Today's news
Thanks for keeping me company this Monday afternoon. Here’s a rundown of some of the things we covered:
- In the year since George Floyd was murdered, Black Lives Matter activists have tried to take on a powerful police union. Read the story from my colleague Sam Levin here:
- An Ohio plan to to use a $1m cash prize lottery to encourage residents to get their Covid vaccines is working. More than 2.7 million Ohioans have already signed up.
- A new government watchdog report shows that the Trump administration made migrant parents leave without their children.
- The state department issued a travel warning urging Americans not to visit Japan, just weeks ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. Team USA is still planning to go.
- Republicans still don’t believe the presidential election was legitimate. More than half still think Trump won, despite there being no evidence. Meanwhile, GOP officials keep ordering audits and recounts in Arizona and Georgia.
Have a good night!
Updated
A program providing federal funeral assistance for families dealing with Covid deaths has left thousands without funds – all because of issues with death certificates, Politico reports.
More than 200,000 people have requested reimbursement of up to $9,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), which was charged with the largest funeral assistance program ever handled by the agency, as part of the $2.3tn relief package passed under former president Trump.
But many families who lost members early-on in the pandemic, when doctors were still struggling to identify and test for the virus, don’t have the documentation that shows their relative died from the disease.
NEW: Americans are running into roadblocks getting FEMA funeral assistance because their family members’ death certificates don’t list Covid-19. And doctors/ medical examiners won’t amend them. https://t.co/6Y43ySI3BJ
— Erin Banco (@ErinBanco) May 24, 2021
From Politico:
The hesitancy by doctors and medical examiners to change death certificates will likely delay or significantly limit Americans’ ability to receive FEMA assistance, raising questions about how the agency will ensure people get the money they are entitled to while also preventing widespread fraud. Senior officials in FEMA have long worried about the prospect of scammers submitting falsified death certificates.
A FEMA spokesperson told POLITICO that the agency’s current requirements for financial assistance amount to an ‘interim policy’”.
Updated
A group of Senate Republicans are set to meet tomorrow to discuss negotiations for Biden’s infrastructure plan, Reuters reports, as hopes wane that a bipartisan deal is possible.
The White House recently offered to reduce spending on the proposal to $1.7tn – down from an initial $2.25tn – after Republicans pitched a $568bn plan.
The six-senator group, led by Shelley Moore Captio of West Virgina, is seeking to cut the proposed expenditures even further, and is approaching an end-of-May deadline set by the White House.
Just asked Dick Durbin about the $1.7 trillion counteroffer made by the White House on infrastructure.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) May 24, 2021
"I would be reluctant to go lower. It's up to the President. But I think he's made a good-faith effort to come around," the Senate majority whip said
From Reuters:
The sides appear to be far apart and struggling to agree on a basic definition of infrastructure. If talks stall, Biden and his Democratic allies in Congress could decide to move forward without Republicans.
Biden’s sweeping proposal includes traditional infrastructure projects on roads and bridges but also seeks to rechart the direction of the U.S. economy with an additional focus on fighting climate change and boosting social programs”.
Updated
Votes cast in last November’s presidential election are again being counted in Arizona’s Maricopa county, as part of an audit ordered by Republicans, CNN reports, as another audit in Georgia’s Fulton county is set to move forward.
The recounts have sparked divisions within the party at the state and county levels, as local officials grow weary of repeatedly trying to prove that election was valid. Though there’s not been any evidence of voter fraud, Trump’s unfounded accusations have caused some Republicans to continue to question the results of the election.
From CNN:
Trump’s falsehoods have been embraced by a swath of GOP primary voters and by party officials eager to placate the former president and his supporters. Republican state lawmakers have introduced hundreds of bills across the nation this year that would make voting more difficult — and many of those bills have advanced or already been signed into law in states where Republicans control both the legislature and the governor’s office, including Georgia, Florida, Arizona and Texas.
Audits have yet to uncover any wrongdoing, and cannot change the election’s results months after votes were certified, the electoral college voted and Biden was inaugurated”.
Even without evidence of fraud, the majority of Republicans across the US still question Biden’s victory and believe Trump rightfully won. A new poll from Reuters/Ipsos found 53% of Republicans think Trump is the “true president” and a quarter of all Americans agree.
“Former president Donald Trump’s stronghold over the Republican party remains,” the new report reads. “His refusal to concede the 2020 election and calls of widespread fraud have raised doubts about the integrity of its results among his Republican base”.
The poll also found that 87% of Republicans want more restrictions put in place to protect elections in the future.
Updated
The Biden Administration may allow federal employees to work from home even after the threats from the pandemic subside, the Washington Post reports.
