Ro Khanna

Paris Hilton, emotional after the Senate unanimously passed the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act, urges the GOP-led House to approve the bill she has championed.

You have three days left, if you got suckered in by those omnipresent ads for Medicare Advantage and left regular Medicare for the siren song of cheaper coverage, “free” vision, hearing, or dental, or even “free” money to buy groceries or rides to the doc.The open enrollment period for real Medicare closes at the end of the day Saturday, December 7th; after that, you’re locked into the Medicare Advantage plan you may have bought until next year.If you’ve had Medicare Advantage for a year or more, however, the open enrollment period is still “open” until December 7th, but you will want to make sure you can get a “Medigap” plan that fills in the 20% that real Medicare doesn’t cover.Companies are required to write a Medigap policy for you at a reasonable price when you turn 65, no matter how sick you are or what preexisting conditions you may have, but if you’ve been “off Medicare” by being on Medicare Advantage for more than a year, they don’t have to write you a policy, so double-check that and sign up for a Medigap policy before making the switch back to real Medicare.So, what’s this all about and why is it so complicated?When George W. Bush and congressional Republicans (and a handful of bought-off Democrats) created Medicare Advantage in 2003, it was the fulfillment of half of Bush’s goal of privatizing Social Security and Medicare, dating all the way back to his unsuccessful run for Congress in 1978 and a main theme of his second term in office.Medicare Advantage is not Medicare. These plans are private health insurance provided by private corporations, who are then reimbursed at a fixed rate by the Medicare trust fund regardless of how much their customers use their insurance. Thus, the more they can screw their customers and us taxpayers by withholding healthcare payments, the more money they make.With real Medicare, if your doctor says you need a test, procedure, scan, or any other medical intervention you simply get it done and real Medicare pays the bill. No muss, no fuss, no permission needed. Real Medicare always pays, and if they think something’s not kosher, they follow up after the payment’s been made so as not to slow down the delivery of your healthcare.With Medicare Advantage, however, you’re subject to “pre-clearance,” meaning that the insurance company inserts itself between you and your doctor: You can’t get the medical help you need until or unless the insurance company pre-clears you for payment.These companies thus make much of their billions in profit by routinely denying claims — 1.5 million, or 18 percent of all claims, were turned down in one year alone — leaving Advantage policy holders with the horrible choice of not getting the tests or procedures they need or paying for them out-of-pocket.Given this, you’d think that most people would stay as far away from these private Medicare Advantage plans as they could. But Congress also authorized these plans to compete unfairly with real Medicare by offering things real Medicare can’t (yet). These include free or discounted dental, hearing, eyeglasses, gym memberships, groceries, rides to the doctor, and even cash rebates.You and I pay for those freebies, but that’s only half of the horror story.Give a gift subscriptionThis year, as Matthew Cunningham-Cook pointed out in Wendell Potter’s brilliant Health Care un-covered Substack newsletter, we’re ponying up an additional $64 billion to give to these private insurance companies to “reimburse” them for the freebies they relentlessly advertise on television, online, and in print.And here’s the most obscene part of the whole thing: the companies won’t tell the government (us!) how much of that $64 billion they’ve actually spent. They just take the money and say, “Thank you very much.” And then, presumably, throw a few extra million into the pockets of each of their already obscenely-well-paid senior executives.For example, the former CEO of the nation’s largest Medicare Advantage provider, UnitedHealth, walked away with over a billion dollars in total compensation. With a “B.” One guy. His successor made off with over a half-billion dollars in pay and stock.Good work if you can get it: all you need do is buy off a hundred or so members of Congress, courtesy of Clarence Thomas’ billionaire-funded tie-breaking vote on Citizens United, and threaten the rest of Congress with massive advertising campaigns for their opponents if they try to stop you.And while the companies refuse to tell us how much of the $64 billion that we’re throwing at them this year to offer “free” dental, etc. is actually used, what we do know is that most of that money is not going to pay for the freebies they advertise. As Cunningham-Cook noted, in one study only 11 percent of Advantage