An Update on Recent Events in Politics

President Donald J. Trump has been acquitted on both impeachment charges, which are abuse of power and obstruction to Congress. All except one Republican in the Senate voted in favor of the acquittal. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) voted against acquitting the President. South Dakota’s Legislature shut down a bill that was set to criminalize transgender youth health care on the 10th of this month. Catch up on all of the action here. 

On Wednesday, the rollercoaster of events that history books will call the ‘impeachment of Donald Trump’ finally concluded after a month filled with political sabotage. The Senate, which is composed of 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats and 2 Independent, needed to have over two thirds of the voters in favor for it to pass. 47 of the 100 Senators named Trump guilty of abuse of power and 53 of the 100 found Trump not guilty of obstruction of Congress. Donald Trump was found not guilty and was acquitted on both Article I and Article II, concluding the events that took place from the 18th of December to the 5th of this month.

Republican Senator of Utah, Mitt Romney, was the only Republican to vote Trump guilty of Article I, breeding a new potential grudge Republicans across America could hold against the Senator. “Were I to ignore the evidence that has been presented,” Romney argued, “and disregard what I believe my oath and the Constitution demands of me for the sake of a partisan end, it would, I fear, expose my character to history’s rebuke and the censure of my own conscience.” President Donald Trump has since then, fired several teasing remarks of criticism toward Romney. He joked with fellow Republican Gary Herbert, “How’s Mitt Romney? You keep him. We don’t want him.” 

South Dakota’s Legislature successfully killed a bill that would criminalize hormone therapy, gender confirmation surgery and other transgender health care provided for transgender youth under the age of 16. Libby Skarin, policy director of American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), like many others, opposed House Bill 1057 and labeled it unconstitutional. “Though supporters claimed House Bill 1057 was aimed at protecting vulnerable youth, it was clearly fueled by a fear and misunderstanding of transgender South Dakotans,” Skarin stated, “It’s time we stop these attacks and the very real harm they cause to transgender youth across our state. Let this be a signal to the South Dakota Legislature that discrimination against a marginalized group is a distraction from the needs of the state and hurts us all.”