Tag: campaign

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The congresswoman who heads the campaign arm for U.S. House of Representatives Democrats has acknowledged mistakes after lawmakers complained about a lack of racial diversity within the organization, and she named a Cuban-American as interim executive director as part of a major staff shakeup. The announcement by Representative Cheri Bustos late on Monday followed several days of turmoil at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), a controversy that has sidetracked the organization as it seeks to...

DETROIT (Reuters) - Moderate candidates voiced criticism of the progressive “wish-list economics” pushed by candidates like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren as the second round of the second Democratic presidential debates kicked off on Tuesday. Montana Governor Steve Bullock, who did not participate in the first debate, began by criticizing his fellow candidates for being too liberal in the first debate last month in Miami. “Watching that last debate, folks seemed more concerned about scoring points or outdoing each...

DETROIT (Reuters) - Progressive allies Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren headline the first night of the second Democratic presidential debates on Tuesday, with eight other contenders aiming for a breakout performance that could propel them into the top tier of the White House race. The first of two debates on back-to-back nights will give Warren and Sanders, old friends who have been battling for second place in opinion polls behind front-runner Joe Biden, a chance to draw some contrasts...

(Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Tuesday dismissed a Democratic Party lawsuit arguing that the Russian government, President Donald Trump’s campaign and WikiLeaks carried out a conspiracy to influence the 2016 U.S. election. U.S. District Judge John Koeltl in Manhattan said he could not hear the claims against Russia, which were the focus of the case, because of a legal doctrine called sovereign immunity that shields foreign governments from litigation in the United States. “The remedies for hostile...

DETROIT (Reuters) - Joe Biden says he is done being polite when it comes to defending his decades-long record on race. But when the former vice president is flanked on the debate stage Wednesday night by U.S. Senators Kamala Harris of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey, who in recent weeks have called into question Biden’s commitment to racial justice, how he responds to their criticism will matter. The sparring between the front-runner and his two black rivals...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Kamala Harris on Monday released a “Medicare for All” proposal ahead of a second debate for Democratic presidential candidates, when their differing approaches to healthcare insurance policy are expected to feature prominently. Harris’ plan would allow Americans to buy into the Medicare government health insurance program, establishing a 10-year phase-in period during which newly born children would be automatically enrolled and healthcare providers can transition. The plan would allow private health insurers to offer...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior lawmaker in the U.S. House of Representatives on Sunday rejected the notion that Democrats must decide whether to pursue the impeachment of Republican President Donald Trump before the 2020 election season shifts into high gear. With some Democrats warning that the window for impeachment was closing with the approach of elections, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler was asked if he thought there was a deadline. “No, I don’t,” Nadler told CNN’s “State...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tom Barrack, a billionaire friend of U.S. President Donald Trump, pursued a plan to buy Westinghouse Electric Corp even as he lobbied Trump to become a special envoy to promote the building by the firm of nuclear power plants in Saudi Arabia, said a congressional report released on Monday. While Barrack failed in both efforts, the report provides fresh evidence of the ease with which some corporate and foreign interests have gained access to Trump and...

WARSAW (Reuters) - Over 1,000 people gathered in Warsaw on Saturday in support of LGBT rights a week after the first pride march in the city of Bialystok was marred by violence. Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party has made LGBT rights a campaign issue ahead of parliamentary elections expected in October, with many politicians arguing pride marches promote unnecessary public displays of sexuality. “The tension is growing and is tied to the politics of the ruling party,...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Monday introduced a bill that would ensure any climate change legislation considered by Congress prioritizes low-income and vulnerable communities. The Climate Equity Act would ensure that Congress and the White House are held accountable for putting low-income and indigenous communities and minority groups that are on the “front lines” of climate change at the core of climate proposals, such as the Green...

LGBTQ celebrities including legendary actor Sir Ian McKellen and comedian and actor Stephen Fry have lent their backing to a campaign aiming to create a statue of murdered gay playwright Joe Orton, in his home city of Leicester. Orton, whose plays include Entertaining Mr Sloane and Loot, was murdered by his boyfriend Kenneth Halliwell in 1967 with a hammer. Orton’s sister, Leonie, said she hoped the statue would “serve as an inspirational reminder that talent is everywhere and art is for...

President Trump lashed out at probes into his 2016 campaign and Russian election interference on Friday, suggesting that investigators should open a probe into a book deal signed by former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama. “They want to investigate, they want to go fishing and I watched Bob Mueller and they have nothing,” Trump said of Democrats during an Oval Office gathering to announce an agreement with Guatemala. “It’s a disgrace,” he continued. “We want to...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller emphasized on Wednesday he had not exonerated Donald Trump of obstruction of justice, as the president has claimed, but his long-awaited congressional testimony did little to add momentum to any Democratic impeachment ambitions and Trump heartily declared victory. “This was a very big day for the Republican Party. And you could say this was a great day for me, but I don’t even like to say that,” the Republican president said...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A day before Robert Mueller’s eagerly anticipated congressional testimony, a senior Democratic U.S. lawmaker on Tuesday accused President Donald Trump’s Justice Department of arrogance in instructing the former special counsel to limit the scope of his remarks and said it lacked the authority for such a directive. On Wednesday, Mueller is scheduled to appear at back-to-back hearings before the Democratic-led House of Representatives Judiciary Committee and Intelligence Committee to discuss his inquiry into Russia’s role in...