Tag: Pelosi

Categories
Politics

Nancy Pelosi backs Trump impeachment after DC riots

Nancy Pelosi backs Trump impeachment after DC riots

U.S. Spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on Wednesday, December 30, 2020.

Ting Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images

House spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi urged the House of Representatives to press ahead with impeachment if President Donald Trump does not resign after helping fuel the deadly mob takeover of the U.S. Capitol, she said Friday.

“It is the hope of the members that the president resigns immediately,” said the California Democrat in a statement after a call to her caucus. “But if he doesn’t, I have instructed the regulatory committee to stand ready to push legislation on Congressman Jamie Raskin’s 25th amendment and impeachment.”

The House Rules Committee is expected to expedite the impeachment process without hearing or voting by the committee. Those steps would slow the process down just days before Trump left office on Jan. 20. The separate Pelosi bill, drafted by Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, would formally set up a commission for Vice President Mike Pence and the cabinet could remove Trump from office.

The president has given no indication that he will consider resigning. The vice president reportedly denies appeal to the 25th amendment.

The House has been preparing to indict Trump an unprecedented second time after the President’s supporters stormed the Capitol on Wednesday and delayed Congress formal counting of President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory. At least five people, including a US Capitol police officer, died as a result of the attack on lawmakers.

Raskin and Rep. David Cicilline, DR.I., and Ted Lieu, D-Calif., Plan to introduce at least one impeachment article on Monday referring to Trump causing the riots, NBC News reported.

Trump spoke to his supporters before they marched on the Capitol and voiced conspiracy theories that cost him the election. He lied to her about the results for two months before confirming Thursday that a “new government” would take over.

In a draft impeachment trial, “Incitement to Insurrection,” received by NBC News, Trump is accused of “involvement in high crimes and misdemeanors by intentionally inciting violence against the United States government.” It goes on to say that Trump “threatened the integrity of the democratic system, disrupted peaceful transfers of power, and compromised a coordinated branch of government by” betraying “his confidence as President in order to prevent the apparent harm to the people of the United States.”

The content of the article can change before Monday. In a tweeted statement, Lieu said the measure has more than 150 co-sponsors. He added that “doing nothing is not an option”.

Massachusetts MP Katherine Clark, the fourth-tier House Democrat, previously told CNN that the Chamber could take action against Trump “as early as the middle of next week.”

Democrats have called for Trump to be removed as they warn that he could further deteriorate democratic institutions or endanger more lives in his final days in office.

In a statement Friday, White House spokesman Judd Deere said the indictment, “A president with 12 days remaining will only serve to further divide our great country.”

It’s unclear if Democrats have enough time to remove the president before inauguration day – or how many Republicans will join them. Kevin McCarthy, minority chairman of the House of Representatives, who opposed counting Biden’s election victories in Arizona and Pennsylvania after the mob attacked the Capitol, spoke out against impeachment because it would “only divide our country further.”

Pelosi and Senate Minority Chairman Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., on Thursday called on Pence and Trump’s cabinet to remove Trump, citing the 25th amendment. They said he could not stay in office after instigating a “riot”. More than 190 other lawmakers, only one of whom is Republican, have also called for Trump to be removed since the attack.

Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, called on Trump to resign but did not comment on the impeachment.

Pelosi and Schumer said invoking the 25th amendment, which requires support from Pence and a majority in the cabinet, is the quickest way to ensure the president leaves office. While officials like Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed the prospect of Trump being removed, they decided not to take the move for now.

The day after hundreds of rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, House spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi said again that Vice President Mike Pence should invoke the 25th amendment to recall President Donald Trump, otherwise she will face impeachment proceedings during a press conference The President will usher in Capitol Hill in Washington, DC January 7, 2021.

Melina Mara | The Washington Post | Getty Images

In a letter to the Democrats on Friday, Pelosi said she and Schumer “hope to hear about it.” [Pence] as soon as possible “on whether to invoke the 25th Amendment.

“If the president does not leave office immediately and willingly, Congress will continue our action,” she wrote.

House Justice Committee chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler, DN.Y., said Thursday that lawmakers could take steps to expedite the impeachment process.

“We have limited time to act,” said Nadler in a statement. “The nation cannot afford a lengthy process, and I support putting impeachment proceedings right on the floor of the House.”

According to NBC, Pelosi wanted to speak to Biden about the process on Friday. The president-elect said Friday that he would leave it to Congress to decide what action to take before it is inaugurated.

The Democratic house would have enough support to indict Trump, likely with a handful of Republican votes. The chamber did this once in December 2019.

But the GOP-controlled Senate, which acquitted the president last year, could not follow suit. Only one Republican – Mitt Romney of Utah – voted to remove Trump after his first impeachment trial.

Until elected Democratic Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff of Georgia are sworn in to seal a Democratic majority, Republicans will have a 51-48 lead in the Senate. A two-thirds vote to remove Trump would require 66 votes, with 18 Republicans on board.

At least one Republican who first voted against removing Trump would now consider doing so more seriously.

“When the House gets together and has a lawsuit, I would definitely consider what articles they could move because, like I told you, I believe the President disregarded his oath of office … what he did was evil” , Senator Ben Sasse, R-Neb., Told CBS on Friday.

Senator Lindsey Graham, RS.C., argued in a Friday tweet that the charges against Trump would now “do more harm than good.” He said efforts to remove a president who contributed to a siege of the Capitol “would not only be unsuccessful in the Senate, it would set a dangerous precedent for the future of the presidency.”

Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.

Categories
Health

The houses of Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi had been reportedly vandalized.

The homes of Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi were reportedly vandalized.

It has been reported that the homes of political opponents and the two most powerful members of Congress, Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi, have been destroyed as their stalemate continues over a stimulus package criticized by left and right as inadequate – including President Trump.

In a statement on Saturday, McConnell, a Kentucky Republican and Senate majority leader, lamented what he called a “radical tantrum” that came from a “toxic playbook.” The Louisville broadcaster WDRB-TV reported that the Senator’s house was marked with red and white spray paint overnight. Photos show the letter on the front of Mr. McConnell’s house, including a message saying “Weres my money” on the front door. The Louisville Metro Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.

“I’ve spent my career fighting for the first change and advocating peaceful protest,” McConnell said in the statement. “I appreciate every Kentuckian who has participated in the democratic process, whether they agree with me or not. That is different. Vandalism and fear politics have no place in our society. “

At around 2 a.m. on Friday, San Francisco police responded to a report of vandalism in a house in Pacific Heights. Graffiti had been sprayed on the garage door and “a pig’s head” was left on the sidewalk in front of the house, a police spokesman said. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the house belonged to Ms. Pelosi, a Democrat who serves as the house’s spokeswoman.

Police did not answer any other questions, including whether the pig’s head discovered on the property was real or fake. The Speaker’s Office did not respond to a request for comment on Saturday.

President Trump signed a bill last Sunday that included an incentive of $ 900 billion but called for payments to individuals to be increased from $ 600 to $ 2,000. Ms. Pelosi rallied support for the postponement and the House voted on Monday to increase payments. Mr. McConnell blocked efforts the next day.

Mr McConnell said Tuesday that the Senate would “initiate a process” to consider larger payments along with Mr Trump’s other demands, including investigations into his unfounded allegations of election fraud in the 2020 election and the repeal of certain legal protections for Technology giants like Facebook, Google and Twitter.

Categories
Health

Pelosi and McConnell obtain Pfizer Covid vaccine

Pelosi and McConnell receive Pfizer Covid vaccine

House spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will receive a COVID-19 vaccination from Dr Drs on December 18, 2020 in her office on Capitol Hill in Washington. Brian Monahan (R), attending physician for United States Congress, DC.

Ken Cedeno | Getty Images

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell received the Covid vaccine from Pfizer on Friday after the attending physician in Congress asked lawmakers to enroll.

The doctor, Dr. Brian Monahan, cited federal guidelines designed to ensure the U.S. government works during the pandemic.

Senior US government officials have already started receiving the vaccine. Vice President Mike Pence, his wife Karen and Surgeon General Jerome Adams streamed the recording live on national television Friday morning.

However, the general public is not expected to receive the vaccine for months as doses remain limited while Pfizer ramping up production. Moderna’s vaccine could get emergency approval as early as Friday. Congress is currently negotiating an aid package from Covid, which is expected to provide billions of dollars for vaccine distribution.

Monahan, who is also present as a doctor on the Supreme Court, said the National Security Council had told him that Congress, the court and executive agencies would be given a small number of vaccine doses for necessary staff.

“My recommendation to you is absolutely clear: there is no reason why you should postpone receiving this vaccine,” Monahan told Congress in a letter on Thursday. “The benefits far outweigh any small risk.”

Monahan stressed in his letter that “the small number of COVID19 vaccine doses that are being made available to us reflects a fraction of the first batch of vaccines being distributed across the country”. The US logistics plans for the first week of the vaccine rollout include 2.9 million doses for locations in all 50 states.

Monahan administered the vaccine to Pelosi, D-Calif. Friday after the House spokeswoman said she would follow the doctor’s instructions and receive the shot. In a press release on Thursday, she urged President Donald Trump to invoke the Defense Production Act to expedite manufacturing and ensure the equitable distribution of the vaccine to as many Americans as possible.

McConnell, a polio survivor, also received the shot on Friday, calling the vaccine safe and effective. In a statement Thursday, the Kentucky Republican expressed concern that polls show that a quarter of adults in the US are unsure whether they will receive the vaccine when it becomes available.

“As a polio survivor, I know both the fear of disease and the extraordinary promise of hope that vaccines bring,” said McConnell. “I really hope that all Kentuckians and Americans will take this advice and accept this safe and effective vaccine.”

More than 100 members of Congress have either quarantined, tested positive, or been exposed to someone with Covid, according to GovTrack. When the vaccine launches and members of Congress sign up for the shot, they still haven’t reached an agreement on an aid package from Covid that would include billions of dollars to distribute the vaccine. Members of a CDC advisory panel have warned that state and local governments will need more money to administer the vaccines.

The US government and 50 states are rationing the distribution of the vaccine over multiple phases, according to guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the first phase, frontline health workers and residents of long-term care facilities, which have about 40% of deaths in Covid, will be given the vaccine. A CDC advisory panel will meet on Sunday to set guidelines on who should get the shot in the next stage of vaccinations.

The New York Times reported on Sunday that the White House had planned to quickly distribute the vaccine to west wing workers who are in close contact with the president. Trump, who contracted the virus and was hospitalized for several days in October, announced hours after the Times report that he had adjusted the plan and that White House workers would receive the vaccine later in the program.

“I don’t plan to take the vaccine, but I look forward to doing so in due course,” the president said in a Twitter post.

At least 52 people linked to Trump and the White House have contracted coronavirus in recent months as senior officials, including the president, violate CDC’s guidelines on social distancing.