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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Sam Levin (now) and Joan E Greve (earlier)

US Senate votes to proceed on ‘historic’ $1.2tn infrastructure bill – as it happened

Joe Biden speaks during a visit to the Lehigh Valley operations facility for Mack Trucks in Macungie, Pennsylvania.
Joe Biden speaks during a visit to the Lehigh Valley operations facility for Mack Trucks in Macungie, Pennsylvania. Photograph: Matt Rourke/AP

Summary

That’s all for today, thanks for following along. Some key links and events from the day:

Biden: 'We've reached a historic deal'

The president on the Senate voting to proceed on the $1.2tn infrastructure bill:

Infrastructure bill procedural vote: 67-32

The Senate has hit the necessary 60 votes to overcome the filibuster on the motion to proceed on the infrastructure bill, with a 67-32 vote.

Republicans are divided:

The Senate procedural vote on the infrastructure bill is happening now, stay tuned for updates.

Facebook saw its fastest growth this quarter since 2016, the company revealed in its earnings report today, despite regulatory concerns and criticisms surrounding misinformation on the platform.

The social media company’s overall revenue hit $29bn, above forecasts of $27.89bn, and its profits doubled from a year earlier to $10.39bn thanks to a boom in online advertising. However, it warned of a potential slowdown in the second half of the year.

Shares slid back nearly 4% in after-hours trading following warnings from chief financial officer David Wehner that the company expects year-over-year revenue growth to slow “significantly” as an uptick in digital ad sales related to Covid-19 recovery slows back down. He said the company expects growth to slow “modestly” in the second half of the year.

Still, Facebook’s growth in 2021 has remained strong despite potential regulatory headwinds, including aggressive criticism from the Biden administration in recent weeks. Its daily active users in quarter two rose to nearly 2.9bn from 2.7bn users this time last year.

The Federal Reserve chair said today that the Delta variant poses little threat to the economy, so far. At a news conference, chair Jerome Powell said:

What we’ve seen is with successive waves of COVID over the past year and some months now, there has tended to be less in the way of economic implications from each wave. We will see whether that is the case with the delta variety, but it’s certainly not an unreasonable expectation.”

But he also raised concerns that the rapid spread in areas with low rates of vaccination could cause problems down the road:

Dining out, traveling, some schools might not reopen. We may see economic effects from some of that or it might weigh on the return to the labor market. We don’t have a strong sense of how that will work out, so we’ll be monitoring it carefully.”

Powell, the AP reported, noted that the Covid surge last summer did not do as much damage to the economy as analysts had predicted: “We’ve kind of learned to live with it, a lot of industries have kind of improvised their way around it,” Powell added. “It seems like we’ve learned to handle this.”

Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell has said he will vote to move forward with the infrastructure bill:

The procedural vote today is meant to start debate on the legislation. Earlier, Joe Biden described the bill as “the most significant long-term investment in our infrastructure and competitiveness in nearly a century”.

“This deal signals to the world that our democracy can function, deliver, and do big things,” the president said. “As we did with the transcontinental railroad and the interstate highway, we will once again transform America and propel us into the future.”

New Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chairwoman Lina Khan made her first appearance in front of Congress on Wednesday since she became the youngest candidate in history to be appointed to the role in June.

Khan, who has made her name as an antitrust scholar focused largely on the outsized power of big tech, offered in her first testimony pointed criticisms of monopoly power in the industry.

She has indicated the FTC will take stronger action in the future against tech monopolies, and on Wednesday focused heavily on fraud perpetrated on tech platforms. She said scams have increased surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, adding that “these platforms to become finely tuned instruments for bad actors who often target the most vulnerable”.

The commission will continue to aggressively pursue those that exploit the crisis to target American families, but ultimately, systemically rooting out fraudulent schemes will require focusing on the warped incentives and legal privileges that allow major firms to profit from predation.”

