‘Number one check' Democrats can have on Trump is taking back the House, says Democratic lawmaker
Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) joins Meet the Press NOW to discuss how Democrats are pushing back on President Trump's agenda. Rep. DelBene also talks about the state of the Democratic party.May 6, 2025
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NBC News
42 minutes ago
- NBC News
Trump can bar The Associated Press from some White House events for now, appeals court rules
President Donald Trump is free to bar The Associated Press from some White House media events for now, after a U.S. appeals court on Friday paused a lower court ruling mandating that AP journalists be given access. The divided ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit temporarily blocks an order by U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, who ruled on April 8 that the Trump administration must allow AP journalists access to the Oval Office, Air Force One and White House events while the news agency's lawsuit moves forward. The 2-1 ruling was written by U.S. Circuit Judge Neomi Rao, joined by fellow Trump appointee U.S. Circuit Judge Gregory Katsas. Rao wrote that the lower court injunction 'impinges on the President's independence and control over his private workspaces' and that the White House was likely to ultimately defeat the Associated Press' lawsuit. The White House and a lawyer for the Associated Press did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In a dissent, Circuit Judge Cornelia Pillard, an appointee of President Barack Obama, said her two colleagues' ruling cannot be squared with 'any sensible understanding of the role of a free press in our constitutional democracy.' The AP sued in February after the White House restricted the news outlet's access over its decision to continue referring to the Gulf of Mexico in its coverage despite Trump renaming the body of water the Gulf of America. The AP's lawyers argued the new policy violated the First Amendment of the Constitution, which protects free speech rights. McFadden, who was appointed by Trump during his first term, said in his ruling that if the White House opens its doors to some journalists it cannot exclude others based on their viewpoints. Trump administration lawyers said the president has absolute discretion over media access to the White House and that McFadden's ruling infringed on his ability to decide whom to admit to sensitive spaces. 'The Constitution does not prohibit the President from considering a journalist's prior coverage in evaluating how much access he will grant that journalist,' lawyers for the administration said in a court filing. On April 16, the AP accused the Trump administration of defying the court order by continuing to exclude its journalists from some events and then limiting access to Trump for all news wires, including Reuters and Bloomberg. Reuters and the AP both issued statements denouncing the new policy, which puts wire services in a larger rotation with about 30 other newspaper and print outlets. Other media customers, including local news organizations that have no presence in Washington, rely on the wire services' real-time reports of presidential statements as do global financial markets.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Andrew Cuomo's bid for New York City mayor endorsed by rival in surprise turn
Andrew Cuomo's bid to become New York City's mayor received a surprising boost on Friday when one of his rivals, Queens state senator Jessica Ramos, endorsed the former governor after having previously questioned his mental acuity and describing him as a bully with a record of sexual misconduct allegations. Ramos punctuated her stunning U-turn with a surprise appearance at a campaign rally in Manhattan, where she hugged Cuomo and said she believed he was 'the one best positioned right now to protect this city'. 'We need someone in City Hall who knows how to hold the line and deliver under pressure,' Ramos said in a statement shared on Cuomo's campaign website, just weeks after she claimed his 'mental acuity is in decline'. Ramos also said she had worked with Cuomo 'to raise wages, protect immigrant workers, and pass major labor reforms', and she added that she believed he could 'go toe-to-toe' with the Donald Trump administration 'when it counts'. The endorsement from Ramos comes days after the first the New York City Democratic mayoral primary debate, during which Cuomo faced attacks over his gubernatorial administration's handling of nursing home deaths during the Covid-19 pandemic and sexual harassment allegations against him that prompted his resignation. In 2021, Ramos was one of the first Democratic lawmakers to call for Cuomo to resign over those sexual harassment allegations, which he has denied. An investigation by the state attorney general found he sexually harassed nearly a dozen women – most of whom worked for him – and also retaliated after some made complaints. Ramos in March accused Cuomo's mayoral run of being a 'vanity comeback tour'. She said Cuomo 'brings nothing to this race but baggage'. 'Hard pass on Andrew,' she wrote. Also in March, she called Cuomo 'a corrupt bully with a record of alleged sexual misconduct'. As recently as Wednesday, Ramos said she wished she 'lived in a city where voters cared about women getting harassed. 'We talk about it all the time, but I'm not running about Andrew Cuomo's record,' she told Politico. 'I'm running on my own record.' Ramos's allies on the progressive left greeted her endorsement of Cuomo with dismay – including several organizations that had backed her mayoral candidacy. The Working Families party said it was 'sad and disappointed' by Ramos's 'desperate' decision. The New York City council member Chi Ossé said he was 'hurt' by Ramos's announcement. 'I've always respected her for the work she's done for our city and state,' Ossé wrote on X. 'To see her throw of all her values away and betray the [New Yorkers] she's been fighting for is heartbreaking and disgusting.' The actor Cynthia Nixon, who ran and lost to Cuomo in the 2018 Democratic primary, said on X that she was 'choosing to remember the Jessica Ramos' who 'supported the women who were sexually harassed, remembered the people Cuomo sent to die in nursing homes [and] always called out Cuomo's corruption, mismanagement [and] lies'. 'I'll miss that Ramos,' Nixon added. 'Where did she go?' Ramos said her decision to back Cuomo is what is known as a cross-endorsement, for she does not intend to drop out of the race. Cuomo, meanwhile, told reporters on Friday he would not be returning the favor and endorsing Ramos. However, in a statement, Cuomo said: 'Senator Ramos is a fighter for working New Yorkers, and we are all better off for her leadership. 'Senator Ramos and I are both … tough and protective of our families and neighbors, and by extension we are protective of all New Yorkers.' The closely watched mayoral race in heavily Democratic New York City has largely settled into a two-way fight between Cuomo, the current frontrunner, and the democratic socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani. The incumbent Eric Adams is running as an independent. On Thursday, Mamdani received the prominent endorsement of US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who told New York Times that Mamdani 'demonstrated a real ability on the ground to put together a coalition of working-class New Yorkers that is strongest to lead the pack'. Ocasio-Cortez ranked five candidates – but left Ramos off her slate.
