‘ The heart and soul of the Republican Party belongs to Donald Trump , ” writes Lloyd Green . If so , the GOP has an odd way of showing affection . Green cites a lack of Republican criticism of Trump , the president ’ s continued popularity within the party , and Trump ’ s rescue of incumbent Nevada senator Dean Heller from a primary challenge . All true . But when it comes to the president ’ s priorities and the nationalist-populist style of politics he represents , Trump and the Republican Congress could not be farther apart .\nTrump won the nomination and the presidency after distinguishing himself from the party in four ways . Since Ronald Reagan , Republicans have tended to support global economic integration , immigration , democratic internationalism , and entitlement reform . And yet Trump opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership , called to renegotiate NAFTA , and wanted tariffs on China . His 2015 immigration plan championed a wall across the southern border , workplace enforcement , an end to birthright citizenship , and a tripling of border and customs agents . He repudiated the Iraq war and questioned the future of NATO . He swore that Social Security and Medicare would be off-limits . His brashness , colorfulness , insults , willingness to transgress norms , humor , novelty , and lack of political experience separated him from the GOP pack .\nThis program and its avatar won three Great Lakes states that had been missing from the Republican column for a generation . Trump also came within striking distance in Minnesota and New Hampshire . Obviously , we do not know the exact relation between Trump ’ s nationalism and populism and the roughly 78,000 votes in three states that gave him an Electoral College victory . But the unexpected shape of his upset suggests that the trademark Trump issues of immigration , trade , nonintervention , and retirement security played some role both in attracting support for him and depressing turnout for Hillary Clinton .\nYet the 16 months since the election have seen the gradual , fitful , and partial regularization of Trump into the GOP that predated and opposed him . Until recently , the president and congressional leadership were aligned : They seated a justice and lower-court judges , rolled back Obama-era regulations , failed to repeal and replace Obamacare , and passed a large tax cut . Trump ’ s foreign policy also became more conventionally Republican . He bombed Syria , turned down his criticism of NATO , maintained a troop presence in Afghanistan despite his instincts to withdraw , and increased defense spending . The signature Trump policies — including the travel ban , exit from the TPP and the Paris Climate Accord , and moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem — were greeted with friendly skepticism from party elites . By the end of 2017 , one would have thought the party would change Trump more than he would change it .\nThat hasn ’ t happened . Instead , both Trump and the GOP seem to be reverting to form : Trump has pressed for changes to legal immigration , visited prototypes for the border wall , called for the death penalty for opioid dealers , and imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum as well as against China , amid anxiety and dissent and resistance from congressmen of his own party . Trump ’ s instincts and impulsiveness have driven him to re-embrace the portfolio that delivered his electoral coalition at the very moment Republicans in Congress want nothing so much as to return to their districts , publicize the tax cut , and vainly attempt to divorce their campaigns from national politics . And so we are faced with the oddity that Trump ’ s approval rating is creeping upward even as Democrats press their midterm advantage .\nTrump and the Republicans operate according to different hierarchies of values . To the degree that his behavior can be categorized by a single idea , Trump ’ s most singular policies address the question of sovereignty : Who rules ? Here , in America , the people rule , or are supposed to . Trump ’ s rhetoric defines the people as American citizens , regardless of racial or ethnic identity . The domestic objective of his presidency is to reassert popular control over judges , bureaucracies , and elected officials . The extent of sovereignty must be defined , which is why we have borders and require a wall to protect a porous one . And national sovereignty is important , too . That is why America must reestablish its privileges and ability to maneuver vis-à-vis multilateral institutions such as the United Nations , international agreements , and the World Trade Organization .\nIf I had to choose a guiding principle of congressional Republicans , it would be freedom . The freedom of the individual to live the life he chooses , the freedom of people and goods and services to move across borders , the freedom to work , spend , and invest as one sees fit , the freedom of people around the world to govern themselves .\nNow , sovereignty and freedom are not necessarily in conflict . They overlap , and they can move in tandem . They often have done so in American history . But one must also balance the other . A sovereign without regard for freedom would be unjust , and increasing social and economic freedom can lead to the loss of sovereignty . The thrust of populist politics since 2016 indicates that voters believe that the mix of sovereignty and freedom is out of whack , that national and democratic sovereignty must be upheld even if it means tighter regulation of the global economy and especially of global migration .\nA sovereign without regard for freedom would be unjust , and increasing social and economic freedom can lead to the loss of sovereignty .\nAt its most politically successful , the party of Trump pits miners , hard hats , farmers , soldiers , veterans , and public-safety officers against CEOs , bankers , lawyers , doctors , bureaucrats , professors , and educators . Yet none of Trump ’ s personal or policy decisions occasioned as much intra-party pushback , including a high-profile resignation , as the imposition of tariffs . Not only do Republicans seem largely ignorant of the fact that Donald Trump ’ s political instincts are better than their own , they also refuse to learn .\nThis divergence between Trump and the Republicans is apparent in the $ 1.3 trillion government-funding bill . If there is one thing every American knows about Donald Trump , it is that he wants to build a wall along the Mexican border . Yet Republican congressmen , most of whom adhere to pre-Trump views of immigration , secured only $ 1.6 billion for the project . Democrats are crowing . “ Democrats won explicit language restricting border construction to the same see-through fencing that was already authorized under current law , ” Nancy Pelosi said in a statement . “ The bill does not allow any increase in deportation officers or detention beds. ” Part of the responsibility for this setback goes to Trump , who seems to have been disengaged from the negotiations until the last minute . But the main reason the money isn ’ t there is the fact that congressional leadership had neither the desire nor the stomach to fight for it .\nSomething similar has happened with trade . Whatever the economic consequences of Trump ’ s protectionism — and they could be bad — it can not be denied that this is the issue on which he has been most consistent over 30 years in the public eye . Nor can the political appeal of siding with domestic manufacturers over multinational corporations be ignored by anyone who has seen Democrats rhetorically position themselves on the side of the American worker since 1992 . By dividing trades and construction-union membership against leadership in 2016 , Trump called forth the Reagan Democrats who had vanished from the scene , and convinced millions of white working-class voters to defect from the Obama coalition .\nThey can just as easily switch back , of course . When I visited the websites of the two candidates in the recent Pennsylvania special election , I was struck that it was the Democrat , rather than the Republican , who highlighted infrastructure , opioids , and protecting entitlements , three topics of keen interest to Trump voters . By neutralizing the hot-button cultural issues of guns and abortion , and highlighting Rick Saccone ’ s support for right-to-work and other pro-business measures , Conor Lamb reappropriated the economic program that Donald Trump used to win PA-18 by 20 points . He won ’ t be the last Democrat to do so .


The reformers say they want to move the GOP beyond its Reagan-era script . 'Reform conservatives ' take on GOP\nWith the Republican Party ’ s establishment and tea party wings busy attacking each other , and no standard-bearer emerging for the White House , a group of intellectuals calling themselves “ reform conservatives ” are maneuvering to seize the party ’ s 2016 policy agenda .\nIn the process , they ’ ve set off a lively , intensifying debate in recent weeks over whether today ’ s GOP can be reformed at all .\nThe policy wonks — led by thinkers including Peter Wehner , Yuval Levin , and Ramesh Ponnuru — are circulating their economics-focused ideas with the express goal of influencing 2016 presidential contenders , and some of those potential candidates have been cautiously receptive . Rep. Paul Ryan , for instance , tweeted that their proposals are “ good food for thought ; ” Sen. Marco Rubio ’ s spokeswoman said he believes the ideas “ can ensure that the next generation of Americans have more opportunities for success ” ; and Indiana Gov . Mike Pence told ███ that he has “ great appreciation for the efforts of reform minded conservatives . ”\nThe reformers say they want to move the GOP beyond its Reagan-era script of cutting taxes and shrinking government and toward a focus on what a more limited government can and should do , especially for the middle class . For the most part , they ’ ve shopped their ideas around informally , through private conversations and journal articles . But recently they took a more organized approach , releasing a 121-page policy manifesto called “ Room to Grow . ”\nThat move dramatically raised their profiles — and drew out the skeptics .\nConservative columnist Michael Gerson has praised the group , arguing it has “ more potential influence ” than the tea party . But liberal critics , such as columnists E.J . Dionne and Jonathan Chait , have questioned how effective the reformists can be at a time when the Republican Party has expunged many of its moderates and the base is animated by the notion that government is always a problem . Some observers , meanwhile , compare them to the New Democrats of the 1990s , a parallel the intellectuals resist .\nThe reform conservatives argue there ’ s no need to lure the GOP to the middle and no desire to further splinter it . ( They ’ re not even sure who came up with their group ’ s label , though Gerson has used the phrase , or a version of it , for at least two years . ) If anything , they say , their ideas would “ reform ” broken institutions by pushing them to the right .\n“ It is a conservative movement , and it ’ s important to understand that , ” said Wehner , a former policy adviser to ex-President George W. Bush . “ It ’ s not a fight . It ’ s not Goldwater vs. Rockefeller . ”\nThe e-book manifesto , released in May at an event sponsored by the YG Network and the American Enterprise Institute , lays out proposals from around a dozen authors on 10 wide-ranging issues , including replacing Obamacare , helping the long-term unemployed , and rewriting War on Poverty programs .\nIt avoids divisive cultural issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage , steering a careful path around anything that could offend social conservatives . But it does include this implied challenge to the tea party : “ Rather than talk about conservatism exclusively as a set of rules about what government should not be doing , we need to help Americans see the conservative vision of American life as a way to unleash the nation ’ s potential . ”\nSome critical details are still being worked out , like how to pay for some of the ideas . A chapter on tax reform , for example , talks up Utah Sen. Mike Lee ’ s proposal to give families an extra $ 2,500 tax credit per child and advertises it as a way to help parents struggling with the cost of raising kids . But an analysis by the Tax Policy Center found that Lee ’ s idea would add $ 2.4 trillion to the deficit over 10 years .\nThe reform conservatives note that the ideas are mere blueprints for now . The main point , they say , is to show how conservative proposals can be turned into policies to help the middle class , not just recycled into the usual talking points about cutting taxes and slashing spending .\n“ Middle class families aren ’ t worried about their tax burden , ” said Reihan Salam , a policy adviser at the YG Network and contributing editor at National Review . “ They ’ re worried about how much it costs to own and operate a car . They ’ re worried about finding decent post-secondary [ education ] options . ”\nLevin , who edits the conservative journal National Affairs , put it more bluntly : “ The left always thinks it ’ s 1965 . The right always thinks it ’ s 1981 . The country knows it ’ s 2014 . ”


