Closing summary
That’s it for the US politics blog for today, and indeed for the week. Thanks for joining us.
Here’s what we’ve been following:
Ron DeSantis has been in Iowa, railing against what he calls “woke ideology”, and signing books, as he prepares to launch his likely run for the Republican party’s 2024 presidential nomination. Please read my colleague Joan E Greve’s account of his visit here.
Republican support for Donald Trump in Iowa, meanwhile, has taken a nose dive. A Des Moines Register poll found that while 69% said they would “definitely” vote for Trump in the 2024 election when last asked in June 2021, only 47% say now that they will.
Trump’s legal peril worsened (again) on three fronts. The former president is “likely” to be charged in New York over a illegal pay-off to an adult movie actress; federal prosecutors want his attorneys to testify again over his mishandling of classified documents; and a judge says an infamous video of him bragging about grabbing women inappropriately can be used in a lawsuit by a woman who accused him of raping her.
Joe Biden urged “extremist Maga Republicans” to join him in rebuilding the US economy. In remarks from the White House, the president hailed a better than expected economic report that showed 311,000 jobs were added in February.
Lachlan Murdoch, Fox Corp chief exec, said a $1.6bn defamation lawsuit brought against Fox News by the voting machine company Dominion, related to the network pushing lies about the 2020 presidential election, is “noise”.
Biden met EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen at the White House to try to resolve a spat over electric vehicle tax credits. The leaders were expected to agree to open talks on a deal to open the US market to EU components eligible for the credits.
Biden to meet with Sunak and Albanese on Monday
The White House has confirmed Joe Biden will meet prime ministers Rishi Sunak of the UK and Anthony Albanese of Australia in California on Monday for a conference to discuss areas of partnership between the countries.
The president will also meet the leaders bilaterally, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced at her Friday afternoon briefing.
Jean-Pierre did not reveal any other details of the summit that will take place in San Diego, but Sunak is known to be keen to discuss the Northern Ireland protocol with Biden.
The war in Ukraine, and western support for the country’s battles against the Russian invasion, are also likely to be high on the agenda.
Biden last met with Sunak in Bali, Indonesia, in November. The president’s first efforts at pronouncing the prime minister’s name, at a Diwali event at the White House in November shortly after Sunak took office, caused mirth when he called his fellow leader “Rashi Sanook”.
Sunak will sit down with NBC News anchor Lester Holt for an interview to be aired in the US on Monday night, the network announced.