Khan’s presence at the FTC has spooked tech platforms, who foresee stronger regulation on the horizon. Amazon and Facebook have both asked Khan be recused from decisions regarding their platforms due to criticisms she has made of them in the past. A decision has not yet been made regarding either request.

Hi all — Sam Levin here in Los Angeles, taking over our live coverage for the rest of the day.

One of the Washington DC police officers who gave emotional testimony to Congress about the violence of the 6 January Capitol insurrection said today he had received a vulgar voicemail threatening his life while he was on the stand, adding: “This is what happens when you tell the truth in Trump’s America.”

Michael Fanone was the officer who suffered a heart attack after being beaten and Tasered by supporters of Trump. In new remarks, he also criticized Republicans, including the House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, who chose not to observe Tuesday’s opening day of the select committee’s investigation.

On CNN, Fanone said:

You have people like Kevin McCarthy, whose members have been downplaying or denying events of that day. It’s not politically advantageous for him to continue to have to answer questions about the 6 January insurrection, which was at least in part incited by the leader at the time of his political party.”

My colleague Richard Luscombe has the full report on Fanone’s new comments:

Today so far

That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Sam Levin, will take over the blog for the next few hours.

Here’s where the day stands so far:

  • The bipartisan group involved in infrastructure negotiations has reached “an agreement on the major issues” with their bill. According to a fact sheet released by the White House, the bill would provide $550bn in new federal investment for infrastructure projects, including roads, bridges and rail. Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer has said the upper chamber will hold a procedural vote tonight to start debate on the legislation.
  • Joe Biden praised the bipartisan deal, describing the proposal as “the most significant long-term investment in our infrastructure and competitiveness in nearly a century”. “This deal signals to the world that our democracy can function, deliver, and do big things,” Biden said in a statement this afternoon. “As we did with the transcontinental railroad and the interstate highway, we will once again transform America and propel us into the future.”
  • Democratic senator Kyrsten Sinema voiced concern over the $3.5 trillion price tag of Democrats’ reconciliation bill, which is expected to fund many of Biden’s infrastructure initiatives that were not included in the bipartisan bill. “While I will support beginning this process, I do not support a bill that costs $3.5 trillion,” Sinema said. Her statement sparked immediate backlash from progressives in the House, some of whom threatened to tank the bipartisan bill that Sinema helped negotiate.
  • Biden is expected to announce a coronavirus vaccine mandate for federal employees, according to a CNN report. The president previewed the potential mandate yesterday, telling reporters, “That’s under consideration right now, but if you’re not vaccinated, you’re not really as smart as I thought you were.” Biden is scheduled to deliver a speech on vaccination efforts tomorrow.
  • Republicans lashed out against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s updated mask guidance, even as coronavirus cases rise in the US. After the CDC urged vaccinated people to wear masks indoors if they live in regions with high levels of coronavirus spread, the Capitol physician said House members would be required to wear masks while indoors. In response, House minority leader Kevin McCarthy said on Twitter that the new guidance was “not a decision based on science”. Asked about McCarthy’s comments, House speaker Nancy Pelosi called him a “moron”.

Sam will have more coming up, so stay tuned.

In some rather unsurprising news, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell said he was “pleased” that Democratic senator Kyrsten Sinema voiced opposition to the price tag of the $3.5tn reconciliation bill her colleagues are pushing.

“She’s very courageous,” the Republican leader told Larry Kudlow, the former senior Trump administration official who now hosts a Fox Business show.

Of course, some of Sinema’s Democratic colleagues in Congress are less than “pleased”.

At least two House progressives, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Mondaire Jones, have suggested they will not support the bipartisan infrastructure bill that Sinema helped negotiate without assurances about the reconciliation bill.

Joe Biden appeared to take a small victory lap on Twitter, after a bipartisan group of congressional negotiators reached a deal on their infrastructure bill.

“It’s infrastructure week,” Biden said on Twitter.

That comment appeared to be a reference to the Trump administration repeatedly announcing “infrastructure week” and then failing to pass any actual infrastructure bills.

