Newsmakers
Syrian-American advocacy group criticizes U.S. policy, lack of action on Assad, civil war injustices
The U.S. has lost face on the world stage by ignoring Syrian President Bashar Assad's war crimes, a top Syrian American activist says, and Washington is dangerously in denial of the fallout from Mr. Assad's emergence as the victor of the country's more than decade-long civil war.
Larry Hogan fears Trump brand will weaken party, Democrats will erode his progress
As Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan prepares to exit the governor's mansion and end his eight-year stint in the unusual role of a Republican running a deep-blue state, he is shaking his head in disbelief at what's become of the GOP.
U.S. ‘waking up too slowly’ on China, House GOP point man on Beijing warns
The U.S. is "waking up, but we're waking up too slowly" to the growing threats posed by China, Rep. Mike Gallagher said this week, arguing that the Biden administration is failing to take the steps necessary to put America in a position to win its 21st-century showdown with the rising communist military and economic superpower..
Pompeo says China’s Xi senses ‘weakness’ emanating from White House
NEWSMAKER INTERVIEW: The U.S. should give Taiwan "every tool" it needs to block a Chinese takeover, according to former Secretary of State and potential 2024 GOP presidential candidate Mike Pompeo, who says an "absence of resolve" in President Biden's foreign policy has invited aggression from adversaries around the world.
Hungarian diplomat pushes talks for swift end to Russia-Ukraine war
Hungary's top diplomat is calling for immediate talks to end the war in Ukraine, asserting that "all wars end up in negotiations" and that the world should be focused on how to achieve peace by quickly bringing about a cessation of the nearly five-month-old conflict.
Clintons interview Kim Kardashian, Steinem on Apple TV+ show
Hillary Rodham Clinton and her daughter, Chelsea, will interview the likes of Kim Kardashian, Megan Thee Stallion and Gloria Steinem for a streaming series that debuts in two months.
Florida Democrat Nikki Fried embraces underdog status in race to take on Gov. DeSantis
NEWSMAKER INTERVIEW: State Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried has accused the governor of using his office to pursue larger political ambitions and peddling culture wars that have distracted work on other issues facing Floridians.
Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger touts ‘truth,’ ‘facts’ against Trump-backed primary rival
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger says the truth is on his side in his reelection race, and much of the political universe agrees, with the glaring exception of former President Donald Trump.
Justice Thomas says high court won’t be ‘bullied’ over Roe leak
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas declared the high court won't be "bullied" on Friday, briefly referencing the unprecedented leak of a draft opinion suggesting the justices are poised to overturn Roe v Wade, the 1973 case giving women a national right to an abortion.
GOP defections thwart some of conservatives’ plans in Kansas
Key conservative initiatives are likely to fail in Kansas this year because a few Republicans are breaking with the rest of the Legislature's veto-proof GOP supermajorities.
Jim Jordan prods GOP colleagues to consider impeaching Biden
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee who is poised to control the panel if the GOP takeover next year, said Republicans must consider impeaching President Biden.
U.S. deal about more than subs, Australia’s ambassador says
Australia's decision to throw over France in favor of a nuclear submarine deal with the U.S. and Great Britain may have generated the most headlines recently, but the new Anglophone partnership known as AUKUS (Australia-United Kingdom-United States) is about much more than any one particular weapon system, Canberra's ambassador to the United States said this week.
EXCLUSIVE: Russian disinformation ‘true constitutional threat,’ top Air Force general warns
Russian social media disinformation campaigns and the increasingly hostile political battles they've fueled across America represent a "true constitutional threat" to the nation, contributing to COVID-19 vaccine skepticism and other serious issues in the military and beyond, a top Air Force general told The Washington Times this week.
EXCLUSIVE: Space Force commander warns of China’s growing threat to U.S. in space
China is threatening to overtake the U.S. military as the most dominant force in space, says the second in command of the now 3-year-old U.S. Space Force, who warns that Washington must dramatically accelerate its rollout of critical new technologies if it wants to retain superiority over the futuristic war-fighting domain.
Newt Gingrich: GOP will win in 2022 by targeting Democrats as ‘big government socialists’
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Wednesday that Republicans can't afford to blow a once-in-a-generation campaign opportunity to tag all congressional Democrats as "big government socialists" over supporting President Biden's massive $3.5 trillion social-welfare spending package.
Six Oregonians sue Gov. Kate Brown over vaccine mandates, citing their natural immunity
Six Oregonians filed a lawsuit Thursday against Democratic Gov. Kate Brown's vaccination mandate, arguing that they have natural immunity after contracting the novel coronavirus and calling the governor's orders unscientific.
EXCLUSIVE: Pakistan key to terror fight in wake of Taliban takeover, ambassador says
Pakistan's top diplomat in Washington said in an interview his country will remain a key partner in the U.S. counterterrorism campaign in the wake of the fall of the U.S.-backed government in Kabul, sharing a common goal of preventing a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan from becoming once again a pariah state and a safe harbor for terror groups such as al Qaeda and Islamic State.
Guardian Angel Sliwa sees the streets, subways as path to NYC mayor’s chair
NEWSMAKER INTERVIEW: Oddsmakers don't give the red-beret-wearing founder of the Guardian Angels much of a chance in the general election -- Democratic voters far outnumber Republicans in the Big Apple. Still, Republican mayoral hopeful Curtis Sliwa introduces himself on the street as the "next mayor of New York," and it's easy to see where he gets his confidence.
EXCLUSIVE: Ex-U.S. counterintel chief: Russia could halt cyber strikes ‘in one moment’
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly denied Moscow's involvement in the surge of ransomware attacks on U.S. targets, but a recently retired American spy chief says there is no question Russian intelligence has influence over the hacking operations.
Kevin McCarthy: House Republicans to leverage Democrats’ thinner majority
House Republicans are ready for a brutal fight in the next Congress and looking to use the thin Democratic majority as leverage, said Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
