Democratic lawmaker mocks House Republicans as they proceed with Biden impeachment push – live

Texas has experienced a case of judicial whiplash, after the supreme court yesterday allowed its law giving police the power to arrest suspected illegal border crossers to go into effect. But just hours later, a federal appeals court blocked it again, and the matter seems set for further legal wrangling that may well wind up before the supreme court at some point in the future. Back in Washington, DC, Republicans pressed on with their impeachment investigation into Joe Biden, despite revelations that a key source for their unproven allegations received information from Russian intelligence. At a hearing of the House oversight committee, Democrats hammered the credibility of the GOP’s witnesses, and one lawmaker made the point by showing up in a Vladimir Putin mask.

Here’s what else is happening:

• A Georgia judge allowed Donald Trump to appeal his ruling last week that prosecutor Fani Willis could stay on the election subversion case against him, but only if special counsel Nathan Wade leaves.

• Republican House speaker Mike Johnson said he understood where Trump was coming from when he accused Democratic Jews of hating Israel and their religion – comments that drew accusation of antisemitism.

• Joe Biden announced new rules that could dramatically slash emissions from passenger cars and trucks to fight the climate crisis.

House Republicans appear to be pressing on with their impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden’s alleged corruption, even as they have yet to turn up evidence that the president benefited from his family members’ overseas business dealings.

They’re also dealing with the fallout from revelations that an informant crucial to their case received information from Russian intelligence. But as the House oversight committee gathered for their latest hearing in the investigation, Democratic lawmaker Jared Moskowitz sought to remind them by showing up in a Vladimir Putin mask:

Since being elected speaker of the House last year, the Republican Mike Johnson has emerged as one of Donald Trump’s most prominent defenders on Capitol Hill, and today is no exception – even when it comes to the former president’s recent comment that Jews who vote for Democrats “hate” Israel and their religion.

Asked about it at a press conference, Johnson said he understands where Trump is coming from:

The context here is that GOP lawmakers are trying to make clear their support for Israel and its ongoing invasion of Gaza, even as they waffle on whether or not to continue providing military assistance to Ukraine. That’s put them at odds to Democrats, who want to approve aid to both countries as well as Taiwan – but Johnson is blocking that legislation.

Joe Biden just announced new rules for cars and trucks in the United States that could dramatically cut down on fossil fuel consumption and help the country meet its climate goals.

Like many environmental regulations, these will likely face a court challenge, but nonetheless represent a significant attempt to reshape how the transportation sector uses energy. Here’s the Guardian’s Dharna Noor with more on the move:

Donald Trump and some of his co-defendants in the Georgia election subversion case can appeal a ruling that allowed prosecutor Fani Willis to remain on the case, his lawyer announced.

Last week, the Fulton county judge Scott McAfee allowed Willis to continue prosecuting Trump and 18 others on charges of trying to overturn the 2020 election, rejecting an attempt to remove her for an alleged conflict of interest due to her hiring of the special prosecutor Nathan Wade. However, McAfee said Willis could remain only if Wade resigns – which he did.

On X, Steve Sadow, an attorney for Trump, said McAfee has allowed his ruling to be appealed, raising the possibility of further delays in the case:

Here’s more on last week’s ruling:

Lauren Gambino

The Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, said this morning he had a “lengthy” conversation with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is also expected to address Senate Republicans later in the day.

During the call, Johnson said he expressed “House Republicans’ strong support for Israel and their efforts” in Gaza and his “strong disagreement” with the Democratic Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, a strong defender of the Jewish state who last week identified Netanyahu as one of the major impediments to peace and called for new elections in the country when the war winds down.

“We think it’s not only foolhardy, it’s dangerous for him to be trying to suggest how Israel should run its domestic affairs in the midst of its conflict,” Johnson said.

On Wednesday, Punchbowl News reported that Netanyahu was expected to speak virtually to Senate Republicans during their lunch meeting. The move underscores Netanyahu’s alliance with Republicans, forged over more than a decade and under three US presidencies.

