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      in US Politics

      Mitch McConnell blocks Senate Democrats' move to fast track $2000 Covid payments – video

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      The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, blocked an effort by Democrats to quickly increase coronavirus relief payments to US citizens from $600 to $2,000. Donald Trump demanded the raise on Tuesday, tweeting that Americans had ‘suffered enough’ from the Covid pandemic. But amid mounting pressure from fellow Republicans,  McConnell objected to a move by Chuck Schumer, the minority leader, to swiftly pass the measure
      McConnell blocks initial Democratic effort for $2,000 Covid stimulus checks More

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      in US Politics

      McConnell blocks initial Democratic effort for $2,000 Covid stimulus checks

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      A growing number of Republicans on Tuesday backed Donald Trump’s demand to increase coronavirus relief payments to US citizens from $600 to $2,000, though the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, blocked Democrats’ effort to quickly pass the measure.
      Trump’s party has been plunged into chaos and conflict over his demands to increase one-off cheques for Americans, a measure that passed the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives on Monday.
      “$2000 for our great people, not $600!,” Trump tweeted on Tuesday, saying Republicans must approve the payments “unless they have a death wish”.
      The conflict over the payments has created an odd situation in the last days of his administration where Trump and Democrats are pushing for the same outcome. Some critics saw Trump’s move as an apparent return to his posture as a populist outsider and disrupter of the Washington establishment, and as loyalty tests to strengthen his sway after he leaves offices.
      His position has also created a dilemma for McConnell, while Democrats – and Senator Bernie Sanders – see a renewed chance to pass a higher amount of aid with so many Americans facing financial hardship.
      Put on the spot by Trump, more Republicans on Tuesday abandoned their previous opposition to the higher sum and came over to the president’s side. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, senators from Georgia facing tight races for re-election next week, tweeted their support for $2,000 direct payments. Loeffler told the Fox News channel: “I’ve stood by the president 100% of the time. I’m proud to do that and I’ve said absolutely we need to get relief to Americans now and I will support that.”

      Donald J. Trump
      (@realDonaldTrump)
      Unless Republicans have a death wish, and it is also the right thing to do, they must approve the $2000 payments ASAP. $600 IS NOT ENOUGH! Also, get rid of Section 230 – Don’t let Big Tech steal our Country, and don’t let the Democrats steal the Presidential Election. Get tough! https://t.co/GMotstu7OI

      December 29, 2020

      Senator Marco Rubio of Florida did likewise, stating: “I agree with the president that millions of working-class families are in dire need of additional relief, which is why I support $2,000 in direct payments.” Fellow Republican Josh Hawley has also expressed support.
      Final passage of the aid increase in the Senate would require 60 votes and the backing of a dozen Republicans to hand Trump an unlikely victory.
      The Georgia runoffs could weigh heavily in McConnell’s thinking on whether to allow such a vote to go ahead.
      As Trump played golf in Florida on Tuesday, Chuck Schumer, the minority leader, made a plea from the Senate floor: “In the wealthiest nation on earth, modern-day breadlines stretch for miles down American highways. The fastest way to get money into Americans’ pockets is to send some of their tax dollars right back from where they came.
      “Two-thousand-dollar stimulus cheques could mean the difference between American families having groceries for a few extra weeks or going hungry. The difference between paying the rent or being kicked out of your home that you’ve lived in for years. It could buy precious time for tens of millions of people as the vaccine thankfully makes its way across the country.”
      Schumer demanded: “Will Senate Republicans stand against the House of Representatives, the Democratic majority in the Senate, and the president of their own party to prevent these $2,000 checks from going out the door?”
      McConnell objected, blocking initial consideration of the measure, but was set to come under growing pressure from Democrats and members of his own party to hold an up-or-down vote this week.
      For example Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont, threatened to block McConnell from holding a separate vote on Wednesday to override Trump’s veto of a $740bn defence bill unless the majority leader yields.
      “This week on the Senate floor Mitch McConnell wants to vote to override Trump’s veto of the $740bn defense funding bill and then head home for the New Year,” Sanders said. “I’m going to object until we get a vote on legislation to provide a $2,000 direct payment to the working class.”
      The defence bill is heading to the Senate after the House voted 322 to 87 to override Trump’s presidential veto. It was the first time either chamber of Congress has delivered such a rebuke. Some 109 Republicans joined their Democratic colleagues to ensure the required two-thirds majority.
      This prompted further anger and criticism from Trump against his own party. “Weak and tired Republican ‘leadership’ will allow the bad Defense Bill to pass,” he tweeted, complaining that the legislation will change the names of military bases that honour Confederate leaders and maintain legal protects for big tech companies.
      Trump has been less engaged with Congress than previous presidents and remained on the sidelines during months of negotiations over the $900bn coronavirus relief package, only to threaten to withdraw his signature before finally caving in last Sunday.
      But the current disputes appear connected to his fixation with overturning his election defeat. He has railed against McConnell and others for acknowledging Biden as president-elect and called on Republicans to raise objections when Congress gathers to certify the outcome on 6 January. Some analysts have described it as less a power grab than an attention grab by a man who sees the media spotlight shifting to Biden.
      Trump tweeted: “….Can you imagine if the Republicans stole a Presidential Election from the Democrats – All hell would break out. Republican leadership only wants the path of least resistance. Our leaders (not me, of course!) are pathetic. They only know how to lose!”
      Trump’s erratic behaviour in the final weeks of his presidency have even alienated media owner and longtime ally Rupert Murdoch. His New York Post newspaper said in an editorial this week: “If you insist on spending your final days in office threatening to burn it all down, that will be how you are remembered. Not as a revolutionary, but as the anarchist holding the match.” More

