Розділ: Політика
Trump, in Phone Call, Pleaded with Georgia Officials to Overturn His Election Loss
In an extraordinary phone call, U.S. President Donald Trump pleaded Saturday with election officials in the southern U.S. state of Georgia to find him enough votes to overturn his pivotal loss there to President-elect Joe Biden. “So, look. All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state,” Trump told the state’s top elections official, Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, FILE – Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger speaks during a news conference in Atlanta, Nov. 11, 2020.Raffensperger replied a few hours later, “Respectfully, President Trump: What you’re saying is not true. The truth will come out.” Respectfully, President Trump: What you’re saying is not true. The truth will come out FILE – Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., speaks to the media, at the White House in Washington.Reaction to the call was swift Sunday afternoon. “Absolutely appalling,” Republican Representative Adam Kinzinger, of Illinois, said of the call on Twitter. “To every member of Congress considering objecting to the election results, you cannot — in light of this — do so with a clean conscience. #RestoreOurGOP” This is absolutely appalling. To every member of Congress considering objecting to the election results, you cannot- in light of this- do so with a clean conscience. FILE – Supporters of President Donald Trump hold signs during a rally outside the Georgia State Capitol, in Atlanta, Nov. 13, 2020.The president linked his fate in the state to Tuesday’s Senate runoff elections in which two incumbent Republican senators, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, respectively face Democratic challengers Jon Ossoff and the Rev. Raphael Warnock in contests that will determine control of the U.S. Senate during the first two years of the Biden presidency. “You have a big election coming up,” Trump told Raffensperger, “and because of what you’ve done to the president — you know, the people of Georgia know that this was a scam.” “Because of what you’ve done to the president,” Trump said, speaking of himself in the third person, “a lot of people aren’t going out to vote, and a lot of Republicans are going to vote negative, because they hate what you did to the president. OK? They hate it. And they’re going to vote. And you would be respected, really respected, if this can be straightened out before the (Tuesday) election.” Trump’s call to Raffensperger is Trump’s latest effort to pressure state officials and lawmakers to overturn the votes in their political battleground states that Biden won or name Trump supporters as electors instead of ones supporting Biden.
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By Polityk | 01/04/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Pelosi Re-elected US House Speaker
Representative Nancy Pelosi was elected speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Sunday for her fourth term, with a narrower Democratic majority in the chamber and challenges ahead.The Democrat from California surpassed the necessary majority of votes Sunday afternoon, with two Democrats voting for other candidates and three more voting present.
Democrats hold a narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in the new 117th Congress, with 222 Democrats and 211 Republicans. A few members were unable to vote because they had tested positive for the coronavirus or had other health problems.For the first time since May, lawmakers had to be present for the vote instead of using a proxy system set up amid the pandemic. The vote lasted several hours as lawmakers were brought into the hall in small groups to avoid large crowd numbers.The new Congress faces several challenges, among them defeating the pandemic that so far has cost more than 350,000 U.S. lives, and reviving the U.S. economy.The 80-year-old Pelosi has indicated that after this two-year period she will not seek another term as speaker of the House, in accordance with a deal made with Democrats in 2018 who wanted her to step aside as speaker then.Pelosi did not face a challenger this term.
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By Polityk | 01/04/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Dozens of House, Senate Republicans Join Likely Futile Effort to Reject Biden Victory
More than 100 Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives and a dozen senators say they will join an almost assuredly futile effort Wednesday to try to block certification of the Electoral College vote showing that Democrat Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump in the November election. The certification of the 306-232 Electoral College vote favoring Biden, a fixture on the Washington political scene for nearly a half century, is the last step before he is set to be inaugurated as the country’s 46th president on January 20.Both chambers of Congress would need to uphold the challenges to Biden’s victory for the election outcome to be upended. But Democrats narrowly control the House and are certain to certify Biden’s win, while the Democratic minority in the Senate, along with some Republicans who have acknowledged Biden’s win, are likely to do the same in the Senate.Trump, who for weeks has made baseless claims that he was defrauded of election to a second four-year term, continues to cheer on protests against his loss, an outcome that will make him the fifth U.S. president in the country’s 245-year history to lose a re-election bid after a single term in office.“An attempt to steal a landslide win,” Trump said on Twitter over the weekend. “Can’t let it happen!”He tweeted a video calling for his supporters to mass in Washington on Wednesday to protest certification of Biden as the election winner, saying it “could be the biggest event” in the city’s history.President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, in West Palm Beach, Florida, Dec. 31, 2020.Trump has lost dozens of court challenges to the outcome of the election, including twice at the Supreme Court. In the latest instance, a federal appellate court Saturday night upheld the dismissal, by a Trump-appointed lower court judge, of a lawsuit seeking to give Trump’s vice president, Mike Pence, power to reject Biden’s winning electoral slates in several states and instead choose slates of Trump electors to overturn the election outcome and keep him in power.Pence is set to preside Wednesday in what is, at most times, a ceremonial role at a joint session of Congress over the tabulation of the electoral votes that have already been certified by officials in the country’s 50 states and national capital city of Washington.On Saturday evening, Marc Short, Pence’s chief of staff, said in a statement that the vice president “shares the concerns of millions of Americans about voter fraud and irregularities in the last election.”The vice president, the statement continued, “welcomes the efforts of members of the House and Senate to use the authority they have under the law to raise objections and bring forward evidence before the Congress and the American people on Jan. 6th.”Vice President Mike Pence speaks during the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit, Dec. 22, 2020, in West Palm Beach, Florida.But ultimately, as has occurred several other times in U.S. history, Pence, as vice president and the presiding officer over the Senate, will be tasked with announcing his own defeat to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and that of Trump to Biden, once the electoral vote is counted and the Republican challenges heard and presumably rejected.Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri announced last week that he would challenge the Biden victory, coupled with the House protest of dozens of lawmakers led by Congressman Mo Brooks of Alabama. Hawley’s protest, specifically challenging Biden’s victory in the eastern state of Pennsylvania with 20 electoral votes, was joined Saturday by 11 other Republican senators led by Ted Cruz of Texas and included four senators elected in November being sworn into the new session of Congress on Sunday.The 11 called for a 10-day audit of election returns in “disputed states,” saying they would vote to reject the electors from those states until the audit was completed.Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey, a Republican, did not join the protest against the vote in his state, saying that “a fundamental, defining feature of a democratic republic is the right of the people to elect their own leaders. The effort by Senators Hawley, Cruz, and others to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in swing states like Pennsylvania directly undermines this right.”One of the vocal Trump supporters, Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” show on Sunday that he joined the protest against the Electoral College outcome because, “We’ve got tens of millions of people who think this election was stolen.”But another Trump supporter, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said proposing a commission two weeks ahead of the inauguration “is not effectively fighting for President Trump. It appears to be more of a political dodge than an effective remedy.”As they announced their protest on Saturday, Cruz and the other senators acknowledged the presumed futility of their effort, saying, “We fully expect most if not all Democrats, and perhaps more than a few Republicans, to vote otherwise” against overturning Biden’s victory.The Senate’s top Republican lawmaker, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, after weeks of refusing to acknowledge Biden’s victory, congratulated Biden and Harris as the election winners after the Electoral College votes were cast in mid-December. McConnell was unsuccessful in urging Republican lawmakers to forego challenging the outcome.Trump also tweeted Sunday morning about the outcome in the southern state of Georgia, where he lost to Biden by just under 12,000 votes out of the 5 million ballots that were cast.“I spoke to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger yesterday about Fulton County and voter fraud in Georgia,” Trump said. “He was unwilling, or unable, to answer questions such as the ‘ballots under table’ scam, ballot destruction, out of state ‘voters’, dead voters, and more. He has no clue!” Raffensperger, a Republican, replied, “Respectfully, President Trump: What you’re saying is not true. The truth will come out.”FILE – Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger speaks during a news conference in Atlanta, Georgia, Nov. 30, 2020.The Georgia vote was counted initially, and then twice recounted, with Biden winning all three times, the first time a Democratic presidential candidate carried the state since 1992.Jody Hice, a Georgia Republican congressman being sworn in for a fourth term on Sunday, was re-elected on the same ballot as Trump lost in the state.But Hice said in a tweet that his first concern in the new Congress would be to “Fight for fair elections by objecting to fraud on Jan 6! Liberty must be defended!”
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By Polityk | 01/04/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Homes of Top Republican and Democrat Vandalized
Vandals have targeted the homes of Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell and Democrat Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi with graffiti, fake blood and a pig’s head, U.S. media said.”Were’s [sic] my money,” and “Mitch kills the poor,” was daubed on McConnell’s front door and window in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. media reported.A pig’s head and fake blood were left outside Pelosi’s San Francisco home on Jan. 2, according to local media Saturday.The houses of the top Republican and Democrat were targeted following intense debate over a COVID-19 stimulus bailout for Americans.A long-awaited $900 billion pandemic relief package was finally approved Christmas Eve, with the Democrat-led House of Congress approving an increase in aid from $600 to $2,000.But the Republican-led Senate has not approved the increase — despite furious calls to do so from President Donald Trump.On Wednesday, McConnell had told reporters: “The Senate is not going to be bullied into rushing out more borrowed money into the hands of Democrats’ rich friends who don’t need the help.”Kentucky Metro police said the incident occurred around 5 a.m. local time Saturday (1000 GMT) according to local news channel WAS11. It was unclear if anyone was home at the time.McConnell called the graffiti a “radical tantrum,” and added: “Vandalism and the politics of fear have no place in our society.”In San Francisco, Pelosi’s garage door was sprayed with a crossed-out “$2K,” followed by “Cancel rent!” and “We want everything!”The city’s police Special Investigations Division was looking into the incident, NBC News reported.
