The Daily - Bernie's Big Bet

Episode Date: January 17, 2020

The Obama coalition has become almost mythic within the Democratic Party for having united first-time voters, people of color and moderates to win the presidency in 2008. This year, Senator Bernie Sanders is betting that he can win with the support of young voters and people of color — but without the moderates.To do that, he’s counting on winning over and energizing the Latino vote. The ultimate test of whether he will be able to do that is in California, where Latinos are the single biggest nonwhite voting bloc. While young Latinos in California overwhelmingly support Mr. Sanders, to become the Democratic nominee, he will need the support of their parents and grandparents as well.Guests: Jennifer Medina, a national political correspondent who is covering the 2020 presidential campaign for The New York Times, traveled to California with Jessica Cheung and Monika Evstatieva, producers on “The Daily,” to speak with Latino voters. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.Background reading: Though Mr. Sanders is a 78-year-old white senator from Vermont, in California, some Latino supporters are calling him “Tío Bernie,” as if he were an uncle or a family friend.Mr. Sanders and Senator Elizabeth Warren, the two leading progressive candidates, sparred publicly in the last debate.

From The New York Times, I'm Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily. Today. We have the most votes and the most diverse coalition of Americans that we've seen in a long, long time. The Obama coalition has become almost mythic within the Democratic Party. There are young and old, rich and poor. For having united first-time voters, people of color, They are Black and white,

Latino and Asian and Native American, and moderates. They are Democrats from Des Moines and Independents from Concord, and yes, some Republicans from rural Nevada, to win the presidency. This year. We ended up winning more votes from young people.

Black and white and Latino and Asian American and Native American. More votes from young people than Trump and Clinton combined. Bernie Sanders is betting that he can win the presidency with young voters and people of color, but without the moderates to do that. This campaign is listening to our brothers and sisters in the Latino community. He's counting on winning over and energizing the Latino vote. And the ultimate test of whether he will be able to do that is in California,

where Latinos are the single biggest non-white voting bloc in the state. We're not only going to win this nationally, we're going to turn this state into a Bernie Sanders state so we can make the reforms we need. Young Latinos in California overwhelmingly support Sanders. But to become the Democratic nominee, he will need all Latinos. I call him Theo Bernie. Maybe to my goddaughter, his huelo. Maybe to some others, his brother.

My colleague Jennifer Medina went to California with The Daily's Jessica Chung and Monica Evstatieva to see how that effort is playing out. But he's my tío Bernie Sanders. It's Friday, January 17th. Okay, so Jenny, tell me about this reporting trip. Where did you go? So back in December,

we went to South L.A. to a working class neighborhood, mostly Black and Latino. And we went to this quiet block. Lots of little small houses, very neatly kept. It's beautiful. It smells like flowers. With

flowers in their front yard and citrus trees. Quite a lot of lemons. And it was a Saturday morning, people walking their dogs and hanging out, and the only noise really was the planes flying overhead to LAX. And why were you there?

So we were there for an event called Tamales for T.O. Bernie. T.O. as in uncle? T.O. as in uncle, which is sort of the affectionate way a lot of young Latinos have begun referring to Bernie Sanders. And it just sort of speaks to the intimacy and affection these young Latinos have for Sanders. So there's these little events all over California that are basically designed to get people who are already excited strategizing and figuring out how they can convince friends and family members and people they live around to be as excited as they are. What the Sanders campaign is really counting on is that these little events

will have a ripple effect. So say you get 20 people to show up, but each of those people will convince five other people to vote for Sanders, and those people will convince another five people to vote for Sanders and so on. So we get there and we see people taping up signs to the fence and sort of milling about. It's just a handful of people who are here so far. They're setting up folding tables and chairs and there's a little small blue tent and there's a lot of food. And are there tamales, as promised? There are indeed tamales.

There are big bags of tamales, steaming tamales, ready to be doled out to whoever comes. Alfonso. Alfonso, nice to meet you guys. So the organizer is Alfonso Ruiz, who is 28 and works in city government here in Los Angeles. Well, I live here, so this is my house. Oh!