Controversies in Wisconsin and Georgia show how the mass removal of voters from the rolls has become a key part of the fight to win\nThe final weeks of December may have been dominated by news of Donald Trump ’ s impeachment , but another development with potentially serious implications for the 2020 election – and the future of American democracy – attracted less global attention .\nIt took place not in the halls of Congress but hundreds of miles away , in Wisconsin . This was where a conservative advocacy group convinced a circuit court judge to order the state to remove more than 230,000 people removed from the state ’ s voter rolls . Wisconsin was already considered a crucial swing state in 2020 – bearing in mind that Donald Trump won the state by fewer than 23,000 votes in 2016 . More than half of the voters at risk of being purged lived in areas that favored Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump that year , according to an analysis by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel .\nTop Trump adviser : Republicans have 'always ' relied on voter suppression Read more\nA week later , one of Trump ’ s reelection advisers was caught on tape telling a Wisconsin Republicans that the party has “ traditionally ” relied on voter suppression . “ Traditionally it ’ s always been Republicans suppressing votes in places . Let ’ s start protecting our voters . We know where they are , ” the adviser , Justin Clark , said in audio obtained by the Associated Press . “ Let ’ s start playing offense a little bit . That ’ s what you ’ re going to see in 2020 . It ’ s going to be a much bigger program , a much more aggressive program , a much better-funded program . ”\nThere was now even less doubt that the Republicans intended to rely on both encouraging , and discouraging , voters as a key part of their 2020 election strategy .\nWisconsin wasn ’ t the only state where removing voters from the rolls en-masse came under scrutiny . The same week , in Georgia , the state voted to remove more than 300,000 people from the rolls . 120,000 of those people were removed because they hadn ’ t voted since 2012 and also failed to respond to multiple notices from the state asking them to confirm their address . The removals drew national outcry in a state that has been at the epicenter of accusations of voter suppression .\nIn 2017 the then secretary of state , Brian Kemp , removed more 500,000 from voter rolls and a month before the Gubernatorial election in 2018 he held up registrations of 53,000 under the state ’ s “ exact match ” law where a misplaced hyphen or comma in a voter registration record could mean more obstacles for someone to vote . Brian Kemp stood in that election and defeated Stacy Abrams by just 55,000 votes . Abrams later called Kemp a “ remarkable architect of voter suppression ” .\nThe controversies in Wisconsin and Georgia underscore how the mass removal of voters from the rolls – often called voter purging – has moved to the center of the polarized fight over voting rights in the United States . Although there is a consensus that purging , done carefully , is a useful tool to keep voting rolls accurate and remove people who move and die , there is growing alarm over how aggressively it is being used to penalize people , essentially , for not voting .\nOverall , at least 17 million people have been removed from the voter rolls since the 2016 election , an uptick from the number of voters who were removed between 2006 and 2008 , according to a study by the Brennan Center for Justice . Although it ’ s not known how many of those removals were legitimate , the increase comes even as the number of Americans who move has dropped to historic lows .\n“ Folks who benefit from having fewer people participate are constantly looking for new ways to suppress turnout , ” said Stuart Naifeh , an attorney at Demos who was involved in a high-profile voter purge case at the United States supreme court last year . Voter purges “ is one that seems to have become more popular . ”\nPurging is not new – federal law has required it for more than two decades – but there is a new awareness of how purges can remove eligible voters from the rolls and target populations that move a lot : the young , the poor and people who live in cities , all groups that tend to favor Democrats .\n“ It ’ s only bad when it ’ s done poorly . When it captures people who are still in the state or who are still eligible voters and shouldn ’ t be removed , ” said David Becker , the executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research , who works with states cleaning their voter rolls .\nMyrna Pérez , director of the voting rights and elections program at the Brennan Center for Justice , pointed out that there used to be an important tool to keep voting jurisdictions with a history of voting discrimination from “ bad ” purges : the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act . Until 2013 , if a state covered by the law wanted to make a change in its purge process , it would have to show the federal government that it wasn ’ t to the detriment of minority voters .\nThe oversight helped prevent both discriminatory purge practices and allowed states to catch errors in their methodology , Perez said . But it was lifted in 2013 when the supreme court gutted the Voting Rights Act . When the law was still in full effect , Pérez said , “ it had the effect of stalling and stopping intentional and accidental sloppiness . ”\nAnother legal blow came in 2018 , when the supreme court ruled in favor of a controversial way of carrying out purges .\nFolks who benefit from having fewer people participate are constantly looking for new ways to suppress turnout Stuart Naifeh\nThe case involved Larry Harmon , a software engineer in Ohio , who sued the state when he discovered in 2015 that , after sitting out several elections , he was unable to vote on a marijuana initiative because he had been purged . If someone misses a federal election in Ohio , the state sends them a postcard asking them to confirm their address . If they don ’ t respond to the postcard and fail to vote in two more consecutive elections , they are removed from the rolls . Voting rights groups call the Ohio rule the “ use it or lose it ” law .\nHarmon argued that he was being punished for not voting , which is prohibited by federal law . And critics said that linking one ’ s ability to stay on the voter rolls to one ’ s ability to vote can discriminate against people who face more obstacles getting to the polls , such as those who can ’ t get childcare or time off from work . But in a 5-4 ruling , the supreme court said the process was legal because Harmon wasn ’ t removed solely for not voting – he had also received the postcard .\nThe ruling “ opened the floodgates ” to aggressive voter purging , said Kathy Culliton-Gonzalez , a voting rights attorney .\nMailers and postcards are a controversial way of asking voters to confirm their voter registration . In 2018 , states reported sending more than 21 million address confirmation notices and only around 20 % of them were returned , according to federal data . The fact that so few people return the postcards signals that they ’ re not really a reliable way of assessing whether people have moved , voting advocates argue .\nBut voter purges are more than just a question of lapsed bureaucracy , they are now emerging as a new political battleground .\nIn Ohio , for instance , Democrats and Republicans have overseen voter purges for two decades , but recently , the practice seems to have clearly benefited Republicans . Voters in Democratic neighborhoods in the state ’ s three largest counties were struck from the rolls at nearly twice the rate as voters in Republican ones , according to a 2016 Reuters analysis . In largely African American neighborhoods in Cincinnati , over 10 % of voters were purged , compared to just 4 % in the suburbs .\nEarlier this year , Ohio purged 158,000 voters from its rolls using that process , according to an analysis by the Columbus Dispatch . The removals came even after activists in the state discovered around 40,000 errors on the list of voters set to be purged . Oklahoma , which employs a similar purge process to Ohio and Georgia , also removed more than 88,000 inactive voters from its rolls in April .\nEven so , there has been some recent successes in stopping unfair purges . Earlier this year , voting groups successfully blocked an Indiana law that would have allowed the state to cancel a voter registration if they had information the voter moved , but without giving the voter a chance to confirm that . Civil rights groups also stopped Texas from cancelling voter registrations of nearly 100,000 people it accused of being non-citizens based on faulty data .\nIn Wisconsin , election officials have declined to move ahead with the purge while an appeal is pending . The Wisconsin Democratic party has also pledged to contact voters and urge them to re-register ( the state allows people to register online , through their local clerk , or at the polls on election day . )\nDo black people vote ? The racist lie rooted in the American psyche | Rashawn Ray Read more\nAnd in Georgia , there has been another victory – of sorts . Earlier this month , Brad Raffensperger , Georgia ’ s top election official , announced he made a mistake . Days after his office scrubbed 300,000 people from its voter rolls , he revealed 22,000 of them had been incorrectly removed . The voters should have been given several more months to confirm their voter registration .\nRaffensperger said he was reactivating their voter registrations to give them more time . “ We are proactively taking additional steps to prevent any confusion come the day of the election , ” he said in a statement .\nSome crucial protections against bad voter purging also remain in place . Federal law prohibits states from systematically cleaning their rolls within 90 days of a federal election and says the systems state develop to remove people from the rolls must be “ non-discriminatory . ”\nIt is clear that next year ’ s election is already becoming an epic battle to try and preserve the voting rights of millions of voters . The lessons from the 2016 election should sound a cautionary tale .\nAs Professor Carol Anderson , author of One Person , No Vote , a history of voting suppression in the US , writing in ███ , said : “ The 21st century is littered with the bodies of black votes . In 2016 , pummeled by voter suppression in more than 30 states , the black voter turnout plummeted by seven percentage points . For the GOP , that was an effective kill rate . For America , it was a lethal assault on democracy . ”


