Republicans call to strike Iran; Biden pressed on Israel weapons
Our new daily update, featuring seven political stories that matter
Republican lawmakers piled pressure on Joe Biden to target Iran directly after an attack on an American base in Jordan by Iranian-backed militias killed three American soldiers on Sunday. Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator, called for America to “hit Iran now”. The White House said it was seeking a “very consequential” response, but John Kirby, a White House spokesman, also said the government was “not looking for a war with Iran”. Iran distanced itself from the attacks, dismissing American claims of involvement as baseless.
Nineteen Democrats pressed the Biden administration for information about recent arms transfers to Israel, highlighting the party’s growing divide over the president’s handling of the war in Gaza. In a letter, the lawmakers noted the administration’s “highly unusual” use of emergency authority to get around Congress, and sought information about any conditions it attached to reduce civilian casualties.
A Republican-led House committee is set to consider impeachment proceedings against Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of homeland security, on Tuesday. The committee unveiled articles of impeachment on Sunday which accused him of failing to uphold immigration laws. An impeachment vote by the whole chamber will probably happen in the week of February 5th.
An Internal Revenue Service contractor who leaked Donald Trump’s tax returns was sentenced to five years in prison. In October Charles Littlejohn pleaded guilty to unauthorised disclosure of tax filings. These included returns belonging to Mr Trump (which Mr Littlejohn leaked to the New York Times in 2019) and to thousands of wealthy Americans (which he leaked to ProPublica in 2020).
Mr Trump made his pitch to Nevada’s Latino voters at a campaign rally in Las Vegas. The former president alleged that America’s porous border is most harmful to “our very cherished Hispanic community”. Latinos, still overwhelmingly Democratic, have drifted towards the Republican Party. Their votes will prove crucial in the swing states of Nevada and Arizona come November.
Wisconsin’s supreme court ordered the state’s elections board to respond to a complaint from Dean Phillips, who is challenging Mr Biden for the Democratic nomination. Mr Phillips claims he was unlawfully excluded from Wisconsin’s Democratic primary ballot. He argues that he meets a standard outlined in the state’s election law: that the media has recognised him as a serious candidate.
Polling suggests that just 27% of Americans approve of Mr Biden’s handling of immigration. More than twice as many say they trust Donald Trump on the matter. Illegal immigration across America’s southern border has become a huge liability for the president in the run up to November’s election. The Economist’s data team created ten charts showing how the border crisis developed over several administrations.
Daily quiz
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Figure of the day
$45bn, the revenue generated by America’s four largest professional leagues—more than half of the total produced by leagues worldwide. Read our story about the possible end of the “jock tax ”.
HEARD ON THE TRAIL
“I know what it’s like when no one is paying attention. I would ask for just about two of your minutes.”
—Dean Phillips, the Democrat competing with Joe Biden for the presidency and for the audience’s time at a campaign event on January 27th
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