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Joe Biden selects Pete Buttigieg as Transportation secretary

Joe Biden selects Pete Buttigieg as Transportation secretary

U.S. 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidates Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Former Vice President Joe Biden, pose on the second night of the first Democratic Presidential Candidate Debate in Miami, Florida on June 27, 2019.

Carlo Allegri | Reuters

President-elect Joe Biden has elected former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg to be his transportation secretary, three people familiar with the discussions told NBC News.

Buttigieg, who opposed Biden in the 2020 primary, is expected to play a central role in the future president’s plans to restore and repair roads and bridges in the United States

The president-elect has said for months that smart, climate-friendly infrastructure projects can help the US emerge stronger from the coronavirus recession and support thousands of jobs.

A spokesman for the Biden transition team did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

The 38-year-old Buttigieg quickly became a household name in the 2020 elections as the younger but still moderate option for Democrats hoping to prevent a second term for President Donald Trump.

Although Buttigieg was eliminated from the race in March 2020 despite winning in Iowa, the openly gay politician soon approved of Biden as president.

The president-elect has often lauded Buttigieg as a symbol of the next generation of Democrats and was widely expected to be appointed to a senior administrative post.

A Biden business ally told CNBC that Buttigieg could have a huge impact on the government’s infrastructure proposal as it is not tied to stagnant talks in Congress about paying for such a plan.

“He’s not inhibited by the restrictions on Capitol Hill,” the person said. I “haven’t spoken to him yet, but I’ll be sure when it happens.”

This person declined to be named in order to speak freely.

Among the many proposals made by the Biden campaign was a $ 2 trillion plan that, coupled with its climate goals, would “build new American infrastructure and a clean energy economy.”

The expansive plan includes more general investments in roads and bridges, as well as more specific proposals like providing high-quality, zero-emission public transportation to any American city of 100,000 or more residents.

Buttigieg, a military veteran, is perhaps best known in politics for his two terms as Mayor of South Bend from 2012 to 2020.

During his tenure, the city embarked on extensive urban development and revitalization projects similar to those that Biden campaigned for to revitalize American infrastructure.

Critics of his time as mayor said his revitalization plans for South Bend did not necessarily have helped racist minorities as much as hoped.

For example, many were optimistic about his plans to demolish or repair almost all of the city’s vacant houses, a demanding initiative that experts believed was impossible. The program focused on the city’s low-income black and Hispanic neighborhoods, where homes were in disrepair.

And while many said they were glad that derelict structures were removed, they complained about the lack of planning of what would fill the space.

– CNBC’s Brian Schwartz contributed to the coverage.

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‘Religion in Our Establishments Held’

‘Faith in Our Institutions Held’

The electoral college votes and confirms Biden’s victory. Now it’s official again. It’s Tuesday and this is your political tip. Sign up here to receive On Politics in your inbox every weekday.

Stacey Abrams, Chair of the Georgian Electoral College, spoke to voters at the Georgia State Capitol yesterday.

“I’m afraid we would lose our country forever.”

These were the stark and unwavering words of Republican Speaker for the Michigan House of Representatives, Lee Chatfield, when making a statement yesterday just a few hours earlier he and Mike Shirkey, the Republican majority leader in the Senate, confirmed Michigan’s 16 votes for Biden.

“I can’t believe risking our norms, traditions and institutions to pass a resolution that will change voters retrospectively for Trump, simply because some believe there has been enough widespread fraud to make him win to bestow, “wrote Chatfield.

Trump had called him and Shirkey to the White House last month trying to convince them to replace the state’s voters with a vote in the state legislature. As supporters of the president, with their own political ambitions and representing a state where Trump is still very popular with Republicans, Chatfield and Shirkey were ready to meet and listen to him.

But they ultimately rejected his plan, becoming canaries in the mine for other Republicans at the state and national levels across the country who are now trying to balance their loyalty to the president with unwillingness to follow his undemocratic behavior.

It’s not an easy political task: More than two-thirds of Republican voters across the country believe Trump was unjustly deprived of his election victory, according to a poll by Fox News last week. Sixty-six percent of Republicans said the president’s election challenges actually helped American democracy, and even more – 71 percent – wanted him to run again in 2024.

