Summary
- Joe Biden was on Capitol Hill for a meeting to discuss Senate Democrats’ $3.5tn “human infrastructure” plan. The president attended the Senate Democratic caucus’ weekly policy lunch this afternoon, one day after majority leader Chuck Schumer announced an agreement on the spending proposal. Speaking to reporters just before the lunch started, Biden said, “We’re going to get this done.”
- Schumer acknowledged it would be a “long” road to passing the $3.5tn proposal. Senate Democrats still need to hammer out the details of the spending package and get the entire caucus on board before they can move forward. “But we are going to get this done because we so fervently believe that we must make average American lives a whole lot better,” Schumer said.
- Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell dismissed Biden’s criticism of Republican voting restrictions, as experts warn that the US is facing a potential democratic crisis. The Republican leader specifically mocked Biden’s argument that the voting restrictions and the “big lie” of widespread fraud in the 2020 election represent “the most significant test of our democracy since the civil war”, as the president said in Philadelphia yesterday. “What utter nonsense,” McConnell said. “It would be laugh-out-loud funny if it wasn’t so completely and totally irresponsible.”
- The select committee investigating the 6 January insurrection announced it will hold its first hearing later this month. On 27 July, the panel will hear first-hand testimony from some of the US Capitol police and DC Metropolitan police Department officers who defended the Capitol as pro-Trump insurrectionists stormed the building. House minority leader Kevin McCarthy has still not named anyone to the committee, and it’s unclear whether he will do so before the hearing occurs.
- The Biden administration said it will start evacuating at-risk Afghans by the end of the month. The announcement from Jen Psaki comes as the US military continues its withdrawal operation and the Taliban makes territorial advances across Afghanistan. “The reason that we are taking these steps is because these are courageous individuals,” Psaki said. “We want to make sure we recognize and value the role they’ve played over the last several years.”
Updated
Where key Senate moderates stand on the $3.5tn budget resolution
Jon Tester, Montana: “The price tag is a lot of money but it doesn’t scare me, it’s just how it’s being spent. There are plenty of needs out there, we just have to figure out how it’s being spent,” he said, according to the Hill.
Joe Manchin, West Virginia: “We’re anxious to basically review it. They worked hard on it, we want to see it. Also I’ve been very clear that I want to see the pay-fors and make sure that whatever we do is globally competitive,” he told reporters.
Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona: “Kyrsten is committed to working with her colleagues and the administration on ways to create jobs and expand economic opportunities in Arizona and communities across the country,” a spokesperson said. “Those conversations are ongoing and she will give careful consideration to any idea that can strengthen Arizona’s economy and help Arizona families get ahead.”
Updated
The FBI failed in investigating serious sexual abuse allegations against Larry Nasser, the former USA Gymnastics coach, the Justice department’s inspector general has said.
The investigation was “inexcusable and a discredit” to the FBI, the department’s watchdog said in a report.
The AP reports:
The inspector general’s investigation was spurred by allegations that the FBI failed to promptly address complaints made in 2015 against Nassar. USA Gymnastics had conducted its own internal investigation and then the organization’s then-president, Stephen Penny, reported the allegations to the FBI’s field office in Indianapolis. But it took months before the bureau opened a formal investigation.
At least 40 girls and women said they were molested over a 14-month period while the FBI was aware of other sexual abuse allegations involving Nassar. Officials at USA Gymnastics also contacted FBI officials in Los Angeles in May 2016 after eight months of inactivity from agents in Indianapolis.
The inspector general’s office found that “despite the extraordinarily serious nature” of the allegations against Nassar, FBI officials in Indianapolis did not respond with the “utmost seriousness and urgency that they deserved and required.”
When they did respond, the report said, FBI officials made “numerous and fundamental errors” and also violated bureau policies. Among the missteps was a failure to conduct any investigative activity until more than a month after a meeting with USA Gymnastics. Agents interviewed by phone one of three athletes, but never spoke with two other gymnasts despite being told they were available to meet.
Read more:
Opinion: How have Joe Biden’s first six months been? Our panelists weigh in
Robert Reich: ‘The biggest potential disaster? Voting rights’
Six months in, it looks like Joe Biden has a good chance of getting America back to where it was before the pandemic. Covid-19 is in retreat. So far, almost half of the adult population has been fully vaccinated. The economy is roaring back – still 7m jobs short of where it was in January 2020 but on track to return to the starting gate by the end of the year. Biden’s “American Rescue Plan” is a major success.
But it’s not clear Biden will get America back to where it was before Trump. His initial slew of executive orders erased most of Trump’s executive orders, but he hasn’t yet demolished all of Trump’s cruel immigration policies. Trump’s xenophobic rhetoric is gone but Biden hasn’t repaired relations with China. Many of Trump’s tariffs are still in place. And even with a bare Democratic majority in the US Senate, there’s little chance Congress will repeal all of Trump’s tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy.
