Evening summary
That’s all from me today. Here’s a rundown of the day’s biggest stories:
- The April jobs report showed the US economy added just 266,000 jobs last month. The report was met with much disappointment, given that economists had predicted the country would add nearly a million jobs.
- Joe Biden acknowledged the US economy still has “a long way to go” after the disappointing jobs report. The president also argued the latest numbers demonstrated the need to pass his infrastructure bills, the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan. “Today’s report just underscores, in my view, how vital the actions we’re taking are,” Biden said, praising his coronavirus relief package. “We’re still digging out of an economic collapse that cost us 22 million jobs.”
- Janet Yellen predicted the US will reach full employment sometime next year, despite the poor jobs numbers. “After all, one year ago, we learned we had lost over 20 million jobs in one single month,” the treasury secretary said at the White House press briefing. “I believe we will reach full employment next year.”
- Four former police officers involved in George Floyd’s murder were indicted on federal charges. The officers – Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, J Kueng and Tou Thao – were charged with violating Floyd’s constitutional rights by allowing Chauvin to keep a knee on the Black man’s neck for more than nine minutes. The news comes weeks after Chauvin was found guilty of murdering Floyd.
- The Texas house approved a bill restricting voting rights, the latest in national, Republican-led push to limit access to the ballot.
- Montana became the latest state to ban transgender athletes from competing on sports teams that correspond with their gender.
Updated
A California bar owner has been arrested on suspicion of selling counterfeit Covid-19 vaccination cards to undercover law enforcement agents, the Associated Press reports.
Undercover agents with the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control had been investigating Todd Anderson, the owner of the Old Corner Saloon in Clements, California, a small town about 100 miles east of San Francisco.
“He was in possession of a number of other unfilled-out Covid-19 vaccination cards, a laminating machine, laminate and several other cards that were finished. And it appears that they were waiting to be given to people,” supervising agent Luke Blehm told Sacramento’s KTXL-TV. “That we know of, this is the only case that’s ever been done even nationwide possibly.”
Blehm was charged with three felonies, including identity theft and forging government documents, as well as misdemeanor falsifying medical records, according to the AP.
Updated
France has joined Germany in criticizing the Biden administration’s decision to support a patent waiver for Covid-19 vaccines, my colleagues Daniel Boffey and Kate Connolly report.
Emmanuel Macron hit out at “Anglo-Saxon” countries for failing to export vaccines as he arrived at an EU summit in Portugal, saying, “It is not really about intellectual property. Can you give intellectual property to laboratories that do not know how to produce and will not produce tomorrow? The main issue for solidarity is the distribution of doses. Today, the Anglo-Saxons block many of these ingredients and vaccines. Today, 100% of the vaccines produced in the United States are for the American market.”
Angela Merkel has also criticized the US support for the patent waiver, saying on Thursday, ““The protection of intellectual property is a source of innovation and it must remain so in the future.”
Read the rest of their report here:
The Trump administration “secretly obtained” phone records for three Washington Post journalists who covered the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, the Washington Post reports.
The Justice Department received records detailing who made calls, for how long and when for Ellen Nakashima, Greg Miller and Adam Entous for a period between 15 April 2017 and 31 July 2017, according to the report. The DOJ also obtained a court order allowing it to obtain “non content communication records” – ie records of who sent an email to whom and when – for the three reporters’ work email accounts, but did not actually acquire the records.
Such “metadata” could reveal a reporter’s confidential sources.
An article published by the three reporters on 21 July 2017 may explain why the DOJ was investigating them. Per the Post:
Those reporters wrote a story about classified U.S. intelligence intercepts indicating that in 2016, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) had discussed the Trump campaign with Sergey Kislyak, who was Russia’s ambassador to the United States. Justice Department officials would not say if that reporting was the reason for the search of journalists’ phone records. Sessions subsequently became President Donald Trump’s first attorney general and was at the Justice Department when the article appeared.
About a month before that story published, the same three journalists also wrote a detailed story about the Obama administration’s internal struggles to counter Russian interference in the 2016 election.
“We are deeply troubled by this use of government power to seek access to the communications of journalists,” said Cameron Barr, the Post’s acting executive editor. “The Department of Justice should immediately make clear its reasons for this intrusion into the activities of reporters doing their jobs, an activity protected under the First Amendment.”
A spokesman for the DOJ told the Post: “While rare, the Department follows the established procedures within its media guidelines policy when seeking legal process to obtain telephone toll records and non-content email records from media members as part of a criminal investigation into unauthorized disclosure of classified information. The targets of these investigations are not the news media recipients but rather those with access to the national defense information who provided it to the media and thus failed to protect it as lawfully required.”
Read the full report here.
Updated
Montana governor Greg Gianforte signed a bill Friday that bans transgender athletes from competing on sports teams that correspond with their gender, the Associated Press reported.