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By Polityk | 01/03/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
After Pardon, Blackwater Guard Defiant: ‘I Acted Correctly’
Evan Liberty was reading in the top bunk of his cell one evening late last month when a prison supervisor delivered news he had hoped for.“He says, ‘Are you ready for this?’” Liberty recalled. “I said, ‘Uh, I’m not sure. What is going on?’ He said, ‘Presidential pardon. Pack your stuff.’”Liberty is one of four former Blackwater contractors pardoned by U.S. President Donald Trump in one of Trump’s final acts in office, freeing them from prison after a 2007 shooting rampage in Baghdad that killed more than a dozen Iraqi civilians. Even for a president who has repeatedly exercised his pardon power on personal associates and political supporters, Trump’s clemency for the contractors was met with especially intense condemnation, both in the United States and the Middle East.Historically, presidential pardons have been reserved for nonviolent crimes, not manslaughter or murder, and the traditional process led by the Justice Department values acceptance of responsibility and remorse from those convicted of crimes. The Blackwater contractors meet none of that criteria. They were convicted in the killings of unarmed Iraqi women and children and have long been defiant in their assertions of innocence.In an interview with The Associated Press, his first since being released from prison, Liberty, 38, again expressed little remorse for actions he says were defensible given the context.“I feel like I acted correctly,” he said of his conduct in 2007. “I regret any innocent loss of life, but I’m just confident in how I acted, and I can basically feel peace with that.”‘Overall wild thing’The Blackwater rampage marked one of the darkest chapters of the Iraq war, staining the U.S. government reputation and prompting an international outcry about the role of contractors in military zones. The guards have long maintained they were targeted by insurgent gunfire at the traffic circle where the shooting occurred. Prosecutors argued there was no evidence to support that claim, noting that many victims were shot while in their cars or while taking shelter or trying to flee.After a months-long trial in 2014, a jury convicted the men in the deaths of 14 civilians and of injuring even more. A judge called the shootings an “overall wild thing” that cannot be condoned.Liberty said he understands many may view him undeserving of clemency but attributes it to what he insists is a misguided narrative of the shooting. In the interview, he maintained that he did not shoot in the direction of any of the victims. “I didn’t shoot at anybody that wasn’t shooting at me,” he said.He said he and the others would “never take an innocent life. We responded to a threat accordingly.”Liberty, whose 30-year sentence was cut by roughly half last year, isn’t certain how he came to be pardoned and said he has not spoken with Trump. But the group does have supporters, some with ties to the White House. The Blackwater firm, whose name has since changed, was founded by former Navy SEAL Erik Prince, a Trump ally whose sister, Betsy DeVos, is education secretary. Their cause also was championed by Fox News personality Pete Hegseth, an Army veteran.Trump’s approach to pardons has been heavily influenced by personal appeals from allies. Throughout his presidency, including in his most recent round of pardons, he’s wiped away punishments for political backers, including former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and a pair of Republican congressmen who were early supporters of his 2016 campaign. Trump has also shown a willingness to intervene on behalf of service members accused of war crimes.In announcing the Blackwater pardons, the White House cited the men’s military service, the support they received and the tangled history of a case that zigzagged for years in Washington’s federal court, turning on radically different interpretations of the shooting.‘They haven’t apologized’Criticism was swift. A Washington Post editorial called the pardons a “unique threat to national security” and suggested the guards had committed “astonishing acts of inhumanity.” Iraqi citizens who spoke to reporters described old wounds being reopened. Soon after the announcement, a photograph of a smiling 9-year-old victim circulated widely online. The boy’s father told the BBC that Trump “broke my life again.”“They haven’t denied doing what they did,” said Paul Dickinson, who represented victims in a lawsuit over the shootings. “They haven’t apologized for what they did. They haven’t admitted any wrongdoing in what they did.”Blackwater guards, who as State Department contractors were responsible for providing diplomatic security, were already seen as operating with impunity in Iraq. The rampage further escalated international scrutiny of them, prompted multiple investigations and strained U.S.-Iraqi relations.On Sept. 16, 2007, the guards were summoned to create an evacuation route for a diplomat after a car bomb explosion.By prosecutors’ account, the shooting began after the guards’ four-vehicle convoy took up positions at Baghdad’s crowded Nisour Square, where the contractors launched an unprovoked attack using sniper fire, machine guns and grenade launchers. Liberty says he fired only in the direction of an Iraqi police post; the guards had been concerned by infiltration by insurgents of police ranks. But prosecutors say he and the others fired indiscriminately.Defense lawyers say the shooting began only after a white Kia broke from the traffic and moved toward the convoy in ways the guards perceived as threatening and a potential car bomb. In a narrative disputed by prosecutors, the guards say they fired in response to insurgent gunfire. One contractor who received immunity described hearing the incoming “pop” of what sounded like AK-47 rounds shortly before another guard fired.The case was bitterly contested for more than a decade, with the Justice Department reviving the prosecution after an original indictment was dismissed because of government missteps and flying in dozens of Iraqi witnesses to testify. Liberty and two others, Paul Slough and Dustin Heard, were convicted of manslaughter. Another, Nicholas Slatten, was convicted of first-degree murder.A fifth guard, Jeremy Ridgeway, pleaded guilty and testified against the others. He admitted firing multiple rounds into the Kia — which actually contained a medical student and his mother — but denied having seen Iraqis pointing guns or that he felt threatened. Defense lawyers sought to undercut his credibility by noting that he’d previously told a different story.The lawyers challenged the verdict, citing in part newly discovered evidence — an Iraqi witness statement — they said contradicted what the jury was told.Slatten’s murder conviction was thrown out, but he was retried and convicted. The 30-year sentences for the others were shortened after a federal appeals court said the punishments were excessive even though what happened “defies civilized description.”After six years behind bars, Liberty had tried to not get his hopes up about a pardon.“Dumbfounded” when the news came, he grabbed a photograph of his grandfather, a list of Spanish vocabulary he’d been studying and a motivational book on discipline, leaving the rest behind.The New Hampshire native and Marine veteran said he is uncertain of future plans, though he’s passionate about physical fitness and interested in assisting veterans’ organizations. He says he’s grateful to his supporters and to Trump for what he calls a “second chance at life.”“I feel like it’s my duty to go out and do something positive and live a good life because they gave me a second chance, so that’s basically my goal.”
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By Polityk | 01/03/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Dozen GOP Senators Enlist in Trump Effort to Undo Biden Win
A growing number of Republican lawmakers are joining President Donald Trump’s extraordinary effort to overturn the election, pledging to reject the results when Congress meets next week to count the Electoral College votes and certify President-elect Joe Biden’s win.Senator Ted Cruz of Texas on Saturday announced a coalition of 12 senators who have been enlisted for Trump’s effort to subvert the will of American voters.This follows the declaration from Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, who was the first to buck Senate leadership by saying he would join with House Republicans in objecting to the state tallies during Wednesday’s joint session of Congress.Hawley and Cruz are both among potential 2024 presidential contenders.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had urged his party not to try to overturn what nonpartisan election officials have concluded was a free and fair vote.Some criticismSome Republican senators criticized their colleagues’ plans.Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said in a statement Saturday that she would vote to affirm the election and urged senators in both parties to join her in “maintaining confidence in the Electoral College and our elections so that we ensure we have the continued trust of the American people.”Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska urged his colleagues to “reject this dangerous ploy,” which he said threatens the nation’s civic norms.FILE – Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., is pictured at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 3, 2020.Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania said in a statement Saturday that “a fundamental, defining feature of a democratic republic is the right of the people to elect their own leaders. The effort by Senators Hawley, Cruz and others to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in swing states like Pennsylvania directly undermines this right.”The dozen GOP senators largely acknowledged Saturday they would not succeed in preventing Biden, who won in the Electoral College 302-232, from being inaugurated on January 20. But their challenges, and those from House Republicans, represent the most sweeping effort to undo a presidential election outcome since the Civil War.”We do not take this action lightly,” Cruz and the other senators said in a joint statement.Audit soughtThey vowed to vote against certain state electors Wednesday unless Congress appointed an electoral commission to immediately conduct an audit of the election results. They are zeroing in on the states where Trump has raised unfounded claims of voter fraud. Congress is unlikely to agree to their demand.The group, which presented no new evidence of election problems, includes Senators Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Steve Daines of Montana, John Kennedy of Louisiana, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Mike Braun of Indiana, and Senators-elect Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama.Trump, the first president to lose a reelection bid in almost 30 years, has attributed his defeat to widespread voter fraud, despite the consensus of nonpartisan election officials and even Trump’s attorney general that there was none. Of the roughly 50 lawsuits the president and his allies have filed challenging election results, nearly all have been dismissed or dropped. He’s also lost twice at the U.S. Supreme Court.The days ahead are expected to do little to change the outcome.The convening of the joint session to count the Electoral College votes is usually routine. While objections have surfaced before — in 2017, several House Democrats challenged Trump’s win — few have approached this level of intensity.FILE – Vice President Mike Pence speaks during an event in the South Court Auditorium at the White House complex in Washington, Dec. 16, 2020.Caught in the middle is Vice President Mike Pence, who faces growing pressure from Trump’s allies over his ceremonial role in presiding over the session Wednesday.Several Republicans have indicated they are under pressure from constituents back home to show they are fighting for Trump in his baseless campaign to stay in office.Senator John Thune, the second-ranking Republican, indicated in remarks to reporters at the Capitol that Republican leadership is not putting its muscle behind Trump’s demands but is allowing senators to choose their course.”This is an issue that’s incredibly consequential, incredibly rare historically and very precedent-setting,” he said. “This is a big vote.”Pence will be carefully watched as he presides over what is typically a routine vote count in Congress but is now heading toward a prolonged showdown that could extend into Wednesday night, depending on how many challenges are mounted.Gohmert suitA judge in Texas dismissed a lawsuit from Representative Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, and a group of Arizona electors trying to force Pence to step outside mere ceremony and shape the outcome of the vote. U.S. District Judge Jeremy Kernodle, a Trump appointee, dismissed the suit late Friday.McConnell convened a conference call with Republican senators Thursday specifically to address the coming joint session and logistics of tallying the vote, according to several Republicans granted anonymity to discuss the private call.The Republican leader pointedly called on Hawley to answer questions about his challenge to Biden’s victory, according to two of the Republicans.But there was no response because Hawley was a no-show, the Republicans said.
