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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Lois Beckett (now) and Joan E Greve (earlier)

Cuomo aide files criminal complaint as governor’s lawyer attacks investigation – as it happened

Andrew Cuomo in March 2021.
Andrew Cuomo in March 2021. Photograph: Brendan McDermid/AP

Evening summary

We’re closing our live politics coverage for this evening. It’s a Friday in August, but there’s been a lot of news. An updated list of today’s highlights:

  • A woman who accused Cuomo of groping her has filed a criminal complaint against the New York governor. The state government employee filed the complaint in Albany county, where the district attorney’s office has been conducting a criminal investigation of Cuomo’s alleged harassment.
  • Cuomo’s personal lawyer claimed the investigation by the New York attorney general’s office was conducted unfairly. At a press conference this afternoon, attorney Rita Glavin said investigators, who concluded the governor had sexually harassed at least 11 women, approached their work with a “predetermined narrative” about Cuomo’s guilt. New York attorney general Letitia James once again defended the investigation, noting Cuomo himself had initially asked her to conduct it.
  • Joe Biden celebrated the July jobs report, which showed the US economy added 943,000 jobs last month, dropping the unemployment rate to 5.4%. “What is indisputable now is this: the Biden plan is working. The Biden plan produces results, and the Biden plan is moving the country forward,” the president said.
  • But the president also warned that the country’s hard-won economic progress could be lost unless more Americans get vaccinated. Biden’s warning came as the country experiences a surge in coronavirus cases among unvaccinated Americans as the Delta variant continues to spread. “America can beat the Delta variant, just as we beat the original Covid-19,” Biden said. “We can do this. So wear a mask when recommended. Get vaccinated today.”
  • Half of all Americans are now fully vaccinated, the White House Covid-19 data director said. There has been an uptick in vaccinations over the past couple of weeks, as the US confronts the latest surge in cases.
  • The Biden administration extended the freeze on federal student loan payments until January 2022, but said that there would be no more extensions.
  • Florida marked its single-day record for new coronavirus cases, and accounted for 19% of all new cases nationwide on Thursday, despite containing only 6.5% of the US population, the Miami Herald reported. The continuing increase in cases comes as Florida’s Republican governor Ron DeSantis spent the week feuding with the Biden administration and baselessly blaming the rise in cases on migrants at the US’ southern border.

More context on the GOP claim about Covid and migrants at the southern border

It was a baseless claim that Florida governor Ron DeSantis repeated: “covid-infected migrants,” he alleged, were to blame for the increase in coronavirus cases across the United States.

Los Angeles Times columnist Jean Guerrero, the author of Hatemonger, a book about Trump adviser Stephen Miller, puts this Republican rhetoric in context.

Florida reports record-breaking daily number of coronavirus cases

The Miami Herald has some stark new statistics about the increase in coronavirus cases in Florida, where the state’s Republican governor Ron DeSantis has been publicly feuding with the Biden administration over public health measures, and also baselessly blamed the increase in coronavirus cases in the US on “Covid-infected migrants” at the southern border.

  • Florida reported 22,783 new coronavirus cases from Thursday, which is 1,100 cases higher than the state’s previous single-day record.
  • Florida contains 6.5% of the U.S. population, but accounted for nearly 19% of new cases on Thursday,
  • In the past month, the seven-day average of new cases increased 664%.

Read the Miami Herald’s full coverage here:

New York state attorney general Letitia James defends integrity of Cuomo sexual harassment investigation

After comments at a press conference by lawyers for New York governor Andrew Cuomo, the state’s attorney general released a statement defending the rigor and integrity of the investigation, and noting that Cuomo himself had initially asked her to investigate the allegations against him, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Updated

Vaccination form for federal workers adds penalties for lies

Federal employees who need to certify their vaccination status under a new policy instituted by President Joe Biden intended to encourage Covid-19 shots will face disciplinary action and potentially criminal prosecution if they lie on the form, the Associated Press reports.