What about Biden’s big plans to remake America? Depending on your point of view, they’re either on hold or stalled. He’ll likely get bipartisan support for over half a trillion dollars of new spending for “hard” infrastructure. That’s not nothing. Beyond that, it’s anyone’s guess what Senate Democrats will agree to on legislation covering childcare, the environment, and healthcare and education that can circumvent a Republican filibuster
Bhaskar Sunkara: ‘Biden is thinking big – but hasn’t delivered yet’
The good news is that six months into the Joe Biden administration, he’s delivered on one of his main campaign pitches and restored a sense of “normalcy” to the country. After four years of mercurial rule by Donald Trump, the White House has become a more predictable place.
That’s the bad news too. Since the old “normal” wasn’t delivering for millions of working-class Americans.
Biden has shown a willingness to think big, but he hasn’t delivered on structural reforms like a $15 minimum wage and a Pro Act meant to help restore trade union density. He’s institutionally constrained by hostile forces within his own party and has been forced to make do with a slim congressional majority, but unless he finds a way to use his political power to overcome some of those barriers, he’ll find himself in an even more difficult position after the 2022 midterm elections.
Kate Aronoff: ‘Biden needs to act on climate now’
Joe Biden is not in an enviable position. Besides a Republican party hell bent on stopping any good things from happening, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema – both of them right-leaning Democrats – can decide on whatever makes it through a 50-50 senate. Biden’s American Jobs Plan is drastically out of step with what the climate crisis demands, but even that faces major headwinds within our antebellum political system all but built to keep public opinion – that supports a Green New Deal and stricter regulations – from being translated into law.
Whatever happens in Congress, though, Biden has a range of as-of-yet unexplored tools at his disposal to start reducing emissions tomorrow. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Federal Reserve – which jointly regulate the banking sector – could raise capital requirements for institutions that invest in fossil fuels, helping stem the flow of Wall Street cash into coal, oil and gas. By declaring a climate emergency, Biden could reinstate the ban on crude oil exports, which have ballooned by 750% since rules restricting them were quietly peeled back in 2015. Ending drilling on federal lands – well within the purview of the Interior Department – could eliminate a quarter of US emission.
Read more:
Updated
Biden is meeting today with General Austin “Scott” Miller – who until recently was the top US general in Afghanistan – to thank him “for his extraordinary service”, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.
“As the final commander of the Resolute Support Mission, General Miller oversaw the vast majority of our drawdown from Afghanistan, which is a particularly vulnerable period for our troops,” she said in a statement. “That this drawdown has been conducted in such an orderly and safe way is a testament to General Miller’s leadership, and the President looks forward to personally thanking him later today.”
The US withdrawal process from Afghanistan now nearly complete, according to US Central Command. The Biden administration has also announced an “Operation Allies Refuge” to evacuate Afghani people who assisted US troops and therefore risk retaliation by staying in the country.
Updated
Wildfires tear through nearly 1m acres in US west as 16,000 firefighters battle onslaught
Wildfires burning across the US west have engulfed nearly a million acres and drawn in about 16,000 firefighters and workers to battle the blazes. The onslaught comes as the region reels from intense drought and deadly heatwaves amplified by the climate crisis.
“The amount of fire, where they’re burning, and just the intensity of them is very concerning,” said Faith Kearns, a scientist at the California Institute for Water Resources.
The fast-moving Bootleg fire in southern Oregon has burned more than 200,000 acres. It has already destroyed several homes and threatens thousands more, as officials warn that tinder-dry conditions and high temperatures could exacerbate the situation on Wednesday.
Al Lawson, the fire incident commander, warned responders: “As you go out there today – adjust your reality.”
“We have not seen a fire move like this, in these conditions, this early in the year. Expect the fire to do things that you have not seen before,” he said.
Mark Enty, a spokesman for the North-west Incident Management Team working to contain the fire, said the Bootleg fire had doubled in size each day.
“That’s sort of like having a new fire every day,” Enty said.
Read more:
Joe Biden has approved of Senate Democrats’ “human infrastructure” plan, the White House said.
The budget agreement “would grow the middle class, generate strong economic growth, and create millions of jobs,” the White House said in a statement.
In a meeting with the Dems, the president “also discussed how the means for funding these critical investments is popular with the American people, who know that the wealthiest individuals and corporations often pay a lower tax bill than teachers and firefighters”, the statement said. And he “repeatedly hit on how the effects of climate change are undeniable, and that the public is demanding action that the budget resolution will deliver”.
Crucial moderates will have to get on board in order for Democrats to pass the $3.5tn plan via the budget reconciliation process, circumventing the filibuster.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who will have to shepherd the package through the House, said she approved of it: “This budget agreement is a victory for the American people, making historic, once-in-a-generation progress for families across the nation.”
