(NEW YORK) — Lawyers for the off-duty pilot facing attempted murder charges after allegedly trying to shut off an airplane’s engines while on a flight last month have spoken out about the incident, saying their client, Joseph Emerson, “suffered a panic attack” while on the flight.
In a lengthy statement, Levi Merrithew Horst PC, the firm that represents Emerson, said the plane incident occurred as the pilot was traveling from Washington, where he had just gathered with friends to remember “his best friend, a former Alaska Airlines pilot who died suddenly and unexpectedly several years ago.”
Emerson, who was charged late last month with 83 counts of attempted murder after he allegedly tried to shut off the engines by pulling the fire extinguisher handles, was in a dream-like state during the incident, his attorneys said.
“While on this flight, Captain Emerson suffered a panic attack and the illusion of being in a dream. His actions during that flight were a well-meaning attempt simply to wake himself up from the dream. No harm to anyone was contemplated or intended,” the firm’s statement read.
According to his attorneys, two days before the Alaska Airlines flight, the pilot had taken “a small amount of psilocybin,” which is found in mushrooms, as Emerson was paying tribute to his late friend. The off-duty pilot “had never taken mushrooms” prior to the incident, his lawyers said, adding, “[o]ther than this incident, Captain Emerson does not use drugs.”
Emerson was also “suffering from a combination of stress, fatigue, and dehydration, as well as untreated anxiety and depression,” the lawyers said in the statement. He had been trying to manage his “mental health with meditation and exercise,” the lawyers said, because he believed he “would be grounded and could lose his medical clearance and his job if he sought traditional mental health treatment.”
His legal team said the pilot of 20 years is sorry for what happened.
“Captain Emerson apologizes for his actions. He also thanks the flight crew for their response and for showing him kindness and grace during his mental breakdown,” the statement read.
The plane Emerson was on was scheduled to fly from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco before it diverted to Portland, Oregon after a “credible security threat related to an authorized occupant in the flight deck jump seat,” the airline previously confirmed to ABC News.
The suspect allegedly tried to pull the fire extinguisher handles on the engines, preliminary information obtained by investigators indicated, according to a federal official briefed on the probe. The suspect was overwhelmed by the flight crew and subdued, and then handcuffed to a seat, the federal official told ABC News last month.
Emerson was taken into custody, the Port of Portland previously confirmed. In addition to the attempted murder charges, Emerson is also facing 83 counts of reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor, and one felony count of endangering an aircraft.
Emerson appeared in court last month wearing a blue jail uniform but did not address the judge. His attorney, Noah Horst, entered a plea of not guilty.
The suspect was en route to San Francisco, where he was scheduled to be on a flight crew of a 737, the federal official said.
Alaska Airlines said the off-duty pilot was sitting in the flight deck jump seat — which is in the cockpit — and “unsuccessfully attempted to disrupt the operation of the engines.”
He was heard in the moments prior saying something similar to, “I’m not right,” a federal official told ABC News following the incident.
The captain and first officer “quickly responded,” Alaska said at the time, adding engine power was not lost, and the crew secured the aircraft without incident.
(NEWPORT NEWS, Va.) — The mother of the 6-year-old boy accused of shooting his first grade teacher during class in Newport News, Virginia, in January was sentenced on Wednesday to 21 months in prison on federal charges.
Deja Taylor was charged with using marijuana while in possession of a firearm and making a false statement about her drug use during the purchase of the firearm, both felonies, in the wake of the January shooting at Richneck Elementary School.
She pleaded guilty to the charges in June.
Federal prosecutors had asked for a 21-month sentence. She faced a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.
Police say the 6-year-old student brought a gun into his classroom and intentionally shot and wounded his teacher, Abby Zwerner, on Jan. 6. Zwerner sustained a gunshot wound through her hand and into her chest.
Federal prosecutors said the firearm used in the shooting was purchased by Taylor in July 2022. ATF agents never found a lockbox, a trigger lock, or a key for the gun, prosecutors said.
Zwerner testified during the sentencing hearing on the last impact of the shooting.
“Not only do I bear physical scars from the shooting that will remain with me forever, I contend daily with deep, psychological scars that plague me during most waking moments and invade my dreams,” she said.
She said she has undergone five surgeries and regular intensive physical therapy to restore motion in her hand.
