The #Republican-led UnitedStates House of
Representatives passed a bill on Thurs that would force President Joe #Biden to send weapons to Israel, seeking to rebuke the Democrat for delaying bomb shipments as he urges Israel to do more to protect #civilians during its war w/ #Hamas.
Cross-examination of #MichaelCohen resumes, an opportunity for the defense to poke holes in his testimony & perhaps trip up or provoke the state’s key witness. The questioning of Cohen, #Trump’s fmr fixer, is the beginning of the end of Trump’s #criminal trial, which began April 15 & might conclude before Memorial Day weekend at this pace.
#Republicans control the #House by such a slim margin, 217-213, that just 2 defections can sink #legislation even when all members are present — just a few absences can erase their majority altogether. The show of support for #Trump from such a large group meant that for much of Thurs, the GOP handed the majority to #Democrats.
#HouseRepublicans had a vote scheduled for Thurs to rebuke President #Biden for pausing an arms shipment to #Israel & compel his admin to deliver weapons.
The #Republican bill was designed to divide #Democrats & embarrass #POTUS#Biden, & had no chance of passing the #Senate or becoming #law. But w/so many #Republicans off campus demonstrating their fealty to #Trump, they left open the possibility that the party’s own messaging bill gets defeated. Democratic leaders in the #House had advised their members to vote “no,” calling the measure “another partisan stunt by Extreme #MAGA Republicans who are determined to hurt President Biden politically.”
The #Republicans that showed up to the #TrumpTrial today in Manhattan were lawmakers who are all about disrupting legislative business & have no issue w/embarrassing their own party on the #House floor. It included many #HouseFreedomCaucus members who have frozen the chamber for days on end, most recently voting down their party’s own rules as an act of protest.
The letters were sent hrs before #GOP-led #House Oversight & Judiciary cmtes were to advance a #contempt resolution against AG #Garland for defying a #subpoena demanding the recordings, which include hrs of Special Counsel Hur interviewing #Biden. #DOJ also sent #HouseRepublicans a letter Garland wrote Biden on Wed requesting he assert #ExecutivePrivilege bc releasing the tapes would “damage future #law enforcement efforts," as investigators request voluntary cooperation from #WhiteHouse ofcls.