Updated
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 was on Capitol Hill for a meeting to discuss Senate Democrats’ $3.5tn “human infrastructure” plan. The president attended the Senate Democratic caucus’ weekly policy lunch this afternoon, one day after majority leader Chuck Schumer announced an agreement on the spending proposal. Speaking to reporters just before the lunch started, Biden said, “We’re going to get this done.”
- Schumer acknowledged it would be a “long” road to passing the $3.5tn proposal. Senate Democrats still need to hammer out the details of the spending package and get the entire caucus on board before they can move forward. “But we are going to get this done because we so fervently believe that we must make average American lives a whole lot better,” Schumer said.
- Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell dismissed Biden’s criticism of Republican voting restrictions, as experts warn that the US is facing a potential democratic crisis. The Republican leader specifically mocked Biden’s argument that the voting restrictions and the “big lie” of widespread fraud in the 2020 election represent “the most significant test of our democracy since the civil war”, as the president said in Philadelphia yesterday. “What utter nonsense,” McConnell said. “It would be laugh-out-loud funny if it wasn’t so completely and totally irresponsible.”
- The select committee investigating the 6 January insurrection announced it will hold its first hearing later this month. On 27 July, the panel will hear first-hand testimony from some of the US Capitol police and DC Metropolitan police Department officers who defended the Capitol as pro-Trump insurrectionists stormed the building. House minority leader Kevin McCarthy has still not named anyone to the committee, and it’s unclear whether he will do so before the hearing occurs.
- The Biden administration said it will start evacuating at-risk Afghans by the end of the month. The announcement from Jen Psaki comes as the US military continues its withdrawal operation and the Taliban makes territorial advances across Afghanistan. “The reason that we are taking these steps is because these are courageous individuals,” Psaki said. “We want to make sure we recognize and value the role they’ve played over the last several years.”
Maanvi will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
Updated
Shortly before the deadly attack on the US Capitol on 6 January, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Gen Mark Milley, told aides the US was facing a “Reichstag moment” because Donald Trump was preaching “the gospel of the Führer”, according to an eagerly awaited book about Trump’s last year in office.
The excerpts from I Alone Can Fix This, by Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker, were reported by New York magazine on Wednesday. The authors’ employer, the Washington Post, published the first extract from the book a day earlier. It will be published next week.
Milley’s invocation of Germany under the Third Reich follows a report in another book, Frankly, We Did Win This Election, by Michael C Bender, that Trump told his chief of staff, John Kelly, “Hitler did a lot of good things”.
Trump denies having made the remark.
Leonnig and Rucker report that Milley spoke to an “old friend”, who warned the general that Trump and his allies were trying to “overturn the government” in response to Joe Biden’s election victory, which Trump falsely maintains was the result of electoral fraud.
Milley is reported to have said: “They may try, but they’re not going to fucking succeed. You can’t do this without the military. You can’t do this without the CIA and the FBI. We’re the guys with guns.”
Updated
Joe Biden is meeting with a bipartisan group of mayors and governors to discuss the bipartisan infrastructure framework.
Among the attendees are New Jersey governor Phil Murphy and Illinois governor JB Pritzker, both Democrats, as well as Vermont governor Phil Scott, a Republican.
The meeting comes one day after a bipartisan group of more than 350 US mayors signed a letter indicating their support for the framework.
Taking a couple questions from reporters, Biden said he believed there may be some “slight adjustments” to the pay-fors in the infrastructure plan, but he said the proposal was in “good shape”.
When asked if simultaneously pursuing the bipartisan bill and the separate Democrats-only reconciliation package might jeopardize either proposal, Biden replied, “No, I think it’s the only way to get it done is having those two tracks.”
Updated
House speaker Nancy Pelosi announced her appointees to the January 6 select committee earlier this month, after the chamber voted in favor of forming the panel.
In addition to Republican Liz Cheney, Pelosi named Democrats Bennie Thompson, Elaine Luria, Jamie Raskin, Stephanie Murphy, Pete Aguilar, Adam Schiff and Zoe Lofgren to the committee. Thompson, who chairs the House homeland security committee, will serve as chairman.
House minority leader Kevin McCarthy strongly opposed the formation of the select committee, and he has not yet appointed anyone to serve on the panel. The Republican leader said yesterday that he had not yet decided whether he would do so.
“I haven’t made a decision yet, even to appoint,” McCarthy told Fox News. “I’m discussing it with my members. I have a real concern, the scope of what we’re looking at.”
However, because Pelosi was given more spots to fill than McCarthy, the committee already has a quorum to begin holding hearings. The first one is now set to take place in about two weeks.
January 6 select committee to hold hearing with Capitol Police officers
The select committee formed to investigate the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol has just announced it will hold its first hearing later this month.
