The Senate moves closer to acquitting President Trump, NAFTA is officially CANCELED, and Trump unveils his Middle East peace plan between the Israelis and Palestinians. Here’s everything you missed for the week of Jan. 27 to Feb. 3, 2020.
The Senate voted against having witnesses in Trump’s impeachment trial on Friday, Jan. 31, putting the process closer to an end.
The Senate voted 51-49, blocking witnesses from testifying in the trial, with Sen. Lamar Alexander being the nail in the coffin in voting “no.” Sens. Susan Collins and Mitt Romney voted “yes.” The Senate will move to vote to acquit Trump on Wednesday, the day after Trump delivers his State of the Union address.
Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to mourn the death of NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement.
On Wednesday, Jan. 29, Trump signed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, better known as the USMCA trade deal, at the White House. Despite the House and Senate dealing with a polarized impeachment case, the USMCA passed both chambers with bipartisan support.
“Today, we finally end the NAFTA nightmare,” Trump said. “This is something we really put our hearts into. It is probably the main reason why I chose to live this crazy life.”
Finally, the White House announced its Middle East peace plan between the Israelis and the Palestinians, proposing a two-state solution where a Palestinian state would be formed with its capital in east Jerusalem in exchange for the recognition of major Jewish settlements in the West Bank. The plan also includes a four-year freeze on Israeli settlement construction.
Trump said that if the Palestinian Authority accepts the deal, the U.S. will inject $50 billion into its economy. “There are many countries that want to partake in this. The Palestinian poverty rate will be cut in half, and their GDP will double and triple.”
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas preemptively rejected the deal, calling Trump a “dog.”
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