Biden has poked fun at his predecessor for this before. The president said in a May speech in Michigan, “They announced infrastructure week -- and they announced it and announced it and announced it and announced it every week for four years, and didn’t do a damn thing. They didn’t get the job done.”

'This deal signals to the world that our democracy can function': Biden praises infrastructure bill

Joe Biden has issued a statement praising the bipartisan infrastructure bill, just hours before the Senate is expected to hold a procedural vote on the legislation.

The president described the bill as “the most significant long-term investment in our infrastructure and competitiveness in nearly a century”.

“This deal signals to the world that our democracy can function, deliver, and do big things,” Biden said. “As we did with the transcontinental railroad and the interstate highway, we will once again transform America and propel us into the future.”

Biden acknowledged that “neither side got everything they wanted in this deal,” but the president argued such compromise is “the heart of democracy”.

“As the deal goes to the entire Senate, there is still plenty of work ahead to bring this home. There will be disagreements to resolve and more compromise to forge along the way,” Biden said.

“But the bottom line is—the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal is a blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America that will help make our historic economic recovery a historic long-term boom.”

The White House has released a fact sheet with more details on the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which the Senate will hold a procedural vote on tonight.

The legislation includes $550bn in new federal investment for infrastructure projects, including roads, bridges and rail.

According to the fact sheet, the bipartisan bill will invest $110bn of new funds in roads, bridges and major projects, as well as $39bn for modernizing public transit systems.

The legislation also includes $66bn to modernize and expand rail service in the US, while addressing Amtrak’s long backlog of maintenance issues.

The fact sheet describes this rail funding as “the largest investment in passenger rail since the creation of Amtrak 50 years ago,” which is likely a particular point of pride for “Amtrak Joe”.

The White House’s full description of the bill can be read here.

It’s important to remember that Democratic senator Kyrsten Sinema said she will at least support the upcoming procedural motion on the reconciliation bill.

Sinema’s latest comments specifically criticized the $3.5tn price tag of the “human infrastructure” bill, but it will likely take months to finalize the exact text of the legislation.

“While I will support beginning this process, I do not support a bill that costs $3.5 trillion — and in the coming months, I will work in good faith to develop this legislation with my colleagues and the administration to strengthen Arizona’s economy and help Arizona’s everyday families get ahead,” Sinema said in her statement.

It is still possible that Sinema will support the final version of the reconciliation bill if it costs less than $3.5tn, but the Arizona senator’s statement will still likely irk progressive lawmakers, who already considered that price tag to be a compromise. (Senator Bernie Sanders had initially proposed spending $6tn on the reconciliation bill.)

Make that two House progressives who have indicated they will not support the bipartisan infrastructure bill without assurances about the separate reconciliation bill.

“Without a reconciliation package that meets this moment, I’m a no on this bipartisan deal,” Mondaire Jones, the progressive congressman who represents parts of the Bronx.

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also warned Democratic senator Kyrsten Sinema that the bipartisan bill she helped negotiate could be in trouble in the House, after Sinema said she does not support the $3.5tn price tag of the reconciliation bill.

The Senate is expected to vote tonight on a motion to proceed on the bipartisan bill. Stay tuned.

There are already signs of trouble for the bipartisan infrastructure bill, after one of the legislation’s lead Democratic negotiators indicated some concerns about the separate reconciliation bill.

Progressive congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sharply criticized Democratic senator Kyrsten Sinema after she said she does not support the $3.5tn price tag of the reconciliation bill, which would fund many of Joe Biden’s infrastructure initiatives not covered in the bipartisan proposal.

“Good luck tanking your own party’s investment on childcare, climate action, and infrastructure while presuming you’ll survive a 3 vote House margin - especially after choosing to exclude members of color from negotiations and calling that a ‘bipartisan accomplishment,’” Ocasio-Cortez said on Twitter.

