Problems viewing this email? View it in your web browser.
Mitch McConnell holds a press conference on January 7, 2020.
Impoundment, Impeachment, and Impartiality
What a week. The U.S. House Intelligence Committee released new evidence, including text messages and memos from Lev Parnas, a former associate of President Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani. The U.S. House of Representatives sent the articles of impeachment to the U.S. Senate, beginning the Senate's impeachment trial. In two public interviews, Lev Parnas revealed even more details about the Ukraine scandal, including explicit knowledge and direction from Trump to pressure Ukraine into investigating his a political opponent. And the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), a nonpartisan watchdog agency, issued an opinion that the Trump administration's hold on military aid to Ukraine violated the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act.

The mounting evidence shows quite clearly that Trump and his administration broke the law when, in an effort to investigate a political rival, they impounded funds that Congress had appropriated for Ukraine; that in itself is an abuse of power and an impeachable offense. This week has demonstrated the critical importance of including all evidence in the Senate impeachment trial.

Yet, the oath sworn by Senators yesterday to be impartial jurors seems to ring hollow. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) recently stated: "I would anticipate we will have a largely partisan outcome in the Senate. I'm not impartial about this at all." Read more »

[Related: Holding up Ukraine aid was illegal. Trump's White House knew before GAO said so.]

In the Spotlight
Act Now: Trump Is Putting Millions of Disabled People at Risk
The Trump administration wants to change Social Security to cut benefits for up to 2.6 million people with disabilities, including seniors, children, and people with cancer. If the administration enacts this rule, we'll see a $2.6 billion cut to Social Security disability benefits by 2029.

The people receiving these benefits have already been through rigorous screening processes and mountains of paperwork to get the support they need. Now Trump is trying to destabilize their lives.

Take action: Tell the Trump administration to STOP cutting benefits for disabled people. »

Major Stories This Week

The Case That Could Decide Women's Fate
An adverse ruling in Texas v. United States could go even further than other disastrous repeal bills—this time, every provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is on the line. Here are five ways that the case could harm women's health and economic security.

Attention Needed: Graduate School Debt
Graduate loans account for more than $37 billion in loans each year—an amount 20 percent larger than the total annual undergraduate borrowing at public colleges. It is time for the federal government to take seriously its role in student debt and its potential to solve the loan crisis.
Mark Your Calendar
January 24
Tackling the Climate Crisis and Greening Our Economies
RSVP • Bookmark the livestream

Support CAP | Manage Email Preferences | Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe
Center for American Progress | 1333 H Street NW, 10th Floor | Washington, D.C. xxxxxx
This email was sent to [email protected].