DOUG COLLINS

"Outnumbered" panelists sounded off on the "noisy extremists online" who attempted to cancel Luke Bryan for bringing Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis onstage.

Georgia's Republican Party once relied on votes in Atlanta's close-in suburbs, but today the GOP increasingly relies on the mountains of north Georgia for its votes.

Gene Shue, a two-time NBA Coach of the Year who won 784 games with the Bullets, 76ers and Clippers, has died.

"If you already made the decision ... then why are you even here?" Trump asked Kemp regarding his decision to tap Loeffler for the upper chamber.

The rewards of an early Donald Trump endorsement will be on display Saturday in Georgia.

The rewards of an early Donald Trump endorsement were on display Saturday evening in Georgia.

The divisions among Georgia Republicans after the 2020 election are being laid bare at the party's annual convention.

Kansas City police said they were following a lead in Friday’s double homicide when they encountered an armed suspect.

Cheney came under fire for the seconds-long exchange as Biden walked into the House chamber for his congressional address on Wednesday.

Adnan Abidi via ReutersMore than 350 scientists in India have signed a petition begging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to publicly release crucial COVID-19 data in a desperate attempt to mitigate the spread and predict the next surge.Some fear that Modi’s desire to keep such vital information on variants, tests carried out, recovered patients, and vaccine efficacy secret suggests that the 18.7 million cases reported and 208,330 deaths might be a radical understatement of the scale of the problem.India logged an astonishing 386,452 new cases Friday as fresh appeals for more space and firewood for cremations compounded the lack of hospital beds and oxygen. The petition asks Modi to release “granular” data, the Associated Press reports. That data could be used to help mitigate future surges to better prepare with hospital beds, oxygen, and even intensive care units. Without sufficient data, scientists are unable to do anything but stand by and watch the situation get worse.The appeal also blames Modi’s drive to make India self-reliant by importing medical raw materials rather than full vaccines and supplies, calling his government’s actions an obstacle. “Such restrictions, at this time, only serve to impede our ability to deal with COVID-19,” the appeal says, according to the AP. India’s army chief M.M. Naravane has also offered the use of military hospitals to help take pressure off public facilities, telling desperate families to go to nearby bases to ask for help in a move that Modi originally resisted.Starting Saturday, all Indian citizens over 18 will eligible for a vaccine where they are available. Health Minister Harash Vardhan said aid sent by 40 countries has started to take some pressure off the collapsed health system. On Friday, the first of the $100 million worth of supplies from the U.S. arrived, including a first shipment of the pledged 1,000 oxygen cylinders, 15 million N95 masks, and 1 million rapid antigen tests. Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

Former Republican U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, a favorite of former President Donald Trump, says he doesn’t plan to run for governor or U.S. Senate in Georgia in 2022.

Republicans in Georgia are calling for party unity to avoid more losses to Democrats in 2022.

Former Georgia lawmaker Vernon Jones says he will run against incumbent Georgia governor Brian Kemp in the Republican primary.

Both men say they support Georgia Republicans' efforts to enact an ID requirement for absentee voting that would do away with the state's signature matching system, which Trump heavily attacked. As Trump disputed Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia, Raffensperger argued the election was accurate and fair. A recorded conversation between Trump and Raffensperger leaked to media, allowing the public to hear Trump pressure Raffensperger and his office to “find 11,000-plus votes” to reverse Biden’s win. The House version, which passed Monday on a party-line vote, would require a photo ID for absentee voting and limit the number of weekend days counties can schedule early voting, among many other changes. The Senate bill would limit absentee voting to just seniors, people with disabilities and people who’ll be out of town.

But as the Senate prepares for an impeachment trial for Trump's incitement of the riot, few seem willing to hold the former president accountable. “The political winds within the Republican Party have blown in the opposite direction,” said Ralph Reed, chair of the Faith and Freedom Coalition and a Trump ally. After Michigan Rep. Peter Meijer backed impeachment, Republican Tom Norton announced a primary challenge. “We’re getting ready for an impeachment trial — that’s really the focus,” said Trump adviser Jason Miller. And that his political activism or whatever role he would play going forward would be with the Republican Party, not as a third party,” Cramer said.

