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The 39-page indictment against Menendez, a 69-year-old Democrat who leads the Senate’s foreign relations committee, follows a lengthy investigation by federal prosecutors in Manhattan.
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The investigation focused on whether Menendez and his wife improperly took cash, gold, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a “low-or-no-show-job”, a luxury vehicle and “other things of value”, according to the indictment.
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The US attorney’s office in Manhattan has scheduled a press conference for 11am Eastern time to discuss the indictment, which also charges the three businessmen: Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes.
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EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1695390863000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”09.54 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1695390791000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”09.53 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”09.53″,”title”:”New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez charged with bribery”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Fri 22 Sep 2023 09.54 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Fri 22 Sep 2023 08.46 EDT”},{“id”:”650d939a8f087beab56dee3e”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Kevin McCarthy ended the week in the same predicament that he started it with: teetering on the edge of a government shutdown as his House speakership hangs by a thread.
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The House wrapped up its work on Thursday with no clear path forward on advancing a stopgap government spending bill – a grim sign with just nine days left to avert a federal shutdown. In an advisory to members, House Republican whip Tom Emmer said spending negotiations were “ongoing”, but he did not specify any plans for a vote on Friday.
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The announcement came hours after a procedural motion to advance House Republicans’ defense spending bill was defeated by far-right members for the second time this week. McCarthy and his team spent the week trying to appease and cajole the handful of holdouts within their conference who blocked the bill and also oppose a stopgap measure, but those efforts failed to sway enough members to advance the defense bill.
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The two failed votes on Tuesday and Thursday were particularly worrisome for McCarthy considering the defense spending bill is generally viewed as the least contentious of the funding bills that Congress must pass.
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Leaving the floor after the House failed to approve House Republicans’ defense spending bill, Speaker Kevin McCarthy said:
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\n
I don’t understand why anybody votes against bringing the idea and having the debate. This is a whole new concept of individuals that just want to burn the whole place down. That doesn’t work.
\n
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“This is a whole new concept of individuals that just want to burn the whole place down.”
— After House Republicans once again failed to pass a basic procedural rule to fund the Pentagon, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) hits some members of his own conference pic.twitter.com/Qt4AR71jP3
— The Recount (@therecount) September 21, 2023
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Good morning, US politics blog readers. The House wrapped up its work on Thursday after failing to advance a stopgap government spending bill, as members continued to clash with just days left to avert a federal shutdown. Kevin McCarthy, who had projected optimism at the start of the day, now faces a reality where his speakership hangs by a thread.
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The White House will tell federal agencies on Friday to prepare for a shutdown, AP reported, citing a government official. If the House and the Senate do not pass a spending bill before 1 October, the lapse in funding will likely force hundreds of thousands of federal workers to go without pay and bring a halt to crucial government services.
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McCarthy was dealt his second humiliating defeat of the week, after a proposal to take up House Republicans’ defense spending bill failed in a vote of 216 to 212, after five hard-right members – Dan Bishop of North Carolina, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Eli Crane of Arizona, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Matt Rosendale of Montana – joined Democrats in opposing the motion. The Thursday vote marked the second time this week that the motion had failed, after members of the House Freedom caucus first blocked the bill on Tuesday.
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Given that the defense spending bill is usually one of the least contentious spending measures in the House, the second failed vote spelled major trouble for the spending talks. Leaving the floor on Thursday, McCarthy voiced exasperation with his critics within the Republican conference.
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“I don’t understand why anybody votes against bringing the idea and having the debate,” McCarthy told reporters.
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This is a whole new concept of individuals that just want to burn the whole place down. That doesn’t work.
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Donald Trump, the clear frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, has complicated matters from the sidelines, urging Republicans to use government funding as leverage for his own personal gains.
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Emphasizing the serious threat posed by a shutdown, the White House implored Republicans to “stop playing political games with people’s lives”. “Extreme House Republicans showed yet again that their chaos is marching us toward a reckless and damaging government shutdown,” the White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said Thursday.
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Here’s what else we’re watching today:
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1.30pm Eastern time: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre will brief reporters alongside Georgia congresswoman and senior presidential adviser, Lucy McBath.
