Trump victory certified in drama-free Jan. 6 anniversary
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CONGRESS FORMALLY CERTIFIED President-elect Trump’s 2024 election victory Monday, capping his stunning political comeback on the four-year anniversary of the riots on Capitol Hill. Trump stampeded to victory in November on the back of a multicultural, working-class coalition. His victory reshaped the Republican Party and provoked soul-searching among Democrats, who shed support among key groups that were once the backbone of their coalition.
Amid snowy conditions on Capitol Hill, scores of police officers patrolled the fenced-in perimeter. The bulked-up security presence was a reminder of the violence that unfolded during President Biden’s election victory certification in 2021, when Trump allies refused to acknowledge defeat and sought to disrupt the proceedings.
Monday’s certification was notable for its lack of drama, although awkwardness abounded. Vice President Harris presided over the certification, affirming Trump’s victory and her own election defeat.
Vice President-elect JD Vance had a front row seat as Harris announced that Trump had received 312 Electoral College votes.
“Kamala D. Harris of the state of California has received 226 votes,” Harris said, as Democrats stood to cheer. 📺 Watch the clip here Harris later told reporters that certification without fanfare “should be the norm” going forward.
Former Vice President Mike Pence called Harris’s actions “admirable,” as he praised “the return of order and civility” to the certification process. No Democrats objected to the results or questioned the validity of the election. The entire process took just over half an hour. Trump will be inaugurated for a second term in two weeks, on Jan. 20. |
TRUMP PREPS PARDONS FOR JAN. 6 RIOTERS |
Trump has promised to pardon nearly all of the more than 1,500 individuals charged with crimes for participating in the Jan. 6 riots.
The president-elect has downplayed the attack, and Republicans have accused Biden’s Justice Department (DOJ) of overreach in its pursuit and punishment of the convicted and accused. Federal prosecutors are still considering charges against an additional 200 people for their roles in the Capitol attack.
Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday hailed the DOJ’s efforts as one of the “largest, most complex, and most resource-intensive investigations” in U.S. history. Biden and Harris marked the four-year anniversary before the certification.
“We should commit to remembering Jan. 6, 2021, every year,” Biden wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post. “To remember it as a day when our democracy was put to the test and prevailed. To remember that democracy — even in America — is never guaranteed.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) blasted Trump for the promised pardons in remarks that vividly captured what many on Capitol Hill endured on that day. “It is shamefully, utterly outrageous that the president is considering pardons for these rioters who broke the law, attacked our police officers on Jan. 6,” Schumer said. “Pardoning the criminals who assaulted police officers and tried to halt the Democratic process would be a dangerous endorsement of political violence.”
Congressional Republicans have vowed to investigate the House select committee that probed the riots, accusing former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) of improperly disposing of material evidence and of creating false narratives about what happened on that day. House Democrats responded Monday, accusing Republicans of defaming Cheney and other witnesses. Biden, who awarded Cheney and Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) the Presidential Citizens Medal for their work on the Jan. 6 committee, has considered preemptive pardons for some of Trump’s critics. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who is among those considered for a preemptive pardon, told CNN on Monday he doesn’t want one and believes it would set a bad “precedent.” |
TRUMP LAWYERS SEEK TO HALT JAN. 10 SENTENCING |
💡Perspectives:
• The Hill: I was there on Jan. 6. We cannot allow Trump to rewrite history.
• MSNBC: The fourth anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection is a strange one.
• The Wall Street Journal: Trump’s pardon promise for Jan. 6 rioters goes too far. |
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Welcome to Evening Report! I’m Jonathan Easley, catching you up from the afternoon and what’s coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here. |
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© AP Photo/George Walker IV |
Biden visits New Orleans as nation reels from terror attack
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President Biden landed in New Orleans this afternoon, where he’ll honor the victims of the New Year’s Day terror attack and meet with local officials, including Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R).
Landry on Monday requested a presidential disaster declaration and called on the Senate to quickly confirm Kristi Noem as Trump’s Homeland Security secretary.
