House Republicans will begin their probe next week on President Joe Biden’s policies and his family, including his son Hunter, They’re timing it to hit right when he’s trying to get attention for his State of the Union address on Feb. 7.
The House Oversight Committee hearing, slated for the day after Biden’s remarks, will deal with the laptop once owned by Hunter, which has become a favorite target for GOP critics. The hearing will also look into Twitter’s decision to block a New York Post story on the laptop ahead of the 2020 election.
Here’s what else is going on in politics Tuesday.
- Trump pigs Bob Woodward: Former President Donald Trump is suing Bob Woodward and his publisher for $50 million over the audio recordings the journalist used in his book “Rage.”
- Debate should be limited: Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., will discuss federal spending Wednesday in a highly-anticipated one-on-one meeting that could indicate how far apart both sides are on addressing the debt ceiling deadline.
- Jordan’s King Abdullah II will visit the Capitol Tuesday and Wednesday to meet with congressional leaders. Abdullah will also meet with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
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Although women as a whole lean Democratic, white women tend to vote more conservatively than women of color.
In recent years, Republicans’ messaging on schools’ purported teachings on “critical race theory” — the idea that racism is embedded in all American laws and institutions — has been particularly effective at pushing white women voters to the right, said Jatia Wrighten, an African American studies professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. Critical race theory is an academic concept that is not taught in public schools.
But the 2022 overturning of Roe brought many white women back into the Democratic fold. In the midterm elections, Democrats successfully defended every incumbent Senate seat and managed to minimize substantial losses in the House, largely due to women who were furious about the decision.
That leaves Democrats with a daunting task for 2024: Persuading white women to join — and stick with — the party, giving Democrats a shot at control of Washington.
— Ella Lee, Mabinty Quarshie
President Joe Biden heads to New York City Tuesday, where he will announce Amtrak is receiving $292 million for the Hudson Tunnel Project.
His trip is the second of three this week to promote the benefits of the infrastructure bill. The president highlighted a rail tunnel project in Baltimore on Monday and will discuss lead pipe removal in Philadelphia on Friday.
In New York, Biden’s trip also includes a fundraising stop for the Democratic National Committee.
— Maureen Groppe
‘We’re here’: Donald Trump hits the campaign trail again in New Hampshire, South Carolina
The day after he delivers the State of the Union, President Joe Biden and his family will be the subject of a GOP-led House Oversight Committee hearing.
A hearing on Twitter’s decision to initially block the New York Post’s reporting on the “Biden family’s business schemes” and Hunter Biden’s laptop will be held Wednesday, Feb. 8, a committee spokesperson confirmed to USA TODAY.
Committee Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, has repeatedly said the panel is focused on the president, not his son. Former Twitter employees Vijaya Gadde, Yoel Roth and James Baker will testify at the hearing, according to the committee.
– Candy Woodall
More: Biden’s most vocal Republican antagonists emerge from the sidelines – with subpoena power