This is my house. And Alfonso immediately seems a little bit nervous. Have you ever hosted a campaign event before? Well, this is taking me my first time. What's up, Jimmy? Sorry, man. I did not know you were that famous, bro. As we're talking, people start to show up,

and everybody's a little bit confused why we're there with these big microphones talking to their friend. You were anti-Bernie a few years ago. told you I told you since 2016 bro he's gonna be president I was supporting him since day one yeah I just I believe in Bernie I've been following I was in I was involved with him in 2015 in the primary and now I'm here why did you um get involved you've been following him since 2015? 2005. 2005?

When he was the first independent in Congress. How old were you in 2005? I was like in high school. Okay. I was barely going into high school, but that's the moment when you had Iraq War, the Afghanistan War. I was tired of the Democratic Party. So Alfonso's been drawn to Sanders since 2005.

Yes. Alfonso really represents what I've heard from a lot of young Latinos here in LA, which is that they were really first drawn to Sanders over his stance on the Iraq War. So in 2005, you were against the Iraq War. Well, I started noticing there was no difference in between policymakers in terms of Democrats and Republicans, and they all like blindly voted for this war that at the end of the day, send a lot of working-class kids to war, a lot of South Central kids, a lot of kids from Boyle Heights, a lot of kids from that.

We have nothing else. Like, if you live here, if you've been around here in the early 2000s and late 90s, all we saw was drive-bys, shootings, and people being killed. And when we see the Democratic Party and Republican Party, there was basically no difference into what their policies were going on. So that's why at the end of the day, I feel like Bernie is talking above and beyond because he showed it from day one and worked from what he did in Burlington to what he voted in Congress at the time. So it really represents what got many

young Latinos first really excited about Sanders and explains what makes them so excited now. For Bernie, he goes straight at the issue of the core, which is at the end of the day is greed, corruption, and lack of funding for our neighborhoods. And he knows that because he grew up in Brooklyn. So, and there's a lot of similarities, like I said. And then I'll mention this. Yeah, he's a little güerrito, but... What, can you explain what you mean by a little güerito? He's white. But still, like, he's tiered.

Like, he knows what it is to grow up poor. He knows what it is. So that's why, like, I have faith. They identify with him. They really identify with him. What exactly do you make of that? They identify with him in spite of the you make of that? They identify with him in spite of the fact that he's many decades older, that he's from this East Coast state that

many of them have never been to. And they identify with him because of his immigrant roots. His family immigrated, and he's talked much more in recent times about his family coming from Europe to Brooklyn to escape persecution and anti-Semitism. And a lot of these young Latinos see in his immigration story, their immigration story, and feel really excited by that. So it's resonating. It's resonating, definitely. And it has really big consequences. It has had meaningful impact on the rest of the race, where it's drawing away from candidates you might expect Latinos to support. I'm really compelled by the thing that you said, which is like what compels you about Bernie is the immigrant story.

There's another presidential candidate who also embodies the American dream. So at the time we spoke to Alfonso, there actually was a liberal Latino in the race. Julian Castro. At the time we spoke to Alfonso, there actually was a liberal Latino in the race. Julian Castro. And I wonder why Bernie over another American Dream candidate. And who identifies as a Chicano, as a Latino. He does. It's hard because I think, like, yeah, it's, it's, it's. Do you feel, do you feel guilty about it?

No, I don't feel guilty. It's just more like, well. I'm just sensing some guilt in your voice. I think it's more like, if I had, if I had seen him more as politically out there as Bernie, in terms of the policy really, really out there, I think I would be supporting him. But it's just, in my mind, I'm considering him a little bit moderate. He's saying Castro just didn't speak to the things that I care about.

Right. Castro just wasn't out there enough for me. Castro wasn't loud enough early enough for me. And Castro doesn't represent the exact kind of policies or didn't represent the kind of policies I want to see strong enough and early enough. A lot of the Bernie Sanders young Latino supporters really like him because they see him as being passionate about the same things for decades and decades. There's actually like a sort of hobby, side hobby of watching these old Sanders tapes from the 1970s and 80s. And seeing how much they have not changed to now. And seeing just how consistent and how his message is still the same 30, 40 years later. So can you tell us just about,

I mean, I know it's called Tamales for T.O. Bernie, but tell us about the event. Like, why did you decide to host this and what are you hoping to do today? So for today, I'm trying to get all my friends that are already involved, see how we could collaborate, how we could talk about more ways to get more people involved in the neighborhood, specifically in these neighborhoods. Because what I did notice in 2015, when he first ran, I had never seen any of my friends in this block talk about presidential candidate.