The details aren’t ironed out yet, but officials are preparing for a new guidance from the administration, expected next month, that will spell out which agencies and which federal workers will be expected to return to the office. The most likely scenario — like many businesses also navigation a transitioning workforce — will be a hybrid model with options, officials told the Post under the condition of anonymity.
From the Post:
“We anticipate this guidance will leave room for decision-making at departments and agencies, to provide maximum flexibility for defining work requirements to meet mission and workforce needs,” said a senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because plans have not yet been finalized.
Some agencies have already made it clear they intend to give both current staff and new hires the option to continue to work away from the office.
State department warns against travel to Japan
With the Tokyo Olympics just weeks away, the US State Department has issued a “Level 4” warning against traveling to Japan, that’s now struggling through another surge in Covid cases.
A new wrinkle two months before Olympics. US State Department advises travelers not to visit Japan. https://t.co/Hrnfkwzayz
— Motoko Rich (@motokorich) May 24, 2021
Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the State Department bumped the country to the highest warning level on Monday and noted that there are restrictions for US entry already in place.
“Travelers should avoid all travel to Japan,” the CDC cautioned in their new guidance. “Because of the current situation in Japan even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants and should avoid all travel to Japan.”
Under the weight of the fourth wave of coronavirus infections, hospital beds in Osaka, Japan’s second largest city, are full, and ventilators are in short supply. “Simply put, this is a collapse of the medical system,” Yuji Tohda, the director of Kindai University Hospital in Osaka told Reuters.
But the Tokyo Olympics, which was already postponed a year because of the pandemic is still scheduled to begin in July. Olympic officials said the games will go on, even if the city is in a state of emergency.
Medial organizations have rallied against the decision to hold the Olympics and a growing number of Japanese residents are pushing for the event to be canceled. In a poll released last week, 83% said they did not want the Olympics to be held in Tokyo.
A Tokyo medical organization has joined calls to cancel Japan’s Olympic games this summer, citing a surge in #COVID19 cases in the country.
— AJ+ (@ajplus) May 18, 2021
“Japan will bear the maximum responsibility” for deaths caused by the games, it said.
Just 3.5% of people in Japan have been vaccinated. pic.twitter.com/TGZBVRZXmy
Despite global concerns about the new outbreak, the new travel advisory will also not keep Team USA from participating if the games are held.
“We feel confident that the current mitigation practices in place for athletes and staff by both the USOPC and the Tokyo Organizing Committee, coupled with the testing before travel, on arrival in Japan, and during Games time, will allow for safe participation of Team USA athletes this summer,” the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee said in a statement issued today.
Updated
The Trump administration, which forced families to separate at the border, also made migrant parents leave without their children according to a new Department of Homeland Security Inspector General report.
The agency watchdog found that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) knowingly deported parents who had asked to be allowed to take their children back, the Associated Press reports.
“Those who conceived of this travesty will have to live with the memory of their cruelty for the rest of their lives,” Senator Dick Durbin, the chair of the judiciary committee, told the AP.
From the AP:
That contradicted assertions by senior DHS officials that parents were choosing to leave their children in the U.S. to stay with family or for other reasons while they were deported in 2017 and 2018 as the administration sought to enforce a hard-line approach to immigration enforcement.
The findings, issued by Trump-appointed Inspector General Joseph Cuffari, provide new insight into a policy that became a significant political crisis for the previous administration and a continuing challenge for the current one, which is working to reunite children who remain separated even now.
Ice reportedly agreed with the findings in the report and the agency promised to also address key issues raised around record-keeping.
Updated
Joe and Jill Biden joined other officials thanking the national guard members for their service during the five-month deployment in DC following the 6 January pro-Trump attack on the Capitol.
“Since the insurrection on January 6, thousands of proud service members, from states and territories all across our Union, have stood watch over the citadel of our democracy,” they said in a statement. “As they return now to their homes and families, we salute each of them for their commitment to country”.
Here is the statement in full:
We want to offer our deepest thanks and enduring gratitude to the women and men of our National Guard for their service to keep the U.S. Capitol Complex secure over the past nearly five months. Since the insurrection on January 6, thousands of proud service members, from states and territories all across our Union, have stood watch over the citadel of our democracy. As they return now to their homes and families, we salute each of them for their commitment to country. When duty calls, our National Guard members put their lives on hold to stand as a shield and a support when their country is in need. We’ve asked so much of our Guard over the past year, not only defending our Capitol, but supporting our fight against COVID-19, responding to storm damage and wildfires, and deploying internationally to support peacekeeping missions. The Biden family is a National Guard family, and we are forever grateful and in awe of those who, like our son Beau, understand that duty and service to others is what makes us who we are as Americans. To all the National Guard members and their families who sacrifice so much for our country, like all our service members: we owe you and we will always have your backs”.
