Impeaching President Trump for the Second Time
Dear Friend,
This week, I joined my colleagues in the House of Representatives in voting to impeach President Trump for the second time for high crimes and misdemeanors, including "incitement of insurrection." This unprecedented second impeachment followed the deadly attack Trump encouraged on January 6 on the U.S. Capitol. I also prepared to attend next week's Inauguration of President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris amid a tense capital city bristling with armed soldiers and newly installed metal detectors. Before he takes office, I wrote to President-Elect Joe Biden to express my concern about the Trump Administration's last-minute approval of Tennessee Governor Bill Lee's misguided request to have the state's TennCare program funded by a block grant, and asked him to have it reversed; introduced the Living Wage Now Act; introduced a Constitutional Amendment to abolish the Electoral College and establish the direct election of the president and vice president; wrote an op-ed in The Hill newspaper about Trump's ongoing threats to the rule of law; congratulated the Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center for its selection as a Fisher House venue; announced a $1.2 million Alzheimer Disease research grant to the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC); and offered a health tip based on my recent air travel experience. Keep reading and follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to see what I'm doing as it happens.
Impeaching President Trump for the Second Time
Preparing to Attend the Inauguration of President Biden
Writing to President-Elect Biden to Reverse Trump TennCare Decision
Introducing the Living Wage Now Act
Introducing Constitutional Amendment to Abolish the Electoral College
Writing Column in The Hill about Ongoing Trump Threats
Congratulating Memphis VA for Section as Fisher House Venue
Announcing Major Grant for Alzheimer Research to UTHSC
Weekly Health Tip
Quote of the Week
Impeaching President Trump for the Second Time
On Wednesday, one week after insurrectionists and thugs overran the U.S. Capitol and vandalized the cherished citadel of our democracy after Donald Trump roused a rabble with false claims, I voted to impeach him for the second time. I have a long history with efforts to impeach this president, offering articles on November 15, 2017, two full years before the articles were introduced on which he was impeached the first time. Before Wednesday's vote, I joined my colleagues in a vote to urge Vice President Pence to invoke provisions of the 25th Amendment to remove a man clearly incapable of doing his duty. See my floor speech on that occasion Tuesday night here and my floor speech during the impeachment debate Wednesday here.
Preparing to Attend the Inauguration of President Biden
As Washington prepares for more possible right-wing extremist violence before and during the inauguration of President Biden and Vice President Harris with National Guard troops and barriers and metal detectors, I am preparing to return to D.C. for celebrations that will be more low-key than in the past because of public health restrictions. I plan to congratulate our new President, an old friend, and invite him to Memphis. Like most of us, I am eager to see the Biden Administration take office and wish it well in the work it sets out to do.
Writing to President-Elect Biden to Reverse Trump TennCare Decision
Before he could take office, I felt I needed to write President-elect Biden to bring to his attention the colossal error the Trump Administration has made in granting Governor Lee's request to block grant the TennCare program. In the letter, I asked the soon-to-be President to reverse this misguided decision. See my release here.
Introducing the Living Wage Now Act
Earlier today, I introduced the Living Wage Now Act to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour immediately. It's unacceptable that, in such a rich nation, a worker working full time at the current minimum wage is living below the poverty line. See my release here.
Introducing Constitutional Amendment to Abolish the Electoral College
On Monday, I introduced a Constitutional Amendment to abolish the Electoral College and establish the direct election of the president and vice president. There are several good reasons to abandon this archaic institution that has awarded the presidency to the loser of the popular vote twice in the past twenty years, but one of them played out earlier this month. During the formality of certifying the Electoral College vote, the rabble sought to attack our democracy in the hope of letting politicians overturn the will of the people. See my release here.
Writing Column in The Hill about Ongoing Trump Threats
On Wednesday, The Hill newspaper published my op-ed on President Trump's ongoing threats to the rule of law, including my concern that he could pardon those identified as perpetrators of the mayhem at the Capitol. See that column here.
Congratulating Memphis VA for Section as Fisher House Venue
On Monday, I congratulated the Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center staff for being selected for a Fisher House. The new venue will be a home away from home for families and caregivers of veterans hospitalized in Memphis. I was proud to provide my wholehearted endorsement with letters of support for the Fisher House during the VA's evaluation process. See my release here.
Announcing Major Grant for Alzheimer Research to UTHSC
Alzheimer disease affects too many of our senior citizens. I was pleased to announce a more than $1.2 million grant to the University of Tennessee Health Science Center for research to understand it. See that release here.
Weekly Health Tip
With the coronavirus surging across America, particularly in Tennessee, I travelled to and from Washington this week and was dismayed at the lackadaisical attitude toward mask wearing displayed by too many air travelers in airports such as Charlotte and Dallas-Fort Worth. I want to reiterate that, while we await a significant number of Americans getting vaccinated, public health protocols remain critical: wash your hands, wear a mask, and keep your distance from others, especially indoors. Check your eligibility for the vaccine here and sign up for an appointment here.
Quote of the Week
"Much more will become clear in coming days and weeks, but what we know now is enough. The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the President." – Congresswoman Liz Cheney, Republican of Wyoming, explaining why she planned to vote to impeach the President.
Today would have been Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 92nd birthday. I'm reminded of his words, spoken in Memphis, the night before he died: "We have an opportunity to make America a better nation."
As always, I remain.
Most sincerely,
Steve Cohen
Member of Congress