Archive for the ‘Republicans’ Category

A Border Wall to the North? Republicans Want to Discuss. – The New York Times

Former President Donald J. Trump paved a path to the presidency in 2016 by calling for a big, beautiful wall along the United States border with Mexico.

His 2024 rivals in the Republican primary election, scrapping for every advantage against him, looked north.

Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, has frequently told voters that its not just the southern border that needs stepped-up enforcement its the northern border, too.

I think we do whatever it takes to keep people out, she told reporters on Saturday when asked if her comments meant she supported building a wall. If thats what it takes to keep them out, we will do a wall, we will do any sort of border patrol that we need to have.

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who ended his bid and endorsed Mr. Trump on Sunday after battling with Ms. Haley for second place behind the former president, had recently suggested building a wall along some trouble spots of the U.S.-Canada frontier. Vivek Ramaswamy, a tech entrepreneur, dropped out of the race last week, but not before trekking up to Pittsburg, N.H., a tiny town that sits just below the jagged, 5,500-mile line that divides the United States and Canada, with a camera crew in tow. He later drew criticism from Canadian journalists and pundits when he proclaimed that the United States should not just build one wall, but two.

In Pittsburg, where residents like Beverly Martin, 79, and Chip Jones, 74, sat at the bar in an eclectic, barnlike restaurant on a recent snowy afternoon, the idea of a border wall along New Hampshires northernmost boundary, an isolated, forested region, was anathema.

Then you have this armed national army that can be used against you and your rights, Mr. Jones, a Republican and retired fire chief from Massachusetts who winters in the town, said in an interview at Full Send Bar and Grill off Route 3. He paused, mulling it over: A border wall in Pittsburg does it just not feel right?

It doesnt, replied Ms. Martin, who is also a Republican and taught home economics for 18 years at the Pittsburg School down the road. A lot of people in Pittsburg have relatives on either side of the border, and people from the border towns in Canada come here to work.

Mr. Trump does not talk about that northern dividing line himself. But he has promised to revive some of his most criticized immigration policies and has escalated his rhetoric, echoing the racial hatreds of Adolf Hitler when he said undocumented immigrants were poisoning the blood of our country.

The nations southern border has loomed large in the psyche of the American electorate. The issue has contributed to President Bidens low approval numbers and threatened his foreign policy platform. It has also entangled Congress and burdened mayors and local leaders grappling with packed shelters and strained social services as more and more migrant families have been bused to cities around the country.

The now-dwindled G.O.P. field united behind calls to end sanctuary policies and advocated for militarized crackdowns on drug cartels and mass deportations of millions of people who have entered the United States under the Biden administration.

Republican warnings of terrorists, criminals and traffickers have drawn a national spotlight to places like New Hampshires northern edge, frustrating some of the people who live along it. Unlike the largely Latino communities along the U.S.-Mexico border, they are not used to being such a prominent part of the national immigration debate.

Pittsburg, which registered a population of 830 people in the most recent Census Bureau report, is the largest township by area in New England, and is known as a destination for snowmobile and ATV enthusiasts, hunters and fly fishers. Longtime border residents can remember when the dividing line up north was, as their counterparts far down south like to say, but a line in the sand or the snow. As in the border towns of states like Texas and Arizona before any barriers were put up, it was not uncommon, some Pittsburg inhabitants said, to see what appeared to be migrants walking or wading across the border.

And like those southern border towns, Pittsburg sits on land that was once fiercely contested first between the French and British and the Abenaki, who used its wilderness to the north as their hunting grounds, and later between the British and the Americans. The Treaty of Paris, which was signed in 1783 and ended the American Revolution, left the dividing line between what is now Quebec and New Hampshire ill-defined. Frustrated over the disagreement, the residents caught between two nations established their own government, the Indian Stream Republic.

In October, Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, who has endorsed Ms. Haley and has been stumping with her across the state in recent weeks, and other state officials announced a tenfold increase in patrols along the northern line. The vast majority of border crossings come from the southern border, but the majority of border crossings of folks on the terrorist watch list come from the northern border, Mr. Sununu said in an interview.

