Summary
- Joe Biden warned that coronavirus “remains a serious and deadly threat” for unvaccinated Americans. In a speech celebrating 300 million vaccine doses being administered since he took office in January, the president pleaded with unvaccinated Americans to get their shots as quickly as possible. “Deaths and hospitalizations are drastically down in places where people are getting vaccinated,” Biden said. “But unfortunately, cases and hospitalizations are not going down in many places in the lower vaccination rate states. They’re actually going up in some places.”
- Many Americans are resuming pre-pandemic activities, even as they worry that restrictions were lifted too quickly, according to a poll from the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. More than a third of those polled said restrictions in their area were lifted too quickly, and 27% said they weren’t lifted quickly enough. Americans were increasingly seeing family, shopping for non-essential items, and going to bars and restaurants in June, compared to May.
- Mike Pence was heckled as a “traitor” as he addressed a religious conservative conference in Orlando. The former vice-president received a standing ovation as he took the stage, but a small group of attendees, who were quickly escorted out, shouted insults at Pence as he started speaking. Pence has received criticism from Donald Trump and some of his most ardent supporters for not attempting to overturn the results of the presidential election.
- Kamala Harris visited Atlanta, Georgia, as part of the Biden administration’s nationwide tour to encourage more Americans to get vaccinated. Visiting a pop-up vaccination site at Ebenezer Baptist Church this afternoon, the vice-president thanked those present for getting their shots. “What you are doing truly is about leadership. These vaccines are safe and effective. It will save your life and lives of people that you love,” Harris said.
- Republicans pushed back against Joe Manchin’s compromise proposal on a voting rights bill, which the Democratic senator laid out in a memo to colleagues this week. Manchin’s bill would include Republican demands like requiring voter ID and allowing controversial purges of voter rolls, but Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell said the proposal was still “an assault on the fundamental idea that states, not the federal government, should decide how to run their own elections”.
- Biden released a proclamation recognizing Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in America. Biden signed a bill yesterday to make Juneteenth, which falls on June 19, a federal holiday. “Juneteenth is a day of profound weight and power,” Biden said in his proclamation. “On Juneteenth, we recommit ourselves to the work of equity, equality, and justice.”
– Joan E Greve and Maanvi Singh
The Elaine race massacre of 1919 is understood as one of the worst in US history. Parts of the story are still in dispute
The history of the race massacre in Elaine, Arkansas, has always been contested.
It is widely accepted that in 1919, a group of white men, with the backing of federal troops, tortured and killed scores of Black residents – the exact number is disputed but assumed to number at least in the hundreds – who were starting to organize against the exploitation of their labor. The massacre came at the tail end of what would become known as the “red summer”, a season of racial terror fueled by white resentment of the strides Black people were making across the country.
But at the time, even these basic contours of what happened in Elaine were stricken from the official record. Local authorities spun a tale of a suppressed sharecropper insurrection designed to seize the land of the area’s white planters. As Ida B Wells, the pioneering journalist and anti-lynching advocate would report, more than 100 Black men and women were indicted in this conspiracy theory. Twelve men were sentenced to death, their convictions ultimately overturned by the supreme court.
Other details remain subject to disagreement. The massacre is widely understood to have targeted Black sharecroppers holding a union meeting to discuss how to get fair cotton prices from the white people whose land they worked. But some descendants say this narrative obscures Black landowners in Elaine who were dispossessed through an orchestrated operation to cut down their growing prosperity. Richard Wright echoes this theme in his autobiography Black Boy, when he recounts the 1916 lynching of his uncle in Elaine, targeted because of resentment over his flourishing liquor business. “In a way,” Wright’s daughter Julia tells the Guardian, “Uncle Hoskins was one of the many canaries in the mineshaft of the Elaine massacre to come.”
Read more:
Bad strategy? How the Republican attack on voting rights could backfire
As the coronavirus wreaked havoc around the world, lawmakers in the US were faced with a monumental task: carrying out a presidential election in the middle of a once-in-century pandemic.
