The new poll found that 43 percent of voters gave Trump a positive job approval rating, a result consistent with polling as recently as just before the November election. More than half of those surveyed — 55 percent — disapproved of Trump’s performance in office, however.
An overwhelming majority of Republicans — 87 percent — approved of Trump, a small drop from the 89 percent that said the same before the November election. Five percent of Democrats said in the new poll they approved of Trump as did 44 percent of independents.
Just five percent of Republicans who voted for Trump told pollsters they now regretted casting their ballots for him while two-thirds said their feelings had not changed.
Trump became the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice when Congress voted to impeach him on last week over his role in the siege at the Capitol. Ten Republican lawmakers joined Democrats in voting in favor of impeaching him.
More than half of those surveyed by NBC News, 58 percent, ranked Trump as “definitely worse than most” president or “not as good as most.” Forty percent said Trump was either “one of the very best” or “better than most” U.S. presidents.
The NBC News poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters from Jan. 10-13. The survey had a margin of error of 3 points.
Another poll released by CNN on Sunday found that Trump’s approval ratings sank to the lowest they had ever been during his presidency, with 34 percent saying they approved of the president.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was detained on Sunday upon his arrival in Moscow. He had spent nearly the last five months recovering in Germany after being poisoned in August.
Frederick Florin/AFP via Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Frederick Florin/AFP via Getty Images
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was detained on Sunday upon his arrival in Moscow. He had spent nearly the last five months recovering in Germany after being poisoned in August.
Frederick Florin/AFP via Getty Images
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was detained upon his arrival in Moscow on Sunday after spending nearly five months in Germany while recovering from being poisoned.
Shortly before his arrest, Navalny made a statement saying the cases against him are all fabricated. He added that the European Court of Human Rights had ruled in his favor in the case where he’s been threatened with imprisonment. That is “why I’m not afraid of anything,” he said.
Navalny was detained on alleged probation violations, according to The Washington Post. The exact reason for his detainment was his failure to appear at a parole hearing, The Guardian reports.
Navalny returned to Moscow on Sunday on a flight from Berlin. When he announced his plans to return earlier in the week, he told supporters to meet him upon his return.
And they did. Crowds formed at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport, where earlier on Sunday at least four of Navalny’s aides were detained. A heavy police presence also formed at the airport, with some groups of officers wearing riot gear.
Navalny arrived in Berlin in a coma after he was poisoned while on a trip to Siberia in August. Tests run by European health authorities showed that he was poisoned by a variant of the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok. Doctors removed him from a medically induced coma in September. Navalny had been in recovery from extensive nerve damage since then and said in an Instagram post that he realized it was time for him to return to Russia as he was feeling better.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied Navalny was poisoned. But in December, Navalny said he had uncovered details of his own poisoning by duping a Kremlin officer involved in the attack into revealing how it was orchestrated.
Mr. Klain, in comments directed at states’ disappointment that a reserve of additional vaccines that the Trump administration had promised to release did not exist, said that his team was “inheriting a huge mess” in terms of vaccine production and distribution.
“But we have a plan to fix it,” Mr. Klain said, alluding to a federal vaccination campaign that Mr. Biden announced on Friday. “We think there are things we can do to speed up the delivery of that vaccine.”
Administration officials last week urged states to loosen eligibility criteria and to begin vaccinating all Americans 65 and older. Some states, including New York, moved quickly to comply, prompting a surge of interest — and confusion — as thousands of newly eligible people sought appointments to get vaccinated.
But there was no stockpile of additional vaccine doses awaiting distribution to those states, it turned out — only the amounts already promised, much of it to be given as second doses to people who already had received their first doses.
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Sunday that he, too, had been trying to sort through the confusion about how many doses were held by the federal government and where they were going.
WASHINGTON – This city under siege was quiet Sunday amid unprecedented security measures as Americans braced for possible violence ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.
National Guard troops were monitoring the nation’s capital as well as many state capitals after law enforcement officials warned of possibly violent protests planned nationwide this week by supporters of President Donald Trump, who falsely claims the election was stolen from him.
It was just 11 days ago that scores of rioters smashed through windows and rampaged through the U.S. Capitol, clashing with overwhelmed Capitol police. The melee was blamed for five deaths, left parts of the hallowed building in ruins and raised questions about law enforcement’s preparation and response.
USA TODAY is monitoring protests and security issues in Washington, D.C., and across the U.S. Keep refreshing this page for updates.
