Foreign troops under NATO command will also withdraw from Afghanistan in coordination with the U.S. pull-out, NATO allies agreed. The withdrawal of foreign troops will be completed by Sept 11.

Around 7,000 non-U.S. forces from mainly NATO countries, also from Australia, New Zealand, and Georgia, outnumber the 2,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, but they still rely on American air support, planning and leadership.

“While our military contribution will reduce, we will continue to support the stability of Afghanistan through our bilateral partnership and in concert with our other nations,” Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.

Biden acknowledged that U.S. objectives in Afghanistan had become “increasingly unclear” over the past decade and set a deadline for withdrawing all U.S. troops remaining in Afghanistan by Sept. 11, exactly 20 years after al Qaeda’s attacks on the United States that triggered the war.

But by pulling out without a clear victory over the Taliban and other radicals in Afghanistan, the United States opens itself to criticism that a withdrawal represents a de facto admission of failure for American military strategy.

“It was never meant to be a multi-generational undertaking. We were attacked. We went to war with clear goals. We achieved those objectives,” Biden said, noting that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed by American forces in 2011 and saying that organization has been “degraded” in Afghanistan.

“And it’s time to end the forever war,” Biden added.

The war has cost the lives of 2,448 American service members and consumed an estimated $2 trillion. U.S. troop numbers in Afghanistan peaked at more than 100,000 in 2011.

In withdrawing, Biden is embracing risks at the start of his presidency that proved too great for his predecessors, including that al Qaeda might reconstitute itself or that the Taliban insurgency might topple the U.S.-backed government in Kabul.

“I am now the fourth American president to preside over an American troop presence in Afghanistan. Two Republicans. Two Democrats,” Biden said. “I will not pass this responsibility on to a fifth.”

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani wrote on Twitter that he spoke with Biden and respects the U.S. decision. Ghani added that “we will work with our U.S. partners to ensure a smooth transition” and “we will continue to work with our US/NATO partners in the ongoing peace efforts.”

A peace summit on Afghanistan is planned from April 24 in Istanbul that would include the United Nations and more than 20 countries. read more

TALIBAN WON’T ATTEND

The Taliban, ousted from power in 2001 by U.S.-led forces, said they would not take part in any meetings involving decisions about Afghanistan until all foreign forces have left. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Wednesday called on the United States to adhere to the deal the group reached with Trump’s administration.

“If the agreement is committed to, the remaining problems will also be solved,” Mujahid wrote on Twitter. “If the agreement is not committed to … the problems will certainly increase.”

In Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, government officials said they would carry on with peace talks and their forces would defend the country.

“Now that there is an announcement on foreign troops withdrawal within several months, we need to find a way to co-exist,” said Abdullah Abdullah, a top peace official, and former presidential candidate. “We believe that there is no winner in Afghan conflicts and we hope the Taliban realize that too.”

Biden rejected the idea that U.S. troops could provide the leverage needed for peace, saying: “We gave that argument a decade. It has never proven effective.”

“American troops shouldn’t be used as a bargaining chip between warring parties in other countries,” Biden said.

Biden also said the threat of terrorism was not limited to a single country and that leaving American forces in one foreign land at great financial cost did not make sense.

The president made the decision personal, invoking the memory of his late son who served in Iraq and showing a card he carried with the number of U.S. troops killed and wounded in Afghanistan. Visiting Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, Biden later said the decision to withdraw was not difficult.

“To me, it was absolutely clear,” Biden said.

Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican, was among Biden’s fiercest critics, saying the withdrawal would backfire by prolonging the conflict and possibly even breathing new life into al Qaeda.

“What do we lose by pulling out? We lose that insurance policy against another 9/11,” Graham said.

Critics of the U.S. military involvement say it clearly failed to get the Taliban to end the conflict on America’s terms. Some experts blame endemic corruption in Afghanistan, Taliban safe havens across the border in Pakistan, and overly ambitious goals for training Afghan security forces.

Biden criticized past U.S. aspirations to somehow unify Afghans, a goal that defied the lessons of history over centuries.

“It’s never been done,” Biden said.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/biden-ready-announce-us-withdrawal-even-peace-eludes-afghanistan-2021-04-14/

The post ‘Time to end the forever war’: Biden to start U.S. Afghanistan pullout on May 1 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Vice President Mike Pence, who had announced he would not overturn the will of voters, confirmed the Biden victory at 3:41 a.m. ET.

Lawmakers had returned to the chamber in an act of defiance, with some Republicans who initially vowed to challenge states’ results due to voter fraud concerns announcing they’d instead vote to certify.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called the breach of the Capitol a “failed insurrection,” adding that those who “tried to disrupt our democracy” had not succeeded.

“The United States and the Senate will not be intimidated,” he tweeted. “We are back at our posts. We will discharge our duty under the Constitution for our nation. And we are going to do it tonight.”

McConnell announced earlier that once the Senate voted 92-7 to reject the Republican effort to overturn Pennsylvania’s vote, the path would be clear for Biden to claim the White House on Jan. 20.

Despite growing support among Republicans to challenge the election result, the effort was always seen to have little chance of success.

PELOSI’S OFFICE STORMED DURING CHAOS

Dan Scavino, the White House deputy chief of staff, posted a statement from President Trump on Twitter that seemed to call for calm among Americans and demonstrate a functioning government for adversaries.

“Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th,” the statement read. “I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!”

In closing prayer to Jt Session of Congress, Senate Chaplain Barry Black says that “words matter” and speaks about the “quagmire” of today’s bedlam at the Capitol. Says members need to fight against “all enemies, domestic and foreign”

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The political fallout from Wednesday’s mayhem seemed to cast serious doubt on President Trump’s future as leader of the Republican Party. Sen Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican, addressed the Senate, saying Trump has been a “consequential” president over four years in office “but today … count me out. Enough is enough.”

Dan Scavino@DanScavino

Statement by President Donald J. Trump on the Electoral Certification: “Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th. I have always said we would continue our…

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Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who is projected to lose her runoff in Georgia against the Rev. Raphael Warnock, was among the senators who said they’d changed their minds about challenging Biden’s win.

“When I arrived in Washington this morning, I fully intended to object to the certification of the electoral votes,” Loeffler, R-Ga., said in remarks from the Senate floor. “However, the events that have transpired today have forced me to reconsider and I cannot now, in good conscience, object.”

