ArchiveJanuary 2021

In a speech on the Senate floor on Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell threatened to turn the legislature into a “nightmare” if Democrats in the majority don’t concede to his demand to preserve the filibuster. After laying out a scenario of gridlock and inaction, McConnell said, “That’s what we’d see if Democrats tear up this pivotal rule.”...

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) argued on Tuesday that President Joe Biden’s move to rescind the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline hurts the cause of equality. In an executive order signed on his first day in office, Biden revoked the Trump administration’s permit for the pipeline, noting it “disserves the U.S. national interest” by contributing to the global climate crisis...

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) on Tuesday previewed his reasoning for not voting to convict Donald Trump for inciting an insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, saying Trump is the victim of a revenge plot by Democrats — and not at all to blame for the attack that led to five deaths. “Waste of time impeachment isn’t about accountability. It’s about demands from vengeance from the...

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley excused Donald Trump’s incitement of the deadly insurrection at the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, telling Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Monday night that Trump is the real victim of the attack. Haley, a potential candidate for president in 2024, barely criticized the failed coup attempt that led to the deaths of a Capitol Police...

Mitch McConnell lost his first battle as Senate minority leader on Monday, caving on his demand that Democrats agree to keep the filibuster — a procedure that would allow Senate Republicans to block every single piece of legislation Democrats put on the floor. McConnell had been holding up the transfer of power to Democrats for nearly a week, saying he would not agree to sharing power with...

President Joe Biden on Monday explained that his vision of “unity” is about improving lives of Americans across the spectrum, rather than conceding to Republican demands. Washington Post reporter Annie Linskey asked Biden at a press conference how he defines unity, a major theme of his inauguration last week. Unity is “trying to reflect what the majority of the American people —...

GOP senators are stopping at nothing to derail the Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump for his role in inciting the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 by his supporters, making easily debunked arguments against the constitutionality of the upcoming proceedings. Trump’s trial on the incitement charge on which he was impeached on Jan 13. by the House of Representatives for a...

State Republican parties across the country became even more extreme over the first week without Donald Trump in the White House, punishing Republicans who they felt didn’t support Trump enough and pushing baseless conspiracy theories that helped lead to the deadly insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6. The actions from state Republican parties are a surefire sign that the GOP cannot easily...

President Joe Biden should fire the entire board that oversees the postal service, Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) said on Monday. In a series of tweets, Pascrell, the chair of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight, accused the United States Postal Service board of governors of “complicity” in Donald Trump’s scheme to undermine mail delivery and suppress mail-in voting...

This week, House Republicans are slamming President Joe Biden’s use of executive orders in his first few days in office — despite the fact that Trump issued more executive orders on average per year than any other White House occupant in 40 years. Biden has issued 19 executive orders since Inauguration Day, with one more to be issued Monday, as well as a number of other agency directives...