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      in US Politics

      House Republicans join with Democrats to override Trump's veto of defence bill

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      Donald Trump suffered fresh humiliation on Monday when more than a hundred Republicans joined Democrats in the House of Representatives to override his veto of a $741bn defence bill.
      If, as expected, the Senate follows suit later this week, it will be Congress’s first such rebuke of his presidency, which has only three weeks left to run.
      During a high stakes day on Capitol Hill, the Democratic-controlled House also voted to boost coronavirus relief payments to $2,000 per person. This was a step endorsed by Trump but is thought unlikely to progress in the Senate.
      The National Defense Authorization Act, which funds service members’ pay, overseas military operations and other needs, has been passed by Congress every year since 1967. Trump exercised his veto last week, returning the bill with objections including its proposal to change the names of 10 military bases honouring Confederate leaders.
      Trump was also aggrieved that the legislation did not repeal repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects tech companies from legal liability over content posted by their users. The president has accused Facebook and Twitter of political bias against him.
      His objections served as the latest loyalty test for Republicans in the aftermath of his election defeat by Joe Biden. Kevin McCarthy, the House minority leader, announced that he would not vote to override Trump’s veto despite supporting the original bill, which passed both chambers of Congress with strong bipartisan backing.
      But it was not enough. Some 109 Republicans broke from Trump on Monday and joined Democrats to support the bill. The final tally of 322-87 comfortably reached the two thirds threshold required to override the veto.
      Mac Thornberry, the most senior Republican on the House armed services committee, urged colleagues who had supported the bill earlier this month to back it again. “It’s the exact same bill, not a comma has changed,” he said. “I would only ask that as members vote, they put the best interests of the country first. There is no other consideration that should matter.”
      Democrat Adam Smith, chair of the committee, said: “It is enormously important that we pass this bill. We did it once. Let’s just do it one more time, and then we can all go home for the year. We can be done, and we can be proud of what we have accomplished.” More