There is a unique uncertainty overshadowing the political landscape these days – an anomaly that few are willing to discuss .\nAs the 2016 presidential election inches closer , social media is oddly quieter than usual when it comes to possible candidates . The millennial generation , ever so eager to share their opinion , suddenly lacks one to voice .\nAs the generation ’ s charismatic leader , President Barack Obama , prepares to leave office , one thing has quickly become evident – the political alliances of millennials are officially up for grabs .\nFor the past seven years , millennials have been passionately steadfast in their support of marriage equality . That passion coincided with the Democrat Party platform , immediately giving supporters of marriage equality a political party to support .\nMake no mistake , for the majority of millennials , social issues such as the legalization of gay marriage and ( to a lesser extent ) abortions are the strongest attachments they have with the Democrat Party . Now that gay marriage is legal in every state , many are now left apathetic towards the political landscape without any direct loyalty to the Democrat Party .\nAside from the support of gay marriage , millennials are all across the board when it comes to their views . Don ’ t believe me ? Take a look at what a recent Reason Foundation poll found among millennials :\nThey desire small government so long as budget cuts don ’ t directly impact them .\nThey loathe political parties , but give Congress higher approval ratings than any other generation .\nThey overwhelmingly supported Obama ’ s promise of universal health care , yet greatly oppose Obamacare .\n. They want the government to fix their problems , but they don ’ t want Washington to be in charge .\nConfused by those results ? So are the leaders of political parties – thus the lack of a push to actively engage the generation . Not only that , but neither party has found a candidate they believe they can successfully sell to millennials .\nSo how can one party lock down the majority of millennials ?\nIt comes down to one thing , really – start a conversation . Millennials want to be a part of something , from gay marriage to the World Cup . Surprisingly , it is the Republican Party that , when completely stripped to its bare bones , has exactly what millennials want to rally behind…\nWhile the past eight years saw a push to tax the wealthy and “ redistribute the wealth , ” it is amazing to see that the millennial generation feels otherwise . Don ’ t misconstrue that statement ; this generation will gladly rally around a movement to raise money to help those in need , but they don ’ t want to be told how and where to do so .\nDon ’ t let the media fool you - millennials desire freedom to pursue their passions , start their own companies or simply to enjoy life without Washington telling them what to do . They like their wealth , and they want to do with it as they desire .\nThey don ’ t want the government telling them how to spend their money .\nThey don ’ t want the government telling them who they can marry .\nThey don ’ t want the government telling them how they are to use their bodies .\nThey don ’ t want the government to control them , they want freedom .\nTake away the topic of gay marriage and the pro-life/pro-choice debate , and millennials desire exactly what is at the heart of the GOP – limited government .\nThe political affiliations of the millennial generation are officially up for grabs . If the Republican Party can learn how to successfully create a conversation centered around limited government , 2016 ’ s political landscape may quickly become more red than any of us could anticipate .\nTheBlaze contributor channel supports an open discourse on a range of views . The opinions expressed in this channel are solely those of each individual author .


Even As Trump Denounces Vote By Mail , GOP In Florida And Elsewhere Relies On It\nWith an election year pandemic , mail-in ballots may become an increasingly popular way to vote , especially in states like Florida that allow any voter to use them .\nWhile those ballots accounted for nearly 1 in 4 of all ballots cast in 2018 , President Trump this week said he was n't in favor of expanding the practice during present health crisis , even as he used one himself when he voted ( presumably for himself ) in Florida 's presidential primary last month .\nDuring the White House coronavirus briefing Tuesday , Trump said , `` I think that mail-in voting is a terrible thing '' and followed up the next day with several tweets calling on Republicans to oppose statewide mail-voting , claiming without evidence that the practice hurt GOP candidates and was susceptible to widespread fraud .\n`` At least in Florida , I think he 's being a little misguided , '' said Mac Stipanovich , a longtime Republican strategist in Florida who recently left the GOP because of Trump . Mail-in ballots have also been a key tool in other Republican-friendly states such as Arizona and Utah .\nFor more than 40 years , Stipanovich helped Republicans win campaigns and come to dominate Florida politics . `` Absentee ballots , '' he said , `` are typically Republicans ' friends in Florida . ''\nIn 2002 , Florida began allowing anyone who requests a mail ballot to receive one , a changed Stipanovich said Republican strategists and campaign managers immediately embraced them .\n`` People recognized that was a mine of gold that you could ... control . '' He says campaign strategists could , `` figure out who got the ballots , contact them [ and ] try to make sure they got their ballots in . ''\nIn Florida , a state nearly evenly divided among Republicans , Democrats and independents , elections are often decided by the narrowest of margins . In many races , both local and statewide , mail-in ballots have provided Republican candidates with the votes to win .\nFor many years , it was Republicans who pushed voting by mail , said Daniel Smith , a political science professor at the University of Florida , who has studied how mail-in voting has been used in the state .\n`` Their electorate happens to be older on average than Democrats , happens to be more affluent . It happens to have a more permanent residency in terms of less transient , less mobile population , which makes the delivery and return of absentee ballots easier , '' said Smith .\nIn recent elections , Democratic campaigns in Florida have also begun relying on mail ballots . They allow campaign staffers to know who 's received a ballot , so they can call and encourage the voters to return it .\nCampaigns also know when people have returned their ballots , enabling operatives to `` focus their attention on less reliable voters , '' said Smith , `` who may not vote in every election and need a little more cajoling to get out to the polls . ''\nThat strategy helped Donald Trump narrowly carry Florida in 2016 , Smith said . After securing the mail-in ballots , Republicans were able to concentrate on getting their occasional voters out to the polls .\nIn Florida and elsewhere , mail ballots have been involved in election fraud , but Smith and other experts say it 's rare . A bigger problem , according to Smith , is the relatively high percentage of mail ballots that are disqualified because they arrive too late , or the voter 's signature does n't match the one on file .\nIn a study he conducted after the 2016 election in Florida , Smith found the rejections disproportionately affect minority voters and young people .\nWith two elections coming up in the next several months , a statewide primary in August and the general election in November , Florida election officials are expecting a surge of requests for mail ballots .\n`` I think every county in Florida is gearing up on that , '' said Bill Cowles , the election supervisor of Orange County , Fla. , which includes Orlando . `` We 're also putting pressure on our vendors , our mail houses for doing it . ''\nWith the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic , Democrats and voting right groups have been pushing for an expansion of the use of mail-in ballots . Some Republicans , including the governors of Nebraska , New Hampshire and Ohio , have also backed major expansions of mail-in voting in response to the pandemic .\nIn Florida , a state vital to both parties ' presidential hopes this fall , elections officials have asked Florida 's Gov . Ron DeSantis for more time to mail out and count ballots but they 've also that it wo n't be possible to conduct an all-mail ballot election this year .


███ is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power . Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they ’ re published .\nA conservative business group founded by a prolific Republican political donor is pressuring the White House to greenlight an unproven COVID-19 treatment , saying in an online petition that the country has plants in the U.S. ready to produce a drug but can ’ t because of “ red tape , regulation , and a dysfunctional healthcare supply chain . ”\nIn recent days , Home Depot co-founder Bernard Marcus ’ Job Creators Network has placed Facebook ads and texted supporters to sign a petition urging President Donald Trump to “ CUT RED TAPE ” and make an anti-malarial drug called hydroxychloroquine available for treating those sickened with the virus , one such message obtained by ███ reads .\nHydroxychloroquine and another related drug , chloroquine , are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat arthritis and lupus but not for COVID-19 . ( Doctors , however , are able to prescribe approved drugs for off-label uses . )\nThe campaign follows the president ’ s own endorsement of the treatment plan . On Saturday , Trump tweeted that hydroxychloroquine when taken with a commonly used antibiotic “ have a real chance to be one of the biggest game changers in the history of medicine. ” The JCN ads appeared on Facebook on Monday and its text messages went out on Tuesday . It ’ s not clear how much JCN has spent on its influence campaign .\nThere ’ s currently a shortage of hydroxychloroquine , a generic sold under the brand name Plaquenil . ███ reported this week that a nationwide run on hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine is being driven in part by doctors inappropriately hoarding it by prescribing it for themselves , their families and their friends . Lupus patients are having trouble getting prescriptions filled . In Arizona , a couple who heard the president tout the drugs this week ingested chloroquine phosphate — a chemical they ’ d used to treat their koi fish — mistakenly believing it would prevent COVID-19 . The man died and his wife was hospitalized , according to NBC News .\nThere is no vaccine or cure yet for COVID-19 , the disease caused by the novel coronavirus . One small French study this month found the cocktail tweeted by Trump reduced the viral loads of COVID-19 patients in a handful of cases . Dr. Anthony Fauci , the country ’ s top infectious disease doctor , has called that study “ anecdotal ” and told reporters last week that it “ was not done in a controlled clinical trial , so you really can ’ t make any definitive statement about it . ”\nIn its petition , JCN claims big-name drugmakers are willing to “ donate ” millions of tablets and plants are ready to produce the drug “ if they can secure the active ingredient. ” Ami Fadia , an analyst at investment bank SVB Leerink , wrote in a report published Tuesday that about 450 million doses of hydroxychloroquine were sold last year , generating about $ 140 million , but that demand has grown in recent weeks .\nRead More Doctors Are Hoarding Unproven Coronavirus Medicine by Writing Prescriptions for Themselves and Their Families Pharmacists told ███ that they are seeing unusual and fraudulent prescribing activity as doctors stockpile unproven coronavirus drugs endorsed by President Donald Trump .\n“ Overall , we don ’ t believe hydroxychloroquine will have major financial implications for generic companies , but the efforts by these companies to step-in to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic would be a good reminder for various constituents of the important role generic companies play in the healthcare system , ” Fadia wrote .\nJCN , a 501 ( c ) ( 4 ) nonprofit , says in tax filings that its purpose is to “ educate Americans on the vital role of free enterprise in creating jobs that will spur innovation and help ensure America ’ s future economic success. ” The group reported $ 13 million in contributions in 2018 , according to its most recent tax form . A related entity , the Job Creators Network Foundation , is listed as the petition ’ s sponsor with another nonprofit group , Physicians for Reform .\nNeither JCN nor Physicians for Reform have returned requests for comment . Spokespeople for the White House , Treasury Department and the White House Coronavirus Task Force did not respond to emailed questions . Marcus hasn ’ t responded to a request for comment relayed through a representative at his foundation .\nThere ’ s currently a clinical trial underway in New York to treat COVID-19 patients with the cocktail , but Gov . Andrew Cuomo has banned any other “ experimental or prophylactic use ” of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine . A small study of 30 patients published by the Journal of Zhejiang University in China found that hydroxychloroquine alone was no more effective for COVID-19 patients than traditional treatment .\nThe drugs ’ potential side effects include fatal heart problems , according to the FDA .\nThe “ coronavirus petition ” is being promoted by a coalition of groups organized by JCN called Healthcare For You , which has sought to undo the Affordable Care Act . It tells doctor members their signatures “ will go directly to President Trump , ” and it urges the president to “ protect physician autonomy and medical decision-making as we stand in harm ’ s way to care for the American public. ” It asserts there is “ clear and ever mounting ” evidence of hydroxychloroquine ’ s effectiveness against COVID-19 . ( As yet , there isn ’ t such evidence . )\nAmong the coalition ’ s members are a range of conserviative medical and business groups , such as Americans for Fair Taxation , the American Hotel and Lodging Association , Young Americans Against Socialism and the Colorado Business Roundtable .\nGet Our Top Investigations Subscribe to the Big Story newsletter .\nAs lawmakers and the administration negotiated a huge rescue package to stand up the U.S. economy , JCN ’ s president , Alfredo Ortiz , told Bloomberg News that he ’ d had three direct calls with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin last week about the administration ’ s plan .\nAmong the group ’ s ideas , Ortiz told Bloomberg , was to extend quarterly April tax payments by two or three months , a move that would allow businesses to defer paying some 2020 taxes as well as taxes owed in 2019 . He also said he discussed with Mnuchin a plan to streamline Small Business Administration loans .\nSpeaking to Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday , Breitbart News co-founder and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon said that “ Bernie Marcus ’ Job Creators Network has a plan of forcing cash into the system. ” He didn ’ t elaborate on it .\nJob Creators Network paid Breitbart News Network $ 1.1 million for advertising in 2018 , according to the group ’ s 990 tax form from that year , the most recent publicly available . The news outlet wrote last week that JCN had launched an ad campaign airing on Fox to advocate for its members .\nMarcus is a generous donor to Republican groups and causes . During the 2016 presidential campaign he gave $ 5 million to a pro-Trump PAC and has said he ’ ll support the president ’ s reelection campaign .\nIn the 2018 midterms , tax filings and campaign disclosure reports show , JCN gave $ 213,000 to the American Potential Fund , a political action committee that spent most of that sum on digital ads targeting then-incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida during the last month of the election . Nelson , a Democrat , was defeated by Republican Rick Scott in a tight race .\nTell Us More About Coronavirus Are you a public health worker , medical provider , elected official , patient or other COVID-19 expert ? Help make sure our journalism is responsible and focused on the right issues . This form requires JavaScript to complete . Powered by Screendoor .


