The Government stays open and Charges brought upon the Mayor
Hello everyone and welcome back to another week of Politics Explained. We hope everyone is having a fantastic Thursday into Friday. This week we have lots of big news, including Congress passing a stop gap bill keeping the government running until mid December, New York City Mayor Eric Adams being charged with bribery and fraud, and Congress going into recess in preparation for the elections. Without further ado, let’s dive right in.
On Wednesday, the House and Senate passed a short term spending bill that will keep the government open until December 20th. House Speaker Mike Johnson had to get the help of the Democrats to pass this bill, as Republicans were still split over the spending and proof of citizenship* for voting legislation that former President Donald Trump wanted added (but was not included). The bill also gave the Secret Service an additional $231 million for operations to protect the presidential candidates. President Joe Biden signed the bill a day after it passed the House and Senate. The bill passed the Senate with 78 Senators agreeing and 341 House Members voting yea. After the vote, many lawmakers were eager to leave Washington to head back to their districts to campaign prior to Election Day. Congress is now out of session until November 12th, when Members will return to have leadership elections and orientation for new Members. Once Congress returns, they will need to hop right back on the horse to extend funding for the Federal government, as well as other must-pass legislation. This election year will be very impactful because it will decide not only control of the House and Senate but also the Presidency.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams was charged with bribery and fraud earlier this week. After being changed, Adams stated that he would stay in office and fight the charges. Federal prosecutors have indicted him for letting Turkish businesspeople and officials give him illegal campaign donations. The prosecution has stated that the action has been over a number of years and Adams has corrupt relations with rich overseas people. Many fellow Democrats have called on him to resign in light of these claims. This will be a very interesting ordeal during election season, so stay tuned for more!
*Definition of the Week (Citizenship): the position or status of being a citizen of a particular country
