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Events in 2021 pertaining to politics and government in the United States.
Note: The following is a summary of key political issues in 2021.
NASA says that 2020 is tied with 2016 for the hottest year on record. [108]
President Joe Biden signed an executive order rejoining the Paris Agreement on climate change within hours of his inauguration on January 20, signalling that he intends to prioritize the issue. [109] He signed another order revoking the Keystone Pipeline and is expected to halt oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. [110]
President Biden revoked two Trump directives related to the 2020 census. One tried to determine the citizenship status of U.S. residents through administrative records, and the other sought to exclude undocumented immigrants from the numbers used for apportioning congressional seats among the states. [111]
Arizona became the fifteenth state to legalize recreational marijuana on January 22, 2021. Voters in New Jersey, South Dakota, and Montana also approved making possession of recreational marijuana legal last November. [112]
Advocates are expected to push for marijuana and drug reform at the federal level as well as reforms in bank laws that would make the business easier and safer in those areas that already allow the sale of marijuana. Democratic Senators Chuck Schumer (NY), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) have said they plan to introduce legislation removing marijuana from a federal list of prohibited drugs in 2021. [113]
Both Democrats and Republicans support major changes to election laws, but their perspectives and proposed solutions are diametrically opposite. Republicans want an investigation of irregularities in the 2020 elections and more restrictions on mail-in voting. [114] The Texas Legislature [115] Georgia General Assembly, North Carolina General Assembly, and other red-state legislatures have already begun pushing for tighter restrictions. [116] Democrats want national rules to make voting more uniform and accessible across the nation. They would mandate early voting and same-day registration along with other reforms. [117] Also, under HR-51, if passed, would allow 16 year olds to vote and members of congress to use campaign funds for personal use. Voters would not have to show ID to vote. [118]
China became increasingly aggressive militarily and on trade under the Trump administration. Secretary of State nominee Antony Blinken has made it clear that the U.S.-Chinese relation will be his most important challenge. He promised to address the issue from a position of strength. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also said China is a top priority. [119]
Biden White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that the United States would review its peace agreement with the Taliban to withdraw its remaining 2,500 soldiers from the War in Afghanistan by May. [120] President Biden intends to sign an executive order to review Forever Wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere. [119]
Tensions with Iran heat up on the anniversary of the Assassination of Qasem Soleimani on January 3. [121]
As the Yemeni Civil War rages, Mike Pompeo declared the Houthi movement a terrorist organization. President Biden suspended that for a month in January so the policy can be reviewed. If the designation sticks, international banking with Yemen is likely to halt, leading to a famine in a country where 80% of the people already face food insecurity. [122]
The Biden administration reversed Trump policies on Palestine–United States relations, restoring relations the country and promising aid. [123]
President Biden is expected to be tougher on Russia than Donald Trump was. Biden hopes to work with Russia on an extension of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START). [119]
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) went into effect on January 22, 2021, but critics note that no actual nuclear power has signed it. [124] The Biden administration is concerned about North Korea and weapons of mass destruction and is determined that Iran will not gain nuclear capability. The U.S. hopes for an extension of the New START agreement with Russia. [119] Russia agreed to discuss New START and the two countries exchanged documents after a Biden-Putin phone call on January 25. [125]
2021 begins with 346,000 pandemic-related deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). [126] Over 20 million people had been infected and 4.2 million have received the first vaccine dose by January 2, well behind the projected 20 million doses by the end of 2020. [127] Democrats plan to increase spending to support a more robust government effort to combat the virus and to provide economic support for individuals, government entities, small businesses, and schools. [128]
Among his first acts as president, Joe Biden halted construction of the border wall, [129] froze deportations of undocumented immigrants, and proposed comprehensive immigration reforms. [130] Republicans are expected to fight changes from Trump-era policies. [131]
Twenty states and 32 cities raised their minimum wage to $15/hour or more on January 1, and five states and 18 entitites are expected to follow suit later in 2021. The fight to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 promises stiff resistance from business interests. [132]
Fears of domestic terrorism outweigh foreign threats following the storming of the Capitol on January 6. [133] More than 20,000 National Guard troops were called upon to help provide security for the January 20 inauguration of President Biden, and although there were no significant incidents in Washington or state capitals, 5,000 remained for the Trump impeachment trial. [134] At least 135 suspect have been arrested and 400 identified as of January 26 in the attack. [135] DHS issued a terrorist advisory starting January 27. [136]
Kevin Owen McCarthy is an American politician who served as the 55th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from January to October 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. representative for California's 20th congressional district from 2007 until his resignation in 2023.
Ralph Warren Norman Jr. is an American real estate developer and politician who has served as the U.S. representative for South Carolina's 5th congressional district since 2017. His district includes most of the South Carolina side of the Charlotte metropolitan area, along with outer portions of the Upstate and Midlands. A member of the Republican Party, Norman served as the South Carolina state representative for the 48th district from 2005 to 2007 and from 2009 to 2017.