Concerned about the possibility of virus spread at polling places, Democrats pushed the federal government to approve more funding for states to expand absentee and early-voting options.
But Donald Trump was against the idea for a single reason: he thought it would make it harder for Republicans to win. Trump said in a Fox News interview in March of last year that, if early and absentee voting options were expanded as Democrats wanted, “you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again.” Other Republicans have echoed Trump’s argument in recent months, as the party has pushed hundreds of bills to restrict voting access in dozens of states.
But voting experts now say the restrictions being approved in Republican-led states may not help the party’s chances in future elections, and in some cases, the laws may even prevent their own supporters from going to the polls. Put simply, in seeking to suppress the vote, Republicans may be shooting themselves in the foot.
Republican legislators across the country have taken aggressive action to restrict access to the ballot box this year, as Trump has continued to spread the “big lie” that there was widespread fraud in the presidential election. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, at least 389 bills with restrictive voting provisions have been introduced in 48 states this year, and 22 of those bills have already been enacted.
The Republican bills take particular aim at mail-in voting, after Joe Biden’s supporters used the voting method at disproportionately high rates in the 2020 election. However, it is unclear whether restricting mail-in voting will aid Republicans in future elections.
A recent study conducted by a team at the Public Policy Institute of California found that, while making mail-in voting easier did increase overall turnout, it did not necessarily result in better electoral outcomes for Democrats. In fact, many models indicated that easy access to mail-in voting resulted in slightly better outcomes for Republican candidates.
Read more:
Here’s a throwback: Alexander Vindman, the lieutenant colonel and national security aide who served as a key witness in Donald Trump’s impeachment case, clarified to senator Marco Rubio what that case was all about...
I understood it was less about the holdup of military aid and more about the quid pro quo extortion, but what do I know? https://t.co/WmG7vdvZyf
— Alexander S. Vindman (@AVindman) June 18, 2021
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ plan that could end up denying communion to public figures, including Joe Biden, will face a major roadblock ahead.
The “teaching document” that the bishops are developing, that some hope will rebuke Catholic supporters of abortion rights, would ultimately have to be approved by the Vatican, which is unlikely to affirm a pointed or divisive action. The bishops voted 168-55 to develop a report on the meaning of Eucharist – and the final report, which would be completed sometime this Fall.
While conservative members of the church have been pushing for a strong stance against abortion, and those who support abortion rights, some bishops are hoping the final report will avoid alienating American Catholics, the majority of whom support abortion rights.
Catholics for Choice, a group that advocates for reproductive freedom, condemned attempts “to use the Eucharist – the Body of Christ and the central unifying ritual of our church – as a weapon of punishment”.
The group’s president Jamie L. Manson said: “We are profoundly saddened that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has chosen to continue its unholy crusade against President Biden and other pro-choice Catholics, despite the objections of many of their own members, the Vatican, and the overwhelming majority of the people in the pews.”
• This post was amended on 21 June 2021 to remove a reference to Joe Biden being the first Catholic US president. John F Kennedy was also a Catholic.
Updated
Across the US, 11 mayors pledged to pay some reparations for slavery to Black residents in their cities – though details of how much would be paid, and to whom, remain unclear.
From the AP:
This group of mayors, dubbed Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity (MORE), is led by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock. Their stated goal is for these reparations programs to “serve as high-profile demonstrations for how the country can more quickly move from conversation to action on reparations for Black Americans,” according to the group’s website.
“Let me be clear: Cities will never have the funds to pay for reparations on our own,” Garcetti said during a news conference on Friday to announce the group. “When we have the laboratories of cities show that there is much more to embrace than to fear, we know that we can inspire national action as well.”
The other mayors are Jorge Elorza of Providence, Rhode Island; Steve Adler of Austin, Texas; Steve Schewel of Durham, North Carolina: Esther Manheimer of Asheville, North Carolina: Quinton Lucas of Kansas City; Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento, California; Melvin Carter of St. Paul, Minnesota; and Keisha Currin of Tullahassee, Oklahoma.