Updated
Ohio’s plan to use a $1m cash prize lottery to encourage residents to get their Covid vaccines is working. Governor Mike DeWine said on Twitter today that more than 2.7 million Ohioans have already signed up since the lottery opened on 18 May. The first winners are set to be announced on Wednesday, but there will be four remaining drawings.
The biggest bump in vaccinations came from teens in the 16-17 year-old age group, which DeWine said increased by 94% after the lottery was announced. Residents in the 20-49 year-old age group saw a 55% increase.
#OhioVaxAMillion Update: We continue to see increased uptake of the vaccine in response to this promotion. 2,758,470 Ohioans registered for the $1M drawing and 104,386 young Ohioans registered for the scholarship drawing. The first winners will be announced Wednesday @ 7:29 pm. pic.twitter.com/YWBoauGLFt
— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) May 24, 2021
The “Vax-a-Million” program will pay out $5m total. “We are seeing increasing numbers in all age groups, except those 80 and older, who are highly vaccinated already,” Stephanie McCloud, Ohio’s department of health director, told CBS News last week. “Although the rate among that group is decreasing, it is doing so at a less rapid pace, demonstrating some positive impact even in that group.”
The lottery is only open to residents 18 and older, but younger teens who are now eligible to receive the vaccine won’t be left out. For those between the ages of 12 and 17, one shot could get them a full-ride to a state college or university in Ohio. Five of those will be given out too.
From CBS:
“No one has tried this and we just thought it was worth to try this to do it,” DeWine said. “We just know this virus is very much out there in Ohio.” The first of five drawings for the lottery will be on May 26 and continue for the next four Wednesdays. The pool of names for the drawing will be derived from the Ohio secretary of state’s publicly available voter registration database, DeWine said. The money will come from existing federal coronavirus relief funds.
Updated
Ahead of tomorrow’s anniversary of the murder of George Floyd, my colleague Sam Levin has a deeper look at the power of police unions, and how Black Lives Matter activists in Los Angeles are taking on an especially influential one.
He writes:
Police unions grew in the US in the 1960s as the civil rights movement was increasing scrutiny of officer misconduct. In the decades since, law enforcement associations have dramatically expanded their powers through their contracts.
“It’s hard for me to think of police as traditional workers,” said Veena Dubal, a University of California, Hastings law professor and labor expert, and former Berkeley police review commissioner. “They are the only people in our country who have the right to take away life and to do so with immunity. They are unequivocally forces that seek to insulate police from any kind of accountability, and that’s very different than what a union does.”
The unions have negotiated a wide range of exceptional rights for officers, including requiring departments to erase misconduct records from officers’ files, giving them a clean slate. Union contracts have also mandated that abuse investigations remain secret; allowed officers found to be intoxicated at work to go home without discipline; created huge obstacles to firing police; and ensured that when police officers kill civilians, they can wait several days before they have to give a statement.
The impact of those contracts, experts say, is deadly.
Read the full story here.
Updated
Today so far
That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Gabrielle Canon, will take over the blog for the next few hours.
Here’s where the day stands so far:
- More than 500 Biden campaign alums and Democratic staffers signed an open letter urging Joe Biden to do more to protect Palestinians, after 11 days of attacks between Israeli forces and Hamas in Gaza left more than 200 Palestinians dead. “We implore you to continue using the power of your office to hold Israel accountable for its actions and lay the groundwork for justice and lasting peace,” the letter says.
- Secretary of state Antony Blinken will travel to the Middle East this week, as a ceasefire continues to hold in Gaza. In a statement about the trip, Biden said Blinken will meet with Israeli leaders to reassert “our ironclad commitment to Israel’s security” while also working to rebuild ties with Palestinians.
- The White House and the Kremlin are finalizing plans to hold a summit next month in Geneva, Switzerland, according to the AP. If the summit comes together, it will mark Biden’s first in-person meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin since taking office in January.
- The lawmakers negotiating over a policing reform bill said they “remain optimistic” about the chances of reaching a deal on the legislation. The statement from congresswoman Karen Bass and Senators Cory Booker and Tim Scott comes one day before the anniversary of the death of George Floyd, the Black man who was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer last year.
- New York City schools will fully return to in-person instruction this fall without a remote option, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced this morning. “We have proven that we can beat back Covid all over this country and school opens four months from now,” de Blasio said. “So I absolutely believe Covid will continue to go down, vaccinations will go up, recovery will be strong.”
Gabrielle will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
Joe Biden will on Tuesday meet the family of George Floyd on the first anniversary of his murder by police in Minneapolis – but miss his own deadline for police reform to address racial injustice.
The private meeting at the White House comes amid events in Minneapolis and beyond to mark one year since Floyd was killed when police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes.
Floyd’s dying words, “I can’t breathe”, became a rallying cry for an international racial justice movement and demands for radical changes to policing. But to the frustration of activists, efforts have hit a wall in Washington.
