Politics recap
- Kathy Hochul pledged to reform the “toxic” work environment in the New York governor’s office as Andrew Cuomo prepares to step down. The lieutenant governor promised that her administration would not include anyone named in the New York attorney general’s report for having engaged in unethical behavior. “There’ll be turnover,” Hochul said at a press conference. “At the end of my term, whenever it ends, no one will ever describe my administration as a toxic work environment.”
- Senator Joe Manchin voiced “serious concerns” about Democrats’ $3.5tn spending package, after the Senate approved a blueprint for the bill in a 50-49 party-line vote. “Given the current state of the economic recovery, it is simply irresponsible to continue spending at levels more suited to respond to a Great Depression or Great Recession – not an economy that is on the verge of overheating,” Manchin said in a statement.
- Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer acknowledged “the hardest work is yet to come” on the spending package. Schumer is attempting to pass the bill via reconciliation in an evenly divided Senate, which means he cannot afford a single defection in the Democratic caucus. Both Manchin and fellow Democrat Kyrsten Sinema have now expressed criticism of the bill’s price tag.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged all pregnant women to get vaccinated against coronavirus. The CDC noted that a data analysis indicated no increased risk of miscarriage among vaccinated women. As of now, only about 23% of pregnant women have received at least one vaccine dose.
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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is likely to authorize a Covid-19 vaccine booster for immunocompromised people, per multiple reports.The agency would amend the emergency use authorizations for the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, NBC and CNN reported.
- California became the first US state to establish a vaccine mandate for teachers and other school employees. California governor Gavin Newsom announced today that all of the state’s teachers will be required to show proof of vaccination or submit to weekly coronavirus tests.
- Julian Assange lost a court battle to prevent the US from expanding the grounds for its appeal in his extradition case. The US government is attempting to overturn a previous ruling preventing the extradition of Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, to face charges of espionage and hacking government computers.
- House Democrats will be able to access Donald Trump’s financial records from 2017 and 2018, a federal judge ruled – granting lawmakers investigating the former president limited access to the documents they want. The House oversight committee wanted financial records dating from 2011 through 2018, but judge Amit Mehta argued that “the more Congress can invade the personal sphere of a former president, the greater the leverage Congress would have on a sitting president”.
– Joan E Greve and Maanvi Singh
Updated
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is likely to authorize a Covid-19 vaccine booster for immunocompromised people, per multiple reports.
The agency would amend the emergency use authorizations for the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, NBC and CNN reported.
“The FDA is closely monitoring data as it becomes available from studies administering an additional dose of the authorized Covid-19 vaccines to immunocompromised individuals,” the FDA said in a statement. “The agency, along with the CDC, is evaluating potential options on this issue, and will share information in the near future.”
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization called for a moratorium on coronavirus vaccine boosters until the end of September, so supplies could be directed toward helping all countries vaccinate their most vulnerable.
“I understand the concern of all governments to protect their people from the Delta variant,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Who director-general, said. “But we cannot – and we should not – accept countries that have already used most of the global supply of vaccines using even more of it, while the world’s most vulnerable people remain unprotected.”
Updated
Afghan government could fall to Taliban in 90 days, say US officials
Akhtar Mohammad Makoii in Herat, Peter Beaumont and Julian Borger in Washington report:
US officials have warned that Afghanistan’s government could fall in 90 days, with Kabul isolated in as little as a month, as the Taliban overran the central Sarposa prison in Kandahar, the country’s second largest city, releasing almost 1,000 prisoners.
The fall of Kandahar – sometimes called the capital of the south – would be a devastating blow for the Afghan government after a week in which the Taliban have swept up provincial capitals around the country in a lightning offensive.
The latest setback for Afghan government forces came as Joe Biden urged Afghan leaders to “fight for their nation” after rapid advances by the Taliban.
The White House spokesperson, Jen Psaki, repeated the administration line on Wednesday, saying: “They have what they need. What they need to determine is whether they have the political will to fight back, and if they have the ability to unite as leaders to fight back.”
She added: “We will continue to provide close air support. We’ll continue to resupply their forces with food and equipment, and pay all their salaries.”
Asked whether US air support for Afghan forces would stop on 31 August, the formal end to the US war in Afghanistan, she said: “I don’t have any update on that.” But she noted: “It’s a good question.”
With foreign embassies in Kabul, including the US embassy, discreetly accelerating evacuation planning in the event of the situation worsening, the Taliban’s succession of victories on the battlefield has caught out western capitals that have long sustained the Afghan government.
Read more:
Maya Yang reports:
Rudy Giuliani, the staunch ally of Donald Trump who is facing a multi-million dollar defamation lawsuit related to his attempts to undermine the US presidential elections, has embraced a new potential earning stream.