policyholders who’d signed up with plans offering dental care used that benefit.Another study showed over-the-counter-drug freebies were used only a third of the time, leaving $5 billion in the insurance companies money bins just for that “reimbursable” goodie. A later study found that at least a quarter of all Advantage policyholders failed to use any of the freebies they’d been offered when they signed up.That’s an enormous amount of what the industry calls “breakage”; benefits offered and paid for by the government but not used. Billions of dollars left over every month. And, used or not, you and I sure paid for them.In my book The Hidden History of American Healthcare: Why Sickness Bankrupts You and Makes Others Insanely Rich, I lay out the story of this scam and how badly so many American seniors — and all American taxpayers, regardless of age — get ripped off by it.And now it looks like things are about to get a whole lot worse.When he was president last time, Donald Trump substantially expanded Medicare Advantage, calling real Medicare “socialism.” Project 2025 and candidate Trump both promised to end real Medicare “immediately” if Trump was re-elected; at the very least, they’ll make Medicare Advantage the “default” program people are steered into when they turn 65 and sign up for Medicare.These giant insurance companies ripped off us taxpayers last year to the tune of an estimated $140 billion over and above what it would’ve cost us if people had simply been on real Medicare, according to a report from Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP).If there was no Medicare Advantage scam bleeding off all that cash to pay for executives’ private jets, real Medicare could be expanded to cover dental, vision, and hearing and even end the need for Medigap plans.But for now, the privatization gravy train continues to roll along. The insurance giants use some of that money to buy legislators, and some of it for expensive advertising to dupe seniors into joining their programs. The company (Benefytt) that hired Joe Namath to pitch Medicare Advantage, for example, was recently hit with huge fines by the Federal Trade Commission for deceptive advertising.The FTC news release laid it out:“Benefytt pocketed millions selling sham insurance to seniors and other consumers looking for health coverage,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The company is being ordered to pay $100 million, and we’re holding its executives accountable for this fraud.”And what was it that the Federal Trade Commission called “sham insurance”? Medicare Advantage. Nonetheless, the Centers for Medicare Services continues to let Benefytt and Namath market these products: welcome to the power of organized money.And it’s huge organized money. Medicare Advantage plans are massive cash cows for the companies that run them. As Cigna prepares for a merger, for example, they’re being forced to sell off their Medicare Advantage division: it’s scheduled to go for $3.7 billion. Nobody pays that kind of money unless they expect enormous returns.And how do they make those billions?Most Medicare Advantage companies regularly do everything they can to intimidate you into paying yourself out-of-pocket. Often, they simply refuse payment and wait for you to file a complaint against them; for people seriously ill the cumbersome “appeals” process is often more than they can handle so they just write a check, pull out a credit card, or end up deeply in debt in their golden years.As a result, hospitals and doctor groups across the nation are beginning to refuse to take Medicare Advantage patients. And in rural areas many hospitals are simply going out of business because Medicare advantage providers refuse to pay their bills.California-based Scripps Health, for example, cares for around 30,000 people on Medicare Advantage and recently notified all of them that Scripps will no longer offer medical services to them unless they pay out-of-pocket or revert back to real Medicare.They made this decision because over $75 million worth of services and procedures their physicians had recommended to their patients were turned down by Medicare Advantage insurance companies. In many cases, Scripps had already provided the care and is now stuck with the bills that the Advantage companies refuse to pay.Scripps CEO Chris Van Gorder told MedPage Today:“We are a patient care organization and not a patient denial organization and, in many ways, the model of managed care has always been about denying or delaying care – at least economically. That is why denials, [prior] authorizations and administrative processes have become a very big issue for physicians and hospitals...”Similarly, the Mayo Clinic has warned its customers in Florida and Arizona that they won’t accept Medicare Advantage any more, either. Increasing numbers of physician groups and hospitals are simply over being ripped off by Advantage insurance