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Republicans win control of the House

Republicans are projected to win a majority of seats in the House of Representatives, gaining control of Congress’s lower chamber after four years of Democratic rule.

The Associated Press called the 218th seat for Republicans — projecting Rep. Mike Garcia (Calif.) to win reelection — around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, more than a week after Election Day.

The GOP had long anticipated winning control of the House in the 2022 elections. Midterms have historically benefited the party not in control of the White House, and after Republicans unexpectedly gained House seats and chipped away at the Democratic majority in 2020, they needed a net gain of just five seats to win control.

But losses in key districts that came into focus on election night put a damper on GOP spirits. The red wave Republicans had been teasing for months looked like it would be more like a ripple.

The unusually stretched-out period of uncertainty about House control punctuated Republican disappointment over election results. 

GOP leaders from the day after the election onward, though, argued that a win is a win.

“Two years ago when I became leader, Republicans had less than 200 seats in the house. That cycle we picked up 14 seats when every single person said that would be impossible,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said at his election night party in Washington just before 2 a.m., emerging an hour after the event was originally scheduled to end.

Despite coming up short in top targets like Rep. Abigail Spanberger’s district in Virginia and others in Pennsylvania, Republicans notched victories through blue state New York – including defeating the head of the party’s House campaign arm, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney (N.Y.).

“No one ever said this thing was going to be easy. I always said that all I could guarantee was that we’re going to win the majority,” National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Emmer (Minn.) told reporters last week. “How wide and how deep the majority was going to be was totally up to the voters.”

Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) addresses reporters following the House Republican Leadership Election for the 118th session of Congress on Tuesday, November 15, 2022. (Greg Nash)

Emmer was rewarded for his efforts leading the House GOP campaign arm by being elected House Majority Whip in House GOP Conference elections on Tuesday, emerging victorious from a tight, three-way race for the post.

Lagging approval ratings for President Biden and voter concerns about inflation and the economy created an environment thought to be favorable for Republican candidates, but the Supreme Court’s overturning of abortion rights protections in Roe v. Wade led to a bump for Democrats in the summer. 

But Republican members and staffers pointed the finger more at the quality of GOP candidates who lost, as well as statewide candidates, than at the Supreme Court abortion decision for putting a breaker on the promised red wave.

“Really, the top of the ticket in a lot of these states and a lot of the races really hurt us,” said Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pa.). 

The final breakdown of House control likely will not be known for weeks as vote-counters tally ballots in several more close races.

McCarthy clinched his party’s nomination for Speaker in a secret ballot vote on Tuesday, but some members of the right flank are asserting that he does not have the 218 votes needed to win the Speakership on the House floor on Jan. 3. Former President Trump, with whom McCarthy maintained a good relationship despite saying that he bore responsibility for the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, endorsed McCarthy for the post last week.

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), a former chair of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, mounted a protest challenge to McCarthy for Speaker less than 24 hours before the internal conference elections. McCarthy handedly won the nomination 188 to 31, but the number of defectors far outnumber the House GOP’s cushion for the majority, suggesting McCarthy has work to do to secure a majority the Jan. 3 vote.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) addresses reporters following the House Republican Leadership Election for the 118th session of Congress on Tuesday, November 15, 2022. (Greg Nash)

McCarthy has risen through the ranks of House GOP leadership since he was elected to the House in 2006, and has given members of the right flank a seat at the table rather than sparring with them like previous GOP leaders. Confrontations from the Freedom Caucus preceded former Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) resigning from the House in 2015.

Conservatives were previously more hostile to McCarthy, and he has worked to mend fences. The group banded together to support a challenger when he first ran for Speaker in 2015, pushing him out of the race. Firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) suggested as recently as last year that McCarthy did not have the votes to be Speaker, but now – in a break with Freedom Caucus colleague Biggs and others – is strongly supporting McCarthy for Speaker, fearing that a handful of moderate Republicans could flip to support a compromise candidate with Democrats.

A narrower majority will test McCarthy’s management of the various factions of his conference, from the hard-line right-wingers to the pragmatic deal-making moderates.

With the Democrats projected to keep control of the Senate, GOP control of the House will be critical to the party’s attempts to thwart the Biden administration.

