Is Joe Manchin now the most important senator for Republicans?

Democrats pick up one Senate seat in Georgia with the second seat too close to call; Fox News contributor Bill McGurn examines the power struggle in Congress.

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  • Ted Cruz suggested the Senate hold a 'commission' to investigate election results. Bipartisan senators immediately tore him apart.

    In his opposition to the counting of electoral votes for President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) suggested Congress "follow the precedent" of another disputed election.In 1877, just a few years after the end of the Civil War, a disputed election was resolved with a bipartisan electoral commission that put former Republican President Rutherford B. Hayes in the White House, but also ended most of the Reconstruction efforts aimed at enforcing the end of slavery and white supremacy in the South. The 1877 commission allowed Jim Crow laws to take hold in the South and remain for nearly a century later. But without much regard for that racist history, Cruz suggested today's Congress follow 1877's lead.> "I would urge that we follow the precedent of 1877," says Senator Ted Cruz.> > The bipartisan electoral commission that Cruz speaks of was widely regarded as a disaster https://t.co/azXMO0zfYw pic.twitter.com/dLSuPLrvcO> > — Bloomberg Opinion (@bopinion) January 6, 2021Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) followed with a complete teardown of Cruz's argument, questioning why Cruz wasn't also disputing the elections of dozens of House members elected on the same ballots. And then came Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), a Republican from a swing state Biden won. Despite supporting and campaigning for Trump, Toomey also wasn't siding with the Republican opposition, instead questioning just how much good a "commission" would do for the undisputed count.More stories from theweek.com Trump aides reportedly conclude he is 'mentally unreachable' Mick Mulvaney resigns from the Trump administration: 'I can't stay here' Congress, Pence certify Joe Biden's presidential victory

  • Boston Marathon bomber sues over ballcap, showers in prison

    Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has sued the federal government for $250,000 over his treatment at the Colorado prison where he is serving a life sentence. Tsarnaev, 26, calls his treatment in the handwritten suit filed Monday “unlawful, unreasonable and discriminatory.”

  • Protester with feet on Nancy Pelosi's desk is a Trump supporter from Arkansas

    A Capitol protester pictured with his feet up in the offices of US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been identified as Richard Barnett, a self-described 'white nationalist' Trump supporter from Arkansas. Mr Barnett, 60, who was one of several protesters who stormed into Ms Pelosi's office, wrote her a "nasty note" and took a letter from her office addressed to a Republican Congressman. After then fleeing outside, he waved the letter around and gave a foul-mouthed interview to a waiting reporters, where he complained of having been squirted with mace spray by police trying to protect the building. He mockingly denied stealing the envelope, saying he had left some loose change on Ms Pelosi's desk by way of payment. “I didn’t steal it. I bled on it because they were macing me and I couldn’t f—ing see,” Mr Barnett said, according to video posted on Twitter by a New York Times reporter. “So I figure ‘well, I’m in her office, I got blood in her office, I’ll put a quarter on her desk even though she ain’t f—ing worth it." He added: "When the police came in with pepper spray, “I said, ‘I paid for this, it’s mine,’ and I left."

  • Woman killed in Capitol riot shooting identified as US Air Force veteran, reports say

    Circumstances of shooting still unclear and DC police are investigating

  • Inside Fashion Designer Brian Atwood’s Vibrant Apartment 64 Floors Above Manhattan

    The Hudson Yards aerie, which Atwood shares with his physician husband Jake Deutsch, is literally “a glass box in the sky.”Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

  • Cotton, Rubio Condemn Republicans Who Opposed Electoral Certification ‘For Political Advantage’