For Democrats and Independents, who overwhelmingly believe that Biden won fair and fair, things are very different.

In Washington, Republican leaders are beginning to let go of their long-standing unwavering loyalty to Trump as top senators stepped forward after the electoral college vote yesterday to recognize Biden as president-elect and Kamala Harris as vice-president-elect.

“I understand there are people who take the outcome of this election very seriously, but in the end you have to face the music at some point,” said Senator John Thune, the No. 2 Republican in the Chamber, at the Capitol. “And I think once the electoral college has resolved the problem today, it will be time for everyone to move on.”

That change of tone didn’t come soon enough for Michigan Republican Paul Mitchell, who was so disgusted by his party’s refusal to confront Trump about his disinformation campaign that he quit the GOP

Mitchell, who did not run for re-election this year and was already planning to retire from Congress, announced the news yesterday in a letter to senior Republican officials. He warned that they would help Trump “do long-term damage to our democracy” by believing his unfounded allegations of election fraud.

Mitchell plans to spend the remainder of his tenure as an independent.

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Michigan Rep. Mitchell quits GOP for refusal to just accept Trump loss to Biden

Michigan Rep. Mitchell quits GOP for refusal to accept Trump loss to Biden

Michigan MP Paul Mitchell resigned from the Republican Party on Monday because the GOP refused to admit that President Donald Trump lost the election to President-elect Joe Biden.

Mitchell wrote in a damning letter to GOP leaders that Trump’s unsubstantiated claims alleging widespread electoral fraud and the Republican Party’s tolerance of these claims threatened “long-term damage to our democracy.”

“It is unacceptable for political candidates to treat our electoral system as if we were a Third World nation and create suspicion of something as fundamental as the sanctity of our voting,” Mitchell wrote to Ronna McDaniel, Chair of the Republican National Committee Minority Chairperson Kevin McCarthy of California.

“Also, it is unacceptable for the President to attack the United States Supreme Court because its Liberal and Conservative justices failed with his side or because ‘the Court has failed him,'” wrote Mitchell, whose letter was first reported from CNN.

Mitchell will retire from Congress when the current session ends early next year.

Trump has claimed he lost Michigan and several other battlefield states whose votes gave Biden his margin on the electoral college for illegally suppressing votes for him and artificially inflating Biden’s ballot.

The electoral college will meet on Monday, and California’s votes have pushed Biden over the 270-vote threshold required to win the White House by 5:30 p.m. ET.

Mitchell wrote, “If Republican leaders sit back together and tolerate unsubstantiated conspiracy theories and” stop “the rallies without advocating our electoral process, which the Department of Homeland Security has called” the safest in American history, “our nation will be do corrupt. “

“I have spoken out clearly and firmly against these messages,” he wrote.

“However, since the leadership of the Republican Party and our Republican Conference in the House of Representatives actively participate in at least some of these efforts, I fear long-term damage to our democracy.”

Mitchell, who represents Michigan’s 10th Ward, said last year he would not seek a third term in Congress and complained that the “rhetoric and vitriol” he saw in Washington overwhelmed the real work of policy making.

Mitchell said that with more than 155 million eligible voters, “both administrative errors and even fraudulent votes are likely to have occurred”.

But he also said Trump “didn’t lose Michigan to Wayne County,” a Democratic stronghold that the president claims has counted fraudulent ballots.

“Rather, it lost to dwindling support in areas like Kent and Oakland Counties, both of which were former Republican strongholds,” the congressman wrote.

Mitchell said in his letter that he voted for Trump “for about four more years under his leadership despite some reservations.”

But he also wrote: “The stability and strength of our democracy is a constant concern of mine.”

“I expressed great concern about the president’s reaction to Charlottesville, the rhetoric against immigrants they are sending back, and even the racist comments made by my own colleagues in the House.”

Even after Mitchell left the GOP, the president and his deputies continued to struggle to undermine public confidence in Biden’s victory, arguing that on January 6, Congress would have the final say in the selection of the next president.

This is the day that Congress is due to confirm the electoral college vote.