The bill is just one of more than 80 proposed laws introduced by Republican lawmakers this year to ban trans children from certain sports and limit their access to gender affirming healthcare.
Similar sports bans have been enacted in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and West Virginia thus far, according to the AP.
In March, the Guardian published a series of reports on the Republican legislative assault on trans rights, including interviews with a number of children who are fighting to be able to play sports, use the bathroom at school, and receive appropriate medical care.
You can hear more from these kids here:
Texas house approves bill restricting voting rights after deal with Democrats
The Guardian’s Alexandra Villarreal reports:
Texas Republicans passed their bill restricting voting rights on Friday afternoon, after cutting a deal with Democrats in backroom negotiations overnight.
“Nobody deserves to wake up and find out that their rights have been further restricted. But time and time again during this legislative session, that’s what Texans have experienced,” said Wesley Story, communications manager for Progress Texas, a rapid response media organization for progressive messaging.
The Texas house of representatives voted 78-64 to give Senate Bill 7 (SB7) final approval, setting up an opportunity for the Republican-controlled legislature to create a Frankenstein of voting restrictions behind closed doors.
“This is really one of the last straws of … this nonstop attack – on communities of color, on immigrant communities, on communities that just don’t have as much of a voice – to try to prevent them from speaking out,” said Gene Wu, a state representative.
“We’re just tired of our districts being told that they’re second-class citizens.”
Armed with more than 100 amendments, opponents of Senate Bill 7 tore into the legislation on Thursday evening. Their long-winded debate was intended “to drive home the point and to really emphasize that there is no reason for this legislation”, Wu said.
In response, the state house approved a series of amendments addressing some of SB7’s most controversial provisions. Those amendments, in part, target the bill’s severe criminal penalties, along with concerns over emboldening partisan poll watchers.
The legislation will now probably go to a conference committee, where both legislative chambers can reconcile differences in the versions they passed.
Read the rest of the report here:
The White House released its first set of visitor logs on Friday, disclosing the names of 400 visitors during the first 12 days of Joe Biden’s presidency.
The release means that the Biden administration will be the first to disclose White House visitors for the entirety of its first year. Donald Trump refused to release any visitor logs, while Barack Obama only disclosed logs dating from 15 September 2009 – about eight months into his presidency.
“These logs give the public a look into the visitors entering and exiting the White House campus for appointments, tours, and official business — making good on President Biden’s commitment to restore integrity, transparency, and trust in government,” the White House said in a press release.
The disclosure of White House visitors is voluntary, and the administration will not release “select records that implicate privacy, national security, or other concerns”. This includes withholding the names of “purely personal guests of the First and Second Families” and “particularly sensitive meetings”, such as potential supreme court nominees.
The logs are unusually sparse due to the coronavirus pandemic. An analysis by Bloomberg News found that one in five of the 400 visitors were members of the groups that performed for the inauguration, the Marine Band and Herald Trumpets.
“As vaccinations increase and the pandemic response continues to make progress, we look forward to welcoming many more visitors onto the White House campus and back into the People’s House,” the White House said.
Updated
Hello everyone, this is Julia Carrie Wong picking up the blog from the San Francisco bay area, where we’re bracing for unusually early fire weather amid another climate crisis-fueled drought.
Suffice it to say that it's very unusual that NorCal has seen Red Flag Warnings straight through calendar this year. Vegetation is very rarely dry enough to trigger in spring, even with strong winds, but vegetation remains at/near record dry levels in many places. #CAwx #CAfire https://t.co/97rlEVhytM
— Daniel Swain (@Weather_West) May 7, 2021
Stay tuned for more politics news coming up soon...
Today so far
That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Julia Carrie Wong, will take over the blog for the next few hours.
Here’s where the day stands so far:
- The April jobs report showed the US economy added just 266,000 jobs last month. The report was met with much disappointment, given that economists had predicted the country would add nearly a million jobs.
- Joe Biden acknowledged the US economy still has “a long way to go” after the disappointing jobs report. The president also argued the latest numbers demonstrated the need to pass his infrastructure bills, the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan. “Today’s report just underscores, in my view, how vital the actions we’re taking are,” Biden said, praising his coronavirus relief package. “We’re still digging out of an economic collapse that cost us 22 million jobs.”
- Janet Yellen predicted the US will reach full employment sometime next year, despite the poor jobs numbers. “After all, one year ago, we learned we had lost over 20 million jobs in one single month,” the treasury secretary said at the White House press briefing. “I believe we will reach full employment next year.”
- Four former police officers involved in George Floyd’s murder were indicted on federal charges. The officers -- Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, J Kueng and Tou Thao -- were charged with violating Floyd’s constitutional rights by allowing Chauvin to keep a knee on the Black man’s neck for more than nine minutes. The news comes weeks after Chauvin was found guilty of murdering Floyd.