companies.Traditional Medicare has been serving Americans well since 1965: it’s one of the most efficient single-payer systems to fund healthcare that’s ever been devised. But nobody was making a buck off it, so nobody could share those profits with greedy politicians. Enter Medicare Advantage, courtesy of George W. Bush and the GOP.While several bills have been offered in Congress to do something about this — including Mark Pocan’s and Ro Khanna’s Save Medicare Act that would end these companies’ ability to use the word “Medicare” in their policy names and advertising — the amounts of money sloshing around DC in the healthcare space now are almost unfathomable.So far this year, according to opensecrets.org, the insurance industry has spent $117,305,895 showering gifts and persuasion on our federal lawmakers to keep their obscene profits flowing.It’s all one more example of how five corrupt Republicans on the US Supreme Court legalizing political bribery with Citizens United have screwed average Americans and made a handful of industry executives and investors fabulously rich.They get away with it because when people choose to sign up for Medicare Advantage at 65 (or convert to these plans in their 60s or early 70s) they’re typically not sick — and thus cost the insurance companies little.Tragically, the people signing up for these plans have no idea all the hassles, hoops, and troubles they might have to jump through when they do get sick, have an accident, or otherwise need medical assistance.And since the last three years of life are typically the most expensive years for healthcare, the insurance denials are more likely to happen then — long after the person’s signed up with the Advantage company and it’s too late to go back to real Medicare.This is why it typically takes a few years for people to figure out how badly they got screwed by not going with regular Medicare but instead putting themselves in the hands of private insurance companies.The New York Times did an exposé of the problem in an article titled “Medicare Advantage Plans Often Deny Needed Care, Federal Report Finds.” It tells the story of “Kurt Pauker, an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor in Indianapolis” who’d bought an Advantage policy from Humana:“In spite of recommendations from Mr. Pauker’s doctors, his family said, Humana has repeatedly denied authorization for inpatient rehabilitation after hospitalization, saying at times he was too healthy and at times too ill to benefit.”This is not at all uncommon, the Times notes:“Tens of millions of denials are issued each year for both authorization and reimbursements, and audits of the private insurers show evidence of ‘widespread and persistent problems related to inappropriate denials of services and payment,’ the investigators found.”If you have “real” Medicare with a heavily regulated Medigap policy to cover the 20% Medicare doesn’t, you never have to worry.Your bills get paid, you can use any doctor or hospital in the country who takes Medicare, and neither Medicare nor your Medigap provider will ever try to collect from you or force you to pay for what you thought was covered.Neither you or your doctor will ever have to do the “pre-authorization” dance with real Medicare: those terrible experiences dealing with for-profit insurance companies are part of the past.But if you have Medicare Advantage — which is not Medicare, but private health insurance — you’re on your own.As the Times laid out:“About 18 percent of [Advantage] payments were denied despite meeting Medicare coverage rules, an estimated 1.5 million payments for all of 2019. In some cases, plans ignored prior authorizations or other documentation necessary to support the payment. These denials may delay or even prevent a Medicare Advantage beneficiary from getting needed care...”Buying a Medicare Advantage policy is a leap in the dark, and the federal government is not there to catch you. And it’s all perfectly legal, thanks to Bush’s 2003 law, so your state insurance commissioner usually can’t or won’t help.Thus, here we are, handing billions of dollars a month to insurance industry executives so they can buy new Swiss chalets, private jets, and luxury yachts. And so they can compete — unfairly — with Medicare itself, driving LBJ’s most proud achievement into debt and crisis.Enough is enough. Let your members of Congress know it’s beyond time to fix the Court and Medicare, so scams like Medicare Advantage can no longer rip off America’s seniors while making industry executives richer than Midas.And if you got hooked into switching out of real Medicare and now find yourself in a Medicare Advantage plan, you have three days to back out and return to real Medicare. For more information, you can also contact the nonprofit and real-Medicare-supporting Medicare Rights Center at 800-333-4114.NOW READ: Agenda 47: Alarm sounded about Trump’s dystopian plans for his second term