Trump, his campaign and his allies have lost or withdrawn any suit that questioned the validity of Biden’s ballot papers. On Friday, the US Supreme Court denied a motion from Texas to file a lawsuit against the voting processes in Michigan, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Before the Supreme Court responded to the request, Trump had described the Texas case as “the big one” that would undo Biden’s victory.

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With Selfies, Emojis and Little Disruption, the Electoral School Makes It Official

With Selfies, Emojis and Little Disruption, the Electoral College Makes It Official

In the end, democracy carried the day.

Wisconsin’s 10 voters quietly walked into a quiet state capitol on Monday and saw more police officers than protesters. While waiting to officially cast their ballots, the socially distant Democratic officials and activists took selfies in an ornate wood-paneled room. When the vote finally came, one voter added hearts to the controls on the lines for the Democratic President’s ticket in a rare expression of emotion.

“We did it,” said Governor Tony Evers, relieved after he announced the final settlement – a unanimous vote for Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Kamala Harris.

When the electoral college cast their ballots for Mr. Biden on Monday, the moment felt both extraordinary and repetitive. After all, the elected president and his team have won the election since November and have repeatedly emerged victorious in legal proceedings, hearings and recounts.

But President Trump and his allies’ extraordinary attack on the elections and their efforts to deprive millions of voters of the voting rights exposed the creaky governance of American democracy.

And on Monday the bureaucracy withdrew.

From Hillary Clinton giving a thumbs up after casting her vote as New York Electress to the shadow gatherings Republicans held in battlefield states, it was a day marked by more symbolism and emotion than surprise for some was.

Robin Smith, a Democratic activist and librarian in Lansing, Michigan, was suffocated while casting her vote for the president-elect. She wore a Biden / Harris face mask and donkey needle with red, white and blue jewels for the Democratic Party.

‘Stay there, Mom. Be in the moment,’ ‘Ms. Smith said, her daughter pressing for text. “As a black woman, it really means everything to me.”

Prior to the official votes in Maryland, Governor Larry Hogan, a Republican who early criticized Mr Trump’s efforts to cast doubt on the election results, described the event as a “civic lesson” – perhaps a nameless confrontation with the president.

“The peaceful change of power in which we are officially participating here today is a hallmark of our democracy, which has been passed on for more than 220 years,” said Hogan. “It is a reminder that despite our differences, we are united as Americans who honor the will of the people.”

As Mr Hogan noted, there was a history of American democracy – as well as its many quirks.

In Kentucky, voters promised they would not be engaged in a deadly weapon duel, part of the state’s oath added in the early 19th century because too many residents killed each other.

In Alabama, voters heard a lecture on the story of their role from an actor dressed as Uncle Sam before casting their nine votes for Mr. Trump.

And in New Hampshire, Mary Carey Foley, a retired high school teacher who first met Mr. Biden nearly four decades ago, described her political ancestry as a third-generation elector and described the voices of her mother in 1972 and grandmother in the year 1946.

Perhaps the most unusual thing was that anyone was talking about voters at all. As the country recorded 300,000 deaths from the coronavirus and eagerly watched the introduction of a vaccine, Americans were bombarded by obscure officials who cast ballots and signed them multiple times – procedures that were shown on cable news throughout the day.

Voters sought transparency through flawed internet streams, both to refute the conspiracy theories that have resonated with Trump’s supporters and to implicitly admit that some conservatives are unlikely to accept the election result. Those theories blossomed in the live chat streams that accompanied the meetings, a unique mix of champagne emojis and conspiracy theories for 2020.

In Nevada, six voters who met during a live publicly broadcast video chat held signed ballots on their screens, which were counted by Mark Wlashin, assistant secretary of state for elections. The chatter offered a glimpse into a divided nation.

“We all know Trump is having a breakdown!” wrote one user walking from Clorox Bleach followed by four laughing emoji faces.

Hillbilly shot back: “I’m a Trump supporter and not angry because Biden will never be president.”

Last week, the Supreme Court turned down the desperate efforts of Trump allies to change the election result and smashed a long-term strategy that depended on banning four states won by Mr Biden from casting their votes and convincing Republican-controlled legislators with alternative legislators Choose slate friendly voters.

Mr Trump now has few resources to change the election result, although that did little to deter some supporters from continuing to advance fantastic plans.

