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McConnell used his power as majority leader to great effect, stonewalling bills passed in the House by both Democrats and Republicans. Rather than vote down those bills in the Senate, McConnell simply ignored them, never letting them go to a vote. Over the four years of Trump’s term, McConnell’s Senate has hardly passed any substantial legislation, despite Republicans controlling both chambers of Congress for the first two of those years. A Republican tax cut bill in 2017 and a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill in 2018 were among the rare exceptions.
Instead, McConnell focused on confirming conservative judges. He was able to confirm 218 federal judges to lifetime appointments under Trump, including three Supreme Court justices. “A lot of what we’ve done over the past four years will be undone, sooner or later, by the next election,” McConnell said last month during the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. “They won’t be able to do much about this for a long time to come.”
McConnell’s disinterest in passing legislation enraged Democrats — and also drew frustration from some Republicans in the House and the Senate.
Democrats will be under intense pressure to do away with the legislative filibuster, which requires 60 votes to actually get to a vote on a bill. The filibuster means Democrats will need to get at least 10 Republicans to support any bill they want to pass.
Gop Holds Key Seats In Battle For Majority As Ernst Cornyn And Graham All Win; Democrat Kelly Unseats Incumbent Mcsally In Arizona
WASHINGTON—Republicans scored key Senate victories in Tuesday’s elections, with wins in Iowa and Alabama, while Democrats flipped two seats, with former Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper unseating incumbent GOP Sen. Cory Gardner in Colorado, and Democrat Mark Kelly, a former astronaut, toppling Republican Sen. Martha McSally in Arizona, the Associated Press projected.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, AP projected that Iowa’s incumbent GOP Sen. Joni Ernst had defeated Democratic challenger Theresa Greenfield, a Des Moines businesswoman. Republicans picked up a seat by ousting Democratic Sen. Doug Jones in deep red Alabama, with Tommy Tuberville, the Republican candidate and former Auburn head football coach, winning.
Control of the chamber still remains in doubt as a number of other GOP-held races hang in the balance. Democrats now have a net gain of one seat. They need to gain three seats to win a majority if Democrat Joe Biden wins the White House or four if President Trump wins re-election.
“Everything has to go right at this point in order for Democrats to have what is a very small shot to win the majority,” said Jessica Taylor, who follows Senate races for the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan outlet that tracks congressional races.
The races in North Carolina and Georgia were too close to call, and the outcomes in Michigan and Maine were uncertain. The Democrats’ opportunities to pick off seats dwindled as the vote counting deepened.
Biden Tells Georgia Voters They Have The Power To Break The Gridlock And Help Americans Get More Covid Stimulus Relief
At a rally in Atlanta on Monday, President-elect Biden urged Georgia voters to support Warnock and Ossoff, vowing that if they both win, Americans will be able to receive $2,000 COVID stimulus checks they need, and “there’s no one in America with more power to make that happen than you.”
“The power is literally in your hands. By electing Jon and the reverend, you can break the gridlock that has gripped Washington,” he continued.
He also joked that he won Georgia in the presidential election three times — in the original vote and two recounts.
Voters Endured A January Chill As They Headed To The Polls For Georgias Highly Consequential Runoffs
ATLANTA — Georgia’s Election Day voters braved a bracing January chill on Tuesday, arriving at polling places to make their choices in two Senate runoff races that are among the most consequential in recent American history.
In liberal-leaning Atlanta, Whitney Leonard, 24, walked out of the West Hunter Street Baptist Church in a precinct in the West End neighborhood. Ms. Leonard said she voted for the Democratic challengers Jon Ossoff and the Rev. Raphael Warnock. But she said she was not beholden to the party.
Ms. Leonard said she felt that President Trump had proved himself immature and erratic, and she believed that Democrats taking control of the Senate was crucial to undoing the damage he had caused.
Before the presidential election in November, Ms. Leonard had never voted. Now, Ms. Leonard, who was previously incarcerated, said she was going to vote whenever the opportunity presented itself. “You don’t know how much of a privilege it is to vote until it’s been taken away from you,” she said.
In Dalton, the northwest city where Mr. Trump held a rally on Monday night, a steady flow of Georgians poured into Dalton State College to vote.
Northwest Georgia is a conservative stronghold, and Republicans knew their task was to overcome strong statewide Democratic turnout in early voting and absentee ballots. By Tuesday, Mr. Trump’s message to Republicans to get out and vote appeared to resonate.
