Democrats want Biden to run against House GOP

Published

2 years ago

January 11, 2023

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Democrats think President Biden can get a boost from the House GOP, just as his party’s past presidents saw their political fortunes rise by virtue of battling a Republican Congress.

Both former Presidents Clinton and Obama won reelection after losing their party’s House majorities to the GOP in 1994 and 2010.

Now the White House is hoping Biden can follow that pattern, and they see an unwilling partner in the House GOP led by Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who won the post after a historic 15th ballot that laid his conference’s divisions out for all to see.

“If they’re collapsing and fighting and can’t get anything done, it speaks for itself,” said Ed Rendell, a former Pennsylvania governor and longtime Biden ally.

Rendell also argued that some of the positions taken by House Republicans, especially if they lead to a government shutdown or the failure of Congress to raise the debt ceiling, could help Biden cast himself as the adult in Washington.

“Americans are not extreme,” Rendell said.

Other Democrats see the chaos of the Speaker election as contrasting well with what Biden wants to cast as his strengths: preparation, moderation, respect for tradition and a reverence for procedures.

“It really is a perfect foil for Biden,” said Democratic strategist Eddie Vale. It “just gets better and better the more tinfoil hat conspiracy theories Jordan, Comer and Marjorie Taylor Greene spin off on,” he added, referring to GOP Reps. Jim Jordan (Ohio), James Comer (Ky.) and Greene (Ga.).

Nayyera Haq, a former Obama aide, said Biden won in 2020 by running against former President Trump, and now he can run against the emboldened House GOP.

“Usually being the party out of the White House means that you have a unified message against an incumbent,” she said of House Republicans. “They don’t have that right now.”

The Speakership election tied the House GOP further to Trump in some ways.

Initially, a group of Republicans opposed to McCarthy’s Speakership ignored Trump’s calls to back him. But by the end of the week, some of those members had supported the former president himself for House Speaker. And in the final hour, Greene was trying to connect Trump to various Republicans to get them to vote “present” and allow McCarthy to be elected Speaker.

Biden, meanwhile, appeared at a bridge connecting Kentucky to Ohio with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), highlighting his infrastructure legislation and bipartisanship.

“They looked f—— crazy last week,” one Biden ally said, pointing to the split screen of Biden and McConnell, who stood alongside one another. “I talked to so many Republicans who said ‘What the f— are we doing? This is terrible.’”

The Speaker fiasco also provided a new opportunity for Democrats to reinvigorate Bidenworld’s famous “do less” approach to the GOP.

As Republicans publicly fought within their own party, liberals and moderates alike watched the display unfold, reiterating that their side is ready to start working for the public — regardless of what the other side does.

The question going forward is whether the dysfunction that was a part of the Speaker’s vote will be a recurring theme for Republicans in the lower chamber this year. Rendell and other Democrats appear to be hoping and thinking it will be repeated.

“It’s too early [for] this incident, their pathetic display, to be remembered if they govern in a halfway reasonable manner,” said Rendell. “But people seem to think they won’t have the ability.”

“If in fact, as predicted, it becomes a battle between the MAGA people and the conventional Republicans to get anything done and we default on stuff, that’s a big help. Then you can make the case they can’t govern,” he added.

One House Democrat in touch with the administration said the “chaos” showed distinctions between the parties at a critical juncture. Democrats elected Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-Calif.) unanimously as GOP members repeatedly failed to elect McCarthy.

“We are ready to get to work and stand in stark contrast to the chaos we’ve seen from the other side,” said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.).

Democrats’ confidence is also backed up by polling. Biden’s approval rating rose significantly after November, with voters crediting him favorably for handling issues like the economy and reproductive rights. Typically hovering in the low to mid 40s last year, and even dipping into the 30s, he’s now earning 46 and 47 approval percent in several surveys collected by Real Clear Politics.

He’s also ramped up his travel schedule to promote accomplishments like his infrastructure bill, and aides and allies are privately preparing for his 2024 campaign announcement, The Hill reported last week.

Whether Biden should openly acknowledge the GOP’s discord is being debated. Some allies believe it’s not necessary that he explicitly says how dysfunctional things appear to be among his political opponents.

