Tag: Call

Categories
Politics

Lawmakers, activists name for elimination from Congress

Lawmakers, activists call for removal from Congress

Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), wearing a mask that reads “Trump won,” speaks to a colleague on the opening day of the 117th Congress on the opening day of the 117th Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 3. 2021.

Bill O’Leary | Reuters

Lawmakers and activists are calling for newcomer GOP Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to be removed from the House Education Committee and from Congress.

Recently, videos and social media activity from 2018 and 2019 have resurfaced depicting Greene harassing a Parkland, Florida survivor, falsely indicating that several fatal school and mass shootings were carried out, suggesting the Pointing out support for the execution of prominent Democrats and expressing approval from afar -right conspiracy theories.

“It is absolutely appalling, and I think the focus must be on the Republican leadership of this House of Representatives if they disregard the deaths of these children,” House spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi said at a weekly news conference Thursday.

Democratic MP Jahana Hayes distributed a letter Thursday urging the Republican leadership of the House to remove Greene from her appointment on the House Committee on Education and Labor. Hayes represents Connecticut’s 5th district, including Newtown, where the 2012 deadly mass shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School took place.

California Democratic MP Jimmy Gomez announced Thursday that he would introduce a resolution to expel Greene from Congress, which would require a two-thirds majority to pass.

House Ethics Committee Chairman Ted Deutch also expressed support for Greene’s removal from Congress. Parkland belongs to the Florida district of the Democrat, where the fatal shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School took place in 2018.

The Georgia chapter of the youth-led gun safety organization March For Our Lives held a demonstration outside Greene’s office in Rome, Georgia, Friday morning. The group organized the event in response to a resurfaced video of Greene panting David Hogg, a survivor of the Parkland shootout and co-founder of March For Our Lives, in 2019.

Activists called for the immediate resignation or expulsion of the congressmen. A petition calling for Greene’s resignation by March For Our Lives received more than 100,000 signatures in 24 hours.

“We’re tired of them shaming our region,” said Omar Rodriguez, organizer of the Northwest Georgia Justice Coalition and voter in Greene’s district, at the demonstration. “Greene is not one of us.”

Gun violence prevention groups Everytown for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action also called for Greene to step down.

The Republican Jewish Coalition released a statement Friday that the group “never endorsed or supported Marjorie Taylor Greene. We are offended and appalled by her comments and actions.”

“It is way outside of the mainstream Republican Party and the RJC is working closely with the Republican leadership of the House on the next steps in this matter,” the group said.

A spokesman for Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy said in a statement that Greene’s comments were “deeply troubling” and “Leader McCarthy plans to have a conversation with Congressman about it.”

In a Thursday interview on CNN, Hogg had a message to McCarthy: “If you say this is not your party, actually call them out and hold them accountable because Republicans always pretend they are the party of decency and respect. “

“But would the Party of Decency and Respect ask whether or not school shootings took place? Would they harass the survivors of those shootings for having different opinions than they did?” Asked Hogg.

Greene’s office did not respond to CNBC’s requests for comment. The Congresswoman released a defiant statement on Friday in response to mounting criticism and tried to draw attention to next year’s midterm elections.

Rep. Cori Bush, a Missouri Democrat, said Friday she was moving her office from Greene after the Georgia Congresswoman “cursed” her.

Regarding the deadly January 6 uprising in the Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump, Bush noted that she had “called for the expulsion of members who instigated the uprising from day one.” Greene supported efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s presidential win and was one of 147 Republican lawmakers who voted against the election results after the Capitol attack.

A news crew from NBC subsidiary WRCB was reportedly removed from an event at City Hall on Wednesday and threatened with arrest after trying to ask Greene a question.

Ahead of her November 2020 election, Greene fueled the QAnon conspiracy theory, whose supporters believe a cabal of satanic, pedophile Democrats and other institutional figures control the government and intend to undermine former President Trump.

Prominent QAnon supporters were among the pro-Trump extremists who stormed the Capitol during the uprising that killed five people.

The new lawmaker began her Congressional candidacy in the 6th district of Georgia and then decided to run in the 14th district when incumbent Tom Graves announced that he would not seek re-election. Her Democratic opponent was eliminated and Greene won her seat in the Northern Georgia district by almost 50 percentage points.

Categories
Politics

Rubio urges Biden to name for $2,000 stimulus checks on Day 1

Rubio urges Biden to call for $2,000 stimulus checks on Day 1

Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Exits a subway car on the Senate subway on Wednesday, March 18, 2020, between votes at the Capitol in Washington DC.