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is expected to enter the race for ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, four House Democrats with knowledge of her plans told Axios.Why it matters: The 35-year-old lawmaker would easily be House Democrats' youngest committee leader at a time when some of their oldest are facing insurgent challenges."It's going to happen soon," said one of the House Democrats.A senior House Democrat said "she has talked to" colleagues saying she is running.Ocasio-Cortez's chief of staff Mike Casca told Axios: "When there's an announcement to make, she'll make it."State of play: Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) is already running for the role, with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) also expressing interest in a run as well.Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) told Axios on Wednesday he is "very happy" as the ranking member on the Oversight select subcommittee on China.The seat is being vacated by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) who is running unopposed to replace House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) after Nadler withdrew his bid for reelection.What she's saying: Ocasio-Cortez said Tuesday she is "interested" in the role and has had "a lot of outreach from colleagues" about a run.She told reporters on Wednesday morning that she has "spoken with many members of our caucus, including several members of leadership" about the race.Ocasio-Cortez also laid out her vision for the panel, saying she wants to use it as a "communicative platform for public education" and a vehicle for "real legislative work and investigatory work."Editor's note: This article has been updated with comment from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and more context.

The progressive lawmaker is one of many younger members challenging more senior colleagues for top committee roles

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., could throw her name in the mix to take the top Democratic spot on the House Oversight Committee.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday she is considering running to lead Democrats on the House Oversight Committee.Why it matters: She would be easily one of the highest profile — and youngest — candidates in a series of contested committee battles raging across the House Democratic caucus.Several of House Democrats' oldest committee leaders are facing attempts by more junior colleagues to oust them from their longtime roles.Democratic leadership has maintained strict neutrality on committee fights, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) telling reporters that "the challengers speak for themselves."Driving the news: Ocasio-Cortez said she is "interested" in replacing current ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and has "a lot of outreach from colleagues.""I'll be making a decision shortly," added Ocasio-Cortez, Raskin's current vice ranking member.She would face off against at least one colleague, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), who announced Tuesday that he is running for the role.Several others, including Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), are seen as potential candidates to succeed Raskin.Zoom out: Raskin kicked off a battle for his seat Monday when the Marylander announced his challenge to Judiciary Committee ranking member Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.).Nadler, like several other septuagenarian ranking members, is facing concerns from colleagues about his age and ability to combat the incoming Republican trifecta.A battle between Ocasio-Cortez, 35, and Connolly, 74 — who, while not the current ranking member, has far more seniority — would be the most extreme example of that dynamic.What to watch: House Democrats' steering committee is expected to meet sometime this month to make recommendations for committee leadership.The full House Democratic caucus will then meet to vote on whether to approve those choices.

Moskowitz's decision to join the bicameral caucus comes two days after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) agreed with Elon Musk about government waste.

'Should not be a partisan issue

The New York congresswoman says it's “not rocket science” why people are abandoning the platform X en masse.

Revolutionary-era French statesman Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand once quipped that his country’s exiled Bourbon monarchs had learned nothing and forgotten nothing. Today, in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in [...]The post 'Foolish' Newsom Slammed By His Own Party After Latest Elon Musk Snub appeared first on The Western Journal.

East Bay Times Letters to the Editor for Nov. 26, 2024

Welcome to At the Races! Each week we bring you news and analysis from the CQ Roll Call campaign team. Know someone who’d like to get this newsletter? They can subscribe here. House Democrats voted this week to keep their top leaders in place for the next Congress, as the race to lead the national party [...]The post At the Races: DNC, or the Democrats’ Next Campaign appeared first on Roll Call.

Rep. Ro Khanna says billionaire Elon Musk drifted away from the Democratic Party partially because he felt neglected.

In the end, two main factors will shape the Party's future more than all the bed-wetting, nit-picking, analyses and commissions.

