Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Senate Majority Leader Schumer, whose support would be critical to pass the measure to head off a government shutdown beginning on Saturday, said he was "pleased" that Johnson's proposal did not include sharp spending cuts. Special counsel says Trump seeking 'carnival atmosphere' at 2020 election trial U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith on Monday accused Donald Trump of seeking to create a “carnival atmosphere” at his upcoming trial on charges that he sought to overturn his 2020 election defeat by calling for the proceedings to be televised.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

US House to vote on impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas

The U.S. House will vote on Monday whether to advance or block a Republican charge to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for allegedly failing in his duty to secure the U.S.-Mexico border. The House of Representatives has scheduled a 6:30 p.m. ET (2330 GMT) vote on a Democratic motion to block the drive.

US Supreme Court liberals dissent in 'unusually severe' solitary confinement case

The U.S. Supreme Court's three liberal justices on Monday sharply objected to the court's refusal to hear an appeal by a former Illinois inmate who was kept in solitary confinement in a state prison and virtually deprived of any exercise for about three years. The court takes up appeals when at least four of its nine justices agree to hear a case. None of the six conservative justices joined with the liberal justices to provide the fourth vote needed to hear former inmate Michael Johnson's appeal of a lower court's ruling rejecting his 2016 civil rights lawsuit accusing prison officials of violating the U.S. Constitution's Eighth Amendment bar on cruel and unusual punishment.

Tim Scott, lone Black Republican in US Senate, ends White House bid

U.S. Senator Tim Scott suspended his run for the 2024 Republican presidential election nomination on Sunday after months of burning through campaign cash at a blistering rate without making a significant dent in national opinion polls. "I think the voters, who are the most remarkable people on the planet, have been really clear that they're telling me: 'Not now Tim,'" Scott told Fox News in an interview on Sunday evening.

Republican 2024 hopeful Haley makes major ad buy after rival Scott quits race

Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley's campaign is booking $10 million in advertising, her camp said on Monday, as she tries to scoop up supporters of U.S. Senator Tim Scott, a fellow South Carolinian who dropped out on Sunday. The ads will be placed on TV, radio and the internet starting in the first week of December in Iowa and New Hampshire, Haley's campaign said.

Biden campaign says Trump echoed Hitler with use of word 'vermin'

U.S. President Joe Biden's 2024 re-election team on Monday said former President Donald Trump had embraced the language of Nazi German dictator Adolf Hitler by using the word "vermin" to refer to his political enemies. Trump told a rally in New Hampshire on Saturday he would "root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country that lie and steal and cheat on elections," repeating his false claim that fraud cost him the 2020 presidential election.

Donald Trump Jr. testifies about 'sexiness' of father's real estate

Donald Trump Jr. testified on Monday about what he called the "sexiness" of his father's real estate portfolio, in his second time taking the stand in the former U.S. president's civil fraud trial. Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is accused along with his two adult sons and 10 of his companies of inflating his net worth by as much as $2.2 billion to secure better financing.

Under fire, US Supreme Court unveils ethics code for justices

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday announced its first formal code of conduct governing the ethical behavior of its nine justices, bowing to months of outside pressure over revelations of undisclosed luxury trips and hobnobbing with wealthy benefactors. The new code drew mixed reviews, with some critics noting the apparent absence of any enforcement mechanism. It was adopted after a series of media reports detailing ethics questions surrounding some Supreme Court members, in particular conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, even as Senate Democrats pursued long-shot legislation to mandate an ethics code for the nation's top judicial body.

US House speaker's plan to avoid shutdown gains some Democratic support

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson's plan to avoid a partial government shutdown secured tentative support from top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer on Monday, even as some of Johnson's hardline Republican colleagues pushed back against it. Senate Majority Leader Schumer, whose support would be critical to pass the measure to head off a government shutdown beginning on Saturday, said he was "pleased" that Johnson's proposal did not include sharp spending cuts.

Special counsel says Trump seeking 'carnival atmosphere' at 2020 election trial

U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith on Monday accused Donald Trump of seeking to create a “carnival atmosphere” at his upcoming trial on charges that he sought to overturn his 2020 election defeat by calling for the proceedings to be televised. Smith, who is prosecuting the case, said in a court filing that Trump and his lawyers would use a televised trial to distract from the charges and “wage a public relations campaign.”

Top US Senate Democrat encouraged by House Republican funding bill

Top U.S. Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer on Monday expressed tentative support for House Republicans' short-term funding bill that would keep the federal government open past this weekend. Schumer halted progress on the Senate's proposed funding plan, a step that would allow the House to move first. This may encourage some House Democrats to back the plan if hardline Republicans deny Speaker Mike Johnson the votes for the bill he has proposed.