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., also announced she would vote to certify the results.

There seemed to be a sense of sadness among lawmakers as it got later into the night. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., told reporters it was probably one of the saddest days he had experienced as an elected official.

“What normally would have been a tradition in the step towards the peaceful transition of power from one administration to another was marred by violence, thugs, misinformation and clearly should never have happened in the first place,” he said.

COTTON CALLS ON TRUMP TO ‘QUIT MISLEADING’ SUPPORTERS 

Detractors of the president criticized him for stoking anger among his supporters and said a violent incident was inevitable. They say the president has been pushing the false narrative about election interference for the past month and his presidency was bound to end in chaos.

Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram temporarily suspended the president from posting on to their platforms. The Associated Press reported that it was the most aggressive action social media companies had yet taken against the president.

JONATHAN TURLEY: TRUMP’S LEGACY ‘IN TATTERS’ AFTER SUPPORTERS RIOT AT CAPITOL

Trump’s supporters noted the president had called for calm. They say Trump never had his day in court and there were enough voting irregularities to warrant further inspection. They also criticized the media coverage of the unrest at the Capitol and criticized news outlets to essentially turning a blind eye to the violence that broke out in major cities last summer.

Donald Trump Jr. also called for calm in an earlier tweet.

“This is wrong and not who we are,” he wrote. “Be peaceful and use your 1st Amendment rights, but don’t start acting like the other side. We have a country to save and this doesn’t help anyone.”

Washington D.C. police said at a news conference late Wednesday that there were four deaths—including a woman who was fatally shot — and at least 52 arrests during the day’s disruption.

Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat who has clashed with Trump, ordered an extension of the public emergency that was already in place for the next 15 days, which will overlap with Biden’s inauguration.

The woman who was shot was Ashi Babbitt, a U.S. Air Force veteran from San Diego, Calif., a friend told Fox News. D.C. police confirmed she had been shot by one of their officers.

The other three deaths were medical-related, reports said.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Fox News last Sunday that the Supreme Court was a “better forum” than Congress for vetting election concerns but the court did not take the cases.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Cruz wanted a 10-day audit of the results by an electoral commission.

“Voter fraud has posed a persistent challenge in our elections, although its breadth and scope are disputed,” lawmakers said Saturday in a statement.

“By any measure, the allegations of fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election exceed any in our lifetimes,” Cruz said.

The senator condemned those who stormed the Capitol in a Twitter post. He said the Constitution “protects peaceful protest, but violence — from Left or Right – is ALWAYS wrong.”

He issued a statement early Thursday that called the incident a “despicable act of terrorism and a shocking assault on our democratic system.” He said he called for the electoral commission to give millions of Americans confidence in the election and “very much wish Congress had not set aside these concerns.”

But he said he respected their positions.

“Debate in the two houses of Congress is the proper way to resolve our political differences, not through violent attacks,” he said.

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Fox News’ Chad Pergram, Brie Stimson, and David Aaro contributed to this report

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Source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/congress-certifies-bidens-electoral-college-victory-after-day-of-chaos-at-capitol

[Disclaimer]

The post Biden’s Electoral College victory certified — hours after Capitol chaos first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Also, tonight while Biden hit the trail in Georgia, he’s already getting
marching orders from his overlords. Newt Gingrich is here on how
Congressman Ocasio-Cortez and Omar are already dictating the terms of a
Biden presidency. And we’re continuing to monitor as Sean and I, we’re
talking about this second straight night of looting and unrest in
Philadelphia after an officer involved shooting there. A live report from
town halls. Julio Rosas who is on the ground for us a little bit later on.
But first, build back better in Beijing. That’s the focus of tonight’s
angle.

Now what should be glaringly obvious as we enter this homestretch is Trump
is leaving it all on the field. He’s got it all covered. Energy, gusto.
He’s attracting crowds the likes of which I’ve never seen in American
politics, not during Obama, not during Clinton, not during George W. Bush,
not even during Ronald Reagan.

Now, the reason is simple the country we know, and love is being threatened
by the forces supporting Joe Biden. An unholy alliance has been formed
between big business forces and the hard Left. Now in theory the business
community and radical progressives should be on opposite sides, right. But
in fact, they found common cause in their joint hostility to the American
middle class.

Now the president as I said was in Michigan today and should Biden win the
automobile industry there will be flattened due to the terrible trade deals
that encourage companies to move operations overseas. And a harsh
regulatory state that will have the same result in a Biden administration.
But don’t worry, plug-ins and charging stations will save us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We’re going to provide five hundred and
fifty thousand charging stations for real on the new infrastructure, green
infrastructure, we’re going to be building. We’re going to own the electric
automobile market.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: For real, he’s so cool. But why would anyone build electric cars
here when Biden’s own trade policies will encourage companies to build them
over there, overseas or in Mexico. Well, the fact is Biden’s long-standing
love affair with China and globalization is simply going to drive the
companies that do remain in America to move their operations offshore.

The American workers once again will get left behind just as they were in
the Obama and Bush years, flat wages remember. In all of the key
battleground states where Trump’s campaigning today. Biden’s policies will
be ruinous. And yesterday in Pennsylvania of course the steel industry, my
friends the steel industry in Pennsylvania will be gone. Fracking gone.

With the removal of Trump’s tariffs, our beloved industry and steel will
not survive. Now just think for a moment, what that does to families and
communities who depend on those good paying jobs, not to mention the
national security risk we face if our adversaries make all the steel. And
Joe, he’s repeatedly lied about his real views on fracking, on oil and gas.
Why? Because his party has moved toward banning fossil fuels and so has
Joe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Would you close down
the–

BIDEN: By the way, I have a transition from their own industry, yes.
Transition, it is a big statement because I would stop.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why would you do that?

BIDEN: Because the oil industry pollutes significantly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Astounding. Now the campaign cleans up mission on all those
comments is still ongoing. But this Biden obfuscation game will move to
Wisconsin on Friday where Joe visits for the third time, Trump will also be
there. But the voters there are too smart to fall for his routine, because
just like in Pennsylvania workers from Green Bay to Milwaukee would be
hammered by Biden’s kowtowing to China. Biden should change his slogan to
build back better in Beijing, that would make sense.

