TIM SCOTT

U.S. Rep. Tom Rice says that he hopes his vote this year to impeach President Donald Trump won’t be enough to overshadow his other accomplishments as he seeks a sixth term.

A group intent on expanding Republican power across state-level offices is rolling out a national effort to diversify and broaden the GOP, with an advisory council headed up by a number of possible future presidential hopefuls.

The following is a transcript of an interview with Senator Cory Booker that aired Sunday, October 3, 2021, on "Face the Nation."

On this "Face the Nation" broadcast, Dr. Rochelle Walensky and Senator Tim Scott join Margaret Brennan.

CBS News has obtained a document from Senator Cory Booker's office outlining Democrats' minimum requirements for police reform legislation.

The following is a transcript of an interview with Senator Tim Scott that aired on Sunday, September 26, 2021, on "Face the Nation."

After months of negotiations, bipartisan talks on sweeping police reform legislation ended this week in Congress with no bill.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, South Carolina Republican Senator Tim Scott, and more appear on Sunday's "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan"

The failed congressional effort followed high-profile police killings last year of Black people including George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

Senate negotiators say bipartisan congressional talks on overhauling policing practices have ended without agreement.

A leading Democratic senator says bipartisan congressional talks on overhauling policing practices have ended without agreement.

Democrats and Republicans have failed to come to a police reform agreement after the loudest outcry in years over killings of Black Americans.

"Lindsey's been a personal disappointment because I was a personal friend of his," Biden said of Graham at the time.

Prospects seem increasingly dicey for a bipartisan Senate deal on overhauling policing practices.

Major Republican donors are sending 'big money' to Sen. Tim Scott ahead of midterms and 2024 race

Trump raised nearly $50 million more than next highest Republican in first half of 2021, campaign filings show

Average hourly wages grew 3.6% in June relative to last year, the most in over a decade. But has inflation mitigated that increase?

Democrats largely mocked the idea with one senator calling it "goofy." Graham's gambit could also backfire on the GOP.

We live in ignorant times.

Talks are continuing nearly two weeks after Senate and House negotiators announced a "framework" on policing reform.

Mike Pompeo will headline the South Carolina Republican Party’s annual fundraiser this month, once again elevating suspicions the former U.S. secretary of state and CIA director is carving out a path to run for president in 2024.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is set to keynote the signature fundraiser for the Republican Party in South Carolina.

In launching his 2022 reelection bid, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott described the four years of the Trump presidency as “the good old days.”

Despite the agreement, the lawmakers said "there is still more work to be done on the final bill."

Congressional bargainers say they’ve agreed to a bipartisan framework for overhauling policing procedures.

Mike Pompeo has been making the biggest push into New York donor circles since the 2020 presidential election, according to people familiar with the efforts.

The former House Speaker will travel to South Carolina on Friday with U.S. Tim Scott, a popular GOP figure.

GOP Senator Lindsey Graham raised concerns about a draft proposal circulated this week.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says congressional Democrats’ efforts to make it easier to sue police officers are causing law enforcement agencies to have problems recruiting and retaining personnel.

As the G.O.P. seeks to deny Americans knowledge of their own history, Nikole Hannah-Jones is denied tenure.

Republicans say they want congressional bargainers to reach a bipartisan deal on revamping policing procedures by summer or abandon the effort.

Congressional bargainers should reach a bipartisan deal on revamping policing procedures by early summer or abandon the effort, Republicans said Wednesday, a day after George Floyd’s family used visits to the White House and the Capitol to prod lawmakers to act. “I think it's June or bust," lead GOP bargainer Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina told reporters, the day after the anniversary of Floyd's slaying at the hands of Minneapolis police. “I think if it's going to happen, it'll happen before the July break," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, Scott's fellow South Carolina Republican and another negotiator.

The United States has faced a racial reckoning in the 365 days since former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, by kneeling on his neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds. Millions of Americans have marched in dozens of cities protesting police brutality. Black voters showed up to the November polls in droves—especially in pivotal electoral states like Georgia, Michigan, and Pennsylvania—helping Joe Biden win the White House.

Congress missed Biden's deadline to pass a law enforcement overhaul by the anniversary of George Floyd's death on Tuesday.

President Joe Biden met with the family of George Floyd at the White House Tuesday on the one-year anniversary of Floyd's death.

