Politics

(WASHINGTON) — The federal government will be instructing states on ways to expand access to health care and suicide prevention resources for LGBTQ people and will be releasing school policy samples that work to better include such students, among other steps in support of the community including a campaign against conversion therapy, senior administration officials said Wednesday.

President Joe Biden will sign an executive order on Wednesday directing the Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Education to take such measures as part of what his administration said was a broader push, during Pride Month, “to stand up to the bullies targeting” the LGBTQ community.

The White House singled out hundreds of new bills, nationwide, that would impose restrictions on LGBTQ people or issues, such as a law in Florida outlawing discussion of gender and sexuality in certain classrooms and various state bans — either proposed or already passed into law — on transgender children being able to receive certain medical treatments.

“President Biden is addressing these harmful, hateful, and discriminatory attacks head-on – not only by speaking up for America’s families, but taking action,” the White House said in a statement.

The new executive order will urge additional policy guidance, increase administrative protections and make the federal government available as a partner to states; it will also raise public awareness around what the administration said were ongoing challenges faced by LGBTQ people, like the prevalence of conversion therapy that seeks to change a person’s gender identity or sexual orientation.

“Children who are exposed to so-called ‘conversion therapy’ face higher rates of attempted suicide and trauma,” the White House said. “[M]any people in the United States and around the world are still subjected to this practice.”

A new HHS initiative will work to reduce youth exposure to conversion therapy by clarifying that programs receiving federal funds cannot engage in the practice, as directed by the president’s order.

Spotlighting the practice’s harms is another component of the initiative, and HHS will offer guidance to health care providers through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The order also seeks to address some of the barriers before LGBTQ children and families.

The White House said that while LGBTQ parents are “7 times more likely to adopt a child,” the foster care system makes it challenging for them to adopt children.

“President Biden is charging HHS with strengthening non-discrimination protections,” according to the White House.

Another HHS initiative will work to ensure that children receive foster care placements in environments supportive of their sexual orientation, the administration said.

The president will announce his executive order at a White House Pride Month celebration in the East Room on Wednesday afternoon. He will be joined by Vice President Kamala Harris and their spouses, Jill Biden and Doug Emhoff, as well as Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

The White House’s focus on LGBTQ issues — specifically those affecting children — comes weeks after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a controversial ban on discussion of “sexual orientation or gender identity” in kindergarten through third-grade classrooms or in older grades if it is not “age appropriate or developmentally appropriate.”

Critics denounced the law as an overly broad “Don’t Say Gay” ban; DeSantis and its supporters said it prevented children from being exposed to what they called inappropriate content.

ABC News reports similar legislation is working its way through legislatures or already enacted into law in Alabama and Ohio.

ABC News’ Armando Garcia contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — As former President Donald Trump’s presidential legacy is tested in Washington this week, with the Jan. 6 hearings dominating Capitol Hill, his political power — and the sway of his election denying — saw a renewed test in the midterm primaries in a handful of states.

Voters took the polls in South Carolina, Nevada, Maine, North Dakota and Texas’ 34 Congressional District Tuesday night, delivering historic turnout numbers and allowing voters to give Republicans who defied the former president a second chance at keeping their jobs, and some Democrats to lose theirs.

Here are some of the key takeaways from Tuesday’s races:

Trump finally lands incumbent ouster

While Trump’s had some success in backing candidates in open races, he’s had major difficulty in knocking off their perch incumbent members of his party who have challenged him in some way, putting aside the score of Trump-scorned Republicans who have decided to not seek re-election.

But finally, on Tuesday, Trump was able to handedly bump one of the most vocal off that list, Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina, rendering him out of a job come November.

Rice was one of the ten Republicans who voted for Trump’s impeachment, a “conservative vote” he told ABC News’ Jon Karl that he would make again in a heartbeat, even if it cost him his job. And lost his job he did, to MAGA-world challenger Russell Fry, who was quick to paint Rice as a traitor to his party. The demographic makeup of Rice’s district, toward the northern border of the state where voters trend far more conservative, may have also contributed to the massive backlash against Rice, pushing folks toward Fry’s direction.

