President Joe Biden does not have the authority to force Democrats to back down on pursuing the second impeachment of Donald Trump, according to US Studies Centre CEO Simon Jackman.
“What he (Biden) has got though is I think a reasonable amount of power with respect to Democratic senators to how long the trial goes,” Mr Jackman told Sky News.
“The Senate itself governs the proceedings of the trial now that they’re constitutionally required to have in the Senate.
“They’re going ahead with this trial, I think it’s going to be very brief.”
After years of navigating the Trump relationship, the government now needs to move on from the most divisive US president in history.
Australia wants to convince the incoming Democratic administration to stay engaged in the Indo-Pacific region and keep a check on a rising China.
While Biden will continue with much of the Trump administration’s agenda for the region, Australia is alive to the risk that the US could – down the track – trade off its geo-strategic goals for other priorities, such as more ambitious action on climate change.
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What’s at stake?
For a number of years, Australia and its allies – particularly Japan and more recently India – have been pursuing an Indo-Pacific strategy to deal with a more assertive Beijing.
US Studies Centre CEO Simon Jackman says there is now a “very hard choice” looming for a lot of Republicans as their support for President Donald Trump is brought into question.
It comes as calls led by Senior Democrats for the impeachment of Trump have increased following the violent storming of the Capitol building last week.
Several top Republicans have now turned on the president, with Congresswoman Liz Cheney saying she will vote to impeach him, and Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnel saying he is pleased there is movement towards his impeachment.
“Republicans, one by one, are landing on this question of whether to continue to support President Trump in these dying days of his presidency,” Mr Jackman told Sky News.
He spoke of the Senior Republicans who have expressed support of the impeachment, saying it leaves a “very, very hard choice” looming for House and Senate Republicans.
“It’s a very dynamic situation in Washington at the moment.”
Donald Trump is a political liability for the Republican Party07/01/2021|7min
US Studies Centre CEO Simon Jackman says President Donald Trump is a “political liability for the Republican Party” after four people died amid riots on Capitol Hill.
“Will we see that gold standard of what it means to be a democracy and that is the peaceful transition of power to the election winner and it hasn’t been that peaceful today,” Mr Jackman told Sky News.
“There’s going to be a transition but there’s a question of how peaceful it’s going to be and that’s largely still up to him (Trump).”
Telstra targets gamers in Up Your Game campaign for gaming product
December 18, 2020 4:16
Telstra’s new Up Your Game campaign has launched, promoting the telco’s first branded gaming product Telstra Game Optimiser, designed to give gamers on the network an edge.
The campaign celebrates the unique rituals of gamers across Australia, and follows Telstra research that found 40% of gamers have a pre-game ritual with 73% believing it helps their performances.
The Up Your Game campaign features rituals submitted by gamers, and demonstrated by real games – Grace Watkins (@iamfallfromgrace), Ryan Pearson (@rhapsodyplays) and Terence Ignatius (@terenceignatius).
It focuses on how these rituals align with the use of the Telstra Game Optimiser product, which allows games to prioritise gaming traffic and reduce ping.