The latest statistics from U.S. Customs and Border Protection showed that last years apprehensions of people entering illegally in the sector that covers New Hampshire, Vermont and parts of upstate New York had reached the highest levels in at least 16 years. Between October 2022 and September 2023, agents intercepted 6,925 people crossing illegally, an increase from 1,065 in that time span one year earlier.

Around the stores and shops that line Route 3, several clerks said they had noticed a few people passing through who did not appear to be locals or the typical winter tourists. But for many, the crossings elicit a shrug. People have always been coming through Canada, said Carolyn Therrien, who was ringing up customers at Youngs General Store. I dont think the residents are really worried.

Inside Pittsburgs town government office on Main Street, a long, wood-paneled building with a pitched roof that also houses its police department, Linda Clogston, the tax collector and treasurer of the local historical association, has worked with community leaders and officials on both sides of the border to set up markers commemorating the Indian Stream Republic and other historical sites. Across the street, the Pittsburg Historical Society Museum houses canoes, drag saws, spiked boots and other artifacts from times when people flowed more easily through the wilderness of the border.

On a recent afternoon, she said Pittsburg residents seemed more concerned with rising property prices than with who was coming across the border.

Around town, there is anecdotal evidence of the Trumpian wave that has hit other rural parts of New Hampshire and the United States. Pro-Trump flags and signs hang from the walls of some homes and stick out of yards. On the side of the road, a Build the Wall sign was tacked to an evergreen tree. With the primary coming up, immigration was cited by several voters as a top election concern but they were usually referring to the southern border.

Wayne Dorman, 71, a conservative Democrat and owner of a concrete business, said he was not opposed to the government stepping up resources along the northern border. But he contended that the harsh wilderness was enough to keep people out. I mean, were not Texas, he said.

In New Hampshire, the issue of immigration has gripped the Republican electorate since Patrick J. Buchanan, a conservative commentator, clinched an upset victory in the primary in 1996. Mr. Trump won in 2016 with views on the issue that tapped into the partys base of white working-class voters who felt alienated from the political system. A recent Boston Globe/USA Today/Suffolk University poll found that a majority of the states Republican voters said it was the most important issue facing the country.

It could be the single largest issue in front of us in this election, rivaled only by the economy, said Chris Ager, the chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party.

But nearly two-thirds of those surveyed were not concerned about the states northern border with Canada.

Ever since state polls showed Ms. Haley cutting into Mr. Trumps lead in New Hampshire, he and his allies have been on the attack in particular, going after her record on immigration as governor. Ms. Haley, asked Saturday at a campaign stop in Peterborough, N.H., if she would support a wall along the Canadian border, was noncommittal.

Whatever it takes to keep people out that are illegal from coming in well do it, she said.

Nicholas Nehamas contributed reporting from Manchester, N.H.

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A Border Wall to the North? Republicans Want to Discuss. - The New York Times

Will voters punish total incompetence? House Republicans are about to find out – Roll Call

The cheering is still echoing in my ears and bits of brightly colored confetti are stubbornly clinging to my head. Not since the raucous celebration in Times Square of the end of World War II has there been euphoria to rival what the House Republicans triggered last week.

At the very last minute, in Perils of Pauline fashion, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., aided by an outpouring of Democratic votes, managed to delay a partial government shutdown until March.

Wow! Johnsons hat trick rivals the achievements of such legislative masters as Kentucky Sen. Henry Clay in the 1830s and House Speaker Sam Rayburn in the 1950s. This is the stuff of legend: For all 29 days of February, no one in America need worry that the government will run out of money.

Of course, there are naysayers. Marjorie Taylor Greene is openly talking about an effort to oust Johnson. The Georgia GOP firebrand told Politico, I dont think hes safe right now. The only reason hes speaker is because our conference is so desperate.

