Summary
From Joan E Greve and me:
- Joe Biden sharply criticized the Republican governors of Texas and Mississippi for rescinding their mask mandates despite public health experts’ concerns about another potential surge in coronavirus cases. “I think it’s a big mistake,” the president said of the governors’ decisions. Noting that the US will have enough vaccines for all American adults by the end of May, Biden said: “The last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking that in the meantime, everything’s fine.”
- Andrew Cuomo said he would not resign after three women accused him of sexual harassment. Speaking at a press conference today, the New York governor offered qualified apologies for his behavior and said he would “fully cooperate” with the state attorney general’s investigation of the allegations.
- House leaders changed their voting schedule for the week, amid threats of violence against the Capitol tomorrow. The House will now vote on Democrats’ police reform bill tonight, rather than tomorrow. The schedule change came hours after the US Capitol police released a statement saying they had “obtained intelligence that shows a possible plot to breach the Capitol by an identified militia group on Thursday, March 4”.
- The commanding general of the DC national guard said the Pentagon curtailed his ability to rapidly deploy guard troops the day before the 6 January insurrection. The national guard leader, William J Walker, said at a Senate hearing today that it took three hours to receive Pentagon approval to deploy guard troops to the Capitol after the building was breached by insurrectionists.
- Biden has agreed to phase out the direct payments in the coronavirus relief bill at a more rapid rate, according to multiple reports. Moderate Democrats like Senator Joe Manchin have proposed completely phasing out the checks for individuals who make $80,000 a year, rather than $100,000 a year, which was the threshold for the first two rounds of stimulus payments.
- The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) has endorsed Shalanda Young to become the new nominee for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director after Neera Tanden withdrew from consideration. Young is currently set to become deputy director of the OMB, and at her confirmation hearing for the deputy job received support from some Republicans for the top spot as well.
Updated
The misogynist incel movement is spreading. Should it be classified as a terror threat?
As attacks linked to the misogynist “incel” movement mounted in recent years, authorities around the world have begun to treat the ideology as a more serious terrorism threat.
Since 2014, men who call themselves “involuntary celibates” and blame women for their own lack of sexual and social status have carried out mass killings in California, Florida, and Toronto.
On Wednesday, a judge in Canada delivered a guilty verdict for the perpetrator of the 2018 Toronto van attack, which left 10 people dead and 16 injured – the deadliest incident linked to the incel movement. .
In her verdict, the judge found that the attacker’s resentment towards women was one among several motivating factors, but experts warn that such incidents are becoming more frequent, and that the ideology behind them is spreading internationally.
2020 saw a string of incel-related incidents, including a machete attack at a Toronto massage parlor, a shooting at an Arizona mall which injured three people, a man who blew up his own hand with explosives in Virginia, and a New York man charged by federal prosecutors for targeting a couple with violent threats.
While only one of those attacks was fatal, “the fact those incidents weren’t worse is more luck than good counterterrorism,” said Jacob Ware, a terrorism researcher who studies the incel movement. “2020 was a bad year for incel violence.
Read more:
The transportation department’s internal watchdog asked the justice department in December to consider a criminal investigation into Elaine Chao’s conduct as transportation secretary.
There was evidence that Chao used her position to promote her family’s shipping business, the inspector general said in a report released today. In the final weeks of the Trump administration, the justice department declined to take up the issue.
There were several “potential ethics concerns arising from the actions of the Secretary and Office of the Secretary (OST) staff under her direction”, investigators said.
Among the violations was tasking political appointees to “contact the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) about the status of a work permit application submitted by a foreign student studying at a US university who was a recipient of Chao family philanthropy”.
Chao also planned a trip that she didn’t end up taking in 2017 that included her father and sister, who runs the family shipping business. Chao, who is married to the Republican Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, quit the job on 7 January, after the Capitol attack.
Updated
The House is now debating the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act
The Democrats’ police reform bill passed through Congress last year, but was never taken up by the Republican-led Senate. This time around, the act has the support of the White House, but it is still unlikely to make it through the Senate. Although Democrats have control of the Senate, they don’t have the 60 votes needed to overcome the filibuster and pass the legislation.
“We are still trying to transform policing in the United States,” said Representative Karen Bass of California. She said she’s “confident that we will be able to have a bipartisan bill in the Senate that will reach President Biden’s desk.”
Updated
San Francisco will begin reopening more of its economy amid declining Covid-19 case rates, hospitalizations and deaths.
Starting on Wednesday, restaurants can start serving limited indoor dining and movie theaters, gyms and museums can reopen at restricted capacity.
“This is the beginning of a great time in San Francisco, you save money not buying those plane tickets to go other places. You can enjoy your city, right here right now,” an upbeat Mayor London Breed said on Tuesday under blue skies from Pier 39, an area popular with tourists in picturesque Fisherman’s Wharf.
“I am so proud of San Francisco. Nearly a year after our shelter-in-place order, thanks to our collective actions and commitment to following the health guidelines, we have come through our worst surge since the beginning of the pandemic,” Dr Grant Colfax, the director of the San Francisco department of public health, said in a statement.
San Francisco, with a population of 900,000 before the pandemic, has seen among the lowest number of coronavirus cases and death rates in the country, reporting more than 34,000 cases since the start of the pandemic and 422 deaths.
The city and its surrounding area were the first to impose a lockdown when the coronavirus struck the US in the spring of last year. Some sectors were allowed to reopen after case rates dropped in the summer, but the city shut down business activity again in early December as the positivity rate surged statewide.
City fiscal analysts say San Franciscans have stayed at home more than people in other California cities and even other equally strict Bay Area counties, with many of the region’s workers, including those in the tech industry, able to shift their work from offices to their homes. The policies contributed to good public health, but stressed the local economy.
Read more:
Biden thanks House Democrats for their partnership at virtual meeting
After an introduction from Nancy Pelosi, Biden thanked her and other congressional Democrats. “Nancy, I love you,” he said.
“Congressman Clyburn, I also want to note that was almost exactly a year ago today that you delivered the endorsement to me in South Carolina that meant so much to me in my campaign, you’re a great friend,” he said. Jim Clyburn’s endorsement was pivotal in turning the Democratic primaries in Biden’s favor last year.
But Biden noted that so much has changed since he was a candidate.
“America confirmed fewer than 100 Covid cases,” he said. “Just a year ago, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd were still alive. California had yet to suffer what would become the worst fire season in recorded history. And there’d been no violent insurrection on Capitol Hill.”
Updated
The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) has endorsed Shalanda Young to become the new nominee for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director after Neera Tanden withdrew from consideration.
Young is currently set to become deputy director of the OMB, and at her confirmation hearing for the deputy, job received support from some Republicans for the top spot as well.
“You’ll get my support, maybe for both jobs,” Republican senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told Young yesterday.
“It is our understanding that Shalanda Young has been thoroughly vetted for the position of Deputy Director and has received excellent reviews from both Democratic and Republican members of the Senate,” CBC Chair Joyce Beatty of Ohio, along with eight other members, wrote in the letter to Biden.
“Shalanda Young is uniquely qualified to lead OMB and assume the responsibility for developing the President’s budget and supervising the administration of executive branch agencies.”
Tanden withdrew yesterday, facing slim chances of winning enough Senate support to be confirmed as director.
Read more:
Today so far
That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague Maanvi Singh will take over the blog for the next few hours.
Here’s where the day stands so far:
- Joe Biden sharply criticized the Republican governors of Texas and Mississippi for rescinding their mask mandates, despite public health experts’ concerns about another potential surge in coronavirus cases. “I think it’s a big mistake,” the president said of the governors’ decisions. Noting that the US will have enough vaccines for all American adults by the end of May, Biden said: “The last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking that in the meantime, everything’s fine.”
- Andrew Cuomo said he would not resign after three women accused him of sexual harassment. Speaking at a press conference today, the New York governor offered qualified apologies for his behavior and said he would “fully cooperate” with the state attorney general’s investigation of the allegations.
