Today's news
That’s it for me tonight. Here’s some of what happened through Wednesday afternoon:
- As Congress weighs whether to standardize voting across the US, Republican-led states have passed hundreds of new laws that make it harder for people to vote. Texas has passed the most with 49 bills to restrict access.
- The House passed legislation to limit future presidents from issuing travel bans based on religion, along with new restrictions that would increase congressional oversight.
- Ahead of his virtual climate summit scheduled for this week, Biden will pledge to cut US greenhouse gases in half by the end of the decade. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the shift to a green economy would require enormous investment, and she expects the bulk to be financed from private capital.
- A new Government Accountability Office report found flaws in how the DHS Inspector General oversaw the department.
- The US Interior Department will pause all new oil and gas lease sales on public lands, while the agency continues an environmental review.
Thanks for reading along this evening! See you next time.
Updated
In a speech at the Institute of International Finance today, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said private financing would provide the bulk of the “enormous” investment needed to shift the US to a green economy, CBS News reports.
Referencing an estimate that $2.5 trillion will be needed over the next 10 years, Yellen said “private capital will need to fill most of that gap”.
Calling climate change an existential threat to the economy, Yellen urged investors to step up for the “bold and urgent action” needed to address it.
“We recognize the importance of public sector investment, particularly in green infrastructure, to facilitate the transition to net-zero emissions,” Yellen said. “The policy steps the Administration has proposed provide clarity on the path forward, helping households, businesses, and investors plan and invest. We also recognize the financial sector has an opportunity to play an important role in financing and leading the transition of the global economy to a net-zero economy.”
Her remarks follow the launch of new Treasury Department Climate Hub, announced Monday, and the agency’s first ever climate counselor, John Morton, a former Obama Administration official with private sector experience.
Updated
The US Interior Department is pausing new oil and gas lease sales on public lands through June, as the department reassesses the environmental impact.
In January, as one of his first moves in office, Biden ordered Interior officials to look into the negative impacts on the climate from the leasing program, and assess whether taxpayers were getting a good deal. The move followed a surge in sales under the Trump Administration, during which 25 million acres of public land were made available to the oil and gas industry.
Roughly 24% of the nation’s greenhouse gasses come from burning of oil, gas and coal on government lands. The industry paid about $5bn collectively last year, funds that were mostly returned to states where drilling happened.
“This decision does not impact existing operations or permits for valid, existing leases, which continue to be reviewed and approved,” the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) said in a statement. “The BLM remains committed to managing our programs in a way that restores balance on public lands, creates jobs, and provides a path to align the management of America’s public lands with our nation’s climate, conservation, and clean energy priorities”.
Updated
The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General has not had effective oversight for years, a new Government Accountability Office review found.
Analysts from the GAO told lawmakers today that the DHS Office of Inspector General, charged with overseeing the agency, has struggled with management issues and operational challenges that hindered its mission, CNN reports.
“In the past 6 years, DHS OIG has faced a number of challenges that have affected its ability to carry out its oversight mission effectively,” GAO Homeland Security and Justice Team Director Chris Currie said during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing, adding that the problems spanned across multiple administrators.
From CNN:
The hearing followed reports that DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari blocked investigations into the Secret Service’s involvement in last summer’s Lafayette Square incident, when peaceful protesters were cleared from the square ahead of former President Donald Trump’s walk to a neighboring church for a photo-op, as well as the agency’s handling of Covid-19.
On Tuesday, the Project On Government Oversight published a report saying that the agency’s career staff had recommended the investigations. Cuffari, only the third Senate-confirmed DHS inspector general, told lawmakers Wednesday that any suggestion that he “pulled punches” for political reasons is a “complete falsehood.”
Updated
A facility producing Johnson & Johnson vaccines was found dirty, in violation of manufacturing procedures, and with poorly trained staff, according to a report from the Food and Drug Administration released today.
Federal inspectors found peeling paint and brown residue on walls and floors at the Baltimore factory contracted to produce the J&J vaccine. Roughly 15 million doses from the facility were contaminated and had to be discarded.