How Defeat In Senate Battle Could Leave A Hamstrung Joe Biden Struggling To Accomplish Real Change
It is hard to over-exaggerate just how much is riding on the remaining Senate seat race in Georgia which will decide the balance of power and thus the fate of many of Joe Biden’s policies, writes our US editor Ben Riley-Smith
On the current maths the Democrats have 49 seats and the Republicans have 50. Win the last so-called ‘run-off’ races in Georgia and the Democrats are just about over the line. In tied votes in the US Senate, the deciding vote is cast by the vice president, soon to be Kamala Harris. Mr Biden can pass some laws in that case without Republican votes.
But if they fall short the Republicans keep their majority. And that means Mitch McConnell remains as Senate leader.
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Still, Democrats will have one chance per year to bypass Republicans altogether and try to pass major legislation. Each year the Senate can pass a budget reconciliation bill, which is exempt from the filibuster and only needs a majority to pass. In theory, these bills need to pertain to the federal budget, but that can be interpreted widely. Republicans tried to use a budget reconciliation bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act, only to fail to gain 50 Republican votes.
The Georgia results give Biden’s ability to tackle the climate crisis, one of his priorities, a big boost. The new Senate opens the door to raising spending, whether it relates to the federal budget or the next coronavirus aid package, on climate, resiliency, and environmental justice efforts. There’s also now a greater chance that Congress confirms Biden’s environmental appointees.
But the incoming administration still faces an uphill battle in passing any new, bold climate laws, the kind needed to meet Biden’s goal of dramatically cutting climate pollution from the transportation, buildings, and energy sectors in the coming decades.
Pence Is Said To Have Told Trump That He Does Not Have The Power To Change The Election Result
Vice President Mike Pence told President Trump on Tuesday that he did not believe he had the power to block congressional certification of Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s election victory despite Mr. Trump’s baseless insistence that he did, people briefed on the conversation said.
Mr. Pence’s message, delivered during his weekly lunch with the president, came hours after Mr. Trump increased public pressure on the vice president to do his bidding when Congress convenes Wednesday in a joint session to ratify Mr. Biden’s Electoral College win.
“The Vice President has the power to reject fraudulently chosen electors,” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter on Tuesday morning, an inaccurate assertion that mischaracterized Mr. Pence’s largely formal and constitutionally prescribed role of presiding over the House and Senate.
Mr. Pence does not have the unilateral power to alter the results sent by the states to Congress.
That did not stop Mr. Trump from trying to exert pressure on Mr. Pence on Twitter early Wednesday morning in a post that the social media company flagged as promoting baseless claims about election fraud.
“If Vice President @Mike_Pence comes through for us,” Mr. Trump tweeted, “we will win the Presidency. Many States want to decertify the mistake they made in certifying incorrect & even fraudulent numbers in a process NOT approved by their State Legislatures . Mike can send it back!”
:30 Pm Mcconnell Says Rejecting Bidens Win Amounts To A Death Spiral For American Democracy
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell gave his strongest rebuke yet of his colleagues’ intent to challenge Biden’s victory, alleging that it would permanently damage the country’s democratic ideals. “We cannot simply declare ourselves a national board of elections on steroids,” he said. “Voters, courts and the states have all spoken. If we overrule them we could damage our republic forever.”
As he spoke, footage of Trump supporters trying to break into the U.S. capitol were circulating on the internet, and lawmakers were tweeting that they were forced to evacuate their office buildings due to a threat. —A.A.
Pelosi Says It Doesn’t Matter Right Now If She’ll Seek Another Term As Speaker Beyond 2022
In a press call, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi shot down a question about whether this upcoming term would be her last as speaker, calling it the “least important question you could ask today.” She added that “the fate of our nation, the soul of the nation” is at stake in the election.
“Elections are about the future,” Pelosi said. “One of these days I’ll let you know what my plans are, when it is appropriate and when it matters. It doesn’t matter right now.”
After the 2018 election, Pelosi agreed to term limits on Democratic leaders that would prevent her from serving as speaker beyond 2022.
Donald Trump’s Presidency: The Best And Worst Moments From His Four Years As Us President
As we enter the final two weeks of Donald Trump’s presidency, Dominic Penna our video team take a look back at his tumultuos four years in office.