On July 27, the committee will hear first-hand testimony from some of the US Capitol Police and DC Metropolitan Police Department officers who defended the Capitol and lawmakers as pro-Trump insurrectionists stormed the building.
Jan. 6 Select Committee announces its first hearing - July 27 with USCP and MPD pic.twitter.com/Y1SP5njs5a
— Nicholas Wu (@nicholaswu12) July 14, 2021
House minority leader Kevin McCarthy has still not named anyone to the panel, but speaker Nancy Pelosi has already appointed enough members to form a quorum.
Although McCarthy has not chosen his appointees, the committee will include at least one Republican member: congresswoman Liz Cheney, who was tapped by Pelosi.
Updated
House speaker Nancy Pelosi has sent a letter to her caucus members praising Senate Democrats $3.5tn plan to invest in “human infrastructure”.
In her “Dear Colleague” letter to fellow House Democrats, Pelosi said the plan indicates the final bill “will contain many of House Democrats’ top priorities, including transformative action on the investments needed to confront the climate crisis”.
“This budget agreement is a victory for the American people, making historic, once-in-a-generation progress for families across the nation,” the Democratic speaker said.
“Every Member can be proud of the priorities that this budget commits to – and every Member should know that we will fight to ensure that our priorities become law.”
Pelosi added that House committees “stand ready to work with the Senate,” as Democrats begin the long process to turn the $3.5tn plan into an actual bill that can be passed via reconciliation.
A cluster of midwestern and southern states have emerged as a new center of Covid-19 outbreaks, as the highly transmissible Delta variant sweeps across poorly vaccinated populations in the US.
The news marks a potentially serious setback for the Biden administration’s attempts to curb and control the pandemic as the Delta variant – which has wreaked havoc in the UK and elsewhere – is starting to spread more widely in America.
It also comes as life in much of the US has started to return to near normal, with many Covid-19 restrictions having been lifted, and as the vaccination program has slowed down.
Rates of Covid-19 cases in Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi are among the highest in the country, and their vaccination rates among the lowest. Covid also appears to be gaining ground in the American west.
Even so, overall numbers of new Covid-19 cases are low. New infections are less than one-10th the average daily rate at the height of the pandemic in January, even as they have doubled in the last two weeks.
“We are not where we were in April 2020,” said Dr David Dowdy, an associate professor of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University and an expert in infectious diseases. Nevertheless, he said, “We’ve seen those counts can go up substantially and quickly, so we need to be cautious but without panicking.”
Well, that was quick: the White House has already released one of the videos that pop star Olivia Rodrigo recorded to encourage young people to get vaccinated against coronavirus.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re young and healthy,” Rodrigo says in the video. “Getting the vaccine is about protecting yourself, your friends and your family. Let’s get vaccinated.”
Olivia Rodrigo is at the White House today to meet with President Biden and Dr. Fauci and discuss the importance of young Americans getting vaccinated. pic.twitter.com/s95KtOkrsF
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 14, 2021
Earlier this afternoon, Rodrigo made an appearance in the White House briefing room, and she told reporters she was “beyond honored and humbled” to assist the Biden administration’s vaccination outreach efforts.
The White House said Rodrigo would also meet with Dr Anthony Fauci and Joe Biden this afternoon. One White House staffer already shared a photo of Rodrigo with Fauci:
vaccines are ~good 4 u~ and all that pic.twitter.com/TRHypbsPzo
— Clarke Humphrey (@chumphrey46) July 14, 2021
Joe Biden left Capitol Hill after meeting with Senate Democrats for about 45 minutes to discuss their $3.5tn plan to invest in “human infrastructure”.
Reporters shouted questions at the president as he prepared to depart, and he said in response, “Great to be home. Great to be back with my colleagues. I think we’re going to get a lot done.”
With that, Biden left to return to the White House, where he will soon meet with a bipartisan group of mayors and governors to discuss the separate bipartisan infrastructure framework.
President Biden departs lunch with @SenateDems: "Great to be home. Great to be back with my colleagues. I think we're going to get a lot done." pic.twitter.com/ogNpziq6ys
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 14, 2021
Updated
White House to start evacuating at-risk Afghans
Jenn Psaki announced earlier at the White House that the US will start evacuating from Afghanistan individuals at risk because they worked for the US government as translators and in other roles.
As Reuters puts it: “the evacuation, Operation Allies Refuge, is set to start during the last week of July. Fighting between US-backed Afghan forces and the Taliban has surged in recent weeks, with the militants gaining territory and capturing border crossings.
“The reason that we are taking these steps is because these are courageous individuals. We want to make sure we recognize and value the role they’ve played over the last several years,” Psaki said.
Joe Biden has set a formal end to the US military mission in Afghanistan for 31 August. The general leading the mission, Austin Miller, relinquished command on Monday.
