Trump Slams Lawyer Castor’s Chaotic Impeachment Defense
By Kaitlan Collins, Jim Acosta, Paul LeBlanc and Pamela Brown, CNN Â Former President Donald Trump was unhappy with his impeachment lawyer Bruce Castor’s opening argument on the Senate floor Tuesday, two people familiar with his reaction told CNN. Castor, who is representing Trump alongside attorney David Schoen, delivered a meandering argument during the first day of the Senate impeachment trial, including praise for the House impeachment managers for a presentation that he said was “well done.” Trump was almost screaming as Castor struggled to get at the heart of his defense team’s argument, which is supposed to be over the
House Managers Lay Out Case Against Trump in Impeachment Trial
By Jeremy Herb, Manu Raju and Lauren Fox, CNN Â The House impeachment managers begin their two-day presentation Wednesday looking to convince skeptical Republican senators that former President Donald Trump was responsible for the deadly January 6 riot at the US Capitol where insurrectionists attacked the Capitol and disrupted the peaceful transfer of power. House Democrats’ previewed their case against Trump on the trial’s opening day Tuesday, playing a dramatic and visceral 13-minute video that interspersed disturbing video of the rioters breaching the Capitol, attacking police officers and invoking Trump’s name with the President’s January 6 speech and tweets. The video
Biden Visits Pentagon, Honors First Black Defense Secretary
By Kate Sullivan, CNN President Joe Biden on Wednesday will make his first trip to the Pentagon since taking office and will speak to the significance of having the first African American in the nation’s history serving as secretary of defense, according to the White House. The trip comes as Biden forges ahead with his agenda while his predecessor former President Donald Trump faces an impeachment trial in the Senate. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other senior military and civilian leadership during the visit. The President and vice president will then
Trump’s Second Impeachment Trial Opens in U.S. Senate
By Jeremy Herb, Manu Raju and Lauren Fox, CNN The second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump begins in the Senate on Tuesday, where senators will be confronted with the violent events of the January 6 riots and whether Trump is culpable for inciting the insurrectionists that attacked the Capitol and placed their lives in danger. The historic trial has a number of firsts: It’s the first time in US history a president will be tried in the Senate court of impeachment for a second time. And it’s the first time that a former President will face the prospect
House Democrats Push $3,000 Child Tax Credit Expansion
By Daniella Diaz and Tami Luhby, CNN House Democratic leaders will unveil legislation Monday that would give millions of families at least $3,000 per child, advancing a key provision in President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief package. Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee Richard Neal, who is leading the crafting of the legislation for the stimulus package, will introduce the enhanced Child Tax Credit bill, according to a committee spokesperson. “The pandemic is driving families deeper and deeper into poverty, and it’s devastating. We are making the Child Tax Credit more generous, more accessible, and by paying it
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Prioritizes Extremism, Racism
By Oren Liebermann, CNN Â Lloyd Austin pressed his extended forefinger into the table, a sign the new secretary of defense was serious. He had called a meeting Wednesday with his most senior military leaders to address what he believes are among the most pressing issues facing the country and the armed services: racism and domestic extremism. And as he told the leaders of the military branches in his deliberate, measured pace to “get after it,” he repeatedly thumped the table with his finger, according to a senior defense official familiar with the call. Shortly before Austin announced a staggered pause
Biden’s Covid Relief Faces Key Democratic Divisions This Week
By Lauren Fox, CNN Â It’s a critical week of negotiations for Democrats about how to move ahead with President Joe Biden’s Covid relief package. It will play out behind the scenes and ultimately have far bigger impact on Biden’s legacy, test his ability to manage his party’s diverse coalitions and ultimately make the very first impression of whether Democrats will be able to govern with their narrow majorities in the House and Senate. Of course the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump will consume Congress and Washington this week. Bottom Line: Democrats are going to be united on impeachment.
Congress Passes Budget Resolution for Biden Relief Plan
By Ted Barrett, Paul LeBlanc and Clare Foran, CNN Both chambers of Congress have now passed a budget resolution, a key procedural step that sets up the ability for Democrats to pass President Joe Biden’s sweeping $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief package without the threat of a filibuster from Republicans who oppose it. The Senate passed the budget resolution early Friday morning 51-50 on a party line vote after Vice President Kamala Harris showed up at the Capitol to break the tie. The House passed the resolution later in the day Friday. The House had already passed the budget measure earlier
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to Lead WTO as First Woman, African
By Hanna Ziady and Charles Riley, CNN Business The path has been cleared for Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to become the first woman and the first African to lead the World Trade Organization after South Korea’s candidate pulled out of the race for the job. Yoo Myung-hee, the South Korean trade minister, announced her decision to withdraw in a televised briefing on Friday. Okonjo-Iweala, an economist and former finance minister of Nigeria, already enjoyed broad support from WTO members, including the European Union, China, Japan and Australia. However, the United States, under the Trump administration, had favored Yoo, complicating the decision-making
Biden Doubts $15 Minimum Wage in Covid Relief Plan
By Kate Sullivan, CNN President Joe Biden conceded that he does not believe he will be able to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour through his $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief proposal due to the Senate’s rules. “I put it in, but I don’t think it’s going to survive,” Biden told “CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell” in excerpts of an interview that aired Friday. The interview with CBS is his first for network television since taking office and the full interview will air on Sunday. The President, who campaigned on raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour,