Internet users, should they be inspired to do so, can now buy customized video messages from Giuliani, who has joined Cameo, a service that sells personalized videos recorded by celebrities.
“Hi. It’s Rudy Giuliani and I’m on Cameo” Giuliani says in a video posted on his Cameo page on Tuesday.
He goes on to say: “If there is an issue you want to discuss or a story you’d like to hear or share with me or a greeting that I can bring to someone that would bring happiness to their day, I would be delighted to do it. It can be arranged. We can talk through the magic of Cameo.”
The price? That starts at $199 (£140).
Giuliani’s Cameo profile lists him as the “Former Associate Attorney General of the United States, Mayor of New York City 1994-2001, and Host of the Rudy Giuliani Common Sense podcast.”
On 24 June, the former attorney for President Trump was suspended from practicing law in New York over his efforts in leading Trump’s campaign to overturn the 2020 election results. His law license in Washington DC was suspended shortly after.
Giuliani is also facing a $1.3bn defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems. The company has accused him of having “manufactured and disseminated” a conspiracy theory related to the company’s voting machines.
The Guardian view on Biden’s bipartisan bill: one battle won, many more to go
From the Guardian Editorial Board:
On Tuesday, 19 Republican senators, including minority leader Mitch McConnell, joined with Democrats to pass Joe Biden’s $550bn infrastructure bill. In a polarised age, this act of bipartisan politics seems miraculous. To vote for the bill, Senate Republicans had to go against the wishes of Donald Trump, who had warned against handing Mr Biden a victory before midterm polls in 2022. They also U-turned on a core Republican principle: that private investment is superior to government intervention.
Yet the Republicans’ vote was rooted in self-interest. Only four will face the voters next year and the spending was popular, even with Republicans. Crucially Mr McConnell had protected the filibuster. Unless Republicans relented, Mr Biden might have done away with legislative tool that preserves the Senate’s 60-vote threshold for legislative success. Instead Mr Biden thanked his opponents for their courage in backing his proposal. This moment represents a test of Biden’s faith that Congress, and democracy, can still work and get things done.
In many ways this looks like a defining battle for the heart and soul of the Democratic party. The infrastructure bill now goes to the House of Representatives, which has a Democratic majority and a bigger progressive bloc. The House Democratic leadership has said it will only move after the Senate passes a $3.5tn spending bill to reduce poverty, improve elderly and childcare as well as protect the environment. The biggest expansion of the US’s social safety net since the Great Society of the 1960s is needed to help flatten the inequalities wrought by decades of pro-market policies. The same can be said for rolling back the tax cuts for corporations and wealthy households that were Mr Trump’s signature legislative achievement.
Read more:
House Democrats will be able to access Donald Trump’s financial records from 2017 and 2018, a federal judge ruled – granting lawmakers investigating the former president limited access to the documents they want.
US district judge Amit Mehta, who had previously ruled that the Democrats could have a broad array of records, ruled that they could subpoena two years’ worth of records after a supreme court ruling that Congress should mind the separation of powers when seeking personal information about the president. The House oversight committee wanted financial records dating from 2011 through 2018, but Mehta argued that “the more Congress can invade the personal sphere of a former president, the greater the leverage Congress would have on a sitting president”.
Mehta said House oversight Dems could also access information related to Trump’s lease of a building in DC.
“Today’s district court opinion recognized that the oversight committee is entitled to a broad set of President Trump’s financial records as part of our critical investigation aimed at preventing presidential conflicts of interest, self-dealing, and constitutional violations,” said Carolyn Maloney, House oversight chair, in a statement. “While it is disappointing that the court, despite finding that the entire subpoena served valid legislative purposes, narrowed the subpoena in some respects, the committee is actively considering next steps.”
Updated
US workers lose out as big chicken gets bigger
The tight grip that America’s largest meat processing company has on the chicken industry has generated dire consequences for its workers, farmers and the environment in one of the US’s leading poultry-producing states, an investigation has found.
Tyson Foods is ranked 73rd on the Fortune 500 list, with a revenue of $43bn in the last fiscal year.
Tyson accounts for the single largest share of chicken plants across the US, processing 2.3 billion birds in 2020. The company supplies burgers and nuggets, among other chicken products, to chains including Walmart, McDonalds, KFC and Taco Bell, as well as schools and prisons.
In Arkansas, where the multinational is headquartered, the company currently accounts for an estimated two-thirds of processed poultry sales, a joint investigation by the Guardian and the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) reveals.
Its near monopoly in Arkansas, which reflects national and global trends in the meat industry, has been built over the past three decades by exploiting weakened antitrust regulations to acquire dozens of smaller companies and facilities.