Sen. Lindsey Graham , R-S.C. , announced that his initial plan of a pre-trial dismissal of the impeachment case against President Trump is now unlikely to happen , but he is pushing for the trial to begin and end as quickly as possible .\nThe Senate trial is set to begin Tuesday . Graham had previously floated the idea that the GOP majority could immediately vote to dismiss the case before hearing any arguments , but now he states that this does not appear to be a possibility given the lack of sufficient Republican support for such action .\n“ Yeah that ’ s dead for practical purposes , ” Graham told “ Fox News Sunday , ” explaining , “ the idea of dismissing the case early on is not going to happen ; we don ’ t have the votes for that . ”\nGraham remains confident that Republicans are still united enough to acquit Trump at the conclusion of the trial . How long the trial goes is still up in the air . Graham would neither confirm nor deny reports that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell plans on keeping the Senate in session for 12 hours a day so that House Democrats would be done presenting their arguments Wednesday .\nIn addition to presenting their arguments , House Democrats want to call witnesses such as former National Security Adviser John Bolton , who did not testify during the House ’ s impeachment inquiry due to Trump ’ s claim of executive privilege . Bolton indicated he would comply with a Senate subpoena .\nSenators Ted Cruz , R-Texas ; Lisa Murkowski , R-Alaska ; and Susan Collins , R-Maine , are among a small group of Republicans who have yet to completely shut the door on new witnesses , wanting to hear arguments first . Democrats would need them and at least one more in order to be able to call witnesses , but Graham warned that if they get their wish , the GOP will look to call defense witnesses such as Hunter Biden .\n“ If we call one witness , we ’ re going to call all the witnesses , ” Graham said .\nHOUSE DEMOCRATS URGE SENATE TO 'ELIMINATE THE THREAT ' OF TRUMP , IN OPENING IMPEACHMENT TRIAL SALVO\nPersonally , Graham said he would rather look into Hunter Biden ’ s dealings with Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings outside of the context of the impeachment trial , and would rather not have any witnesses called during the trial from either side .\nWhile the trial itself will first begin on Tuesday , both sides have already filed documents presenting arguments .\nThe Democratic House impeachment managers filed a lengthy brief Saturday night arguing that Trump abused the power of the presidency by using military aid as leverage to pressure Ukraine into announcing investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter , as well as whether Democrats used Ukraine to interfere in the 2016 election .\nThey also claim that the president obstructed Congress by blocking key witnesses from testifying during the House ’ s impeachment inquiry .\nIn his answer to the impeachment articles -- also filed Saturday -- Trump and his attorneys argued that he committed no wrongdoing when it comes to his dealings with Ukraine , claiming that he did not pressure Ukrainian President Volodydmyr Zelensky into conducting investigations into political rivals , and that the military aid was released without any investigations being announced .\nAdditionally , Trump argues that the obstruction of Congress charge is meritless because his instructions for witnesses like Bolton not to testify were done under executive privilege , and House Democrats who claimed this was improper never allowed the courts to make a ruling on the matter because they either withdrew subpoenas or opted not to issue them .


Veteran US Republican Senator John McCain has been diagnosed with brain cancer and is reviewing treatment options , according to his office .\nThe options may include chemotherapy and radiation , his doctors said . The 80-year-old politician is in `` good spirits '' recovering at home .\nHe thanked those who had wished him well and said he would be back soon .\nThe tumour was discovered during a surgery to remove a blood clot from above his left eye last week .\nA Vietnam veteran , Mr McCain spent more than five years as a prisoner of war .\nThe six-term senator and 2008 Republican presidential candidate underwent surgery at a clinic in Phoenix , in the state of Arizona , last Friday .\nTissue analysis revealed that a primary brain tumour known as glioblastoma was associated with the clot , a statement from the Mayo Clinic said .\n`` The senator 's doctors say he is recovering from his surgery 'amazingly well ' and his underlying health is excellent , '' it added .\n`` Treatment options may include a combination of chemotherapy and radiation . ''\nSenior Republicans and Democrats wished him a speedy recovery , prompting Mr McCain to tweet his thanks , and a warning :\n`` I greatly appreciate the outpouring of support - unfortunately for my sparring partners in Congress , I 'll be back soon , so stand-by ! ''\nJohn McCain is known in Washington as a tough , independent-minded senator - a warrior who is now facing another battle against cancer .\nHe earned his reputation the hard way , being shot down as a US Navy pilot over Vietnam where he was held as a prisoner of war for more than five years , including two in solitary confinement .\nRepeatedly beaten and tortured , Mr McCain was never again able to raise his arms above his head .\nDuring the most recent presidential election campaign , Donald Trump belittled the senator as `` not a war hero '' saying `` I like people who were n't captured '' .\nMr McCain may have annoyed many Republicans by arguing for reforms to campaign finance and immigration laws .\nHe may have irritated opponents of America 's many wars with his forceful arguments in favour of the projection of US military might .\nBut this country reveres its veterans . The attacks on John McCain 's personal sacrifice were roundly condemned then - and millions of Americans will be praying for his recovery now .\nGlioblastoma is a particularly aggressive brain tumour , and increases in frequency with age , affecting more men than women .\nMr McCain , who is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services , was in `` good spirits as he continues to recover at home with his family '' , his office said .\nHis family reacted with `` shock '' to the news , his 32-year-old daughter Meghan said .\n`` It wo n't surprise you to learn that in all of this , the one of us who is most confident and calm is my father , '' she said on Twitter .\n`` So he is meeting this challenge as he has every other . Cancer may afflict him in many ways : but it will not make him surrender . Nothing ever has . ''\nPresident Donald Trump said Mr McCain had `` always been a fighter '' and , in a statement , said : `` Get well soon '' .\nMeanwhile , Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Mr McCain was a `` hero to our country '' .\n`` He has never shied from a fight , and I know that he will face this challenge with the same extraordinary courage that has characterized his life , '' he said on Twitter .\nFormer President Barack Obama tweeted : `` John McCain is an American hero and one of the bravest fighters I 've ever known . Cancer does n't know what it 's up against . Give it hell , John . ''