The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have just met with the administration’s “jobs cabinet,” the group of senior officials working to advance the president’s infrastructure plan through Congress.
The president’s Twitter account shared a photo of the meeting, which comes as Republicans have vowed to oppose Biden’s infrastructure bills.
“My Jobs Cabinet and I are hard at work making sure the working people of this country — the middle class — are no longer left out in the cold,” Biden said. “We’re going to make sure they get to share in the benefits of a rising economy with the American Jobs Plan.
My Jobs Cabinet and I are hard at work making sure the working people of this country — the middle class — are no longer left out in the cold. We’re going to make sure they get to share in the benefits of a rising economy with the American Jobs Plan. pic.twitter.com/OCtwZ4fnWa
— President Biden (@POTUS) May 7, 2021
Joe Biden made comments similar to Janet Yellen’s earlier today, saying the April jobs report underscored the need to approve more investments in the US economy.
The president has proposed spending $4 trillion to improve the country’s infrastructure through his American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan.
“Today, there’s more evidence that our economy is moving in the right direction, but it’s clear we have a long way to go,” Biden said at the White House this afternoon.
He added, “We have to build back better. That’s why we need the American Jobs Plan I proposed: to put us in a position where we can build back better, to reclaim our position as the leading and most innovative nation in the world, and win the future -- the 21st century.”
Yellen predicts 2022 return to full employment, despite poor jobs numbers
In case you missed it this afternoon: Janet Yellen predicted the US will be able to return to full employment sometime next year, despite this morning’s disappointing jobs report.
Speaking at the daily White House briefing today, the treasury secretary said the US economy has made “remarkable progress” in recent months.
“After all, one year ago, we learned we had lost over 20 million jobs in one single month,” Yellen told reporters. “I believe we will reach full employment next year.”
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says she believes the U.S. "will reach full employment next year," hours after an April jobs report showed employers adding only 266,000 jobs — while some forecasters had predicted at least 1 million https://t.co/JwJPB6Xo3z pic.twitter.com/Hn5dnmFulm
— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 7, 2021
However, Yellen acknowledged the April jobs report showed there is still much work that needs to be done to rebuild a robust US economy.
The report indicated the US economy gained just 266,000 jobs last month, while economists had predicted an addition of nearly 1 million jobs.
“As our economy continues to heal, it’s important to consider ways in which we can build back better,” Yellen said, using Joe Biden’s catchphrase about his economic proposals.
The disappointing April jobs report may make it harder for Republicans to argue that the US does not need the massive infrastructure investment proposed by Joe Biden.
The LA Times writes:
If the jobs numbers were disappointing to economists, in political terms they may strengthen President Biden’s hand in rebuffing Republican attacks on his multitrillion-dollar spending plans for economic stimulus and other domestic purposes. The GOP has attacked Biden’s plans as unnecessary in a fast-recovering economy and liable to trigger inflation. ...
After Friday’s report, Democratic leaders and progressive groups said now was not the time to back away from plans for further help to American workers and families.
‘The disappointing April jobs report highlights the urgent need to pass President Biden’s American Jobs and Families Plans,’ said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. ‘We need to take bold action to Build Back Better from this crisis by investing in our nation, our workers and our families.’
The lawyer for a Delaware man charged over the Capitol attack in January is floating a unique defense: Fox News made him do it.
Anthony Antonio, who is facing five charges including violent entry, disorderly conduct and impeding law enforcement during civil disorder, fell prey to the persistent lies about the so-called “stolen election” being spread daily by Donald Trump and the rightwing network that served him, his attorney Joseph Hurley said during a video hearing on Thursday.
Antonio spent the six months before the riots mainlining Fox News while unemployed, Hurley said, likening the side effects of such a steady diet of misinformation to a mental health syndrome.
“Fox television played constantly,” he said. “He became hooked with what I call ‘Foxitis’ or ‘Foxmania’, and became interested in the political aspect and started believing what was being fed to him.”
Updated
Well, this is awkward: Kamala Harris’s virtual meeting with Andrés Manuel López Obrador came hours after the Mexican president accused the US of undue interference in the country’s domestic affairs.
The Guardian’s David Agren reports from Mexico City:
Speaking at his morning press conference on Friday, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador called it ‘reprehensible’ that the US government would fund a prominent anti-corruption group and the press freedom organization Article 19, whose work was cited in the state department’s annual human rights report on Mexico.
‘It’s interference, it’s interventionism, it’s promoting coup-plotters,’ said López Obrador, who announced that Mexico had filed a formal protest with the US embassy.
The president, known as Amlo, said a diplomatic note was sent because of US backing for Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity (MCCI), which he has alleged is seeking to undermine his government.