Psaki said she could not provide specifics on the numbers of Afghans who will be in the initial evacuation flights “for operational and security reasons”.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the initial evacuation will include about 2,500 people and that they likely will be housed in US military facilities while their visa applications are processed. A final decision has not been made on the specific bases to be used, the official said.
Psaki said the objective is to get “individuals who are eligible relocated out of the country” in advance of the withdrawal of US troops at the end of August.
Here’s our latest report on the situation in Afghanistan ahead of the US withdrawal, which will come almost 20 years after troops first landed:
Updated
In an interview on Tuesday night, a Texas Democrat who fled the state for Washington DC in an attempt to stop a restrictive voting rights law challenged a Fox News host to say Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election.
The host, Pete Hegseth, would not.
James Talarico, a representative from the Austin area, was one of more than 50 Texas Democrats who fled to Washington DC. The dramatic move was made to deny Republicans a quorum to pass legislation which critics say restricts ballot access among communities likely to vote Democratic.
Earlier on Tuesday, Joe Biden gave a major speech on voting rights in Pennsylvania, demanding of Republicans “Have you no shame?”
Later, Hegseth accused Talarico of being used “as a prop or puppet” by Democrats in Washington.
“I’m an eighth-generation Texan,” Talarico said. “I’ve only been in DC twice in my life … I’m a former middle-school teacher who ran for office just to try to make my community better and I swore an oath when I first got elected two years ago to uphold the constitution.
“The constitution of the United States, and also the constitution of the great state of Texas. And after our former President Donald Trump started his big lie that the election was stolen. Republican legislators in capitols across the country started …”
Hegseth interrupted.
“How did you make this about Donald Trump in 20 seconds?” he asked.
Talarico was happy to explain:
Today so far
Here’s where the day stands so far:
- Joe Biden is on Capitol Hill for a meeting to discuss Senate Democrats’ $3.5tn “human infrastructure” plan. The president will attend the Senate Democratic caucus’ weekly policy lunch, as senators await more details on the plan, which was announced last night. It’s still unclear whether the more moderate members of the caucus, such as Joe Manchin, will support the plan, which includes the Medicare expansion that progressives demanded.
- Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer acknowledged it would be a “long” road to passing the $3.5tn proposal. Senate Democrats still need to hammer out the details of the spending package and get the entire caucus on board before they can move forward. “But we are going to get this done because we so fervently believe that we must make average American lives a whole lot better,” Schumer said.
- Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell dismissed Biden’s criticism of Republican voting restrictions, as experts warn that the US is facing a potential democratic crisis. The Republican leader specifically mocked Biden’s argument that the voting restrictions and the “big lie” of widespread fraud in the 2020 election represent “the most significant test of our democracy since the Civil War,” as the president said in Philadelphia yesterday. “What utter nonsense,” McConnell said. “It would be laugh-out-loud funny if it wasn’t so completely and totally irresponsible.”
The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
Biden arrives on Capitol Hill to discuss $3.5tn 'human infrastructure' plan
Joe Biden has arrived on Capitol Hill for his meeting on the $3.5tn infrastructure plan that Senate Democrats announced last night.
The president will attend the Senate Democratic caucus’ weekly policy lunch, as senators await more details on the “human infrastructure” bill.
“We’re gonna get this done!”
— The Recount (@therecount) July 14, 2021
— President Biden arriving at the Capitol to push infrastructure bill pic.twitter.com/NZuSsVrFkV
Biden entered the Capitol walking next to Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, and the longtime former senator joked that this was his “homecoming”.
As reporters shouted questions at him about the spending proposal, Biden simply replied, “We’re going to get this done.”
Schumer needs all 50 Democratic senators to support the plan in order to vote it out of the Senate, and some moderates in the caucus, including Joe Manchin, have not yet indicated whether they will support the proposal.
Asked about Olivia Rodrigo’s plans at the White House today, Jen Psaki said the pop star will meet with Joe Biden and Dr Anthony Fauci later this afternoon.
The press secretary reiterated that the White House will put out a video of Rodrigo encouraging young people to get vaccinated, although she did not offer an expected release time for the video.
Psaki said Rodrigo’s visit was the latest effort by the White House to “meet people where they are” as officials try to increase coronavirus vaccination rates.
“I will say, not every 18-year-old uses their time to come do this, so we appreciate her willingness to,” Psaki said.
After Olivia Rodrigo left the White House briefing room (much to the disappointment of this blogger), Jen Psaki took questions about Democrats’ $3.5tn “human infrastructure” package.
A reporter asked Psaki what are Joe Biden’s “must-haves” for the bill, as Senate Democrats start to hammer out the details of the spending package.
Psaki deflected that question, saying she did not want to negotiate from the briefing room podium. She did reiterate Bernie Sanders’ description of the bill as “historic,” and she said the framework outlined by Senate Democrats is “reflective of the president’s priorities”.
