The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the $2.2 trillion coronavirus aid package Friday afternoon, but what was expected to be a smooth confirmation process devolved into a mad dash in the Capitol after one of the House’s own threatened to derail the vote with a procedural objection.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky. 4th Dist.) announced he would call for a recorded vote, which requires quorum — 216 members — to pass the relief bill. Lawmakers who had left Washington rushed back to make sure there were enough representatives to make a quorum, many of them furious about the health risk of traveling and meeting in a large group.
When Massie stood up to request the recorded vote during Friday’s session, he was the only member to do so. With quorum met, the bill was permitted to pass by voice vote, which it did to cheers from the socially-distanced House members. The bill will now go to the president’s desk for his signature.
In the absence of remote voting, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had tried to give members the option to stay home by calling for a voice vote. That plan would have allowed most members, many in the high-risk category for coronavirus complications, to stay home while still providing a forum for members who wanted to speak on the floor. C-SPAN had even agreed to provide air time for members to broadcast short video statements if they did not wish to return to Washington D.C.
House members, instead, debated while staying as far from each other as possible, with members standing in doorways, stairwells and even on the upper floor.
Two RollColl reporters compiled a spreadsheet to keep track of which members had returned, and how they arrived in D.C. As of 1 pm ET Friday, it had been noted that at least 11 members had driven, some of whom said they had been on the road all night.
One of those members, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.11th Dist.) made a nearly nine-hour drive overnight and said “I rise for every American who is scared now,” raising her voice on the floor as a gavel signaled her time was over. Stevens, showing the latex gloves on her hands, said she wore them “not for personal attention, but to encourage you to take this disease seriously.” Her district is just outside Detroit, one of the regions dealing with an outbreak.
“You will see darkness. You will be pushed. And our society needs you to stand together at this time,” she said.
Massie did seem to bring together politicians across the aisle in their anger. President Trump called Massie a “third rate Grandstander” and former Secretary of State John Kerry said “congressman Massie has tested positive for being an asshole.”
Going into election day on Tuesday, many of us had an inkling it might not be a great day for Democrats. History tells us the president's party tends to lose congressional seats, governorships and state legislature seats in off-year and midterm elections. Tuesday turned out to be a big wake-up call for democrats. Not only did Terry McAuliffe lose in the Virginia governor's race, Gov. Phil Murphy won re-election by an incredibly slim margin. Both races saw continued Democratic losses in rural areas and a shift of suburban voters back to the GOP. Liz Landers, chief political correspondent at Vice News, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
Week one of UN climate summit is coming to an end, world leaders made a number of promises to save the planet. President Biden attended the first two days of the meeting.
Alan Neuhauser, vice president of Silverline Communications, joined Cheddar Politics to talk more about the pledges that came out from the summit and their significance.
It's been a busy week for the Supreme Court. It heard arguments on three of the most watched cases in the docket for this term. The court heard arguments in two cases challenging the Texas abortion law on Monday - one filed by abortion providers and the other by the justice department. Instead of weighing in on the constitutionality of the matter itself, justices focused on the unusual structure of the law that enables citizens to enforce the law, not the state government.
On Wednesday, the court heard arguments in the biggest Second Amendment case in more than a decade. The dispute is over a New York gun law that requires people seeking a license to carry a handgun in public to show a "proper cause." The challengers in this case claim the law inhibits their constitutional Second Amendment rights.
Amy Howe, co-founder of SCOTUSBlog, joined Cheddar Politics to break the cases down.
This is the first installment of Cheddar Changemakers, where we spotlight young activists making a difference in the world and speaking up on issues regarding mental health, voting, and climate change.
Republicans are considered, and often act like, the party opposed to action on climate change. They've made a point of fighting even modest regulations on businesses related to stemming the worst effects of climate change. But Republicans aren't a monolith on climate change, and our next guest reminds us that "conservation" and "conservative" have the same word root.
Quill Robinson, VP of government affairs at the American Conservation Coalition, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
The mayor of Portland, Oregon, Ted Wheeler joined Cheddar News Wrap to discuss his plans to get an increase in the city's police budget for more personnel, changes to public safety response, and more body cameras. The Democratic mayor addressed the growth in violent crimes amid the pandemic, but noted the need for officers who take their roles seriously. We want officers who understand that policing is an important responsibility, it's a high calling," he said. "We also want a police bureau that is accountable and responsible to the public it serves."
More American tech companies continue to pull their businesses out of China as the Communist Party cracks down on firms — both foreign and domestic. Yahoo and Fortnite have become the latest companies to withdraw from the country, and the withdrawals come just days after Microsoft announced it would take LinkedIn offline. Shehzad Qazi, managing director at China Beige Book International, joined Cheddar to provide some insight into how the crackdowns in China would also impact the tech companies at home in the United States.
A new report out by the Center for Countering Digital Hate shows how just ten publishers are responsible for the bulk of climate change misinformation on social media--and companies like Facebook and Google are making money off them. Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, joined Cheddar to discuss.
'The Good Liars' are Jason Selvig and Davram Stiefler, a comedy duo that's been shaking up the political world for years. They're out with a new mockumentary, 'The Supporters,' following the 2020 election. Jason Selvig & Davram Stiefler, Stunt Comedians and creators of 'The Good Liars' joined Cheddar News to discuss.
