President Trump ordered U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff on Sunday afternoon to honor a Capitol officer who died after he was attacked by a mob of pro-Trump rioters who breached the Capitol on Wednesday.
The big picture: Trump's move to honor the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) officer Brian Sicknick comes three days after the department confirmed his death from injuries sustained while responding to the mob. The flags at the Capitol had previously been lowered.
Former Republican California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said on Sunday that Wednesday's violent siege of the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob "was the Day of Broken Glass right here in the United States," comparing the attack to Kristallnacht, a violent turning point in Nazi Germany.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) asked the Department of Homeland Security to extend federal assistance with maintaining security in the city for Joe Biden's inauguration on Jan. 20, citing "the chaos, injury, and death" that stemmed from a pro-Trump mob breaching the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.
Why it matters: Bowser cited the "continued threat" of violence related to the breach, asking the DHS to extend a designation that will allow the U.S. Secret Service to lead security coordination for events, Jan. 11–24, for the inauguration. The current period is Jan. 19–21.
Major businesses are pausing donations to politicians in light of Wednesday's deadly siege of the U.S. Capitol.
Driving the news: Marriott will pause donations from its PAC to "who voted against certification of the election,” a company spokesperson confirmed on Sunday. Citigroup meanwhile will pause all donations from its PAC for the rest of the quarter, according to a company memo obtained by Axios.
Amazon's decision to boot conservative chat site Parler from its hosting platform, on the heels of Twitter and many other services banishing President Trump, brings three decades of hot argument over online speech to a boil.
Why it matters: Four years of a president who behaved like a boundary-pushing online troll, fostering mayhem that culminated in Wednesday's assault on the Capitol, finally forced the executives who control today's internet to draw lines.
The U.S. Capitol's attending physician reportedly warned lawmakers on Sunday that they may have been exposed to someone with a coronavirus infection as they hid from a pro-Trump mob breaching the building on Wednesday.
Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) told CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday he believes President Trump should resign, following his comment to Fox News on Saturday that he believes the president "committed impeachable offenses" over his actions before, during and after Wednesday's deadly siege of the U.S. Capitol.
Why it matters: Toomey's comments come as some Republicans have signaled they may be open to the possibility of removing Trump from office over Wednesday's riot. He is the second Republican senator to call on Trump to resign, following Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) was unable to get federal authorization to deploy his state's National Guard to the U.S. Capitol until two hours into a siege on the building by a pro-Trump mob, he told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday.
The United States, torn apart by insurrection and mass misinformation, is witnessing a political and social realignment unfold in real time: We’re splitting into three Americas.
Why it matters: America, in its modern foundational components, is breaking into blue America, red America, and Trump America — all with distinct politics, social networks and media channels.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told Democratic lawmakers in a letter released Saturday night to "be prepared to return" to Washington, D.C., next week.
Why it matters: Although Pelosi did not specifically mention plans to instigate proceedings to impeach or remove President Trump from office over last Wednesday's deadly siege on the U.S. Capitol, she said, "There must be a recognition that this desecration was instigated by the President."
The Biden Inaugural Committee published Saturday a list of donors that gave over $200 to President-elect Joe Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration events — with Boeing, Google, Microsoft, Verizon and Comcast among the big-name contributors.