House Republicans have an expansive agenda, which they outlined in a “Commitment to America” policy and messaging platform released in September. But with the White House still under Democratic control and unlikely to enact many GOP policy priorities, a large focus will be put on oversight and investigations into the Biden administration.

Republicans have long been preparing investigations into the origins of COVID-19, migration policies at the U.S.-Mexico border, the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, and alleged politicization in the Department of Justice. They also plan to create a select committee on China policy.

Structural factors like redistricting, a wave of retirements of Democratic incumbents, a focus on candidate recruitment efforts, and a barrage of spending from Republican groups contributed to GOP House gains in Tuesday’s elections.

New Congressional lines, which are drawn by state legislatures every 10 years after each Census, made 17 previously “swing” competitive districts more comfortably Republican versus seven seats for Democrats, according to a Cook Political Report analysis. The number of swing seats was slashed by about a third.

More than 30 Democrats declined to seek reelection, marking a three-decade high for Democratic retirements and a sign of low confidence in retaining control of the chamber. In 2018 when the Democrats took control of the chamber, 34 Republicans made for the exits.

Republicans fielded the most racially diverse slate of candidates in history, according to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), with 73 candidates identifying as Black, Latino, Asian, Native American or a combination of those. The House GOP campaign arm also counted 80 Republican women on November ballots.

Recruiting a diverse slate of candidates was a crucial part of the GOP strategy to make gains in 2022. All of the seats that Republicans flipped in 2020 were won by women, minority candidates, or veterans.

In addition to inflation and the economy, Republicans heavily focused on crime and border policies in midterm messaging.

The GOP wins in the House raise questions about the political future for Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.), a two-time Speaker and longtime leader of House Democrats, and first woman to hold the post. She has indicated that a recent attack on her husband may impact her forthcoming plans. Pelosi said she would make a decision about whether to run for leadership before Democrats hold their own internal elections on Nov. 30.

Mike Lillis contributed.

Source: TEST FEED1

Trump enthusiasm fading fast for House GOP

Two years after rallying behind Donald Trump as the GOP’s uncontested champion, Republicans on Capitol Hill are sounding a very different tune as the former president seeks the White House once again in 2024.

While a number of Trump’s staunchest supporters have already endorsed him, a long list of others is either expressing an openness to back another candidate, says it’s too early to endorse anyone or just wants to avoid the topic altogether.

The discord reflects a much broader debate among national Republicans about the direction of the party and the role Trump will play within it — a discussion that’s gained urgency after the GOP’s dispiriting performance in last week’s midterm elections. Some have blamed Trump for propping up unelectable candidates that cost Republicans the Senate and limited their gains in the House.

The GOP divisions also portray fierce frustrations within the party that Trump’s presidential announcement — which he delivered Tuesday night in a prime-time speech at Mar-a-Lago — came before the results of some midterm races are final. Some Republicans are concerned it will hurt the GOP’s chances in a Senate runoff election in Georgia, where voters will decide Dec. 6 whether Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) or Republican Herschel Walker will be in the upper chamber next year. 

“I thought the timing was off. I mean, for many of us, we’re just still trying to figure out — we still have races that aren’t declared yet,” said Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), whose razor-thin victory in Arizona was called only Monday. “I thought that was a bit inappropriate.”

Others have been encouraged by last week’s strong reelection performance from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who is eyeing a White House run of his own in 2024, and are waiting for more candidates to jump into the race.

“What’s nice is that the Republicans actually have a bench for once,” said Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), who emphasized that she’s waiting for guidance from her constituents.

Still others simply declined to weigh in.

Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), who came closer-than-expected to winning the New York governorship this cycle with the help of Trump’s endorsement, would not comment on the former president’s announcement.

Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said his focus right now is “on the Speaker’s race in the House of Representatives and our rules package,” while Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) said his priorities are also elsewhere. 

“Look, I am focused on Herschel Walker right now, and getting him elected in the Senate,” Carter said.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) also side-stepped questions of a Trump endorsement.

“You guys are crazy,” he told reporters.

