Week 2: Impeachment, immigration, and coronavirus
Photo by Nitish Meena on Unsplash
The second week of the post-Trump era has been hardly plain sailing. As predicted, the legacy of the former president is continuing to shape the policies of Joe Biden, with no signs of slowing up, as this brief update will show.
Discussions have been ongoing between the administration, House and Senate leaders on the next coronavirus relief package. Biden is yet to finalise legislation, but has warned of ‘the cost of inaction’ and has told the House to ‘go big’ on any aid proposed. However, campaign pledges of relief checks have been relatively obfuscated since the president’s inauguration - what appeared to be a promise of $2000 has been clarified as only $1400, due to relief checks of $600 having already been granted. This may appear a smart economic move, but it could prove dangerous to justify lowering the tangible benefits Americans receive - Trump’s impeachment trial could hinge on public support.
In a demonstration of civility, Biden took time this week to commemorate the loss of Brian Sicknick, the Capitol police officer who lost his life in January’s insurrection. He paid his respects alongside other congressional leaders, with Sicknick’s remains lying in state in the Capitol rotunda. With the attack on the highest seat of U.S. democracy still fresh in the minds of the American people, Biden will likely need to go further to condemn the act in order to quell the discontent within his party.
Photo by Jing Xi Lau on Unsplash
On Monday night, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took to Instagram to share her story of the 6th January. Describing in detail her experience of the event, she drew the upsetting conclusion that the way her trauma has been belittled resembles the tactics of domestic abusers, all from personal experience - ‘I’m a survivor of sexual assault.’ The language of members of Congress such as Marjorie Taylor-Greene - who could face losing her seat for her support of the rioters - has not yet been unequivocally condemned by the president, as he seeks to bridge divides between Democrats and Republicans. But how long can he abide the emboldening of conspiracies?