“Depends on how bad it gets,” said Rendell. “If it’s really bad he doesn’t have to mention it.”

That guidance is familiar territory for Biden, who went for long stretches of the last presidential campaign without calling out Trump by name. As president, he became more comfortable using the MAGA slogan to denounce what he sees as a threatening part of the Republican Party.

Republicans are aware that Biden can use the House GOP as a target.

“It’s incumbent on the new House Republican majority to plow the ground, to offer some ideas, to be a lead vehicle for the 2024 Republican nominating field and eventual nominee and not to become a political lead balloon or political drag,” said Republican strategist Colin Reed.

“The Obama White House was very skillful at using the 2011-2012 Republican House Majority as a cudgel against Mitt Romney,” he said. “And no doubt the Biden White House will attempt to do the same thing.”

Still, Biden is not without his own recent vulnerabilities. The Hill’s 12:30 Report — FAA’s mass US ground stop causes chaos McCarthy: George Santos shouldn’t be on any top House committees

Republicans see fresh ammunition in the disclosure that classified documents had been discovered by attorneys for the president at a private office just days before the midterms at Penn Biden Center. The news only became public on Monday.

While Democrats were eager to point out the differences in circumstances between the classified documents found at Biden’s former office at the university and classified documents from the Trump administration kept at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago residence, Republicans quickly went on the attack and accused the White House of hypocrisy.

“Those in glass houses shouldn’t be throwing stones,” Reed said. “The Democrats, including President Biden, were so sanctimonious and holier than thou about rendering judgment on what happened in Mar-a-Lago involving those documents that are now going to have to answer the same questions.”

Entertainment

Gary Lineker says ‘right time’ to leave Match Of The Day as he hints of changes to show’s format

Published

3 hours ago

November 15, 2024

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Gary Lineker says 'right time' to leave Match Of The Day as he hints of changes to show's format

Gary Lineker has said it is “the right time” to leave Match Of The Day and hinted the BBC could change the format of the Premier League highlights show.

The 63-year-old will step down as host at the end of the season and described his time on the show as an “absolute joy and privilege”.

Speaking on his podcast, The Rest Is Football, he said: “It has been an absolute joy and privilege to present such an iconic show for the BBC.

“But all things have to come to an end.”

Lineker went on to say the broadcaster enters a new three-year deal to host top-flight highlights, and that to stay on for another 12 months “would be a bit weird”.

“I think the next contract they’re looking to do Match Of The Day slightly differently, so I think it makes sense for someone else to take the helm.

“I bowed out in my football career when I felt it was the right time. I feel this is now the right time.”

Lineker refused to speculate who would be taking his place, as rumours grew around Mark Chapman, the regular Match Of The Day 2 presenter, Football Focus host Alex Scott, and BBC sports coverage presenter Gabby Logan.

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“Obviously I don’t know who it’ll be, and I would never tell publicly my preference, I don’t think that’d be the right thing to do – but whoever it is, I would say be yourself,” he said.

“I had to fill the ginormous shoes of certain Des Lynam.

“…I would say just be yourself and enjoy it, it’s a wonderful programme to be a part of. It was brilliant before I took over, and it will be brilliant after I leave.”

Lineker has hosted Match Of The Day since 1999 and will have presented the show for more than a quarter of a century when he leaves in May 2025.

He will continue with the MOTD Top Ten podcast alongside his podcast, which also features BBC pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards.

The former England striker has been the BBC’s highest-paid on-air talent for seven consecutive years and was estimated to have earned £1.35m in the year 2023/24.

The BBC said future plans for Match Of The Day would be “announced in due course”.

Business

UK economy grows by 0.1% between July and September – slower than expected

Published

3 hours ago

November 15, 2024

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UK economy grows by 0.1% between July and September - slower than expected

The UK economy grew by 0.1% between July and September, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

However, despite the small positive GDP growth recorded in the third quarter, the economy shrank by 0.1% in September, dragging down overall growth for the quarter.

The growth was also slower than what had been expected by experts and a drop from the 0.5% growth between April and June, the ONS said.

Economists polled by Reuters and the Bank of England had forecast an expansion of 0.2%, slowing from the rapid growth seen over the first half of 2024 when the economy was rebounding from last year’s shallow recession.