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      in US Politics

      Covid vaccines and $600 payments: key provisions in the US stimulus bill

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      Donald Trump signed the new Covid-19 stimulus package into law on Sunday night, suddenly giving into pressure from Congress after calling the legislation a “disgrace” days earlier.The $900bn emergency relief bill includes funds to help small businesses, health providers and schools, as well as individuals facing unemployment, eviction and food insecurity.Here is a look at a few of the key provisions in the more than 5,000-page package:Individual aidMost Americans can expect a $600 stimulus check from the government, half the amount distributed to individuals in the spring. The stimulus checks will be made available to adults with annual incomes up to $75,000, with smaller payments available to those who make more. There will also be $600 available per child. This round, families with mixed-immigration status will also qualify for the funds, after US citizens in such families were excluded from collecting the checks in the spring.Trump said he wanted to give Americans $2,000 stimulus checks, a move favored by Democrats. But Republican lawmakers are not expected to support it.Unemployment benefits will also include an extra $300 per week for at least 10 weeks. That is half the amount the government provided from March to August.Covid-19 vaccine and testingThere is $69bn included in the bill to aid Covid-19 vaccine distribution, contact tracing and testing. This includes $9bn to healthcare providers and $4.5bn to mental health services. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said last week that more than a million people in the US had received the first dose of the vaccine – 10 days after Covid-19 vaccine administration began in the country.Small business aidThe package extends the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which provided roughly $525bn in aid to more than five million businesses after it was enacted in the spring. Loans of up to $2m will be available to small, hard-hit businesses and $15bn of the funding is dedicated to live venues such as movie theaters and museums.PPP, which ended in August, was criticized for its complexity and loopholes and the $284bn extension attempts to address those issues. Congress members said they attempted to better target the funds after Black-owned businesses reported difficulties accessing the loans. Businesses have until 31 March to apply for the loans, but it is not clear when the application process will open.School fundingEducational institutions will get $82bn, with $54bn for public schools, which provide free education to children in kindergarten through high school. This is roughly four times more than what Congress provided to public schools in its spring economic relief package.State governments are facing budget deficits because of falling personal income tax and sales tax revenue, leaving public schools vulnerable. The promised funding still falls short of requests by public school groups, but president-elect Joe Biden has promised to direct more help to schools.The rest of the money will be directed to colleges and universities ($23bn), an education emergency relief fund ($4bn) and Native American schools ($1bn).Rental assistanceState and local governments will be able to distribute funds to people who may be facing eviction under a $25bn first-of-its-kind rental assistance program. The assistance can be used for rent, back rent, utilities and other related expenses.The bill also extends the federal eviction moratorium by a month. The moratorium is limited and has allowed evictions to continue in certain circumstances.Broadband infrastructureAt a time when millions of Americans are working from home, attending school and seeing their doctors online, Congress is providing $7bn to expand high-speed internet access. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) estimated that 21 million Americans lack high-speed internet access but other studies have estimated the number at close to 42 million.About half of the money will be used for a $50 per month broadband benefit to help cover internet bills for low-income families. Funds will also be used to help with broadband issues for communities near historically Black colleges and universities, the federal government’s telehealth program and rural broadband. More

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      in Elections

      Georgia Senate runoff elections: a guide for non-Americans on how they work and why they matter