But then people were talking. We would just sit around, have drinks right here in the house, play beer pong, and then talk about it after like, hey, who are you supporting? But I was more surprised of how much his message stuck to people in my neighborhood. The strategy is just to have this sort of casual conversation, the same kind of conversation that was happening in 2015 that had nothing to do with the official campaign. He's trying to replicate that now officially and bring a bunch of people together over food and talk about Sanders and then take it up a notch and talk about how can they convince people who aren't already into voting or into Senator Sanders specifically to do so. And why is that the approach? What do we need to know about the Latino vote in California to understand this strategy? So Latinos are the biggest non-white ethnic voting bloc in California, and they really could swing the election if they show up to vote. But historically, Latinos have had a much lower turnout, and the Latino vote is quite young

compared to average voters. So typically, presidential campaigns, or any campaign for that matter, have not necessarily catered to Latinos and certainly haven't gone into neighborhoods like South LA. So these people are really trying to figure out how they can convince people who are not super engaged, who might not even know that there's an election in March, and who are just more preoccupied with things like working two jobs and getting food on the table and just don't have time in their day-to-day lives to pay attention to politics. So Alfonso's dad, Maximo, comes home from his shift as a machinist. Maximo is 66 years old, and you could tell right away that he's really proud of his son

and really kind of happy that something's happening in his driveway. But he's also a little bit confused. Right. Again, the microphones. The microphones. Who do you, do you have a favorite in the Democratic primary? Biden. Biden. Biden.

Why? Why? I think he's doing better than Sanders, no? By Bernie Sanders. Why do you think he's better than Bernie Sanders? I'm not sure. So Alfonso's dad is not on the Sanders bandwagon. Definitely not.

He feels pretty committed to Biden. And you can hear it's just this sort of comfort level. It's almost more emotional than anything else. Biden is more on television. Yeah, that's what I thought. And then it comes from Obama, you know, vice president and everything. It's better. And he hasn't convinced you yet? Who? Your son. No. Biden is who he knows.

That's who he sees on TV. And he thinks of him as the vice president coming out of the Obama administration. And Maximo really represents what I hear a lot from older Latinos, which is they see that connection to the Obama administration as a really good thing. But among the younger set, they feel really disillusioned with the Obama administration. Why? They think of Obama as being deporter-in-chief, this nickname he earned because of the deportations that happened under his administration. So they see the Obama administration as something they want to move away from, not back to.

And that's what I'm saying. It's hard to convince other people because they know him. That's it. At the end of the day, voters just vote on people that they already know. So as we've been standing there talking, a small crowd has gathered. It's about 15 people.

Everybody's gotten their food, their coffee, and taken their plates and sat down at this table. All right. Hey, everybody. Hey, it's Mia. Alfonso walks over and starts to kick it off. If we could go around and say, just say your name and why you support Bernie. My name is Jaime. I've been a Bernie supporter since his first run. My name is Mia, and I've been supporting Bernie since 2016. Hi, I'm Julian. The reason I support Bernie is because he's by far the most genuine and trustworthy candidate out of anyone running. We take absolutely every opportunity we can to talk about Bernie.

So even if that means talking to a group of men or of people at a taco stand. I don't have any problem talking to anybody in the street, you know, to the person that sells tamales or the one that is selling nopales, to the homeless, you know, person. So wherever I'm at, if I'm in Uber or if I'm in Super Yod or wherever I'm at, I'm going to just try and start talking to someone about the presidential election. This is our community. We're not showing up to a meeting. They totally did not expect it.

And they said, who is Bernie Sanders? And so we're like, that's a great question. Let us tell you who he is. He's amazing. So they're basically comparing notes on how to pull off this strategy that you described. Right. And they're kind of talking about what works and sort of sharing victory stories. There's a lot of pride in people talking about

who they've managed to convince, including their own parents. Like, my dad is all about, like, self-responsibility, self-reliance, not relying on the government, not needing anything from anyone. They grew up in a different era, and they don't believe that everyone should have

quote-unquote a handout. And I tell him, you know, that's not someone giving you a handout. You have rights. And everyone should have equal access. And that's what we're fighting for. So this past April, he became a citizen. And he's going to vote for the first, for the first time in his whole life. He's going to vote for the first time in his whole life. He's going to vote for Bernie Sanders. His first vote is going to Bernie Sanders. And, like, that is, like, so powerful. I'm curious if Alfonso's dad, a Biden supporter, is hearing all of this since this is happening in his own driveway.

