Latest news with #Pocahontas'
USA Today
5 days ago
- Business
- USA Today
Trump agrees with longtime rival Elizabeth Warren on need to abolish the cap on US debt
Trump agrees with longtime rival Elizabeth Warren on need to abolish the cap on US debt Eliminating the federal limit on government borrowing would remove one hurdle to congressional approval of the Trump's package of major policy priorities for tax cuts and border security. Show Caption Hide Caption Moody's pushes US out of top triple-A rating club, citing debt Moody's downgraded the U.S. sovereign credit rating on May 16 due to concerns about the nation's growing $36-trillion debt pile, in a move that could complicate President Donald Trump's efforts to cut taxes and send ripples through global markets. Trump agreed with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., that the country should abolish the federal limit on borrowing. After credit-rating agencies downgraded the U.S. government, Trump said the debt limit should be scrapped to avoid economic catastrophe. WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump announced he agrees with a longtime antagonist, Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, on the need to abolish the cap on the country's borrowing. The announcement marked a thaw in years-long criticism that Trump and Warren of Massachusetts have hurled at each other over government finances and other issues. The rare consensus came as Congress faces the need to raise the country's debt limit again, a hurdle to approving an 1,100-page package of Trump's priorities for tax cuts and border security. The United States is nearly $37 trillion in debt and every time it approaches the limit on borrowing set by Congress, lawmakers must take a painful vote to raise it or risk being unable to pay bills. More: When is the debt ceiling deadline? What happens when the US reaches debt limit Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned the country will reach the cap in August. A provision to increase the limit was included in the House-passed package of Trump's priorities. The two-term Republican president lashed out this week at Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, who opposes the House bill and called for a separate vote on the debt limit. The debt limit is largely procedural because Congress has always voted to increase it. But the vote every few years becomes a cudgel against members of the governing party because approval contributes to the appearance of unbridled spending. Congress imposed a debt limit in 1939 to modernize federal financing, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. But political disputes about the accumulation of debt and difficulties raising the limit led credit-rating agencies to lower their grades for the federal government. The debate is another example of strange bedfellows in U.S. politics. Trump has derisively called Warren 'Pocahontas' for previously claiming Native American heritage. But Warren posted on social media May 30 that she agreed with Trump that 'the debt limit should be scrapped to prevent an economic catastrophe.' Trump endorsed the proposal in a social media post June 4 and said he was 'very pleased to announce' that he agreed with her. 'The Debt Limit should be entirely scrapped to prevent an Economic catastrophe,' Trump said. 'It is too devastating to be put in the hands of political people that may want to use it despite the horrendous effect it could have on our Country and, indirectly, even the World.'
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
House Democrats resume infighting after Trump speech humiliation
One full day of embarrassment over the party's response to Donald Trump's speech to Congress was insufficient for Democrats, who delivered a second helping on Thursday. Despite House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries declaring a censure of Rep. Al Green not worth the paper on which it was printed, nearly a dozen members of his party broke ranks to vote for it. Green, who was escorted out of Trump's speech Tuesday evening by the sergeant-at-arms, is not exactly worse off. He'll likely receive a fundraising boost resulting from the rebuke. 'I would do it again,' he told reporters on Thursday. Whether the same can be said for his 10 colleagues who flirted with what Jeffries called a 'political and partisan game' is less obvious, as is the actual strategy that Democratic leadership is pursuing. The group included New York swing-district Democrat Tom Suozzi, who said on Thursday that he believed Democrats should show 'deference' to the same president who'd a day earlier attacked a member of the Senate from the floor of the House, dubbing her 'Pocahontas' — a racist dig at her claims of Native American ancestry. Jeffries, at a caucus meeting before the president spoke to Congress, had urged his members not to become the center of a media story by causing disruptions. Their Republican colleagues spent Wednesday and Thursday concocting a scandal around Green's conduct. Despite the recent historical examples of Republican members like Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene heckling Joe Biden (and going wholly unpunished) during his addresses to Congress, Speaker Mike Johnson seized upon Green's shouted remarks during Trump's speech to play an old trick: dividing Democrats with a censure resolution. Now with Green in the crosshairs of the Republican majority after the fact, the minority leader and his colleagues remain at odds over a path forward. Thursday's vote to censure Green, joined by a number of centrist Democrats closer to the minority leader than many on the progressive left, shows a total absence of a prevailing voice of leadership among the House Democratic caucus. On social media, the minority leader continually faces accusations of failing to meet the moment. 