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In late December, it will be one year since Moscow detained U.S. citizen Paul Whelan on espionage charges. During his 11 months in the infamous Lefortovo prison, Whelan has denied the allegations and complained of systematic mistreatment. His family in the U.S. is working to bring the former Marine home. Yulia Savchenko met with Whelan&#8217;s [&hellip;]


Nearly One Year Later, American Remains Jailed in Moscow

The U.S. Olympic Committee chief hinted at harsher penalties for athletes who stage protests at the 2020 Tokyo Games. Learn more about this story at https://www.newsy.com/93072/ Find more videos like this at https://www.newsy.com Follow Newsy on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/newsyvideos Follow Newsy on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/newsy


2 Team USA members punished over protests

It&#8217;s the first step in establishing the U.S. Space Force — which would be an entirely new military service dedicated to defense in outer space. Learn more about this story at https://www.newsy.com/93054/ Find more videos like this at https://www.newsy.com Follow Newsy on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/newsyvideos Follow Newsy on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/newsy


Space Command will be up and running soon

The Trump administration has announced a new policy that would impede immigrants already in the United States from obtaining permanent residency or citizenship if they use public benefits such as Medicaid, food stamps or housing assistance. Activists are protesting the rule, unveiled Monday &#8211; saying it unfairly targets poor immigrants. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara [&hellip;]


Trump Administration to Penalize Green Card Seekers on Public Assistance

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U.S. President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, paid their respects late Tuesday to Brian Sicknick, the U.S. Capitol Police officer who died defending the Capitol from a pro-Trump mob that stormed the building last month.
Sicknick’s remains arrived at the Capitol a short time earlier and dozens of Capitol Police officers stood at attention as his urn was carried up the steps to the Rotunda where he is lying in honor.
Capitol Police were given an opportunity to participate in a viewing period overnight.
Congressional leaders took part in the solemn arrival ceremony, and lawmakers will pay tribute to Sicknick at a Wednesday morning ceremony before his remains are taken to Arlington National Cemetery.
U.S. Capitol Police officers pay their respects to U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick as an urn with his cremated remains lies in honor on a black-draped table at the center of the Capitol Rotunda, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021, in Washington. …House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority ..


Bidens Pay Respects to Late Capitol Police Officer

House Democratic impeachment managers and lawyers for Donald Trump on Tuesday laid out their arguments in separate briefs ahead of the former president&#039;s Senate trial next week on charges of inciting a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6.
The House Democratic prosecutors charged that Trump&#039;s incendiary words and actions in the run-up to the attack led his followers to descend on the Capitol &#8220;like a loaded cannon&#8221; to try to prevent the certification of Democrat Joe Biden&#039;s election victory over Trump. The riots left five people, including a Capitol Police officer, dead and dozens of others injured.
&#8220;President Trump&#039;s conduct must be declared unacceptable in the clearest and most unequivocal terms,&#8221; they wrote.
Trump&#039;s defense lawyers rejected the charges and questioned the constitutionality of the trial, saying there is no precedent for trying a president after he has left office. They also said the former president stands by his claim that ..


House Democrats, Trump Lawyers Lay Out Clashing Views Ahead of Impeachment Trial

The U.S. Senate confirmed Pete Buttigieg on Tuesday as transportation secretary in President Joe Biden’s administration.
The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, tweeted he was “honored and humbled” by the Senate’s 86-13 confirmation vote and that he was “ready to get to work.”
Buttigieg, an opponent of Biden during the Democratic presidential primaries, is the first openly gay person to fill a U.S. Cabinet position.
The 39-year-old will play a leading role in advancing Biden’s infrastructure rebuilding and climate change agendas.
He assumes control of an agency with 55,000 employees and a multibillion-dollar budget.
He has vowed to begin quickly promoting safety and restoring trust in the country’s transportation systems as airlines, city subway and bus systems, and Amtrak struggle to regain customers lost during the coronavirus pandemic.
Buttigieg is also expected to play a leading role in implementing Biden’s $2 trillion climate and infrastructure plan that will focus on rebuilding ..


US Senate Confirms Buttigieg as Transportation Secretary

U.S. President Joe Biden signed executive orders Tuesday to start to dismantle former President Donald Trump’s restrictive immigration policies, including an attempt to reunite families that had been separated at the U.S.-Mexican border.
“I’m not making new law. I’m eliminating bad policy,” Biden said while signing the orders.
In the first hours of his presidency two weeks ago, Biden acted to halt construction of Trump’s $16 billion wall along the border and sent a far-reaching immigration bill to Congress, where lawmakers have long been stalemated between liberals looking to ease the path to U.S. citizenship and conservatives seeking to stem unauthorized immigration.
Biden’s immediate focus is on the 3,100-kilometer southern border with Mexico, where Trump tried to keep thousands of migrants from Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala from entering the U.S.
Trump led repair and expansion of a border wall and imposed tough detention and deportation policies for those who made it..


Biden Signs Executive Orders Reversing Trump Immigration Policies

The influential anti-Donald Trump group Lincoln Project is denouncing one of its co-founders after multiple reports that over several years he sexually harassed young men looking to break into politics.
The Lincoln Project in a statement on Sunday called co-founder John Weaver, 61, &#8220;a predator, a liar, and an abuser&#8221; following reports that he repeatedly sent unsolicited and sexually charged messages online to young men, often while suggesting he could help them get work in politics.
&#8220;The totality of his deceptions are beyond anything any of us could have imagined and we are absolutely shocked and sickened by it,&#8221; the Lincoln Project, the most prominent &#8220;Never Trump&#8221; Republican super PAC to emerge during the 45th president&#039;s time in the White House, said in its statement.
The online magazine The American Conservative first reported the sexual harassment allegations earlier this month.
Days later, Weaver, a strategist who advised the late Republican Sen. John McCain and former Ohio ..


Young Men Accuse Lincoln Project Co-Founder of Harassment

Former U.S. President Donald Trump announced Sunday a new team of lawyers to lead his defense at his second impeachment trial.
Defense lawyer David Schoen, a frequent television legal commentator, and Bruce Castor, a former district attorney in Pennsylvania who has faced criticism for his decision to not charge actor Bill Cosby in a sex crimes case, will represent Trump at the Senate trial that begins next week.
In a statement issued through Trump’s office, both attorneys said Sunday they were honored to take the job.
“The strength of our Constitution is about to be tested like never before in our history. It is strong and resilient. A document written for the ages, and it will triumph over partisanship yet again, and always,” Castor said.
U.S. Capitol Police officers stand watch outside the Senate as lawmakers vote on procedures to proceed with the impeachment of former President Donald Trump for inciting the January 6, 2021.Two prominent South Carolina lawyers, Butch Bowers and De..


Days Before Impeachment Trial, Trump Names New Lawyers

U.S. President Joe Biden signed two orders expanding health care on Thursday, saying they would &#8220;undo the damage&#8221; of policies favored by his predecessor, former President Donald Trump.
Biden restored U.S. funding for foreign nongovernmental groups that give information to women about abortions, and also opened a special three-month enrollment period for uninsured Americans who now want to buy health insurance, as well as for those who lost their coverage because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump, like past Republican presidents, had supported what critics have called the &#8220;global gag rule&#8221; on abortion information and had refused to reopen the government&#039;s market for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.
Biden&#039;s order also increased access to health care funding for impoverished Americans under a program called Medicaid.
&#8220;There&#039;s nothing new that we&#039;re doing here,&#8221; Biden said, other than to restore programs as they were before Trump changed them. Biden ..