“This permanent damage should never have been allowed to happen to me and would not have happened if not for the defendant’s actions or lack thereof,” she said.
In the weeks before the classroom shooting, Taylor’s firearm was also involved in a separate shooting, prosecutors said. An unreturned U-Haul truck rented by Taylor was found with the passenger rear window broken, and text messages between Taylor and her son’s father revealed she shot at her son’s father after seeing his girlfriend, prosecutors said. No one was injured and police were not called, prosecutors said.
“Not once, but twice someone nearly lost their lives because of Taylor’s offenses of conviction,” prosecutors said in court filings.
Prosecutors also said in the filings that Taylor was a “marijuana abuser, whose chronic, persistent and, indeed, life-affecting abuse extends this case far beyond any occasional and/or recreational use.”
It is not legal to possess marijuana while possessing a gun, according to federal laws.
Taylor’s attorney said in a statement to ABC News that the defendant is “extremely remorseful and contrite and takes full responsibility for her actions.”
“At no time did she intend for any of these consequences to occur, especially the tragic shooting of the wonderful teacher at the elementary school,” the attorney, Gene Rossi, said. “We are hopeful that when she serves her sentence, and when she gets out, she gets the absolutely needed treatment for her addiction, her disease and the challenges she has in her life. I am confident that she is going to have a wonderful rebound in the near future.”
Taylor was also indicted on state charges in connection with the shooting. She pleaded guilty to child neglect in August and has yet to be sentenced. A misdemeanor charge of endangering a child by reckless storage of a firearm was dropped.
Zwerner filed a $40 million lawsuit against her school district, accusing them of negligence. The school board’s lawyers sought to dismiss her claim, arguing her injuries are covered under the state’s worker’s compensation law. Earlier this month, a judge ruled the lawsuit can proceed.
(WASHINGTON) — The leader of a Haitian gang that allegedly kidnapped 16 U.S. citizens and killed one in another incident has been put on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, the agency announced Wednesday.
Vitel’Homme Innocent was indicted for allegedly leading a gang that helped in the 2021 armed hostage-taking of 16 Christian missionaries serving near Port-au-Price, Haiti.
Most were held captive for 61 days before escaping. The group included five children, one as young as 8 months old at the time of the kidnapping.
Innocent was allegedly the leader of the The Kraze Barye gang, and the FBI is offering a $2 million reward for any information leading to his capture.
In another indictment unsealed in October 2023, Innocent is alleged to have participated in a second hostage-taking incident in which one U.S. citizen was killed.
Officials say Marie Odette Franklin was allegedly shot and killed by the gang members. Her husband was allegedly taken into captivity and held at an undisclosed location in Haiti. While Jean Franklin was in captivity, Vitel’Homme allegedly participated in ransom negotiations in exchange for his release.
On Oct. 28, 2022, Jean Franklin was released from captivity following ransom payments made to the gang on behalf of his family.
“Haitian gang leader Vitel’Homme Innocent is the 532nd fugitive added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping and killing of U.S. citizens in Haiti,” said Jeffrey B. Veltri, Special Agent in Charge at the FBI’s Miami Field Office.
“The State Department is offering a reward of up to $2,000,0000 for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction. Our resolve to bring him to account for his alleged crimes will not waver. I want to thank the State Departments Diplomatic Security Service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia for their close cooperation and partnership investigating these cases,” Veltri said in a statement.
Innocent is believed to be in Haiti, but has other ties to other Caribbean countries, the FBI said.
“With the addition of Vitel’Homme Innocent to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list, our government has sent a strong message that we will work together to guarantee the capture and prosecution of any individual set on causing harm to our civilians and our nation,” said Phillippe Furstenberg, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), Miami Field Office.
(NEW YORK) — Daniel Penny put Jordan Neely in a six-minute fatal chokehold on a New York City subway train that “continued well past the point at which Mr. Neely had stopped purposeful movement,” prosecutors said Wednesday in a new court filing that opposed the defense’s motion to dismiss the case.
The former U.S. Marine is charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in connection with the death of Neely, who was homeless at the time, on the F train on May 1.
Penny has pleaded not guilty to the charges and his attorneys asked the judge to dismiss the case because they allege Neely was “insanely threatening” aboard the train.
Prosecutors said eyewitness accounts “differed sharply” in their assessments of the threat posed by Neely when Penny acted.
