Senators issue bipartisan call to restore donors' tax breaks
Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers called Thursday for restoring the charitable deduction for donors who donโt itemize their taxes, a priority for nonprofits nationwide, but a key senator was noncommittal on the question of whether to support legislation designed to boost payout from foundations and donor-advised funds.
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Lawmakers frustrated over delay in Census redistricting data
FILE - This March 19, 2020, file photo, shows a 2020 census letter mailed to a U.S. resident. At a hearing of the Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee, Republican lawmakers told acting Census Bureau director Ron Jarmin that the delay was upending their states' redistricting plans. The state of Alabama also has sued the Census Bureau in an effort to force it to release the redistricting data early. โThat meant some of the work we would have started for the redistricting data was set aside for later. The acting Census Bureau director also said the cost of executing the 2020 census would be under its $15.6 billion budget.
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Senators make another run at making daylight saving time permanent
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. โ Floridaโs two U.S. senators joined others across the country in another attempt to make daylight saving time permanent across the country, reintroducing the Sunshine Protection Act. AdIf the bill passes it would apply to the states who currently participate in daylight saving time, which most states observe for eight months out of the year. โStudies have shown many benefits of a year-round Daylight Saving Time, which is why the Florida legislature voted to make it permanent in 2018. Rubio and Scott introduced legislation last year citing the coronavirus pandemic as one reason why daylight saving time would be beneficial. In March 2019, Rubio re-introduced the Sunshine Protection Act, legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent across the country.
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By slimmest of margins, Senate takes up $1.9T relief bill
Itโs widely expected the Senate will approve the bill and the House will whisk it to Biden for his signature by mid-March, handing him a crucial early legislative victory. โWe are not going to be timid in the face of a great challenge," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Biden and Senate leaders had agreed Wednesday to retain the $400 weekly jobless payments included in the version of the relief bill the House approved Saturday. In another bargain that satisfied moderates, Biden and Senate Democrats agreed Wednesday to tighten eligibility for the direct checks to individuals. AdAs soon as the Senate began considering the bill, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., forced the chamber's clerks to begin reading the entire 628-page measure aloud.
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Convict Trump or face dire democracy damage, prosecutors say
Trump is accused of inciting the invasion, which prosecutors said was a predictable culmination of the many public and explicit instructions he gave supporters long before his White House rally that unleashed the Jan. 6 attack. Even out of office, Democrats warned, Trump could whip up a mob of followers for similar damage. Even out of the White House, the former president holds influence over large swaths of voters. The first president to face an impeachment trial after leaving office, Trump is also the first to be twice impeached. His lawyers say he cannot be convicted because he is already gone from the White House.
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'Distressing and emotional': Senators relive horror of riot
Reporters vie for a response from Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, as Senators take a dinner break while arguments continue in former President Donald Trump's impeachment trial, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON โ For 90 tense minutes, members of the Senate relived the horror. The rioters were โ58 stepsโ from senators at one point, impeachment manager Eric Swalwell told them. Senators were silent afterward, some sitting quietly and alone, as if to process it all. He walked out of the room in the middle of the presentation, as impeachment manager Stacey Plaskett detailed the threats to Penceโs life.
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White House budget chief nominee apologizes for past tweets
Neera Tanden also admitted to spending โmany monthsโ removing past Twitter posts, saying, โI deleted tweets because I regretted them." He said that included Tanden calling Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton "a fraudโ and tweeting that โvampires have more heartโ than Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford said Tanden had tweeted more over the past four years than even Trump did. Still, Senate discussion of Tanden's nomination is likely to center more on her past tweets than her budget priorities. Cotton has said they were โfilled with hate.โ Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn suggested previously that she'd face โcertainly a problematic pathโ to nomination.