It is true that Democrats have an extremely narrow margin in the House, which could create hurdles for the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill if progressives oppose the proposal.

However, if some Republicans supported the bipartisan bill, it may still pass the House, even if progressives voted against it. It all depends on the exact numbers on each side of the aisle.

Senate to vote tonight on advancing bipartisan infrastructure bill, Schumer confirms

The Senate will hold a procedural vote tonight to start debate on the bipartisan infrastructure bill, majority leader Chuck Schumer has just confirmed.

“I’ve said for weeks that we intend to do two things in July: one, a bipartisan infrastructure bill and two, a budget resolution with reconciliation instructions. We are on track to do both,” Schumer said.

“Tonight, I am intending to call a vote to move to proceed to the bipartisan infrastructure bill. I believe we have the votes for that. And we will then proceed to do amendments and go forward on that bill.”

Schumer insisted that the reconciliation bill is “in very good shape” and both proposals are moving along as expected.

After issuing his prepared statement, the majority leader left without answering any of the shouted questions about Democratic senator Kyrsten Sinema’s latest comments saying she does not support the $3.5tn price tag of the reconciliation bill.

It remains unclear whether any Senate Democrats will vote against advancing the bipartisan bill tonight in light of Sinema’s latest comments.

Sinema says she does not support price tag of Democrats' $3.5tn 'human infrastructure' bill

Senator Kyrsten Sinema, a moderate Democrat from Arizona, has said that she does not support the price tag of Democrats’ $3.5tn reconciliation bill, which would fund many of Joe Biden’s “human infrastructure” proposals.

Sinema told the Arizona Republic that, while she supports the goals of the spending package, she has concerns about the plan’s overall cost.

“I have also made clear that while I will support beginning this process, I do not support a bill that costs $3.5 trillion — and in the coming months, I will work in good faith to develop this legislation with my colleagues and the administration to strengthen Arizona’s economy and help Arizona’s everyday families get ahead,” Sinema said.

The news comes just hours before the Senate is expected to vote on advancing the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which Sinema helped negotiate.

Sinema’s latest comments could cause tensions within the Senate Democratic caucus. Some Senate progressives have indicated they will vote in favor of the bipartisan bill only if their moderate colleagues help them pass the reconciliation package.

A Washington Post reporter heard that from one Democratic senator just this morning:

Updated

Biden pledges to work with both parties to pass bipartisan infrastructure bill

Joe Biden promised to work with members of both parties to ensure the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill, after a Republican senator announced the negotiating group had reached a deal.

“You may have heard that, in Washington now, just on the phone, looks like they’ve reached a bipartisan agreement on infrastructure,” Biden said in his speech on manufacturing in Pennsylvania.

“And I’m working with Democrats and Republicans to get this done because while there’s a lot we don’t agree on, I believe that we should be able to work together on the few things we do agree on. I think it’s important.”

Republican senator Rob Portman, one of the lead negotiators in the bipartisan infrastructure talks, said this morning that the group had reached an agreement on “major issues” with their legislation.

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer has said that the upper chamber may hold a procedural vote to advance the bipartisan bill as early as tonight.

In his manufacturing speech, Biden also made a pitch for Democrats’ $3.5tn reconciliation bill, which would fund many of the president’s other infrastructure initiatives, but it’s unclear when or if the Senate will be able to advance that proposal.

Joe Biden is now delivering a speech on American manufacturing at the Mack - Lehigh Valley Operations (LVO) manufacturing facility in Lower Macungie Township, Pennsylvania.

Before launching into his prepared remarks, the president issued another plea with unvaccinated Americans to get their shot as quickly as possible.

“We still have a lot of people not vaccinated. The pandemic we have now is a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” Biden said.

“So please — please, please, please — if you’re not vaccinated, protect yourself and the children out there. It’s important.”

The president is scheduled to deliver a speech on his administration’s vaccination efforts tomorrow, and he is expected to announce a vaccine mandate for federal workers.