‘The financing of [this] group by the US government, is an act of interventionism, which violates our sovereignty,’ he alleged. ‘That’s why we’re asking for them to clarify this, because it’s a foreign government.’
Kamala Harris held a virtual meeting with the president of Mexico this morning, as the vice-president works to address the root causes of migration to the US.
Harris told Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that the two neighboring countries should work together to tackle those root causes, such as violence and corruption in Northern Triangle countries.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who is leading U.S. efforts to cut migration from Mexico and Central America's ‘Northern Triangle’ countries, told Mexico's president that the two countries should work together to fight violence and corruption https://t.co/O5QAsN0ZAB pic.twitter.com/96tIcLFcOE
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 7, 2021
“Together, we must fight violence. We must fight corruption and impunity,” Harris said. “It is in our country’s mutual interest to provide immediate relief to the Northern Triangle and to address the root causes of migration.”
López Obrador acknowledged Mexico has previously clashed with the US, but he expressed commitment to strengthening the relationship between the two countries.
“I am sure we will keep understanding one another,” the Mexican president said through an interpreter. “We have so many things in common. And we are in agreement when it comes to the policies that you are undertaking when it comes to migration, and we will help.”
In case you missed it this morning: the mayor of Atlanta formally announced she will not seek reelection.
“It is abundantly clear to me today that it is time to pass the baton on to someone else,” Keisha Lance Bottoms said at a city hall press conference.
Bottoms had been considered a rising star in the Democratic party, and she was named as a potential running mate for Joe Biden before he selected Kamala Harris for the role.
WATCH: Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms holds press conference announcing she is not running for reelection, and says she does not know what her next step will be.
— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 7, 2021
"This is a decision made from a position of strength, and not weakness," she says pic.twitter.com/SayPeJTxrT
At times becoming emotional, Bottoms acknowledged the past year -- between the coronavirus pandemic, George Floyd’s murder and the final months of Donald Trump’s presidency -- had taken a toll on her.
“There was last summer. There was a pandemic. There was a social justice movement. There was a madman in the White House,” Bottoms said. “And at every turn, and every opportunity, this city rose above and I am so proud of that.”
Bottoms’ announcement comes as Atlanta is battling a surge in violent crime, which some critics have blamed on the Democratic mayor.
During her press conference, Bottoms said she did not know what she will do next, tamped down speculation that she would take a senior executive position at Walgreens or run for governor next year. Bottoms said she will finish out her term, which ends in January 2022.
“I don’t know what’s next for me personally and for our family,” Bottoms said. “But what I do know is that this is a decision made from a position of strength and not weakness.”
The Guardian’s Richard Partington and Graeme Wearden report:
The latest snapshot from the US Labor Department showed the number of non-farm payroll jobs rose for a fourth straight month by 266,000 in April, after growth of 770,000 in March, but sharply below Wall Street forecasts for a rise of about 1m.
Economists had been forecasting stronger growth in US jobs as pandemic restrictions are gradually relaxed and the Biden administration pumps trillions of dollars of fresh stimulus into the economy, with $1,400 (£1,005) cheques paid directly to eligible US households.
Millions of consumers have begun spending their extra cash on restaurant meals, airline tickets, road trips and new cars and homes. The US economy grew sharply by 6.4% on an annual basis in the first quarter of 2021.
Oxford Economics, a consulting firm, predicts that 8m US jobs will be added this year, reducing the unemployment rate to a low of 4.3% by year’s end.
The economic rebound has been so fast that many businesses, particularly in the hard-hit hospitality sector – which includes restaurants, bars and hotels – have been caught flat-footed and unable to fill all their job openings.
Some unemployed people have been reluctant to look for work because they fear catching the virus. Others have entered new occupations rather than return to their old jobs. And many women, especially working mothers, have left the workforce to care for children.
Updated
Texas has become the latest Republican-dominated state to advance sweeping new limits on voting, despite no evidence of any problems with last year’s vote and a coalition of state and federal officials calling the 2020 presidential election the most secure in history.
Readers, we have a staff report coming from Texas shortly and please definitely look out for more special Guardian news-features on these issues next week, in the continuation of our series called The Fight to Vote. But for a quick report, here’s something from The Associated Press on Texas latest:
The key vote at 3 a.m. Friday in the Texas House followed hours of debate that started the day before, with lawmakers now negotiating the final version of the legislation that will need approval before heading to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who has broadly defended the measures.
From Florida to Georgia, Iowa and now Texas, Republican lawmakers have used unsubstantiated claims by former President Donald Trump and his allies to justify new voting restrictions.
They argue the new limits, which largely target mail voting, are needed to boost public confidence and improve security. In some cases, the rules also create onerous requirements and penalties for local election officials.