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2:45pm: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will deliver remarks on gun safety in the Rose Garden in the White House.
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Key events
New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez charged with bribery
Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey and his wife, Nadine, have been charged in a federal corruption indictment in connection with their relationship with three businessmen from their home state.
The 39-page indictment against Menendez, a 69-year-old Democrat who leads the Senate’s foreign relations committee, follows a lengthy investigation by federal prosecutors in Manhattan.
The investigation focused on whether Menendez and his wife improperly took cash, gold, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a “low-or-no-show-job”, a luxury vehicle and “other things of value”, according to the indictment.
The US attorney’s office in Manhattan has scheduled a press conference for 11am Eastern time to discuss the indictment, which also charges the three businessmen: Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes.
Faced with the House stalemate over a government stopgap funding bill, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday set up a path for the Senate to move first on a bill to fund the government beyond 30 September.
Senate aides told the Hill the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) bill could serve as a legislative vehicle to pass a continuing resolution to fund the federal government for a few weeks – but that it will likely not include money for the war in Ukraine or disaster relief.
House Republicans erupted in fury on Thursday after hardliners again blockaded the floor for the second time in a week.
Congressman Steve Womack of Arkansas told Politico:
This is painful. It gives me a headache. This is a very difficult series of missteps by our conference. If you can’t do [the defense bill], what can you do?
Another, New York’s Anthony D’Esposito, said House GOP members were “pretty frustrated”.
At this point, it seems like there are some people playing policy warfare, and I think we need to move our country forward.
Mike Lawler, a moderate Republican New York congressman, described the GOP dysfunction as a “clown show”, NBC reported.
For my colleagues, they have to come to a realization: If they are unable or unwilling to govern, others will. And in a divided government where you have Democrats controlling the Senate, a Democrat controlling the White House, there needs to be a realization that you’re not going to get everything you want.
“Just throwing a temper tantrum and stomping your feet, frankly not only is it wrong – it’s pathetic,” he added.
Joan E Greve
In short, House Republicans continue to squabble over a budget plan that has no chance of ever becoming law, and some of them appear willing to shut down the government over the issue.
Hanging over the spending fight is the very real question of whether Kevin McCarthy will be able to hold on to his speakership.
Hard-right Republicans have made clear that, if McCarthy attempts to cut a deal with Democrats to fund the government, they will move to oust the speaker – a viable possibility when it only takes one member to call a vote to vacate the chair. But if hard-right Republicans do not drop their opposition to a stopgap bill, McCarthy may ultimately need Democrats’ support if he wants to avoid a shutdown.
Depending on whether McCarthy can strike a deal with his critics, the speaker may soon have to choose between keeping the government open and keeping his gavel.
Joan E Greve
With the odds of a shutdown rising, the White House again called on House speaker Kevin McCarthy to honor the funding deal outlined in the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which passed the House and the Senate with bipartisan support earlier this year.
That agreement, brokered between President Joe Biden and McCarthy, suspended the debt ceiling and outlined modest spending cuts for fiscal year 2024, but those cuts were deemed insufficient by members of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus.
Capitalizing on House Republicans’ narrow majority, those hard-right members are now demanding steeper cuts in exchange for their support of a stopgap spending bill. McCarthy’s previous concessions to the holdout members, including the launch of an impeachment inquiry against Biden last week, have so far failed to swing enough Republican votes to keep the government open.
It also remains unclear whether the Freedom Caucus’ proposed budget – which the White House has warned would include severe funding cuts for border security, education and food safety – can even pass muster with some of the more centrist members of the House Republican conference. Those suggested cuts will certainly fail to win widespread support in the Senate, which has taken a more bipartisan approach to the funding negotiations.
McCarthy’s House speakership hangs by a thread
Joan E Greve
Kevin McCarthy ended the week in the same predicament that he started it with: teetering on the edge of a government shutdown as his House speakership hangs by a thread.
The House wrapped up its work on Thursday with no clear path forward on advancing a stopgap government spending bill – a grim sign with just nine days left to avert a federal shutdown. In an advisory to members, House Republican whip Tom Emmer said spending negotiations were “ongoing”, but he did not specify any plans for a vote on Friday.