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      On 5 January the US state of Georgia will vote, again, on who to send to the Senate.The control of the Senate is up for grabs, and thus the prospects for the Biden administration – at least for the next two years. As millions of dollars and hundreds of campaigners descend on the state, here is an explainer about what is happening.What is at stake?Two seats are up for grabs. Republicans hold 50 of the 100 seats, and Democrats hold 48. There are 46 formally party-aligned and two independents – Angus King of Maine and Bernie Sanders of Vermont – who caucus with the Democrats. When there is a 50-50 tie, the deciding vote is cast by the vice president. That will be Democrat Kamala Harris after the Biden administration is sworn in on 20 January.If Democrats can win both seats they will control the Senate.A Senate majority is crucial in deciding a range of legislative changes, cabinet appointments, potential presidential impeachments and nominations to the supreme court. Republicans have controlled the Senate since 2014.The Democrats have a majority in the House, so a Democratic Senate majority would make Joe Biden’s next two years much easier. Conversely a Republican-controlled Senate under majority leader Mitch McConnell would be able to block much of his agenda, just as it did with former president Barack Obama’s. Biden has a history of attempting compromise across the aisle and could try to entice one or more Republicans on individual votes, but given McConnell’s history of obstructionism that seems a distant prospect. With so much hanging on the result, money has been pouring in to the state to support both sides. More than US$400m was spent on political ads by the middle of December, most going to the two Republicans.Today in FocusThe Georgia Senate runoffSorry your browser does not support audio – but you can download here and listen https://audio.guim.co.uk/2020/05/05-61553-gnl.fw.200505.jf.ch7DW.mp300:00:0000:00:00Who are the candidates?Both Georgia seats are contested between one Democratic candidate and one Republican.One race pitches Republican David Perdue, incumbent senator since 2015, against Democrat Jon Ossoff, a former journalist, who is only 33.Their battle has been vitriolic at times, Ossoff repeatedly calling Perdue a crook and referring to investigations into Perdue’s alleged insider trading.But Perdue has mostly not risen to the bait, and he declined to meet Ossoff in their scheduled TV debate earlier this month, leaving Ossoff to make his points on an empty podium.The other, much more colourful, race is between Republican Kelly Loeffler, a seriously wealthy former businesswoman, and Democrat Rev Raphael Warnock.Warnock, bidding to become Georgia’s first black senator, is a pastor at the Atlanta church where Martin Luther King held the same position. A long-time civil rights campaigner, he is a powerful orator in the tradition of King, and a strong supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement.As a result he has been denounced as a “radical liberal” by his opponent, Loeffler, at every possible opportunity, but has responded in disarming campaign ads by accusing Loeffler of having nothing positive to say about herself and stressing how much he loves puppies.Loeffler ran into controversy when she criticised players from the WNBA team she owns – the Atlanta Dream – over their support for Black Lives Matter, saying BLM had “Marxist foundations”.Loeffler is also technically an incumbent – she was appointed an interim senator on 6 January after former Republican senator Johnny Isakson resigned due to ill health.Why are they runoffs?Georgia state law requires runoffs in both elections because no candidate in either seat reached 50% in the November election.For the Loeffler-Warnock seat, the vacancy was created by the resignation of a sitting senator.This meant the November vote was contested by 20 people, in what is known as a “blanket” or “jungle” primary, which is to say it was almost always going to a runoff, with the top two from the first round going through. In that blanket primary, Loeffler also faced strong competition from moderate Republican congressman Doug Collins, and Warnock competed against a range of Democrats.Warnock topped the blanket primary with 32.9%, Loeffler came second with 25.9% and Collins came third with 19.95%. The top two – Warnock and Loeffler – then advanced to the runoff.In the other seat, contested by Perdue and Ossoff, the 2.32% of the vote won by Libertarian party candidate Shane T Hazel was enough to ensure that neither main party candidate reached 50% in a tight race: Perdue received 49.73% and Ossoff 47.95%.Who is likely to win?A Democrat has not won a Senate race in Georgia in 20 years, so the odds of winning two at the same time do not look great.However, Biden won the state in the November presidential election, the first time in 30 years a Democratic candidate had done so.How the outcome of the presidential race will affect the runoffs is the great unknown. Will traditionally Republican voters who rejected Donald Trump return to the party to ensure the Biden agenda is tempered by Republican control of the Senate? Or will Trump’s insistence on continuing to campaign in Georgia on the basis that the election was a fraud – and tying the Senate candidates to that cause – again motivate Democratic voters to turn out in high numbers?As in the presidential election, voting is not compulsory – so turnout will be a huge concern for both camps.A few more younger voters will be eligible to vote in January. Anyone who turns 18 on or before 5 January is eligible to vote, according to the Georgia Voter Guide. Registration to vote closed on 7 December.What do the polls say?By 24 December the poll average compiled by FiveThirtyEight had Perdue ahead of Ossoff by 0.5%, but Warnock leading Loeffler by 0.6%. Real Clear Politics on 22 December gave the Republicans slightly better figures, with Perdue up by 1% and Loeffler by 0.2%, but the numbers for the Democrats were improving over the past week or so with both agencies.Both polling outfits came under sustained criticism over the presidential election when they drastically underestimated Republican support in some states.When will we know the result?It depends how close the races are. The first Ossoff-Perdue race from November was so close that the result was not known for three days, but under most circumstances the result should be apparent on the night. More