And the metric that Labour has said it is most focused on – the GDP per capita, or the economic output divided by the number of people in the country – also fell by 0.1%.

Reacting to the figures, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said: “Improving economic growth is at the heart of everything I am seeking to achieve, which is why I am not satisfied with these numbers,” she said in response to the figures.

“At my budget, I took the difficult choices to fix the foundations and stabilise our public finances.

“Now we are going to deliver growth through investment and reform to create more jobs and more money in people’s pockets, get the NHS back on its feet, rebuild Britain and secure our borders in a decade of national renewal,” Ms Reeves added.

The sluggish services sector – which makes up the bulk of the British economy – was a particular drag on growth over the past three months. It expanded by 0.1%, cancelling out the 0.8% growth in the construction sector

The UK’s GDP for the the most recent quarter is lower than the 0.7% growth in the US and 0.4% in the Eurozone.

The figures have pushed the UK towards the bottom of the G7 growth table for the third quarter of the year.

It was expected to meet the same 0.2% growth figures reported in Germany and Japan – but fell below that after a slow September.

The pound remained stable following the news, hovering around $1.267. The FTSE 100, meanwhile, opened the day down by 0.4%.

The Bank of England last week predicted that Ms Reeves’s first budget as chancellor will increase inflation by up to half a percentage point over the next two years, contributing to a slower decline in interest rates than previously thought.

Announcing a widely anticipated 0.25 percentage point cut in the base rate to 4.75%, the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) forecast that inflation will return “sustainably” to its target of 2% in the first half of 2027, a year later than at its last meeting.

The Bank’s quarterly report found Ms Reeves’s £70bn package of tax and borrowing measures will place upward pressure on prices, as well as delivering a three-quarter point increase to GDP next year.

US

RFK Jr chosen as Donald Trump’s health secretary – as president-elect says he will do ‘unbelievable things’

Published

4 hours ago

November 15, 2024

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RFK Jr chosen as Donald Trump's health secretary - as president-elect says he will do 'unbelievable things'

Donald Trump has chosen vaccine sceptic Robert F Kennedy Jr as his new health secretary and said he will do “unbelievable things”.

The news was announced by Donald Trump Jr on X, before the president-elect confirmed the appointment just moments later.

Former Democrat RFK Jr, the nephew of former president John F Kennedy, had been running as an independent presidential candidate but dropped out of the race and endorsed Mr Trump in August.

In return for Mr Kennedy’s support during the election, president-elect Trump pledged to give him a “big role” – and RFK Jr’s preference for the health position was widely reported.

Mr Trump spoke on Thursday night at a gala, hosted at his Mar-a-Lago retreat in Florida, which included tech billionaire Elon Musk and actor Sylvester Stallone.

Directly addressing RFK Jr, who was in the audience, Mr Trump said: “We want you to come up with things… and ideas… and what you’ve been talking about for a long time. I think you’re going to do some unbelievable things. Nobody’s going to be able to do it like you.”

The health and human services (HHS) department includes the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Medicare, Medicaid and the National Institutes of Health.

RFK Jr will “restore these Agencies to the traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research, and beacons of Transparency, to end the Chronic Disease epidemic, and to Make America Great and Healthy Again,” the president-elect wrote on X.

Mr Trump added: “For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health.

“The Safety and Health of all Americans is the most important role of any Administration.”

Mr Kennedy is a known vaccine sceptic who has repeated misinformation on multiple occasions, including the discredited theory that childhood immunisations cause autism.

The RFK Jr-led health department will “play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming Health Crisis in this Country,” the president-elect added.

Earlier, his son Donald Trump Jr was the first to confirm the appointment, writing on X: “Robert F Kennedy Jr will be The Secretary of Health and Human Services! Promises Made Promises Kept.”

RFK Jr’s position will need to be confirmed with a Senate vote – but even with the chamber under Republican control, his appointment may face opposition because of his views on health issues.

Before Mr Trump announced his choice, Mr Kennedy had already claimed the new president would push to remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day in office. The addition of the compound has been cited as helping to improve dental health.

The department RKF Jr is hoping to oversee has more than 80,000 employees across the United States.