Launching his presidency Tuesday night, Trump used his hour-plus speech to tout the achievements of his administration; hammer the track record of President Biden; blast the FBI for searching his Florida residence over the summer; and resurface his various gripes regarding China, including unfounded accusations that interference by Beijing cost him the 2020 election.

Returning the MAGA movement to power, he said, is the only way to salvage the country.

“We always have known that this was not the end. It was only the beginning of our fight to rescue the American dream,” Trump said.

The announcement was quickly hailed by Trump’s strongest supporters, who see him as Republicans’ best hope of winning the White House in 2024.

“I think President Biden has done a terrible job of leading this country,” said Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), “and I look forward to President Trump doing a much better job.”

Trump’s early entrance in the 2024 contest is particularly prickly for McCarthy, who is vying to become Speaker next year but so far lacks the support from conservatives — including some of Trump’s closest allies — to win the gavel.

McCarthy has taken pains to remain in Trump’s good graces, even following last year’s attack on the Capitol, but has not endorsed the 45th president’s bid to become the 47th.

Putting pressure on the Republican leader, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), a former head of the far-right Freedom Caucus who challenged McCarthy’s leadership bid this week, is already throwing his support behind Trump. Members of the GOP leadership team, including Rep. Elise Stefanik (N.Y.), are doing the same. And Jason Miller, a former senior adviser to Trump, warned last week that McCarthy’s failure to endorse the former president would cost him the Speakership.

“I do think that Kevin McCarthy needs to — if he wants to have a chance at being Speaker — he needs to be much more declarative that he is supporting President Trump,” Miller said. “It’s gonna be a MAGA-centric caucus for the Republicans in the House and even for the Senate. We need leadership to match.”

While Trump is the first Republican to officially throw his hat into the 2024 ring, other members of the party are expected to join him for what will likely be a competitive and contentious primary showcasing candidates from all corners of the increasingly fractured GOP. Some are becoming increasingly vocal about their wishes to move beyond Trump.

“I think we’ll have better choices,” former Vice President Mike Pence told The New York Times on Tuesday, before Trump’s announcement.

Pence himself is also eyeing a 2024 run, joining a long and growing list that also includes DeSantis, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.).

It’s a list that encompasses the anti-Trump wing of the party, MAGA-aligned figures and those who have tried to straddle that GOP divide that is becoming more pronounced.

Some Republicans on Capitol Hill are surveying the party’s roster before making picks for 2024.

“I’m not ready to make any type of endorsement, but I will say that in terms of the Republicans that I represent, I think they would be happy with President Trump, they would be happy with DeSantis. I also think that there’s other people like Nikki Haley, Mike Pompeo, that are good contenders,” Malliotakis told The Hill.

“We actually have a bench to choose from, and I’ll be going back to my district, talking to my constituents,” she added.

Schweikert said he is “looking forward to a really competitive presidential primary.” Pressed on who his favorite is in the race, the Arizona Republican said, “I want to see a bunch of people earn it.”

“It’s a meritocracy. Go battle for it,” he added.

Meanwhile, the former president’s closest congressional allies are sticking by him, lauding the much-anticipated announcement and expressing confidence in his chances of landing the White House for a second term.

“I thought it was a great announcement,” said Stefanik, the chair of the House GOP conference. “I think he’s in a really strong position to be the nominee.”

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), another loyal Trump supporter, echoed that message.

“I’m excited,” he said.

Source: TEST FEED1

NASA took its next giant leap to the moon — what comes next?

NASA’s new mega moon rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), soared into space early Wednesday morning, lighting up the night sky above the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.  

The mission, which is many years and multiple billions over budget, aims to send an Orion crew capsule on a journey around the moon. 

“We are all part of something incredibly special,” Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, the launch director, told her team after the successful liftoff. “The first launch of Artemis and the first step in returning our country to the moon and [eventually] on to Mars.”

For NASA, the launch begins a new era of lunar exploration that intends to culminate in astronauts returning to the lunar surface for the first time in 50 years. 

Researchers hope to discover the moon’s hidden secrets, like what kind of materials lurk in the shadowy regions of the lunar poles, what kind of resources are available for future crewed missions and what resources could be leveraged to aid in reaching Mars.