In a state long dominated by Republicans, Democrats won Georgia’s electoral votes for president in November and two U.S. Senate seats in runoff elections Tuesday, defeating Kemp's hand-picked Senate appointee. And the defeats of both Loeffler and fellow Republican David Perdue handed control of the U.S. Senate to Democrats. Some Republicans blame Trump and his false claims of election fraud for hurting GOP turnout in the the Senate runoffs. “I’ll be here in about a year and a half, campaigning against your governor,” Trump said. “I guarantee it.”The strain on Kemp was on display Tuesday when the governor attended an election-night event for the GOP Senate candidates before their defeats were sealed.

Control of the Senate comes down to today's runoff elections in Georgia for the state's two Senate seats. How to watch the Georgia Senate runoff resultsWhat: Georgia Senate runoff electionsDate: Tuesday, January 5Polls close: 7 p.m. Nearly 3 million votes were cast early in the runoff, with 2 million of those early in-person votes and nearly 1 million absentee. Mr. Trump will hold a rally in Dalton, Georgia, on Monday, January 4, the eve of the election. Vice President Mike Pence will also be in Georgia on Monday at Georgia Faith Community Call to Action at a church in Milner, Georgia.

Here are some big questions as the 2020 election cycle finally nears a close:DOES TRUMP HELP OR HURT HIS PARTY? While Biden nipped Trump, Perdue led Ossoff by about 88,000 votes in November, finishing just short of the outright majority required to avoid a runoff. Perdue was within a few thousand votes of Trump, leaving Ossoff about 100,000 votes behind Biden’s pace. About 115,000 Senate votes in the Perdue-Ossoff contest went to a Libertarian. Warnock and Ossoff talk often of a “new Georgia” as they concentrate efforts around Atlanta and the state’s mid-size cities.

Control of the Senate comes down to January 5, when Georgia will hold runoff elections for the state's two Senate seats. How to watch the Georgia Senate runoff resultsWhat: Georgia Senate runoff electionsDate: Tuesday, January 5Polls close: 7 p.m. Nearly 3 million votes were cast early in the runoff, with 2 million of those early in-person votes and nearly 1 million absentee. Mr. Trump will hold a rally in Dalton, Georgia, on Monday, January 4, the eve of the election. Vice President Mike Pence will also be in Georgia on Monday at Georgia Faith Community Call to Action at a church in Milner, Georgia.

Control of the Senate comes down to January 5, when Georgia will hold runoff elections for the state's two Senate seats. How to watch the Georgia Senate runoff resultsWhat: Georgia Senate runoff electionsDate: Tuesday, January 5Polls close: 7 p.m. Nearly 3 million votes were cast early in the runoff, with 2 million of those early in-person votes and nearly 1 million absentee. Mr. Trump will hold a rally in Dalton, Georgia, on Monday, January 4, the eve of the election. Vice President Mike Pence will also be in Georgia on Monday at Georgia Faith Community Call to Action at a church in Milner, Georgia.

Perdue got about 88,000 more votes than Ossoff in the general election, but a Libertarian candidate’s 115,000 votes kept him from topping 50%, which is required to win. Warnock got 1.6 million votes, while Loeffler got nearly 1.3 million and Republican U.S. Rep. Doug Collins placed third with nearly a million votes. No ballots, including absentee ballots received in advance of Election Day, can be counted until the polls close. Second, Republican voters have been more likely to vote in person, either on Election Day or during the early voting period. In November, more than 5 percent of Georgia’s votes were counted after noon on the day after Election Day.

The president has spread unfounded assertions of voter fraud and blasted Georgia Republican officials, including Gov. Democrats are fine with the GOP senators' decision to run as Trump Republicans and use exaggerated attacks. But the early vote already has set a statewide Georgia runoff turnout record. McNeely, the former state GOP leader, lamented that even if Perdue and Loeffler win, their campaigns move Georgia further away from a more centrist tradition. But he rose through the Georgia General Assembly in an era when Democrats dominated the state.

