The events that took place in the United States dominated the headlines all week. Here is an overview of what exactly happened and why it matters.
The first development, which was expected to be the main focus of the week, were the two runoff races for Senate in Georgia, after the November elections failed to produce a winner in that state. Republicans were forecasted to be at an advantage and many expected that they will retain control of the US Senate. However, Democrats won both seats. This brings the distribution of power in the Senate to 50-50.
The Vice President, according to the Constitution, has the right to cast a vote when the Senate is tied. Because Kamala Harris is a Democrat, this means the Senate leans Democratic too. Thus, even if all Republicans vote against legislation proposed by the Biden-Harris administration, they will not be able to stop it. In other words, Joe Biden has a clear road ahead, with control over the White House and both chambers of Congress now in Democrat hands.
However, this historic event (Georgia hadn’t gone blue in 30 years) was overshadowed by the final confirmation of the presidential election results by Congress on Tuesday. What should have been an uneventful ceremony to count the Electoral College votes turned into complete mayhem as Trump supporters lay siege on the Capitol.
Hundreds of Trump followers stormed the building, fighting with police, going over barricades, even getting inside. They defiled offices (one man took some of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s mail from her office and walked out with it) and hurt people around them: at least four died in the riots. Meanwhile, members of the House and the Senate were hiding inside, including VP Mike Pence. It was Pence who eventually called the Pentagon for help, sending in the National Guard to break the riot.
The violence came just hours after Donald Trump told his supporters to “fight” and disrupt the counting of the Electoral College votes, Trump’s last chance to contest the election results. Trump also lashed out at Mike Pence, who had explained to him that he didn’t have the constitutional power to stop the count when he went to Congress to preside over that process.
Trump kept sending encouraging messages of love and gratitude to his supporters over social media until Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat locked his accounts. He came under strong international criticism for his action and was called upon to step forward and condemn the violent acts his followers were enacting.
He finally did so in a pre-recorded message late last night. In the two-minute video he also stated that he will leave office peacefully on January 20. Though he did not concede in the video, this is as close as Trump has ever come to admitting defeat. Now there is no doubt that Joe Biden will be able to serve his term as President, which begins in less than two weeks.
However, now there is a push to remove Trump from office even before then. The debate on Capitol Hill is whether to enact the 25th Amendment to pronounce Trump unfit for office, or to have him impeached a second time, which will be a new record in US history.
The amendment road is shorter, but will require Vice President Mike Pence’s cooperation and a majority of Trump’s Cabinet to vote on it. With so many resignations in the past few days, the Cabinet is likely not the problem, but Pence seems reluctant to take the plunge.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that if the Cabinet doesn’t enact the 25th Amendment, Democrats will begin a second impeachment process, but this will take longer. Yet, some political experts have argued that even if a second impeachment will mean Trump stays in office until his full term’s ends, he might be unable to hold public office in the future. This will prevent him from running for President in the 2024 elections. This is arguably the most important ace the Democrats have up their sleeves.
Meanwhile, prosecutors are investigating the mayhem that took place on Capitol Hill. They are looking at all parties involved. Though they have not named Trump specifically, it is possible that the President may face charges over inciting violence, considering his remarks caused the riots.
Where does this leave things? In terms of politics, Trump is leaving. He might have also shot his chances of running in 2024 in the foot if his actions cause him to get impeached again. Joe Biden will definitely take office on January 20 and begin a term with at least two years of comfortable control over the House and the Senate (there will be mid-term elections in 2022 that will shift the makeup of Congress again). Despite this week’s horrors, the path ahead is clear. Prepare for more stimulus, possible lockdowns to contain the coronavirus, and reforms from the United States in the near future.
