As the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, Devin Nunes has recently been in the spotlight for his pro-Trump support during recent impeachment inquiry hearings. But like all members of Congress, he has an election coming up in 2020 and his Democrat challenger says his campaign has seen an outpouring of support since the hearings began.
"We've received over $300,000 in contributions since the beginning of this impeachment hearing from over 10,000 individual contributions," said Phil Arballo, who is trying to win the seat for California's 22nd District — a seat which Nunes has held since 2003.
Arballo, a Mexican-American businessman, entered the Democratic primary for the seat in June but said his campaign has seen a "groundswell of support" since attention shifted to Nunes during the hearings last week.
"As a constituent of his, and I can tell you from talking to a lot of people every day here on the ground, it's embarrassing, that he's our representative, here. He does not represent us here," Arballo said of the Central Valley.
Nunes defeated his Democratic challenger in 2018, but Arballo thinks the tide will turn in 2020.
"It's a very winnable seat," he said. "Everything is trending in the right direction for our race next year."
Nunes is not the only Republican whose role in the hearings may be helping Democratic challengers. Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York's 21st Congressional District played a prominent role in the hearings. Her 2020 challenger Tedra Cobb, who unsuccessfully challenged Stefanik in 2018, announced her campaign raised $1 million the weekend after the impeachment hearings.
Grant Stark, Director of Research at CapWealth, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says that his firm is closely monitoring oil prices amid the geopolitical conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and elaborates on how inflation will continue to be a problem across multiple sectors.
A private prison company plans to run a new pilot program that would place hundreds of migrants caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border under house arrest. The "home curfew" pilot program is part of "impactful detention reforms," according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Jacinta Gonzalez, senior campaign organizer with Mijente, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
The U.S. is back in negotiations for a nuclear deal with Iran, years after former President Donald Trump withdrew the country from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which had been meant to curtail the Middle Eastern nation's nuclear ambitions. Former State Department senior advisor to the George W. Bush and Trump administrations, Christian Whiton, joined Cheddar News Wrap to discuss. “It appears to be very similar to the original JCPOA, which does put some constraints on Iran's nuclear program, but also has sunset provisions, including some that in the original plan were expected to take effect in 2025," he said. "And so, if we just reenter that plan, really it just buys perhaps a few years of slowing down, stopping, whatever you want to say, Iran's nuclear program."
The U.S. has announced the first of what could be multiple levels of sanctions against Russia after Moscow recognized two regions of Ukraine as independent. This comes as Britain imposes sanctions on five Russian banks and two oligarchs, and Germany freezes the Nord Stream gas pipeline. Terrell Star, a foreign affairs reporter at The Atlantic Council, joins from Kyiv to discuss.
Growing tensions in Ukraine might soon be impacting consumers in the United States. With Russia on an invasion footing in the region, gas prices are predicted to go up 10 to 15 cents a gallon in the next coming weeks, according to Robert Sinclair, spokesperson for AAA. Sinclair joined Cheddar to break down what could happen even further. "We've been seeing prices go up, and there's been nothing that's happened to affect supplies," he said. "But it's something known as the fear tax where just the talk of something that might interfere with supplies leads to prices going up speculatively."
The end of 3G is upon us. On Tuesday, AT&T became the first major provider to disable its 3G services, and T-Mobile and Verizon plan to follow suit later this year. The shutdowns are expected to impact millions of vehicles that use 3G networks for updates, remote connection, and certain emergency and convenience features. Lance Ulanoff, the U.S. Editor-in-Chief of TechRadar, joined Cheddar's Closing Bell to discuss the ramifications of the changeover.
A new report shows nearly 240 former officials in Congress, the White House, and regulatory agencies have changed careers to work in the crypto industry.
President Biden unveiled new economic sanctions on Russia for what he called "the beginning of a Russian invasion". This came one day after Putin sent troops into two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine. Alex Ward, national security reporter for POLITICO, explains what these sanctions might do to the global economy.
U.S. stocks ended today's session sharply lower on the heels of rising geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Melissa Brown, Managing Director of Applied Research at Qontigo, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
