Rep. Jayapal: Trump "Is the Greatest Threat to Our Democracy"
Immigration has been at the center of political discussion in America ever since President Trump took office in January. After the terror attack in New York City last week, the president is once again calling for increased restrictions on who is allowed into the country. President Trump pressed Congress to cancel a visa lottery program that was used by the New York City attacker.
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) says the president's stances are hypocritical. Jayapal points to the fact that millions of immigrants come to the United States to make this country better, including the First Lady Melania Trump.
Overall, Jayapal considers President Trump to be a threat to the state of the country's democracy, claiming that the president's efforts to undermine institutions that challenge him are deeply troubling.
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.
