Latest news with #RajaKrishnamoorthi
CNA
3 days ago
- Business
- CNA
US lawmakers back Australia submarine project in Pentagon letter
WASHINGTON: The Republican and Democratic heads of a US congressional committee for strategic competition with China have written to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to stress their strong support for the AUKUS submarine project currently under Pentagon review. Details of the AUKUS plan to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines from the early 2030s were unveiled in 2023 under former President Joe Biden, part of efforts to counter China's ambitions in the Indo-Pacific. The Pentagon said in June it was reviewing the three-way collaboration between Australia, Britain and the United States to ensure it was aligned with President Donald Trump's America First agenda, amid concerns about the ability of the US to meet its own submarine needs and whether Australia's vessels would be used in support of US policy in the future. In a letter to Hegseth they released on Tuesday, Republican Representative John Moolenaar and Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi said China's expanded military capabilities and coercive actions against neighbours showed it was "credibly preparing to use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific." The congressmen, the chair and ranking member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) respectively, said the AUKUS framework was "a key step to dramatically enhance the collective defence of the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom in the face of the CCP's ongoing aggression". "AUKUS has received strong bipartisan support from Congress for a reason," they wrote. "Alongside our colleagues, we understand the agreement promises to strengthen our national security alongside that of two of our closest allies." China has described AUKUS as a product of a "Cold War mentality" and said it would lead to greater divisions and confrontation, or even conflict and war. The congressmen stressed that both the US and Australia must continue to make "generational investments" within and outside the AUKUS framework to expand their respective submarine industrial bases, work forces, and force structure. They noted Australia's US$3 billion commitment to support these efforts, the first tranche of which was delivered this year. Last week, Australia's Washington ambassador Kevin Rudd said his country was working with the Pentagon on the review and was confident that all issues raised would be resolved. Leading the review has been Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon's Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, who has previously expressed concern that the US would lose submarines to Australia at a critical time for deterrence against China. The congressmen copied their letter to him. This month, Australia's Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy responded to a report that Colby had pressed Australia and Japan to clarify what role they would play if the US and China went to war over Taiwan by saying Australia would not commit troops in advance of any conflict.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Democratic Senate, comptroller candidates pitch for Cook County party's support
CHICAGO (WGN) — Democrats vying for retiring Sen. Dick Durbin's Senate seat made their pitch to Cook County Democratic leaders on Friday, as the party also backed a new candidate for state comptroller. It was an opportunity to shine before members of the Cook County Democratic Party Committee as several candidates declared their intent to run for state comptroller. The party leaders were all under one roof at Local 134 on the South Side, hearing from candidates running for elected state office and those vying for the highly sought-after U.S. Senate seat. Top runners in the U.S. Senate race are Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton, U.S. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, and U.S. Representative Robin Kelly, who, a source says, stayed in Washington, D.C., for an early morning vote and missed her flight home, missing Friday's meeting. Dick Durbin announces he will not seek another term in U.S. Senate Krisnamoorthi, who is currently leading in fundraising with about $21 million, says holding the Trump administration accountable and helping residents meet their economic needs would be his top priorities in the Senate. 'First of all, we have to hold accountable those that are actually voting for these cuts. Secondly, we Democrats have to run on a message and agenda of doing whatever we can to reverse, stall, throw sand in the gears, and delay these particular cuts,' Krisnamoorthi said. Lt. Governor Stratton, who has the support of Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, says if she is elected to represent the state in Washington, she plans to help break up the status quo. 'I'm talking to voters all across the state, and they are looking me in the eye and saying, 'I am looking for someone to stand up and be a fighter for me.' They want to see the same kind of energy that they're bringing as they protest in the streets against the chaos that's coming out of Washington,' Stratton said. Following Wednesday's announcement that current Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza would not seek re-election, Several candidates, including Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim, former state Senator Ricky Hendon, Champaign County Auditor George Danos, 25th District State Senator Karina Villa, and 12th District Representative Margaret Croke, who received the committee's endorsement, want the spot. Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza not running for reelection 'We are at a critical time for our state's future. You need someone in this role who can be fiscally responsible,' Croke said. During the meeting, long-time Congressman Danny Davis announced that while he's not retiring, it's on his mind. 'I'm not saying that I'm going to retire just yet,' Davis said. 'What I am saying is that I am thinking about it, and I will decide it in the next seven to eight days.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly have the most cash available in Illinois US Senate race