Biden Orders Expanded Health Care on Two Fronts

Coffee shops in downtown Tripoli, Libya, are closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, so Mohammed Abdulwaheb, 37, got his &#8221;to-go&#8221; and drank it in the parking lot. 
Libya and other countries had been subject to the Trump-era &#8220;travel ban&#8221; for four years before it was lifted last week. Back then, Abdulwaheb had wanted to attend graduate school in the United States. But that was a long time ago, he said.
&#8220;The ban wasn&#039;t fair,&#8221; Abdulwaheb added. &#8220;And of course it impacted our lives. The end of the ban will especially improve the lives of Libyans in America.&#8221;
But experts say it will take time to unravel the regulations that grounded so many travelers. And locals in Libya, Nigeria and Sudan — three impacted countries — say resolving the personal setbacks experienced by individuals may take even longer. 
FILE &#8211; Demonstrators opposed to President Donald Trump&#039;s travel ban listen to speakers during a rally outside the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, in Richmond, Virginia, Jan..


Effects of Trump-Era Travel Ban Expected to Linger

Facebook Inc&#039;s CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Wednesday the company would no longer recommend civic and political groups to users of the platform.
The social media company said in October that it was temporarily halting recommendations of political groups for U.S. users in the run-up to the presidential election. On Wednesday, Facebook said it would be making this permanent and would expand the policy globally.
On Tuesday, Democratic Sen. Ed Markey wrote to Zuckerberg asking for an explanation of reports, including by news site The Markup, that Facebook had failed to stop recommending political groups on its platform after this move.
He called Facebook&#039;s groups &#8220;breeding groups for hate&#8221; and noted they had been venues of planning for the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Speaking on a conference call Wednesday with analysts about Facebook&#039;s earnings, Zuckerberg said that the company was &#8220;continuing to fine-tune how this works.&#8221;
Facebook groups are communities that form aroun..


Facebook Says it Will Permanently Stop Recommending Political Groups to Users

Three times in American history, the House of Representatives has impeached a president, and each time the Senate has voted to acquit him — most recently a year ago when then-President Donald Trump was charged with seeking to pressure Ukraine&#039;s president into gathering political dirt against Trump’s political rival, Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump made history again this month, when he became the first president to be impeached a second time — this time accused of instigating his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol January 6 to prevent Congress from certifying Biden’s election victory over Trump.
The new impeachment charge of inciting an insurrection was approved by the House on January 13, a week before Trump left office. But with the Senate set to formally try the former president beginning on February 9, a constitutional controversy is swirling over whether the Senate can try and convict a former president.
The question is not an academic one. On Wednesday, 45 of 50 Senate Republica..


Controversy Rages Over Whether Trump’s Impeachment Trial Is Constitutional 

The new top U.S. diplomat, Antony Blinken, is pledging to work with core allies and partners to confront complex global challenges, while investing in a diverse and inclusive American Foreign Service.
Blinken was officially welcomed to the State Department on Wednesday as secretary of state by approximately 30 of the women and men representing a small cross-section of the larger workforce. 
&#8220;I&#039;m incredibly excited about the work ahead,&#8221; Blinken said later at an afternoon press briefing, where he declared his respect for the press and promised to be transparent with reporters.
&#8220;Here&#039;s what you can count on – we&#039;re resuming daily press briefings starting next week – on Tuesday. That&#039;s an essential part of the day and we&#039;re bringing it back,&#8221; he said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is sworn in as the 71st U.S. Secretary of State by Acting Under Secretary of State for Management Carol Z. Perez, at the Department of State in Washington, Jan. 26, 2021. (State D..


Newly-Confirmed US Secretary of State Pledges Cooperation on Global Challenges

The U.S. Senate confirmed President Joe Biden&#039;s nominee Antony Blinken to lead the U.S. State Department on Tuesday. As VOA&#039;s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports, Blinken faces numerous challenges worldwide as the nation&#039;s top diplomat.
Camera: Adam Greenbaum Produced by: Katherine Gypson


US Senate Confirms Biden Nominee as Secretary of State

President Joe Biden ordered the Department of Justice on Tuesday to end its reliance on private prisons and acknowledge the central role government has played in implementing discriminatory housing policies.
In remarks before signing the order, Biden said the U.S. government needs to change &#8220;its whole approach&#8221; on the issue of racial equity. He added that the nation is less prosperous and secure because of the scourge of systemic racism.
&#8220;We must change now,&#8221; the president said. &#8220;I know it&#039;s going to take time, but I know we can do it. And I firmly believe the nation is ready to change. But government has to change as well.&#8221;
Biden rose to the presidency during a year of intense reckoning on institutional racism in the U.S. The moves announced on Tuesday reflect his efforts to follow through with campaign pledges to combat racial injustice.
Housing policies
Beyond calling on the Justice Department to curb the use of private prisons and address housing discrimination, the new order..


Biden Orders End of Federally Run Private Prisons

Most Republicans in the U.S. Senate voted Tuesday against holding an impeachment trial for former President Donald Trump on whether he incited insurrection in the January 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol, signaling that he likely has enough votes to secure an acquittal.
The vote was 55-45 in favor of proceeding with a trial, but only five Republicans joined all 50 Democrats. A two-thirds vote is required for conviction, which would require 17 Republicans to turn against Trump, assuming the Democrats vote as a bloc after hearing the case against him when the trial starts in earnest February 9.
In this image from video, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., makes a motion that the impeachment trial against former President Donald Trump is unconstitutional in the Senate at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 26, 2021.A Trump supporter, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, forced the vote on whether to proceed with the trial, calling it an “unconstitutional sham.”
Paul contended that the Senate cannot hold a tr..


5 Republicans Join Democrats in Vote to Push Trump Impeachment Trial Forward

The U.S. Senate is scheduled to vote Tuesday on the nomination of Antony Blinken to be the country’s next secretary of state.
At a confirmation hearing last week, Blinken said he is ready to confront the challenges posed by China, Iran, Russia and North Korea.
He said China “poses the most significant challenge” to U.S. national interests, while noting there is room for cooperation.
&#8220;There are rising adversarial aspects of the relationship; certainly, competitive ones, and still some cooperative ones, when it is in our mutual interests,” he added.
Nominated Secretary of State Antony Blinken participates as US President Joe Biden speaks during a cabinet announcement event in Wilmington, Delaware, on Nov. 24, 2020.He also pledged to rebuild State Department morale and the diplomatic corps. Blinken said he sees U.S. standing abroad as leadership based on “humility and confidence.”
Blinken was deputy secretary of state during the Obama administration and has close ties with President J..


US Senate to Vote on Blinken Nomination as Secretary of State

U.S. senators will be sworn in Tuesday as jurors in the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump.
The trial itself will not begin until the week of February 8, after Democratic and Republican leaders agreed to a short delay in order to give both the lawmakers who will serve as prosecutors and Trump’s defense team time to prepare. The extra time will also allow the Senate a chance to confirm more of President Joe Biden’s Cabinet nominees.
House lawmakers who will serve as trial prosecutors made a ceremonial walk to the Senate chamber Monday evening to deliver the article of impeachment charging Trump with inciting insurrection in connection with the storming of the U.S. Capitol by a mob of his supporters earlier this month. The assault sent lawmakers scrambling for safety and resulted in the deaths of five people.
Lead House manager Jamie Raskin from Maryland read the charges, saying Trump “gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of the govern..


US House Lawmakers Deliver Article of Impeachment to Senate

The Senate on Monday approved President Joe Biden&#039;s nomination of Janet Yellen to be the nation&#039;s 78th treasury secretary, making her the first woman to hold the job in the department&#039;s 232-year history.
Yellen, a former chairwoman of the Federal Reserve, was approved by the Senate on a 84-15 vote, becoming the third member of Biden&#039;s Cabinet to win confirmation.
She is expected to play a key role in gaining congressional approval of Biden&#039;s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, which is running into stiff opposition from Republicans who believe the price tag is too high.
FILE &#8211; Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 30, 2020.Speaking on the Senate floor before the vote, Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer noted the former Federal Reserve chairwoman had bipartisan support.
Schumer said Yellen has a &#8220;breathtaking range of experience&#8221; and support for her nomination reflected &#8220;just how ..


