Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Trump Sues Wall Street Journal Over Epstein Report, Seeks $10 Billion

2 days ago

Clovis Unified Mourns Passing of Former Superintendent Terry Bradley

2 days ago

Clovis At-Risk Missing Person Found Dead in Fresno Canal

2 days ago

DOJ Asks California Sheriffs for Names of Inmates Who Aren’t Citizens

2 days ago

Israel Agrees to Allow Syrian Troops Limited Access to Sweida

2 days ago

Border Patrol Agents Raid a Home Depot in Northern California

2 days ago

Man Admits to Killing Missing Bass Lake Resident, Madera County Authorities Say

3 days ago

Trump Diagnosed With Vein Condition Causing Leg Swelling, White House Says

3 days ago

US Seeks One-Day Sentence for Police Officer Convicted in Breonna Taylor Case

3 days ago

Manhattan Prosecutor Who Handled Epstein Cases Is Fired

3 days ago
McConnell Said Trump 'Fed Lies' to Mob About Biden Election
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
January 19, 2021

Share

WASHINGTON — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell opened the Senate on Tuesday saying the pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol was “fed lies” by the president and others in the deadly riot to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s election.

McConnell’s remarks are his most severe and public rebuke of outgoing President Donald Trump. The Republican leader vowed a “safe and successful” inauguration of Biden on Wednesday at the Capitol, which is under extremely tight security.

“The mob was fed lies,” McConnell said. “They were provoked by the president and other powerful people, and they tried to use fear and violence to stop a specific proceeding of the first branch of the federal government which they did not like.”

McConnell said after Biden’s inauguration on the Capitol’s West Front — what he noted former President George H.W. Bush has called “democracy’s front porch” — “We’ll move forward.”

Trump’s last full day in office Tuesday is also senators’ first day back since the deadly Capitol siege, an unparalleled time of transition as the Senate presses ahead to his impeachment trial and starts confirmation hearings on President-elect Joe Biden’s Cabinet.

Three new Democratic senators-elect are set to be sworn into office Wednesday shortly after Biden’s inauguration at the Capitol, which is under extreme security since the bloody pro-Trump riot. The new senators’ arrival will give the Democrats the most slim majority, a 50-50 divided Senate chamber, with the new vice president, Kamala Harris, swearing them in and serving as an eventual tie-breaking vote.

FILE – In this Oct. 22, 2020, file photo Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee hold a news conference after boycotting the vote by the Republican-led panel to advance the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to sit on the Supreme Court at the Capitol in Washington. Schumer, will be majority leader once the two new Georgia senators and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are all sworn into office, and will have the opportunity to bring legislation to the floor and force votes. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

The Start of the New Session of Congress Will Force Senators to Come to Terms With the Post-Trump Era

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer are set to confer Tuesday about the arrangements ahead, according to a person familiar with the planning and granted anonymity to discuss it.

The start of the new session of Congress will force senators to come to terms with the post-Trump era, a transfer of power like almost none other in the nation’s history. Senators are returning to a Capitol shattered from the riot, but also a Senate ground to a halt by the lawmakers’ own extreme partisanship.

Republican senators, in particular, face a daunting choice of whether to convict Trump of inciting the insurrection, the first impeachment trial of a president no longer in office, in a break with the defeated president who continues to hold great sway over the party but whose future is uncertain. Senators are also being asked to start confirming Biden’s Cabinet nominees and consider passage of a sweeping new $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill.

In opening remarks at his confirmation hearing, Biden’s nominee for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, vowed to get to the bottom of the “horrifying” attack on the Capitol.

Mayorkas told the Senate Homeland Security Committee that if confirmed he would do everything possible to ensure “the desecration of the building that stands as one of the three pillars of our democracy, and the terror felt by you, your colleagues, staff, and everyone present, will not happen again.”

Five of Biden’s nominees are set for hearings Tuesday as the Senate prepares for swift confirmation of some as soon as the president-elect takes office, as is often done on Inauguration Day, particularly for the White House’s national security team.

The House Impeached Trump Last Week on a Sole Charge, Incitement of Insurrection

Biden wants the Senate to toggle between confirming his nominees, considering COVID relief and holding Trump accountable with the impeachment trial, a tall order for an institution that typically runs more slowly and with bitter confrontations.

Trump’s impeachment is forcing Republican senators to re-evaluate their relationship with the outgoing president who is charged with inciting a mob of supporters to storm the Capitol as Congress was counting the Electoral College votes to confirm Biden’s election. A protester died during the riot and a police officer died later of injuries; three other people involved died of medical emergencies.

The House impeached Trump last week on a sole charge, incitement of insurrection, making him the only president to be twice impeached. He had been impeached in 2019 over relations with Ukraine and was acquitted in 2020 by the Senate.

Schumer, who is poised to become the majority leader, and McConnell are set to meet Tuesday to discuss the power-sharing agreement and schedule ahead — for Trump’s trial, confirming Biden’s nominees and consideration of the incoming president’s $1.9 trillion COVID relief package.