Biden dropped a campaign promise to create a national police oversight commission in his first hundred days in office, reportedly after being advised by civil rights organisations and police unions that it might cause unnecessary delays.
Instead the president told a joint session of Congress last month he wanted the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act passed by 25 May. The legislation would invest in police training, ban the use of chokeholds and establish a national database of police misconduct.
The bill has been passed by the House of Representatives but is stalled in the Senate over issues including qualified immunity, which shields law enforcement officers from being sued by victims and their families for civil rights violations. Republicans have objected to it being scrapped.
Lawmakers 'remain optimistic' about reaching deal on policing bill
The three lawmakers who are negotiating over a policing reform bill say they “remain optimistic” about the chances of reaching a bipartisan deal on the legislation.
Congresswoman Karen Bass and Senator Cory Booker, both Democrats, and Senator Tim Scott, a Republican, have just put out a new statement on where the negotiations stand.
The statement comes one day before the anniversary of the death of George Floyd, the Black man who was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer last year.
“One year ago, George Floyd’s murder awakened millions of people around the world who had never before witnessed the deadly consequences of the failures in our policing system. This anniversary serves as a painful reminder of why we must make meaningful change,” the three lawmakers said.
“While we are still working through our differences on key issues, we continue to make progress toward a compromise and remain optimistic about the prospects of achieving that goal.”
Joe Biden had originally said he wanted to sign the bill by the anniversary of Floyd’s death, but that deadline is not going to be met because of the ongoing negotiations.
The president is scheduled to meet privately with the Floyd family tomorrow to commemorate the anniversary.
House speaker Nancy Pelosi thanked the National Guard troops for their service at the Capitol over the past five months, as their assignment comes to an end today.
“The National Guard are American heroes and defenders of Democracy,” the speaker said in a new statement.
“Their presence in our temple of Democracy following January 6th, one of the most harrowing and horrific days in our history, has brought security, safety and healing to the Congress and indeed the Country.”
Pelosi argued the Guard troops’ service underscored the need for the Senate to approve the House-passed bills to form a commission to study the January 6 insurrection and provide more funding for Capitol security.
“It is imperative that Congress continues to take action to honor the sacrifice of law enforcement and to protect the Capitol and ensure that an attack can never again be perpetrated against it,” Pelosi said. “There is no time to waste or room for partisanship in keeping our Capitol and Country safe.”
Alexandra Villarreal reports for the Guardian:
The governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer, has apologized after she was caught on camera with a dozen other people who pushed tables together at a bar in East Lansing, thereby violating the state’s Covid-19 restrictions.
It is the latest in a slew of controversies that have affected Whitmer during the coronavirus pandemic, as critics watch for behavior at odds with policies and public messaging.
“Yesterday, I went with friends to a local restaurant,” Whitmer said in a statement on Sunday. “As more people arrived, the tables were pushed together. Because we were all vaccinated, we didn’t stop to think about it.
“In retrospect, I should have thought about it. I am human. I made a mistake, and I apologize.”
After devastating Covid-19 surges in Michigan over the winter and this spring, daily cases are finally dropping, though the state remains a center for new infections by population.
After receiving a briefing on the upcoming hurricane season, Joe Biden walked around FEMA headquarters, thanking the employees there for their important contributions over the past year.
“It’s not hyperbole to suggest you save people’s lives,” the president told the FEMA staffers, per the White House press pool.
“The main thing I wanted to do was to come by and thank you” for saving people and property, and for dealing with the southern border and coronavirus pandemic, Biden says at FEMA HQ. "I really mean it."
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) May 24, 2021
"You all don't get paid that much but--" he said, to laughs from the staff. pic.twitter.com/B5rZC4595H
Alexandra Villarreal reports for the Guardian:
Journalists at the Associated Press published an open letter on Monday, decrying the decision to fire Emily Wilder, a young employee targeted by a Republican smear campaign regarding her pro-Palestinian advocacy while a student.
“It has left our colleagues – particularly emerging journalists – wondering how we treat our own, what culture we embrace and what values we truly espouse as a company,” the journalists wrote.
Wilder, a 2020 Stanford graduate, was an intern at the Arizona Republic before the AP hired her for an entry-level role in Phoenix.
She announced her new position in April, tweeting photographs which showed her wearing an AP logo. She started as a news associate in early May but was fired weeks later – according to the company, for violating its social media policy. She and other AP staffers remain confused as to how.
Wilder was fired soon after Republicans at Stanford resurfaced her history of pro-Palestinian advocacy while a college student. Conservative outlets publicized the story and prominent figures including the Arkansas senator Tom Cotton shared it.