Our findings suggest that this power has been used to dictate contracts and erode conditions for farmers and workers in plants in Arkansas, where it is the third-biggest employer.
Tyson and the other three top firms control about 87% of poultry production in the state. Economists and food justice advocates largely agree that consumers, farmers, workers, small companies and the planet lose out if the top four firms control 40% or more of any market. One grassroots labor organizer told the Guardian: “This is corporate America and it’s failed the people.”
The five-month investigation is based on research and analysis of the most recently available economic, government and industry data, and interviews with labor and farming advocates as well as current and former workers at three Tyson plants.
Read more:
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:
- Kathy Hochul pledged to reform the “toxic” work environment in the New York governor’s office as Andrew Cuomo prepares to step down. The lieutenant governor promised that her administration would not include anyone named in the New York attorney general’s report for having engaged in unethical behavior. “There’ll be turnover,” Hochul said at a press conference. “At the end of my term, whenever it ends, no one will ever describe my administration as a toxic work environment.”
- Senator Joe Manchin voiced “serious concerns” about Democrats’ $3.5tn spending package, after the Senate approved a blueprint for the bill in a 50-49 party-line vote. “Given the current state of the economic recovery, it is simply irresponsible to continue spending at levels more suited to respond to a Great Depression or Great Recession – not an economy that is on the verge of overheating,” Manchin said in a statement.
- Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer acknowledged “the hardest work is yet to come” on the spending package. Schumer is attempting to pass the bill via reconciliation in an evenly divided Senate, which means he cannot afford a single defection in the Democratic caucus. Both Manchin and fellow Democrat Kyrsten Sinema have now expressed criticism of the bill’s price tag.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged all pregnant women to get vaccinated against coronavirus. The CDC noted that a data analysis indicated no increased risk of miscarriage among vaccinated women. As of now, only about 23% of pregnant women have received at least one vaccine dose.
- California became the first US state to establish a vaccine mandate for teachers and other school employees. California governor Gavin Newsom announced today that all of the state’s teachers will be required to show proof of vaccination or submit to weekly coronavirus tests.
- Julian Assange lost a court battle to prevent the US from expanding the grounds for its appeal in his extradition case. The US government is attempting to overturn a previous ruling preventing the extradition of Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, to face charges of espionage and hacking government computers.
Maanvi will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
After delivering prepared remarks at his virtual meeting with mayors and governors, Joe Biden was asked whether he is concerned about raising the debt ceiling.
“Nope. They are not going to let us default,” Biden said, referring to Senate Republicans. “Eight trillion of that is on the Republicans’ watch.”
REPORTER: Are you worried about the debt ceiling, Mr. President?
— JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) August 11, 2021
BIDEN: Nope. They’re not going to let us default. $8 billion— $8 trillion of that is on the Republican’s watch. pic.twitter.com/tevIBdZWFL
Of course, Senate Republicans have given every indication that they have no interest in helping Democrats raise the debt ceiling. If the debt ceiling is not raised, the US could be in a position of being unable to pay its bills, causing massive market disruption.
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell had called on Democrats to include a debt ceiling increase in their $3.5tn spending package, but majority leader Chuck Schumer has insisted that the chamber work in a bipartisan fashion to raise the debt ceiling, as senators repeatedly did during Donald Trump’s presidency.
Senate Democrats will need 10 Republican votes to raise the debt ceiling, and now 46 Republican senators have signed a letter indicating they will not support a debt ceiling increase.
“Because Democrats are responsible for the spending, they need to take responsibility for increasing the debt ceiling,” the Republicans said in their letter.
So the Senate is at an impasse, and essentially the entire US economy hangs in the balance as the two parties squabble. Just another typical day in Washington.
Erin McCormick reports for the Guardian from Berkeley:
Medical providers and pharmacies in the California Bay Area are scrambling to keep up with the newly-increased demand for Covid-19 testing, as cases of the virus surge fueled by the highly-contagious Delta variant.
At one CVS pharmacy in Richmond on Tuesday, a sign taped to the front door announced “Rapid Covid tests temporarily sold out”. At a hospital in the city where the drive-thru Covid testing site had recently been taken down, a line of walk-in patients seeking tests stretched down the block in front of the hospital. And in San Francisco last week, the old scene of lines of cars with passengers inside waiting to be tested was back at the city’s drive through test site.
The number of patients seeking Covid-19 tests in California has more than doubled from a month ago, when case counts were at their lowest point this year, according to state statistics. As of 10 August, about 200,000 patients per day were getting tests in the state, compared to 81,000 per day at the beginning of July. The testing totals were higher than most points in the pandemic, but still lower than last winter’s surge.