They mourned together and laughed together in the Oval Office — and spoke of what President Joe Biden called “the hard reality that racism has long torn us apart.” The first anniversary of George Floyd’s death was supposed to be a milestone moment in Washington, a time to mark the passage of a policing law to make criminal justice more just. Instead, Floyd’s family met with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House on Tuesday to commemorate their loss and continue to push for legislation.

Haley and Scott will be asked about what the Republican Party should stand for and what issues all members can agree on.

Democrats and Republicans aren't budging when it comes to qualified immunity.

Success on police reform could to vault Sen. Tim Scott to the forefront of a party trying to appeal to voters of color.

The president will meet with the family of George Floyd on Tuesday, the first anniversary of his death.

As the anniversary of George Floyd’s murder approaches, some people say the best way to honor him is for Congress to pass a bill in his name that overhauls policing.

Ten progressive House Democrats said police reform negotiators should not weaken or remove a provision that seeks to end qualified immunity.

House progressives say a provision ending qualified immunity must be included in any final police reform legislation.

Lawmakers are continuing to negotiate a potential deal on police reform legislation.

Our View: U.S. is best served by two vibrant and competing parties willing to engage in serious negotiation on issues Americans say they care about.

Opposing View: The Biden administration has ignored bipartisan efforts. We can come together for the sake of America and true infrastructure needs.

Our View: U.S. is best served by two vibrant and competing parties willing to engage in serious negotiation on issues Americans say they care about.

The civil rights attorney said victims' families had a "very emotional" meeting with lawmakers last week.

This month, actor and comedienne Amanda Seales has come forward to share her disappointment about Vice President Kamala Harris agreeing with Tim Scott that America isn’t a racist country. America is not a racist country.

The Texas Democratic leader who called Senator Tim Scott an “oreo” has resigned in response to mounting pressure from state officials on both sides of the aisle. “I am deeply and sincerely sorry for my inappropriate and hurtful use of racist term I used to describe Sen. Tim Scott on my personal Facebook page. It was insensitive, and I have embarrassed myself and my party by its use,” Lamar County Democratic Party Chairman Gary O’Connor told the Washington Examiner Tuesday. “As a result, I feel compelled to offer my resignation as chair of the Lamar County Democratic Party for consideration by the County Executive Committee,” O’Connor said. After Scott delivered the Republican rebuttal to President Joe Biden’s joint address to Congress, O’Connor labeled the senator an “Oreo”, referring to a black individual who is perceived as displaying characteristics of a white person. “I had hoped that Scott might show some common sense, but it seems clear he is little more than an oreo with no real principles,” the Texas Democrat commented. Texas Governor Greg Abbott and other political officials slammed O’Connor’s words on social media. “This is disgusting, hateful, and completely unacceptable. O’Connor must apologize to @SenatorTimScott & step down immediately,” Abbott wrote on Twitter on Saturday. “@texasdemocrats censure him.” This is disgusting, hateful, and completely unacceptable. O’Connor must apologize to @SenatorTimScott & step down immediately. @texasdemocrats censure him.https://t.co/wJLTqaHlLb — Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) May 1, 2021 O’Connor’s derogatory comments come after the racial slur, “Uncle Tim,” trended on Twitter after Scott’s speech last week. Twitter blocked the phrase from appearing in the platform’s trending section to prevent it from going viral, but existing tweets containing the language were not removed. In his response address, Scott said, “Hear me clearly: America is not a racist country,” and he spoke in defense of Georgia’s election integrity law, which has been panned by liberals as disenfranchising black voters.” The South Carolina senator remarked that he had “experienced the pain of discrimination”. He added, “I’ve also experienced a different kind of intolerance.” “I get called Uncle Tom and the n-word by progressives and liberals,” Scott remarked.

Qualified immunity protects police officers from lawsuits while on duty.

Qualified immunity protects police officers from lawsuits while on duty.

Family members of other Black men who died at the hands of police spoke at the service in a show of support.

Family members of other Black men who died at the hands of police spoke at the service in a show of support.

Opinion: If racism is not responsible for the continued degradation and positionality of Black and Brown Americans, then what is? If a Black Republican and Black Democrat walked into a bar, one wouldn’t usually expect them to agree on anything let alone that racism, in the United States especially, is a thing of the past. In his rebuttal to President Joe Biden’s address to a joint session of Congress, Scott, the Senate’s only Black Republican, sought to offer an alternative to the Biden agenda while defending the GOP, and the nation at large, against charges of systemic racism.

