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Are suit jackets oppression? Lawmakers fight own dress codes
(AP Photo/Steven Senne)BOSTON – A sneaker-clad Latino state senator in Rhode Island is objecting to his chamber’s jacket and dress shirt edict as a form of white oppression. With women and people of color elected in larger numbers in many states, legislatures are being forced to confront longstanding dress codes that are increasingly viewed as sexist and racist. But the Denver-based organization said roughly half of all state legislatures had some sort of formalized dress code in 2019. The Democrat-controlled Rhode Island Senate approved its new dress code Tuesday, over objections from Acosta and other lawmakers. But he said the strong opposition to ending the dress code outright only underscores the uphill battle younger, progressive lawmakers face in trying to advance more pressing priorities.
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Dividing party, Republicans poised to challenge Biden win
Eleven Republican senators saying they will not be voting Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, to confirm President-elect Joe Biden's victory include Wyoming's newly sworn in Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a Cheyenne-area rancher and former congresswoman. It is unclear just what the Republican senators will do, but the process could drag into the night as the two chambers will have to consider each objection individually. And more than a dozen Republican senators have said they will not support the effort. Facing the criticism from many in his own party, Cruz has attempted to put a finer point on his challenge. The commission remains his focus, he has said, not to undo the election results, even though that would be the practical effect of a successful objection.
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Trump says he'll 'fight like hell' to hold on to presidency
Though he got nothing but cheers Monday night, Trump's attempt to overturn the presidential election i s splitting the Republican Party. Trump himself is whipping up crowds for a Wednesday rally near the White House. Trump said in Georgia: “I hope that our great vice president comes through for us. Two current Republican senators, Rob Portman of Ohio and Mike Lee of Utah, joined the growing number who now oppose the legislators' challenge. Larry Hogan of Maryland; Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the third-ranking House GOP leader; and former House Speaker Paul Ryan — have criticized the GOP efforts to overturn the election.
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The Latest: Nancy Pelosi reelected speaker of the House
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., speaks to the media, Wednesday Dec. 30, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. The group of House and Senate Republicans are echoing President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of widespread voter fraud. Democrat Nancy Pelosi was set to be reelected as House speaker by her party, which retains the majority in the House but with the slimmest margin in 20 years. Hawley specifically defended himself against criticism from GOP Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania as he challenges that state’s election results. Rep. Nancy Pelosi is set to be reelected as House speaker by fellow Democrats, who retain the House majority but with the slimmest margin in 20 years.
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Trump headed to Georgia as runoff boost, but also a threat
President Donald Trump participates in a video teleconference call with members of the military on Thanksgiving, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020, at the White House in Washington. Republicans acknowledge Trump as the GOP’s biggest turnout driver, including in Georgia, where Biden won by fewer than 13,000 votes out of about 5 million cast. “Followers of Trump will follow Trump, but they’re not blind to the huge stakes. Before November, Democrats dreaded a second Trump term more than Republicans feared Trump losing, Robinson reasoned. “I couldn’t be more excited to welcome” the president “back to Georgia,” Loeffler wrote on Twitter after Trump confirmed his plans.
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Trump ally McCarthy is reelected leader of House Republicans
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., talks about House Republicans and the election, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020. House Republicans are “the most united and energized” he's ever seen after their “historic political upset." McCarthy and his team are now among the remaining leaders from the tea party era, when House Republicans last controlled Congress. In the Trump era, House Republicans’ role receded as the White House often dominated the discussion and Republicans held the majority in the Senate. The House Republicans had to seek a waiver from the District of Columbia, which has restrictions on large gatherings.
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Trump ally McCarthy is reelected leader of House Republicans
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., talks about House Republicans and the election, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020. House Republicans are “the most united and energized” he's ever seen after their “historic political upset." McCarthy and his team are now among the remaining leaders from the tea party era, when House Republicans last controlled Congress. In the Trump era, House Republicans’ role receded as the White House often dominated the discussion and Republicans held the majority in the Senate. The House Republicans had to seek a waiver from the District of Columbia, which has restrictions on large gatherings.
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Biden has room on health care, though limited by Congress
And just like the Trump administration, Biden is expected to aggressively wield the rule-making powers of the executive branch to address health insurance coverage and prescription drug costs. With COVID-19 surging across the country, Biden's top health care priority is whipping the federal government’s response into shape. “We’re going to work quickly with the Congress to dramatically ramp up health care protections, get Americans universal coverage, lower health care costs, as soon as humanly possible,” the president-elect said earlier this week. A factor that may work in Biden's favor is that many Republicans want to change the subject on health care. Coronavirus relief legislation could provide an early vehicle for some broader health care changes.