Now, with newly-won swagger, Trump will undoubtedly charge on to defeat another impeachment-vote member of his party, and perhaps his biggest enemy yet, in Wyoming: Rep. Liz Cheney. The question remains: can lightning — and political luck — strike twice?

Nancy Mace’s tightrope walk pays off in Trump proxy war

Totally flipped dynamics greeted South Carolina’s 1st District, where Trump was wholly unsuccessful in booting a challenger in Rep. Nancy Mace, who carried her primary win by at least 10 points. Mace defeated cybersecurity expert Katie Arrington, who beat Rep. Mark Sanford in his primary in 2018 but ultimately lost the race to Rep. Joe Cunningham, who historically flipped the district Democrat during the slate of “blue wave races.”

Arrington bet that voters in the low country would see Mace as something of a flip-flop, first condemning Trump hard after the Capitol insurrection and eventually softening her attacks. But that bet didn’t pay off, partly thanks to a bench of heavy hitter South Carolina endorsements for Mace, including former Gov. Nikki Haley and Trump Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney.

Another interesting dynamic in Mace’s race is the endorsement cold war of sorts. The proxy battle between potential 2024 candidates — Haley and Trump — falls squarely in Haley’s camp, the beginning of a nice set up for a highly gossiped about bid for the White House. So far, a good record for Haley, who said in the past she’d bow out of consideration if Trump decides to run. But if Haley notches a few other primary wins, who knows? There may be a spot for her against Trump after all.

Trump seems to be trying to save face a little, saying on Truth Social Tuesday night that Arrington was a “long shot” and Mace will “easily” be able to defeat a Democratic opponent come November.

Big Lie gets big win in Nevada senate race

Voters in Nevada seem to not be scared of a little election denial. Former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt’s open-armed embrace of conspiracy surrounding the 2020 presidential election helped him notch a win in the state’s GOP Senate Primary. Laxalt, who hails from a state political dynasty, bested political outsider Sam Brown who tried and failed to paint Laxalt as cozy with party insiders.

Still, a roster of Republican stars, nearly all of whom are rumored to join the crowded contest for president in 2024, backed Laxalt’s bid, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (Laxalt’s former roommate, funnily enough), Sen. Ted Cruz, Sen. Tom Cotton, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

He’ll see if that flock of support will be enough to kick Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto out of office. She sails to the general election contest with no serious challengers and now must answer not just to Laxalt but to voters increasingly frustrated with the concurrent fallout of the pandemic, inflation and other economic woes that hit the tourist-driven state.

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(WASHINGTON) — A series of photos taken on election night 2020 inside the Trump White House captures the tension as Donald Trump’s family and his top aides track election returns and see Trump’s early lead fade away.

The photos, taken by a White House photographer and published exclusively in the book, Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show, are a visual representation of the testimony of senior Trump advisers who told the House Jan. 6 committee that they did not believe Trump should declare victory on election night.

The photos show Trump’s family and campaign team camped out in the Map Room of the White House.

The room, located in the basement of the White House residence, is where President Franklin Delano Roosevelt tracked the movement of Allied Forces during World War II.

It’s called the Map Room because some of the maps used by FDR are framed and on the walls.

For election night, however, Trump’s political team transformed the room in to a campaign war room, installing large-screen televisions and placing them over FDR’s maps.

The photos capture the apparently pained expressions on the faces of Trump’s inner circle.

According to a source who is shown in at least one of the photos, they were taken as the campaign’s analysts, who had been more confident early in the evening, became concerned Trump could lose.

The photos feature some of Trump’s most prominent advisers, including chief of staff Mark Meadows, campaign manager Bill Stepien, senior strategist Jason Miller, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel and White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany.

Also present are several Trump family members, including Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Lara Trump.

