January 2021

Professor Tim Chambless says, “One political party loses control of the executive branch, the White House, and a new party comes into power. This causes concern in the minds of many.” Forbes is reporting gun sales surged approaching Election Day, and ABC News says sales kept spiking afterward.

What that means for the future of US and EU policy toward Venezuela is unclear. Laura Gamboa, an assistant professor at the University of Utah, said the differing view of Guaidó’s status clearly “weakens America’s ability to make the effort seem more multilateral,” even if Washington and Brussels share the same goal of kicking Maduro out of power.

“Romney is going to be an important player,” added James Curry, a political science professor at the University of Utah. But they and others say they don’t want to overstate that power, which they still see as limited and varying on each issue that may arise.

James Curry, associate professor of political science at the University of Utah, said there are certain benefits that the president would only lose if the Senate removed him from office before January 20. “The Former Presidents Act provides ex-presidents with a number of benefits, including a $200k annual pension, a travel allowance, lifetime Secret Service detail, and more.”

Even though those rights were privileges in the legal sense, the perception that they were rights, and that they were being taken away, fueled the original Sagebrush Rebels, McCool said. “The roots of the Sagebrush Rebellion were when they no longer got what they wanted,” he said. “There’s a direct line from there to the Bundy groups active today.”