Donald Trump is demanding that the House of Representatives votes on the debt ceiling extension (or abolition) “NOW” so that any congressional battle falls within the remit of Joe Biden’s presidency and not his own.
The president-elect said on Sunday that the 2023 debt ceiling extension agreed by ex-House speaker Kevin McCarthy and Biden will “go down as one of the dumbest political decisions made in years”.
Under the deal, the debt ceiling was suspended until January 1 2025, although the Treasury will be able to pay its bills for several months after that.
Congress needs to address the issue by June.
Without the 2023 deal, the US would have defaulted on its obligations, rocking financial markets worldwide and likely leading to a downgrade of the nation’s credit rating.
Meanwhile, Trump hailed the H-1B visa program for skilled workers as “great” claiming to have always been in favor of it.
Speaking to The New York Post, the president-elect sided with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy after they both defended the need for hiring skilled workers from overseas, putting them at odds with MAGA’s “America First” hardliners, including Steve Bannon, who want stricter immigration control.
Recommended
- Trump, Biden and Obama pay tribute to ‘public servant’ Jimmy Carter after his death aged 100
- Russia warns ‘radical’ Donald Trump against resuming nuclear testing
- Fox News admits that Trump’s take on H-1B visas ‘left a lot of people confused’
- As Trump returns to the White House, and Putin’s forces advance – what next for Ukraine in 2025?
Key Points
- Donald Trump pays tribute to ‘truly good man’ Jimmy Carter after creating fresh problems for speaker
- Joe Biden suggests Trump could learn ‘decency’ from Carter
- Trump endorses Speaker Johnson and issues rallying cry to Republicans: ‘Let’s not blow this great opportunity’
- President-elect denied new trial in first E Jean Carroll case against him
- Trump sides with Elon Musk in MAGA immigration feud over H-1B visas for skilled workers
Breaking: Trump denied new trial in first E Jean Carroll case against him
A federal appeals court has upheld a ruling against the president-elect after he challenged a jury’s verdict that found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming a former magazine writer.
Monday’s decision from a three-judge panel with New York’s 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals follows a May 2023 verdict awarding E Jean Carroll $5m for the former president’s ongoing defamation by denying claims that he sexually assaulted her in a department store in 1996.
In January, a second jury in a separate trial ordered Trump to pay Carroll more than $83m in damages for his defamatory statements about the former Elle magazine writer.
Trump argued the verdict from the 2023 judgment should be tossed out on his claims that the trial judge should not have let jurors hear testimony from two other women who accused him of sexual misconduct.
One of those women, Jessica Leeds, testified that Trump groped her on a plane in the late 1970s.
Another woman, former People magazine writer Natasha Stoynoff, said Trump forcibly kissed her at Mar-a-Lago in 2005.
Trump’s lawyers also said jurors also should not have listened to his comments on the so-called Access Hollywood tape, on which the president-elect brags about grabbing women’s genitals.
“Trump has not demonstrated that the district court erred in any of the challenged rulings, and Trump “has not carried his burden to show that any claimed error or combination of claimed errors affected his substantial rights as required to warrant a new trial,” appellate judges wrote in their decision on Monday.
Here’s the very latest from Alex Woodward.
Appeals court upholds Trump verdict for sexual abuse and defamation
A jury awarded the former Elle columnist $5 million in her first defamation trial against the former president
Joe Sommerlad30 December 2024 15:20
Breaking: Trump endorses Speaker Johnson and issues rallying cry to Republicans: ‘Let’s not blow this great opportunity’
Here’s the latest from the president-elect on Truth Social in which he rages about this year’s election, slipping in digs about Black Democrats Beyonce, Oprah Winfrey and the Reverend Al Sharpton and claiming voter fraud in California, before finally getting to the point and calling for Republicans to stick together and get behind House speaker Mike Johnson (so long as the latter does his bidding, presumably):
“We are the Party of COMMON SENSE, a primary reason that we WON, in a landslide, the magnificent and historic Presidential Election of 2024. ALL SEVEN SWING STATES, 312 ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTES, AND THE POPULAR VOTE BY MILLIONS OF VOTERS (Despite large scale voter fraud taking place in numerous states, including California, where votes are ridiculously still being counted, or under review!), ALL WON WITH EASE, CALM, & PROFESSIONALISM. Republicans are being praised for having run a “legendary” campaign! Democrats are being excoriated for their effort, having wasted 2.5 Billion Dollars, much of it unaccounted for, with some being used to illegally buy endorsements ($11,000,000 to Beyoncé, who never even sang a song, $2,000,000 to Oprah for doing next to nothing, and even $500,000 to Reverend AL, a professional con man and instigator, who agreed to “interview” their “star spangled” candidates, Kamala and Joe). We ran a flawless campaign, having spent FAR LESS, with lots of money left over. They ran a very expensive “sinking ship,” embracing DOJ & FBI WEAPONIZATION against their political opponent, ME. BUT IT DIDN’T WORK, IT WAS A DISASTER!!! LETS NOT BLOW THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY WHICH WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN. The American people need IMMEDIATE relief from all of the destructive policies of the last Administration. Speaker Mike Johnson is a good, hard working, religious man. He will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN. Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement. MAGA!!!”