In videotaped testimony released Monday by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, Stepien said Trump was “increasingly unhappy” on election night as votes were counted and he started to lose.

Stepien, Miller and other key aides urged Trump not to declare victory that night.

“My belief, my recommendation was to say that votes were still being counted, it’s too early to tell, too early to call the race,” Stepien said in a clip of his interview with the committee played during Monday’s hearing.

Trump, he said, “thought I was wrong,” and would instead declare victory at the White House early the next morning on the advice of Rudy Giuliani, who Miller said was “definitely intoxicated” on election night.

Giuliani on Tuesday challenged Miller’s testimony and denied being drunk on election night at the White House.

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(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump on Monday responded in a lengthy statement to the House’s ongoing Jan. 6 committee hearings, assailing the panel as illegitimate and their presentation as one-sided — but rather than refute their evidence, he reiterated the same baseless claims about the 2020 presidential election that are at the center of the proceedings and the group’s case that he had attempted a “coup.”

Trump’s 12-page statement, sent to reporters on Monday night, comes after the second public hearing held by the House select committee investigating last year’s deadly Capitol attack. His statement, marked by characteristic exclamations and insults, called the hearings “a smoke and mirrors show” that failed to include “all exculpatory witnesses, and anyone who so easily points out the flaws in their story.”

The statement, however, did not directly respond to the specifics laid out by the committee to the public thus far — including testimony earlier Monday from Trump’s inner circle that he knew he had lost the last presidential race and had no legitimate reason to claim widespread fraud, instead choosing to listen to Rudy Giuliani to falsely claim victory over Joe Biden.

Much of Trump’s statement, instead, went after President Biden and the Democratic majority in Congress, building on arguments Republicans are making ahead of November’s midterms. Trump said Democrats were at fault for various issues plaguing the country, and he framed the effort to investigate Jan. 6 as a way to deflect attention away from these issues.

“America is crumbling, and Democrats have no solutions. Our nation has no hope of change for the better under Democrat leadership,” Trump said. “People are desperate. Rather than solving problems, Democrats are rehashing history in hopes of changing the narrative.”

Members of the committee, which includes two Republicans, have pushed back at the characterization that their investigation is motivated by partisanship. Instead, they have said, their work uncovered the extent to which the former president worked to undercut the democratic process and remain in power.

“The Constitution doesn’t protect just Democrats or just Republicans. It protects all of us, we, the people. And this scheme was an attempt to undermine the will of the people,” Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who chairs the committee, said during the first public hearing on Thursday.

Throughout much of his Monday statement, Trump rehashed false or unfounded claims by him, his campaign and his supporters that the 2020 election was rigged in favor of Biden through stolen ballots, mistaken vote counts and various other means.

Trump said the ongoing Jan. 6 hearings were a “narrative” authored by Democrats “to detract from the much larger and more important truth that the 2020 Election was Rigged and Stolen.”

Numerous legal challenges by Trump and others as well as audits and investigations in the wake of the 2020 election discovered no pattern of widespread issues. Likewise, local election officials across the country — both Democrats and Republicans — said the fraud claims were without merit.

Trump used his statement to make arguments beyond the last election, targeting Biden and the Democratic Party’s perceived vulnerabilities with voters, such as rising inflation.

“Our country is in a nosedive,” Trump said. “Americans are struggling to fill their gas tanks, feed their babies, educate their children, hire employees, order supplies, protect our border from invasion, and a host of other tragedies that are 100% caused by Democrats … and the people of our country are both angry and sad.”

The Jan. 6 investigations and its hearings, Trump contended, were meant to bar him from running in the next presidential election. “This is merely an attempt to stop a man that is leading in every poll, against both Republicans and Democrats by wide margins,” he boasted, without offering evidence.

Trump has repeatedly teased but has not formally announced if he will run for president in 2024. He has played a large role in the ongoing 2022 midterm election primaries by endorsing candidates in races across the country, with mixed results.

