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White House declares April as Arab-American Heritage Month

Indian-American in House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries' team.

Biden has also refused to support a permanent ceasefire or put conditions on aid to Israel…reports Asian Lite News

The White House on Friday declared April as Arab-American Heritage Month, recognising the achievements of the community as well as their pain amid the ongoing Israel-Gaza war.

President Joe Biden said Arab Americans have helped shape the fabric and trajectory of the US, in addition to greatly contributing to its economy.

“People with Arab heritage were among the many immigrants who came to our country’s shores with a range of cultures, customs, backgrounds and beliefs, sharing a common courage to start new chapters in an unfamiliar land,” he said.

The Biden administration has nationally recognised April as Arab-American Heritage Month every year since taking office in 2021.

The US has similar recognition for other minority groups and throughout the designated month, the achievements of Americans belonging to those groups are celebrated.

This declaration comes as the Israel-Gaza war approaches its six-month mark.

More than 32,000 Palestinians – many of them with relatives in the US – have been killed in the Israeli bombardment and ground offensive.

Israel’s onslaught on the Palestinian enclave followed an attack by Hamas on Israeli settlements on October 7, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 240 abducted.

Biden said was he “devastated” by the suffering and the loss of life in Gaza. “As we come together this month to honour these contributions, we must also pause to reflect on the pain being felt by so many in the Arab-American community with the war in Gaza,” Biden said.

“The trauma, death and destruction in Israel and Gaza have claimed, and continue to claim, far too many innocent lives ‑ including family and friends of Arab Americans across our nation.”

More than 3.5 million people in the US claim ancestry to an Arab country.

On Thursday, the US government announced that residents would be able to identify as Middle Eastern or North African in the 2030 Census, after years of demands for recognition and visibility.

Arab Americans have historically largely leaned Democrat and many came out to support Mr Biden in 2020, when he ran for office on a campaign of inclusivity and overturning the legacy of his predecessor Donald Trump.

But the Biden administration has staunchly supported Israel in its response to the Hamas attack.

Washington has supplied Israel with weapons and provided it with political as well as diplomatic support, amid outrage from the international community over its actions in Gaza.

Biden has also refused to support a permanent ceasefire or put conditions on aid to Israel.

His position has drawn intense anger from Arab Americans, who say they feel betrayed by Biden. States with sizeable Arab American populations, such as Michigan, have organised protests and campaigns against him as he runs for re-election.

In Michigan last month, more than 100,000 voters marked “uncommitted” on their Democratic ballots in the primary elections in protest against his position on Gaza.

Biden also acknowledged that Arab Americans remain the target of persistent Islamophobia, including harassment, hate crimes, racist rhetoric and violent attacks, which has worsened since the start of the war.

ALSO READ-Biden Says World Leaders Told Him ‘Don’t Let Trump Win’

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Biden Says World Leaders Told Him ‘Don’t Let Trump Win’

President Joe Biden participates in an interview with Scott Pelley for CBS' "60 Minutes", Thursday, October 12, 2023, in the Map Room of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)

Joe Biden’s remarks came during a public event in New York and said that world leaders always say that their democracies are at stake.

US President Joe Biden has claimed that at multiple meetings, wherever he goes to attend them, including the G20 meeting in India, the world leaders express support for him and implore that you can’t let the former US President Donald Trump win in the upcoming presidential elections.

His remarks came as President Biden addressed a public event during his election campaign in New York and said that world leaders always say that their democracies are at stake.

“And — but whether it’s the G20 meeting in — in India or whatever the meeting where there are other heads of state, I am not exaggerating when I say — and I say it in front of the press without giving the names — almost every one of the world leaders finds an excuse to get me alone for a moment, put their hand on my arm, and say, “You can’t let him win.” “My” — meaning his country or her country — “my democracy is at stake. My democracy is at stake.” Biden said.

“And, again, it’s not an exaggeration. Think about it. This is a guy who walked away from NATO. Th– told Putin he could do whatever he wants if they’re not paying their dues. As I said, he’s working — talks about — anyway,” he added.