None of the vaccines produced at the factory have been used in the US, and currently the J&J vaccine is on hold as government health officials investigate whether it contributed to rare blood clots, which regulators said was unrelated to contamination issues.
As part of our regulatory processes for reviewing all manufacturing facilities, FDA recently completed an inspection of Emergent BioSolutions, a proposed manufacturing facility for the Johnson & Johnson #COVID19 Vaccine. https://t.co/Jhu4SEn1mk pic.twitter.com/1Rf77Oocp1
— U.S. FDA (@US_FDA) April 21, 2021
While details from the report are pretty horrifying, the FDA framed the findings as evidence that the agency is ensuring all vaccines are safe before they are distributed.
“We are doing everything we can to ensure that the COVID-19 vaccines that are given to the people of this nation have met the agency’s high standards for quality, safety and effectiveness,” the agency wrote in the report. “We know that every time an American, including members of our own families, receives a COVID-19 vaccine dose, they are putting their trust in us. We are working hard to maintain that trust.”
Read more here:
Updated
This week, Biden will announce a new pledge to cut US greenhouse gas emissions by more than half by the end of the decade, the Washington Post reports. That’s nearly double what Barack Obama promised when he joined the 2015 Paris climate agreement, committing to curbing emissions by up to 28%.
The president is expected to share more about his plan with world leaders at a virtual climate summit Thursday, in the hopes of repositioning the US as a leader in the fight against climate change.
From the Washington Post:
The administration is likely to first offer broad strokes rather than a detailed breakdown of how it will meet the more ambitious target, according to the people briefed on the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plan had not been formally announced. Officials are considering a target range, they added, that could go above 50 percent at the higher end.
Still, the new pledge will offer the latest glimpse at the profound changes that Biden wants to set in motion, from decarbonizing the country’s energy sector to phasing out gasoline-powered vehicles. Administration officials have made clear that they see the effort not only as a climate pursuit but as a massive investment in a new generation of jobs nationwide.
After nearly two decades of fighting, Biden has declared that the war in Afghanistan is coming to an end. The President plans to officially close the chapter by the anniversary of Sept. 11 this year, the New York Times reports.
But, it still remains unclear what that means for 40 remaining detainees still imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay. Layers for two of the prisoners reportedly told federal judges this week that their clients could not be held after the war ends and filed motions for their release.
From the New York Times:
One of the detainees, Khalid Qassim, 44, is a Yemeni man who has been held without trial at Guantánamo for nearly 19 years; he was captured in late 2001 or early 2002 and is being held as a Qaeda trainee who “may have fought for the Taliban in or near Kabul and Bagram, Afghanistan, before fleeing to the Tora Bora mountains in late 2001.”
The other, an Afghan named Asadullah Haroon Gul, who is about 40, was captured in 2007 by Afghan forces and turned over to the United States military. A basis for holding him is his past affiliation with a militia that made peace with the Afghan government in 2017, essentially breaking with the Taliban.
House passes legislation to limit future travel bans
The House has passed legislation to curb presidential power to institute travel bans like those Trump imposed to limit entry into the US from predominantly Muslim countries.
The National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants Act (or the NO BAN Act), which prevents presidents from issuing future orders based on religion, requires bans to be temporary, and will give Congress more oversight, passed the house 218-208.
The Muslim Ban was always wrong, needless, and cruel and failed to live up to the requirements laid out by the Supreme Court. Religious bans have no place in our country or our laws and today, we are voting to make sure this never happens again. pic.twitter.com/njTtTEBuiU
— Judy Chu (@RepJudyChu) April 21, 2021
“The NO BAN Act is among the most basic things that Congress can do to create a more fair, humane, and workable immigration system, and we urge the Senate to pass the bill immediately” said acting vice president of Immigration Policy at the Center for American Progress Philip E. Wolgin in an issued statement after the vote.
President Biden overturned Trump’s travel ban, along with a spate of other anti-immigration policies, within hours of being sworn in. On Monday, Trump issued an official statement chastising his successor, saying he should reinstate the restrictions to keep the country safe from “Radical Islamic Terrorism”.