Boarded up windows in Sacramento: ‘This is not the America we know’
The law enforcement presence was heavy amid the new barricades and fencing near California’s Capitol building in Sacramento. A group calling itself “Let Freedom Ring,” headed by a former Republican candidate for Congress, had sought to hold a Sunday rally on the Capitol grounds but was denied a permit.
State lawmakers were told to avoid the area this weekend. Some nearby businesses boarded up their windows. Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry said she was being cautious and remained unsure as to how the week would unfold.
“Isn’t it a shame we have to do this?” the Democrat said. “This is not the America we all know.”
The mood was festive at the district’s Black Lives Matter Plaza. Music was playing on a loud speaker as a woman waved a Black Lives Matter flag.
Colin and Kaye Cole and their three children made plans in December to travel from Charlotte for the inauguration and were not dissuaded by the Jan. 6 riot. They found the security state in Washington both reassuring and eerie. Kaye Cole travels often to the district for work.
“For us to be here right now is very important,” she said. “Charlotte is a very conservative city. To be in the nation’s capital to expose our kids to real life was very important.”
Even if it’s not the city she’s accustomed to visiting.
“It’s like a ghost town,” she said. “I told my kids, ‘This is not typical.’ D.C. is usually very bustling, with different smells, sights and sounds.”
– Gabe Lacques
Woman accused of impersonating an officer near US Capitol
A woman was arrested after police said she impersonated a law enforcement officer near an inauguration security checkpoint in Washington, D.C., on Saturday morning.
The suspect drove up to a perimeter checkpoint north of the Capitol Building near Union Station, according to a police incident report that does not give her name. She displayed a military police challenge coin and stated she was a law enforcement officer and part of the presidential cabinet, according to the report.
A challenge coin is a symbolic item given to members of a military unit as a reward for good work or as a morale booster. They don’t serve as law enforcement credentials. The report notes that she was taken to a hospital for evaluation with no further details.
– Katlin Wedell
Capitol riot was like a scene from TV show ‘Designated Survivor’
Handan Gencogluer, 60, came into D.C. from McLean, Virginia, with a friend to walk around and see the extent of the security on Sunday.
“It’s sad. This is supposed to be a happy time,” she said, noting the parties and celebrations of past inaugurations. Gencogluer wasn’t worried too much about violence: “Now they’re ready, the good guys at least.”
Gencogluer, an immigrant from Istanbul, said she watched in horror at the violence last week. She had friends texting her to see if she was safe even though she was out in the suburbs. She described watching the news like she was watching the TV show “Designated Survivor.”
“I’m an immigrant here and one of the things that brought me here is this is a country of law,” she added. “It’s scary that at the very top it got trampled.”
‘Honest mistake’: Heavily armed man arrested near US Capitol
Police in Washington, D.C., have arrested a Virginia man who allegedly tried to pass through a security checkpoint with an “unauthorized” inauguration credential,a handgun and more than 500 rounds of ammunition, according to officials. Wesley Allen Beeler, 31, of Front Royal, Virginia, was released on his own recognizance after a hearing Saturday. The Associated Press, citing a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity, reported that Beeler had a valid credential for inaugural events, though it was not issued by the government.
Beeler told the Washington Post that “it was an honest mistake.” He said he has been working as hired security in downtown Washington and forgot his firearm was in his truck when he left his home in Virginia.
“I pulled up to a checkpoint after getting lost in D.C. because I’m a country boy,” he said. “I showed them the inauguration badge that was given to me.”
At the US Capitol: All quiet early Sunday
Around the U.S. Capitol on Sunday, barricades protected buildings while National Guard members patrolled the grounds and SUVs blocked the streets. To enter Pennsylvania Avenue, the public needed to enter security tents with bag checks and metal detectors. Law enforcement even flipped through reporters’ notebook pages. Barricades blocked any path toward the Capitol several blocks in front of the grounds.
More than 25,000 National Guard members are in place or headed to the city. The National Park Service shut down the entire National Mall, a panoramic 2 miles stretching from the Lincoln Memorial on the west end to the Capitol on the east. More than a dozen Metro commuter train stations have already closed, and the city’s historic core has been divided into a “red zone” for authorized vehicles only and a “green zone” allowing only vehicles of the area’s residents.
Kamieh Hendley, 21, of San Diego, was in Washington for the first time since elementary school. She was amazed by the tightened security but not worried too much about violence Sunday morning.
“It’s kind of a shock to see all this,” she said. “If it does get rough, I’ll just go home.”