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      in US Politics

      The Republican heroes and villains of Trump's attempt to steal the election

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      [embedded content]
      In November, Donald Trump became the first president in American history to try to hold on to power that voters had given to someone else in the course of a national election.
      The plot did not unfold in one dramatic scene. Instead, Trump lured Republicans to commit a series of coercive acts on his behalf under a false banner of non-existent election “fraud” – the attempted steal masquerading as a security measure.
      It might have worked. Many Republicans went along actively or silently. These included well-known national figures such as Rudy Giuliani, Newt Gingrich, Lindsey Graham and most other Republican senators.
      But to succeed, Trump’s plot depended not only on the top Republicans he dominates but also on the cooperation of hundreds of state and local officials. Over three crucial weeks in November, some of those officials made individual decisions that could have seen the plot through, while others thwarted it.
      Here is an incomplete list of some of the lesser-known Republican friends and foes of US democracy who emerged in the historic November 2020 battle over its fate.
      Foes
      To stay in power, Trump needed to prevent states from certifying the results of their 3 November votes, or to convince Republican legislators to try to throw out state results. Trump’s key targets included officials in Michigan and Pennsylvania. He found some ready accomplices.
      Norman Shinkle
      A former state senator in Michigan who refused to certify the state’s result despite independent certifications by all 83 Michigan counties and no evidence of fraud to cast doubt on Biden’s 154,000-vote win in the state. Shinkle said he thought the result in majority-Black Detroit “needs to be looked at”. One county clerk called Shinkle’s abstention “shocking and disgusting”.
      Monica Palmer and William Hartmann
      Republican canvassers in Wayne county, Michigan, who sought to reverse their certification of the election result after Trump made a phone call to Palmer. She demanded an audit of the Detroit vote before the certification of its result, in defiance of law. She later said she was unaware of the law.
      Mike Shirkey and Lee Chatfield
      Republican leaders of the Michigan state senate and house who accepted an invitation to visit Trump at the White House as the president tried to prevent the state from certifying Biden’s 82,000-vote win. In the Oval Office, Shirkey and Chatfield received a telephone briefing by Rudy Giuliani about fake election fraud. They later lied and said the meeting with Trump was about Covid-19 economic relief. They were photographed drinking Dom Pérignon at Trump’s hotel in Washington DC after their meeting.

      Grant Hermes
      (@GrantHermes)
      Shirkey, opts to sing a hymn to the press instead of answering questions here. When asked if he had anything to say to MI voters he responded, “I love Michigan” @Local4News pic.twitter.com/YFycvj9tRp

      November 21, 2020

      Joe Gale
      A Republican board of elections member in the Philadelphia suburbs who refused to certify a 27-point Biden win in his county. “I believe the US supreme court should review the travesty that has happened in Pennsylvania,” Gale said. Trump’s campaign never presented any evidence of voter fraud to Pennsylvania courts, which threw out almost every Trump case.
      Keith Gould and Joyce Dombroski-Gebhardt
      Republican members of the board of elections in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, were so committed to Trump’s election fraud fairytale that they refused to certify the vote in a county Trump won by 14 points. Three Democrats on the board outvoted them to certify Trump’s win in the county.
      Kayleigh McEnany
      After an almost two-month absence from the White House briefing room, the press secretary appeared 17 days after the election to spread Trump’s lie about election fraud. “There are very real claims out there that the campaign is pursuing,” she said. Separately she lied about Trump’s meeting with Michigan legislators saying it was “not an advocacy meeting, there will be no one from the campaign there – he routinely meets with lawmakers from all across the country”.

      Josh Marshall
      (@joshtpm)
      .@PressSec says meeting with leaders of Michigan legislature today at the White House not “advocacy”, not about the election. pic.twitter.com/c5q6Ckgx2s

      November 20, 2020

      Ronna McDaniel
      The chair of the Republican national committee and Michigan native appeared at a news conference two days after the election and spread lies about “discrepancies” and “irregularities”, demanding an audit of the Michigan vote before certification in defiance of state election law. Under her leadership, the Republican national party spread wild and conspiratorial claims that Trump had actually won in a “landslide”. A majority of Republican voters now tell pollsters they believe the election was fraudulent.