Alfonso's dad has kind of been standing there the whole time but playing host. He's making sure everybody has enough food and that everybody's comfortable, and really standing there and taking it all in. He's had this kind of shy smile on his face the whole time and clearly listening to everything. But as things start to wrap up, one woman turns to him and says, ¿Qué piensa, señor?

Well, what about you? Are you going to support Sanders? Ya me preguntaron a mí, pero... ¿Cómo podíamos involucrar? Well, what about you? Are you going to support Sanders? He sort of tries to brush her off and change the subject. And Alfonso kind of chimes in and says, No, no, not my dad. He's not convincible. No, no, not my dad. He's not convincible. Hmm. So even the son admits that in this case, his dad is a little bit of a lost cause when it comes to Bernie. That's right. And it's really indicative of the challenge that is facing Alfonso and all these supporters.

Maximo told me with a great deal of pride that he has voted in every election since he became a citizen in 1986. So here's somebody who votes all the time and is going to be casting a vote but won't be for Sanders. They can't convince somebody who is a prime voter. And if Bernie doesn't win California. And if he doesn't win California and if he doesn't win Latinos in California, it's really a bad sign for the campaign because they've put so much effort into it and really made clear that this is the way they think they can win. So the question is, if young Latino voters can't convince someone like Maximo to vote for Sanders, can this strategy actually work? Exactly. We'll be right back. Okay, Jenny, where did you go next?

So we drive about an hour deep into the San Fernando Valley. Turn left onto San Marino Street. This is a part of L.A. that is much more rural than what you typically think of. People here have ranches and horses and trailers. A car in the driveway. And an RV. And an RV. Well, these are people who have horses, so not me. Oh, yeah. and trailers. And this part of Los Angeles has a much more conservative and libertarian streak.

We also know that many of the voters here would be first-time voters, so people who haven't shown up at the polls before. But again, the Sanders campaign needs all Latinos in order to win. So they are here to convince these people too. And this event is targeting charros. And what are charros? Charros are Mexican cowboys. There's a big community of them in this part of LA. Hola. So we get to this house and we go up to the door. And as soon as we get to the backyard,

we see all these guys standing there in snakeskin boots and big belt buckles and big cowboy hats. And it feels just like a party. People are all sitting around this pool. Again, there's lots of food here. It's very casual. And who's hosting this event? Hi, Jocelyn. Jenny, nice to meet you.

So this event is being hosted by Jocelyn Garcia, who is a staffer on the Sanders campaign here in LA. She's in charge of college outreach, but she's decided to do this event because of people her father knows. Her father is a charro and she got him to invite many of his friends. And once again, the Sanders campaign is really using younger voters to reach out to older voters and try to get them into the fold. So Jocelyn starts the event and gathers everybody. And there's also Rafael Navar, who is the state director for the Sanders campaign in California. So the head of the entire Sanders campaign in California is at this little house gathering.

What do you make of that? It just goes to show how important all of these small events are to the campaign, that you have the state director with a couple of dozen people here to make the pitch himself. And this campaign has prioritized people that look like this country and let folks in, not just Latinos, but other people of color.

So Jocelyn and Rafael open it up and go through the Sanders platform. Many people here are hearing about this all for the first time, and it's a lot to take in. They go through Medicare for All, Tuition Free College, and they speak for several minutes. The charros are standing there with their arms folded, sort of nodding. But as they close and open it up for questions, the questions start coming really quickly. How is the Sanders campaign going to help their small businesses?

What will they do about the potheads they see on the streets? They ask a lot about taxes. And what they really want to know is, how are you going to get the money for this? Am I going to have to be paying more in taxes? And the Sanders campaign replies to them by talking about the Green New Deal, arguing that that will help small businesses. Medicare for all. They talk about how Medicare for all would mean that employers don't have to pay for employees' health insurance.

And say, look, the people who are going to be taxed are the millionaires and billionaires, not you. But it's becoming really clear, though the charros are nodding their head and being really polite, that these answers aren't really convincing them. Ultimately, these are like progressive answers for conservatives.