But Trump’s executive order was viewed by human rights advocates as a xenophobic and religious bigotry.
“Donald Trump’s Muslim and African bans devastated communities and ripped families apart by prohibiting individuals from immigrating to the United States from majority Muslim nations in Africa and Asia” said Wade Henderson, interim president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights in a statement. “Today, the House of Representatives took an important step by rejecting the previous administration’s bigoted agenda”.
Although the travel ban has been reversed, we must ensure that no future presidents abuse their power through executive action. That’s why I voted in support of the NO BAN Act. No president should have the authority to discriminate against migrants based on their religion.
— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) April 21, 2021
Updated
Gabrielle Canon here, signing on from San Francisco to take you through the afternoon’s news.
Republican lawmakers in Texas are making it much harder for people to vote, leading the nation with 49 bills to restrict access, Alexandra Villarreal reported for the Guardian.
Voting rights are under assault across the country. It’s critical that we pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act to strengthen federal protections for voters.
— Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) April 21, 2021
Tomorrow at 9am ET I’ll testify in front of the House Judiciary Committee on the importance of protecting voting rights.
Along with the new provisions — which could temper participation from people of color, low-income residents, people with disabilities, and those who live in urban centers — also come with steep penalties.
“When you make making a mistake on a voter registration application a second-degree felony, that’s the equivalent of arson and aggravated kidnapping,” said Sarah Labowitz, policy and advocacy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas.
Texas is leading the pack in a new nation-wide push to crack down on voting fraud, an issue fueled by unsubstantiated claims made by former President Trump to explain his loss to Biden. Republicans have introduced 361 voting-related bills in statehouses just this year, according to ABC News.
Let us prove that the Senate is not too dysfunctional to govern in a bipartisan manner by coming together as supporters of democracy to pass the For The People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
— Reverend Raphael Warnock (@ReverendWarnock) April 20, 2021
Democrats and advocacy groups have begun calling it “The New Jim Crow”.
On Tuesday, the issue was brought to the Senate Judiciary Committee as lawmakers consider whether to enact federal legislation to standardize voting across the US.
From ABC:
Debate centered around the voting laws in various stages in state legislatures as well as the Democratic-led “For the People Act,” which would put in place federal regulations on running elections, including expanded access to absentee voting and mandates around early voting periods, which states would be required to follow.
Republicans pushed back on the idea of federal interference in state-run elections, while Democrats argued the necessity of a federal law in light of conservatives in statehouses across the country, including in Georgia, pursuing changes as to how voters can cast their ballots and who is permitted to vote absentee.
You can read more about the issue and the new laws in Texas in the story below:
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:
- Joe Biden announced the US has administered 200m vaccine doses since he took office, fulfilling a promise the president made to the American people. As of Monday, all American adults are eligible to receive a vaccine. “To put it simply, if you’ve been waiting for your turn, wait no longer,” Biden said.
- Biden also announced a new federal program providing US workers with paid time off when they get vaccinated. The program is meant to encourage all American adults to get vaccinated, now that the vaccines are more widely available. “No working American should lose a single dollar from their paycheck because they chose to fulfill their patriotic duty of getting vaccinated,” the president said.
- The justice department announced an investigation into the Minneapolis police department, a day after a jury found former officer Derek Chauvin guilty of murdering George Floyd. The attorney general, Merrick Garland, said the justice department will investigate “potentially systemic policing issues in Minneapolis”.
- The Senate confirmed Vanita Gupta as associate attorney general, in a vote of 51 to 49. The confirmation makes Gupta the first woman of color to serve in the number 3 role at the justice department.
The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
The Capitol will open for official business visitors starting next Monday, according to a notice from the House sergeant at arms obtained by Punchbowl News.
🚨News: The Capitol will now open for official business visitors April 26.
— Punchbowl News (@PunchbowlNews) April 21, 2021
Here’s the notice from the House Sergent at Arms pic.twitter.com/pLSt4sXIXj
The Capitol has been closed to most visitors since the start of the coronavirus pandemic last year, due to concerns about the potential spread of the virus.