Much of the recent effort has centered on what some Trump allies have called the “alternate voter roll” – die-hard supporters who gathered in state capitals to vote for Mr. Trump. The self-appointed voters are not certified by state executives and, according to legal experts, have no legal position.

That didn’t stop them from playing a little live-action role-playing game of the typical everyday inner workings of democracy.

Outside the Michigan State Capitol on Monday 10 of the so-called Republican voters vowed to cast their ballots for Mr. Trump before being denied entry by state police.

Bernadette Comfort, president of the Trump campaign in Pennsylvania, described the shadow event in her state as a “procedural vote” carried out at the request of the campaign.

“This was in no way an effort to usurp or dispute the will of Pennsylvania voters,” she said.

Josh Shapiro, the Democratic attorney general and one of his 20 voters, was far less sympathetic: “A ridiculous charade,” he told CNN shortly after Mr Biden was elected.

Across the country, some of Mr. Trump’s allies seemed far more willing to accept the reality of the elections. After California officially confirmed Mr Biden’s victory, several Republican senators finally recognized the Democrat as president-elect on Monday night, a reversal of weeks of public opposition among GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Top Republican leaders in the Michigan legislature recognized the loss of Mr Trump on Monday and reiterated their refusal to give in to the president’s demands for interference in the electoral process.

“I fought hard for President Trump – nobody wanted him to win more than me,” said spokesman Lee Chatfield. “But I also love our republic. I can’t believe risking our norms, traditions and institutions to pass a resolution that will retroactively change voters for Trump. “

He added, “I’m afraid we will lose our country forever.”

After weeks of harassment and death threats against election officials, only a handful of Trump supporters gathered outside the state capital’s buildings on Monday – a sign of waning hope, even among the more ardent supporters of the president, that he could prevail.

In Madison, a small group marched slowly around the Capitol on a cold afternoon, wearing rosaries, statutes of the Blessed Virgin, and many complaints about the elections.

“We don’t protest, we pray,” said Geralyn Kettermann, 65, of Fulton Township, Wisconsin, who saw a sign that read “Jail Wisconsin Election Commission! All Trump votes stolen!”

The Democrats also saw an opportunity to fuel their political struggles. Nikema Williams, the leader of the Democratic Party in Georgia, opened the proceedings with a small victory round. As she spoke, long voting lines grew across the state, with the beginning of personal voting in two crucial runoff elections that will determine control of the Senate.

“Georgian voters are very powerful and we will soon prove it again,” said Ms. Williams. “Georgians have known for years, and now the nation knows Georgia is a blue state.”

Mrs. Williams looked forward to the next month. And others also looked ahead – with a less certain view that this chapter is really coming to an end.

Since November 7, when Mr Biden won the presidency and the Trump campaign hastened its attacks on the process, Americans had viewed the vote in the electoral college as the finish line.

Now that the country was crossing it, not everyone was so confident.

“Towards the end of this event, it is evident that this is neither the end of the discussion about the 2020 election nor the way we conduct future elections,” said Katie Hobbs, Arizona Democratic Secretary of State. “This is probably the start of a long debate.”

The coverage was contributed by Kathleen Gray of Lansing, Michigan. Kay Nolan of Madison, Wisconsin; Reid J. Epstein from Washington; and Isabella Grullón Paz from New York.

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Distribution cash at stake in Covid reduction talks

Distribution money at stake in Covid relief talks

Congressional efforts to fund state and local distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine continued to be balanced on Monday, even as the first doses of Pfizer’s landmark vaccine were given.

Legislators have yet to agree on a funding package to support health departments in the unprecedented vaccination campaign, despite bipartisan agreements that billions of dollars are needed.

The funding negotiations were fraught with deadlocked talks over possible bills that would provide economic relief to millions of Americans who have suffered from the coronavirus-related financial crisis.

These talks, which seemed to be moving slowly over the past few weeks, have taken on a new urgency as the Christmas holidays approach and the reality of viable Covid-19 vaccines has set in.

However, earlier in the week it was not clear whether Congress would make significant progress in passing its first major aid package to Covid-19 since the $ 2.2 trillion CARES bill was passed in March.