- House leaders changed their voting schedule for the week, amid threats of violence against the Capitol tomorrow. The House will now vote on Democrats’ police reform bill tonight, rather than tomorrow. The schedule change came hours after the US Capitol police released a statement saying it had “obtained intelligence that shows a possible plot to breach the Capitol by an identified militia group on Thursday, March 4”.
- The commanding general of the DC national guard said the Pentagon curtailed his ability to rapidly deploy guard troops the day before the 6 January insurrection. The national guard leader, William J Walker, said at a Senate hearing today that it took three hours to receive Pentagon approval to deploy guard troops to the Capitol after the building was breached by insurrectionists.
- Biden has agreed to phase out the direct payments in the coronavirus relief bill at a more rapid rate, according to multiple reports. Moderate Democrats like Senator Joe Manchin have proposed completely phasing out the checks for individuals who make $80,000 a year, rather than $100,000 a year, which was the threshold for the first two rounds of stimulus payments.
Maanvi will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
Updated
House leaders change voting schedule after threats of violence
The House majority leader, Steny Hoyer, confirmed the chamber will vote on Democrats’ police reform bill tonight, instead of tomorrow, after the US Capitol police (USCP) warned of a militia’s potential plot to storm the Capitol tomorrow.
According to Hoyer’s office, the House will reconvene at 6.15pm ET for one hour of debate on the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
The chamber will then vote on that proposal, as well as Democrats’ election reform bill, the For the People Act.
The schedule change comes hours after the USCP released a statement saying it had “obtained intelligence that shows a possible plot to breach the Capitol by an identified militia group on Thursday, March 4”.
“We have already made significant security upgrades to include establishing a physical structure and increasing manpower to ensure the protection of Congress, the public and our police officers,” the USCP said.
“Our department is working with our local, state, and federal partners to stop any threats to the Capitol. We are taking the intelligence seriously.”
Updated
House leaders are reportedly discussing the possibility of wrapping up their voting for the week tonight, so members do not have to return to Capitol Hill tomorrow.
If House leadership chose to move forward with that schedule, members would have to vote on Democrats’ police reform bill tonight.
The House is DEBATING whether to stay tonight to finish voting for the week instead of coming back in tomorrow in light of Capitol Police warning about security risks for Thursday, a Democratic aide tells me. This means House would vote on police reform tn. Not decided yet tho.
— Annie Grayer (@AnnieGrayerCNN) March 3, 2021
The discussions come hours after the US Capitol police released a statement saying it is aware of a militia’s potential attempts to storm the Capitol tomorrow.
“We have obtained intelligence that shows a possible plot to breach the Capitol by an identified militia group on Thursday, March 4,” the USCP said in a statement this morning.
“We have already made significant security upgrades to include establishing a physical structure and increasing manpower to ensure the protection of Congress, the public and our police officers.”
Far-right conspiracy theorists have said 4 March is the true inauguration date, when Donald Trump will be sworn in as the rightful president.
That is of course not at all true. Joe Biden fairly won the presidential election and was sworn in on 20 January.
Updated
The BBC has issued a correction and apology on its website for airing an interview with a man who claimed to be the US senator Cory Booker but was actually someone impersonating the Democratic politician from New Jersey.
The UK’s public broadcasting service said that the interview appeared “to be a deliberate hoax” and that it had reached out with an apology to Booker and “are looking into what went wrong to make sure it doesn’t happen again”.
The interview was aired on 26 February on the BBC’s Newshour radio program. The BBC said that the interview “has not appeared elsewhere”, and no audio clips or videos are circulating online, though one Twitter user heard the interview on New York’s WNYC public radio station and could tell something was amiss.
“Listening to the @bbcworldservice Newshour on @wnyc and trying to figure out how they did an entire interview with someone they introduced as Senator Cory Booker, who I’m pretty sure was definitely not Senator Booker, and didn’t realize it,” wrote Twitter user Amy Eason.
Republican senators intend to force Senate clerks to read the full text of the coronavirus relief bill aloud, according to CNN.
That move alone could delay the beginning of the Senate’s vote-a-rama on the relief bill by up to 10 hours.
Republicans are telling me they plan to force Senate clerks to read the full $1.9 trillion relief bill aloud. Typically that process is dispensed with, but any single member can object and force a full reading of the bill.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 3, 2021
That alone could take 10 hours — even before votes begin
Once the Senate moves on to the vote-a-rama, Republicans intend to introduce many amendments in order to delay the final vote on the legislation.
Republicans have said they will use the amendments to highlight what they view as the most controversial aspects of the relief bill, which they have attacked as a progressive wish list.
Despite Republicans’ delay tactics, the bill is expected to eventually pass the Senate in a mostly (if not entirely) party-line vote.
Updated
The Guardian’s Daniel Strauss reports:
Neera Tanden’s decision to withdraw from consideration to serve as Joe Biden’s budget director marks the first major loss for the still young Biden administration, and sets off a scramble between various political factions to push through a new nominee.
Tanden was the first of Biden’s cabinet nominees to fail to make it through the confirmation process. New presidents don’t usually see all of their cabinet picks confirmed.
But Tanden’s path was always more precarious than the rest. She is well known throughout the Democratic party as a combative figure who often engaged in Twitter fights and criticized both Republicans and Democrats.
Republicans at moments seemed to revel in highlighting Tanden’s past tweets. But those senators also expressed eagerness to support one of the potential replacements – Shalanda Young, a veteran Hill staffer who is Black.
“You know I’m going to vote for you,” Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the ranking Republican on the Senate budget committee, said on Tuesday during Young’s hearing to serve as deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget. “You’re highly qualified and I’m going to support you,” Graham added before pressing her on immigration policy.
Other names have been floated as possible OMB nominees and the Senate budget committee is now waiting for the White House to pick someone else. The names floated include Sarah Bianchi, a former director of policy for Biden; Gene Sperling, a former director of the council of economic advisers; Ann O’Leary, the former chief of staff to Governor Gavin Newsom of California.
Whoever the White House nominates is poised to have an easier confirmation process than Tanden.
Biden accuses Republican governors of 'Neanderthal thinking' after rescinding mask mandates
Joe Biden sharply criticized the Republican governors of Texas and Mississippi, who announced yesterday that they are rescinding their mask mandates, despite public health experts’ concerns about another surge in coronavirus cases.
“I think it’s a big mistake,” the president said of the governors’ announcements.
NEW: President Biden calls Texas and Mississippi decisions to end mask mandates “a big mistake" and criticizes what he views as “Neanderthal thinking” after CDC warned against complacency in the face of emerging coronavirus variants on Monday. pic.twitter.com/Mmdln3gNG6
— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 3, 2021
Biden emphasized that scientific evidence shows masks make a crucial difference in limiting the spread of coronavirus.
“We are on the cusp of being able to fundamentally change the nature of this disease because of the way in which we are able to get vaccines in people’s arms,” Biden said.
The president reiterated his announcement yesterday that the US will have enough coronavirus vaccines for all American adults by the end of May.
“The last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking that in the meantime, everything’s fine,” Biden said. “It still matters.”
Dr Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, similarly voiced concern about the governors’ decision during the White House coronavirus response team’s briefing today.
“We at the CDC have been very clear that now is not the time to release all restrictions,” Walensky said. “The next month or two is really pivotal in terms of how this pandemic goes.”
Early afternoon summary
It’s been a very lively day so far in US political news and there will be a lot more action in the coming hours, so stay tuned. Here are the main events so far today:
- New York governor Andrew Cuomo, who became very well known beyond the state for his daily, plain-spoken briefings during the first coronavirus surge, a short while ago faced the press again and gave qualified apologies for behavior that some women have complained amounted to sexual harassment, but said he would not resign.