And finally, the looming Biden lockdowns. Now, he’s going to use
euphemistic language, a lot of talk about social distancing and so forth to
describe these draconian restrictions, but it’s all meant to lull you into
complacency and compliance. We need to look only to the nightmarish freedom
crushing conditions we’re seeing in Europe now.

Now to see what’s in store for us here in the United States under Biden,
you just have to follow what’s going on over there. They have an explosion
of COVID and massive crackdowns. After all, they’re experts and Biden
experts agree. In Italy, anti-lockdown protesters were tear gassed.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

INGRAHAM: Conditions for tension and even unrest are building in Spain and
France and in Germany as well. We’ll have more on that later on in the
show, including the idea that a Joe Biden presidency will bring this to our
shores.

So, if you have out of town relatives or dear friends who live across the
country and you think Biden’s going to win, you better see them soon?
Because if Biden’s experts are in charge, your traveling days are over, so
long Thanksgiving Turkey and Santa and his reindeer are not coming to your
rooftop under Biden next year. Your kid’s education, it’s going to be
suspended. No proms, no graduations, no Easter, no 4th of July. It’s all
over.

Remember, it’s all too dangerous. If you don’t behave, if you don’t follow
their rules, you’ll be locked down for longer, that’s always hanging over
your head. You’ll be fined, you’ll be shamed, you might be tear gassed and
you’ll be blamed for a virus that no major Western government, not even an
island has been able to control.

Now, who wants to live that way? Theoretically safe, but stripped of any
freedom, freedom of speech, freedom to worship, freedom of assembly.

Remember, Joe Biden though, he’s not really on the ballot, he’s just an
empty vessel. In a way, he’s the perfect candidate, not for America, but
for the billionaires who will call all the shots, the ones who will cut
deals with the squad to keep you down and give themselves more money and
more power.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Unlike Biden, who’s made a fortune in politics, what a fortune. This
has cost me billions of dollars. And, you know, I could not be happier
because we have done things that nobody else could have done in the first
three and a half years, there has been no administration that’s done what
we’ve done in the first three and a half years with our military, with our
vets, with regulations, with cutting taxes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Now, isn’t that what we should want, a president who does not bow
to special interests? Shouldn’t the voters, the workers, you, your
families, shouldn’t be a president’s only special interest? In the Trump
administration, you don’t have to donate millions of dollars for the
president to care about you, you don’t have to be a celebrity or a sports
star or belong to a certain social class or get star treatment in The New
York Times. Your race and your gender, your ethnicity, they don’t matter
either. You just have to be an American. And that’s the angle.

Joining me now is Senator Lindsey Graham, Senate Judiciary Committee
Chairman. Senator Graham, even leaving aside all we learned on Tucker’s
show tonight, is there any doubt that a Biden presidency would be a gift to
China and the companies itching to outsource here in the United States?

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Well, not only would it be a gift to China, it
would be a gift to Russia and Iran. Who’s the biggest winner if America
gets the oil and gas business, gas and oil producers, the Russians and the
Iranians would be the biggest winner of America getting the oil and gas
business, high taxes and big regulations drive people offshore.
Multinational corporations will leave America. They’ll go to China. They’ll
go to other places for cheap labor and no regulation and make a fortune. As
a small town, mom and pop businesses are going to suffer.

You’re right. There’s an unholy alliance between the tax and spend liberals
and multinational corporations that will kill the American middle class.
But if you destroy the American oil and gas industry, millions of Americans
lose their job. But the biggest winner are the Russians and the Iranians.
And I hope people are paying attention to this.

INGRAHAM: Well, Trump laid it all out tonight in blunt terms just moments
ago. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Biden was letting China steal American jobs and plunder American
wealth. You saw that for eight years. If Biden wins, China wins and China
will own the USA. If Biden wins, he will do bad things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Senator Graham, American workers lose under Biden. Lose.

GRAHAM: Oh, my God. Well, so the currency manipulation by China steals
market share, intellectual property theft. The eight years of Obama were a
boom for China. Trump has done more in three and a half years to bring
China to heel than any president in my lifetime. But it’s just not China
that would win from a Biden presidency.

If you go down the road of destroying American oil and gas, all the Mideast
oil producers win, we become dependent on foreign oil again and Russia and
Iran would be their – the biggest hope and dream for Russia and Iran is for
Biden to be president because they would destroy the American oil and gas
industry. And that’s the only way they make a living, and they would go
back into the Iran nuclear deal.

So, the bottom-line is Biden can’t say no and he can’t say yes to Bernie
and the squad. If he says yes to packing the court, he loses middle
America. If he says no to packing the court, he loses Left flank. He’s in a
box. Biden is in a box. The Left has him in a box. He’s going to tell us
after the election, because if he told us before the election and he said,
yes, I’m going to the court, he would lose the election. If he says no, his
Left flank goes crazy, Trump doesn’t have this dilemma. He is in a box.

INGRAHAM: Trump tells you what he’s going to do and for the most part, he’s
done it. They don’t hate him, because–

GRAHAM: Totally, whether you like it or not.

INGRAHAM: Yes. They don’t hate him because he didn’t fulfill his promises,
Lindsey. They hate him because he did fulfill his promises and disempowered
the big special interests. But speaking of your pals in the Senate, after
ACB’s confirmation, Senator Schumer reacted last night. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Amy Coney Barrett may become the next associate
justice of the Supreme Court, but you will never, never get your
credibility back. And the next time the American people give Democrats a
majority in this chamber, you will have forfeited the right to tell us how
to run that majority.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Senator, what’s he talking about there?

GRAHAM: Well, now that’s like an arsonist complaining to the fire
department. It was Chuck Schumer and his friends who tried to destroy Brett
Kavanaugh’s life to keep the seat open. It was Chuck Schumer in 2013 along
with Harry Reid that changed the rules of the Senate to go to a simple
majority to pack the D.C. Circuit Court. It was Chuck Schumer who
filibustered Gorsuch requiring us to change. It was Chuck Schumer who
filibustered all the Bush 43 judges. He had this brilliant idea; he was
going to change the judiciary. And along comes Trump.

I told him, Chuck, you’re going to regret in 2013 changing the rules. Well,
he regretted it last night. Amy Coney Barrett is payback for Chuck Schumer.
Chuck Schumer has done more to pave the way for conservative justices than
anybody. She’s a twofer, Laura. She excites a constitutional conservative
like you and me. We’re over the moon, happy and proud of Amy being on the
court. The 51 percent of the American people like what they saw during the
two days of hearings.

