Category: Latest News

Trump tells supporters to be ‘peaceful’ after they storm Capitol

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President Trump urged his supporters to “stay peaceful” while throngs of pro-Trump demonstrators flooded to the U.S. Capitol and breached the complex on Wednesday afternoon.

“Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!” Trump tweeted.

His message came after several lawmakers spoke out about the threats to the Capitol. U.S. Capitol Police locked down the building earlier Wednesday as demonstrators surrounded House and Senate office buildings. Continue reading.

Trump’s power wanes in closing weeks

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President Trump is witnessing his power wane in his final days in office as he divides the GOP over his assault on the electoral process and clashes with Republicans on policy. 

In the span of a week, the GOP-controlled Senate overrode Trump’s veto of a defense policy bill, rebuffing the president’s complaints about the legislation in the first and likely only veto override of his presidency. 

Trump separately was forced to back down from his criticism of a massive $2.3 trillion funding package. Continue reading.

With Mounting Demands For Probe Of Trump Call, U.S. Attorney In Georgia Abruptly Quits

U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Byung Pak resigned abruptly on Monday, according to Talking Points Memo and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, as the state finds itself at the center of fierce debates over the 2020 election.

It’s not uncommon for U.S. attorneys to resign near the end of an outgoing administration. But Pak, a Republican who was appointed to his position by President Donald Trump in 2017, has previously indicated “he would not leave until Inauguration Day,” Talking Points Memo reported. This apparently abrupt departure, then, is likely to draw scrutiny.

It’s especially noteworthy because Trump himself suddenly became the target of intense criticism when the Washington Post published a recording of his call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger over the weekend. In the call, Trump insisted he won the state, relying on a series of debunked and fictitious claims about supposed fraud and misconduct in the election that he claimed tilted the result in Biden’s favor. Most egregiously, he told Raffensperger to “find” 11,780 votes, the number he believed he needed to flip the state and win its electoral votes. Trump even seemed to threaten Raffensperger when he suggested the secretary could face criminal penalties for his administration of the election. Continue reading.

McConnell rebukes effort to overturn Electoral College

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) warned against supporting efforts to challenge the Electoral College results, the first time he’s spoken publicly against the Trump-endorsed plan by members of his caucus to throw out President-elect Joe Biden’s win.

McConnell’s remarks came at the start of the Senate’s first debate as part of what is expected to be an hours-long effort that will ultimately end in Congress affirming Biden’s win.

McConnell, speaking from the Senate floor, said that the allegations of fraud didn’t reach the standard for challenging the election results and warned of dramatic consequences if the effort were successful. Continue reading.

Why Trump’s Senate supporters can’t overturn Electoral College results they don’t like – here’s how the law actually works

On Jan. 6, the United States Congress will gather in a joint session to tally the votes of the Electoral College, which cast its ballots in state capitols last month. In his role as president of the Senate, Vice President Mike Pence is slated to officially announce Joe Biden as the country’s next president. 

This formal certification process – the final step in the U.S. presidential election – is the latest target of President Donald Trump’s desperate, untenable and possibly criminal effort to overturn the 2020 results. In his refusal to concede, Trump is pressuring Pence and Republicans in Congress to delay or oppose certification.

Can they really subvert the Electoral College? The answer, both legally and politically, is no. Continue reading.

Pence removed from Senate as protestors breach Capitol security

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Vice President Mike Pence was taken from the Senate chamber after protesters entered the Capitol to protest the results of President-elect Joe Biden‘s win.

The House and Senate gaveled out of their debates on the Electoral College results as footage showed protesters breaching security and entering the Capitol.

The doors of the House chamber were locked for safety purposes. A member of the Capitol Police confirmed protesters had entered the building. Continue reading.

In farewell, DeVos urges Congress to reject Biden’s policies

In a farewell letter to Congress on Monday, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos urged lawmakers to reject President-elect Joe Biden’s education agenda, while imploring them to shield Trump administration policies that Biden has promised to eliminate.

DeVos does not explicitly acknowledge President Donald Trump’s election defeat nor does she refer to Biden by name. Instead, her letter offers lawmakers “some encouragement and closing thoughts.” As DeVos prepares to exit the Education Department, she says the coronavirus pandemic has exposed much that is “not encouraging” about U.S. education.

“While my time as Secretary is finite, my time as an advocate for children and students knows no limits,” she said in the letter, obtained by The Associated Press. It was sent to leaders in the House and Senate and to committees that oversee the Education Department. Continue reading.

Electoral College fight splits GOP as opposition grows to election challenge

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Wednesday’s fight over a long-shot effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election is dividing Republicans, including those from the same state, as opposition grows to the plan. 

Several Republican senators formally announced on Tuesday that they will oppose challenging the Electoral College results, meaning GOP senators in at least five states will split when Congress convenes its joint session on Wednesday where lawmakers will count the votes, a pro forma exercise that in previous years has taken a matter of minutes. 

GOP Sens. John Cornyn (Texas), James Inhofe (Okla.) and Jerry Moran (Kan.) each said Tuesday that they will not support efforts to challenge President-elect Joe Biden‘s win in key battleground states.  Continue reading.

Why Congress Should Impeach Trump Again

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And this time, he should be convicted. The country cannot risk his becoming president again.

The emergence of an audio recording of President Trump pressuring the Georgia secretary of state to overturn the results of the election is a harrowing moment in the history of our democracy. And though the number of his days in office is dwindling, the only appropriate response is to impeach Mr. Trump. Again.

Whether he acknowledges it or not, President Trump is leaving the White House on Jan. 20 — but right now, there is nothing stopping him from running in 2024. That is a terrifying prospect, because the way he has conducted himself over the past two months, wielding the power of the presidency to try to steal another term in office, has threatened one of our republic’s most essential traditions: the peaceful transfer of power.

Fortunately, our founders anticipated we would face a moment like this, which is one reason Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution entrusts Congress with the power not only to remove a president but also to prevent him or her from ever holding elected office again. Mr. Trump’s conduct over the past two months has left our legislators with no choice but to use it. That impeachment inquiry would take time, far more than Mr. Trump has left in office. But it would be well worth it. Continue reading.

Pence says he lacks authority to throw out Electoral College votes

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Vice President Mike Pence said on Wednesday that he lacked constitutional authority to follow President Trump’s wishes to throw out Electoral College votes for President-elect Joe Biden. 

Why it matters: Trump has been pressuring Pence to overturn the election results as part of an ongoing attempt to subvert Biden’s clear win, which failed to garner evidence or support through various legal battles. Trump will view Pence’s statement as the ultimate act of betrayal.

What they’re saying: “It is my considered judgement that my oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not,” Pence wrote. Continue reading.