“It is certainly true that several of the passengers testified that they were fearful,” assistant district attorney Joshua Steinglass wrote in the filing. “Omitted from the defense submission, however, are the accounts that undermine the notion of rampant and universal panic.”
Steinglass added, “As one witness put it, ‘for me, it was like another day typically in New York. That’s what I’m used to seeing. I wasn’t really looking at it if I was going to be threatened or anything to that nature, but it was a little different because, you know, you don’t really hear anybody saying anything like that.'”
Less than 30 seconds after the chokehold started, the train arrived at the Broadway-Lafayette Station, prosecutors said.
“Passengers who had felt fearful on account of being trapped on the train were now free to exit the train,” Steinglass said. “The defendant continued holding Mr. Neely around the neck.”
Video of the deadly interaction began nearly two minutes later. The full-length video is 4 minutes and 57 seconds long.
“The video begins with the defendant holding Mr. Neely in a chokehold on a relatively empty train while two other male passengers stand close by. Within seconds, one of those passengers grabbed and held Mr. Neely’s right arm, further immobilizing him,” Steinglass said.
Three minutes and ten seconds into the video, Neely ceases all purposeful movement, prosecutors said.
“After that moment, Mr. Neely’s movements are best described as ‘twitching and the kind of agonal movement that you see around death,'” the prosecutor said.
Penny’s chokehold lasted an additional 51 seconds, according to the video.
The defense argued Penny had no intent to kill, but Steinglass said second degree manslaughter only requires prosecutors to prove Penny acted recklessly, not intentionally.
“The defendant held Jordan Neely on the ground with his arm wrapped around Mr. Neely’s neck. He did so with enough force and for a long enough period to kill Jordan Neely,” Steinglass said.
“Not only did the chokehold last some six minutes, but it continued for nearly a minute past the point where Mr. Neely ceased all purposeful movement,” the prosecution’s filing said. “The hold seemed so unnecessary at that point that an eyewitness can be heard on video urging the defendant to let go of Mr. Neely and warning the defendant that ‘if you don’t let him go now, you’re going to kill him.'”
(SAN FRANCISCO) — President Joe Biden and China’s President Xi Jinping on Wednesday held their first face-face meeting in more than a year amid tensions in the U.S.-China relationship.
For security reasons, the two leaders held the talks at a private location — the historic Filoli Estate in Woodside, California, outside San Francisco — near where the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit is being held this week.
The two men smiled and shook hands after Biden walked out to greet his Chinese counterpart and then the leaders immediately walked inside.
With the delegations seated around a large conference table, Biden said, “I value our conversation because I think it’s paramount that you understand each other clearly, leader-to-leader, with no misconceptions or miscommunication. We have to ensure that competition does not veer into conflict.”
Noting their personal history, Biden expressed his appreciation for their “straightforward and frank” discussions in the past.
“We haven’t always agreed, which was not a surprise to anyone, but our meetings have always been candid, straightforward and useful. I’ve never doubted what you’ve told me in terms of your candid nature in which you speak,” Biden said.
He ended his remarks by telling Xi, “Welcome back.”
“For two large countries like China and United States, turning our back on each other is not an option,” Xi, speaking in Mandarin, told Biden in return, according to a translation.
“It is unrealistic for one side to remodel the other, and conflict and confrontation has unbearable consequences for both sides,” Xi continued, according to translation.
“It is an objective fact that China and the United States are different in history, culture, social system and development paths,” he said. “However, as long as they respect each other, coexist in peace and pursue win-win cooperation, they will be fully capable of rising above differences and find the right way for the two major countries to get along with each other. I firmly believe in a promising future of the bilateral relationship.”
“I look forward to having an in-depth exchange of views,” Xi said.
Just before cameras and reporters were then led out of the room, ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Selina Wang asked Xi several times in Mandarin: “President Xi, do you trust Biden?”
Xi took out his translation earpiece to hear her question, looked at her and smiled slightly, but did not respond. She then asked both leaders in English: “Do you trust each other?”
Neither answered and Xi does not normally engage with the press.
Later, he and Biden took a walk around the estate after their working lunch.
Biden told Selina Wang that his meeting with Xi was going “well” when she asked.
Details of four-hour meeting
Fentanyl, artificial intelligence, climate change, the Middle East and Taiwan were among the topics discussed in Biden’s four-hour meeting with Xi, according to a senior Biden administration official who briefed reporters afterward.