Democrats are nursing a wounded party following President-elect Trump's resounding victory. Some are blaming President Biden for not stepping aside sooner. Others say the party needs to rework its identity to meet the working class where it's at. Either way, a red sun will rise in 2025 — and even for those victorious Republicans, the details of Trump's far-reaching agenda remain uncertain. Here's what you may have missed when newsmakers hit the airwaves this Sunday, November 10.1. A working-class reckoning Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks to CNN's Dana Bash during a Nov. 10 "State of the Union" interview about his criticism that Democrats abandoned working-class people.Sen. Bernie Sanders doubled down on his scathing take on the Democratic Party's dilemma Sunday, urging the party to recognize and prioritize the working class. The big picture: The senator's comments come after he eviscerated the party last week, saying Vice President Harris' loss was no surprise after Democrats "abandoned" the working class. "We are the kitchen table, working-class party of America. And that's why we are a close call in the House right now in a year where the map is bright red across the board," former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) shot back in a New York Times interview.Driving the news: "Democrats should be proud of standing up for women's rights and abortion rights and gay rights and civil rights, but the emphasis has to be to make it clear that we are prepared to stand with the vast majority of the people, many of whom are falling further and further behind while the people on top do phenomenally well," Sanders said on CNN's "State of the Union."Asked on NBC's "Meet the Press" about Pelosi's criticism, Sanders questioned, "If you're an average working person out there, do you really think that the Democratic Party is going to the mats, taking on powerful special interests and fighting for you?""I think the overwhelming answer is no."Zoom out: Post-election polling from Democratic strategy group Blueprint found that swing voters' top reason for not choosing Harris was a perception that she was "focused more on cultural issues like transgender issues rather than helping the middle class," Axios' Zachary Basu reports.While reality depicts a strengthening economy, many Americans remain convinced it is doing worse: A belief Trump effectively harnessed ahead of November's election.What they're saying: While some Dems have rejected Sanders' argument, others on the Sunday show circuit echoed his message that the party's pitch didn't appeal to the voters it needed most. "The reason we didn't win ultimately is we didn't listen enough to people on the ground ... who were saying, talk about the economy, talk about people's economic struggles," Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said on CBS News' "Face the Nation" Sunday.Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), who launched an unsuccessful challenge to Biden's since-retired 2024 run, similarly lamented the party's messaging struggles: "Our product is not the real problem, our packaging, our messengers and our distribution is a real problem."Phillips continued: "And I think it's fair to say if you ask people what the Democratic brand stands for right now, it's real complicated."Zoom out: Even after Biden touted himself as the most pro-union president in history, joined a picket line and invested in manufacturing jobs (and after Harris proposed tax cuts for middle-class families, among other measures directed at the working class), Trump secured that sought-after vote.Sanders says that's because Trump explained the reasons for their troubles, though he also criticized Trump's explanation as "bogus," saying the president-elect blamed economic hardship on "zillions of illegal immigrants coming over and ... eating your cats and dogs." But there was a "reason" to explain voters' struggles that resonated nonetheless, Sanders said.2. GOP gives little clarity on Trump's mass deportation plan Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) speaks during an interview aired Sunday with NBC's "Meet the Press."Trump's team says he plans to launch the "largest mass deportation operation" of undocumented immigrants on Day 1 in office. The bottom line: The details of how he'll take on the mammoth and costly task of deporting millions of people remain murky.Trump told NBC News Thursday there is "no price tag" on his plan — a statement Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), poised to be the Senate majority whip next Congress, echoed Sunday."I agree there's no price tag on protecting the safety and security of our country and our citizens," Barrasso told NBC's Kristen Welker on "Meet the Press.""President Trump is going to enforce the law, and we haven't had that over the last four years," he continued.By the numbers: While there is no concrete total of how much Trump's lofty goal could cost, several estimates suggest that deporting just 1 million people could cost tens of billions of dollars.Axios reported in February that to carry out deportations, Trump would mobilize Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents — along with the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, federal prosecutors, the National Guard and state and local law enforcement officers.Zoom in: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and other Trump allies reaffirmed Sunday the president-elect would start with "migrants here who have committed crimes.""How are you going to find them?" CNN's Dana Bash asked Jordan."The ones who have committed crimes," Jordan repeated, highlighting the 1.3 million migrants who have already been issued removal orders.Bash questioned what jurisdiction would execute deportations, to which Jordan replied, "The Department of Homeland Security will work with local law enforcement."Trump has said he'd target some 15-20 million people.A September report from the Center for Migration Studies estimated some 11.7 million undocumented immigrants lived in the U.S. as of July 2023.Asked if Dreamers shielded by former President Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program should be deported, Jordan said, "The country wants the law enforced ... that question will be addressed later on."Zoom out: Tom Homan, the former acting ICE director, argued on Fox's "Sunday Morning Futures" the plan will be a "cost savings to the American people" and will be a "a well-targeted, planned operation conducted ... by the men of ICE."Trump has suggested he'd tap Homan, a contributor to Project 2025 who played a role in the Trump-era family separation policy, for his second administration.3. Ex-Harris spokesperson stuns panel Jamal Simmons speaks on a CNN "State of the Union" panel on Nov. 10.A CNN panelist surprised the rest of the table on "State of the Union" Sunday with the idea that President Biden could hand over the rest of his term to Harris.Driving the news: Jamal Simmons, Harris' former communications director, proposed that Biden step down "within the next 30 days" and make Harris president."It would absolve her from having to oversee the January 6th transition, right, of her own defeat," Simmons added. "It would dominate the news, at a point where Democrats have to learn, drama and transparency and doing things the public want to see."What they're saying: The suggestion shocked both the show's host Dana Bash and several fellow commentators. "Okay, this has now jumped from an internet meme to a Sunday morning show," Bash said after Simmons finished his explanation.Scott Jennings, who also sat on the panel, joked that Simmons was writing a season of the Netflix political drama "House of Cards."Zoom in: Simmons continued his thoughts in a thread posted to X. "Dems have better policies but we must realize the old rules no longer apply. We are not playing table tennis. We are in a mixed martial arts fight and Americans respond to drama and excitement. We should use that to make our arguments for a better path forward," he wrote.Reality check: Biden has not indicated that he would leave office early.Read more from Axios' Sunday coverage: Rep. Dean Phillips tears into fellow Democrats over 2024 lossBernie Sanders says calls for Sotomayor to step down are not "sensible"Netanyahu says he spoke three times with Trump in recent daysRubio throws weight behind Rick Scott for GOP leader