    Republican Senators Marco Rubio and Tom Cotton chastised several of their fellow GOP senators on Thursday for their behavior ahead of Congress's certification of the electoral vote count, which a group of senators said they opposed."You have some senators who, for political advantage, were giving false hope to their supporters, misleading them into thinking that somehow yesterday's actions in Congress could reverse the results of the election," Cotton said on Fox News."These senators, as insurrectionists literally stormed the capitol, were sending out fundraising emails. That shouldn't have happened, and it's got to stop now," he continued.The Arkansas Republican appears to be referring to fundraising messages from Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri that were sent just as pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol building Wednesday afternoon.Shortly before the rioting began, Hawley’s campaign sent a fundraising email promoting his decision to object to Pennsylvania’s electoral votes being counted."I'm leading the fight to reject electors from key states unless there is an emergency audit of the election results. Will you stand with me?" read Cruz's fundraising text, which was blasted out after evacuation procedures began in the Capitol.Cotton emphasized that he was never planning to object to the electoral certification but said he still supports an independent commission to study the November election and propose reforms.Rubio tweeted Thursday morning that "some misled you" regarding whether the vice president "could reject ballots" and whether "objections could pass or used as leverage to force an audit.""They knew the truth but thought it was a great way to get attention & raise money," the Florida Republican wrote.Hawley was the first GOP senator to say he would object to the certification of electoral votes, promising to oppose Pennsylvania's results.Asked whether he believes Trump is responsible in part for the rioting, Hawley acknowledged, "I don't think urging people to come to the Capitol was a good idea" but added that "the responsibility of violent criminal acts is with violent criminals."Earlier this week, a group of eleven Republican senators led by Senator Ted Cruz of Texas announced they would object to the certification of one or more states' electoral votes.That group included Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Mike Braun of Indiana, Steve Daines of Montana, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, and John Kennedy of Louisiana, as well as senators-elect Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, and Roger Marshall of Kansas.

  • China steps up COVID-19 curbs near Beijing as infections rise

    Chinese authorities on Wednesday imposed travel restrictions and banned gatherings in the capital city of Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing, in the latest escalation of measures to stave off another coronavirus wave. The province, which entered a "wartime mode" on Tuesday, accounted for 20 of the 23 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases reported in mainland China on Jan. 5, more than the total of 19 cases in the province in the three previous days. Hebei also accounted for 43 of 64 new asymptomatic cases - people infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus but not yet showing symptoms of COVID-19.

  • Qatar emerges from Gulf spat resolute and largely unscathed

    Qataris awoke to a surprise blockade and boycott by Gulf Arab neighbors 3 1/2 years ago, and this week were jolted again by the sudden announcement that it was all over. Criticism of the boycott was a criminal offense in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt as the four sought to punish Qatar. Qatar’s resolve in the face of the assault showed how little the campaign achieved as the small, but influential U.S. ally holds firm with its ties to Turkey, Iran and Islamists.

  • Capitol Hill rioters showed little concern about being identified

    Many of the Trump supporters in Wednesday's Capitol mob were not wearing masks — a sign not just of their cavalier attitude concerning the raging pandemic, but also, perhaps, their lack of concern about being potentially identified as insurrectionists.One notable example, cited by Facebook's Tom Gara, is Richard "Bigo" Barnett, who apparently posed in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office with his feet up on her desk and admitted to the press that he took one of her envelopes as a sort of souvenir. "It's all so surreal," Gara explained. "This guy didn't just loot Pelosi's office, he spoke on record to [The New York Times] about it and gave them his full name and age." The Washington Post's Jon Swaine added that Barnett had also reportedly "prepared for a violent death," having written on Facebook that "I came into this world kicking and screaming, covered in someone else's blood. I'm not afraid to go out the same way."Slate's Sam Adams echoed Gara's unease about the lack of concern by the mob in protecting their identities. "These people believe they will face no consequences, and thus far they are sickeningly correct," he tweeted in apparent reference to the numerous easily-identifiable right-wing personalities in attendance, and the shockingly low number of arrests made on Wednesday.The investigative journalism website Bellingcat has launched an effort to compile photographs and videos from the Capitol storming, not to identify people who were there but to "enable future research" as websites and owners begin to delete the images. The FBI, meanwhile, tweeted Thursday that it is "seeking to identify individuals instigating violence in Washington, D.C.," and that it's "now accepting tips and digital media depicting rioting or violence in and around the U.S. Capitol on January 6."More stories from theweek.com Trump aides reportedly conclude he is 'mentally unreachable' Schumer calls for Trump to be removed from office via the 25th Amendment or impeachment GOP Sen. Tom Cotton not-so-subtly knocks Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley for inspiring Capitol siege for 'political advantage'

  • ‘Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’: Democrats including Hillary Clinton and AOC rejoice over Georgia as Trump goes wild on Twitter

    President launches all-caps Twitter tirade as Democrats celebrate electoral upset victories

  • Huckabee: 'I'd love to see some Democrats' demand a 'full accounting' of election results

    Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee weighs in on GOP senators demanding an audit of the 2020 election results saying he wishes that 'all the elected officials would demand a full accounting for how the ballots were tabulated.'