New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, who chairs the House Republican Conference and is openly auditioning to be Donald Trumps running mate, voted against the temporary funding extension. She was joined in her apostasy by more than 100 other House Republicans.

It is easy to get a glimmer of the future. Maybe Johnson will hang on as speaker until the November elections. Or maybe the nation will be treated to another motion to vacate and another enervating series of roll call votes to pick a new sucker sorry, I meant to type speaker.

Poet T.S. Eliot declared, April is the cruelest month. That may especially be the case in Washington if Johnson and Co. cannot figure out a way to navigate through the coming March government funding crises.

Meanwhile, House Republicans in their ideological zeal seem determined to reject any compromise immigration bill being negotiated in the Senate. Johnson wants to delay any immigration legislation until Donald Trump is again president.

So what if Johnson is poised to reject the first serious effort in years to control the chaos on our southern border? So what if Johnson is willing to let aid to Ukraine go down the tubes as part of a package deal on immigration?

The House Republicans are living in a fairy tale world. Alas, the fairy tale is taken from the Grimm Brothers and the Republicans are emulating Rumpelstiltskin, stomping their feet through the ground when they dont get their way.

Reality check: There is no coherent strategy for House Republicans to prevail, with their fragile three-vote majority, when the Democrats control the Senate and the White House. That may explain why they are banking on divine intervention in the form of a second Trump presidency.

Of course, the House Republicans have a glorious opportunity to impeach someone, for some ill-defined constitutional offense, if imperiled GOP incumbents in swing districts somehow go along. Will it be Joe Biden or a Cabinet member like Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas or Attorney General Merrick B. Garland?

Personally, Im betting on Colonel Mustard in the conservatory with the lead pipe.

All this ineffectual maneuvering by the House Republicans gives rise to a political question: Does a congressional party ever pay a price at the ballot box for sheer incompetence?

History is littered with the sad tales of presidents who have stumbled. Think of Herbert Hoover with the Great Depression, Jimmy Carter with the Iranian hostage crisis and that Trump fellow with COVID-19.

Even second-term presidents can pay a serious price for their reign of error: Nancy Pelosi originally became House speaker after the 2006 elections because of George W. Bushs mishandling of the Iraq War and Hurricane Katrina.

We know that individual members of Congress are vulnerable for their personal misdeeds.

GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert, who has a strange idea of proper decorum in a theater, had to move to a safer Colorado House district after she became a laughingstock for her own personal performance while attending Beetlejuice in Denver.

It is a virtually certain bet that New Jersey Democrat Robert Menendez will not be returning to the Senate next year after federal agents, according to a criminal indictment, found nearly $500,000 in cash and 13 gold bars in a raid on his home.

And, in these polarized times, dozens of congressional incumbents, particularly Republicans, live in mortal terror of a primary challenge based on a handful of votes plucked out of context by a militant challenger.

That said, it is hard to find an example of a political party punished at the polls for its inability to manage a congressional majority.

Yes, in his 1948 presidential upset, Harry Truman successfully ran against the Republican 80th do-nothing Congress. But in contrast to 2024, then-Republican House Speaker Joe Martin was legislatively adept and merely disagreed with Trumans political agenda.

Many factors could cost the Republicans control of the House this November. Final redistricting decisions in states like New York and North Carolina will play a major role. And, assuming Trump is at the top of the GOP ticket, the presidential election will dominate everything.

But there is scant evidence that blundering ineptitude by an entire party will be a voting issue. To understand how ill-suited the House Republicans are to actually running anything requires a knowledge of Capitol Hill that an overwhelming majority of voters have no interest in acquiring.

So as the House Republicans spend 2024 lurching from one self-inflicted disaster to another, enjoy the spectacle of a party that couldnt govern straight. But dont expect it to matter in November.

Walter Shapiro is a staff writer for The New Republic and a lecturer in political science at Yale. He is a veteran of USA Today, Time, Newsweek and The Washington Post.