The upsurge in demand for tests is not just driven by unvaccinated Americans who are at most risk for severe Covid, but by vaccinated residents concerned about often milder “breakthrough” cases. New studies have shown that these cases, while extremely unlikely to result in hospitalization or death, do have some potential to spread the virus.
California becomes first US state to establish vaccine mandate for teachers
California will now require all of the state’s teachers and other school employees to get vaccinated or receive weekly coronavirus tests, governor Gavin Newsom announced today.
The announcement makes California the first state in the US to establish a vaccine mandate for teachers, as schools look to reopen in person for the fall.
California has become the first state in the U.S. to mandate Covid vaccines or regular testing for all teachers and public school employees, Newsom announced Wednesday https://t.co/jsfO2BNz9X pic.twitter.com/Fk41mswKMD
— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) August 11, 2021
“We think this is the right thing to do and we think this is a sustainable way to keeping our schools open and to address the No 1 anxiety that parents like myself have for young children,” Newsom said.
“And that is knowing that schools are doing everything in their power to keep our kids safe, to keep our kids healthy, and that’s what we’re doing here in the state of California.
The news comes amid a surge in coronavirus cases among unvaccinated Americans caused by the Delta variant, which has intensified concerns about school reopenings.
The Democratic governor announced the new policy at a San Francisco Bay Area school that has already reopened for its fall semester.
Newsom had previously established similar vaccine mandates for state government employees and state healthcare workers.
Joe Biden is now holding a virtual meeting with governors, mayors and other state, local and tribal officials to pitch the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which passed the Senate yesterday.
The president said the Senate’s passage of the bill, which would invest $550bn in new federal funds for roads, bridges and other physical infrastructure projects, demonstrated how a democracy can achieve substantive change for its citizens.
Biden meets virtually with governors, mayors, and other state, local, and tribal officials to talk up the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
— Patsy Widakuswara (@pwidakuswara) August 11, 2021
He said it will help ease the years of gridlock in Washington and show the American people that their gov can & will work for them. pic.twitter.com/utuJwLxFXo
The Senate passed the legislation in a 69-30 vote yesterday, with 19 Republicans joining all 50 Democrats to get the legislation across the finish line.
However, the bill still needs to pass the House, where it may face resistance from progressive lawmakers. Some House progressives have indicated they will not support the bill unless they receive assurances about the final passage of the $3.5tn spending package, which the Senate advanced this morning.
At least two Senate Democrats have already suggested the price tag for the final version of the spending package will need to be lowered, frustrating progressives who already view the $3.5tn figure as a compromise.
Joel Wertheimer, a civil rights attorney and a former associate staff secretary for Barack Obama, argues that the toxic work environment in Andrew Cuomo’s office was inextricably linked to his other failures as governor.
Wetheimer writes in an op-ed for the Guardian:
Start with the number of women whose careers were cut short and harmed by the governor’s actions. That left New York without the contributions of many women who could have made the state a better place but who left because of the abuse. And who are the women who did not get jobs in the government at all because Cuomo may not have found them attractive? What was their contribution to our collective wellbeing that was missed? It is impossible to have worked for the governor and not have noticed that the senior women who worked directly for him predominantly looked alike and notably none of them where non-white. ...
The brain drain as a result of his toxic administration hurt New York. I made it seven months in the Cuomo administration in 2017. I was looking for a new job after two months. But working in an abusive and chaotic environment where nobody cared about policy outcomes was not worth proximity to power. The staff often justified what they went through as necessary for good governance, but I knew otherwise, having just come from the Obama White House, where working long hours was the norm, but so was kindness coming from the top. ...
Andrew Cuomo is gone. But there will be more politicians who are said to sexually harass their staff and run toxic work environments. We should remember that the harms do not stop at the women they harass or the staffers they abuse, although that should be enough. The abuse is corrosive, the harms leak out throughout the government, and we are all worse for it.
Kathy Hochul indicated she has not yet spoken to Joe Biden, although the president tried to give her a call while she was on a flight and thus unavailable.
The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, said this afternoon that Biden plans to speak to Hochul “in the coming days”, before she takes over as governor of New York later this month.
Asked what Biden’s message to Hochul will be, Psaki said, “He would convey to her: ‘I’m looking forward to working with you ... to continue to get the pandemic under control, to put the people of New York back to work, and to move forward as federal and state partners.’”
Biden had called for Andrew Cuomo to resign last week, after the New York attorney general released its report saying the governor had sexually harassed at least 11 women, and the president welcomed the announcement of Cuomo’s departure yesterday.
Kathy Hochul acknowledged that she was not pleased with the two-week transition period before Andrew Cuomo steps down and she becomes governor of New York.
“It’s not what I asked for,” the lieutenant governor said. “However, I’m looking forward to a smooth transition, which he promised.”