The Biden administration on Friday unveiled the attestation form that employees will need to fill out confirming whether they have been fully vaccinated against the virus, adding legal teeth to the president’s mandate. Federal employees won’t be following the honor system but will instead be required to acknowledge that making a “knowing and willful false statement on this form can be punished by fine or imprisonment or both.”

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the form which was distributed Friday to agency leadership and points of contact for Covid safety protocol implementation.

Updated

Fully vaccinated Kansas congresswoman tests positive for Covid-19

Kansas Rep. Sharice Davids, a Democrat, said in a statement to the Kansas City Star that her symptoms were mild, and that she is “incredibly grateful” for the vaccine.

“I know things could have been much worse for me without it,” Davids said.

Biden administration extends student loan freeze until January 2022, calls it ‘final’

The pandemic-related pause on federal student loan repayment, interest, and collections has been extended until 31 January 2022, but will not be extended after that, the Biden administration announced today.

Biden’s education secretary called the extension the “final” one, and a press release from the department noted, “The Department believes this additional time and a definitive end date will allow borrowers to plan for the resumption of payments and reduce the risk of delinquency and defaults after restart.”

Some Congressional Democrats had pushed for several additional months of delay, into March 2022, Politico education reporter Michael Stratford noted.

Guardian Politics Weekly Podcast: The Republicans confusing the vaccine effort

The resurgence of the pandemic, owing to the much more transmissible Delta variant, has convinced many people who were once hesitant to get the coronavirus jab. However, some are blaming mixed messages from Republican lawmakers for causing confusion and apathy. So what should local and state politicians be doing?

Jessica Glenza talks to Jonathan Freedland in our Politics Weekly podcast.

‘Is the Trump mimicry intentional?’ Digesting the tactics of Cuomo’s defense

This is Lois Beckett, picking up our live politics coverage from Los Angeles.

As journalists processed the comments at a press conference where lawyers defended New York governor Andrew Cuomo, who is under pressure to resign after an investigation found he sexually harassed at least 11 women, one theme jumped out: parallels to Donald Trump.

Today so far

The press conference with Andrew Cuomo’s lawyers has now concluded, and that’s all from me for today. My west coast colleague, Lois Beckett, will take over the blog for the next few hours.

Here’s where the day stands so far:

  • A woman who accused Cuomo of groping her has filed a criminal complaint against the New York governor. The state government employee filed the complaint in Albany county, where the district attorney’s office has been conducting a criminal investigation of Cuomo’s alleged harassment.
  • Cuomo’s personal lawyer claimed the investigation by the New York attorney general’s office was conducted unfairly. At a press conference this afternoon, attorney Rita Glavin said investigators, who concluded the governor had sexually harassed at least 11 women, approached their work with a “predetermined narrative” about Cuomo’s guilt. New York attorney general Letitia James has denied all claims that the investigation was politically motivated and has consistently defended the credibility of the independent investigators.
  • Joe Biden celebrated the July jobs report, which showed the US economy added 943,000 jobs last month, dropping the unemployment rate to 5.4%. “What is indisputable now is this: the Biden plan is working. The Biden plan produces results, and the Biden plan is moving the country forward,” the president said.
  • But the president also warned that the country’s hard-won economic progress could be lost unless more Americans get vaccinated. Biden’s warning came as the country experiences a surge in coronavirus cases among unvaccinated Americans as the Delta variant continues to spread. “America can beat the Delta variant, just as we beat the original Covid-19,” Biden said. “We can do this. So wear a mask when recommended. Get vaccinated today.”
  • Half of all Americans are now fully vaccinated, the White House Covid-19 data director said. There has been an uptick in vaccinations over the past couple of weeks, as the US confronts the latest surge in cases.

Lois will have more coming up, so stay tuned.

Cuomo plans to address trooper's allegations of inappropriate touching, lawyer says

The lawyers are now taking questions from reporters, and one journalist asked Andrew Cuomo’s attorneys to respond to the allegations from a state trooper that he repeatedly touched her inappropriately.