Biden’s home state readies for protests
President-elect Joe Biden served as a senator from Delaware for more than a quarter-century, but Gov. John Carney is not assuming his state will be immune from pro-Trump protests. Carney has activated the National Guard to assist state and local law enforcement in keeping the peace if necessary. A 6-foot-tall fence has been constructed around Legislative Hall and traffic has been restricted. Delaware Capitol Police said Capitol buildings “will be secured, and citizens can expect an increased visible law enforcement presence.”
– Nick Siano, Delaware News Journal
Postal Service pulls mailboxes out of some areas
The United States Postal Service has temporarily removed blue mail collection boxes in some areas of major cities and state Capitols as a security measure in more than dozen states ahead of the inauguration, USPS says. Boxes also have been removed around the U.S. Capitol.
“It’s part of our normal procedures to keep our employees and customers safe during times of protest or when large crowds are gathered near postal facilities, on postal routes, or by mailboxes,” Postal Service spokesperson Kim Frum told USA TODAY.
A look at security measures in place at some state capitols
► The Kentucky Capitol grounds in Frankfort was closed Sunday after “domestic terror threats against state capitols all over” the U.S., Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration announced.
► California Gov. Gavin Newsom mobilized 1,000 members of the National Guard as the state also erected a temporary chain link fence around its Capitol. The California Highway Patrol has refused to issue permits for rallies that had been planned there.
►New Jersey state employees have been ordered to work remotely the day of Biden’s inauguration, because of the “level of tension in the country,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said.
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will resign her Senate seat on Monday – two days before she and President-elect Joe Biden are sworn in on Inauguration Day.
Harris’ stepping down will allow California Gov. Gavin Newsom to appoint Alex Padilla, a Democrat who serves as secretary of state, to fill the final two years of her vacated position.
“She’s notified Governor Newsom, and has sent her formal indication that she will be resigning. And then she will make a formal announcement on Monday,” said a Harris aide, The Hill reported on Sunday.
Padilla will become the first Latino senator from the Golden State.
Harris will not give a farewell speech on the Senate floor because the chamber is not expected to convene until Tuesday.
President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming economic adviser Brian Deese joins ‘Fox News Sunday.’
President-elect Joe Biden’s proposed coronavirus relief package would cost taxpayers $1.9 trillion, and his economic adviser defended the inclusion of several Democratic agenda items.
During an interview with “Fox News Sunday,” Brian Deese insisted that items including $1,400 payments to all Americans, $20 billion for public transit, $9 billion for cybersecurity, and a $15 minimum wage were all important means of helping Americans hurting during the pandemic.
“Let’s look at each of those,” Deese said. “The cybersecurity resources there are in the wake of the SolarWinds hack. We have seen, and now understand significant vulnerabilities that are exacerbated by COVID, and the fact that so much federal operations are happening online. We need those resources to secure our systems now.”
Deese did not explain what transit funding had to do with COVID-19 relief, other than to say that “our transit systems across the country are facing acute crisis” and that improving them now while people are working remotely will prevent difficulties when people eventually start commuting again.
As for the increased minimum wage, Deese said it “is a concrete and direct way to help support those workers who are out there on the front lines right now, providing services to all of us, and give them direct support and a direct boost right now.”
Direct support already came in the form of $600 payments to individual Americans, and Biden is proposing an additional $1,400. Deese pointed to bipartisan support for the increased payments. President Trump himself had called for $2,000 checks instead of the $600 that ended up in the most recent stimulus package.
Host Chris Wallace noted that Republicans were unwilling to spend more than $1 trillion in the last package, and that was with a Republican president. With Biden himself saying “there’s not time to waste” and that “we have to act now,” Wallace asked if Biden would support ending the filibuster if the GOP said no to his $1.9 trillion plan. Deese did not give a direct answer, pointing to Biden’s past calls for unity, but he also said that acting “quickly” is the incoming administration’s priority.
“Well look, we think we need to move quickly here, but I would also say there’s a lot of skepticism that the president-elect’s call for unity and working together was going to resonate and he won the election resoundingly,” Deese said. “There’s a lot of skepticism that Congress would come together in a bipartisan way and deliver a down payment on this relief, and that happened. So let’s see where we can get here. There is a lot of, again, a lot of elements of this plan that have support across the board, both in Washington and in state capitals and around the country. But we need to act. We need to act quickly. That’s what the economy is telling us, that’s what the experts are telling us and so that’s our priority.”