The latest plan, which is part of a $ 908 billion bailout bill tabled by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, puts $ 6 billion in sales efforts. The legislature should publish a legislative text on Monday.

The $ 6 billion price tag is in line with the Trump administration’s requirements, but well below what groups of health departments consider necessary.

For months, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials and the Association of Immunization Managers have been demanding that Congress allocate at least $ 8.4 billion.

“These funds are urgently needed to expand and strengthen federal, state, local, territorial and tribal capacities for a timely, comprehensive and equitable vaccine distribution campaign,” the groups wrote in October.

The groups said that the $ 200 million previously allocated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was a “down payment.”

CDC Director Robert Redfield told the Senate in September that it would “take anywhere between $ 5.5 [billion] on $ 6 billion “to distribute a Covid-19 vaccine, saying the matter is” urgent. “

The Department of Health and Human Services, where the CDC is located, has not returned a request for comment on the state of the Congressional negotiations.

So far, the nature of the latest proposal to fund state and local vaccine distribution has only been published in summary form.

According to legislative summaries, the $ 908 billion package would provide $ 3.42 billion in direct grants to states and communities, $ 2.58 billion to fund CDC “vaccine distribution and infrastructure,” and $ 129 million for tribes and tribal organizations contain.

Claire Hannan, executive director of AIM, said her group was still learning the details of the $ 6 billion proposal, but that it looked promising that lawmakers would move the funds to distribute the vaccine from the funds for tracking and testing separated from contacts.

However, she cautioned against allocating less than needed to “programs with severe disabilities by registering more providers and expanding vaccination efforts”.

“Bottom line: If Congress doesn’t reach an agreement, we fear that the programs will not be able to expand their capacity to register additional providers, which means there could be fewer places and opportunities to vaccinate people and a longer period of time to emerge from this pandemic “, she said.

The bipartisan plan now under discussion was drawn up by a group of moderate senators from both major political parties and endorsed by the House Problem Solvers Caucus.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., And Senate Minority Chairman Chuck Schumer have tentatively approved the plan and identified it as a starting point for negotiations.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who would be instrumental in getting laws passed, has yet to board. On Monday, however, McConnell described the vaccine distribution fund as “incredibly urgent”.

“This is the support that state and local governments need most,” McConnell said, saying the money would “vaccinate citizens now to end the fight.”

The ongoing negotiations go beyond funding vaccine distribution.

Unemployment benefits, which were expanded as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, will expire the day after Christmas, cutting payments to 12 million people. Each new deal is also expected to raise more funding for small businesses hit by the public health crisis.

Despite the widespread recognition that some sort of relief must be given, the barriers to reaching an agreement have remained largely unchanged for months.

Democrats have pushed for more spending and support to state and local governments facing budget crises as a result of the pandemic. Republicans largely oppose state and local aid, and have insisted that any deal include safeguarding businesses from liability claims arising from the crisis.

In addition to these sticking points, Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a progressive, and Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, a Conservative, have proposed a bill that does not include direct payment to Americans in that sense of the $ 1,200 stimulus- Checks sent out earlier this year. The $ 908 billion plan does not include direct payments.

So far, White House involvement has been limited, although Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has continued to negotiate with Pelosi.

President Donald Trump has shown little interest in reaching an agreement on Capitol Hill and has instead focused on his failed legal efforts to overthrow the 2020 election. If no agreement is reached in the coming weeks, the problem could soon be on President-elect Joe Biden’s plate.

Biden, who has already named several top doctors to positions in his administration, has signaled that distributing the Covid-19 vaccine will be a top priority for his administration in its first few days and is committed to 100 million doses in its first 100 days submit.

But Biden, who will be sworn in on Jan. 20, has suggested that if Congress fails to reach an agreement, his plan could be foiled.

During an address in Wilmington, Delaware, Tuesday, the former vice president urged Congress to quickly fund sales efforts and warned that efforts after an early round of vaccination could slow and stall after an early round of vaccination. “

“Let me repeat, we need Congress to end the bipartisan work, or millions of Americans may be waiting months longer – months longer – than they would otherwise have to get their vaccinations,” Biden said.

