Closing summary
The chaos continued in the House, where an ongoing revolt by far-right Republicans against speaker Kevin McCarthy stopped the advancement of a defense department spending bill for the second time this week. It’s a bad sign for a separate attempt to pass a measure to keep the federal government funded past 30 September, which is also being held up the rightwing insurgents. By the afternoon, GOP leadership told lawmakers they could head home for the week, apparently concluding an agreement to resolve the legislative logjam was a long way off. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, visited the Capitol and the White House to call for more aid to help his country fend off the Russian invasion.
Here’s what else happened today:
The White House accused Republicans of “playing political games with people’s lives”.
McCarthy blamed “individuals that just want to burn the whole place down” for the ongoing paralysis in the House.
Rupert Murdoch will step down as chairman of Fox and News Corp, with his son Lachlan Murdoch taking his place, an earthquake in the world of conservative media.
The House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, said the GOP is “in the midst of a civil war”.
The Senate confirmed Randy George as army chief of staff, but Republican Tommy Tuberville’s blockade of about 300 other positions in protest of the Pentagon’s abortion access policy continues.
Updated
Zelenskiy arrives at White House for meeting with Biden
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, is now at the White House for a meeting with Joe Biden, where additional US military aid to fight off the Russian invasion is on the agenda:
In the Oval Office meeting, Zelensky told Biden he looked forward to their discussions with a “special emphasis on air defense.” #ukraine pic.twitter.com/xZkcOFGY6k
— Ken Thomas (@KThomasDC) September 21, 2023
For the latest updates from the meeting, follow our liveblog:
Updated