One House Democrat is calling on his progressive colleagues to more harshly condemn the recent uptick in anti-Semitic attacks across the US.
Congressman Dean Phillips said on Twitter, “I’ll say the quiet part out loud; it’s time for ‘progressives’ to start condemning anti-semitism and violent attacks on Jewish people with the same intention and vigor demonstrated in other areas of activism. The silence has been deafening.”
I’ll say the quiet part out loud; it’s time for “progressives” to start condemning anti-semitism and violent attacks on Jewish people with the same intention and vigor demonstrated in other areas of activism. The silence has been deafening.
— Rep. Dean Phillips 🇺🇸 (@RepDeanPhillips) May 24, 2021
At least 26 anti-Semitic incidents have been reported in the past two weeks, according to the Washington Post.
Violence increased as Israeli forces and Hamas launched attacks at each other in Gaza, where a ceasefire has now been called. The attacks killed more than 200 people, most of them Palestinian.
A number of progressives criticized Joe Biden for being too lenient with Israel as the country’s military continued to launch airstrikes in Gaza.
Speaking at the beginning of his FEMA briefing on the upcoming hurricane season, Joe Biden said he will “insist on nothing less than readiness for all these challenges” as extreme weather events become more common.
The president reiterated his administration’s announcement that it will invest $1 billion to help communities prepare for future natural disasters.
“It’s going to help communities, including those too often overlooked, and it’s going to invest in resilience and better protect themselves to serve other climate events they’re going to be facing,” Biden said of the funding.
“And so it’s about, not about red states and blue states, you all know that, it’s about having people’s backs at the toughest moments that they face, ready with food, water and shelter and more.”
Homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and national climate adviser Gina McCarthy are among those in attendance for the briefing.
Biden visits FEMA headquarters to receive hurricane briefing
Joe Biden is now visiting FEMA headquarters to receive a briefing on the upcoming hurricane season.
.@POTUS visits @fema pic.twitter.com/1Va0ThhBuA
— Jeff Mason (@jeffmason1) May 24, 2021
Ahead of the president’s FEMA visit, the Biden administration announced today that it is investing $1 billion toward helping communities prepare for natural disasters.
In a statement on the initiative, the White House noted that forecasters are predicting a 60% chance of an above-normal hurricane season.
“As climate change threatens to bring more extreme events like increased floods, sea level rise, and intensifying droughts and wildfires, it is our responsibility to better prepare and support communities, families, and businesses before disaster – not just after,” the White House said.
Updated
The defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, has released a statement concerning the end of the national guard mission to protect the US Capitol, after it was attacked by Trump supporters on 6 January, a deadly riot arising out of the former president’s lie that his conclusive electoral defeat by Joe Biden was the result of electoral fraud.
Thanking the soldiers and airmen, Austin – a retired general himself – said: “These airmen and soldiers protected not only the grounds, but the lawmakers working on those grounds, ensuring the people’s business could continue unabated. They lived out in very tangible ways the oath they took to support and defend the constitution.”
Such ways the national guardsmen and women supported and protected the constitution might seem more tangible, one might say, than any pursued by Republicans in the House and Senate opposed to the establishment of a 9/11-style commission to investigate 6 January.
Austin also noted the guard’s work in coping with “natural disasters, civil unrest and an ongoing pandemic” and said: “As these troops depart for home and a much-deserved reunion with loved ones, I hope they do so knowing how much the nation appreciates their service and sacrifice – and that of their families and employers.”
Further reading:
As biblical rains pounded Lake Charles in Louisiana last week, beleaguered residents could be forgiven for thinking they have lived in the most unfortunate city in the United States over the past 14 months.
Since last summer, the city has been hit by two major hurricanes, a paralyzing deep freeze, and now flooding rainfall that has inundated hundreds of homes. The latest disaster, which saw 15in of rain in just 12 hours, left people navigating the streets by kayak, salvaging what they could from homes still being patched up from hurricane damage and wondering if the past year is an omen of a deepening climate crisis.
“We are a very resilient people, we are a very strong population,” said Nic Hunter, Lake Charles’ mayor, whose staff had scrambled to rescue electronics from a flooding city hall. His own children were marooned at school. “But, you know, eventually you do kind of get to a point where you ask Mother Nature: what more can you do to us?”
Joe Biden will announce later on Monday that the US will double emergency spending to help communities prepare for hurricanes and other extreme weather events, while launching a new effort at Nasa to understand and track the impacts of climate change.
As the Associated Press reports, “the $1bn in spending is a small fraction of what the US spends on weather-related disasters. Last year alone, the nation endured 22 separate weather and climate-related disasters with losses greater than $1bn each. The disasters, including wildfires, hurricanes and snowstorms, had a cumulative price tag of nearly $100bn.”
Furthermore, “2021 has already had significant winter storms that caused a deadly blackout in Texas and other states and underscore the damage caused by climate change. Forecasters predict the Atlantic hurricane season will be busier than normal, but is unlikely to be as severe as 2020’s record-shattering year.
“The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said last week that the hurricane season, which runs from June through November, will likely see 13 to 20 named storms, including at least six that will become hurricanes and three to five categorized as major hurricanes with winds of more than 110mph.
“Biden will make the funding announcement during a visit to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s headquarters on Monday afternoon, where he will receive a briefing on this year’s outlook for the Atlantic hurricane season.”
Some further reading:
Updated
Biden staffers demand action on Israel-Palestine
More than 500 Biden campaign alumni and Democratic staffers have signed an open letter calling for the president to do more to protect Palestinians and hold Israel accountable for its actions in and over Gaza, where a ceasefire currently holds.
The staffers and former staffers write that they “commend [Biden’s] efforts to broker a ceasefire. Yet, we also cannot unsee the horrific violence that unfolded in recent weeks in Israel/Palestine, and we implore you to continue using the power of your office to hold Israel accountable for its actions and lay the groundwork for justice and lasting peace.
The very same values that motivated us to work countless hours to elect you demand that we speak out … we remain horrified by the images of Palestinian civilians in Gaza killed or made homeless by Israeli airstrikes. We are outraged by Israel’s efforts to forcibly and illegally expel Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah. We are shocked by Israel’s destruction of a building housing international news organizations. We remain horrified by reports of Hamas rockets killing Israeli civilians.
While Israelis had to spend nights hiding in bomb shelters, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip had nowhere to hide. It is critical to acknowledge this power imbalance — that Israel’s highly-advanced military occupies the West Bank and East Jerusalem and blockades the Gaza Strip, creating an uninhabitable open-air prison.
Biden has sent his secretary of state, Tony Blinken, to the Middle East this week, saying in a statement: “Following up on our quiet, intensive diplomacy to bring about a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas … Blinken will meet with Israeli leaders about our ironclad commitment to Israel’s security. He will continue our administration’s efforts to rebuild ties to, and support for, the Palestinian people and leaders, after years of neglect.”
Jewish and Arab Americans were among signatories to the open letter to Biden. Among its demands, it says the Biden administration must “investigate whether Israel’s most recent assault on Gaza violates the Leahy Law, prohibiting US military aid from funding foreign military units implicated in the commission of gross violations of human rights”.
Here’s some further reading:
Today so far
Here’s where the day stands so far:
- Secretary of state Antony Blinken will travel to the Middle East this week, as a ceasefire continues to hold in Gaza after 11 days of violence that killed hundreds of people, most of them Palestinian.
- The White House and the Kremlin are finalizing plans to hold a summit next month in Geneva, Switzerland, according to the AP. If the summit comes together, it will mark Joe Biden’s first in-person meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin since taking office in January.
- New York City schools will fully return to in-person instruction this fall without a remote option, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced this morning. “We have proven that we can beat back Covid all over this country and school opens four months from now,” de Blasio said. “So I absolutely believe Covid will continue to go down, vaccinations will go up, recovery will be strong.”
The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
Asked about the ongoing negotiations over an infrastructure package, Jen Psaki said “the ball is in Republicans’ court”.
The White House press secretary said the administration is eagerly anticipating Republicans’ counteroffer on infrastructure after Joe Biden proposed a slightly smaller bill than what he had originally proposed.
Administration officials said on Friday that they had proposed a $1.7 trillion package to Republicans, after Biden initially called for spending $2.25 trillion on infrastructure.
However, Republicans have indicated the latest offer is still too costly. They have insisted the package should be more narrowly focused on traditional infrastructure issues like improving roads and bridges.
A reporter asked Jen Psaki about how policing in America has changed since Joe Biden took office, as the country prepares to mark the one-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd.
The White House press secretary said the president is “still very hopeful” that he will be able to sign the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
Biden had originally said that he hoped to sign the bill by the one-year anniversary, which is tomorrow, but lawmakers continue to negotiate over the legislation.
The president is scheduled to meet with Floyd’s family tomorrow to commemorate the anniversary. Psaki said it would be a “private meeting,” but she noted the White House will put out a statement to mark the anniversary.
The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, is now holding her daily briefing with reporters.
Psaki opened her comments with a joke that today’s briefing is “double the fun” because the White House has doubled the number of reporters allowed in the room.
The briefing room is now at 50% capacity, meaning 24 reporters are present. This marks the first time in more than a year that the room has been that full.
BIG CHANGE. WH briefing now at 50 percent capacity (24 seats filled) for first time in more than a year and first time in this administration. pic.twitter.com/PTf0nYHbCz
— Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) May 24, 2021
White House eyes Geneva for Biden-Putin summit - report
The White House and the Kremlin are finalizing plans to hold a US-Russian summit next month in Geneva, Switzerland, according to a new report.
