February 11, 2021
President Joe Biden and Rep. Marjorie Greene discuss former President Donald Trump. “The [Republican] party is [Trump’s]. It doesn’t belong to anybody else,” Greene said.
President Joe Biden declared the end of “all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including relevant arms sales” on Feb. 4, acting on a campaign promise.
In addition to calling Yemen’s civil war a “humanitarian and strategic catastrophe,” Biden also announced the revival of dormant peace talks. However, although Biden is committed to ending U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia, the war is far from over, and some have raised concerns over what Biden’s declaration will mean.
During the rest of his foreign policy speech, Biden also said the rights of LGBTQ individuals would be protected, the U.S. would stop “rolling over in the face of Russia’s aggressive actions,” and he would stop the planned withdrawal of U.S. troops from Germany.
Biden said he doesn’t believe former President Trump should receive intelligence briefings during an interview with CBS News, citing “erratic behavior unrelated to the insurrection.”
The intelligence briefings are a courtesy given to outgoing presidents in case the sitting president would like to ask for advice.
“What value is giving him an intelligence briefing? What impact does he have at all, other than the fact he might slip and say something?” Biden said.
According to New York Times, Biden is not the only one to share those concerns; Susan Gordon, the former principal deputy director of national intelligence, supports this move.
The House of Representatives voted to remove Rep. Marjorie Greene from her congressional committees on Feb. 4.
The vote, which was 230 to 199 with 11 Republicans voting in favor, came after Greene’s previous social media activity before her congressional run resurfaced. According to CNN, some of the posts she supported included QAnon conspiracy theories and executing prominent Democrats. Greene also has a past of racist, anti-Semitic, and anti-Muslim remarks.
The vote was set up by House Democrats who control the chamber after demanding the House Republicans remove Greene from her committee assignments themselves. After they refused and Democrats proceeded with a vote, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy called it a “partisan power grab.” However, Senator Mitch McConnell and other prominent Republicans denounced Greene.
The day after the vote, Greene announced that her removal had only “freed” her to continue pushing Republicans further right and in alignment with Trump.