The announcement came hours after a procedural motion to advance House Republicans’ defense spending bill was defeated by far-right members for the second time this week. McCarthy and his team spent the week trying to appease and cajole the handful of holdouts within their conference who blocked the bill and also oppose a stopgap measure, but those efforts failed to sway enough members to advance the defense bill.
The two failed votes on Tuesday and Thursday were particularly worrisome for McCarthy considering the defense spending bill is generally viewed as the least contentious of the funding bills that Congress must pass.
Thursday’s proposal to take up House Republicans’ defense spending bill failed in a vote of 216 to 212, with five GOP members opposing the motion. They were Dan Bishop of North Carolina, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Eli Crane of Arizona, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Matt Rosendale of Montana.
Explaining her vote against advancing the defense bill on Thursday, Greene said she wanted to send a message about the need to end funding for Ukraine.
I just voted NO to the rule for the Defense bill because they refused to take the war money for Ukraine out and put it in a separate bill.
And 55% of Americans and 71% of Republican voters agree with me that we should stop funding a war in Ukraine.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) September 21, 2023
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I just voted NO to the rule for the Defense bill because they refused to take the war money for Ukraine out and put it in a separate bill.
And 55% of Americans and 71% of Republican voters agree with me that we should stop funding a war in Ukraine.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) September 21, 2023
Bishop cited a lack of trust in McCarthy’s leadership, telling reporters:
Let’s be honest with each other. How about a little candor, not what you think the people would like to hear. Just tell them squarely what you’re going to do. Do that!
After yesterday’s developments, I’m going to vote no on the Defense Approps rule again. There is no basis to anticipate a complete set of appropriations bills that will adhere to the Conference spending level agreement. (1/2)
— Rep. Dan Bishop (@RepDanBishop) September 21, 2023
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After yesterday’s developments, I’m going to vote no on the Defense Approps rule again. There is no basis to anticipate a complete set of appropriations bills that will adhere to the Conference spending level agreement. (1/2)
— Rep. Dan Bishop (@RepDanBishop) September 21, 2023
Voting to advance only this “must-pass” bill is the antithesis of a disciplined change of direction. It will become the Christmas tree for completion of the Washington wash cycle — lather, rinse, and repeat. (2/2)
— Rep. Dan Bishop (@RepDanBishop) September 21, 2023
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Voting to advance only this “must-pass” bill is the antithesis of a disciplined change of direction. It will become the Christmas tree for completion of the Washington wash cycle — lather, rinse, and repeat. (2/2)
— Rep. Dan Bishop (@RepDanBishop) September 21, 2023
Rosendale said he was voting against “a ploy by the DC Cartel to continue their out-of-control spending”.
🧵 Today, the House of Representatives will bring up the DoD approps bill again to try and pass it. Unfortunately, the critically important funding of our military is being used as a ploy by the DC Cartel to continue their out-of-control spending which is why I will be voting…
— Matt Rosendale (@RepRosendale) September 21, 2023
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🧵 Today, the House of Representatives will bring up the DoD approps bill again to try and pass it. Unfortunately, the critically important funding of our military is being used as a ploy by the DC Cartel to continue their out-of-control spending which is why I will be voting…
— Matt Rosendale (@RepRosendale) September 21, 2023
These are the exact types of political games I was sent here to stop. I am ready, willing, and able to stay in Washington to work with anyone who wants to focus on developing the 12 appropriations bills and responsibly fund government.
— Matt Rosendale (@RepRosendale) September 21, 2023
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These are the exact types of political games I was sent here to stop. I am ready, willing, and able to stay in Washington to work with anyone who wants to focus on developing the 12 appropriations bills and responsibly fund government.
— Matt Rosendale (@RepRosendale) September 21, 2023
McCarthy says hard-right Republicans ‘want to burn whole place down’
Leaving the floor after the House failed to approve House Republicans’ defense spending bill, Speaker Kevin McCarthy said:
I don’t understand why anybody votes against bringing the idea and having the debate. This is a whole new concept of individuals that just want to burn the whole place down. That doesn’t work.
