Although Mark Sanford has been a vocal critic of President Trump's excessive spending and demeanor, the former Republican Congressman from South Carolina so far hasn't pressed his former Capitol Hill colleagues to call for articles of impeachment. Rather, in an interview with Cheddar over the weekend, Sanford brought up the idea of "censure" instead.
"If you can't kill the king, don't shoot at him," Sanford said. "I have a problem with some of the components of Trump-ism, and if you want to — in essence — end it, it has to be ended at the electoral voting booth."
On September 8, Sanford announced he, too, would run for President, saying the Republican party has lost its way. Sanford served in Congress from 1995 to 2001 and again in 2013 to 2019, with a stint as governor in between (during which he disappeared for several days with his mistress).
Sanford has stated the reason he lost his seat in last year's midterm election is because he publicly disagreed with Trump.
Although Sanford does not have a vote on any articles of impeachment, his situation as a GOP rival to President Trump during an impeachment inquiry is unique. He told Cheddar the public focus on the inquiry could put a snag in his presidential bid. "The giant sucking sound that we'll hear this fall is impeachment."
"I think you are going to see a real circling of the wagons at times," Sanford added. "That'll make it more difficult, not just for me to my message out, but frankly for a lot of others."
But despite the trouble he predicts for his campaign, Sanford thinks lawmakers need to act on the reports they have received regarding the potentially problematic use of White House power to try to get Ukraine to investigate political rival, Joe Biden, and his son Hunter.
"What you don't want is for the House to move forward with articles, the Senate to do nothing, and then what the President says: 'See, I'm absolved of all guilt, what was going on in Ukraine was totally proven false,'" Sanford said.
Sanford says he is in line with former colleague House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn.
"Let's tap the breaks here," Sanford says of Clyburn. "Let's go through the process, see what we find, and then we're going to figure [out what to do] as to whether we should or shouldn't go forward with impeachment."
Big Apple workers who deliver for food apps like Doordash and Grubhub will now receive a number of legal protections provided through a package of new regulations that have started going into effect. These updated rules include more control over their deliveries, pay and tip transparency, a higher minimum pay rate, and access to restaurant bathrooms during the workday. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander joined Cheddar to elaborate on the regulations and how the platform holders reacted. "I have to say it's a mixed bag," he said. "Grubhub actually welcomed the legislation and said they recognize they need to do better by their deliveristas, but DoorDash, unfortunately, has actually been pushing back against the legislation."
Thomas Hoenig, Former CEO of Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and currently Distinguished Senior Fellow with the Mercatus Center, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says the Fed's decision was no surprise, but believes the Fed is behind the curve on raising rates.
Legal cannabis businesses are having a hard time surviving in California with the high cost of doing business and a still-thriving illicit market. In response, nonprofit Supernova Women, founded by women of color, is advocating on behalf of Black and brown shareholders in the cannabis industry. Amber Senter, co-founder, executive director, and chairman of the organization, spoke with Cheddar News about calling for changes in the Golden State's taxation system for legal marijuana. "We're really leaning on the legislators now to support the industry and make sure that this industry, in particular craft cannabis, can survive," said Senter.
After being among the hardest-hit industries by the pandemic, restaurants are still having a hard time staying afloat, with owners claiming that business is worse now due to closures from staff shortages and customer decline than it was three months ago. Mike Whatley, vice president of state affairs and grassroots advocacy for the National Restaurant Association, spoke to Cheddar News about how the sector is reaching out to lawmakers for help. "Working with Senators Wicker, Sinema, and a whole host of bipartisan leaders, we're trying to get the Restaurant Revitalization Fund replenished," Whatley said.
Communities of color are disproportionately affected by climate change and continuously feel the impacts. Mark Magaña, founding president and CEO of Green Latinos joined All Hands to discuss.
The memoir, "COMPROMISED: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Trump", tells a familiar story from a bit of a different source: Peter Strzok himself, former FBI Counterintelligence Agents and Agency Veteran who spent most of his very long career investigating some of the most controversial inquiries, most notably in recent American history. Those inquiries were Hillary Clinton's email to even Trump Russia investigations. Former FBI Agent and Author of "Compromised" Peter Strzok, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
President Biden's first year did not come to the close that he had hoped after last night's Senate vote blocked the voting rights bill, a priority that Biden has promoted since his inauguration. Joining us to discuss the voting rights bill, and many others passing through congress is congresswoman Lori Trahan, representing Massachusett's 3rd district.