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Will voters punish total incompetence? House Republicans are about to find out - Roll Call

Trump and Other GOP Candidates Use Israel-Gaza to Criticize Biden – The New York Times

Republican presidential candidates seized on the Hamas attack on Israel Saturday to try to lay blame on President Biden, drawing a connection between the surprise assault and a recent hostage release deal between the United States and Iran, a longtime backer of the group.

Former President Donald J. Trump, who has frequently presented himself as a unflinching ally of Israel and who moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv in 2018, blamed Mr. Biden for the conflict.

While campaigning on Saturday in Waterloo, Iowa, he said the attacks had occurred because we are perceived as being weak and ineffective, with a really weak leader.

On several occasions, Mr. Trump went further, saying that the hostage deal was a catalyst of the attacks. The war happened for two reasons, he said. The United States is giving and gave to Iran $6 billion over hostages.

In exchange for the release of five Americans held in Tehran, the Biden administration agreed in August to free up $6 billion in frozen Iranian oil revenue funds for humanitarian purposes. The administration has emphasized that the money could be used only for food, medicine, medical equipment that would not have a dual military use.

A senior Biden administration official responded to the comments by Mr. Trump as well as to criticism by other Republican candidates by calling them total lies and accusing the politicians of having either a complete misunderstanding of the facts or of participating willingly in a complete mischaracterization and disinformation of facts.

Another Biden administration official, Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, said in a statement, These funds have absolutely nothing to do with the horrific attacks today, and this is not the time to spread disinformation.

Mr. Trump, the G.O.P. front-runner, was not alone in assailing Mr. Biden, as the entire Republican field weighed in on the attacks on Saturday.

In a video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida faulted the Biden administration for its foreign policy decisions in the Middle East.

Iran has helped fund this war against Israel, and Joe Bidens policies that have gone easy on Iran has helped to fill their coffers, he said. Israel is now paying the price for those policies.

In a statement issued through the White House, Mr. Biden pledged solidarity with Israel and said that he had spoken with Benjamin Netanyahu, the countrys prime minister.

The United States unequivocally condemns this appalling assault against Israel by Hamas terrorists from Gaza, and I made clear to Prime Minister Netanyahu that we stand ready to offer all appropriate means of support to the Government and people of Israel, Mr. Biden said.

Yet while the G.O.P. candidates rallied around Israel on Saturday, there is a divide in the party between foreign policy hawks and those who favor a more isolationist approach.

In addition to criticizing Mr. Biden on Saturday, former Vice President Mike Pence had harsh words for fellow Republicans who prefer a more hands-off approach to conflicts abroad.

This is what happens when @POTUS projects weakness on the world stage, kowtows to the mullahs in Iran with a $6 Billion ransom, and leaders in the Republican Party signal American retreat as Leader of the Free World, Mr. Pence wrote on X. Weakness arouses evil.

Other Republican candidates, including Nikki Haley, who was an ambassador to the United Nations under Mr. Trump, and Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina denounced the attacks as acts of terrorism.

Make no mistake: Hamas is a bloodthirsty terrorist organization backed by Iran and determined to kill as many innocent lives as possible, Ms. Haley said in a statement.

Former Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey echoed the criticism of his Republican rivals in a social media post, calling the release of $6 billion by the Biden administration to Iran idiotic. Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota and Mr. Hutchinson similarly sought to connect the attack with the release of humanitarian funds for Iran.

Vivek Ramaswamy, the biotech entrepreneur, called the attacks barbaric and medieval in a post on X.

Shooting civilians and kidnapping children are war crimes, he wrote. Israels right to exist & defend itself should never be doubted and Iran-backed Hamas & Hezbollah cannot be allowed to prevail.

Michael Gold contributed reporting from Waterloo, Iowa, and Nicholas Nehamas from Keosauqua, Iowa.