But before NASA could unlock those secrets, this first mission had to get off the ground. After multiple scrubs and rollbacks and even hurricanes, the four engines on the rocket’s core stage ignited at 1:47 a.m. ET on Wednesday, along with its two solid rocket boosters, propelling the behemoth skyward. 

What comes next?

Announcements will be made soon on who will be the first astronauts to strap into the Orion crew capsule. On its next mission, the SLS rocket will carry four astronauts on a flight around the moon. This will be a precursor to a lunar landing, where four more astronauts will fly to the moon, with two actually stepping onto the lunar surface. 

Artemis II is slated to launch in 2024, with Artemis III on its heels in 2025 — if the current schedule holds. The Artemis IV mission, currently slated for 2027, will be the first to inhabit the planned lunar outpost NASA calls Gateway. 

The Artemis program is an international collaboration, with many nations participating. As part of Canada’s agreement, the country will contribute a robotic arm to use on Gateway. Designed much like the robotic arms that served the space shuttle and now the International Space Station, the tool will earn a Canadian astronaut a spot on the Artemis II crew.

An astronaut from the European Space Agency will be part of the Artemis IV crew, and will help deliver a European-built habitation module to Gateway outpost.

Many of the details concerning crew members have not yet been disclosed; however, NASA is expected to make announcements for its upcoming Artemis II mission early in the new year. 

When Trump was in office, his administration announced that it wanted to accelerate NASA’s lunar ambitions. To that end, it was decided that the Artemis III crew would include “the first woman and the next man” to walk on the moon.

Under the Biden administration, the phrasing has changed to “the first woman and first person of color,” but in reference to more general Artemis missions and not specifically to Artemis III. 

NASA has a vast and diverse corps of astronauts today, with its newest class, selected in 2021, scheduled to complete training before any of these missions take off. That gives the agency a large pool of individuals to sort through for these high-profile missions. 

The Artemis I mission will last for 25 days, and assuming it completes all of its objectives, the rocket will land safely in the Pacific Ocean next month.

There’s speculation that NASA could announce its first four moon-bound astronauts after the new year. 

Whoever is selected, they will eventually pop out of a SpaceX Starship. NASA has tasked the private spaceflight company with building a human landing system variant of its massive Starship rocket. As part of the deal, the company will provide a series of landing demonstrations, including an uncrewed demo before Artemis III. 

“Returning astronauts to the Moon to learn, live, and work is a bold endeavor,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement. “With multiple planned landers, from SpaceX and future partners, NASA will be better positioned to accomplish the missions of tomorrow: conducting more science on the surface of the Moon than ever before and preparing for crewed missions to Mars.” 

The Starship variant will do more than just land on the lunar surface — it will also be able to dock with Gateway and shuttle as many as four crew members to and from the lunar surface, along with any cargo or scientific equipment they may need. 

NASA says the agency is working with partners other than SpaceX in an effort to develop multiple landing systems, as this component is crucial to the success of the program. 

The hardware will help prepare the agency for the ultimate giant leap: Mars. 

Source: TEST FEED1

Senate votes to advance same-sex marriage bill

The Senate on Wednesday voted to start debate on legislation that would codify same-sex marriage protections, paving the way for it to pass by the end of the week. 

Senators voted 62-37 to advance the measure, with 12 Republicans joining with every Democrat. Lawmakers are expected to vote once again tomorrow to invoke cloture, setting up a final vote by the end of the week. 

“This legislation unites Americans,” Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), the lone openly gay senator, said on the Senate floor before the vote. “With the Respect For Marriage Act, we can ease the fear for millions of same-sex and interracial couples have that their freedoms and their rights could be stripped away. 

“By passing this bill, we are guaranteeing same-sex and interracial couples regardless of where they live that their marriage is legal and that they will continue to enjoy the rights and the responsibilities that all other marriages are afforded. And this will give millions of loving couples the certainty, the dignity and the respect that they need and that they deserve,” Baldwin continued, adding that it would help remove “the weight of the world” from the backs of such couples.

A vote on the original bill in late September was punted until after the midterms due to the lack of GOP support prior to Election Day. 