The Guardian’s Sam Levine reports:
Vanita Gupta’s confirmation to the number 3 position at the Justice Department makes her the first woman of color to be named assistant attorney general.
The confirmation will put a career civil rights attorney at the top echelons of the Justice Department at a moment when civil rights have emerged as an urgent priority for the Biden administration.
Gupta, who previously led the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, has an expertise in policing cases and is known as one of the nation’s top voting rights attorneys. Her confirmation came on the same day the Justice Department announced it would launch a pattern and practice investigation into the Minneapolis police department.
Republicans led an unsuccessful effort to block Gupta’s nomination by arguing she advocated for defunding police departments. That strategy was undercut by the fact that Gupta earned the support from many of the nation’s leading police groups.
In interviews earlier this year, people who worked with Gupta said she was a savvy lawyer who knew how to build consensus. A former Justice Department official noted that she oversaw the Civil Rights Division’s probe into the Ferguson police department after officer Darren Wilson killed Michael Brown in 2014.
Instead of bringing an uphill federal case against Wilson, Gupta oversaw an effort to reach a consent decree with the police department that addressed more systemic issues.
Senate confirms Vanita Gupta as associate attorney general
The Senate has confirmed Vanita Gupta to serve as associate attorney general, in a vote of 51 to 49.
Kamala Harris was on hand in case she was needed to break a tie on the nomination, but Republican Lisa Murkowski ended up voting with Senate Democrats, so the vice-president’s vote was not necessary.
Confirmed, 51-49: Executive Calendar #62 Vanita Gupta to be Associate Attorney General @TheJusticeDept
— Senate Cloakroom (@SenateCloakroom) April 21, 2021
Every Senate Republican besides Murkowski voted against Gupta’s nomination, which had been widely criticized on the right.
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell had encouraged Republicans to vote against confirming Gupta, calling her “an activist for left-wing causes”.
The White House has released a readout of Joe Biden’s call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier today.
“President Biden spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau regarding preparations for the April 22-23 Leaders Summit on Climate, efforts to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic, and the two Canadians - Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor - unjustly detained by the government of China,” the White House said.
The statement also noted the two leaders “agreed to continue efforts to control the pandemic, collaborate on public health responses and global health security, as well as to support global affordable access and delivery of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines”.
Biden acknowledged the call while speaking to reporters briefly after his speech on vaccines this afternoon, and he indicated the US would soon send more doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Canada.
The United Nations human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, earlier today welcomed the conviction of Derek Chauvin in the murder of the George Floyd, saying that “any other result would have been a travesty of justice”.
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, was convicted yesterday in the killing of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, in May 2020.
It was the first time in the history of Minnesota that a white police officer has been convicted of murdering a Black person while on duty.
The Reuters news agency called it a milestone in the fraught racial history of the United States and a rebuke of law enforcement’s treatment of Black Americans.
“As we have painfully witnessed in recent days and weeks, reforms to policing departments across the US continue to be insufficient to stop people of African descent from being killed,” Bachelet said in a statement.
Today so far
The president has now concluded his speech on the distribution of coronavirus vaccines. Here’s where the day stands so far:
- Joe Biden announced the US has administered 200m vaccine doses since he took office, fulfilling a promise the president made to the American people. As of Monday, all American adults are eligible to receive a vaccine. “To put it simply, if you’ve been waiting for your turn, wait no longer,” Biden said.
- Biden also announced a new federal program providing US workers with paid time off when they get vaccinated. The program is meant to encourage all American adults to get vaccinated, now that the vaccines are more widely available. “No working American should lose a single dollar from their paycheck because they chose to fulfill their patriotic duty of getting vaccinated,” the president said.
- The justice department announced an investigation into the Minneapolis police department, a day after a jury found former officer Derek Chauvin guilty of murdering George Floyd. The attorney general, Merrick Garland, said the justice department will investigate “potentially systemic policing issues in Minneapolis”.
The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
Updated
Biden announces program to provide paid leave for vaccinations
Joe Biden has announced a new federal program to provide American workers with paid leave when they receive their coronavirus vaccinations.
“No working American should lose a single dollar from their paycheck because they chose to fulfill their patriotic duty of getting vaccinated,” the president said.