On this "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" broadcast, Sen. Bill Hagerty and Rep. Ro Khanna join Margaret Brennan.

The following is a transcript of an interview with Rep. Ro Khanna, Democrat of California, on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" that aired on Nov. 10, 2024.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said it’s wrong for Democrats to call American voters 'sexist and racist.'

The party also enters with no agreement on what caused them to be so wrong about the 2024 election.

Arab Americans in Michigan are making their final decisions in the presidential election after a year of political turmoil in the nation's largest Arab American community

Elon Musk attended Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to a joint meeting of Congress in July.

Amid all of Vice President Kamala Harris' many flip-flops and reversals, nowhere are her opinions more convoluted and confusing than on Israel.

(FOX40.COM) -- Congressman Ro Khanna, D-Silicon Valley, joined Inside California Politics co-host Nikki Laurenzo to discuss the presidential race, what he is looking for from Vice President Kamala Harris, whether he would be open to joining a potential Harris Administration cabinet should she win, and his thoughts on possibly running for California Governor in 2026.

Being a venture capitalist carries a lot of prestige in Silicon Valley. So when some of the industry’s biggest names endorsed former President Donald Trump and the onetime VC he picked for a running mate, JD Vance, people took notice....

Under the new proposal, people with a net worth of more than $100 million would have to pay a minimum effective tax rate of 25 percent.