President Biden also highlighted Donald Trump’s statement that he would encourage Russia to do whatever it wants with the countries that don’t spend 2 per cent of their GDPs on defence.

“Just — just look at what he’s done. The rest of the world is wondering what in the hell is happening to us. And they’re relieved, not because I’m so special but that I’m not Trump. I’m serious. I wish it was because they thought Biden was such a wonderful guy,” Biden said.

“I think they respect me. I think they listen to me. But the point is, it’s because they’re scared to death for their countries if he were to win again,” he added.

Earlier, Republican front-runner Donald Trump said that, as president, he warned NATO allies that he “would encourage” Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to countries that are “delinquent” as he ramped up his attacks on foreign aid and longstanding international alliances.

Speaking at a rally in Conway, South Carolina, Trump recounted a story he has told before about an unidentified NATO member who confronted him over his threat not to defend members who fail to meet the trans-Atlantic alliance’s defense spending targets.

But this time, Trump went further, saying had told the member that he would, in fact, “encourage” Russia to do as it wishes in that case.

“‘You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent?'” Trump recounted saying. “‘No I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills.'”

NATO allies agreed in 2014, after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, to halt the spending cuts they had made after the Cold War and move towards spending 2 per cent of their GDPs on defence by 2024. (ANI)

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White House Condemns Violence Against Indians in the US

Allaying the fears of parents in India as well as in the US, Kirby said President Joe Biden and his administration are working “very hard” to address the situation…reports Asian Lite News

Asserting that there is no excuse for violence based on race or gender, the White House has said that the US is working very hard to thwart and disrupt attacks on Indians as well as Indian-origin students.

A series of attacks beginning this year has put the focus back on the security and safety of the Indian students across the country which has witnessed more than four deaths from the community.

“There’s no excuse for violence, certainly based on race or gender or religion or any other factor. That’s just unacceptable here in the United States,” John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House, said on Thursday.

Allaying the fears of parents in India as well as in the US, Kirby said President Joe Biden and his administration are working “very hard” to address the situation.

“The President and this administration have been working very, very hard to make sure we’re doing everything we can to work with state and local authorities to try to thwart and disrupt those kinds of attacks and make it clear to anybody who might consider them that they’ll be held properly accountable,” Kirby said in response to a question.

Five Indian students have died in quick succession in the US since the start of this year, including Shreyas Reddy Benigeri in Cincinnati and Purdue University’s Neel Acharya in Indiana.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said that the welfare of Indian students abroad is one of the foremost priorities of the government.

Indian students constitute more than 25 per cent of the over one million foreign students studying in the US, according to a November 2023 Open Doors report.

The number of Indians who travelled to the US for higher education increased by 35 per cent and resulted in an all-time high of 2,68,923 students in the academic year 2022-23, the report said.

Last year, the US consular team in India issued over 140,000 student visas — more than in any other country in the world, setting a record for the third year in a row.

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US Reveals North Korea’s Role in Supplying Missiles to Russia

Pentagon Press Secretary John F Kirby.(photo:John F Kirby Twitter)

The North Korean ballistic missiles are capable of ranges of approximately 900 km…reports Asian Lite News

A White House official has said that North Korea recently provided Russia with several ballistic missiles and launchers which were used in the repeated waves of aerial attacks against Ukraine.

Addressing a press briefing on Thursday, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that as Moscow continues to “launch these brutal attacks”, the US has “new information to share about the support that Russia is receiving from third countries”.

“Due in part to our sanctions and export controls, Russia has become increasingly isolated on the world stage and they’ve been forced to look to likeminded states for military equipment. As we’ve been warning publicly, one of those states is North Korea,” Kirby said.

The spokesperson said that on December 30, 2023, Russian forces launched at least one of these North Korean ballistic missiles into Ukraine.

The missile appeared to have landed in an open field in the Zaporizhzhia region, he claimed.