Janet Yellen is First Woman to Lead US Treasury Department

The U.S. House of Representatives is set to officially send its articles of impeachment to the Senate on Monday, charging former President Donald Trump with inciting insurrection in connection with the storming of the Capitol by a mob of his supporters earlier this month.
The trial in the Senate is set to begin the week of February 8 after Democrats and Republicans agreed to a short delay in order to give both the lawmakers who will serve as prosecutors and Trump&#039;s defense team time to prepare. The extra time will also allow the Senate a chance to confirm some of President Joe Biden&#039;s Cabinet nominees.
Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can download this video to view it offline.
Download File360p | 9 MB480p | 13 MB540p | 17 MB720p | 37 MB1080p | 72 MBOriginal | 83 MB Embed&#8221; />Copy Download AudioWATCH: Trump’s Impeachment Article Heads to SenateA two-thirds majority in the Senate would be required to convict Trump. With the Senate politica..


US House to Deliver Impeachment Articles to Senate

Jill Biden, the wife of recently inaugurated President Joe Biden, has made it clear that education policy will be a priority for her in the White House. Jill Biden is familiar with life in Washington as her husband spent 36 years in the U.S. Senate and eight years as vice president under Barack Obama. VOA&#039;s Esha Sarai and Carolyn Presutti bring us more about the new U.S. first lady in this profile.
Video editors: Marcus Harton, Esha Sarai


Dr. Jill Biden Steps Into First Lady Role

As Joe Biden begins his first full week as U.S. president, he faces many challenges. Chief among them: ramping up the nationwide coronavirus vaccination effort and next month’s Senate impeachment trial of his predecessor, Donald Trump. Michelle Quinn reports.
Video editor: Mary Cieslak


Challenges Abound as Biden Begins First Full Week as President

Politics

The United States returns to a unified government this week as Joe Biden becomes the 46th president and Democrats take control of the U.S. Senate. With the U.S. House continuing under the Democratic party leadership of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Biden has an opportunity to enact big legislative changes. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports.


With Control of the White House and Congress, Democrats Have 2 Years to Enact Change

With U.S. President-elect Joe Biden set to be inaugurated on Jan. 20, one question being debated is whether Congress will pursue a second impeachment of outgoing President Donald Trump over his alleged role in last Wednesday’s attack on the Capitol building. Michelle Quinn reports.


US Lawmakers Discuss Next Moves as Nation Grapples to Understand Violence at Capitol Building

What started as a day of celebration for Black organizers, voters and other Georgians who helped deliver two historic Senate runoff victories was overshadowed Wednesday when a violent, mostly white mob of President Donald Trump&#039;s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.
But Black leaders and organizers say the rioters&#039; insurrection won&#039;t deter the momentum achieved after the hard-fought victories of Georgia Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. Instead, it serves as a harsh reminder of the work that lies ahead for the nation to truly grapple with white supremacy and racism, which Trump&#039;s presidency emboldened.
&#8220;It&#039;s a little bit bittersweet because on one hand it feels like vindication that if we invest in our communities and our organizations, then amazing things can happen,&#8221; said Cliff Albright, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, which estimates that it reached 2.8 million individuals in Georgia through text and phone banking campaigns, digital and social med..


Black Leaders Cheer Georgia Success, Push for More Progress

Lawmakers from the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are scheduled to meet Wednesday in a joint session of Congress to count and certify electoral votes based on the result of the November presidential election.
This usually routine and ceremonial function — a final step after the Electoral College officially elected Joe Biden on December 14 — has turned into a litmus test of Republican lawmakers&#039; loyalty to President Donald Trump. More than 100 Trump loyalists are set to challenge certification.
Here&#039;s what we can expect from the meeting.
What usually happens?
Under the 12th Amendment, both chambers must meet to officially count and certify the Electoral College results from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Representatives of the Democratic and Republican parties in the Senate and House are appointed as &#8220;tellers&#8221; from each chamber. Vice President Mike Pence, in his capacity as president of the Senate, presides over the joint session. If he cannot presi..


Will Congress Block Certification of Biden’s Victory?

More than 100 Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives and a dozen senators say they will join an almost assuredly futile effort Wednesday to try to block certification of the Electoral College vote showing that Democrat Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump in the November election.
The certification of the 306-232 Electoral College vote favoring Biden is the last step before he is set to be inaugurated as the country’s 46th president on January 20.
Both chambers of Congress would need to uphold the challenges to Biden’s victory for the election outcome to be upended. Democrats narrowly control the House and are certain to certify Biden’s win, while the Democratic minority in the Senate, along with some Republicans who have acknowledged Biden’s win, are likely to do the same in the Senate.
Trump, who for weeks has made baseless claims that he was defrauded of election to a second four-year term, continues to cheer on protests of his loss, an outcome that will m..


Dozens of House, Senate Republicans Joining Likely Futile Effort to Reject Biden Victory

Congress has overridden President Donald Trump&#039;s veto of a defense policy bill, a first by lawmakers since Trump took office nearly four years ago.
In an extraordinary New Year&#039;s Day session, the Republican-controlled Senate easily turned aside the veto, dismissing Trump&#039;s objections to the $740 billion bill and handing him a rebuke weeks before his term ends.
Trump had lashed out at lawmakers from his own party on Twitter, charging earlier this week that &#8220;Weak and tired Republican &#039;leadership&#039; will allow the bad Defense Bill to pass.&#8221;
Trump called the looming override vote a &#8220;disgraceful act of cowardice and total submission by weak people to Big Tech. Negotiate a better Bill, or get better leaders, NOW!&#8221;
The 81-13 vote in the Senate followed an earlier 322-87 override vote in the House of the widely popular defense measure. The bill provides a 3% pay raise for U.S. troops and guides defense policy, cementing decisions about troop levels, new weapons systems a..


In a First, Congress Overrides Trump Veto of Defense Bill 

The congressional joint session to count electoral votes is generally a routine, ceremonial affair. But President Donald Trump&#039;s repeated efforts to challenge Democrat Joe Biden&#039;s victory will bring more attention than usual to next Wednesday&#039;s joint session of the Senate and the House.
The congressional count is the final step in reaffirming Biden&#039;s win, after the Electoral College officially elected him on Dec 14. The meeting is required by the Constitution and includes several distinct steps.
Some Republicans who are echoing Trump&#039;s baseless claims of fraud have said they will officially object to the results, forcing votes in the Republican-run Senate and the Democratic-controlled House that will almost certainly fail. A group of House Republicans had been looking for a senator to sign on because there must be support from at least one member of each chamber to force the votes. That support came Wednesday from Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, a possible contende..


How Congress Will Count Electoral College Votes

U.S. President Donald Trump is spending the holiday weekend at his Florida resort as both Democrats and Republicans wait to see whether he will sign a critical pandemic relief and government funding package that he sharply criticized earlier this week.
The $2.3 trillion spending legislation, which includes $892 billion for coronavirus relief, has been flown from Washington to his Mar-a-Lago club to be available for him to sign into law. Trump has not specifically threatened to veto the bill, but he surprised lawmakers in both parties by labeling the legislation as a “disgrace” after it had been passed in the House and Senate, capping months of negotiations.
President Donald Trump&#039;s motorcade drives to Trump International Golf Club, Dec. 25, 2020, in West Palm Beach, Fla.Trump said the package gave too much money to special interests and foreign aid, and said direct payments of $600 for most Americans should be increased to $2,000. That was seen as a rebuke to members of his own Re..