Biden emphasized that many more American adults need to get vaccinated, especially now that vaccines are more widely available.
“To put it simply, if you’ve been waiting for your turn, wait no longer,” Biden said.
Vaccines can both help prevent coronavirus infections among those who receive them and protect the broader community from an outbreak, the president noted.
Echoing public health experts, Biden reiterated that vaccines are the country’s way out of the pandemic.
More than 80% of Americans over the age of 65 will have received at least one coronavirus vaccine dose by tomorrow, Joe Biden said.
The president said the country is “entering a new phase” in its vaccination efforts, now that all American adults are eligible to receive a vaccine.
“Now our objective is to reach everyone – everyone over the age of 16 in America,” Biden said at the White House.
'Today we did it,' Biden says as he touts 200m shots administered
Joe Biden is now delivering an update on his administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic at the White House.
As expected, the president announced the country will soon administer the 200 millionth vaccine dose since he took office in January.
Biden said data will soon show that “today we did it,” with 200m doses delivered by his 92nd day in office.
The president initially promised to administer 100m doses over his first 100 days, but he doubled that goal after hitting 100m shots last month, weeks ahead of schedule.
Updated
Joe Biden has been briefed on the fatal police shooting of Ma’Khia Bryant in Columbus, Ohio, the White House press secretary told reporters moments ago.
Jen Psaki described the death of Bryant as “tragic,” noting it came “just as America was hopeful of a step forward” following the announcement of a guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial.
Psaki says Biden has been briefed on the deadly police shooting of 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant in Columbus, Ohio, which happened minutes before the Chauvin verdict was announced
— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 21, 2021
She says the shooting is "a tragedy" that happened "just as America was hopeful of a step forward" pic.twitter.com/MTZ9EcqObt
On the subject of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, Psaki said the president intended to use the bully pulpit to ensure a policing reform bill makes it to his desk soon.
“The stage we’re in now is that leaders on the Hill need to have discussions among themselves about where they can find agreement,” Psaki said.
Joe Biden’s desire to re-establish US leadership on the climate crisis will face a severe test this week at a summit the president hopes will rebuild American credibility and kickstart a spluttering international effort to stave off the effects of global heating.
Biden has invited 40 world leaders to a two-day virtual gathering starting on Earth Day, Thursday, as the opening salvo in negotiations leading to crunch United Nations talks in Scotland later this year. Scientists say the world is severely lagging in tackling the climate crisis and its heatwaves, storms and floods, with planet-heating emissions set to roar back following a dip due to coronavirus shutdowns.
Much will hinge upon cooperation between China, the world’s worst producer of planet-heating emissions, and the US, historically the worst polluter. On Saturday, John Kerry, Biden’s climate envoy, struck an agreement in Shanghai to urgently address what Kerry called the “beyond catastrophic” consequences of allowing temperatures to spiral upwards.
The compact is broadly seen as encouraging but comes amid US-China tensions on issues including human rights and trade. The US also faces a deficit in credibility after the presidency of Donald Trump, which saw the country leave the Paris climate accords and dismantle environmental protections.
The White House noted in its statement that all American adults are now eligible to receive a coronavirus vaccine, as of Monday.
“Now is the time to step up our efforts to reach every working-age adult in America, and today’s announcement to help employers offset the cost of paid time off is an important step in getting America’s workforce vaccinated,” the White House said.
Biden to call on employers to provide paid time off for vaccinations
Joe Biden will call on US employers to provide workers with paid time off to receive their coronavirus vaccinations, the White House has just announced.
In a new statement, the White House confirmed the president will use his speech this afternoon to announce that tomorrow the country will hit 200 million vaccine doses distributed since he took office in January.
Biden will also lay out his vision to incentivize more Americans to get vaccinated, as shots become more widely available across the country.
“As the Administration works to get even more people vaccinated, President Biden will call on employers across America to do everything they can to help their employees – and their communities – get vaccinated,” the White House said.
