Today's politics recap
- A New York judge ruled that Donald Trump and two of his children, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr, must comply with a subpoena from the state’s attorney general Letitia James to sit for a civil disposition. Trump is likely to appeal the decision.
- Joe Biden believes a Russian invasion of Ukraine is imminent and that he believes a false-flag operation was under way that Moscow would use to justify an invasion. The Guardian’s separate Ukraine live blog is here.
- The House announced the Covid-19 measures that will be in place for Joe Biden’s 1 March State of the Union address. Masks, social distancing and testing will be required, and boosters will be “strongly recommended”. Members of Congress are invited to attend but are not allowed to bring guests.
- House minority leader Kevin McCarthy has come out with an endorsement for Liz Cheney’s primary opponent, making official the in-fighting that is taking place within the GOP.
-
The Senate will vote on a bill extending funding for the government through 11 March to avert a shutdown at midnight tomorrow.
– Lauren Aratani and Maanvi Singh
The Senate is voting on Republican amendments to a bill extending funding for the government through 11 March to avert a shutdown at midnight tomorrow.
The first of such amendments, from Utah Republican senator Mike Lee, would defund Biden’s vaccine mandate for healthcare workers, federal workers, and the military. Another, from Texas’ Ted Cruz, would defund schools and child care centers that mandate the vaccines for children. Florida’s Marco Rubio meanwhile, wants a vote on his measure that would prohibit the federal government from buying any crack pipes or drug paraphernalia – which was spun out of false claims from conservative media that the administration was providing such pipes as part of a harm reduction program.
