North State Journal Vol. 4, Issue 44

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VOLUME 4 ISSUE 44

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WWW.NSJONLINE.COM |

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2019

NSJ’s year in review 2019 NORTH

IMPEACHMENT

STATE

JOURNaL ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION

POLITICS

Cooper’s vetos represented his biggest victories in 2019 NSJ Staff MOST OF N.C. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s lasting achievements in 2019 stem from keeping Republican policies from ever getting implemented. This year will be best remembered politically by the fact that none of his 14 vetoes against legislation by the GOP-controlled legislature were overridden. One vetoed bill would have required sheriffs to cooperate with federal agents looking for immigrants believed to be in the U.S. unlawfully. Another would have protected newborns who survived unsuccessful abortions. He called the sheriff bill a political stunt and the abortion measure unnecessary interference between women and physicians. Republicans hold majorities in the House and Senate but lack enough seats to override Cooper’s vetoes on their own, like they could during Cooper’s first two years as governor. Democrats ended the veto-proof control with legislative gains in 2018. His veto of the GOP’s two-year state budget in June led to a budget impasse between him and Republican leaders that has persisted through the end of the year. He opposed the measure because it contained tax cuts, did not expand Medicaid to more able-bodied adults and didn’t rely on bonds for school construction. One of the most exciting moments in the budget fight — and one of the most surprising moments in state politics in 2020 — has not yet paid off for the GOP. On Sept. 11, the N.C. House voted to override Cooper’s budget veto. Few Democrats were present when Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain) began proceedings on several bills on the House calendar, including overrides of the 2019 Appropriations Act (H.B. 966) and another vetoed bill, House Bill 555, which had funding related the overhaul of the state’s existing Medicaid program. There were enough members of the House to fulfill quorum — 70 of the 120 members were pres-

MILITARY

A salute to 2019 By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — Military-related news in North Carolina during 2019 saw the marking of a major milestone in June with the 75th anniversary of the Normandy invasion. A formal ceremony at the state capitol and the reading of the names of the 39 North Carolinians who sacrificed their lives on D-Day were followed by a wreath-laying ceremony and a rifle salute on the lawn of the historic capitol grounds. Camp LeJeune and Cherry Point Marine bases were the recipients of much-needed disaster relief aid after President Trump signed a $19.1 billion disaster aid bill. The bill was passed by the U.S. Senate in May and contains $381 million to repair damage caused by Hurricane Florence to various military installations in Onslow County. At the end of May, a change of command ceremony at the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam was held for the U.S. attack submarine, the USS North Carolina (SSN 777). Commander Michael Fisher was relieved by Commander Matthew Lewis. Cherry Point Marine Base was the scene for the retirement of the last squadron of EA-6B Prowlers known as the Death Jesters. The EA6B Prowler squadron had been deployed last year in support of military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. They flew their final combat mission on Feb. 28. Lt. Gov. Dan Forest launched his bid for governor, and his plan to make North Carolina the most military-friendly state in the country, with programs focused on supporting military families, transitioning to civilian life and building a career in North Carolina. N.C. Army National Guard Brig. Gen. Todd Hunt took over command as the 41st adjutant general of the North Carolina National Guard, replacing retiring Major Gen. Gregory Lusk.

MADELINE GRAY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

President Donald Trump arrives at W.K. Kellogg Airport to attend a campaign rally, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019, in Battle Creek, Mich. as the U.S. House voted to impeach him.

TRUMP IMPEACHED By Jill Colvin The Associated Press WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives, becoming only the third American chief executive to be formally charged under the Constitution’s ultimate remedy for high crimes and misdemeanors. The historic vote split along party lines Wednesday night, much the way it has divided the nation, over a charge that the 45th president abused the power of his office by enlisting a foreign government to investigate a political rival ahead of the 2020 election. The House then approved a second charge, that he obstructed Congress in its investigation. The articles of impeachment, the political equivalent of an indictment, now go to the Senate for trial. If Trump is acquitted by the Republican-led chamber, as expected, he still would have to run for reelection carrying the enduring stain of impeachment on his presidency. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi threw a bit of uncertainty into the process Wednesday night by declining to say when, or even whether, she would send the charges to the Senate. Trump tweeted Thursday that the Senate should just go ahead and the Democrats “would lose by default,” but the trial cannot begin until the articles are delivered. “The president is impeached,” Pelosi declared after the vote. She called it “great day for the Constitution of the United States, a sad one for America that the president’s reckless activities necessitated us having to introduce articles of impeachment.” Trump, who began Wednesday tweeting his anger at the proceedings, pumped his fist before an evening rally in Battle Creek, Michigan, boasting of “tremendous support” in the Republican Party and saying, “By the way it doesn’t feel like I’m being impeached.” The votes for impeachment were 230197-1 on the first charge, 229-198-1 on the second. Democratic Presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) was the standout vote in the final margin as she voted “present” on the two articles of impeachment. Following the House vote, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a staunch Trump GOP ally, emerged from a White House meeting with the president with a message. “He is demanding his day in court,” Graham said in an interview on Fox News Channel Thursday evening. “I just left President Trump. He’s mad as hell that they would do this to him and now deny him his day in court.” The White House did not immediately respond to questions about his account. Pundits say Trump sees a Senate trial as his means for vindication, viewing acquittal as a partial antidote to impeachment’s stain on his legacy. But that effort has been threatened by Pelosi’s decision

ANDREW HARNIK | AP PHOTO

President Donald Trump turns to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., as he delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, as Vice President Mike Pence watches, on Feb. 5, 2019. to delay sending the articles approved by the House Wednesday to the Senate until, she says, Republican leaders offer more details about how they will handle an expected trial. “So far we haven’t seen anything that looks fair to us,” she said late Wednesday, dropping a surprise procedural bombshell just after the House cast its historic votes making Trump only the third president in the nation’s history to be impeached. House Democrats had argued for weeks that Trump’s impeachment was needed “urgently” to protect the nation. Democrats do not have enough votes in the GOP-controlled Senate to convict Trump and remove him from office, but have been pushing for a trial to include witnesses who declined to appear during House committee hearings, including acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and former national security adviser John Bolton. Trump, meanwhile, has been hoping the trial will serve as an opportunity for vindication, and continues to talk about parading his own witness list, including former vice president and 2020 Democratic candidate Joe Biden, even though there is little appetite for that among Senate leaders. “The reason the Democrats don’t want to submit the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate is that they don’t want corrupt politician Adam Shifty Schiff to testify under oath, nor do they want the Whistleblower, the missing second Whistleblower, the informer, the Bidens, to testify!” Trump tweeted late Thursday. One White House official mused that Pelosi’s decision to indefinitely delay

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the trial would be an even more effective talking point for the president than his expected acquittal because, they argued, it would highlight how Pelosi has manipulated the process to deny Trump the opportunity to defend himself and clear his name. Such messaging has been effective in driving outrage among the president’s core supporters, which Trump’s campaign hopes will help propel him to reelection next year. But Graham made clear the president has not been swayed by that argument, calling the delay a “constitutionSee TRUMP, page A2


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