New York Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul (@LtGovHochulNY) on 14 day transition period: "It's not what I asked for, however, I'm looking forward to a smooth transition, which he promised."
— CSPAN (@cspan) August 11, 2021
Full video here: https://t.co/jJOgQ97gqc pic.twitter.com/VkqhThfdSj
Hochul said Cuomo had told her that he believed the two-week transition was “necessary” to ensure continuity of government and allow her to meet with other senior officials in the state.
“I am prepared to take office, as any lieutenant governor is, from the very first hour you’re sworn in,” Hochul said. “However, I will take advantage of that time and to continue to engage with the people of the state of New York. I have a vision, but I’m going to continue to develop that.”
One reporter asked Kathy Hochul whether she would consider a pardon for Andrew Cuomo if he is facing criminal charges over the sexual harassment allegations against him.
“I’m going to tell you right now, I’m talking about my vision for the state of New York,” the lieutenant governor said. “It is far too premature to even have those conversations.”
Multiple district attorneys in New York have requested information about the investigation overseen by the state attorney general’s office as they weigh criminal charges against Cuomo.
.@morganfmckay: “Would you consider pardoning [Gov. Andrew Cuomo]?”
— The Recount (@therecount) August 11, 2021
Kathy Hochul: “It is far too premature to even have those conversations.” pic.twitter.com/sbH1KvVFOl
Taking questions from reporters, Kathy Hochul promised to change the “toxic” work environment in the governor’s office, as documented in the report issued by New York attorney general Letitia James.
The lieutenant governor, who will become governor in two weeks, pledged that anyone named in the report as having engaged in unethical behavior would soon be looking for another job.
"Oh, there'll be turnover": Hochul vows to change staff and culture of NY governor's office, saying she and Cuomo "have not been close — physically or otherwise"
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 11, 2021
"At the end of my term, whenever it ends — no one will ever describe my administration as a toxic work environment" pic.twitter.com/3zorC3TbNU
“There’ll be turnover,” Hochul said. “At the end of my term, whenever it ends, no one will ever describe my administration as a toxic work environment.”
The lieutenant governor also noted that she has “not been close” with Andrew Cuomo, who is stepping down in the wake of sexual harassment allegations.
'I will fight like hell for you every single day': Hochul prepares to become NY governor
New York lieutenant governor Kathy Hochul delivered a prepared statement and is now taking reporters’ questions as she prepares to become governor after Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation yesterday.
Hochul said she spoke to Cuomo yesterday, and he “pledged his full support for a smooth transition”. Cuomo’s resignation is expected to go into effect in two weeks.
#BREAKING: Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks following Cuomo resignation: "I will fight like hell for you every single day." pic.twitter.com/0k7B2zCVLE
— Forbes (@Forbes) August 11, 2021
“While it was not expected, it’s a day for which I am prepared,” Hochul said of her new position. “People will soon learn that my style is to listen first and then take decisive action.”
Hochul said she will continue to travel across the state to meet New Yorkers as she builds out her staff in the governor’s mansion.
“Make no mistake: our work has already begun,” Hochul said. “The promise I make to all New Yorkers, right here and right now, I will fight like hell for you every single day, like I’ve always done and always will.”
White House is keeping 'a careful eye on inflation' and gas prices, Biden says
Joe Biden has just wrapped up his remarks on his Build Back Better agenda, praising his administration for helping America’s recovery after the US economy suffered severe setbacks at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Jobs are up, and monthly price increases have come down. Economic growth is up, the fastest in 40 years, and unemployment is coming down,” Biden said.
The president’s remarks came hours after the Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report showing inflation slowed a bit last month, although prices still remained elevated.
The president promised his administration would keep “a careful eye on inflation” to ensure prices do not continue to rise at an unsustainable rate.
"One key thing about the infrastructure bill that just passed the Senate is that there are no gas tax increases," President Biden says.
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) August 11, 2021
"I made that absolutely clear that I would not raise gas taxes and I'm glad that everyone in the Senate seemed to agree with that." pic.twitter.com/35hrGbw0Po
Biden added that his administration was taking action to address high gas prices, saying, “Today, gas prices are lower than they were early in this decade, but they’re still high enough to create a pinch on working families.”
The president emphasized that there would be no gas tax increases in the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which passed the Senate yesterday.
“I made that absolutely clear that I would not raise gas taxes, and I’m glad that everyone in the Senate seemed to agree with that,” Biden said.
The president concluded his prepared remarks and left the event without answering any of reporters’ shouted questions.
'Our war is not on DeSantis, it's on the virus,' White House says as Florida battles Covid surge
During her daily briefing, White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked about the Biden administration sending hundreds of ventilators to Florida, as the state battles a surge in coronavirus cases.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis has said that he was unaware of the delivery of the ventilators, as the Republican continues to fight against coronavirus-related precautions, including mask mandates in schools.
