Next Tuesday (8), Americans go to the polls for the midterm elections. At the federal level, the occupants of 60 of the 100 Senate seats and of all seats in the House of Representatives will be defined.
With high inflation in the United States, difficulties are expected for the Democratic Party, the legend of President Joe Biden. Today, the Senate is divided between Democrats and Republicans, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the vote in the event of a tie. In the House of Representatives, Democrats hold 220 seats and Republicans 220.
Next Tuesday’s result will interfere with a series of issues in the last two years of Biden’s administration, which have already generated great discussions since the Democrat arrived at the White House , at the beginning of 2021. Check out some of the main points that are at stake:
Abortion
In October, Biden said he will send a bill to Congress to legalize abortion nationally if the Democratic Party wins a Senate majority and maintains its advantage in the number of seats in the House in the midterm elections. .
The President promised to codify the understanding of Roe v. Wade, from 212, in which the country’s Supreme Court prevented US states from banning abortion before so-called viability – the minimum period of gestation for a fetus to survive outside the womb. uterus, currently estimated at about 24 weeks.
In In June, the court overturned that decision and several states governed by the Republican Party have implemented laws to prohibit or restrict abortion.
To pass bills in the US Congress, Biden needs 60 of the 100 votes in the Senate. Democrats advocate that this rule, called filibuster, not be invoked and votes on pro-abortion bills should be defined by a simple majority.
For its part On the other hand, Republicans are also considering national measures on abortion if they win in the midterms.
In September, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham introduced a proposal to ban abortion. abortion across the country after weeks gestation, but so far only nine of his Senate supporters have supported the idea.
This is because the opposition has avoided talking about abortion and is emphasizing economy in the campaign for the midterm elections.
In addition, many Republicans advocate stricter restrictions on abortion than the one contained in Graham’s proposal, while others prefer that regulation on the subject be done at the state level, as decided by the Supreme Court. this year. In any case, they would also have to deal with filibuster to pass any legislation in the Senate.
Investigations against Biden
To avenge the investigation against former President Donald Trump for the Capitol invasion, which took place in January of last year, Republicans plan to start investigations in Congress to wear down Biden if they win a majority. in the midterms.
Among the points they intend to investigate, are the aid paid by the federal government during the Covid pandemic-19, the president’s son Hunter Biden’s overseas business, and the FBI investigation into Trump, which looks into whether he pulled official documents from the White House when he left the presidency.
Migration
In addition to these matters, another One topic that could prompt Republicans to investigate Biden would be the Democratic president’s immigration policy, which the opposition says has caused an ongoing crisis. in the southern United States.
Republican governors have tried in recent months to draw attention to the issue, by taking unannounced immigrants to Democratic strongholds in the north of the country. .
In addition, the opposition plans to bar any measure by Biden on the matter in Congress. In an interview with Punchbowl News, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Republicans would oppose a proposal negotiated for years to offer more conditions for foreigners to obtain US citizenship or work visas in exchange for greater border security.
“I believe that Biden has destroyed our border too much. You can’t reconcile the two . You need to start fixing the border before dealing with [questão da] immigration,” he claimed.
Impeachment
Hunter Biden’s business abroad and migration are two points that lead Republicans to consider an impeachment request against Biden, but the measure is unlikely even if they emerge victorious in the midterms.
The House of Representatives can pass the impeachment of the president with a simple majority vote, but the Senate requires a two-thirds vote.
On Tuesday, of the 35 seats that will be contested in the upper house , 14 are currently occupied by Democrats, and 60 by Republicans. That is, even if the opposition wins all the seats in dispute (something extremely unlikely), it would reach at most 35 seats, three less than necessary to the impeachment of Biden.
Ukraine and public spending
) Republicans promise to make more federal spending more difficult if they win a majority, which includes US aid to Ukraine, which has now surpassed US$ 35 billions since Russian invasion in February and which has been supported by both parties.
In an interview with Punchbowl News, Kevin McCarthy said that the Republicans, however, will demand more criterion in military and financial support to the Ukrainians.
“I think the population [americana] will have to face a recession and will not want to send a check blank for Ukraine. […] And on top of that, there are things that [o governo Biden] is not doing internally. It’s not taking care of the border and people are starting to take that into account. Helping Ukraine is important, but at the same time it cannot be the only thing the government does and there cannot be a blank check”, he highlighted.
)A group of Democrats more to the left also asked Biden to reconsider aid to Ukraine as the only strategy to end the war in Eastern Europe and to open negotiations with Russia, but later backed down in the face of negative backlash.
Hunter Biden’s business abroad and migration are two points that lead Republicans to consider an impeachment request against Biden, but the measure is unlikely even if they emerge victorious in the midterms.
The House of Representatives can pass the impeachment of the president with a simple majority vote, but the Senate requires a two-thirds vote.
On Tuesday, of the 35 seats that will be contested in the upper house , 14 are currently occupied by Democrats, and 60 by Republicans. That is, even if the opposition wins all the seats in dispute (something extremely unlikely), it would reach at most 35 seats, three less than necessary to the impeachment of Biden.
Ukraine and public spending
) Republicans promise to make more federal spending more difficult if they win a majority, which includes US aid to Ukraine, which has now surpassed US$ 35 billions since Russian invasion in February and which has been supported by both parties.
In an interview with Punchbowl News, Kevin McCarthy said that the Republicans, however, will demand more criterion in military and financial support to the Ukrainians.
“I think the population [americana] will have to face a recession and will not want to send a check blank for Ukraine. […] And on top of that, there are things that [o governo Biden] is not doing internally. It’s not taking care of the border and people are starting to take that into account. Helping Ukraine is important, but at the same time it cannot be the only thing the government does and there cannot be a blank check”, he highlighted.
)A group of Democrats more to the left also asked Biden to reconsider aid to Ukraine as the only strategy to end the war in Eastern Europe and to open negotiations with Russia, but later backed down in the face of negative backlash.
