Mitch McConnell acknowledged the violent mob that attacked the Capitol earlier this month was “provoked by the president.” The Senate Republican leader said in a floor speech this afternoon, “The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people.”
Two National Guard troops were removed from inauguration duty due to ties to far-right militia groups, according to the AP. The FBI has been vetting the thousands of National Guard troops sent to provide security for Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Today is Donald Trump’s final full day in office, and the president is expected to release a flurry of pardons before leaving the White House tomorrow.
Chuck Schumer, the incoming Senate majority leader, outlined the chamber’s early agenda in his floor speech moments ago.
The Democratic leader said the chamber would have to tackle three tasks simultaneously: Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, confirmation of Joe Biden’s nominees and the passage of another coronavirus relief package.
Senate Minority Leader Schumer says the US Senate will prioritize 3 items "over the next several weeks":
Biden has discussed the possibility of the Senate splitting up its workday, with the mornings focused on the impeachment trial and the afternoons focused on confirming his nominees.
Once the Senate receives the article of impeachment from the House, the chamber is required to start a trial to determine whether Trump should be convicted.
Schumer says Trump 'should not be eligible to run for office ever again'
Chuck Schumer, the incoming Senate majority leader, condemned Donald Trump and outlined the chamber’s early agenda in a floor speech this afternoon.
The Democratic leader lamented how the Capitol is being guarded by troops today, one day before Joe Biden’s nomination, because of the violent attack on the building by a pro-Trump mob earlier this month.
“As we speak, there are more troops in and around the Capitol than there are in Afghanistan,” Schumer said.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on inauguration safety: “There are more troops around the Capitol than there are in Afghanistan.” pic.twitter.com/cSCjTSmhqw
Looking ahead to Trump’s impeachment trial, Schumer made an impassioned case for the president’s conviction. Schumer argued Trump would continue to “poison the public arena” if he was able to launch another presidential campaign.
“Donald Trump should not be eligible to run for office ever again,” Schumer said. “All of us want to put this awful chapter in our nation’s history behind us. Healing and unity will only come if there is truth and accountability.”
Schumer went on to say, “Let me be clear. There will be an impeachment trial in the US Senate.” He added, “If the president is convicted, there will be a vote on barring him from running again.”
It would take 17 Republicans, along with every Democrat in the Senate, to convict Trump.
McConnell: Capitol mob was 'provoked by the president'
Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, acknowledged the violent mob that attacked the Capitol earlier this month was “provoked” by Donald Trump.
Speaking on the Senate floor, McConnell said, “The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people.”
McConnell applauded the Senate for reconvening to certify Joe Biden’s victory after the attack, even though several Republican senators supported objections to the electoral votes from Arizona and Georgia, which Biden won.
One of those Republican objectors was Ted Cruz, who was presiding over the Senate as McConnell delivered his floor speech.
'The mob was fed lies': McConnell blames Trump for Capitol attack – video
“We stood together and said an angry mob would not get veto power over the rule of law in our nation, not even for one night,” McConnell said.
McConnell has signaled he is open to voting to convict Trump when the Senate takes up the article of impeachment passed by the House last week.
It would take 17 Republican senators, along with every Senate Democrat, to convict Trump and block him from seeking federal office again.
It is noon in Washington, which means there are exactly 24 hours left in Donald Trump’s presidency.
Joe Biden will take the oath of office at noon tomorrow, marking the official start of his four-year term as president.
Trump is expected to have already left Washington by the time that Biden is sworn in, breaking with the tradition of outgoing presidents attending the inaugurations of their successors.
The Guardian’s Sam Levine reports on the first bill Senate Democrats are introducing after flipping the chamber:
The first bill Senate Democrats will push with their new majority will include sweeping changes to America’s voting and campaign finance laws, Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, announced Tuesday.
From a violent insurrection to countless attempts to suppress votes:
Attacks on democracy have come in many forms.
The first bill the @SenateDems majority will introduce will be the #ForThePeople Act to renew democracy, end big money in politics, and tackle corruption. #S1
The legislation echoes a bill House Democrats passed in 2019 that would, among other measures, require states to automatically register voters who interact with certain state agencies, offer same day voter registration, online voter registration, and early voting.