The Left is going nuts. You need to get on the Internet right now. My
opponent has raised more money than anybody in the entire history of the
United States Senate because I’ve been with Kavanaugh, Barrett and I’m
helping Trump. They’re going crazy, raising
money off the Supreme Court and we need to fight back.

INGRAHAM: You’ve got a lot of billionaires, a lot of billionaires who want
to keep wages low in the United States where American workers are donating
to your opponent. I’ve seen it. I know what they’re planning to do. So,
you’re a threat to them because you want to keep wages going up here for
American workers. They don’t want that to happen. That’s why it didn’t
happen under Bush and it didn’t happen under Obama, it was flat, flat,
flat.

2000, all the way to your 2016. We had flat wages. They did not go up. And
you are a threat. And I’m glad you’re a threat. That means you’re actually
fighting for the people. Senator Graham, thank you so much for being with
us tonight.

GRAHAM: Thank you very much. Help me if you can.

INGRAHAM: We really appreciate it.

INGRAHAM: All right. With one week until Election Day, let’s take stock of
where the race stands in the key swing states. In Ohio, Trump leads by just
under a point, according to the RCP average. Two weeks ago, Biden was up.
Now, Trump is now up just one point in Georgia, and he has a slight lead in
Florida. Biden was leading in both of those states a few weeks back. And in
Biden’s birth state of Pennsylvania, his lead has slipped from supposedly
seven points to just 3.8 points since mid-October.

Joining me now is Tom Bevan, co-Founder and President of Real Clear
Politics. Tom let’s stick for the moment on Pennsylvania, Now,
specifically, Hillary was up, I believe, over six points or so in the final
week in 2016. So, where does this stand today?

TOM BEVAN, PRESIDENT, REAL CLEAR POLITICS: Well, so our final Real Clear
Politics average in Pennsylvania, Clinton’s lead was under 2 percent. So,
there was some serious closing in 2016. Trump won that state by seven
tenths of a percent. So, he overperformed the final polls by about 2.5, 2.6
percent. Right. We’ve seen closing – in the last two weeks, there’s only
one state that’s close tighter than Pennsylvania, and that’s Florida, as
you mentioned, where we just had Trump moving ahead for the first time.

But the lead in Pennsylvania now is down to, as you mentioned, 3.8. And so,
if Trump over performs by the same amount as he did four years ago, that
race will be basically a tossup if it continues to close. And so, I think
both campaigns are spending an awful lot of time and energy there. But I
can tell you, the Trump campaign feels very good about the trend in
Pennsylvania right now.

INGRAHAM: Well, oil and gas and fracking, I mean, other than in Texas and
Louisiana, I mean, that is a killer for him. I mean, Trump should just have
ads about oil and gas and fracking and that’s it. Nothing else in
Pennsylvania, maybe anti-lockdown. And by the way, Tom, our own Raymond
Arroyo talked to factory workers in Pennsylvania. And here’s what they told
him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAYMOND ARROYO, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: What are you hearing from your
friends here in this area.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They’re concerned with the jobs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think most people it’s getting back to more to a
normal situation in life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I’d say jobs. Absolutely. We need jobs more than ever
now with the economic damage from the pandemic that has been caused.
Absolutely jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Tom, wow, is that a good sign for Trump? He consistently gets
higher marks on the economy than Joe does, but those people in
Pennsylvania, they see their future slipping away and in a pro-China trade
scenario.

BEVAN: Well, this is the thing. The only real tangible thing that came out
of the debate last week was this exchange on energy and fracking in
particular. And Trump’s going around the state, as you’ve shown, and we’ve
seen where he just basically stops his rallies and puts Joe Biden, clips of
Joe Biden up on the screen for Pennsylvanians to hear for themselves that
he said he was going to eliminate fracking. And so, it’s become a very
potent issue. And you’re right, it’s the number one issue on the minds of
voters, not just in Pennsylvania, but around the country, the economy. And
so, it’s really given Trump a leverage point, particularly in the state of
Pennsylvania, which I think is going to ultimately, I think it’s the state
that’s going to decide this election.

INGRAHAM: Well, there was another expert out there, Donny Deutsch at MSNBC,
who offered this analysis on the state of the race.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONNY DEUTSCH, MSNBC ANALYST: In Kansas and Montana, which Trump took by 21
points each in the last election, he’s up by six and seven. So basically,
Biden is closer in Kansas and Montana than in the battleground states in
Michigan than Trump is in Michigan and Wisconsin. No matter where you look
at the numbers, it really is starting to smell pretty good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Thomas’s sense of smell off or on?

BEVAN: Look, I mean, as I said, I’ll just say what we see in the data is
that there’s been closing in this race in a lot of these swing states. Now,
there hasn’t been closing in Michigan. That’s true. Actually, Biden’s
expanded his lead there. But in almost every single other state we’ve seen
closing over the last two weeks in our national average, the Biden’s lead
is down three points.

And given where the polls are, the new ones that are coming out, the ones
they’re going to drop out of the average, that’s going to tighten even
more, as you know, in the coming days. And so, I think this race is headed
toward pretty much a repeat of 2016, it’s going to be close. It’s going to
come down to the final few votes in the final few states.

INGRAHAM: Oil and gas, as I said, and the angle that affects Michigan
attack on the oil and gas industry with what it will do to the automobile
industry. Tom, great to see you. Thank you so much. And coming up, the
squad couldn’t even wait until the election to spill the beans on what they
expect, what they demand from a Biden presidency. Newt Gingrich is here
with the reaction to their demands. Of course, we’re talking about
Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez and Omar. Stay there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): I believe that it’s critically
important that the Biden administration appoint progressive leaders,
whether it’s in labor, whether it’s in the Treasury, whether it’s Secretary
of Education, et cetera.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: One week until the election, and members of the squad can’t even
hide what they expect from potential Biden presidency. We warned you about
this. We told you this was going to happen. And lest you think this is a
one-off, her fellow left his sister in arms is singing from the same
hymnal. This was Congresswoman Ilhan Omar in an interview that aired the
next day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ILHAN OMAR (D-MN): The president is only as successful as his
collaboration is with Congress. And we will have a cohort of progressives
that are very clear about their objectives.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are there any positions that you think a progressive
Democrats should absolutely be in this spot in a Biden administration?