Kirby further said on January 2, Russia launched multiple North Korean ballistic missiles into Ukraine, including as part of its overnight aerial attack.

“We’re still assessing the impacts of these additional missiles.”

The North Korean ballistic missiles are capable of ranges of approximately 900 km.

The White House official also warned the US anticipates that “Russia will use additional North Korean missiles to target Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and to kill innocent Ukrainian civilians”.

“This is a significant and concerning escalation in the DPRK’s support for Russia,” he said referring to North Korea by its official name, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Kirby went on to say that North Korea is likely seeking military assistance from Russia in return for its support.

The assistance include “fighter aircraft, surface-to-air missiles, armoured vehicles, ballistic missile production equipment or materials, and other advanced technologies”, he said, adding that this will have “concerning security implications for the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific region”.

The White House official also said the US believed Russia is seeking to acquire close-range ballistic missiles from Iran.

However, “we do not believe that Iran has delivered close-range ballistic missiles to Russia”.

ALSO READ-White House Urges Full Investigation into Sikh Separatist Assassination Plot

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White House Urges Full Investigation into Sikh Separatist Assassination Plot

The indictment of Indian national Nikhil Gupta in plotting to assassinate Khalistan leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has reportedly thrown a spanner in the works of the US President’s attendance at Republic Day next year…reports Asian Lite News

 Calling India and the US strategic partners, the White House has reiterated that it wants the plot to kill a Sikh separatist on its soil fully investigated and those behind it be held “properly accountable”.

“India is a strategic partner. We are deepening that strategic partnership. They are a member of the Quad in the Pacific and we participate with them on a range of security-related issues and we want to see that continue unabated,” John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House, said on Thursday.

“That said at the same time we certainly recognise the seriousness of these allegations and as I said earlier we want it fully investigated and those responsible to be held properly accountable,” Kirby told reporters at a news conference here.

He was responding to a question on the impact of the allegations on India-US bilateral ties, and President Joe Biden’s visit to India in 2024.

The indictment of Indian national Nikhil Gupta in plotting to assassinate Khalistan leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has reportedly thrown a spanner in the works of the US President’s attendance at Republic Day next year.

While Kirby said he has no travel to announce at this time, the National Security spokesperson added that they are glad that their Indian counterparts are taking the Pannun issue seriously.

“It’s (the case) under active investigation. We have said that we are glad that our Indian counterparts are taking it seriously in doing that. We want those responsible for these attacks to be held fully accountable but I won’t get ahead of an investigation that isn’t complete,” Kirby said at the news briefing.

The remarks came as US Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jonathan Finer visited India this week during which he held talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra.

FBI Director Christopher Wray is set to visit India next week against the backdrop of the allegations.

When asked about Wray’s planned trip to India, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the visit is in the works as part of the overall bilateral cooperation in areas of cyber-security, counter-terrorism and counter-narcotics.

US federal prosecutors last month accused Gupta of “planning and directing” a plot from India to allegedly kill Pannun in New York.

Reacting to the charges, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said it was a “matter of concern” and “contrary to Indian government’s policy”.

India constituted a high-level Enquiry Committee to look into all the relevant aspects of the matter, and said it will take necessary follow-up action based on the findings of the Committee.

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Pro-Palestinian Protest in Philly Draws White House Flak

A video clip of the protest showed a group of demonstrators gathered outside Goldie, a falafel shop owned by the prominent Israeli-American chef Michael Solomonov….reports Asian Lite News

The White House labelled a pro-Palestinian rally, held over the weekend outside a kosher restaurant in Philadelphia, as ‘anti-semitic’, The Times of Israel reported on Monday.

“Goldie, Goldie, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide,” the crowd of dozens was filmed shouting on Sunday outside the Rittenhouse Square branch of Goldie, which was founded by Israeli-American celebrity chef Michael Solomonov, the daily reported.

“It is antisemitic and completely unjustifiable to target restaurants that serve Israeli food over disagreements with Israeli policy, as Governor Shapiro has underlined,” The Times of Israel quoted White House spokesperson Andrew Bates as saying.

