List of All Articles with Tag 'us politics'

A weekend of terror in Israel has sharpened already grave questions about the capacity of the politically fractured United States to lay out a unified and coherent response to a world spinning out of its control.

The Biden administration has yet to find a smoking gun linking Iran directly to planning and executing the attack on Israel this weekend, US officials told CNN on Sunday.

With the outbreak of war in Israel, President Joe Biden is contending with conflicts in two parts of the world at a moment of paralysis in Washington and increasing polarization over the direction of America's involvement abroad.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is expected to announce Monday that he is dropping out of the Democratic presidential primary and will run as an independent. The move would come after Kennedy's calls for a debate with President Joe Biden went nowhere and with Biden continuing to hold a 50-point advantage in primary polling.

Mike Pence led the charge for the foreign interventionist wing of the 2024 Republican primary against their isolationist rivals this weekend as new hostilities erupted between Israel and the Hamas militants of the occupied Gaza Strip. It was a banner weekend for that wing of the GOP, whose members among the 2024 primary field spent their hours one-upping each other with rhetoric endorsing an unmitigated Israeli response against the Palestinian militant group that launched attacks across the country. Mr Pence made his remarks in Iowa, where he is battling for a surprise victory (or at least a decent-enough showing) in the first-in-the-nation caucuses. Calling out Donald Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy and Ron DeSantis by name, he accused them of supporting America’s retreat from a global military, diplomatic and economic footprint he argued was previously responsible for tamping down on unrest around the world. His rebuke, he said, was directed at “voices of appeasement like Donald Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy and Ron DeSantis that I believe have run contrary to the tradition in our party that America is the leader of the free world.” “This is ... what happens when you have leaders in the Republican Party signaling retreat on the world stage,” charged the former vice president. He also faulted President Joe Biden for supposedly continuing that “retreat”, as others in the hawkish wing have done, and blamed the incumbent president for not projecting the strength that would supposedly have warned Vladimir Putin off of ordering the invasion of Ukraine. Those sentiments were repeated by other figures representing the “establishment politics” wing of the Republican Party, namely Tim Scott and Nikki Haley. The former accused Mr Biden of being “complicit” in the Hamas attacks on Israeli police, military and civilian targets over the weekend. Such rhetoric used to be frowned upon in Washington. In the modern Republican Party, accusing one’s political rivals of being in bed with terrorists is no longer a rarity, but a feature of the typical GOP politician. The Biden administration and its allies have taken notice. Chris Murphy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, rebuked Republican senator Rick Scott after a similar posting, writing: “For too many Republicans, their hatred of Democrats is their only organizing prism. Even on a day like today all they can do is attack. Senator Scott’s social media is mostly attacks on Biden instead of support for Israel. There are times for politics. There are times for unity.” Ms Haley drew her own accusations of bloodthirst from the left after she tweeted at Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, urging him to “finish them” — referring to Hamas militants. The Palestinian militant group is accused of deliberately killing hundreds of civilians over the weekend and taking others hostage; both actions are considered war crimes under international law. The scope and scale of Israel’s response has drawn similar accusations from supporters of the end of Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank. Donald Trump, meanwhile, focused his criticism on Joe Biden over the weekend — a sign that he continues to view the Republican primary as largely decided. “THE HORRIBLE ATTACK ON ISRAEL, MUCH LIKE THE ATTACK ON UKRAINE, WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED IF I WERE PRESIDENT - ZERO CHANCE!” wrote Mr Trump in a Sunday-morning Truth Social post. Read More White House official accuses GOP senator JD Vance of ‘shameful lies’ after he blamed Biden for Hamas attack Biden says the US ‘stands with Israel’ in TV address as he condemns ‘appalling terrorist attacks’ by Hamas Would a Speaker Jim Jordan doom the House GOP majority? Mike Pence says he is 'deeply disappointed' in vote to oust Kevin McCarthy as House speaker Former VP Pence to talk national security and foreign policy at AP-Georgetown University forum Here's where all the cases against Trump stand as he campaigns for a return to the White House

The House speakership drama enters a second week under increased urgency as Israel declared war Sunday following unprecedented surprise attacks by Hamas.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday the US is "working overtime" to verify reports of missing and dead Americans overseas after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack against Israel.

To the anger of his supporters, the US president is ramping up deportation and expanding the wall.

House lawmakers are scrambling to determine whether acting Speaker Patrick McHenry can participate in a so-called Gang of Eight intelligence briefing on the unfolding crisis in Israel, a source familiar with the active discussions told CNN.

American officials said Saturday they received no warning through intelligence that Hamas was preparing to attack Israel, leading to confusion among some at how Israel failed to detect signs of the rocket assault.

President Joe Biden and his top aides are contending with an exceedingly complicated diplomatic situation unlike any previous conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

On Saturday -- 100 days before Iowa Republicans head to their caucasues -- Iowa will once again become the focal point of the GOP presidential race as the ambitions of much of the field collide in the Hawkeye State.