All New York state employees must get vaccinated against the coronavirus by early September or undergo weekly tests for Covid-19, governor Andrew Cuomo announced today.

The move, which will come into force on Labor Day, would apply to around 250,000 employees and comes after California and New York City announced similar policies earlier this week.

As the blog said earlier, Joe Biden reportedly plans to announce tomorrow that coronavirus vaccines will be required for all federal employees and contractors, or they will have to undergo regular testing for Covid-19.

Like other states, New York has seen a rising number of coronavirus cases linked to the Delta variant, with new infections rising more than 400% since the end of June. While Cuomo’s announcement was largely met with support, there was also some opposition from Republican state officials.

Republican state senator George Borrello said state workers “don’t deserve to be bullied into being vaccinated,” the Associated Press reported.

The blog will return to infrastructure momentarily, but first here’s some news from outside the Beltway.

Jake Ellzey of Texas won a seat in the US House of Representatives on Tuesday night, beating a fellow Republican rival backed by Donald Trump in a race that was seen as test of the former president’s endorsement power since leaving office and ahead of the 2022 midterms.

Ellzey’s win over Susan Wright, the widow of the late congressman Ron Wright, in the special congressional election runoff near Dallas is likely to be celebrated by Trump critics who decry the former president’s hold over the Republican party. But Ellzey didn’t exactly distance himself from Trump during the campaign.

The seat opened up after the death of Ron Wright, who in February became the first member of Congress to die after being diagnosed with Covid-19.

The Associated Press has a full report here.

Updated

Today so far

Here’s where the day stands so far:

  • The bipartisan group involved in infrastructure negotiations has reached “an agreement on the major issues” with their bill, Republican senator Rob Portman told reporters on Capitol Hill. Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said the upper chamber may vote to proceed on the bipartisan bill as early as tonight.
  • Joe Biden is expected to announce a coronavirus vaccine mandate for federal employees, according to a CNN report. The president previewed the potential mandate yesterday, telling reporters, “That’s under consideration right now, but if you’re not vaccinated, you’re not really as smart as I thought you were.” Biden is scheduled to deliver a speech on vaccination efforts tomorrow.
  • Republicans lashed out against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s updated mask guidance, even as coronavirus cases rise in the US. After the CDC urged vaccinated people to wear masks indoors if they live in regions with high levels of coronavirus spread, the Capitol physician said House members would be required to wear masks while indoors. In response, House minority leader Kevin McCarthy said on Twitter that the new guidance was “not a decision based on science”. Asked about McCarthy’s comments, House speaker Nancy Pelosi called him a “moron”.

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

Asked about the potential bipartisan infrastructure deal, Nancy Pelosi would not yet commit to ensuring the legislation passes the House.

“The point is, we have to see it. Have you seen it?” Pelosi asked reporters. “You’re asking me to commit to something that none of us have seen.

The House speaker added, “We’re rooting for it. We’re hoping for the best. ... We very much want it to pass.”

Republican senator Rob Portman, one of the lead negotiators in the bipartisan infrastructure talks, said today that the group had reached “an agreement on the major issues” with the bill.

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer has said the upper chamber may hold a procedural vote on the bipartisan bill as early as tonight.

House speaker Nancy Pelosi was pressed on her earlier comment that minority leader Kevin McCarthy was a “moron” for criticizing the House’s updated mask guidance.

“I said earlier in my comments, science, science, science and science. On almost every subject that you can name, science is the answer,” Pelosi said at her weekly press conference.

“To say that wearing a mask is not based on science, I think, is not wise, and that was my comment. And that’s all I’m going to say about that.”

The Democratic speaker went on to accuse Republicans of being “delinquent in embracing the science that people need to be vaccinated”.

“People have known for a long time that we need to, we need to do the vaccinations,” Pelosi said.

In response to the news that Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell will be airing a radio ad in his home state of Kentucky to encourage people to get vaccinated, Pelosi said such efforts are “long overdue but always welcome”.

