Latest Stories By Louis Jacobson

It was an inauguration like none before, squeezed between massive security and a pandemic that has killed over 400,000 Americans. Instead of crowds, a sea of American and state flags filled the National Mall in Washington.  Armed National Guardsmen replaced cheering supporters along Pennsylvania Avenue, the traditional parade route from the Capitol to the White […]

As president, Donald Trump had a mixed record in keeping his promises.  Since Trump’s inauguration in 2017, PolitiFact has tracked 102 pledges Trump made to voters during the 2016 campaign. As he leaves office, our final report on the Trump-O-Meter shows he kept 25 promises, compromised on 23 and broke 54. Here’s a look at […]

Just days away from his inauguration, President-elect Joe Biden proposed a $1.9 trillion plan to help tackle the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting economic recession.  “It’s not hard to see that we are in the middle of a once-in-several-generations economic crisis, with a once-in-several-generations public health crisis,” Biden said on Jan. 14. “A crisis of […]

A week after supporters of Donald Trump stormed the Capitol — and one week before the inauguration of a new president — the U.S. House of Representatives impeached Trump for a second time. Trump is the only president to be impeached twice in U.S. history, and 10 Republicans joined Democrats in approving the measure by […]

With mounting footage showing violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, lawmakers have increased their calls for punishing members of Congress who they say encouraged the group of supporters of President Donald Trump that eventually breached the Capitol. There are two primary categories of lawmakers being discussed as possible targets for punishments. One consists […]

In the waning days of Donald Trump’s presidency, the House is moving toward impeaching him — for an unprecedented second time. On Jan. 11, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the House will pursue impeachment if Vice President Mike Pence and the Cabinet do not quickly proceed with removing Trump under the 25th Amendment. An […]

President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed, falsely, that the election was rigged and he won. Trump’s critics find it maddening that he appears to be fundraising off that message as well.  Sen. Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican who has become increasingly critical of the president, wrote a Facebook post debunking Trump’s claim of a rigged […]

President Donald Trump has only a dozen days left in office. But after his supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, calls to oust him prior to Joe Biden’s inauguration have multiplied — and reached the top levels of government. Sen. Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat who is poised to become the chamber’s majority […]

With Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff winning Senate seats in Georgia’s pivotal runoff elections, the U.S. Senate is now poised to become a 50-50 chamber.  What does this mean for how the Senate will operate once the two Democrats’ victories are certified? Experts say there is no written roadmap that Senate leaders must follow. […]

Are Americans witnessing a coup? Before the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, the case was arguable, but not a slam dunk. After the Capitol was breached, the case became more clear cut, experts say. The questions stem from President Donald Trump’s reaction to losing the 2020 presidential election. Trump and his supporters […]

The 2020 presidential election cycle is almost over. After the voting, the counting, the legal challenges, and the casting of the electoral college votes in December, a joint session of Congress will formally count the electoral votes for president at 1 p.m. on Jan. 6. The final margin — 306 for Joe Biden and 232 […]

Like much of the year before it, the 2020 holiday season will be like none other in living memory, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. “We saw a pretty sharp increase in cases nationally after Thanksgiving, and I have no reason to suspect that we will avoid that through Christmas and New Year’s,” said Brooke Nichols, […]