OMAR: I would say all of the cabinet positions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: That should wake you up. Joining me now is Newt Gingrich, former
speaker of the House, Fox News Contributor, author of Trump in the American
Future. Newt, what about what they want? How are they going to be bought
off by the big business types, the multinationals, Wall Street, in order to
get this going? If, heaven forbid, Biden should win, what do people need to
know?

NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Well, look, I mean, I think the
way you just posted, what is amazing is the ability of Wall Street to lie
to itself about what a socialist would be like. They seem to think they’re
going to somehow cut a deal. Remember, the most important single event of a
new Biden presidency is the fact that Schumer, the Senate leader for the
Democrats, faces a primary in 2022 against AOC and she’ll be coming at him
from the Left and he will be terrified because he’s older. He’s not quite
sure of what the populist is going to be like. And so, Schumer will move to
the Left to accommodate AOC to try to get re-elected.

And that process will take along with Kamala Harris, will take the entire
Democratic Party into a radicalism that I think people would be shocked by,
and which of course, is part of why Biden tried so hard not to campaign.

If he tells the truth, for example, yes, of course, he’s going to eliminate
– end fracking and of course, he’s going to destroy the oil industry.
That’s exactly what his base wants to hear. But he knows as a professional
politician, after almost a half century, he can’t say that, or he won’t get
elected. So, it’s a little bit like the bait and switch. He got rid of
Obama, who promised us, we keep our doctor, we keep our insurance, all of
which turned out to be a lie.

INGRAHAM: Yes, he was going to renegotiate NAFTA, he was going to hold
China accountable. None of it happened. Now, Newt, I want to move on to
this Tucker Carlson interview. Biden whistleblower, Tony Bobulinksi, it
happened earlier tonight. Now, he said he confronted Joe’s brother, James,
on the political risks of investing with the Chinese, but he claimed James
responded this way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BOBULINKSI, BIDEN FAMILY WHISTLEBLOWER: I’m thinking about the Biden
family, like, how are they doing this? I know Joe decided not to run in
2016, but what if he ran in the future? Aren’t they taking political risk
or headline risk? And I remember looking at Jim Biden and saying, how are
you guys getting away with this? Like aren’t you concerned? And he looked
at me and he laughed a little bit and said, plausible deniability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Newt, your response to this entire saga?

GINGRICH: Well, I just did a 30-minute video at Gingrich 360, walking
through the entire scale of Biden family corruption and my view of it is
pretty straightforward. I can’t imagine any jury in America that would look
at the totality of the corruption that the Biden family has engaged in and
not find them guilty.

I think you just look at fact after fact after fact. $3.5 million wire
transfer from the richest woman in Russia, followed by $200 million to
invest. The offer by the Chinese of $1 billion in investment money, the
payment of $50,000 a month by Ukrainian very corrupt firm. You put all that
together. And the first thing you know is that Joe Biden lies to the whole
country every morning, because it is impossible for his brother and his son
and they were all involved. It’s a family business. This is not about
Hunter. It’s about the family business.

And the family business was using influence and using access to the vice
president to raise millions of dollars, amounts that are just one example.
The University of Pennsylvania got $70 million from the Chinese communists
and Joe Biden happened to get almost $1 million paid by the University of
Pennsylvania. So, who is kidding who? These guys are corrupt. Now, I can’t
think of any side that wants to elect a corrupt president, but it should
understand what it is getting.

INGRAHAM: Yes, well, what does China want in return? Everybody wants
something in a deal where the special interests and big money actually has
more influence than the American people and the American worker. And I
don’t know if everyone can understand this saga with Hunter Biden, but it
goes down to enriching yourself, using an office to enrich your family.
Trump’s family lost money, Biden’s family got rich, that’s as simple as
that.

Newt, we’ve got to roll. Thank you so much. Great to see you.

And still ahead, dozens of police officers injured in Philly last night,
including one that was hit by a truck, run over by a truck, and looting,
rioting, of course come in the wake of another police shooting. Julio Rosas
is on the ground for us in moments.

Plus, we’re going to speak to a man who was facing life in prison until
President Trump granted him clemency. A can’t miss, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: Last night, Philadelphia became the latest American city to
become engulfed in looting and rioting, which left 30 police officers
injured, including one run over by a truck. The chaos was sparked by the
death of Walter Wallace, who was shot and killed during a confrontation
with police. Now, police say that Wallace was armed with a knife and
refused repeated requests from officers to drop his weapon.

Senior writer Julio Rosas is on theground tonight in Philly
where things are breaking out all over the place. Julio, a Walmart already
been looted tonight. What are you seeing there?

There’s a whole bunch of stories. Right now, we are in northern
Philadelphia. We started the night out in West Philly which is where the
scene of everything happened last night. But unfortunately, it has spread
to all parts of the city come. And the Walmart currently behind me, it was
being looted earlier in the night, but Philadelphia police came in, secured
the area, warded off people away. And then all of a sudden, they just left,
and so now people are back looting. And I just came inside, and I can say
it’s absolutely. And it’s store behind me, the stores over there, the
stores out to my right. I haven’t seen anything like this on this scale
since Minneapolis back in May.

INGRAHAM: It’s a heartbreak. And one Philly business owner has some
interesting comments about last night’s riots, Julio. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When we heard about the shooting of that kid last
night, I had a feeling it’s going to happen again. But my experience,
because we had the same thing three-and-a-half. The whole store was robbed.
We couldn’t get any security that time, it was too late. So we just had to
wait until the morning. And that’s what we see in the morning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Julio, it’s hard for people who don’t live in the area to
understand what this does psychically to a community, let alone the
financial carnage in the heartache from building businesses. What are you
sensing from the people who just kind of — they are ready to pick up
things and leave at this point?

ROSAS: I honestly can’t blame them. Laura, I talked to you back in May,
back when everything started, and it is just happening all over the place.
Kenosha to Louisville to Portland, and all the other cities in between. So
you really can’t blame them, especially when it is just on this massive
scale of rioting and looting. The police are resorting to playing whack-a-
mole. And like I just said, this Walmart right behind me, it was secured
for a little bit, but then when the cops left, that’s when the looters came
right back.