Since his victory in 2016 and inauguration in 2017, Donald Trump has been at the helm of one of the most unconventional and eventful presidencies in recent memory.
From the inauguration crowd size controversy, to meeting Kim Jong-un and swearing in three Supreme Court justices, Mr Trump ploughed ahead with his unique style of leadership which sometimes stumped even the most seasoned of Washington correspondents.
To round off his term in office, Mr Trump faced both an impeachment, a devastating pandemic in the months leading up to the 2020 election, and most recently, a controversial phone call with Georgia’s Secretary of State in an attempt to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the state.
:05 Pm Biden Delivers A Speech Calling The Violence An Assault On The Citadel Of Liberty
In brief remarks, Biden called on Trump to “step up,” urging him to “go on national television now to fulfill his oath and defend the Constitution and demand an end to this siege.”
“At this hour, our democracy is under an unprecedented assault, unlike anything we’ve seen in modern times,” he said, adding, “”This is not dissent, it’s disorder, it’s chaos, it borders on sedition, and it must end now. I call on this mob to pull back and allow the work of democracy to go forward.”
Biden expressed dismay and surprise at the breach of the Capitol building, saying he was “genuinely shocked and saddened that our nation, so long the beacon of light and hope for democracy has come to such a dark moment.”
“Today’s reminder is a painful one,” he said. “Democracy is fragile.”
In urging an end to the violence, Biden returned to the themes of national unity that have animated his campaign and helped him capture the Presidency from Trump, saying that the “work of the next four years must be the restoration of democracy, of decency honor and respect, the rule of law,” he said. He ended by quoting Lincoln: “We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth.”— Charlotte Alter
:15 Pm Trump Supporters Turn Violent Breach Police Barricades Forcibly Enter The Capitol
Just as the chambers recess, footage showed Trump supporters violently clashing with police, scaling the walls, gathering on the terraces, and entering the building.
The Capitol is locked down, lawmakers are asked to shelter in space, and top lawmakers were escorted off the floor.
“We’re seeing protesters assaulting Capitol Police,” tweeted Rep. Nancy Mace, a newly-minted Republican lawmaker from South Carolina.“This is wrong. This is not who we are. I’m heartbroken for our nation today.”— A.A.
Gop Sen Collins: Trump Incited An Insurrection To Prevent Peaceful Transfer Of Authority
From CNN’s Clare Foran
GOP Sen. Susan Collins, who was among the Republicans who voted to convict former President Trump, spoke on the Senate floor explaining her vote, saying Trump “incited an insurrection with the purpose of preventing that transfer of power from occurring.”
“Instead of preventing a dangerous situation, President Trump created one. Rather than defend the Constitutional transfer of power, he incited an insurrection with the purpose of preventing that transfer of power from occurring,” she said.
Collins said that Trump’s “actions to interfere with the peaceful transition of power – the hallmark of our Constitution and our American democracy – were an abuse of power and constitute grounds for conviction.”
“The record is clear that the President, President Trump abused his power, violated his oath to uphold the Constitution and tried almost every means in his power to prevent the peaceful transfer of authority to the newly elected President,” she said.
“My vote in this trial stems from my own oath and duty to defend the Constitution of the United States. The abuse of power and betrayal of his oath by President Trump meet the Constitutional standard of high crimes and misdemeanors and for those reasons, I voted to convict,” she said.
More Than 4 Million Votes Were Cast In The Georgia Runoffs Surpassing The 2016 Election
With control of the U.S. Senate at stake, more than four million Georgians cast ballots in Tuesday’s runoff contests, surpassing the number of votes cast in the state during the 2016 presidential race, state election officials said.
More than three million of those votes were cast early or by absentee ballot, with more than 1.2 million people turning out at the polls on Tuesday, Gabriel Sterling, a top election official in Georgia, said during a news conference late on Tuesday night.
Mr. Sterling said that the Election Day voter turnout was “more than we anticipated” and that the counting was expected to continue into Wednesday.
Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s secretary of state, told CNN late on Tuesday night that about 200,000 votes were still waiting be counted.
As was the case in the November election, election officials said, the votes waiting to be counted came from DeKalb and Fulton counties in Metro Atlanta, as well as other areas that favored Democrats.
The surge in turnout capped a two-month heated runoff in a swing state that had long favored Republicans but where the changing electorate, particularly in the suburbs, helped Democrats make momentous strides. A prelude came in November, when President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. became the first Democrat to win Georgia since Bill Clinton in 1992.