“This behaviour reveals the kind of cruel and senseless double standard that is a calling card of antisemitism,” Bates said.

Shapiro, who is Jewish, called the crowd’s slogans “a blatant act of antisemitism — not a peaceful protest”.

“A restaurant was targeted and mobbed because its owner is Jewish and Israeli,” Shapiro posted on X, adding, “This hate and bigotry is reminiscent of a dark time in history,” The Times of Israel stated in its report.

A video clip of the protest showed a group of demonstrators gathered outside Goldie, a falafel shop owned by the prominent Israeli-American chef Michael Solomonov. In the video, the demonstrators were seen marching down the street waving Palestinian flags and repeating the chant, ‘Goldie, Goldie, you can’t hide. We charge you with genocide’,” CNN reported.

Further, as per the report, the incident was part of a broader march in support of Gaza and Palestinians on Sunday that began at Rittenhouse Square. The demonstration continued for at least 20 more blocks after the stop at Goldie, across the Walnut Street Bridge into University City and West Philadelphia. There, marchers joined an ongoing candlelight vigil and protest in front of a controversial housing project.

Meanwhile, The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said its objectives in northern Gaza are “nearly completed,” CNN reported quoting the head of the Israeli military’s Armored Corps as saying on Monday.

“The war objective in the northern Gaza Strip is nearly completed,” Brig. Gen. Hisham Ibrahim told Israeli Army Radio on Monday.

According to CNN, the comments were echoed by the Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during a visit to the Israeli border with Gaza on Monday.

“This action that is happening now, in the north of the Gaza Strip, will soon lead to the breaking of the entire area of Gaza City and the north of the Gaza Strip,” Gallant said, according to CNN.

The report stated that this is not the first time Israeli officials have said that the military was close to achieving its objectives in northern Gaza.

On November 16, before a since-expired temporary truce with Hamas went into effect, the chief of the IDF, General Staff Herzi Halevi, said, “We’re quite close to destroying the military system that [Hamas] had in the northern Gaza Strip.” (ANI)

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White House Brushes Off Polls, Touts Democrat Wins in Off-Year Elections

Democrats campaigned heavily on abortion in both 2022 and 2023 with a lot of success. They’re likely to talk up the topic again next year…reports Asian Lite News

The White House has rubbished various polls claiming that President Joe Biden is trailing behind his predecessor Donald Trump in five states, as it pointed to Democrat victories in three states — Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky — in the off-year elections, saying “Voting matters and not Polls”.

The White House pointed at the ‘limitations’ of polling surveys, especially attacking the New York Times/Ipso survey, and others such as NBC and CBC to say that ultimately voters decide their choice at the ballot box as evidenced by the trends in the off-year 2023 elections to legislatures, governors, and judges’ vacancies in the Supreme Court.

It cited the overwhelming Democrat victories in Ohio and Kentucky, where the Republican agenda against abortion rights were rejected outright, media reports said.  

Politicos spent the early part of this week talking up a New York Times poll that found Biden losing to Trump in five key swing states and trailing a generic Democrat by 13 points.

That came to an abrupt end when election results started rolling in, something the Biden administration was happy to point out, the reports said.

‘ABORTION RIGHTS WIN OUT IN 2023 ELECTIONS, SHOWING GOP HASN’T FOUND FOOTING FOR 2024’ – screamed a Washington Examiner headline on the 2023 elections results.  

“We have always said that voting matters and polls do not,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

“Our focus is going to remain on our work to grow the economy, lower costs for families, and protect fundamental freedoms against dangerous agendas that are out of touch with the American people.”

Democrats won big in Kentucky, Ohio, and Virginia, with Governor Andy Beshear winning re-election against a Trump-backed challenger, Ohio passing state-wide abortion protections, and Virginia holding off Governor Glenn Youngkin’s plans to turn the state legislature red.

The White House was quick to take a victory lap afterwards. Biden called several of the winning candidates, and both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris released statements about abortion, media reports said.