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Trump Allies Eye Lengthy-Shot Election Reversal in Congress

Trump Allies Eye Long-Shot Election Reversal in Congress

Mr. Brooks tried to get support. He met with about half a dozen senators, including Utah’s Mike Lee, and separately with the conservative House Freedom Caucus last week.

“My # 1 goal is to fix a badly flawed American electoral system that is too easy to fraud and steal,” said Brooks. “A possible bonus for achieving this goal is that if you only count legitimate votes from legitimate American citizens and exclude all illegal votes, Donald Trump would officially win the electoral college, as I believe he actually did.”

It remains unclear how broad a coalition could be. More than 60 percent of Republicans in the House of Representatives, including the two top party leaders, joined a legal letter backing the unsuccessful Texas lawsuit and asking the Supreme Court to overturn the election results. But it is one thing to sign a legal mandate and another to officially challenge the outcome on the floor of the house.

Some Republicans, including Representative Scott Perry from Pennsylvania and Representative Matt Gaetz from Florida, have also signaled that they could support an appeal. Mr. Brooks said he had spoken to other interested parties. But prominent allies of the president who have plunged headlong into previous fights, such as representative Jim Jordan from Ohio or even the minority leader of the House of Representatives, representative Kevin McCarthy from California, have so far been publicly noncommittal.

“All eyes are on January 6,” Gaetz said Friday night on Fox News after the Supreme Court dismissed the Texas lawsuit. “I suspect there will be some debate and discourse in Congress as we go through the voter certification process. We still believe there is evidence that needs to be considered. “

Kentucky Republican Mr Paul said he would “wait and see how all legal cases play out” before deciding what to do.

Mr Johnson plans to hold a hearing this week “investigating the irregularities in the 2020 election,” and Ken Starr, the former independent attorney who is a right-wing favorite, and at least two attorneys who stand up for Mr Trump have pronounced introduces. Whether he will question the results on Jan. 6, he told reporters last week, “depends on what we find out.”

Maggie Haberman contributed to the coverage.

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Senate seems to be to go funding invoice

Senate looks to pass funding bill

Update: The Senate passed the government’s one-week funding law on Friday afternoon. An earlier version of this story is below.

The Senate had only hours to prevent the government from closing on Friday as lawmakers threatened to halt the swift passage of a spending bill.

Funding goes off if the Chamber does not approve a mediocre measure and President Donald Trump does not sign it before midnight. The House has already approved a week-long extension of government spending until December 18.

Legislators hope the bill will give them more time to finalize elusive year-round funding and coronavirus relief deals. However, it got more complicated to turn the lights on for another week on Friday.

In order to survive the shutdown, the measure requires unanimous approval. This means any senator can delay their approval, and several lawmakers have suggested doing so.

Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., And Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Urged a vote on a proposal to send direct payments of up to $ 1,200 per person and $ 500 per child. They criticized Congress ‘failure to put more money into Americans’ pockets for months during health and economic crises.

“In the midst of so much economic despair, Congress cannot pause without providing this $ 1,200 emergency aid to the American people in their distress,” Sanders said in a statement Thursday evening as he introduced the amendment he and Hawley proposed to the Senate hope is attached to the financing measure.

Meanwhile, NBC News reported that Florida Republican Sens. Rick Scott and Indiana Mike Braun want to tie a bill to end government closings to the week-long funding.

It is now unclear whether any of the lawmakers will actually delay the passage of the spending bill and let the funding forfeit.

The Senate cleared a potential hurdle when Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., Told reporters he was not going to hold up the household bill. He delayed the passage of the annual National Defense Approval Act for a day amid concerns about the $ 740 billion cost and a provision that would restrict the president’s authority to withdraw troops from overseas.

A previous protest from Paul resulted in a brief shutdown in 2018.

The passage of the spending measure would keep the government going for just a week. The appropriators have failed to reach a final agreement on a plan to fund the government by September 30, 2021, but Congress leaders said they hope they can do so before next week.

Previously, Republicans and Democrats had agreed on a total price of 1.4 trillion US dollars for a year-round spending package.

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Man Is Arrested in Stabbing at D.C. Election Protest

Man Is Arrested in Stabbing at D.C. Election Protest

Washington, DC authorities said Sunday they had arrested a man in connection with the stabbing of four people on Saturday night when supporters and opponents of President Trump collided with blocks from the White House.