US Spending Bill Awaits Trump’s Decision

U.S. President Donald Trump vetoed a $740 billion bill setting policy for the Department of Defense on Wednesday, despite its strong support in Congress, raising the possibility that the measure will fail to become law for the first time in 60 years.
Trump said he vetoed the annual National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, because it &#8220;fails to include critical national security measures, includes provisions that fail to respect our veterans and our military&#039;s history, and contradicts efforts by my administration to put America first in our national security and foreign policy actions.&#8221;
&#8220;It is a &#039;gift&#039; to China and Russia,&#8221; he said in a message to the House of Representatives.
Although his previous eight vetoes were all upheld thanks to support from Trump&#039;s fellow Republicans in Congress, advisers said this one looked likely to be overridden, just weeks before he leaves office on January 20.
Both the Republican-controlled Senate and Democratic-majority House of Re..


Major Defense Bill, Strongly Backed in Congress, Draws Trump’s Veto

Top congressional lawmakers struck a late-night agreement on the last major obstacle to a COVID-19 economic relief package costing nearly $1 trillion, clearing the way for votes as early as Sunday.
A Democratic aide said in an email that an agreement had been reached late Saturday and that compromise language was being finalized to seal a deal to be unveiled on Sunday.
The breakthrough involved a fight over Federal Reserve emergency powers that was defused by an odd couple: the Senate’s top Democrat and a senior conservative Republican.
“We’re getting very close, very close,” Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said earlier Saturday as he spent much of the day going back and forth with GOP Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. Toomey had been pressing a provision to close down Fed lending facilities that Democrats and the White House said was too broadly worded and would have tied the hands of the incoming Biden administration.
The COVID-19 legislation has been held up after months of di..


Deal on Fed Removes Obstacle to US COVID Relief

Congress passed a two-day stopgap spending bill Friday night, averting a partial government shutdown and buying yet more time for frustratingly slow endgame negotiations on an almost $1 trillion COVID-19 economic relief package.
The virus aid talks remained on track, both sides said, but closing out final disagreements was proving difficult. Weekend sessions were on tap, and House leaders hoped for a vote on Sunday on the massive package, which wraps much of Capitol Hill&#039;s unfinished 2020 business into a take-it-or-leave-it behemoth.
The House passed the temporary funding bill by a 320-60 vote. The Senate approved it by voice vote almost immediately afterward, and President Donald Trump signed it late Friday.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, walks to his office from the Senate Floor at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Dec. 18, 2020.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said both sides remain intent on closing the deal, even as Democr..


Congress Averts Shutdown; Fight Continues Over Pandemic Aid

Republican and Democratic congressional leaders expressed hope late Tuesday about reaching an agreement on a new round of coronavirus aid that has eluded U.S. lawmakers for months.
&#8220;I think we&#039;re moving in the right direction,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said after two rounds of talks. “I think there&#039;s a possibility of getting it done.”
The meetings included House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
&#8220;We&#039;re making progress and hopefully we can come to an agreement soon,” Schumer said. “I think there is a genuine desire to come to an agreement.&#8221;  
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, speaks virtually with retired U.S. General Lloyd Austin, nominated by President-elect Joe Biden to be his Secretary of Defense, at the Capitol in Washington, Dec. 15, 2020.Without a deal, several key programs are set to expire at the end of month, including unemployment aid that reaches 12 million out-of-work A..


Lawmakers Race to Make COVID-19 Aid Deal Ahead of Holiday Break

The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation on Wednesday that could prevent Chinese companies from listing their shares on U.S. exchanges unless they adhere to U.S. auditing standards.
The measure passed by unanimous voice vote, after passing the Senate earlier this year, sending it to the White House, which said President Donald Trump is expected to sign it into law.
&#8220;The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act&#8221; bars securities of foreign companies from being listed on any U.S. exchange if they have failed to comply with the U.S. Public Accounting Oversight Board&#039;s audits for three years in a row.
While it applies to companies from any country, the legislation targets Chinese companies such as Alibaba, tech firm Pinduoduo Inc. and oil giant PetroChina Co Ltd.
Measures taking a harder line on Chinese business and trade practices generally pass Congress with large margins, as both Democrats and Trump&#039;s fellow Republicans echo the president&#039;s hard line against B..


Bill Forcing Chinese Firms to Meet US Accounting Standards Passes Congress

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says time is running out for U.S. lawmakers to reach an agreement on a second massive round of aid addressing the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
With just a handful of days left in session this year, members of Congress are racing to reach an agreement after months of fruitless negotiations.
McConnell told reporters Tuesday he had been in discussion with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows earlier in the day to determine what legislation U.S. President Donald Trump would be willing to sign.
“The way you get a result, you have to have a presidential signature. So, I felt the first thing we needed to do was to find out what the president would in fact sign. We believe we&#039;ve got the answer to that,” McConnell said. He added that given the dwindling days in session, any agreement on coronavirus relief would more than likely be tied to the omnibus bill funding the U.S. government past a D..


US Lawmakers Running Out of Time to Pass Coronavirus Aid

At least there won&#039;t be a government shutdown.
But as lawmakers return to Washington for an abbreviated preelection session, hopes are dimming for another coronavirus relief bill — or much else.
Talks between top Democrats and the Trump administration broke off last month and remain off track, with the bipartisan unity that drove almost $3 trillion in COVID-19 rescue legislation into law this spring replaced by partisanship and a return to Washington dysfunction.
Expectations in July and August that a fifth bipartisan pandemic response bill would be agreed on despite increased obstacles has been replaced by genuine pessimism. Recent conversations about COVID-19 aid among key players have led to nothing.
Democrats seem secure in their political position, with President Donald Trump and several Senate GOP incumbents lagging in the polls. Trump is seeking to sideline the pandemic as a campaign issue, and Republicans aren&#039;t interested in a deal on Democratic terms — even as n..


Hopes Fade for Coronavirus Deal as Congress Returns to Work

U.S. counterintelligence officials will no longer brief lawmakers on threats to the upcoming presidential election in November, telling them such in-person briefings have led to leaks of “sensitive intelligence” and the politicization of information.
Officials with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence verbally informed key lawmakers and congressional committees of the change Saturday, saying the intelligence on threats to the November 3 presidential election would still be provided, just in a different form.
“We are committed to meeting our statutory responsibilities and keeping Congress fully and currently informed,” an ODNI official told VOA on the condition of anonymity.
FILE &#8211; U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 5, 2020.“For clarity and to protect sensitive intelligence from unauthorized disclosures, we will primarily do that through written finished intelligence products,” the official said, adding, “We are concerned about un..


Top US Intelligence Official Ends In-Person Election Security Briefings for Congress

The U.S. House of Representatives is preparing for the possibility congressional staff members may have to telework because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The preparations are being launched &#8220;in light of the unique and unusual circumstances presented by the coronavirus.&#8221;
U.S. financial regulators are also preparing contingency plans, as there are COVID-19 cases in suburban Washington, New York, San Francisco and New Jersey, all places where regulatory agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and banking regulators have offices.
The Reuters news agency reports the financial watchdogs are allowing more telework, limiting travel and canceling conferences.


House of Representatives, Federal Agencies Prepare to Telework

U.S. President Donald Trump says the highest-ranking member of the country&#039;s legislative branch, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, &#8220;broke the law&#8221; when she shredded a copy of the State of the Union speech he delivered to Congress.
The president told reporters Friday that Pelosi&#039;s act, which was caught on camera just after Trump completed his address late Tuesday, was &#8220;disrespectful to our country, and actually very illegal.&#8221;
A Florida congressman of Trump&#039;s Republican party, Matt Gaetz, has filed an ethics complaint against Pelosi, accusing her of potentially violating federal law (18 U.S. Code § 2071).
The regulation prohibits the destruction of government records, but it only applies to documents that have been &#8220;filed or deposited with any clerk or officer of any court of the United States.&#8221;
&#039;Brilliant&#039; or &#039;tasteless&#039;
&#8220;That&#039;s really a law about preserving official documents, such as the official copy that would make it to the National Archives,&#8221; said..