The Guardian’s Sam Levine has more details on the justice department’s guidance regarding post-election “audits”:

The Wednesday guidance, which uses quotation marks around the word “audit,” will not halt the audits in Arizona or elsewhere, but is designed to send a message that federal officials are watching closely.

“This sets down a marker and says the Justice Department is concerned about this and will be following this closely,” a DoJ official told reporters on a press call Wednesday morning. The official repeatedly declined to say whether there were other jurisdictions the department was monitoring.

A second piece of guidance issued Wednesday also outlines all of the federal laws that affect early, mail-in, and in person voting in the US. The guidance comes as state legislatures have passed a slew of laws restricting voting access.

Attorney General Merrick Garland has pledged to aggressively challenge those laws and the department has already filed a federal lawsuit challenging one such measure in Georgia.

The Justice Department’s voting section also has successfully double the amount of attorneys it has, fulfilling a commitment Garland made about a month ago, the DoJ official said. The official declined to say, however, how many attorneys were now working in the section.

DoJ issues warning to states over post-election 'audits' of 2020 ballots

The Guardian’s Sam Levine reports:

The Justice Department sent a warning to states considering pushing post-election reviews of 2020 ballots on Wednesday, reminding them of federal laws that prohibit voter intimidation and require officials to maintain control of ballots.

The guidance comes amid an ongoing, months-long review, of 2020 ballots in Maricopa county, Arizona’s largest county. Republicans across the country, including in Pennsylvania and Michigan, have sought to replicate the effort, which experts widely panned, saying it is shoddy and rife with error-prone practices.

The company leading the Arizona effort has no prior experience in election audits and its CEO voiced support for the idea that the election was stolen from Donald Trump.

The Department’s announcement comes as Joe Biden faces increasing pressure from civil rights groups to be more aggressive in pushing for voting rights.

Even though Biden has spoken publicly about the need to pass sweeping federal voting legislation, he does not support getting rid of the filibuster, a Senate rule that requires 60 votes to advance most legislation.

Bipartisan infrastructure group reaches an agreement on 'major issues,' Portman says

The bipartisan group working to craft an infrastructure bill has reached an agreement on the outstanding issues over the legislation, Republican senator Rob Portman said.

“We now have an agreement on the major issues,” said Portman, who has been deeply involved in the negotiations.

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said moments ago that the upper chamber may vote on a motion to procced on the bipartisan bill as early as tonight.

Stay tuned.

Senate could vote on advancing infrastructure bill as early as tonight, Schumer says

The Senate may vote on a motion to proceed on the bipartisan infrastructure bill as early as tonight, majority leader Chuck Schumer just said on the Senate floor.

“With respect to infrastructure, senators continue to make good progress on both tracks of legislation,” Schumer said. “Members should be prepared to vote again on cloture on the motion to proceed to the bipartisan infrastructure bill as early as tonight.”

Senate Republicans rejected a motion to advance the bipartisan bill last week, saying they wanted to reach a final deal with Democrats before taking up the legislation.

Schumer’s announcement indicates that the bipartisan group of senators engaged in infrastructure negotiations may (finally) be approaching a deal.

But it’s the Senate, and nothing is final until all the votes are counted. Stay tuned.

Updated

Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert was seen throwing a mask back at a House staffer who offered her one as she tried to walk onto the floor, per CNN:

Because of the Capitol physician’s new guidance to House members on wearing masks while indoors, Boebert could potentially be fined for walking onto the floor without a mask.

House speaker Nancy Pelosi has just officially announced the new mask guidance for members on the House floor.

“Consistent with the newly updated guidance from the Office of the Attending Physician related to the increased threat from the Delta variant of the virus, the chair wishes to inform all members and staff that masks will once again be required in the Hall of the House,” Pelosi said.

“However, members will be permitted to remove their masks temporarily while under recognition,” the Democratic speaker added. “The chair appreciates the continued attention of all members and staff to these health and safety protocols, particularly in this changing health environment.”

