Biden news - live: GOP senator claims ‘fake’ Trump supporters caused riot as distracted Ted Cruz taps on phone

Donald Trump’s tax records are now in the possession of New York prosecutors after a years-long battle by the former president to keep them secret.

The District Attorney’s office obtained the records and a number of other documents, on Monday, only hours after the Supreme Court denied a move by Trump attorneys to keep them private.

Oliver O’Connell has the latest on this breaking story.

President Joe Biden‘s nominee to be director of the CIA, William Burns, told a Senate committee on Wednesday that he saw competition with China - and countering its “adversarial, predatory” leadership - as the key to U.S. national security.

Burns, 64, a former career diplomat during both Democratic and Republican administrations, is expected to easily win confirmation to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

The Senate Intelligence Committee will likely vote on his confirmation late next week or the week after, to allow time for members to send more questions, a congressional official said.

Testifying to the committee, Burns outlined his four top priorities - “people, partnerships, China and technology” - if he is confirmed.

He called China “a formidable, authoritarian adversary,” that is strengthening its ability to steal intellectual property, repress its people, expand its reach and build influence within the United States.

China’s foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said, when asked about Burns’ comments, that he hoped the U.S. could “cast aside its zero sum mentality ... and adopt a positive and constructive policy towards China.”

Reuters

Shares in retailer GameStop surged again on Thursday possibly heralding a further rally for stocks heavily-shorted by Wall Street, but favoured by amateur traders.

Trading had to be halted shortly after the opening bell in New York, and several times after that, with shares trading up approximately 50 per cent.

Investors had already pushed up the price by 104 per cent on Wednesday before trading was halted.

It is not certain what caused the surge, but most point to the reported exit of chief financial officer Jim Bell.

Oliver O’Connell reports.

"These young, illegal immigrants are being put in harm's way, all because of a policy choice Joe Biden made to restore catch and release, that is cruel, that is inhumane, and we are seeing the results of that right now. He took a secure border. A humane border. A safe border. And he's turned it into this."

The architect of the Trump administration's immigration policy is receiving backlash after calling Joe Biden's immigration policies "cruel and inhumane".

Stephen Miller, who supported the "zero tolerance" policy that separated migrant children from their parents, told Fox News that the growing crisis on the Mexico border was the result of policies "enriching smugglers and traffickers who profit off of human misery".

Marjorie Taylor Green has lashed out at Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for turning their backs on Trump, who is expected to announce a 2024 run this weekend.

“Liz Cheney and any other Republican that wants to make statements against president Donald J Trump is a fool, they are disconnected with the base. They are disconnected with Republican voters,” she said.

“Many of these Republicans that are turning their back on Trump, who they ran on his coat tails, have really lost themselves. They don’t represent Republicans, they don’t represent Republican voters, and the people are speaking out and they know it.”

Nancy Pelosi has given Miami Vice actor Don Johnson a surprise commission to the senate to lead the country’s fight against domestic terrorism.

“Don Johnson, was his first name Don? What is it Ron? Well senator, let me call him. Not Miami Vice or anything like that,” she said.

“Ron Johnson seems to be taking the lead of what the scope would be on how we look at protecting our country from domestic terrorism.”

If the streets of the United States were as safe today as the streets of Miami were in the 1980s, Mr Johnson, either of them, gets the peoples’ vote.

Press secretary Jen Psaki is expected to being today’s media briefing shortly.

Follow live with The Independent.

Senator Rand Paul, a Republican, has criticised one of President Joe Biden’s health nominees for her support of gender reassignment surgery and hormone therapy for minors.

Dr Rachel Levine, the Pennsylvania secretary of health and Mr Biden’s pick for assistant secretary of health if confirmed by the Senate, faced a line of questioning from senators on Thursday that compared genital mutilation to children taking medication or undergoing surgery in order to transition to the opposite sex.

“American culture is now normalising the idea that minors can be given hormones to prevent their biological development of their secondary biological characteristic,” Mr Paul said.

“We should be outraged that someone’s talking to a three-year-old about changing their sex.”

Danielle Zoellner reports.

Asked if Andrew Cuomo’s presence as meeting of governors would be a distraction, Jen Psaki said he was still the governor of one of the largest states that needed to be worked with in response to the pandemic.

“The president has been consistent in his position, when a person comes forward they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, their voice should be heard not silenced, and any allegation should be reviewed,” Psaki said.

“Governor Cuomo is also the governor of one of the largest states in the country, that has been one of the hardest hit with millions of people still suffering from an ongoing pandemic and economic crisis. Our focus is to continue working with governors from across the country from a range of states on how we’re helping people in their states.”

Speaker Nancy Pelosi grew visibly upset at her weekly press conference on Thursday discussing Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene’s latest publicity stunt to rile up liberals over rights for trans people.

Ms Pelosi’s chamber is poised to pass legislation known as the Equality Act on Thursday that would explicitly protect LGBTQ people in the US from discrimination from businesses, employers, and the government.

“It is necessary. I wish it weren’t. It breaks my heart that it is necessary,” Ms Pelosi told reporters of the Equality Act on Thursday.

Griffin Connolly reports.