Massive spending bill includes funding for Joe Biden s transition into office Follow Us
Question of the Day By David Sherfinski - The Washington Times - Tuesday, December 22, 2020
The $2.3 trillion catchall spending package Congress passed late Monday includes some funding for President-elect Joseph R. Biden’s transition into office.
The bill includes at least $8 million for “administrative support” for the transition and at least $9.9 million for presidential transition expenses.
For the latter amount, $8.9 million would be permanently rescinded when the president-elect is the incumbent president.
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President Trump, who is contesting the election results, hasn’t yet signed the bill into law. Early Tuesday, Mr. Trump did sign a stopgap funding bill that will keep the government running through Dec. 28 while the White House reviews the broader package.
Over 1 million ballots cast already in early voting for Georgia s Senate runoffs Follow Us
Question of the Day Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate from Georgia Jon Ossoff greets a poll worker after voting early in Atlanta on Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020. For the second time in three years, Jon Ossoff is campaigning in overtime. The question is whether . more > By James Varney - The Washington Times - Tuesday, December 22, 2020
Early voting in Georgia’s runoff elections for two Senate seats is moving at a brisk pace, signaling turnout could be surprisingly high in the Jan. 5 contest that will determine the balance of power in the upper chamber of Congress.
Mr. Miller’s trip comes just a week after Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley sat down with leaders of the Taliban in an effort to secure a reduction in violence and ultimately bring an end to the longest military engagement in American history.
The Trump administration last February struck a historic peace deal with the Taliban that calls for the eventual withdrawal of all American forces in exchange for a reduction in Taliban attacks, guarantees Afghanistan won’t again become a safe haven for terrorists, and direct peace talks between the Taliban and the U.S.-backed government in Kabul.
By David Sherfinski - The Washington Times - Tuesday, December 22, 2020
President-elect Joseph R. Biden said Tuesday that President Trump dropped the ball on the recent hack of federal agencies and the private sector and that there’s no evidence it’s under control yet.
Mr. Biden called the breach a “grave risk to our national security” and said it happened on Mr. Trump’s watch when the president wasn’t watching.
Mr. Biden said his administration would respond in kind but declined to go into detail, saying he didn’t want to tip his hand.
“The Trump administration needs to make an official attribution,” Mr. Biden said in Wilmington, Delaware. “Even if he does not take it seriously, I will.”
By Guy Taylor - The Washington Times - Tuesday, December 22, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated a “cold war” between communist China and the United States, with Beijing scrambling at levels previously unseen to try to undermine America’s status as the world’s leading superpower.
Although the recent emergence of coronavirus vaccines suggests the pandemic’s end may be in sight, foreign policy analysts generally agree that the expanding geopolitical battle between Washington and Beijing will only intensify in the post-COVID-19 era.
“We now have underway a full-blown cold war between the U.S. and China,” said Clifford D. May, president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington think tank known for its hawkish foreign policy positions.