The Capitol physician issued an advisory yesterday informing House members that masks are once again required in indoor settings, due to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s updated guidance on mask usage for vaccinated Americans.

The advisory does not apply to the Senate, likely because of the upper chamber’s higher vaccination rate.

A spokesperson for Nancy Pelosi confirmed that the House speaker does indeed consider minority leader Kevin McCarthy’s criticism of the new mask guidance to be “moronic”.

In response to a tweet about Pelosi’s comments on McCarthy, deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill said, “Unfortunately, we can’t verify this audio because of poor quality, but I can confirm that the Speaker believes that saying a mask requirement is ‘not a decision based on science’ is moronic.”

That phrase is, of course, a reference to McCarthy’s tweet last night in response to the new recommendation from the Capitol physician for House members to wear masks while indoors:

Pelosi mocks McCarthy as a 'moron' for criticizing new House mask guidance

House speaker Nancy Pelosi mocked minority leader Kevin McCarthy as a “moron” for criticizing the Capitol physician’s updated guidance to House members on wearing masks indoors.

Asked about the new guidance, the Democratic speaker said that decision is the “purview of the Capitol physician”. “I have nothing to say about that except we honor it,” Pelosi told reporters.

One journalist noted McCarthy has argued the recommendation is against the science on coronavirus transmission and has suggested that it is politically motivated.

As she entered a car, Pelosi replied, “He’s such a moron.”

McCarthy said of the new mask guidance in a tweet last night, “Make no mistake—The threat of bringing masks back is not a decision based on science, but a decision conjured up by liberal government officials who want to continue to live in a perpetual pandemic state.”

The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr Rochelle Walensky, has said the agency’s new mask guidance was issued because of evidence that vaccinated people can potentially spread the delta variant of coronavirus if they have a breakthrough infection. (Overall, most of the current virus transmission in the US is still occurring among unvaccinated people.)

Updated

The Guardian’s Adam Gabbatt, Martin Pengelly and Maya Yang report:

The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Protection spoke on Wednesday about evidence that vaccinated people can spread the Covid-19 Delta variant to others, after the nation’s top health agency expanded on its new guidance that fully vaccinated Americans wear masks indoors in certain places.

Rochelle Walensky said “new science” observed in recent days demonstrated that new variants of the coronavirus were transmissible by people who have been fully vaccinated in some cases.

“With prior variants, when people had these rare breakthrough infections, we didn’t see the capacity of them to spread the virus to others,” Walensky told CNN.

“But with the Delta variant we now see in our outbreak investigations that have been occurring over the last couple of weeks, in those outbreak investigations we have been seeing that if you happen to have one of those breakthrough infections that you can actually now pass it to somebody else.”

The CDC revised its mask guidance on Tuesday to recommend fully vaccinated Americans wear masks in “public indoor settings” with “substantial and high transmission”, a shift from its earlier guidance issued on 13 May, which said vaccinated individuals did not need to wear masks in most indoor settings.

Scott Gottlieb, the former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration under Donald Trump, said that he expected the Delta wave of coronavirus infections in the US to pass in the next few weeks.

“The vaccine does not make you impervious to infection,” Gottlieb told CNBC this morning. “There are some people who are developing mild and asymptomatic infections even after vaccination.”

But Gottlieb argued that the new mask guidance for vaccinated Americans from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would not have much of a short-term impact on the number of new coronavirus cases in the US.

“I don’t think we’re going to get enough bang for our buck by telling vaccinated people they have to wear masks at all times to make it worth our while,” Gottlieb said.

“I think we’re further into this Delta wave than we’re picking up,” he added. “I think you know in another two or three weeks, we’ll be through this. This new guidance will have a negligible impact on that.”

Gottlieb suggested that the wiser guidance would be to encourage vaccinated Americans to be mindful when they are around someone who may be vulnerable to infection.