“The governor will address that allegation himself,” Cuomo’s personal attorney, Rita Glavin, told reporters.

Glavin did not provide a timeline on when Cuomo might respond to those allegations, but the attorney said the governor “wants to do it soon”.

Glavin also claimed that Cuomo wanted the woman on his security detail for the sake of gender diversity. According to the report from the New York attorney general’s office, the trooper was hired before she met the qualifications to join the governor’s detail because he took a liking to her after they briefly met at an event.

When asked if the trooper is still assigned to the governor’s detail, Glavin said that she was, although she later said she was not sure whether the trooper had been reassigned since the release of the report.

Asked how officials were guaranteeing that the trooper and Cuomo’s other accusers were not being mistreated, Glavin said, “The whole world is watching right now. People are not going to be retaliated against by Governor Cuomo.”

Andrew Cuomo’s personal attorney, Rita Glavin, closed her prepared remarks by claiming the governor had been “ambushed” by investigators.

She said the investigation had been “one-sided” and that Cuomo had not been treated fairly.

Again, New York attorney general Letitia James has denied all claims that the investigation was politically motivated, consistently defending the credibility of the independent investigators.

Andrew Cuomo’s personal attorney, Rita Glavin, specifically took issue with the allegation that he groped an executive assistant at the governor’s mansion last year.

“This woman’s allegation, as stated as fact in this report, is false,” Glavin said.

Glavin presented a timeline to support her claim that the groping incident could not have occurred on the day named by the executive assistant, which was November 16, 2020.

But here’s what the report from the New York attorney general’s office says in a footnote about the account from the executive assistant: “Executive Assistant #1 did not remember the exact date of the incident, but recalled that it was around when she was tasked with photographing a document, and provided a copy of the photograph to us that was dated November 16, 2020.”

That state government employee has now filed a criminal complaint against Cuomo with the Albany county sheriff’s office.

Investigators had a 'predetermined narrative' about Cuomo's guilt, governor's lawyer says

Attorney Paul Fishman has now turned things over to Andrew Cuomo’s personal attorney, Rita Glavin.

Glavin began her comments with what appeared to be a prepared statement, in which she said, “I’m a former federal prosecutor, and I know the difference between putting together a case against a target, versus doing independent fact-finding with an open mind. There has been no open-minded fact-finding here.”

The lawyer accused investigators of conducting their work with a “predetermined narrative” about whether the governor had sexually harassed his employees.

“Here, instead of acting as independent fact-finders, the investigators acted as prosecutors, judge and jury,” Glavin said, after the press conference briefly paused because of technical difficulties.

Cuomo’s team has previously made the argument that the investigation was politically motivated, but New York attorney general Letitia James has consistently denied those claims.

“There were attempts to undermine and to politicize this investigation, and there were attacks on me as well as members of the team, which I find offensive,” James said on Tuesday.

“And our focus again should be on the bravery and the courage of these 11 women, and of the others who came forward. These allegations were substantiated.”

Updated

Attorneys representing Andrew Cuomo are now holding a press conference about the investigation that found the New York governor had sexually harassed at least 11 women.

Attorney Paul Fishman began the press conference by criticizing the office of New York attorney general Letitia James for not providing the governor’s team with advance notice of the investigation’s findings before the report was made public, as the lawyers had requested.

Fishman also disputed investigators’ conclusion that the governor’s office retaliated against Lindsey Boylan after she came forward with her harassment allegations.

A new found found that 7 in 10 New Yorker voters believe Andrew Cuomo should resign after an investigation found that the governor had sexually harassed at least 11 women.

According to the Quinnipiac University survey, 70% of New York voters think Cuomo should step down, while 25% believe the Democratic governor should remain in office.

That 70% of voters who say Cuomo should resign include 57% of Democrats, 88% of Republicans and 76% of independents.

In comparison, just 43% of New York voters said Cuomo should resign back in March, after several women had come forward with their allegations but before the findings of the investigation were announced.