- Cuomo said he will fully cooperate with the investigation that has been started into his conduct by the New York state attorney general, Letitia James.
- The leader of the Washington, DC, National Guard, William Walker, told a Senate panel that the Pentagon restricted his ability to call out troops to back up the police at the US Capitol during the insurrection on January 6.
- Joe Biden has reportedly agreed to phase out the $1,400 direct payments in the coronavirus relief package at a more rapid rate then expected.
- The US Capitol Police says it has obtained intelligence about a militia group potentially attempting to attack the US Capitol tomorrow. The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security issued a similar warning around midnight last night, though the House acting sergeant at arms said online extremist chatter around this has quietened down of late.
Updated
Cuomo said there were no buts about his qualified apology, but there were plenty of “ifs”.
The governor got off on a terrible foot by saying he was sorry “if anyone was offended” – it’s very clear from the public accounts so far from three women who accuse Cuomo of sliming around them that they were offended.
He also said he had never touched anyone inappropriately. Which is his take on that word, when it’s very clear from the most recent photographs, at least, that he has touched someone a fraction of his age, with little of his power, inappropriately.
When asked if he had been given the standard anti-sexual harassment training that his public employee colleagues receive, he said, in a word, “yes”.
And Cuomo said: “I never knew at the time that I was making anyone uncomfortable.” Which, in a no-win situation, sounds better than I knew/had a pretty good idea, but I just behaved like a power oaf and bullied onwards.
And it’s interesting that the second woman publicly to accuse Cuomo, Charlotte Bennett, submitted detailed complaints to senior staff at the New York seat of government in Albany, upstate, about the governor’s conduct.
The New York attorney general, Letitia James, is investigating the allegations against Cuomo.
Updated
Asked what his message is to New Yorkers, Andrew Cuomo said he was “embarrassed” that his behavior had such a negative impact on one of his aides. He did not appear to address the allegations from two other women.
The governor said he was not caveating his apology in any way. “There’s no ‘buts.’ I’m sorry,” Cuomo said.
But the governor did attempt to qualify his apology multiple times by emphasizing he did not intend to hurt or offend anyone through his actions.
'I’m not going to resign,' Cuomo says after being accused of sexual misconduct
Andrew Cuomo made clear that he would not resign in the wake of multiple sexual misconduct allegations against him.
“I’m not going to resign,” the New York governor said at his press conference. “I’m going to do the job the people of the state elected me to do.”
A number of lawmakers of both parties have called on the Democratic governor to resign as the state attorney general investigates the allegations against him.
“I do not believe I have ever done anything in my public career that I am ashamed of,” Cuomo said.
Updated
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said that he has learned from the experience of having multiple women accuse him of sexual misconduct.
“I’m sorry,” Cuomo said. “I’m sorry for whatever pain I caused anyone. I never intended it, and I will be the better for this experience.”
Cuomo acknowledged that his intentions did not matter when his behavior had such a negative impact on the women affected by it. And yet, the governor continued to emphasize that he did not intend to hurt or offend anyone.
“If they were offended by it, it was wrong,” Cuomo said. “And if they were offended by it, I apologize.”
Cuomo says he will 'fully cooperate' with attorney general's investigation
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said at a press conference moments ago that he will “fully cooperate” with the state attorney general’s investigation of sexual misconduct allegations against him.
“I fully support a woman’s right to come forward, and I think it should be encouraged in every way,” Cuomo said.
The Democratic went on to apologize for engaging in behavior that made anyone feel uncomfortable.
“I now understand that I acted in a way that made people feel uncomfortable,” Cuomo said. “It was unintentional, and I truly and deeply apologize for it.”
But Cuomo went on to say, “I never touched anyone inappropriately.”
The governor asked the people of New York to wait for the attorney general’s investigation to conclude before reaching any conclusions about him.
“I ask the people of this state to wait for the facts from the attorney general’s report before forming an opinion. Get the facts please before forming an opinion,” Cuomo said. “I will fully cooperate with it, and then you will have the facts.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked when Joe Biden will start naming his nominees for key ambassadorships.
“This is a popular question, including from some people who want to be ambassadors, which won’t surprise you,” Psaki told reporters.
The press secretary noted past administrations have often nominated ambassadors in March, but she was not sure whether Biden would follow that timeline, given his current focus on responding to the coronavirus pandemic.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki dodged a question about whether Joe Biden is breaking his promise to millions of Americans who will no longer receive stimulus payments if the faster phaseout is authorized.
Psaki emphasized Biden was following through on delivering direct relief to American families, while sidestepping the fact that fewer families would now be receiving checks.
Asked whether there might be another round of direct payments in the future, Psaki said, “I can’t predict for you there will never be stimulus checks in the future.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked why the Biden administration seems to be prioritizing teachers over other frontline workers.
A reporter noted some have suggested that Joe Biden is bowing to political pressure from teachers’ unions, who have expressed strong opposition to sending teachers back to the classroom before they are vaccinated.
Psaki said teachers are a vaccination priority because the reopening of schools has an impact on the next generation of American children and the future of the workforce.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki criticized the Republican governors of Texas and Mississippi for rescinding their mask mandates as health experts warn of another potential surge in coronavirus cases.
“This entire country has paid the price for political leaders who ignored the science,” Psaki said.
The press secretary said Joe Biden would raise the issue the next time he speaks with governors. She encouraged Americans to follow the guidance of public health experts, who are “basing their recommendations on how to save people’s lives”.
Dr Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said earlier today, “Every individual is empowered to do the right thing here, regardless of what the states decide.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki would not definitively say whether Joe Biden has signed off on more rapidly phasing out the $1,400 checks in the coronavirus relief bill.
“He is comfortable with where the negotiations stand,” Psaki said. She added, “We don’t have a final bill.”
The press secretary emphasized there were “ongoing discussions” about the specifics of the bill, and the White House expected there to be “tweaks on the margins” as the Senate moves toward final passage.
Reports have indicated Biden has signaled support for completely phasing out the checks for individuals who make $80,000 a year, rather than $100,000 a year.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Joe Biden does not intend to name another nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget this week.
Psaki told reporters that she would not get into the White House’s discussions with specific senators regarding Neera Tanden’s nomination.
Tanden withdrew her nomination last night, saying she no longer believed she had a path to confirmation.
Joe Biden’s press secretary, Jen Psaki, is now holding her daily briefing with reporters at the White House.
Psaki announced the Biden administration would release its “interim national security strategic guidance” on the White House website this afternoon.
The guidance will provide recommendations to government departments and agencies, before the administration releases its full national security strategy later this year.
First lady Jill Biden has arrived in Connecticut, where she is visiting an elementary school with Education Secretary Miguel Cardona.
Biden and Cardona, both former educators, are visiting Benjamin Franklin Elementary School in Meriden, Connecticut, and they will later travel to Fort LeBoeuf Middle School in Waterford, Pennsylvania.
.@FLOTUS and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona greeting students in a classroom during visit to Benjamin Franklin Elementary School in Meriden, Conn. pic.twitter.com/izsUA0QjxS
— darlene superville (@dsupervilleap) March 3, 2021
The trip comes two days after the Senate confirmed Cardona, in a vote of 64 to 33. Cardona has said that safely reopening schools will be his top priority as education secretary.
Previewing the trip yesterday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, “They will highlight the key CDC mitigation strategies that the schools have implemented successfully in these locations; listen to the challenges they are facing due to the pandemic, including the academic, social, and emotional needs of students; highlight the additional resources in the American Rescue Plan needed for schools to open -- remain open; and address the needs of students, and thank educators for their work in supporting students and their families.”
DC national guard leader says Pentagon restricted his ability to deploy troops
Over at the Senate hearing on the Capitol insurrection, William J Walker, the commanding general of the DC national guard, said he was required to receive Pentagon approval before deploying Guard troops on 6 January.