Tullahassee — a small town of fewer than 200 people in northeast Oklahoma — is the oldest of the surviving all-Black towns in the states that were founded after the U.S. abolished slavery.
Earlier this month, California launched the first-in-the-nation task force to study and recommend reparations for African Americans:
Poll: Americans are resuming pre-pandemic activities
Many Americans are resuming pre-pandemic activities, even as they worry that restrictions were lifted too quickly, according to a poll from the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research
- 34% of those polled said restrictions in their area were lifted too quickly, and 27% said they weren’t lifted quickly enough
- Americans were increasingly seeing family, shopping for non-essential items, and going to bars and restaurants in June, compared to May
- Only 7% of unvaccinated people said they would definitely get a coronavirus vaccine, and 15% say they probably would.
Read more about the poll, based on interviews with 1,125 American adults, here.
In hunt for Covid’s origin, new studies point away from lab leak theory
Laura Spinney reports:
The coronavirus pandemic has raised so many questions as it has continued its inexorable spread across the planet, but perhaps the first of them remains the most contentious: where did Sars-CoV-2 come from?
In recent weeks there has been renewed focus on whether it could have escaped from a Chinese laboratory. However, new findings strengthen the case for a natural origin, in what has become a heavily politicised debate.
The resurgence of the lab leak theory – promulgated early last year by Donald Trump and his supporters, before being dismissed – has been fuelled by the publication of emails in which Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, Dr Anthony Fauci, discussed it, and dissatisfaction with the World Health Organization’s initial efforts to investigate the pandemic’s origins.
Most scientists favour the theory that the virus spilled over from an animal to a human in nature. “The best scientific evidence points to this,” said the Wellcome Trust’s director, Jeremy Farrar, on 4 June.
But if there is less evidence to support the lab leak theory, others say, it’s because nobody has searched for it.
Read more:
There’s a pattern where the children and relatives of top Biden aides have been securing jobs in the administration, the Washington Post reports.
From the Post’s Sean Sullivan and Michael Scherer:
Barely a week into office, President Biden made a promise that signaled a sharp break from his predecessor: No member of his family would be involved in government.
But that vow did not extend to his senior staff and their relatives. In the first few months of Biden’s presidency, at least five children of his top aides have secured coveted jobs in the new administration. They include two sons and a daughter of the White House counselor, the daughter of a deputy White House chief of staff and the daughter of the director of presidential personnel.
Beyond children, other relatives of top Biden aides also have secured high-level administration jobs or nominations. They include the wife of White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain and the sister of White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
President Biden and first lady Jill Biden make their way to board Marine One on the Ellipse of the White House on June 9. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)
Federal law generally prohibits government officials from hiring close relatives or encouraging their hiring, and there is no evidence that any of Biden’s aides have played a role in securing the jobs for their children or other relatives.
Read more here.
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:
- Joe Biden warned that coronavirus “remains a serious and deadly threat” for unvaccinated Americans. In a speech celebrating 300 million vaccine doses being administered since he took office in January, the president pleaded with unvaccinated Americans to get their shots as quickly as possible. “Deaths and hospitalizations are drastically down in places where people are getting vaccinated,” Biden said. “But unfortunately, cases and hospitalizations are not going down in many places in the lower vaccination rate states. They’re actually going up in some places.”
- Mike Pence was heckled as a “traitor” as he addressed a religious conservative conference in Orlando. The former vice-president received a standing ovation as he took the stage, but a small group of attendees, who were quickly escorted out, shouted insults at Pence as he started speaking. Pence has received criticism from Donald Trump and some of his most ardent supporters for not attempting to overturn the results of the presidential election.
- Kamala Harris visited Atlanta, Georgia, as part of the Biden administration’s nationwide tour to encourage more Americans to get vaccinated. Visiting a pop-up vaccination site at Ebenezer Baptist Church this afternoon, the vice-president thanked those present for getting their shots. “What you are doing truly is about leadership. These vaccines are safe and effective. It will save your life and lives of people that you love,” Harris said.
