10.45am EDT
10:45
If Adam Kinzinger had decided to seek reelection, he would have faced a bruising primary campaign that will likely include another Republican congressman.
As one of the ten House Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trump for inciting the Capitol insurrection in January, Kinzinger had already attracted several primary opponents.
But perhaps even more challenging for Kinzinger was the reality that he would have to face off against Republican incumbent Darin LaHood in the race.
As Politico reports, the newly approved congressional map in Illinois would have pitted Kinzinger against LaHood, after the state lost one House seat due to the results of the 2020 Census.
Ally Mutnick
(@allymutnick)
The incumbent pairings in the new Illinois 14D-3R congressional map, which passed both chambers & is headed to Gov JB Pritzker’s desk#IL04 – Reps Chuy Garcia (D) & Marie Newman (D)#IL16 – Reps Darin LaHood (R) & Adam Kinzinger (R)#IL12 – Reps Mike Bost (R) & Mary Miller (R) pic.twitter.com/UVijr8gpqM
October 29, 2021
10.36am EDT
10:36
Kinzinger, House Republican on Capitol attack committee, will not seek reelection
Adam Kinzinger, one of two House Republicans serving on the select committee investigating the Capitol insurrection, will not seek reelection next year.
The Illinois congressman made the announcement in a video posted to Twitter this morning.
In the video, Kinzinger recounted how he was first elected to the House in 2010, after he returned from a deployment in Iraq.
“I also remember during that campaign saying that, if I ever thought it was time to move on from Congress, I would. And that time is now,” Kinzinger said in the video.
Adam Kinzinger
(@AdamKinzinger)
Looking forward to the next chapter! pic.twitter.com/SvdFCVtrlE
October 29, 2021
But Kinzinger made clear that he will remain involved in politics, possibly hinting at a statewide or national campaign in the future.
“My desire to make a difference is bigger than it’s ever been,” Kinzinger said. “This isn’t the end of my political future but the beginning.”
Kinzinger is one of ten House Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trump for inciting the Capitol insurrection in January. Another one of those members, Anthony Gonzalez, has already announced he will also not seek reelection next year.
Updated
at 10.52am EDT
10.21am EDT
10:21
Harriet Sherwood
Pope Francis has urged world leaders to take “radical decisions” at next week’s global environmental summit in a special message recorded for BBC Radio 4’s Thought for the Day.
Leaders attending the Cop26 conference in Glasgow must offer “concrete hope to future generations”, the pontiff said.
Francis is not attending the summit, despite earlier suggestions that he would fly in for a brief appearance to reinforce the significance of the event. His message was recorded in Italian and lasted almost five minutes. It was broadcast on Friday morning with a voiceover in English.
He said: “Climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic have exposed our deep vulnerability and raised numerous doubts and concerns about our economic systems and the way we organise our societies.
“We have lost our sense of security, and are experiencing a sense of powerlessness and loss of control over our lives. We find ourselves increasingly frail and even fearful.”
10.04am EDT
10:04
Joe Biden tweeted another photo from his one-on-one meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican this morning.
President Biden
(@POTUS)
It was an honor to meet with Pope Francis again at the Vatican today. I thanked His Holiness for his advocacy for the world’s poor and those suffering from hunger, conflict, and persecution, and lauded his leadership in fighting the climate crisis and ending the pandemic. pic.twitter.com/PGF5axSK4X
October 29, 2021
“It was an honor to meet with Pope Francis again at the Vatican today,” the president said in the tweet.
“I thanked His Holiness for his advocacy for the world’s poor and those suffering from hunger, conflict, and persecution, and lauded his leadership in fighting the climate crisis and ending the pandemic.”
And in an extremely on-brand moment for Biden, the US president apparently parted ways with the pope by telling him, “God love ya!”
Mike Memoli
(@mikememoli)
Biden departed with a final, “God love ya!” to the pope.
October 29, 2021
9.51am EDT
09:51
Biden meets with Pope Francis in Vatican City
Joe Biden met with Pope Francis in Vatican City this morning, marking the first time that the president has met with the Catholic leader since taking office in January.
Biden, who is only the second Catholic to ever serve as president of the United States, met one-on-one with the pope for about 90 minutes before participating in a bilateral meeting with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state.
Pope Francis meets with Joe Biden during an audience at the Apostolic Palace on October 29. Photograph: Vatican Pool/Getty Images
“In his audience with Pope Francis today, President Biden thanked His Holiness for his advocacy for the world’s poor and those suffering from hunger, conflict, and persecution,” the White House said in its readout of the meeting.
“He lauded Pope Francis’ leadership in fighting the climate crisis, as well as his advocacy to ensure the pandemic ends for everyone through vaccine sharing and an equitable global economic recovery.”
9.51am EDT
09:51
Lauren Gambino
Complicating the reconciliation bill negotiations for Democratic leaders was a lack of certainty from the key holdouts, Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. Both sounded hopeful that a deal was within reach, but stopped short of offering their firm support.
“After months of productive, good-faith negotiations with Biden and the White House, we have made significant progress on the proposed budget reconciliation package,” Sinema said yesterday, adding: “I look forward to getting this done.”
Manchin also did not commit to supporting the legislation he played a significant role in shaping. Asked whether he would vote for the plan, he said only that its fate was presently “in the hands of the House”.
After months of prolonged negotiations, the proposed framework is far smaller in size and scope than the $3.5tn package Joe Biden initially envisioned. Even so, the president claimed a pre-emptive legislative achievement on par with those enacted by Franklin D Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson.
“Any single element of this framework would be viewed as a fundamental change in America. Taken together they’re truly consequential,” Biden said yesterday before leaving for Europe.
“If we make these investments, we will own the future,” he added.
9.51am EDT
09:51
Biden’s economic agenda hangs in the balance after another delayed vote on infrastructure
Greetings from Washington, live blog readers.
House speaker Nancy Pelosi did not get the vote she wanted on the bipartisan infrastructure bill yesterday, after the Congressional Progressive Caucus indicated its members would not support the proposal until the reconciliation package advanced as well.
But there was some good news for Pelosi yesterday: while delaying the infrastructure vote (again), the CPC also indicated its members support Joe Biden’s framework for the $1.75tn reconciliation package.
The president released the framework yesterday just before leaving for his week-long trip to Europe. The proposal includes $555bn to invest in climate initiatives and $400bn to expand access to prekindergarten and affordable childcare.
Progressive Caucus
(@USProgressives)
Our statement regarding a vote on the infrastructure bill and the Build Back Better Act ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Hu0KGh3UYv
October 28, 2021
“The Congressional Progressive Caucus just overwhelmingly voted to endorse, in principle, the entire Build Back Better Act framework announced by President Biden,” CPC chair Pramila Jayapal said in a statement yesterday.
“The reality is that while talks around the infrastructure bill lasted months in the Senate, there has only been serious discussion around the specifics of the larger Build Back Better Act in recent weeks, thanks to the Progressive Caucus holding the line and putting both parts of the agenda back on the table. Now, Congress needs to finish the job and bring both bills to a vote together.”
So it is looking more and more likely that Democrats will be able to pass both the reconciliation package and the infrastructure bill, but it remains unclear when they will be able to do so.
The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