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Where Biden stood, reminders of a failed insurrection
President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill, walk out for the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. On the very spot where President Joe Biden delivered his inaugural address, an insurrectionist mob had tried โ and failed โ to overturn his election just two weeks before. Young poet laureate Amanda Gorman was beaming โ under her mask โ after receiving plaudits from Vice President Kamala Harris, Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton. The teleprompter ensured a quick pace and gave Biden helpful hints such as a reminder to โbuild" to the finish. Biden had just a handful of small verbal stumbles and couldnโt resist adding an unscripted โfolksโ โ a personal trademark โ toward the end.
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Somber Senate unites to reject election challenges
Tennessee's GOP senators abandoned the effort, as did Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., who lost her runoff election Tuesday, helping to deliver control of the Senate to Democrats. Wisconsin's GOP Sen. Ron Johnson dropped out, as did James Lankford, R-Okla., a promising younger Republican who raised eyebrows when initially supporting the effort. We will not bow to lawlessness or intimidation," said Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. โWe are back at our posts. As senators debated, Trump took it on the chin from longtime critics like Mitt Romney, R-Utah. Enough is enough.โRomney, the party's 2012 nominee, reminded his colleagues that he knows how unpleasant it is to lose a presidential election, drawing hearty laughter.
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Pro-Trump mob storms US Capitol in bid to overturn election
Some Republican lawmakers were in the midst of raising objections to the results on his behalf when the proceedings were abruptly halted by the mob. Together, the protests and the GOP election objections amounted to an almost unthinkable challenge to American democracy and exposed the depths of the divisions that have coursed through the country during Trumpโs four years in office. Before dawn Thursday, lawmakers completed their work, confirming Biden won the presidential election. In the aftermath, several Republicans announced they would drop their objections to the election, including Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., who lost her bid for reelection Tuesday. Some House lawmakers tweeted they were sheltering in place in their offices.

Dividing party, Republicans poised to challenge Biden win
It is unclear just what the Republican senators will do, but the process could drag into the night as the two chambers will have to consider each objection individually. In 2017, several House Democrats challenged Trumpโs win, but Biden, who presided at the time as the vice president, swiftly dismissed them to assert Trumpโs victory. And more than a dozen Republican senators have said they will not support the effort. Facing the criticism from many in his own party, Cruz has attempted to put a finer point on his challenge. The commission remains his focus, he has said, not to undo the election results, even though that would be the practical effect of a successful objection.
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Republicans condemn โschemeโ to undo election for Trump
Though he got nothing but cheers Monday night, Trump's attempt to overturn the presidential election i s splitting the Republican Party. Trump repeated numerous times his claims of election fraud, which have been rejected by election officials โ Republican as well as Democratic in state after state โ and courts up to the U.S. Supreme Court. Two current Republican senators, Rob Portman of Ohio and Mike Lee of Utah, joined the growing number who now oppose the legislators' challenge. Larry Hogan of Maryland; Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the third-ranking House GOP leader; and former House Speaker Paul Ryan โ have criticized the GOP efforts to overturn the election. Cruz's coalition of 11 Republican senators vows to reject the Electoral College tallies unless Congress launches a commission to immediately conduct an audit of the election results.
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Republicans condemn 'scheme' to undo election for Trump
Of the more than 50 lawsuits the president and his allies have filed challenging election results, nearly all have been dismissed or dropped. Other prominent former officials also criticized the ongoing attack on election results. Cruz's coalition of 11 Republican senators vows to reject the Electoral College tallies unless Congress launches a commission to immediately conduct an audit of the election results. The convening of the joint session to count the Electoral College votes has faced objections before. States choose their own election officials and draft their election laws.
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A few cracks but no big GOP break with Trump on Biden's win
The GOP governor acknowledged Thursday that Biden's lead is getting "bigger and bigger by the dayโ and Trumpโs legal options are dissipating. Many Trump allies in Washington see no path to a Trump victory but remain wary of crossing the outgoing Republican president โ or his supporters โ especially with control of the Senate still uncertain. GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy suggested Thursday that Biden doesnโt need intelligence briefings because Trump might remain president in the new year. Spencer Cox wrote on Twitter, citing the significant number of Democrats who doubted the legitimacy of Trump's 2016 election victory. โJoe Biden is the president-elect.โGeorge W. Bush, the only living former Republican president, acknowledged Biden's victory on Sunday.