Some suggest that Congress “ remove Trump from office , so that he can not abuse incumbency to subvert the electoral process , but let the American people make the judgment on whether or not he gets a second term… Removing Trump from office for the remainder of his term would disable him from abusing presidential power again and protect the integrity of the electoral process from inappropriate interference . At the same time , letting him run for a second term would permit the American electorate to decide whether Trump , despite his attempt to subvert the system , should have another chance… Decoupling removal from disqualification lowers the stakes and changes the constitutional calculus . As long as Trump can run again , Republicans can not hide behind a claim that they are [ the ] ones protecting voter choice by opposing impeachment. ” Edward B. Foley , Politico\nSome posit that “ the real crisis at the border [ is ] that asylum seekers and other immigrants who follow U.S. laws are being wrongly persecuted … “ The Trump administration ’ s policy of ‘ metering ’ asylum applications at the border — only letting in only a small number of migrants in each day — has created confusion and months-long waiting periods at ports of entry , despite the fact that denying individuals the right to apply for asylum is a violation of international human rights law . The extensive backup at ports of entry has caused desperate Central American families to cross between ports of entry instead , which has contributed to the spike in ‘ illegal ’ border crossings. ” Rebekah Entralgo , ThinkProgress\nAnd yet “ this week has provided welcome flashes of independence from at least a few Republican lawmakers… the Senate Republicans ’ rebuke of the president shows that his chronic contempt for democratic norms — and for the Constitution — has become too much to stomach for at least some in his party. ” Editorial Board , New York Times\n“ Senators from purple states stuck with Trump as colleagues with an easier path to re-election voted against him . That ’ s kind of strange … Usually it would be the vulnerable politicians who act as moderates , and those with safe seats who are comfortable with ideological extremism… Whether their political calculation is correct or not , Republican politicians have decided that the threats that matter are the ones coming from the Trumpier portions of their own party. ” Jonathan Bernstein , Bloomberg\n“ A growing number of Senate Republicans , Trump ’ s biggest check against congressional Democrats , have grown uneasy with the president ’ s executive actions both in diplomacy and in domestic politics… “ [ But ] nationally , 90 percent of Republicans approve of Trump ’ s job performance , according to a Gallup poll released Thursday . And the president made clear that votes against him were an act of betrayal… There ’ s no way to win reelection if you don ’ t first win the GOP primary , so even Republicans who could face difficult general elections lined up behind Trump rather than risk his wrath. ” Paul Kane , Washington Post\n“ The issue here isn ’ t whether there are big problems at the border . The issue is that Congress considered them and decided not to address them the way Trump wanted , so he used emergency powers to reverse that decision . That ’ s the precedent being set here , and it ’ s one Congress ignores at its peril. ” Jon Healey , Los Angeles Times\n“ Hypocrisy is a term often bandied about too easily . But it was crystallized in a single moment Thursday , when 41 Republican senators voted to surrender their legislative authority to an overreaching president … [ The Republican senators ] who voted to safeguard Trump 's power grab [ will not ] have any credibility to complain when a future Democratic president invokes emergency powers on , say , gun violence or climate change. ” Editorial Board , USA Today\nThe right is generally supportive of terminating the declaration , arguing that it was a usurpation of Congress ’ s authority over spending .\nThe right is generally supportive of terminating the declaration , arguing that it was a usurpation of Congress ’ s authority over spending .\n“ The problem with the emergency declaration is that , even if it ’ s technically legal… it is clearly pretextual and a way to do an end run around the congressional spending power . The president himself in his press conference announcing the emergency said that he didn ’ t have to do it , but that he wanted to build new fencing more quickly than he could without the declaration . ”\n“ The border certainly needs better enforcement . It could use more wall . But it 's up to Congress , not the president , to appropriate money for the wall… The Left loves to declare that conservative talk of principles is a con and a cover story for self-serving ends . Votes like this lend credence to the charge . We applaud the dozen Republicans who voted for the resolution . We hope Congress ’ next step is to pass a bipartisan bill curbing presidential emergency powers . ”\n“ The President has set terrible precedent with his emergency declaration . He negotiated with Congress , got nothing , so decided to go this route . To allow a president to exercise this power after failing in negotiations just sets a precedent for future Democrat presidents to do the same… if this President can declare an emergency for this border dispute , a future president could do the same for climate change . ”\nMany are asking , “ Where were Mr. Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi when President Obama violated the separation of powers again and again to achieve his policy goals ? Senate Democrats gave Mr. Obama a blank check on recess appointments , environmental and financial regulation , ObamaCare spending without appropriations , work permits for illegal immigrants , and much more . The courts later rebuked Mr. Obama on all of them . The GOP opposition is more sincere and significant because it comes at some political cost… [ But ] Mr. Trump should be careful not to test the limits of GOP Senate loyalty . ”\n“ Politicians face a difficult decision when a president abuses his powers to achieve something their party wants to achieve . Under Obama that was [ DACA ] for illegal immigrants ; under Trump it ’ s an emergency declaration to build the wall . Democrats were pretty much silent about Obama ’ s abuses… Only four ( out of 186 voting ) [ in the House ] supported killing it via legislation , and the Democratic Senate did not even vote on the bill . By contrast , 13 out of 195 voting Republicans in the House sided against the emergency declaration , and an impressive twelve of 53 Republican senators voted that way as well . ”\nSupporters of the President argue that “ I 'm sympathetic to arguments that the National Emergencies Act is too broad and gives the executive branch too much power . That 's a reasonable debate to have… But in the meantime , do n't pretend we did n't delegate all these powers , or that it 's lawless for the executive to use laws we passed , just because you deplore him . ”\nOthers note , “ I ’ d hate to be a Democratic member of Congress trying to convince Joe Sixpack that this is a whole new ballgame . The transcript shows Trump being Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky trying to ingratiate himself with the big dog by , for instance , mentioning that he stays at Trump hotels . Trump ’ s conversation is typically scattershot , wandering all over the field , leaving a reasonable listener puzzled about what the takeaways are supposed to be…  “ I think Joe Sixpack ’ s response is going to be a hearty shrug . After all that has emerged about Trump so far , his approval rating is closely tracking Obama ’ s approval at the same point in his presidency . To get Mr. Sixpack ’ s attention you are going to have to do better than this . ”


Democratic senators flag eight of president-elect ’ s picks and are pushing for more time for confirmation hearings\nIn a new era of Republican-led governance , there is little Democrats can do to prevent Donald Trump ’ s cabinet nominees from being confirmed . But that won ’ t stop them from trying .\nDemocratic senators are targeting eight of Trump ’ s cabinet nominees whom they view as particularly “ troublesome ” and are pushing for more time to hold hearings on each of them .\n“ We have asked for fair hearings on all of those nominees , ” the minority leader , Chuck Schumer , told reporters on Wednesday . “ There are a lot of questions about these nominees . ”\nThe nominees flagged for extra scrutiny include Steven Mnuchin , a Goldman Sachs banker turned Hollywood movie financier with no government experience , as Treasury secretary ; Rex Tillerson , who headed the biggest oil company in the world , as secretary of state , and the nominee for attorney general , Jeff Sessions , an Alabama senator who has been accused of making racially insensitive comments , which derailed his nomination to be a federal judge under Ronald Reagan .\nDemocrats have little leverage to prevent Trump ’ s nominees from being confirmed but they can significantly delay the process . Trump ’ s cabinet nominees will need 51 votes in the Senate to be confirmed and Republicans hold 52 seats .\nOn Wednesday , several Senate Democrats held private meetings with Trump nominees and later shared their initial reactions . Though all declined to say whether they would support the nominee , they signalled what the points of contention might be in the upcoming hearings .\nAfter a private meeting with Sessions on Wednesday , Dick Durbin , the second-highest ranking Senate Democrat , signalled that race and civil rights would be a key topic in his confirmation hearing next week .\n“ Certainly there are elements in his background that raise questions , ” Durbin said after their meeting , referring to allegations that Sessions was racially insensitive . “ He said several times , point blank , that this was not an issue as far as he was concerned . ”\nBeyond his past comments , Durbin said he was concerned by Sessions ’ views on voter ID laws and immigration . He also said he was dismayed that the Alabama Republican did not commit to following through on the recommendations outlined in a forthcoming report by the justice department ’ s civil rights division on the Chicago police department ’ s use of force .\nBefore the meeting ended , Durbin said he offered Sessions the book White Rage : The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson . “ I ’ m hoping he ’ ll take a look at it , ” he said .\nMeanwhile , Tillerson met members of the foreign relations committee on Capitol Hill on Wednesday , one week before he is scheduled to testify before them .\nSenator Chris Coons , a Democrat from Delaware , said he was “ generally encouraged ” by his conversation with Tillerson , although he said he wanted to hear more before deciding whether to support his nomination .\nSeveral senators , including Republicans Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and John McCain of Arizona , have raised concerns about Tillerson ’ s posture towards Russia and its president , Vladimir Putin .\nCoons took issue with the confirmation schedule , saying next week seemed too soon for members to hold a hearing on Tillerson , given Republicans ’ current plans to also vote on repealing Barack Obama ’ s healthcare law .\nTo rush the confirmation process “ strikes me as trying to get too many things done at the same time ” , he said , adding that he had been up all night preparing for his meeting with Tillerson .\nThe Democrats ’ list also includes Scott Pruitt , a climate change denier and prospective head of the Environmental Protection Agency , Tom Price , a prominent opponent of the Affordable Care Act , for secretary of health and human services , Andy Puzder , a fast food executive and critic of raising the minimum wage , as labor secretary , Congressman Mick Mulvaney , a fiscal conservative , as director of the Office of Management and Budget , and Betsy DeVos , a staunch supporter of school choice , Trump ’ s education secretary nominee .\nAfter a meeting with DeVos on Wednesday , Senator Patty Murray , a Democrat from Washington , said in a statement that she continued to have “ serious concerns ” about DeVos ’ s “ long record of working to privatize and defund public education , expand taxpayer-funded private school vouchers , and block accountability for charter schools , including for-profit charter schools ” .\nConfirmation hearings are scheduled to begin for Trump ’ s cabinet picks next week , with several already slated for 11 January . But before they get under way , Democrats are demanding at least two days of hearings for each cabinet nominee and have requested that they do not overlap so that members can “ spend a lot of time studying ” for them .\n“ I would like to succeed in negotiating something where we get full and fair hearings – we ’ re not trying to be dilatory – and hear what these nominees have to say , ” Schumer said . “ There are so many issues about so many of them that to rush them through would be a disservice to the American people . ”\nIn response , Republicans are now accusing Democrats of obstructionism , an echo of the charge levied by Democrats against Republicans during the Obama years .\nThe majority leader , Mitch McConnell , of Kentucky , said he expected the Senate to be ready to confirm a number of Trump ’ s cabinet nominees shortly after Inauguration Day , on 20 January , adding that in 2009 the Senate approved seven of Barack Obama ’ s nominees .\n“ I believe all the president-elect ’ s cabinet appointments will be confirmed , ” McConnell told reporters on Wednesday , speaking before Schumer . “ I think it would be great if the Democrats would understand that , particularly with regard to the national security team , the secretary of defense , CIA , homeland security , it would make a lot of sense to have those folks in place on day one and I hope we ’ re getting to the point where that will be possible . ”\nSchumer scoffed at the notion of a precedent . “ Leader McConnell has talked about the fact that a lot of nominees were approved in President Obama ’ s first few days after he was inaugurated , but they all had their paperwork in early , their ethics reports , their 90-day plan to extricate themselves from conflicts , their FBI briefings , ” he said .\nAbsent from the list of nominees Democrats are targeting is Marine General James Mattis , Trump ’ s pick for defense secretary , who will need a congressional waiver to be confirmed .\nAfter meeting privately with Mattis on Capitol Hill on Wednesday , Democratic senator Kirsten Gillibrand , of New York , said she still opposed a waiver of the law that requires that defense secretaries be removed from the military for at least seven years .\n“ He has served our country admirably , ” Gillibrand told reporters after their meeting . “ He is well-regarded as an extraordinary general , and I am very grateful for that service , and I ’ m very grateful that he ’ s willing to continue his service for the president-elect . But I still believe that civilian control of our military is fundamental to the American democracy . ”\nThe Senate is also preparing for a pitched battle over Trump ’ s future choice to replace Antonin Scalia on the supreme court , which will require 60 votes .\n“ Apparently , there ’ s yet a new standard which is to not confirm a supreme court nominee at all , ” McConnell said on Wednesday , referring to a remark Schumer made the previous evening on MSNBC that Democrats would “ absolutely ” keep the vacancy open if the nominee were outside the mainstream . “ I think that ’ s something the American people simply will not tolerate . ”\n“ Let ’ s see who they nominate , ” Schumer told reporters . “ If they ’ re in the mainstream , we ’ ll give them a very careful look . If they ’ re out of the mainstream , we ’ ll oppose them tooth and nail . ”\nAsked how he would define mainstream , Schumer replied : “ You know it when you see it . ”\nSenate Republicans blocked Obama ’ s nomination of Merrick Garland to replace Scalia for more than nine months .


