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Meeting top congressional leaders at the White House, Joe Biden emphasised the “dire” consequences of America’s failure to fund Ukraine and urged them to keep the government open. Mike Johnson, the Republican House speaker, said he was “optimistic” Congress could prevent a partial-government shutdown on March 1st. Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s top Democrat, said that of his many meetings in the Oval office, Tuesday’s “was one of the most intense”, particularly when the topic was Ukraine.
Polls closed in Michigan, where Mr Biden is expected to win his party’s nomination. But in the critical swing state Democrats will be watching to see the results of a protest movement calling for voters unhappy with Mr Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza to vote “uncommitted”. On the Republican side, Donald Trump is expected to cruise to victory.
Tammy Duckworth, a Democratic senator, promised to bring legislation federally protecting IVF to the Senate floor. Last week Alabama’s Supreme Court ruled that embryos were children, leaving Republicans scrambling to publicly back IVF as several fertility clinics paused treatment. Earlier Democrats convinced Republican lawmakers in Florida to halt progress on a bill that would have broadly protected an “unborn child”.
Two Republican-controlled House committees issued a subpoena to the Justice Department requesting records from its investigation into Mr Biden’s retention of classified documents. The resulting report by an independent special counsel recommended that Mr Biden face no charges (but it dinged him for his age). Robert Hur, the special counsel, will testify before the House Judiciary Committee in March.
Andy Kim, a Democratic congressman from New Jersey running for senator, filed a lawsuit to change how the state designs its ballots. He argues that the existing system—in which candidates endorsed by local party bosses receive preferential placement on the ballot—is unconstitutional. Mr Kim’s main rival, Tammy Murphy, is the governor’s wife; she has been endorsed by the majority of New Jersey’s influential Democrats.
An FBI informant who was recently charged with fabricating bribery allegations against Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, was ordered to remain in jail until his trial begins. Prosecutors argued that Alexander Smirnov, who claimed close contact with Russian intelligence, was a flight risk and had plans to meet with foreign-intelligence officials. “There is nothing garden variety about this case,” the judge said.
The Chinese Tocqueville
In 1988 an inquisitive Chinese political scientist named Wang Huning came to America for a six-month visit. Americans, he observed, resent paying taxes and take peaceful transfers of power for granted. He marvelled at their public libraries and was shocked by homelessness. Our Lexington columnist revisits “America against America”, the book that Mr Wang—now a member of the Communist Party’s ruling body—wrote about his travels.
Daily quiz
Tuesday: What proportion of America’s population has no religious affiliation?
Monday: What proportion of America’s total wealth is owned by the poorest half of the population?
From Monday to Thursday we’ll quiz you on American politics. Email all your answers with your name and where you are from to [email protected] before 5pm New York time (10pm London time) on a Thursday. The weekly winner, chosen at random, will be announced here on Fridays.
Figure of the day
24%, the probability that America’s trade war with China will end, according to a group of academics. By their estimates, entrenchment of tariffs under Joe Biden did more harm to trade than the tariffs’ imposition under Donald Trump.
Read all of our recent coverage of the 2024 election. Confused about a term? Check out our A-Z of American politics.
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