Johnson allies warn that a speakership battle could delay Trump’s victory certification
CNN
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s allies are leaning into a key argument in a bid to avoid a chaotic floor fight over the gavel on Friday: A vote against Johnson could delay the finalization of Donald Trump’s White House win.
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s allies are leaning into a key argument in a bid to avoid a chaotic floor fight over the gavel on Friday: A vote against Johnson could delay the finalization of Donald Trump’s White House win. A day before the speaker’s election, Johnson, who has been endorsed by Trump to keep the top leadership post, is still racing to win over multiple GOP holdouts, a scenario that some Republicans privately fear could lead to another days-long protracted floor fight. But this time, there’s a huge shadow over the race: Congress has never before tried to certify a presidential election without a House speaker in place. Even senior Republicans say it’s unclear what would happen if there is no speaker on January 6 — when Congress is scheduled to certify Trump’s win — and they’re not eager not to find out. “To oppose Johnson now weakens the GOP and strengthens Hakeem Jeffries. It also puts at risk the Electoral College Certification scheduled for 6 Jan. These guys serve as a ‘fifth column’ for the Dems,” Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska told CNN. The House can’t conduct any official business without a speaker, which means there are no clear options to certify Trump’s win without one, according to multiple sources. The message so far from Congress’s own parliamentarians to party leaders has been: Elect a speaker before January 6, according to one of those sources. Republicans are also acutely aware that they will have a narrow window to push through their agenda once they take control of both chambers of Congress and the White House. Trump’s inauguration is set to take place on January 20, but the election results need to be certified by Congress before he can take office.
If nothing else, the controversy over the Trump administration’s second strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean has surfaced a long-overdue debate about its already legally dubious first strikes.
Two top House lawmakers emerged divided along party lines after a private briefing with the military official who oversaw September’s attack on an alleged drug vessel that included a so-called double-tap strike that killed surviving crew members, with a top Democrat calling video of the incident that was shared as part of the briefing “one of the most troubling things” he has seen as a lawmaker.
Authorities in Colombia are dealing with increasingly sophisticated criminals, who use advanced tech to produce and conceal the drugs they hope to export around the world. But police and the military are fighting back, using AI to flag suspicious passengers, cargo and mail - alongside more conventional air and sea patrols. CNN’s Isa Soares gets an inside look at Bogotá’s war on drugs.
Young Americans are “a generation under profound strain” with little confidence in institutions and widespread economic concerns, according to a Harvard Institute of Politics survey of adults younger than 30 released Thursday.
As lawmakers demand answers over reports that the US military carried out a follow-up strike that killed survivors during an attacked on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, a career Navy SEAL who has spent most of his 30 years of military experience in special operations will be responsible for providing them.
The murder trial of Brian Walshe, who is accused of killing and dismembering his wife in 2023 continues. Follow for live updates.
The FBI arrested a person Thursday who investigators believe planted pipe bombs near the Republican and Democratic National Committee headquarters the night before the 2021 US Capitol riot.
Lawyers for the New York attorney general’s office are expected to appear in federal court in Albany on Thursday to try to disqualify a US attorney from investigating the state’s civil case against President Donald Trump.
A new poll shows more than 70% of Republicans with Obamacare coverage don’t want their enhanced premium subsidies to expire.
A safety volunteer accused of fatally shooting a man taking part in a “No Kings” protest last June in Salt Lake City while firing at another man he believed to be a potential mass shooter has been charged with manslaughter, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
The specter of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown looms over the Somali diaspora in the Twin Cities – home to the nation’s largest Somali population.
Honduras’ former President Juan Orlando Hernández thanked US President Donald Trump for pardoning his US drug trafficking conviction amid criticism from lawmakers that the pardon undermines the White House’s efforts to stop drug trafficking.
President Donald Trump’s name has been installed on the building and signage around the US Institute of Peace (USIP) – an independent agency that the administration gutted earlier this year.