“President Biden’s values and agenda won big across the country last night,” Jean-Pierre said.

“In Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and in Virginia, voters once again sided with Biden’s agenda to stand up for fundamental freedoms, build an economy for the middle class, and protect democracy.”

The implication is that Biden himself will come out victorious during next November’s elections in spite of poor polling and historically bad approval ratings, the Washington Examiner reported, pointing to probable voting patterns in the presidential race of 2024, where abortion rights could be a major choice on voters’ agenda at the ballot box.

Democrats campaigned heavily on abortion in both 2022 and 2023 with a lot of success. They’re likely to talk up the topic again next year. 

“Voters in those states also turned out to roundly reject abortion bans that jeopardise the health and the lives of women,” Jean-Pierre said.

“Abortion bans would have forced women to travel hundreds of miles for care and threatened to criminalise doctors and nurses. The stakes could not have been higher. And last night, voters sent a very, very clear message,” media reports said.

Meanwhile, former presidential candidate of the Democrats, Hillary Clinton, said that people “want regular order”.

Hillary Clinton shared how Democratic wins across the nation in Tuesday’s elections show people are “moving away from the drama” ahead of the 2024 presidential elections.

“People are kind of moving away from the drama, from, you know, all of the chaos. They want to just have regular order again,” Clinton was quoted by the Examiner as telling a news agency.

Clinton said the success of key Democratic victories provides insight into what voters are looking for in the 2024 presidential race.

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Former White House Press Secretary Backs Trump’s 2024 Candidacy

This is the time first time that Sanders, who has been a staunch ally of the former president since he left office, weighed in on the 2024 race…reports Asian Lite News

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, former White House Press Secretary and incumbent Arkansas Governor, has endorsed her former boss Donald Trump for President next year.

Sanders will join the 2024 Republican frontrunner at his rally in Hialeah, Florida, on Wednesday as he skips the third party presidential primary debate, which is being held the same night in Miami.

In a statement to CNN, she said: “It’s not a question between right versus left anymore. It’s normal versus crazy, and President Biden and the left are doubling down on crazy. The time has come to return to the normal policies of the Trump era which created a safer, stronger, and more prosperous America, and that’s why I am proud to endorse Donald Trump for President.”

This is the time first time that Sanders, who has been a staunch ally of the former president since he left office, weighed in on the 2024 race.

In response to the endorsement, Trump told CNN: “We had great success in the White House and it’s an honor to have Sarah’s endorsement. I look forward to having her at the big rally in Hialeah this Wednesday.”

Sanders’ support for Trump comes as Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds endorsed Trump’s Republican rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, on Monday. 

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White House says G20 statement will have spirit of compromise

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan (Rear) addresses a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Aug. 17, 2021. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua/IANS)

The United States is hoped that all the countries would sign the joint declaration in this week’s G20 Summit in India but with a signal that it is difficult to get a consensus as countries like Russia and China are less likely to “sign on” it…reports Asian Lite News

The United States is working towards a joint declaration at the end of the two-day G20 Summit and hopes that a “spirit of compromise” will be brought on contentious issues, a White House official said.

The G20 Summit scheduled in the national capital on September 9-10 is being held amidst divisions among member countries on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. While China and Russia do not want, in the ‘Delhi Declaration’ proposed to be adopted by the G20 leaders on Sunday, a mention of the ongoing war, countries of the European Union and other Western nations are pressing for Moscow to be declared as an aggressor and are seeking an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.

ANI_20230623011

At a press briefing on Thursday on board Air Force One, after President Joe Biden’s departure from Washington to India, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan while responding to a question on the G20 joint outcome statement said: “We have been working all day and all night for a joint statement. In that we bring a spirit of compromise to a lot of the different issues that are contentious so that we can find a text that everybody can live with.”

Sullivan said, there is “some distance to travel before a final joint statement is released.”