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By Polityk | 01/03/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Cruz Joins Republican Bloc in Senate to Challenge Biden’s Victory
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz said Saturday that he would be among a dozen Republican senators who will challenge President-elect Joe Biden’s victory when Electoral College results are tallied in Congress next week — a largely symbolic move that has little chance of preventing Biden from taking office.The Republicans join Senator Josh Hawley, who earlier this week became the first sitting member of the Senate to announce he would challenge the election result. A number of Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives also plan on contesting the vote tally.In a statement, Cruz and the other senators said they intended to vote to reject electors from swing states that have been at the center of President Donald Trump’s unproven assertions of election fraud and would call for the establishment of a commission to investigate claims of fraud on an emergency basis.Cruz was joined in the statement by Senators Ron Johnson, James Lankford, Steve Daines, John Kennedy, Marsha Blackburn, Mike Braun, along with Cynthia Lummis, Tommy Tuberville, Bill Hagerty and Roger Marshall, all of whom will be sworn in Sunday as senators in the new Congress.Biden will be sworn into office on January 20.
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By Polityk | 01/03/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
In a First, Congress Overrides Trump Veto of Defense Bill
Congress has overridden President Donald Trump’s veto of a defense policy bill, a first by lawmakers since Trump took office nearly four years ago.In an extraordinary New Year’s Day session, the Republican-controlled Senate easily turned aside the veto, dismissing Trump’s objections to the $740 billion bill and handing him a rebuke weeks before his term ends.Trump had lashed out at lawmakers from his own party on Twitter, charging earlier this week that “Weak and tired Republican ‘leadership’ will allow the bad Defense Bill to pass.”Trump called the looming override vote a “disgraceful act of cowardice and total submission by weak people to Big Tech. Negotiate a better Bill, or get better leaders, NOW!”The 81-13 vote in the Senate followed an earlier 322-87 override vote in the House of the widely popular defense measure. The bill provides a 3% pay raise for U.S. troops and guides defense policy, cementing decisions about troop levels, new weapons systems and military readiness, personnel policy and other military goals. Many programs, including military construction, can go into effect only if the bill is approved.’Tremendous opportunity’Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said before the vote that Congress has passed the National Defense Authorization Act every year for 59 years in a row, “and one way or another, we are going to complete the 60th annual NDAA and pass it into law before this Congress concludes on Sunday.”The bill “looks after our brave men and women who volunteer to wear the uniform,” McConnell said. “But it’s also a tremendous opportunity: to direct our national security priorities to reflect the resolve of the American people and the evolving threats to their safety, at home and abroad. It’s our chance to ensure we keep pace with competitors like Russia and China.”The Senate override was delayed after Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who normally votes with the Democrats, objected to moving ahead until McConnell allowed a vote on a Trump-backed plan to increase individual COVID-19 relief payments to $2,000.McConnell did not allow that vote; instead he used his parliamentary power to set a vote limiting debate on the defense measure, overcoming a filibuster threat by Sanders and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York.Without a bipartisan agreement, a vote on the bill could have been delayed until Saturday night. Lawmakers, however, agreed to an immediate roll call Friday once the filibuster threat was stopped.In this image from video, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., speaks on the Senate floor at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Feb. 5, 2020.Among the 13 senators voting to uphold the veto were some of Trump’s most ardent Republican supporters, including Josh Hawley of Missouri and Texas’ Ted Cruz, and some of the most liberal Democrats including Sanders and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.Trump rejected the defense measure last week, saying it failed to limit social media companies he contended were biased against him during his failed reelection campaign. Trump also opposed language that allows for the renaming of military bases that honor Confederate leaders from the U.S. Civil War.Senator Jim Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican who is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he was disappointed with Trump’s veto and called the bill “absolutely vital to our national security and our troops.””This is the most important bill we have,” Inhofe said. “It puts members of the military first.”Trump has succeeded throughout his four-year term in enforcing party discipline in Congress, with few Republicans willing to publicly oppose him. The bipartisan overrides on the defense bill showed the limits of Trump’s influence in the final weeks of his term.COVID relief billEarlier this week, 130 House Republicans voted against a Trump-backed bill providing $2,000 COVID-19 relief checks, with many arguing they were unnecessary and would increase the federal budget deficit.The Democrat-controlled House approved the larger payments, but the plan is dead in the Senate.Besides his concerns about social media and military base names, Trump also said the defense bill restricted his ability to conduct foreign policy, “particularly my efforts to bring our troops home.” Trump was referring to provisions in the bill that impose conditions on his plan to withdraw thousands of troops from Afghanistan and Germany. The measures require the Pentagon to submit reports certifying that the proposed withdrawals would not jeopardize U.S. national security.Trump has vetoed eight other bills, but those were all sustained because supporters did not gain the two-thirds vote needed in each chamber for the bills to become law without Trump’s signature.
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By Polityk | 01/02/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
‘We Have to Be Remembered for What’s Been Done,’ Trump Says on Return to DC
After weeks of vowing to win his fight to remain in office, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a video Thursday looking back on what he called “historic victories” and said: “We have to be remembered for what’s been done.” Trump, who has yet to formally concede his November election defeat to Democrat Joe Biden, posted the message on Twitter after returning to Washington early from his Florida resort amid a fight with Congress over a defense bill and coronavirus aid checks. Trump praised his administration’s accomplishments, which he said included its handling of the coronavirus pandemic and rebuilding the economy. Trump, who had COVID-19 in October, frequently played down the severity of the pandemic and oversaw a response many health experts have criticized as disorganized, cavalier and that sometimes ignored the science behind virus transmission. Trump said that the United States had produced a COVID-19 vaccine in record time and that he had correctly predicted this would come before the year ended. Pedestrians wear protective masks during the coronavirus pandemic in Times Square in New York, Dec. 31, 2020.The United States is among the countries hardest hit by COVID-19 and leads the world in fatalities, with more than 344,000 deaths officially attributed to the virus, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Trump had been scheduled to attend a New Year’s Eve party at his Mar-a-Lago resort. The White House has given no reason for his early return to Washington, but it coincided with Trump’s fight with Congress over his veto of a major defense bill and his demand for increased COVID-19 stimulus checks, as well as a spike in tensions with Iran. Trump ignored shouted questions from reporters about Iran and whether he would attend Biden’s January 20 inauguration as he arrived back at the White House. Biden was expected see in the new year at his beach house in Delaware, although he was to appear on the ABC special “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2021.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in the chamber, dealt a likely death blow on Wednesday to Trump’s bid to boost coronavirus aid to Americans, declining to schedule a swift vote on a bill to raise relief checks to $2,000 from the $600 included in a $892 billion relief package passed by Congress earlier this month. Unsupported claims Trump’s fellow Republicans in Congress have largely stuck with him through four turbulent years, but he is angry that they have not fully backed his unsupported claims of election fraud or supported him over the stimulus checks and veto. He attacked Republican leaders in tweets this week as “pathetic” and accused the party of having a “death wish” if it did not increase stimulus payments for struggling Americans. FILE – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky walks to the Senate floor on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 30, 2020.McConnell on Thursday again rejected a vote on a standalone bill that would increase the stimulus checks, calling it “socialism for rich people” and “a terrible way to get help to families who actually need it.” The bill was passed by the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives on Monday. McConnell also said there should be nothing controversial about approving the $740 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which Trump vetoed because it does not repeal certain legal protections for tech companies. “We’ve enacted an annual NDAA for 59 straight years and counting,” McConnell said. “In the next few days – the easy way or the hard way – we’re going to do our job once again. This body will fulfill our responsibility to the men and women who protect our country.” The House voted to overturn Trump’s veto on Monday. The Senate will convene again Friday at noon EST (1700 GMT) for a rare New Year’s Day session in which lawmakers are expected to cast the first of two procedural votes aimed at overriding the veto. If that succeeds, the Senate is expected to hold a second procedural vote on Saturday followed by a final vote on passage. Tensions with Iran U.S.-Iran tensions, meanwhile, have again spiked. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Thursday accused Washington of trying to fabricate a pretext for attacking his country and vowed Tehran would defend itself even though it does not seek war. Two U.S. B-52 bombers flew over the Middle East on Wednesday in what U.S. officials said was a message of deterrence to Iran ahead of the first anniversary of a U.S. drone strike that killed top Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani on January 3, 2020.
