{"id":120754,"date":"2024-12-30T12:18:58","date_gmt":"2024-12-30T12:18:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/trump-creates-fresh-problems-for-speaker-and-backs-big-tech-allies-on-visas-live-the-independent\/"},"modified":"2024-12-30T12:18:58","modified_gmt":"2024-12-30T12:18:58","slug":"trump-creates-fresh-problems-for-speaker-and-backs-big-tech-allies-on-visas-live-the-independent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/trump-creates-fresh-problems-for-speaker-and-backs-big-tech-allies-on-visas-live-the-independent\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump creates fresh problems for speaker and backs Big Tech allies on visas: Live – The Independent"},"content":{"rendered":"

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President-elect calls previous deal agreed between ex-House speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden \u2018one of the dumbest political decisions made in years\u2019 and backs Elon Musk in immigration row
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Donald Trump<\/a> is demanding that the House of Representatives votes on the debt ceiling extension<\/a> (or abolition) \u201cNOW\u201d so that any congressional battle falls within the remit of Joe Biden<\/a>\u2019s presidency and not his own.
The president-elect said on Sunday that the 2023 debt ceiling extension agreed by ex-House speaker Kevin McCarthy<\/a> and Biden will \u201cgo down as one of the dumbest political decisions made in years\u201d.
Under the deal, the debt ceiling was suspended until January 1 2025, although the Treasury will be able to pay its bills for several months after that.
Congress needs to address the issue by June.
Without the 2023 deal, the US would have defaulted on its obligations, rocking financial markets worldwide and likely leading to a downgrade of the nation\u2019s credit rating.
Meanwhile, Trump hailed the H-1B visa program for skilled workers as \u201cgreat\u201d<\/a> claiming to have always been in favor of it.
Speaking to The New York Post<\/em>, the president-elect sided with Elon Musk<\/a> and Vivek Ramaswamy<\/a> after they both defended the need for hiring skilled workers from overseas, putting them at odds with MAGA<\/a>\u2019s \u201cAmerica First\u201d hardliners, including Steve Bannon<\/a>, who want stricter immigration control.
Conservative Scott Jennings joined Dana Bash\u2019s panel discussion on State of the Union<\/em> yesterday to discuss the outgoing president\u2019s legacy and did not mince his words as he attacked fellow contributor Karen Finney for suggesting Biden\u2019s health had held him back during his tenure in the White House.
\u201cI think he\u2019s gonna leave office in disgrace,\u201d Jennings\u00a0 declared.
\u201cThe Hunter Biden pardon was disgraceful.
\u201cHe\u2019s going to be remembered largely for inflation and for the disastrous Afghanistan pullout.\u201d
Jennings alleged that Biden\u2019s staff had covered up the decline in his cognitive function ahead of the 2024 presidential election and \u201cfor all four years.\u201d
\u201cI think it\u2019s going to be a really ugly chapter,\u201d he said.
\u201cIt\u2019s a diminished presidency because of it.
\u201cI think we still don\u2019t know the full extent of what they did to try to hide what they\u2019ve been doing over in the West Wing.\u201d
Speaking of Joe Biden, he still regrets pulling out of the 2024 presidential race and believes he could have beaten Donald Trump to the White House, according to The Washington Post<\/em>.
The outgoing president backed out of the race over the summer following a disastrous first debate against his Republican rival, low approval numbers and dwindling donations.
But Biden recently told people that despite the issues his campaign faced he is confident he could have defeated Trump in November.
Graeme Massie <\/strong>reports.
Biden also admitted to aides that he had made other mistakes, including the selection of Merrick Garland as attorney general
The outgoing president interrupted his Christmas vacation in the US Virgin Islands last night to deliver a press conference on the passing of Jimmy Carter at 100 years of age, taking the opportunity to pay tribute to a widely-admired figure and reflect on the friendship he and Jill enjoyed with Carter and his wife Rosalynn over many years.
\u201cIs there anything President Trump could take from President Carter?\u201d a reporter asked Biden at one stage.
\u201cDecency,\u201d came the answer. \u201cDecency. Decency.\u201d
\u201cCan you imagine Jimmy Carter referring to someone by the way they look or the way they talk? I can\u2019t. I can\u2019t,\u201d the president continued, clearly alluding to Trump.
Here\u2019s a selection of his choicest remarks on Carter:
Robert O\u2019Brien, one of Trump\u2019s national security advisers during his first term, appeared on Sunday Morning Futures<\/em> on Fox News yesterday to explain the rationale for the president-elect\u2019s revived interest in acquiring Greenland, an idea he entertained last time out only to be rebuffed by Danish PM Mette Frederiksen.
O\u2019Brien argued that Denmark now finds itelf on the frontline of the global confrontation with Russia, given the strategic importance of its Arctic territory.
He went on to suggest that Greenland could become a part of Alaska if it were to be sold to the US.
One reason for Greenland\u2019s increasingly important strategic location, O\u2019Brien argues, rather unexpectedly, is climate change \u2013\u00a0not usually strong subject for an incoming Trump administration.
The co-hosts of Fox & Friends Weekend <\/em>were faced with a tricky job yesterday morning \u2013 navigating the feud that has broken out amongst supporters of Donald Trump over H-1B visas for highly skilled immigrants, which escalated significantly on Saturday.
As we\u2019ve just seen, \u201cAmerica First\u201d acolytes on the far-right want stricter, more draconian immigration measures applied to both illegal and legal migrants when Trump takes office in January.
Among the loudest voices pushing their argument are those of far-right activist Laura Loomer and ex-Trump strategist Steve Bannon.