WH Press Sec. Jen Psaki on @nypost headline "Team Biden's war on DeSantis is all about kneecapping a successful GOP governor":
— The Recount (@therecount) August 11, 2021
"Our war is not on DeSantis, it's on the virus, which we're trying to kneecap. He does not seem to want to participate in that effort …" pic.twitter.com/zZufH8Bgrm
“As a policy, we don’t send ventilators to states without their interest in receiving the ventilators,” Psaki said. “I think the most important question here is, why would you oppose receiving ventilators when you clearly need those in your state given the percentage of hospitalizations that are occurring in Florida?”
According to data from the department of health and human services, 90% of Florida’s ICU beds are currently being used. Nearly half of the state’s ICU beds are being used for coronavirus patients.
Psaki was also asked about a recent New York Post headline, which read, “Team Biden’s war on DeSantis is all about kneecapping a successful GOP governor”.
“Our war is not on DeSantis, it’s on the virus, which we’re trying to kneecap,” Psaki said. “And he does not seem to want to participate in that effort to kneecap the virus, hence our concern.”
Updated
Joe Biden held a virtual meeting today with business, university and healthcare leaders to discuss strategies to get more Americans vaccinated against coronavirus.
The meeting included the CEOs of Kaiser Permanente, United Airlines and DESA, Inc., as well as the president of Howard University. All four have already announced vaccine requirements for their employees or students.
“During the meeting, the leaders shared how they arrived at their decision to require vaccinations and how they are working to implement their own requirements,” the White House said in a readout of the meeting.
“He expressed his optimism that additional employers would follow suit, and he noted that the federal government will continue to support employers as they require COVID-19 vaccinations.”
CDC urges all pregnant women to get vaccinated against Covid-19
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention said on Wednesday that pregnant women should get vaccinated after an analysis of data that showed no increased risk of miscarriage among women who received it.
The advice comes as hospitals in hot spots around the US are see disturbing numbers of unvaccinated mothers-to-be seriously ill with the virus, the Associated Press reports.
Expectant women run a higher higher risk of severe illness and pregnancy complications from the coronavirus, including perhaps miscarriages and stillbirths. But their vaccination rates are low, with only about 23% having received at least one dose, according to CDC data.
“The vaccines are safe and effective, and it has never been more urgent to increase vaccinations as we face the highly transmissible delta variant and see severe outcomes from Covid-19 among unvaccinated pregnant people,’’ CDC Director Dr Rochelle Walensky said in a statement on Wednesday.
The updated guidance comes after a CDC analysis of new safety data on 2,500 women showed no increased risks of miscarriage for those who received at least one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine before 20 weeks of pregnancy. The analysis found a miscarriage rate of around 13%, within the normal range.
Updated
YouTube suspends Rand Paul over masks video
The platform suspended the Republican senator on Tuesday for seven days over a video claiming that masks are ineffective against Covid-19.
It is the latest move against a prominent public figure who has spread disinformation about ways to protect against the virus or about the vaccines developed to fight it.
“We removed content from Senator Paul’s channel for including claims that masks are ineffective in preventing the contraction or transmission of Covid-19, in accordance with our Covid-19 medical misinformation policies,” a Youtube spokesperson said. “This resulted in a first strike on the channel, which means it can’t upload content for a week, per our longstanding three strikes policy,” the spokesperson added.
Last month Paul clashed with Dr Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious disease expert, during a heated discussion in a Congress hearing about the virus. At one point Fauci said, ‘Senator Paul, you do not know what you are talking about, quite frankly.”
Today so far
Here’s where the day stands so far:
- Senator Joe Manchin voiced “serious concerns” about Democrats’ $3.5tn spending package, after the Senate approved a blueprint for the bill in a 50-49 party-line vote. “Given the current state of the economic recovery, it is simply irresponsible to continue spending at levels more suited to respond to a Great Depression or Great Recession – not an economy that is on the verge of overheating,” Manchin said in a statement.
- Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer acknowledged “the hardest work is yet to come” on the spending package. Schumer is attempting to pass the bill via reconciliation in an evenly divided Senate, which means he cannot afford a single defection in the Democratic caucus. Both Manchin and fellow Democrat Kyrsten Sinema have now expressed criticism of the bill’s price tag.
- Julian Assange lost a court battle to prevent the US from expanding the grounds for its appeal in his extradition case. The US government is attempting to overturn a previous ruling preventing the extradition of Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, to face charges of espionage and hacking government computers.
The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
Schumer acknowledges hurdles ahead for spending bill: 'Maybe the hardest work is yet to come'
Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said his strategy to simultaneously advance the bipartisan infrastructure bill and Democrats’ $3.5tn spending package is “right on track”.
