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1 Senate Quickly Dismisses Impeachment Articles Against DHS Secretary Mayorkas
It wound up being the trial that wasn’t. After House Republicans delivered articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate on Tuesday, yesterday the trial begin. However, Democrats weren’t interested in moving forward with an actual trial, dismissing both impeachment articles on 51-49 votes. Just over three hours after the trial began, the Senate voted to end it. The result wasn’t a surprise, as it would have taken 67 votes to convict on either of the articles, which were both ruled to be unconstitutional in the votes against them. Republicans weren’t happy with the quick resolution. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri said that Democrats had set a horrible precedent by ending the trial almost before it began, saying of future impeachments “It just won’t make any difference, right?” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said from the floor of the Senate during the trial that “History will not judge this moment well.”
2 Speaker Johnson Pushes New $95-Billion Aid Package To Israel, Ukraine, Could Have TikTok Ban Attached
Speaker Mike Johnson and other House Republican leaders finally released their new aid package for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan yesterday. The $95-billion package includes $26.4-billion for Israel, including $4-billion to replenish the Iron Dome defense system, $60.8-billion for Ukraine, and $8.1-billion for Indo-Pacific aid. House Republicans aren’t united behind the package, or even Johnson; facing at least two calls for him to vacate the Speaker’s chair, he’ll need Democratic votes to pass the package out of the House and send it to the Senate. In a statement on X, Rep. Chip Roy of Texas said "The Republican Speaker of the House is seeking a rule to pass almost $100 billion in foreign aid - while unquestionably, dangerous criminals, terrorists, & fentanyl pour across our border. The border "vote" in this package is a watered-down dangerous cover vote. I will oppose." President Joe Biden urged the House to pass the package this week, and asked the Senate to quickly follow so he can sign it into law to “send a message to the world.” The House plans to hold a vote on the package as early as Saturday night. There is talk that Congress could decide to fast-track its legislation to ban TikTok by attaching it to large security bills and spending packages like the foreign aid package that’s now under consideration. It might sound far-fetched, but it’s done regularly. Yahoo Finance Senior Columnist Rick Newman says “this is actually looking like more realistic than I certainly thought.”
3 Boeing Came Under Fire During Senate Hearing Yesterday
Four witnesses testified for the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs’ Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations yesterday, and none of them had kind words for Boeing. One of the three, Boeing engineer Sam Salehpour, who has been sounding the alarm about quality control problems at the aircraft manufacturer, claimed he was told to “shut up” by employees of the company, and says his boss told him that he would have “killed someone” who said what Salehpour said. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, called the testimony from all of the witnesses “shocking.” Boeing has refuted the claims and says it’s “fully confident” in the safety of the 787 and 777 planes targeted by whistleblowers’ claims.