Hike on trails within walking distance of your Airbnb and enjoy all that Mount Tamalpais and Muir Woods have to offer. The nearby scenic walking trails and off-the-beaten-path location make this rental a must for anyone craving serenity and peace, plus it’s just a short distance from one of the San Francisco Bay Area’s most iconic landmarks: the Golden Gate Bridge. Tree-lined residential streets await guests at this San Francisco Airbnb, while lively boulevards lined with cafes and crave-worthy restaurants beg you to stay awhile.

Welcome back to “Forgotten Fact-Checks,” a weekly column produced by National Review’s News Desk. This week we have President Biden’s mistruths during his first address to a joint session of Congress, Democrats’ racist attacks on Senator Tim Scott, and USA Today’s stealth edits on Stacey Abrams’s behalf. As we noted in our first edition, the Washington Post and other outlets incessantly fact-checked Donald Trump’s presidency. Now, the Post says it will give up on cataloguing Biden’s lies after his first 100 days in office. Here's the Biden database — which we do not plan to extend beyond 100 days. I have learned my lesson. https://t.co/qK42PRlnrS — Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) April 27, 2021 As NR’s staff pointed out, Biden’s first congressional speech on Wednesday — which received the lowest TV viewership in 28 years — included more than a few falsehoods. The president called out Senate Republicans for stalling progress on gun control, saying lax gun laws have led to “daily bloodshed.” He argued that the expiration of the assault-weapons bans “in the early 2000s” caused an increase in violence. However, gun violence continued to decline even after the ban expired in 2004. Even while the ban was in effect, the country was not free of shootings, as NR’s Jim Geraghty noted, the Columbine High School massacre, the Long Island Rail Road shooting, and the Atlanta day-trading shooting all occurred while the ban was in effect. In his speech, the president also touted his infrastructure and families plans, which he said he plans to fund by taxing corporate America and the wealthiest 1 percent. He claimed that he “will not impose any tax increase on anyone making less than $400k.” But, as it turns out, “anyone” is a deceptive claim — as White House press secretary Jen Psaki has explained, the $400,000 threshold refers to households, not individuals. Biden also claimed that Medicare could save “hundreds of billions of dollars” by negotiating drug prices, though the Congressional Budget Office has said that “providing broad negotiating authority by itself would likely have a negligible effect on federal spending.” Biden just claimed that Medicare could save “hundreds of billions of dollars” by negotiating drug prices. CBO has concluded “providing broad negotiating authority by itself would likely have a negligible effect on federal spending.” https://t.co/4SBSAIMhAS — Philip Klein (@philipaklein) April 29, 2021 The president said, “We kept our commitment — Democrats and Republicans — of sending $1,400 rescue checks to 85 percent of American households.” However, the American Rescue Plan, which delivered the checks, was hardly a bipartisan effort, with Democrats using budget reconciliation to pass the measure without any Republican support. Biden also made some dubious claims about the economy, saying he had inherited the “worst economic crisis since the Great Depression” and created “more jobs in the first 100 days than any president on record.” Philip Klein noted that last spring the unemployment rate reached an abysmal 13.3 percent when the pandemic first hit, but by the time Biden took office in January 2021 it had been cut to 6.3 percent, a lower figure than was seen during the first five years of the Obama-Biden administration. The real GDP had also already been on the rise after a severe decrease in last year’s second quarter. On the second point, the Associated Press notes that hiring has accelerated “as vaccinations have picked up, states and cities ease business restrictions, and Americans have started to venture out more.” While the $1.9 trillion COVID response package approved in March certainly helped, the economy would be on the rise in any case given the low benchmark set by last year’s severe COVID contraction. * * * After Biden finished delivering his at-times misleading address, Senator Tim Scott (R., S.C.) gave the GOP rebuttal. Scott, the only African-American Republican in the Senate, said in his speech that “America is not a racist country,” causing progressives to lose their minds. (Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler continues to defend his much-maligned dive into Scott’s family history, based on a recent NPR appearance). On Saturday, MSNBC’s Tiffany Cross accused Scott of being “thirsty for white approval” and said that the senator is one of few black Americans who could be characterized as “sleepy, slow-witted sufferers of Stockholm Syndrome.” She said he sounded like a “stone fool” in saying the country is not racist and said if he had ever been a slave, he would have been among those who “Harriet Tubman left behind.” Meanwhile, a Democratic official in Texas is facing calls to resign after calling Scott an “oreo,” a slur that refers to a black person who is seen as “having adopted the attitudes, values and behavior thought to be characteristic of middle-class white society, often at the expense of his or her own heritage,” according to Dictionary.com. .@TiffanyDCross gives *her* rebuttal to Senator Tim Scott's comments on race in America. #CrossConnection pic.twitter.com/B8Sx3tSjYn — The Cross Connection with Tiffany Cross (@CrossConnection) May 1, 2021 Yet the Democratic double standard was on full display Thursday when Vice President Kamala Harris suffered virtually no blowback for agreeing with Scott that America is not a “racist country.” “Well, first of all, no, I don’t think America is a racist country, but we also do have to speak the truth about the history of racism in our country and its existence today,” said Harris, the United States’ first black and first Indian American vice president. The Headline Fail of the Week NBC News is back: “In bitterly divided election in Southlake, Texas, opponents of anti-racism education win big.” Ah, yes, the “bitterly divided election” which saw one side win “every race by about 70 percent to 30 percent.” Media Misses USA Today is under fire for allowing Democrat Stacey Abrams to substantially edit a voting-rights op-ed after its publication in order to downplay her support for boycotts. On April 6, she removed a line from the op-ed, which was originally published on March 31, saying “she can’t argue” with those who would boycott Georgia businesses, and instead wrote: “Rather than accept responsibility for their craven actions, Republican leaders blame me and others who have championed voting rights (and actually read the bill).” In the updated version, Abrams writes that “boycotts invariably cost jobs,” and that “instead of a boycott, I strongly urge other events and productions to do business in Georgia and speak out against our law and similar proposals in other states.” An editor’s note alerting readers to the changes wasn’t added for over two weeks, on April 22, reports NR’s Ryan Mills.