- Republicans pushed back against Joe Manchin’s compromise proposal on a voting rights bill, which the Democratic senator laid out in a memo to colleagues this week. Manchin’s bill would include Republican demands like requiring voter ID and allowing controversial purges of voter rolls, but Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell said the proposal was still “an assault on the fundamental idea that states, not the federal government, should decide how to run their own elections”.
- Biden released a proclamation recognizing Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in America. Biden signed a bill yesterday to make Juneteenth, which falls on June 19, a federal holiday. “Juneteenth is a day of profound weight and power,” Biden said in his proclamation. “On Juneteenth, we recommit ourselves to the work of equity, equality, and justice.”
Maanvi will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
Democratic congressman Ted Lieu accused the US Conference of Catholic Bishops of hypocrisy for taking steps toward rebuking Catholic politicians who receive Communion and support abortion rights.
“Dear @USCCB: I’m Catholic and you are hypocrites,” Lieu said on Twitter.
Referring to Donald Trump’s attorney general, Lieu added, “You did not tell Bill Barr, a Catholic, not to take communion when he expanded killing human beings with the death penalty. You are being nakedly partisan and you should be ashamed. Another reason you are losing membership.”
Dear @USCCB: I’m Catholic and you are hypocrites. You did not tell Bill Barr, a Catholic, not to take communion when he expanded killing human beings with the death penalty. You are being nakedly partisan and you should be ashamed. Another reason you are losing membership. https://t.co/kpIYRolnHD
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) June 18, 2021
Lieu also joined dozens of other Catholic Democrats in Congress in signing on to a “statement of principles” urging the USCCB not to continue with their efforts.
“We believe the separation of church and state allows for our faith to inform our public duties and best serve our constituents,” the statement says.
“The Sacrament of Holy Communion is central to the life of practicing Catholics, and the weaponization of the Eucharist to Democratic lawmakers for their support of a woman’s safe and legal access to abortion is contradictory.”
Joe Biden has arrived in his home state of Delaware, where he will be spending the weekend. The president did not take any questions from reporters as he boarded and later exited Marine One.
President Biden arrives in New Castle, Delaware pic.twitter.com/Dhx3wsqVWM
— The Hill (@thehill) June 18, 2021
Jill Biden will travel to Jackson, Mississippi, and Nashville, Tennessee, on Tuesday to visit coronavirus vaccination sites and encourage more Americans to get vaccinated.
The first lady, the vice-president and the second gentleman have recently been participating in a nationwide tour to areas with lower vaccination rates to encourage people to get their shots.
🚨 HAPPENING TUESDAY: @FLOTUS ✈️ heads to Jackson, Mississippi and Nashville, Tennessee pic.twitter.com/rsheXMmMLf
— Michael LaRosa (@MichaelLaRosa46) June 18, 2021
Speaking at the historically Black Clark Atlanta University in Georgia today, Kamala Harris urged Americans to reject misinformation about the vaccines and protect themselves against the virus.
“Let’s recognize that we have power in every moment of crisis, including this one,” Harris said.
Mike Pence, the former US vice-president, has been heckled as a “traitor” for his refusal to overturn last year’s election result during a speech to a gathering of religious conservatives.
Pence, who is widely seen as laying the groundwork for a White House run in 2024, had entered an auditorium in Orlando, Florida to a standing ovation on Friday. But a small group began shouted abuse including “traitor!” as he began a 28-minute speech. The dissenters were quickly escorted out by police.
Earlier, in a corridor outside the ballroom, an attendee named Rick Hurley, wearing a red “Make America great again” cap, also vented his frustration over Pence’s role in certifying Donald Trump’s defeat on 6 January amid false claims of voter fraud.
“We need to start fighting!” Hurley shouted at anyone who would listen. “We need to stop being so damned nice. What the hell’s going on? Why is Pence coming today? Donald Trump has his pen in his back still.”
Before being taken aside by police, he also remarked: “I’m ready to fight. I’m going to boo him off stage. I’ll take the bullet. I’ll walk to the front of the stage and look him in the eye and and say, ‘What are you doing here?’
In an interview, Hurley said he had been at the US Capitol on 6 January. “I want to know why Pence is here today.” he said. “He stabbed Donald Trump in the back and took the coins like Judas.”
Dozens of Catholic Democrats in Congress signed on to a letter denouncing the efforts to rebuke lawmakers who receive Communion and support abortion rights.
“We believe the separation of church and state allows for our faith to inform our public duties and best serve our constituents,” the letter says.
“The Sacrament of Holy Communion is central to the life of practicing Catholics, and the weaponization of the Eucharist to Democratic lawmakers for their support of a woman’s safe and legal access to abortion is contradictory.”
As Catholic Democrats, we are committed to making real the basic principles that are at the heart of Catholic social teaching: helping the oppressed, protecting the least among us & ensuring that all are given opportunities to share in the blessings of this great country. pic.twitter.com/nZHeUVfP2j
— Rosa DeLauro (@rosadelauro) June 18, 2021
The lawmakers who signed the letter -- including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Joaquin Castro and Ted Lieu -- also made a point to list some of the Republican policies that they say contradict Catholic teachings.
“No elected officials have been threatened with being denied the Eucharist as they support and have supported policies contrary to the Church teachings, including supporting the death penalty, separating migrant children from their parents, denying asylum to those seeking safety in the United States, limiting assistance for the hungry and food insecure, and denying rights and dignity to immigrants,” the letter says.
The lawmakers encouraged the US Conference of Catholic Bishops to not continue with its efforts, saying, “We solemnly urge you to not move forward and deny this most holy of all sacraments, the source and the summit of the whole work of the gospel over one issue.”
'I don’t think that’s going to happen,' Biden says of efforts to block him from receiving Communion
Joe Biden took a couple questions from reporters after concluding his prepared remarks on his administration’s coronavirus vaccination efforts.
One reporter asked the president for his response to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops taking steps toward rebuking Catholic politicians, such as Biden, who receive Communion and support abortion rights.
“That’s a private matter, and I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Biden replied.
The AP has more details on the USCCB’s decision:
U.S. Catholic bishops overwhelmingly approved the drafting of a ‘teaching document’ that many of them hope will rebuke Catholic politicians, including [Biden], for receiving Communion despite their support for abortion rights.
The result of the vote — 168 in favor and 55 against — was announced Friday near the end of a three-day meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops that was held virtually.
The bishops had cast their votes privately on Thursday after nearly three hours of impassioned debate.
Supporters of the measure said a strong rebuke of Biden was needed because of his recent actions protecting and expanding abortion access, while opponents warned that such action would portray the bishops as a partisan force during a time of bitter political divisions across the country.
Covid 'remains a serious and deadly threat' for unvaccinated people, Biden says
Joe Biden has just finished delivering remarks on reaching 300 million coronavirus vaccine doses administered since he took office in January.
The president praised the “whole of government response” that has allowed millions of Americans to get vaccinated. As of today, 65% of American adults have received at least one vaccine shot.
“Above all, we got here because of the American people,” Biden said.
Pres. Biden: "We've built equity into the heart of our vaccination program from day one." https://t.co/xY8G8YiI04 pic.twitter.com/4HBMqXSsfN
— ABC News (@ABC) June 18, 2021
The president also touted his administration’s efforts to get Americans of color vaccinated, while acknowledging more works needs to be done in that regard.
“We’ve built equity into the heart of our vaccination program from day one,” Biden said. “The more we close the racial gap in vaccination rates, the more lives we’ll save.”
While looking ahead to the country’s “summer of joy” as pandemic-related restrictions are relaxed, Biden emphasized that coronavirus “remains a serious and deadly threat” for unvaccinated Americans.
The president also warned that the delta variant of the virus could pose an even worse threat to unvaccinated people. Speaking directly to unvaccinated Americans, Biden said, “Act. Act now.”
Updated
As Joe Biden prepares to deliver an update on US vaccination efforts, Kamala Harris is in Atlanta, Georgia, to encourage more Americans to get their shots.
Speaking at the historically Black Clark Atlanta University this afternoon, Harris denounced misinformation about the coronavirus vaccines, saying, “Let’s arm ourselves with the truth.”
Harris speaks about the dramatic drops in COVID infections and deaths over the past five months: "Let's recognize that we have power in every moment of crisis, including this one...When the American people come together, in the spirit of community, we can do anything. Anything." pic.twitter.com/SIJlFEh57Z
— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 18, 2021
The vice-president also noted that most of the Americans currently hospitalized with coronavirus are unvaccinated.
“Let’s recognize that we have power in every moment of crisis, including this one,” Harris said. “When the American people come together, in the spirit of community, we can do anything. Anything.”
As we prepare for Joe Biden’s remarks on the ongoing coronavirus vaccination efforts in the US, some reporters shared photos of a rainbow-lit hallway at the White House.
The colorful lights appear to be an homage to LGBTQ+ Pride month, which began on June 1.
White House hallway lit up in rainbow colors for Pride Month. pic.twitter.com/lNFysOB31z
— darlene superville (@dsupervilleap) June 18, 2021
300 million vaccine shots administered since Biden took office, White House announces
More than 300 coronavirus vaccine doses have been administered since Joe Biden took office in January, the White House announced in a press release.
“Today, thanks to the President’s COVID-19 strategy, the virus is in retreat. 300 million shots have been administered in 150 days, COVID-19 cases and deaths have decreased by more than 90 percent, and the economy is experiencing the strongest rebound in decades,” the White House said.
“The results are clear: America is starting to look like America again, and entering a summer of joy and freedom.”
The White House noted that 65% of American adults have now received at least one vaccine dose, and 55% of adults in the US are fully vaccinated. Additionally, 15 states and DC have gotten more than 70% of adults at least partially vaccinated.
However, it is still unclear whether the US will hit Biden’s goal of having 70% of all American adults at least partially vaccinated by July 4, when America celebrates its Independence Day.
Biden is expected to deliver an update on his administration’s vaccination efforts at any moment, so stay tuned.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has endorsed a Republican Senate candidate running against Lisa Murkowski, the Republican senator from Alaska who is up for reelection next year.
“Lisa Murkowski is bad for Alaska,” Trump said in a new statement. “Her vote to confirm Biden’s Interior Secretary was a vote to kill long sought for, and approved, ANWR, and Alaska jobs. Murkowski has got to go! Kelly Tshibaka is the candidate who can beat Murkowski—and she will.”
The endorsement is not a surprise, given that the former president has frequently criticized Murkowski since she voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial earlier this year.
Trump said of Tshibaka, “Kelly is a fighter who stands for Alaska values and America First. ... Kelly is a powerful supporter of the Second Amendment and JOBS! I look forward to campaigning in Alaska for Kelly Tshibaka. She has my Complete and Total Endorsement!”
According to CNN, Tshibaka has previously written in support of an “ex-gay” Christian organization that promoted conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ individuals.
Mike Pence heckled at conservative Christian conference
Former Vice President Mike Pence was heckled during his speech at a conservative Christian conference on Friday, with some attendees shouting “traitor!” according to Forbes.
“It is great to be back with so many patriots, dedicated to faith and freedom and the road to the majority,” Pence remarked.
Pence, speaking at the Trump supporter-filled Faith & Freedom symposium, was cheered when he took the stage, NBC News journalist Ali Vitali said. Less than thirty seconds into his address, however, yelling emerged from the audience.
Pence gets drowned out by hecklers at the Faith & Freedom Coalition summit, some of whom appear to be chanting "traitor!" pic.twitter.com/pAQxavsK3O
— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) June 18, 2021
One woman who yelled “traitor!” was escorted out, Vitali reported.
