/Trump impeachment news – live: Biden vows to reverse string of policies on day one as Senate prepares trial

Trump impeachment news – live: Biden vows to reverse string of policies on day one as Senate prepares trial

Trump says impeachment moves causing anger, but ‘I want no violence’

President Donald Trump’s approval rating has plummeted to an all-time low as the US leader prepares to exit the White House. 

In the wake of the deadly Capitol riots on 6 January, the president has seen his approval rating dive, with the change in perception being largely among Republicans. 

The worst polling came from Pew Research Center, which found Mr Trump’s disapproval rating to be at 68 per cent, with his approval rating falling to 29 per cent, the lowest yet, in a poll of 5,360 adults conducted between 8-12 January.

The findings come as states across the US brace for the possibility of inauguration week violence as President-Elect Joe Biden prepares to take office on Wednesday. 

On Sunday, former FBI director James Comey warned of the “very serious” risk of violence breaking out around the inauguration following deadly riots at the US Capitol last week. 

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Woman arrested for impersonating officer in DC

WTOP reports that a woman was arrested at a security checkpoint on Saturday morning after pretending to be a law enforcement officer, according to police.

She was stopped near Union Station and showed a military challenge coin while claiming to be a member of law enforcement.

As she was questioned she drove off in her car, but was apprehended, arrested, and charged with  impersonating an officer, failure to obey an officer, and fleeing a law enforcement officer.

She was taken into custody for psychiatric evaluation.

Oliver O’Connell17 January 2021 18:13

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Melania to leave with lowest favourability rating of tenure

A CNN/SSRS poll shows that Melania Trump will exit the White House with the lowest favourability rating in her time as first lady.

47 per cent of respondents say they have an unfavourable view of Ms Trump — the greatest number since the poll was first conducted in February 2016 as the election campaign got underway. 42 per cent have a favourable view of the first lady.

(AFP via Getty Images)

The first lady’s highest favourable rating was 57 per cent in May 2018 after she attended the funeral of former first lady Barbara Bush without her husband.

The same polling company puts Donald Trump’s favourability at 33 per cent.

Michelle Obama departed the White House in 2017 with a favourabliity rating of 69 per cent. Laura Bush received a 67 per cent rating in 2009 and Hillary Clinton departed the executive mansion with a rating of 56 per cent.

Oliver O’Connell17 January 2021 17:58

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Schiff says Trump not to be trusted with future intelligence briefings

On Face the Nation, Rep Adam Schiff is clear when he agrees that Donald Trump should not receive another intelligence briefing “not now, not in the future”.

Oliver O’Connell17 January 2021 17:49

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Dr Fauci says Biden’s Covid vaccine goals are ‘absolutely doable’

Dr Anthony Fauci has said President-Elect Joe Biden’s goal of delivering 100 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine within the first 100 days of his presidency is an “absolutely doable thing”.  

Speaking on NBC’s “Meet The Press”, Dr Fauci said two new vaccines under development could “very soon” be presented to US regulators for approval.  

“We’re weeks away, not months away, for sure,” he said.

The new vaccines would help rollout across the US move faster, Dr Fauci said.

The infectious disease expert’s remarks came amid growing criticism over the Trump administration’s leadership on the vaccine rollout. 

Around 10.6 million Americans have so far been vaccinated, according to the latest numbers. That is about half the number of people the current administration had hoped would receive the jab by the end of 2020.

Chantal Da Silva17 January 2021 17:40

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Kamala Harris to resign Senate seat on Monday

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is set to resign her Senate seat on Monday as the California senator prepares to take office alongside President-Elect Joe Biden two days later.

According to the Associated Press, aides the Democrat’s aides confirmed the timing on Sunday and said Gov. Gavin Newsom was prepared for the decision. 

 Mr Newsom is expected to appoint fellow Democrat Alex Padilla, now California’s secretary of state, to serve out the remaining two years of Ms Harris’ term.

Mr Padilla will be the first Latino senator to represent California, where around 40 per cent of residents are estimated to be Hispanic.  

