On a historic day in America, political players on Capitol Hill are moving slowly and divisively after approving rules for impeachment debate. The body is now beginning six hours of partisan debate time before this historic impeachment vote.
Lawmakers just finished debating the rules that will be used to consider the impeachment charges against President Donald Trump after Democrats defeated two objections raised by Republicans. The House adopted debate rules, voting twice after Republicans raised a motion to reconsider. The vote on the rules for the debate passed 228 to 197, signaling that few lawmakers plan to defect parties, and now representatives will move to those six hours of debate about the articles, themselves. Finally, the House will vote on the articles of impeachment, in what is expected to rest almost entirely along party lines. The president is facing impeachment on two articles — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. If the vote passes, Trump will become the third American president charged with high crimes and misdemeanors.
Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo. 1st District) was tapped by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to preside over the debate as speaker pro tempore.
Soon after House Chaplain Patrick Conroy opened with a prayer to “help them and help us put away any judgments that belong to you and live together in harmony,” lawmakers got straight to it, with no harmony in sight. Democrats defeated two motions raised almost immediately after the session was gaveled in. The House voted 226 to 188 to block the first motion, put forth by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz. 5th District), to adjourn before debating even began, and voted 226 to 191 to block the second motion, put forth by GOP minority leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif. 23rd District), condemning the inquiry as illegitimate.
The schedule circulated on Tuesday night could make the entire day hard to follow and may tire out casual observers. However, the proceedings could have been drawn out even further, if Republican objections were approved during last night’s session of the House Rules Committee. Republicans had raised objections that the debate is only six hours instead of 12 hours.
After the conclusion of today’s debate, lawmakers will finally vote. Many have already publicly pledged to vote along party lines.
Representatives largely used morning debate time, which began soon after 10 a.m. ET, for partisan diatribes. Republicans like Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz. 8th District) called the inquiry “rigged,” and Democrats like Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C. 6th District) referred to Thomas Paine’s pamphlets and said the president “seems to believe he is a king or above the law.” Many members were present at the start of the day when Republicans raised their objections but seemed to exit the chamber once debate began.
Pelosi remained in the Congressional chamber, sitting in the back row. Meanwhile, the president remains active on Twitter. He has tweeted and retweeted attacks against the Democrats, including a tweet in which the president wrote: “can you believe that I will be impeached today by the Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats, AND I DID NOTHING WRONG!”
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.
