Trump news: White House lowers flags days after officer death as lawmakers call for impeachment

Trump to travel on Tuesday to visit border wall

Donald Trump has plans to travel to Alamo, Texas, on Tuesday to visit the border wall, a White House press secretary says. 

His visit will “mark the completion of more than 400 miles of border wall – a promise made, a promise kept – and his Administration’s efforts to reform our broken immigration system,” deputy press secretary Judd Deere said in a statement. 

This will be one of the last events in Trump’s presidency. 

The travel plans will also potentially be the first time the public sees the president following his attendance at the “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington DC on Wednesday where he instructed attendees to march to the US Capitol. The president has since remained out of public eye, except for two filmed videos, following the riots that took place on Wednesday. 

Melania Trump has ‘blood on her hands’ over Capitol riots, says former BFF and aide

Melania Trump has been accused of having “blood on her hands” by a former friend and adviser following the deadly riots by a pro-Trump mob at the US Capitol on Wednesday.

Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, who previously served as an aide to the first lady, penned a scathing editorial of the president and Mrs Trump in The Daily Beast.

“It was an assault on human life and our great democracy. Unfortunately, our president and first lady have little, if any, regard for either,” Ms Wolkoff wrote following the Capitol riots, calling the violence “shocking, awful, disheartening and shameful”.

Full report here: 

Officer who responded to Capitol riots has died

Capitol Police Officer Howard Liebengood has died by suicide, the United States Capitol Police Labour Committee confirmed on Sunday. 

He was one of the officers on the scene at the US Capitol on 6 January, the union confirmed. 

“We are reeling from the death of Officer Liebengood. Every Capitol Police Officer puts the security of others before their own safety and Officer Liebengood was an example of the selfless service that is the hallmark of USCP. This is a tragic day,” Gus Papathanasiou, the union chairman, said.

The exact circumstances of his death remain unknown, but Mr Liebengood is the second officer the police force has lost within two days. Officer Brian Sicknick died on 6 January from injuries he sustained while defending the US Capitol and those inside it. 

White House lowers flags to half-staff

The White House has lowered its flags to half-staff as of Sunday at 2pm local time, days after it was revealed a Capitol Police officer died while defending the US Capitol. 

Donald Trump has faced severe scrutiny for his response the Wednesday riots.

Democratic and Republican lawmakers alike have called for the White House flags to be lowered to half-staff, a decision the rests with the president, but Mr Trump failed to so until today. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie called it a “national disgrace’” when speaking on ABC News on Sunday morning that the flags had yet to be lowered. 

Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick died on 6 January while defending the US Capitol. Mr Trump has yet to call the family and offer condolences, according to The New York Times. Vice President Mike Pence, meanwhile, has spoken with the family. 

Lawmakers may have been exposed to Covid while sheltering during Capitol riots

House lawmakers may have been exposed to someone testing positive for COVID-19 while they sheltered at an undisclosed location during the Capitol siege by a violent mob loyal to President Donald Trump. 

The Capitol's attending physician notified all lawmakers on Sunday of the virus exposure and urged them to be tested. The infected individual was not named.

Dr Brian Moynihan wrote that “many members of the House community were in protective isolation in the large room — some for several hours” on Wednesday. He said “individuals may have been exposed to another occupant with coronavirus infection.”

Full report here: 

A running count of the lawmakers calling for Trump’s second impeachment

A growing, bipartisan chorus of lawmakers are calling for the president’s immediate removal from office in the final days of his administration, writes Chris Riotta. 

Colin Powell calls for Trump’s resignation 

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who served under George W Bush’s administration, has joined the calls for Donald Trump to resign.

"He should be totally ashamed of himself, and he should take that shame and turn it into a resignation as quickly as possible," Mr Powell said when speaking on NBC News on Friday. 

But his condemnation continued into the weekend. 

“Of course I would vote to convict,” Mr Powell told CNN when asked about his thoughts on impeachment. “I would’ve done it the last time,” he added, referring to the first round of impeachment trials Mr Trump went through. 

“We’ve got to get Mr Trump clearly out of this entirely. He’s got to be gone one way or another, by next week,” Mr Powell said. “And the sooner the better. Whether it’s the relief he takes for himself or it’s impeachment or just leave … so he’s going to be gone and we’ll start again.” 

Mr Powell confessed he no longer sees himself aligned with a political party given how prominent Republicans embraced the sitting president.  

“I can no longer call myself a fellow Republican," he said. “I am not a fellow of anything right now. I am just a citizen who has voted Republican, voted Democrat throughout my entire career … I do not know how [Mr Trump] was able to attract these people. They should’ve known better.” 

“We need people to speak the truth, who remember they are here for our country … they are not here to be elected again,” he added. 

AOC: Trump should be impeached and barred from ever running for office again

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez believes Donald Trump should be impeached, removed from office, and barred from ever running for president again, writes Griffin Connolly. 

“I absolutely believe that impeachment should be scheduled for several reasons. One, of course, our main priority is to ensure the removal of Donald Trump as president of the United States,” the second-term New York Democratic congresswoman said in an interview on ABC’s “This Week” with George Stephanopoulos.

“Every minute and every hour that he is in office represents a clear and present danger, not just to the United States Congress but frankly to the country,” Rep. Ocasio-Cortez said.

Majority of Americans want Trump removed from office after Capitol insurrection, poll finds

A majority of Americans say Donald Trump should be removed as president after he incited a mob of his supporters to storm the US Capitol this past week, according to a new poll.

The ABC News/Ipsos poll, released on Sunday, found that more than half (56 per cent) of those polled said Mr Trump should be removed from office with almost all Democratic participants saying so (94 per cent).

A majority of independents (58 per cent) also backed removing him.

Gino Spocchia reports: 

Marriott, Blue Cross, and Citibank suspend donations to GOP lawmakers

Several businesses have publicly announced they would suspend any donations to US lawmakers who participated in challenging the presidential election on Wednesday. 

Marriott International Inc, the world’s largest hotel chain, was one of the first to announce it would suspend all donations. 

“We have taken the destructive events at the Capitol to undermine a legitimate and fair election into consideration and will be pausing political giving from our Political Action Committee to those who voted against certification of the election,” Marriott spokeswoman Connie Kim said, Reuters reports. 

Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), the federation of 36 independent healthcare companies, announced on Sunday it would also be suspending any donations to lawmakers who participated in challenging the election certification. 

The decision came “in light of this week’s violent, shocking assault on the United States Capitol, and the votes of some members of Congress to subvert the results of November’s election by challenging Electoral College results,” the association said.

This encouraged Citigroup Inc to review the donations it sent to lawmakers. The group found it previously gave Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, the leader of challenging the election certification, $1,000. Citigroup reassured employees it would not support candidates who “do not respect the rule of law.”