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Biden's plea for cooperation confronts a polarized Congress
WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden feels at home on Capitol Hill, but the place sure has changed since he left. The clubby atmosphere that Biden knew so well during his 36-year Senate career is gone, probably forever. Republicans are favored to retain control of the Senate heading into two runoff elections in Georgia in January. And some lawmakers say voters made clear in the election that governance from the middle is exactly what they want. “He has a remarkable record of shape-shifting to run his conference in a unique manner determined by the political imperative of the moment," said former Senate Democratic leadership aide Mike Spahn.
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Biden's plea for cooperation confronts a polarized Congress
WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden feels at home on Capitol Hill, but the place sure has changed since he left. The clubby atmosphere that Biden knew so well during his 36-year Senate career is gone, probably forever. Republicans are favored to retain control of the Senate heading into two runoff elections in Georgia in January. And some lawmakers say voters made clear in the election that governance from the middle is exactly what they want. “He has a remarkable record of shape-shifting to run his conference in a unique manner determined by the political imperative of the moment," said former Senate Democratic leadership aide Mike Spahn.
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Analysis: GOP lets doubts about Biden's legitimacy flourish
“Their intent is to delegitimize this election and thereby delegitimize President-elect Biden’s presidency,” said Valerie Jarrett, who was a White House senior adviser to President Barack Obama. He has cleared the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House. Still, Republicans have allowed Trump's misinformation to flourish, pushed along by conservative media and on the internet. The turmoil surrounding the transition, he added, said more about the person leaving the White House than the one who will soon enter. Those lies helped fuel some of the hard-line opposition to Obama within the party, making it difficult for more mainstream GOP leaders to work with the White House.
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US Senate high stakes spur astronomical spending in Montana
– Political groups fighting for control of the U.S. Senate have poured more than $118 million into the contest between Montana's Democratic Gov. And the Montana political ad spending is almost 10 times as much per voter being spent on ads in Colorado's Senate contest between former Democratic Gov. But the main driver is the race's competitive nature and the high stakes in the Senate. “These groups that are spending, they're spending big," Bullock told The AP. The Annenberg center's Jamieson, whose grandmother homesteaded in Montana, noted that political ads have a long history in the state.
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Frenemies: Romney, GOP reunite on plan for Ginsburg seat
The Utah Republican and 2012 GOP presidential nominee incensed President Donald Trump and Republicans with his impeachment vote. No court nominee in U.S. history has been considered so close to a presidential election. Without speaking to anyone at the White House, Romney then made his decision official, clearing the way for the Senate to move ahead. Romney would not, for example, voice an opinion on any specific potential Trump nominee. Supporting the GOP effort to replace Ginsburg, Romney said, represented his “intention” — for now.
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'Ballot harvesting' targeted amid fight over voting rules
LAS VEGAS As President Donald Trump's reelection campaign challenged Nevada's new voting law in court, the president and Republicans argued the rules would facilitate fraud and illegal voting. Trump and the GOP contend ballot harvesting opens the door for fraud and have fought to restrict it. This has escalated as states prepare for greater reliance on absentee voting or vote-by-mail amid COVID-19. In Nevada, an easing of ballot collection rules was included in a new law that calls for automatically sending ballots to all active voters this November. Nevada is among 26 other states allowing voters to more broadly designate someone to drop off their ballot.
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Trump faces rare rebuke from GOP for floating election delay
It was a rare rebuke for Trump from his fellow Republicans but one that might not last. Reeves said he opposes any plan to change the election date: I dont personally think a delay in the election at this point in time is necessary." Trump cannot change the election date without the approval of Congress, and policymakers in both parties made clear they would oppose such a move. Trump's ultimate goal, however, may have less to do with the election date than undermining the results of the election if he loses. The Republican president did not deny that he was trying to cast doubt about the election results when asked directly during Thursday's press briefing.
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Congress stalls out again dealing with national trauma
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)WASHINGTON For a moment, Congress had a chance to act on policing reform, mobilized by a national trauma and overwhelming public support. There are other high-profile examples where public support has been unable to overcome hyper-partisanship in Congress most notably on gun control. The parties have also failed to make progress in overhauling the nations fractured immigration laws, despite broad public support. Murray said in an interview that there was little attempt to do that kind of behind-the-scenes work on policing reform. The feeling that you want to accomplish something, that you want to get something done ... is a very different feeling than we saw with policing reform."

McCarthy breaks with Trump over 'lynching' comment
McCarthy did not go so far as to explicitly condemn the president's statement, however, and went on to criticize the impeachment investigation itself. The president on Tuesday called House Democrats' impeachment inquiry a "lynching," employing a term associated with the extrajudicial killings of African-Americans while calling on Republicans to aid his political defense. Republican Sen. Susain Collins of Maine, who is up for reelection in 2020, said that Trump "never should have made that comparison." "'Lynching' brings back images of a terrible time in our nation's history, and the President never should have made that comparison," Collins tweeted. When Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio was asked if Trump's "lynching" tweet was appropriate, he said: "the President is frustrated."