“It is old Jim Crow dressed up in what our colleagues are calling election integrity,” said Democratic state Rep. Jessica Gonzalez.
Friday’s early morning vote was less than 24 hours after Florida Gov. Rick DeSantis signed a wide-ranging list of new voting restrictions into law.New voting limits have also been signed into law in Georgia and Iowa. Elsewhere, Republicans in Ohio and Michigan are also pressing ahead with overhauls of various election procedures.
“We are seeing the strong effect of President Trump’s big lie. We are seeing the Republican Party go all-in on supporting him and his lies,” said Sylvia Albert, voting and elections director for Common Cause, which advocates for expanded voter access. “We are seeing them use this opportunity to create deliberate barriers to voting for Black and brown voters. It’s un-American.
In Texas, Democrats had no path to stop the bill in the GOP-controlled state Capitol, but they deployed various technical challenges and used hours of questioning that the bill’s author, Republican state Rep. Briscoe Cain, appeared unprepared at times to answer.
Finally, an agreement was reached between Republicans and Democrats leaving the bill with 20 amendments that significantly watered down some of what advocates called the most problematic aspects of the bill as it passed the key vote 81-64. The session ends May 31.
The Democratic National Committee has commented on today’s report on April jobs, which issued statistics that disappointed expectations.
Unsurprisingly, Democrats are taking a glass-half-full approach while also encouraging Congress to work even harder to pass Joe Biden’s legislation on infrastructure and families that will boost employment and the economy.
A statement a little earlier from DNC chair Jaime Harrison said: “More jobs have been created in the first 100 days of this administration than any other in history.”
The statement went on to say that: “Democrats have worked tirelessly to make sure millions of Americans can put food on the table, pay the bills, and keep their businesses open—and we’re seeing results. Our economy is seeing reassuring growth, businesses are hiring again, and a sense of normalcy is returning.
“Every day is a reminder that President Biden and Democrats have already delivered for Americans without any help from congressional Republicans and of why it’s so important to pass the American Jobs and Families Plans.
“Democrats are 100 percent focused on delivering for American families, continuing to create jobs, and getting our country back on track.
“There is still a lot of work to be done, but with President Biden and Democrats at the helm, Americans can trust that the country is moving in the right direction.”
Meanwhile, in a personal tweet, Harrison commented on the surprising news from last night that Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will not run for a second term running Georgia’s largest city.
Proud of you my friend!!! @KeishaBottoms Thank you for all that you have done for the great city of Atlanta! https://t.co/wlJFa2Qo9W
— Jaime Harrison, DNC Chair (@harrisonjaime) May 7, 2021
Today so far
Here’s where the day stands so far:
- The April jobs report showed the US economy added just 266,000 jobs last month. The report was met with much disappointment, given that economists had predicted the country would add nearly a million jobs.
- Joe Biden acknowledged the US economy still has “a long way to go” after the disappointing jobs report. The president also argued the latest numbers demonstrated the need to pass his infrastructure bills, the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan. “Today’s report just underscores, in my view, how vital the actions we’re taking are,” Biden said, praising his coronavirus relief package. “We’re still digging out of an economic collapse that cost us 22 million jobs.”
- Four former police officers involved in George Floyd’s murder were indicted on federal charges. The officers -- Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, J Kueng and Tou Thao -- were charged with violating Floyd’s constitutional rights by allowing Chauvin to keep a knee on the Black man’s neck for more than nine minutes. The news comes weeks after Chauvin was found guilty of murdering Floyd.
The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
Treasury secretary Janet Yellen was asked whether the enhanced unemployment benefits provided by the most recent coronavirus relief package were having a negative impact on jobs numbers.
Echoing Joe Biden’s comments moments earlier, Yellen said, “I don’t think that the additional unemployment compensation is really the factor that’s making a difference.”
The treasury secretary instead blamed the lackluster April numbers on Americans being unable to return to work because of ongoing health concerns or caregiving responsibilities, as many schools and daycares slowly reopen.
“It’s clear that there are people who are not able and ready to go back into the labor force,” Yellen said.
She also emphasized that jobs numbers can be “bumpy from month to month,” and thus one month’s report should not be taken alone to draw conclusions about overall trends.
Disappointing April jobs report still represents 'remarkable progress' for economy, Yellen says
Treasury secretary Janet Yellen insisted the April jobs report still represented “remarkable progress” for the US economy, even though the country only 266,000 new jobs last month.
Yellen joined the White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, for her daily briefing with reporters.
“Let me be clear, the 266,000 jobs added in April, represent continued progress,” Yellen said.
Voicing optimism about the country’s economic trajectory, the treasury secretary predicted that the US will reach full employment sometime next year.
Joe Biden took a few questions from reporters after concluding his prepared remarks about the April jobs report.