The president has spread unfounded assertions of voter fraud and blasted Georgia Republican officials, including Gov. Democrats are fine with the GOP senators' decision to run as Trump Republicans and use exaggerated attacks. But the early vote already has set a statewide Georgia runoff turnout record. McNeely, the former state GOP leader, lamented that even if Perdue and Loeffler win, their campaigns move Georgia further away from a more centrist tradition. But he rose through the Georgia General Assembly in an era when Democrats dominated the state.

That means everything from individual voter contacts urging early voting, which ends Thursday, to last-minute campaign stops from national headliners trying to boost Election Day turnout. Runoff elections historically draw a much lower turnout than general elections, and in Georgia they have favored Republican candidates in the last decade or so. In-person early voting ends statewide Thursday, though some counties observe New Year's Eve as a holiday so Wednesday will be their last day. Perdue and Loeffler both failed to win a majority of votes in the general election last month, forcing the runoffs. In the final days before the election, Democrats need to work on turning out Latino and Asian American voters, Fraga said.

In Georgia's second runoff election, Republican U.S. Sen David Perdue started with an even wider lead, having won 88,000 more votes in November than Democrat Jon Ossoff. Through Wednesday, nearly 2.1 million voters had cast ballots, roughly on pace with the Nov. 3 general election. Miles Coleman of the University of Virginia Center for Politics said the joint effort has helped Warnock wrap up Democratic voters. Henderson also frets that Loeffler has never been to his county, so far from Atlanta that many watch out-of-state television. “The Democrats have really struggled to turn out Black voters in rural parts of the state," Coleman said.

Brian Kemp in December last year was widely seen as a way for the Georgia GOP to appeal to moderate suburban women. Or would she heed the plea for bipartisanship made in a farewell speech by her predecessor, retired Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson? Critics say Loeffler took a hard-right turn once she drew a challenge from staunch Trump ally and fellow Republican Doug Collins. Loeffler's campaign did not make her available for an interview and did not respond to questions sent by email. Loeffler's connection to the company poses potentially deep conflicts of interest on Senate matters dealing with the regulation of financial markets.

Vice President Mike Pence speaks during a briefing on COVID-19 at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Friday, Dec. 4, 2020, in Atlanta. There have even been suggestions from some Trump allies that conservative voters should sit out the Jan. 5 Senate runoffs in protest, a notion Pence took head on. Pence, as he did two weeks ago when campaigning with the Georgia senators, tried to strike a balance. But this time, Pence's message comes as Georgia completes yet another recount of presidential ballots and in the wake of Trump escalating his attacks on Georgia Republicans. As Pence arrived in the state, Georgia officials were in the final stages of a third count requested by Trump’s campaign.

The deadline for the counties to complete the audit was 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, ahead of the Friday deadline for state certification. Because of the close results, he said, a full hand recount would be needed to complete the audit. The actual number of rejected ballots was about 350% higher, but that matched the overall increase in absentee ballots, the release says. Two years ago, 454 absentee ballots were rejected out of 284,393. The Associated Press has not declared a winner in the presidential race in Georgia, where Biden led Trump by 0.3 percentage points.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger speaks during a news conference on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020, in Atlanta. Georgia election officials have announced an audit of presidential election results that will trigger a full hand recount. “The secretary of state has failed to deliver honest and transparent elections,” GOP Sens. After the Trump campaign asked for a hand recount of all 5 million votes cast in Georgia, Raffensperger chose the presidential election for an audit, which Georgia law now requires for one statewide race each election cycle. Not shying away from the fact that he's a Republican, Raffensperger has said publicly that he wished Trump had won.

This combination of photos shows Democratic candidate for Senate Jon Ossoff, left, on Nov. 10, 2020, and Republican candidate for Senate Sen. David Perdue on Nov. 2, 2020, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)ATLANTA – President Donald Trump won’t be on the ballot in January when Georgia voters settle two Senate runoffs that will determine control of the U.S. Senate. The two Senate contests offer an early measure of Trump’s lasting political imprint and whether both parties can sustain momentum in the post-Trump era. For now, both the incumbents and their Democratic rivals are largely avoiding direct mention of Trump, instead focusing on Senate control. Republicans have dominated statewide runoffs in Georgia recently, proving more adept at returning their core supporters to the polls.

