Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the controversial selection by President-elect Donald Trump for heading the United States Department of Health and Human Services, went to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to converse with and win the favor of Republican senators. Trump tried to calm the rising worries about his Health and Human Services nominee on Monday, reassuring journalists that his choice won’t be inclined towards any extreme measures.
Furthermore, after deliberating on the events of January 6, the Republicans in the House have aligned themselves with President Trump, diverting their attention towards Liz Cheney. Following an internal investigation into the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, the House Republicans have surmised that former GOP Representative Liz Cheney should face legal scrutiny for inspecting the incident, which occurred while Congress was authenticating the 2020 election results.
The outcomes disclosed on Tuesday highlight the Republican Party’s efforts to bolster the former President’s drive to penalize those he views as adversaries, including Liz Cheney and the members of the January 6 committee. On a different note, a crucial House panel has decided to disclose the ethics report related to Matt Gaetz despite the initial reluctance in releasing it.
On Tuesday night, President-elect Trump disclosed a fresh batch of ambassador appointments on social media. He has nominated Herschel Walker and Nicole McGraw, proposing that they be given positions in the Bahamas and Croatia, respectively. Meanwhile, internal discords within the GOP flared up over the Social Security bill.
Republican senators encountered a dispute behind the scenes on Tuesday regarding a provision to boost Social Security provisions for those qualified for non-Social Security governmental pensions. The proposed bill, already approved by the House, is slated to be presented to the Senate floor on Wednesday.
However, certain Republicans who are apprehensive about the expense attached are hopeful of halting it in its tracks. Notably, President-elect Trump experienced a significant setback in his effort to discard his New York criminal conviction. Monday saw a judge maintain the guilty verdict despite Trump’s assertion of presidential immunity.
Although Trump’s initiative to quash the lawsuit now that he has been declared president-elect is still ongoing, Judge Juan Merchan’s most recent decision served to undermine the erstwhile. It was on Monday that President-elect Donald Trump implied that he might decelerate the recent decision by President Joe Biden, permitting Ukrainian troops to harness American long-range weapons for attacks deeper into Russian terrain.
Trump denounced the decision made by Biden last month as ill-advised. Also, the union standing up for a multitude of federal employees announced that it would staunchly resist any attempt by President-elect Trump to revoke a Biden administration pact that allows thousands of federal employees the option to continue working remotely.
Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) declared on Tuesday that he was informed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that he had reached a consensus with President-elect Trump about abortion, settling that the matter should be decided by individual states. This announcement was made following Tuberville’s meeting with Trump’s select individual to helm the Department of Health.
In international relations news, the intensifying military activity of Ankara in Syria has resulted in a diplomatic conflict between once-allies Israel and Turkey. Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has shown support to Hamas, even suggesting a possible militarized intervention. The audacious public bombing targeting a senior Russian general could also denote Ukraine’s intent to deliver a significant blow to Moscow before Donald Trump assumes office and negotiations commence.