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By Polityk | 01/01/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Senator Perdue in Quarantine After Coronavirus Contact Days Before Vote
David Perdue, one of two Republican U.S. senators facing a runoff election in Georgia next week that will determine control of the Senate, is quarantining after coming in close contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus, his campaign said Thursday.Perdue was notified of the contact Thursday and has tested negative, his campaign said.It did not say how close the contact was or when it occurred, how long his quarantine would last or how it would impact any campaign events, adding that more information would be provided later.Perdue faces Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff in an election Tuesday that will help determine whether Republicans will keep control of the Senate under Democratic President-elect Joe Biden.Fellow incumbent Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler faces Democrat Raphael Warnock in another runoff election Tuesday. More than 2.8 million people in Georgia have voted early.
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By Polityk | 01/01/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Bill for Higher Stimulus Payouts Stalls in Senate
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday the Senate would not quickly take up a House bill to boost the size of pandemic relief payments for most Americans to $2,000 from the current $600. The Kentucky senator said the House bill “has no realistic path to quickly pass the Senate.” With a new Congress due to be sworn in January 3, it was unclear what, if any, actions would be taken by the current Congress. Without action, the House bill will expire. McConnell introduced a measure Tuesday that tied the demand for higher coronavirus pandemic relief payments together with some of President Donald Trump’s unrelated demands concerning a U.S. defense bill that the president has vetoed. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky walks to the Senate floor on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 30, 2020.Trump had also criticized the pandemic relief bill, which he finally signed Sunday after several days of delay. Democrats have long supported higher payments, and the Democrat-majority House quickly agreed to boost the sum to $2,000 after Trump first advocated the larger amount. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer objected to McConnell’s attempt to tie the stimulus money to Trump’s demands that social media companies be stripped of some legal protections and that a fresh investigation of potential election fraud be started. Republicans have mounted dozens of lawsuits without uncovering any evidence of fraud in the November presidential election won by Democrat Joe Biden.Even if the combined legislation passed the Senate, it would have to go back to the Democrat-controlled House for a vote on the new provisions. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 30, 2020.”Senator McConnell knows how to make $2,000 survival checks reality and he knows how to kill them,” Schumer said Tuesday. “If Senator McConnell tries loading up the bipartisan House-passed CASH Act with unrelated, partisan provisions that will do absolutely nothing to help struggling families across the country, it will not pass the House and cannot become law — any move like this by Senator McConnell would be a blatant attempt to deprive Americans of a $2,000 survival check.” McConnell blocked Schumer’s attempt Tuesday to force an immediate up-or-down vote on the stand-alone measure authorizing the $2,000 payments. How the Republican-majority Senate will proceed with the two proposals is not clear. Some Republicans have expressed support for bigger coronavirus payments directed to families with combined annual incomes of up to $150,000, who make up about 81% of all U.S. households. Among the Republican proponents are Georgia’s two senators, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, who are facing runoff elections next week. Their Democratic challengers also favor the bigger payments. But some Republicans have voiced opposition, saying the bigger payments would be too costly and would not necessarily boost the U.S. economy, which has been staggered by the coronavirus pandemic. Defense billOn another pending piece of legislation, McConnell is urging his colleagues to override Trump’s veto of a $740 billion defense spending measure in a vote expected this week. “President Trump has rightly noted this year’s defense bill doesn’t contain every provision that we Republicans would have wanted. I’m confident our Democratic colleagues feel the same way,” McConnell said Tuesday. “But that is the case every year. And yet, for 59 consecutive years and counting, Washington has put our differences aside, found common ground and passed the annual defense bill.” The Senate approved the NDAA 84-13 earlier this month, far more than the two-thirds vote needed to override a veto. After Trump’s veto, the House of Representatives responded with an overwhelming vote to override it on Monday. McConnell was hoping to hold the Senate vote on Wednesday. However, liberal senators led by Bernie Sanders have been blocking action on the defense bill to press for a Senate vote on the increased coronavirus relief payments. A vote in the Senate could come later this week or over the weekend. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks to reporters while leaving the Senate floor on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 30, 2020.If the Senate approves the override, it would be the first time Congress has gone against a Trump veto during his four years in office. Trump on Tuesday called the defense legislation a “disgraceful act of cowardice and total submission by weak people to Big Tech. Negotiate a better Bill, or get better leaders, NOW! Senate should not approve NDAA until fixed!!!″ The president has criticized the bill on several fronts, including saying it should include the repeal of a provision that protects social media companies from liability over content their users post. Trump has voiced his displeasure that Twitter has frequently labeled his claims that he was defrauded of reelection as “disputed.” He also said the bill restricted his ability to bring U.S. troops home from “foreign lands who do NOTHING for us.” And Trump has demanded the removal of language that allows the renaming of U.S. military bases that honor leaders of the Confederacy, which seceded from the United States in the early 1860s, before collapsing at the end of the Civil War in 1865.
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By Polityk | 12/31/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Vitriol Hangs Over Georgia’s January 5 Runoff
Two crucial Senate runoff elections will be held in the southern state of Georgia next week, with inflammatory accusations still circulating about the state’s handling of last month’s presidential election. As Mike O’Sullivan reports, the rhetoric about election fraud has reached dangerous levels, casting a cloud over the Jan. 5 runoffs.
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By Polityk | 12/31/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Vitriol Hangs Over Upcoming Georgia Runoff
Two crucial Senate runoff elections will be held in the Southern state of Georgia next week, with inflammatory accusations still circulating about the state’s handling of last month’s presidential election — and on the same voting machines that are at the center of President Donald Trump’s charges that the November balloting was fixed. Courts around the country have rejected the claims of fraud in Georgia and elsewhere, and election officials from Trump’s own Republican Party have defended the handling of the November 3 vote in that state. But they also say the rhetoric has reached dangerous levels, casting a cloud over the January 5 runoffs. FILE – Cobb County Election officials sort ballots during an audit in Marietta, Ga., Nov. 13, 2020.Protesters at “Stop the Steal” rallies around the country, endorsed by Trump, have said he was the true winner of the presidential election, a claim Trump has made himself in more than a dozen tweets and retweets and a December 2 statement. “With the turn of a dial, with the change of a (computer) chip, you can press a button for Trump and the vote goes to Biden. What kind of a system is this?” he said. ‘Numbers don’t lie’Election officials from both parties and nearly all observers say there is no evidence of pervasive fraud. William Barr, who resigned as attorney general December 23, said he found no fraud that could have changed the outcome. “This is probably one of the best-run elections the United States has ever done,” said Raphael Sonenshein of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at California State University-Los Angeles. FILE – A GOP observer, left, watches as workers scan ballots as the Fulton County presidential recount gets under way at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Nov. 25, 2020.He said turnout was huge — more than 157 million people cast their ballots, two-thirds of eligible voters. “It was done very smoothly, and there were almost no documented cases of serious problems in the race,” he said. At issue for protesters are alleged irregularities in the mail-in voting process and unproven allegations of rigged voting machines from Dominion Voting Systems. Trump’s supporters and some Republican state officials, led by Republicans in Texas, filed more than 50 lawsuits to reverse the vote in seven swing states. None has been successful. Biden condemned the Republican effort in remarks December 14, saying “this legal maneuver was an effort by elected officials of one group of states to try to get officials to wipe out the votes of more than 20 million Americans in other states.” A November recount in Georgia confirmed that Biden had won there, and a Republican official said November 20 that the issue was settled. “I live by the motto that numbers don’t lie,” said Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. A partial recount in Wisconsin also cemented Biden’s win in that state.Death threats Dominion said its employees have received death threats because of charges the company calls “fabrications.” So have election workers in Georgia, where Gabriel Sterling, manager of Georgia Voting Systems, issued a plea on December 2. FILE – A monitor showing Dominion Voting Image Cast Central display tab is seen as Cobb County Election officials count ballots on a machine, in Marietta, Ga., Nov. 24, 2020.Directly addressing Trump in public remarks earlier this month, Sterling said, “Mr. President, you have not condemned these actions or this language. Senators, you have not condemned this language or these actions. This has to stop.” Still, Trump has not backed down. “I went from leading by a lot to losing by a little,” he has said, describing the shift in the count as the votes were tallied in some states. Some Republicans have acknowledged Biden’s win, among them Senators Marco Rubio, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins and Mitt Romney. But others are silent on Trump’s fraud claims that have clouded the Georgia runoff. Senator Josh Hawley from Missouri said Wednesday that he would contest the certification of the Electoral College vote next week. Republican Senator to Contest Biden’s Electoral College VictoryMissouri’s Josh Hawley says Congress should investigate ‘voter fraud,’ but Democrat is still expected to officially win presidency next week“You’ve got a split Republican Party,” said Sonenshein. It is a problem for Republicans in a tight election, with high stakes for both sides.
