*By Carlo Versano*
There is an unspoken tradition in Washington that the president faces the press a day after a midterm election that revokes power from his party in Congress. When Democrats gained control of both houses in 2006, a humbled President George W. Bush called it a "thumping." In 2010, an equally-chastened President Barack Obama admitted his party took a "shellacking."
No such thing happened on Wednesday.
President Trump vacillated between subdued and combative as he called Tuesday's election ー in which Democrats took control of the House and several pivotal governorships ー a "very close-to-complete victory."
Trump took credit for the GOP's ability to maintain control of the Senate and blamed certain losses of House Republican candidates on their disloyalty. He praised Rep. Nancy Pelosi, calling her "very smart," but then warned House Democrats that he would have Senate Republicans probe their conduct, should they use their newfound subpoena power to investigate him.
In a nearly two-hour-long press conference from the East Room of the White House that began with a low-key statement but quickly deteriorated into a rollicking Q&A, the president ratcheted up his antagonism of the gathered press corps. He called CNN's Jim Acosta a "rude, terrible person" and excoriated PBS' Yamiche Alcindor for asking "a racist question" when she attempted to probe him on whether his rhetoric was emboldening white nationalists.
As the president spoke, the AP called the contested Montana Senate race for Jon Tester, one of the Democrats that Trump was reportedly most hoping to defeat.
Semiconductors are essential in industries such as defense, automobiles, and telecom. Cheddar assembled a timeline of the chip shortage stretching back to the pre-Covid economy.
Jared Berstein, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, joined Cheddar about what's at stake for the economy despite a positive February jobs report.
The Senate has voted to begin debating a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill.
The impact of Texas' governor repealing many of the state’s COVID-19 restrictions is beginning to take shape.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits edged higher last week to 745,000, a sign that many employers continue to cut jobs despite a drop in confirmed viral infections and evidence that the overall economy is improving.
A somber New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is apologizing following sexual harassment allegations against him.
Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla. 3rd District), spoke to Cheddar regarding her concerns about spending priorities and the price tag of the latest COVID relief bill being put forth by Democrats.
Former Department of Homeland Security acting secretary under Trump, Chad Wolf, talked to Cheddar about domestic terrorism, border control, and cybersecurity.
Mario Schlosser, CEO and co-founder of Oscar Health, spoke to Cheddar about the future of healthcare and insurance in the United States after the company went public.
A Democratic official says President Joe Biden and Senate Democrats have agreed to tighten the upper-income limits at which people could qualify for stimulus checks in the party's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill.
