Out of power in the chamber, the Republican now faces unruly politicians and pressure over how to handle Trump impeachment
For Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in the Senate, the first few days of Joe Biden’s presidency have not been about fighting the new Democratic majority in government. They have been about gaming out how much power he now has.
Related: Trump impeachment: Pelosi to formally send article of impeachment to Senate today – live
Continue reading...Republican divisions over Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial came into clearer focus on Sunday, as the former president spent his first weekend out of office plotting revenge against those he says betrayed him.
Related: Can Trump do a Nixon and re-enter polite society? Elizabeth Drew doubts it
Continue reading...The House will transmit the article against the former president on Monday, giving his legal team time to prepare their case
Opening arguments in the Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump are set to begin the week of 8 February, with the former president facing charges of inciting an insurrection at the US Capitol.
The Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, announced the schedule late Friday after reaching an agreement with Republicans.
Continue reading...The US Senate on Friday confirmed Joe Biden’s nominee, Lloyd Austin, to serve as secretary of defense, making the retired four-star Marine officer the first African American to lead the Pentagon.
Continue reading...The new administration faces no shortage of obstacles to progress – but Biden is setting his sights high nonetheless
The last time a Democratic president took control of the White House, the wreckage he inherited was so great, there was little else his incoming team could prioritize.
Twelve years ago, Barack Obama’s blunt-spoken chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, liked to describe the Republican legacy – a financial crisis, deep recession and two wars – as a giant shit sandwich wrapped in a red ribbon.
Continue reading...Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, acknowledged the violent mob that attacked the Capitol earlier this month was 'provoked' by Donald Trump, going on to say that the inauguration of Joe Biden would be 'safe and successful'.
Speaking on the Senate floor, McConnell said: 'The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people'
Continue reading...
The FBI announced that authorities had arrested the guitarist of heavy metal band Iced Earth in connection to the Capitol riot.
Jon Schaffer was allegedly among those who sprayed Capitol police with bear spray.
Jon Schaffer, Columbus, IN, has been arrested in connection to Jan 6 incident at the U.S. Capitol. Schaffer faces 6 charges including engaging in an act of physical violence in a Capitol building. Schaffer was allegedly among rioters who sprayed Capitol police with "bear spray."
Jason Kenney, the premier of Alberta, Canada, has responded to the report that President-elect Joe Biden will cancel the Keystone XL pipeline permit via executive action on his first day in office.
“The Keystone XL pipeline represents tens of thousands of good paying jobs that the American economy needs right now,” he writes.
I am deeply concerned by reports that the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden may repeal the Presidential permit for the Keystone XL border crossing next week.
My full statement: pic.twitter.com/vZjun1IdMH
Joe Biden will deliver a message of national unity when he assumes the presidency on Wednesday, seeking to begin healing a country fractured by the acrimony of Donald Trump’s administration and ongoing threats of violence by his supporters.
Related: America is broken – can Biden and Harris put it back together?
Continue reading...Donald Trump’s grip on the US presidency appeared increasingly tenuous on Saturday as Democrats advanced plans to impeach him for a second time, political allies continued to abandon him and Twitter banned his account, removing his most powerful way to spread lies and incite violence.
Continue reading...
John Kelly, Donald Trump’s former chief of staff who previously served as the secretary of homeland security, said he would vote to remove the president from office if he were still in the cabinet.
“The cabinet should meet and have a discussion,” Kelly told CNN, “The one thing we have going for us here ... is it’s only 13 more days.”
Q: @jaketapper "If you were in the cabinet right now, would you vote to remove him from office?
A: Former Chief of Staff John Kelly: "I -- yes, I would." pic.twitter.com/GA2Pf23qAV
Michelle Obama has released a statement in response to yesterday’s violence at the Capitol, blaming the events on Donald Trump’s actions since the presidential election.