A reporter asked the president whether he believed the enhanced unemployment benefits provided by his coronavirus relief package has had a negative impact on jobs numbers, as many Republicans have argued.
“No, nothing measurable,” Biden replied.
Another journalist asked if Biden had an update on whether he will meet with Vladimir Putin when he travels to Europe next month.
“I’m confident we’ll be able to do it,” Biden said.
Joe Biden said the American Rescue Plan, his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, would help the US economy return to pre-pandemic levels.
However, his American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan are necessary to get the US on even better economic footing than what the country saw before the pandemic, the president argued.
“The American Rescue Plan is just that, a rescue plan,” Biden said. “It’s to get us back to where we were, but that’s not nearly enough. We have to build back better.”
Biden added, “This month’s job numbers show we are on the right track. We still have a long way to go.”
Joe Biden boasted that the US economy added an average of 500,000 new jobs a month in the first three months of his presidency.
However, the US has still not recovered millions of jobs that were lost at the start of the pandemic last year.
“Today’s report just underscores, in my view, how vital the actions we’re taking are,” Biden said of the April jobs report. “We’re still digging out of an economic collapse that cost us 22 million jobs.”
The president has already signed a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package into law, and he has proposed spending $4 trillion on his infrastructure bills, the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan.
'We still have a long way to go,' Biden says after disappointing jobs report
Joe Biden is now delivering remarks on the April jobs report, which severely missed economists’ expectations.
“We knew this wouldn’t be a sprint; it would be a marathon,” Biden said. “Quite frankly, we’re moving more rapidly than I thought we would.”
The president noted his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, which he signed into law in March, was meant to aid the US economy over the course of a year.
“We never thought after the first 50 to 60 days, everything would be fine,” Biden said.
Despite the disappointing numbers, the president insisted the country is “moving in the right direction” as businesses reopen in response to relaxed restrictions.
“Our actions are starting to work, but the climb is steep, and we still have a long way to go,” Biden said.
The legal team that represented George Floyd’s family released a statement celebrating the federal charges brought against the four former police officers involved in his murder.
Civil rights attorneys Ben Crump, Antonio Romanucci and L. Chris Stewart said the federal indictment “reinforces the strength and wisdom of the United States Constitution”.
“The Constitution claims to be committed to life, liberty, and justice, and we are seeing this realized in the justice George Floyd continues to receive. This comes after hundreds of years of American history in which Black Americans unfortunately did not receive equal justice,” the lawyers said.
“The constitutional violations that George suffered are clear, and were also detailed by our civil litigation team last July. Further, the additional indictment of Derek Chauvin shows a pattern and practice of behavior. We are encouraged by these charges and eager to see continued justice in this historic case that will impact Black citizens and all Americans for generations to come.”
House speaker Nancy Pelosi argued the “disappointing” April jobs report underscored the need to pass Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan.
“We need to take bold action to Build Back Better from this crisis by investing in our nation, our workers and our families,” the Democratic speaker said in a statement.
“As we see continued evidence that women and working parents have been hit hardest in the economy, we must invest in human infrastructure with the American Families Plan which strengthens the child care and early education support that families need: children learning, parents earning.”
Pelosi added that Democrats hoped to work with Republicans to pass Biden’s plans, but she signaled they were willing to move forward without them.
“[T]he evidence is clear that the economy demands urgent action, and Congress will not be deterred or delayed from delivering transformational investments For The People,” Pelosi said.
Biden is expected to deliver remarks on the jobs numbers at any moment, so stay tuned.
CDC director deflects question about departing vaccine official
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr Rochelle Walensky, deflected a question about why a senior official who helped lead the early vaccination efforts is leaving the agency.
Dr Nancy Messonnier, who was the first senior US official to warn coronavirus would present a serious threat to the country last year, announced her departure in an email to colleagues this morning.
“My family and I have determined that now is the best time for me to transition to a new phase of my career,” Messonier wrote in the email, per the Washington Post. “CDC has provided me many meaningful, rewarding, and challenging opportunities to grow intellectually and mature as a public health leader.”
A reporter at the White House coronavirus briefing asked Walensky why Messonnier was replaced last month as head of the CDC’s vaccine task force as part of the new director’s reorganization of the agency.
Walensky said Messonnier had been “a true hero through her career” who had “made significant contributions” to the country’s pandemic response.
“I want to wish her the best in her future endeavors, and I have no other comment,” Walensky said.
Messonnier weathered intense criticism from Donald Trump and his allies last year, after she told Americans to prepare for a life-altering health crisis.
“It’s not a question of if this will happen, but when this will happen, and how many people in this country will have severe illnesses,” she said last February. “Disruptions to everyday life may be severe, but people might want to start thinking about that now.”
Dr Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shared her family’s story to encourage Americans to get their coronavirus vaccinations.