Video depositions played at the first two hearings included witnesses who were close with Trump at the time of the election and on Jan. 6, including his daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump and then-Attorney General Bill Barr.

Barr, who has stated his team found no evidence of extensive fraud, described how he felt about Trump’s increasing focus on such claims, telling investigators: “He’s become detached from reality if he really believes this stuff.'”

The next open hearing by the committee is currently set for Thursday, after one scheduled for Wednesday was postponed.

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(NEW YORK) — A coalition of families and survivors of the Sept. 11 attacks on Tuesday urged President Joe Biden, during his visit to Saudi Arabia next month, to hold the kingdom accountable for its role in the terrorist strike that killed almost 3,000 people.

“We appreciate the president’s commitment to do everything he can to support the 9/11 family community, but empathy is not enough,” Terry Strada, the national chair of “9/11 Families United,” said in a statement. “President Biden must do what past presidents have not, which is to demand transparency from Saudi Arabia and accountability for those who supported al Qaeda and the hijackers who murdered our loved ones.”

The White House said Tuesday Biden would travel to Saudi Arabia next month for a summit of Arab leaders. The visit will include a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, as well as with the effective leader of the country, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to White House officials.

Strada was responding to a comment by White House spokesman John Kirby during an interview with CNN earlier in the day.

“What I can tell you is that the president will never shy away of representing the interests of the American people on a national security level wherever he goes,” Kirby said, when asked if he could assure the victims’ families that Biden would address some of their concerns with Mohammed.

“He continues to do everything he can to support the families of the victims of 9/11,” Kirby added. “He knows what a devastating grief they still endure, and he will not shy away from representing them and their concerns.”

Biden has come under intense criticism for agreeing to meet with Mohammed, whom the U.S. has assessed ordered the operation that murdered Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

As a candidate, Biden pledged to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” over its human rights abuses.

But the president has also struggled to rein in sky-high inflation. While many ways out of his control, the rapidly rising cost of goods is weighing on Americans’ wallets and proving to be a major political liability for Biden and Democrats heading into this fall’s midterm elections.

Biden is seeking ways to relieve high gas prices, which have in large part been pushed higher by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions on Moscow’s oil and gas sector.

A major oil producer, Saudi Arabia chairs the Gulf Cooperation Council grouping of oil-producing Arab nations.

The White House has welcomed increased oil production with the hope it would drive down gas prices in the U.S. Biden authorized a historic release of oil from the nation’s strategic reserve of petroleum, and his White House welcomed a decision by the OPEC+ oil cartel to boost its production levels.

While Saudi Arabia and the Biden administration have both said energy security will be part of Biden’s discussions during his visit, the White House has sought to avoid the negative optics of an American president flying to Saudi Arabia in a bid for more oil.

“Of course, he will be — they will discuss energy with the Saudi government,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday. “I think what I’m trying to say is to look at this trip as it being only about oil is not — it would be simply wrong to do that.”

The president had even danced around whether he was even going to go to Saudi Arabia at all; “I have no direct plans at the moment,” he said on June 3, after multiple reports said he planned to travel there.

But while Biden once pledged to isolate Saudi Arabia, Jean-Pierre said Tuesday he was “not looking to rupture relationships.”

Asked if Biden would bring up Khashoggi during his meeting with the crown prince, Jean-Pierre would not directly answer.

“Human rights is always part of the conversation in our foreign engagements,” she told reporters on Air Force One, en route to Philadelphia. “So, that will always be the case.”

Biden will also travel to Israel and the West Bank during the trip, which will take place July 13 to 16, according to the White House.

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(NEW YORK) — New York’s highest court declined to take up an appeal by former President Donald Trump and two of his adult children, a decision that obligates the Trumps to sit for depositions next month in the ongoing civil investigation into how they valued their real estate holdings.

The New York Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal “upon the ground that no substantial constitutional question is directly involved.”

