Donald Trump campaigned for two Republican senators in Georgia on Saturday, at a rally that some in the party feared could end up hurting their chances by focusing on his efforts to reverse his own election defeat. In his first rally appearance since he lost to Joe Biden, Trump repeated baseless claims of widespread fraud in the presidential election. The crucial January runoff will determine which party controls the Senate
Continue reading...Category Archives: US Senate
Trump heads for Georgia but claims of fraud may damage Senate Republicans
- President and first lady set for rally ahead of January runoffs
- Analysts: refusal to accept loss to Biden may depress turnout
- David Litt: Claims of ‘fraud’ have a long history. They are false
Donald Trump will return to the campaign trail on Saturday – not, notionally at least, in his quixotic and doomed attempt to deny defeat by Joe Biden, but in support of two Republicans who face January run-offs which will decide control of the US Senate.
Related: I beg your pardon? Does Trump really plan to absolve himself and his family?
Continue reading...Facebook and Twitter CEOs face Senate hearing over handling of 2020 US election – video
The chief executive officers of Twitter and Facebook appear before a US Senate hearing to testify about allegations of anti-conservative bias and their handling of the 2020 election. Jack Dorsey and Mark Zuckerberg face questioning for the second time in as many months, with Republican lawmakers alleging – without evidence – censorship of conservative views
Continue reading...Twitter and Facebook CEOs to testify on alleged anti-conservative bias
Senate hearing was called in response to how the companies’ platforms handled a New York Post article about Joe Biden
The chief executive officers of Twitter and Facebook are taking the stand Tuesday to testify, again, about allegations of anti-conservative bias on their platforms.
Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey were subpoenaed in October to appear at Tuesday’s hearing with the Senate judiciary committee in order to “review the companies’ handling of the 2020 election”.
Continue reading...Biden warns ‘more people may die’ if Trump refuses to cooperate on transition – live
- Biden urges Trump team to work with him on Covid planning
- ‘The idea that [Trump] is playing golf is beyond my comprehension’
- National security adviser appears to accept Trump lost election
- Campaign reportedly withdraws illegally processed ballots claim
According to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, if Donald Trump wants a statewide recount, he will have to pay $7.9m.
The president lost the state by more than 20,000 votes - which means a recount is very unlikely to change the fact that he lost. Even if a recount, miraculously, left Trump ahead in the state, Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes are not enough to change the election outcome.
Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, told the Washington Post that senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina was among several members of his party who pressured him to toss out legally cast ballots so that Trump could win the state.
From the Post:
In a wide-ranging interview about the 2020 election, Raffensperger expressed exasperation with a string of baseless allegations coming from Trump and his allies about the integrity of the Georgia results, including claims that Dominion Voting Systems, the Colorado-based manufacturer of Georgia’s voting machines, is a “leftist” company with ties to Venezuela that engineered thousands of Trump votes not to be counted.
The atmosphere has grown so contentious, Raffensperger said, that both he and his wife, Tricia, have received death threats in recent days, including a text to him that read, “You better not botch this recount. Your life depends on it.”
Continue reading...Joe Biden administration: president-elect assembles a diverse cabinet
Susan Rice is being considered for secretary of state and Michele Flournoy is reportedly top choice for defence secretary
Joe Biden is piecing together what he has promised to be a diverse cabinet, with Michele Flournoy reportedly top choice for US defence secretary and Susan Rice considered a frontrunner for secretary of state.
Continue reading...‘They know their vote matters’: the Georgia Senate runoffs battle is already on
Trump’s defeat in the reliably red state has shown Democratic voters the power of their ballot, activists say as they focus on Ossoff and Warnock’s races
Donald Trump may have forced a recount of the votes in Georgia that helped end his presidency, but the activists who organised the surge in turnout that helped defeat him have already turned their attention to two elections that will decide who controls the US Senate and the course of Joe Biden’s presidency.
Tens of millions of dollars are pouring in to the Georgia runoff races, which can be expected to draw Biden back to the campaign trail as voters have the opportunity to make history by defeating the state’s two Republican senators to give the new president control of both houses of Congress.
Continue reading...Donald Trump fires defense secretary Mark Esper – US politics live
- President announces ‘Mark Esper has been terminated’
- Biden gets to work as president-elect while Trump refuses to concede
- US coronavirus cases near 10m as Ben Carson tests positive
- Republicans back Trump challenge to Biden election victory
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Another adviser to Donald Trump has reportedly tested positive for coronavirus, amid an apparent outbreak among the president’s team.