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A few cracks but no big GOP break with Trump on Biden's win
The GOP governor acknowledged that Biden's lead is getting "bigger and bigger by the dayโ and Trumpโs legal options are dissipating. That's a departure from the overwhelming majority of Republican officials who still refuse to publicly accept Biden's victory. Biden's victory is not actually an open question. Spencer Cox wrote on Twitter, citing the significant number of Democrats who doubted the legitimacy of Trump's 2016 election victory. โJoe Biden is the president-elect.โGeorge W. Bush, the only living former Republican president, acknowledged Biden's victory on Sunday.
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Biden moves forward without help from Trump's intel team
As he contests this year's election results, Trump has not authorized President-elect Joe Biden to lay eyes on the brief. National security and intelligence experts hope Trump changes his mind, citing the need for an incoming president to be fully prepared to confront any national security issues on Day One. That's the type of information that might be in the PDB, a daily summary of high-level, classified information and analysis on national security issues that's been offered to presidents since 1946. It is coordinated and delivered by the Office of the National Intelligence Director with input from the CIA and other agencies. Biden is missing out on all counts: More than a week into his transition, Biden doesn't have access to the PDB, the agencies or government resources to help him get ready to take charge.
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Lafayette Square could decide Trump's legacy and election
And now Lafayette Square. Trump had briefly been forced to take shelter in the emergency White House bunker and flames had risen from St. Johns Church across from the executive mansion. Lafayette Square was ordered to be cleared. The White House quickly produced a slick ad celebrating the triumph. Some observers believe Trump may be able to cast aside Lafayette Square too.
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Trump moved Tulsa rally date after learning about Juneteenth
Trump had scheduled the rally for June 19, known as Juneteenth because it marks the end of slavery in the United States. He didn't see it as disrespectful to be able to do it on Juneteenth, Lankford said. Other people interpreted it differently and so he moved the rally date.Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said he was thankful that Trump rescheduled the rally. But Trump's campaign was aware, according to two campaign officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose internal discussions. Although selecting June 19 was not meant to be incendiary, some pushback was expected, the Trump campaign officials said.
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Quickly, carefully, GOP senators consider policing changes
Sen. Rand Paul wants to stop sending surplus U.S. military equipment to local law enforcement. And GOP Sen. Mitt Romney is trying to assemble a bipartisan package of bills in response to police violence. I think we should all be optimistic right now," Scott, the only black GOP senator, told reporters at the Capitol. Lawmakers are watching as demonstrations erupt in all corners of the country, from the biggest cities to the smallest towns, and acknowledging the arrival of a mass movement for law enforcement changes as politically impossible to ignore. Obviously this is a national awakening, GOP Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia said Tuesday on CNBC.
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Trump photo op, talk of military force amp up GOP challenge
But when Trump was caught bragging of sexual assault and seeking political help from Ukraine, the country was relatively comfortable. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, told reporters Tuesday when asked whether Trump's use of force against peaceful protesters was the right thing to do. Even now, as they squirm about the president's suggestion of using the military to enforce the law, most Republicans aren't breaking with Trump. Defense Secretary Mike Esper, who allowed himself to be squarely at the center of Trump's photo op at St. Johns, scrambled. As of right now, Secretary Esper is still Secretary Esper, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said during her midday briefing.
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Trump photo op, talk of military force amp up GOP challenge
But when Trump was caught bragging of sexual assault and seeking political help from Ukraine, the country was relatively comfortable. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, told reporters Tuesday when asked whether Trump's use of force against peaceful protesters was the right thing to do. Even now, as they squirm about the president's suggestion of using the military to enforce the law, most Republicans aren't breaking with Trump. Defense Secretary Mike Esper, who allowed himself to be squarely at the center of Trump's photo op at St. Johns, scrambled. As of right now, Secretary Esper is still Secretary Esper, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said during her midday briefing.