December 2020 - Newshacker

2020 Lookback: All the Major Events This Year

It is not a stretch to say that 2020 has been a tumultuous year for many. Amid a global pandemic that has infected over 82 million people globally and killed almost 1.8 million people around the world, with over 19 million cases in the U.S. and 336,000 deaths, 2020 has been chock-full of suffering and pain for many people. On this last day of the year, let’s take some time to reflect on some major events that occurred this year.

Georgia Senate Runoffs Edge Closer and Closer

Although the outcome of the 2020 presidential and House races have been determined for the Democrats, control of the Senate still remains up in the air. With the Democrats and Republicans alike hardly flipping any seats in the Senate this election cycle, the Georgia Senate runoffs will now singlehandedly decide the balance of power in the 117th Congress.

House Overrides NDAA Veto; Passes $2,000 Stimulus Checks

In a special holiday session between Christmas and New Year, the House of Representatives convened again to do two things, presenting a major issue to the GOP and causing a fracture within the party: scheduling two votes, one to override the veto of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and another to increase the amount offered to Americans via stimulus checks in the stimulus bill from $600 to $2,000.

Trump Signs Relief & Funding Bill, But Only After Aid Lapses

President Trump has finally signed the massive $2.3 trillion combined COVID-19 relief and government funding bill for the next fiscal year, despite calling the bipartisan bill, which passed both houses of Congress with overwhelming veto-proof majorities, a “disgrace” a few days earlier on Twitter. Though signing the bill will avert a federal government shutdown which would’ve begun Monday, the bill was only signed after two critical unemployment provisions lapsed.

Trump Demands More Stimulus, Throwing Relief Bill Into Doubt

After Congress finally managed to negotiate a bipartisan coronavirus relief deal after months of arguments and it passed both houses of Congress by overwhelming veto-proof majorities, President Trump is now throwing doubt as to whether or not the bill can be passed by demanding that the bill include more money than the proposed $600 stimulus checks and to cut back the non-coronavirus related spending (the bill is tied to an omnibus government funding package, which means it has lots of unrelated provisions).

The States That Swung The Most In the 2020 Presidential Election

There were lots of surprises in terms of how each state voted in the 2020 election. A number of states shifted drastically in terms of how they voted this election compared to the 2016 election. And though this year was not the Democratic landslide many had hoped for, all states to see big swings were to the left.

Congress Passes COVID Relief Bill, Providing Temporary Relief

Capitol Hill leaders announced Sunday night that after months of partisan deadlock in Congress, they have finally managed to secure a $900 billion coronavirus relief package. This package is smaller than is ideal, but offers a sign of rare good news during an otherwise dark time and will provide some temporary relief to millions of Americans, which could avert a looming poverty crisis and the economy from falling back into recession.

Biden Picks First-Ever Native American to Lead Interior

President-Elect Joe Biden has chosen Rep. Deb Haaland of New Mexico to lead the Department of the Interior (DOI), making her the first-ever Native American cabinet secretary and to lead the department which is most intertwined with Indian affairs (the Bureau of Indian Affairs, BIA, is under the DOI, after all). She is the third House representative to be chosen and this selection has some major implications on the Democrats’ House majority.

The American Court System Explained

The U.S. has one of the most complex judicial systems in the world. It has two court systems—the state courts and the federal courts—and all are overseen by the United States Supreme Court. Each system works a bit differently, and it all gets super complex when states sue each other or the U.S. government itself (i.e., the Department of Justice, DOJ) is a party. Let’s take a closer look at how the American judiciary system works.

Pete Buttigieg To Become Transportation Secretary

On Tuesday, President-Elect Joe Biden officially announced that Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and a leading frontrunner in the 2020 Democratic primaries, to become the next Secretary of Transportation, taking over the job currently held by Elaine Chao. The nomination is a significant one for America, for Biden’s cabinet, and for Buttigieg personally.

Electoral College Affirms Biden Victory

President-Elect Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election was affirmed as the electors of the Electoral College cast their votes, giving Biden a 306 electoral votes to 232 for President Trump. Not one elector voted faithlessly. The Electoral College vote went smoothly with no dramas, and the vote successfully affirms Biden’s victory, putting a close to President Trump’s allegations of voter fraud and this election being “rigged” (no evidence has been found of election-rigging or voter fraud).