Walker noted that such an approval process was not put in place for the summer protests in DC, following the police killing of George Floyd. During those protests, Walker was able to quickly deploy guard troops himself.
The general said his ability to deploy a quick-reaction force was restricted by acting defense secretary Christopher Miller on 5 January, the day before the insurrection.
Walker said that, if he had the ability to deploy a quick-reaction force, “I would have sent them there immediately as soon as I hung up” with US Capitol police chief Steven Sund.
Walker added he was “stunned” by the laborious approval process for troop deployment because he had never seen anything like it in his 19 years of service.
The commanding general previously testified that it took more than three hours to receive approval from the Pentagon to deploy guard troops on 6 January.
If Walker had the ability to deploy a quick-reaction force, he could have sent 150 troops to the Capitol in 20 minutes, he told senators.
Updated
House Democratic leaders are encouraging Joe Biden to choose Shalanda Young to replace Neera Tanden as his nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget.
The statement from House speaker Nancy Pelosi, majority leader Steny Hoyer and majority whip Jim Clyburn comes a day after Tanden withdrew her nomination as OMB director due to bipartisan opposition to her confirmation.
“Neera Tanden is an outstanding public servant who has dedicated decades to fighting to advance the health, financial security and well-being of the American people. We know that she will continue to bring her progressive values, bold vision for the future and valuable perspective to Democrats’ work to Build Back Better,” the three House leaders said in a statement.
“As longtime Members of the Appropriations Committee, we take great pride in recommending Shalanda Young as Director of the Office of Management and Budget. We have worked closely with her for several years and highly recommend her for her intellect, her deep expertise on the federal budget and her determination to ensure that our budget reflects our values as a nation.”
The Democratic leaders added that Young’s nomination would be “historic,” as she would be the first African American woman to lead OMB if she were confirmed.
Young, a longtime Capitol Hill staffer, has already been nominated for the deputy OMB director post, and that nomination has attracted praise from senators of both parties.
During her confirmation hearing yesterday, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham explicitly told Young that he would be happy to support her if she were nominated for the top job at OMB.
Dr Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, noted that Americans can still follow best practices to limit their risk of contracting coronavirus, even if their states are lifting restrictions.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky responds to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s “100%” reopening:
— The Recount (@therecount) March 3, 2021
“Every individual is empowered to do the right thing here, regardless of what the states decide …” pic.twitter.com/ozALoVI2u5
“Every individual is empowered to do the right thing here, regardless of what the states decide -- for personal health, for public health, for the health of their loved ones and communities,” Walensky said.
She added, “I would still encourage individuals to wear a mask, to socially distance and to do the right thing to protect their own health.”
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expressed disapproval of states lifting some of their coronavirus-related public health orders.
“We’ve been very clear that now is not the time to release all restrictions. The next month or two is really pivotal,” Dr Rochelle Walensky said.
Walensky’s comments come one day after the Republican governors of Texas and Mississippi announced they were lifting their mask mandates, despite health officials’ concerns about another potential surge in cases.
CDC director encourages Americans to receive whichever vaccine is available
The White House coronavirus response team is now holding a briefing to provide an update on the vaccine distribution process.
Andy Slavitt, a senior White House adviser, said health insurance companies are stepping up their efforts to get all seniors vaccinated, given that the elderly are more likely to become severely ill after contracting coronavirus.
Dr Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also encouraged all Americans to “roll up your sleeves and get vaccinated with the first vaccine that’s available to you.”
The officials’ comments come one day after Joe Biden announced the US would have enough coronavirus vaccines for all American adults by the end of May.
Biden agrees to phase out stimulus checks more rapidly - reports
Joe Biden has reportedly agreed to phase out the $1,400 direct payments in the coronavirus relief package at a more rapid rate.
Bloomberg News has details on the changes:
Individuals earning over $80,000 now won’t qualify for the payments, compared with a $100,000 cap in the previously drafted legislation, the aide said on condition of anonymity. The ceiling for couples will now be $160,000 against $200,000 before.
Democratic Senators including Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire had advocated tighter targeting of help to the neediest in the giant Covid-19 assistance package. Their votes will be critical in passing the legislation given the Senate’s 50-50 partisan split and united Republican opposition to Biden’s bill.
A separate push by moderates to trim the $400-a-week supplemental unemployment benefits in the bill that the House passed last week to $300 won’t be included in what is initially brought to the Senate floor, according to the aide. The Senate’s so-called managers’ amendment to the House bill is expected to keep the House’s figure, which is a $100-a-week increase from the current level through August.
The move will likely spark intense criticism among progressives, who had already expressed disappointment that the checks were not the full $2,000 amount that Biden campaigned on.
The White House has said the $1,400 checks, in combination with the $600 checks passed before Biden took office, collectively add up to $2,000 and thus the president is still keeping his promise.
But that will be harder to argue now that there is a segment of the American population who will no longer receive checks when they were previously expecting reduced payments.
The US Capitol Police’s new warning clashes with a statement from the House sergeant at arms yesterday, which said chatter among far-right extremists about March 4 as the true inauguration date had somewhat subsided.
The House Sergeant at Arms issues a bulletin saying that the significance of 3/4 as the "true" inauguration date for Trump among some groups has declined and they are no longer anticipating protests or violence from groups traveling to DC that day --> pic.twitter.com/NJBT26FDkk
— Rebecca Kaplan (@RebeccaRKaplan) March 2, 2021
USCP is aware of a 'possible plot to breach the Capitol' tomorrow
The US Capitol Police says it has obtained intelligence about a militia group potentially attempting to breach the Capitol tomorrow.
“We have obtained intelligence that shows a possible plot to breach the Capitol by an identified militia group on Thursday, March 4. We have already made significant security upgrades to include establishing a physical structure and increasing manpower to ensure the protection of Congress, the public and our police officers,” the USCP said in a new statement.
“Our Department is working with our local, state, and federal partners to stop any threats to the Capitol. We are taking the intelligence seriously. Due to the sensitive nature of this information, we cannot provide additional details at this time.”
Other law enforcement officials have expressed concerns about potential violence on March 4, which far-right extremists have identified as the date that Donald Trump will be inaugurated as president.
The US Constitution previously mandated that presidents be inaugurated on March 4, but the 20th amendment pushed the presidential inauguration up to January 20.
Of course, Trump lost the presidential election, and Joe Biden was sworn in as the rightful winner of the presidential race on January 20.
A senior Pentagon official offered a conflicting account of when the deployment of DC National Guard troops was approved on January 6.
Robert G. Salesses, the acting assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and global security, confirmed that Capitol Police chief Steven Sund requested assistance at 1:49 pm on January 6.
“Following a call with the Mayor of DC and her staff, the Secretary of the Army met with the Acting Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to discuss the requests of the U.S. Capitol Police and the Mayor of DC (at approximately 2:30 p.m.),” Salesses said in his prepared opening remarks.
“The Acting Secretary of Defense determined that all available forces of the DC National Guard were required to be re-missioned to reinforce DC MPD and U.S. Capitol Police positions to support efforts to reestablish security of the U.S. Capitol Complex. The Acting Secretary of Defense approved full activation of the DC National Guard to provide support, and the Secretary of the Army directed DC National Guard personnel to initiate movement and full mobilization (3:04 p.m.).”
Salesses went on to say, “After reviewing the DC National Guard forces’ missions, equipping, and responsibilities to be performed at the Capitol Complex in support of DC MPD and U.S. Capitol Police, and conferring with the DC MPD at their headquarters at 4:10 p.m., the Secretary of the Army received the Acting Secretary of Defense’s approval at 4:32 p.m., and ordered the DC National Guard forces to depart the Armory for the Capitol.”
In contrast, William J. Walker, the commanding general of the DC National Guard, said the acting secretary of defense’s approval was not relayed until 5:08 p.m., more than three hours after assistance was requested.