The importance of foreign policy in the 2024 presidential election often sways due to what subjects voters may consider more important, such as abortion, the border and the economy.

After the United Kingdom paused some arms shipments to Israel on Monday, it’s not entirely clear whether Vice President Kamala Harris could follow the same path.

Over the Labor Day weekend several Democrats hit the cable networks to push back against claims that Vice President Kamala Harris' has been inconsistent in her approach to policy.

As colleges begin the new school year, "pro-Palestine" protesters need to start asking who's really calling the shots: It may be agents of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Leaders of a Democratic protest-vote movement pushing back on the handling of the Israel-Hamas war say their request to have a Palestinian American speak at the Democratic National Convention has been rejected. The leaders say they had been talking with...

Chicago’s rollicking festival for Democrats this week serves many purposes: to channel enthusiasm for Vice President Kamala Harris, now at the top of the ticket and hoping to capitalize on momentum; to honor and thank President Joe Biden for passing the torch; and, of course, to attack former President Donald Trump while offering Americans a [...]

Events on the sidelines of the Democratic convention offered a glimpse of what the event might have looked like had Biden retained his hold on his party.

California lawmakers are poised to vote on a bill regulating AI development, despite significant opposition from major tech companies.What Happened: California legislators are expected to vote this week on SB 1047, a bill aimed at regulating AI development and deployment in the state, reported Reuters.If approved by the end of the legislative session on Aug. 31, the bill would move to Governor Gavin Newsom, who must sign or veto it by Sept. 30.What The Bill SaysThe bill, introduced by Senator Scott Wiener (D-Calif.), mandates safety testing for advanced AI models costing over $100 million to develop or requiring significant computing power.The bill also requires developers to include a “kill switch” to shut down AI models if they malfunction. The state attorney general would have the authority to sue non-compliant developers, especially if the AI poses a threat to critical systems like the power grid.Additionally, third-party auditors would be hired to assess safety practices, and whistleblowers would receive protections.See Also: Mark Zuckerberg Explains Why Facebook Beat Google, ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

Democratic Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin, left and Republican challenger Eric Hovde have been battling each other for months, making Tuesday’s primaries more of a formality.

The Supreme Court plays a vital role in this constitutional republic, but its continued legitimacy depends on a perception by the public that the justices aren’t politicians in black robes.

Los Angeles Times editorial boardEditorial written by the Los Angeles Times Editorial Board In an address to the nation last week about abandoning his reelection campaign, President Joe Biden mentioned Supreme Court reform as one of the priorities he would pursue in the remainder of his term. On Monday, Biden fleshed out that commitment with proposals that deserve — [...]The post Supreme Court term limits and ethics reforms aren’t just good for Democrats appeared first on Itemlive.

In an interview with NBC News' Scott Wong, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., talked about his support for Vice President Kamala Harris' 2024 campaign, his past backing President Biden's re-election efforts until he decided to withdraw and his thoughts on who could make a good running mate for Harris.

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle faced a barrage of questions Monday about the assassination attempt of former President Trump but offered few answers, infuriating lawmakers who increased their calls for her resignation. Cheatle took fire from all sides, with Democrats joining the GOP in both their frustration with the director and disbelief over her inability [...]

Kimberly Cheatle said her agency failed in its mission to protect former President Donald Trump, as lawmakers of both major political parties demanded that she resign.

The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee joined the chairman in calling for Director Cheatle to step down.

Director of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) Kimberly Cheatle appeared before the House Oversight Committee on Monday following a nationwide call for answers following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on July 13.Hearing Takeaways: Cheatle offered vague commentary on the implications of the attempt. The director said that the USSS “will move heaven and earth” to make sure that an event like the one on July 13 would not happen again.“We failed,” Cheatle said in her opening statement. During an aggressive line of questioning by Nancy Mace (R-SC), Cheatle agreed that the attempt was “preventable.”Several representatives — including committee chair James Comer (R-KY), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Andy Biggs (R-AZ) and others — called on Cheatle to resign her post.“I think I am the best person to lead the Secret Service at this time," Cheatle said under questioning by Virginia Foxx (R-VA).Cheatle repeatedly insisted that she would not comment on ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

A number of Democratic lawmakers, governors and past leaders were quick to rally behind Vice President Harris as she pursues the Democratic Party's presidential nomination following President Biden's withdrawal from the race. Shortly after dropping out of the presidential race, Biden endorsed Harris as his successor, stating it is "time to come together and beat" [...]

