In preparation for the upcoming Presidential inauguration, Airbnb released on Monday their Capitol Safety Plan. After continued conversations with authorities, AirBnb announced this morning that they will cancel all reservations in the Washington, D.C. metro area during Inauguration week, and prevent any new reservations in the Washington, D.C. area from being booked during that time. HotelTonight reservations will also be cancelled.
The House of Representatives will convene later today to debate and vote on whether to charge President Trump with “inciting violence against the government of the United States,” advancing an effort to impeach him for the second time in fewer than 13 months. As of this morning, at least five Republicans from the House have said they will vote to impeach Trump – including Congresswoman Liz Cheney, the third-ranking Republican in the House.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has named Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin to lead the impeachment effort, along with Representatives Diana DeGette of Colorado, David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Joaquin Castro of Texas, Eric Swalwell of California, Ted Lieu of California, Joe Neguse of Colorado and Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania and Stacey Plaskett, the Democratic delegate from the Virgin Islands.
The New York Times reports that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has told associates that he believes President Trump committed impeachable offenses and that he is pleased that Democrats are moving to impeach the President, believing that it will make it easier to “purge” Trump from the party. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has also asked other Republicans whether he should call on Mr. Trump to resign, according to three Republican officials briefed on the conversations.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is set to hear a case on who gets a share of $8 billion in federal COVID relief allocated for tribes following the lower courts split on whether Alaska Native Corporations should be included. The U.S. Treasury Department sought review from the high court after a federal appeals court ruled in September that the corporations aren’t eligible. The Supreme Court included the case on its order list Friday. It’s unclear whether it will be argued in the spring or fall session.
The Supreme Court also declined to hear a challenge to a 2019 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that said the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes could charge food and chemical conglomerate FMC Corp. a fee for storing the waste from its now-closed phosphorus processing plant on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in Idaho. Following the ruling from the 9th Circuit that the tribes have jurisdiction over the company, the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes can continue charging a fee of $1.5 million a year.
Keep reading for a full news update.
Politics:
Airbnb To Block And Cancel D.C. Reservations During Inauguration
Airbnb, January 13
Today, in response to various local, state and federal officials asking people not to travel to Washington, D.C., we are announcing that Airbnb will cancel reservations in the Washington, D.C. metro area during the Inauguration week. Additionally, we will prevent any new reservations in the Washington, D.C. area from being booked during that time by blocking such reservations.
How To Watch The Second Trump Impeachment Vote
New York Times, Zach Montague, January 13
The House will convene on Wednesday to debate and vote on whether to charge President Trump with “inciting violence against the government of the United States,” advancing an effort to impeach him for the second time in fewer than 13 months.
These House Republicans Say They Will Vote To Impeach Trump
CBS News, Grace Segers, January 13
At least five GOP members of the House so far, including one of its highest-ranking Republicans, will vote to impeach President Trump in light of the deadly attack on the Capitol last week by a violent mob of his supporters.
Investigation Into Capitol Attack Is Unprecedented In Scope, Justice Department Says
CNN, Zachary Cohen, Evan Perez, Shimon Prokupecz, January 13
Federal investigators are chasing thousands of leads in twin efforts to prosecute people involved in last week’s attack on the US Capitol and to try to prevent feared follow-up attacks in Washington and around the country.
Pelosi Names Managers For House’s Second Impeachment Of Donald Trump
MarketWatch, January 12
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has named a Maryland Democrat grieving his son’s recent death as leader of the nine House Democrats who would prosecute President Donald Trump during his expected Senate impeachment trial.
McConnell Is Said To Be Pleased About Impeachment, Believing It Will Be Easier To Purge Trump From The G.O.P
New York Times, Jonathan Martin, Maggie Haberman, January 12
Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, has told associates that he believes President Trump committed impeachable offenses and that he is pleased that Democrats are moving to impeach him, believing that it will make it easier to purge him from the party, according to people familiar with his thinking. The House is voting on Wednesday to formally charge Mr. Trump with inciting violence against the country.
