WASHINGTON — On a day of high drama at an international climate change conference early in his administration, President Barack Obama confronted a senior Chinese official who offered what the American delegation considered a weak commitment. Mr. Obama dismissed the offer. Not good enough. The Chinese official erupted. “What do you mean that’s not good…
Month: May 2023
Representative Chip Roy Leads G.O.P. Revolt Against Debt Ceiling Deal
At the height of Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s quest for his post in January, Representative Chip Roy, Republican of Texas, darted from meeting to meeting ensuring that hard-line conservatives got what they wanted before agreeing to back the California Republican. One by one, nearly all of their demands were met in what Mr. Roy would later…
DeSantis Starts Campaign in Iowa, Hoping It Slingshots Him Past Trump
Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida kicked off his presidential campaign in Iowa on Tuesday with a sweeping denunciation of the “elites” that he said dominated American institutions, pitching himself as an unrepentant fighter who could reverse a tide of progressivism in boardrooms, the government and the military. “We must choose a path that will lead…
Taiwan Ambassador Says Ukraine’s Success Against Russia Will Deter China
Why It Matters: Some Republicans want to prioritize aid to Taiwan. Ms. Hsiao’s statement rebuts arguments by a few Republican lawmakers and former U.S. officials that the United States should decrease weapons aid to Ukraine in order to prioritize building up Taiwan’s defense capabilities and U.S. military resources aimed at countering China. Senator Josh Hawley,…
Debt Ceiling Deal Would Reinstate Student Loan Payments
For millions of Americans with federal student loan debt, the payment holiday is about to end. Legislation to raise the debt ceiling and cut spending includes a provision that would require borrowers to begin repaying their loans again by the end of the summer after a yearslong pause imposed during the coronavirus pandemic. President Biden…
Can the ‘California Effect’ Survive in a Hyperpartisan America?
For decades the state has been setting policy for the whole nation. Now red states are pushing back.
Supreme Court Could Consider Virginia High School’s Admissions
In the coming weeks, the Supreme Court is very likely to forbid colleges and universities to use race as a factor in admissions decisions. Indeed, when the cases challenging the admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina were argued in October, some justices were already looking at the next question on the…
Debt Ceiling Deal Includes New Work Requirements for Food Stamps
One of the most contentious issues surrounding talks over raising the debt limit has been whether the Biden administration would agree to stricter work requirements for people seeking food stamps and other safety net assistance. The deal reached this weekend includes something of a compromise: It increases work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program…
Why the Debt Limit Spending Cuts Likely Won’t Shake the Economy
The last time the United States came perilously close to defaulting on its debt, a Democratic president and a Republican speaker of the House cut a deal to raise the nation’s borrowing limit and tightly restrain some federal spending growth for years to come. The deal averted default, but it hindered what was already a…
When a North Dakota Teen’s Killing Became a Right-Wing Talking Point
They received numerous threatening letters, too, Ms. Brandt-Duda said. One was written on the margins of an article about the incident from The New York Post, she said. The newspaper covered the case extensively and also published an opinion column arguing that the “president of the United States, supported by a fan-girl media, spouts irresponsible…