Trump Accuses House Leader of ‘Very Illegal’ Act

Democrats on Tuesday accused the top Senate Republican of rigging U.S. President Donald Trump&#039;s impeachment trial with proposed rules that would prevent witnesses from testifying and bar evidence gathered by investigators.
Trump&#039;s trial on abuse of power and obstruction of Congress charges begins in earnest in the Republican-controlled Senate on Tuesday in a rare use of the constitutional mechanism for ousting a president. The Democratic-led House of Representatives approved the charges last month on a party-line vote.
Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has vowed to coordinate the televised trial with the White House, proposed on Monday rules that would execute a potentially quick trial without new testimony or evidence.
He unveiled a resolution that would give House Democratic prosecutors and Trump lawyers 48 hours, evenly split, to present their arguments over four days. Opening arguments are expected to begin this week and could well run into each night..


Democrats Accuse McConnell of Rigging Trump’s Impeachment Trial

In the U.S. Senate, except for important votes, the seats are often empty and only a handful of lawmakers might be listening in person as one of their loquacious colleagues opines on the issue of the day. When present on the floor, senators often carry on private conversations or text or tweet on their cellphones.
But all that will change at the impeachment trial of U.S. President Donald Trump, only the third such event in American history. Strict rules have been set that will be new and constraining to many lawmakers — and to Americans watching on television across the country.
For one thing, all 100 lawmakers, acting as jurors to decide whether to convict Trump of two articles of impeachment and remove him from office, have been told to show up for the entire trial. None may skip the long hours of proceedings to meet with constituents or lobbyists or to attend a political fundraiser. They&#039;ve been told to stay in their assigned seats and not to bring along reading material either..


At Trump’s Impeachment Trial, 100 Senators Face Strict Rules

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Hostage negotiations are a delicate test in diplomacy and are handled at the highest levels of the American government. The Biden administration recently clarified its stance on this issue — but does this come in time for the release of several high-profile hostages held overseas? VOA’s Anita Powell reports from Washington.

Biden Administration Strengthens Hostage Policy

U.S. Representative Liz Cheney, a fierce Republican critic of Donald Trump who has played a prominent role in the congressional probe of the January 6 assault on the Capitol, lost to a Trump-backed primary challenger in Wyoming on Tuesday.   


But Senator Lisa Murkowski, another Republican who has defied the former president, cleared a hurdle in Alaska. She was set to face Trump-endorsed challenger Kelly Tshibaka in the Nov. 8 congressional election, as the two candidates advanced in that state’s nonpartisan primary. 


Cheney’s defeat, by Trump-endorsed Harriet Hageman, marks a significant victory for the former president in his campaign to oust Republicans who backed impeaching him after a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol building last year. 


In conceding the race, Cheney said she was not willing “go along with President Trump’s lie about the 2020 election” to win a primary. 


“It would have required that I enable his ongoing efforts to unravel our democratic system and attack the foundations of our republic. That was a path I could not and would not take,” she told supporters. 


With 99% of expected ballots counted in Wyoming, Hageman led the Republican field with 66.3% of the vote, followed by Cheney with 28.9%, according to Edison Research, an election monitoring firm. 


The results were less clear cut in Alaska. 


With 72% of expected ballots tallied, Murkowski narrowly led with 42.7% of the vote, followed by Tshibaka at 41.4% and Democrat Patricia Chesbro at 6.2%, according to Edison. The nonpartisan primary format in that state weeds out all but the top four vote-getters.   


Murkowski, a moderate who is one of the more independent voices in the Senate, has held the seat since 2003. 


Also in Alaska, Edison predicted that no candidate would emerge as a clear winner in the three-way contest to complete the term of Representative Don Young, who died in March. 


That race pits Sarah Palin, a former governor and 2008 vice presidential nominee who has been endorsed by Trump, against fellow Republican Nick Begich III and Democrat Mary Peltola. The winner will be announced on August 31.   


Both Wyoming and Alaska are reliably Republican, making it unlikely that the results will influence whether President Joe Biden’s Democrats lose their razor-thin majorities in Congress. Republicans are expected to retake the House and also have a chance of winning control of the Senate. 


Weeding out Trump critics   


The ousting of Cheney is the latest sign of Trump’s enduring sway over the Republican Party. 


Trump, who has hinted that he will run for president in 2024, made ending Cheney’s congressional career a priority among the 10 House Republicans he targeted for supporting his impeachment in 2021. 


Cheney, the daughter of Republican former Vice President Dick Cheney, has used her position on the January 6 committee investigating the circumstances surrounding the Capitol riot to keep attention on Trump’s actions that day and his false claims that he won the 2020 election.   


Republican leaders are expected to dissolve the January 6 investigation if they win control of the House in November. The representatives in the new Congress take their seats in January. 


Hageman, a natural resources lawyer who has embraced Trump’s election lies, criticized Cheney’s concession speech, saying it showed she cared little about the issues facing her state.   


“She’s still focusing on an obsession about President Trump and the citizens of Wyoming, the voters of Wyoming sent a very loud message tonight,” Hageman said on Fox News. 


Cheney, in the House, voted to impeach Trump on a charge of inciting the Capitol riot, while Murkowski, in the Senate, voted to convict him on that charge. Trump was ultimately acquitted. 


Of the 10 Republicans who supported impeachment, it is possible that only one — Dan Newhouse of Washington - will be in Congress after November’s election.

Trump Critic Liz Cheney Falls in US Primary, But Murkowski Survives

An effort by Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey to use shipping containers to close a 1,000-foot gap in the U.S.-Mexico border wall near Yuma, Arizona, suffered a setback when two stacked containers toppled over. 


Claudia Ramos, a correspondent for the digital platform of Univision Noticias in Arizona, posted on her Twitter feed a photo she took Monday morning of the containers on their side. She said they fell on the U.S. side of the border. 


No witnesses have come forward to say what happened Sunday night. 


Ramos said contractors in the area told her that they believed the containers may have been toppled by strong monsoon winds. 


But C.J. Karamargin, a Ducey spokesman, said that he doubted that hypothesis, adding that even though the containers are empty they still weigh thousands of pounds. 


"It's unlikely this was a weather event," said Karamargin, suggesting that someone opposed to the wall was to blame. 


The stacked pair of containers were righted by early Monday morning. 


"Clearly we struck a nerve. They don't like what we are doing, and they don't want to keep the border open," the spokesman said. 


Officials with Ducey's office say they were acting to stop migrants after repeated, unfulfilled promises from the Biden administration to close the gap. 


Federal officials have not commented on the state's actions, which come without explicit permission on federal land. State contractors began moving and stacking 18.2-meter-long (60-foot-long), 2.7-meter-tall (9-foot-tall) shipping containers early Friday. Two other 305-meter (1,000-foot) gaps also will be closed off. The containers will be topped with 1.2 meters (4 feet) of razor wire. 


Karamargin said that the Border Patrol informed the governor's office around midnight that the containers were toppled. 


"Those weren't secured yet," he said. "This happened before securing the containers to the ground. They will be bolted later and will be immovable."

Arizona's Border Wall Work Delayed After 2 Containers Topple

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A federal judge on Monday said U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham must testify before a special grand jury in Atlanta that is investigating whether then-President Donald Trump and his allies broke any laws while trying to overturn his narrow 2020 general election loss in the state.


Attorneys for Graham, a Republican, had argued that his position as a U.S. senator provided him immunity from having to appear before the investigative panel and asked the judge to quash his subpoena. But U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May wrote in an order Monday that immunities related to his role as a senator do not protect him from having to testify. Graham's subpoena instructs him to appear before the special grand jury on August 23, but he is expected to appeal the judge's ruling.


Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis opened the investigation last year, and a special grand jury with subpoena power was seated in May at her request. Last month she filed petitions seeking to compel testimony from seven Trump advisers and associates.


Prosecutors have indicated they want to ask Graham about phone calls they say he made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his staff in the weeks following Trump's election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.


Graham had argued that a provision of the Constitution provides absolute protection against a senator being questioned about legislative acts. But the judge found there are "considerable areas of potential grand jury inquiry" that fall outside that provision's scope. The judge also rejected Graham's argument that the principle of "sovereign immunity" protects a senator from being summoned by a state prosecutor.


Graham also argued that Willis, a Democrat, had not demonstrated extraordinary circumstances necessary to compel testimony from a high-ranking official. But the judge disagreed, finding that Willis has shown "extraordinary circumstances and a special need" for Graham's testimony on issues related to alleged attempt to influence or disrupt the election in Georgia.


May, the judge, last month rejected a similar attempt by U.S. Representative Jody Hice, a Republican, to avoid testifying before the special grand jury. Former New York mayor and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani had argued he couldn't travel to Atlanta to testify because of health issues, but Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, who's overseeing the special grand jury, instructed him to appear on Wednesday.


A Graham spokesperson, Kevin Bishop, said Monday the senator had no comment but referred to what Graham said when asked about the probe last week. During a news conference in Columbia, South Carolina, Graham said, "We will take this as far as we need to take it" when asked about his efforts to fight his subpoena.


"I was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and had to vote on certifying an election," Graham told reporters. "This is ridiculous. This weaponization of the law needs to stop. So I will use the courts. We will go as far as we need to go and do whatever needs to be done to make sure that people like me can do their jobs without fear of some county prosecutor coming after you."


In calls made shortly after the 2020 general election, Graham "questioned Secretary Raffensperger and his staff about reexamining certain absentee ballots cast in Georgia in order to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump," Willis wrote in a petition.


Graham also "made reference to allegations of widespread voter fraud in the November 2020 election in Georgia, consistent with public statements made by known affiliates of the Trump Campaign," she wrote.


Republican and Democratic state election officials across the country, courts and even Trump's attorney general found there was no evidence of any voter fraud sufficient to affect the outcome of his 2020 presidential election loss.

Judge: Senator Graham Must Testify in Georgia Election Probe

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating former President Donald Trump for possible violations of the Espionage Act and other crimes after the FBI recovered 11 sets of classified documents from his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago, earlier this week. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has the latest.

Trump Investigated for Possible Violation of Espionage Act

A divided Congress gave final approval Friday to Democrats' flagship climate, tax and health care bill, handing President Joe Biden a back-from-the-dead triumph on coveted priorities that the party hopes will bolster its prospects for keeping control of Congress in November's elections. 


The House used a party-line 220-207 vote to pass the legislation, which is but a shadow of the larger, more ambitious plan to supercharge environment and social programs that Biden and his party envisioned early last year.


Even so, Democrats happily declared victory on top-tier goals like providing Congress' largest ever investment in curbing carbon emissions, reining in pharmaceutical costs and taxing large companies, a vote they believe will show they can wring accomplishments from a routinely gridlocked Washington that often disillusions voters. 




"Today is a day of celebration, a day we take another giant step in our momentous agenda," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat. She said the measure "meets the moment, ensuring that our families thrive and that our planet survives." 


Republicans solidly opposed the legislation, calling it a cornucopia of wasteful liberal daydreams that would raise taxes and families' living costs. They did the same Sunday but Senate Democrats banded together and used Vice President Kamala Harris' tiebreaking vote to power the measure through that 50-50 chamber. 




"Democrats, more than any other majority in history, are addicted to spending other people's money, regardless of what we as a country can afford," said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican. "I can almost see glee in their eyes." 


Biden's initial 10-year, $3.5 trillion proposal also envisioned free prekindergarten, paid family and medical leave, expanded Medicare benefits and eased immigration restrictions. That crashed after centrist Senator Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, said it was too costly, using the leverage every Democrat has in the evenly divided Senate. 


Still, the final legislation remained substantive. Its pillar is about $375 billion over 10 years to encourage industry and consumers to shift from carbon-emitting to cleaner forms of energy. That includes $4 billion to cope with the West's catastrophic drought. 


Spending, tax credits and loans would bolster technology like solar panels, consumer efforts to improve home energy efficiency, emission-reducing equipment for coal- and gas-powered power plants, and air pollution controls for farms, ports and low-income communities. 


Another $64 billion would help 13 million people pay premiums over the next three years for privately bought health insurance. Medicare would gain the power to negotiate its costs for pharmaceuticals, initially in 2026 for only 10 drugs. Medicare beneficiaries' out-of-pocket prescription costs would be limited to $2,000 starting in 2025, and beginning next year they would pay no more than $35 monthly for insulin, the costly diabetes drug. 


The bill would raise around $740 billion in revenue over the decade, over a third from government savings from lower drug prices. More would flow from higher taxes on some $1 billion corporations, levies on companies that repurchase their own stock and stronger Internal Revenue Service tax collections. About $300 billion would remain to defray budget deficits, a sliver of the period's projected $16 trillion total. 


Against the backdrop of GOP attacks on the FBI for its court-empowered search of former President Donald Trump's Florida estate for sensitive documents, Republicans repeatedly savaged the bill's boost to the IRS budget. That is aimed at collecting an estimated $120 billion in unpaid taxes over the coming decade, and Republicans have misleadingly claimed that the IRS will hire 87,000 agents to target average families. 


Representative Andrew Clyde, a Georgia Republican, said Democrats would also "weaponize" the IRS with agents, "many of whom will be trained in the use of deadly force, to go after any American citizen." Senator Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, asked Thursday on "Fox and Friends" if there would be an IRS "strike force that goes in with AK-15s already loaded, ready to shoot some small-business person." 




Few IRS personnel are armed, and Democrats say the bill's $80 billion, 10-year budget increase would be to replace waves of retirees, not just agents, and modernize equipment. They have said typical families and small businesses would not be targeted, with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen directing the IRS this week to not "increase the share of small business or households below the $400,000 threshold" that would be audited. 


Republicans say the legislation's new business taxes will increase prices, worsening the nation's bout with its worst inflation since 1981. Though Democrats have labeled the measure the Inflation Reduction Act, nonpartisan analysts say it will have a barely perceptible impact on prices. 


The GOP also says the bill would raise taxes on lower- and middle-income families. An analysis by Congress' nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, which didn't include the bill's tax breaks for health care and energy, estimated that the corporate tax boosts would marginally affect those taxpayers but indirectly, partly due to lower stock prices and wages. 


The bill caps three months in which Congress has approved legislation on veterans' benefits, the semiconductor industry, gun checks for young buyers and Ukraine's invasion by Russia and adding Sweden and Finland to NATO. All passed with bipartisan support, suggesting Republicans also want to display their productive side. 


It's unclear whether voters will reward Democrats for the legislation after months of painfully high inflation dominating voters' attention and Biden's dangerously low popularity with the public and a steady history of midterm elections that batter the party holding the White House. 


The bill had its roots in early 2021, after Congress approved a $1.9 trillion measure over GOP opposition to combat the pandemic-induced economic downturn. Emboldened, the new president and his party reached further. 


They called their $3.5 trillion plan Build Back Better. Besides social and environment initiatives, it proposed rolling back Trump-era tax breaks for the rich and corporations and $555 billion for climate efforts, well above the resources in Friday's legislation. 


With Manchin opposing those amounts, it was sliced to a roughly $2 trillion measure that Democrats moved through the House in November. He unexpectedly sank that bill too, earning scorn from exasperated fellow Democrats from Capitol Hill and the White House. 


Last-gasp talks between Manchin and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, seemed fruitless until the two unexpectedly announced agreement last month on the new package. 