A Filipina woman was allegedly subjected to racism after asking a boutique employee in Forest Hills, Queens, about their pricing and return policy. Bea Cruz, 25, a full-time nurse, visited Maiko around 10:30 a.m. on Friday when a male employee suddenly started speaking in a racist manner and became aggressive towards her, according to CBS New York. According to Cruz, the employee snapped at her after she asked some questions about the store's policies, but he was already rude to her from the beginning.

The ouster in El Salvador of five top judges and the attorney general boosts the president's power.

"Significant numbers in my party have already said to me, 'We will go where you go on this issue,'" Scott said.

The following is a transcript of an interview with Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina that aired Sunday, May 2, 2021, on "Face the Nation."

President Joe Biden laid out a long list of policy priorities in his speech to Congress, and some are more politically plausible than others.

The family and representatives of Black men killed by the police have met at the White House with senators and Biden administration officials and say they left feeling optimistic.

President Joe Biden laid out a long list of policy priorities in his speech to Congress, and some are more politically plausible than others.

President Joe Biden has taken his pitch to Georgia for $4 trillion in spending to rebuild America’s aged infrastructure and vastly expand the government social safety net.

President Joe Biden has used his first address before a joint session of Congress to make the case that his administration has made progress during the first 100 days he’s been in office, confronting the public health and economic maelstrom caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Republican Sen_ Tim Scott is accusing Democrats of tearing the country apart and suggesting they’re wielding race as “a political weapon.”.

South Carolina Sen_ Tim Scott has used the Republican response to President Joe Biden’s address to Congress to vow that “America is not a racist country.”.

Tim Scott of South Carolina is the only Black Republican senator.

Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina will deliver Republicans’ rebuttal to President Joe Biden’s joint address to Congress.

Lawmakers from both parties say once-stalled legislation on Capitol Hill that would change the nation's policing laws is now closer than ever to consensus.

Bolstered with new momentum, Congress is ready to try again to change the nation’s policing laws.

President Joe Biden says the conviction of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd “can be a giant step forward” for the nation in the fight against systemic racism.

Crowds nationwide are reacting with jubilation but also with deep awareness of the progress left to be made after a jury convicted former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin of murder in the killing of George Floyd.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday defended the central bank’s increasing scrutiny of the impact climate change could have on banks, in the wake of criticism by Republican members of Congress that by doing so the Fed is overstepping its mandate.