  • AP Photos: Indian army patrols border with rival Pakistan

    From sandbagged Indian army bunkers dug deep into the Pir Panjal mountains in the Himalayas, villages on the Pakistan-controlled side of Kashmir appear precariously close, on the other side of the Line of Control that for the past 73 years has divided the region between the two nuclear-armed rivals. Tens of thousands of soldiers from India and Pakistan are positioned along the two sides. AP journalists were recently allowed to cover Indian army counterinsurgency drills in Poonch and Rajouri districts along the Line of Control.

  • Trump has reportedly been 'ranting about Pence,' who could still effectively fire him

    President Trump cannot fire Vice President Mike Pence. But Pence could play a big part in immediately ending Trump's term.Removing Trump via the 25th Amendment, "a move, long dismissed as a liberal fantasy," is one of a handful of options being considered by shaken Trump allies, Axios said Wednesday night, confirming earlier reports. Republicans are furious with Trump for "fomenting an attack on American democracy" by sending a mob to sack the U.S. Capitol, as well as his leading role in ending GOP control of the Senate, and "there's concern about whether the country can withstand another two weeks with Trump at the helm."Republicans are also discussing censuring Trump, which would do little, and removing him via impeachment, Axios says. "The 25th Amendment route would require buy-in from Pence and a majority of Trump's Cabinet. But many of those Cabinet members also have been loyalists to the president and serve in acting capacities, so it's not clear that support or will exists." On the other hand, "Trump has been ranting about Pence" and his ceremonial role in finalizing President-elect Joe Biden's win, sources tell Axios.If removed under the never-used Section 4 of the 25th Amendment, "Trump can't just take his powers back immediately and fire all the Cabinet officers who sought to sideline him," George Conway explained.> ... to sustain the VP's and cabinet's judgment. Congress has 21 days to act. > > Since Trump now has less than 14 days left in his term, Congress can just run out the clock with Pence in place until Biden is sworn in.> > -- George Conway (@gtconway3d) January 7, 2021The idea of removing Trump with 13 days left in his term is not yet being embraced by House or Senate GOP leaders, Axios says,"and it's too soon to know whether those talking about them are just letting off steam after a shock to the democracy, or whether a critical mass exists to proceed." But Pence looked pretty irritated and maybe even a little presidential when he reconvened the congressional count of Biden's electoral victory after police removed the pro-Trump mob from the Capitol."I've known Mike Pence forever," Sen James Inhofe (R-Okla.) told the Tulsa World on Tuesday night, after a day of public abuse by Trump. "I've never seen Pence as angry as he was today. I had a long conversation with him," he added. "He said, 'After all the things I've done for (Trump).'"More stories from theweek.com Trump aides reportedly conclude he is 'mentally unreachable' Schumer calls for Trump to be removed from office via the 25th Amendment or impeachment GOP Sen. Tom Cotton not-so-subtly knocks Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley for inspiring Capitol siege for 'political advantage'

  • BLM protests vs pro-Trump rioters: Pictures show the stark difference in police response

    Images shared on social media highlighted the stark divide between law enforcement’s response to last summer's Black Lives Matter protests, and Wednesday’s right-wing rioters who stormed the US Capitol. Many on Twitter were quick to point out how differently law enforcement behaved over the summer, deploying rubber bullets and tear gas in many instances across the country. "The police suddenly very hesitant to use their weapons," wrote one Twitter user next to a violent video of rioters pushing and shoving their way into the Capitol.

  • What does ‘Status Not Available’ mean on stimulus tracking site? Here’s what IRS says

    Stimulus checks started arriving through direct deposit last week, the IRS said.

