NEWS WRAP

2024 tease

• A second run? | In his first official appearance since leaving the White House, former US President Donald Trump hinted at making a 2024 election bid in his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Trump failed to officially declare himself a candidate but caused a stir when he told the audience: "a Republican president will make a triumphant return to the White House." USSC CEO Professor Simon Jackman said Trump's "flirting with the idea" but seems more intent to "milk tensions of the Republican base for as long as he can". TUNE IN HERE
    

• V-C Day | President Biden announced the United States is on track to have enough COVID-19 vaccines for every adult in America by the end of May, a dramatic acceleration on previous timelines. While the news isn't expected to significantly impact the rate of vaccine distribution, President Biden said it was "progress", and signified a "light at the end of the tunnel". READ MORE HERE
   

• No laughing matter | New York Governor Andrew Cuomo attracted heavy criticism following a statement he released in response to a spate of recent sexual harassment allegations made against him. In the statement, Governor Cuomo claimed he was "being playful" and his "jokes" had been "misinterpreted as unwanted flirtations". READ MORE HERE
   

• Fight for voter rights | Tensions over voters rights are heating up. As Georgia's House Republicans passed a sweeping election bill which would limit absentee and early voting (House Bill 531), Supreme Court justices questioned Arizona's election laws in a case that is being seen as a major test of the Voting Rights Act. For more on how the 2020 election helped to reframe the issue of voter rights and election laws, tune in to our Law, the courts and free and fair elections in the United States webinar replay. READ MORE HERE

USSC EVENTS

US Politics and Policy Web Series
March edition

The United States Studies Centre and Perth USAsia Centre host a monthly web series reviewing the latest in US politics and policy and what this means for Australia.

This month look forward to being joined by guest Zoe Daniel, former ABC Washington Bureau Chief and co-author of the recently released book Greetings from Trumpland: How an unprecedented presidency changed everything.

Subscribe to our events mailing list to have invitations and reminders sent straight to your inbox so you never have to miss an event.

WHEN
Friday 5 March, 1pm AEDT (Sydney) or 10am AWST (Perth)
Thursday 4 March 9pm EST (Washington, DC)

COST
Free, but registration is essential

ANALYSIS

The future of the Republican party: Can Trump’s grip continue?

Dr Gorana Grgic
Lecturer in US Politics and Foreign Policy

The vote for Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial and subsequent acquittal in the Senate fell largely along partisan lines. It was yet more incontrovertible proof of a five-year long process of “hostile takeover” of the Republican Party.

Despite the seven Republican senators that voted to convict him, the Grand Old Party (GOP) has become Trump’s party, and party dissenters assume this role at their own peril, mainly by diminishing their prospects at the ballot box. Yet, there is a broader dynamic at play here concerning party politics in the United States, which in turn paints a slightly more complicated picture. Primarily, the 2020 elections have confirmed the tripartite nature of American political parties. The first part is the so-called party-in-government, which is made up of officeholders. The second is the party machine, which supports the candidates at all levels of government in all phases of the electoral cycle. The final part relates to the party in the electorate, which reflects the preferences of registered members and supporters.

Seen through this lens, it would be most accurate to describe the GOP electorate as the most Trump-friendly part of the party. The party machine and leadership tend to be more divided regarding the extent to which they are willing to allow the former president to influence the party’s fortunes, which clearly puts them at odds with Trump’s base. We have seen this in a number of examples – from the Georgia GOP leadership not willing to kowtow to then-President Trump’s insistence to compromise the integrity of vote count, to the now Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s condemnation of President Trump’s role in the January 6 insurrection.

Granted, there have also been state officials who have censured their representatives for voting to impeach the former president. Equally, McConnell ultimately voted to acquit him. However, these decisions, much like the deference to Trump’s agenda during his time in the White House, were mostly a product of calculated politicking. This is certainly not something that makes these moves any more excusable. If anything, it shows that political survival trumps principles even when it has proven to be deeply corrosive to American democracy. It is also a testament of hyper-partisanship and polarisation under which even those who are perceived as Trump’s most vocal Republican critics ended up voting with him. Furthermore, it has also revealed the GOP’s recognition that structural factors tend to favour the Democratic Party’s hold on power, which made conservatives undermine democratic institutions and break long-held norms.

This is an excerpt from Dr Grgic's latest in Australian Institute of International Affairs.
Click below to read the full article.

VIDEO

The career of political trailblazer, Nancy Pelosi

To celebrate this year's International Women's Day theme of "Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world", we've decided to revisit a favourite webinar from 2020.

Nancy Pelosi is often regarded as the most successful woman in American politics, taking centre stage as the first female Speaker of the House. To discuss the ins-and-outs of one of the most formidable women in American politics, USSC experts Dr Charles Edel and Dr John Lee were joined by Molly Ball, award-winning political journalist and author of the recent biography Pelosi. Watch the full event HERE.

Catch this and other recent webinars on the USSC YouTube channel!

BY THE NUMBERS

Unemployment in the US and AUS in 2020

Men and women compared

Sarah Hamilton
Research Associate for Data Insights

Unemployment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately impacted women in the United States and, to a lesser extent, in Australia than their male counterparts.

In the United States, the unemployment rate peaked in April 2020, where 16.1 per cent of working aged females were without a job compared to 13.6 per cent of working aged males. The economic repercussions of COVID-19 have also been felt more by women, with female dominated industries like the service industry being some of the heaviest hit during the pandemic. In September 2020, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics drew attention to yet another layer of the disadvantage experienced by women: they are less likely to hold jobs that allow them to work from home.

In Australia, the unemployment rate reached its highest point in July 2020, where the female unemployment rate of 7.3 per cent was slightly lower than the male rate of 7.5 per cent. And while the rate of unemployment in Australia looks largely consistent between the two genders, a September 2020 report from the Parliamentary Budget Office found that the typical unemployed Australian was most likely to be a woman, over the age of 45.

What is also not reflected in the Australian unemployment figures is the underemployment rate in 2020, where women were more likely to be represented. In 2019-20, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics found that for those aged 20-74 years, the underemployment rate for women was 10.3 per cent compared to men at 7.2 per cent. When looking at the 2019-20 underutilised labour force (a combination of the unemployed and underemployed rate), women again came in higher than men at 15.1 per cent compared to 12.1 per cent.

THE WEEK IN TWEETS

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