"This cannot wait": Biden urges support for Ukraine in address In an address today, Joe Biden urged Congress to pass his national security supplemental request, including funding to support Ukraine. Speaking from the White House’s Roosevelt Room, the president said: Congress has to uphold the national security needs of the United States and, quite frankly, of our partners as well. This cannot wait. Congress needs to pass supplemental funding for Ukraine before they break for the holiday recess. It’s as simple as that. Biden also touched on border policies, saying: Extreme Republicans are playing chicken with our national security, holding Ukraine’s funding hostage to their extreme partisan border policies. Let me be clear: we need real solutions. I support real solutions at the border. I put forward a comprehensive plan the first day I came into office. I’ve made it clear that we need Congress to make changes to fix what is a broken immigration system, because we all know it’s broken. And I’m willing to do significantly more. But in terms of changes to policy and to provide resources that we need at the border, I’m willing to change policy as well. There are now 40 yes’s and 43 no’s in the Senate procedural vote to begin work on the bill surrounding $106bn in aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. As mentioned earlier, 60 votes are required. The Senate has begun a procedural vote on Joe Biden’s national security supplemental funding request. Sixty votes are required to begin work on the bill, which involves $106bn Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan funding. So far, there are 30 yes’s and 29 no’s. The procedural vote remains underway. "This cannot wait": Biden urges support for Ukraine in address In an address today, Joe Biden urged Congress to pass his national security supplemental request, including funding to support Ukraine. Speaking from the White House’s Roosevelt Room, the president said: Congress has to uphold the national security needs of the United States and, quite frankly, of our partners as well. This cannot wait. Congress needs to pass supplemental funding for Ukraine before they break for the holiday recess. It’s as simple as that. Biden also touched on border policies, saying: Extreme Republicans are playing chicken with our national security, holding Ukraine’s funding hostage to their extreme partisan border policies. Let me be clear: we need real solutions. I support real solutions at the border. I put forward a comprehensive plan the first day I came into office. I’ve made it clear that we need Congress to make changes to fix what is a broken immigration system, because we all know it’s broken. And I’m willing to do significantly more. But in terms of changes to policy and to provide resources that we need at the border, I’m willing to change policy as well. A new school board president in Pennsylvania was sworn in on Monday on a stack of frequently banned books. In a video posted by the Recount, Karen Smith, the new Central Bucks school board president can be seen saying her vows on a stack of six banned books. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the books include Night by Elie Wiesel, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart, All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M Johnson, Flamer by Mike Curato, and Beyond Magenta by Susan Kukin. According to the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF), between 1 January and 31 August, OIF reported 698 to censor library materials and services and documented challenges to 1,915 unique titles. The ban marks a 20% increase from the same reporting period in 2022, OIF said. Four Republican presidential candidates are set to meet onstage in Alabama tonight for the fourth Republican presidential debate. The Guardian’s Lauren Gambino reports: Four White House hopefuls will meet onstage in Alabama for the fourth Republican presidential primary debate, the smallest lineup yet as the window for denting Donald Trump’s lead narrows. Wednesday night’s debate, hosted by the cable network NewsNation at the Moody Music Hall at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, offers one of the last major opportunities for the candidates to make their case to Republican voters before the party’s nominating contest begins next month. The two-hour event will feature Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, and Nikki Haley, a former governor of South Carolina and former United Nations ambassador, who are locked in an increasingly combative scrap to be the second-place alternative to Trump. They will be joined by Chris Christie, a former governor of New Jersey and Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur, who both trail far behind. Joe Biden approves $4.8bn in student debt cancellation for 80,300 people Joe Biden has announced that his administration is approving another $4.8bn in student debt cancellation for 80,300 people. In a statement released on Wednesday, the president said that this brings the total debt cancellation that his administration has approved to $132bn for over 3.6 million Americans. Biden said: Today’s announcement comes on top of all we’ve been able to achieve for students and student loan borrowers in the past few years. This includes: achieving the largest increases in Pell Grants in over a decade to help families who earn less than roughly $60,000 a year; fixing the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program so that borrowers who go into public service get the debt relief they’re entitled to under the law; and creating the most generous Income-Driven Repayment plan in history – the Save plan. The Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison has released the following statement on Kevin McCarthy’s resignation announcement in which he said the US will be “better off without Kevin in office”: In his short time as speaker, Kevin McCarthy managed to plunge the People’s House into chaos in the name of serving one person and one person alone: Donald Trump. At every turn, Kevin sought to give his puppet master a lifeline, even after the horrific events of January 6, and spent his embarrassing speakership bending the knee to the most extreme factions of the MAGA base. This anticlimactic end to Kevin’s political career is in line with the rest of his time on Capitol Hill – plagued by cowardice, incompetence, and fecklessness. Our country will be better off without Kevin in office, but his failed tenure in the House should serve as a stark warning to the country about the future of the GOP – no matter how much he kowtowed to the extreme right, no matter how much he kissed the ring, none of it was MAGA enough for the de facto leader of the Republican Party, Donald Trump. Wisconsin governor vetoes Republican bill that would have banned gender-affirming care Wisconsin’s Democratic governor Tony Evers has vetoed a Republican bill that would have banned gender-affirming care including surgeries and hormone treatments for minors in the state. In a statement released on Wednesday, Evers said: I promised I would veto any bill that makes Wisconsin a less safe, less inclusive, and less welcoming place for LGBTQ folks and kids—and I keep my promises. George Santos, the expelled Republican representative from New York, is reportedly making six figures by selling Cameo videos. The Guardian’s Gloria Oladipo reports: The disgraced lawmaker George Santos is reportedly making six figures by selling videos on the platform Cameo, generating more income than his previous salary as a US congressman, Semafor first reported. Santos, a former Republican representative from New York state, was expelled from Congress last Friday following a blistering ethics report that detailed his misuse of campaign funds. Since his removal, Santos has been publishing videos on Cameo, a website that allows users to purchase personalized videos from celebrities. The disgraced congressman has drastically increased the price of his videos, now selling them for $400 a pop from his initial $75-per-video price point. Here is a video Kevin McCarthy released surrounding his resignation announcement: In the video, McCarthy said: Traveling the country and serving with all of you, I have encountered far more people that want to build something than those who want to tear it down. I have faith in this country because America is more than a country, America is an idea. Today, I am driven by the same purpose that I felt when I arrived in Congress but now it is time to pursue my passion in a different arena. Joe Biden suggests 50 Democrats could beat Trump in response to reporter"s question Joe Biden has responded to a question on whether he thinks there are any Democrats who could beat Donald Trump other than himself. "Probably 50 of them,” replied Biden. He then went on to say, “I’m not the only one who can beat him, but I will beat him.” In response to Kevin McCarthy’s resignation announcement, California’s Democratic representative Adam Schiff said: “My dad asked me recently what I thought of Kevin McCarthy. In light of his retirement, I figured I’d share …” He went on to post a video in which he spoke about McCarthy, saying, “I think he’s a bad egg.” Lindsey Graham says McCarthy "has much to be proud of" and will be missed South Carolina’s Republican senator Lindsey Graham has released the following statement on Kevin McCarthy’s resignation announcement: I wish Kevin McCarthy well in his future endeavors to help the conservative cause. Kevin has much to be proud of, rising through the ranks to Minority Leader and Speaker of the House. He navigated the Republican Party through some of the most turbulent periods in recent history, getting results in difficult circumstances. “He will be missed, but I am sure his contributions to the future of the Republican Party will be enormous.” California’s Democratic representative Eric Swalwell, who predicted earlier this week that McCarthy would leave Congress, has responded to McCarthy’s resignation with a check mark emoji. Earlier this week, Swalwell tweeted: “With Santos gone, you’re hearing it here first: the next GOP member to leave Congress will be@SpeakerMcCarthy. No way he stays. A guy who kidney punches his colleagues from behind is too afraid to serve out a full term with them. I bet he’s gone by end of year. What say you?” In an odd and fairly threatening post, Georgia’s Republican representative Majorie Taylor Greene responded to the news of Kevin McCarthy resigning, saying: “Well.. Now in 2024, we will have a 1 seat majority in the House of Representatives. Congratulations Freedom Caucus for one and 105 Rep who expel our own for the other. I can assure you Republican voters didn’t give us the majority to crash the ship. Hopefully no one dies.” McCarthy"s exit will leave two vacancies in the House Kevin McCarthy’s resignation will come before the special elections which are expected to take place either next February or March to fill the vacancy left by George Santos who was expelled from the House last Friday. With McCarthy gone, there will be two Republican vacancies in the House. Former speaker Kevin McCarthy to retire from House at end of this year Former speaker Kevin McCarthy has announced that he will resign from the House at the end of the year. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed published on Wednesday and titled “I’m leaving the House but not the fight,” McCarthy said that he had decided to depart the House at the end of this year and “serve America in new ways”. The California Republican and former House minority leader wrote: I know my work is only getting started. I will continue to recruit our country’s best and brightest to run for elected office. The Republican Party is expanding every day, and I am committed to lending my experience to support the next generation of leaders.” He went on to add: “I never could have imagined the journey when I first threw my hat into the ring. I go knowing I left it all on the field—as always, with a smile on my face. And looking back, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Only in America.” In January, McCarthy became House speaker after 15 rounds of voting. His short tenure came to an end in October when a handful of Republicans led a move to oust him in a historic vote following his cooperation with Democrats in a bipartisan effort to avoid a government shutdown. West Virginia’s Democratic senator Joe Manchin, a member of the Senate armed services committee, has released the following statement on his vote for the motion to advance the national security supplemental funding bill: “Common sense should dictate that we need to secure our own border in addition to helping Ukraine and Israel secure theirs. In the greatest country on Earth, we do not have to choose between protecting our homeland and defending our allies. My support for Israel and Ukraine is unwavering but it does not supersede my commitment to my own country. We need major, structural reforms to limit the number of illegal crossings at our southern border and regain operational control. I am voting to proceed on this bill because I have received a commitment from Majority Leader Chuck Schumer that we can add amendments to the national security supplemental that will secure our border.” Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer is expected to ask for unanimous consent on the Senate floor to pass the assault weapons ban on Thursday. A statement from Schumer’s office said: “Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will ask unanimous consent to pass the Assault Weapons Ban. Leader Schumer has led the fight for the Assault Weapons Ban since originally passing it on a bipartisan basis alongside the late Senator Dianne Feinstein.” Justice department files war crimes charges against four Russia-affiliated military personnel The justice department has filed war crime charges against four Russia-affiliated military personnel in connection with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In a statement released on Wednesday, the justice department announced that the charges include torture, inhuman treatment unlawful confinement of a US national in Ukraine. It said: “Suren Seiranovich Mkrtchyan, 45, Dmitry Budnik, Valerii LNU (last name unknown), and Nazar LNU were each charged in connection with their unlawful detainment of a U.S. national in the context of the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The defendants are alleged to have interrogated, severely beaten, and tortured the victim. They also allegedly threatened to kill the victim and conducted a mock execution … According to allegations in the indictment, Mkrtchyan and Budnik were commanding officers of military units of the Russian Armed Forces and/or the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, and Valerii and Nazar were lower-ranking military personnel. The defendants are alleged to have been fighting on behalf of Russia in Ukraine when they allegedly committed war crimes.” According to the justice department, Mkrtchyan and soldiers under his command allegedly abducted the victim from his home in southern Ukraine’s Kherson oblast and unlawfully confined him for at least 10 days. During the abduction, Mrkrtchyan, Valerii, Nazar and others allegedly threw the victim face down to the ground while he was naked, tied his hands behind his back, pointed a gun at his head, and severely beat him, including with the stocks of their gun, they said. Responding to the charges, homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said: “The indictments unsealed today send a clear message to Russia – our government will spare no effort and spare no resource to hold accountable those who violate the fundamental human rights of an American.” If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum penalty of life in prison. Progressive senator Sanders says "deeply concerned" over security assistance to Israel In addition to opposition from Republicans, Senate Democrats may face trouble in today’s vote on a military assistance package for Israel and Ukraine from a lawmaker who is more or less one of their own: Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with the Democrats. In a letter released last night, Sanders, a prominent progressive in the chamber, said he was worried about mounting civilians casualties in the Gaza Strip, as well as the fact that the legislation does not address the issues facing American families. “Let’s be clear: it is not only