More federal court action could be coming today on the Texas law allowing police to arrest people suspected of crossing the border illegally.

The fifth circuit court of appeals will at 11am ET hear arguments over the law. It’s unclear when they will decide whether to allow it to go into effect.

Mexico’s government issued a strongly worded statement yesterday after the supreme court allowed Texas police to arrest people suspected of being in the country illegally, saying it would not accept any person forced out by state authorities.

“Mexico recognizes the importance of a uniform migration policy and the bilateral efforts with the United States to ensure that migration is safe, orderly and respectful of human rights, and is not affected by state or local legislative decisions. In this regard, Mexico will not accept, under any circumstances, repatriations by the State of Texas,” its secretary of foreign affairs said.

The objections from the United States’s southern neighbor underscore why immigration enforcement is typically left up to the federal government and not the states. A person arrested under the Texas law could agree to leave the United States, according to the Associated Press, but Mexico’s objections complicate that.

It was only for a few hours that Texas law SB4, which allows state police to arrest people suspected of crossing the border illegally, was in effect, and the Associated Press reports that it does not appear anyone was detained under its provisions.

The law is currently being wrangled over at the appeals court level, and may again wind up before the supreme court, where the conservative justices yesterday allowed it to go into force, without ruling on its merits.

Experts the AP spoke to warned that if it eventually does becomes law, it could have a chaotic range of effects across the second most-populous state in the country. Here’s what Ricardo Samaniego, the executive of El Paso county, said:

Heightened law enforcement presence in the city of El Paso during a previous migrant surge brought high-speed chases and traffic stops based on assumptions that passengers were in the country illegally. “We had accidents, we had injuries, we got a little glimpse of what would happen if the state begins to control what happens in respect to immigration,”

Daniel Morales, an associate law professor at the University of Houston Law Center, warned the law would be “a mess, very clearly, to enforce”:

“It’s very clear that Greg Abbott wants to enforce the law so he can get lots of photo ops and opportunities, but it’s gonna take a lot of state resources to implement. And I don’t know, in fact, how much appetite and capacity for that the state government actually has.”

Greg Abbott is the state’s Republican governor, and a champion of the law.

Executive director of the Sheriffs’ Association of Texas, Skylor Hearn, said deputies across the state have been training for the past year in case the law takes effect. But he added:

“As long as the federal government is willing to do its part that it is supposed to be doing, it is ideal for them to take possession and custody of these people.”

Good morning, US politics blog readers. It was only a few hours ago when the supreme court cleared the way for a potential upending of US immigration enforcement by allowing a Texas law that gave state police the power to arrest people suspected of crossing the border illegally to go into effect. But hours after the top court’s Tuesday afternoon order, a federal appeals court once again blocked the law – at least for now. The decision prevents what could have become a confusing and unprecedented situation from playing out in the massive, Republican-governed state along the border with Mexico. Texas’s police would have been able to arrest people suspected of being in the country illegally – a task reserved for federal law enforcement.

Texas enacted its law as Republicans nationwide attack Joe Biden over the surge in undocumented migrants that has played out since he took office. In Congress, the GOP continues to demand the president support tougher border policies, though they blocked a compromise that would impose those and approve new aid for Ukraine and Israel. The White House views the Texas law as “harmful and unconstitutional”, and the legal wrangling over it is unlikely to end anytime soon.

Here’s what else is going on today:

• Congress is working on a final batch of government spending bills ahead of a Friday deadline to pass them and prevent a partial government shutdown. Party leaders yesterday announced a deal on the funding, but it still needs to be approved by the full Senate and House of Representatives.

• Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, will reportedly address Senate Republicans at their lunch. Last week, the chamber’s Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, called for new elections to be held.

• The Federal Reserve will decide whether or not to keep interest rates at their high level when their regular policy meeting concludes at 2pm ET.