Guest lineups for the Sunday news shows

‘Incorrect. Keep the faith,’ a White House spokesperson wrote on X in response to a report that the president may drop out as early as this weekend.

Politics, it is said, is the art and science of persuasion. A politician gathers power by convincing people — but needs to get their attention first.

Congressional Democrats were baffled Wednesday when President Biden's campaign X account posted "I'm sick" as a fundraising appeal just after the 81-year-old president tested positive for COVID.Why it matters: The post – which exemplifies what many lawmakers feel has been the campaign's tone deafness since the debate – only adds to Biden's rapidly deepening isolation on Capitol Hill."I doubt Joe Biden approved that tweet. Not helpful at all," said one House Democrat who has stayed largely silent on Biden's candidacy since the debate.The lawmaker added: "They need to read the room."A Biden campaign official said it ranked only behind a post after Trump's conviction for top fundraising social media posts of the year.Between the lines: Democrats who spoke to Axios for this story were granted anonymity to speak candidly about their concerns over Biden's candidacy as he recovers from COVID.Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said in a post on X after Biden tested positive, but before the "I'm sick" post, "Fellow House Democrats, can we in this moment unify, show some decency, and simply wish [Biden] a speedy and full recovery?""Please do not use this moment to advance your own political agenda by launching more private or public attacks on Biden," he added.Several House and Senate Democrats offered well wishes, with Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who has called for Biden to withdraw, posting on X that he and his wife wished Biden "a full and quick recovery from Covid."Driving the news: Biden was scheduled to appear at a UnidosUS conference in Nevada on Wednesday, but the organization's president announced he would be unable to make it after testing positive for COVID.Biden's official presidential X account confirmed the news roughly an hour and 20 minutes later, posting: "I tested positive for COVID-19 this afternoon, but I am feeling good and thank everyone for the well wishes."Simultaneously, Biden's campaign account posted, "I'm sick," followed two minutes later with "of Elon Musk and his rich buddies trying to buy this election. And if you agree, pitch in here," and a donation link. Via XWhat we're hearing: Another House Democrat who has largely held their fire on Biden since the debate told Axios, "Congressional Democrats are also sick.""Sick of the gaslighting, sick of the inaction, and sick of people in positions of power protecting a president about to lose the White House while taking the House with him," the lawmaker said, calling the post "pathetic."A third House Democrat, who has also largely avoided weighing in on Biden's candidacy publicly, called the post "strange.""What ... in the world is this humor," exclaimed a fourth House Democrat, who has been more openly critical of the president.The other side: "The Trump campaign and its billionaire donors and dark money are going to be spending an unprecedented amount of resources," said Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), a staunch Biden ally, pointing to Musk's pledge to donate $45 million a month to a pro-Trump super PAC."So I don't have a problem with witty humor in trying to get donations. I actually thought it was a clever way of probably getting campaign donations, and I think we're likely to see it probably worked," he added.Zoom out: Biden has faced a persistent rebellion on Capitol Hill from lawmakers with concerns about his ability to win the 2024 election – including Democratic leadership.It emerged Wednesday that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) all warned Biden in private conversations that his candidacy could hurt down-ballot Democrats.What to watch: Some Democratic lawmakers hope Biden's convalescence will lead to him ultimately deciding to bow out of the race."It forces some down time in Rehoboth to reflect on things, which can only be a good thing," a fifth House Democrat told Axios.The Biden campaign did not immediately provide comment for this story.Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.