INGRAHAM: Yes, I was seeing something online earlier with a former Philly
resident saying at this point, we are just finding sad tragedies and
excuses to create havoc and mayhem, and may be profit a little bit
yourself. So that certainly seems like individuals taking advantage of an
already difficult situation. Julio, thank you so much.

And the media wants you to believe that Joe Biden is the candidate of
empathy and compassion. Joe cares. But my next guest is living proof that
that is false. Former boxer, professional boxer Charles “Duke” Tanner was
sentenced to 30 years in prison on federal drug charges. But upon entering
prison, Tanner says he immediately began working to improve himself and
atone, of course, for his crimes. And President Trump took notice, granting
Mr. Tanner clemency just last week, something President Obama had declined
to do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES “DUKE” TANNER, GRANTED CLEMENCY BY PRESIDENT TRUMP: President
Trump, I just want to thank you for giving me a second chance. At first, I
didn’t know it was real until I was able to touch this little guy right
here. I left him when he was two-years-old President Trump, and you
reunited me back to my family. I lost my mother and my father, but I got
him, and this is what I live for. Thank you, President Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Most of us who watch out for the first time were in tears,
second chances. Duke Tanner joins me now. Duke, how did you find out —

CHARLES “DUKE” TANNER, GRANTED CLEMENCY BY PRESIDENT TRUMP: How are you
doing?

INGRAHAM: It was great to see you tonight. And how did you find out the
president was the impetus behind your release?

TANNER: I really didn’t know what was going on because my unit team came
and got me after the 4:00 p.m. count, and it was like they needed to talk
to me. And he said I’ve got to get you out of here. I said, where I’m
going? He said the president granted you clemency. I just started sweating
and praying and praising God. The next thing you know, I was in a hotel
waiting to go to Philly to the airport.

INGRAHAM: And your son, your moment with your son in that video, it just
hit me in the heart as a mom. What was that like, seeing him when you could
really spend time with him without other people watching?

TANNER: You know, that situation with my faith and my belief in my lord
and savior Jesus Christ, how I got the free gift from him for what he did
on the cross, the second best gift in life was giving to me by President
Donald Trump, that day when I was able to be in my son’s life and reunited
with him, something that — I was given a life sentence, a double life
sentence at first that was reduced to 30 years. So that day right here is
the second-best thing besides getting my salvation, being free and being in
my son’s life.

INGRAHAM: I want to play something for you, Duke, that Joe Biden said
about President Trump during that last debate. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Abraham Lincoln here is one of the
most racist presidents we have had in modern history. He pours fuel on
every single racist fire, every single one. He has moved around and made
everything worse, across the board.

This guy has a dog whistle about as big as a foghorn.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Duke, it’s not just buy claiming that the president is racist,
but athletes, celebrities lob this charge routinely. Do you think President
Trump is a racist?

TANNER: For one, I never met President Trump within my life, but what I
can say is I know Miss Alice Marie Johnson. Herschel Walker was one of my
favorite football players, and I think they got too high of integrity and
dignity to hang out with a racist, and what President Trump did for me, a
black man, I can’t say that he is a racist come on my belief. Now, what
other people say in this world, they’ve got their own opinion. But what he
done for me, like I said, the second best thing to getting your salvation
by Jesus Christ. And if you are a believer in god, you will understand what
that means and how important that means. That’s the second best gift he
gave me, so I can never say that he is a racist. And that is where I stand
in my humble opinion.

INGRAHAM: Duke, I’ve got to say, second chances — who among us hasn’t
needed a second chance? And I think your witness and just your personal
story is really moving.

TANNER: Yes, ma’am.

INGRAHAM: Beyond politics and everything else. And we just really
appreciate your coming on, and we wish you the best of luck with your
family, and thanks for joining us tonight.

TANNER: Thank you so much. And thank everybody in the Trump administration
who had something to do with my freedom, for sending me back to my boy, to
show true redemption, and that’s what I will do. I’m going to make you all
proud. President Trump, I’m going to make you proud of me, I promise.
Thanks for reading my petition.

INGRAHAM: God bless you.

And up ahead, how would a Biden COVID tracing plan upend your rights?
Frightening scenes playing out in New Zealand and in Europe may offer a
glimpse. Victor Davis Hanson joins us in moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

INGRAHAM: The American left and their media poodles have long held up New
Zealand as the model for how to properly deal with the lot of things,
including COVID. But anyone who loves freedom should take note, because the
kiwis have a terrifying new response to rising COVID case numbers. They’re
throwing into quarantine camps.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACINDA ARDERN, PRIME MINISTER OF NEW ZEALAND: If someone refuses in our
facilities to be tested, they have to keep staying. So they won’t be out of
leave after 14 days. They have to stay on for another 14 days. So it is a
pretty good incentive. You either get your tests done and make sure you are
cleared, or we will keep you in a facility longer. So I think most people
will look at that and say I will take the test.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: No leaving the camp until you’re negative. The left’s other
COVID role model, the E.U., is taking equally drastic measures. They’re
requiring government officials to use thermal imaging cameras designed by a
Chinese company, the same one that provides surveillance equipment to the
concentration camps, that they call reeducation camps, for the Uighur
Muslims.

Joining me now is Victor Davis Hanson, Hoover Institution senior fellow.
Victor, are these the type of scenarios we are going to be facing under a
Biden administration?

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON, HOOVER INSTITUTION: Yes, it’s frightening. Here, the
virus started in China, it was spread from China, and now China is offering
the west the methodology and technology of fascism to supposedly cure what
they started. It reminds me of Crassus in Rome. He had the private fire
brigade. He pulled up when a fire was devouring a house, and he said for a
price, I will be willing to put your fire out, but better yet, I will buy
it at rock-bottom prices. That’s what the Chinese, that whole technology
and methodology I guess is seen in the west by.

But it’s also bizarre because we are not in an ascending pattern. We are
having a million tests per day almost, so we are bound to have more cases,
but the cases are mostly asymptomatic. They’re more younger. The death rate
is going back down. The therapeutics, medicines are improving. The
vaccination is on the horizon. It’s not the time to double down on this
lockdown.

And it begs the question, why are these people doing these things? And in
the case of New Zealand, they have a nation of 5 million people, they’ve
only lost, tragically, but they’ve lost 25 people. That’s an astounding low
number to throw away personal freedom. And here in the United States,
whether it’s Gavin Newsom or Michelle Obama or Joe Biden, they have all
said that this is an opportunity not to let it go to waste, as Hillary
Clinton was explicit about. They want to use the pandemic and the lockdown
to recalibrate things.