Outgoing Rep. Martha McSally has been appointed to fill former Sen. John McCain 's seat just over a month after losing the race for the state 's other Senate seat .\nInterested in Republican Party ? Add Republican Party as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Republican Party news , video , and analysis from ███ . Add Interest\nArizona Gov . Doug Ducey announced her appointment Tuesday morning , just days after Sen. Jon Kyl confirmed that he was stepping down from the role .\nIn the press release announcing her appointment , Ducey said that McSally `` is uniquely qualified to step up and fight for Arizona ’ s interests in the U.S . Senate . ''\nMcSally , a two-term congresswoman , gained national attention when she faced off against Democrat Rep. Kyrsten Sinema this fall as they both fought to take over the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Jeff Flake 's decision not to run for re-election .\nSinema won the seat in a relatively close race , with Sinema winning 50 percent of the vote to McSally 's 47.6 percent . McSally conceded six days after the election .\nThat election was already a historic one , with Sinema becoming the first female to represent Arizona in the Senate . Now , the state will be one of only a few to be represented by two women .\nWith McSally 's appointment , she and Sinema will be the only serving bipartisan pair of female senators representing their state . The only other instance of that happening was in New Hampshire from 2011 to 2017 .\nThere are several other pairs of female senators who will be in the Senate come 2019 -- in California , New Hampshire , Minnesota and Nevada -- but the Arizona duo are the only ones of opposite parties .\nSix-term Republican Sen. John McCain passed away in late August , just days before the Republican primary in the race for Flake 's seat , and he had an outsize impact on the race .\nMcSally spoke movingly during her primary night victory speech about how he served as a mentor to her , both because of their military backgrounds and their love of Arizona .\n`` I am forever grateful to have had the chance to know him to learn from him and even to work with him , '' she said in her Aug. 28 speech .\nThat said , she did not receive an endorsement from the McCain family in the midterm race , even though she and Cindy McCain spoke at the same Election Eve event -- alongside Ducey and Kyl .\nIn spite of the fact that McCain held his seat for decades , it lies within the power of the governor and not McCain 's family to determine who will fill the spot until a special election can be held to formally fill it in 2020 .\nAt a news conference today , Ducey said that he was grateful that McSally and Cindy McCain `` were able to get together and visit earlier this week and clear the air . ''\nCindy McCain posted a tweet supporting the decision and calling on McSally to remember her husband 's legacy .\n`` My husband ’ s greatest legacy was placing service to AZ & USA ahead of his own self-interest . I respect @ dougducey 's decision to appoint @ RepMcSally to fill the remainder of his term . Arizonans will be pulling for her , hoping that she will follow his example of selfless leadership , '' she wrote on Twitter .\nMy husband ’ s greatest legacy was placing service to AZ & USA ahead of his own self-interest . I respect @ dougducey 's decision to appoint @ RepMcSally to fill the remainder of his term . Arizonans will be pulling for her , hoping that she will follow his example of selfless leadership — Cindy McCain ( @ cindymccain ) December 18 , 2018\nFor her part , McSally said that she looks forward to working with her recent rival Sinema -- who she accused of treason during the campaign -- while they both serve as the state 's representatives in the Senate for the next two years .\n`` I am humbled and grateful to have this opportunity to serve and be a voice for all Arizonans . I look forward to working with Senator-Elect Kyrsten Sinema and getting to work from day one , '' McSally said in Ducey 's news release announcing her appointment .\nShe echoed that sentiment at the news conference hours later , saying that she texted Sinema this morning and she plans to work with her in the Senate `` just like we did in the House . ''\n`` There 's a lot of common ground between us and I 'm ready to hit it running , '' McSally said .\nDucey noted that Sinema will be sworn in before McSally , making Sinema the senior Senator from Arizona . He said that decision was made in an effort to `` respect the will of the voters . ''\nAssuming McSally 's appointment progresses , the special election for McCain 's seat will be held in 2020 , and then would be up for it 's regularly scheduled re-election in 2022 . Should McSally continue forward , and run for re-election , she will have campaigned three times in six years , losing once .\nAnd since McCain won his sixth term in 2016 and Sinema 's seat is up for re-election in 2024 , Arizonans will have gone through five Senate elections in a decade .


I wo n't lie . After reading the CNN piece titled `` Senate Dems , powerless to stop Trump nominees , regret 'nuclear option ' power play , '' I experienced some deeply satisfying schadenfreude . Feel free to keep President Barack Obama , Sen. Harry Reid and those who implored Senate Democrats to blow up the filibuster a few years ago in your thoughts as President-elect Donald Trump names his Cabinet and judges . But be sure to remember how recklessness begets recklessness in Washington , D.C .\n`` I do regret that , '' Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware , a Democrat who voted to weaken the filibuster three years ago , tells CNN . `` I frankly think many of us will regret that in this Congress because it would have been a terrific speed bump , potential emergency brake , to have in our system to slow down nominees . ''\nIt always was a terrific speed bump , senator . One of the reasons we value tradition , norms and process is that we do n't know what the future holds . But , you 'll note , these Democrats do n't regret their vote for majoritarianism or power grabs . They regret that Trump ( and it would be the same for Mitt Romney or any moderate Republican , for that matter ) will now be able to operate under the rules they set for themselves .\nIt 's worth remembering that Democrats did n't used a parliamentary procedure to change the rules so that federal judicial nominees and executive-office appointments can move to confirmation votes with a simple majority for some grand ideological purpose . They did it for short-term political gains that no one will remember . Does any Democrat believe helping Obama name some left-wing populists to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( which did n't even exist until 2011 ) and the National Labor Relations Board was worth it ?\nSen. Jeff Merkley ( D-Ore. ) , another leading proponent of destroying checks and balances , charged at the time that without the nuclear option Republicans were `` going to disable '' the executive branch . `` It 's come into a realm where it 's just unacceptable because if the executive branch ca n't function , then the nation ca n't respond to the big challenges it faces , '' he explained . He seemed to be under the impression that presidents make laws—or maybe just liberal presidents .\nThe liberal punditry hammered the filibuster back then the same way it 's hammering the Electoral College today . In 2010 , Paul Krugman wrote a column in The New York Times claiming that the filibuster would destroy America .\nI do not exaggerate . He wrote : `` We 've always known that America 's reign as the world 's greatest nation would eventually end . But most of us imagined that our downfall , when it came , would be something grand and tragic . What we 're getting instead is less a tragedy than a deadly farce . ''\nThe idea that Democrats had n't been able to function was a myth . Obama , supposedly powerless to face America 's `` big challenges , '' had already passed a nearly trillion-dollar stimulus , a restructuring of the entire health care system and a tangled overhaul of financial regulation . The president also appointed two wholly liberal Supreme Court justices with no meaningful opposition .\nThe American people then said , `` That 's enough . '' For Merkley , Krugman , Coons , Reid and others , that would n't do .\nWhen Reid 's party was in the minority , he warned that weakening the Senate filibuster would `` destroy the very checks and balances our Founding Fathers put in place to prevent absolute power by any one branch of government . '' He was right . With his party 's attainment of a Senate majority , Reid 's reverence for the Founding Fathers rapidly faded , so much so that he used the nuclear option to eliminate the filibuster from some Senate debates .\nAs a practical matter , these changes will likely never be reversed . What kind of majority is going to restore the filibuster to its opponents ? What kind of majority would n't use the same process to roll back the previous Senate 's abuses ? ( And the latter makes complete sense . ) After all , the Chris Coons of the world will never be courageous enough to stand for process and stability over partisanship gain . In a Republican environment where winning itself is the ideology , it becomes even less likely .\nAlthough each party detests the filibuster when it is in power , progressives hold an enduring contempt for it because they hold an enduring contempt for federalism in general . Even today , some liberals are trying to figure out ways to work Senate procedure to put Chief Judge Merrick Garland on the Supreme Court . As if Republicans would n't then simply turn around and load the court themselves . This kind of arms race sets dangerous precedents . It 'd be nice if the nation realized it .


