’I did not know if I was going to make it’: AOC on Capitol riot

Rep. Mikie Sherrill from New Jersey has claimed that some lawmakers led groups around the Capitol for ’reconnaissance’ a day before the riot carried out by a pro-Trump mob. Claiming that she witnessed the alleged exploratory tours, she said she intends to see those lawmakers ’are held accountable, and if necessary, ensure that they don’t serve in Congress.’

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham issued a warning and said that impeaching Trump over his comments before last week’s attack on the Capitol is a ’rushed process’ that ’will become a threat to future presidents.’ The message by the Senator, who is a close ally of President Trump, seems to be aimed at the growing number of congressional Republicans backing the impeachment push by Democrats.

VP Mike Pence rejected using the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump from office. In a letter to House Speaker Pelosi, Pence said the mechanism should not be used ’as a means of punishment or usurpation.’ ’I do not believe that such a course of action is in the best interest of our nation or consistent with our Constitution,’ he added.

The SCOTUS reinstated a requirement that women visit a hospital or clinic to obtain a drug used for medication-induced abortions. The ruling granted a request by the Trump administration to lift a lower court’s order that had suspended the FDA rule requiring in-person visits, allowing the drug to be posted or delivered.

Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives named nine managers who will lead President Trump’s second impeachment. The nine include Rep. Eric Swalwell, who faced recent controversy for his alleged relationship with a Chinese spy. Impeachment managers are given the task of presenting the charges, and they are particularly important during Senate trials.

Senator Marco Rubio has called on President-elect Joe Biden to send Americans $2,000 direct payments and deliver a message of unity by doing so. He said it would send a ’powerful message’ to the people of America if Biden urges the House and the Senate to forward him legislation ’to increase the direct economic impact payments to Americans struggling due to the pandemic.’

California’s Democrats hit out at efforts to recall Governor Gavin Newsom and referred to the petition to remove the governor as a ’coup’ while comparing the motivations to recall him to those of rioters who attacked the US Capitol last week. Journalists reacted sharply and criticized using ’coup.’ Los Angeles Times’ John Myers said: ’Newsom faces a political challenge, not an insurrection.’

Democratic lawmakers in the Illinois House of Representatives voted to anoint state Rep. Emanuel ’Chris’ Welch (D) as their next leader. With this, House Speaker Mike Madigan’s control over the House formally comes to an end. Madigan has served longer than any other state Speaker in U.S. history. Welch will be the first Black lawmaker to hold the Speaker’s gavel in Illinois history.

Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin predicted that as many as 12 Republican lawmakers might join Democrat led efforts to impeach President Trump for inciting the attack on the U.S. Capitol one week ago. Rep. Liz Cheney is also reportedly among the GOP lawmakers who might vote to impeach the President. Most Republicans think the move to impeach Trump a second time will only further divide the country.

The US House of Representatives passed a legislation calling upon Vice President Mike Pence to invoke his constitutional authority under 25th Amendment to remove President Donald Trump from office over Trump’s ’incitement’ of the deadly mob attack on the Capitol last week. The bill passed 223-205. One Republican lawmaker, Adam Kinzinger from Illinois, joined Democrats who voted to pass the bill.

Representative Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming) and Representative John Katko (R-New York) said they would vote to impeach President Donald Trump over inciting his supporters to storm the Capitol. Cheney dismissed fellow Republicans arguing against the need for it. Cheney is the No. 3 Republican in the House. Earlier, John Katko became the first House Republican to say he would vote to impeach Trump.

In the wake of the Capitol riots, lawmakers will now be required to walk through metal detectors before entering the House of Reps chamber. Magnetometers had been placed at selected entrances. Some Republican lawmakers complained they were not consulted by Democratic leadership about the decision to install the devices. GOP Rep. Rodney Davis said the decision was ’political correctness run amok.’

The House of Representatives is on the verge of impeaching President Trump for the second time. The House started debating the ’rule’ governing the parameters of the impeachment after 9 a.m. E.T. Wednesday, after which it moved forward with two procedural votes. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to open the debate on the impeachment resolution before a vote on impeachment.

President Trump mocked the plan by House Democrats to impeach him, calling the move ’absolutely ridiculous.’ Trump, speaking enroute a trip to Texas, called his likely impeachment in the House of Representatives on Wednesday a ’continuation of the greatest witch hunt in the history of politics.’ ’We want no violence. Never violence,’ he continued.

The House is meeting Tuesday to consider a resolution calling for President Trump’s ouster through the 25th Amendment. That resolution sets up a process by which Vice President Pence and a majority of the Cabinet may declare to Congress that the president ’is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.’ The vote is expected to be cast late Tuesday night.

Charges of transmitting threat have been levelled against a 45 year old Chicago man after he threatened to guard the White House and kill any Democrat stepping on the lawn during Biden’s inauguration. According to reports, Louis Capriotti made the threats via voicemails left for an unnamed member of Congress. Accusations have been made against him of leaving dozens of such voicemails since 2019.

President Trump approved an emergency declaration for Washington D.C., ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration amid fears of potential violence. Mayor Muriel Bowser asked for the declaration order in a letter to Trump days after a mob riot in the Capitol. The emergency declaration runs from Monday through Jan. 24. The order authorizes the FEMA to provide assistance for emergency actions.

According to reports, President Trump, in a conversation with House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, acknowledged that he bears some blame for the Capitol riot. McCarthy made the claim on a House GOP-wide conference call, noting that he has urged Trump to reach out to President-elect Joe Biden and congratulate him on his election win.

Incoming Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer pledged to make Covid-19 relief the first priority of the new Democrat-majority Senate that will take control on January 20. In a letter outlining his plans to Senate Democrats, Schumer pledged a ’bold agenda’ starting with passing additional Covid-19 relief, including $2,000 checks. Democrats will have Senate majority for the first time since 2014.

The Senate was urged by the transition team of Joe Biden to confirm his national security nominees ahead of the inauguration, saying the country’s security is ’at stake.’ The Biden team is making a heavy push for secretary of state nominee Anthony Blinken, homeland security secretary nominee Alejandro Mayorkas, DNI nominee Avril Haines and defense secretary nominee retired Gen. Lloyd Austin.

Michael Beller, a contracts lawyer in PBS’ general counsel office resigned after he was caught describing President Donald Trump as ’close to Hitler’ in a right-wing sting operation. The recording was released Tuesday by Project Veritas, a conservative group known for using undercover methods to reveal supposed liberal bias. The lawyer did not speak on behalf of PBS or make any editorial decisions

Alex Azar, the Health and Human Services Secretary refused to directly say whether he believed President Trump was still able to conduct the duties of his office, and also refused to comment on whether he had discussed the 25th Amendment with other Cabinet officials. He, however did seem to offer a rare rebuke of the President as he described his rhetoric as ’unacceptable’.

Joe Biden has nominated civil rights lawyer Kristen Clarke to serve as Assistant AG for the Civil Rights Division at the DOJ. Clarke is currently president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Fox News in an investigation claimed that in 1994, Clarke, in a letter to The Harvard Crimson, wrote Blacks had ’superior physical and mental abilities.’