“If you’re vaccinated, you’re in a high prevalence area, you’re in contact with virus, you think you might have the virus because you have mild symptoms: be prudent, get tested, maybe wear a mask, especially if you are around a vulnerable person,” Gottlieb said. “That should be the bottom-line guidance we give.”

Updated

Masks will also once again be required at the White House because Washington currently meets the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s standard for “substantial” spread of coronavirus.

“As a result and in keeping with guidance being issued today to White House staff, the WHCA is reimposing its mask requirement for all indoor spaces at the White House,” the White House Correspondents’ Association said yesterday in an advisory to its members.

Joe Biden also said yesterday that he will resume wearing masks when he is in regions that meet the CDC standards for high or substantial spread of coronavirus.

“I hope all Americans who live in the areas covered by the CDC guidance will follow it,” Biden said in a statement on the new mask recommendation. “I certainly will when I travel to these areas.”

Biden to announce vaccine mandate for federal employees - report

Meanwhile, Joe Biden plans to announce that coronavirus vaccines will be required for all federal employees, according to a new report.

CNN reports:

Biden will announce on Thursday a requirement that all federal employees and contractors be vaccinated against Covid-19, or be required to submit to regular testing and mitigation requirements, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.

The announcement will come in remarks where Biden is also expected to lay out a series of new steps, including incentives, in an attempt to spur new vaccinations as the Delta variant spreads rapidly throughout the country. It will also follow the decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs to require its frontline health care workers to be vaccinated over the course of the next two months.

The president acknowledged yesterday that he was weighing a vaccine mandate, telling reporters, “That’s under consideration right now, but if you’re not vaccinated, you’re not really as smart as I thought you were.”

Similar mandates have already been announced by New York mayor Bill de Blasio and California governor Gavin Newsom, and the source told CNN that Biden’s mandate would likely mirror New York City’s.

Republicans lash out against new CDC mask guidance

Greetings from Washington, live blog readers.

Republicans are reacting with criticism and scorn to the new mask guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC director, Dr Rochelle Walensky, announced yesterday that the agency was now recommending indoor mask usage for Americans living in regions seeing high spread of the Delta variant of coronavirus.

The attending physician of the Capitol, Dr Brian Monahan, quickly responded to the new guidance by issuing a new order that masks are once again required in House office buildings, during meetings, and while in the House Chamber.

(The directive does not apply to the Senate, likely because of the upper chamber’s higher vaccination rate.)

Almost immediately after the new CDC guidance was announced, Republicans began criticizing the recommendation, claiming it was politically motivated.

“Make no mistake—The threat of bringing masks back is not a decision based on science, but a decision conjured up by liberal government officials who want to continue to live in a perpetual pandemic state,” House minority leader Kevin McCarthy said on Twitter last night.

But the reality is that coronavirus cases have been steadily rising in the US in recent weeks, as the delta variant spreads across the country. While the country’s seven-day average of new cases was 12,799 at the start of the month, it is now 63,248.

Until more Americans get vaccinated and cases hopefully decrease again, it seems like masks may be sticking around a little bit longer.

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

Updated

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Homes & Gardens
Homes & Gardens
Why Harry Potter's New Lucius Malfoy Actor Says The Series Has 'A Really Special Atmosphere' Despite J.K. Rowling Controversy
The new Malfoy actor is weighing in.
Cinemablend
Cinemablend
Apparently, Conan O’Brien Had A Fake Sketch He Pitched To 'Every Single' SNL Host
What could have been!
Cinemablend
Cinemablend
OK, I Am Living For This Fan Idea About What They Should Do With The F1 Sequel (And How Tom Cruise Could Be Involved)
Make this movie now.
Cinemablend
Cinemablend
Redditor’s 50-cent thrift store purchase just turned into a massive national treasure
Finding history in a thrift store bin.
We Got This Covered
We Got This Covered
The Simpsons showrunner says series will ‘never have a finale’
Unusual way long-running animated series would end has been revealed
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
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