10 FEBRUARYImpeachment reduxWhen President Trump was first impeached 14 months ago it seemed implausible that there would be another impeachment trial this quickly. At the time, the United States Studies Centre (USSC) published Impeachment: The insiders’ guide – we didn’t think we’d be dusting it off again so soon. Unlike the first impeachment, the process has moved quickly and is expected to wrap in record time. Republicans and Democrats alike are motivated to move on as Democrats seek to enact President Biden’s ambitious agenda and Republicans work through their internal turmoil over the next phase of MAGA. With signs pointing to a likely acquittal, both sides seem to be asking, “What’s next?” At home, President Biden is eager to get stimulus cheques to Americans as soon as possible. In addition to a US$1,400 per adult payment, the Democrats are pursuing a US$3,000 per
child payment, a figure which vastly outstrips previous proposals and has sparked dissent within their own flanks. The plan also seeks to both extend federal unemployment benefits, currently set to expire on 14 March. Senator Ron Wyden, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has pushed strongly for the bill to be passed before the unemployment benefit deadline and has said anything later would be "absolutely unacceptable". Abroad, we've seen the first signs of how the Biden administration will tackle the China-challenge. As Non-Resident Senior Fellow John Lee wrote in The Australian, Biden is, “going out of his way to dispel fears about a lack of resolve.” Trump's tariffs and other economic measures will continue, keeping the pressure on China, at least for the time being. For more on what to expect on US-China relations under Biden, read Lee’s analysis in Red Book Blue Book or watch this webinar replay from 2020. Stay up to date on the USSC's latest Washington news and analysis at our First 100 days hub or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram.
NEWS WRAPTreasury yellin' for stimulus- Gaining gainful employment | US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says full employment could be reached as soon as next year if Congress passes Biden's U$1.9 trillion stimulus package. Without robust economic action, Yellen said there was a far greater risk of a drawn-out recovery, which could "take a permanent toll"
on the lives of low-wage workers and minorities. READ MORE HERE
- Trial by Senate | The Senate voted 56-44 that an impeachment trial for a president who is no longer sitting is constitutional and can proceed. In the first public indicator of how the final vote may go, six Republicans joined Democrats for the vote, 11 short of the 67 needed to convict former President Trump in the final impeachment vote. READ MORE HERE
- Not easy being Greene | The House of Representatives approved a resolution stripping Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of her committee roles. Eleven of her Republican colleagues joined Democrats in support of the disciplinary action after several incendiary comments made by Taylor Greene on social media were unearthed by the media. READ MORE HERE
- Congress COVID death | Republican representative Ron Wright died after contracting COVID-19. His office announced he tested positive on 21 January and was admitted to hospital in Dallas two weeks later. The 67-year-old Texas Congressman is the first sitting member to die after contracting the virus, which has been responsible for more than 465,000 deaths in the United States. READ MORE HERE
- Extreme Competition | Joe Biden has yet to speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping since his inauguration last month, but said the pair will have "a lot to talk about." In a recent interview the president said China can expect "extreme competition" from the United States under his administration, but insisted the relationship moving forward doesn't need to be one built on conflict. READ MORE HERE
I ran like hell to defeat [Donald Trump] because I thought he was unfit to be president. I'm not in the Senate now. I'll let the Senate make that decision.
President Joe Biden
on the impeachment trial and conviction
CBS | 8 February 2021
VIDEOUS politics and policy series
A review from Australia
Did you miss out on the inaugural episode of the United States Studies Centre and Perth USAsia Centre's monthly US politics and policy series? CEOs Professor Simon Jackman and Professor Gordon Flake provided their expert analysis on the
year so far and discussed what the United States and Australia can both expect in the months ahead. Watch the full event HERE. Catch this and other recent webinars on the USSC YouTube channel!
Donald Trump was the first person to become president who had not previously held public office or served in the military. Without that experience or any desire to learn, he proved to be a president who had no understanding of how democracy works or the public trust he held, or of the Constitution he swore an oath to uphold. Which is why Trump failed in the presidency. But he still had the merciless cunning to suck the blood out of his opponents – son-in-law Jared Kushner said Trump’s 2016 nomination was a successful hostile takeover of the Republican Party – and the
oxygen of every TV studio in which he found himself, and could still survive many foes. Until this election. It is also why he was impeached for actions that many historians believe were the most heinous of any president: encouragement of a
murderous assault on Congress to disrupt the constitutional process for the peaceful transfer of power to president-elect Joe Biden. If Trump had not called for that rally, the Capitol would not have been attacked. The searing ABC Four Corners documentary on Trump’s downfall illustrates in the most harrowing terms the horror and desecration of democracy Trump unleashed against members of Congress in the Capitol. And to reflect the impeachment trial brief documenting the charge of incitement to insurrection, it is the intent of the House prosecutors to project those terrifying images, to try to convince a sufficient number of Republicans to join with Democrats – all sitting in the scene of the crime, at the very desks the mob violated just five weeks ago – to convict Trump. Just as Trump dodged testifying at his trial – he would have been his own damning, incriminating witness – Republican senators will dodge the issue of Trump’s guilt by relying on a bogus process argument about convicting a former president. Trump’s expected acquittal will come because of his continuing hold over a potent share of Republican voters, about 75 per cent of whom believe Trump was cheated. Because of Trump, there is now a
surge of nihilist conspiracists throughout grassroots Republican ranks.
Trump is determined, just as he was with those who prosecuted his first impeachment in the Ukraine affair, to punish his enemies for their treason. Last year he purged the government of the witnesses to his crimes. He now wants to end the careers of those Republicans who had the temerity to accept the election result and support his second impeachment. And the Republican members of the House and Senate know it.
USSC EVENTSLove and Wolpe on Republicans and Democrats, Biden's agenda and 2022 The Biden administration is seeking approval of its first major piece of legislation, the second impeachment trial for Donald Trump has begun, and battles within the Democratic and Republican parties are being fought for all to see. Will the Biden administration successfully pass a US$1.9 trillion stimulus package? Will the Republican Party ever veer away from Donald Trump? What are the prospects for bipartisanship? Join Mia Love, Non-Resident Senior Fellow and former member of Congress, in conversation with Bruce Wolpe, Non-Resident Senior Fellow and former Democratic staffer on Capitol Hill.
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Thursday 18 February, 10am AEDT (Sydney) or 7am AWST (Perth)
Wednesday 17 February 6pm EST (Washington, DC) COST
Free, but registration is essential
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