Three Democratic senators, Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff of Georgia, and Alex Padilla of California, are to be sworn into office Wednesday, according to the person granted anonymity to discuss planning.

Warnock and Ossoff defeated Republican incumbents in this month’s runoff elections. Georgia’s secretary of state is expected to certify the election results Tuesday. Padilla was tapped by California’s governor to fill the remainder of Harris’ Senate term.

The Senate leaders also must negotiate a power-sharing agreement for the Senate that was last split so narrowly nearly 20 years ago, as they divvy up committee assignments and other resources.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno’s Measure C Panel Prioritizes Roads After Ousting City Rep for Criticism

DON'T MISS

California Is Finally Adopting Phonics, Fulfilling a Grandmother’s Dream

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Deadly Assault in Kingsburg

DON'T MISS

Peach the Prancing Pup Could Be Fresno’s Next Ninja Warrior

DON'T MISS

At Least 32 Killed by Israeli Fire While Seeking Aid in Gaza, Hospital Says

DON'T MISS

At Least 30 Injured When Car Hits Crowd Outside Los Angeles Club, Fire Department Says

DON'T MISS

Merced Man Drowns While Kayak Fishing at Courtright Reservoir

DON'T MISS

Syrian Forces Struggle to Implement Ceasefire in Druze Region

DON'T MISS

California Medical School Welcomes Record Class of Fresno State Graduates

DON'T MISS

New CA Budget Papers Over $20 Billion Deficit, Ignores Day of Reckoning

UP NEXT

Connie Francis, Whose Ballads Dominated ’60s Pop Music, Dies at 87

UP NEXT

FDA Approves Juul’s Tobacco and Menthol E-Cigarettes

UP NEXT

7.3 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Off Alaska Coast. No Danger to California

UP NEXT

Age Is Just a Number: 80-Year-Old Conquers Death Valley to Mt. Whitney Ultramarathon

UP NEXT

Is US Democracy Threatened? Majority of Californians, Including Republicans, Say Yes

UP NEXT

US Senator Seeks Safety Reforms After Fatal Collision Between Army Helicopter, Regional Jet

UP NEXT

PBS and NPR Mount Last-Ditch Fight to Save Federal Funding

UP NEXT

Elmo’s X Account Gets Hacked, Posts Antisemitic and Racist Messages

UP NEXT

Fire at Boston-Area Senior Living Facility Kills at Least Nine

UP NEXT

Arizona Governor Wants Investigation of Federal Handling of Grand Canyon Fire

Israeli Fire Kills 67 People Seeking Aid in Gaza, Medics Say, as Hunger Worsens

2 hours ago

Fresno’s Measure C Panel Prioritizes Roads After Ousting City Rep for Criticism

6 hours ago

California Is Finally Adopting Phonics, Fulfilling a Grandmother’s Dream

7 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Deadly Assault in Kingsburg

20 hours ago

Peach the Prancing Pup Could Be Fresno’s Next Ninja Warrior

1 day ago

At Least 32 Killed by Israeli Fire While Seeking Aid in Gaza, Hospital Says

1 day ago

At Least 30 Injured When Car Hits Crowd Outside Los Angeles Club, Fire Department Says

1 day ago

Merced Man Drowns While Kayak Fishing at Courtright Reservoir

1 day ago

Syrian Forces Struggle to Implement Ceasefire in Druze Region

1 day ago

California Medical School Welcomes Record Class of Fresno State Graduates

1 day ago

Trump Says He Will Help Afghans Stuck in the UAE

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said on Sunday he would help Afghans detained in the United Arab Emirates for years after fleeing ...

2 hours ago

President Donald Trump speaks at a dinner with Republican Senators, in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 18, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

Trump Says He Will Help Afghans Stuck in the UAE

Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 20, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
2 hours ago

Pope Leo Calls for End to ‘Barbarity of War’ After Strike on Gaza Church

American lawyer Alan Dershowitz returns to the courtroom for the criminal trial of former U.S. President Donald Trump after a short break at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, U.S., 20 May 2024. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

Ex-Epstein Lawyer Calls for Release of Additional Epstein Materials

Palestinians gather as they carry aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel, amid a hunger crisis, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip July 20, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
2 hours ago

Israeli Fire Kills 67 People Seeking Aid in Gaza, Medics Say, as Hunger Worsens

Sign Promoting Completion of Measure C Project at McKinley and Clovis Avenues near the Airport
6 hours ago

Fresno’s Measure C Panel Prioritizes Roads After Ousting City Rep for Criticism

Oakland Students Learning to Read
7 hours ago

California Is Finally Adopting Phonics, Fulfilling a Grandmother’s Dream

20 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Deadly Assault in Kingsburg

Peach, a 2-year-old chihuahua in Fresno, is capturing hearts with her sweet personality, love for play, and unexpected fence-climbing talents that hint at a future in canine stardom. (Mell's Mutts)
1 day ago

Peach the Prancing Pup Could Be Fresno’s Next Ninja Warrior

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend