US politics news summary | 28 September 2023
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Headlines: Thursday, 28 September 2023 | US Politics | GOP Debate | Government Shutdown
- A government shutdown looms as Republicans in the House of Representatives cannot bring a funding bill to the floor.
- Republicans in the Senate warn that a shutdown will be a “loser” for their party
- Donald Trump skips second GOP primary debate to make a campaign stop in Michigan, following President Biden’s visit to a UAW picket line on Tuesday
- The third GOP primary debate will take place on 8 November in Miami
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Trump's former lawyer to give deposition on 3 October
Michael Cohen is the star witness in the ‘Stormy Daniels’ case. The collaborator and former personal lawyer of Trump for more than a decade has now become one of his biggest enemies.
Cohen ended up in prison in 2018 after pleading guilty to violating the Campaign Finance Law and committing perjury in Congress, after stating that he had received orders from Trump to deliver the money and that he had covered up for the then-presidential candidate out of loyalty.
Even Fox News is not happy with the Republican effort
Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto was pretty scathing about Republican actions at the impeachment proceedings today.
"I don't know what was achieved over these last 6+ hours," he said on his show, "this was built up where there's smoke there would be fire... where there's smoke today, we got more smoke."
What are the Republican witnesses doing?
The witnesses are legal scholars and fraud experts — and weren’t involved in any of Hunter Biden’s business dealings, which are at the center of the impeachment saga.
Instead, they offered their professional opinions about the evidence previously uncovered by House Republicans, information from Hunter Biden’s criminal cases, and press reports.
What is going on in the Joe Biden impeachment hearing?
The first hearing offered Republicans the chance to show some of the evidence they’ve uncovered to date.
None was offered.
Forensic accountant Bruce Dubinsky, one of the GOP witnesses, undercut Republicans’ main narrative by saying there wasn’t enough evidence yet for him to conclude that there was “corruption” by the Bidens.
What a night. Though Donald Trump, the current GOP primary frontrunner, was not present, Wednesday night’s GOP primary debate had its fair share of memorable moments. The seven qualified candidates came prepared with attacks, one-liners, and a desire to separate themselves from the pack. Considering that the total support for all of the candidates put together does not reach that of Donald Trump, it will take more than a “moment” on a debate stage to secure their party’s nomination.
Read more on those "moments" in our full coverage.
Goldman Sachs puts odds of a government shutdown at 90 percent
The financial giant Goldman Sachs has increased the odds that a government shutdown will begin on Sunday to ninety percent, with the financial giant estimating that the lapse in funding will last between two to three weeks. The predictions come courtesy of Jan Hatzius, one of the firm's top economists. Hatzius published the forecast in a letter to investors to provide insights into the possible impact a shutdown could have for the financial sector.
Donald Trump may have been absent, but he remained on the mind of his competition
Donald Trump may have missed the second GOP primary debate, but he was called out by multiple candidates for his absence. Notably, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie said that Trump should have been there to defend his record. Florida governor Ron DeSantis made a similar jab, calling on Trump to defend the trillions of dollars that were added to the federal deficit under his administration.
Biden places ad right before GOP debate
President Biden's team managed to secure an ad attacking his top contender, Donald Trump, right before the GOP debate was set to begin. However, those tuning in did not get a chance to hear from Trump as he skipped the debate in favor of a campaign stop in Michigan.
An announcement by credit rating company Moody’s that the US’s credit worthiness could be under threat puts more pressure on House Republicans.
“While government debt service payments would not be impacted and a short-lived shutdown would be unlikely to disrupt the economy, it would underscore the weakness of US institutional and governance strength relative to other AAA-rated sovereigns that we have highlighted in recent years,” Moody’s wrote. Read more.
The likelihood of a government shutdown keeps increasing as House Republican leaders indicate that they won’t consider a bipartisan Senate plan to fund the government until mid-November. Hard-right members of the GOP in the lower chamber have been exercising outsized sway over Speaker Kevin McCarthy to tack controversial add-ons to funding legislation and implement deep cuts.
The former are seen as too extreme by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and the latter goes against an agreement McCarthy reached with President Biden in the spring. Thus dooming any those proposals that manage to get passed in the House.
Read our full coverage for details on how air travel could be impacted by a government shutdown.
Hello and welcome to AS USA's live blog on US politics. What a week it has been.
The second Republican primary debate took place on Wednesday night. Former president and current frontrunner, Donald Trump, was notably absent once again. Instead of taking on the competition, Trump made a campaign stop in Michigan to speak with current and former autoworkers at a non-union plant. The crowded debate stage made for an eventful evening, with each candidate trying to stand out in a race that remains very much in the hands of Donald Trump. Attempts were made by the candidates to justify the looming government shutdown, which could cost tax payers billions as non-essential government workers are furloughed, and operations at many federal agencies come to a halt. The shutdown could begin Sunday if Republicans in Congress cannot pass a spending bill. Most GOP members in the House of Representatives have all but assured that a shutdown will occur... but the question of how long it will last remains to be seen. Another open question is the fate of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and whether his caucus will allow him to continue holding the gavel if/when the shutdown begins. Follow along with us for the latest from Washington.