Kamala Harris plots her next political move after US election loss
Kamala Harris is exploring a gubernatorial bid in California, with a self-imposed decision deadline set for late summer.
Many Democratic donors are hesitant about her potential candidacy, still affected by her 2024 presidential election defeat by Donald Trump.
Concerns among some donors include reopening traumatizing memories of the 2024 election and questions regarding President Joe Biden 's health.
Despite donor ambivalence, Harris's allies believe her strong fundraising network and name recognition would secure support for a gubernatorial run.
Republicans are eager for Harris to enter the race, viewing it as an opportunity to highlight perceived issues with the Biden administration and President Joe Biden's health.
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The Guardian
36 minutes ago
- The Guardian
US attacks on Iran redraw calculus of use of force for allies and rivals around globe
For US allies and rivals around the world, Donald Trump's strikes on Iran have redrawn the calculus of the White House's readiness to use force in the kind of direct interventions that the president said he would make a thing of the past under his isolationist 'America First' foreign policy. From Russia and China to Europe and across the global south, the president's decision to launch the largest strategic bombing strike in US history indicates a White House that is ready to employ force abroad – but reluctantly and under the extremely temperamental and unpredictable leadership of the president. 'Trump being able to act and being willing to act when he saw an opportunity will definitely give [Vladimir] Putin pause,' said Fiona Hill, a former Trump national security adviser and one of the principal authors of the UK's strategic defence review. While Trump has pulled back from his earlier warnings about potential regime change in Iran, going from tweeting 'UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER' to 'NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!' within 72 hours, he has nonetheless reinforced Russian perceptions of the United States as an unpredictable and aggressive rival that will not unilaterally abandon its ability to use force abroad. 'It has some pretty dire warnings for Putin himself about what could happen at a time of weakness,' Hill said. 'It will just convince Putin even more that no matter what the intent of a US president, the capability to destroy is something that has to be taken seriously.' It also shows a shift in the calculus in Washington DC, where hawks – along with Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu – were able to convince Trump that launching a strike on Iran was preferable to pursuing negotiations that had not yet failed. That could have knock-on effects for the war in Ukraine, where Republicans and foreign policy hardliners have grown more vocal about Putin's attacks on cities and the need for a tougher sanctions strategy. Although he hasn't changed his policy on resuming military support to Ukraine, Trump is publicly more exasperated with Putin. When Putin offered Trump to mediate between Israel and Iran, Trump said he responded: 'No, I don't need help with Iran. I need help with you.' In the immediate term, however, the strikes on Iran are unlikely to have an impact on Russia's war in Ukraine. 'I don't see it as having a big impact on the Ukraine war, because although Iran was very helpful at the beginning stages in providing Russia with [Shahed] drones, Russia has now started manufacturing their own version and have actually souped them up,' said Max Boot, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, during a roundtable discussion. More broadly, Trump's attacks could undermine a growing 'axis of resistance' including Russia and China, given the pair's reluctance to come to Iran's aid beyond issuing strong condemnations of the attacks during security discussions under the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) being held in China this week. 'It also shows that Russia is not a very valuable friend, because they're not really lifting a finger to help their allies in Iran and returning all the help that they've received,' Boot added. The strike could also have implications for China, which has escalated military pressure around Taiwan in recent months and has been holding 'dress rehearsals' for a forced reunification despite US support for the island, according to testimony from Adm Samuel Paparo, the commander of US Indo-Pacific Command. Trump had promised a tough line on China, and many of his top advisers are either China hawks or believe that the US military should reposition its forces and focus from Europe and the Middle East to Asia in order to manage China as a 'pacing threat'. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion Yet his previous hesitancy to use US force abroad could have emboldened Beijing to believe that the US would not come to the direct aid of Taiwan if a military conflict would break out – the one wild card in what would otherwise probably be a lopsided conflict between China and Taiwan. Experts cautioned that the stakes were far different, and the conflicts too far removed, to draw direct conclusions about Trump's readiness to intervene if a conflict broke out between China and Taiwan. Trump's administration appears further embroiled in Middle East diplomacy than it wanted and its pivot to focus on China has been delayed as well. And while some close to the military say the strikes have regained credibility lost after some recent setbacks, including the withdrawal from Afghanistan, others have said that it won't send the same message for military planners in Moscow or Beijing. 'We shouldn't conflate willingness to use force in a very low risk situation with deterring other types of conflicts or using force when it's going to be incredibly costly – which is what it would be if we were to come to the defence of Taiwan,' said Dr Stacie Pettyjohn of the Center for a New American Security during an episode of the Defense & Aerospace Air Power podcast. Around the world, US rivals may use the strikes to reinforce the image of the US as an aggressive power that prefers to use force rather than negotiate – a message that may break through with countries already exhausted with a temperamental White House. 'The fact that it all happened so fast, there wasn't much multilateral involvement or chance for diplomacy, I think, is something Russians can point to as an indication of, you know, imperialism to the global south,' said Aslı Aydıntaşbaş, a fellow in the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings during a conference call. 'But also in their talking points to United States and western allies, they will definitely make a point of highlighting this as something great powers do, and in a way that normalizes Russia's language on its own [conflicts].