(CNN)When the US Senate moves forward with an impeachment trial of soon-to-be former President Donald Trump, senators would have full control over how they run it, based on history and Supreme Court precedent.
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will leave her Senate seat on Monday, but when she’s sworn into her new office Harris will take a very powerful seat in the chamber.
Joshua Roberts/Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Joshua Roberts/Getty Images
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will leave her Senate seat on Monday, but when she’s sworn into her new office Harris will take a very powerful seat in the chamber.
Joshua Roberts/Getty Images
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will step down from her California Senate seat Monday before taking up a more high-profile position in the chamber two days later, transition officials have announced.
When Harris makes history as the first woman, first Black person and first Indian American to serve as vice president, she’ll also become president of the Senate. It’s a largely ceremonial position — most of the time. But in a Senate that will be split 50-50, the tie-breaking vote she can cast will give Democrats control of the chamber. Given the hyper-partisanship in Congress, she may need to cast many tie-breaking votes.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has tapped California Secretary of State Alex Padilla to fill the vacancy created by Harris’ resignation. Padilla will be the state’s first Latino senator and its first male senator in three decades. Harris’ departure means there will be no Black woman in the Senate, and Newsom drew some criticism for appointing Padilla because of that.
Harris leaves her Senate seat after just four years, less than a full term. Still, in the early weeks of her term in 2017, she quickly established a reputation as one of Democrats’ top committee questioners when President Trump’s first cabinet nominees came forward for confirmation.
Drawing on skills honed as a prosecutor in California, Harris peppered John Kelly on immigration issues and other matters during his confirmation hearing to head the Department of Homeland Security.
That set a tone that would last through Harris’ term, and it was largely how she established a platform to launch her run for president in 2019.
Harris grilled former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, then later Bill Barr, during high-profile hearings, and she pressed Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his 2018 confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which became a cultural flashpoint when sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh surfaced mid-confirmation.
Harris also served on the Senate Intelligence Committee while the panel held hearings and investigations looking into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.
Harris was the 10th Black person to serve in the U.S. Senate and only the second Black woman.
At Wednesday’s inauguration, Harris will be sworn in by Justice Sonya Sotomayor, the first woman of color to serve on the Supreme Court who also administered the vice presidential oath to President-elect Joe Biden in 2013.
Harris will use two Bibles in the ceremony, according to a transition official, including one belonging to Regina Shelton, a family friend whom Harris viewed as a surrogate mother. Harris took the oath of office as both California attorney general and U.S. senator on Shelton’s Bible.
Harris will also use a Bible previously owned by the late Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first Black member of the Supreme Court and Harris’ lifelong political role model.
In a recent interview with NPR, Harris reflected on the moment she’ll take the oath of office as vice president. “I will be thinking about my mother, who’s looking down from heaven. I will be thinking of all the people who are counting on us to lead,” she said.
It’s not yet clear what Harris’ main focus will be as vice president. When Biden announced her as his running mate, he said he’d made Harris the same promise that Barack Obama gave to Biden in 2008: that the vice president would be the “last person in the room” and a key adviser on every important administration decision.
That’s something Harris has echoed when asked what policies she might take the lead on in the White House. “On every decision that we have made as an incoming administration, we’re in the room together, Joe and I,” Harris told NPR on Thursday. “I can’t tell you how many meetings we’ve been in together that range from [vaccine distribution] to many other topics that are priorities for us.”
Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk and American Majority founder Ned Ryun join ‘Watters World’
President Trump’s approval rating plunged to an all-time low of 29%, or 9 points lower than it was in August 2020, according to a Pew Research poll released Friday.
Fast Facts
Growing GOP disenchantment is driving the decline, with just 60% of Republicans now rating Trump’s job performance positively, down from 77% in August.
The deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 appears to be tarnishing the president politically as he prepares to leaves office, still refusing to acknowledge that Joe Biden won the election.
Follow below for updates on Trump’s impeachment. Mobile users click here.
Simultaneous rallies were held Saturday at Freedom Corner, at Oakland Park Boulevard and U.S. 1 in Fort Lauderdale, another in Coral Springs, and one at the Freedom Tower, 600 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami, but the turnout was not as large as the one in Palm Beach Gardens.
“It’s striking,” said Ralph Richard Banks, a law professor at Stanford who has written about race, gender and family patterns. “In some ways they are at the frontier of different aspects of American families and how they’re changing.”