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Trump and Other GOP Candidates Use Israel-Gaza to Criticize Biden - The New York Times

Some Republicans making bid to bring back McCarthy to move on aid to Israel – POLITICO – POLITICO

A short window is all we need in the House to reinstate Kevin McCarthy and change the rule, Rep. John Duarte (R-Calif.) told POLITICO.

Duarte also said he thought the Biden administrations positions and our disarray in the House, were factors in the timing of the attacks.

Israel attacks have moderates holding out for the one person who can truly unite us: Kevin McCarthy, according to a third House GOP lawmaker.

McCarthy is aware and grateful of the growing effort to reinstate him, but hes not engaging at this point, this lawmaker added.

The attempt to reinstall McCarthy faces long odds. Two strong candidates are running active campaigns with only days to go before voting, and many dozens of Republicans have already made endorsements. There is little reason to think the basic math for McCarthy has changed for McCarthy since last Tuesday.

Republicans behind the push, however, believe the urgency to address the terror attacks and aid Israel could pressure the eight House Republicans who voted against McCarthy earlier this week to switch their stance. The third House GOP lawmaker said the members behind the push are still livid at the Republicans who voted against McCarthy, a staunch Israel supporter, and are using this moment to show how wrong they were.

McCarthy played an active role in the House GOP response to the attacks Saturday, railing against the Biden administrations actions and noting the House is currently unable to move major legislation without a speaker.

There is nothing the House can do until they elect a speaker, and I dont know if that happens quickly, McCarthy told Fox News.

Lawmakers are also are looking into outlining more clear powers for acting Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry in the short-term or possibly by electing him speaker outright.

The House could take other actions to get around McHenrys restrained role, including voting him in as a speaker pro tempore, thus shedding his acting title to give him more authority while Republicans figure out who they want to lead them. If McHenry attempts to act, on Israel legislation or any other, without broader authority from the House, he risks being challenged on the floor and votes to overturn his actions.

The push for McCarthy or McHenry are more palatable options for many vulnerable Republicans, especially those in Biden districts, who are not closely aligned with either of the current candidates Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).

A major complicating factor is that both Democrats and Republicans in the House have made clear that they are interpreting McHenrys role in its narrowest form, which at this point would limit him from bringing legislation to the floor before a speaker is elected.

There is no precedent for how broadly McHenry can exert powers within the House, and that has driven some Republicans to explore other paths to move legislation to bolster Israel in the coming days or weeks.

Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) said Saturday that she will introduce legislation to supplement funding for Israels Iron Dome missile defense system and is urging Republicans and Democrats to quickly bring this bill to the floor.

Our disunity in Capitol Hill is weakening Americas position as a global leader and hindering our ability to respond to atrocities committed by Hamas on the Israeli people, Rep. Jim Baird (R-Ind.) said Saturday. We must stop these political games and show leadership during this international emergency.

But that as seen in January is not a swift process. House Republicans are expected to host a candidate forum on Tuesday and hold a closed door, secret ballot internal election on Wednesday. With neither candidate close to the 218 votes needed to clinch the gavel, it is not yet clear when it could reach the floor for a final vote.

Other House Republicans have called for McHenry and House GOP conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) to move up the speaker election thats slated to begin next Wednesday.

We need to have a forum Sunday or Monday, Rep. Mark Alford (R-Mo.) posted on X Saturday.

We are paralyzed as a body, Alford added. World events dictate urgency.

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Some Republicans making bid to bring back McCarthy to move on aid to Israel - POLITICO - POLITICO

Some Republicans Want Less Aid for Ukraine and More for TaiwanBut Taiwan Doesn’t – TIME

WASHINGTON To Rep. Mike Collins, China is a bigger threat to the United States than Russia. So the Georgia Republican has voted against providing military aid to Ukraine as he advocates for doing more to arm Taiwan, the self-governed island thats at risk of military aggression from Beijing.

For Collins and other Republican lawmakers, Taiwan and Ukraine are effectively rivals for a limited pool of U.S. military assistance. But thats not necessarily how Taiwan and many of its supporters see it. They view Taiwans fate as closely linked to that of Ukraine as it struggles to push back a Russian invasion.