A Democratic state lawmaker is mounting a bid to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Tim Scott.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at the West Side Conservative Club, Friday, March 26, 2021, in Urbandale, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)DES MOINES, Iowa – Ambitious Republicans are starting to make moves in Iowa, long a proving ground for future presidents. Pompeo's two-day Iowa trip leads an exceptionally early round of Iowa travel planned by U.S. senators, emerging as national GOP figures. Ecklund, Crawford County Republicans' communication director, has encountered Republicans “ready to move on” and “tired of the extreme controversy” in a county Trump carried by more than 30 percentage points twice. ___This story has been corrected to show Ecklund is the Crawford County Republicans' communication director, not Crawford County Republicans' co-chair.

Nursing homes have to publicly disclose their vaccination rates for flu and pneumonia, but theres no similar mandate for COVID-19 shots. Nursing homes have been required since last May to regularly report cases and deaths among residents and staff to the government. Nursing homes are again allowing loved ones to visit, and hugs are included. The main nursing home industry trade group, the American Health Care Association, says it supports disclosure of vaccination data. Wyden and Crapo said current government policy that encourages nursing homes to voluntarily report vaccination data to the government has only led to “limited participation by the industry.”The government should require nursing homes to break down vaccination data by race and ethnicity, given disparities in vaccine acceptance.

FILE - In this Monday, June 25, 2018 file photo, President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at Airport High School in West Columbia, S.C. for Republican Gov. Former President Donald Trump on Friday, March 5, 2021 endorsed South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster's bid for a second full term in 2022, continuing their yearslong alliance in a move to strengthen ties with the early-voting state that Trump won twice. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)COLUMBIA, S.C. – Former President Donald Trump on Friday endorsed South Carolina Gov. That summer, McMaster was one of two speakers to formally nominate Trump at the Republican National Convention.

Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON – House Democrats passed the most ambitious effort in decades to overhaul policing nationwide, avoiding a potential clash with moderates in their own party who were wary of reigniting the “defund the police” debate they say hurt them during last fall's election. Approved 220-212 late Wednesday, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is named for the man whose killing by police in Minnesota last Memorial Day sparked demonstrations nationwide. “We want to feel safe when we encounter law enforcement. “Our law enforcement officers need more funding not less,” Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis. Another possible point of contention is provisions easing standards for prosecution of law enforcement officers accused of wrongdoing.

House Democrats are hustling to pass the most ambitious effort in decades to overhaul policing. The bill would ban chokeholds and “qualified immunity” for law enforcement and create national standards for policing in a bid to bolster accountability. “Our law enforcement officers need more funding not less,” Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., said during Wednesday's debate. AdPolice unions and other law enforcement groups have argued that, without such legal protections, fear of lawsuits will stop people from becoming police officers — even though the measure permits such suits only against law enforcement agencies, rather than all public employees. California Rep. Karen Bass, who authored the bill, understands the challenge some House members face in supporting it.

“I feel like we've significantly made our city better; now, it's time to pass the baton.”Benjamin was elected in 2010 as Columbia's first Black mayor. As for higher office, Benjamin — South Carolina’s 2002 Democratic attorney general nominee, beaten in that contest by now-Gov. AdAs was witnessed in Jaime Harrison's unsuccessful 2020 challenge of Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Democratic challenger winning a statewide office in South Carolina — where all such offices are in GOP hands — remains an uphill climb. When asked if that had factored into his decision-making, Benjamin said the outcome had no effect on his ultimate decision. Even out of elected office, Benjamin will likely continue to play an outsized role in the Democratic politics of South Carolina, particularly in the state's first-in-the-South presidential primary.

Biden is expected to address the National Prayer Breakfast, a Washington tradition that calls on political combatants to set aside their differences for one morning. The breakfast has sparked controversy in the past, particularly when President Donald Trump used last year's installment to slam his political opponents and question their faith. Ad“For so many in our nation, this is a dark, dark time,” Biden told those watching the event. During the 2020 breakfast, Trump singled out Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, who had voted to convict the president during his first impeachment trial. The event went entirely virtual this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, with Biden and all other speakers appearing via taped remarks.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., holds a news conference on the day after violent protesters loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Congress, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. “It has been an epiphany for the world to see that there are people in our country led by this president, for the moment, who have chosen their whiteness over democracy,” Pelosi said. Pelosi says, “The complicity, not only the complicity, the instigation of the president of United States, must and will be addressed.”___1:25 p.m. Flight attendants have expressed concern that their flights could be carrying supporters of President Donald Trump who took part in Wednesday’s violent protest and siege of the U.S. Capitol. ___2:25 a.m.Democrats in Congress are laying the groundwork to impeach President Donald Trump.

