National Politics Archives

Republican members of Congress refuse to wear masks during Capitol insurrection

January 9, 2021 2:46 PM CNN

Six House Republicans were captured on video refusing masks offered by a colleague during the US Capitol insurrection on Wednesday. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, a Delaware Democrat, was shown approaching the group of colleagues and offering blue surgical masks. The video, shot from inside a safe room where the lawmakers gathered during the chaos, was

Pope Francis says violence at the US Capitol must be ‘condemned’

January 9, 2021 2:14 PM CNN

Pope Francis said in a recent interview that the violence that broke out at the United States Capitol building on Wednesday “must be condemned.” “Violence is always like this,” the Pope said in comments to Italy’s Canale 5 channel that CNN translated to English, adding that that there are violent outbreaks in every country’s history

Trump pressured Georgia elections investigator to ‘find the fraud’ in 2020 election

January 9, 2021 1:23 PM CNN

President Donald Trump last month urged the chief investigator for the Georgia secretary of state’s office to “find the fraud” in the 2020 presidential election, telling the individual that they would be a “national hero,” according to a source with knowledge of the call. The phone call, which was first reported by The Washington Post,

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley faces increasing backlash after U.S. Capitol violence

January 9, 2021 4:55 AM Ben Fein

Calls for Josh Hawley’s resignation are increasing after the Missouri Senator said he will, “never apologize” for his objection to the Electoral College certification.

Pentagon and DC officials trade barbs over handling of Capitol riot as Army considers giving weapons to National Guard

January 9, 2021 6:50 AM CNN

As a mob of Trump supporters invaded the Capitol in Washington and breached the American legislature for the first time since 1814, efforts to mobilize the National Guard in an unprecedented crisis were hamstrung by bureaucracy and confusion between Pentagon, DC government and Capitol police officials. An official familiar with conversations in the DC government

Exclusive: Biden will release nearly all available vaccine doses in break from Trump administration policy of holding back stock for second dose

January 8, 2021 10:05 PM CNN

President-elect Joe Biden will aim to release nearly every available dose of the coronavirus vaccine when he takes office, a break with the Trump administration’s strategy of holding back half of US vaccine production to ensure second doses are available. Releasing nearly all vaccine doses on hand could quickly ratchet up the availability of coronavirus

Federal judge blocks Trump administration asylum rule from taking effect

January 8, 2021 9:21 PM CNN

A federal judge on Friday blocked a sweeping asylum rule that had been scheduled to take effect nationwide in a matter of days, issuing yet another legal blow to the Trump administration. The administration has released a series of rules restricting asylum over the last four years, making it nearly impossible for asylum seekers to

Feds say police found a truck full of bombs and guns near Capitol insurrection as wide-ranging investigation unfurls

January 8, 2021 8:41 PM CNN

An Alabama man allegedly parked a pickup truck packed with 11 homemade bombs, an assault rifle and a handgun two blocks from the US Capitol building on Wednesday for hours before authorities ever noticed, according to federal prosecutors. The revelation is one of the most unsettling details federal prosecutors have made public this week as

Democratic momentum builds for potential fast-track impeachment next week

January 8, 2021 8:41 PM CNN

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday Democrats are prepared to move forward with impeachment next week if President Donald Trump doesn’t resign, as momentum quickly built among House Democrats furious with Trump to hold an impeachment vote. Following a Democratic caucus call earlier in the afternoon, Pelosi said in a statement that the House would

As riot raged at Capitol, Trump tried to call senators to overturn election

January 8, 2021 8:30 PM CNN

President Donald Trump and his attorney Rudy Giuliani both mistakenly made calls to Republican Sen. Mike Lee as deadly riots were unfolding at the US Capitol earlier this week, a spokesman for the senator confirmed to CNN — calls that were intended for another GOP senator the White House was frantically trying to convince to

White House warned governors about ‘USA variant’ of Covid-19, but no such discovery has been made

January 8, 2021 8:12 PM CNN

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shot down reports from the White House coronavirus task force that warned states of a more transmissible, homegrown “US variant” of coronavirus — a misperception that began on a call with governors, an administration official told CNN. Officials on the governors’ call were discussing whether the steep

Americans watched the Capitol riot in ‘horror’ and ‘disgust.’ Here’s what they told us.

January 8, 2021 7:04 PM CNN

Sadness, fear and outrage. Calls to “lock them up,” and yet … also “heartbreak” at the state of the nation. Comparisons to 9/11. We asked our viewers how they felt as they watched the chaotic scenes of a pro-Trump mob breaching the nation’s Capitol on January 6. Usually a ceremonial day — with little fanfare

Trump administration strikes parting blow at Medicaid with Tennessee block grant

January 8, 2021 6:08 PM CNN

Just days before leaving office, the Trump administration took a step toward fulfilling a long-held Republican dream of curbing Medicaid costs and giving states more flexibility to run the program. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Friday granted Tennessee’s request to turn its federal Medicaid funding arrangement into a so-called modified block grant. It

Twitter has suspended President Donald Trump from its platform

January 8, 2021 5:33 PM CNN

“After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence,” Twitter said.

The week in 19 headlines

January 8, 2021 5:34 PM CNN

Trying to condense all that took place this week into a few headlines is a near impossible task. So much happened. Democrats will take control of the US Senate following their wins in Georgia. Pro-Trump rioters sieged Capitol Hill, which led to a series of resignations and discussions of impeachment. President-elect Joe Biden continued to

Murkowski becomes first GOP senator to call on Trump to resign

January 8, 2021 5:04 PM CNN

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski is calling on President Donald Trump to resign following the riots at the Capitol on Wednesday, making her the first Republican senator to take that step. “I want him to resign. I want him out. He has caused enough damage,” Murkowski said in an interview with the Anchorage Daily News. “I

David Perdue concedes Georgia Senate race to Jon Ossoff

January 8, 2021 4:57 PM CNN

Georgia Sen. David Perdue has conceded the Georgia US Senate runoff race to Jon Ossoff, he announced Friday, making it official that Democrats will take control of the Senate and giving them control of Congress for the first time in a decade. “Although we won the general election, we came up just short of Georgia’s

Federal murder investigation to be opened in Capitol Police officer’s death

January 8, 2021 4:51 PM CNN

Prosecutors in the US Attorney’s office plan to open a federal murder investigation into the death of Brian D. Sicknick, a US Capitol Police officer who died Thursday night, a law enforcement official tells CNN. Sicknick was injured Wednesday when a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the US Capitol. He died at approximately

Multiple Republicans are considering supporting impeachment, sources say

January 8, 2021 4:44 PM CNN

A growing number of Republicans want President Donald Trump to leave office before January 20, with some top lawmakers telling CNN they are considering supporting his impeachment. Two Republican members of Congress who are former Trump allies told CNN they would support impeachment against the President over his role in Wednesday’s deadly attack on the

Lehigh University has rescinded Trump’s honorary degree

January 8, 2021 4:36 PM CNN

Lehigh University, a private college in Pennsylvania, has revoked the honorary degree it awarded President Donald Trump more than 30 years ago. The decision was affirmed by the school’s Board of Trustees on Friday, the school said in a brief announcement. CNN asked the university for further comment, but did not receive any additional information.