ATLANTA – As Georgia counties prepare for a hand tally of the presidential race, the state's top elections official planned to quarantine after his wife tested positive for the coronavirus, his office said Thursday. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s wife, Tricia, tested positive on Thursday, the deputy secretary of state, Jordan Fuchs, told The Associated Press. An audit of one race is required by law but it's up to the secretary of state to choose the race. Sterling emphatically denied that the selection of the presidential race and subsequent decision to do a full hand count was the result of pressure from the president. Doing a hand count of the nearly 5 million votes cast in Georgia during the Nov. 3 election is a massive task.

Georgia Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Jon Ossoff rallies supporters for a run-off against Republican candidate Sen. David Perdue, as they meet in Grant Park, Friday, Nov. 6, 2020, in Atlanta. But for Democrats, it’s seemingly a more piecemeal, voter-by-voter approach, while Republicans are pushing a broad branding message through mass media. Republicans need one of the Georgia seats for a majority. Democrats must win both to yield a 50-50 Senate, with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris then holding the tie-breaking vote. “Runoffs favor strong, well-organized campaigns,” Ossoff campaign manager Ellen Foster told The Associated Press, explaining Democrats' tactical emphasis beyond their public events.

Loeffler, appointed after Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson announced his retirement last year, trailed Warnock in an all-party primary to finish out the final two years of a six-year term. Still, the GOP needs at least one of the Georgia seats to command a majority in January. In a 50-50 Senate, Democrats would have the tie-breaking vote in Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. “But all socialists are Democrats.”Rubio alluded to failed presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, an independent who calls himself a democratic socialist and caucuses with Senate Democrats. Their bet is that Georgia, long a GOP stronghold before Biden’s performance in the presidential race, follows the same path.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger speaks during a news conference on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020, in Atlanta. Georgia election officials have announced an audit of presidential election results that will trigger a full hand recount. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said at a news conference that the presidential race makes the most sense. Georgians cast nearly 5 million votes in the presidential race and counties have until Friday to certify their results. In addition to the audit of the presidential race, Raffensperger announced that he's consolidating runoff elections.

ATLANTA – Some Republicans renewed their attacks Monday on Democrat Joe Biden's lead over President Donald Trump in Georgia, with U.S. Sens. Perdue and Loeffler offered no evidence and gave no specific examples of illegal votes or fraud, and their campaigns did not respond to requests for further comment. “Does it rise to the numbers or margin necessary to change the outcome to where President Trump is given Georgia’s electoral votes? "He has failed the people of Georgia, and he should step down immediately.”Other Republicans have been more cautious, with Gov. “We must count every legal vote and cast out every illegal vote in the state of Georgia,” Sonny Perdue said.

Abrams, the onetime candidate for Georgia governor who has become perhaps the nation's leading voice on voting rights, is being credited for paving those inroads. “There’s a lot of work that’s gone into this, but Stacey really is the architect of what’s been built in Georgia,” said Dubose Porter, the former Georgia Democratic Party chairman and an Abrams mentor. The 2018 campaign marked a notable shift in Georgia Democrats’ overall approach. They’d do it by reshaping the electorate, by exciting the expanding universe of potentially Democratic voters: the youngest native white Georgians; whites from beyond Georgia; Black voters who cast ballots sporadically; Black voters moving to Georgia from other regions; and a growing Latino and Asian-American population. “We’ll take on Antifa, Black Lives Matter, Fair Fight, Stacey Abrams and all of them.”Trump himself was an accelerating variable in Georgia’s shift, pushing some white suburbanites toward Democrats.

ATLANTA – President Donald Trump’s campaign team is slated to speak in Atlanta at 5 p.m. Thursday central time. Donald J. Trump Jr., Rep. Doug Collins, Georgia State Rep. Vernon Jones, and Georgia Republican National Committeewoman Ginger Howard will be in attendance, according to CNN. Democrat Joe Biden is urging patience, while President Trump is pursuing legal options, insisting the processing of ballots should be stopped. Biden appears to be pushing closer to winning the presidency, while Trump’s path to reelection has become very narrow though still possible. Trump needs victories in all four of the remaining battlegrounds: Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia and Nevada.

