Here are the main events that occurred in Politics this week:
1. House of Represenatatives Passes Bill Granting Statehood For Washington DC
The House of Representatives voted nearly along party lines on June 28 to grant statehood to Washington, D.C., the first time a chamber of Congress has approved establishing the nation’s capital as a state. The legislation, which is unlikely to advance in the Republican-led Senate, would establish a 51st state, Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, named in honor of Frederick Douglass, and allow it two senators and a voting representative in the House. The National Mall, the White House, Capitol Hill, and some other federal property would remain under congressional jurisdiction, with the rest of the land becoming the new state. The vote was 232 to 180, with every Republican and one Democrat voting “no.”
2. Iranian Government Issues Arrest Warrant Against President Trump In Response To General Qasem Soleimani’s Killing By US Drone Strike
Iran has issued an arrest warrant for US President Donald Trump over the drone strike that killed a top Iranian general in January, as reported by Fars News Agency on June 30. President Trump is one of 36 people Iran has issued arrest warrants for in relation to the death of Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), according to Fars, but the Tehran attorney general Ali Alqasi Mehr said President Trump was at the top of the list. Mehr claimed Trump would be prosecuted as soon as his term as President ends, Fars reported. Iran also said it had asked Interpol to issue a Red Notice for these 36 individuals, semi-official state news agency ISNA reported, though it was unlikely that Interpol would grant the request. In a statement to CNN, Interpol said it “would not consider requests of this nature.” It explained that it was not in accordance with its rules and constitution, which states “it is strictly forbidden for the organization to undertake any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character.”
3. Mississippi Passes Resolution Removing Confederate Symbols From Its State Flag
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves signed a bill on June 30 abandoning the state’s flag and stripping the Confederate battle flag symbol from it, capping a remarkable turnaround on a banner that had flown over the state for more than a century. With Reeves’s move, Mississippi will take down one of the country’s most prominent Confederate tributes, withdrawing the only state flag that still bears such an emblem. The new flag’s design will be determined later, but lawmakers have barred it from including the most recognizable icon of the Confederacy, which many people associate with racism, slavery, and oppression. “This is not a political moment to me but a solemn occasion to lead our Mississippi family to come together and move on,” Reeves said at a ceremony at which he signed the measure. “A flag is a symbol of our past, our present and our future. For those reasons, we need a new symbol.” Reeves’s signature came two days after Mississippi lawmakers, facing a nationwide campaign for racial justice, passed the measure removing the state’s flag and calling for a replacement.
4. 2020 Election: Hundreds of George W. Bush administration officials to Endorse Joe Biden In Coming Weeks
Hundreds of officials who worked for former Republican President George W. Bush as a July 1 are set to endorse Democratic Presidential nominee, Joe Biden, people involved in the effort said, the latest Republican-led group coming out to oppose the re-election of Donald Trump. The officials, who include Cabinet secretaries and other senior members of the Bush administration, have formed a political action committee, 43 Alumni for Biden, to support former Vice President Joe Biden as opposed to President Donald Trump. The Super PAC will launch on July 1 with a website and Facebook page, they said. It plans to release “testimonial videos” praising Biden from high-profile Republicans and will hold get-out-the-vote efforts in the most competitive states.