DC national guard leader describes three-hour delay in Army response to Capitol riot
The Senate homeland security committee and the Senate rules committee is now starting their second joint hearing on the security failures that occurred during the Capitol insurrection.
In his prepared opening remarks, William J. Walker, the commanding general of the DC National Guard, said it took army leaders more than three hours to approve a request for Guard troops to be deployed to the Capitol on 6 January.
“At 1:49pm I received a frantic call from then chief of US Capitol Police, Steven Sund, where he informed me that the security perimeter at the Capitol had been breached by hostile rioters. Chief Sund, his voice cracking with emotion, indicated that there was a dire emergency on Capitol Hill and requested the immediate assistance of as many guardsmen as I could muster,” Walker said in his prepared remarks.
“Immediately after the 1.49pm call with Chief Sund, I alerted the army senior leadership of the request. The approval for Chief Sund’s request would eventually come from the acting secretary of defense and be relayed to me by army senior leaders at 5.08pm – three hours and 19 minutes later. We already had guardsmen on buses ready to move to the Capitol. Consequently, at 5.20pm (in under 20 minutes) the District of Columbia National Guard arrived at the Capitol. We helped to re-establish the security perimeter at the east side of the Capitol to facilitate the resumption of the joint session of Congress.”
The delay is particularly alarming given that Mike Pence missed clashing with insurrectionists by a matter of minutes, around 2.15pm on 6 January.
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The Biden administration’s use of the video teleconferencing app Zoom to conduct its unclassified meetings has raised some security concerns in relation to China.
The Washington Post reports:
The Biden White House is using the teleconference platform Zoom for most of its unclassified government-related virtual interactions, even as the Justice Department is prosecuting one of the company’s China-based executives for working with Beijing’s intelligence services to interfere in Zoom calls. Some lawmakers, former officials and experts are warning that the Biden administration may be ignoring the risks.
In December, during the presidential transition, the DOJ unveiled an indictment and issued an arrest warrant for Xinjiang Jin, also known as ‘Juliean Jin,’ a China-based Zoom employee, accusing him of manipulating Zoom’s internal systems to interfere in U.S. calls that included content criticizing the Chinese Communist Party. ...
Two senior Biden administration officials told me that they inherited the Zoom system from the Trump administration, meaning they did not initiate the contract. They also emphasized the White House uses Zoom for Government, a more secure version, and not for classified meetings. All Zoom for Government communications ‘are processed exclusively in continental U.S. data centers that are managed solely by U.S.-based, U.S. people,’ a Zoom spokesperson told me. The officials said the Biden administration would do a full review of all its communications policies and procedures but they declined to share any details of that review.
This is Joan Greve in Washington, taking over for Martin Belam.
The Senate homeland security committee and the Senate rules committee will soon hold their second joint hearing on the security failures that occurred during the Capitol insurrection on 6 January.
Last week, the former chief of the US Capitol Police largely blamed the security failures on a lack of intelligence about the likelihood for violence at the 6 January pro-Trump march in Washington.
But testifying before the Senate judiciary committee yesterday Christopher Wray, the FBI director, said members of the US Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department were made aware of a 5 January field office report, which warned of potential violence at the Capitol the next day.
Wray’s testimony only intensified questions over why DC law enforcement leaders did not adequately prepare for an attack that many saw coming.
The hearing will begin in about half an hour, so stay tuned.
Updated
The Guardian’s Daniel Strauss reports:
The Donald Trump-aligned North Carolina congressman Madison Cawthorn now has a Democratic opponent.
Commissioner Jasmine Beach-Ferrara of Buncombe County, an ordained minister and executive director of the Campaign for Southern Equality, kicked off her campaign Wednesday morning with a biographic video:
Rep. Madison Cawthorn has a Democratic challenger 👇🏾 https://t.co/IjJnft3QCh
— Daniel Strauss (@DanielStrauss4) March 3, 2021
Cawthorn is the 25-year old congressman from North Carolina who is closely aligned with the pro-Trump wing of the Republican Party.
A number of women have come forward to accuse Cawthorn of sexual misconduct. The Washington Post also published a deep dive into the falsehoods that helped drive Cawthorn’s ascent.
Beach-Ferrara has assembled a team of veteran strategists in her bid. Jeffrey Liszt of ALG Research is doing polling. Clare Gannon and Mattis Goldman of Three Point Media are handling media. Eric Goldman of Break Something Strategies is doing digital. Nadia Garnett and Adnaan Muslim of Deliver Strategies are doing the mail. Eric Hyers, a veteran Democratic campaign manager, is also advising the campaign.
Former top White House physician made sexual comments and drank on the job – report
The Department of Defense has this morning issued a scathing review of Representative Ronny Jackson during his time serving as the top White House physician. The report was obtained by CNN, and conclude that he made “sexual and denigrating” comments about a female subordinate, drank alcohol while on a presidential trip, and took prescription-strength sleeping medication that prompted colleagues to be worried about his ability to provide proper care. CNN writes:
After interviewing 78 witnesses and reviewing a host of White House documents, investigators concluded that Jackson, who achieved the rank of Rear Admiral, failed to treat his subordinates with dignity and respect, engaged in inappropriate conduct involving the use of alcohol during two incidents and used sleeping medication during an overseas trip that raised concerns about his ability to provide medical care to the President and other top officials, according to the report.
The report also notes that the investigation into Jackson “was limited in scope and unproductive” as White House counsel under Trump insisted on being present at all interviews of current White House Medical Unit employees, which had a “potential chilling effect” on the probe.
CNN analysis showed that of the 60 witnesses interviewed by the Defense Department IG about the command climate under Jackson, only 13 had positive comments, while 38 spoke about “unprofessional behavior, intimidation and poor treatment of subordinates.”
Events detailed in the report include “Jackson ‘pounding’ on the door of his female subordinate’s room” after he had been drinking on a presidential trip. On another occasion he was witnessed drinking a beer while he was serving as the physician to the President and in charge of providing medical care for a presidential trip, despite regulations prohibiting him.
Read more here: CNN – Rep Ronny Jackson made sexual comments, drank alcohol and took Ambien while working as White House physician, Pentagon watchdog finds
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Parler, the social network used to spread right-wing violent threats, drops case against Amazon
Parler, the social media app popular among American right-wing users, has dropped its case against Amazon for cutting off its web-hosting services, court documents from late last night showed.
Reuters report that the app went dark in January as many service providers pulled back support, accusing it of failing to police violent content related to the attack on the US Capitol, the nation’s legislative seat, by followers of Donald Trump. Google removed the application from its Play Store and Apple from App Store.
Parler sued Amazon, accusing it of making an illegal, politically motivated decision to shut it down to benefit Twitter.
A US judge rejected its demand that Amazon restore services for the platform later in January. A month later, Parler re-launched its services online and said the new platform was built on “sustainable, independent technology” – albeit apparently from Russia.
Amazon has said that Parler ignored repeated warnings to effectively moderate the growth of violent content on its website, including calls to assassinate prominent Democratic politicians, leading business executives and members of the media.
Parler, however, has said there was no evidence apart from anecdotes in the press that it had a role in inciting the riots in US Capitol and argued that it was unfair to deprive millions of law-abiding Americans a platform for free speech. It should be noted that the “anecdote in the press” that Parler refers to were the media quoting what Parler had allowed to be published on its website – as document, for example, here.
Sam Levin reports for us from Los Angeles on the legacy of the brutal beating of Rodney King by the LAPD, which happened thirty years ago:
LAPD in recent years has faced scrutiny from a new wave of activists who have organized against police killings of civilians, discriminatory arrests and traffic stops, harassment and surveillance of Black and Latino residents, and militarized responses to protests. Arguing previous reforms have done little to curb the department’s brazenness, they are calling for sweeping change: take away power, and funding, from LAPD.
“LAPD is still corrupt and violent and brutal,” said Melina Abdullah, co-founder of Black Lives Matter LA. “Since Rodney King, LAPD has just gotten slicker. Very little has changed, other than they’ve gotten better at PR.”
