Ousters, upsets halfway through 2022 primary election season
More than halfway through a tumultuous primary season, voters have rendered verdicts in a number of contests, many of which featured candidates arguing they best represented a continuation of policies favored by former President Donald Trump.
Pa. Rep. Kelly faces ethics scrutiny over stock purchase
A congressional ethics watchdog has concluded there is โsubstantial reason to believeโ that the wife of Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Kelly used nonpublic information gained through her husbandโs position in Congress to purchase stock last year.
House passes resolution urging Pence to remove President Trump from office; VP rules it out
Already scheduled to leave office next week, Trump is on the verge of becoming the only president in history to be twice impeached. The House on Tuesday night approved a resolution urging Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to the Constitution to remove Trump with a Cabinet vote, although Pence had already said he would not do so. Meanwhile, five Republican lawmakers, including third-ranking House GOP leader Liz Cheney of Wyoming, announced they would vote to impeach Trump on Wednesday, cleaving the Republican leadership, and the party itself. Trump, meanwhile, warned the lawmakers off impeachment and suggested it was the drive to oust him that was dividing the country. Some Republican lawmakers complained about it.
McConnell warns GOP off Electoral College brawl in Congress
Then he pivoted, privately warning Republican senators away from disputing the Electoral College tally when Congress convenes in a joint session Jan. 6 to confirm the results. โI want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden,โ McConnell said as he opened the Senate. Some GOP lawmakers have vowed to carry the fight to Jan. 6 when Congress votes to accept or reject the Electoral College results. One House Republican, Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama, is planning to challenge the Electoral College results when Congress convenes for the joint session. The GOP leaders further warned senators that forcing their colleagues into a vote on Electoral College challenges would prove difficult, especially for those facing their own reelections in 2022.
In a first, leading Republicans call Biden president-elect
He said Mondayโs Electoral College vote โwas significant.โTexas GOP Sen. John Cornyn said barring further legal challenges it appears Biden will be president. Others have said Trump's legal battles should continue toward resolution by inauguration day, Jan. 20. "Once the Electoral College has voted, most people are going to recognize Joe Biden as the president-elect." "Although I supported President Trump, the Electoral College vote today makes clear that Joe Biden is now President-Elect,โ said Sen. Many Republicans are unwilling to declare Biden the winner for the same reasons they avoided standing up to Trump during his presidency.
President-elect? GOP may wait for January to say Biden won
Next weekโs Dec. 14 Electoral College deadline may produce just a few more congratulatory GOP calls to Biden. Increasingly, GOP lawmakers say the Jan. 6 vote in Congress to accept the Electoral College outcome may be when the presidential winner becomes official. He introduced a House resolution Tuesday that encourages neither Trump nor Biden to concede until all the investigations are completed. They're relying on Trump voters to power the Georgia runoff elections Jan. 5 that will determine control of the Senate. Until then, his group is trying to push Georgia's Trump voters to the polls, even as the president disputes Biden's win of the state.
Biden: Trump diagnosis is โbracing reminderโ of virus stakes
Meanwhile, Trump has proceeded with large in-person rallies where attendees often go maskless, and he regularly mocks Bidenโs decision to wear a mask in public. The Biden campaign just began launching in-person canvassing, after largely focusing on virtual events because of the pandemic. The Biden campaign declined to comment on whether those plans would change in the days ahead. Trump campaign spokesperson Tim Murtaugh slammed Biden for his campaignโs decision to begin in-person campaigning after expressing concern for volunteersโ safety for months. โBidenโs been hiding in his basement for months โ but now heโs coming out to do in-person rallies,โ he said.