Ultimately, these are like progressive answers for conservatives. Jenny, I guess, listening to all this, I'm trying to figure out if this strategy makes sense to you as a political reporter. The first event, I understand, young Latino voters who are passionate about Sanders want to help spread the word and maybe convince older Latinos why this guy is in their best interest. But this event feels different. These are voters who need to be convinced of so many things, right? They need to be convinced to care about politics. They need to be convinced that a progressive candidate is somehow in line with their more conservative values. And they need to be so convinced that they go out and vote on election day, maybe for the first time. I definitely agree and totally hear the skepticism, and there's real reason to be skeptical. There's no question that the strategy absolutely relies

on getting new voters and convincing people who have never voted before and who don't see politics as part of their everyday lives to show up and vote in the primary for Bernie Sanders. So when the event wraps, I make a really quick beeline to this group of charros and focus on one who had asked the most questions. ¿Cómo se llama? Victor. His name is Victor Trinidad, and he's dressed in all black,

wearing cowboy boots and the big belt buckle. And you're wearing a cowboy hat. That's right. Do you consider yourself a charro? No, no, no. I don't consider, I have a horse. So? I don't know what's being a charro.

Cowboy. A cowboy, as opposed to a charro. And it becomes pretty clear immediately that he is somebody with a fierce independent streak. What are the most important issues? You asked about small business, right? Yes. So what are the most, do you own a small business? I do.

What kind of business do you own? Landscape, yeah. So the most important issue for you is how to grow your small business? What do they offer, yeah, as far as for small businesses. So what did you think of the answer you heard tonight? Did you feel like there was an answer to your question? Not what I wanted to hear, just because it's kind of a short answer. I think it has to be more detailed and it's more to it.

And so do you know who you're going to vote for? Not really. And I'm just going to follow and see who's going to get my vote. Maybe it's him. I don't know. So he's telling me maybe I'll vote for Sanders. But I'm definitely going to vote for sure. Yeah. But I'm definitely going to vote. So why are you voting this time? So why are you voting this time?

Well, for the first time, I'm going to vote just because I experienced a lot of racism that I wasn't used to prior to Trump in office. So that kind of just motivated me to just to vote against this behavior. And this is something we see a lot in the Latino community right now, which is much more enthusiasm about voting because of Trump and because of what people are experiencing. What's happening now that you didn't feel like happened before Trump? Just dirty looks, saying bad things, you know, that I don't want to say. That's about it. Are you registered as a Democrat? No. What are you registered as? Independent.

So you have to request a ballot to vote as a Democrat. Did you know that? I think I get ballots from the mail, but I choose... Oh, I have to be registered? To vote in the primary, this is a confusing California thing, to vote in the primary, you have to request California thing, to vote in the primary you have to request a ballot if you're not registered as a Democrat. That's crazy.

I don't think I'll do that. You don't think you'll do that? I'm not going to register just unless something really motivates me. And you didn't hear anything tonight that really motivates you? I'm going to have to hear from the other guys. Jenny, this does not seem like a good sign. It does not seem like a good sign. And it goes to show that while a lot of Latinos are very eager to vote against Trump, it's

much more difficult to get them to show up in a primary and vote for somebody else. And it's not an easy process. Hi, how are you? I'm Jenny Medina. I'm a reporter with the New York Times. Jenny, I'm Miriam. Hi. And you're Jenny also?

Jenny, yes. Nice to meet you. So we speak to two young women, Miriam Cuesta and Jennifer Najera, who are both college students and both are diehard Bernie supporters. Do you use the term T.O. Bernie? T.O. Bernie?

Yeah. T.O. Bernie? T.O. Bernie? Yeah. There's always someone in our family, a T.O., you know, an uncle, who you just get along with, you know, you understand them, you know, they might be different than you. Like, Bernie is, he's seen a lot as just an old white man,

but he still comes from an immigrant family, you know. And so we understand each other. Even if our battles were different, he's our tío. Like, we get it, you know. He understands us, even though he doesn't have to necessarily live us. And they both brought both of their parents tonight. Yes, I brought my mom and my dad. Where are they?

Over there. Oh, with the leather jacket. But as we're talking... is she a registered voter? No, neither are my parents. It becomes clear that her parents won't vote. Are they eligible to vote? No. Okay.

So that's another perspective that I feel like, I think the majority of the people here are eligible voters. And we are not. And in fact, So all three of us are not. So it's... You're not an eligible voter. No, I are not. And in fact... So all three of us are not. So it's... You're not an eligible voter. No, I am not. Miriam herself cannot vote.

