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The $95bn package allots funds to Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine, which desperately needs munitions for its war with RussiaJoe Biden praised congressional leaders and lawmakers for what he called an effort “to answer history’s call at this critical inflection point” after the US Senate voted resoundingly in a bipartisan majority on Tuesday to approve $95bn in aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.The Senate passed...

The Senate, in a bipartisan super-majority, overwhelmingly voted to advance the measure, which Joe Biden is expected to signThe US Senate voted resoundingly on Tuesday to approve $95bn in aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as a bipartisan super-majority united to send the long-stalled package to Joe Biden’s desk for signature. The final vote was 79 to 18.The bill easily cleared a key procedural...

Fumio Kishida warns of risks from China in address to Congress and says Japan determined to do more to share responsibilityJapan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, on Thursday called on Americans to overcome their “self-doubt” as he offered a paean to US global leadership before a bitterly divided Congress.Warning of risks from the rise of China, Kishida said that Japan – stripped of its right...

The Republican challenger to Democrat Sherrod Brown for US Senate in Ohio has made dubious claims in his campaignBernie Moreno, the Republican candidate for US Senate in Ohio who expected to mount a stern challenge to Sherrod Brown, the incumbent leftwing Democrat, says his family fled socialism when they came to the US from Colombia in 1971, when he was four years old.Though such...

Israeli PM speaks via video link and answers questions after his request to talk to Democrats was turned downThe Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, virtually addressed Republican senators in Washington on Wednesday, days after the chamber’s majority leader, the Democrat Chuck Schumer, called him an impediment to peace in an unsparing floor speech.The Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, told reporters, shortly after leaving the...

Senate majority leader says Israeli prime minister has ‘lost his way’ and warns that country risks becoming ‘a pariah’US politics – liveChuck Schumer, the US Senate leader and a top ally of Joe Biden, on Thursday broke with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his handling of the invasion of Gaza and called for Israel to hold new elections, in comments that upset its...

Vote gets lawmakers about halfway home in wrapping up their appropriations work for the 2024 budget yearThe US government has narrowly avoided a partial shutdown after senators approved a $460bn package of spending bills before a midnight deadline that would have shuttered many key federal agencies.The Senate approved the six funding bills, which passed the House on Wednesday in a bipartisan vote of 339-85,...

The bill sets a discretionary spending level of $1.66tn for fiscal 2024 and still faces opposition from hardline House RepublicansUS congressional negotiators on Sunday revealed a bill to fund key parts of the government through the rest of the fiscal year that began in October, as lawmakers faced yet another threat of a partial shutdown if they fail to act by Friday.The legislation sets...

Majority leader Chuck Schumer had hailed bipartisan legislation to stop partial shutdown due to occur this weekendThe Senate has passed a short-term funding bill following a House vote on Thursday afternoon, narrowly averting a partial government shutdown that was due to occur this weekend.Ahead of the Senate vote, the majority leader, Chuck Schumer, addressed the chamber floor, saying that he saw “no reason this...

Kentucky senator, 82 and the longest-serving Senate leader in history, will step aside as minority leader at end of this yearMitch McConnell of Kentucky will step down as Republican leader in the US Senate at the end of this year, a move that will shake up US politics yet more in a tumultuous election cycle.McConnell is 82 and the longest-serving Senate leader in history....

Wartime funding bill likely to pass in Senate after procedural hurdle cleared but prospects uncertain in Republican-led HouseAfter many setbacks and much suspense, the Senate appeared on track this week to approve a long-awaited package of wartime funding for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as Republican opponents staged a filibuster to register their disapproval over a measure they could not block.The Senate voted 66-33, exceeding...

Ex-Maryland governor who Republicans hope can win in blue state told podcast last year sitting in Senate would be ‘really frustrating’Larry Hogan, the former Republican governor of Maryland who on Friday announced a surprise US Senate run, told an interviewer last year he did not “have a burning desire to be a senator”, would find sitting in the Senate “really frustrating”, thought being a...

The chamber then attempted to advance a foreign aid package which included only funding for US allies outlined in the bipartisan billThe Senate blocked a bipartisan border and national security bill from advancing on Wednesday, as Democrats accused Republicans of bending to the political wishes of Donald Trump at the expense of their constituents.The vote was 49 to 50, with 45 Democrats and four...

Critics on left and right furious that president failed to seek congressional approval for strikes against Houthi militantsA bipartisan chorus of lawmakers assailed Joe Biden for failing to seek congressional approval before authorizing military strikes against targets in Yemen controlled by Iranian-backed Houthi militants, reigniting a long-simmering debate over who has the power to declare war in America.The US president announced on Thursday night...

Prank call to police claimed a shooting occurred at Scott’s Naples home, prompting a Swat team to deploy before standing downThe Republican Florida senator Rick Scott has said that his home was “swatted” on Wednesday night.While he was dining with his wife, Ann, local Naples authorities responded to what was revealed to be a prank call intentionally made to lure resources like a Swat...