a majority-Hindu India, that’s something worth mentioning,” Obama said in an interview with CNN International anchor Christiane Amanpour.

Previewing the meeting, a senior US official had said Biden would bring up rights concerns without “hectoring, lecturing or scolding” the Indian leader.

Biden administration officials also outlined a list of sweeping agreements expected to be reached during the visit – on semiconductors, critical minerals, technology, space cooperation and defence cooperation and trade.

The US would also like to see India move away from its ties with Moscow, including its reliance on Russian weapons exports. India has remained neutral in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine, abstaining from United Nations votes condemning the invasion.

Speaking on Thursday, Biden said the two leaders had discussed “shared efforts to mitigate humanitarian tragedies unleashed by Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine and to defend the core principles of UN Charter sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

Modi, in turn, said “India has laid emphasis on resolution of dispute through dialogue and diplomacy. We are completely ready to contribute in any way we can to restore peace”.

During the visit, the US and Indian leaders were set to sign off on what one official called a “trailblazing” deal to allow General Electric Co (GE) to produce jet engines in India to power Indian military aircraft. The company said on Thursday that it signed a memorandum of understanding with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd to produce the engines.

In addition, US Navy ships in the region will be able to stop in Indian shipyards for repairs under a maritime agreement reached between the two governments.

The leaders were also set to announce India’s plan to procure US-made armed MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones, a US official said, adding: “We have now entered really a ‘next generation’ defence partnership.”

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In other news……

Republicans punt on Boebert’s effort to impeach Biden

House Republicans on Thursday neutered an effort to impeach President Biden, punting the resolution to a pair of committees and avoiding — for now — a politically perilous vote that threatened to split the GOP and undermine the party’s various investigations into the White House.

The 219-208 party-line vote ends a two-day clash between GOP leaders and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), a conservative firebrand who stunned Washington on Tuesday by introducing a procedural measure to force a floor vote on her impeachment articles despite the objection of Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

The articles, which accuse Biden of overseeing “a complete and total invasion at the southern border,” triggered an outcry from Boebert’s GOP colleagues, who were caught by surprise and quickly condemned any impeachment vote as premature.

The number of migrants crossing the border has hit its lowest point since Biden took office.

Latest Whistle Blower reveals What'sApp Hunter Biden shakedown of Chinese Company Director (with ties to PRC spy org.) claiming that his father was present as he texted. IRS/DOJ slow walked $17 million Dollars from foreign nations to Hunter, allowing the Statue to expire.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/anim...8410aa9d&ei=59

^WSJ Opinion

Any facts?

By the way. There’s a Hunter Biden thread here at TD: Hunter Biden (Hunter Biden Busted?)

In other news…….

Hunter Biden among high-profile guests at state dinner honoring Indian PM Modi

Follow the money.



Biden lying about SS/Medicare cuts.



Biden, CIA and FBI lied.



"Good Save the QueenMan" must be a reference to himself in honor of Rainbow week. Biden and his Crime Family need a lot of saving!

^ I prefer to follow the facts






Supreme Court rebuffs GOP challenge to Biden's immigration policies

The Supreme Court on Friday threw out a GOP-led challenge to one of the Biden administration's key immigration policies — a major victory for the White House.

Why it matters: The ruling is a win for the Biden administration on immigration and may signal that Republicans will have a harder time trying to block other policies as well.

Details: The Biden administration announced in 2021 that, rather than attempting to arrest and deport everyone who has entered the U.S. illegally, it would prioritize people who were suspected of terrorism or violent crime.

• Texas and Louisiana sued, arguing that the new policy would result in too few arrests.
• The court said Friday that the states didn't have the standing to bring that lawsuit.

The big picture: The decision seems to signal there's a limit to how creative states can get when trying to block federal policies — and red states have been getting really creative lately in some of their efforts to achieve policy objectives through the courts.