According to Bloomberg News, David Bossie has now tested positive for the virus.
BREAKING: Trump outside adviser David Bossie tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday, sources tell me.
Susan Collins has become one of the few Republican lawmakers to congratulate Joe Biden on his victory in the presidential election.
“First, I would offer my congratulations to President-elect Biden on his apparent victory – he loves this country, and I wish him every success. Presidential transitions are important, and the President-elect and the Vice-President-elect should be given every opportunity to ensure that they are ready to govern on January 20th,” Collins said in a new statement.
My statement on the 2020 Presidential election results: pic.twitter.com/8NY1WpaJpC
Continue reading...Will Mitch McConnell strangle Joe Biden’s legislative program at birth?
The Kentucky senator revels in the nickname the Grim Reaper and tried to frustrate the previous Democratic president at every turn
After celebrating the winning of a Joe Biden presidency, Democrats are waking to the hangover of figuring out how to govern under the shadow of a runaway pandemic and the potential for gridlock imposed by the man who likes to call himself the Grim Reaper, the Republican Senate leader, Mitch McConnell.
Continue reading...Biden and Harris release first public schedule as they begin transition – US election live
- Joe Biden wins US election after four tumultuous years of Trump
- President-elect says ‘This is the time to heal’ in victory speech
- Trump refuses to concede defeat as recriminations begin
- How do you feel? Share your reaction to the US election
- Biden’s win marks the end of Trump’s war on democracy and truth
- Trump v Biden – full 2020 results as they come in
Here are some details on the reaction to Biden’s win in Fiji, Papua New Guinea and other Pacific nations, from Ben Doherty, the Guardian’s Pacific editor:
Joe Biden’s presidential ascension had not even been settled when Fiji’s forthright prime minister was already urging greater US action on climate change from the incoming American leader.
Related: Pacific nations herald Biden presidency amid hope for action on climate emergency
There are a number of troubling statistics out today on the current state of Covid-19 in the US, the most urgent crisis Biden will inherit. Reuters has published an analysis of where things stand in the worsening pandemic in America, as the country nears 10m cases, becoming the first nation in the world to surpass that figure. Some specifics from the news agency’s report:
Related: Coronavirus live news: US nears 10m cases as global infections pass 50m
Continue reading...US election live: Joe Biden wins and says ‘It’s time for America to unite’
- President-elect Joe Biden to address nation at 8pm ET
- Full report: Biden wins US election after four tumultuous years of Trump
- Kamala Harris makes history as first woman of color elected VP
- Trump refuses to concede defeat as recriminations begin
- Obama: ‘Our democracy needs all of us more than ever’
- Analysis: Biden styled himself as the antithesis to Trumpism
- Trump v Biden – full 2020 results as they come in
Georgia’s Secretary of State has tweeted that that county of Fulton had “discovered an issue involving reporting from their work” on Friday.
Brad Raffensperger said officials will rescan the “work”, which I assume he means ballots, although the tweet is fairly vague.
Fulton has discovered an issue involving reporting from their work on Fri. Officials are at State Farm Arena to rescan that work. I have a monitor & investigators onsite. Also sent Dep. SOS as well to oversee the process to make sure to secure the vote and protect all legal votes
The Guardian’s Libby Brooks reports from Glasgow:
Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has congratulated President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris following the US Presidential election.
Continue reading...Who will fill Kamala Harris’s Senate seat in California?
The state’s governor will appoint a replacement for Harris now she has been elected vice-president. Who’s in the frame?
- Biden wins US election after four tumultuous years of Trump
- Kamala Harris makes history as first woman of color elected VP
With Kamala Harris officially headed to the White House, a fresh political battle in her home state of California looms: who will fill her US Senate seat?
Related: US election live: Joe Biden wins and says 'It’s time for America to unite'
Continue reading...The path to Joe Biden’s victory: five days in five minutes – video highlights
President-elect Joe Biden has thanked the American people for their support after winning the US presidential election against Donald Trump. From razor-thin margins, record voter turnout and protests via false claims of victory and Joe and Kamala Harris's congratulatory call - here's the story of how the presidency was won
- US election 2020 – live updates
- Biden styled himself as the antithesis to bare-knuckled Trumpism – and won
‘Democracy works’: Biden addresses nation as vote count shows him on brink of victory – live
- Georgia heading for recount while Biden leads in two key states
- Joe Biden on course to win presidency after record turnout
- Why are the media reporting different US election results?