Former President Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump have now exhausted their appeals and must sit for depositions beginning July 15, according to a previous stipulation filed in the case.

The New York Attorney General’s Office has been investigating potential discrepancies in how the Trump Organization valued certain assets when seeking loans or when pursuing tax breaks.

Trump has long denied any wrongdoing in the yearslong investigation.

A state appellate court ruled in May that the subpoenas for their testimony were not, as the Trumps argued, part of a politically motivated investigation into how the family valued its real estate holdings.

The New York Court of Appeals had given the Trumps until Monday to submit an appeal, shooting it down one day later — on Donald Trump’s 76th birthday.

New York Attorney General Letitia James has argued her office has found “significant evidence” of fraud in the investigation into how Trump and the Trump Organization valued real estate holdings in the state. The investigation has reviewed whether the Trump Organization used fraudulent or misleading valuations of its holdings in different ways to obtain a host of economic benefits, including loans, insurance coverage and tax deductions.

Among the real estate holdings being investigated are 40 Wall Street, in Manhattan’s Financial District; Seven Springs, Trump’s estate in Westchester; Trump Park Avenue; and even Trump’s triplex apartment in Trump Tower.

A parallel criminal investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has already led to charges of tax fraud against Allen Weisselberg, the longtime chief financial officer for the Trump Organization, and the company itself.

They have both pleaded not guilty. A trial is expected to take place in the fall.

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(WASHINGTON) — The House on Tuesday approved a Senate bill to provide more security for the families of Supreme Court justices, sending the measure to President Joe Biden’s desk after Democrats and Republicans could not agree over whether to extend the increased protections to the families of court clerks.

The bill — first approved unanimously by the Senate a month ago — was passed by the House nearly a week since an armed man was arrested near Brett Kavanaugh’s home and charged with attempted murder of the Supreme Court justice after allegedly telling authorities he was suicidal and wanted to kill Kavanaugh, police have said.

“By passing this bill as is, we are sending a clear message to the left-wing radicals you cannot intimidate the Supreme Court justices. I hope we all take that message to heart,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said on the House floor on Tuesday.

Supreme Court justices are already provided with security; however, the Supreme Court Police Parity Act would expand security to the justices’ families. The legislation had been stalled in the House over proposed amendments by House Democrats to extend protections to the families of Supreme Court employees. as well.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters Monday night that no changes to the Senate-passed bill would be tolerated.

“The right bill passed the Senate. We’re not going to pass this House bill if it comes over,” McConnell said.

Sen John Cornyn, R-Texas, said the House was “playing with fire,” adding, “All we’ve tried to do is give the justices the very same protection that’s available to members of Congress.”

The stalemate came as Republicans accused Democrats of delaying taking up the legislation amid new threats to the high court — which has seen renewed protests by advocates ahead of major opinions on polarizing issues including gun rights and abortion access.

Democrats, in turn, said the GOP was ignoring the wider problem.

“Let me tell you why it took us a few weeks rather than just one week to pass this legislation: It’s because Republicans refuse to protect the families of Supreme Court employees who are at risk,” California Rep. Ted Lieu said.

“We understand that there was Republican opposition to that aspect of the bill, and in the interest of protecting the justices’ families, we can no longer delay in passing the only version of the bill they would apparently agree to.” Lieu added.

The legislation gained momentum in the House after 26-year-old Nicholas Roske was charged with attempted murder last week when he showed up armed to the Maryland home of Justice Kavanaugh, according to authorities.

Roske was angry over the recent mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and the leaked draft of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, according to an affidavit from an FBI agent submitted in support of a criminal complaint in U.S. District Court on Wednesday.

Roske was allegedly spotted by two U.S. Marshals wearing black clothes and carrying a backpack getting out of a cab in front of Kavanaugh’s house at approximately 1:05 a.m. Wednesday, according to the affidavit.

