Vice presidents' policy projects come with political risks
That's likely to be the case for Vice President Kamala Harris, who this week was named the new point person on immigration. This is definitely not a ceremonial task,” said Nina Rees, a former deputy assistant for domestic policy to Vice President Dick Cheney. Harris' team has clarified that the vice president does not own all of immigration policy. Kamarck's argument bucks the traditional wisdom, which says if a vice president does well on thorny issues, more credit goes to the president and, if not, it gives the president some political cover. The matter of who gets praise, or blame, is even trickier when it's clear the vice president has White House aspirations.
Biden taps VP Harris to lead response to border challenges
President Joe Biden speaks with Vice President Kamala Harris about the southern border during a meeting in the State Dining Room of the White House, Wednesday, March 24, 2021, in Washington. In delegating the matter to Harris, Biden is seeking to replicate a dynamic that played out when he served as President Barack Obama's vice president. As the first Black woman elected vice president, Harris arrived on the job as a trailblazer. The Biden administration has in recent weeks moved to open more than 10,000 new beds across the Southwest in convention centers and former oilfield camps. The White House faced criticism for limiting media access to Wednesday’s tour, keeping it to just one TV crew.
Oakland launches guaranteed pay plan for low-income people
The Oakland Resilient Families program has so far raised $6.75 million from private donors including Blue Meridian Partners, a national philanthropy group. “Direct investment in the community in response to systemic injustices isn't new.”The idea of a guaranteed income dates to the 18th century. “The fact that mayors are piloting (guaranteed income programs), using political capital to raise capital to allow their constituents to have basic necessities, is a policy failure," Tubbs said. “It's an admission that we need to do more.”It's unclear what a national guaranteed income program would look like. AdA form of guaranteed income could take effect for many parents this year as part of the latest federal stimulus package.
Cheney says she won't quit the House after Wyoming censure
FILE - In this March 6, 2019, file photo, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Wyoming Republican Party voted overwhelmingly Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021 to censure U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney for voting to impeach President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. On Saturday, the Wyoming Republican Party voted overwhelmingly to censure Cheney. Ad“We need to honor President Trump. About two-thirds of House Republicans voted to back Trump’s effort to overturn his November election loss — just hours after his supporters’ deadly siege of the Capitol.
Dem-led House, drawing a line, kicks Greene off committees
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)WASHINGTON – A fiercely divided House tossed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene off both her committees Thursday, an unprecedented punishment that Democrats said she’d earned by spreading hateful and violent conspiracy theories. Though Trump left the White House two week ago, his devoted followers are numerous among the party’s voters, and he and Greene are allies. Even social media stars like Greene could find it harder to define themselves without the spotlights that committees provide. Thune said House Republicans needed to issue a “really strong” rebuke of Greene’s conspiratorial formulations. The House resolution punishing Greene was barely over a page.
House GOP keeps Cheney as No. 3 leader, stands by Greene
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., walks with fellow House Republicans on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021, following a meeting called by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON – House Republicans decided Wednesday to stand by two GOP lawmakers who have polarized the party, voting to retain Rep. Liz Cheney as their No. In a 145-61 secret-ballot vote, House Republicans overwhelmingly rebuffed a rebellion by hard-right conservatives to toss Cheney, R-Wyo., from leadership after she voted last month to impeach then-President Donald Trump. Hours earlier, after Democrats slated a House vote for Thursday that would remove Greene from her committees, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy ridiculed them for it. The decisions over Greene and Cheney have subjected the GOP to a politically agonizing test of its direction as it moves beyond the Trump presidency.
McCarthy meets with Rep. Greene; GOP faces Cheney decision
House Republicans are effectively deciding whether to prioritize the former president’s norm-shattering behavior and conspiracy theories and retain the loyalty of his voters over more establishment conservative values. AdThe House GOP Steering Committee, a leadership-dominated body that makes committee assignments for the party, also met late Tuesday but no decision was announced. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and others have boosted pressure this week on McCarthy and the House GOP to act. McConnell praised Cheney, R-Wyo., as “a leader with deep convictions and courage,” but House GOP lawmakers planned to meet privately Wednesday to decide her political fate. AdThe looming decisions over Cheney and Greene represent a moment of reckoning for a party struggling with its future.