NBC News
an hour ago
- NBC News
13 House Republicans urge Senate to scale back clean energy cuts in bill they voted for
WASHINGTON — Thirteen House Republicans who voted for President Donald Trump's " big, beautiful bill" sent a letter Friday urging Senate GOP leaders to scale back some of its clean energy cuts, sparking pushback from conservative hardliners. The unusual criticism of their own bill indicates a modicum of regret by the GOP lawmakers, whose votes were critical to the bill passing the House by a narrow margin last month. 'While we were proud to have worked to ensure that the bill did not include a full repeal of the clean energy tax credits, we remain deeply concerned by several provisions,' said the Republicans in the letter, led by Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va. They cited provisions that 'abruptly terminate several credits just 60 days after enactment for projects that have not yet begun construction,' and 'restrictions to transferability.' 'This approach jeopardizes ongoing development, discourages long-term investment, and could significantly delay or cancel energy infrastructure projects across the country,' the group of House Republicans said in criticizing the legislation they voted for, while suggesting some changes to 'mitigate' the harm it could cause. Kiggans, like most of the signatories, represents a competitive district that Democrats are targeting in the 2026 election. Other politically vulnerable members include: Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa.; Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz.; Mike Lawler, R-N.Y.; Don Bacon, R-Neb.; Gabe Evans, R-Colo.; Young Kim, R-Calif.; David Valadao, R-Calif.; Rob Bresnahan, R-Pa.; and Tom Kean, R-N.J. The remaining three, who sit comparably safer seats, are Reps. Mark Amodei, R-Nev.; Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y.; and Nick LaLota, R-N.Y. The 13 Republicans warned that 'the House-passed bill includes a phase out schedule for credits that would cause significant disruption to projects under development and stop investments needed to win the global energy race.' The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee mocked the letter and said the lawmakers will own their votes for the bill. 'These 13 Republicans promised not to support cuts to clean energy tax credits, then cast the deciding votes to raise energy costs on American families, kill tens of thousands of jobs, and undermine our nation's energy security. They are responsible for this Big, Ugly Bill and all the harm it will cause,' DCCC spokesperson Viet Shelton said. 'This toothless letter is the worst kind of political hypocrisy and voters will see it for what it is, a lie perpetrated by endangered House Republicans who caved to their D.C. party bosses at the expense of the American people.' Kiggans' office did not immediately return a request for comment on whether she was aware of the provisions when supporting the bill, or if she'd vote for one that falls short of her new demands. Senate Republicans are eying changes to the House bill to ease some of the negative impacts of the funding cuts. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, told NBC News her version of the bill will probably relax some of the deadlines to cut off funding. But she said Thursday that there probably won't be massive changes to the House-passed bill. 'I imagine it's going to track fairly similarly, but I think some of the deadlines are pretty tight in terms of when you have to have construction and those things,' Capito said. 'We've been approached by several employers who need some of those tax.' Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he's willing to undo some of the clean energy funding, but he wants to make sure that existing business investments aren't harmed by the bill. 'What we're trying to focus on is to make sure that if businesses have invested and have projects in progress, that we do everything we can to hold them harmless,' he said. 'Whether or not we continue some of these programs out into the future — that's a separate question that I'm willing to entertain.' Meanwhile, the conservative group Club For Growth is running ads targeting Sens. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., John Curtis, R-Utah, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, for backing more modest rollbacks of the clean energy funding, which carries benefits for their states. There's another reason changing the bill is easier said than done: The speedy cuts to clean energy funding under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act were part of an House agreement to win the votes of conservative hardliners who want to reduce the bill's red ink. House Republicans have a majority of 220 to 212, meaning they can only spare three 'no' votes in their ranks to pass the bill when the Senate sends back their revised version. 'You backslide one inch on those IRA subsidies and I'm voting against this bill,' Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said Friday on the House floor. 'So you do what you want to do in the Senate, House of Lords, have your fun. But if you mess up the Inflation Reduction Act, Green New Scam subsidies, I ain't voting for that bill.'