If Cuomo does not resign, 63% of New York voters now say that the governor should be impeached and removed for office. The New York state Assembly’s judiciary committee said yesterday that its impeachment inquiry is “nearing completion,” meaning articles of impeachment could soon be filed.

A woman who accused New York governor Andrew Cuomo of groping her breast last year while they took a selfie photograph together has filed a criminal complaint with the Albany county sheriff’s department, the office said on Friday.

The complaint from a woman identified as “executive assistant #1” to protect her identity increases the possibility Cuomo could face criminal charges related to his conduct, detailed in a 165-page report released this week by the New York state attorney general Letitia James’s office.

The executive assistant told investigators that Cuomo called her to the governor’s mansion in November last year, led her into a room, closed the door, slid his hand under her blouse and cupped her breast over her bra, according to the investigators’ report.

The woman’s claims were detailed in the attorney general’s report. She told investigators: “I have to tell you it was – at the moment I was in such shock that I could just tell you that I just remember looking down seeing his hand, seeing the top of my bra and I remember it was like a little even the cup – the kind of bra that I had to the point I could tell you doesn’t really fit me properly, it was a little loose, I just remember seeing exactly that.”

Meanwhile, New York governor Andrew Cuomo’s personal attorneys are scheduled to hold a press conference in about 30 minutes.

In a tweet, the governor said his lawyers would discuss the findings of an investigation that concluded Cuomo had sexually harassed at least 11 women.

The livestream of the press conference is being hosted on the official government website for Cuomo’s office, which seems a bit odd considering the participants are the governor’s personal attorneys.

The press conference comes as a number of prominent politicians of both parties, including Joe Biden, have called on Cuomo to resign. The governor has given no indication he plans to step down.

One reporter asked Jen Psaki whether the US should anticipate another economic slowdown as coronavirus cases surge among unvaccinated Americans due to the spread of the Delta variant.

“This is not March 2020 or even January 2021,” the White House press secretary said. “We’re not going to lock down our economy or our schools because our country’s in a much stronger place than when we took office.”

Pointing to the strong July jobs report, Psaki argued both the top-line jobs number and several trends within the report indicate a robust and expansive economic recovery as the US weathers the latest surge.

“We are not going back. We are not turning back the clock,” Psaki said.

Jen Psaki confirmed that the Biden administration is having “early conversations” about requiring coronavirus vaccinations in certain settings.

The White House press secretary’s comments follow reports that the administration is considering requiring nearly all foreign travelers to the US to be fully vaccinated.

Reuters reports:

The Biden administration is developing a plan to require nearly all foreign visitors to the United States to be fully vaccinated against Covid as part of eventually lifting travel restrictions that bar much of the world from entering the United States, a White House official told Reuters on Wednesday.

The White House wants to re-open travel, which would boost business for the airlines and tourism industry, but is not ready to immediately lift restrictions because of the rising Covid-19 case load and highly transmissible Covid-19 Delta variant, the official said.

The Biden administration has interagency working groups working ‘to have a new system ready for when we can reopen travel,’ the official said, adding it includes ‘a phased approach that over time will mean, with limited exceptions, that foreign nationals traveling to the United States (from all countries) need to be fully vaccinated.’

The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, is now holding her daily briefing with reporters, and she addressed some Republican governors’ efforts to block local officials from enacting coronavirus-related precautions, such as mask mandates.

“We do have concern of course about restrictions that are being put in place in a handful of states, or have been put in place around the country, that make it more difficult for localities, for schools, for businesses in some places to implement public health guidelines,” Psaki said.

“Our message continues to be that, if you don’t want to abide by public health guidelines, don’t want to use your role as leaders, elected officials, then you should get out of the way.”

Joe Biden delivered a similar message earlier this week, saying in a speech on pandemic response efforts, “I say to these governors, ‘Please, help.’ But if you aren’t going to help, at least get out of the way of the people who are trying to do the right thing. Use your power to save lives.”