A number of Republicans finally came on board to back the proposal after a group of five senators, headed by Baldwin and Susan Collins (R-Maine), unveiled an amendment on Monday that contained religious freedom provisions. 

The updated language protects nonprofit religious organizations from providing services in support of same-sex marriage, as well as religious liberty and conscience protections under the Constitution and federal law. It would also ensure that the federal government does not recognize polygamous marriage.

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) argued Wednesday that passing the bill would represent one of the “highlights of the year for this body.” 

“This has been an incredibly productive year in Congress, full of many significant achievements. But I think passing the Respect For Marriage Act would be one of the more significant accomplishments of the Senate to date,” Schumer said from the chamber floor. 

Only six Senate Republicans — Collins, Rob Portman (Ohio), Thom Tillis (N.C.), Mitt Romney (Utah), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Roy Blunt (Mo.) — announced their support for the bill prior to Wednesday, with many others remaining tight-lipped beforehand.

But in a sign of the times, the Mormon church, which had previously spent millions of dollars in opposition to gay marriage legislation at the state level, came out in support of the measure on Tuesday.

“We are grateful for the continuing efforts of those who work to ensure the Respect for Marriage Act includes appropriate religious freedom protections while respecting the law and preserving the rights of our LGBTQ brothers and sisters,” the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said in a statement. “We believe this approach is the way forward.”

Baldwin had told The Hill on Tuesday that she had hoped for a “robust” level of bipartisan support behind the proposal. 

Many Republicans who voted against the legislation cited the protections already in place from the Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges ruling in 2015 that enshrined marriage equality. 

If the bill passes the upper chamber, the House will have to once again pass it as it would include the amendment. 

Forty-seven House Republicans voted for the original bill in July. 

Source: TEST FEED1

Trump 2024 announcement could open door further to challengers

The lukewarm response to former President Trump’s announcement that he will once again seek the White House could provide a key opening for other Republicans still on the fence about whether to challenge him in 2024.

While the Tuesday campaign launch drew praise from Trump’s most loyal allies, the otherwise skeptical responses to an unusually restrained performance reflected the former president’s seemingly weakened position in the GOP after a lackluster midterm election performance.

That could open the door even wider to a hard-charging Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), riding high on his midterm win and with the wind at his back — as well as to other would-be challengers.

“I think there are a lot of people today looking at that speech and seeing an opening,” one Republican strategist said. “He’s up there trying to explain the midterms, calling himself a victim. I think it came off as kind of a show of his weaknesses rather than a well-articulated argument for running again.”

Of course, Trump has been counted out before. When he launched his first — and so far only — successful bid for the White House in 2015, many Republicans shrugged off his candidacy early on, believing that he was more of an attention-seeking pariah than a serious contender for the presidency.

“I can’t count him out. He’s still the favorite,” Ford O’Connell, a Republican strategist and former congressional candidate, said. “I think what you saw last night was a recognition that 2024 is going to be different than 2016 or 2020. But one of the things he made clear was that he still wants to be the outsider, even as a former president.”

O’Connell said that Trump struck the right tone with his announcement. Instead of his usual bombast, Trump opted to focus more on issues, like inflation, border security and crime, setting up a clear contrast between himself and President Biden, O’Connell said.

“Trump really had his 2024 game face on in terms of the issue-focused tone. And I think what you saw from him was a recognition that 2024 is going to be different from 2016, from 2020,” O’Connell said. “I think one of the things he wants to do going forward is have that compare and contrast with the Biden administration.” 

Still, what O’Connell saw as focus, others saw as “low-energy,” in the words of one former ally, and a marked departure from the speeches and rallies that have endeared him to large swaths of the Republican base.

And Trump is beginning his campaign at a time when Republicans are already questioning his role in the party. The midterm elections saw several high-profile candidates backed by Trump lose key federal and state offices, prompting many in the GOP to blame the former president’s controversial political brand for their lackluster performance. 

While Republicans are poised to win a narrow majority in the House, they failed to recapture control of the Senate and missed out on an opportunity to flip key governor’s mansions in states like Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

There are signs Trump’s campaign launch is already pushing the budding Republican presidential primary contest into a more confrontational phase. 

