Joe Biden insisted Thursday that he was on the verge of winning the presidency. He remained in the lead with 253 electoral votes to the president’s 214, and enjoyed a number of pathways toward winning the 270 needed to secure the presidency.
The Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate at a record low near zero Thursday. It announced no new actions after its latest policy meeting but left the door open to provide further assistance in the coming months.
As of Wednesday evening—with most of the votes counted—Spartz had a lead of nearly 18,000 votes over Democrat Christina Hale.
Joe Biden appeared to have a clear advantage in being elected president Wednesday afternoon, but the failure to achieve a clear Democratic wave as projected left President Donald Trump’s critics deeply disappointed.
Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics announced the rating change Monday morning for the tight race between Republican state Sen. Victoria Spartz and former Democratic state lawmaker Christina Hale.
State health officials are expressing frustration about a lack of federal financial support as they face orders to prepare to receive and distribute the first doses of a coronavirus vaccine by Nov. 15, even though one is not likely to be approved until later this year.
Those cleared included homes with mounting coronavirus outbreaks before or during the inspections, as well as those that saw cases and deaths spiral upward after inspectors reported no violations had been found, in some cases multiple times.
The sell-off began two weeks ago but intensified Monday. It has been triggered by a surge in coronavirus cases and the fact that the White House and Democrats are at an impasse over relief talks.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the White House would approve a big stimulus package after the election and predicted that Republicans would retake control of the House of Representatives.
A group of 10 Democratic senators, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York had urged Pence in a letter to stay away from the chamber given the latest outbreak of the coronavirus at the White House.
Senate Republicans are growing increasingly frustrated with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin as he makes what they see as unacceptable compromises in his quest for a stimulus deal with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, people familiar with the talks said Thursday.
Senators plan to convene a rare weekend session Supreme Court nomination ahead of a final Supreme Court confirmation vote expected Monday for the 48-year-old federal judge.
The bill included new money for small businesses, schools, health care systems and the unemployed, but omitted Democratic priorities such as state and local aid—as well as $1,200 stimulus checks for individuals.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday told fellow Republicans that he has warned the White House not to divide GOP legislators by sealing a $2 trillion relief deal with Democrats before the election
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell—who has rejected spending the enormous sums Pelosi and Mnuchin are discussing—announced the Senate will be voting Tuesday and Wednesday on much more targeted bills.
The rapidly developing changes came late Thursday after a nearly 90-minute conversation between the two negotiators. They both cited progress in resolving one of Pelosi’s top demands, for a national strategic testing plan to better detect the coronavirus.
Democratic senators are trying to dig deeper into the judge’s approach as a legal originalist, one who adheres to a more strict reading of the Constitution, but the appellate court justice from Indiana has declined to directly respond to many questions.
The Indiana judge described herself as taking a conservative, originalist approach to the Constitution. A former law professor, she told the senators that while she admires Scalia, her conservative mentor for whom she once clerked, she would bring her own approach.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that he’s scheduling a procedural vote on a relief bill next week, saying aid to hard-hit businesses shouldn’t be held up by gridlock involving other rescue proposals.
There appears to be a new sense of urgency from the White House and some congressional Republicans to reach some sort of agreement amid signs the economic recovery is weakening.