Half of all Americans now fully vaccinated, White House official says

Half of all Americans are now fully vaccinated against coronavirus, a senior Biden administration official said today.

The White House Covid-19 data director, Dr Cyrus Shahpar, said on Twitter, “Friday just in: +821K doses reported administered, including 565K newly vaccinated. 7-day average of newly vaccinated is up 11% from last week and 44% over past 2 weeks. 50% of Americans (all ages) are now fully vaccinated. Keep going!”

There has been an uptick in vaccinations over the past couple of weeks, as the US experiences a surge in cases among unvaccinated Americans because of the spread of the Delta variant.

More than 70% of Americans adults have now had at least one vaccine dose, passing a milestone that Joe Biden had initially hoped to reach by July 4.

Celebrating the strong July jobs report this morning, the president once again urged all eligible Americans to get vaccinated as quickly as possible to ensure the country’s economy doesn’t suffer another coronavirus-related setback.

“America can beat the Delta variant, just as we beat the original Covid-19,” Biden said. “We can do this. So wear a mask when recommended. Get vaccinated today. All of that will save lives, and it means we’re not going to have the same kind of economic damage we’ve seen when Covid-19 began.”

Today so far

Here’s where the fat stands so far:

  • A woman who accused Andrew Cuomo of groping her has filed a criminal complaint against the New York governor. The state government employee filed the complaint in Albany county, where the district attorney’s office has been conducting a criminal investigation of Cuomo’s alleged harassment.
  • Joe Biden celebrated the July jobs report, which showed the US economy added 943,000 jobs last month, dropping the unemployment rate to 5.4%. “What is indisputable now is this: the Biden plan is working. The Biden plan produces results, and the Biden plan is moving the country forward,” the president said.
  • But the president also warned that the country’s hard-won economic progress could be lost unless more Americans get vaccinated. Biden’s warning came as the country experiences a surge in coronavirus cases among unvaccinated Americans as the Delta variant continues to spread. “America can beat the Delta variant, just as we beat the original Covid-19,” Biden said. “We can do this. So wear a mask when recommended. Get vaccinated today.”

The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.

Updated

In a further outbreak of dangerous Republican coronavirus action, Florida’s Board of Education has today approved an emergency rule that will allow private school vouchers if parents feel their children are being harassed by a school district’s Covid-19 safety policies, including mask requirements.

The Associated Press notes that:

Parents could request the vouchers under provisions that are usually used to protect children who are being bullied.

“Covid-19 harassment” means any threatening, discriminatory, insulting, or dehumanizing verbal, written or physical conduct an individual student suffers in relation to, or as a result of, school district protocols for Covid-19, including masking requirements, the separation or isolation of students, or Covid-19 testing requirements, that have the effect of substantially interfering with a student’s educational performance,” the rule reads.

The meeting was scheduled a week after Republican governor Ron DeSantis ordered the department to come up with ways of having school districts that mandate mask-wearing provide other alternatives for parents, saying they had the legal right to make decisions about their children’s health and education.

DeSantis said in his order that the rules could include withholding money from school districts or other actions allowed under Florida law. At a news conference today he reiterated his general opposition to restrictions, such as lockdowns, business closures and mask mandates.

Memo to Florida and Arkansas from Texas:

Daily Covid-19 cases in the US moved above 100,000 a day for the first time since February, higher than the levels of last summer when vaccines were not available, and came as health officials sounded alarm over lagging rates of vaccination driving the surge of the infectious Delta variant.

The seven-day average of hospital admissions has also increased more than 40% from the week before, with health workers describing frustration and exhaustion as hospitals in Covid hotspots were again overwhelmed with patients, almost 20 months into the pandemic in the US.

“As we look at our hospitalizations and as we look at our deaths, they are overwhelmingly unvaccinated people, CDC director Rochelle Walensky said at a briefing on Thursday.