If the plan comes together, it would allow Joe Biden to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in person for the first time since the US president took office in January.
The AP reports:
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is meeting with his Russian counterpart in Geneva, the proposed host city, this week to finalize details, according to one official familiar with the preliminary planning but not authorized to discuss the deliberations publicly. Geneva is now expected to be the choice for Biden first face-to-face meeting with Putin as president, according to a second official.
An official announcement was expected in the coming days.
The summit would come at the end of Biden’s first foreign trip as president, a week-long swing through Europe that includes a stop in the United Kingdom for a Group of Seven summit of leaders of the world’s richest nations, and then a visit to the Brussels headquarters of NATO, the longstanding military alliance built as a bulwark to Russian aggression.
The White House said in a statement this morning that Sullivan met with Russian security council secretary Nikolay Patrushev to discuss a potential summit between the two leaders.
“The meeting was an important step in the preparation for a planned U.S.-Russia summit, the date and location of which will be announced later,” the White House said.
“The discussions were held in a constructive manner and, despite outstanding differences, allowed for a better understanding of each other’s positions.”
Hugo Lowell reports for the Guardian:
Top Senate Republicans are making a concerted effort to quash the creation of a 9/11-style commission to investigate the Capitol attack, deeply endangering the bill’s passage amid fears about what a high-profile inquiry into the events of 6 January might uncover.
The Republican Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, has said he opposes the commission bill in its current form and several Republicans who have previously expressed support said they could no longer back it.
McConnell’s opposition brings into sharp relief the treacherous path ahead for the legislation, which Senate Democrats could introduce as soon as this week, according to a source briefed on the matter.
The reasons publicly offered by Republicans for rejecting the creation of a commission are myriad: it might impede existing congressional and justice department investigations into 6 January. It might become politicized. It might make pro-Trump rioters “look bad”.
But in the end, the stance reflects the fear from McConnell and top Senate Republicans that extending their support to an inquiry likely to find Donald Trump at fault for inciting the Capitol attack could be used as a cudgel against Republicans ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
NYC schools will be fully in person with no remote option this fall
New York City schools will fully return to in-person instruction this fall, with no option for remote learning, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced this morning.
The Democratic mayor outlined the plan for bringing all students back to the classroom in an interview with MSNBC this morning.
New York City public schools will FULLY reopen this September. That means welcoming all our students and staff back to school buildings.
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) May 24, 2021
Vaccinations are working, we’re beating back COVID, and our city is coming back strong. pic.twitter.com/jamWEzFXHN
“We have proven that we can beat back Covid all over this country and school opens four months from now,” de Blasio said. “So I absolutely believe Covid will continue to go down, vaccinations will go up, recovery will be strong.”
Acknowledging that some parents may be hesitant to let their children return to the classroom, de Blasio said parents will be able to visit their local schools starting in June to see the health precautions that are being taken to limit the potential spread of the virus.
De Blasio also made the argument that the city cannot effectively reopen until students are back in the classroom full-time.
“It’s just amazing the forward motion right now, the recovery that’s happening in New York City,” the mayor said. “But you can’t have a full recovery without full-strength schools, everyone back sitting in those classrooms, kids learning again.”
National security adviser makes steps toward US-Russian summit
National security adviser Jake Sullivan spoke to Russian security council secretary Nikolay Patrushev about a potential US-Russian summit.
“The meeting was an important step in the preparation for a planned U.S.-Russia summit, the date and location of which will be announced later,” the White House said in a readout of the discussion.
“The discussions were held in a constructive manner and, despite outstanding differences, allowed for a better understanding of each other’s positions.”
Joe Biden has previously said he hopes to soon meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, potentially next month when the US president will be in Europe for the G-7 summit in Cornwall.
The White House said of the US-Russian relationship, “The sides agreed that a normalization of U.S.-Russian relations would be in the interest of both countries and contribute to global predictability and stability.”
Tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary of the death of George Floyd, the Black man who was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer.
Joe Biden will meet with Floyd’s family tomorrow to commemorate the anniversary.
The president had previously said he also hoped to sign a policing reform bill by the one-year anniversary of Floyd’s death, but bipartisan negotiations continue over the legislation.
Asked about the bill today, House majority whip Jim Clyburn said he was pleased with the progress that Democratic congresswoman Karen Bass is making to reach a final deal.
Asked about status of police reform, @WhipClyburn says he checks in with @RepKarenBass almost daily and she’s pleased w/ progress.
