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Tag: U.S. President Joe Biden

  • Biden is the first president in 20 years to hold the Senate at the midterms

    Only three other presidents were able to grow support in the midterms in the past century.

    Defying political gravity, Democrats have avoided defeat in the Senate and could even score a victory.

    President Joe Biden’s party flipped Pennsylvania and held on to every other seat (bar Georgia, where the Senate race is headed for a runoff on Dec. 6), a result that few other presidents have enjoyed in the past.

    The Republicans are currently projected to win a slim majority in the House of Representatives, although 20 races remain too close to call. Still, Democrats’ losses in the lower chamber are fewer than forecast, scoring one of the best midterm results for the party in the last century.

    Typically, the political party in the White House loses popularity, and therefore seats, in the midterm elections. There are a number of reasons for this: an overall lower voter turnout compared to presidential elections, those dissatisfied with the status quo being more likely to head to the ballots than those who support it, and swing voters switching their vote away from the ruling party depending on how economic and social conditions have fared.

    Ahead of the Nov. 8 vote, Biden recorded low popularity rates in the polls as inflation touched 40-year highs. The odds appeared to be in Republicans’ favor, but the conservative party ultimately failed to get a leg up in the Senate races. Voters showed up for abortion rights, and against Donald Trump and candidates who doubted or rejected the outcome of the 2020 election .

    Time Capsule: When presidents’ parties gained in Senate races

    Only on three occasions since 1922 has the president’s party gained (or lost no) Senate seats.

    On Saturday Nov. 12, Mark Kelly’s re-election in Arizona put the Democrats one vote away from clinching the Senate. The former NASA astronaut, who won a second term in a state that has historically voted red, has at times criticized Biden on issues such as immigration.

    Later that day, the Nevada race results cemented the Democrats’ held of the Senate. When the tight race was called in Catherine Cortez Masto’s favor, Republicans’ 1994-like “red wave” talk fell flat on its head.

    Now, Masto’s win over Trump-backed Adam Laxalt gives Democrats an opportunity to clinch an outright Senate majority if they win in Georgia’s December runoff.

    All eyes on Georgia’s runoff election

    Neither candidate in the Georgia Senate race won an outright majority, so the top two, Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker, will face off in a runoff election on Dec 6. (Ironically, two black contenders will face-off with a tradition that was originally designed to keep Black voters away from the polls.)

    Independently, a Warnock win would make history considering there has never been a midterm where every incumbent who sought another term won their primary and general elections since the popular vote for US senators were established in 1913.

    In the context of the Senate, Warnock’s win would give Democrats a clear majority, so vice president Kamala Harris wouldn’t have to be the tie-breaker.

    Democrats are eyeing a Georgia win, president Biden says

    “I’m incredibly pleased by the turnout. And I think it’s a reflection of the quality of our candidates. And they’re all running on the same program. There wasn’t anybody who wasn’t running on what we did. They’re all staying, sticking with it. And so, I feel good. I’m looking forward to the next couple years.” —President Joe Biden, speaking to reporters on Nov. 13

    Person of interest: Mitch McConnell

    Many members of the Republican party, including Trump and his former White House senior adviser Stephen Miller, are blaming Minority Leader of the US Senate Mitch McConnell for losing the Arizona election. The Senate Leadership Fund, led by McConnell, withdrew broadcast ad spending from Arizona candidate Blake Masters to the tune of $9 million, and instead gave it to Lisa Murkowski, who was up against another Republican-backed nominee in Alaska. McConnell also spent more on Colorado than he did on Arizona, to little avail.

    As the tense Arizona race trotted on, Masters said: “The people who control the purse strings, Senate Leadership Fund, Mitch McConnell—McConnell decided to spend millions of dollars attacking a fellow Republican in Alaska instead of helping me defeat Senator Mark Kelly. Had he chosen to spend money in Arizona, this race would be over, we’d be celebrating a Senate Majority right now.”

    A disgruntled Masters said McConnell does not deserve to be a majority or minority leader, highlighting growing divisions regarding the future of the Republican party leadership.

    Source: Quartz.com

  • A federal judge has blocked Biden’s plan to forgive student debt

    Critics say Biden’s plan, which would forgive up to $20,000 in student loan debt, goes too far.

    A federal judge in Texas has blocked US President Joe Biden’s signature plan to forgive thousands of dollars in student debt.

    The decision by District Court Judge Mark Pittman, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, comes on the heels of a separate federal lawsuit filed by six Republican-led states: Arkansas, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Carolina.

    “In this country, we are not ruled by an all-powerful executive with a pen and a phone. Instead, we are ruled by a Constitution that provides for three distinct and independent branches of government,” Pittman wrote in his decision.