Caroline Brehman | CQ appeal | Getty Images

Florida GOP Senator Marco Rubio urges President-elect Joe Biden to push for $ 2,000 in direct payments to Americans on the first day of his presidency as a token of unity following the DC uprising last week.

“Last Wednesday was one of the darkest days in our history. Everywhere in our nation people are looking for answers and calling for accountability, but they are also desperate for hope: hope that Washington leaders can take steps to help our deeply divided People to Heal Nation, “the Florida Republican wrote in a letter to Biden Tuesday.

He added, “It would send a strong message to the American people if, on the first day of your presidency, you asked the House and Senate to pass laws to you to increase direct payments to Americans for the economic impact that because of the pandemic to have to fight from $ 600 to $ 2,000. “

Rubio and Biden both supported $ 2,000 direct payments in the Covid-19 auxiliary bill that was passed late last year. That move was blocked by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Biden has not yet set his full agenda for the next round of coronavirus-related aid, but is expected to do so on Thursday. It was already expected that he would push for $ 2,000 in payments.

Democrats have more leverage over the next round of talks thanks to the party’s victories in Georgia’s two democratic runoff elections last week, which allowed them to control the upper chamber of Congress. Democrats will soon hold the Senate, House of Representatives, and White House. Biden will be inaugurated on January 20th at 12 noon.

Following news of the Georgia victories, Biden said he would be pushing for “trillions” in spending on Covid-19 aid.

“It is necessary to spend the money now,” Biden said last week. “The answer is yes, it will be in the trillions of dollars, a whole package.”

The economy, which has been plagued by the health crisis since March, has recently shown signs of deteriorating again after months of lukewarm recovery. The number of non-farm workers fell by 140,000 last month. This marked the first net job loss for the economy since the US lockdown began

In the letter, Rubio urged Biden not to let the payments “get entangled in normal political games by adding a wish-list of left-wing or other unrelated priorities to this legislation”.

“All too often, popular and necessary legislation is used as a lever to secure passage for guidelines that cannot of their own accord,” wrote Rubio. “We saw it already in the middle of the pandemic, when additional funding for small businesses was repeatedly blocked for months.”

The Biden transition team did not respond to a request for comment.

One of the possible measures that Biden has proposed as part of the aid package for Covid-19 is an increase in the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour, a longstanding Democratic priority. Two-thirds of Americans said last year that they are in favor of raising the minimum wage to this level, according to a poll by the Pew Research Center.

Subscribe to CNBC Pro for the live TV stream, deep insights and analysis of how to invest during the next president’s term.

Categories
Politics

Runoffs are too near name

Runoffs are too close to call

According to NBC News, both Georgia Senate runoffs were too short to hold early Wednesday when Democratic Rev. Raphael Warnock declared victory in a race.

The competitions will determine which party will have the Senate majority for the next two years. Democrats want unified control of Congress and the White House. Republicans want a review of President-elect Joe Biden’s agenda.

Warnock, the 51-year-old senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, who preached Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., challenged 50-year-old incumbent GOP Senator Kelly Loeffler. The seat that Loeffler was appointed to after former GOP Senator Johnny Isakson retired early will be re-elected in 2022.

Warnock led Loeffler with around 98% of the vote, which was counted early Wednesday morning, according to NBC. He declared victory as his lead grew.

“I’m going to the Senate to work for all of Georgia, no matter who you voted for in this election.” Warnock said in a speech early Wednesday morning. He later added, “Are we going to play political games while real people are suffering, or are we going to win righteous battles standing shoulder to shoulder for the good of Georgia, for the good of our country?”

Even when Warnock led and the outstanding votes dwindled, Loeffler did not admit on Wednesday morning and claimed: “We will win this election.”

In the other stitching competition, 71-year-old Republican David Perdue meets 33-year-old Democrat Jon Ossoff, who runs a documentary production company. Perdue is aiming for a second term in the Senate after his first Sunday. The race took place early Wednesday morning with around 98% of the vote.

In a statement Wednesday morning, Ossoff campaign manager Ellen Foster said: “When all the votes are counted, we’ll assume Jon Ossoff won this election to represent Georgia in the United States Senate.” She said that outstanding votes come from areas where the Democrat did well in the elections.

Both elections went to the runoff after no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the general election.