Manchin won billions for carbon capture technology for the fossil fuel industries he champions, plus procedures for more oil drilling on federal lands and promises for faster energy project permitting. Centrist Senator Kyrsten Sinema, an Arizona Democrat, also won concessions, eliminating planned higher taxes on hedge fund managers and helping win the drought funds.

Congress OKs Democrats' Climate, Tax, Health Bill, a Biden Triumph

A Republican-leaning state in America’s socially conservative heartland recently shocked both sides of the long-running battle over abortion, calling into question the conventional wisdom about how and where the procedure might be restricted or banned. 

 

Voters in Kansas cast ballots last week on a proposed amendment to the state’s constitution that would have eliminated an existing right to abortion. The amendment was expected to pass handily in a state no Democratic presidential contender has won in nearly 60 years and where Donald Trump beat Joe Biden by 15 percentage points in the 2020 election. 

 

Voters rejected the ballot measure, preserving abortion rights. 

 

“The consensus was that Republicans in Kansas were going to ban abortion like in many other conservative states,” University of Georgia political scientist Charles Bullock told VOA. “But we got a big surprise. Kansas voted to uphold abortion protections and the only way to explain it is that the vote exposed a rift. There seems to be a difference between what Republican politicians want and what voters – including some Republican voters – want.” 

 

When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its landmark Roe v. Wade ruling in June, it gave each U.S. state the ability to decide whether to allow or ban abortion. 

 

Until last week, initial results seemed to follow states’ partisan leanings, with Republican-controlled states moving to outlaw abortions and Democrat-led states preserving and, in some cases, moving to bolster abortion protections.  




For example, just days after the Kansas vote, lawmakers in another conservative breadbasket state, Indiana, became the first in the post-Roe era to pass a law banning most abortions. Before the Supreme Court’s June ruling, several Republican-led state legislatures had passed so-called “trigger laws” that restricted or ended access to the procedure once Roe was overturned. 

 

“The difference between Kansas and the states like Indiana,” Bullock said, “is that in Indiana politicians in the legislature voted on the proposed laws, while in Kansas, the public got to vote directly. It turns out that distinction makes a big difference.” 

 

And the Kansas vote was decisive, defeating the anti-abortion-rights amendment 59% to 41%. 

 

While the result will impact the lives of women and families across the Sunflower State, Bullock believes the shock waves could be far reaching. 

 

“Politicians and activists from around the country are watching and analyzing what happened in Kansas,” he said, “and you might see both sides employing the lessons they’re learning when the fight comes to their own states.” 

 

Rift among Republicans 

 

Ann Mah, a Democratic member of the Kansas State Board of Education, remembers the moment she first thought abortion rights backers could win the amendment battle. 

 

“You have these Republican politicians who are always moving to the right to appeal to the loudest members of their base so they can win their primary,” she told VOA, “But I was getting the sense some conservative voters were becoming uneasy with the amount these proposed abortion policies were reaching into their private lives.” 

 

One day as the vote neared, Mah spoke with a neighbor she described as “ultra-conservative.”  




“We don’t agree on hardly anything, me and this person,” she said, “but he came to my house and asked for a ‘Vote No’ yard sign because he didn’t support the amendment. That’s when I knew we had a chance.” 

 

Not everyone believes what happened in Kansas will carry over to other states, however.


“I’m not from Kansas or Indiana so I can’t speak to what people do in those states,” said Sarah Zagorski, communications director at Louisiana Right to Life, an anti-abortion-rights advocacy organization, “but I can say that one negative result in a state isn’t necessarily indicative of how the country feels about abortion. For pro-life people here in Louisiana, they just won’t be voting for radical abortion extremists and their policies.” 

 

But former Louisiana state Representative Melissa Flournoy, a Democrat, believes the reality and consequences of the Supreme Court’s abortion decision are only just now registering for many.  

 

Flournoy pointed to a recent case that made national headlines in which a child victim of rape had to be taken to another state in order to terminate a pregnancy. 

 

“We’re confronted with this story about a 10-year-old girl who was raped, became pregnant, and was about to be denied an abortion – that’s shocking to most of America,” Flournoy told VOA. “It’s like, ‘Yes, we really are outlawing abortion in all circumstances.’ It’s disorienting, and the implications are coming into focus, even among some voters who consider themselves pro-life.” 

 

Polling data 

 

An Ipsos/USA Today poll released Wednesday found 54% of respondents would vote to keep or make abortion legal in their state, with 28% indicating they would vote against abortion-rights measures. 

 

While it’s more common for legislatures to handle these matters, voters are increasingly clamoring for a direct say. In Republican-controlled South Dakota, for example, the Kansas vote has spawned an effort to pursue a statewide referendum on reestablishing abortion rights in the state. 

 

Additionally, this November, voters in California, Kentucky, Montana and Vermont will have the opportunity to weigh in on abortion rights via the ballot box, while plans are being finalized to give residents in Colorado and Michigan that same opportunity. 




In fact, according to the Ipsos/USA Today poll, 70% of Americans say they want to vote on abortion via state ballots, including 73% of Democrats, 77% of Republicans and 67% of independents.  

 

“Opinion on reproductive choice isn’t only based on party lines,” said Cynthia Lash, chair of the Osage County Democratic Central Committee in Kansas, speaking with VOA. “In our state, several nonpartisan groups formed solely to defeat the amendment. They canvassed, they texted voters in all counties regardless of party affiliation, they developed yard signs, they held rallies — they were much more active than traditional campaigns in reaching out to everyone.”  

 

Osage County is deeply Republican, but even there, 56% of voters opposed the abortion-rights amendment last week.  

 

“In our small, rural county, only 17% of registered voters are Democrats,” Lash said. “Even in the unlikely case that every Democrat and unaffiliated voter voted against the amendment, that means 31% of Republican voters cast a ballot against the amendment as well. That’s how unpopular it was.” 

 

Not all anti-abortion activists, however, are convinced a vote against the amendment was a vote against restricting abortions. 

 

“In Kansas, voters rejected an amendment that allows the legislature to limit or allow abortions as those politicians see fit,” said Laura Knight, president of Pro-Life Mississippi. “Maybe those voters wanted a total ban of abortion. Maybe they felt the amendment wasn’t strong enough. We don’t know.”  




Electoral implications 

 

Some in the Republican Party worry they are pushing too far in banning abortion, months before midterm elections that will determine control of the U.S. Congress. This past Sunday, on NBC’s Meet the Press, Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina compared the impact of anti-abortion initiatives to the fictional portrayal of an America in which women have no rights in a popular U.S. television series. 

 

“It will be an issue in November if we’re not moderating ourselves. ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ is not supposed to be a road map,” Mace said.


Others are urging anti-abortion officeholders to stay true to their beliefs. 

 

“Government officials are elected to vote their conscience, not to check in with the public on everything,” Tara Wicker, who leads Louisiana Black Advocates for Life, told VOA. “Children who are born of rape or incest are still innocent children and we should be protecting them, regardless of how popular that decision is among a subset of voters.” 

 

Bullock from the University of Georgia sees warning signs for advocates of abortion measures who ignore the will of voters. 

 

“Both sides have things they can learn from what we're seeing in states like Indiana and Kansas,” he said, “and for Republicans, the warning is they seem to be pushing beyond what their voters want. It’s a lesson they’ve been confronted with before, but they don’t seem to be learning it.” 

 

At a time of economic uncertainty in America, the degree to which abortion could determine election outcomes remains to be seen. 

 

A recent poll in the swing state of Nevada by The Nevada Independent, a news website, and OH Predictive Insights, a market research company, showed abortion laws were the second most powerful issue for respondents – behind only the economy. But the gap between the two remained substantial (40% for the economy and 17% for abortion laws).