On fentanyl, an ultra-deadly synthetic opioid that has become pervasive in parts of the U.S., “The president basically said, ‘Look, this is one of the worst drug problems the United States has ever faced,'” the official said.
A plan has been drafted between the U.S. and China in order to curb Chinese companies who produce “precursors” to fentanyl and to restrict access to necessary supplies, the official said.
The official noted that the U.S. will continue to monitor China’s follow-through on these measures but touted them as important.
The official also said China has agreed to a series of steps that would allow for better communication about each country’s armed forces, including what is likely to be contact between senior commanders on both sides.
Biden was very direct with Xi, according to the administration official, and Xi responded with his own concerns, such as what he called undue negativity surrounding China’s ruling Communist Party.
The official described the meeting as more personal than the two leaders’ previous sit-down, with time for each of them to talk about their spouses — and a moment where Biden reminded Xi about Xi’s wife having an upcoming birthday, since she and Biden have the same one.
Taiwan, the administration official said, is seen by Xi as potentially the biggest and most dangerous issue that could undermine China’s relationship with the U.S.
China regards Taiwan, a self-governing island, as a breakaway province.
The official said that Biden told Xi the U.S. is committed to the status quo and asked China to respect Taiwan’s election process, but Xi signaled that some larger resolution was needed.
As the administration official described it, Xi indicated that China was not preparing to invade Taiwan despite its ongoing military preparations. The U.S. is focused on deterrence, the official said.
Chinese officials, in their own readout of the Xi-Biden meeting, said that Xi stressed that the two countries could either pursue cooperation in order to promote global order — or could focus on their own interests over the other.
Xi also detailed how he sees China’s ongoing development and modernization. According to the Chinese readout, the two countries should focus on cooperation and managing their differences rather than descending into conflict.
Xi criticized what he called U.S. efforts to suppress Chinese development, including through economic restrictions.
In a news conference after the meeting, Biden said, “I welcome the positive steps we’ve taken today.”
“I believe they’re some of the most constructive and productive discussions we’ve had,” he said.
Biden stressed how the U.S. and China want to find areas in which to cooperate while noting that major differences remain — but a goal for both countries continues to be to avoid outright antagonism.
At the top of his remarks, he highlighted agreements on dealing with fentanyl and resuming military contact.
“We’re taking action to significantly reduce the flow of precursor chemicals and pill presses from China to the Western Hemisphere. It’s going to save lives,” Biden said, “and I appreciate president Xi’s commitment on this issue.”
“Secondly — and this is critically important — we’re resuming military-to-military contact, direct contacts. As a lot of you press know who follow this, it’s been cut off,” Biden continued. “That’s been worrisome. That’s how accidents happen, misunderstandings.”
Going forward, Biden and Xi will “preserve and pursue high-level diplomacy … in both directions,” Biden said.
“I think I know the man, I know his modus operandi,” Biden said of Xi. “He has been — we have disagreements, he has a different view than I have on a lot of things. But he’s been straight. I don’t mean that as good, bad or indifferent. He’s just been straight.”
Pressed by reporters about whether he trusted Xi in light of China’s commitment to take steps to limit fentanyl production, Biden said: “‘Trust but verify,’ as the old saying goes. That’s where I am.” (He was quoting what’s known as a Russian proverb made popular in the U.S. by President Ronald Reagan.)
Biden also said he does not expect any Chinese interference in Taiwan’s upcoming presidential election, saying the pair discussed the matter as Xi was leaving the summit.
Asked as well about the unfolding Israel-Hamas war in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack, he said he was committed to seeking to free hostages that are thought to be held by Hamas and said he doesn’t want Israel to re-occupy the Gaza strip, the Palestinian territory currently controlled by Hamas and under siege by Israel.
Before leaving Washington, Biden had said his goal was “to get back on a normal course of corresponding, being able to pick up the phone and talk to one another when there’s another crisis, being able to make sure our militaries still have contact with one another.”
Officials have said a key objective was to restore military-to-military communication that the Pentagon said essentially stopped amid incidents involving the two nations’ ships and planes, with tensions around Taiwan especially concerning.