    “The Court is not blind to the current political division in our country. But it is fundamental to the survival of our Republic that the separation of powers as outlined in our Constitution be preserved.”

    White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Democrat administration disagreed with the ruling and had filed an immediate appeal.

    Biden’s plan, announced in August, would cancel $10,000 in student loan debt for those making less than $125,000 or households with less than $250,000 in income. Pell Grant recipients, a category reserved for students in significant financial need, would get an additional $10,000 in debt forgiven.

    The programme was widely popular among young people, and was credited with energising the youth vote in the 2022 midterm elections.

    “The President and this Administration are determined to help working and middle-class Americans get back on their feet, while our opponents — backed by extreme Republican special interests — sued to block millions of Americans from getting much-needed relief,” Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

    The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit by two borrowers who were partially or fully ineligible for Biden’s loan forgiveness plan. The plaintiffs argued the programme did not follow proper rule-making processes and was unlawful.

    They were backed by the Job Creators Network Foundation, a conservative advocacy group founded by Bernie Marcus, a co-founder of the building-supply chain Home Depot.

    The legal challenges have created confusion about whether borrowers who expected to have debt cancelled will have to resume making payments come January 1, when a pause prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic is set to expire.

    About 26 million people in the US have applied for student loan forgiveness, and the US Department of Education has already approved requests from 16 million, according to the White House.

    While the stay that followed the legal challenge brought by the six states temporarily stopped the administration from actually clearing debt, the White House has encouraged borrowers to continue applying for relief, saying the court order did not prevent applications or the review of applications.

    The Biden administration has argued the plan was legal under existing legislation that allowed the secretary of education to “waive or modify any statutory or regulatory provision applicable to the student financial assistance programs … as the Secretary deems necessary in connection with a war or other military operation or national emergency”.

    The administration had argued the COVID-19 pandemic created the authorisation needed to launch the programme.

    In his 26-page ruling, Pittman said it was irrelevant if Biden’s plan was good public policy, calling it “one of the largest exercises of legislative power without congressional authority in the history of the United States”.

     

  • Foreign leaders offer condolences over deadly South Korea crush

    Foreign leaders expressed condolences over the deadly crowd surge in Seoul’s Itaewon district, with at least 20 foreign nationals from as many as a dozen countries among those killed in the crush in a popular nightspot.

    South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol declared a period of national mourning on Sunday after the Halloween crush on Saturday night killed some 153 people.

    South Korea’s Ministry of Interior and Safety put the total at 20 foreign nationals killed. A ministry official told Reuters that among the dead were people from China, Iran, Russia, the United States, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Australia, Sri Lanka, and Norway, with several people still unidentified.

    Two Japanese nationals, a woman in her twenties and another woman between the age of 10 and 19, were confirmed to have died in the crush, an official at Japan’s foreign ministry said.

    “I am greatly shocked and deeply saddened by the loss of many precious lives, including young people with a bright future, as a result of the very tragic accident,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in a statement.

    At least four Chinese nationals were among those killed, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the Chinese embassy in Seoul.

    Latest Updates

    “On behalf of the Chinese government and people, I would like to express deep condolences to the victims and extend sincere condolences to their families and the injured,” President Xi Jinping said in a letter, according to Xinhua.

    Xi said some Chinese citizens were also injured, and hoped South Korea “will make every effort to cure and deal with the aftermath.”

    Four Russian citizens died, the RIA news agency reported, citing the Russian embassy in South Korea.

    “Please convey words of sincere sympathy and support to the families and friends of the victims, and also wishes for the swift recovery of all the injured,” President Vladimir Putin said in a Telegram to Yoon.

    U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden sent their condolences, writing: “We grieve with the people of the Republic of Korea and send our best wishes for a quick recovery to all those who were injured.”

    British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted: “All our thoughts are with those currently responding and all South Koreans at this very distressing time.”

    One Norwegian citizen was confirmed to have died in the crush, a spokesperson for Norway’s foreign ministry said, declining to provide any details.

    “I am devastated by news of the terrible incident in connection with Halloween celebrations in Seoul,” Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said in a statement. “My deepest condolences to families and friends who lost their loved ones. My thoughts are with those affected by this tragedy.”

    Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted: “I’m thinking of everyone affected by this tragedy, and wishing a fast and full recovery to those who were injured.”

    Pope Francis, addressing the faithful in St Peter’s Square on Sunday, said “we also pray … for those, especially young people, who died overnight in Seoul due to the tragic consequences of a sudden stampede.”

    “Italy is close to the Korean people in this moment of great sorrow and profound sadness,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Twitter.

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    Reporting by Josh Smith and Reuters bureaus Editing by William Mallard and Frances Kerry

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