On Wednesday, hallowed spaces of American democracy, one after another, yielded to the occupation of Congress. There was a heavy police presence at the Capitol on Thursday morning, including officers from D.C., Maryland and Virginia and the D.C. National Guard. Trump told his morning crowd at the Ellipse that he would go with them to the Capitol, but he didn’t. Video footage also showed officers letting people calmly walk out the doors of the Capitol despite the rioting and vandalism. Shortly after being told to put on gas masks, most members were quickly escorted out of the chamber.

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., stops to look at damage in the early morning hours of Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021, after protesters stormed the Capitol in Washington, on Wednesday. ”Make no mistake: these mass riots were not First Amendment activities; they were criminal riotous behavior. Both law enforcement and Trump supporters deployed chemical irritants during the hourslong occupation of the complex before it was cleared Wednesday evening. D.C. police said Thursday that 68 people were arrested, while Capitol police said 14 were arrested, most for unlawful entry. Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., a former police chief, said it was “painfully obvious" that Capitol police “were not prepared” for what took place Wednesday.

(Samuel Corum/Pool via AP)WASHINGTON – Wednesday's congressional joint session to count electoral votes could drag late into the night as some Republicans plan to challenge Democrat Joe Biden's victory in at least six states. Under federal law, Congress must meet Jan. 6 to open sealed certificates from each state that contain a record of their electoral votes. The Constitution requires Congress to meet and count the electoral votes. The presiding officer opens and presents the certificates of the electoral votes in alphabetical order of the states. If they do not both agree, the original electoral votes are counted with no changes.

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 Trump’s 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.

NEW YORK – The Republican Party is facing a defining moment. But what comes next for the Republican Party is anything but clear. Trump’s hold over his adopted party has been all but absolute in his time in office. If he does, the Republican Party could continue to shape itself in his image. “I believe he will have as much hold over the party as he wants to,” said Alice Stewart, a Republican strategist who advised Cruz's 2016 campaign.

Under federal law, Congress must meet Jan. 6 to open sealed certificates from each state that contain a record of their electoral votes. The Constitution requires Congress to meet and count the electoral votes. The presiding officer opens and presents the certificates of the electoral votes in alphabetical order of the states. The appointed "tellers" from the House and Senate, members of both parties, then read each certificate out loud and record and count the votes. If they do not both agree, the original electoral votes are counted with no changes.

On Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020, President Donald Trump pardoned 15 people, including Collins. Papadopoulos was the first Trump aide to plead guilty as part of Mueller’s investigation – pleading guilty to lying to the FBI – and served a nearly two-week sentence in federal prison. The White House said Stockman had contracted coronavirus while in federal prison and has served more than two years of his 10-year sentence. Esformes’ prison sentence was commuted by the president on Tuesday, but other aspects of his sentence, including supervised release and millions in restitution, remained intact. The White House said the commutation was supported by a number of former attorneys general and said Esformes is in declining health.

Gavin Newsom speaks at a COVID-19 testing facility in Valencia, Calif. As California Gov. Gavin Newsom's shoulders as he considers his pick to serve out the rest of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris' Senate term through 2022. The South saw its highest number of Black Senate candidates ever this year, but none won races outright. Labor icon Dolores Huerta and California Latinas for Reproductive Justice want Newsom to appoint a Black woman. De Leon won the endorsement of the California Democratic Party and prominent labor unions, in part because of his support for immigrant rights and aggressive policies to curb climate change.

WASHINGTON – When a party loses the White House, a new crop of presidential hopefuls typically begin moving quickly to lay the groundwork for a run in the next campaign. President Donald Trump's increasingly overt flirtations with running again in 2024 are freezing the potentially vast field of Republican candidates. GOP White House hopefuls are essentially left to watch what Trump does next instead of courting fundraisers, building networks and visiting early-voting states — the usual campaign planning steps — for fear of angering Trump and risking turning off his large and loyal base. That followed comments during a White House Christmas party this past week when Trump said, "We’re trying to do another four years. His supporters argue that if Trump did run, Hogan would enjoy a near-open lane unlike the one crowded with Trump defenders.