INGRAHAM: Yes, but Victor, I have got to ask you, speaking of that, but
that’s why these polls showing that Trump is behind in Michigan, given
what’s at stake in Michigan, Victor, with future lockdowns, which you know
they are coming, you know they are coming under Biden. They’re setting the
table for that if he wins. So they are going to lose their economy. The
virus will still be there, as it was in Europe after that lockdowns. So
what do they get? They get a wrecked economy and COVID. So how would
Michigan go along with this, and any resort?

HANSON: I don’t think they’re going to go along with it. I think another
element, this has always been a class issue, and Trump is finally doing a
good job in emphasizing that. The people who are out there working, and
they have small businesses and can’t afford to avoid and do what I’m doing
right now, telecommunicating, they don’t have a choice. And they have been
absolutely destroyed. And Amazon and Walmart and all these large
conglomerates and people in the professions and insurance and law, high-
tech, they’ve done pretty well. And they are the people telling the rest of
the country, you’ve got to lockdown more. You’ve got to lose more money. We
have to have zero chance that you’re going to get infected.

But these people, if they did that, all the people like us, where I am in
an isolated room, we wouldn’t have anything to eat, we wouldn’t have any
fuel, we wouldn’t have any electricity. So it’s really a terrible thing.
And we’re not even talking, Laura, about all the people who have died from
missed surgeries that you’ve so eloquently had on your show, and spousal
abuse, substance abuse.

So it’s really hitting the middle class very hard, and I don’t think
they’re going to take it, especially when the elites keep telling us that
there’s opportunities to be had in this crisis. Not quite as crass as Jane
Fonda that said thank God for the COVID crisis, but something near that,
that they can recalibrate American freedoms and manipulate the First
Amendment under the guise that we are all going to die unless you take them
control of our lives.

INGRAHAM: Victor, sorry to jump in, Victor, but in Europe, and this is a
real quick answer on your part. In Europe, when people are standing up
against the lockdowns, they are sending people in to call them fascists. So
the people who are for freedom are now being branded as fascist and
dangers, and they are being blamed and shamed. Does that sound familiar?
Real quick.

HANSON: Yes, it does. You go out and break the quarantine and you are
either exempt or punished depending on your ideology and your political
correctness. And that is what destroyed all confidence in the quarantine,
because it was unfairly applied according to politics, and it was bankrupt.
Europe is doing what we did, you’re exactly right. It’s familiar.

INGRAHAM: And it’s only going to get worse if, heaven forbid, Biden is
elected. Everybody has to understand what’s coming. Don’t plan Easter
dinner.

Ahead, a rare face on the campaign trail for Trump. The Last Bite explains.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Is there any place you would
rather be than a Trump rally on about a 10-degree evening, 10 degrees?

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: Biden’s agenda, the guy is shot.

(LAUGHTER)

TRUMP: He’s shot. He is so gonzo.

All they talk about is COVID, COVID, COVID, COVID, COVID, and we’ve made
such progress. It’s incredible. Excuse me, I’m here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: It was an unbelievable wrap-up of a busy day for the president.
He was on fire tonight and get this, Melania Trump hit the trail solo for
the first time this campaign, and she was terrific as well. All hands-on
deck. One week out, Shannon Bream and the “FOX NEWS @ NIGHT” take it all
from here, Shannon.

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The post Trump nominates Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

President Trump on Saturday announced he has chosen Amy Coney Barrett as his pick to fill the Supreme Court seat vacated by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg — a move that could significantly shift the nation’s highest court to the right if she’s confirmed by the Senate.

“Today it is my honor to nominate one of our nation’s most brilliant and gifted legal minds to the Supreme Court,” Trump said in the Rose Garden alongside Barrett. “She is a woman of unparalleled achievement, towering intellect, sterling credentials and unyielding loyalty to the Constitution — Judge Amy Coney Barrett.”

REPUBLICANS EYE OCT. 12 FOR START OF SCOTUS CONFIRMATION HEARINGS: SOURCE 

Judge Amy Coney Barrett applauds as President Donald Trump announces Barrett as his nominee to the Supreme Court, in the Rose Garden at the White House, Sept. 26, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Barrett, a judge on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, had been considered by Trump for the vacancy left by the retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy in 2018. Trump eventually chose now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh instead, but a source told Fox News that she had been at the front of his mind to fill a vacancy by Ginsburg.

Speaking at the White House, Barrett said she understood that “this is a momentous decision for a president and if the Senate does me the honor of confirming me, I pledge to discharge the responsibilities of this job to the very best of my ability.”

“I love the United States and I love the United States Constitution. I am truly humbled by the prospect of serving on the Supreme Court,” she said.

Both Trump and Barrett paid tribute to Ginsburg, with Trump describing her as a “legal giant and a pioneer for women.”

Ginsburg, a consistent vote on the court’s liberal wing, died last week at 87. The announcement sets up what is likely to be a fierce confirmation battle as Republicans attempt to confirm Barrett before the election on Nov. 3.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has promised to put a nominee up for a vote, despite the objections of Senate Democrats — who cite McConnell’s refusal to give Obama nominee Merrick Garland a hearing in 2016 as why a nominee should not be considered in an election year.

McConnell praised Barrett in a statement, saying Trump “could not have made a better decision.”

“Judge Amy Coney Barrett is an exceptionally impressive jurist and an exceedingly well-qualified nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States,” he said.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham hailed Barrett as “highly qualified in all the areas that matter – character, integrity, intellect, and judicial disposition.”

“As the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I’m very committed to ensuring that the nominee gets a challenging, fair, and respectful hearing,” he said. “We move forward on this nomination knowing that the President has picked a highly qualified individual who will serve our nation well on the highest court in the land.”

Democrats, meanwhile, continued to object to the timing of the nomination, and also sought to frame the battle as one over health care. They noted the looming COVID-19 pandemic and a legal battle over ObamaCare, as well as concerns that a conservative court could overturn Roe v Wade — the landmark 1973 ruling on abortion.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, declared a vote for Barrett as “a vote to strike down the Affordable Care Act and eliminate protections for millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions.”