A Glock 17 pistol, two magazines, pepper spray, zip ties, a hammer, screwdriver, nail punch, crowbar, pistol light and duct tape were in Roske’s backpack, according to the affidavit.

The suspect then allegedly called the Montgomery County Emergency Communications Center to say he wanted to kill a Supreme Court justice, according to the affidavit. (He agreed to remain in custody until a preliminary hearing currently scheduled for June 22.)

The Department of Homeland Security has already warned that there could be an increase in threats against Supreme Court justices over the leaked draft of the Roe v. Wade decision, which has not yet been formally issued.

A bulletin obtained by ABC News in May said the draft leak “prompted a significant increase in violent threats — many made online via social media and some of which are under investigation — directed toward some U.S. Supreme Court Justices and the Supreme Court building.”

The National Capital Threat Intelligence Consortium identified at least 25 violent threats on social media that were referred to partner agencies for further investigation, the bulletin said.

“Some of these threats discussed burning down or storming the U.S. Supreme Court and murdering Justices and their clerks, members of Congress, and lawful demonstrators,” the bulletin said.

U.S. Marshals bolstered their protective details for the justices and began guarding their homes around the clock in the wake of the leaked draft, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Wednesday.

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(PHILADELPHIA) — President Joe Biden delivered fired-up remarks on the economy before a friendly, cheering audience of union workers in Philadelphia Tuesday — nodding to inflation, high food and gas prices, and his plans to try to ease the economic pressures American families are facing.

Shouting at times, receiving standing ovations, and delivering plenty of classic “Bidenisms,” the president spoke about the economy to a convention of the AFL-CIO federation of labor unions — and acknowledged the record-high inflation rates his administration is trying to combat.

“Jobs are back, but prices are still too high,” Biden conceded, arguing Republicans are blocking him from carrying out his plan to bring down costs. “COVID is down, but gas prices are up. Our work isn’t done.”

High inflation is a major political liability for Biden, who blamed Republicans for blocking a lot of his ideas to lower prices for Americans.

During his campaign-like speech, he heavily praised organized labor — and delivered a midterm message.

“You’re a gigantic reason why I’m standing here,” Biden told the crowd. “Standing here today as your president. I really mean it.”

‘Jobs are back, but prices are still too high’

While Biden focused his message on the economy, he did not address inflation until well into his speech, and when he did, he reiterated how his personal experience with inflation gave him an understanding of what families are facing.

“Republicans in Congress are doing everything they can to stop my plans to bring down costs on ordinary families. That’s why my plan is not finished and why the results aren’t finished either,” Biden argued.

The president pointed to his efforts to bring down prices at the pump in particular by tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to get more oil to market, but noted the entire world is facing high inflation, and that in the United States, “It’s sapping the strength of a lot of families.”

Biden also went into more detail than usual about the food crisis stemming from the war in Ukraine, saying, part of his plan to help bring down food costs included the U.S. working to get Ukrainian grain out of the country and to the global markets.

He acknowledged the complicating factors involved in doing so, particularly because of the differences between Ukraine’s rails and the rest of Europe.

“We’re going to build silos, temporary silos in the borders of Ukraine, including in Poland, so we can transfer it from those cars into those silos into cars in Europe and get it out to the ocean and get it across the world,” Biden pledged, but conceded, “it’s taking time.”

Midterm message and support for Democratic candidates in Pennsylvania, Atlanta

With the midterm elections just a few months away, Biden used his remarks to also deliver a message to voters — trying to draw contrast between his party and Republicans on the economy, despite the dreary headlines his administration has been facing.

“Our work isn’t done but here’s the deal. America still has a choice to make. A choice between a government by the few for the few or a government for all of us. Democracy for all of us, an economy where all of us have a fair shot and a chance to earn our place in the economy,” Biden pitched to the crowd.

The president, who had prided himself on bipartisanship, said he is under no “illusions” when it comes to the Republican party today, hitting Florida GOP Sen. Rick Scott’s tax proposal in his remarks.