Kelly Loeffler, Raphael Warnock, Doug Collins, candidates for Georgia Senate Reuters; Getty ImagesThe hotly contested Georgia special election is projected to go to a January runoff between Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler and Ebenezer Baptist Church Pastor Raphael Warnock, NBC New projected. Loeffler, who was appointed to the seat late last year, had fought fiercely with Rep. Doug Collins for dominance on the Republican side of the special election. "I just called @kloeffler and congratulated her on making the runoff," Collins tweeted. The special election pitted several candidates against each other to replace Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson, who retired last year because of health challenges. On the Republican side, Loeffler faced a tough reelection challenge from Collins, a fierce supporter of President Donald Trump.

Republican Senate candidate Sen. Mitch McConnell, second from right, and his wife, Elaine Chao, right, look on as aides show him the election results in Louisville, Ky., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)WASHINGTON – Hopes fading for Senate control, Democrats had a disappointing election night as Republicans swatted down an onslaught of challengers and fought to retain their fragile majority. Democrats contested seats from New England to the Deep South and the Midwest to the Mountain West, reaching deep into GOP strongholds. The Democrats' gains were in Colorado and Arizona, where former astronaut Mark Kelly beat GOP incumbent Martha McSally. Republican Cynthia Lummis, the former congresswoman from Wyoming, won the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Mike Enzi.

Loeffler smiled and nodded as Marjorie Taylor Greene praised her as “the most conservative Republican" running in Georgia's multi-candidate special election for the U.S. Senate seat Loeffler was appointed to 10 months ago. Loeffler was appointed to the Senate on the hope that she would help the GOP hold on to moderates — especially suburban women — uncomfortable with the party’s right turn under President Donald Trump. Loeffler spokeswoman Caitlin O’Dea said Loeffler was not available to be interviewed for this story and declined to answer questions. “Loeffler and Collins are essentially running in a primary within a special election,” said Brian Robinson, a Republican strategist in Georgia. “Whoever emerges between Collins and Loeffler will then pivot the next day to a general election message and they’ll be talking about different topics,” Robinson said.

WASHINGTON --- Former President Barack Obama released his second and final slate of 2020 election endorsements on Friday, backing a total of 111 Democrats in state legislature and congressional elections across 21 states. Among his endorsements are seven Democrats running for the U.S. Senate, including several in this year's most competitive races, and 29 House candidates. Ralph Warnock in the two Georgia Senate races. The result is typically a runoff between the top two candidates, and in Georgia this would occur in January. Former gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams is one of several prominent Democrats in Georgia who are pressuring Lieberman to exit the race.

The protesters began to chant Black lives matter! after one of them shouted questions critical of Loeffler's description of Black Lives Matter. Loeffler's tangle with Black Lives Matter had already made headlines last month in connection with her co-ownership of the WNBA's Atlanta Dream. The last words of Loeffler's never-completed speech to about 60 people discussed her brush with Black Lives Matter, with her saying I had to draw the line." When we're talking about Black Lives Matter, were not talking about some Marxist organization. Like we said, were talking about Black lives, like real Black Lives.

File- In this Wednesday, June 17, 2020 file photo, Nikita Gleen, raises his hand towards the sky near a Wendy's restaurant, in Atlanta. The Guard troops will provide support at sites including the Capitol and governors mansion, freeing up state law enforcement resources to patrol other areas, according to a statement from Kemp's office. There was no visible presence of Guard troops at either site Tuesday morning. His choice to deploy National Guard troops for todays selfish purpose is outrageous and will endanger lives, she said in a statement. It happened near the Wendys restaurant where a Black man, Rayshard Brooks, was killed by a white police officer June 12.