Incoming Biden Administration And Democratic House Wont Have To Deal With A Republican
Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff wave to supporters during a joint rally on Nov. 15 in Marietta, Ga.
Democratic challengers Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock have defeated Georgia’s two incumbent Republican U.S. senators in the state’s runoff elections, the Associated Press said Wednesday, in a development that gives their party effective control of the Senate.
Ossoff and Warnock were projected the winners over Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler by the AP following campaigns that drew massive spending and worldwide attention because the runoffs were set to determine the balance of power in Washington. The AP , at about 2 a.m. Eastern, then followed with the call for Ossoff over Perdue on Wednesday afternoon.
President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming administration and the Democratic-run House of Representatives now won’t face the same checks on their policy priorities that they would have faced with a Republican-controlled Senate, though analysts have said the slim Democratic majority in the chamber could mean more power for moderate senators from either party.
See:With sweep expected in Georgia Senate races, Democrats have high hopes for what Biden can do
“It is looking like the Democratic campaign machine was more effective at driving turnout than the Republican one,” said Eurasia Group analyst Jon Lieber in a note late Tuesday.
Warnock then made just before 8 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday.
Dc Officials Urge Residents To Avoid Potentially Violent Protests By Trump Supporters
The local authorities in Washington are cautioning residents to avoid potentially violent agitators who are expected to gather downtown on Wednesday to amplify President Trump’s false claims of voter fraud in the general election in November.
Chief Robert J. Contee III of the Metropolitan Police Department said the police had received information that people intended to show up to the demonstrations armed, a violation of local firearm laws.
Mr. Trump is expected to appear at the rally on Wednesday and has encouraged his supporters to travel to Washington for the event. Some of Mr. Trump’s allies, including the conspiracy theorist and conservative radio host Alex Jones and some associates who recently received a pardon from the president, spoke to hundreds of people who crowded into the city’s Freedom Plaza on Tuesday, one day before Congress begins the formal counting of the Electoral College votes.
A spokeswoman for the Eighty Percent Coalition, which was publicizing the event on Tuesday, did not return requests for comment.
Tensions already began to escalate on Tuesday night, with some of Mr. Trump’s supporters clashing with police near Black Lives Matter Plaza, videos of the confrontation showed. The police used pepper spray to repel some of the demonstrators.
There were a number of violent clashes last month between supporters of Mr. Trump and counterprotesters in Washington, where four people were stabbed.
Cruz And Loeffler Plan To Join Hawley In Forcing Votes On Overturning Bidens Election
Two more Republican senators were making plans on Tuesday to object to electoral votes won by President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Wednesday when Congress meets to formalize his victory.
Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, plans to object to the certification of Arizona’s Democratic electors, according to a person familiar with his plans. And Senator Kelly Loeffler, Republican of Georgia, intends to object to the electors from her state, according to a person familiar with her thinking.
Mr. Cruz, a possible 2024 presidential candidate, is among 11 senators who have said in recent days that they will challenge the Electoral College results unless Congress agrees to create an independent commission to audit the results. But his earlier statements had been vague as to whether he would lodge a formal objection himself. His plan to object was first reported by The Washington Post.
His decision to do so, along with Ms. Loeffler’s, ensures that the House and the Senate will formally debate whether to overturn the results in at least three states, prolonging what is normally a brief, ceremonial session and forcing at least three votes on whether to overturn Mr. Biden’s victory.
Senator Josh Hawley, Republican of Missouri, plans to object to Pennsylvania’s electors, and other Republican senators could still join the mix.
Joe Biden Calls Schumer Majority Leader’ Says Georgia Delivered Resounding Message
President-elect Joe Biden congratulated Democrat Raphael Warnock on “his groundbreaking win” and said he’s hopeful Democrat Jon Ossoff will also be victorious in the Georgia Senate runoffs.
Biden also appeared to acknowledge what Democrats hope will be their new majority in Senate by calling current Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the new “majority leader.”
In his first statement on what appears to be a Democratic sweep in Georgia’s two Senate runoff elections, Biden Wednesday credited progressive activist Stacey Abrams and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, calling them “twin powers” who “laid the difficult groundwork necessary to encourage turnout and protect the vote over these last years.”
“Georgia’s voters delivered a resounding message yesterday: they want action on the crises we face and they want it right now,” Biden said in a statement. “On COVID-19, on economic relief, on climate, on racial justice, on voting rights and so much more. They want us to move, but move together.”