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Pam Bondi knifes January 6 prosecutors in late-night bloodbath
The Trump administration took revenge against at least three federal prosecutors who worked on cases against January 6 rioters by firing them. Attorney General Pam Bondi sacked the prosecutors on Friday, telling them they were 'removed from federal service effective immediately.' In a copy of one of the dismissal letters first reported by NBC News, Bondi did not specify why the prosecutors were out of the job. The firings are the first time that career prosecutors who investigated the riot at the Capitol four years ago had been laid off, but it is far from Trump's first act of retribution over the violent protests since he retook the White House. Soon after his inauguration, Trump fired several probationary federal prosecutors - those who were either recently hired or in new positions - who had worked the January 6 cases. The president also pardoned all his supporters who were arrested during the January 6 riots, sparking backlash from critics as even some convicted of violently assaulting police officers were freed. Trump also fired probationary prosecutors who aided special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into whether the president attempted to unlawfully overturn his loss in the 2020 presidential election. The president's use of the Justice Department has come under scrutiny in recent months as he has been accused of using it to carry out personal vendettas and to aid his political supporters. Friday's firings reportedly came at a tense time at the Justice Department as Trump's handling of the January 6 case causes ire among career federal workers. Insiders in the DOJ told NBC News that the apparent targeting of prosecutors who had investigated the president has upended the department. One federal law enforcement official told the outlet that they found the firings 'horrifying', as others said it would make them hesitant to engage in possible investigations into the White House. 'To fire them, without explanation, is a slap in the face not only to them, but to all career DOJ prosecutors,' the official said. 'No one is safe from this administration's whims and impulses. 'And the public certainly is not served by the continued brain drain of DOJ — we are losing the best among us every day.' Bondi's move came the same day that she celebrated a Supreme Court ruling that decided that individual judges lack the power to issue nationwide injunctions - a historic ruling in a case about the right to birthright citizenship. The ruling was seen as a big victory for Trump as it allows his executive order halting birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants to take effect in states and jurisdictions that did not directly challenge his action in court. It could mean citizenship rules vary from state to state, pending ongoing litigation. The court ruled 6-3 in favor of Trump, with all six conservative justices - including the three he appointed - siding with the president. Speaking at the White House, Trump said: 'This was a big one. Amazing decision, one we're very happy about. This really brings back the Constitution. This is what it's all about.' Bondi joined Trump on stage to mark the victory, saying that the ruling meant 'not one district court judge can think they're an emperor over this administration and his executive powers, and why the people of the United States elected him.'
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Pam Bondi knifes January 6 prosecutors in late-night bloodbath
The Trump administration took revenge against at least three federal prosecutors who worked on cases against January 6 rioters by firing them. Attorney General Pam Bondi sacked the prosecutors on Friday, telling them they were 'removed from federal service effective immediately.' In a copy of one of the dismissal letters first reported by NBC News, Bondi did not specify why the prosecutors were out of the job. The firings are the first time that career prosecutors who investigated the riot at the Capitol four years ago had been laid off, but it is far from Trump's first act of retribution over the violent protests since he retook the White House. Soon after his inauguration, Trump fired several probationary federal prosecutors - those who were either recently hired or in new positions - who had worked the January 6 cases. The president also pardoned all his supporters who were arrested during the January 6 riots, sparking backlash from critics as even some convicted of violently assaulting police officers were freed. Trump also fired probationary prosecutors who aided special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into whether the president attempted to unlawfully overturn his loss in the 2020 presidential election. The president's use of the Justice Department has come under scrutiny in recent months as he has been accused of using it to carry out personal vendettas and to aid his political supporters. Friday's firings reportedly came at a tense time at the Justice Department as Trump's handling of the January 6 case causes ire among career federal workers. Insiders in the DOJ told NBC News that the apparent targeting of prosecutors who had investigated the president has upended the department. One federal law enforcement official told the outlet that they found the firings 'horrifying', as others said it would make them hesitant to engage in possible investigations into the White House. 'To fire them, without explanation, is a slap in the face not only to them, but to all career DOJ prosecutors,' the official said. 'No one is safe from this administration's whims and impulses. 'And the public certainly is not served by the continued brain drain of DOJ — we are losing the best among us every day.' Bondi's move came the same day that she celebrated a Supreme Court ruling that decided that individual judges lack the power to issue nationwide injunctions - a historic ruling in a case about the right to birthright citizenship. The ruling was seen as a big victory for Trump as it allows his executive order halting birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants to take effect in states and jurisdictions that did not directly challenge his action in court. It could mean citizenship rules vary from state to state, pending ongoing litigation. The court ruled 6-3 in favor of Trump, with all six conservative justices - including the three he appointed - siding with the president. Speaking at the White House, Trump said: 'This was a big one. Amazing decision, one we're very happy about. This really brings back the Constitution. This is what it's all about.' Bondi joined Trump on stage to mark the victory, saying that the ruling meant 'not one district court judge can think they're an emperor over this administration and his executive powers, and why the people of the United States elected him.'