“The day was the fulfillment of the wishes of an infantile and unpatriotic president who can’t handle the truth of his own failures,” the former first lady said.
Like all of you, I’ve been feeling so many emotions since yesterday. I tried to put my thoughts down here: pic.twitter.com/9xzRvrpk7y
Continue reading...Pro-Donald Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol building in Washington DC on Wednesday, breaking into the debating chambers and clashing with armed police. Four people died during the unrest, three from medical emergencies and one woman was shot dead in circumstances that are unclear. The siege came on the day the electoral college votes confirming Joe Biden's victory were to be affirmed by members of the House and Senate. The chaos erupted after Trump addressed thousands of protesters near the White House, repeating false claims the election had been stolen.
While the electoral vote certification continues on the senate floor, there appears to be a number of resignations happening at the White House in the wake of the Capitol riot:
One source also said Chris Liddell, the deputy chief of staff, will resign tomorrow. 2/2
The White House social secretary Rickie Niceta has submitted her resignation tonight in reaction to today's protest, a source with direct knowledge tells @ABC
Per multiple sources familiar, NatSec Adviser @robertcobrien and DepNatSec Adviser Matthew Pottinger are considering resigning after today’s events and Trump’s actions. O’Brien still mulling, Pottinger more sure.
As with all things, it’s possible they stay in the admin. 1/2
.@WhiteHouse Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews resigns from the Trump Administration in response to today’s events. I have always known her to be a good person who has the best interests of the nation at heart. pic.twitter.com/4ZMfmM2Zl3
Former president Barack Obama has issued a statement on today’s events, calling the storming of the Capitol “a moment of great dishonor and shame for the nation”.
Read his full remarks below:
Here’s my statement on today’s violence at the Capitol. pic.twitter.com/jLCKo2D1Ya
Continue reading...Some members of the pro-Trump mob that stormed the Captiol in Washington were filmed wandering around the Senate floor after evacuation. People, who were asked to wear gas masks, were also evacuated from the House of Representatives after guards secured the area
Continue reading...Victory unseats Republican David Perdue, who held the seat for the past six years, and follows fellow Democrat Raphael Warnock’s win
The Georgia Democrat Jon Ossoff has won his Senate runoff election, giving Democrats control of the Senate for the opening of Joe Biden’s presidency.
Continue reading...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
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...Projected election victories will give Biden a majority in the Senate and were built on a revamped strategy and organisational effort
The US state of Georgia on Wednesday afternoon looked set to present an early inauguration gift to Joe Biden, giving him a decent shot at breaking Washington gridlock and enacting his agenda.
Continue reading...The Democratic candidate has given a speech thanking the people of Georgia for electing him to the US Senate before the final tally is formally announced.
In his speech, Jon Ossoff asked the country to unite to beat the coronavirus pandemic and said he would fight both for people who voted for him and those who did not in the second of two runoff elections in Georgia
Continue reading...Shortly after midnight, Rev Raphael Warnock delivered a message of hope to Georgians and declared his win in the Senate runoff election: 'Whether you voted for me or not – know this: I see you. I hear you. And I will fight for you.' He beat Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler, a Trump loyalist. This is the first time for 24 years that a Democrat will represent Georgia in the Senate
President-elect speaks at Atlanta rally alongside Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and the Rev Raphael Warnock
Joe Biden urged Georgia voters to surprise the nation once again by sending two Democrats to the US Senate, on the eve of a pair of critical runoff elections that will determine the balance of power in Washington and the scope of the president-elect’s ambitious legislative agenda.
Biden, speaking at a drive-in rally in downtown Atlanta alongside the Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and the Rev Raphael Warnock on Monday afternoon, did not mention Donald Trump’s increasingly brazen efforts to overturn the results of the November election, which escalated this weekend when the president pressured Georgia’s secretary of state to “find” enough votes to reverse his defeat in the state. Instead, he focused on what Democrats could accomplish with control of the Senate.
Continue reading...