Chantal Da Silva17 January 2021 17:30

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Trump has less than 72 hours left in office

Donald Trump officially has less than 72 hours as the President of the United States, with President-Elect Joe Biden set to take up the presidency as of 12pm ET on 20 January. 

With less than three days to go before Mr Biden takes office, states across the country have been preparing for the possibility of violent protests. 

Following the deadly Capitol riots on 6 January, states have ramped up security at their capitols, with some activating National Guard troops.

Chantal Da Silva17 January 2021 17:01

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Lindsey Graham accuses Schumer of seeking ‘vengeance’ with Senate impeachment trial

GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham has accused Chuck Schumer, the incoming Senate majority leader, of seeking “vengeance” by pushing forward with plans to hold President Donald Trump’s Senate impeachment trial after the US leader leaves office. 

Noting that present Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Vice President Mike Pence had stood against calls for the results of the 2020 election to be overturned, Mr Graham claimed that “virtually all” Republicans in Senate “rejected further challenges to the 2020 election”. 

“But now, in your first act as Majority Leader, rather than begin the national healing that the country so desperately yearns for, you seek vengeance and political retaliation instead. 

“While the Vice President and Senate Republicans rejected unconstitutional actions, you seek to force upon the Senate, what would itself be but one more unconstitutional action in this disgraceful saga – the impeachment trial of a former president”. 

Mr Trump has already been impeached by the House of Representatives over his role in inciting the riots at the US Capitol on 6 January. 

Now, he faces a Senate trial to determine whether he should be convicted over his role in inciting the deadly insurrection. 

Mr McConnell had announced that the Senate trial would take place after President-Elect Joe Biden’s 20 January inauguration in order to allow Congress to focus on the transition between administrations.

The full letter can be read here: 

Chantal Da Silva17 January 2021 16:43

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Trump’s approval rating plummets to record-low

As President Donald Trump prepares to exit the White House, his approval rating has plummeted to an all-time low.

In the wake of 6 January’s deadly Capitol riots, approval for the US leader has taken a major dive, with a change in sentiments coming largely from Republicans.

The worst polling came from Pew Research Center, which found Mr Trump’s disapproval rating to be at 68 per cent, with his approval rating sinking to 29 per cent in a poll of 5,360 adults conducted between 8-12 January.

Other polls also put the president’s disapproval rating at over 60 per cent. 

Oliver O’Connell breaks down the latest polling results and what they mean for Mr Trump as he exits office: 

Chantal Da Silva17 January 2021 16:30

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Trump is still ‘telling people he won’, Maggie Haberman says

New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman has said President Donald Trump is “still telling people that he won” the 2020 election.

Asked on CNN what Mr Trump has been up to over the past few days, the NYT correspondent said the president has been busy saying his farewells as US leader, despite still maintaining that he won the 2020 election as President-Elect Joe Biden prepares to take office.

“We haven’t heard from him in part because he lost his Twitter feed,” she noted. 

However, the journalist said Mr Trump has been “taking farewell pictures with aides, still talking to people” and “still telling people that he won”. 

“He has not accepted that he lost but he has accepted the fact that he is not going to be president,” she said. 

On accepting his loss, she said: “He is not there yet, if he is ever going to get there”.

Chantal Da Silva17 January 2021 16:22

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Law enforcement officials batten down statehouses ahead of planned protests

Law enforcement officials have ramped up security at statehouses across the country on Sunday in preparation for the possibility of violent protests ahead of Joe Biden’s Wednesday inauguration.

Security officials have been on alert after members of the anti-government “Boogaloo” movement made plans to hold rallies across the country on Sunday.

There were questions over whether the protests would move ahead, but CBS News reported that on Friday its team received an email from an administrator of the Tree of Liberty website, an online forum for members of the movement, saying the rallies would go forward. 

More than a dozen states have activated National Guard troops and taken other measures to secure their capitol buildings after the FBI warned of armed protests. 

Chantal Da Silva17 January 2021 16:05