FILE - In this July 17, 2019, file photo, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms speaks during a Senate Democrats' Special Committee on the Climate Crisis on Capitol Hill in Washington. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms invoked that history in a passionate and deeply personal plea for protesters to go home. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms invoked that history in a passionate and deeply personal plea for protesters to go home. When Dr. King was assassinated, we didn't do this to our city, Bottoms said Friday night. The 50-year-old Bottoms was elected mayor in 2017 and previously served on the City Council.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Representative Doug Collins said on Monday he was self-quarantining after coming in contact with a person who tested positive for coronavirus at a conference in Maryland last month. This afternoon, I was notified by CPAC that they discovered a photo of myself and the patient who has tested positive for #COVID19, Collins, a Georgia Republican, said on Twitter, referring to the Conservative Political Action Conference. While I am not experiencing any symptoms, I have decided to self-quarantine out of an abundance of caution, he said.

The White House said later Monday that Trump had not been tested for coronavirus. "President Trump remains in excellent health, and his physician will continue to closely monitor him." Khan told CNBC that people need to self-quarantine if they have "direct contact with a confirmed infected person, not contact with a contact." Gaetz has been tested for the virus "and expects results soon," according to his tweets. President Donald Trump greets Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., as he arrives on Air Force One Friday, March 6, 2020, at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Ga. Alex Brandon | AP

Khubani explained to the president how counterfeit products coming from China and sold on Amazon are destroying his business. Khubani's company, a New Jersey-based firm called Telebrands which sells products through television marketing, is one of many small businesses struggling to fend off counterfeits online. A week later, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at stopping the sale of counterfeit products from abroad sold online to U.S. consumers. In 2018, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials seized a shipment of 300 counterfeit Nite Ize accessories that had been sold through Amazon. Counterfeit Nite Ize products Nite IzeAnti-counterfeiting effortsAmazon launched new anti-counterfeiting initiatives last year, like Project Zero, which allows brands to remove fake listings on the marketplace.

Top Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee threatened to fracture a bipartisan investigation into Big Tech. Politico reported that Nadler did not call specifically to break up the tech companies, but instead was speaking broadly about changes necessary to tackle the issue of concentrated market power. "America's leaders should not punish tech companies simply because those companies have succeeded that will hurt consumers and stifle innovation. Our online ecosystem is thriving and breaking up large tech companies simply because of their size isn't the answer," they wrote. Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., chairman of the Antitrust Subcommittee, who is leading the investigation of Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple, has said he hopes the effort will remain bipartisan as it enters the legislative phase.

Collins and other Republicans alleged Democrats abruptly changed the schedule only to get more media attention during the day on Friday for the impeachment vote. But Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., said the impeachment vote was so important it should take place during daylight hours. If the articles pass the committee on Friday, the full House is expected to hold a floor vote on the impeachment articles, mostly likely on Wednesday, before lawmakers leave for their holiday break. The delay in the Judiciary Committee vote came after a day-long debate Thursday over the impeachment articles that Democrats introduced earlier this week. Throughout the day, Republicans reiterated their complaints that Democrats had not conducted a fair impeachment process.

The House Judiciary Committee voted to approve the articles of impeachment against President Trump Friday morning, after more than 14 hours of heated debate on Thursday. The articles will now move to the floor for a full House vote next week. For the third time in a little over a century and a half, the House Judiciary Committee has voted articles of impeachment against the president for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. However, a senior House Judiciary committee staffer argued to CBS News that a vote on Friday would be in the interest of greater transparency. "The Republicans House members were fantastic yesterday.

The White House has offered to scrap new tariffs set for Sunday and cut some existing duties, those sources also said. The U.S. government said on Friday morning that November retail sales rose just 0.2%, much less growth than had been expected. The landslide result, which proved even more decisive than pollsters had forecast, follows a bitterly-fought and divisive election campaign. At victory celebrations in central London, Johnson told supporters that the country will leave the EU on Jan. 31. Jose Luis Magana | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesThe House Judiciary Committee plans to vote on the impeachment of President Donald Trump on Friday at 10 a.m.