“The fact is Republicans in Congress are still in the grip of the ‘ultra-MAGA’ agenda. And they still refuse to consider any part of the Trump tax cuts, which delivered a massive windfall to billionaires and others. And they weren’t paid for,” Biden said.

“They still refuse to consider a minimum corporate tax of 15%, minimum tax,” he said. “They seem to think that the problem in America today is the working families aren’t paying enough.”

He also delivered messages of support for two midterm candidates in particular: Pennsylvania Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and the Democratic nominee for governor in Georgia, Stacey Abrams.

Biden said he held a Zoom call on Monday with Fetterman, who is running for Senate in Pennsylvania and recently suffered a stroke, telling the crowd Fetterman was “looking good” and “can’t wait to get back on the trail” — adding a joke about Fetterman’s size.

“If you’re in a foxhole, you want John with you man,” Biden said. “I know he can’t wait to get back on the trail. He’s looking good. He’s no bigger, stronger voice for working people in this state than John. Certainly no bigger one, for that matter.”

He also called on the union members to support Abrams, who he said was in attendance.

“I gotta ask y’all a favor: Help her in Georgia. Help Stacey Abrams in Georgia,” he said. “There’s three things I learned about her early on. One, she’s loyal. Two, she’s capable. And three, she’s smarter than me. She knows what she’s doing. So folks, please help her out.”

Touts pro-union credentials

Speaking before the union crowd, Biden said “nothing had made me prouder than that” to be called “the most pro-union president in history” by the AFL-CIO’S leadership.

“I promised you I would be, and I commit to you as long as I have this job I will remain that,” Biden said.

The president also called on Congress to pass the PRO Act, which would expand labor protections and the right to organize.

He touted his accomplishments, including the infrastructure bill, the millions of jobs created during his time in office, and how American families are carrying less debt and have more savings.

“I love these guys talking about why these guys left my employment, went to another job,” Biden said. “Because he got paid more! Isn’t that awful, isn’t that a shame that they gotta compete for labor. Better paying jobs, for better jobs for them and their families. It’s been a long time since that’s happened in this country, but it’s happening now.”

He contrasted himself with his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, and the poor state of the economy in 2020.

“I promise you, I’m going to keep fighting for you,” Biden shouted, to loud cheers. “Are you prepared to fight with me?”

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(WASHINGTON) — The Jan. 6 committee announced Tuesday morning that its hearing set for Wednesday has been postponed — but conflicting explanations were offered as to why.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., told reporters on Capitol Hill following the committee’s announcement that there was no issue with witnesses in moving the hearing but “technical issues.”

“It’s just technical issues. I mean, we were, you know, the staff putting together all the videos, you know, doing 1-2-3, It was overwhelming, so we’re trying to give them a little room,” she said. “It’s not a big deal.”

Appearing on MSNBC’s Morning Joe earlier, she said “putting together the video exhibits is an exhausting exercise for our very small video staff … it’s just too much to put it all together.”

But when asked later if Lofgren’s explanation of the hearing postponement is accurate, a committee aide said “no.”

The aide said the hearing has been “postponed to accommodate scheduling demands.”

Not long after the committee issued a statement saying, “The postponement is due to a number of scheduling factors, including production timeline and availability of members and witnesses.”

The hearing’s focus was to be then-President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign on the Justice Department to back his false claims of election fraud.

Former acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen had accepted an invitation from the Jan. 6 committee to appear at Wednesday’s hearing, alongside his then-deputy Richard Donoghue and one of DOJ’s former top attorneys Steve Engel, according to a letter obtained by ABC News sent from Rosen’s attorney to the committee.

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(WASHINGTON) — The Jan. 6 committee announced Tuesday morning that its hearing set for Wednesday has been postponed.

No reason was given.

The hearing’s focus was to be then-President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign on the Justice Department to back his false claims of election fraud.

Story developing…

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