News Wrap: House to vote on formally authorizing Biden impeachment inquiry

Amna Nawaz:

In the day's other headlines: President Biden suggested he might not have run for reelection if former President Trump weren't in the race. Mr. Biden spoke this afternoon outside of Boston. He told a crowd at a campaign fund-raiser — quote — "If Trump wasn't running, I'm not sure I would be running. We cannot let him win."

Mr. Trump currently holds a wide lead in the Republican presidential field.

The House of Representatives will vote next week on formally authorizing an impeachment inquiry into President Biden. Republican-led committees have been investigating business dealings of Biden family members for months. But Speaker Mike Johnson said today the White House has balked at providing information.

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA):

And the House has no choice, if it's going to follow its constitutional responsibility, to formally adopt an impeachment inquiry on the floor, so that, when the subpoenas are challenged in court, we will be at the apex of our constitutional authority. It will be a movement of a vote of the full House.

Amna Nawaz:

So far, the investigation has not produced any direct evidence against President Biden.

North Carolina Republican Patrick McHenry now says he won't run for reelection to the House after all. The 10-term congressman had served as interim speaker in October until Republicans chose a permanent speaker. After that, he said he'd seek another term next year.

Today, he said — quote — "I believe there's a season for everything, and, for me, this season has come to an end."

McHenry's statement gave no reason for his change of heart.

FBI Director Christopher Wray urged Congress today to renew the bureau's authority for surveillance without warrants outside the U.S. That authority comes from section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Wray told a Senate hearing that letting warrantless wiretaps lapse at the end of the month would amount to unilateral disarmament.

Christopher Wray, FBI Director:

702 allows us to stay a step ahead of foreign actors located outside the United States who pose a threat to national security. And the expiration of our 702 authorities would be devastating to the FBI's ability to protect Americans from those threats.

Amna Nawaz:

Both Republicans and Democrats are pressing for changes in the program. They have cited concerns that FBI analysts improperly accessed data on Americans during the January 6 riots and racial justice protests.

A top European Union official has issued a stark security warning for the holidays. That follows a weekend attack in Paris. One person was stabbed and killed at the Eiffel Tower and two others injured with a hammer by a man who had pledged allegiance to the extremist Islamic State.

Today, in Brussels, the European home affairs commissioner said there is — quote — "a huge risk" of terrorist attacks in Europe during the Christmas season. The German interior minister agreed.

Nancy Faeser, German Interior Minister (through interpreter):

This brutal violence shows just how acute and how serious the threat posed by Islamist terrorism is currently in the E.U., not only in Germany, but also in all neighboring countries. And the war in Gaza and Hamas' terror are exacerbating this situation.

Amna Nawaz:

The European Commission now plans to spend more than 30 million dollars on additional security, especially for places of worship.

Close to 400 Rohingya refugees are still stranded tonight off the coast of Thailand. U.N. officials say they have been at sea for two weeks, and some of them may die due to lack of food and water if they are not rescued soon. The refugees are adrift in the Andaman Sea,about 200 miles offshore after fleeing crowded camps in Bangladesh.

There is fresh data that shows students worldwide suffered unprecedented learning losses during the pandemic. The Program for International Student Assessment reports average math scores in 2022 fell 15 points from four years earlier. Average reading scores during that same period were down 10 points. The findings are based on testing of 15-year-olds in more than 80 countries, including the U.S.

And, on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average lost nearly 80 points to close at 36124. The Nasdaq rose 44 points, and the S&P 500 slipped two.