The four were stabbed to death outside a bar on 11th Street and F Street Northwest at around 9 p.m. Saturday, the Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement. Washington, 29-year-old Phillip Johnson was arrested and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, a police spokeswoman said. According to a police report, he used a knife.

The confrontation was one of several furious encounters in Washington and state capitals on Saturday as supporters of Mr. Trump were outraged by a Supreme Court ruling that further demolished the president’s hopes of dismissing the November election results Counter-protesters clashed.

These confrontations escalated to violence in a number of locations, including Olympia, Washington, where police rioted and one person was shot.

The Washington police incident report on the stabbing in Washington said that officials working on the demonstrations responded to reports of a fight outside Harry’s bar on F Street Northwest, in which they found four people with stab wounds. The Washington Post reported that the bar was used on Saturday as a meeting place for the Proud Boys, a right-wing group known for inciting violence during protests.

The confrontation came after dozen of Mr. Trump’s supporters, many of whom appeared to be members of the Proud Boys, gathered on the street outside Harry’s bar. Some of the Trump supporters shouted and pointed at a black man in dark clothing, standing alone and against a wall, according to a journalist who witnessed the confrontation while covering the protests for the New York Times.

At least three of Trump’s supporters offered to let the man go and pleaded with the others to let him go in peace. After about a minute, when the man hesitated, more protesters came closer and started punching and kicking him, according to video footage of the confrontation shared by the New York Post.

At this point, the man pulled out a knife and started cutting it up as more protesters piled on top of him. The man detached himself twice, but was then grabbed and beaten again. Police intervened after the man was lying face down on the floor. Several protesters shouted that the man had a knife and had stabbed someone. The man’s face was puffy and bloody when the police picked him up.

The victims were conscious and breathing when they were rushed to a hospital, a police department spokeswoman said on Sunday. Douglas Buchanan, a spokesman for DC Fire and Ambulance Services, said Sunday that her injuries were not life threatening.

Police identified the men who had been stabbed to be Franklin Todd Gregory of McMinnville, Tenn .; Corey Owen Nielsen of Robbinsdale, Minn .; Jeremy Bertino of Locust, NC; and Gregory Lyons, whose hometown was not released. Police said Mr. Gregory identified Mr. Johnson as the man who stabbed him.

Mr Johnson could not be reached on Sunday. It wasn’t immediately clear whether he was still in custody or whether he had a lawyer.

Minutes before the knife wounds, Mr. Trump supporters tore off a banner from Black Lives Matter and burned it in the street. Videos on social media show this. The flag was removed from outside the Asbury United Methodist Church, one of the oldest black churches in Washington, which has stood on the corner of 11th Street and K Street Northwest since 1836.

The Church’s senior pastor, Rev. Dr. Ianther M. Mills, in a statement, said the scene reminded him of a burning cross.

“We are a resilient people who have trusted in God through slavery and the subway, Jim Crow and the civil rights movement,” she said, “now that we are facing an obvious rise in white supremacy.”

Another video showed a sign with the slogan Black Lives Matter torn down by the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church near the corner of 15th Street and M Street Northwest. A police department spokeswoman said the authorities are aware of the incidents and are investigating them as possible hate crimes.

“DC’s faith-based organizations are at the heart of our community and give us hope in the face of darkness,” Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a statement on Facebook. “They embody our DC values ​​of love and inclusivity. An attack on them is an attack on all of us. “

The police department spokeswoman said eight officers were injured during the protests on Sunday. Two of these officers suffered serious, but not life-threatening injuries and were also taken to hospitals, said Buchanan, the fire and rescue service spokesman.

According to a police arrest database, a total of 33 people were arrested in connection with the protests in Washington from Saturday afternoon to Sunday morning, mainly for various types of assault, including attacks on police officers.

A single shot can be heard in videos of a clash in Olympia, Washington posted on social media as counter-protesters advance against members of a pro-Trump group on Saturday, including a person on a sidewalk saying a great Trump waving flag. After the shot, one of the counter-protesters falls to the ground while others call for help. Another video shows a man with a gun running from the scene and putting on a red hat.