So what are you doing if you can't vote? What do you do with your energy and your activism? I think that's one of the reasons why I am so active because I can't vote. I can't even legally donate money to any campaign. And so all I have left is to put in the time and energy. So I started a club on my campus. I started knocking on doors.

We started making calls. We started asking just strangers on our campus, do you support Bernie? If you do, make sure you're registered. By this day, you're going to vote. If you're not, let me answer some questions. Let me educate you just in general. Just plant a seed.

That's how I can contribute to him. If I can't vote, at least I can get another person to vote for him in my place. And then, as I talk to Jennifer, Are you eligible to vote? Yes, I'm eligible to vote. She can vote. Are your parents eligible to vote? They're not eligible.

But her parents cannot. So just coming here tonight, I wanted to humanize it for them that don't know that politics isn't just evil and corruption. It's community, community building, bonding with people, hope, all of these things that we hope to spread with the campaign on liberty. And so this just stuns me that of half a dozen people I'm speaking to at this event of maybe 20 people, five of them, five out of six of them cannot vote. And why can't they vote? They can't vote because they're not U.S. citizens. Thank you very much. Oh, thank you very much.

You're welcome. Take care. Likewise. Thank you. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night.

Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night.

Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night.

Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night.

Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night.

Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night.

Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night.

Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. good night. I know. I know. I know. I know. I know. I know. I know. I know. I know. I know. I know. I know. I know. I know. I know. I know. I know. I know. I know. I know. I know. I know. I know. I know. I know. Jenny, what do you take away from these two events that you went to in Los Angeles?

What should we take away from these two events that you went to? It goes to show how complicated the Latino vote is, not just in California, but in the United States, which is it's young. It is mixed status. There are people who are citizens and people who are not. There are English speakers and Spanish speakers. It's a huge, varied group, and it requires a lot of outreach to get the kind of enthusiasm to show up at the polls and make a difference. to get the kind of enthusiasm to show up at the polls and make a difference. But if you multiply these two events by a thousand, you can imagine this movement spreading throughout California and really tipping the scales to the Sanders campaign. So what they're really trying to do is create this brand new coalition that brings in all sorts of new Latino voters, both young and old. And if it works, it will probably seem almost obvious in retrospect.

But what these two events show us is just how challenging and labor-intensive the work is. Which is why the question of the Obama coalition without the moderates is being tested in the Sanders campaign. Right. moderates, is being tested in the Sanders campaign. Right. If this works, it could revolutionize the way Latino voters are thought of. If it doesn't, then the Sanders campaign loses.

Jenny, thank you very much. Thank you. We'll be right back. At this time, I will administer the oath to all senators in the chamber in conformance with Article I, Section 3, Clause 6 of the Constitution and the Senate's impeachment rules. Here's what else you need to know today. Will all senators now stand or remain standing and raise their right hand? On Thursday, the Senate formally opened the impeachment trial of President Trump

as Chief Justice John Roberts swore in the body's 100 members as jurors. Do you solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of Donald John Trump, President of the United States, now pending, you will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws? So help you God. Moments later, the sergeant at arms announced the rules for the trial. Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye. All persons are commanded to keep silent on pain of imprisonment while the House of Representatives

is exhibiting to the Senate of the United States articles of impeachment against Donald John Trump, President of the United States. With that, the Senate paused the trial until the beginning of next week. The Senate, sitting as Court of Impeachment, is adjourned until Tuesday, January 21st at 1 p.m. And the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan federal watchdog, found that President Trump violated the law when he withheld $400 million in security aid for Ukraine last year, a decision at the center of the impeachment trial. The office ruled that Trump's action violated the Impoundment Control Act, a 1974 law that governs when and how the executive branch can block money already allocated by Congress. The Daily is made by Theo Balcom, Andy Mills, Lisa Tobin, Rachel Quester, Lindsay Garrison, Annie Brown, Claire Tennesketter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon-Johnson, Brad Fisher, Larissa Anderson, Wendy Dorr, Chris Wood, Jessica Chung, Alexandra Lee Young, Jonathan Wolfe, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Mark George, Luke Vanderploeg, Adiza Egan, Kelly Prime, Thank you. That's it for The Daily.

I'm Michael Barbaro. See you on Tuesday after the holiday.