The full report from the Guardian’s Amanda Holpuch has just launched:

An Arkansas judge has temporarily blocked the state from enforcing its ban on mask mandates after lawmakers left the prohibition in place despite a rising number of Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations among unvaccinated people, amid low vaccination rates in the state.

Joe Biden once again this morning implored Americans to get inoculated and said that the millions in the US who have already been vaccinated “are fine”.

The latest surges in the Delta variant of coronavirus is causing a new stage of a “pandemic of the unvaccinated,” the president reiterated, shortly before leaving the White House for Wilmington, Delaware, without taking questions from the press on the lawn as he often does.

The Associated Press further reports from Arkansas:

Pulaski County Circuit judge Tim Fox issued a preliminary injunction against the law that Governor Asa Hutchinson signed in April banning mask requirements by governmental entities. The ban was being challenged by two lawsuits, including one from a district where more than 800 staff and students are quarantining because of a coronavirus outbreak.

Fox ruled against the measure on multiple grounds, including the argument that it discriminated between public and private schools. Fox issued the ruling hours after lawmakers adjourned a special session that Hutchinson had called to consider rolling back the ban for some schools.

Hutchinson had said the change was needed to protect children under 12 who can’t get vaccinated as the state’s virus cases and hospitalizations skyrocket.

A House panel on Thursday rejected two measures that would have allowed some school districts to issue mask requirements.
There had been growing calls to lift the ban before school starts statewide later this month.

“I think we’re going to come to really regret not taking action,” Democratic Senator Keith Ingram, the chamber’s minority leader, said. “I just hope the consequences aren’t fatal for children or staff or teachers in this state.”

Pediatricians and health officials have said masks in schools are needed to protect children, as the delta variant and Arkansas’ low vaccination rate fuels the state’s spiraling cases.

The state on Monday reported its biggest one-day increase in Covid-19 hospitalizations since the pandemic began, and the Department of Health on Thursday said only 36 intensive care unit beds were available in the state.

But Hutchinson faced heavy opposition from fellow Republicans, who had been inundated with calls and messages from opponents of masks in schools.

Cuomo accuser files criminal complaint over alleged groping - reports

One of the women who accused Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment has reportedly filed a criminal complaint against the New York governor in Albany county.

The New York Times reports:

A woman who accused Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of groping her breast in the Executive Mansion last year has filed a criminal complaint with the Albany County sheriff’s department, the sheriff’s office said on Friday.

The criminal complaint from the woman, an executive assistant whose name has not been publicized, increases the possibility that the governor could face criminal charges related to his behavior.

Legal experts have said that his conduct toward the assistant, as described in a 165-page report released by the New York State attorney general’s office this week, could be charged as forcible touching, a misdemeanor.

The news comes after the district attorney of Albany county revealed that his office is conducting an ongoing criminal investigation into the governor’s alleged harassment.

Joe Biden wrapped up his prepared remarks on the strong July jobs report without taking any questions from reporters. The president is now on his way to his home state of Delaware for the weekend.

While celebrating the strong jobs report, Joe Biden emphasized that much work remains to be done to ensure the country’s economic recovery continues.

Specifically, the president said more Americans need to get vaccinated to guarantee businesses are not forced to reclose because of the surge in cases caused by the Delta variant.

Biden outlined the steps his administration has already taken to encourage vaccinations, including a vaccine mandate for federal workers and funds to states to incentivize vaccinations.

“America can beat the Delta variant, just as we beat the original Covid-19,” Biden said. “We can do this. So wear a mask when recommended. Get vaccinated today. All of that will save lives, and it means we’re not going to have the same kind of economic damage we’ve seen when Covid-19 began.”

Updated

'The Biden plan is working,' president says after strong July jobs report

Joe Biden is now delivering remarks on the strong July jobs report, which showed the US economy added 943,000 jobs last month.

The president noted that this morning’s report makes the Biden administration the first administration in US history to add jobs every month of its first six months since taking office.

“What is indisputable now is this: the Biden plan is working. The Biden plan produces results, and the Biden plan is moving the country forward,” the president said.

