Elections
DC Mayor mobilizes National Guard ahead of protests against Jan. 6 electoral vote certification
Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) on Monday announced that she’s mobilizing about a hundred D.C. National Guard troops to help manage the thousands of Trump supporters expecting to flood the nation’s capital in the next few days to protest Congress on Wednesday certifying the states’ Electoral College votes cast back on December 14.
The Pentagon on Monday subsequently approved Bowser’s request, a defense official told CNN.
A U.S. defense official told the Associated Press that Bowser put in a request on New Year’s Eve to have Guard members on the streets from January 5 to 7, in order to help with the protests. The official reportedly said the D.C. National Guard troops will be used for traffic control and other assistance but they will not be armed or wearing body armor.
During her Monday press conference, she stated that the troops will be unarmed but will be expected to assist Metro Police in arresting individuals openly carrying firearms.
“We will not allow people to incite violence, intimidate residents or cause destruction in our city,” Bowser said, then warning DC residents to avoid downtown and adding that she is thinking about issuing a curfew for Tuesday and Wednesday.
A spokesman for the D.C. National Guard confirmed troops’ involvement to The Daily Caller in a statement indicating more details would be released later in the day.
“The District of Columbia National Guard will provide support to the city during demonstrations this week,” the statement reads. “We will provide more information about our support later today.”
Despite the Electoral College on December 14 declaring President-elect Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 election, President Donald Trump refuses to concede and routinely has claimed that the election was “rigged” and “stolen” from him, alleging widespread election fraud.
11 GOP senators have stated they will object to the certification of the electoral votes on Wednesday along with some members of the House. Despite this, an overwhelming amount of experts have called this effort to overturn the election results a longshot with little to no chance of succeeding.
Trump has repeatedly urged his supporters to assemble in the nation’s capitol ahead of Wednesday’s certification.
Back in November, two weekends after Election Day, many Trump supporters converged on Washington in a march against what they saw as a fraud-riddled election. Counter protests from left-wing groups challenged them, resulting in violent clashes breaking out with members of Antifa.
During this summer’s George Floyd protests, which resulted in intense violence and property damage in the city, Bowser did not call in the National Guard. Trump, however, going against Bowser’s wishes, controversially called in the Guard. The president faced intense criticism for the military’s crowd control tactics used against protesters and rioters.
You can follow Douglas Braff on Twitter @Douglas_P_Braff.
Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a longtime supporter of the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, is now acknowledging the unintended consequences of the healthcare legislation, particularly its impact on industry consolidation and rising healthcare prices.
Warren, who has been a vocal proponent of Obamacare, has recently had what the Wall Street Journal reported as an “epiphany” regarding the consequences of the healthcare law. In a letter addressed to the Health and Human Services Department inspector general, Warren, along with Senator Mike Braun of Indiana, expressed concerns about vertically-integrated healthcare companies potentially increasing prescription drug costs and evading federal regulations.
According to reports from Fox News, the bipartisan letter highlighted issues with the nation’s largest health insurers allegedly bypassing Obamacare’s medical loss ratio (MLR). According to Warren, these insurers, through vertical integration, have manipulated the system, leading to “sky-high prescription drug costs and excessive corporate profits.”
The senators detailed how conglomerates, like UnitedHealth Group, with ownership across various healthcare sectors, could inflate medical payments to pharmacies and, by realizing those payments on the pharmacy side, appear to comply with MLR requirements while retaining more profits.
Moreover, despite the Democrats’ argument that the MLR would benefit patients, it has incentivized insurers to merge with or acquire pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), retail and specialty pharmacies, and healthcare providers. This, in turn, has made healthcare spending less transparent, as insurers can allegedly shift profits to their affiliates by increasing reimbursements.
Warren, who has consistently voted against Obamacare repeal efforts, notably advocated for a “Medicare for All” proposal during her 2020 presidential campaign. Despite her prior support for the healthcare law, Warren’s recent concerns about its unintended consequences have raised questions about the long-term effects of Obamacare and its impact on the healthcare industry.
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