- Trump v Biden – full 2020 results as they come in
A campaign aide has also tested positive, Bloomberg reports. CNN and NBC have also confirmed the Meadows has contracted Covid-19.
Worth noting that Mark Meadows was at the election night party at the White House Tuesday that hundreds of people attended. Officials said everyone would be tested beforehand.
Mark Meadows has tested positive for coronavirus, according to reporters from Bloomberg news.
BREAKING: Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, has the coronavirus. Meadows informed a close circle of advisers after the election.
Story by me, @tylerpager and @MarioDParker out soon.
‘The American way’: Mitch McConnell defends Trump threat to challenge election results – video
‘We don’t know who won the presidential race yet,’ said Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell as he defended Trump’s threat to challenge election results in the supreme court, a statement that drew wide criticism.
McConnell on Wednesday said Trump should not be criticised for threatening to bring in his lawyers, adding the Biden campaign would do the same.
‘In a close election you can anticipate in some of these states you are going to end up in court, (it’s) the American way,’ McConnell said during a news conference in Louisville, Kentucky
Continue reading...US election 2020 live: Trump and Biden pick up wins as votes counted in Florida
- Democrats pick up first Senate seat with Hickenlooper win
- Millions of Americans line up to vote on historic day
- What time results are expected – and what to watch for
- Donald Trump: could the president refuse to accept defeat?
- House races: Democrats predicted to expand majority
- Trump v Biden – full results
- Senate and House elections – full results
The AP has confirmed that Senator John Cornyn has won another Senate term in Texas, defeating Democratic candidate MJ Hegar.
BREAKING: Republican John Cornyn wins reelection to U.S. Senate from Texas. #APracecall at 9:06 p.m. CST. #Election2020 #TXelection https://t.co/lGfinjTqT4
Donald Trump has won Kansas and its 6 electoral votes, the AP just announced.
BREAKING: Donald Trump wins Kansas. #APracecall at 9:00 p.m. CST. #Election2020
Continue reading...Amy Coney Barrett confirmed to supreme court in major victory for US conservatives
Senate’s confirmation of Barrett, 48, cements rightwing domination of court for years to come
The US Senate has confirmed Amy Coney Barrett to the supreme court, delivering Donald Trump a huge but partisan victory just eight days before the election and locking in rightwing domination of the nation’s highest court for years to come.
Continue reading...McConnell revels in moving Amy Coney Barrett’s supreme court vote forward – video
After the Senate voted to move forward with the final vote to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell spoke on the Senate floor, celebrating the lasting influence of the vote for posterity.
'By tomorrow night, we’ll have a new member of the United States Supreme Court,' he told the chamber.
The Senate voted 51-48 to move forward with the final vote for Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination, and the final vote for her confirmation will take place on Monday
Continue reading...Democrats refuse to participate as Amy Coney Barrett nomination advanced – video
Amy Coney Barrett’s supreme court nomination was advanced by a unilateral Republican vote to the full Senate despite Democrats’ refusal to participate in the Senate judiciary committee hearing for what they called a ‘naked power grab’.
Democratic senators stood outside the Capital and boycotted the vote to install Donald Trump’s third supreme court nominee less than two weeks before the election.
No supreme court nominee has ever been installed so close to a presidential election and, just four years ago, the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, and senator Lindsey Graham, who now chairs the judiciary committee, said that installing a nominee in an election year would be a shameful defiance of the will of voters
- PM admits failings as England’s Covid contact-tracing system hits new low
- Senate judiciary committee approves Amy Coney Barrett as Democrats boycott – live
Trump blasts Sasse for predicting Senate Republican bloodbath
The president issued a familiar stream of insults on Twitter after the Nebraska senator heavily criticised him to constituents
Down in the polls to Joe Biden and campaigning through a surging pandemic, Donald Trump chose to devote time on Saturday morning to a Twitter rant against a member of his own party in the Senate, a chamber Republicans face losing on 3 November.
Related: Trump trails Biden with two weeks to go – but there could yet be surprises
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