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jaime Harrison speaks at a campaign rally on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020, in North Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)COLUMBIA, S.C. – In the battle for control of the U.S. Senate this year, the Deep South is fielding more Black candidates than it has since Reconstruction. Mike Espy and Adrian Perkins, meanwhile, are launching spirited bids for the Senate in Mississippi and Louisiana, respectively. The Senate currently has three Black members: Republican Tim Scott of South Carolina and Democrats Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kamala Harris of California. “The more competitive races are, and Black candidates win those competitive races, it diminishes this worry that Black candidates can’t win,” Abrams recently told The Associated Press. In Mississippi, Espy is trying for a second time to become the state’s first Black senator since Reconstruction with his challenge to Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith.

Less than 12 hours after the wild debate concluded, Biden called Trump's behavior in the prime-time confrontation a “a national embarrassment." Trump proclaimed his debate performance a smashing success during a Wednesday evening rally in Duluth, Minnesota. I’m going to be an American president," Biden said at the Cleveland train station. While some Republicans feared that Trump's debate performance was too aggressive, he gave himself high marks as he left Washington. He had spent much of the day assailing Biden and debate moderator Chris Wallace on social media.

Trump's exchange with Democrat Joe Biden left the extremist group Proud Boys celebrating what some of its members saw as tacit approval. “I don’t know who Proud Boys are. When pushed by Wallace, Trump asked for the name of a group to condemn — and Biden suggested Proud Boys. “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by,” Trump said. Proud Boys members are ardent Trump supporters known for their violent confrontations with antifascists and other ideological opponents at protests, often drawing the largest crowds in the Pacific Northwest.

Ahead of Labor Day, major U.S. labor unions say they are considering work stoppages in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)NEW YORK Ahead of Labor Day, unions representing millions across several working-class sectors are threatening to authorize work stoppages in support of the Black Lives Matter movement amid calls for concrete measures that address racial injustice. Are we in conversation with our members and the national labor movement about how we escalate our tactics to stop fascism and win justice? Martin Luther King Jr. and Rep. John Lewis and was organized by A. Philip Randolph, a Black icon of the labor movement. That connection has only intensified because of the importance of workers of color, particularly African Americans, in the labor movement, Sugrue said.

Martin Luther King Jr.s I Have a Dream Speech, yet torn apart by the Black Lives Matter protests against the police shooting of another Black man, this time in Wisconsin. Friday's commemoration of the 1963 March on Washington comes as a new civil rights era is unfolding in real time in Kenosha, Wisconsin, after Sunday's shooting of Jacob Blake. REP. MAXINE WATERS, D-CALIF.Maxine Waters said she started focusing on police violence in 1979 after Los Angeles police shot a Black homemaker, Eula Love, during a confrontation over an unpaid gas bill. Now the highest-ranking Black American in Congress, Clyburn was speaking Friday at a satellite rally in Columbia, South Carolina. So theres a lot of work for Black Lives Matter to do," Clyburn told AP, and I hope to live long enough to help them get it done.

This isnt a party convention, its a Trump convention, said Rory Cooper, a Republican strategist and former congressional staffer who opposes Trump. If Republicans lose the Senate in November, we should look back at this week as a lost opportunity to introduce the country to more GOP congressional candidates. Scalise made no direct reference to the GOP's faint hopes of regaining the House majority in November's elections. Sean Parnell, a GOP challenger for a Democratic-held seat in western Pennsylvania, didnt specifically ask listeners to award Republicans House control. The inattention to the GOP's congressional efforts might have changed Wednesday when Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, delivered prime-time remarks.

A EYE ON 2024The 2020 Republican National Convention is squarely focused on the election in 70 days. A RATINGS DISAPPOINTMENTRatings for the opening night of the convention trailed not just Trumps convention four years ago, but the Democrats convention last week. Foxs audience was up 238%, but Democratic convention viewership beat Republicans on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and MSNBC. While MSNBC and CNN combined had just under 10 million viewers for Bidens first night, they had 3.6 million for Trump, Nielsen said. Trump on Tuesday complimented CNN for carrying nearly the entirety of the Monday night convention, implicitly chiding his favored Fox News for repeatedly breaking away from the scripted programming to conduct live interviews.