Category Archives: US Congress

Pro-Trump mob storm Capitol as lawmakers meet to certify Biden’s win – video

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Protesters swarmed the Capitol on Wednesday, putting it on lockdown, as Mike Pence rebuffed Donald Trump's demand to overturn his loss to Democrat Joe Biden and the Senate's Republican leader denounced a bid in Congress to undo the election outcome.

Trump supporters overturned barriers and clashed with police on the US Capitol grounds and streamed inside the building. The demonstrations flared as lawmakers met inside to formally certify Biden's victory over Trump in November's election. Law enforcement authorities struggled to maintain order.

Biden won the election by 306-232 in the electoral college and by more than 7m ballots in the national popular vote, but Trump continues to falsely claim there was widespread fraud and that he was the victor

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‘The new south’: Raphael Warnock becomes Georgia’s first Black senator

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State on the brink of delivering the Democrats control of Senate is in a cultural, demographic and political transition

The Ebenezer Baptist church in Atlanta has witnessed tides of history ebb and flow during its 134 years. Martin Luther King Jr, the civil rights leader, often preached here. Now its pastor, Raphael Warnock, has added a new chapter by becoming the first African American senator from Georgia.

The storied church was firmly closed as votes were tallied on Tuesday night and its doors were plastered with coronavirus warnings, but there was a palpable surge outside as expectation turned to elation.

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Congress is facing an election reckoning. Democracy hangs in the balance | Lloyd Green

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As a procedural certification has become a coup attempt, Trump and his allies have done lasting harm


Democracy in the US teeters on the edge of a figurative sword. On Wednesday, the US Congress will convene to formally receive the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. Unfortunately, Donald Trump and his allies have converted a legal formality into a blatant coup attempt.

The ex-reality television host is like none who have come before him. Presidents Hoover, Carter and Bush Sr all suffered rejection at the ballot box after just one term. However painful, they accepted the electorate’s verdict. In the end, personal pride took a backseat to the orderly transition of power. The nation had spoken.

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What’s expected to happen when Congress meets to certify the 2020 election result?

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Normally, Congress simply receives results from states and announces them to the US – but this year may include some twists

A joint session of Congress is scheduled to begin meeting on Wednesday at 1pm to finally certify Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election.

Never in the modern political history of the United States have these proceedings been notable. For 150 years, Congress has acted in accordance with the constitution and the 1887 Electoral Count Act to simply receive election results from the states and announce them to the nation. It usually takes a couple hours on a weekday, and does not make many headlines.

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‘I just want 11,780 votes’: Trump pressed Georgia to overturn Biden victory

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In an hour-long phone call on Saturday, Donald Trump pressed Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger to overturn Joe Biden’s victory there in the election the president refuses to concede.

Related: Healthcare to the electoral college: seven ways 2020 left America exposed | Robert Reich

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‘Traitors and patriots’: Republican push to keep Trump in power seems doomed

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All 12 Republican senators who have pledged not to ratify the electoral college results on Wednesday, and thereby refuse to confirm Joe Biden’s resounding victory over Donald Trump in the presidential election, declined to defend their move on television, a CNN host said on Sunday.

Related: Ted Cruz and other Republican senators oppose certifying election results

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Biden seeks term-defining wins in Georgia runoffs Trump called ‘illegal’

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Contests will decide control of Senate and how far Biden can reach on issues such as pandemic, healthcare, taxation and environment

Campaigning continued in Georgia on Saturday in two Senate runoff elections which will define much of Joe Biden’s first term in office.

Related: Biden wants to fill federal court seats – but he needs to win the Senate first

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Pelosi rebukes McConnell for saying ‘no realistic path’ for $2,000 relief stimulus bill – video

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The Republican Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, says the bill that would direct $2,000 coronavirus relief payments to Americans has 'no realistic path to quickly pass the Senate'. After Donald Trump and Democrats pushed for larger relief cheques, McConnell said he would not be 'bullied' by Democrats into quickly approving the measure. House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, criticised McConnell for adding a delay to the payments.'These Republicans in the Senate seem to have an endless tolerance for other people's sadness,' she said

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Mitch McConnell says ‘no realistic path’ for $2,000 relief checks bill

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Attempts by Donald Trump and Democrats for bigger coronavirus relief checks fade in the Senate

Donald Trump’s demand for $2,000 relief checks to Americans struggling financially with the pandemic was all but dead after Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday that a proposal from Democrats had “no realistic path to quickly pass the Senate”.

Declaring that he would not be “bullied” by Democrats into quickly approving the measure, McConnell effectively denied a final request for legislative action by the president in the waning days of his administration.

