Closing summary
The prospects of Congress voting on a deal to tighten immigration policy and approve military aid to Israel and Ukraine faced a new threat, in the form of Republican House speaker Mike Johnson’s objection to reported provisions in the deal. Johnson’s opposition came a day after fury erupted when the top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell, told his lawmakers behind closed doors that he may reject whatever deal is reached to allow Donald Trump to campaign on immigration. McConnell reportedly later walked back those comments, but the prospects of a bargain to address one of the most intractable issues in American politics continue to look grim.
Here’s what else happened today:
Trump was ordered to pay $83.3m to author E Jean Carroll for defamation.
Johnson also pledged to move forward with impeaching homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on claims he is responsible for the surge in migrants crossing the southern border.
The Biden administration paused approvals of new natural gas export terminals, citing their impact on the climate.
Georgia’s Republican-controlled state Senate created a panel to investigate Fani Willis, the Fulton county district attorney whose election subversion case against Trump and 18 co-defendants has been rattled by allegations that she has a conflict of interest.
Karine Jean-Pierre, the Biden administration’s spokeswoman, said Alabama’s decision to execute a convicted murderer using nitrogen gas was “deeply troubling”.
Trump owes Carroll a total of $88.3m between two trials. There’s the $83.3m awarded today, and $5 million last year.
All in all, we’ve seen a number of big defamation payouts recently, all involving players in Trump’s orbit.
Right-wing figure Alex Jones was ordered to pay $1.5b to Sandy Hook parents, who suffered abuse and threats from believers of Jones’s lies about the mass shooting. Rudy Giuliani was made to pay $148.1m to election workers for spreading lies about them.