Other items on the summit agenda, U.S. officials had said, included Biden being expected to press China to use its leverage with Iran to persuade Tehran to stop its proxies from attacking U.S. forces in the Middle East and escalating the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Biden has also called on China not to supply weapons to Russia to aid in its invasion of Ukraine — and to press North Korea not to do so.
(WASHINGTON) — Senate leaders voted Wednesday night in favor of the short-term government funding bill the House passed Tuesday night ahead of Friday’s shutdown deadline.
House Speaker Mike Johnson pitched a two-step plan that he described as a “laddered CR” — or continuing resolution — that will keep the government funded at 2023 levels. The bill extends government funding until Jan. 19 for the Veterans Affairs, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Energy departments, as well as for military construction. The rest of the government is funded until Feb. 2.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer previously announced that the upper chamber intended to work with Republicans to pass the bill as early as Wednesday.
While Senate bills typically take a long, winding path before they reach a final vote on the floor, Schumer previously said he planned to work with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to see if they could expedite it.
“If both sides cooperate, there’s no reason we can’t finish this bill even as soon as today, but we’re going to keep working to see what’s possible,” Schumer said earlier in the day.
The government was set to shut down at the end of the day Friday, but since there was zero appetite for a shutdown ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, movement was expected to progress faster than usual.
The White House had originally dismissed the GOP proposal as “unserious,” but a White House official said earlier on Wednesday that President Joe Biden would sign the short-term funding bill if it passed in the Senate.
The White House official had called on the GOP to “stop wasting time on extreme, partisan appropriations bills” and pass the president’s supplemental aid request for Israel, Ukraine, border security, humanitarian assistance and other priorities. The House-approved bill does not include that supplemental aid for Israel or Ukraine.
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump is gradually shaking off attempts to bar him from individual states’ 2024 ballots under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, a constitutional clause which disqualifies people from running for office if they previously held office, swore an oath to the Constitution and then engaged in “insurrection or rebellion” against the U.S.
Judges in Michigan and Minnesota over the past two weeks have ruled that Trump, the 2024 Republican primary front-runner, can be on the ballot in both states, dismissing lawsuits filed by citizens and watchdog organizations that claimed the former president should be barred because of his actions around the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and efforts to reverse his 2020 election loss.
Trump’s team has rejected that argument, claiming it is undemocratic and a fringe theory. He has denied all wrongdoing related to Jan. 6.
The remaining major lawsuit seeking to disqualify Trump under Section 3, in Colorado, could be decided by the end of the week.
Trump’s challenge from six Republican and unaffiliated voters in Colorado, represented by the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), will wrap up on Wednesday evening with closing arguments in Denver.
No ruling is expected directly afterwards, but District Judge Sarah B. Wallace has said she would likely make a decision on the suit within 48 hours and definitely before Thanksgiving.
Wallace uniformly ruled against a number of Trump and the Colorado Republican Party’s motions to dismiss the lawsuit ahead of a historic five-day evidentiary hearing at the beginning of November.
She also denied their motion for a directed verdict to dismiss the case on day two of the hearing, when they argued after the petitioners’ slate of witnesses that Trump’s speech on Jan. 6 before the attack did not disqualify him from candidacy due to the First Amendment.
The Trump campaign on Wednesday issued a statement again calling for the case to be dismissed.
At the evidentiary hearing, CREW brought in expert witnesses to discuss political extremism and testify about the phrase “insurrection” and the history and meaning of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
CREW also called two police officers who were at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and California Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democrat who was inside.
Among the witnesses that Trump’s attorneys called were former Trump administration official Kash Patel, former Trump campaign spokeswoman Katrina Pierson and another organizer of the event near the White House on the morning of Jan. 6 where Trump spoke to supporters before some of them marched to the Capitol.
His attorneys also called retiring Rep. Ken Buck, a Colorado Republican who has spoken out against 2020 election denialism but also criticized the work of a House committee that investigated Jan. 6 — efforts that were largely similar to CREW’s new case.
On Tuesday the Michigan Court of Claims dismissed two 14th Amendment lawsuits against Trump which challenged his eligibility to appear on the state’s primary election ballot in 2024.
A third lawsuit, which Trump’s team filed, asked Judge James Robert Redford to declare that Michigan’s Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, does not have the authority to determine whether a candidate can be disqualified from the state’s primary ballot.
Redford granted that request on Tuesday, finding that it was Congress’ role, not the judicial branch, to decide on the matters of Trump’s eligibility.