Although Pence served Trump dutifully, some of the ex-president’s supporters turned on him. On 6 January, a mob of Trump’s supporters breached the US Capitol in an attempt to overturn the election.
Some insurrectionists shouted “hang Mike Pence,” shortly after Trump remarked that he would feel “very disappointed” if his then-deputy didn’t overturn the results, per Forbes.
Updated
Today so far
Here’s where the day stands so far:
- Republicans pushed back against Joe Manchin’s compromise proposal on a voting rights bill, which the Democratic senator laid out in a memo to colleagues this week. Manchin’s bill would include Republican demands like requiring voter ID and allowing voter purges, but Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell said the proposal was still “an assault on the fundamental idea that states, not the federal government, should decide how to run their own elections”.
- Joe Biden released a proclamation recognizing Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in America. Biden signed a bill yesterday to make Juneteenth, which falls on June 19, a federal holiday. “Juneteenth is a day of profound weight and power,” Biden said in his proclamation. “On Juneteenth, we recommit ourselves to the work of equity, equality, and justice.”
- Kamala Harris is visiting Atlanta, Georgia, as part of her tour to encourage more Americans to get vaccinated against coronavirus. Visiting a pop-up vaccination site at Ebenezer Baptist Church this afternoon, the vice-president thanked those present for getting their shots. “What you are doing truly is about leadership. These vaccines are safe and effective. It will save your life and lives of people that you love,” Harris said.
The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
Joe Biden is nominating former congresswoman Xochitl Torres Small to a senior role in the department of agriculture, the White House just announced in a statement.
If confirmed by the Senate, Torres Small, who lost her reelection bid last year, would become undersecretary of rural development at the USDA.
“In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, Representative Torres Small kept a rural hospital from closing its doors, improved constituent access to healthcare over the phone, and helped secure tens of millions of dollars for broadband in New Mexico through USDA’s ReConnect Program,” the White House said.
“Throughout her career, Torres Small has employed her experience organizing in vulnerable, rural communities to achieve lasting investments that combat persistent poverty.”
Torres Small served only one term in the House before being defeated in November by Republican Yvette Herrell, who won the race in New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District by about 7 points.
Kamala Harris toured the pop-up vaccination site at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, and she thanked those who are getting their shots today.
“What you are doing truly is about leadership. These vaccines are safe and effective. It will save your life and lives of people that you love,” the vice-president said, per a press pool report. “We’re here to say thank you.”
Harris toured the vaccination site with several Democratic lawmakers, including Georgia senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff.
After Harris made her remarks to the newly vaccinated people at the site, Warnock joked, “The vice-president preached a good sermon today. Amen!”
Harris visits Georgia to encourage coronavirus vaccinations
Kamala Harris has arrived in Atlanta, Georgia, where she will continue her tour of southern states to encourage more Americans to get their coronavirus vaccines.
Harris is scheduled to tour a pop-up vaccination site at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King Jr once preached, and then deliver remarks at a vaccination mobilization event at Clark Atlanta University, a historically Black college.
The vice-president will also later participate in a conversation on voting rights with community leaders at the university.
As part of Joe Biden’s “month of action” to increase vaccination rates, Harris kicked off her southern tour with a trip to South Carolina earlier this week.
“Vaccination gives protection,” Harris said in Greenville. “This act, in a way, is a projection of love thy neighbor.”
Updated
The White House chief of staff issued a warning about the potential for coronavirus case numbers to rise in parts of the country where vaccination rates are low.
Ron Klain responded to a tweet noting that the US seven-day average of new cases is now at the lowest point since the pandemic started last year.
“The progress is great to see. But let’s be clear: parts of the country where vaccination rates are low will see cases climb again,” Klain said on Twitter.
