NATIONAL POLITICS

The new House Republican leader supports a nationwide abortion ban, played a key role in trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election, and opposes same-sex marriage.

It usually takes 218 votes—a simple majority of the 435 members of the House—to become House Speaker, but due to two vacancies, only 217 votes are currently needed. For more than two weeks though, Republicans have failed to agree on a new leader, leaving the federal government paralyzed. 

The former president—who swore an oath to protect and defend the US Constitution—has been indicted over his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.

In the recording, Trump can be heard indicating he was holding a secret Pentagon document with plans to attack Iran. “These are the papers,” Trump says. Trump can also be heard rustling papers and seemingly referring to the documents as “secret” and “highly confidential.”

President Biden has announced his plans to run for re-election in 2024, an election that could be a repeat of 2020, as former President Donald Trump has already been campaigning for several months, despite mounting legal troubles.

Republicans immediately rejected Biden’s plan, but have yet to release their own budget. They have made it clear, however, that they want to apply deep spending cuts to everything from health insurance to food assistance benefits.

Control of the two chambers of Congress will come down to mail ballots that are still being counted in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, and Oregon—and possibly a December Senate run-off election in Georgia.