In contrast, the Silicon Valley \u201ctech bro\u201d contingent led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy wants better legal immigration routes, like the H-1B program, to fill skills gaps in key sectors such as engineering, science and technology.
All of which left Fox anchors Will Cain, Rachel Campos-Duffy and Charlie Hurt with a dilemma on their hands.
Oliver O\u2019Connell<\/strong> reports on their handling of it.
President-elect\u2019s support of Elon Musk\u2019s position on highly skilled immigrants at odds with wishes of much of his political base
Donald Trump has sided with Elon Musk in the feud over H-1B skilled worker visas that has split the American political right over the past few days.
Speaking by phone with The New York Post<\/em> over the weekend, the president-elect said: \u201cI\u2019ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That\u2019s why we have them.\u201d
He added: \u201cI have many H-1B visas on my properties. I\u2019ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It\u2019s a great program.\u201d
Trump had previously remained silent on the issue which has led to furious exchanges online between leading MAGA acolytes.
In his first administration from 2017 to 2021, the 45th president signed an executive order to restrict access to such visas and has been critical of the program in the past, calling it \u201cvery bad\u201d for Americans.
While Trump-supporting tech leaders such as X-owner Musk have stressed that H-1B visas are critical to finding skilled workers, \u201cAmerica First\u201d hardliners want a new Trump administration to impose tougher restrictions on immigration at all levels.
Here\u2019s more from Oliver O\u2019Connell<\/strong>.
President-elect says he has always liked H-1B visas, despite moving to restrict them in first term in office, as \u2018America First\u2019 rages against immigration
Good morning!
Here\u2019s the latest From The Desk of Donald, which finds him paying tribute to the thoroughly decent 39th president of the United States on Truth Social \u2013 while stressing that they had nothing in common either politically or personally \u2013 after giving Mike Johnson a fresh headache even before New Year\u2019s Day dawns.
The president-elect is demanding that the House of Representatives votes on the debt ceiling extension (or abolition) \u201cNOW\u201d so that any congressional battle falls within the remit of Joe Biden\u2019s presidency and not his own.
Trump declares in his post that the 2023 debt ceiling extension agreed by ex-House speaker Kevin McCarthy and Biden will \u201cgo down as one of the dumbest political decisions made in years\u201d.
Under the deal, the debt ceiling was suspended until January 1 2025, though the Treasury will be able to pay its bills for several months after that.
Congress needs to address the issue by June.
Without the 2023 deal, the US would have defaulted on its obligations, rocking financial markets worldwide and likely leading to a downgrade of the nation\u2019s credit rating.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Sunday the 2023 debt ceiling extension agreed by then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden will \u201cgo down as one of the dumbest political decisions made in years.\u201d
Under the 2023 budget deal, Congress suspended the debt ceiling until Jan. 1, 2025. The U.S. Treasury will be able to pay its bills for several months beyond that deadline, but Congress will have to address the issue, possibly around mid-year.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said, \u201cThe extension of the Debt Ceiling by a previous Speaker of the House, a good man and a friend of mine … will go down as one of the dumbest political decisions made in years.\u201d
He added, \u201cThe Democrats must be forced to take a vote on this treacherous issue NOW, during the Biden Administration, and not in June. They should be blamed for this potential disaster, not the Republicans!\u201d
Republicans, however, will control both chambers of Congress beginning on Jan. 3 and at least some of the party\u2019s lawmakers would have to go along with a debt limit increase or elimination in order for it to become law.
Without the 2023 debt limit increase, the United States would have seen a historic default on its debt payments that would have roiled financial markets worldwide.
A debt default would also likely have brought a downgrade in the U.S. credit rating, raising borrowing costs for businesses and individuals.
At the time, several far-right Republicans in the House of Representatives had pushed for deeper federal spending cuts as a condition for raising the debt limit than what had been negotiated.
About a week ago, with U.S. government discretionary funding due to expire on Dec. 20, Trump, encouraged by billionaire Elon Musk, demanded the debt limit either be eliminated or extended, possibly to 2029 when his presidency would end.
That idea was tacked onto an extension of government funding into March, but it was quickly voted down by a coalition of House Democrats and hard-right Republicans, many of whom represent districts in Trump-leaning states.
A government-funding bill without a debt-limit provision was then enacted into law.
Reuters<\/em>
Washington<\/a> joined in mourning on Sunday after news of former President Jimmy Carter<\/a>\u2019s death was announced by Chip Carter, his son.
The nation\u2019s 39th president was renowned for his commitment to public service in the years after his exit from political life, and earned a strong reputation for helping America\u2019s neediest families in his post-presidential years. After news of his passing was reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution<\/em>, tributes began to swiftly pour in for the 100-year-old statesman.
John Bowden <\/strong>reports.
Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Barack Obama and George W Bush all publicly remembered the \u2018humble public servant\u2019 from Plains, Georgia
Steve Bannon<\/a> joined the MAGA immigration civil war<\/a> with gusto on Friday, calling Elon Musk<\/a> a \u201ctoddler,\u201d<\/a> and telling the owner of X to \u201cbring it.\u201d<\/a>
As Musk doubled down on his support for H-1B work visas and criticism of American workers, Bannon posted on the social media platform Gettr: \u201cSomeone please notify \u2018Child Protective Services\u2019\u2014 need to do a \u2018wellness check\u2019 on this toddler.\u201d
The former Trump adviser and War Room podcast host made the post in reaction to Musk telling a critic of his stance on immigration to \u201cf*** yourself in the face.\u201d
Read on…<\/em>
Deepening schism over immigration and visas splits MAGA, pitting \u2018America First\u2019 cohort against Silicon Valley Trump supporters
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
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