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton may have the endorsement of the state's wealthiest politician, billionaire Gov. JB Pritzker, but she finds herself at the bottom of the major Democratic U.S. Senate contenders when it comes to how much available cash she has to campaign with as the candidates approach nine months before the primary. Stratton's two congressional rivals, U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg and Robin Kelly of Matteson, benefited from their existing federal campaign accounts and ended June with multimillions of dollars available in their bank accounts, campaign finance reports filed this week with the Federal Election Commission showed. Stratton, Pritzker's two-time running mate, on April 24 became the first candidate to announce she wanted to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin. Campaign reports covering the April-through-June second quarter of the year showed Stratton raised nearly $1.1 million, spent $417,286, and began July 1 with $666,416 in cash available. But a closer review of her fundraising shows that about $185,000 of that amount must be used for the Nov. 3 general election and is unavailable for her use in the March 17 primary. For this election cycle, individuals can contribute a maximum of $3,500 to a candidate for each of the primary and general elections. The records show Pritzker contributed the maximum $7,000, and her candidacy also was backed with $7,000 donations by several Chicago sports team owners: Cubs co-owner Laura Ricketts, Blackhawks owner Danny Wirtz and White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf. Krishnamoorthi, in his fifth term in the House, announced his bid for Durbin's seat on May 7, the last of the three major Democratic contenders to declare. But the northwest suburban congressman, long a prodigious fundraiser, this week became the first of the contenders to launch TV ads in the race, a statewide buy of a half-million dollars and part of a sustained TV presence. Krishnamoorthi began April with nearly $19.5 million in his campaign account and raised more than $3.1 million from April through June. That left him with $21.1 million in cash available at the start of July. About $1.1 million of that total is reserved for general election spending. Kelly, a seven-term congresswoman representing the South Side and south suburbs in a district that stretches to Danville, announced her Senate candidacy on May 6. She started the second quarter with $2 million in the bank and ended June with $2.2 million, according to her campaign report. There was no immediate estimate on how much of Kelly's money was limited to spending for the general election. Solve the daily Crossword
Bloomberg
16-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Rep. Krishnamoorthi On Trump, Nvidia Chips, China
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) shares his concerns on Nvidia being able to sell their H20 chips in China stating it's inconsistent with the Trump Administration and discusses what the Administration should do instead to have a good trade deal with China. Rep. Krishnamoorthi speaks with Kailey Leinz and Tyler Kendall on the late edition of Bloomberg's "Balance of Power." (Source: Bloomberg)
Miami Herald
15-07-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Raja Krishnamoorthi first up on TV in the Illinois US Senate race to succeed Dick Durbin
CHICAGO - U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi is the first contender to launch TV ads in the race to succeed U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, with the five-term congressman billing himself as an "underdog" who has a history of fighting bullies and singling out President Donald Trump as the biggest. "Growing up with a name and a background like mine, I always felt like an underdog and I still do," the Democrat from Schaumburg who moved from New Delhi, India, when he was 3 months old and was raised in Peoria, says in the ad. "As your senator, I'll take on the biggest bully of them all. Because underdogs? We just fight harder," he says. "I'm Raja Krishnamoorthi, and I approve this message because bullies like Trump can call us names, but you can just call me Raja," he says at the end of the ad, reiterating a campaign slogan Krishnamoorthi has used for years. The campaign said it was putting $500,000 behind the 30-second spot for one week alone in airing it statewide on broadcast and streaming services. It also was the start of a sustained TV presence leading up to the March 17 Democratic primary, his campaign said. Krishnamoorthi is joined in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary by Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly of Matteson. While billionaire Gov. JB Pritzker is backing Stratton, Krishnamoorthi has been a prolific fundraiser since entering Congress in 2017, which is reflected by the early ad buy. Since the first of the year, Krishnamoorthi has raised more than $6 million, including more than $3.1 million from April through June. And his campaign said he entered July with more than $21 million in available cash. Federal candidates are scheduled to formally release their fundraising data for the second quarter of the year on Tuesday. Stratton, who announced she would not accept corporate political action committee funding, has said she would report raising more than $1 million in the second quarter. Kelly had $2 million in her federal account at the end of the first quarter of the year. Krishnamoorthi's ad is interspersed with various television news clips of his early Senate campaign, including a statewide tour to criticize Trump's imposition of trade tariffs on imports and Krishnamoorthi vowing to protect Social Security and Medicaid against administration cuts. On Friday, Krishnamoorthi and his rivals for the Senate nomination are scheduled to appear before Cook County Democratic ward and township committee members to seek the county party's endorsement. ____ Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