Noting Biden will be on Capitol Hill today, Psaki said, “Now he’s going to engage; he’s going to advocate with members; he’s going to advocate with the American people and communicate and sell the package about why it needs to go forward.”
Olivia Rodrigo encourages vaccinations in White House briefing room
The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, is holding her daily briefing with reporters, and she was joined by a very special guest: pop star Olivia Rodrigo.
The actress and singer was at the White House to record videos to encourage younger Americans to get vaccinated against coronavirus.
Stepping up to the White House briefing room podium, Rodrigo said she was “beyond honored and humbled” to assist the Biden administration’s vaccination outreach efforts.
.@Olivia_Rodrigo statement on importance of youth vaccination: "It's important to have conversations with friends and family members encouraging all communities to get vaccinated." pic.twitter.com/anXxJKnRZP
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 14, 2021
“It’s important to have conversations with friends and family members encouraging all communities to get vaccinated and actually get to a vaccination site, which you can do more easily than ever before,” Rodrigo said.
Rodrigo is also expected to meet today with Joe Biden and Dr Anthony Fauci, the president’s chief medical adviser.
(And you’re welcome for sparing you any “Drivers License” puns because they have all already been made today.)
Updated
The Guardian’s Sam Levine provides some insightful analysis of Joe Biden’s voting rights speech yesterday:
Joe Biden gave his most muscular defense of the right to vote yet on Tuesday, but offered few specifics on how Democrats could overcome Republican efforts to stymie federal voting reform.
Coming after some activists questioned how seriously the White House was taking the issue, an impassioned speech in Philadelphia marked a clear escalation of the president’s defense of voting rights. Bluntly calling out lies about the 2020 election as “just that, a big lie”, Biden denounced “an assault on democracy”.
“There’s an unfolding assault taking place in America today, an attempt to suppress and subvert the right to vote,” he said.
But the most significant part of the speech lay in what he did not say. Biden did not mention the filibuster, the Senate rule under which 60 votes are required to proceed on legislation.
Republicans used the rule last month to block sweeping voting rights reform. While the filibuster is in place, Democrats have virtually no chance of passing any such bill.
In Philadelphia, Biden made it clear he was not giving up on federal voting rights legislation. But he did not lay out a pathway. Even as he denounced “peddlers of lies” who he said were damaging democracy, he appeared to remain convinced Republicans could be persuaded to sign on to legislation.
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell also mocked the Texas Democratic legislators who fled the state to block Republican voting restrictions.
The Democratic lawmakers left Austin on Monday to break quorum on the Texas House’ special legislative session, thus preventing Republicans from advancing their voting bill.
But McConnell questioned the legislators’ true intentions in coming to Washington as they try to run out the clock on the 30-day special session.
“In reality, they’ve just come here to Washington to snap selfies, bask in the limelight and beg Senate Democrats to take over Texas elections,” McConnell said on the Senate floor this morning. “Once again, this outrage is completely phony.”
The Democratic legislators met with Kamala Harris yesterday, and they have pleaded with Senate Democrats to pass national voting rights legislation.
“We are here in DC, our nation’s capital, because we want to protect the civil right to vote for millions of Texans,” said Texas state representative Rhetta Bowers at a press conference yesterday.
“We can’t stay here indefinitely to run out the clock to stop Republicans’ anti-voter attacks. That’s why we need Congress to act now to pass the For the People Act. Texas Democrats will do everything in our power to fight back. But we need Congress to act now.”
McConnell mocks Biden's criticism of voting restrictions as experts warn of democratic crisis
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell dismissed Joe Biden’s fiery criticism of Republican voting restrictions as “utter nonsense”.
The Republican leader specifically mocked Biden for referring to the voting restrictions and the “big lie” of widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election as “the most significant test of our democracy since the Civil War”.
“What utter nonsense,” McConnell said in a Senate floor speech. “It would be laugh-out-loud funny if it wasn’t so completely and totally irresponsible.”
McConnell’s comments came one day after Biden delivered a speech in Philadelphia condemning Republican efforts to restrict access to the ballot box and emphasizing the need to pass national voting rights legislation.
“The 21st century Jim Crow assault is real,” Biden said yesterday. “It’s unrelenting, and we’re going to challenge it vigorously.”
Voting rights experts have echoed Biden’s concerns, warning that the Republican restrictions and the “big lie” could threaten the very foundation of American democracy.
“There is a ticking timebomb,” Wendy Weiser, the director of the democracy program at the Brennan Center for Justice, told the Guardian in May.
The Brennan Center has called for the passage of Democrats’ two major voting rights bills, the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which remain stalled in the Senate because of a Republican filibuster.
“It will be a significant failure if [Congress] doesn’t pass these two pieces of major voting legislation,” Weiser said. “It will be a significant failure for the country, for the American people.”
Read all of the Guardian’s voting rights coverage here.