Shortly after police arrived at Botham Jean ’ s apartment that night in 2018 and attempted to revive him , they were joined by the head of the Dallas police union . By then , Guyger had been escorted away from the scene and placed in a police vehicle . As captured on body cam video , Dallas Police Association President Michael Mata asked another officer to turn off the dash cam which could record his conversation with Guyger .\n“ Why am I thanking Mike Mata ? ” activist Changa Higgins said at a protest last week . “ Because , basically , during this case , he exposed what we ’ ve been saying about his ass all along . The DPA has too much power in policing in this city . ”\nProsecutors wanted to make the point that not only was Guyger being treated differently because she was a police officer , but that Mata had asked another officer to go outside of policy—by requesting the camera be turned off—in order to give her this special treatment . Across the country , Police union officials commonly get preferred access to officers who kill . They get to hear their stories before they make formal statements . They also get to help shape those stories .\nPolice unions exert pressure on policymakers , too , opposing and obstructing transparency efforts , and thereby maintaining control of what the public knows about police violence . When California enacted a law this year requiring police departments to share misconduct records , police slow-walked requests , and then still withheld documents .\nNow , the Long Beach police union has proposed new contract language stipulating officers be informed when records pertaining to them are requested , and to be given five days to review the records before they are released . The new policy would also require that the name and organization of the person who requested misconduct records be disclosed to that officer . Legal experts fear these kinds of proposals will proliferate throughout the state , discouraging people from seeking misconduct records .\nThis is a national problem . More than 100 newsrooms across the country spent over a year in 2018 and 2019 trying to collect police misconduct records in a nationwide project coordinated by USA TODAY . “ Dozens of police agencies ignored repeated requests made under states ’ open records laws , ” they found . “ Other agencies denied requests , saying sharing the information with the public violates officers ’ privacy rights or is not in the public ’ s best interest… In state after state , USA TODAY had to employ the assistance of its lawyers to gain access to the public records. ” In the end , these reporters found at least 200,000 instances of alleged misconduct , and more than 30,000 officers who had been decertified by state oversight agencies .\nWhen police unions act in order to protect a co-worker , that can put them at odds with protecting public safety and civil rights . It has also put them at odds with those in police leadership who want to better serve the public interest . In Phoenix , when a police chief pushed back on the city ’ s disciplinary review board for routinely overturning his recommendations to discipline officers , the police unions organized a no-confidence vote in him . After the chief held a news conference criticizing the union in 2014 , the city fired him . Internal attempts at accountability can end in punishment , perhaps more often than the misconduct itself—although measuring that for certain would require access to the records police departments so often withhold .\nPolice killing cases that make it to trial , then , traverse an obstacle course which favors police : the union , the internal investigation , the secrecy . A prosecutor who routinely works with police to make criminal cases has to now make a case that compels a grand jury to indict a police officer—in proceedings themselves which are unknown until their conclusion , if at all . If a grand jury recommends an indictment—and “ if the prosecutor wants an indictment she or he is probably going to get one because they do have so much control over the grand jury , ” as law professor Andrew Leipold told The New York Times—then the prosecutor can charge the officer , and then , finally , there ’ s the trial itself .\nWith the Guyger case , it ultimately depended on the jury in her criminal trial . In the end , they weren ’ t permitted to watch the video of Guyger and her union president trying to get her to talk without being recorded . Maybe it didn ’ t matter . It could already have been clear to them that Guyger got special treatment . The members of this jury might also have been more aware of the problem than others have been—seven were black , five were non-black people of color , and four were white . In the end , they did something that should be routine : they returned a verdict holding a police officer to the same standard they might hold a civilian who shot and killed someone on sight .


Raul A. Reyes is an attorney and member of the USA Today board of contributors . Follow him on Twitter @ RaulAReyes . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author .\n( CNN ) As the nation was preparing for the July Fourth weekend , there was grim news from San Francisco . On Wednesday night , Kate Steinle , 31 , was fatally shot , apparently randomly , while walking with her father on a busy pier . A Mexican immigrant , who CNN reported was in the country without documentation , was arrested in her death .\nIllegally re-entering the country after being deported , as Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez is said to have done , is a federal felony . He has also been accused of a horrific , violent crime . And according to immigration authorities , he has seven other felony convictions , including four for drug offenses .\nBut that does n't make him a symbol of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States . Nor is he the poster boy for out-of-control illegal immigration across our southern border ( illegal immigration from Mexico is at a 40-year low ) . He does not represent the overwhelming majority of immigrants in this country -- legal or otherwise -- who are productive members of society .\nLopez-Sanchez is simply a dangerous individual who should not have been free and among us .\nIt is a myth that increased illegal immigration leads to more crime . Research from the Immigration Policy Center shows that crime rates fell in the United States as the size of our immigrant population , including undocumented immigrants , grew from 1990 to 2010 .\nJUST WATCHED Undocumented immigrants want to enlist Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Undocumented immigrants want to enlist 02:30\nThe Washington Post just analyzed Donald Trump 's recent comments about Mexican immigrants being drug dealers and `` rapists '' and found that he was wrong about immigrants and crime . Remember , being in the country without authorization is not a crime -- it is a civil infraction .\nMost undocumented immigrants come to the United States to work and provide a better life for themselves and their families .\nConsider that several mass shootings , from Aurora to Newtown to Charleston , were committed by young white men . Does that mean that all young white men are potential mass murderers ? Of course not .\nThe same news outlets that are now trumpeting Wednesday 's murder as proof that undocumented immigrants are criminals often overlook or ignore other stories of undocumented immigrants who are genuine heroes . In 2013 , an undocumented immigrant rescued a mother and her child on Staten Island , New York , amidst the storm surge of Superstorm Sandy .\nJUST WATCHED DREAMer fights her family 's deportation Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH DREAMer fights her family 's deportation 02:50\nOne takeaway from this episode is that deporting as many undocumented immigrants as possible is not the answer to our immigration problems . Lopez-Sanchez had been deported five times , and yet he was still here in the country without authorization .\nBack in 2011 , the deputy director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement told an immigration subcommittee of Congress that it costs $ 12,500 to deport a person . Multiply this by five and that is how much taxpayer money was wasted on a criminal who remained at large to randomly take the life of an innocent young woman .\nAnother lesson here is our country does not need more immigration enforcement ; our country needs smarter and better immigration enforcement . Up to now , immigration authorities have wasted time , manpower and money chasing after people working productively in their communities as , say , gardeners and maids , while felons like Lopez-Sanchez slipped through the cracks .\nThat 's why it was good news last week that the Department of Homeland Security announced it is rethinking its deportation priorities to focus on recent arrivals and serious criminals .\nThis move is a step in the right direction , because it is time to start seriously targeting those immigrants who are a real threat to public safety . The government will be focusing its enforcement efforts on three categories of people : convicted criminals , recent border crossers and terrorism threats .\nJUST WATCHED Johnson : WH will appeal TX immigration ruling Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Johnson : WH will appeal TX immigration ruling 01:24\nTrue , Lopez-Sanchez should not have been in the country , or he should have at least been behind bars . But Immigration and Customs Enforcement erred in not seeking a warrant or court order for his arrest and he was released in accordance with city law in March .\nWhat 's more , President Barack Obama 's proposed executive action on immigration , currently tied up in a legal battle , might also have made a difference because it would have freed up resources to go after people like Lopez-Sanchez .\nThe executive action would have given deportation relief to parents of DREAMers , while allowing DHS to zero in on criminals . Instead , despite the fact that our country spends more on immigration enforcement than all other law enforcement agencies combined , our system failed Kate Steinle .\nAlthough Steinle 's death was a tragedy , it was the alleged action of one man . All undocumented immigrants do not deserve to be vilified by false association .