They say China is watching closely to see if the United States has the political stamina to support an ally in a prolonged, costly war. The U.S. aid to Ukraine also has led to weapons manufacturers stepping up production something that could benefit Taiwan in a clash with China.

Read More: Taiwan's Civilian Soldiers, Watching Ukraine, Worry They Aren't Prepared to Defend Their Island

Ukraines survival is Taiwans survival. Ukraines success is Taiwans success, Taiwans diplomat in the U.S., Hsiao Bi-Khim, said in May at the Sedona Forum hosted by the McCain Institute.

Still, Taiwan has been careful not to weigh in on the U.S. debate about continued funding for Ukraine, which has become a divisive political issue after initially having strong bipartisan support.

Asked about Congress removing Ukraine funding from a temporary spending measure that prevented a U.S. government shutdown on Oct. 1, Taiwans diplomatic office responded with discretion.

Taiwan is grateful to have strong bipartisan support from the U.S. We will continue to work with the U.S. to maintain the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press.

But Congress refusal to include the aid raises alarm bells in Taiwan. said Bonnie Glaser, managing director of the Indo-Pacific program at the German Marshall Fund. She noted that the Taiwanese government has argued that Ukraines victory is existential for Taiwan.,

These worries exist even though most Republicans who seek to end U.S. support for Ukraine are still very pro-Taiwan and willing to do more to help defend Taiwan, she said.

Taiwan is the thorniest issue in the frayed U.S.-China relationship. Beijing claims sovereignty over the island, which lies roughly 100 miles (160 kilometers) off the mainlands southeastern coast, and vows to seize it, by force if necessary, to achieve national reunification. The United States wants a peaceful resolution and has a security pact with the island, supplying it with military hardware and technologies to prevent any forced takeover by Beijing.

Read More: Both Wary of War, Taiwans Voters Eye China and China Eyes Taiwans Voters

China's military actions near the island have fueled concerns over armed attacks. President Joe Biden has said he would send troops to defend Taiwan in case of war, while Chinese President Xi Jinping has demanded the U.S. respect his country's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Collins traveled to Taiwan on his first overseas trip as a congressman. When he returned, he called for timely weapon deliveries to the island, especially since as much as $19 billion worth of weapons sold to Taiwan have been delayed.

These delays are primarily a result of a U.S. manufacturing backlog and a distracted Biden administration with weapons deliveries to Ukraine taking preference over Taiwan, Collin said. We must get serious about offering support to our ally Taiwan because ultimately when it comes to countering China, our interests align.

Bradley Bowman, senior director of the Center of Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, disagrees with that logic.

It's not a zero-sum game, he said. Taiwan supports the U.S. aid to Ukraine. They understand that the deterrence message works.

And on a practical level, Bowman said, the aid for Ukraine is helping the U.S. expand its weapons production, which will both benefit Taiwan and enhance U.S. military readiness.

Read More: China Plays Long Game With Softer Response to Taiwan President Visiting U.S.

Rep. Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican who in April led a congressional delegation to Taiwan as chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said support for the island has not diminished on the Hill.

Throughout the conversations about aid to Ukraine, I have not heard a single person take a swipe at Taiwan," McCaul said at a recent National Day celebration hosted by Taiwans representative office in Washington.

Glaser said the Chinese leadership is unlikely to discount the U.S. support for Taiwan, even when U.S. support for Ukraine is waning, but it is likely to exploit any failure to fund Ukraine in a disinformation campaign to sow doubts among the Taiwanese people about the U.S. commitment to their defense.

In a social media post, Hu Xijin, a retired chief editor of the Communist Party-run Global Times newspaper and now a political commentator, said this month that most U.S. overseas military interventions have rotted if the U.S. fails to cinch a rapid victory.

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Some Republicans Want Less Aid for Ukraine and More for TaiwanBut Taiwan Doesn't - TIME