This is Beirut - US Congress

Musk Freezes the National Endowment for Democracy's Funding, Causing a Crisis

This is Beirut, 13/02 18:20 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Elon Musk is targeting the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), an organization funded by the U.S. Congress since 1983 to support democracy abroad. He accuses the organization of corruption and calls for its dissolution. Since these statements, the NED has been unable to access its U.S. Treasury funds, putting many beneficiary organizations at ...

Trump Power Play Triggers Showdown with Courts, Congress

This is Beirut, 06/02 11:45 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Donald Trump US Congress

With his dizzying moves to slash spending, abolish government departments and lay off much the federal workforce, Donald Trump has upended the US constitutional order in an unprecedented assertion of executive might. Critics complain that Congress has been slow to react in the face of a full frontal assault on the Founders' vision of the ...

Elon Musk brands USAID as 'criminal organization' in growing row

This is Beirut, 02/02 21:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Elon Musk attacked the US Agency for International Development on Sunday, calling it a "criminal organization" after Donald Trump moved to freeze the bulk of Washington's foreign assistance for three months. The Trump administration has since issued waivers for food and other humanitarian aid. But aid workers say uncertainty reigns -- and that ...

Trump, Sure Of His Strength, Promises An American ‘Golden Age'

This is Beirut, 21/01 04:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

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‘The golden age of America has begun": Donald Trump, at the height of his political powers, gave his second term in office a nationalistic and vengeful tone on Monday. ‘God saved me so that I could make America great again’, declared the 45th (2017-2021) and now 47th President of the United States, in reference to an ...

The Trump Team Takes Shape: Part 1 – Nominations Requiring Senate Confirmation

Sana Richa Choucair, 20/01 11:30 - Reading : 17 minute(s)

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President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn in on Monday, January 20, officially signaling his return to power. In the lead-up to the inauguration, Senate confirmation hearings have begun, giving the public a chance to watch committees evaluate Trump’s nominees and their suitability for their designated roles. But how does the confirmation ...

Trump Promises a ‘Record’ Number Of Presidential Decrees On His First Day In Office

This is Beirut, 19/01 03:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Donald Trump promised on Saturday that he would sign a ‘record’ number of presidential decrees immediately after being sworn in on Monday in Washington, where he is expected to arrive this Saturday evening. In a telephone interview with NBC News, the soon-to-be 47th President of the United States said that he did not have a precise figure in ...

TikTok Faces Possible Ban in the US After January 19

Michael al-Andary, 14/01 13:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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A regulation that might ban TikTok in the United States unless it finds an American buyer by January 19 has been upheld by a federal court. The ruling requires TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to either sell its US business or shut down in the country. Therefore, the well-known application which is currently used by 170 million Americans, ...

Search for Bodies as LA Firefighters Brace for More Wind

This is Beirut, 14/01 10:25 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

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Search teams with dogs fanned out looking for victims in Los Angeles on Monday, as firefighters girded for hurricane-force winds that could spark new blazes. With the disaster in America's second biggest city in its seventh day, 24 people are known to have died -- a toll expected to rise -- and more than 90,000 people remain displaced. But the ...

US Special prosecutor Jack Smith ends his investigation into Trump

This is Beirut, 12/01 12:40 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Donald Trump United States US Congress USA

Jack Smith, the special counsel appointed to investigate Donald Trump for his alleged effort to overturn results of the 2020 election, has left the US Department of Justice, prosecutors said Saturday in a court filing. "The Special Counsel completed his work and submitted his final confidential report on January 7, 2025, and separated from the ...

Former US President Carter Lies in State After Somber Washington Procession

This is Beirut, 08/01 09:50 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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The body of late US president Jimmy Carter was transferred Tuesday in a grand and solemn military ceremony to the US Capitol, where it will lie in state until a national funeral later this week. Carter, who died on December 29 at the age of 100, served a single term from 1977-1981 and was widely praised for his post-presidential humanitarian ...

US Lawmakers to Certify Trump Win, Four Years After Capitol Riot

This is Beirut, 06/01 09:15 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

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Exactly four years after Donald Trump's supporters stormed the US Capitol, seeking to overturn his election loss, lawmakers meet Monday to certify his 2024 win, cementing the Republican's comeback from political ignominy. Heightening the drama around the January 6 joint session of Congress, a powerful storm was forecast to blanket Washington in ...

US Moves Closer to Budget Paralysis After New Bill Fails

This is Beirut, 2024-12-20 04:10 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

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On Thursday, the US House of Representatives largely rejected a new Republican budget proposal aimed at avoiding a paralysis of the federal government, in a stinging defeat that increases the uncertainty before the fateful midnight hour on Friday. The Republicans, despite having a majority in the lower house, had put this new proposal to the vote ...