Forest Michael Machala, 25, of Shoreline, Washington, was arrested for first degree assault, said Chris Loftis, a Washington State Patrol spokesman, on Sunday.

The Olympia shots came after Mr. Trump’s supporters and counter-protesters gathered near the state capitol on Saturday afternoon and clashed ahead of the shooting.

Olympia Police said there were four arrests and four officers were injured, according to CBS subsidiary KIRO.

Victor J. Blue, Mike Baker and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs contributed to the coverage.

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Senate passes $740 billion protection invoice as Trump veto menace looms

Senate passes $740 billion defense bill as Trump veto threat looms

An F-35B Lightning II fighter aircraft with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 265 (Reinforced), 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), prepares for takeoff from the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) prior to a strike exercise inflatable maritime target.

Lance Cpl. Joshua Brittenham | US Marine Corps | FlickrCC

WASHINGTON – The Senate passed a colossal defense policy bill on Friday despite multiple threats from President Donald Trump to veto the measure.

At least 75 members of the Republican-led Senate voted for the massive annual defense bill of $ 740 billion, a number larger than the two-thirds majority it would take to defeat Trump’s promised veto.

With the weight of the House and Senate behind the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the bill hits Trump’s desk with overwhelming support from Congress.

The NDAA, which is usually passed with strong support from both parties and veto-proof majorities, approves spending totaling 740 billion US dollars and outlines Pentagon policies.

Earlier this month, Trump threatened to veto the must-pass defense law if lawmakers fail to remove legal protections for social media companies.

Trump is calling for the repeal of a federal law known as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects tech giants like Facebook and Twitter from legal liability for what is posted on their platforms.

Last week, Trump described the provision as a “liability protection gift” for “Big Tech” and called for it to be “terminated entirely”, otherwise he would not use this year’s NDAA.

The president also said the move posed a serious threat to US national security and electoral integrity, but did not provide any further explanation. Trump has also said that Twitter, his favorite social media platform, wrongly censored him.

The President’s problem with Section 230 came to light this summer after Twitter added warnings to several of its tweets that alleged mail-in polls were fraudulent. Trump has still not allowed Democrat Joe Biden to hold the US presidential election.

US President Donald Trump speaks after the swearing-in ceremony of James Mattis as Secretary of Defense on January 27, 2017 at the Pentagon in Washington, DC.

Almond Ngan | AFP | Getty Images

This year’s legislation includes a 3% pay increase for US troops, a plan to rename military facilities with the names of Confederate leaders, and a number of other provisions.

The NDAA, in its current form, does not contain any action related to Section 230.

This is not the first time the president has targeted the NDAA. Earlier this year, Trump said he would veto the measure if it included language for changing U.S. military facilities named after Confederate generals.

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Meet the Electoral School’s Largest Critics: A number of the Electors Themselves

Meet the Electoral College’s Biggest Critics: Some of the Electors Themselves

“You happened to ask people if they would be a voter,” said Justin Sheldon, a lawyer suing on behalf of Mr. Wright. (Mr. West was prevented from appearing on the Virginia ballot because of the program.)

Those seeking to reform the system have recently seen hope in the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, an agreement in which states agree to only send voters for the candidate who wins the referendum.

So far, 15 states and the District of Columbia have voted to join, representing 196 votes. The pact, which has worked its way through state houses for more than a decade, would go into effect if states with 270 voters agree, enough to rule the race.

Ms. Baca, the electoral college skeptic, backed the Colorado deal, which was passed by lawmakers last year and voted in a referendum in November. But she says that’s not enough.

“We have to go much further,” she said, noting that the electoral college was set up by the constitution and is therefore difficult to circumvent. “We have to change the constitution and let democracy work as we have told other democracies it should work.”

In 2016, Ms. Baca, who is also a former state lawmaker, received her largest platform to date to position herself on the electoral college.

That year, Mr. Trump lost the popular vote to Ms. Clinton by nearly three million votes, but won the electoral college and became president. With the help of a Colorado voter Michael Baca, then a Jamba Juice employee in his early twenties who had nothing to do with Ms. Baca, she began recruiting Republican voters to switch her votes from Mr. Trump. They became what the electoral college calls “unfaithful voters,” people who do not vote for the winner of the majority of the votes in their state.