Joe Biden confronts a leadership moment
Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN An exhausted and impatient nation needs the kind of clarity and leadership only a president can provide as the coronavirus pandemic reaches a potentially decisive stage. President Joe Biden’s responsibilities go far beyond the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 rescue plan on the launchpad in Congress, a federal effort to swiftly accelerate vaccines and a push to get more relief to millions of unemployed. There have been some signs in recent weeks that an injection of new White House urgency has improved the organization of the anti-Covid-19 effort and coordination with state governors who cried out for
Senate passes legislation to award Officer Eugene Goodman Congressional Gold Medal
By Clare Foran and Ted Barrett, CNN The Senate on Friday approved legislation to award a Congressional Gold Medal to Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, who became a national hero for his actions defending the Senate during the siege of the Capitol on January 6. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer paid tribute on the Senate floor to Goodman Friday evening and announced that he would ask the Senate to pass legislation to award him the honor. It passed by unanimous consent. “In the weeks after the attack on January the sixth, the world learned about the incredible bravery of Officer
The end of Trump’s trial lifts an oppressive cloud from Washington
Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN The conclusion of Donald Trump’s impeachment trial finally ends the ex-President’s stranglehold on Washington’s every waking moment and offers President Joe Biden a first chance to fully exercise his influence and power. While the coming days in the capital may not be as wrenching as last week — which saw a horrific recreation of the terror inside the Capitol on January 6 by House impeachment managers — they will be even more critical to the nation’s short-term fate. Biden can now claim the full attention of Congress and the public as he seeks to drive
Why Rep. James Clyburn is pushing to make ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ the US national hymn
By Eryn Mathewson and Zoë Saunders, CNN This year, Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) is bringing some extra attention to “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and sponsoring a bill that would make it the US national hymn. “My goal is to make a contribution to trying to bring this country back together,” he told CNN’s Don Lemon on Silence Is Not an Option. “I just think that if we were to make this hymn our national hymn, it will help us to really create a climate within which we can find common ground.” After the racial reckoning that unfolded last year,
Biden administration will begin processing migrants forced to stay in Mexico this month
By Priscilla Alvarez, CNN The Biden administration will begin processing migrants forced to stay in Mexico under a Trump-era policy into the United States on February 19, according to administration officials. It’s the first move toward addressing the thousands of non-Mexican migrants subject to a controversial policy under the Trump administration that required them to remain in Mexico — often in dangerous conditions — until their immigration court dates in the United States. An administration official told reporters Thursday that the effort is “phase one of a program to restore fair and orderly processing at the Southwest border.” The initial
Trump advisers say he hasn’t shown remorse for the insurrection and relationship with Pence remains damaged
By Jim Acosta and Pamela Brown, CNN Advisers to former President Donald Trump say he still has not expressed remorse for the siege at the US Capitol, which could end up being important for Senate jurors to consider after House impeachment managers on Wednesday released new video of the violent mob’s assault on January 6. One of the new clips show then-Vice President Mike Pence and his family being hustled away by Secret Service as the siege was under way. That affirms what Pence aides told CNN in the days following the deadly insurrection. Some of those aides were outraged
Impeachment managers slated to wrap up their case against Trump at Senate trial
By Clare Foran, Jeremy Herb and Manu Raju, CNN House impeachment managers will finish arguing their case on Thursday that former President Donald Trump incited an insurrection one day after they showed violent and disturbing video footage of the attack on the US Capitol as they urged senators to convict at the Senate trial. Never-before-seen Capitol security camera footage forced senators to relive the harrowing attack and confront chilling new details about the incredibly serious threat posed to everyone in the Capitol, including lawmakers. A number of GOP senators made clear Wednesday evening that they were shaken by what they
Biden and Democrats prepare to act fast on judges, having learned lesson from Trump
By Ariane de Vogue, CNN Supreme Court Reporter President Joe Biden had been in office less than a week when a federal judge issued a nationwide injunction blocking one of his first immigration-related actions. The order was a victory for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who crowed “WE WON” on Twitter. In fact, Paxton, a controversial conservative Republican, had successfully gambled that his challenge would land before a judge appointed by President Donald Trump. And indeed Judge Drew B. Tipton — appointed by Trump in 2020 — delivered. The order is a potent reminder of the power of the judiciary
Trump unhappy with his impeachment attorney’s performance, sources say
By Kaitlan Collins, Jim Acosta, Paul LeBlanc and Pamela Brown, CNN 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 to make a visceral case against Trump on Wednesday
By Jeremy Herb, Manu Raju and Lauren Fox, CNN 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