'Hakeem Jeffries didn't even attempt to fight for one of his own from a censure. Why should we expect him to fight for us?' wrote the progressive-aligned 'Dear White Staffers' account, through which left-leaning congressional staff often vent their disgust. Many more have echoed this sentiment, frustrated with a caucus leader who as of Thursday afternoon had not issued a statement about the official campaign arm of the GOP House caucus, the NRCC, falsely labeling a member of Jeffries's leadership team (Adriano Espaillat) with the 'illegal immigrant' slur — he was beaten to the punch by the new chair of the DNC, Ken Martin, who said that the NRCC's tweet was racist. 'With Speaker Mike Johnson leading the charge, they wear their bigotry like a badge of honor—absolutely despicable!', said the DNC chair. There's no sign that Jeffries has any control over the true renegades in his caucus — the conservative members of his caucus who threaten to erase his leverage on key votes and frequently side with Republicans to hand the president's party messaging victories. As a result, the opposition party appears weaker than ever in a moment when Democratic voters are increasingly demanding the emergence of a vocal leader. One senior House Democrat on Thursday summed up the situation succinctly to Axios: 'Everyone is mad at everyone."
The Independent
06-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
House Democrats resume infighting after Trump speech humiliation
One full day of embarrassment over the party's response to Donald Trump 's speech to Congress was insufficient for Democrats, who delivered a second helping on Thursday. Despite House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries declaring a censure of Rep. Al Green not worth the paper on which it was printed, nearly a dozen members of his party broke ranks to vote for it. Green, who was escorted out of Trump's speech Tuesday evening by the sergeant-at-arms, is not exactly worse off. He'll likely receive a fundraising boost resulting from the rebuke. 'I would do it again,' he told reporters on Thursday. Whether the same can be said for his 10 colleagues who flirted with what Jeffries called a 'political and partisan game' is less obvious, as is the actual strategy that Democratic leadership is pursuing. The group included New York swing-district Democrat Tom Suozzi, who said on Thursday that he believed Democrats should show 'deference' to the same president who'd a day earlier attacked a member of the Senate from the floor of the House, dubbing her 'Pocahontas' — a racist dig at her claims of Native American ancestry. Jeffries, at a caucus meeting before the president spoke to Congress, had urged his members not to become the center of a media story by causing disruptions. Their Republican colleagues spent Wednesday and Thursday concocting a scandal around Green's conduct. Despite the recent historical examples of Republican members like Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene heckling Joe Biden (and going wholly unpunished) during his addresses to Congress, Speaker Mike Johnson seized upon Green's shouted remarks during Trump's speech to play an old trick: dividing Democrats with a censure resolution. Now with Green in the crosshairs of the Republican majority after the fact, the minority leader and his colleagues remain at odds over a path forward. Thursday's vote to censure Green, joined by a number of centrist Democrats closer to the minority leader than many on the progressive left, shows a total absence of a prevailing voice of leadership among the House Democratic caucus. On social media, the minority leader continually faces accusations of failing to meet the moment. ' Hakeem Jeffries didn't even attempt to fight for one of his own from a censure. Why should we expect him to fight for us?' wrote the progressive-aligned 'Dear White Staffers' account, through which left-leaning congressional staff often vent their disgust. Many more have echoed this sentiment, frustrated with a caucus leader who as of Thursday afternoon had not issued a statement about the official campaign arm of the GOP House caucus, the NRCC, falsely labeling a member of Jeffries's leadership team (Adriano Espaillat) with the 'illegal immigrant' slur — he was beaten to the punch by the new chair of the DNC, Ken Martin, who said that the NRCC's tweet was racist. 'With Speaker Mike Johnson leading the charge, they wear their bigotry like a badge of honor—absolutely despicable!', said the DNC chair. There's no sign that Jeffries has any control over the true renegades in his caucus — the conservative members of his caucus who threaten to erase his leverage on key votes and frequently side with Republicans to hand the president's party messaging victories. As a result, the opposition party appears weaker than ever in a moment when Democratic voters are increasingly demanding the emergence of a vocal leader. One senior House Democrat on Thursday summed up the situation succinctly to Axios: 'Everyone is mad at everyone."