Joe Sommerlad30 December 2024 15:10
‘There is no Trump-lite’: Republican governor insists Trump has not permanently changed party
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu has said that he does not think President-elect Donald Trump has permanently changed the Republican Party.
Sununu, a moderate member of the GOP, said on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday that he does not imagine someone will take Trump’s place as leader once his term is over.
“Trump is Trump. There’s no ‘Trump-lite.’ There’s no ‘Trump 2.0’ coming up,” he said.
“I always say that Trump is who he is because he’s built up himself in the American psyche for 40 years. I mean, really since the 80s.”
Andrea Cavallier has more from Sununu.
GOP governor claims Trump has not permanently changed party: ‘There is no Trump-lite’
The moderate Republican governor said he does not think President-elect Trump has permanently changed the GOP
Joe Sommerlad30 December 2024 14:40
Kim Jong-un vows Pyongyang’s toughest anti-US policy before Trump takes office
The North Korean leader has vowed to implement its “toughest” anti-US policy yet, state media reported on Sunday, less than a month before his old pen pal takes office as US president.
Trump’s return to the White House raises prospects for more high-profile diplomacy with North Korea.
During his first term, Trump met Kim three times for talks on the North’s nuclear program.
Many experts, however, say a quick resumption of Trump-Kim summitry is unlikely as the American will first focus on conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
North Korea’s support for Russia’s war against Ukraine also poses a challenge to efforts to revive diplomacy, experts say.
During a five-day plenary meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party that ended on Friday, Kim called the US “the most reactionary state that regards anti-communism as its invariable state policy”.
Kim said that the US-South Korea-Japan security partnership is expanding into “a nuclear military bloc for aggression”.
He continued, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA): “This reality clearly shows to which direction we should advance and what we should do and how.”
The KCNA said Kim’s speech “clarified the strategy for the toughest anti-US counteraction to be launched aggressively” by North Korea for its long-term national interests and security.
It did not elaborate on what the anti-US strategy would entail, however.
It did say Kim set forth tasks to bolster military capability through defense technology advancements and stressed the need to improve the mental toughness of North Korean soldiers.
The previous meetings between Trump and Kim not only put an end to their exchanges of fiery rhetoric and threats of destruction but led to the development of personal connections.
Trump once famously said he and Kim “fell in love.”
But their talks eventually collapsed in 2019 as they wrangled over US-led sanctions on the North.
Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un in June 2019 (AFP/Getty)Joe Sommerlad30 December 2024 14:10
MSNBC panel left in stitches after ex-GOP congressman touts Kevin McCarthy’s return as Speaker
Former Illinois Representative Joe Walsh left an MSNBC panel in fits of laughter after suggesting that Donald Trump and the Republican Party could “get behind” Kevin McCarthy as House speaker.
The lower chamber will convene to select its new leader on Friday and, with the GOP holding a slim 219 to 215 majority, embattled incumbent Mike Johnson can only afford one party defection if he is to keep his job.
Joining several Republicans voicing opposition to Johnson after Congress passed a bill cementing the extension of the debt ceiling earlier this month, Walsh threw his weight behind the former speaker, McCarthy, backing him to return to the role after he was ousted from by the hard-right in October last year.
James Liddell has this on what happened next.