1 / 18 Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) speaks to reporters Friday after the House Judiciary Committee voted to approve two articles of impeachment. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) 4 / 18 House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) exits after delivering a brief statement to reporters after Fridays vote. (Matt McClain / Pool Photo ) 15 / 18 Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) speaks during a House Judiciary Committee markup of the articles of impeachment. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) 16 / 18 Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) speaks during a House Judiciary Committee markup of the articles of impeachment. (Andrew Harnik / Associated Press) 18 / 18 Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) during the House Judiciary Committee hearing.

Democrats plan to announce two articles of impeachment abuse of power and obstruction of Congress against President Donald Trump on Tuesday, multiple sources told NBC News on Monday night. They also laid out a case for obstruction of Congress by highlighting Trump's refusal to comply with congressional subpoenas in the impeachment inquiry. "I can make the case for two articles," Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., who serves on the Judiciary Committee, said on MSNBC Monday night. In closing statements during the marathon Judiciary Committee hearing, Doug Collins of Georgia, the committee's ranking Republican, denounced what he called "an impeachment scam" and questioned Democrats' motives. Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee plan to meet early Tuesday to continue discussions.

REUTERS/Chris Aluka Berry(Reuters) - Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp on Wednesday named conservative businesswoman Kelly Loeffler as the states next U.S. senator, picking her over U.S. President Donald Trumps preferred choice, Republican Representative Doug Collins. Loeffler, a self-described political outsider will replace Senator Johnny Isakson, who will retire at the end of the month. We took an unconventional approach to picking senator Isaksons replacement, Kemp told a news conference. Kemp likened Loeffler to the presidents daughter Ivanka and stressed her commitment to Trumps agenda in his appointment speech. Like our president, Kelly is ready to take on the status quo, the politically correct and the special interest, Kemp said.

Committee chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler (L) (D-NY) speaks while committee ranking member Rep. Doug Collins (R) (R-GA) looks up during an impeachment hearing where constitutional scholars testified before the House Judiciary Committee in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill December 4, 2019 in Washington, DC. Drew Angerer | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesThe House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday held its first and possibly its last public hearing as part of the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. Most politicos anticipate Trump being impeached in the Democrat-led House, but not removed by the Republican-controlled Senate. Here are the main takeaways from the hearing:Three witnesses said Trump committed impeachable offenses... Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., the committee's ranking Republican, fired back, labeling the entire impeachment probe a "partisan coup d'etat."

Defying President Donald Trump, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Wednesday tapped financial services executive Kelly Loeffler to fill the state's soon-to-be vacated Senate seat. Collins, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, has been a full-throated defender of the president during the House impeachment process led by Democrats. His appointment to the Senate could have aided Trump when proceedings move to that chamber. Conservative groups aligned with Trump, who also pushed for Collins' appointment, have been critical of Loeffler, regarding her as out-of-touch with GOP social issues.

Brian Kemp 's choice of Kelly Loeffler, a political newcomer, defies fellow Republicans who had pushed him to choose Rep. Doug Collins , one of Trump's staunchest defenders in Congress. Loeffler will fill the seat of retiring Sen. Johnny Isakson , who is stepping down because of health issues. The Senate seat will be up for grabs again in November 2020 in an open-to-all special election for the final two years of Isakson's term. A Loeffler victory in 2020 would make her the first woman elected to the Senate from Georgia. In September, Kemp took the unusual step of opening an online application process for the Isakson Senate seat and asked everyone from congressmen to ordinary Georgians to apply.

The Republican ranking member of the Judiciary Committee sent a letter to the Democratic committee chairman on Saturday requesting extra witnesses be added to the panel Wednesday at the committee's first impeachment hearing. Collins noted in his letter that the House Judiciary Committee called two panels, consisting of ten and nine experts each, during the 1998 impeachment inquiry against former President Bill Clinton. Collins hinted at the identity of one of the witnesses called by the Democrats on the committee, citing an article by Harvard Law Professor Laurence Tribe where Tribe called for Mr. Trump's impeachment in 2017. The White House is unlikely to send legal representation to the first impeachment hearing by the Judiciary Committee. The first day of hearings in the House Judiciary Committee, Mr. Trump is expected to be in London for the final day of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit.

GOP congressman: Senate Democrats need to "get to work" Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., says bills passed by the House of Representatives are "gathering" dust in the Senate.