The calls to defund LAPD gained traction during last year’s uprisings after the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor – and activists are launching a new campaign to build on that momentum. “We can reimagine public safety by divesting from police and freeing up those dollars to invest in the things that actually bring about safe communities,” said Abdullah.
Recent data has repeatedly shown that LAPD officers stop and search Black and Latino residents at significantly higher rates than white residents. In the last two years, officers have been accused of falsely labeling civilians as gang members in databases, citing fabricated information. Last year, the LA Times found that the police department appeared to have repeatedly violated its own rules when it used force against protesters, in some cases causing significant injury. And in the last month, LAPD has been twice forced to apologize – first after officers allegedly circulated an offensive meme mocking George Floyd, then after the chief admitted he gave hugely inaccurate data to the LA Times that falsely suggested a major decline in controversial traffic stops.
“There have been reforms on paper, but if you ask community members if anything has changed, they say nothing has, really,” said Andrés Dae Keun Kwon, a lawyer with the ACLU of Southern California. “It’s the same old disproportionate stops, targeting, harassment, brutalizing and killing.”
“We were hopeful that this kind of confirmation of our experiences would mean that there would be justice and meaningful change,” Abdullah, of BLM, said of the King footage. Instead, “we saw police double down on violence and brutality … telling the world, ‘Don’t believe your lying eyes.’ It reminded us that the truth wasn’t really important to a system that put targets on the backs of Black people.”
Read more of Sam Levin’s report here: Rodney King – 30 years after brutal beating, activists say LAPD ‘still corrupt and violent’
Alexi McCammond at Axios reports on the push by the progressive wing of the Democratic party to get itself in a position to challenge a host of centrist incumbents during the next primary season. She writes:
Progressive Democrats, including two who are Black, are lining up to challenge House majority leader Steny Hoyer even before Maryland sets the date for its 2022 primaries.
Recent progressive victories for Reps Cori Bush in Missouri and Jamaal Bowman in New York, plus the country’s changing demographics and post-#MeToo and George Floyd eras, are giving organizers and candidates new hope that the political landscape is changing and rewarding diversity.
Progressives feel a special urgency to get their policies passed into law, given Democrats control the House, Senate and White House. That’s propelling their unity against those party leaders and members they believe aren’t fighting for the policies like activists. Hoyer is just one member of the Democratic old guard who’s being targeted early by the left flank, with a renewed focus on race and gender.
Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer is up for reelection in 2022 and faces constant speculation about whether a progressive like Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will mount a primary challenge against him. In Virginia, Gov Ralph Northam is term-limited from seeking reelection, but his seat is being eyed by Jennifer Carroll Foy, a Black mother of twins and public defender. And Even before the recent allegations of sexual harassment against New York Gov Andrew Cuomo, progressives were quietly looking to Attorney General Letitia James as a formidable primary challenger.
Read more here: Axios – Progressives ready challenge to Democratic old guard
Jeff Sessions has expressed regret that migrant children were separated from their parents at the US-Mexico border, reports Ted Hesson for Reuters.
As attorney general, Sessions was the cabinet official responsible for Donald Trump’s “zero-tolerance” border strategy and a US Department of Justice internal watchdog report released in January said Sessions’ office was “a driving force” behind the administration’s decision to refer families for criminal prosecution, and that Sessions himself was aware it could lead to family separations.
The policy charged parents with federal immigration offences and sent them to jails, while children were labeled “unaccompanied” and placed in shelters.
Between April and June 2018, nearly 3,000 migrant children were separated from their parents at the border while another 1,000 children were separated from their parents during a pilot program in 2017.
Efforts are still ongoing in court to locate the parents of more than 500 separated children.
Despite the Trump administration only making a belated and ineffective effort to reunite families, Sessions expressed regret for the separations:
“It was unfortunate, very unfortunate, that somehow the government was not able to manage those children in a way that they could be reunited properly,” said Sessions. “It turned out to be more of a problem than I think any of us imagined it would be.”
Launched in April 2018, Trump’s “zero-tolerance” policy provoked widespread criticism, leading the Republican president to effectively reverse it months later.
Within days of taking office, Joe Biden, created a task force in February to reunite families still separated by the policy, calling it a “moral and national shame” and a “stain” on the reputation of the United States.
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Moustafa Bayoumi writes for us this morning on what he says is a new low – using utility bills to hunt undocumented immigrants:
The startling truth is that signing up for even basic utilities in this country has turned into a gamble for many people, particularly undocumented immigrants. Last week, the Washington Post revealed that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) has paid tens of millions of dollars since 2017 for access to a private database that contains more than “400m names, addresses and service records from more than 80 utility companies covering all the staples of modern life, including water, gas and electricity, and phone, internet and cable TV”. The information has been mined by Ice, the Post reported, for immigration surveillance and enforcement operations.
Neither Ice nor any other federal agency should have unfettered access to this data. In fact, there are strict protocols and regulations that determine how the federal government can gather your information and when it can infringe on your privacy, much of this is codified in the Privacy Act of 1974, as the Post notes. So how are federal agencies like Ice getting around these legal safeguards, which would otherwise prevent them from scooping up such data on their own and without a court order? Simple. They just buy it. With taxpayer money.
Ice paid almost $21m for access to a database called Clear, which is owned by the multinational media conglomerate Thomson Reuters. Clear is reported to contain billions of your records, including employment and housing information, credit reports, criminal histories, vehicle registrations and data from utility companies in all 50 states, Washington DC, Puerto Rico, Guam and the US Virgin Islands. It’s also updated daily.
This isn’t just surveillance capitalism. It’s worse. The main idea behind surveillance capitalism is that we, the world’s internet users and smartphone aficionados, have been persuaded to give up the wealth of our personal information in meager exchange for convenient access to big data’s apps and platforms. But what Ice has been doing is different. The marriage of government and surveillance capitalism reveals yet another depth to our contemporary, pixelated nightmare.
Because the power of the government is so immense, the union of government might with surveillance capitalism should worry every single one of us. Facebook may want to know everything about your shopping and surfing habits, but perhaps the worst it can do to you individually is put you in a metaphorical “Facebook jail”. Governments, needless to say, can send you to a real prison.
Read more here: Moustafa Bayoumi – Ice reached a new low: using utility bills to hunt undocumented immigrants
Overnight, Giovanni Russonello’s On Politics newsletter for the New York Times had a focus on voting rights restrictions that Republicans are attempting to impose across the US in the wake of their November election defeat.
There are over 250 bills pending in 43 states that would restrict access to voting. He spoke to Wendy Weiser, director of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU’s law school, and she had this to say about the efforts:
[There are] seven times the number of restrictive voting bills we saw at the same time last year. So it is a dramatic spike in the push to restrict access to voting. It’s not brand-new this year, it wasn’t invented by Donald Trump, but it was certainly supercharged by his regressive attack on our voting systems.
Many of these bills are fueled by the same rhetoric and grievances that were driving the challenges to the 2020 election. In addition to expressly referencing the big lie about widespread voter fraud and that Trump actually won the election, they’re targeting the methods of voting that the Trump campaign was complaining about. So, for example, the single biggest subject of regressive voter legislation in this session — roughly half the bills — is mail voting.
That is new this year. We’ve been tracking efforts to restrict access to voting for a very long time, and absentee voting has not been the subject of legislative attack before. It was the politicization of that issue in the 2020 election, principally by the Trump campaign and allies, that I think helped elevate that issue to a grievance level that would cause it to be the subject of legislative attack.
The Democratic party is fighting back with an attempt at federal legislation of its own – with the For the People Act. As Weiser explains it:
It would create a baseline level of voter access rules that every American could rely on for federal elections. So, for example, in many states we’re seeing attempts to eliminate no-excuse absentee voting. This would require all states to offer no-excuse absentee voting. Every state would then offer that best practice of voting access, and it would no longer be manipulated, election by election, by state legislators to target voters they don’t like.