Law:
US High Court To Hear Case On Virus Relief For Tribes
AP News, Felicia Fonseca, January 12
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case that centers on who gets a share of $8 billion in federal coronavirus relief allocated for Native American tribes. Lower courts split on whether Alaska Native corporations, which own most Native land in the state under a 1971 settlement, should be in the mix. The U.S. Treasury Department sought review from the high court after a federal appeals court ruled in September that the corporations aren’t eligible.
Supreme Court To Review Whether Or Not Mnuchin Failed To Distribute Covid Relief To Native Americans Swiftly Enough
Fortune, Nicole Goodkind, January 12
American Indian and Alaska Native people have felt the burden of the COVID-19 virus disproportionately. Now, a group of Native American tribes are claiming that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin failed to swiftly distribute $679 million in emergency COVID-19 relief funds to tribes from the $2.2 trillion stimulus package. The case, one of the largest battles between tribal governments and the United States in decades, will be reviewed by the Supreme Court this year.
Apache Group Sues Over Land Swap For Arizona Copper Mine
AP News, Felicia Fonseca, January 12
A group of Apaches who have tried for years to reverse a land swap in Arizona that will make way for one of the largest copper mines in the U.S. sued the federal government Tuesday. Apache Stronghold argues in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Arizona that the U.S. Forest Service cannot legally transfer land to international mining company Rio Tinto in exchange for several parcels the company owns around Arizona. The group claims the land around Oak Flat was reserved for Western Apaches in an 1852 treaty with the United States.
U.S. Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of Shoshone-Bannock Tribe
Native News Online, January 12
The United States Supreme Court on Monday rejected FMC Corporation’s final appeal to contest the jurisdiction of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes to regulate storage of approximately 22 million tons of hazardous waste on the Fort Hall Reservation at the Eastern Michaud Superfund site west of Pocatello, Idaho. By denying certiorari, the U.S. Supreme Court defers to the findings of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribal Courts and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmation of the District Court’s findings requiring FMC to comply with tribal jurisdiction.
Native Americans Sue Trump Administration Over Rio Tinto’s Arizona Copper Project
Reuters, January 12
Members of the San Carlos Apache tribe in Arizona on Tuesday said they have sued the Trump Administration to block a pending land swap that would give Rio Tinto the land it needs to build its Resolution Copper project.
Tribes Prevail In Fight With Chemical Company
Indian Country Today, January 11
The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes can continue charging food and chemical conglomerate FMC Corp. a fee of $1.5 million a year for storing hazardous waste on reservation land. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge to a lower court decision in the tribes’ favor. In 2019, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes could charge FMC a fee for storing the waste from its now-closed phosphorus processing plant on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in Idaho. The ruling by the three-judge appeals court panel said the tribes have jurisdiction over the company.
COVID-19:
Tribal Elders Are Dying From The Pandemic, Causing A Cultural Crisis For American Indians
The New York Times, Jack Healy, January 12
One by one, cultural connections are being severed as the coronavirus tears through ranks of Native American elders, inflicting an incalculable toll on bonds of language and tradition that flow from older generations to the young. The loss of tribal elders has swelled into a cultural crisis as the pandemic has killed American Indians and Alaska Natives at nearly twice the rate of white people, deepening what critics call the deadly toll of a tattered health system and generations of harm and broken promises by the U.S. government.
Other:
Enbridge Rejects Michigan’s Demand To Shut Down Oil Pipeline
AP News, John Flesher, January 12
Enbridge said Tuesday it would defy Michigan’s demand to shut down an oil pipeline that runs through a channel linking two of the Great Lakes, contending that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s decision was based on bad information and political posturing. Whitmer, however, agrees with environmentalists, Native American tribes and other critics who contend they’re vulnerable to a catastrophic spill.