Major trials wrap up, clock ticks on debt limit
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It’s apparent in Washington this week that time is running out for Democrats and Republicans to find a compromise on raising the debt ceiling. Left unresolved, the debt issue could have serious consequences for Americans as soon as June 1.
An influx of migrants are soon expected to arrive at the U.S. southwest border with the end of a COVID-19 pandemic-era policy that tightened border control. To prepare, the Biden administration will send active-duty troops to the border to support Customs and Border Protection.
Meanwhile, in D.C. and New York federal courts, consequential trials linked to former President Donald Trump winded down this week. Four members of the Proud Boys were found guilty of seditious conspiracy Thursday by a D.C. jury in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack, while a fifth member was acquitted of the charge. The Proud Boys argued during their trial that the former president was responsible for the Capitol riot, not them. That same day in Manhattan federal court, writer E. Jean Carroll rested her rape and defamation case against Trump.
And Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas faced renewed criticism this week for receiving money and gifts from outside interests, possibly in violation of the high court’s ethics standards.
Here’s what happened this week in politics.
What happened this week in politics?
1,500 troops head to southwest border ahead of Title 42 lapse
Some 1,500 active-duty troops are headed to the southwest border where a wave of migrants seeking to enter the U.S. is expected with the end of a pandemic policy that tightened border control.
The policy, Title 42, allowed Customs and Border Protection to turn migrants away in an effort to prevent COVID-19 from spreading in holding facilities. It’s set to end on May 11, when the COVID-19 pandemic public health emergency is terminated.
Cities are already facing hardships supporting the number of migrants who have been allowed into the country. Chicago has shouldered more than 8,000 migrants since August sent by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, according to Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. On Sunday, she urged Abbott to stop busing migrants to the city, calling the move “inhumane” and “dangerous.”
4 Proud Boys guilty of seditious conspiracy, one acquitted
Four Proud Boys, including longtime leader Enrique Tarrio, were found guilty Thursday of entering a seditious conspiracy against the U.S. government that culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. A fifth Proud Boy was acquitted of the charge, but all the defendants face several other felony charges.
Their convictions on the rare, Civil War-era crime marks a major victory for the Justice Department, bolstering its account that the Capitol attack endangered American law and order. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday that the verdicts were an example of the government’s “steadfast commitment to defend the American people and American democracy.”
More alleged ethics violations against Clarence Thomas
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is back in the limelight over alleged ethics violations after reports that conservative activists and donors paid his wife, Ginni, for consulting work and for his grandnephew’s schooling.
ProPublica reported Thursday that Republican megadonor Harlan Crow paid private boarding school tuition for Thomas’ grandnephew, over whom he had legal custody at the time. Tuition at the Georgia boarding school ran more than $6,000 a month, according to ProPublica, and Thomas did not note the payments on his annual financial disclosures.
Later Thursday, the Washington Post reported that Leonard Leo — the former vice president of the Federalist Society who helped President Donald Trump’s administration vet nominees for the Supreme Court — arranged for Ginni Thomas to receive tens of thousands of dollars for consulting work. “No mention of Ginni, of course,” The Post quoted as part of Leo’s instructions for the arrangement.
The revelations are the latest in a series of reports in recent weeks about money and gifts Thomas and his family have received from outside interests.
E. Jean Carroll rests rape case against Donald Trump
Writer E. Jean Carroll’s attorneys rested their high-profile rape and defamation case against former President Donald Trump on Thursday. Her last witnesses last witnesses included experts who testified to legal damages and a friend who said Carroll told her about the assault shortly after the alleged incident in 1996.
Though the former president denounced the lawsuit as bogus and claimed he would attend the proceedings, his attorneys announced just hours later that they would also rest their case without calling any witnesses. Final arguments in the case are scheduled for Monday.
Clock ticking on debt ceiling compromise
As a possible default on America’s debt looms, Democrats and Republicans still can’t agree on how to raise the debt ceiling.
The White House criticized Republicans’ legislation to raise the debt ceiling this week for not explicitly protecting veterans’ care from spending cuts. The bill would eliminate 81,000 Veterans Affairs jobs, produce 30 million fewer Veterans Affairs outpatient visits and increase the disability backlog of veterans by 134,000, the White House said in a memo. McCarthy’s office rejected the White House’s claims, saying House Republicans “will not cut veterans benefits” and will “responsibly prioritize” spending in the upcoming appropriations process.
Meanwhile, top House Democrats are taking matters into their own hands with a secret plan to “stop right-wing extremists from triggering a dangerous default on America’s debt.” The “right-wing extremists” he’s referring to are Republicans who refuse to raise the debt limit, though the House GOP may disagree with his assessment because they passed a bill last week to do just that.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said that the U.S. could run out of money to pay its bills as soon as June 1, which could lead to unprecedented consequences for Americans like a stock market crash, a recession and a rise in unemployment, experts have told USA TODAY.
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