“This is a whole new concept of individuals that just want to burn the whole place down.”
— After House Republicans once again failed to pass a basic procedural rule to fund the Pentagon, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) hits some members of his own conference pic.twitter.com/Qt4AR71jP3
— The Recount (@therecount) September 21, 2023
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“This is a whole new concept of individuals that just want to burn the whole place down.”
— After House Republicans once again failed to pass a basic procedural rule to fund the Pentagon, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) hits some members of his own conference pic.twitter.com/Qt4AR71jP3
— The Recount (@therecount) September 21, 2023
The Democratic House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, chastised his GOP colleagues over their internal divisions after a proposal to take up House Republicans’ defense spending bill failed, accusing them of jeopardizing Americans’ wellbeing for the sake of a political stunt.
“House Republicans continue to be held captive by the most extreme element of their conference, and it’s hurting the American people,” Jeffries said at a press conference on Thursday afternoon.
Why are the American people facing down another manufactured GOP crisis? They need to end their civil war.
“House Republicans continue to be in the midst of a civil war…that is hurting the ability of the Congress to do the business of the American people.”
— Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, after House GOP failed to pass a procedural vote to allow a vote on a Pentagon funding bill pic.twitter.com/2E6XLVX2C6
— The Recount (@therecount) September 21, 2023
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“House Republicans continue to be in the midst of a civil war…that is hurting the ability of the Congress to do the business of the American people.”
— Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, after House GOP failed to pass a procedural vote to allow a vote on a Pentagon funding bill pic.twitter.com/2E6XLVX2C6
— The Recount (@therecount) September 21, 2023
Joan E Greve
There are several unknowns still hanging over House speaker Kevin McCarthy’s effort, which, as the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, has pointed out, could be politically damaging to the party.
The first is whether hard-right members of the House Freedom caucus – who have capitalized on McCarthy’s narrow majority – will eventually abandon their blockade as the shutdown deadline approaches.
The second is if whatever bill Republicans do pass will include the Ukraine aid and disaster relief funding the Democratic-led Senate is demanding. Without Senate agreement, any measure cannot be enacted.
Chaos on Capitol Hill as White House warns to prepare for shutdown
Good morning, US politics blog readers. The House wrapped up its work on Thursday after failing to advance a stopgap government spending bill, as members continued to clash with just days left to avert a federal shutdown. Kevin McCarthy, who had projected optimism at the start of the day, now faces a reality where his speakership hangs by a thread.
The White House will tell federal agencies on Friday to prepare for a shutdown, AP reported, citing a government official. If the House and the Senate do not pass a spending bill before 1 October, the lapse in funding will likely force hundreds of thousands of federal workers to go without pay and bring a halt to crucial government services.
McCarthy was dealt his second humiliating defeat of the week, after a proposal to take up House Republicans’ defense spending bill failed in a vote of 216 to 212, after five hard-right members – Dan Bishop of North Carolina, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Eli Crane of Arizona, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Matt Rosendale of Montana – joined Democrats in opposing the motion. The Thursday vote marked the second time this week that the motion had failed, after members of the House Freedom caucus first blocked the bill on Tuesday.
Given that the defense spending bill is usually one of the least contentious spending measures in the House, the second failed vote spelled major trouble for the spending talks. Leaving the floor on Thursday, McCarthy voiced exasperation with his critics within the Republican conference.
“I don’t understand why anybody votes against bringing the idea and having the debate,” McCarthy told reporters.
This is a whole new concept of individuals that just want to burn the whole place down. That doesn’t work.
Donald Trump, the clear frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, has complicated matters from the sidelines, urging Republicans to use government funding as leverage for his own personal gains.
Emphasizing the serious threat posed by a shutdown, the White House implored Republicans to “stop playing political games with people’s lives”. “Extreme House Republicans showed yet again that their chaos is marching us toward a reckless and damaging government shutdown,” the White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said Thursday.
Here’s what else we’re watching today:
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1.30pm Eastern time: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre will brief reporters alongside Georgia congresswoman and senior presidential adviser, Lucy McBath.
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2:45pm: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will deliver remarks on gun safety in the Rose Garden in the White House.
