US Domestic News Roundup: US Senator Menendez rejects calls to step down from Congress; Shutdown showdown in US Congress: Time running short to fund government and more

The Democratic-controlled Senate plans to vote on a stopgap funding bill with bipartisan support that would keep the federal government operating after current money runs out at midnight on Saturday (0400 GMT Sunday), giving negotiators more time to agree on full-year spending numbers. Explainer-How could hardline US House Republicans strip Kevin McCarthy of his speakership? As Republican U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy struggles to negotiate a deal to keep the government open, he faces a challenge from his right flank, with hardline members of his caucus threatening to oust him as their leader.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

US Senator Menendez rejects calls to step down from Congress

U.S. Democratic Senator Bob Menendez on Monday ignored calls to resign from his seat, denying wrongdoing and vowing to stay in Congress after prosecutors charged him and his wife with taking bribes from three New Jersey businessmen. Some elected officials, including the Democratic governor of Menendez's state of New Jersey, have publicly urged him to step down. Former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker and senior Democrat Nancy Pelosi told MSNBC late on Monday that she also felt Menendez should resign.

Shutdown showdown in US Congress: Time running short to fund government

The U.S. House and Senate on Tuesday plan to take sharply divergent paths in a high-stakes spending battle, with just five days remaining until a deadline that could force wide swaths of the government to shut down for the fourth time in a decade. The Democratic-controlled Senate plans to vote on a stopgap funding bill with bipartisan support that would keep the federal government operating after current money runs out at midnight on Saturday (0400 GMT Sunday), giving negotiators more time to agree on full-year spending numbers.

Explainer-How could hardline US House Republicans strip Kevin McCarthy of his speakership?

As Republican U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy struggles to negotiate a deal to keep the government open, he faces a challenge from his right flank, with hardline members of his caucus threatening to oust him as their leader. To do so, they would need to invoke what's called the "motion to vacate."

Democrats plan to track and corner Republican 2024 candidates on Trump

When Republican U.S. Representative Don Bacon was asked if he supports Donald Trump's bid for the White House next year at Nebraska town hall last month, he batted away the question, saying it was too early to say, given the former president hadn't yet secured the nomination. Despite the non-answer, a Democratic activist with a video camera filmed the exchange, and it was quickly blasted it online with the headline Bacon "refuses to tell Nebraskans if he supports Trump."

US House to press forward with spending cuts despite shutdown risk

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives is due to try to advance steep spending cuts this week that stand no chance of becoming law and could force a partial shutdown of the U.S. government by next Sunday. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy sought to avoid that scenario when he hammered out a spending agreement with Democratic President Joe Biden this spring. But some members of his own party have threatened to depose him if he does not support steeper cuts that are sure to be rejected by the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Trump opposes US request to limit his comments on election case

Donald Trump pushed back at U.S. prosecutors' request to curb some of his public statements about people involved in the federal court case accusing him of attempting to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election. The former U.S. president's lawyers sharply opposed the request from Special Counsel Jack Smith for a court order limiting Trump’s out-of-court statements about potential witnesses in the case and barring disparaging or intimidating remarks about the judge, prosecutors and potential jurors.

Biden, Trump to woo union workers in Michigan as auto strikes grow

Joe Biden and Donald Trump will speak to striking auto workers in rare back-to-back events in Michigan this week, highlighting how important unions are to the 2024 presidential election, even though they represent a tiny fraction of U.S. workers. Biden will join striking United Auto Workers (UAW) members on a picket line in Wayne County, Michigan at 12 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT) on Tuesday, which labor historians said is the most support shown for striking workers by a sitting president in at least 100 years.

US FCC chair to seek reinstating net neutrality rules rescinded under Trump

U.S. Federal Communications Commission chair Jessica Rosenworcel plans to begin an effort to reinstate landmark net neutrality rules rescinded under then-President Donald Trump, sources briefed on the matter said Monday. The move comes after Democrats took majority control of the five-member FCC on Monday for the first time since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021 when new FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez was sworn in.

Hollywood's video game performers authorize strike if labor talks fail

Video game voice actors and motion capture performers have voted to authorize a strike if negotiations on a new labor contract fail, setting the stage for another possible work stoppage in Hollywood. After voting closed on Monday, the SAG-AFTRA union said 98.32% of those who cast ballots had voted in favor of authorizing a strike.

How DeSantis' early missteps hobbled his U.S. presidential bid

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had a chance in April to address Donald Trump's growing momentum toward the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Like several such opportunities, he let it pass him by. DeSantis was in Japan at the time on an international tour – a step often taken by presidential hopefuls to burnish their foreign policy credentials. Trump had launched his own candidacy five months earlier and had spent much of that time attacking the governor, who was considered his most formidable potential challenger but had yet to declare.

(With inputs from agencies.)