How it works: To challenge a federal policy in court, you have to prove you've been injured by that policy. Texas said it had been injured by Biden's immigration-enforcement decisions because it would have to spend money on services for people who weren't deported.

• That's not enough of an injury to stop the federal government from exercising its authority, at least in this way, the court said in an 8-1 decision.
• Red states have made similar arguments in several other cases, including challenges to President Biden's plan to forgive student debt.

Between the lines: Friday's ruling doesn't guarantee that those suits will also fail — the court has long deferred to the executive branch on immigration, including in its ruling allowing then-President Trump's travel ban to remain in effect.

• But the immigration case is at least a partial rebuke to lower courts — dominated by conservative judges — that have accepted more tenuous arguments about standing.

"The States have brought an extraordinarily unusual lawsuit," Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in the majority opinion. "They want a federal court to order the Executive Branch to alter its arrest policies so as to make more arrests. Federal courts have not traditionally entertained that kind of lawsuit."

^
no one reads your cut-and-paste bullshit!

Biden congratulates Greece prime minister Mitsotakis on his reelection

President Biden congratulated Greece’s prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on winning a second term as his country’s leader.

“On behalf of the people of the United States, I send our congratulations to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of Greece on his reelection,” Biden said in a statement on Sunday, noting that he’s looking forward to continuing his partnership with Mitsotakis, focusing on their shared priorities such as to foster prosperity and regional security.

“Together—as Allies, partners, and friends—Greece and the United States have championed democracy,” Biden added in his statement. “We will keep working with the government and people of Greece as well as our vibrant Greek-American community in the United States to continue this legacy.”

Biden’s remarks come as Mitsotakis and his party, the center-right New Democracy, garnered over 40 percent of the vote in Sunday’s election, winning at least 158 seats in the 300-seat parliament, according to CNN.

New Democracy’s opposition, the leftist-based Syriza, only garnered 17 percent of the vote, according to early results.

“We have high targets that will transform Greece,” Mitsotakis said in his victory speech. “Today we will celebrate our victory, tomorrow we will roll up our sleeves.”

Mitsotakis, 55, saw success in his first term as Greece’s prime minister, with his government staging a turnaround in its economy, which is now on the brink to return to investment grade on the global market for the first time since losing market access since 2010, CNN reported.

Originally Posted by S Landreth

By the way. There’s a Hunter Biden thread here at TD: Hunter Biden (Hunter Biden Busted?)

You know, Landreth

Nobody gives a shit about Hunter

He isn't elected president, vicepresident or senator.



It is about whether or not his father is involved in his ........business

^So, no wrong doing by President Biden.

"The president and first lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life. We will have no further comment," said Ian Sams, a White House spokesman, in a statement.



________

Related news to this thread title “President Joe Biden”

• White House announces $40B in funding to boost internet connectivity nationwide

President Biden on Monday announced roughly $40 billion in funding to be allocated across the country in an effort to bring areas without internet access online in the coming years.

The White House billed the announcement as the kickoff of a three-week “investing in America” blitz, in which Biden and other officials will highlight how money from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and other legislation passed under Biden are boosting infrastructure around the country.

“Just like Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered electricity to every home in America through his Rural Electrification Act, the announcement is part of President Biden’s broader effort to deliver investments, jobs, and opportunities directly to working and middle-class families across the country,” a White House official said.

Roughly 8.5 million locations across the country currently are not connected to the internet, the White House said.

Vice President Harris on Monday said 24 million people in the U.S. do not have access to high-speed internet either because they can’t afford it or because they live in communities without a fiber optic connection.

Funding for the ambitious connectivity plan will mainly come from the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program.

“With this funding, along with other federal investments, we’re going to be able to connect every person in America to reliable, high-speed internet by 2030,” Biden said in remarks from the White House on Monday.

The effort to allocate funding and implement the infrastructure to improve internet access to areas that need it will be a roughly 18-month process, officials said.