It would also place stricter limits on how states can go about removing voters from the rolls, require states to set up independent redistricting commissions to draw congressional lines, and prohibit states from disenfranchising anyone who is on parole or probation.
The bill would amount to one of the most significant overhauls of America’s voting laws in the nation’s history. It comes weeks after Republicans attempted to throw out the results of an election in which a record number of people voted.
It would also set voting rules for federal elections, which Congress has the power to regulate. And like all legislation in the Senate, it needs the approval of 60 senators to survive a filibuster. There is a growing chorus of Democrats who say the party should eliminate the filibuster to allow Democrats to pass legislation with a simple majority threshold.
On the campaign finance side, the bill would require the disclosure of donors who contribute more than $10,000 to super PACs and 501c(4) groups and require more transparency in political advertisement purchases, among other measures.
Avril Haines also told the Senate intelligence committee that she would work to complete a public threat assessment of the conspiracy movement QAnon if she is confirmed as the director of national intelligence.
Director of National Intelligence nominee Avril Haines says, if confirmed, she will work with FBI and DHS to provide a public threat assessment on QAnon. pic.twitter.com/7FvL3HpJSC
Martin Heinrich, a Democratic senator from New Mexico, noted he requested such an assessment from the intelligence community last month but has not yet received a response.
Asked if she would commit to working with the FBI and the department of homeland security to provide that assessment, Haines said she “absolutely” would.
Social media companies have worked to remove accounts spreading QAnon content since the violent attack on the Capitol earlier this month.
Avril Haines pledged to keep politics out of her leadership of the intelligence community, if she is confirmed as the next director of national intelligence.
"The DNI must never shy away from speaking truth to power — even, especially, when doing so may be inconvenient or difficult...the DNI must insist that, when it comes to intelligence, there is simply no place for politics — ever" @ODNIgov nominee #Haines testifies pic.twitter.com/sitHDGhbua
“To be effective, the DNI must never shy away from speaking truth to power — even, especially, when doing so may be inconvenient or difficult,” Haines said at her confirmation hearing before the Senate intelligence committee.
“To safeguard the integrity of our intelligence community, the DNI must insist that, when it comes to intelligence, there is simply no place for politics ever.”
If she is confirmed, Haines will be the first woman to lead the intelligence community. At her confirmation hearing, Haines was introduced by Dan Coats, who served as the first director of national intelligence under Donald Trump.
Coats said of Haines, “There’s no doubt in my mind President-Elect Biden has chosen someone who has all the capabilities, qualities, experience, and leadership to be the next director of national intelligence.”
Two troops removed from inauguration duty over far-right militia ties - report
Two National Guard members have reportedly been removed from duty protecting Joe Biden’s inauguration because of their connections to far-right militia groups.
Two U.S. Army National Guard members are being removed from the security mission to secure Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration. A U.S. Army official and a senior U.S. intelligence official say the two National Guard members have been found to have ties to fringe right group militias.
No plot against Biden was found.
The Army official and the intelligence official spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity due to Defense Department media regulations. They did not say what fringe group the Guard members belonged to or what unit they served in.
The FBI has been vetting the thousands of National Guard troops sent to cover the inauguration due to security concerns after the violent riot at the Capitol earlier this month.
The mayor of New York said the city is on track to run out of coronavirus vaccine doses by Friday.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city will start running out of vaccine doses on Thursday and will “have literally nothing left to give as of Friday”.
Mayor Bill de Blasio says NYC will run out of vaccine doses by Thursday and will have to cancel many appointments after that point. pic.twitter.com/QItlrO5WeC
“It means if we don’t get more vaccine quickly, a new supply of vaccine, we will have to cancel appointments and no longer give shots after Thursday for the remainder of the week at a lot of our sites,” de Blasio said.
The mayor noted the city distributed more than 220,000 doses last week, meaning a New Yorker was vaccinated every three seconds.
State and local leaders have been warning recently that vaccine supply is not meeting expectations. Joe Biden has promised that 100 million Americans will be vaccinated over his first 100 days in office.