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By Polityk | 12/31/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Census Bureau to Miss Deadline, Jeopardizing Trump Plan
The Census Bureau plans to announce it will miss a year-end deadline for handing in numbers used for divvying up congressional seats. That delay could undermine President Donald Trump’s efforts to exclude people in the country illegally from the count if the figures aren’t turned in before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.It will be the first time that the December 31 target date has been missed since Congress implemented the deadline more than four decades ago.Internal documents obtained this month by a House committee show that Census Bureau officials don’t see the apportionment numbers being ready until days after Biden is inaugurated on January 20.Once in office, Biden could rescind Trump’s presidential memorandum directing the Census Bureau to exclude people in the country illegally from numbers used for divvying up congressional seats among the states. An influential GOP adviser had advocated excluding them from the apportionment.
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By Polityk | 12/31/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Senate Poised to Vote on Defense Funding Veto Override
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is urging his colleagues to override President Donald Trump’s veto of a $740 billion defense spending measure in a vote expected this week. “President Trump has rightly noted this year’s defense bill doesn’t contain every provision that we Republicans would have wanted. I’m confident our Democratic colleagues feel the same way,” McConnell said Tuesday. “But that is the case every year. And yet, for 59 consecutive years and counting, Washington has put our differences aside, found common ground, and passed the annual defense bill.” The Senate approved the NDAA in an 84-13 vote earlier this month, far more than the two-thirds vote needed to override a veto. After Trump’s veto, the House of Representatives responded with an overwhelming vote to override it on Monday. McConnell was hoping to hold the Senate vote on Wednesday. However liberal senators led by Bernie Sanders are blocking action on the defense bill until the Senate votes on a proposal to increase coronavirus relief payments to Americans. If the Senate approves the override, it would be the first time Congress has gone against a Trump veto during his four years in office. Trump on Tuesday called the defense legislation a “disgraceful act of cowardice and total submission by weak people to Big Tech. Negotiate a better Bill, or get better leaders, NOW! Senate should not approve NDAA until fixed!!!″ The president has criticized the bill on several fronts, including saying it should include the repeal of a provision that protects social media companies from liability over content their users post. Trump has voiced his displeasure that Twitter has frequently labeled his claims that he was defrauded of re-election as “disputed.” He also said the bill restricted his ability to bring U.S. troops home from “foreign lands who do NOTHING for us.” And Trump has demanded the removal of language that allows the renaming of U.S. military bases that honor leaders of the Confederacy, which seceded from the United States in the early 1860s, before collapsing at the end of the Civil War in 1865.McConnell introduced a measure Tuesday that ties together some of Trump’s complaints about the defense bill and the president’s demand for higher coronavirus pandemic relief payments that were part of a massive funding bill signed Sunday. Trump had harshly criticized that bill as well, before relenting while he demanded the $600 payments be increased. Democrats have long supported the higher payments, and the Democrat-majority House quickly approved them. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer objected to McConnell’s attempt to tie the stimulus money to Trump’s demands on social media companies and allegations of election fraud. “Senator McConnell knows how to make $2,000 survival checks reality and he knows how to kill them,” Schumer said Tuesday. “If Sen. McConnell tries loading up the bipartisan House-passed CASH Act with unrelated, partisan provisions that will do absolutely nothing to help struggling families across the country, it will not pass the House and cannot become law – any move like this by Sen. McConnell would be a blatant attempt to deprive Americans of a $2,000 survival check.” McConnell blocked Schumer’s attempt Tuesday to force an immediate up-or-down vote on the stand-alone measure authorizing the $2,000 payments. How the Republican-majority Senate will proceed with the two proposals is not clear. Some Republicans have expressed support for the bigger coronavirus payments to those with annual family incomes of up to $150,000, comprising about 81% of all U.S. households. Among the Republican proponents are Georgia’s two embattled senators — David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler — who are facing run-off elections against Democratic challengers next week who also favor the bigger payments. But some Republicans have voiced opposition, saying the bigger payments would be too costly and would not necessarily boost the U.S. economy, which has been staggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
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By Polityk | 12/30/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden, Harris, Trump Staging Georgia Senate Runoff Rallies
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and outgoing President Donald Trump are all planning to campaign in the southern state of Georgia in the final two days ahead of next Tuesday’s crucial Senate runoff elections. Harris is staging a rally Sunday in the Atlantic coastal city of Savannah for the Democratic contenders, the Rev. Raphael Warnock, a Baptist minister, who is opposing incumbent Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler, and Jon Ossoff, a television documentary producer who is running against Republican Senator David Perdue. Biden and Trump both have announced rallies for Monday, the day before the Tuesday in-person voting. FILE – Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., speaks as President Donald Trump and Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., listen at a campaign rally at Valdosta Regional Airport in Georgia, Dec. 5, 2020.Biden will rally with the two Democrats in Georgia’s biggest city, Atlanta, while Trump is stumping for Loeffler and Perdue farther north in Whitfield County at the Dalton Regional Airport. Vice President Mike Pence has previously campaigned in the state for the two Republicans, as have two of Trump’s adult children, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump. The two runoff elections became necessary because none of the four candidates won a majority in their respective November 3 elections, although Perdue led Ossoff in their two-man race and Warnock topped Loeffler in a 10-candidate field. The latest polling shows both contests too close to suggest who might win either vote. The outcome holds importance in Washington, with political control of the Senate at stake during the first two years of Biden’s presidency after he is inaugurated January 20. Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
FILE – U.S. President-elect Joe Biden stands between Democratic U.S. Senate candidates Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff ahead of their January 5 runoff elections, at Pullman Yard in Atlanta, Georgia, Dec. 15, 2020.But if both Warnock and Ossoff were to win, there would be a 50-50, Democratic-Republican split in the Senate, giving Harris the opportunity to break tie votes in favor of the Democrats in organizing the committees and controlling the legislative calendar. Republican control would complicate passage of Biden’s legislative agenda over the next two years, likely forcing extensive negotiations on such controversial issues as extending health care benefits, setting immigration controls and establishing climate regulations. Democratic control, if the party’s members vote as a bloc, could ease the path for Biden’s initiatives. Georgia, once a reliable Republican stronghold, narrowly swung to Biden over Trump in the November 3 election by just under 12,000 votes out of the 5 million cast. Despite Trump’s protests that election fraud cost him the state’s 16 electoral votes in the Electoral College that determines the outcome of U.S. presidential elections, a first count of the vote and then two recounts all showed Biden the winner. Biden was the first Democratic presidential candidate to win Georgia in 28 years, giving the party the hope that Warnock and Ossoff could also win their contests. Voter turnout for the runoffs is expected to be heavy, with more than 2.3 million people having already cast early ballots — 1.5 million in person and 800,000 by mail. Another 500,000 voters have requested mail-in ballots. But the vote count so far is not known since early ballots can only be tallied starting Tuesday. Turnout so far has been highest in some of the heavily populated areas around Atlanta that handed Biden his narrow victory in the state.
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By Polityk | 12/30/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Georgia Runoff Elections to Determine US Senate Control
A runoff election in the U.S. state of Georgia has profound implications for Democrat Joe Biden, who will be sworn in as U.S. president January 20th. At stake: two Senate seats that will decide the balance of power in the U.S. Congress. Mike O’Sullivan explains.
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By Polityk | 12/30/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Senate Balance of Power Hangs on Georgia Runoff
Early voting is under way in the U.S. southern state of Georgia for two Senate seats for which none of the candidates received a majority of the vote in the November election. At stake in the January 5 runoff vote — the balance of power in the U.S. Congress. Both U.S. President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden have focused their energies on the races. Trump told a December 5 rally in the state that “the voters of Georgia will determine which party runs every committee, writes every piece of legislation, controls every single taxpayer dollar,” as he urged support for incumbent Republican Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue.FILE – Senator Kelly Loeffler, a Republican from Georgia, speaks during a reelection campaign rally in Marietta, Georgia, March 9, 2020.He plans to hold another rally on January 4 in Dalton, Georgia. Biden has campaigned for Democratic candidates Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, telling voters on December 15 to “send me these two men, and we will control the Senate and will change the lives of people in Georgia.” FILE – Candidate for U.S. Senate Sen. David Perdue speaks during a campaign rally, in Cumming, Ga., Nov. 13, 2020.Both races are competitive. Warnock is essentially tied with Loeffler. She was appointed to her seat by the state’s governor to replace Senator Johnny Isakson, who retired a year ago for health reasons. The race between Ossoff and Perdue is also tight. Perdue was elected in 2014, and Ossoff has closed the gap to achieve a virtual tie in recent polling. FILE – Democratic U.S. Senate challenger the Rev. Raphael Warnock waves during a rally in Columbus, Ga., Dec. 21, 2020.Power in the U.S. Congress has been divided. Democrats continue to hold a majority in the House of Representatives, and the January 5 Georgia vote will give either party control of the Senate. “If the Democrats can pull off two victories, there will be 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats — a tie,” said political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jeffe. FILE – Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate from Georgia Jon Ossoff speaks after voting early in Atlanta, Dec. 22, 2020.Tie-breaking votes would be cast by Democrat Kamala Harris, the next vice president, who will preside over the Senate. Democrats need to win both seats to gain control, and Republicans need just one. Biden reversed recent voting patterns in November, winning Georgia by a fraction of a percent, while the two Democratic Senate candidates forced runoffs by preventing the incumbents from reaching the threshold of 50% plus one vote. “That was a gigantic victory for Democrats,” said Raphael Sonenshein, executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at California State University, Los Angeles. “Even though it’s a long shot for the Democrats to win both seats, it’s a sign that Georgia is moving the way that other parts of the South may be heading — toward a new coalition.” Atlanta’s Increasingly Diverse Suburbs Could Decide US Senate Control Georgia’s dual runoff Senate contests January 5 follow Democrat Joe Biden’s November victory fueled by minority voters in the Republican-leaning stateHe said Georgia, like the southern states of Virginia and North Carolina, has seen an influx of college-educated voters, who tend to vote Democratic. “The African American population, Latino population, Asian American population got larger in those states,” said Sonenshein, leading to what he said is a more progressive electorate. Still, Jeffe said, the Senate contest will come down to who gets out the vote. “The Democrats are moving strongly with regard to a shoe leather campaign, knocking on doors, even in a pandemic,” she said, noting that Republicans lead in fundraising.