Walensky noted that her son is now fully vaccinated and is able to safely watch a movie with two other fully vaccinated friends, something that would have seemed much more dangerous a couple months ago.
The CDC director urged Americans to share their own vaccination stories with family and friends to demonstrate the importance of getting vaccinated.
Dr Anthony Fauci, the president’s chief medical adviser, presented data on Israel, where most people are already vaccinated, to underscore the need to get the shot.
Fauci noted that Israel has not seen a surge in coronavirus cases even as they have gradually relaxed restrictions, and he credited the vaccinations for creating that trend.
Fauci added he is “confident that we can mimic the pattern” seen in Israel if Americans continue to get vaccinated in large numbers.
150 million Americans now have at least first vaccine shot, White House says
The White House pandemic response team is now holding a briefing to provide an update on vaccination efforts and case numbers.
Jeff Zients, the White House pandemic response coordinator, celebrated the downward trend in the number of US coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths as vaccinations rise.
“This vaccination campaign is curbing the spread of Covid-19, saving tens of thousands of lives and allowing millions to start living life more normally once again,” Zients said. “That’s why it’s so important that we keep pushing for continued progress.”
By the end of today, we'll hit two significant milestones in our vaccination program: 150 million Americans with at least their first shot and 110 million fully vaccinated Americans.
— White House COVID-19 Response Team (@WHCOVIDResponse) May 7, 2021
Zients reiterated the Biden administration’s new goal to have 70% of adult Americans with at least one shot and 160 million Americans fully vaccinated by July 4.
Zients noted that 57% of adult Americans now have at least their first shot. By the end of today, 150 million Americans will have at least their first shot and 110 million Americans will be fully vaccinated, Zients added.
As the White House looks to the next phase of vaccination efforts, the focus is on improving vaccine access, building vaccine confidence and ensuring equity is at the center of these efforts, Zients said.
The Democratic attorney general of Minnesota, Keith Ellison, applauded federal prosecutors’ decision to bring charges against the former police officers involved in the murder of George Floyd.
“The federal government has a responsibility to protect the civil rights of every American and to pursue justice to the fullest extent of federal law,” Ellison said in a statement.
“Federal prosecution for the violation of George Floyd’s civil rights is entirely appropriate, particularly now that Derek Chauvin has been convicted of murder under Minnesota law for the death of George Floyd. The State is planning to present our case against the other three defendants to another jury in Hennepin County later this summer.”
Federal grand jury indicts four former cops involved in George Floyd's murder
The Guardian staff and agencies report:
A federal grand jury has indicted the four former Minneapolis police officers involved in George Floyd’s arrest and murder, accusing them of violating the Black man’s constitutional rights as he was restrained face-down on the pavement and gasping for air, according to indictments unsealed on Friday.
The three-count indictment on civil rights charges names Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, J Kueng and Tou Thao.
Chauvin, who is white, was convicted last month of murdering Floyd after kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest, and failing to give first aid to the 46-year-old Black man, who had pleaded that he could not breathe, after he passed out.
The other three now-ex officers are due to stand trial this August, separately, charged by the state of Minnesota with aiding and abetting Floyd’s murder.
All four were fired by the Minneapolis Police Department shortly after Floyd died. They had arrested him on suspicion of using a fake $20 bill in a store, which would have been a misdemeanor.
In the parallel federal case, specifically, it emerged on Friday, Chauvin, Thao and Kueng are charged with violating Floyd’s right to be free from unreasonable seizure and excessive force.
All four officers are charged for their failure to provide Floyd with medical care. Chauvin was also charged in a second indictment, stemming from the arrest and neck restraint of a 14-year-old boy in 2017.
Lane, Thao and Kueng appeared via videoconference in US district court in Minneapolis. They were allowed to remain free after Friday’s federal court appearance.
Chauvin was not present in court on Friday. He is in custody awaiting sentencing next month on the three state charges on which he was found guilty, with the most serious, second-degree murder, carrying a prison sentence of up to 40 years.
Updated
In a Twitter thread, the Council of Economic Advisers blamed the disappointing jobs report on month-to-month volatility.
Month-to-month jobs numbers can be volatile at any time. The size of the month-to-month changes during the pandemic are striking partly because of the magnitude and speed of the massive 22 million job loss in March and April last year. 14/
— Council of Economic Advisers (@WhiteHouseCEA) May 7, 2021
But Republicans are blaming the lackluster numbers on Democrats’ decision to extend supplemental unemployment benefits through September with their coronavirus relief package.
From House minority leader Kevin McCarthy:
Today’s jobs report is a disappointment—just like President Biden’s plan to burden families with more taxes & more debt.