foreign countries that face emergencies. We face enormous crises in this country right now in terms of child care, primary health care, housing, and much more. The American people want action on these vitally important issues,” Sanders wrote. The letter did not specify what Sanders would do when the Senate holds a procedural vote on the aid package today, but many of Sanders’s objections centered around how Benjamin Netanyahu has handled the campaign against Hamas, and how US military aid could worsen the conflict: No, I do not think we should be appropriating $10.1 billion for the right-wing, extremist Netanyahu government to continue its current military strategy. What the Netanyahu government is doing is immoral, it is in violation of international law, and the United States should not be complicit in those actions. We are all clear that Hamas, a corrupt terrorist organization, began this war with their barbaric attack against Israel on October 7. Given that reality, Israel has an absolute right to defend itself. It does not, however, have the right to wage all-out war against innocent men, women, and children who had nothing to do with the Hamas attack. Therefore, I believe it is appropriate to support defensive systems that will protect Israeli civilians against incoming missile and rocket attacks, but I believe that it would be absolutely irresponsible to provide an additional $10.1 billion in unconditional military aid that will allow the Netanyahu government to continue its current inhumane military approach. The Senate has gaveled in for the day, but it’s not clear yet when majority leader Chuck Schumer will hold a procedural vote on approving aid to Ukraine and Israel without the hardline border policies Republicans have demanded: Schumer would need the support of at least nine Republicans for the vote to succeed, and minority leader Mitch McConnell says he is asking his lawmakers to oppose it: What are the changes the GOP is demanding when it comes to border policy? While there is some variation among lawmakers, Republicans are generally demanding that Democrats sign on to the Secure the Border Act. From the start of his presidency, the GOP has criticized Joe Biden for what they call his mishandling of undocumented people crossing the southern border. When they took control of the House earlier this year, they quickly passed the Secure the Border Act, also known as HR 2, which would resurrect some of the hardline policies Donald Trump implemented, and create other new ones. The bill would force the Biden administration to restart construction of the border wall, while also turning away many asylum seekers and restrict which ones could remain in the United States while their applications are processed. The White House said Biden would veto the bill if it somehow managed to get to his desk, and Democrats in the Senate have shown not interest in approving it, even though the GOP has made its passage, or something like it, the price for supporting Ukraine aid. As for why the legislation is so disliked by Democrats, here’s what the White House said in May, when they issued their veto threat: The Administration is limited in what it can achieve by an outdated statutory framework and inadequate resources, particularly in this time of unprecedented global movement. HR 2 does nothing to address the root causes of migration, reduces humanitarian protections, and restricts lawful pathways, which are critical alternatives to unlawful entry. The bill would cut off nearly all access to humanitarian protections in ways that are inconsistent with our Nation’s values and international obligations. In addition, the bill would make processing less efficient by prohibiting the use of the CBP One mobile application to process noncitizens and restricting DHS’s parole authority, such that successful programs, like “Uniting for Ukraine,” would be prohibited. The bill would also reduce authorized funding for essential programs including the Shelter and Services Program that provides a critical source of funds for state and local governments and reduces pressure at the border. While we welcome Congress’ engagement on meaningful steps to address immigration and the challenges at the border, this bill would make things worse, not better. Because this bill does very little to actually increase border security while doing a great deal to trample on the Nation’s core values and international obligations, it should be rejected. The standoff between Republicans and Democrats over aid to Ukraine in border security was months in the making. The seeds were sewn in October, when Joe Biden requested Congress pass a more than $100b bill to assist both Kyiv and Israel, but which quickly ran up against the machinations of Congress, where Republicans at the time were without a leader in the House. Here’s the Guardian’s Joan E Greve with the concise version of the long and winding story that got us to this point: The White House issued an urgent warning to Congress on Monday, predicting that Ukraine will soon lose ground in its war against Russia without another infusion of financial aid from the US. “I want to be clear: without congressional action, by the end of the year we will run out of resources to procure more weapons and equipment for Ukraine and to provide equipment from US military stocks,” Shalanda Young, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, wrote in her letter to congressional leaders. “There is no magical pot of funding available to meet