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By Polityk | 12/30/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Democrats Push for Senate Vote on Higher Pandemic Relief
Democrats plan to push Tuesday for the U.S. Senate to pass higher pandemic relief payments to Americans, meeting President Donald Trump’s demand for $2,000 COVID-19 relief checks that has already been approved by the House of Representatives.With Democrats in the minority in the Senate, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell giving no public indication of bringing the measure for a vote, prominent Democratic figures said they intended to take several possible paths toward forcing action.FILE – Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 1, 2020.Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer planned to use a procedural move that can be halted if any senator objects.“There’s strong support for these $2,000 emergency checks from every corner of the country,” Schumer said in a statement. “Leader McConnell ought to make sure Senate Republicans do not stand in the way of helping to meet the needs of American workers and families who are crying out for help.”Republicans have largely resisted the additional spending. Congressman Kevin Brady said the bill would not help the nation’s unemployed get back to work.”I worry that as we spend another half a trillion dollars so hastily, that we are not targeting this help to the Americans who are struggling the most and need that help,” Brady said.In this image from video, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during the first night of the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 17, 2020. (Democratic National Convention via AP)Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, threatened Monday to block action on another pressing issue, overriding Trump’s veto of key defense legislation, until the Senate votes on the higher relief payments.“Let me be clear: If Senator McConnell doesn’t agree to an up or down vote to provide the working people of our country a $2,000 direct payment, Congress will not be going home for New Year’s Eve,” Sanders said in a statement.Trump shared a tweet late Monday that cited the Sanders plan, and without commenting on it specifically he reiterated his support for the increased payments.“Give the people $2000, not $600,” Trump wrote. “They have suffered enough!”The Democrat-led House passed the additional pandemic relief payments by a vote of 275-134 on Monday. Congress had previously passed $600 payments for struggling Americans as part of a $2.3 trillion pandemic aid and spending package that came after weeks of negotiations between Republican and Democratic leaders.President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump board Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Dec. 23, 2020.Trump sharply criticized the legislation, threatening to block its passage if Congress did not increase the stimulus payments to $2,000 and cut other spending. But on Sunday, as a government shutdown loomed, he signed the bill.The House also passed a measure Monday that would override Trump’s veto of a $740 billion bill funding the country’s defense programs, securing the two-thirds vote necessary to override a presidential veto. The defense spending bill also gives raises to members of the military and sets Pentagon policy on issues such as troop levels, weapons systems and personnel matters. The Senate could vote on the measure as early as Tuesday and is also expected to override Trump’s veto. Trump has criticized the defense bill on several fronts, arguing without explanation that the bill benefits China. He has demanded the removal of language that allows the renaming of military bases that honor leaders of the Confederacy, which seceded from the United States in the 1860s, before collapsing at the end of the U.S. Civil War a few years later.He has also demanded the repeal of a provision that protects social media companies from liability over content their users post.
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By Polityk | 12/29/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Atlanta’s Increasingly Diverse Suburbs Could Decide US Senate Control
Gwinnett County is located just 16 kilometers northeast of Atlanta and is one of the most populous suburbs of Georgia’s largest city. In November, Democrat Joe Biden won 58% of the presidential vote in the county, helping propel his razor-thin margin of victory in Georgia overall.
Thirty years ago, however, Gwinnett county was mostly rural and a Republican stronghold in a state where Republicans have long dominated.
“Atlanta was mostly African American and voted Democrat, but, back then, the suburbs around Atlanta were like the rest of Georgia — a lot of white people nearly exclusively voting Republican,” Nick Masino, President and CEO of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, told VOA. “But it’s nothing like that anymore.”FILE – In this Nov. 13, 2020 file photo, candidate for U.S. Senate Sen. David Perdue speaks during a campaign rally, in Cumming, Ga.Barely two months after Biden became just the second Democrat since 1980 to carry Georgia, the state remains in the political limelight as voters return to the polls on January 5 to decide two run-off races that will determine which political party controls the U.S. Senate. Biden’s ability to advance his legislative agenda could hang in the balance.The state’s two Republican senators, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, are trying to fend off tough, well financed Democratic challenges from Jon Ossoff, and the Rev. Raphael Warnock, respectively, in an election that has already seen more than $500 million spent. If Democrats capture both seats, the Senate will be divided 50-50 between the Democrats and Republicans, but Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will break the tie in favor of the Democrats. If either Perdue or Loeffler or both wins, Republicans will retain control of the Senate.FILE – In this Nov. 13, 2020, file photo Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Sen. Kelly Loeffler speaks at a campaign rally in Cumming, Ga.But while there is an unusual amount of attention on the state — including competing campaign events featuring President Donald Trump, President-elect Biden as well as a host of celebrities — there is a lot about Georgia and its electorate that outsiders may not realize.
“We know there are people from all over the world watching us right now,” Masino said, “but I don’t think people understand what’s been going on here. We’ve grown so fast over the last few decades, this isn’t the Georgia people think they know. We’ve become so diverse — there aren’t many places in the world like it, and that could have a big impact on this election.”A political shiftJust kilometers to the west of Gwinnett is Cobb County, another of Atlanta’s suburbs. It’s population was reported at more than 760,000 in 2019 — more than doubling since 1990 — and like the rest of Atlanta’s outskirts, it has undergone a transformation that would have been unimaginable even 15 years ago.
“When I first moved to Cobb County in 2007, it was considered a bastion of conservative Republicanism,” Dr. Andrew Pieper, an associate professor of political science at Kennesaw State University told VOA. “It was the heart of the state GOP.”Democratic U.S. Senate challenger the Rev. Raphael Warnock during a rally Dec. 21, 2020 in Columbus, Ga.
The political shift can be seen by looking at how Atlanta’s suburbs voted in presidential elections over the last two decades. In 2004, Republican incumbent President George Bush walloped Democratic challenger John Kerry by more than 32 percentage points in Gwinnett County. Eight years later, Democratic President Barack Obama limited his Republican opponent’s advantage in the county to just over 9%.
In 2016, Democrat Hilary Clinton actually beat Trump by nearly six percentage points in Gwinnett — even though Trump won Georgia as a whole by five percentage points. This past November, Biden beat Trump by a whopping 18 percentage points in the county, and carried Georgia by just under 12,000 votes . Before then, Bill Clinton was the last Democrat to win a statewide presidential race in Georgia, in 1992.
It’s a similar story in Cobb County and throughout Atlanta’s sprawling suburbs. But what caused the shift?
The answer can be found by examining the area’s changing demographics.Demographic revolutionGeorgia today bears little resemblance to the state that maintained a web of racially discriminatory laws for a century after the U.S. Civil War. But residents know that reputations die hard.Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate from Georgia Jon Ossoff speaks after voting early in Atlanta on Dec. 22, 2020.
“People think of us as a bunch of racists, but that’s just not true,” said Masino. “Those of us in metro Atlanta live among people of color every day. We go to church together, go to school together and go to work together. Things are different than they used to be, and I think the large majority of us really value that diversity.”
According to Masino and others, change accelerated as Atlanta prepared to host the 1996 Olympics. Georgia worked hard to attract international companies, and that effort paid off as there are more than 3,000 global-based companies in the state today.
“Immigrant families started to notice that people from their home countries were moving to the Atlanta suburbs,” Masino explained, “and that they were welcomed here, that there were jobs available, and that the school systems were good. So more and more people started to come.”
Atlanta’s metro area today boasts 51,000 Korean immigrants as well as 44,000 people from Vietnam. Immigrants from India and Pakistan number 31,000, while 13,500 Atlanta area residents came to the United States from China.
“The Atlanta area’s thought of us as just being black and white, and that might have been true 30 years ago, but it’s not anymore,” Masino said. “We have the fourth largest population of residents of Korean descent in North America.”
Gwinnett County, which was 90% white in 1990, is just 30% white today, according to the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, with the majority of the county made up of minorities: 32% Black, 26% Hispanic and 12% Asian. One in four residents of the county were born outside of the United States.
And diversity is growing across the metro area. Even in places like Paulding County, which as of 2018 was still 75% white, that number has dropped significantly since the turn of the century when the county’s white residents made up 91% of the population.
For many newcomers to the area, that diversity is one of the most appealing parts of the region. This is true for Liz Mace Neider, who moved to Atlanta four years ago. Her husband works for a French company headquartered in Germany. When they decided to move to the U.S., they came to Alpharetta — roughly a half hour drive from Atlanta — because his company had opened an office in the growing city.
