Coalition of lawmakers helped legislation clear procedural hurdle to reach final votes, following opposition from rightwing Republicans

The US House pushed ahead on Friday with a $95bn foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and humanitarian support after Democrats came to the rescue of Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker.

A coalition of lawmakers helped the legislation clear a procedural hurdle to reach final votes this weekend, as Friday morning’s vote followed a rare move late on Thursday for a House committee that normally votes along party lines.

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The presiding judge has suggested opening statement could begin as early as Monday

One potential juror has been excused this morning after saying that her anxiety is too intense, and will only worsen as “as the more days that go on”.

Her family will ultimately piece together that she’s on the jury, she said.

I have really bad anxiety, so I think I might not be completely fair and not impartial, so that concerns me.

We’re also still working on the temperature in the courtroom.

I want to apologize that it’s chilly in here ... We’re trying to do the best we can to control the temperature, but it’s one extreme or the other.

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House Republicans accuse homeland security secretary of failing to enforce border laws, but Schumer calls charges ‘beneath dignity of the Senate’

Senate Democrats on Wednesday dismissed the articles of impeachment brought by House Republicans against Alejandro Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, on grounds that the charges failed to meet the bar of “high crimes and misdemeanors” outlined in the constitution as a basis for removing an official from office.

In a pair of party-line votes, Democrats held that the articles alleging Mayorkas willfully refused to enforce border laws and breached the public trust with his statements to Congress about the high levels of migration at the US southern border with Mexico were unconstitutional. On the first article, the Alaska senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, voted “present”.

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Kari Lake of Arizona warned supporters of ‘intense’ election year in which Democrats will come after them ‘with everything’

Republican US Senate candidate Kari Lake has told supporters to “strap on a Glock” ahead of the 2024 elections as she struggles to gain ground against her Democratic rival in Arizona.

In a campaign speech made to a crowd in Arizona’s Mohave county on Sunday, Lake echoed Trump-like terms in calling Washington DC a “swamp” – and used a reference to carrying guns when she told people to prepare for an “intense” election year.

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Two fellow Republicans have threatened to remove House speaker if he advances Ukraine funding proposal

The House speaker, Mike Johnson, is pushing ahead with his plan to hold votes on four separate foreign aid bills this week, despite threats from two fellow Republicans to oust him if he advances a Ukraine funding proposal.

Shortly after noon on Wednesday, the rules committee posted text for three bills that would provide funding for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. The text of a fourth bill, which is expected to include measures to redirect seized Russian assets toward Ukraine and force the sale of TikTok, will be released later on Wednesday, Johnson said in a note to members.

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The opposition is right to recognise that a dangerous international climate demands closer security partnership with the EU

For most of the period since the decision was taken to leave the EU, British politicians have overestimated how much thought the continent gives to Brexit. Once shock at the referendum result receded, relations with the UK came to be seen as a technical problem to be solved by hard-headed negotiation.

At critical moments, when deadlines neared, Brexit leapt up the agenda. After the treaties were signed, they dropped right down, overtaken by the other issues facing a large bloc with many borders and problems. That represents a perverse kind of victory for Boris Johnson and his chief negotiator, David Frost. The deal they signed was so skewed against British interests that Brussels has little incentive to reopen the settlement.

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Andrzej Duda’s visit comes as European leaders prepare for Trump’s possible return to White House

Andrzej Duda, Poland’s conservative president, is expected to meet Donald Trump in New York on Wednesday evening, as some European politicians begin preparing for Trump’s possible return to the White House.

Many mainstream European leaders fear the potential impact of a US that is less engaged on the continent, and less committed to the future of Ukraine.

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Mike Johnson’s effort to advance funding for Ukraine and Israel could trigger far-right attempt to oust him from speaker role

Good morning and happy hump day to US politics readers. Wednesday could finally see the publication of speaker Mike Johnson ’s long-awaited plan to save his job, quell Republican infighting and advance urgent foreign aid for Israel and Ukraine .

There’s been plenty of talk, and little action so far, on how the Republican leader plans to present solutions for the funding impasse that has further highlighted fractures in his divided caucus.

Democrats in Arizona are preparing to try to repeal the controversial 1864 abortion bill that has prompted huge blowback and poses a threat to Republican candidates in November’s elections.

Attorney general Merrick Garland and energy secretary Jennifer Granholm are testifying before the Senate’s appropriations subcommittee this morning.

Long-serving Florida governor and US senator Bob Graham , a Democratic political heavyweight who also ran for president in 2004, has died aged 87.

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The president’s moral failure in Gaza has taken on historic proportions, like Lyndon Johnson’s in Vietnam before him

America is big, diverse and polarized. Yet, when it comes to the war in Gaza, opinions here are converging . A Gallup poll in March found 55% of respondents “disapprove of Israel’s actions”, up from 45% in November. Among registered Democrats, the figure is 75%. As the number of citizens voting “uncommitted” in Democratic primaries makes plain, President Biden’s unqualified support for Israel is a problem. Beyond the human carnage – 32,000 Palestinians, including over 14,000 children, have been killed by Israel in Gaza – Biden’s Israel policy could cost him the election.

“We have given Biden and his administration and the party a gift,” said Layla Elabed, organizer of the Listen to Michigan campaign, where 100,000 voters marked the “uncommitted” box in February. The vote in Michigan, a battleground state where Biden beat Trump by a little more than 154,000 votes in 2020, has triggered a cascade of protest votes in primaries across the country. At least 25 uncommitted delegates will be sent to the Democratic national convention in August.

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