Some might say they are reflective of where Americans already are. Today, the number of couples who are in an interracial marriage is around one in six, a figure that, along with the number of interfaith marriages, has been increasing since 1967, according to Pew.
Ms. Harris, the daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants, was raised with both Christian and Hindu practices, while her husband, who is white, grew up attending Jewish summer camp. (At their wedding, Ms. Harris took part in the Jewish ritual of smashing a glass.)
She was in her 40s when they married; older than the median age of first marriage for women in this country, though that number continues to rise.
Mr. Emhoff was divorced, with two children from his previous marriage, making his kids among the one in four who do not live with both biological parents, according to the Census Bureau. Ms. Harris did not have children. Many Americans do not, as fertility rates have reached a record low. She has often said that being “Momala” to her stepchildren is the role “that means the most” to her.
“People have more choices,” Professor Banks said. “That’s a society-wide change, but it’s often not as visible in positions of power.”
A Big, Blended Family
In her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in August, Ms. Harris spoke about her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, an immigrant who came to California as a teenager with dreams of becoming a cancer researcher, and raised Kamala and her sister, Maya, after she and their father divorced. For most of Ms. Harris’s life, it was the three of them. When Maya became pregnant at 17 with her daughter, Meena, it became four.
Clyburn and others also emphasized the challenges Biden will face within his party, which holds only the thinnest of majorities in the House and Senate. “We’ve got a caucus that’s blue dogs, yellow dogs, moderates, conservatives, liberals. We’ve got them all,” Clyburn said. “He may have a harder job keeping us united than getting bipartisanship going.”
President Donald Trump waves while boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews before a Jan. 12 trip to Texas. He’s planning a departure ceremony there on Wednesday, while skipping the traditional send-off at the Capitol.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
hide caption
toggle caption
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
President Donald Trump waves while boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews before a Jan. 12 trip to Texas. He’s planning a departure ceremony there on Wednesday, while skipping the traditional send-off at the Capitol.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
President Trump plans to leave the White House and Washington on Inauguration Day with a departure ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, a senior administration official said on Saturday, speaking on condition of anonymity because the announcement is not yet official.
Trump — who has not congratulated President-elect Joe Biden for winning the election, nor conceded that his loss was legitimate — is the first president in modern history to skip the swearing-in of his successor.
Trump fought the results of the election and was impeached by the House of Representatives last week for inciting his supporters to storm the Capitol while Congress certified Biden’s win. He had already announced on Twitter – just before he was banned from the platform – that he would not be going to Biden’s inauguration. Biden said afterward that “it’s a good thing, him not showing up.” Vice President Pence plans to attend.
The Inauguration Day event at the U.S. Capitol is considered as one of the abiding symbols of the peaceful transfer of power, with the outgoing president and other former living presidents sitting on the rostrum with the incoming administration.
Normally, the outgoing president is then seen off by his successor, taking a helicopter from the Capitol to the military base just outside of Washington, D.C., which is home to Air Force One and other official government and military aircraft. Recent past presidents have made brief remarks to staff and supporters before flying out of town.
Details of what Trump’s departure ceremony will entail or what time it will take place were not immediately available. After the departure ceremony, Trump – who is president until noon ET on Wednesday — is expected to fly one last time on Air Force One to Palm Beach, Fla., where he plans to live at his Mar-a-Lago club.
Amid growing security concerns, California National Guard troops were deployed throughout downtown Sacramento early Saturday to protect property and maintain safety during potentially violent protests expected through Inauguration Day on Wednesday.
Armed soldiers and armored Humvees were stationed around the state Capitol, as well as at the federal courthouse and state Superior Court building, according to the Sacramento Bee. Streets providing access to the entrance to the Sacramento County Main jail, a target of past demonstrations, have been blocked off with steel barriers.
The 1,000 members of the California National Guard activated on Thursday by Gov. Gavin Newsom added to an already robust response by law enforcement following FBI warnings that armed demonstrators may target statehouses in events similar to last week’s attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The insurrection in Washington was carried out by radicalized supporters of President Trump, incited by unsubstantiated claims that widespread voter fraud cost him the November election.
“We’re treating this very seriously and deploying significant resources to protect public safety, critical infrastructure and 1st Amendment rights,” Newsom said in a statement. “But let me be clear. There will be no tolerance for violence.”
West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, considered by many to be the most conservative Democrat in the Senate, said his colleagues should consider expelling Republican Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley for their alleged roles in inciting the January 6 “insurrection” at the Capitol.