Mike Pompeo, Trump’s former secretary of state and a potential 2024 primary hopeful, took a thinly veiled swipe at his former boss on Wednesday, tweeting that Americans need “leaders who are looking forward, not staring in the rearview mirror claiming victimhood.” That tweet appeared to be in reference to Trump’s repeated assertion on Tuesday that he was a “victim.”

Another prospective White House hopeful, former Vice President Mike Pence, predicted during an appearance on “Fox & Friends” that Republicans will “have better choices” than Trump come 2024. 

Trump’s announcement also received a cool reception on Capitol Hill.

And Stephen A. Schwartzman, the CEO of the private equity firm Blackstone and a major GOP donor, told Axios in a statement after Trump’s Tuesday announcement that he would not support the former president’s comeback bid, saying that he would support another eventual candidate for the party’s 2024 nomination.

“It is time for the Republican Party to turn to a new generation of leaders and I intend to support one of them in the presidential primaries,” he said.

There now remains little doubt within the party that other Republicans will jump into the presidential race, despite Trump’s efforts to freeze out any potential competition. One Republican donor said that Trump’s announcement lifts any remaining uncertainty about his intentions and paves the way for other would-be candidates to jump in.

“It was always important for Trump to announce first, because his spotlight was fading,” the donor said. “He needs the campaign in order to stay relevant. I think most other candidates can take their time, but at least they know where he stands.”

But it is DeSantis, who won reelection last week in a landslide, that poses perhaps the biggest threat to Trump’s bid to return to power. Although Trump remains the most popular Republican in the country for now, recent polling shows DeSantis gaining ground in a hypothetical primary matchup against the former president, and even leading him among Florida Republicans.

Polling released on Monday by the conservative Club for Growth showed DeSantis leading Trump by double-digit margins among voters in Iowa and New Hampshire, the first states to vote in presidential nominating contests. The group’s polling in Florida, meanwhile, found Trump trailing DeSantis by 26 percentage points.

“The polling numbers are already trending in the wrong direction for [Trump], and in the one state where DeSantis and Trump are on a level playing field when it comes to name recognition and engagement, it’s even worse for him,” Keith Naughton, a veteran Republican strategist, said. “That tells me when people see both of them side-by-side, Trump has a problem.”

While some Republicans saw Trump’s early campaign announcement as an effort to shutout potential rivals, Naughton said Trump’s entrance into the race may end up having the opposite effect. 

“We all knew he was going to announce for president, but he delivered a dud after promising fireworks for months,” Naughton said. “It wasn’t the kind of thing that’s going to put anybody off their plans.” 

Source: TEST FEED1

Milley tried to speak with Russian counterpart on Tuesday but was 'unsuccessful'

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley attempted to speak with his Russian counterpart on Tuesday following a missile-caused explosion in Poland but was unable to get through, the top military official revealed Wednesday. 

Milley said his staff tried to connect him with Russian Gen. Valery Gerasimov but they were “unsuccessful in getting me linked up.”  

He instead spoke several times with his Ukrainian counterpart, with his Polish counterpart and with other chiefs of defense in Europe, Milley told reporters at the Pentagon 

U.S. officials are still waiting on more information as to the exact origin of a Soviet-era missile that struck within Poland’s borders on Tuesday, killing two. 

Initial assessments from Poland and NATO suggest that the armament was likely a Ukrainian air defense missile that unintentionally struck near the Ukrainian-Polish border in the village of Przewodów.  

The incident occurred as Russia began a renewed missile barrage on Ukraine, pounding civilian targets and energy infrastructure ahead of winter. 

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, speaking alongside Milley on Wednesday, said the Pentagon was still gathering information but has “seen nothing that contradicts [Polish President Andrzej Duda’s] preliminary assessment that this explosion was most likely the result of a Ukrainian air defense missile that unfortunately landed in Poland.” 

He added that whatever the final conclusion “the world knows that Russia bears ultimate responsibility for this incident.” 

Tuesday’s incident put Western leaders on edge and set off a flurry of calls and meeting between top officials after it appeared that Russia’s attacks on Ukraine had spilled beyond its borders and risked widening the conflict — a long-held concern among NATO members, of which Poland is one. 