“When we first moved here, I was immediately struck by how diverse it was,” said Liz, who is part-Korean but was born in the United States. “We had a neighbor who had been there for 20 years and he was Caucasian. Another neighbor was from Honduras, another was from Columbia and our landlord was from Hong Kong. It’s actually sometimes hard to find people who were born in Atlanta!”An electionWith just a week to go before the election, people across the country and the world are waiting to see how Georgia’s newfound diversity will translate to votes in an election that will help determine America’s political trajectory.
“Not all ethnicities vote as a single bloc, but in general, diversity tends to favor the Democrats,” Masino said. “These multicultural suburbs helped Biden win, but it’s unclear if they’ll turn out in large numbers for a pair of run-off Senate races.
Without President Trump on the ballot or a presidency hanging in the balance, Pieper agreed that November’s election results might not mirror vote totals from next week’s Senate contests.
“I’d be hard pressed to bet against the GOP [Republicans] until the Democrats show they can actually turn out their base to vote in run-offs,” he said. “The idiom about ‘close doesn’t count’ has never been truer than when applied to a winner-take-all election.”
With polls so close, most experts agree that the race will likely be determined by whichever party can motivate enough of their base to go to the ballot box.
Dontaye Carter is the Communications Chair for the Fulton County Democrats —based just outside of Atlanta. Last week he was talking to voters at a toy and food drive, trying to get Democrats excited about the run-offs. Carter is Black and moved to the area from Orlando just eight years ago. He said he’s hopeful residents will turn out in the same numbers that helped deliver the state’s votes to Biden weeks ago.
“Voters here just helped remove a President and several district attorneys, and they influenced a bunch of other races,” Carter said. “I think people in these neighborhoods are starting to realize how much they matter and — when they use it — how much their voice matters, too.”
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By Polityk | 12/29/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden: Trump Aides Setting ‘Roadblocks’ for Transition Team
President-elect Joe Biden said on Monday that many of America’s security agencies had been “hollowed out” under President Donald Trump, and the lack of information being provided to his transition team by the outgoing administration was an “irresponsibility.” “We’ve encountered roadblocks from the political leadership at the Department of Defense and the Office of Management and Budget,” Biden said after a meeting with his foreign policy team. “Right now, we just aren’t getting all of the information that we need from the outgoing administration in key national security areas. It’s nothing short, in my view, of irresponsibility,” he added. Trump, a Republican, has refused to concede defeat in the November 3 election, and his administration delayed authorized cooperation with Biden until November 23. Biden takes office January 20. Information from Pentagon Earlier this month, Biden’s team said they had met resistance to requests for information from some Pentagon officials. The Pentagon pushed back. A senior defense official last week said that the Pentagon had conducted 163 interviews and 181 requests for information and that it would continue to provide information and meetings. But Biden reiterated his team’s concerns Monday. When he takes office, he will inherit a wide range of foreign policy and national security challenges, including China, Iran and North Korea, as well as the coronavirus pandemic raging across the globe. One of his toughest tasks will be rebuilding U.S. alliances that have frayed under four years of Trump’s “America First” agenda. “My team needs a clear picture of our force posture around the world and our operations to deter our enemies,” Biden said. “We need full visibility to the budget planning underway at the Defense Department and other agencies in order to avoid any window of confusion or catch-up that our adversaries may try to exploit.” ‘Damage’ within agenciesBut Biden said his team, while securing cooperation from some federal agencies, had “encountered obstruction from the political leadership” at the Pentagon. “And the truth is that many of the agencies that are crucial to our security have incurred enormous damage. Many of them have been hollowed out — in personnel, capacity and in morale,” he said. “There’s policy processes that have atrophied or have been sidelined to the despair of our alliances.”
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By Polityk | 12/29/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
House Passes Higher Pandemic Relief, Overrides Trump Defense Veto
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed higher pandemic relief payments to Americans, meeting President Donald Trump’s demand for $2,000 COVID-19 relief checks, and it passed an override of Trump’s veto of a multibillion-dollar bill funding the country’s defense programs. The House interrupted its usual Christmas recess to return to work to pass the measures Monday, less than a week before a new Congress is to be sworn into office. The Democrat-led House passed the additional pandemic relief payments by a vote of 275-134. The House and Senate had previously passed $600 payments for struggling Americans as part of a compromise $2.3 trillion pandemic aid and spending package between Democratic and Republican lawmakers, however Trump sharply criticized the legislation. He threatened to block its passage if Congress did not increase the stimulus payments to $2,000 and cut other spending. But on Sunday, as a government shutdown loomed, he signed the bill. Trump’s support for the larger checks has been seen as a rebuke to members of his Republican Party, whose members have largely resisted the extra spending. The Republican-led Senate is set to return to session Tuesday to consider the measure, where its fate is uncertain.The House also passed a measure Monday that would override Trump’s veto of a $740 billion bill funding the country’s defense programs, securing the two-thirds vote necessary to override a presidential veto. The defense spending bill also gives raises to members of the military and sets Pentagon policy on issues such as troop levels, weapons systems and personnel matters. FILE – President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump board Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Dec. 23, 2020. Trump traveled to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.The Senate could vote on the measure as early as Tuesday and is also expected to override Trump’s veto. Trump has criticized the defense bill on several fronts, arguing without explanation that the bill benefits China. He has demanded the removal of language that allows the renaming of military bases that honor leaders of the Confederacy, which seceded from the United States in the 1860s, before collapsing at the end of the U.S. Civil War a few years later. He has also demanded the repeal of a provision that protects social media companies from liability over content their users post. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Trump’s veto “an act of staggering recklessness that harms our troops.”Trump went against lawmakers with both his veto of the defense bill and his criticism of the $2.3 trillion spending package, passed by both the House and Senate. Trump initially called the spending package “a disgrace,” but relented Sunday and signed it.In a statement announcing his signature for the spending bill, Trump said, “As president, I have told Congress that I want far less wasteful spending and more money going to the American people in the form of $2,000 checks per adult and $600 per child.”Without Trump’s signature or passage of a stopgap measure to fund operations, a partial government shutdown would have begun Tuesday. Increased unemployment benefits and eviction protections expired early Sunday.The spending bill Trump signed includes $900 billion for coronavirus relief and $1.4 trillion for government funding through next September.Democrats have characterized the coronavirus relief bill as just a first step in their push for a more expansive aid package. “We need to ensure robust support for state and local government to distribute and administer a vaccine, keep workers employed and prevent devastating service cuts — and we must do so as soon as possible,” Pelosi said.FILE – U.S. Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), walks from the Senate floor following an agreement of a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) aid package, on Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C., Dec. 21, 2020.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell praised Trump for preventing “a government shutdown at a time when our nation could not have afforded one.” “The bipartisan rescue package that Republicans in Congress and the Trump Administration negotiated with the Democrats will extend another major lifeline to workers at struggling small businesses, renew major relief for laid-off Americans, invest billions more in vaccine distribution, send cash directly to households, and more. The compromise bill is not perfect, but it will do an enormous amount of good for struggling Kentuckians and Americans across the country who need help now,” McConnell said in a statement.Trump said in announcing his signature for the spending package that he was also insisting on changes to the funding legislation to remove what he called “wasteful items.” Those demands amount to suggestions to Congress and will not necessarily result in any changes to the bill.“I am signing this bill to restore unemployment benefits, stop evictions, provide rental assistance, add money for PPP (Paycheck Protection Program), return our airline workers back to work, add substantially more money for vaccine distribution, and much more,” Trump added.
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By Polityk | 12/29/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
US House to Vote on Higher Pandemic Relief Payments
Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are planning to vote Monday on higher pandemic relief payments to Americans, after President Donald Trump backed down from his fight with lawmakers over the payments and signed a $2.3 trillion pandemic aid and spending package.On Sunday Trump signed the spending package, which includes $600 in stimulus payments for struggling Americans, after previously calling the bill “a disgrace.”Trump called for the stimulus payments to be boosted to $2,000 while also criticizing funding for multiple government programs in the spending bill such as foreign aid and scientific research.Trump Signs Spending Bill, Pandemic Aid PackageThe president had refused to sign a pandemic aid bill; he tweeted Saturday that he wants $2,000 checks for Americans instead of the $600 aid negotiated by lawmakersDemocrats in the House agree that the payments should be higher and will vote Monday on issuing $2,000 relief checks for Americans. However, the Republican-controlled Senate is expected to oppose the measure.Trump’s support for the larger checks had been seen as a rebuke to members of his Republican party, who resisted Democratic efforts to negotiate larger payments.“As President, I have told Congress that I want far less wasteful spending and more money going to the American people in the form of $2,000 checks per adult and $600 per child,” Trump said in a statement announcing his signature for the spending bill.Without Trump’s signature or passage of a stopgap measure to fund operations, a partial government shutdown would have begun Tuesday. Increased unemployment benefits and eviction protections expired early Sunday.The spending bill Trump signed includes $900 billion for coronavirus relief and $1.4 trillion for government funding through next September.Will Congress override Trump veto?The House is also expected vote Monday on a measure that would override Trump’s veto of a $740 billion bill funding the country’s defense programs. The measure would also give raises to members of the military and set Pentagon policy on issues such as troop levels, weapons systems and personnel matters.If the House approves the veto override Monday, the Senate could vote on the measure as early as Tuesday. A two-thirds vote in both chambers is required to override a presidential veto.Senate Sends Trump Defense Bill He Has Vowed to VetoVote is 84-13, mirroring a similarly overwhelming margin in the House that, if maintained in both chambers, would be enough to override a potential vetoTrump has criticized the defense bill on several fronts, arguing without explanation that the bill benefits China. He has demanded the removal of language that allows the renaming of military bases that honor leaders of the Confederacy, which attempted to secede from the United States in the 1860s.He has also demanded the addition of a provision making it easier to sue social media companies over content posted by their users.Pelosi called Trump’s veto “an act of staggering recklessness that harms our troops.”Congress is interrupting its usual Christmas recess to return to work on Monday.Democrats have characterized the coronavirus relief bill as just a first step in their push for a more expansive aid package.“We need to ensure robust support for state and local government to distribute and administer a vaccine, keep workers employed and prevent devastating service cuts – and we must do so as soon as possible,” Pelosi said.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell praised Trump for preventing “a government shutdown at a time when our nation could not have afforded one.”“The bipartisan rescue package that Republicans in Congress and the Trump Administration negotiated with the Democrats will extend another major lifeline to workers at struggling small businesses, renew major relief for laid-off Americans, invest billions more in vaccine distribution, send cash directly to households, and more. The compromise bill is not perfect, but it will do an enormous amount of good for struggling Kentuckians and Americans across the country who need help now,” McConnell said in a statement.Trump said in announcing his signature for the spending package that he was also insisting on changes to the funding legislation to remove what he called “wasteful items.” Those demands amount to suggestions to Congress and will not necessarily result in any changes to the bill.“I am signing this bill to restore unemployment benefits, stop evictions, provide rental assistance, add money for PPP, return our airline workers back to work, add substantially more money for vaccine distribution, and much more,” Trump added.