Updated
For $12, you can buy a red beverage cooler imprinted with the words: “How the hell am I going to be able to drink a beer with a mask on?”
Those with deeper pockets can be the proud owner of a $21 T-shirt stamped with the map of Florida and the logo “Love My Gov” and “Keep Florida Free”.
But perhaps the merchandise with the best sales potential are the drink koozies and T-shirts that say “Don’t Fauci My Florida”.
The slogan , first reported by the Washington Post, is the brainchild of the team around Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor of Florida who is hoping he can ride Donald Trump’s coattails all the way to the White House in 2024.
The phrase is a dig at Anthony Fauci, the chief White House medical adviser who because of his cautionary approach to the deadly coronavirus and mask-wearing has become a popular punch-bag for Republicans. There is no road that leads to conservative supremacy, it seems, that doesn’t run over America’s top infectious diseases expert.
House Republicans’ fundraising arm raised $45.4 million over the last three months, marking a quarterly record for the group as Republicans seek to flip control of Congress next year.
The AP reports:
That total was bolstered by $20.1 million raised in June, the highest ever monthly off-year total, according to numbers shared with The Associated Press before a public filing deadline.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee last week announced that it had raised $14.4 million in June, bringing its second-quarter total to about $36.5 million — its best ever for that stretch.
The large sums signal that excitement is high among donors to both parties as they prepare for what is expected to be a contentious midterm election season.
Republicans only need to flip a handful of seats in the House to take back control of the chamber, and redistricting and historical trends may help them achieve that goal.
Historically, the president’s party loses congressional seats in the midterms after his election. Republicans also have the ability to redraw congressional district lines in dozens of states, following the 2020 census.
Olivia Rodrigo has arrived at the White House to record videos encouraging young people to get vaccinated against coronavirus.
An AP reporter captured this picture of the pop star entering the West Wing:
Olivia Rodrigo enters the West Wing pic.twitter.com/5IAEZRYhGa
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) July 14, 2021
Updated
Pop star Olivia Rodrigo is coming to the White House today to encourage younger Americans to get vaccinated against coronavirus.
“Olivia Rodrigo is stopping by the White House today with a clear message to young people: get vaccinated,” Joe Biden said on Twitter. “It’s the best way to keep yourself and your loved ones safe from the dangerous new COVID-19 variants.”
Olivia Rodrigo is stopping by the White House today with a clear message to young people: get vaccinated. It’s the best way to keep yourself and your loved ones safe from the dangerous new COVID-19 variants. Head to https://t.co/4MYpWqXVVo to find a clinic near you.
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 14, 2021
A White House official confirmed Rodrigo’s visit yesterday, saying she will “record videos about the importance of young people getting vaccinated, including answering important questions young people have about getting vaccinated”.
The videos will be shared on Rodrigo’s social media channels, which collectively have more than 28 million followers.
She is expected to meet with Biden and Dr Anthony Fauci, the president’s chief medical adviser, during her visit.
The White House’s partnership with Rodrigo comes as data shows young Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 are significantly less likely to be vaccinated than their older counterparts.
Schumer acknowledges 'long' road ahead on passing infrastructure bill
Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer praised the “landmark agreement” reached by Democratic members of the budget committee last night to produce the $3.5tn infrastructure plan.
Schumer said the agreement would “pave the way for historic legislation later this year called the American Jobs and Families Plan”.
“Very simply, this budget resolution will allow us to pass the most significant legislation to expand support and help American families since the New Deal - since the New Deal,” Schumer said.
Sen. Chuck Schumer: "Last night the Senate Democratic majority on the Budget Committee reached a landmark agreement on a $3.5 trillion budget resolution." https://t.co/W22LNfPmO9 pic.twitter.com/A6w8w7S9D4
— The Hill (@thehill) July 14, 2021
The Democratic leader also acknowledged that much work remains to be done before the bill reach Joe Biden’s desk. The president will be on Capitol Hill today to talk to senators about the plan.
“We know the road ahead is going to be long. There are bumps along the way,” Schumer said.
“But we are going to get this done because we so fervently believe that we must make average American lives a whole lot better.”
Schumer plans to pass the bill using reconciliation, meaning Democrats will not need to gain any Republican support to approve the plan, but some moderate Senate Democrats have not yet indicated whether they are in favor of the proposal.
Manchin reserves judgment on infrastructure plan for now
Senator Joe Manchin has issued a statement on Democrats’ $3.5tn “human infrastructure” plan, which was released last night.
“I know my Democratic colleagues on the budget committee have worked hard and I look forward to reviewing their agreement,” the West Virginia senator said.
My statement on the Senate Budget Committee's $3.5 trillion infrastructure package: pic.twitter.com/qstcR85flP
— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) July 14, 2021
“I’m also very interested in how this proposal is paid for and how it enables us to remain globally competitive.