Warnock, who leads Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler by more than 54,000 votes, is the projected winner in his race. Ossoff leads Republican David Perdue by 17,025.
Biden vowed to try to work with both parties “to get big things done for our nation.”
He called for “urgent action” on an additional federal response to the coronavirus pandemic, reiterating his position that the COVID-19 relief bill that passed Congress in December was “just a down payment.”
– Joey Garrison
Will Trumps Attempt To Pressure Georgia Officials To Find Votes Affect The Runoffs
As Intelligencer’s Benjamin Hart and Gabriel Debenedetti discuss, the likelihood that the fallout from Trump’s apparent threat to Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger will affect any voters in an election cycle as highly publicized and politically entrenched as this one:
When you have a very close race, you have to watch what happens on the margins. And there’s no doubt that these kinds of news developments from the president — who is promising to quintuple down during his closing-hours rally tonight — could cause some Republican-leaning voters to second-guess the use or wisdom of voting for Loeffler or Perdue. In races that could be decided by a few thousand votes, that’s really significant.
The thing is: Already today, Loeffler and Perdue have been trying to move on from news of this call in ways that demonstrate how desperate they are to keep the pressure on their Democratic challengers. That’s because Dems appear to have a hefty lead through early voting, and Republicans are counting on massive day-of voting on Tuesday. They don’t think they can afford for their voters to focus on this kind of story right now … but the story is blanketing Georgia.
Mcconnell: Trump Is Practically And Morally Responsible For Provoking Capitol Riot
From CNN’s Adrienne Vogt
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called the Jan. 6 Capitol attack a “disgrace.”
“They did this because they had been fed wild falsehoods by the most powerful man on Earth. Because he was angry. He had lost an election. Former President Trump’s actions preceded the riot were a disgraceful, disgraceful dereliction of duty,” McConnell said.
“There’s no question — none — that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day. No question about it. The people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their President,” he added.
McConnell said there were “wild myths” about election fraud, but he said he defended Trump’s right to bring any complaints to the legal system.
“As I stood up and said clearly at that time, the election was settled. It was over. But that just really opened a new chapter of even wilder, wilder and more unfounded claims,” he said. “The leader of the free world cannot spend weeks thundering that shadowy forces are stealing our country and then feign surprise when people believe him and do reckless things.”
Trump “did not do his job” to end the Jan. 6 violence, McConnell said.
McConnell called the Trump defense team invoking Trump’s voters during the impeachment trial “as a human shield against criticism.”
Watch:
Historic Showdown In Congress As Gop Members Challenge Biden’s Electoral Vote Win
Democrats call it an effort to help President Trump overturn a fair election.
On Location: August 14, 2021
In a historic turn of events Wednesday, more than 100 Republicans in the House and at least a dozen in the Senate are expected to join with President Donald Trump in a last-ditch effort to challenge his election loss to President-elect Joe Biden in what Democrats are calling an unprecedented attack on American democracy.
While their complaints are not expected to change the final outcome, when Congress convenes in the House chamber in joint session to ratify the Electoral College vote confirming Biden’s win, Republicans in the House and Senate are expected to lodge formal objections to the electoral results in at least three states, according to GOP aides.
MORE: Trump keeps pressure on Pence to reject Biden’s win before Congress Wednesday
What traditionally has been a solemn and relatively routine process of counting the certified electoral votes from each state will instead prompt two hours of likely bitter debate and then votes in the House and Senate on each challenge.
Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Kelly Loeffler of Georgia and Josh Hawley of Missouri are expected to co-sign written objections from House Republicans to the slate of electors from Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania, respectively.
MORE: Georgia Senate elections live updates: Election official says biggest issue is rumors
The effort, which is certain to fail, has also put mounting political pressure on Pence.
Democrats Fail To Retake Control Of The Senate After Big Losses On Election Night
Republicans served the next president a Congress near certain locked in GOP control with Democratic losses in Florida, Pennsylvania and Indiana
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First published on Wed 9 Nov 2016 02.13 GMT
The Democratic party failed to retake the US Senate on Tuesday night, following losses in Florida, Pennsylvania and Indiana, as Republicans delivered Donald Trump a Congress firmly in conservative control.