Steven David Daines is an American politician and former corporate executive serving as the senior United States senator from Montana since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Montana's at-large congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 to 2015.
William Gregory Steube is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 17th congressional district since 2019. His district is based in Sarasota. A member of the Republican Party, Steube served three terms in the Florida House of Representatives, representing the Sarasota-Manatee area from 2010 to 2016, as well as two years in the Florida Senate until 2018, representing Sarasota County and the western part of Charlotte County.
Hugh Thompson Rice Jr. is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for South Carolina's 7th congressional district from 2013 to 2023. The district serves most of the northeastern corner of the state and includes Myrtle Beach, the Grand Strand, Florence, Cheraw, and Darlington. A Republican, Rice was first elected in 2012 and was a member of the freshman class chosen to sit at the House Republican leadership table. Rice was reelected in 2014, defeating Democratic nominee Gloria Bromell Tinubu in a rematch of the 2012 election.
Daniel Milton Newhouse is an American politician and agricultural scientist serving as the U.S. representative for Washington's 4th congressional district. The district covers much of the central third of the state, including Yakima and the Tri-Cities. Before his election to Congress, Newhouse served as director of the Washington State Department of Agriculture and as a member of the Washington House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party.
The 117th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on January 3, 2021, during the final weeks of Donald Trump's first presidency and the first two years of Joe Biden's presidency and ended on January 3, 2023.
The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala Harris defeated the incumbent Republican president Donald Trump, and vice president Mike Pence. The election took place against the backdrop of the global COVID-19 pandemic and related recession. The election saw the highest voter turnout by percentage since 1900. Biden received more than 81 million votes, the most votes ever cast for a candidate in a U.S. presidential election.
The 2020 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic Party's nominee, former vice president Joe Biden, defeated incumbent Republican president Donald Trump in the presidential election. Despite losing seats in the House of Representatives, Democrats retained control of the House and gained control of the Senate. As a result, the Democrats obtained a government trifecta, the first time since the elections in 2008 that the party gained unified control of Congress and the presidency. With Trump losing his bid for re-election, he became the first president to have seen his party lose the presidency and control of both the House and the Senate since Herbert Hoover in 1932. This was the first time since 1980 that either chamber of Congress flipped partisan control in a presidential year, and the first time Democrats did so since 1948.
Michael Kent Braun is an American businessman and politician who is the governor-elect of Indiana. A member of the Republican Party, he has served as the junior United States senator from Indiana since 2019 and previously represented the 63rd district in the Indiana House of Representatives from 2014 to 2017. Braun was elected to the United States Senate in 2018, defeating Democratic incumbent Joe Donnelly. He was then elected governor in 2024, defeating Democratic nominee Jennifer McCormick and Libertarian nominee Donald Rainwater.
Rebecca Michelle "Mikie" Sherrill is an American politician, former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot, attorney, and former federal prosecutor serving as the U.S. representative for New Jersey's 11th congressional district since 2019. The district includes a swath of suburban and exurban areas west of New York City. A member of the Democratic Party, Sherrill was elected on November 6, 2018. She was reelected in 2020 by a slightly narrower margin and reelected in 2022 by a wide margin.
This section of the timeline of United States history includes major events from 2010 to the present.
The first impeachment of President Donald Trump occurred on December 18, 2019. On that date, the House of Representatives adopted two articles of impeachment against Trump: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. On February 5, 2020, the Senate voted to acquit Trump on both articles of impeachment.
Events in 2020 pertaining to politics and government in the United States.
This article outlines United States-related events which occurred in the year 2021.
The following is a timeline of the first presidency of Donald Trump during the fourth and last quarter of 2020 from October 1 to December 31, 2020 and the first 20 days of 2021 from January 1 to 20, 2021, when Trump left office and succeeded by Joe Biden. To navigate quarters, see timeline of the Donald Trump presidency.
The 46th and incumbent U.S. president Joe Biden has seen multiple efforts by some members of the Republican Party to impeach him. An impeachment inquiry into Biden was launched in September 2023, without a vote, by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who designated three House committees led by James Comer, chairman of House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. A number of prominent Republican lawmakers, along with Donald Trump and some of his political allies, have indicated the motivation behind efforts to impeach Biden is also driven by resentment over Trump's previous two impeachments.
Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, was impeached for the second time on January 13, 2021, one week before his term expired. It was the fourth impeachment of a U.S. president, and the second for Trump after his first impeachment in December 2019.
The second impeachment trial of Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, began on February 9, 2021, and concluded with his acquittal on February 13. Donald Trump had been impeached for the second time by the House of Representatives on January 13, 2021. The House adopted one article of impeachment against Trump: incitement of insurrection. He is the only U.S. president and only federal official to be impeached twice. He was impeached by the House seven days prior to the expiration of his term and the inauguration of Joe Biden. Because he left office before the trial, this was the first impeachment trial of a former president. The article of impeachment addressed Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results and stated that Trump incited the attack on the Capitol in Washington, D.C., while Congress was convened to count the electoral votes and certify the victory of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
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