But the new assessments that emerged Wednesday appeared to calm worries that the strike would cause the nearly nine-month war to escalate, as it didn’t appear Russia had deliberately targeted Poland. Such an occurrence may have drawn NATO into the conflict under Article 5 of the alliance’s treaty, which states that an attack against one member is viewed as an attack on all. 

The Polish government, aided with U.S. experts, is now investigating the explosion, and Austin said Washington has “full confidence” in the inquiry.  

“They’ve been conducting that investigation in a professional and deliberate manner, and so we won’t get ahead of their work. We’re going to stay in close touch with our Polish counterparts as well as with our NATO allies and other valued partners,” Austin said.  

The Pentagon leaders also touched on Russia’s current efforts in its war on Ukraine, with Milley calling Moscow’s latest barrage of between 60 and 100 missiles “likely the largest wave of missiles that we’ve seen since the beginning of the war” and a “war crime.” 

“The deliberate targeting of the civilian power grid, causing excessive collateral damage and unnecessary suffering on the civilian population, is a war crime,” Milley said. 

The top general, who earlier on Wednesday met virtually with the Pentagon-led Ukraine Contact Group, also pushed for Ukraine to receive more air defense capabilities, weapons he called “critical” for Ukraine’s future successes. 

In addition, Milley stressed that Moscow has failed “every single” objective in the conflict. 

“It’s clear that the Russian will to fight does not match the Ukrainian will to fight,” Milley said. “The Russians have failed every single time. They’ve lost strategically, they’ve lost operationally and, I repeat, they lost tactically. What they’ve tried to do, they failed at.”  

But he also allowed that “militarily kicking the Russians physically out of Ukraine is a very difficult task” and one that the Ukrainian military will not likely accomplish “anytime soon,” though there may be a political alternative to end the conflict. 

“The Russian military is really hurting bad. So you want to negotiate at a time when you’re at your strength and your opponent is at weakness,” Milley said. “It’s possible, maybe, that there’ll be a political solution. All I’m saying is there’s a possibility for it. That’s all I’m saying.” 

Source: TEST FEED1

Schumer to nominate Murray as Senate president pro tempore

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced at the Senate Democratic lunch Wednesday that he will nominate Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) next month to serve next year as Senate president pro tempore, a position that is third in line to the presidency.

The nomination will need to be approved by the entire Senate Democratic Conference.  

Schumer also announced that the Senate Democratic caucus will hold its leadership election on Dec. 8.  

The job of Senate president pro tempore comes with a large, ornate office on the ground floor of the U.S. Capitol and a large security detail.  

The current office holder, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), will retire from Senate after eight terms at the end of the year.  

The most senior member of the majority party usually occupies the role of president pro tempore, but Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who arrived in the Senate in November of 1992, a few months before Murray, passed on the job.  

Murray was elected last week to a sixth Senate term. She defeated Republican Tiffany Smiley, 57.4 percent to 42.6 percent.  

She first joined the Senate in January of 1993.  

She is also expected to take over as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, also succeeding Leahy in that powerful position.  

Source: TEST FEED1

What we know about the missile that hit Poland

When news broke on Tuesday that a missile had crossed into Poland and killed two people, fingers quickly pointed to Russia. 

However, initial assessments from Poland and NATO suggest that it was actually a Ukrainian air defense missile that struck four miles from the border in the Polish village of Przewodów. 

Following a meeting of NATO ambassadors on Wednesday, the alliance’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said investigations pointed to an accident as Ukraine was trying to defend itself from a Russian aerial barrage. 

“This is not Ukraine’s fault; Russia bears ultimate responsibility,” Stoltenberg said. “The whole incident is caused by Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine.”

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin struck a similar tone at a press conference Wednesday. 

“We’re still gathering information, but we have seen nothing that contradicts [Polish President Andrzej Duda’s] preliminary assessment that this explosion was most likely the result of a Ukrainian air defense missile that unfortunately landed in Poland” he said. 

“Whatever the final conclusions may be, the world knows that Russia bears ultimate responsibility for this incident,” he added. 