MSNBC panel bursts out laughing at ex-GOP congressman’s suggestion for Speaker
‘I could see Donald Trump getting behind Kevin McCarthy. What a wonderful turn that would be,’ Joe Walsh told a panel on The Weekend
Joe Sommerlad30 December 2024 13:40
Steve Bannon says Elon Musk would ‘take a check from Adolf Hitler’
Three weeks before Trump returns to the White House, his allies are already talking about each other like this, which does not bode well for the prospect of a smooth and harmonious four years in office.
Right before Christmas, Elon was feuding with House speaker Mike Johnson over congressional spending bills and almost driving the government into shutdown.
Immediately after the holiday, he’s brawling with Bannon in the MAGA heartlands.
Joe Sommerlad30 December 2024 13:10
Voices: Trump terrors? Here’s how to survive his second term in the White House
Our own Will Gore writes:
“In the Chinese zodiac, 2025 is the year of the snake. Rather fittingly, it is also the year that Donald Trump will slither his way back into the White House (which may prove venomous for the whole world).
“Since the US election result was called, back in November, there has not been the same sense of profound shock that accompanied Trump’s first presidential win. Then, it seemed impossible that a man with no political experience – and who seemed so patently objectionable on almost every level – could win the White House. This time, for all the late hope that Kamala Harris brought to the Democratic Party ticket, a Trump win felt inevitable.
“If you are a progressively-minded individual living in the US, there is an immediate and visceral materiality to deal with, as ‘The Donald’s’ inauguration approaches. For those of us living across the pond, the thought of Trump in the presidential hotseat may not be less gruesome, but its impact is not quite so direct. Either way, how should we best handle the nagging fear of what might be to come?”
Read on below for the answer.
Trump terrors? Here’s how to survive his second term
Sure, ‘The Donald’ has said he wants to purchase Greenland, turn Canada into the 51st state and that Chinese soldiers are ‘operating the Panama Canal’ – but it’s not all doom and gloom… right? writes Will Gore
Joe Sommerlad30 December 2024 12:40
CNN commentator insists Biden will ‘leave office in disgrace’
Conservative Scott Jennings joined Dana Bash’s panel discussion on State of the Union yesterday to discuss the outgoing president’s legacy and did not mince his words as he attacked fellow contributor Karen Finney for suggesting Biden’s health had held him back during his tenure in the White House.
“I think he’s gonna leave office in disgrace,” Jennings declared.
“The Hunter Biden pardon was disgraceful.
“He’s going to be remembered largely for inflation and for the disastrous Afghanistan pullout.”
Jennings alleged that Biden’s staff had covered up the decline in his cognitive function ahead of the 2024 presidential election and “for all four years.”
“I think it’s going to be a really ugly chapter,” he said.
“It’s a diminished presidency because of it.
“I think we still don’t know the full extent of what they did to try to hide what they’ve been doing over in the West Wing.”
Joe Sommerlad30 December 2024 12:10
Biden still regrets dropping out of 2024 race and thinks he could’ve won
Speaking of Joe Biden, he still regrets pulling out of the 2024 presidential race and believes he could have beaten Donald Trump to the White House, according to The Washington Post.
The outgoing president backed out of the race over the summer following a disastrous first debate against his Republican rival, low approval numbers and dwindling donations.
But Biden recently told people that despite the issues his campaign faced he is confident he could have defeated Trump in November.
Graeme Massie reports.
Biden still regrets dropping out of 2024 race and believes he could have beaten Trump
Biden also admitted to aides that he had made other mistakes, including the selection of Merrick Garland as attorney general
Joe Sommerlad30 December 2024 11:40
Biden suggests Trump could learn ‘decency, decency, decency’ from Carter
The outgoing president interrupted his Christmas vacation in the US Virgin Islands last night to deliver a press conference on the passing of Jimmy Carter at 100 years of age, taking the opportunity to pay tribute to a widely-admired figure and reflect on the friendship he and Jill enjoyed with Carter and his wife Rosalynn over many years.
“Is there anything President Trump could take from President Carter?” a reporter asked Biden at one stage.
“Decency,” came the answer. “Decency. Decency.”
“Can you imagine Jimmy Carter referring to someone by the way they look or the way they talk? I can’t. I can’t,” the president continued, clearly alluding to Trump.
Here’s a selection of his choicest remarks on Carter:
Joe Sommerlad30 December 2024 11:10Newer1 / 5Older