“As part of that effort, President Biden is calling on every employer in America to offer full pay to their employees for any time off needed to get vaccinated and for any time it takes to recover from the after-effects of vaccination. He will announce a paid leave tax credit that will offset the cost for employers with fewer than 500 employees to provide full pay for any time their employees need to get a COVID-19 vaccination or recover from that vaccination.”
As of now, about 40% of the US population has receive at least one coronavirus vaccine dose, according to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker.
The president will deliver his speech on vaccine administration strategy in about an hour, so stay tuned.
Republican Senator Tim Scott told Capitol Hill reporters that he believes a bipartisan compromise on a policing reform bill will be reached in “the next week or two”.
According to Scott, there are still four to five outstanding issues that Democrats and Republicans must work out before the compromise bill can be introduced.
.@SenatorTimScott sounds optimistic about police reform compromise, telling reporters “I think we are on the verge of wrapping this up on the next week or two,” depending on how Democrats respond to his latest proposals. Says 4-5 outstanding issues.
— Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) April 21, 2021
The House passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act last month, but that version of the bill likely cannot make it through the evenly divided Senate.
Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said this morning, “We will not rest until the Senate passes strong legislation to end the systemic bias in law enforcement.”
Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd, praised Joe Biden as a “great man” in an interview with The View this morning, a day after Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd.
The president spoke to Floyd’s family on Monday, as the jury in Minneapolis began its deliberations over the charges against Chauvin.
"Biden, he's a great man," Philonise Floyd tells @TheView.
— ABC News (@ABC) April 21, 2021
"He just made us feel a lot better. Because the president has so much to do, and he spent just that time with us. That made us all feel good." https://t.co/2BHymThDkX pic.twitter.com/JVofQZifGc
Floyd noted Biden has spent some time with the family on “numerous” occasions since his brother’s death last year.
“He just made us feel a lot better because the president has so much to do, and he spent just that time with us,” Floyd said. “That made us all feel good.”
Updated
The Guardian’s Peter Beaumont and Sam Jones report:
With intense international interest in the US trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd, news organisations around the world had been live blogging the proceedings and were quick to reflect the ruling by the jury.
Most reporting focused on two themes: a sense of relief in the US that the jury had delivered a verdict many judged correct and the question over what it meant for the future of the US’s fraught racial relations.
Mort de George Floyd : le policier Derek Chauvin reconnu coupable de meurtre par le jury https://t.co/DTjKcgZsDb
— Le Monde (@lemondefr) April 20, 2021
“On Tuesday, the United States closed a transcendental chapter in its racial history, which is this country’s original sin,” wrote El País’s US bureau chief, Amanda Mars. “In a country where police convictions are rare, for many activists this could be a turning point in the long trajectory of police brutality against black people.”
Under the headline “America relieved by historic verdict in the George Floyd case”, the French newspaper Le Monde described the crowd gathered outside the courtroom, eyes fixed to their phones, describing a cheer as the verdict of guilty was delivered. The Times of India reflected a similar sentiment: “Tears of joy, relief after conviction in Floyd murder case”.
For its part, Germany’s mass-market tabloid Bild was blunt: “Killer Cop Guilty!”
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also said yesterday that the guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial could not replace legislation to address policing reform, echoing Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer’s words moments ago.
Rep. @AOC (D-NY): “We saw a murder in front of all of our eyes, and yet we didn’t know if there would be a guilty verdict … it’s really important that this verdict is not used as a replacement for policy change.” pic.twitter.com/TVl1zVvYaD
— The Recount (@therecount) April 21, 2021
The progressive congresswoman argued it was shameful that the country did not know whether Chauvin would be found guilty, despite the evidence against him.
“We saw a murder in front of all of our eyes, and yet we didn’t know if there would be a guilty verdict -- it tells you everything,” Ocasio-Cortez said in an Instagram video.
She added, “And that’s why I think it’s really important that this verdict is not used as a replacement for policy change.”
Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer pledged the upper chamber will soon pass legislation to address policing reform.
“We will not rest until the Senate passes strong legislation to end the systemic bias in law enforcement,” Schumer said on the Senate floor moments ago, noting a guilty verdict in a single trial will “never be enough” to end discrimination in policing.
