Political Happenings – In The United States

So far, 2021 has been an eventful year for US politics. We have witnessed so many events and issues in US politics, such as Joe Biden being sworn in as the 46th president, people storming the Capitol, and more. This post aims to look at the various political happenings in the United States and trends in US politics in 2021. We will look at the major political events that have happened in the United States.

US Capitol Riot

On January 6, 2021, a large group of President Trump’s supporters stormed the US Capitol Complex to overturn Donald Trump’s loss in the recently concluded presidential election 2020. The riot caused the death of 5 people, and over 140 police officers and civilians were injured.

While the riot took place, the Capitol Complex was locked down, and security officials tried evacuating staff and lawmakers in the building. The building security was eventually breached, and the rioters got into the building and vandalized many things, including offices and chambers. This went on for a couple of hours before security officials were able to calm the situation.

The joint session of Congress later resumed with the vote counting and was concluded in the early hours of January 7. Mike Pence declared Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as winners. The Capitol Complex attack generated a lot of attention globally and was condemned by many leaders worldwide.

Social Media Platforms Place Restrictions on Trump’s Social Media Accounts

Many people believe President Trump instigated the US Capitol riot due to the statements he made in a rally a day before the riot took place. As a result of this, Facebook banned Trump’s accounts on all its platforms indefinitely. Twitter, another social media platform, also suspended Trump’s report on its platform the next day.

Donald Trump Impeached For a Second Time

On January 13, history was made in US political history as Donald Trump became the first United States president to be impeached twice. The US House of Reps voted to impeach Donald Trump. The result of the vote held was 232 – 197 in favour of impeachment. The impeachment was primarily due to the role he played in the storming of the US Capitol. On his part, President Trump rejected and denied being responsible for the riot at the US Capitol.

Kamala Harris Resigns From Senate

On January 18, the newly elected vice president Kamala Harris resigns as a US senate member to become the US’s vice president. This automatically makes her successor Alex Padilla become the first and only Latino person to represent California’s state in the Senate.

President Trump Grants Pardon

On the last day of President Trump in office, he granted executive clemency to specific individuals. A total of 237 people who were convicted or charged for federal offences were granted a pardon. However, most of those granted pardons were people with whom President Trump had a political or personal connection. Most of these individuals were convicted of public corruption or fraud.

Joe Biden Sworn in as President

The 2020 US presidential election had a lot of issues. There were complaints about the voting system, and so on. However, history was made in USA politics 2021 as Joe Biden was announced as the new President, making him the 46th President of the United States of America.

Kamala Harris Makes History

On January 20, Kamala Harris became the first woman, first African American, and Asian American United States Vice President. This was a historical event in USA politics in 2021. On this day, President Biden was announced as the US president and Kamala Harris as vice president. Donald Trump made another history by becoming the second outgoing President of the United States to boycott his successor’s inauguration.

The US Surpassed 25 Million Cases of Covid 19

On January 24, the United States had surpassed 25 million cases of the virus. Over 25 million people living in the United States were already infected with the virus, while approximately 418000 people have died in the United States since the beginning of the pandemic. This was contained in the data released by John Hopkins University.

Joe Biden Reverse Ban on Transgender Individuals in Military

Previously, transgender individuals were not allowed to enlist in the US military if they had medically transitioned to a new gender. Those with any history of gender dysphoria were only allowed to enrol under their natural biological gender after three years of stability. Howey, President Joe Biden reversed this ban via his executive order. This reversion may negatively impact US military order and integrity.

Biden Announced Purchase of Vaccines From Pfizer

On January 26, the Biden government announced that they would purchase 200 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and Moderna. This will be an addition to the other 400 million doses of vaccine that the United States already ordered.

Major Winter Storm

From January 31 to February 3, a severe winter storm affected the Northeastern parts of the United States. Approximately 3 feet of snow was seen in some of these areas, leading to the death of 6 people and over 500,000 power outages. It was a severe problem that caused many issues for people in the Northeastern parts of the country.

Removal of Marjorie Taylor Greene

On February 4, the US House of Representatives voted to remove a Representative member named Marjorie Greene from the Budget, Education, and Labour committee following her controversial statements about the Parkland mass shootings and support for violence towards Democrats. The result of the vote was 230 – 199 in favour of her removal.

A United States Rep Passed Away

On February 7, United States Rep Ron Wright passed away at 67 after being infected with the Coronavirus. He was the first sitting Congress member to die from the virus.

Impeachment Trial of Trump

The second impeachment Trial for Trump commenced on February 9 and was concluded on February 13. However, after the Senate’s vote, Donald Trump was acquitted shortly after what is required by the constitution.  

Greg Abbot Relaxes Measures

On March 2, the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, had simple measures for the pandemic. Despite the CDC warnings about the pandemic, Texas governor Greg Abbott lifted the statewide mask requirement previously put in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Besides, he also raised the restrictions placed on businesses. He stated that companies could operate at 100% capacity starting from March 10.

Hawaii Floods

There were severe floods in Hawaii that caused a lot of damages and loss of properties in the state of Hawaii. The rain, which started on March 7, flooded the Kaupakalua Dam. The flood was a result of deficiencies. Due to this, the dam will be decommissioned this summer. A few homes were damaged and destroyed due to the flooding. The flood also caused significant damages to the Peahi bridge and Kaupakalua bridge. Also, more than a thousand people in Haiku were without power due to the flooding.

Covid-19 Issues

On March 12, Minnesota reported its first and only case of the 501.V2 South African variant of the virus. The patient fell ill on January 24 and later tested positive for the virus on January 29. The patient with this variant of the virus is from the Twin Cities region.

Washington also reported its initial case of the P1 variant of SARZ COV2, which was first recorded in Brazil. The patient with this variant of the virus is from King County.

South Dakota also reported its initial SARZ COV2 (Lineage B117), which was first recorded in the United Kingdom.

George Floyd Family

George Floyd’s murder while in police custody was a severe issue that caused a lot of protests and outrage within the United States and beyond. The Black Lives Matter protest aimed at ending police brutality and other forms of injustice against Blacks went global. However, his family has decided to settle their lawsuit against Minnesota for 27 million US Dollars. This is a controversial settlement and decision because it is not clear whether this was an accident or racism. As a reminder, police every day must deal with dangerous criminals despite their colour. Looking broadly into black people’s behaviour and culture, one conclusion arises that they are very provocative. The Black Live Matter movements pose real threats and dangers to any society because they can quickly start worshipping criminal actions and justify the crime.

Postponement of Tax Day

Tax Day in the United States has always fallen on or just immediately after April 15. The deadline given has usually been short. However, the IRS has announced that the deadline is posted on May 17.

Special House of Reps Election

An election to the United States House of Reps was held in Louisiana’s fifth congressional district on March 20. This election was born because the Reps-elect Luke Letlow passed away on December 29, 2020. Julia Letlow, who happens to be the widow, won with 64.48%.

Boulder Shooting

On February 22, ten people, including a police officer, were shot dead in Boulder, Colorado. The shooter opened fire to people in a supermarket called King Soopers, leaving ten people dead and several police officers wounded. The suspect was injured by the police and transported to a hospital, then moved to Boulder County Jail. This was a horrific day for the American people and families.