In a Friday interview on PBS’ Firing Line with Margaret Hoover, Manchin said that while he has a good personal relationship with Cruz and Hawley, their alleged violation of the 14th Amendment’s rule against inciting an insurrection and holding public office should be investigated. Both Hawley and Cruz have been widely condemned for challenging the Electoral College results during certification, especially after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in hopes of derailing President-elect Joe Biden‘s impending move into the White House. Manchin said he personally confronted Hawley to “change his mind” and think about the wider repercussions of his and Cruz’s attempt to block the January 6 vote, but there was essentially zero meaningful response.
Manchin called the deadly January 6 riot at the Capitol “total insurrection, it’s sedition,” before noting that the 14th Amendment was adopted after the Civil War in order to ban seditionists from holding the exact public offices held today by Cruz, Hawley and other members of the failed “sedition caucus.” Manchin challenged both Cruz and Hawley to admit whether they were sending out fundraising requests at the same time that they were helping to spark an insurrection.
Firing Line host Hoover used Manchin’s reference to press him on whether he’d support any potential moves to oust Cruz and Hawley in the aftermath of the violent riot that left five people dead. She quoted the relevant section of the 14th Amendment before asking the Democratic senator directly if he’d get behind such a move to expel his fellow senators.
“Would you support, Senator, the removal of Senator Hawley and Senator Cruz through the 14th Amendment, Section 3?” Hoover asked.
“Well, they should look, absolutely, basically that should be a consideration,” Manchin replied. “He understands that. Ted’s a very bright individual and I get along fine with him. But what he did was totally outside the realm of our responsibilities or our privileges that we have.”
When asked if he believes the January 6 events at the Capitol were in fact an insurrection, Manchin replied succinctly: “Absolutely, no doubt at all in my mind.”
But Manchin said current impeachment efforts are destined to fail because there simply aren’t enough Republican senators willing to convict President Donald Trump on his single charge of inciting an insurrection. This impeachment charge brought forth last week by House Democrats and 10 Republican members of Congress would require GOP lawmaker support, of which Manchin said is not possible.
“But we need 19 Republicans, we don’t have them…if you gave me a count of 19, I’d say let’s go tonight. You don’t have nineteen. You’re not going to have nineteen,” the senator said.
Newsweek reached out to Manchin and Cruz’s Senate offices for additional remarks Saturday.
Senator Joe Manchin said Democrats wanted to include stimulus checks in a bipartisan relief package but at a low price tag, wouldn’t give up unemployment benefits to send another round of direct payments. Manchin speaks alongside a bipartisan group of Democrat and Republican members of Congress as they announce a proposal for a Covid-19 relief bill on Capitol Hill on December 1 in Washington, D.C. Tasos Katopodis/Getty
About 500 members of the Massachusetts National Guard left the Bay State for Washington, D.C. on Saturday in an effort to protect extra security during the week of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
The Guard personnel that left out of the Melrose armory were addressed by Maj. Gen. Gary W. Keefe before leaving for the nation’s capital Saturday morning.
“I thanked them for everything from folks we had going to the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home. We had people delivering PPE and we were part of the (response to the) civil unrest and some of the protests throughout the summer,” Keefe said.
“But I really thanked them here, and I apologized,” the major general added. “I said, ‘I’m sorry I have to actually ask you to kind of leave your families again and head down to our nation’s capital because our country is so broken right now, we have to defend the Constitution.'”
U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark, of the 5th District, and Melrose Mayor Paul Brodeur were also in attendance for the send-off.
Other Massachusetts National Guard members from Braintree and Agawam are also heading to Washington.
Keefe says his troops will be staying in hotels while in D.C., and that they are taking weapons and ammunition with them. However, Keefe says the decision about whether or not to load the weapons will be made when the troops make it to the capital.
Security is tight at the U.S. Capitol following the Jan. 6 insurrection involving President Donald Trump’s supporters. Hundreds of National Guard members are camped out at the Capitol to protect lawmakers.
Thousands of other National Guard members are also supporting law enforcement throughout the city.
Out of an abundance of caution, Gov. Charlie Baker has activated another 500 members of the Massachusetts National Guard in order to support local law enforcement.
“It is all hands on deck,” Brodeur said.
Biden’s inauguration is scheduled for noon on Wednesday, Jan. 20.
This is a widget area - If you go to "Appearance" in your WP-Admin you can change the content of this box in "Widgets", or you can remove this box completely under "Theme Options"