      GOP
      (@GOP)
      “We will not be intimidated…We are going to clean this mess up now. President Trump won by a landslide. We are going to prove it. And we are going to reclaim the United States of America for the people who vote for freedom.”—Sidney Powell pic.twitter.com/8KCEOGuL7w

      November 19, 2020

      Friends
      Opposite those state and local officials who refused to certify election results were Republican officials who certified Biden’s win.
      Never in American history has such an action been interpreted as the stuff of heroism – with election results always routinely certified no matter who won, as the constitution would have it.
      But in 2020 these officials had to withstand a pressure campaign by Trump, who named many of them in tweets, leading to death threats against them and their families.
      Al Schmidt
      A Republican election commissioner in Philadelphia who stood up to Trump. The weekend after the election, Schmidt went on 60 Minutes and said Trump’s claims about fraud in Philadelphia were bogus.
      “At the end of the day, we are counting eligible votes cast by voters. The controversy surrounding it is something I don’t understand,” Schmidt said. “Counting votes cast on or before election day by eligible voters is not corruption. It is not cheating. It is democracy.
      “From the inside looking out, it all feels very deranged.”

      60 Minutes
      (@60Minutes)
      Republican Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt says his office, which runs the vote count, has received death threats. https://t.co/LNXfXwJrbk pic.twitter.com/ouxX0xGhKX

      November 9, 2020

      Aaron Van Langevelde
      Republican vice-chair of a state canvassing board who voted to certify Biden’s win in Michigan. Langevelde broke what would have been a deadlock caused by Shinkle’s perfidy. “We have a duty to certify this election based on these returns, that is very clear,” he said.
      “We must not attempt to exercise power we simply don’t have,” Langevelde continued. “As John Adams once said, ‘we are a government of laws, not men’. This board needs to adhere to that principle here today. This board must do its part to uphold the rule of law and comply with our legal duty to certify this election.”

      The Recount
      (@therecount)
      After earlier stalling, here’s the moment Republican Aaron Van Langevelde of Michigan’s State Board of Canvassers said he will vote to certify Michigan’s election results.This is it: Michigan’s 16 electoral votes officially go to Joe Biden.pic.twitter.com/EZemjFxaSD

      November 23, 2020

      Christopher Krebs
      The former director of the cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency, fired by Trump for defying the president’s vote fraud lies. Nine days after the election, Krebs’s agency issued a statement beginning, “The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history.” Krebs was fired a week later, but he continued speaking out about election integrity. After a Trump campaign lawyer said Krebs should be “taken out at dawn and shot”, Krebs said he would sue.

      TODAY
      (@TODAYshow)
      .@SavannahGuthrie speaks with Christopher Krebs in his first live interview since being fired as the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Krebs points to the record of paper ballots as proof that the 2020 election was secure. pic.twitter.com/R9tdsTNBgZ

      December 1, 2020

      Gabriel Sterling
      A Republican official who oversaw the implementation of the state of Georgia’s new voting system, Sterling delivered an impassioned speech warning about death threats against election workers and saying Trump is “inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence”.
      Addressing Trump, Sterling said:

      We’re investigating, there’s always a possibility, I get it. You have the rights to go to the courts. What you don’t have the ability to do – and you need to step up and say this – is stop inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence. Someone is going to get hurt, someone is going to get shot, someone is going to get killed, and it’s not right. It’s not right.

      Brad Raffensperger
      The Republican secretary of state in Georgia who stood up to Trump and insisted that Biden’s upset victory in the state was legit. “I’m a conservative Republican. Yes, I wanted President Trump to win. But as secretary of state we have to do our job,” Raffensperger said in an interview with the Guardian. “I’m gonna walk that fine, straight, line with integrity. I think that integrity still matters.”
      In reply, Trump said of Raffensperger: “He’s an enemy of the people.” More