But there are still signs of trouble in getting to a bipartisan agreement on a policing bill. Schumer emphasized that legal protections for police officers offer too much of a shield when misconduct occurs, an issue that remains a sticking point in the negotiations between Democrats and Republicans.
Speaking yesterday shortly after the guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial was announced, Kamala Harris called on the Senate to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
“This bill is part of George Floyd’s legacy,” she said. “The president and I will continue to urge the Senate to pass this legislation, not as a panacea for every problem, but as a start. This work is long overdue.”
The House passed the bill last month, but the legislation faces an uphill climb in the evenly divided Senate with the filibuster in place.
CNN has more details on the state of negotiations:
Democratic Rep. Karen Bass of California told CNN the conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin ‘gives us hope’ for a policing overhaul bill. ‘I am hoping that we will get it over the finish line and this will be positive.’
Bass along with GOP Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and Democratic Sen. Cory Booker are trying to sketch out parameters of what a Senate version of this bill will look like. The next step will be formal negotiations in the Senate. By all accounts from all sides, there is a sincere desire to make something work on this.
Bass says the goal is to have some language for the bill decided ‘by the time we hit the anniversary of George Floyd’s death,’ on May 25. Her House bill, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, passed the House without any Republican support in March.
Attorney general Merrick Garland said that the department will issue a public report on its findings if it finds “reasonable cause to believe there is a pattern or practice of unconstitutional or unlawful policing”.
If the department does find that there is a pattern and practice, there are several possible ways to address this.
“The justice department also has the authority to bring a civil lawsuit to provide injunctive relief that orders the Minneapolis police department to change its policies and practices to avoid further violations,” he said. The local police department, in that situation, would enter a settlement agreement “to align policing practices with the law”.
“Most of our nation’s law enforcement officers do their difficult jobs honorably and lawfully,” Garland remarked, saying that he “strongly believe that good officers do not want to work in systems that allow bad practices.”
“The challenges we face are deeply woven into our history,” he said, adding shortly thereafter, “we undertake this task with determination and urgency knowing that change cannot wait.”
Updated
DoJ to investigate 'potentially systemic policing issues in Minneapolis', Garland says
Attorney general Merrick Garland has announced the justice department will investigate the Minneapolis police department following yesterday’s guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial.
The attorney general said the probe would allow the justice department to examine “potentially systemic policing issues in Minneapolis”, which were not addressed by the conclusion of the Chauvin trial.
JUST IN: Attorney General Merrick Garland: "The Justice Department has opened a civil investigation to determine whether the Minneapolis Police Department engages in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional or unlawful policing." https://t.co/Os1KFA0kQP pic.twitter.com/GWlccR1buE
— ABC News (@ABC) April 21, 2021
“The justice department has opened a civil investigation to determine whether the Minneapolis Police Department engages in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional or unlawful policing,” Garland said.
He noted this investigation would be separate from the federal criminal investigation into the death of George Floyd, which was previously announced by justice department leadership.
Garland said the newly announced investigation will assess whether Minneapolis police officers routinely engage in excessive force, including during protests, and discriminatory conduct.
The Guardian’s trial live blog will have more details on the announcement, so follow along there:
Updated
The Guardian’s Maanvi Singh reports:
Addressing the nation last night, Joe Biden said the guilty verdict for the former Minneapolis police office Derek Chauvin was “a start”. But, he said, “in order to deliver real change and reform, we can and we must do more”.
“Protests unified people of every race and generation in peace and with purpose to say enough,” Biden said. “Enough. Enough of the senseless killings. Today’s verdict is a step forward.
“The guilty verdict does not bring back George,” he continued, noting that he had called the Floyd family after the news had come. “George’s legacy will not be just about his death, but about what we must do in his memory.”
Many lawmakers and public figures celebrated the verdict while also calling for more to be done, echoing years-long demands by Black Lives Matter activists for systemic change.
Kamala Harris, who spoke before Biden, said the administration would work to help pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, a bill that Harris – as a senator – introduced last summer along with Senator Cory Booker and Representative Karen Bass.