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Elizabeth Warren responds to Trump's ‘Pocahontas' insult: ‘I get under Donald Trump's skin'
Democratic US senator Elizabeth Warren responded to the racial slur that President Donald Trump made toward her during his joint address to Congress on Tuesday night in an interview with The Independent. 'I get under Donald Trump's skin,' Warren said. During his address, Trump spoke about the war in Ukraine, which he has sought to bring to an abrupt end. He has blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for supposedly starting the war despite the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin staged the invasion three years ago. 'Do you want to keep it going for another five years?' he asked the Congress on Tuesday evening. 'You would say – Pocahontas says yes.' Trump has repeatedly called Warren 'Pocahontas' due to the fact that before she ran for Senate, Warren had claimed that she had Native American heritage, specifically Cherokee. In 2018, as she prepared to run for the Democratic nomination for president, she released DNA test showing that only 1/64 of her DNA came from a Native American population. The Cherokee Nation later condemned Warren for releasing the test and she apologized. Trump has continued to use the slur against Warren for years. During the address, Warren clapped, smiled and shook her head as the president resurrected one of his favorite insults. Warren, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has visted Ukraine in the past. 'I was applauding his statement that the United States has given aid to Ukraine,' she told The Independent. 'He's feeling the heat because he was delivering the speech on the day that he had stopped that same aid.' The Trump administration this week paused aid to Ukraine as part of the fallout from the blow-up between Zelensky and Trump and Vice President JD Vance. 'There's a lot of blowback over what he's doing in Ukraine, both here in Congress and across the country,' she said. 'The American people understand Ukrainians have fought bravely to preserve their democracy, and they don't like Donald Trump jumping into bed with Putin.' Warren also criticized Trump supposedly putting a month-long pause on tariffs against Mexico and Canada for auto makers. 'There's a rule that applies across the board, and then one at a time, Donald Trump, Elon Musk and a handful of other billionaire's friends had an exception here and an exception there,' she told The Independent. 'That means that the tariff that was originally announced applies to people who are not politically connected, but not really to anyone else.'
The Independent
05-03-2025
- Automotive
- The Independent
Elizabeth Warren responds to Trump's ‘Pocahontas' insult: ‘I get under Donald Trump's skin'
Democratic US senator Elizabeth Warren responded to the racial slur that President Donald Trump made toward her during his joint address to Congress on Tuesday night in an interview with The Independent. 'I get under Donald Trump 's skin,' Warren said. During his address, Trump spoke about the war in Ukraine, which he has sought to bring to an abrupt end. He has blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for supposedly starting the war despite the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin staged the invasion three years ago. 'Do you want to keep it going for another five years?' he asked the Congress on Tuesday evening. 'You would say – Pocahontas says yes.' Trump has repeatedly called Warren 'Pocahontas' due to the fact that before she ran for Senate, Warren had claimed that she had Native American heritage, specifically Cherokee. In 2018, as she prepared to run for the Democratic nomination for president, she released DNA test showing that only 1/64 of her DNA came from a Native American population. The Cherokee Nation later condemned Warren for releasing the test and she apologized. Trump has continued to use the slur against Warren for years. During the address, Warren clapped, smiled and shook her head as the president resurrected one of his favorite insults. Warren, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has visted Ukraine in the past. 'I was applauding his statement that the United States has given aid to Ukraine,' she told The Independent. 'He's feeling the heat because he was delivering the speech on the day that he had stopped that same aid.' The Trump administration this week paused aid to Ukraine as part of the fallout from the blow-up between Zelensky and Trump and Vice President JD Vance. 'There's a lot of blowback over what he's doing in Ukraine, both here in Congress and across the country,' she said. 'The American people understand Ukrainians have fought bravely to preserve their democracy, and they don't like Donald Trump jumping into bed with Putin.' Warren also criticized Trump supposedly putting a month-long pause on tariffs against Mexico and Canada for auto makers. 'There's a rule that applies across the board, and then one at a time, Donald Trump, Elon Musk and a handful of other billionaire's friends had an exception here and an exception there,' she told The Independent. 'That means that the tariff that was originally announced applies to people who are not politically connected, but not really to anyone else.'