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      in US Politics

      Trump claims to be 'working tirelessly' but leaves Covid relief in disarray

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      Donald Trump went to his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida on Thursday, after claiming to be “working tirelessly for the American people” with a schedule that included “many meetings and calls”. Back in Washington, a Democratic proposal to increase direct payments to Americans under the Covid relief bill, from $600 to $2,000, was blocked.The increase was Trump’s own demand in a surprise video address on Tuesday night but it was shot down by Republicans who opposed greater spending throughout stimulus talks.Should the relief bill fail, millions of Americans will be without desperately needed relief at least until President-elect Joe Biden takes office in January. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democrats would try again on Monday. “To vote against this bill is to deny the financial hardship that families face,” she said, “and to deny them the relief they need.”The White House did not immediately confirm if Trump was playing golf. Either way, official guidance to reporters about his “tireless” schedule contrasted with recent examples notably light on commitments, which have left Trump free to make baseless claims of electoral fraud and meet with conspiracy theorists and cronies about attempts to subvert the constitution and stay in power.From Florida, on Wednesday night, the president issued the latest batch of pardons and acts of clemency for political allies.Before Trump intervened, the Covid relief bill was agreed at $900bn and tied to huge spending legislation to keep the government open until September next year. The relief package was set to be the second-biggest in US history, after the $2.3tn Cares Act at the beginning of the pandemic.“Just when you think you have seen it all,” Pelosi wrote to colleagues about Trump’s gambit. “The entire country knows that it is urgent for the president to sign this bill, both to provide the coronavirus relief and to keep government open.”Pelosi offered the president’s proposal for increased payments on Thursday under a procedure that allowed just one lawmaker to object and in a so-called pro forma session, with few lawmakers in attendance. It duly failed.Trump has not expressly threatened to veto the Covid package but on Wednesday he did veto the annual National Defense Authorization Act, worth $740bn, over objections to renaming military bases honouring Confederate leaders, to telecoms provisions and more.Congress has not failed to pass the defence bill in 60 years. The House will return on Monday and the Senate on Tuesday, to override Trump’s veto.The president’s extraordinary behaviour has presented his party with a painful political test, not least for Georgia senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, fighting to retain their seats in 5 January runoffs that will decide control of the Senate.Senior Republicans were mostly silent after Trump’s intervention on Covid relief, neither Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell nor Kevin McCarthy, the House minority leader, speaking publicly. On a conference call, House Republicans complained that Trump had thrown them under the bus, one told the Associated Press. Most had voted for the package and urged leaders to use the TV to explain its benefits, the person said.McCarthy sent a letter to colleagues suggesting Republicans would offer their own proposal, picking up on Trump’s complaints about foreign aid to “re-examine how our tax dollars are spent overseas”. Democrats took advantage of Republican disarray. Jon Ossoff, Perdue’s opponent, tweeted simply: “$2,000 checks now.”The relief package represents a hard-fought compromise, a 5,000-page bill that includes $1.4tn to fund government through September 2021. The relief bill would establish a temporary $300 per week supplemental jobless benefit, along with new subsidies for businesses, schools, healthcare providers and renters facing eviction.Even though treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin represented the White House in talks, Trump railed against provisions in the broader funding package, including foreign aid included each year, and called the bill a “disgrace”. He did not specifically vow to use his veto power, and there may be enough support in Congress to override him if he does. The Senate cleared the relief package by 92-6, the House by 359-53.The bill is expected to be sent for Trump’s signature on Thursday or Friday, a congressional aide told the AP. Trump could also allow it to expire with a “pocket veto” at the end of the year.The consequences of failure would be severe. It would mean no aid to struggling Americans and small businesses, and no additional resources to help with vaccine distribution in a pandemic in which nearly 19 million have been infected and almost 326,000 have died.Furthermore, because lawmakers linked pandemic relief to funding, the government would shut down on 29 December. A resolution could therefore be forced on Monday, when a stopgap funding bill expires. Democrats are reportedly considering another stopgap to keep government running until Biden is sworn in.Biden insisted to newspaper columnists on Wednesday that “there are enough Republicans prepared to meet him in the middle that he can get things done in an evenly divided Congress”. He applauded lawmakers and said the relief package “provides vital relief at a critical time”. He also said more would be needed.Arriving at Mar-a-Lago, Trump was greeted by hundreds of supporters. Few wore masks or socially distanced to mitigate Covid transmission as they waved flags and signs and chanted “Four more years!”One small boy had a sign that said “We’re going to miss you”. But there were a few Trump opponents too. One held a sign that said: “Go Away.” More