AMY CONEY BARRETT CONFIRMATION FIGHT: SENATE GOP HAS MATH ON THEIR SIDE

“By nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, President Trump has once again put Americans’ healthcare in the crosshairs,” he said, adding he would “strongly” oppose her nomination.

He also accused Trump and McConnell of “shamelessly rushing to fill Justice Ginsburg’s seat less than 40 days before a presidential election.”

“Justice Ginsburg’s dying wish was that she not be replaced until a new president is installed. Republicans are poised to not only ignore her wishes, but to replace her with someone who could tear down everything that she built,” he said. “This reprehensible power grab is a cynical attack on the legitimacy of the Court.”

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden echoed those sentiments.

“The American people know the U.S. Supreme Court decisions affect their everyday lives. The United States Constitution was designed to give the voters one chance to have their voice heard on who serves on the Court,” he said in a statement. “That moment is now and their voice should be heard. The Senate should not act on this vacancy until after the American people select their next president and the next Congress.”

His running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, said that conservatives “intend to destroy the Affordable Care Act & overturn Roe.”

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The post Republicans ‘have the votes’ to confirm Trump’s Supreme Court nominee first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

“The nominee is going to be supported by every Republican in the Judiciary Committee,” Chairman Lindsey Graham told Fox News late Monday. “We’ve got the votes to confirm the justice on the floor of the Senate before the election and that’s what’s coming.”

Trump is expected to announce his choice to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg by week’s end, setting off a monumental Senate battle with Democrats, who contend it’s too close to the November election.

Related: Judge Amy Coney Barrett emerges as Supreme Court favorite, Trump to announce pick by weekend

The president met with conservative Judge Amy Coney Barrett at the White House on Monday and told reporters he would interview other candidates and might meet with Judge Barbara Lagoa when he travels to Florida later this week. Conversations in the White House and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office have been increasingly focused on Barrett and Lagoa, according to a person granted anonymity to discuss the private deliberations.

Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the chamber and can confirm a justice by a simple majority.

Barrett has long been favored by conservatives, and those familiar with the process said interest inside the White House seemed to be waning for Lagoa amid concerns by some that she did not have a proven record as a conservative jurist. Lagoa has been pushed by some aides who tout her political advantages of being Hispanic and hailing from the key political battleground state of Florida.

Related: Supreme Court drapes black cloth over Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat, photos show

Barrett, 48, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, was a strong contender for the seat that eventually went to Brett Kavanaugh in 2018. At the time, Trump told confidants he was “saving” Barrett for Ginsburg’s seat.

Before joining the 7th Circuit, she had made her mark in law primarily as an academic at the University of Notre Dame, where she received a law degree and later began teaching at age 30. She clerked at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, clerked at the Supreme Court for Justice Antonin Scalia, worked at the Miller, Cassidy, Larroca & Lewin law firm in Washington, D.C., then returned to Notre Dame.

Barrett has long expressed sympathy with a mode of interpreting the Constitution, called originalism, in which justices try to decipher original meanings of texts in deciding cases. Many liberals say that approach doesn’t allow the Constitution to change with the times.

Related: Justice Ginsburg’s death puts Roe v. Wade on the ballot in November

Trump has said he would choose a woman, and he admitted that politics may play a role. He gave a nod to another election battleground state, Michigan, and White House officials confirmed he was referring to Joan Larsen, a federal appeals court judge there.

The president also indicated that Allison Jones Rushing, a 38-year-old appellate judge from North Carolina, is on his short list. His team is also actively considering Kate Todd, the White House deputy counsel who has never been a judge but was a clerk for Justice Clarence Thomas.

Democrats, led by presidential nominee Joe Biden, are protesting the Republicans’ rush to replace Ginsburg, saying voters should speak first, on Election Day, and the winner of the White House should fill the vacancy.

Related: Biden to GOP senators: Don’t jam through nominee to replace late Justice Ginsburg

Trump dismissed those arguments, telling TV’s “Fox & Friends” on Monday, “I think that would be good for the Republican Party, and I think it would be good for everybody to get it over with.”

The mounting clash over the vacant seat — when to fill it and with whom — injects new turbulence in the presidential campaign with the nation still reeling from the coronavirus pandemic that has killed nearly 200,000 Americans, left millions unemployed and heightened partisan tensions and anger.

Democrats point to hypocrisy in Republicans trying to rush through a pick so close to the election after McConnell led the GOP in refusing to vote on a nominee of President Barack Obama in February 2016, long before that year’s election. Biden is appealing to GOP senators to “uphold your constitutional duty, your conscience” and wait until after the election.

Related: Late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to lie in repose this week

Ginsburg, 87, died Friday of metastatic pancreatic cancer. She will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol this week, the first woman ever accorded that honor. First, her casket is to be on view midweek on the steps of the high court.

With just over a month before the election, McConnell said the Senate has “more than sufficient time.”

No nominee has won confirmation so quickly since Sandra Day O’Connor — with no opposition from either party — became the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court in 1981.

Both sides are mobilizing for a wrenching confirmation fight punctuated by crucial issues before the court — healthcare, abortion access and even the potential outcome of the coming presidential election. Some protesters showed up early Monday morning outside the homes of key GOP senators.

Related: Ginsburg’s death draws big surge of donations to Democrats

At a Trump rally later Monday in Ohio, people chanted, “Fill the seat!”

As the Senate returned to Washington on Monday, several key GOP senators, including Mitt Romney of Utah, declined to say whether they would agree to a swift vote.

Four Republicans could halt a quick confirmation and Trump criticized Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska for opposing a vote before elections. The president warned they would be “very badly hurt” by voters.

Related: GOP Sens. Murkowski, Collins opposed vote on Supreme Court vacancy before elections prior to Ginsburg’s death

Others, including GOP Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Cory Gardner of Colorado, declined to join in opposing the president’s plan.

Biden has appealed to Republicans to join Murkowski and Collins in opposing a confirmation vote before the Nov. 3 election. He said, “Let the people speak. Cool the flames that have engulfed our country.”

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer objected to what he called McConnell’s “utterly craven” pursuit of Supreme Court confirmation under current circumstances, warning it would shatter Senate norms. “It’s enough to make your head explode,” he said.

Source: https://www.fox13news.com/news/gop-has-votes-to-confirm-trumps-supreme-court-pick-by-nov-3-lindsey-graham-says

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