SCOTUS Rejects Texas Suit Trying to Nullify Election

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday rejected a lawsuit led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton which sought to nullify the election results in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, effectively trying to disenfranchise tens of millions of voters and overturn the results of a fair, free election which found no evidence of voter fraud. The rejection effectively puts a rest to the shameless attempt by the Trump wing of the GOP to subvert the election.

Texas GOP Lawsuit To Invalidate Millions of Votes Is Ludicrous

On December 8, 2020, the Republican Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Supreme Court alleging that Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Michigan violated federal law by changing election law prior to the election, claiming that voter fraud would be “undetectable.” The lawsuit is basically asking the Supreme Court to disenfranchise millions of voters in battleground states and overturn the results of a fair, free election with no evidence of voter fraud.

US Government Sues Facebook For Being an Illegal Monopoly

In a major groundbreaking lawsuit, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in conjunction with 46 states, the District of Columbia, and the territory of Guam, accused Facebook (FB) Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia of being an illegal monopoly, by buying up its rivals in order to quell competition.

SCOTUS Denies Pennsylvania GOP to Overturn Certification

In just one sentence, “[t]he application for injunctive relief presented to Justice Alito and by him referred to the Court is denied,” the Supreme Court of the United States on Tuesday denied Pennsylvania Republicans’ request to overturn the results of the presidential election in Pennsylvania, where President-Elect Joe Biden won by 1.2 percent.

Colorado, New Mexico, and Virginia Cement Themselves as Blue States

Colorado, New Mexico, and Virginia were once hotly contested swing states. All had voted Republican in 2004 for George W. Bush, but ever since then, these three states have begun a steady (and rapid) transition into cementing themselves as Democratic strongholds. The 2020 presidential election solidified this standing.

Texas Is Undoubtedly a Swing State

For the longest time, Texas has been a solid Republican stronghold. It has always voted for the Republican presidential candidate since 1976, and as recently as 2012, it voted for the Republican by a safe margin (Mitt Romney won the state by a whopping 16 points that year). Ever since then, though, the state has been moving gradually toward the left. There is little doubt that the results of the 2020 election in Texas show that the state is a swing state.

Trump Considering Preemtive Pardons for 20 Allies

President Trump is considering preemptively pardoning upward of 20 close allies and aides before leaving office in January, including his sons Eric and Donald Jr., his daughter Ivanka, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, and even himself. The possible move is frustrating fellow Republicans, who are worried that such moves could cause massive backfire.

US Reports 3,157 COVID-19 Deaths In a Day

The U.S. has reported over 3,000 COVID-19 deaths in a day for the first time. On Wednesday, December 2, 3,157 new COVID-19 deaths were reported in the U.S. This breaks the record of 2,603 deaths a day back during the spring outbreak on April 15. Compared to the total number of deaths related to 9/11 (2,977), the number of deaths recorded today has already surpassed the total number of people who died on that fateful fall day in 2001.

William Barr Breaks With Election Fraud Claims

President Trump’s fantastical election fraud claims received yet another credibility blow Tuesday. Attorney General William Barr, a staunch supporter of the President, admitted Tuesday that the Department of Justice (DOJ), which he heads, found no instances of significant voter fraud. This comes as the Trump campaign has faced defeat after defeat in court over vain and longshot attempts to overturn the results of a legitimate, fair election. Republican governors and secretaries of states, including in Arizona and Georgia, have all certified their results for President-Elect Joe Biden.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Dismisses Another GOP Lawsuit

On Saturday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court dismissed yet another Republican-led lawsuit trying to invalidate all votes cast by mail in the state. All seven judges in the court unanimously voted to throw out the lawsuit brought by Rep. Mike Kelly and other top-level Republicans. With this lawsuit loss, the Trump campaign has lost 39 election-related lawsuits. The President, despite losing the election, has so far refused to concede, despite already approving the transition process to a Biden administration.