Speaking at a press conference a day after the Senate passed the bipartisan infrastructure bill and hours after the chamber advanced the spending package, Schumer noted that all Democratic senators supported both measures.
“This was one of the most significant legislative days we’ve had in a long time here in the United States Senate, but we still have a long road to travel,” Schumer said.
The majority leader emphasized the unity of his caucus, but two Senate Democrats -- Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema -- have voiced criticism of the $3.5tn price tag of the spending package.
If Schumer loses any members of his caucus on the spending package, he will not be able to pass it via reconciliation, which requires a simple majority to approve bills.
“What we’re doing here isn’t easy,” Schumer said. “We’ve labored for months and months to reach this point, and we have no illusions: maybe the hardest work is yet to come. But we are united in a desire to get it done. And so far, so good.”
Afghan government could fall to Taliban ‘in 90 days’ say US officials
The Guardian’s Akhtar Mohammad Makoii in Herat and Peter Beaumont report:
US officials believe Afghanistan’s government could fall in 90 days, with Kabul isolated in as little as a month, as Joe Biden urged Afghan leaders to “fight for their nation” following rapid advances by the Taliban.
With foreign embassies in Kabul, including the US embassy, discreetly accelerating evacuation planning in the event of the situation worsening, the Taliban’s lightning succession of victories on the battlefield has caught out western capitals that have long sustained the Afghan government.
While western analysts and policymakers were already dubious about the ability of the Afghan security forces to withstand a fully fledged Taliban offensive, many had assumed the government could hold out for at least six months.
Instead, the Afghan government – which the US has backed at a cost of $1tn over 20 years, including providing military training and arms – appears to be collapsing in the face of the Taliban’s offensive.
Read the full report:
Before adjourning for its August recess, the Senate confirmed Ken Salazar to serve as the next US ambassador to Mexico.
Salazar was unanimously confirmed via voice vote, making him the first of Joe Biden’s ambassador nominees to receive Senate confirmation.
The following nominations were CONFIRMED by voice vote:
— U.S. Senate Majority Floor Updates (@DSenFloor) August 11, 2021
—Jennifer Lester Moffitt to be Under Secretary of @USDA for Marketing and Regulatory Programs
—Kenneth Lee Salazar to be Ambassador to the United Mexican States
(1/5)
Salazar previously served as a US senator from Colorado and as the interior secretary under Barack Obama, from 2009 to 2013.
Colorado governor Jared Polis congratulated Salazar on his confirmation, saying, “Colorado is proud that one of our great statesmen will be representing the United States in Mexico.”
Congratulations to @KenSalazar on his confirmation as Ambassador to Mexico. Colorado is proud that one of our great statesmen will be representing the United States in Mexico. pic.twitter.com/DSThZ22MDs
— Governor Jared Polis (@GovofCO) August 11, 2021
The Senate is now officially adjourned until Monday, September 13, after the upper chamber passed the bipartisan infrastructure bill and advanced Democrats’ $3.5tn spending package.
The #Senate stands adjourned until 3:00 p.m. on Monday, September 13th.
— Floor Monitor (@senategopfloor) August 11, 2021
The House was originally scheduled to return from recess on September 20, but majority leader Steny Hoyer announced yesterday that the chamber would return early to consider the spending package.
The House is now expected to return on August 23 and “will remain in session until our business for the week is concluded,” Hoyer said in a letter to colleagues yesterday.
Assange loses court battle to stop US expanding extradition appeal
The Guardian’s Kevin Rawlinson reports:
The WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, has lost a high court battle to prevent the US government expanding the grounds for its appeal against an earlier refusal to allow his extradition to face charges of espionage and hacking government computers.
On Wednesday, judges said a report from Assange’s psychiatric expert that was submitted at the original hearing in January could form part of Washington’s full appeal in October.
Sitting in London, Lord Justice Holroyde said he believed it was arguable that the evidence given by Prof Michael Kopelman should have had less weight attributed to it when the original decision was made.
The lieutenant governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, said she will be delivering an address and holding a media availability at 2 pm ET today.
This will mark Hochul’s first formal remarks since governor Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation yesterday. Hochul will become governor in two weeks, when Cuomo’s resignation takes effect.
I will be addressing the people of New York and holding a media availability at 2pm.
— Kathy Hochul (@LtGovHochulNY) August 11, 2021
Watch live: https://t.co/Em6soLbfAq
Hochul had previously described Cuomo’s alleged sexual harassment as “repulsive and unlawful,” and she welcomed the news of his resignation.