“This bill is part of George Floyd’s legacy,” she said. “The president and I will continue to urge the Senate to pass this legislation, not as a panacea for every problem, but as a start. This work is long overdue.”
Updated
DoJ to announce Minneapolis police investigation following guilty verdict
Attorney general Merrick Garland will reportedly announce the justice department is launching an investigation of the Minneapolis police department, after former officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd.
The AP reports:
The Justice Department is already investigating whether the officers involved in Floyd’s death violated Floyd’s civil rights. The investigation announced Wednesday is known as a ‘pattern or practice’ and will be a more sweeping probe of the entire department and may result in major changes to policing there, the official said. The official had direct knowledge of the matter but was not authorized to speak publicly about the upcoming announcement, planned for Wednesday morning.
The investigation will examine practices used by police and whether the department engages in discriminatory practices and will examine the department’s handling of misconduct allegations, among other things, the person said. It’s unclear how far back that will go.
The Guardian’s trial live blog has the latest updates from Minneapolis after yesterday’s historic announcement of the verdict. Follow along with that blog here:
Updated
Minneapolis hopes for new beginning after guilty verdict
As George Floyd’s girlfriend waited for a verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the police officer charged with murdering Floyd, one of the journalists crowded around her asked what being present outside the Minneapolis courthouse meant to her.
Courteney Ross, 45, who had given emotional testimony about her and Floyd’s struggle with opioid addiction, was candid: the courthouse was “not a comfortable place for many of us”.
“So many of us have a lot of negative experiences with the government,” she said. “I have had many bad encounters here.”
But that was the point of her being at the courthouse, Ross said: “I think it’s time we show what this building is supposed to be about, and it’s supposed to be about justice.”
“It needs to come back with that guilty verdict,” Ross said, “so we can start to believe again.”
Ross, who was wearing a cloth face mask printed with an image of Floyd’s face, waited outside the courthouse on Tuesday shoulder to shoulder with Toshira Garraway, a Black woman whose fiance, Justin Teigen, was found dead in a recycling truck in 2009 after fleeing from the St Paul police.
A guilty verdict in Floyd’s case would only be the beginning, Garraway said: there were hundreds more victims of police violence in Minnesota. “We need to reopen these cases, and [get] justice for the rest of these families,” she said.
Updated
Joe Biden’s announcement of 200 million shots administered comes at a bit of an odd time, given that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine remains on “pause” due to six reports of blood clots among the more than 7 million people who have received the J&J treatment.
The vaccine advisory panel at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to meet on Friday to discuss the J&J vaccine.
However, the White House has expressed confidence that the US will still be able to hit Biden’s vaccine distribution goals, even without J&J.
“We remain confident in our ability to meet the needs that we feel will be out there in the public by the end of May, and we will have enough vaccine for every American by the end of July without J&J,” the White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, said yesterday. “That is based on the supply that we’ve ordered from Moderna and Pfizer.”
The White House has confirmed Joe Biden will announce today that 200 million vaccine doses have been administered since he took office in January.
“In today’s remarks, the President will note that the United States will reach over 200 million shots this week,” a White House official said in a statement to the press pool.
The president’s remarks will be delivered in roughly four hours from the South Court Auditorium at the White House.
Biden expected to announce 200 million vaccine shots administered
Greetings from Washington, live blog readers.
Joe Biden is scheduled to deliver remarks on the coronavirus pandemic later today, and the president is expected to announce a major accomplishment: 200 million vaccine doses administered since he took office in January.
Biden had initially promised that 100 million doses would be delivered by his 100th day in office, which will occur next week, but he doubled that goal after the country hit 100 million doses weeks ahead of schedule.
According to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker, more than 213 million total shots have been administered in the US, with about 40% of the American population already receiving at least one vaccine dose.
Despite the encouraging news on vaccines, Biden will also likely sound a note of caution about relaxing coronavirus-related restrictions too quickly.
The country is still reporting more than 50,000 new cases a day, and 776 deaths were recorded just yesterday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins.
So the message from Biden will likely be this: we’ve accomplished a lot in the past few months, but don’t take a victory lap just yet.
The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