On a night of dashed hopes in the presidential election, Democratic morale was buoyed slightly by a Senate victory in Illinois, where congresswoman Tammy Duckworth beat the Republican incumbent, Mark Kirk. Kirk ran a poor race against Duckworth, a veteran who lost both legs when her helicopter went down in Iraq, and was forced to apologize last week for mocking her family’s Thai background.
But other key Senate contests were far closer, with Republican Senate contenders outperforming expectations on the coattails of Trump’s surprisingly strong showing around the country.
Even before election night, the Democrats had given up on hopes of recapturing the House of Representatives, after Hillary Clinton’s strong lead in October eroded in the final two weeks of the campaign. Only a few hours into counting polls on Tuesday night, the chamber was secured for the conservative party.
Cbs News Projects Hickenlooper Wins Colorado Senate Seat Democrats’ First Pickup
Democrats picked up their first Senate seat of the night, with CBS News projecting former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper has defeated incumbent GOP Senator Cory Gardner. Hickenlooper decided to run for Senate after running briefly in the Democratic presidential primary.
Gardner was considered one of the most vulnerable Republican senators up for reelection this year, especially since he’s the only major statewide elected GOP official. Gardner has also been trailing Hickenlooper in polls leading up to Election Day.
While this is a victory for Democrats, they will have to pick up several other seats to gain a majority in the Senate.
House Candidate In Georgia Who Promoted Qanon Conspiracy Theories Likely To Win
Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, a QAnon supporter who has promoted conspiracy theories, is likely to win her Georgia House race. The QAnon mindset purports that President Trump is fighting against a deep state cabal of satanists who abuse children.
Greene has referred to the election of Muslim members to the House as “an Islamic invasion of our government,” and spread conspiracy theories about 9/11 and the 2017 Las Vegas shooting.
Mr. Trump has expressed his support for Taylor and called her a “future Republican star.” Senator Kelly Loeffler of Georgia, who is locked in a tight reelection race, campaigned with Taylor last month.
The House passed a bipartisan resolution condemning QAnon in early October.
The Gop Scored Two Wins In The Budget Blueprint On Abortion And Systemic Racism
Republicans claimed two narrow victories with potential long-term implications, with West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, one of the chamber’s more conservative Democrats, joining them on both nonbinding amendments.
One indicated support for health care providers who refuse to participate in abortions. The other voiced opposition to teaching critical race theory, which considers racism endemic to American institutions. There’s scant evidence that it’s part of public school curriculums.
The budget blueprint envisions creating new programs including tuition-free pre-kindergarten and community college, paid family leave and a Civilian Climate Corps whose workers would tackle environmental projects. Millions of immigrants in the U.S. illegally would have a new chance for citizenship, and there would be financial incentives for states to adopt more labor-friendly laws.
Medicare would add dental, hearing and vision benefits, and tax credits and grants would prod utilities and industries to embrace clean energy. Child tax credits beefed up for the pandemic would be extended, along with federal subsidies for health insurance.
Besides higher taxes on the wealthy and corporations, Democrats envision savings by letting the government negotiate prices for pharmaceuticals it buys, slapping taxes on imported carbon fuels and strengthening IRS tax collections. Democrats have said their policies will be fully paid for, but they’ll make no final decisions until this fall’s follow-up bill.
Mcconnell Not Troubled At All By Trump’s Suggestion Of Supreme Court Challenge
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell defended Mr. Trump for falsely claiming that he won reelection, although he acknowledged that the presidential race had not yet been decided.
“It’s not unusual for people to claim they have won the election. I can think of that happening on numerous occasions,” McConnell told reporters in Kentucky. “But, claiming to win the election is different from finishing the counting.”
“Claiming to win the election is different from finishing the counting,” Mitch McConnell says, adding that Americans “should not be shocked” that Democrats and Republicans are both lawyering up for the close races https://t.co/fxHKy8hSEppic.twitter.com/2pNlka2Jl4
— CBS News November 4, 2020
He also said he was “not troubled at all” by the president suggesting that the outcome of the election might be determined by the Supreme Court. The president cannot unilaterally bring a case to the Supreme Court, what it’s unclear what case the Trump campaign would have if it challenged the counting of legally cast absentee ballots.
McConnell, who won his own closely watched reelection race on Tuesday evening, expressed measured confidence about Republicans maintaining their majority in the Senate. He said he believed there is a “chance we will know by the end of the day” if Republicans won races in states like Georgia and North Carolina.
