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Now that Trump is impeached (again), what's next?
Washington (AFP) - The US House of Representatives impeached President Donald Trump on Wednesday for a second time -- just days before he is scheduled to leave office -- raising questions about what happens next. The House voted 232-197 to impeach the president, with 10 members of Trump's Republican Party joining 222 Democrats. Here are some of the possible scenarios after the House impeached Trump for inciting last week's attack by his supporters on the US Capitol as Congress certified Democrat Joe Biden's presidential election victory: Senate trialNow that Trump has been impeached, it is up ...
AFP
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No chance of 'fair' trial before Trump leaves office: Senate leader
Washington (AFP) - The US Senate cannot conduct a "fair or serious" trial of impeached US President Donald Trump in the short time frame before he leaves office next week, the Senate's Republican leader said Wednesday. "Given the rules, procedures, and Senate precedents that govern presidential impeachment trials, there is simply no chance that a fair or serious trial could conclude before President-elect (Joe) Biden is sworn in next week," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement. Trump was impeached Wednesday on one charge of "incitement of insurrection" for his comments at...
AFP
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US Congress reconvenes to certify Biden win after mobs invade Capitol
Washington (AFP) - Congress gavelled back into session late Wednesday to resume the process of certifying Joe Biden's presidential election victory, after a mob protesting Donald Trump's defeat violently invaded the US Capitol and plunged Washington into chaos. "As we reconvene in this chamber, the world will again witness the resilience and strength of our democracy," Vice President Mike Pence said as he reopened the Senate session. "To those who wreaked havoc in our Capitol today, you did not win. Violence never wins, freedom wins," Pence added. "And this is still the people's house." The Ho...
AFP
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Democratic Senate win a game-changer for Biden
Washington (AFP) - The projected Democratic takeover of the US Senate is a game-changer for President-elect Joe Biden, who will be able to push through his key goals and nominations without systematic Republican obstruction. Raphael Warnock, a pastor, and young political star Jon Ossoff held leads in dual-seat Senate runoffs in Georgia over Republican incumbents closely allied with defeated President Donald Trump. The victories would mean that Democrats and independents aligned with them will have 50 seats -- an evenly divided Senate that gives Democrats control as Vice President-elect Kamala ...
AFP
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Padilla, son of Mexican immigrants, to replace Harris in US Senate
Los Angeles (AFP) - Alex Padilla was named Tuesday as Vice President-elect Kamala Harris' replacement in the US Senate, becoming the first Latino to represent California in the nation's upper house. Padilla, the son of Mexican immigrants who became California's first Latino secretary of state in 2015, was selected by Governor Gavin Newsom to represent a state that is around 40 percent Hispanic. In a statement, Padilla pledged to "work each and every day to honor that trust and deliver for all Californians." "We will get through this pandemic together and rebuild our economy in a way that doesn...
AFP
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Trump shows no surrender in first post-election rally
Valdosta (United States) (AFP) - President Donald Trump made clear Saturday he had no intention of relinquishing his baseless claims that last month's election was stolen from him, telling a raucous crowd at his first post-poll rally he would somehow still win. In a speech remarkable for its twisting of reality more than a month after the November 3 election, the outgoing president launched into another litany of allegations that the polls won handily by Democrat Joe Biden were rigged. The crowd in Valdosta, Georgia for what was nominally a rally in support of two Republican Senate candidates ...
AFP
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Trump Senate allies attack legitimacy of vote count
Washington (AFP) - Two Senate allies of Donald Trump on Thursday warned that Republicans may reject the legitimacy of vote results if they turn against the embattled president.As a few Republicans distanced themselves from Trump's unsubstantiated allegations of fraud in Tuesday's election, Senators Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz enthusiastically backed him in back-to-back appearances on Fox News."I'll tell you the president is angry and I'm angry and the voters ought to be angry," Cruz told the network's host Sean Hannity, whose evening show is a favorite of Trump.Cruz alleged falsely that Pennsy...
AFP
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Maine Republican Collins holds US Senate seat in blow to Dems
Washington (AFP) - Embattled Republican incumbent US Senator Susan Collins of Maine scored a come-from-behind election victory as her challenger conceded Wednesday, virtually closing Democrats' pathway to regaining control of the Senate.Democrats saw the moderate Collins as being on the chopping block in part because of her support for President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in 2018, and they invested heavily in her challenger Sara Gideon, who is Maine's speaker of the House.But Collins weathered the storm, dealing a severe blow to Democratic efforts to end the 53-47 Rep...
AFP
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US Senate Republican leader McConnell wins reelection
Washington (AFP) - US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky won reelection Tuesday, ensuring that the most powerful Republican in Congress will remain in the chamber for another six years.McConnell was leading his Democratic challenger, former fighter pilot Amy McGrath, by 19 percentage points with more than 70 percent of precincts reporting, and Fox News and The New York Times called the race."You've given me the honor of a lifetime," McConnell said in a victory speech in Kentucky. "I'll always be grateful. I will never let you down."The Republican power broker, 78, has been an i...
AFP
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Barrett's Supreme Court confirmation expected Monday in boost for Trump
Washington (AFP) - Despite trailing in the polls barely one week from election day, US President Donald Trump on Monday will likely celebrate a monumental victory for the conservative cause: his third nominee confirmed onto the US Supreme Court.Appellate Judge Amy Coney Barrett is all but certain to become the ninth justice on the nation's highest court, after Democrats failed to derail the contentious process in a sharply divided Senate.In a rare Sunday session, the Senate's Republican majority overcame a filibuster by Democrats, and Barrett's nomination cleared a procedural hurdle, 51-48, to...
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