  • Pompeo angers China with Hong Kong sanctions threat

    Washington may sanction those involved in the arrest of over 50 people in Hong Kong and will send the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations to visit Taiwan, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, drawing anger and the threat of retaliation from Beijing. Pompeo said he was also "appalled" by the arrest of an American citizen as part of Wednesday's crackdown and added: "The United States will not tolerate the arbitrary detention or harassment of U.S. citizens."

  • House nearly devolves into a brawl during the objection to Pennsylvania electors

    Tempers flared on the House floor early Thursday during speeches for and against an objection to recognizing President-elect Joe Biden's electoral win in Pennsylvania — the final hurdle in the counting of Electoral College votes, delayed by the occupation of the Capitol on Wednesday by a mob supporting President Trump. Rep. Conor Lamb, a moderate Democrat from Pennsylvania, lit into his Republican colleagues, telling them their objections have no merit and "don't deserve an ounce of respect. A woman died out there tonight, and you're making these objections."There was a commotion from the GOP side after Lamb said the people storming the Capitol would have been arrested if they weren't white, prompting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-N.Y.) to call for order. "Enough has been done today already to try to strip this Congress of its dignity, and we don't need to do any more," Lamb said, adding that some of his colleagues had fueled the mob by repeating lies about the election. A few moments later, Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) objected, saying Lamb was calling him a liar. Pelosi shot down the objection, and then things nearly came to blows.> "There will be order in the House."> > Watch tensions rise on House floor during debate on Pennsylvania ElectoralCollege Vote Objection.> > Note: C-SPAN does not control cameras in the House. pic.twitter.com/sQ1vAIxc0t> > — CSPAN (@cspan) January 7, 2021The benches cleared, and the deputy sergeant at arms got involved. PBS's Lisa Desjardins explains what happened off-camera:> 6\. Democrats got on feet, from other side of the chamber many (a dozen?) started moving quickly, almost running thru rows to where Harris was. > 7\. Republicans started doing same. > 8\. A staffer - it may have been the Sgt. at Arms moved even more quickly to separate them.> > 2/> > — Lisa Desjardins (@LisaDNews) January 7, 2021"We want this government to work more than they want it to fail," Lamb said after the fight was defused, then ceded the floor.More stories from theweek.com Trump aides reportedly conclude he is 'mentally unreachable' Schumer calls for Trump to be removed from office via the 25th Amendment or impeachment GOP Sen. Tom Cotton not-so-subtly knocks Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley for inspiring Capitol siege for 'political advantage'

  • Trump withdraws Wolf’s nomination for Homeland Security chief as he criticises president over riots

    Wolf criticises president but did not resign unlike many of his colleagues

  • Impossible Foods cuts wholesale prices by 15% for second time in one year

    The price cut is its second in a year and the California-based company is asking distributors to pass on the savings to restaurants and consumers. The Beyond Meat rival has tied up with several restaurants including Burger King, Starbucks and White Castle, and expanded its retail footprint to thousands of stores across the United States last year. With the latest cut, the lowest possible price to distributors for the Impossible Burger would be $6.80 per pound, but it is still significantly higher than ground beef prices which range from about $2 to $3 per pound for low fat and non-organic varieties, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

  • Romney tells Republican colleagues 'this is what you've gotten' as Senate shelters in breached Capitol

    Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) put the blame for the chaos unfolding in the Capitol on Wednesday firmly on the shoulders of his Republican colleagues: "This is what you've gotten, guys," Romney was heard yelling as "mayhem unfolded in the Senate chamber, apparently addressing his colleagues who were leading the charge to press Mr. Trump's false claims of a stolen election," The New York Times reports.Protesters breached the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon, flooding the building and breaking into both chambers of Congress, sending lawmakers into terrified lockdowns. Sheltering with some members of the press, Romney reportedly called over Jonathan Martin of the Times to make it known, "This is what the president has caused today, this insurrection."More stories from theweek.com Trump aides reportedly conclude he is 'mentally unreachable' MSNBC's Joe Scarborough calls for Trump's arrest over Capitol riots: 'He should be sent to jail today' Fox and Friends' Ainsley Earhardt hopes Trump can 'forgive' Pence for not overturning election