The judge also ruled that under state law, he did not have the power to order election officials to examine Trump’s eligibility based on the 14th Amendment.
Free Speech For People (FSFP), one of the groups behind the 14th Amendment challenges, argued one of the cases against Trump in Michigan. The group told ABC News in a statement that they will file an immediate appeal to the Michigan Court of Appeals and will ask the Michigan Supreme Court to take up their case directly.
Activist Robert Davis, who filed the second lawsuit in Michigan, has also said he plans to file an emergency stay to pause the lower court ruling.
Experts have said that an appeal for any of these disqualification cases could make its way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The orders in Michigan follow a ruling from the Minnesota Supreme Court on another FSFP lawsuit last week that found Trump is allowed to remain on the state’s primary ballot but did not rule on the petitioners’ constitutional argument that Trump’s actions ahead of Jan. 6 amounted to him “engaging in insurrection.”
The Minnesota order also did not stop the challengers from “bringing a petition raising their claims” as it relates to the general election rather than just the Republican primary.
FSFP has not made clear if they will file an appeal in Minnesota.
The former president’s campaign responded to the dismissals out of Michigan and Minnesota, claiming the courts’ rulings validated their arguments that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment is being used to interfere with the election.
“Each and every one of these ridiculous cases have LOST because they are all un-Constitutional left-wing fantasies … seeking to turn the election over to the courts and deny the American people the right to choose their next president,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said.
“While the Trump Campaign welcomes these dismissals in Michigan and anticipates the future dismissals of the other 14th Amendment cases, we are most focused on once again winning the great state of Michigan and the re-election of President Trump next year,” he continued.
While Trump won Michigan in 2016, over Hillary Clinton, he narrowly lost it to Joe Biden in 2020.
ABC News’ Hannah Demissie contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Senate leaders on Wednesday were hoping to take up the short-term government funding bill the House passed Tuesday night — saying they’ll work to get the bill over the finish line as soon as possible ahead of Friday’s shutdown deadline.
Speaker Mike Johnson pitched a two-step plan that he described as a “laddered CR” — or continuing resolution — that will keep the government funded at 2023 levels. The bill extends government funding until Jan. 19 for the Veterans Affairs, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Energy departments, as well as for military construction. The rest of the government is funded until Feb. 2.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that the upper chamber intends to work with Republicans to pass the bill as early as Wednesday. Lawmakers are working behind the scenes to see whether they can get unanimous agreement to move forward with a plan that would allow the bill to be swiftly considered.
While Senate bills typically take a long, winding path before they reach a final vote on the floor, Schumer said he plans to work with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to see if they can expedite it.
“If both sides cooperate, there’s no reason we can’t finish this bill even as soon as today, but we’re going to keep working to see what’s possible,” Schumer said Wednesday.
The government is set to shut down at the end of the day Friday, but given that there is zero appetite for a shutdown ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, movement is expected to progress faster than usual.
The White House had originally dismissed the GOP proposal as “unserious” — but President Joe Biden will sign the short-term funding bill if it passes in the Senate, a White House official said Wednesday.
The White House official also called on the GOP to “stop wasting time on extreme, partisan appropriations bills,” and pass the president’s supplemental aid request for Israel, Ukraine, border security, humanitarian assistance and other priorities. The House-approved bill does not include that supplemental aid for Israel or Ukraine.
A win for Speaker Johnson?
More Democrats than Republicans voted for Johnson’s plan to avert a government shutdown — 209 to 127, respectively. Yet the passage of his stopgap spending bill is considered a victory compared to his predecessor, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who forged a similar path and was removed in part for reaching across the aisle to keep the government open.
Johnson’s financial plan was his first major test as speaker since he was elected last month after McCarthy’s historic ouster. Johnson faced a similar challenge as McCarthy: passing a clean CR while carefully maneuvering between moderates and hard-liners in his conference. He also found himself, like McCarthy, needing Democratic votes to help keep the government open.
It’s possible Johnson won’t face the same fate as McCarthy as Republicans have repeatedly said they hope to give Johnson some leeway to find his footing.
Johnson has come up with a plan that has not only funded the government, but it has also removed the threat of a Christmas shutdown, which is celebrated by many on the Hill.
McCarthy commented briefly about the motion-to-vacate, which led to his ouster, and if he thought there was a double standard.