“I will not make a prediction on that, I will say that the United States is ready to do our part to deliver a joint statement and we think there is a joint statement to be had and the question is will every country step up, be responsible, be constructive. If the answer to that is yes, then we will get a joint statement but it’s too soon to tell,” Sullivan said.

A day ago, John Kirby, US’ National Security Council (NSC) coordinator for strategic communications, had pointed out the possibility that the G20 summit might end without a joint declaration as Russia and the West continue to spar over the Ukraine war among other issues.

The United States is hoped that all the countries would sign the joint declaration in this week’s G20 Summit in India but with a signal that it is difficult to get a consensus as countries like Russia and China are less likely to “sign on” it.

G20 Sherpas in their fourth and final meeting in Haryana’s Nuh had made a last-minute attempt to reach a consensus over the proposed “Delhi Declaration” to be adopted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders of G20 nations over the weekend at the culmination of the 18th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit.

India, insists that agreement on a final communique is within reach, despite geopolitical friction.  (ANI)

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White House slams Fitch for downgrading credit rating

Fitch Ratings.

It is the first such downgrade by a major ratings company in more than a decade….reports Asian Lite News

Fitch downgraded the United States’ top-notch credit rating by a step on Tuesday, citing a growing federal debt burden and an “erosion of governance” that has manifested in debt limit standoffs.

The decision to downgrade the US from AAA to AA+ sparked a fiery rebuttal from the White House, with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying the move “defies reality.”

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a separate statement that she “strongly” disagreed with Fitch as well, calling the change “arbitrary and based on outdated data.”

It is the first such downgrade by a major ratings company in more than a decade. A debt ceiling impasse in 2011 saw S&P lower Washington’s AAA rating, drawing bipartisan outrage.

“The rating downgrade of the United States reflects the expected fiscal deterioration over the next three years, a high and growing general government debt burden, and the erosion of governance” relative to peers, said Fitch Ratings on Tuesday.

It added that there was a stable outlook assigned.

Yellen said Fitch’s quantitative ratings model declined between 2018 and 2020, but the agency was only announcing its change now despite progress seen in indicators.

She argued that US “Treasury securities remain the world’s preeminent safe and liquid asset, and that the American economy is fundamentally strong.”

While the lifting of the US debt ceiling — a limit on government borrowing to pay for bills already incurred — was often routine, it has for several years become a contentious partisan issue.

There is a “clear short-run implication” of the downgrade involving higher bond yields and a potential sell-off in the stock market and the dollar, said Mickey Levy of Berenberg Capital Markets.

But he does not expect long-run ramifications even if it could lead some investors to reduce their Treasury exposure in the near term.

Levy noted widespread awareness of the rising debt situation.

John Canavan, lead US analyst at Oxford Economics, does not expect the Fitch move to have a “lasting market impact.”

“One key reason for that is that the S&P downgrade more than a decade ago already broke the dam on this front,” he said, noting that there was little lasting effect from that decision.

But “psychological support for dollar-denominated debt” could take a hit in the short-term, interfering with Treasury auctions at a time when it needs to ramp up the size of issuance, he said.

In May, Fitch had placed the country’s credit on “rating watch negative,” reflecting increased political partisanship that hampered a resolution to raise or suspend the debt limit ahead of a looming deadline.

While lawmakers reached a bipartisan agreement to avert a catastrophic default, Fitch in June kept the US on negative watch.

“In Fitch’s view, there has been a steady deterioration in standards of governance over the last 20 years, including on fiscal and debt matters,” the agency said Tuesday.

“The repeated debt-limit political standoffs and last-minute resolutions have eroded confidence in fiscal management,” Fitch added.

It also said the US government “lacks a medium-term fiscal framework” and has seen only “limited progress” tackling challenges related to rising social security and Medicare costs as the population ages.

This year, hard-right Republicans dominating their party’s narrow majority in the House of Representatives decided to use the debt limit vote as leverage for forcing President Joe Biden into accepting cuts to many Democratic spending priorities.

This triggered a test of political strength that threatened to end in chaos before the two sides reached an agreement.

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