Impeachment
The Government of the United States is enthralled with impeachment. The Congress, the Presidency, and the Judiciary: all are wrapped up in their Constitutional concerns. The House is about to impeach a President for only the third time in the history of the Republic. The Senate is determining how much of a trial, or a show, they will allow.
The Courts are ruling in subpoenas, and beginning to struggle with the extreme view of Presidential authority that the President’s lawyers and the Attorney General demand. The reality of Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s push to fill the Federal benches may soon become apparent, as case after case works it way through the system.
And it’s not just the White House consumed with events. The Department of Justice, the Office of Management and Budget, the State Department, and more are dealing with the events surrounding this threat to remove the President.
So who’s minding the store?
Congress
In the House of Representative, ground zero of the impeachment crisis, stuff is getting done. While we weren’t looking, at least not very carefully, the House reached a deal with the President over the new North American Free Trade Pact, USMCA. The deal included strengthening labor enforcement rules and dropping some perks for drug companies. The bill will go to the floor for final vote this week (LA Times).
The House also passed a bill to giving the government the ability to negotiate lower drug prices. This was a much more partisan issue, with Republicans almost fully against the legislation. While this may never get through the Senate, it does establish the Democratic position on prescription drug costs (CNBC).
And, the House also reached an agreement on the Defense Budget, creating a new branch of the US Armed Forces, the Space Force. The was part of an overall budget agreement, and for the first time in years, it looks like an actual Federal budget may clear the Congress, instead of short term continuing resolutions, with the threat of government shutdown always looming over the negotiations (WAPO).
The Senate, where over four hundred House-passed bills have stacked up waiting for Mitch McConnell’s approval, actually passed a few bills as well. They passed a bill to permanently help fund historically black colleges and universities (HBCU). It moved through by unanimous consent (CNN). So did a bill to recognize Turkey’s genocide of the Armenian people a century ago. This not only acknowledges history, but also serves as a shot at our less than faithful NATO ally, Turkey (Axios).
Crisis
Impeaching the President doesn’t stop America from ongoing crises. While we were watching the hearings, there was a mass shooting at a US Navy base in Pensacola. A Saudi officer taking classes took up a weapon and starting shooting. What looks like an obvious terrorist attack has been quietly submerged in the impeachment waters. It seems that no one wants to call out our “friend,” Saudi Arabia.
And the border wall “crisis” continues, as the Defense Department begins an investigation into the $400 million contract awarded to North Dakota based Fisher Sand and Gravel Company. The President of the privately owned firm made several appearances on Fox News, and worked with former Presidential Advisor Steve Bannon to raise visibility in the bidding process. The Company is also building several miles of privately funded “wall” on the border (WAPO).
In the state of Wisconsin, a judge has orders of 200,000 names be removed from the voting roles. In Ohio the state legislature is considering a bill to require physicians to re-implant embryos that were growing outside of the uterus, called ectopic pregnancies. Physicians say that this is physiologically impossible (Business Insider).
Campaigns
The Democratic campaigns for the Presidential nomination continue. The last debate of the year is scheduled for December 19th. Seven candidates have qualified, and no candidate of color made it on the stage. Nine of the candidates asked the Democratic National Committee to change the rules, allowing Cory Booker and Julian Castro to participate, but the DNC has declined.
And all of that may not matter. The debate is scheduled for Loyola Marymont University in Los Angeles, but the food workers at the University are in a contract dispute, and plan to set up a picket line at the debates. No Democratic candidate is going to cross a picket line to appear on national television, so the entire debate is in doubt (Fox).
While we weren’t looking, Senator Kamala Harris left the campaign trail, out of money, and Mike Bloomberg entered the campaign, spending $4.2 million a day. He isn’t going to be in the debates, but he’s betting that neither debates nor the early primary states will make a difference. He hopes to make his electoral debut in the Super Tuesday March primaries.
Life Goes On
Impeachment is happening, this Wednesday. Then, perhaps the United States will stop fighting for a moment, and head home for Christmas. Perhaps that will allow some healing before the existential struggle of the election of 2020. Or maybe not: American holidays haven’t really been the same since the election of 2016. This year the President will probably come up, between the ham and turkey and the green bean casserole. It won’t necessarily make for a Merry Christmas.