News outlets — including The Hill — reported Tuesday that Russia fired the missile that fell into Russia, citing an Associated Press report based on a U.S. intelligence source. 

Ukraine also quickly blamed Russia, with Ukrainian President Volodymy Zelensky calling the explosion in Poland a “really significant escalation” in the war. 

“Hitting NATO territory with missiles. … This is a Russian missile attack on collective security! This is a really significant escalation. Action is needed,” Zelensky said in a video address Tuesday. 

Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, called for an urgent NATO summit, and additional western air defenses and even fighter jets to counter Russia’s threat to the region. 

However, Russia denied firing any missiles near the border soon after the reports initially emerged, calling any statement to the contrary a “deliberate provocation.”

The incident occurred as Russia pounded Ukraine with missiles on Tuesday, hitting civilian targets and energy infrastructure ahead of winter. The attacks also downed power lines that supply electricity to Moldova, causing power outages in that country. 

Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said on Facebook that Tuesday’s barrage on Ukraine’s energy facilities was “the most massive” since the start of the war.

Source: TEST FEED1

McConnell defeats Scott in last-minute race for Senate GOP leader

Senate Republicans voted Wednesday to elect Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as their leader over National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Rick Scott (R-Fla.) who announced his desire to replace McConnell at an acrimonious conference meeting Tuesday.

A majority of GOP senators voted to elect McConnell leader after a motion backed by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and other conservatives to delay the leadership election until after the Dec. 6 Georgia runoff failed.  

Scott’s last-minute challenge to McConnell represented the toughest competition the senior Republican senator has faced for the top leadership job since he became Senate minority leader in 2007.

Even so, McConnell wound up winning by a comfortable margin, retaining the support of many GOP colleagues after he raised more than $200 million to help Republicans win back the Senate majority this election cycle.  

Two outside groups affiliated with McConnell, Senate Leadership Fund and One Nation, spent $363 million on Senate races, according to a person familiar with their fundraising record, significantly more than what Scott raised at the NRSC.  

Scott and other senate Republican critics of McConnell’s leadership style, however, argued that the Kentucky senator failed to give voters a clear picture of what the Republican governing agenda would be if the party won control of the Senate.  

In a letter to colleagues circulated Tuesday, Scott promised to “lead the conference in developing a positive, aspirational agenda that outlines our legislative goals and what Senate Republicans stand for.”  

McConnell on Tuesday rejected Scott’s criticism that his decision not to put out an agenda before Election Day hurt GOP candidates.  

“Every one of our candidates knew what they were for, expressed it quite clearly. It’s pretty obvious, and all of you have been writing about it, what happened. We underperformed among independents and moderates because their impression of many of the people in our party in leadership roles is that they’re involved in chaos, negativity, excessive attacks, and it frightened independent and moderate Republican voters,” he said, in what appeared to be a reference to former President Trump’s political tactics.

He said he saw the unfolding political dynamic weeks before Election Day, which turned out to be a major disappointment for many Senate Republicans who hoped to return to the majority next year. 

“We saw that, which is why you all recall I never predicted a red wave,” he told reporters Tuesday. “There was no wave.”  

McConnell said that Republicans were “crushed by independent voters” in Arizona and New Hampshire. 

“We learned some lessons about this and I think the lesson is pretty clear: Senate races are different, candidate quality — you recall I said in August — is important,” he said.  

He also reiterated that he felt confident he would have enough votes to beat Scott, a Trump ally. 

Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), who announced his support for Scott’s leadership bid, said that McConnell has been too focused on playing defense against Democrats.  

“I’m going to support whatever changes the current dynamic,” Braun said before the meeting. “I want to feel like I’m part of the process. I want to make sure that we’re getting policy out there that we can all discuss and have input on. 

“We need to have a blueprint for the country, we need to have a plan and we need to have a process that keeps us all engaged as senators,” he said.  

He maintained the support of the top members of his leadership team, Senate Republican Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) and Senate GOP Conference Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), who themselves have significant influence among GOP colleagues.  

Thune and Barrasso were expected to win re-election to serve new terms as No. 2- and No. 3-ranking leaders, respectively.  

Source: TEST FEED1