She said yesterday: “I agree with Governor Cuomo’s decision to step down. It is the right thing to do and in the best interest of New Yorkers. As someone who has served at all levels of government and is next in the line of succession, I am prepared to lead as New York state’s 57th governor.”
Once she is sworn in, Hochul will become the first woman to ever serve as governor of New York.
Hallie Golden reports for the Guardian:
The Oregon governor declared a state of emergency on Tuesday as the region prepared for triple-digit temperatures mere weeks after a deadly heatwave clobbered the Pacific north-west.
Kate Brown said: “Oregon is facing yet another extreme heatwave, and it is critical that every level of government has the resources they need to help keep Oregonians safe and healthy.”
The declaration took effect at midday on Tuesday amid concerns over the safety of residents, some of whom do not have air conditioning, and the impact the soaring temperatures could have on critical infrastructure. The order is expected to remain in place until 20 August.
Brown recommended Oregon residents take proactive steps to keep cool, including staying well hydrated; visiting one of the dozens of cooling centers at libraries, community centers and other spaces across the state; and keeping tabs on neighbors, friends and family.
Read the full report:
Texas supreme court says Democratic legislators can be arrested for fleeing state
In case you missed it yesterday: the Texas supreme court has voided a lower court’s order temporarily barring the arrest of Democratic legislators who fled the state to block the passage of voting restrictions.
The Guardian’s Dani Anguiano reports:
The court blocked a restraining order that protected the lawmakers from being arrested after they fled the state in July to stop a Republican effort to enact new voting restrictions. By fleeing the state, Democratic lawmakers denied the Republican-led legislature the quorum needed to proceed with the bill.
The court’s decision means that those who have returned to the state can be detained and forcibly brought to the state capitol to re-establish quorum, according to the Texas Tribune.
The Republican governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, had already called another special session to pass the voting restrictions, putting more pressure on the Democratic legislators.
Abbott has pledged to “continue to call special session, after special session, after special session every single month until we address and vote on these bills”.
Senator Joe Manchin’s criticism of Democrats’ $3.5tn spending package could jeopardize both that legislation and the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which passed the Senate yesterday.
Some House progressives have indicated they will not support the bipartisan infrastructure bill unless they receive assurances about the $3.5tn spending package, which includes a number of large investments in childcare, health care and climate-related initiatives.
Manchin’s “serious concerns” about the price tag of that bill could threaten its Senate passage because Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer needs all 50 Democrats on board to pass the proposal via reconciliation.
So if Manchin (or fellow Democrat Kyrsten Sinema, who has also voiced concerns about the bill’s cost) tank the legislation, some House progressives may vote against the bipartisan infrastructure bill.
And House speaker Nancy Pelosi only has a three-seat majority to work with as she tries to pass both pieces of legislation. There is very little wiggle room for Democratic leaders in either chamber of Congress.
House majority leader Steny Hoyer announced yesterday that the chamber will return from its August recess early to take up the $3.5tn budget bill.
The House was not originally scheduled to return to session until September 20.
Hoyer said in a letter to his colleagues yesterday, “For your scheduling purposes, assuming that the Senate does, in fact, complete work on a budget resolution, the House will return to session on the evening of August 23 to consider that budget resolution and will remain in session until our business for the week is concluded.”
Hoyer noted that the House will also consider the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which faces a rocky path to Senate passage because of the filibuster. Civil rights activists have been demanding that Democrats continue to fight for national voting rights legislation, despite fierce Republican opposition.
Manchin voices 'serious concerns' about $3.5tn spending package
Greetings from Washington, live blog readers.
Senate Democrats approved the blueprint for their $3.5tn budget bill early this morning, after a marathon session that included an hours-long “vote-a-rama” on the proposal.
The 50-49 vote fell along party lines, as Senate Republicans continued to fiercely criticize the bill as a reckless spending spree. Because Democrats are advancing the bill using reconciliation, they do not need any Republican support to pass it.
“It’s been quite a night,” Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said after the vote. “We still have a ways to go, but we’ve taken a giant step forward to transforming America. This is the most significant piece of legislation that’s been considered in decades.”
My statement raising concerns about the consequences of passing a $3.5 trillion budget: pic.twitter.com/gGsEXcVTxd
— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) August 11, 2021
But there are still serious hurdles ahead for the bill. One of the most centrist members of the Senate Democratic caucus, Joe Manchin, said after the vote that he has “serious concerns about the grave consequences” of another large spending package.
“Given the current state of the economic recovery, it is simply irresponsible to continue spending at levels more suited to respond to a Great Depression or Great Recession – not an economy that is on the verge of overheating,” Manchin said.
If Schumer cannot keep Manchin on board, the bill will not pass the evenly divided Senate, so the stakes could not be higher.
The blog will have more details on the bill coming up, so stay tuned.