COLORADO SPRINGS — Police were trying to determine Saturday why a middle-aged gunman in hunting gear allegedly went on a wild shooting spree inside a Planned Parenthood clinic , killing three people , including a police officer .\nThe suspect , identified as Robert Lewis Dear , 57 , of Hartsel , Colo. , surrendered to officers after a five-hour ordeal Friday in which he fired randomly at people in the clinic and roamed the halls shooting through walls with an assault-style rifle .\nColorado Springs Mayor John Suthers says authorities aren ’ t ready to discuss a possible motive of the gunman who attacked a Planned Parenthood clinic there but says people can make “ inferences from where it took place , ” referring to the clinic .\nVicki Cowart , president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains , which ran the clinic , addressed a full house at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church Saturday , saying , `` Our hearts break together for what happened . All of us , our entire nation , community , was attacked . We do n't know yet why this happened . ''\nCowart said the 15 Planned Parenthood employees on duty at the time of the shootings were unharmed . She said she anticipated the clinic would be closed for `` some time , '' KKTV reports , but that the organization would learn from the attack , “ square our shoulders ” and carry on with its mission .\nAfter Cowart 's remarks , a woman in the audience stood up and objected to the vigil becoming a “ political statement ” before leaving , the Associated Press reports .\nEarlier , Rev . Nori Rost , the senior minister at the church , called the gunman a “ domestic terrorist. ” In the back of the room , someone held a sign that said : “ Women ’ s bodies are not battlefields . Neither is our town . ”\nMeanwhile , authorities have not determined yet what motivated the suspect to open fire on the facility .\n`` We do n't have any information on this individual 's mentality , or his ideas or ideology , '' said Lt. Catherine Buckley , spokeswoman for the Colorado Springs Police Department .\nWhile little was known immediately about Dear 's activity in Colorado , he has a cabin in Black Mountain , N.C. , near Asheville , according to the Associated Press .\nThose who knew him in North Carolina said he avoided eye contact with neighbors and seemed to have few religious or political leanings .\n`` If you talked to him , nothing with him was very cognitive — topics all over place , '' said James Russell , who lives a few hundred feet from Dear in Black Mountain . A cross made of twigs hung Saturday on the wall of Dear 's pale yellow shack .\nRussell and others said the only companion they saw with Dear was a mangy dog , who looked to be in such bad shape they called animal control because they worried he was beating it .\nThe officer killed in Friday 's melle was identified as Garrett Swasey , 44 , a six-year veteran with the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs police force . He was one of many officers from the surrounding area who helped Colorado Springs police in the incident .\n`` The officer who gave his life today alongside the other officers put the lives of civilians in peril above his own , '' the Colorado Fraternal Order of Police said via Twitter . `` He died to save others . ''\nIn a statement Saturday , President Obama said the suspect 's `` so-called motive '' was unknown , but what is known is that people , including a police officer , died and `` more Americans and their families had fear forced upon them . ''\n`` This is not normal , '' Obama said . `` We can ’ t let it become normal . If we truly care about this — if we ’ re going to offer up our thoughts and prayers again , for God knows how many times , with a truly clean conscience — then we have to do something about the easy accessibility of weapons of war on our streets to people who have no business wielding them . Period . Enough is enough . ''\n`` May God bless Officer Garrett Swasey and the Americans he tried to save — and may he grant the rest of us the courage to do the same thing , '' the president said .\nThe names of the two civilians killed had not yet been disclosed Saturday morning , but they were not believed to include any Planned Parenthood employees . At least nine people were injured as the suspect shot randomly from the moment he appeared in front of the building in northwest Colorado Springs .\nPolice said Saturday that items Dear brought to the scene had been secured and were no longer a threat . Police initially thought that some of the items , like an air tank , might be explosive devices .\nOzy Licano was in the two-story building ’ s parking lot when he saw someone crawling toward the clinic ’ s door around noon Friday . He tried to escape in his car when the gunman looked at him .\n“ He came out , and we looked each other in the eye , and he started aiming , and then he started shooting , ” Licano said . “ I saw two holes go right through my windshield as I was trying to quickly back up and he just kept shooting and I started bleeding . ”\nLicano sped off and took refuge at a nearby grocery store , according to the Associated Press .\n“ He was aiming for my head , ” he said of the gunman . “ It ’ s just weird to stare in the face of someone like that . And he didn ’ t win . ”\nThe gunman surrendered as officers were maneuvering a sniper in place to shoot him . Officers shouted at Dear who then agreed to surrender .\nDuring the lengthy standoff , police were able to reach numerous people trapped in the building , including some only yards away from the gunman , blocked only by office walls . Some had taken refuge in a `` safe room '' established in case of emergencies .\nThe Planned Parenthood clinic , which provides abortions and other women 's reproductive health services , has been the site of numerous protests by anti-abortion advocates over the years , but it was not known whether Friday 's shooting was ideologically motivated .\n`` We do n't yet know the full circumstances and motives behind this criminal action , and we do n't yet know if Planned Parenthood was in fact the target of this attack , '' Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains said in a statement . `` We share the concerns of many Americans that extremists are creating a poisonous environment that feeds domestic terrorism in this country . ''\nOne anti-abortion group of about 70 people holds prayer vigils on Thursdays and Fridays , but had left this week by 10 a.m. , about an hour and a half before the shooting spree began .\nJoseph Martone Jr. , a frequent protester at the clinic , told The Gazette that he was appalled by the shooting incident . Martone , who was out of state Friday , is an adamant protester at the center and has been arrested , jailed and paid fines for his trespassing , but said he prefers prayer over violence .\n`` It 's a really sad thing , no matter what the reason , '' he told the newspaper . `` No matter how much I despise Planned Parenthood , no one deserves to go through this , and I pray for everybody involved . ''\nIt was the second shooting incident in a month in the city of around 430,000 people . On Oct. 31 , a gunman shot and killed three people near downtown Colorado Springs before he died in a shootout with police .


HOUSTON ( ███ ) - George Floyd , a black man whose death under the knee of a white police officer roused worldwide protests against racial injustice , was memorialized at his funeral on Tuesday as “ an ordinary brother ” transformed by fate into the “ cornerstone of a movement . ”\nDuring a four-hour service broadcast live on every major U.S. television network from a church in Floyd ’ s boyhood home of Houston , family members , clergy and politicians exhorted Americans to turn grief and outrage at his death into a moment of reckoning for the nation .\nThe funeral followed two weeks of protests ignited by graphic video footage of Floyd , 46 , handcuffed and lying face down on a Minneapolis street while an officer kneels into the back of his neck for nearly nine minutes . The video shows Floyd gasping for air as he cries out , “ Mama , ” and groans , “ Please , I can ’ t breathe , ” before falling silent and still .\nThe officer , Derek Chauvin , 44 , has since been charged with second-degree murder and three other officers with aiding and abetting Floyd ’ s May 25 death . All were dismissed from the department a day after the incident .\nFloyd ’ s dying words have become a rallying cry for hundreds of thousands of protesters around the globe who have since taken to the streets , undaunted by the coronavirus pandemic , demanding justice for Floyd and an end to mistreatment of minorities by U.S. law enforcement .\n“ I can breathe . And as long as I ’ m breathing , justice will be served , ” Floyd ’ s niece Brooklyn Williams declared in a eulogy that drew applause from mourners inside the Fountain of Praise Church . “ This is not just a murder but a hate crime . ”\nWilliams was one of several relatives and friends who addressed the service , remembering Floyd as a loving , larger-than-life personality . The memorial was punctuated by gospel music and a video montage of shared memories of the man affectionately known as “ Big Floyd . ”\nHis younger brother , Terrence Floyd , spoke about awakening in the middle of the night in recent days traumatized by the memory of seeing his older sibling calling out for their mother as he lay dying .\nHis older brother , Philonise , sobbing in grief , told mourners , “ George was my personal superman . ”\nCivil rights activist the Rev . Al Sharpton called Floyd “ an ordinary brother ” who grew up in a housing project but left behind a legacy of greatness despite rejections in jobs and sports that prevented him from achieving all that he once aspired to become .\n“ God took the rejected stone and made him the cornerstone of a movement that is going to change the whole wide world , ” Sharpton said , invoking a biblical parable from the New Testament .\nSharpton said the Floyd family would lead a march on Washington being organized for Aug. 28 to mark the 57th anniversary of the 1963 “ I Have a Dream ” speech given from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial by civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. , who was assassinated in 1968 .\nSome 2,500 people attended the funeral , after more than 6,000 people filed past Floyd ’ s open casket on Monday .\nTwo columns of uniformed Houston police officers saluted the golden casket as it was wheeled from the hearse into the church before the service . A horse-drawn carriage later bore the coffin on its last mile to the cemetery in Pearland , Texas , where Floyd was buried in a private ceremony .\nFormer Vice President Joe Biden , the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate in the Nov. 3 election , addressed the funeral service via a video recording , lamenting that “ too many black Americans wake up knowing that they could lose their life in the course of just living their life . ”\n“ We must not turn away . We can not leave this moment thinking we can once again turn away from racism , ” he said .\nA man raises his hand in solidarity as the coffin of George Floyd , whose death in Minneapolis police custody has sparked nationwide protests against racial inequality , is seen in a horse-drawn carriage as it enters the Houston Memorial Gardens cemetery in Pearland , Texas , U.S. , June 9 , 2020 . ███/Adrees Latif\nTwo voter registration tables were set up outside the church .\nAmong those in attendance were loved ones of several other black men killed by white police or white civilians .\nThe mother of Eric Garner , the New York man who died in a police chokehold in 2014 , was present , as was the family of Ahmaud Arbery , a 25-year-old Georgia man who was shot and killed in February while jogging . Three white men were charged in his death .\nFallout from Floyd ’ s death , and reaction to a spate of arson and looting that accompanied some of the otherwise mostly peaceful protests , also plunged President Donald Trump into one of the biggest crises of his tenure .\nHundreds of protesters packed Seattle ’ s city hall late Tuesday night , chanting demands for the resignation of the mayor and the defunding the police force .\nDays after Seattle ’ s mayor and police chief promised a month-long moratorium on tear gas , the department used it again on protesters overnight Sunday , bringing severe criticism .\nA Republican , Trump repeatedly threatened to order the military onto the streets to quell protests , focusing on restoring order while saying little about the U.S. racial wounds at the root of the upheavals .\nFor Special Report : How union , Supreme Court shield Minneapolis cops -\nFor Before the court : A united front takes aim at qualified immunity :