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Mitch McConnell blocks Senate Democrats’ move to fast track $2000 Covid payments – video

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The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, blocked an effort by Democrats to quickly increase coronavirus relief payments to US citizens from $600 to $2,000. Donald Trump demanded the raise on Tuesday, tweeting that Americans had ‘suffered enough’ from the Covid pandemic. But amid mounting pressure from fellow Republicans,  McConnell objected to a move by Chuck Schumer, the minority leader, to swiftly pass the measure

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House Republicans join Democrats to override Trump’s veto of defence bill – video

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Donald Trump suffered fresh humiliation on Monday when more than 100 Republicans joined Democrats in the House of Representatives to override his veto of a $741bn defence bill. If, as expected, the Senate follows suit this week, it will be Congress’s first such rebuke of his presidency, which has only three weeks left to run. The National Defense Authorization Act, which funds service members’ pay, overseas military operations and other needs, has been passed by Congress every year since 1967. Trump exercised his veto last week, returning the bill with objections including its proposal to change the names of 10 military bases honouring Confederate leaders.

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Covid vaccines and $600 payments: key provisions in the US stimulus bill

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The coronavirus relief bill has finally been signed into law by Donald Trump. Here’s a look at what’s in the 5,000-page package

Donald Trump signed the new Covid-19 stimulus package into law on Sunday night, suddenly giving into pressure from Congress after calling the legislation a “disgrace” days earlier.

Related: Dow hits record high after Trump belatedly signs Covid relief bill

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Millions lose benefits as Trump refuses to sign Covid relief package

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11 million people will lose aid from expiration of unemployment programs as Trump heads to the golf course instead of signing bill

Millions of Americans battling the financial hardships of the coronavirus pandemic lost their unemployment benefits on Sunday as Donald Trump continued to refuse to sign a relief package agreed in Congress and headed instead to the golf course.

The president’s belligerence over the bipartisan Covid relief and spending bill, that would have extended the benefits and given direct cash payments to most American families, drew the ire of senior Republicans, who accused Trump of inflicting more misery on citizens.

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Trump claims to be ‘working tirelessly’ but leaves Covid relief in disarray

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Donald Trump went to his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida on Thursday, after claiming to be “working tirelessly for the American people” with a schedule that included “many meetings and calls”. Back in Washington, a Democratic proposal to increase direct payments to Americans under the Covid relief bill, from $600 to $2,000, was blocked.

Related: Donald Trump's latest wave of pardons includes Paul Manafort and Charles Kushner

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New museums and Smokey Bear: what’s in the $900bn US stimulus package?

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Tucked into a 5,593-page bill are a range of obscure provisions that appear to have little to do with fortifying a fragile economy

Late on Monday night, Congress approved a $900bn stimulus package which will deliver financial aid to millions of families and businesses facing economic distress from coronavirus pandemic. Though far smaller than a bill lawmakers passed at the outset of the pandemic, earlier this year, the measure is one the largest pieces of legislation in US history.

Related: Covid could shorten US life expectancy by up to three years, experts say

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‘Help is on the way’: Covid relief bill deal agreed, says Mitch McConnell

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Top congressional leaders have announced agreement on a $900bn coronavirus aid package after late-night discussions on Sunday.

“We can finally report what our nation has needed to hear for a very long time: more help is on the way,” said Republican Senate leader Mitch MCConnell. “Moments ago, in consultation with our committees, the four leaders of the Senate and House finalised an agreement for another major rescue package for the American people.”

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Trump attempt to overturn election is ‘nutty and loopy’, Romney says

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Donald Trump’s flirtation with declaring martial law in battleground states and appointing a conspiracy theorist as special counsel to help his attempt to overturn defeat by Joe Biden are “really sad” and “nutty and loopy”, Mitt Romney said on Sunday.

Related: Biden mulls punishments for Russia over suspected role in government hack

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Congress passes spending bill to fund government through Sunday – live

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The Food and Drug Administration approved Moderna’s vaccine for emergency use. This is the second coronavirus vaccine to gain approval in the US.

The government can now begin to distribute 5.9m doses of the Moderna vaccine across the US.

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle said they were optimistic they could reach a deal on a coronavirus stimulus bill this weekend.

The $900bn proposal currently on the table has been held up over an attempt by Republicans to curtail the Federal Reserve’s lending power - limiting its emergency lending efforts amid a deep economic crisis. Democrats said the provision would tie president-elect Joe Biden’s hands as he tries to rein in the economic fallout caused by the coronavirus crisis.

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US scrambling to understand fallout of suspected Russia hack

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At least six government departments breached in likely Russian intelligence operation thought to have begun in March

The US government is still in the dark over how deeply Russian hackers penetrated its networks during the worst ever cyber attack on federal agencies, members of Congress warned on Friday.

At least six government departments were breached in a likely Russian intelligence operation thought to have begun in March. Although there is no evidence that classified networks were compromised, it is not known what the hackers may have stolen or how long it will take to purge them.

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Trump’s attacks on election integrity ‘disgust me’, says senior Georgia Republican

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Donald Trump’s attacks on Republican officials in Georgia and insistence his defeat by Joe Biden must be overturned are disgusting, the Republican lieutenant governor of the southern state said on Sunday.

Related: Just 27 of 249 Republicans in Congress willing to say Trump lost, survey finds

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