And while the jobs numbers are undoubtedly great news, some reporters were distracted by Biden’s bold fashion choice of wearing a tan suit for his speech today. (Perhaps he was inspired by his former boss, Barack Obama.)

Updated

Joe Biden will soon deliver remarks on the strong July jobs report, but the president is currently running about 35 minutes behind schedule.

After his speech, the president will then leave Washington to spend a weekend in his home state of Delaware. The blog will cover Biden’s remarks whenever it is they get started, so stay tuned.

The Senate was forced to schedule its final vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill for Saturday after senators could not reach an agreement last night on a set of amendments for the legislation.

Politico reports:

Senators in both parties spent the entire day assembling a package of amendments for consideration that could grease the wheels to final passage, but Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) refused to sign off under intense lobbying from Republican colleagues.

[Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer] said the Democratic majority encountered ‘numerous objections’ to finalizing a list of amendments and wrapping up the bill more quickly. Now the Senate will take the effort back up on Saturday, when the bill’s backers must overcome a filibuster to begin ending debate. The legislation will need 60 votes, and at least 10 Republicans, to advance.

‘We very much want to finish this important bill, so we will reconvene Saturday at noon to vote [to overcome a filibuster] and then we will follow regular order to finish the bill,’ Schumer said.

As a reminder, Schumer also wants Senate Democrats to approve the legislative vehicle for their $3.5tn reconciliation bill before they leave for their August recess, so there is a lot to get done in a short amount of time.

House speaker Nancy Pelosi praised the July jobs report as “decisive proof that Democrats’ Build Back Better economy is working”.

“Now, we must sustain this growth and ensure that all can share in its benefits, by passing transformative infrastructure and reconciliation bills that truly meet families’ needs,” Pelosi said.

The Senate has set up a final vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill for Saturday. If the upper chamber can pass the bill, it will be sent to the House and ultimately to Joe Biden’s desk for his signature.

But it’s unclear how House members might alter the bill, which could jeopardize the fragile bipartisan coalition in the Senate that spent weeks negotiating over the legislation.

Joe Biden previewed his remarks on the July jobs report with a celebratory tweet about the number of US jobs gained since he was sworn in on January 20.

“More than 4 million jobs created since we took office. It’s historic — and proof our economic plan is working,” Biden said on Twitter.

There were “notable job gains in leisure and hospitality, in local government education, and in professional and business services” last month, says the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Employment in leisure and hospitality surged by 380,000, with two-thirds (253k) of those gains at ‘food services and drinking places’ as restaurants and bars took on more staff.

Schools also saw a jump in hiring - with 221,000 new hires in local government education and by 40,000 in private education.

The report explains:

Staffing fluctuations in education due to the pandemic have distorted the normal seasonal buildup and layoff patterns, likely contributing to the job gains in July. Without the typical seasonal employment increases earlier, there were fewer layoffs at the end of the school year, resulting in job gains after seasonal adjustment.

Jason Furman, the former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under Barack Obama, celebrated the number of US jobs gained last month.

Furman noted that the positive jobs report showed strong indicators across a range of factors, including the variety of industries adding positions, a disproportionately large decline in unemployment for Black and Latino Americans and wage growth.

Biden to deliver remarks on strong July jobs report

Greetings from Washington, live blog readers.

Joe Biden is set to soon deliver remarks on the strong July jobs report, which was released by the labor department this morning.

The report showed the US economy added 943,000 jobs last month, bringing the unemployment rate to 5.4%, down from 5.9% a month earlier.

The jobs increase was stronger than many economists expected, and it marked the largest rise since August 2020, helping to accelerate the recovery of the labor market as more US businesses reopen.

However, there is still potential trouble ahead for the US economy. With the Delta variant of coronavirus causing a surge in cases among unvaccinated Americans, the pandemic could still cause significant economic damage

In his speech today, Biden will likely both tout the latest numbers and reiterate the plea he has been issuing for months: get vaccinated.

The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.

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