A White House timeline for the project notes that the state and local planning process will happen in the coming months, with initial plans due by the end of the year. Initial plans will be approved and 20 percent of funds will be allocated early next year. Eighty percent of the remaining funding will be disbursed in 2025 once final plans are approved.

Biden has frequently cited efforts to boost internet access when discussing investments in the middle class, arguing it is vital to be able to compete economically in the 21st century.

In a call with reporters to discuss the announcement, White House chief of staff Jeff Zients highlighted farmers in North Carolina who don’t have internet access, so they must rely on word-of-mouth to sell their grains and livestock.

“Every day, sometimes multiple times a day, the president pushes me, our White House team, and the Cabinet on how can we get things done even faster, even more efficiently, even more effectively. And our mission is to keep executing,” Zients said.

“We have a historic opportunity here to make a real difference in people’s lives, and making sure that we deliver on that potential is what we’re about every day,” Zients continued. “And to make sure that people feel that at their kitchen table in their communities in their backyards.”

Biden’s remarks on Monday kicked off what the White House is billing as a three-week travel blitz to promote the administration’s major legislative accomplishments and economic investments.

“With this funding, along with other federal investments, we’re going to be able to connect every person in America to reliable, high-speed internet by 2030,” Biden said in remarks from the White House on Monday.

Until then (for people who live in a deep rural area): Starlink

Originally Posted by helge

You know, Landreth


Nobody gives a shit about Hunter

Mate. he doesn’t have an option. I honestly think he’s ill equipped to form one. His life revolves around posting articles and videos, in the off chance that will make him appear provocative.

Biden slams ‘devastating consequences’ of abortion bans on Dobbs anniversary

President Biden slammed the “devastating consequences” of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. on Saturday — the one-year anniversary Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, which struck down a constitutional right to abortion.

Biden said in a statement that the court’s ruling has allowed states to implement “extreme and dangerous” abortion bans that have jeopardized the life and health of women, forced them to potentially travel hundreds of miles to receive health care and threatened to declare doctors as criminals for providing care that their patients need.

About two dozen states have enacted abortion restrictions in the year since Roe was overturned, most of them restricting the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant, or almost entirely.

Biden said state abortion bans are only part of the effort to restrict abortion access, as congressional Republicans are also pushing for the revocation of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of the abortion pill mifepristone.

“Their agenda is extreme, dangerous, and out-of-step with the vast majority of Americans. My Administration will continue to protect access to reproductive health care and call on Congress to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade in federal law once and for all,” he said.

Biden ribs GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R) for touting broadband funds he voted against

"See you at the groundbreaking," Biden tweeted at Tuberville after the senator praised the news that Alabama was set to receive $1.4 billion to improve broadband access in the state.

Chicago speech kicks off Joe Biden’s campaign message, focuses on economy

Boosting the brand? Biden kicks off reelection bid in Chicago with embrace of ‘Bidenomics’ tag

President Biden on Wednesday used Chicago to kick off an economic pitch dubbed “Bidenomics” — as he continues to bank on an improving economy more than a year out from Election Day.

“Today, the U.S. has had the highest economic growth among the world’s leading economies since the pandemic. We’ve added over 13 million jobs, more jobs in two years than any president has added in a four-year term.​ And folks, that’s no accident. That’s Bidenomics in action,” Biden said in a 37-minute speech in the Old Post Office’s iconic lobby.

“Bidenomics is about building the economy from the middle out and bottom up — not the top down — by making three fundamental changes,” the president said.

The president said his plan includes “smart investments” in America, educating and empowering workers to grow the middle class and promoting competition to lower costs and help small businesses.

White House advisers said the Chicago speech would kick off the president’s messaging for the weeks to come, with Biden taking on GOP critics by calling out “those who want to drag our country backward by returning to the failed trickle-down policies of the past.”

Was part of his speech saying "Putin is losing the war in Iraq"