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      in US Politics

      Trump pardons debase the presidency further – and he can and will go lower | Lloyd Green

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      With hours to spare before Christmas, Donald Trump has delivered pardons to Paul Manafort, Roger Stone, Charlie Kushner, a passel of war criminals and a bent congressman or two. There is no reason to believe our “law and order” president’s pardon binge is over. Too many people in his immediate orbit remain exposed to future prosecution, including the president himself.Come noon on 20 January 2021, Trump and his inner circle will be private citizens again. Devoid of legal immunity, stripped of the air of invincibility, they become fair game for federal and local law enforcement alike. The potential for prison hovers over them like the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.Cyrus Vance, Manhattan’s district attorney, is circling Trump and his business. Eric Trump has testified at a court-ordered deposition conducted by New York’s attorney general. As for federal prosecutors in the southern district of New York, they labeled Trump an unindicted co-conspirator in the case of Michael Cohen. The statute of limitations has not expired.And then there is Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer. According to reports, he remains on the radar of federal law enforcement in connection with possible election law violations, and doesn’t like it one bit. On Wednesday Giuliani lashed out, calling investigators “secret police” and accusing them of toadying to Joe Biden, the president-elect. Trump has gone so far as to unequivocally claim authority to pardon himself, something Nixon refused to doIn case anyone needs reminding, once upon a time Giuliani was the No3 lawyer at the justice department and US attorney for the southern district. Back then, he was viewed as one of the good guys. As it happens, he prosecuted Marc Rich, the recipient of an infamous pardon from Bill Clinton. But as the Lincoln Project’s Rick Wilson repeatedly remarks, everything Trump touches dies.The list doesn’t end with Rudy. The justice department and the Federal Election Commission may soon want to talk to Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, about his role in the Trump re-election campaign.Reportedly, Kushner was a driving force in establishing a shell company, American Made Media Consultants, which made shrouded payments to Trump family members and friends. Indeed, Kushner purportedly directed Lara Trump, the wife of Eric Trump, John Pence, the vice-president’s nephew, and the campaign’s chief financial officer to serve on the shell company board.Think of it as the Trump Organization 2.0. Or the deep campaign.In the end, AMMC spent nearly half of the campaign’s war chest, with payments going to Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr’s girlfriend, and Lara Trump, who is now contemplating a Senate run in North Carolina. Suffice to say, the legality of this opaque arrangement is unclear.Three House Democrats have requested investigations by the Department of Justice and the FEC. Without a pardon, Jared’s fate will rest in the hands of a Biden DoJ. Said differently, Hunter Biden is not the only person with a troubled road ahead.The constitution confers the pardon power upon the president, and the circumstances of its use speak volumes about the occupant of the Oval Office. Whether a president may pardon himself has yet to be legally tested.Richard Nixon resigned rather than face impeachment by the House and almost certain conviction in the Senate. In August 1974, he left office without pardoning himself or those convicted in the Watergate scandal. Instead, Gerald Ford issued a pardon to his former boss.Trump is no Nixon. In so many ways. The 45th president has gone so far as to unequivocally claim authority to pardon himself, something Nixon refused to do.By any measure, Trump has set a new standard for debasing the presidency. As he stares at an ignominious exit, the ex-reality show host has even managed to make Clinton’s pardon of Rich look quaint. And that takes effort.Yet unlike the Clinton pardon of Rich, a fugitive financier, which sparked a review by James Comey and a barrage of Republican condemnation, among the GOP in Congress Trump’s pardons have elicited little more than a yawn. With the exception of Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska, who called the pardons “rotten to the core”, they have been met with a collective shrug. None of this should come as a surprise. Trump has recreated the GOP in his image. Republicans know he commands the party’s base, and they stand one primary away from oblivion. In the end, what’s a pardon between friends? More