Pennsylvania Republican senators voted not to seat a Democratic lawmaker elected in November and removed the Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman from presiding over the chamber on Tuesday, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Why it matters: Republicans prevented Sen. Jim Brewster (D) from taking the oath of office, and he will be unable to assume his seat even though state officials certified his narrow win.
Following the Georgia runoff elections, the Facebook ban that restricts ads on social issues, elections and politics nationwide will be reimplemented in the state, the company said on Tuesday.
The big picture: The company has been trying to adapt its political ad policies in real time to curb confusion and possible misinformation around the election results.
Police officers involved in the shooting of Jacob Blake will not face criminal charges, Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Gravely announced Tuesday.
The big picture: Kenosha was the center of protests, some violent, after officer Rusten Sheskey shot and wounded Blake, a Black man, on Aug. 23. The U.S. saw mass protests over police brutality and racism throughout the summer, set off by George Floyd's killing in Minneapolis.
Congress on Wednesday will be asked to certify state electors, setting the stage for Joe Biden's inauguration as the country's 46th president on Jan. 20. But, like so many things in the Trump era, it won't be business as usual, as groups of House and Senate Republicans say they will object to electors from at least four states.
Axios Re:Cap digs into the process and the precedent with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Rules Committee, who will lead her party's response to objections on the Senate floor. Plus, Atlanta Journal-Constitution political reporter Greg Bluestein joins to discuss Georgia's senate runoffs.
Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) will certify Joe Biden's Electoral College win, refusing to join the growing number of Republicans planning to object to the process, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Scott, who joins several veteran Republican senators standing firm against President Trump's efforts to overturn his legitimate election defeat, sparked buzz about a 2024 presidential run after getting the red carpet treatment at the Republican National Convention in August.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) will object to the certification of Arizona's Electoral College votes on Wednesday, two sources familiar with his plans confirmed to Axios.
Why it matters: Cruz is one of 13 senators who have threatened to object to President-elect Biden's Electoral College victory. Arizona is at least the third state whose certification Republican lawmakers plan to challenge.
Anyone thinking that the immediate past is a prologue for Capitol Hill dealmaking could be in for rough years ahead.
Catch up fast: In late December, Congress passed and President Trump signed legislation to cut a major greenhouse gas, extend clean energy tax incentives and bolster Energy Department tech deployment programs.
The next two days look to be the most tumultuous and telling of the wild, never-ending 2020 election.
Driving the news: Twin runoffsin Georgia today determine control of the U.S. Senate. And perhaps half or moreof the Republicans in Congress will cast an unprecedented number of votes to invalidate President-elect Biden’s clear win, as the House and Senate meet to certify the Electoral College votes.
Olivier Knox, a veteran political reporter who most recently served as SiriusXM's chief Washington correspondent, will take over as anchor of The Washington Post's daily political newsletter, "The Daily 202," executives tell Axios.
The big picture: Knox replaces James Hohmann, who was named a columnist for WashPost's Opinions section in November.
President Trump and President-elect Joe Biden were both campaigning at events in Georgia Monday night on the eve of the pivotal twin runoffs in the state that'll determine which party controls the Senate.
The big picture: Trump at his rally in north Georgia made baseless claims about the 2020 election and warned the state's Democratic candidates would force a sharp swing to the left. Biden said at his Atlanta event a vote for those candidates, Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, would lead to the Senate granting Americans $2,000 in stimulus checks.
Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) announced in a statement Monday she will "vote to give President Trump and the American people the fair hearing they deserve and support the objection to the Electoral College certification process."
Why it matters: Loeffler made the announcement on the eve of her crucial, tight Senate runoff election in Georgia Tuesday — held one day before the certification vote.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney and House GOP Conference Chair Liz Cheney have pulled a power play against President Trump’s attempt to overthrow the election.
Driving the news: The elder Cheney helped pull together an op-ed from all 10 living former defense secretaries to warn against military intervention to thwart a transfer of power. Liz Cheney pounded out a 21-page argument against plans to try to stall certification of Biden's win.
President Trump may have little more than two weeks left in office, but House Democrats are talking about impeaching him — again.
Why it matters: The party is split over how to respond to his phone call asking the Georgia secretary of state to change his state’s vote totals. Progressives including Ilhan Omar are talking another impeachment, while others such as Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) favor a lesser move like censure. The ticking clock factors into both approaches.
Republican lawmakers planning to run for president in 2024 have spent weeks in urgent conversations with advisers as they made the high-stakes call on whether to support objections to this week’s congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
Why it matters: Republican sources tell Axios these lawmakers view Wednesday's vote as potentially decisive for their political viability, much like would-be 2004 Democratic candidates fixated over the 2002 Iraq War vote.
The leader of the far-right Proud Boys was arrested in Washington, D.C., on Monday and charged with destruction of property, police said, ahead of planned protests against the congressional certification of the 2020 election results, scheduled for Wednesday.
Driving the news: Enrique Tarrio, chairman of the Proud Boys, told the Washington Post in December that he participated in the burning of a Black Lives Matter banner that had been taken from a historic Black church during protests last month in the nation's capital.