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By Polityk | 12/29/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump Signs Spending Bill, Pandemic Aid Package
With the clock ticking toward a potential U.S. government shutdown, President Donald Trump on Sunday signed a $2.3 trillion spending legislation, which includes $900 billion for coronavirus relief and the remainder for government spending through next September.
The president had called the bill “a disgrace” after it had been passed in the House and Senate, capping months of negotiations in which Trump was little involved.The bill was flown from Washington to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida to be available if Trump decided to sign it into law.
The stand-off appeared to break when Trump hinted in a tweet late Sunday, “Good news on Covid Relief Bill. Information to follow!” Without Trump’s signature or passage of a stopgap measure to fund operations, a partial government shutdown would have begun shortly after midnight Monday. Increased unemployment benefits and eviction protections expired early Sunday.
Trump had sharply criticized the legislation earlier this week and on Saturday indicated his continued objections to it. “I simply want to get our great people $2000, rather than the measly $600 that is now in the bill. Also, stop the billions of dollars in ‘pork’” he tweeted Saturday.I simply want to get our great people $2000, rather than the measly $600 that is now in the bill. Also, stop the billions of dollars in “pork”.— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 26, 2020Trump’s support for the larger checks had been seen as a rebuke to members of his Republican party, which had resisted Democratic efforts to negotiate larger payments. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle called on the President to sign the bill. Over the weekend, a group of bipartisan lawmakers said Trump should choose – either sign the emergency relief bill or veto it outright, which would allow Congress to attempt to override the veto.
“If your objection to the Covid-19 relief bill will prevent you from signing, please veto it immediately. You’ve made your position clear and rejecting it quickly will allow those in favor to act before it is too late,” the lawmakers said. Even with the bill signed, Congress is planning to return to work Monday, interrupting its usual Christmas recess. House members are scheduled to vote Monday to override Trump’s veto of a $740 billion bill authorizing the country’s defense programs. If the House vote passes, the Senate could vote on the measure as early as Tuesday. It requires a two-thirds vote in both chambers to override a presidential veto. Trump has criticized the defense bill on several fronts, arguing without explanation that the bill benefits China. He has demanded the removal of language that allows for the renaming of military bases that honor Confederate leaders who seceded from the United States in the 1860s. He has also demanded the addition of a provision making it easier to sue social media companies over content posted by their users. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Trump’s veto “an act of staggering recklessness that harms our troops.”
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By Polityk | 12/28/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Benefits Expire as Trump Does Not Sign Pandemic Aid Bill
U.S. President Donald Trump did not sign a critical pandemic relief and government funding package before midnight, allowing increased unemployment benefits and eviction protections to expire at 12:01 a.m. Sunday.Trump had sharply criticized the legislation earlier this week and indicated Saturday his continued objections to it.Trump tweeted early Saturday, “I simply want to get our great people $2000, rather than the measly $600 that is now in the bill. Also, stop the billions of dollars in ‘pork’.”I simply want to get our great people $2000, rather than the measly $600 that is now in the bill. Also, stop the billions of dollars in “pork”.— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 26, 2020The larger checks have been seen as a rebuke to members of his own Republican party, which had resisted Democratic efforts to negotiate larger payments.Fourteen million Americans will lose unemployment benefits, according to Labor Department data.President-elect Joe Biden called on Trump to sign the bill.”This abdication of responsibility has devastating consequences. … This bill is critical. It needs to be signed into law now,” Biden, who is spending the holiday in his home state of Delaware, said in a statement.The president is spending the holiday at his Florida resort as Democrats and Republicans wait to see whether he will sign the $2.3 trillion spending legislation, which includes $892 billion for coronavirus relief. The bill has been flown from Washington to his Mar-a-Lago club to be available if he decides to sign it into law.Trump has not specifically threatened to veto the bill, but he surprised lawmakers in both parties by calling it a “disgrace” after it had been passed in the House and Senate, capping months of negotiations.A partial federal government shutdown also would begin early Tuesday if Trump does not sign the bill. Congress is planning to return to work Monday, interrupting its usual Christmas recess, and could take up a stopgap measure to extend government funding for a few days or weeks while the impasse is resolved.House members are also scheduled to vote Monday to override Trump’s veto of a $740 billion bill authorizing the country’s defense programs. If the House vote passes, the Senate could vote on the measure as early as Tuesday. It requires a two-thirds vote in both chambers to override a presidential veto.Trump has criticized the defense bill on several fronts, arguing without explanation that the bill benefits China, and has demanded the removal of language that allows for the renaming of military bases that honor Confederate leaders. He has also demanded the addition of a provision making it easier to sue social media companies over content posted by their users.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Trump’s veto “an act of staggering recklessness that harms our troops.”However, Pelosi has embraced Trump’s call for $2,000 direct payments to all Americans below a specified income level, and on Thursday used a maneuver to force Republicans to defy Trump by blocking the increase.Pelosi has announced plans to force another vote on the issue Monday. It is liable to be passed in the House, where Democrats have a majority, but unlikely to progress in the Republican-controlled Senate.The White House declined to share details of the president’s schedule during his Christmas holiday. It said only: “During the holiday season, President Trump will continue to work tirelessly for the American people. His schedule includes many meetings and calls.”Nevertheless, Trump was photographed playing golf at his Florida course near Mar-a-Lago both Thursday and Friday. Reports say he was joined on the course Christmas Day by his close ally, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham.
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By Polityk | 12/27/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump Again Signals Objections to Pandemic Aid Bill
U.S. President Donald Trump indicated Saturday his continued objections to a pandemic relief and government funding package that he sharply criticized earlier this week.Trump tweeted early Saturday:I simply want to get our great people $2000, rather than the measly $600 that is now in the bill. Also, stop the billions of dollars in “pork”.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) President-elect Joe Biden leaves St. Joseph on the Brandywine Roman Catholic Church, Dec. 26, 2020, in Greenville, Del.President-elect Joe Biden called on Trump to sign the bill.”This abdication of responsibility has devastating consequences. … This bill is critical. It needs to be signed into law now,” Biden, who is spending the holiday in his home state of Delaware, said in a statement.A partial federal government shutdown also would begin early Tuesday if Trump does not sign the bill. Congress is planning to return to work Monday, interrupting its usual Christmas recess, and could take up a stopgap measure to extend government funding for a few days or weeks while the impasse is resolved.Defense bill voteHouse members are also scheduled to vote Monday to override Trump’s veto of a $740 billion bill authorizing the country’s defense programs. If the House vote passes, the Senate could vote on the measure as early as Tuesday. It requires a two-thirds vote in both chambers to override a presidential veto.Trump has criticized the defense bill on several fronts, arguing without explanation that the bill benefits China, and has demanded the removal of language that allows for the renaming of military bases that honor Confederate leaders. He has also demanded the addition of a provision making it easier to sue social media companies over content posted by their users.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Trump’s veto “an act of staggering recklessness that harms our troops.”FILE – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks during her weekly briefing, Dec. 4, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington.However, Pelosi has embraced Trump’s call for $2,000 direct payments to all Americans below a specified income level, and on Thursday used a maneuver to force Republicans to defy Trump by blocking the increase.Pelosi has announced plans to force another vote on the issue Monday. It is likely to be passed in the House, where Democrats have a majority, but unlikely to progress in the Republican-controlled Senate.The White House declined to share details of the president’s schedule during his Christmas holiday. It said only: “During the holiday season, President Trump will continue to work tirelessly for the American people. His schedule includes many meetings and calls.”Trump was photographed playing golf at his Florida course near Mar-a-Lago both Thursday and Friday. Reports said he was joined on the course Christmas Day by his close ally, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.
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By Polityk | 12/27/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