“No. I just see the same people, eight people, those eight people,” McCarthy said in reference to the Republicans who supported his removal as speaker. “They’re gonna say I did something that I didn’t do.”
Still, Johnson’s work is not done. He needs to pass individual spending bills that have stalled in the House.
“I’m not frustrated. This is part of the process. I’ve been on the job for less than three weeks, so I think we’ve got a great run and looking forward to the days ahead,” Johnson said Wednesday.
The House has canceled votes for the week and will not return until after Thanksgiving, according to a notice from Whip Tom Emmer. The chamber has been in session for 10 weeks straight.
Since Johnson took the gavel, he has struggled to move funding bills forward. GOP leadership pulled floor votes for two funding bills last week: transportation, housing, and urban development bill as well as financial services bill. On Wednesday, a group of 19 Republicans voted to kill a procedural motion to advance the Commerce, Justice, and Science funding bill.
ABC News’ John Parkinson, Justin Gomez and Allison Pecorin contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Thomas Hudner shot down a drone headed toward the ship on Wednesday that had been launched from Yemen, according to two U.S. officials.
The U.S. destroyer was operating in the southern Red Sea when the drone was detected as heading toward the ship, according to the officials.
“On November 15th and while transiting the international waters of the Red Sea, the crew of the USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) engaged a drone that originated from Yemen and was heading in the direction of the ship. The Hudner’s crew engaged and shot down the drone to ensure the safety of U.S. personnel. There were no U.S. casualties or any damage to the ship,” a Pentagon official said in a statement.
If it is confirmed that the drone was launched by the Houthi militants in Yemen it would mark the second escalation towards U.S. military assets in a week.
Last week, the U.S. says the Houthis shot down a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper that had been flying in international airspace off of Yemen.
It would also mark the second time that a U.S. Navy warship has shot down a drone or missile fired by the Houthis.
On Oct. 20, the destroyer USS Carney shot down four cruise missiles and 15 drones that the Pentagon said the Houthis had fired in the direction of Israel Yemen.
Since then there have been several incidents where Israeli forces have shot down at least a Houthi missile or drone fired by towards Israel.
(WASHINGTON) — The House Ethics Committee will not recommend any punishment for embattled New York Republican Rep. George Santos in a public report it plans to release later this week after a monthslong investigation, Chairman Michael Guest said Wednesday.
Instead, the panel will release its evidence and details of its work for members to review and make their own conclusion about whether Santos should be removed from Congress, Guest, a Mississippi Republican, said.
An investigative subcommittee has contacted at least 40 witnesses, reviewed 170,000 pages of documents and authorized more than three dozen subpoenas as part of its investigation into whether Santos “engaged in unlawful activity” in his 2022 House campaign.
In rare public comments about his committee’s work, Guest said that recommending action against Santos — such as expulsion — would’ve required a “much longer process.”
“The investigative subcommittee decided that they were going to compile the report, they would release the report to the, to the members, into the public, and based upon that, then our members can take whatever action that they felt necessary,” Guest said.
Ahead of the report’s expected release, Santos sounded defiant and reiterated to ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott that he isn’t stepping down, having previously survived a vote for his expulsion.
“Like I said before, I’m staying in office for sure,” he said. “I will take whatever comes my way, the way it comes.”
Santos pleaded not guilty last month to a 23-count federal indictment including identity theft, wire fraud and lying to federal election officials.
He has separately been at the center of a string of controversies over exaggerations and lies he told about his background, though he has characterized those as more routine embellishments. He has also denied some of the claims, such as being accused of misappropriating money raised for a veteran’s sick dog.
Several other New York Republican members, having led the charge to remove Santos from Congress earlier this month, said Wednesday that they plan to push for his ouster once against when the House returns from the Thanksgiving recess.
“The substance in the report will drive other members to get to yes,” Rep. Nick LaLota told Scott.
Said Rep. Marc Molinaro: “The report is going to affirm and confirm what we already know: George Santos is a fraud; he should not be a member of Congress.”
In a speech defending himself ahead of the expulsion vote in early November, Santos said, “I’m fighting tooth and nail to clear my name in front of the entire world, Mr. Speaker. It hasn’t been easy, but I’m fighting by God’s grace.”
ABC News’ John Parkinson contributed to this report.
