Agree to Disagree: Debating Today's Biggest Political Stories
Roy Moore's loss in the Senate election in Alabama came as a surprise to many. It means that Republicans will have an even smaller margin of error when it comes to passing legislation. But, in the long run, how will this impact the GOP? John Iadarola, Host at The Young Turks, and Nick Givas, Media Reporter at The Daily Caller, debate whether Moore's loss is a good or bad thing for the Republican party.
Roy Moore was one of the candidates nationwide who received the strong backing of Steve Bannon and, eventually, President Trump. The round table debates whether President Trump will avoid coming out in support of future Bannon-backed candidates. Iadarola and Givas both agree that it's not likely.
The Russia investigation has been heating up in recent weeks. Many people wonder if President Trump will fire Robert Mueller and take him off the case, especially since Congress will be on recess for the holidays over the next few weeks. While he doesn't believe it will happen during the holidays, Iadarola says it's likely Mueller will be kicked to the curb eventually.
Cheddar's Chloe Aiello has our cannabis year-in-review, breaking down how several states legalized adult recreational use and greenlit medicinal use in 2021. She noted that while a cannabis legalization and decriminalization bill was introduced in Congress this year, potential FDA involvement in the industry, as well as a 25 percent excise tax, killed any chance the bill had of moving forward. Aiello also speculated that some form of cannabis reform could be rolled out in 2022, as the midterm elections draw closer.
Jim Worden, Chief Investment Officer at Wealth Consulting Group, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says the period between Christmas and New Year's is difficult to predict due to a lack of institutional volume, with the Omicron variant adding even more uncertainty on Wall Street.
Prices at the pump this year reached a seven-year high, and a new forecast from GasBuddy shared with CNN predicts that gas prices will only continue to rise in 2022 and that the national average could even reach $4.00 a gallon; however, analysts at GasBuddy say anything could happen when it comes to gas prices in the future, as the pandemic has made it difficult to make any predictions about the economy. Consumer Energy Alliance federal policy advisor Michael Zehr joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
David Stryzewski, CEO of Sound Planning Group, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says that some of the major stock positions are getting the most lift to the upside as the major indexes climb higher to begin the week.