“I will reserve any final judgment until I’ve had the opportunity to thoroughly evaluate the proposal.”
In order to get the infrastructure package through the Senate, majority leader Chuck Schumer will need the support of every member of the Democratic caucus.
All eyes will be on Manchin and fellow moderate Kyrsten Sinema as they review the details of the plan, which they will have a chance to do at today’s policy lunch with Joe Biden.
Manchin has previously indicated he wants the infrastructure plan to be fully financed, so the pay-fors in the bill could determine whether or not he supports it.
Planned Parenthood files lawsuit against Texas’ extreme abortion ban
Mary Tuma reports from Austin, Texas:
In a highly anticipated move, Texas abortion providers filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday against the state’s draconian six-week abortion ban, Senate Bill 8 that would empower private citizens to enforce the law.
“The Texas legislature’s well-documented hostility to the rights of pregnant people has gone to a new extreme,” reads the lawsuit, filed by groups including Whole Woman’s Health and Planned Parenthood, along with abortion support fund groups, doctors, health clinic staff, and clergy members.
“Senate Bill 8 flagrantly violates the constitutional rights of Texans seeking abortion and upends the rule of law in service of an anti-abortion agenda.”
The extreme anti-abortion law, which offers no exception for rape or incest, bars the procedure when embryonic cardiac activity is detected, which is around six weeks – before most women even know they are pregnant – amounting to a near-total ban.
It also allows any private citizen, including anti-choice activists unrelated to the patient, the right to sue an abortion provider, rather than tasking the state with enforcement.
In fact, any person that “aids or abets” abortion care, such as a friend or family member that pays for abortion or a sexual assault counselor who calls a clinic on behalf of a patient, could be targeted, potentially opening the floodgates to harassing lawsuits that could push abortion clinics into forced closure.
“It is unthinkable that anti-abortion extremists could be allowed to stand in the way of people accessing essential health care,” said Melaney A Linton, president of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast.
Republicans wasted no time in criticizing Democrats’ $3.5tn proposal, arguing that the plan would cause prices to rise in the US.
Congressman Jason Smith, the top Republican on the House budget committee, directly tied the new proposal to the labor department’s latest report showing inflation growth hit a 13-year high last month.
The very same day we find out that inflation growth is the highest it's been in 10 years, Washington Democrats are celebrating trillions more in spending. pic.twitter.com/i8XVVyW0sx
— Rep. Jason Smith (@RepJasonSmith) July 14, 2021
“The very same day we find out that year over year inflation growth is the highest it’s been in over 10 years, Democrats are proposing throwing trillions more of inflation fueled logs on the fire,” Smith said in a statement.
“The political leaders in Washington and President Biden are failing the working class families who can least afford it.”
But again, Democrats do not need any Republican support to pass their reconciliation bill. They simply need all Senate Democrats and almost all House Democrats to vote in favor of the package -- although that will likely be hard enough on its own.
Joe Biden will also meet this afternoon with a bipartisan group of governors and mayors to discuss the importance of passing the bipartisan infrastructure framework.
Democratic congressional leaders have a long to-do list for the month of July. They are hoping to turn the bipartisan framework into a bill and get it passed, while also advancing their reconciliation package to cover more of Biden’s legislative priorities.
Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer has already warned that the upper chamber’s work may spill over into the August recess, which would irritate members on both sides of the aisle.
In a letter to his Democratic colleagues last week, Schumer warned, “Please be advised that time is of the essence and we have a lot of work to do. Senators should be prepared for the possibility of working long nights, weekends, and remaining in Washington into the previously-scheduled August state work period.”
Senators will likely discuss the timeline for passing the two infrastructure bills when Biden visits Capitol Hill today for Senate Democrats’ weekly policy lunch.
Biden to visit Capitol to discuss Democrats' $3.5tn infrastructure plan
Greetings from Washington, live blog readers.
Joe Biden will travel from the White House to Capitol Hill today to attend the Senate Democratic caucus’s weekly lunch.
The discussion among the president and senators will focus on the $3.5tn “human infrastructure” plan that Democrats released last night.
Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said Biden would attend the lunch “to lead us on to getting this wonderful plan” passed.
“We are very proud of this plan,” Schumer said. “We know we have a long road to go. We’re going to get this done for the sake of making average Americans’ lives a whole lot better.”
Democrats plan to pass the plan using reconciliation, meaning they can pass the package with a simple majority and do not need any Republican support.
But the proposal still has some roadblocks ahead. The overall price tag is much less than the $6tn that progressive senators Bernie Sanders, who chairs the budget committee, had pushed for.
However, the proposal also includes a Medicare expansion to include dental, vision and hearing benefits, which has been a top priority for progressives.
Biden and Schumer will need to keep all members of the Senate Democratic caucus on board to get the bill passed. Today marks the first test of whether they can do so. Stay tuned.