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) May 7, 2021
While Dems trap people in a cycle of fear & pay them NOT to work, it’s clear the best thing to do is end the crisis-era policies & get Americans back to work.
Joe Biden is scheduled to deliver remarks on the disappointing jobs report in about an hour and a half.
The president and the vice-president will also receive their weekly economic briefing later this afternoon.
For the moment, the White House is trying to put a positive spin on the April jobs numbers, which missed economists’ expectations.
Heather Boushey, a member of the Council of Economic Advisers, told MSNBC that the report indicated the US economy is “moving in the right direction”.
The White House is framing the jobs report as a glass that's half full.
— Josh Wingrove (@josh_wingrove) May 7, 2021
"I think we see a lot of evidence in today's report that we are moving in the right direction," @hboushey46 tells MSNBC. pic.twitter.com/8zjBeBi324
US added 266,000 jobs in April, missing economists' expectations
The US economy added just 266,000 new jobs in April, according to the latest jobs report released by the labor department this morning.
That’s a lot weaker than expected -- way shy of the Wall Street consensus of nearly one million new jobs.
The unemployment rate has gone up, to 6.1% in April - from 6.0% in March.
Big disappointment on April hiring.
— Heather Long (@byHeatherLong) May 7, 2021
This will fuel claims of a "labor shortage" as hiring slowed a lot last month.
Overall hiring:
December: -306,000
Jan: +233,000
Feb: +536,000
March: +770,000
April: +266,000
Restaurants added +187,000 in April versus +99,700 in March
That has dashed hopes for a sharp increase in employment last month, as the rapid Covid-19 vaccination program helped the US economy to reopen.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics says, “Notable job gains in leisure and hospitality, other services, and local government education were partially offset by employment declines in temporary help services and in couriers and messengers.”
Follow the Guardian’s business live blog for more details on the jobs report:
Liz Cheney’s likely removal from House Republican leadership demonstrates the immense influence that Donald Trump still wields over the party, even though he left office nearly four months ago.
Republican leaders are signaling that they will embrace Trump and his policy positions even more as the 2022 midterms draw near. Most of the Republican base remains loyal to the former president, and the party needs those voters to turn out next November in order to take back Congress.
And Trump himself will soon be much more visible than he has been since leaving office. Senior Trump aide Jason Miller told Axios that the former president will start holding campaign rallies “as soon as late spring or early summer”.
Republicans are using the language of “unity” to justify ousting Liz Cheney from her role as House GOP conference chairwoman.
The AP reports:
The House GOP, led by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, is moving toward stripping Rep. Liz Cheney of her leadership post for her frequent criticism of former President Donald Trump. The unusual step, they say, is necessary to unify a party whose base still reveres the former president four months after he incited a deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol. ...
With Republicans close to reclaiming control of the House next year, the treatment of Cheney suggests GOP leaders will do almost anything to rally the party’s base, even if that means sweeping the events of Jan. 6 under the rug and embracing — or refusing to confront — Trump’s ongoing lie that he won the 2020 election, a campaign that he actually lost by a wide margin.
Those backing Cheney’s ouster argue she has become a distraction by continuing to criticize Trump, who remains the dominating force in the party. They want to move forward, they say, and focus on policy ideas and providing a clear contrast with Democrats. But critics see the fight as a larger distraction. ‘My unsolicited advice would be: Talk about the future and what you offer to Americans,’ said Alyssa Farah, the former Trump White House communications director. ‘I do worry that this is sort of showing that we’re going to continue more the politics of personality as opposed to the politics of policy and deliverables to the American public.’
Republicans look to oust Cheney as Trump allies continue to push 'Big Lie'
Greetings from Washington, live blog readers.
It is looking increasingly likely that Liz Cheney will be ousted from her role as House Republican conference chairwoman because of her criticism of Donald Trump.
Some Republican lawmakers have argued Cheney’s comments have become a distraction from the party’s goal of taking back Congress in next year’s midterms.
“I have heard from members concerned about her ability to carry out the job as conference chair, to carry out the message,” House minority leader Kevin McCarthy said on Tuesday.
“We all need to be working as one if we’re able to win the majority. Remember, majorities are not given, they are earned. And that’s about the message about going forward.”
And yet McCarthy and fellow Republicans apparently do not consider Trump’s insistence on perpetuating the “big lie” to be a distraction.
Not only has the former president continued to push false claims about fraud in the presidential election, his allies are helping him.
Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, who has received Trump’s endorsement for conference chair, told Steve Bannon yesterday, “It is important to stand up for these constitutional issues, and these are questions that are going to have to be answered before we head into the 2022 midterms.”
Apparently to Republicans, Cheney’s correct statements about Joe Biden winning the presidential election are a distraction, but Trump’s lies about voter fraud are legitimate constitutional questions. The country will find out next November how many Americans agree with them.
The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