this moment. We are out of money – and nearly out of time.” In October, the White House asked Congress to approve a $106bn supplemental funding bill that would provide assistance to Ukraine, Israel and allies in the Indo-Pacific while also strengthening border security. However, bipartisan negotiations over that bill have now stalled. Although previous funding packages for Ukraine have won widespread bipartisan support in Congress, the issue has become increasingly contentious in the Republican-controlled House. Given hard-right Republicans’ entrenched opposition to additional Ukraine aid, the new Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, must walk a fine line in his negotiations with the Senate. Senate Ukraine briefing flops as Zelenskiy cancels and Republicans walk out Tuesday was the day when it became crystal clear that neither side was backing down in the tangled negotiations over legislation, first proposed by Joe Biden, to green-light military assistance to Ukraine and Israel as well as spend money on border security. Republican House speaker Mike Johnson started the day off with a letter to the White House insisting that the administration would have to agree to strict border policy changes – far beyond what Biden supports publicly – if any Ukraine aid legislation was to make it through his chamber. In the afternoon, senators were expected to hear from Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who was going to appear by video conference at a briefing to the chamber. But Zelenskiy canceled for reasons that remain unclear, and as the Associated Press reports, Republicans left the meeting early when the Biden administration officials in attendance refused to discuss border security. Here’s more on yesterday’s fiasco, from the AP: Several Republican senators walked out of a classified briefing on Ukraine Tuesday as it descended into a row over the border crisis, after the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, unexpectedly canceled a video-link appearance to appeal for continued US funding. Zelenskiy had been due to update the senators on the latest developments in the conflict with Russia and press for them to support a procedural vote expected on Wednesday on an emergency aid package that includes more than $60bn for Kyiv. The cash has been held up for weeks in Congress, as the White House has warned that existing funds will run out by the end of the year and that Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, could win the war if lawmakers fail to act. Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, announced that Zelenskiy had been prevented from taking part by a “last-minute” hiccup, but he pressed ahead with the briefing anyway – only for the proceedings to turn into a war of words. Utah’s Mitt Romney left early, confirming that “a number” of his Republican colleagues had followed suit, angry that they had heard nothing on their demand that Ukraine aid be coupled with action on what they call the immigration crisis at the US-Mexico border. Republicans set to block vote on Ukraine and Israel aid as they press for stricter border policies Good morning, US politics blog readers. The increasingly intense debate in Congress over approving more aid to Ukraine will come to something of a head today when the Senate holds a procedural vote the approve aid to both Kyiv and Israel. Republicans have vowed to block it, and have the numbers to do so, saying legislation that would implement stricter border policies must be passed as well. If the vote fails, negotiators will be back to square one, and there’s no telling how they will find their way out of this quagmire. Approving military assistance to Israel is also a priority for both parties, but opposition to assisting Ukraine’s defense has grown among Republicans over the past months. Party chiefs like Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell continue to support its cause, as does House speaker Mike Johnson, who previously voted against helping Kyiv but appears to have reversed his position since getting the chamber’s top job. However, the immigration proposals Republicans want passed are unpalatable to Democrats, such as restarting construction of Donald Trump’s border wall, or curbing who can apply for asylum. Emotions over these issues are apparently running high among senators – yesterday, several Republicans walked out of a briefing on Ukraine aid, upset that the Biden administration officials in attendance would not discuss border security. Perhaps there will be some progress in resolving this standoff today. Here’s what else is going on: Joe Biden told donors, “If Trump wasn’t running, I’m not sure I’d be running” – a remark that raised eyebrows, considering the concerns about his age and persistently low approval ratings. But he wasn’t the only presidential candidate to make a questionable remark yesterday … Donald Trump joked about how, if elected, he would not be a dictator “other than on day one”. The former president has proposed a range of anti-democratic policies if returned to office, including directing federal law enforcement agencies to retaliate against former officials who have turned against him. The fourth debate of the Republican presidential primary will take place at 8pm eastern time in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Trump is not attending, but Florida governor Ron DeSantis, former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former New Jersey governor Chris Christie are.