“This is no time to play around,” Landry said in a statement.
Current Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said over the weekend that he’s spoken “substantively” with Noem “a number of times.”
The Senate Intelligence Committee will be briefed on the New Orleans attack this week, according to Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), as officials seek answers about the ISIS-inspired attack that left 14 dead and dozens more wounded. |
Steel companies sue Biden over blocked merger
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U.S. Steel and Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel sued the U.S. government on Monday in an effort to move forward with their merger, which President Biden blocked last week.
The lawsuit accuses Biden of interfering in a private sector merger to appease the United Steelworkers Union (USW), who endorsed his presidential campaign before he dropped out.
The companies also sued the USW, alleging they illegally colluded with steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs, which had previously tried to purchase U.S. Steel.
“We did everything right, the government failed us,” U.S. Steel President David Burritt told Box Business on Monday. “They failed because they didn’t follow the process, and we are going to right that wrong. They failed our workers. They failed our communities. They failed our country. They failed our best ally in Asia, and they have embolden China by not following the rule of law.”
Biden cited national security concerns when he blocked the Japanese steel firm from merging with Pennsylvania-based U.S. Steel. President-elect Trump has also said he’d block the merger.
Burritt, the U.S. Steel chief, has warned the company will be forced to close plants and move their headquarters out of Pennsylvania if the deal does not go through.
MORE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE…
• Biden will deliver two major speeches before he leaves office in two weeks, according to NBC News. In addition to a farewell address, Biden will deliver a speech on foreign policy after returning from a trip to Italy next week.
• The president on Monday blocked new offshore drilling for oil and gas in several parts of the country. Trump responded, promising to undo Biden’s actions immediately upon entering office.
• Biden signed into law a measure that will boost Social Security payments for some current and former public employees. The law will impact about 3 million people. |
Former President Jimmy Carter‘s casket will lie in state at the Capitol rotunda beginning Tuesday. Lawmakers will pay their respects at a 3 p.m. service before the public viewing begins at 7 p.m. |
© Scott J. Applewhite and Alex Brandon, Associated Press |
Trump plots second term agenda with ‘one big, beautiful bill’
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President-elect Trump is pressuring Congressional leadership to pass his agenda on energy, taxes, spending cuts and immigration in one comprehensive reconciliation bill that could potentially pass with only GOP support — if Republicans can stick together. “My preference is one big — as I say, one big beautiful bill,” Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on his radio show. “It’s cleaner. It’s nicer,” he added. Trump’s push to wrap his big-ticket agenda items into one bill was conceived in partnership with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who faces a tough task in keeping his caucus in line due to the GOP’s bare majority in the House and the propensity for hardline conservatives to challenge his leadership. Johnson said over the weekend he hopes to pass the all-encompassing reconciliation bill by Memorial Day. Will new Senate GOP Leader John Thune (S.D.) play ball?
Here’s what needs to happen to bypass a Democratic filibuster in the Senate, via The Hill’s Brett Samuels: “Passing legislation via the reconciliation process would require a simple majority in both chambers of Congress, meaning Republicans would not require any Democratic support, but everything included must affect spending or revenue levels.”
Thune had previously outlined his intention to first pass a reconciliation package focused on border security before moving on to tax policy in a second bill later this year. Trump on Monday said he’d be open to that two-bill approach, although he favors “one powerful bill.” “I will do whatever needs to be done to get it passed,” Trump told Hewitt. “And you know, we have a lot of respect for Sen. Thune…I’m open to either way, as long as we get something passed as quickly as possible.” Thune spoke over the weekend about his “evolving” relationship with Trump, saying they share the “same set of objectives” but will at times differ on “how we get there.” On Monday, Thune said the Senate would focus immediately on getting Trump’s Cabinet nominees confirmed. “The voters sent President Trump here with a mission and we’re committed to ensuring that he has the people around him he needs to deliver,” he said. |
💡Perspectives:
• New York: Johnson’s problems with the right have been deferred, not solved.
• The Hill: For Democrats, strategic and bipartisan cooperation is necessary. |
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