Sarah Marsh reports for Reuters that eighty House Democrats urged Joe Biden on Tuesday to repeal Donald Trump’s “cruel” sanctions on Cuba and renew engagement, an early sign of support in Congress for easing a clamp-down on the country.
In a letter to Biden seen by Reuters they urged the Democratic president to sign an executive order “without delay” to end restrictions on travel and remittances, noting that well over half of Cubans depend on the latter.
“With the stroke of a pen, you can assist struggling Cuban families and promote a more constructive approach,” they said.
The letter was led by lawmakers Bobby Rush, Gwen Moore, Barbara Lee and Steve Cohen, long-time supporters of engagement with Cuba. Signers also included the leaders of the influential House of Representatives Foreign Affairs, Financial Services and Appropriations committees.
Biden vowed during his campaign to reverse policy shifts by the Republican Trump that “have inflicted harm on the Cuban people and done nothing to advance democracy and human rights.”
Trump’s tightening of the decades-old US trade embargo on Cuba has inflicted further pain on its ailing state-run economy, contributing to worsening shortages of food and medicine. But Biden has not yet indicated whether he will fully revert to the historic detente initiated by Democratic former President Barack Obama when Biden was vice president.
“This letter, signed by a number of key powerbrokers in the House of Representatives, will help empower US foreign policy officials in the Biden administration who seek to rebuild what Trump destroyed - a constructive, productive and civil approach toward Cuba and its people,” said Peter Kornbluh, co-author of “Back Channel to Cuba” and senior analyst at the National Security Archive.
The Trump administration took more than 200 initiatives to tighten the decades-old US trade embargo on Cuba over four years, citing concerns about a lack of democracy and Havana’s support for Venezuela’s socialist government.
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In the last year, Facebook adjusted some of the most fundamental rules about what gets posted on its platform, halting algorithmic recommendations of political groups, banning lies about vaccines and removing a number of high-profile figures for spreading misinformation and hate – including Donald Trump.
But researchers say the social media platform is not enforcing those policies as effectively when it comes to misinformation in Spanish – a blind spot that may prove deadly as health lies spread through the most vulnerable populations during the global vaccine effort.
“Prior to the election, Facebook was rolling out new enforcement actions and policy updates week after week,” said Carmen Scurato, a senior policy counsel at the civil rights group Free Press who studies Spanish-language misinformation. “But what we are observing is that those enforcement actions don’t seem to be replicated in Spanish.”
“Although before the election we saw Facebook make an effort to take down some disinformation, we did not see that same effort on Spanish content,” echoed Jacobo Licona, the disinformation research lead for Equis Labs, a polling firm focused on Latino voters. “It’s disappointing, and could have a negative impact on Spanish-speaking communities.”
There are more than 59 million Spanish speakers in the US, and the demographic is growing on Facebook. According to Facebook’s own market research data, more than 70% of Latinos who use social media prefer Facebook over other online platforms.
But Spanish-language content is less often and less quickly moderated for misinformation and violence than English content, research shows. While 70% of misinformation in English on Facebook ends up flagged with warning labels, just 30% of comparable misinformation in Spanish is flagged, according to a study from the human rights non-profit Avaaz.
“Facebook is leaving out the millions of people who speak Spanish at home by failing to apply its community standards equally,” Scurato said. “If you say you are making efforts on your platform for the safety and health of all of us, that has to also include the Latinx community.”
Read more of Kari Paul’s report from San Francisco here: ‘Facebook has a blind spot’: why Spanish-language misinformation is flourishing
Congressional attempt to access Donald Trump tax records set to continue into summer
Kyle Cheney reports for Politico that the battle to get access to Donald Trump’s tax records is set to run and run…
Congressional investigators fighting to access former President Donald Trump’s financial records are planning for a lengthy battle that stretches deep into 2021, according to a proposed legal schedule unveiled by House counsel Doug Letter on Tuesday.
In a filing on Tuesday with the federal District Court in DC, Letter revealed that the House Oversight Committee had reissued a subpoena for Trump’s accounting firm, Mazars USA, late last month. And he outlined a briefing and argument schedule — already agreed to by Trump’s legal team — that would carry the case into June, with a decision unlikely before mid-summer. Any appeals by either Trump or the House could extend that timeline much further.
Letter’s filing is the first window into the House’s plans for a lengthy slog in a battle that has already stretched two years in federal courts. Democrats say they need access to Trump’s records — which they suspect will show improper foreign ties and potential conflicts of interest — in order to craft financial disclosure legislation to restrain future administrations. But the effort also has renewed relevance after Trump reemerged over the weekend, vowing vengeance upon his political adversaries and pledging to retain his stranglehold on GOP politics.
Under Letter’s schedule, Trump’s first brief would be due 5 April, with the committee’s reply a month later. Additional briefs would be filed on 19 May and 2 June. Oral argument would be scheduled “as soon as practicable” after that.
Read more here: Politico – House fight for Trump’s financial records poised to stretch into the summer
Updated
In not unsurprising news, this morning the Kremlin has played down the impact of sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union over Moscow’s treatment of opposition politician Alexei Navalny, but said it would retaliate with reciprocal measures.
In President Joe Biden’s most direct challenge yet to the Kremlin, the US imposed sanctions to punish Russia for what it described as Moscow’s attempt to poison Navalny with a nerve agent last year.
Navalny, 44, fell ill on a flight in Siberia in August and was airlifted to Germany, where doctors concluded he had been poisoned with a nerve agent. The Kremlin has denied any role in his illness and said it has seen no proof he was poisoned.
Washington on Tuesday imposed sanctions against seven senior Russian officials and on 14 entities. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would hit back in a way that best served its interests.
Reuters report that Peskov told reporters “Of course it’s impossible not to apply the principle of reciprocity. We consider such decisions to be absurd, unjustified and most importantly, they have no effect or meaning,” he said. “We can only regret this and express our bewilderment.”
However, Peskov said the US sanctions would have no effect on the senior officials targeted because they are not allowed to travel outside Russia, own property abroad or hold foreign bank accounts anyway because of the sensitivity of their positions.
US militia group draws members from military and police, website leak shows
A Guardian investigation of a website leak from the American Patriots Three Percent shows the anti-government militia group have recruited a network across the United States that includes current and former military members, police and border patrol agents.
But the leak also demonstrates how the radical group has recruited from a broad swath of Americans, not just military and law enforcement. Members include both men and women, of ages ranging from their 20s to their 70s, doing jobs from medical physics to dental hygiene and living in all parts of the country.
Experts say the revelations of the broad scope of the movement’s membership shows the mainstreaming of the radical politics of militia and so-called “Patriot Movement” groups during the Trump era and beyond.
There has been a particular focus on the militia movement after the 6 January attack on the Capitol in Washington DC, in which a rampaging pro-Trump mob included militia members and others from far-right organizations.
According to members who spoke to the Guardian, the website from which the list was leaked was set up by national leaders of Patriot Movement group, which is affiliated with the broader Three Percenter movement.
Names, phone numbers and even photographs of members were obtained by activists who then posted the data to an internet archiving site, and the Guardian cross-referenced these with public records and other published materials.
One of the activists who discovered the leak, whose name has been withheld due to safety concerns, said that the Wordpress site’s poorly configured membership plugin left those details exposed to public view. Additional materials seen by the Guardian confirm that claim, and show that the materials were obtained by a simple search technique.
Many of the members revealed by the leak have extensive armed forces experience, including some who are still serving in branches of the US military.
Read more of Jason Wilson’s analysis here: US militia group draws members from military and police, website leak shows
Also in the Senate today, the nomination of Xavier Becerra faces a key vote in the Finance committee. It’s a test, too, for national groups opposed to abortion, trying to deny a president who favors abortion rights his choice to run the Department of Health and Human Services.
Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and Thomas Beaumont write for Associated Press that Becerra is paying a price for defending, as California attorney general, some of the nation’s most liberal laws and policies on abortion rights.
During the 2020 election, about 6 in 10 voters said abortion should be legal in most or all cases, according to VoteCast, an in-depth survey of the US electorate conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for the Associated Press. Roughly the same percentage of Republicans said abortion should usually be legal, the survey showed.
Nevertheless lawmakers in 19 state legislatures have introduced almost 50 bills this year to ban most or all abortions, according to the nonpartisan Guttmacher Institute. In South Carolina, Republican Gov Henry McMaster signed a measure banning most abortions, though it was almost immediately suspended by a federal judge.
Becerra was appointed California attorney general in 2017. He sued the Trump administration over its restrictions on abortion, although his office says that only four of the 124 lawsuits Becerra filed against the previous administration dealt with abortion, birth control or conscience rights — key issues for religious conservatives. Becerra went all the way to the US Supreme Court to defend a California law that required crisis pregnancy centers to provide information about abortion — and lost.
His legal advocacy grated on abortion opponents. “What I just see is his getting involved in way too many abortion cases,” said Kristen Day, executive director of Democrats for Life of America. “He just made it part of his foundation. Yes, the laws were bad in California, but he has an abortion agenda.”
Republican John Thune, echoed those views. “It does seem like as attorney general you spent an inordinate amount of time and effort suing pro-life organizations,” he said, questioning Becerra recently. “If confirmed, how do you assure us?”
Sen Steve Daines, told Becerra that “I’ve got serious concerns with the radical views that you’ve taken in the past on the issue of abortion.” And Sen Ben Sasse accused Becerra of “targeting religious liberty” when he sued the Trump administration over its rules giving employers with religious or moral objections more leeway to opt out of covering birth control.
Senate expected to take up Biden’s $1.9tn coronavirus relief package today
The Senate is expected to take up Joe Biden’s $1.9tn coronavirus relief package today, with fellow Democrats seeking to advance key priorities and jettison aspects that have drawn unflattering scrutiny.
The bill would pay for vaccines and medical supplies, boost jobless assistance and send a new round of emergency financial aid to households, small businesses and state and local governments. Democrats aim to get it to Biden to sign into law before 14 March, when some current benefits expire.
With Republican cooperation unlikely, Democrats who narrowly control the chamber need to stick together to pass Biden’s top legislative priority. That will require them to sort out a welter of competing ideas as they seek to advance the bill, which passed the House last Saturday. We already know that the proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour has to be excised.
Also on the chopping block, reports Andy Sullivan for Reuters, is $1.5 million for a bridge connecting Canada and New York state, which Republicans have derided, though Democratic Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer says it was requested by the Trump administration.
It is not clear whether Democrats will keep another project that has drawn Republican ire - funding for a subway expansion in California’s Silicon Valley.
Democrats have shown no interest in dropping another partisan sticking point - $350 billion in aid for state and local governments, which face rising costs and uncertain tax revenues because of the pandemic.
Democratic Senator Joe Manchin is pushing to scale back enhanced unemployment benefits to $300 per week from $400. Lawmakers may also opt to discontinue those benefits if unemployment in a given state drops below a certain level, according to a Democratic aide.
Democrats also may tighten income qualifications for $1,400 direct payments, so they are more targeted toward lower-income households, an aide said.
The Senate could vote on the bill by the end of the week. The House would then have to sign off on the changes before Congress could send it on to Biden to sign into law.
Updated
With Covid case numbers continuing to fall, and the promise of the vaccine roll-out, states are beginning to list some of the restrictions that have been imposed during the pandemic. Greg Abbott has announced that Texas is flinging open businesses to full capacity while simultaneously ending its highly politicized mask mandate. Julie Bosman and Lucy Tompkins for the New York Times report on other openings around the US:
In Chicago, tens of thousands of children returned to public school this week, while snow-covered parks and playgrounds around the city that have been shuttered since last March were opened. Mississippi ended its mask mandate, too. Restaurants in Massachusetts were allowed to operate without capacity limits, and South Carolina erased its limits on large gatherings. San Francisco announced that indoor dining, museums, movie theaters and gyms could reopen on a limited basis.
That’s despite the warnings from Dr Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She said on Monday “I know people are tired; they want to get back to life, to normal. But we’re not there yet.”
As Tompkins and Bosman write:
Though national statistics have improved drastically since January, they have plateaued in the last week or so, and the US is still reporting more than 65,000 new cases a day on average — comparable to the peak of last summer’s surge. The country is averaging more than 2,000 deaths per day, though deaths are a lagging indicator because it can take weeks after being infected with the coronavirus to die from it.
New, more contagious variants of the virus are circulating in the country, with the potential to push case counts upward again. Testing has fallen 30 percent in recent weeks, leaving experts worried about how quickly new outbreaks will be known. And millions of Americans are still waiting to be vaccinated — including workers in restaurants, which are now open in vast numbers across the country.
Read more here: New York Times – Texas drops its virus restrictions as a wave of reopenings takes hold
Yesterday Joe Biden said the country was on track to have enough vaccines for every adult in the country by the end of May. In a sideswipe at former president Donald Trump’s Covid efforts, the president said “When we came into office, the prior administration had contracted for not nearly enough vaccine to cover adults in America. We rectified that.”
Here’s a clip from his address on coronavirus yesterday.
The White House Covid response team also emphasised the way that they have pulled forward the ambition to vaccinate every adult in the US – in gif form.
About three weeks ago, President Biden said we'd have enough vaccine supply for all adult Americans by the end of July.
— White House COVID-19 Response Team (@WHCOVIDResponse) March 2, 2021
Through partnership with vaccine manufacturers and our efforts to ramp up its production, we will now have enough vaccine supply by the end of May. pic.twitter.com/lgrpkXYKIr
According to CDC data, at least 50 million adults in the US have now received at least their first shot of a Covid vaccine – including Dolly Parton, who got a job of the Moderna vaccine that she helped fund.
Dolly gets a dose of her own medicine. @VUMChealth pic.twitter.com/38kJrDzLqC
— Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) March 2, 2021
Welcome to today’s live coverage of US politics. Here’s a catch-up on where we are, and a little of what we can expect to see today:
- Joe Biden said that the US expects to have enough coronavirus vaccines for all adults by the end of May, two months earlier than anticipated.
- Biden also announced he would be using the powers of the federal government to direct all states to prioritize vaccinating teachers and said the federal government would provide the doses directly through its pharmacy program.
- His administration said that the drugmaker Merck would help produce Johnson & Johnson’s newly approved shot.
- There were 53,544 new Covid cases, and 1,819 further deaths in the US. Hospitalization levels are now down to 46,388 across the country.
- Republican governors have seized on the declining numbers to start re-opening the economy. Despite experts warning a premature lifting of restrictions could spark another surge in infection, Texas’ Greg Abbot announced he was rescinding the state’s mask mandate and business would be able to operate at 100% from next week.
- Neera Tanden withdrew as a Cabinet nominee after facing opposition. In an ironic demonstration of “cancel culture” in action, Republican senators cited Tanden’s tweets in opposing her nomination for director of the budget office.
- The Senate Finance committee will vote today on the nomination of Xavier Becerra to run the Department of Health and Human Services.
- The Senate homeland security committee and the Senate rules and administration committee will hold their second joint hearing on the Capitol insurrection at 10am ET (1500 GMT), with testimony from senior DHS and FBI officials.
- The White House Covid response team will give their latest press briefing at 11am, and Jen Psaki gives a briefing at 12.30pm.
- At 1.45pm President Biden holds a bipartisan meeting on cancer in the Oval Office which Vice President Kamala Harris will also attend. At 5pm Biden takes part in a virtual event with the House Democratic Caucus.