“Inflation and the economy as a whole is still front-of-mind for most Americans, but that doesn’t mean the abortion debate can’t impact elections this November,” Bullock said. “This is going to be a big issue for suburban white women, many of whom typically vote Republican. If 50,000 here or 100,000 there change their mind in especially tight districts or states, that's enough to flip a result or two, and potentially even [determine] control of the [U.S.] Senate.”

Backers, Opponents of Abortion Rights Recalibrate After Surprising Kansas Referendum

The January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol looms large in the Western state of Wyoming, where Republican Representative Liz Cheney risks losing her seat in Congress for pursuing an investigation into former President Donald Trump. VOA Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports.

January 6 Attack Dominates Debate in Wyoming Congressional Race

Some 2,500 kilometers from Washington, D.C., the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol still looms large in the minds of Wyoming voters who will be heading to the polls on August 16 to decide if Republican Liz Cheney should keep her seat in Congress.


Wyoming’s only representative in the U.S. House, two-term Congresswoman Cheney has staked her political career on being one of the few Republicans to openly criticize former President Donald Trump. But she has an uphill fight to win her party’s nomination in a state that delivered Trump his most lopsided win of the 2020 election, with almost 70% of the vote.


The Wyoming Republican Party primary has pitted Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, against the Trump-endorsed candidate, former attorney Harriet Hageman. The least-populated state in the nation, Wyoming has been solidly Republican for decades. But the debate over Trump has forced voters to decide exactly what it means to be a loyal Republican and has turned the primary contest into a test for the former president ahead of the 2024 presidential election.




Cheney was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in 2021 for inciting the riot at the U.S. Capitol and has served as vice chair of the House select committee to investigate the January 6th attack. She was expelled from the state Republican Party for continuing to call Trump’s claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election “the Big Lie.”


“Donald Trump made a purposeful choice to violate his oath of office, to ignore the ongoing violence against law enforcement, to threaten our constitutional order. There is no way to excuse that behavior,” Cheney said during a January 6th Committee hearing last month. She has also suggested Trump should face federal charges for his actions in the aftermath of the 2020 election.


“We need a leader like Liz,” Jan Cartwright, a retired health care executive from Cheyenne, told VOA. “I think that it's important for us to look at what happened with both the Trump presidency and then January 6, and I think that truth has to overcome lies. I believe that that's what she's trying to do, is to get to the truth.”


Trump has criticized the work of the January 6th Committee, suggesting it is unfair that the two Republicans investigating his actions also voted to impeach him.


“Liz Cheney hates the voters of the Republican Party, and she has for longer than you would know,” Trump said at a Casper, Wyoming, rally for Hageman in May.


"Wyoming deserves a congresswoman who stands up for you and your values, not one who spends all of her time putting you down and going after your president in the most vicious way possible.”




But some Wyoming voters have been turned off by Trump’s messaging, saying Cheney’s determination is a Wyoming value. Independent voter Don Maloff told VOA he is switching his party registration just so that he can vote for Cheney.


“Cheney is being stepped on by Trump, which is wrong in every which way,” Maloff said, adding that he admires Cheney’s work on the January 6th Committee even though he doesn’t think it will change anyone’s mind.


In their only debate, on July 1, the two candidates focused on Trump, with Cheney suggesting Hageman knew Trump’s election fraud claims were false.


"The election was not stolen. She knows it wasn't stolen. I think that she can't say that it wasn't stolen because she's completely beholden to Donald Trump,” Cheney said.


But Hageman contended Cheney was ignoring her constituents by focusing on the investigation into the attack on the U.S. Capitol.


"Our republic is not in danger because of President Donald J. Trump. President Trump was an excellent president for the United States of America and especially for the state of Wyoming,” Hageman said in the debate.


Polling in the days leading up to the Tuesday primary has Hageman leading Cheney by a significant margin, an indication that Hageman’s criticism of the January 6th Committee is connecting with many Wyoming voters.


“She cannot like Donald Trump. She can do whatever she wants to try to get him where he can't run again, the whole January 6 — whatever that whole nonsense is all about — but the voters in Wyoming stand — for the majority — stand solidly behind Trump,” Randy Mulkey, a Cheyenne voter who works for a roofing company, told VOA.




Hageman is running television advertisements suggesting Cheney wants to be re-elected as the state’s sole U.S. House representative because she is comfortable among the Washington elite.


That argument resonates with Kelly Krakow, an insurance salesman from Alban, Wyoming, who is concerned about the state of the economy.


"Cheney's just stepped over the line on too much stuff,” Krakow said. “And really, she doesn't live in Wyoming. She hasn't for a long time. And I don't think she has the Wyoming values behind her.”


Cheney’s father, meanwhile, is campaigning for his daughter. The former vice president, who also represented Wyoming in Congress in the 1980s, recorded a television ad in which he calls Trump “a coward” who lied to his followers about his 2020 election loss, and praises his daughter for “standing up for the truth.”


Even if she loses her primary, Cheney is expected to continue the January 6th investigation in Congress until the end of her term early next year.

Voters in states including Wisconsin and Minnesota picked candidates for the U.S. Congress and other offices in primaries on Tuesday, in another test of former President Donald Trump’s influence in the Republican Party ahead of the November 8 midterms.


Vermont and Connecticut also held nomination contests, while Minnesota held a special election for its vacant 1st Congressional District. The following are four key races:


Wisconsin Republican governor’s primary 


In its final stretch, the Republican nomination contest for Wisconsin’s gubernatorial race became another proxy battle between Trump and his estranged former vice president, Mike Pence.


Trump endorsed construction company owner Tim Michels in June, upending a race that until then was led by former state Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, who Pence endorsed in July.


On Tuesday, Michels defeated Kleefisch, according to Edison Research. It was the third high-profile race this year in which Pence and Trump backed opposing candidates. In the previous contests, Pence-backed Georgia Governor Brian Kemp won the party nomination for his re-election bid, while Trump-backed Kari Lake, a former news anchor, won the Republican nomination for the Arizona governor’s race.


Pence, who like Trump is considering running for president in 2024, has recently distanced himself from Trump’s repeated falsehoods that the 2020 election was stolen.


Wisconsin Democratic US senate primary 


In the race to challenge Republican U.S. Senator Ron Johnson, Wisconsin’s Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, a progressive backed by U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, easily won the Democratic nomination after a leading moderate opponent dropped out of the race in late July. The focus now shifts to Barnes’ ability to appeal to moderate voters in the race against Johnson, which could be one of November’s tightest and most consequential Senate races.


Minnesota Republican governor’s primary 


Former Minnesota state senator Scott Jensen, who has vowed he will try to ban most abortions in the state, won the Republican Party nomination for the governor’s race.


Despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, abortion remains legal under state law in Minnesota. Jensen recently said he supports abortion rights in cases of rape or incest.


Jensen, a physician who has cast doubt on the seriousness of COVID-19, will now face Democratic Governor Tim Walz in November. Walz is seen as potentially vulnerable.


Minnesota special congressional election 


Democrats face an uphill battle to gain the U.S. House of Representatives seat left vacant following the February death of Republican U.S. Representative Jim Hagedorn.


Ahead of Tuesday’s special election, Republican Brad Finstad, a former agriculture official in the Trump administration, was ahead of Democrat Jeff Ettinger 46% to 38%, according to a public opinion poll conducted in the last week of July by Survey USA.


Political observers have said the race could be close after Ettinger, a former CEO at Hormel Foods, spent early on television ads making the case that his business experience set him up as a problem-solver on run-away food prices.

Four Key Races in Wisconsin, Minnesota Midterm Primaries

Former President Donald Trump claims he is being politically persecuted after the Federal Bureau of Investigation searched his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida on Monday, in what appeared to be part of a long-running investigation of whether he has kept official documents instead of sending them to the National Archives when he left office. White House bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara looks at the political fallout of the search.

Trump Cries Foul After FBI Searches His Home

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