— Jamie Lovegrove (@jslovegrove) May 24, 2021
“It’s not going to get done on the anniversary date (of George Floyd’s death, May 25), but I think more important is that it get done.” #scpol pic.twitter.com/k2Jc6FOvBx
Beto O’Rourke is considering a run for governor in Texas, but the former presidential candidate is keeping pretty quiet about his plans for the moment.
The AP reports:
He says he hasn’t ruled out anything, but isn’t saying much else. And Texas Democrats are itching for an answer.
‘Impatience is not the word for it,’ Texas Democratic Party chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said. ‘But anxious is.’
For months, O’Rourke has kept his options open. A top aide to the former Texas congressman and presidential candidate said O’Rouke, 48, has not ruled out challenging Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in 2022 but has taken no formal steps toward a campaign, like calling donors or recruiting staff. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss private deliberations more freely.
O’Rourke narrowly lost his 2018 Senate race against Republican incumbent Ted Cruz, which intensified Democratic hopes of soon flipping a statewide office in the traditionally conservative state.
After his failed Senate bid, O’Rourke launched a presidential campaign, but he dropped out months before the 2020 Iowa caucuses amid poor polling numbers.
The Republican pariah Liz Cheney has repeatedly refused to admit a link between Donald Trump’s lies about voter fraud and restrictive voting laws being introduced in Republican states, telling an interviewer on Sunday night she will “never understand the resistance to voter ID”.
“There’s a big difference between that and a president of the United States who loses an election after he tried to steal the election and refuses to concede,” said the Wyoming representative ejected from party leadership for opposing the former president.
Laws tightening regulations on voter ID, voting by mail and even giving water to those waiting on line to vote have been passed or are close to passage in states from Georgia to Texas and beyond.
Because of their disproportionate impact on minority voters – many of whom vote Democratic – Democrats including Joe Biden have compared such laws to Jim Crow segregation in southern states from the civil war to the civil rights era.
Most in a Republican party under Trump’s grip reject such claims. Cheney has ranged herself against Trump but when pressured by Axios on HBO interviewer Jonathan Swan, she stayed in lockstep with her party.
Impeachment witness sues Pompeo and US government for $1.8 million
Gordon Sondland, the former US ambassador to the EU who became a key witness during the first impeachment inquiry of Donald Trump, is suing Mike Pompeo and the US government for $1.8 million in legal fees.
The Washington Post reports:
The suit, filed Monday in federal court in the District of Columbia, alleges that Pompeo reneged on his promise that the State Department would cover the fees after Sondland delivered bombshell testimony accusing Trump and his aides of pressuring the government of Ukraine to investigate then presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter in exchange for military aid. ...
The complaint alleges that Pompeo told Sondland that government lawyers would not be made available to represent him but that if he hired his own counsel, his attorney fees would be covered by the U.S. government. Top aides to Pompeo also acknowledged this commitment, the suit alleges, but ‘everything changed’ after Sondland delivered his testimony alleging a ‘quid pro quo’ and then refused to resign despite a request from one of Pompeo’s most trusted aides, Ulrich Brechbuhl.
Trump dismissed Sondland from his post last year, shortly after the Senate acquitted him in the impeachment trial.
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has pledged the Biden administration will deal with “the grave humanitarian situation in Gaza” and will seek “equal measures of security” for Israelis and Palestinians as a ceasefire after 11 days of conflict held throughout the weekend.
More than 240 people in Gaza, including at least 66 children, and a dozen in Israel were killed during the violence, marking the first major diplomatic crisis for the Biden administration.
Blinken told ABC News on Sunday that the ceasefire was “critical” to position the US “to make a pivot to building something more positive” and reiterated that the administration supports a two state solution.
“That has to start now with dealing with the grave humanitarian situation in Gaza. Then reconstruction, rebuilding what’s been lost. And critically, engaging both sides in trying to start to make real improvements in the lives of people so that Israelis and Palestinians can live with equal measures of security, of peace and dignity,” Blinken said.
Secretary of state to visit Middle East as Gaza ceasefire holds
Greetings from Washington, live blog readers.
Secretary of state Antony Blinken will visit the Middle East this week as the ceasefire holds in Gaza, after 11 days of attacks between Israeli forces and Hamas.
“Following up on our quiet, intensive diplomacy to bring about a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, I have asked my Secretary of State, Tony Blinken, to travel to the Middle East this week,” Joe Biden said in a statement this morning.
The president said Blinken will meet with Israeli leaders to reassert the administration’s “ironclad commitment to Israel’s security”. The secretary of state will also build upon efforts to “rebuild ties to, and support for, the Palestinian people and leaders, after years of neglect”.
“And he will engage other key partners in the region, including on the coordinated international effort to ensure immediate assistance reaches Gaza in a way that benefits the people there and not Hamas, and on reducing the risk of further conflict in the coming months,” Biden said.
The blog will have more on Blinken’s trip coming up, so stay tuned.