Blair House guest quarters a temporary home for VP Harris
In this Jan. 25, 2021 photo, Secret Service vehicles parked outside of Blair House in Washington. Blair House, the official government guest house, is serving as a temporary home for Vice President Kamala Harris. AdSo Harris moved into Blair House, where President Harry Truman lived from 1948-1952 during major renovations to the White House. The original Blair House was built in 1824 by Joseph Lovell, the Army surgeon general, and later sold to journalist Francis Preston Blair. The Blair family sold the house to the U.S. government in the early 1940s, and it was turned into the president's official guest house.
Led by Cheney, 10 House Republicans back Trump impeachment
3 House GOP leader — voted to impeach President Donald Trump Wednesday over the deadly insurrection at the Capitol. The GOP votes were in sharp contrast to the unanimous support for Trump among House Republicans when he was impeached by Democrats in December 2019. Cheney, whose decision to buck Trump sparked an immediate backlash within the GOP, was the only member of her party's leadership to support impeachment, which was opposed by 197 Republicans. The younger Cheney has been more critical of Trump than other GOP leaders, but her announcement hours before Wednesday's vote nonetheless shook Congress. After the impeachment vote, Trump released a video calling on his supporters to remain peaceful amid concerns about additional violence in the days before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Impeachment could become defining moment for Liz Cheney
3 House Republican had already broken with the president on everything from mask-wearing during the coronavirus pandemic to pulling back American troops in Afghanistan. Now she's emerging as the most prominent Republican to back Trump's impeachment — the only member of her party's leadership doing so. The 10 Republicans who voted in favor of impeachment was small but significant — when Trump was impeached last year, no House Republicans supported it. As the only woman in House GOP leadership, Cheney has been seen as a possible candidate for House speaker should the GOP regain the majority in 2022 or beyond. This is a very, very difficult decision,” Utah Republican Rep. John Curtis said of Cheney.
What to watch as House moves to impeach Trump for 2nd time
What to watch as the Democratic-controlled House moves to impeach Trump for the second time in 13 months — now with just days left in the defeated president's term. “President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of Government,” reads part of the four-page impeachment bill. Unlike the last time Trump was impeached, when no House Republicans supported charges against Trump over a call he made to Ukraine's new president, the current impeachment effort has drawn support from some Republicans. In a move short of impeachment, McCarthy and other Republicans have floated the idea of a House censure of Trump. While debate on the House is often impassioned, emotions are expected to run unusually high as lawmakers debate impeachment.
EXPLAINER: What's next after House impeachment vote
Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has been impeached by the House days before leaving office, becoming the first American president to be impeached twice. The previous three impeachments — those of Presidents Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton and Trump — took months before a final vote, including investigations in the House and hearings. It's unclear, for now, exactly how that trial will proceed and if any Senate Republicans will vote to convict Trump. In the House, 10 Republicans joined Democrats in voting to impeach Trump, including Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, the third-ranking Republican. DIFFERENT CHARGES, DIFFERENT IMPEACHMENTThis impeachment trial is likely to differ from the last one in many ways.
No. 3 House GOP leader backs Trump impeachment as tide grows
Scott Applewhite, File)WASHINGTON – Republican opposition to impeaching President Donald Trump began crumbling at the party's upper echelons on Tuesday as the No. 3 House GOP leader said she would vote to impeach Trump. With Democrats commanding that chamber, a vote impeaching Trump for an unprecedented second time seemed certain. “Good for her for honoring her oath of office," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters when asked about Cheney's decision. House GOP leaders say they won't press their colleagues on how they will vote Wednesday.
EXPLAINER: How Trump's 2nd impeachment will unfold
After the rioting at the Capitol, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said "we must take action,” and Democrats — and some Republicans — share her view. That’s what happened in 2019, when the House impeached Trump over his dealings with the president of Ukraine. No Republicans supported Trump's first impeachment in 2019. Some Democrats suggested Pelosi might wait to send the articles and allow Biden to begin his term without impeachment hanging over him. WHAT IMPEACHMENT WOULD MEANDemocrats say they have to move forward, even if the Senate doesn't convict.
GOP split over Trump, election runs across deep-red Wyoming
– A deepening divide among Republicans over President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the election runs prominently through Wyoming, the state that delivered Trump's widest prevailing margin by far. The Wyoming Republican Party has made party fealty a core issue and punished state party officials seen as disloyal. I just don't think that's going to play out in Wyoming," University of Wyoming political science professor Jim King said. Though Wyoming voted overwhelmingly for Trump in 2020 and 2016, the state embraced Trump reluctantly. In 2016, Republicans in Wyoming initially backed Cruz over Trump almost unanimously for the GOP presidential nomination.