The districts have largely completed reporting. Cobb County, in the metropolitan area of ​​Atlanta, announced that the counting of results will not be complete tonight and that the vote count will resume at 1:00 p.m. CET on Wednesday.

A sign is seen as voters line up for the U.S. Senate runoff election at a polling station in Marietta, Georgia, the United States, Jan. 5, 2021.

Facebook Facebook Logo Log in to Facebook to connect with Mike Segar Reuters

Biden won Georgia with 11,779 votes in November. NBC News announced his victory over President Donald Trump in Peach State only three days after election day when officials were putting together postal ballot papers.

More than 3 million Georgians cast their votes before Tuesday, representing a historically high turnout for runoff elections in the state. Runoff ballot data and voter history data suggest Democrats had an advantage in voter turnout. The Republicans were hoping for a strong performance on Tuesday.

According to the Georgian Foreign Minister, the average waiting time at polling stations until Tuesday was around a minute across the country. Republican election chief Gabriel Sterling said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon that election day turnout could range between 600,000 and 1.1 million voters. Exact numbers are difficult to predict before the ballots are counted.

Some districts closed later than 7 p.m. ET due to delays earlier in the day. The latest was a polling station in Lowndes County that closed at 8:00 p.m. ET, according to the Georgia Democratic Party. Voters standing in line before the election was over were legally allowed to cast one vote.

According to the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics, the two runoff elections in Georgia are the two most expensive Senate races of all time.

If even one of the Republicans wins, the GOP retains Senate control. Democrats will have to sweep both races to get a 50:50 split in the chamber. Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris would then hold a groundbreaking vote.

The election results will shape the first two years of the Biden agenda. If Republicans keep the Senate, they will push for a smaller coronavirus bailout package than Democrats hope to pass in the coming months. During a rally Monday, Biden and the Democratic Senate candidates stressed that victories in Georgia could help them provide $ 2,000 in direct aid payments – a plan that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Alone opposes.

A Democratic Senate would also give Biden a better chance to pass his economic recovery agenda and ratify his elected cabinet candidates and judges. Approval only requires a majority, while most laws require 60 votes to pass.

During the runoff election, Perdue and Loeffler appealed to Trump’s loyal supporters, including by supporting the outgoing president’s unsubstantiated claims of widespread election fraud. In a climatic event days before the election, Trump threatened Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger with a phone call to find votes that would undo Biden’s victory in Georgia.

Loeffler said in a statement on Monday that she would speak out against the certification of the results of the electoral college on Wednesday. The maneuver is likely to fail.

Some GOP strategists feared Trump’s ongoing attacks on the integrity of the Georgian elections could deter some Republicans from voting on Tuesday.

This story evolves. Please try again.

Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.

Categories
Politics

Trump, in Taped Name, Pressured Georgia Official to ‘Discover’ Votes to Overturn Election

Trump, in Taped Call, Pressured Georgia Official to ‘Find’ Votes to Overturn Election

At another point, when Mr. Trump claimed that a video of the vote count at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta revealed that an employee was guilty of blatant ballot filling, Mr. Raffensperger replied that the video was selectively edited by Mr. Trump’s attorney. Rudolph W. Giuliani and other lawyers.

“They cut and rolled the video and took it out of context,” said Raffensperger. “The events that took place are nowhere near what was projected.”

When Mr Germany told the President that some of the allegations had been examined by both the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the FBI and found to be untrue, Mr Trump replied that the agents were false.

“Then they are incompetent,” he said. “There are only two answers – dishonesty or incompetence.”

Mr Raffensperger said Mr Trump’s allegation that ballot papers were scanned three times was false. “We conducted an audit and conclusively proved that they were not scanned three times,” he told the president.

The president seemed incapable of envisioning a reality in which he would lose Georgia and repeatedly rewound statistics that he said he won the state by “hundreds of thousands of votes”.

“You look at it by rally size, frankly,” said Mr Trump, adding that he wanted to go over some of the numbers. He claimed that 250,000 to 300,000 ballots were “mysteriously thrown into the reels,” a problem he said in Fulton County.

“We think if you check the signatures, a real signature check in Fulton County, you’ll find at least a few hundred thousand forged signatures,” the president said, citing one conspiracy theory after another.

“People have said it was the highest vote ever,” he told Mr. Raffensperger, claiming that the fraud cases were “many, many times” more than Mr. Biden’s profit margin. “The political people said there was no way they could beat me.”

Michael D. Shear reported from Washington and Stephanie Saul from New York.