The progress is great to see. But let's be clear: parts of the country where vaccination rates are low will see cases climb again. https://t.co/YPD8Q1xvnk
— Ronald Klain (@WHCOS) June 18, 2021
The chief of staff’s warning comes as the Delta variant of coronavirus, first identified in India, is becoming the globally dominant variant of the virus.
“The Delta variant is well on its way to becoming the dominant variant globally because of its increased transmissibility,” Soumya Swaminathan, the chief scientist of the World Health Organization, said today.
Follow the Guardian’s coronavirus live blog for the latest on the pandemic:
On 7 November 2020, after several days of vote-counting, Donald Trump lost the US presidential election. More than 60 unsuccessful lawsuits and one insurrection later, Trump has still lost the election, but the former president refuses to accept defeat.
Egged on by a group of sycophants and fantasists, including a small-time Pennsylvania politician, a host on a far-right news network, and the CEO of a pillow company, Trump now plans to hold rallies at the end of June where he is likely to continue his fraudulent claims of a stolen election.
Despite the election having been repeatedly investigated and declared “the most secure in American history” by a group of experts, the former president is said to be convinced the election result will be overturned.
As are those in his close circle fighting a series of quixotic battles on his behalf. Mike Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow and a Trump confidant who claims to have evidence that shows voting machines were hacked by China, told the Guardian Trump would be returned to office by August or – at the latest – September.
“With me they just keep saying: ‘It’s a conspiracy, Mike Lindell – he’s crazy, blah blah blah,’ all this stuff,” Lindell said. “But I think it gives the whole country hope because they know me and they know I wouldn’t be out there if I wasn’t 100%.”
Updated
Joe Biden is facing some barriers in passing his rather ambitious agenda, namely senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. Both are refusing to toe the party line on abolishing the filibuster and on issues such as voting rights. So, which side is most likely to win out?
In the latest episode of the Guardian’s Politics Weekly Extra podcast, Jonathan Freedland and Prof Sarah Binder discuss why two Democratic senators are proving a thorn in Biden’s side:
Updated
Ian Millhiser of Vox explains that Joe Manchin’s compromise proposal on a voting rights bill includes some provisions that will likely irritate his fellow Democrats.
However, if it could become law, and that is big if with the Senate filibuster in place, it would mark a significant achievement for Democrats.
Millhiser writes:
Manchin’s list includes many reforms drawn from the For the People Act as well as from a companion voting rights bill known as the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. Significantly, Manchin endorsed banning partisan gerrymandering — a high priority for both small-d democrats and large-D Democrats, who want to prevent the GOP from seizing control of the House of Representatives with rigged congressional maps.
Not everything on Manchin’s list will delight his fellow Democrats. He proposes a nationwide voter ID law, for example, although not an especially strict one. And he wants states to be able to engage in ‘maintenance of voter rolls’— purging names from the state’s list of registered voters — using state and federal documents to identify which voters should be purged. ...
The West Virginia senator’s proposal, in other words, falls short of the dreams of Democratic leaders and voting rights advocates who rallied behind the For the People Act, which passed the House in March. ...
But Democrats and other supporters of democracy would have a great deal to celebrate if Manchin’s list of proposed reforms did become law. And his decision to release such a comprehensive and well-thought-out list of proposals should give some hope to reformers, as it suggests Manchin does want to pass a voting rights bill — even if it isn’t the specific bill that many advocates want.
Barack Obama is also participating in a virtual town hall with his former attorney general, Eric Holder, on Monday.
The conversation will be focused on “the importance of getting involved in the redistricting process to strengthen our democracy and support Senate action on voting rights legislation”.
On Monday, I’m joining @EricHolder for a grassroots conversation with @AllOnTheLine to talk about why redistricting matters and how the Senate can help protect our democracy. Join us: https://t.co/gXAnHHIVlL
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 18, 2021
The town hall is hosted by All on the Line, an initiative Obama launched in 2019 to train local activists on how to get involved in the redistricting process.
Since leaving the justice department, Holder has also become actively involved in the redistricting fight, serving as the chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee.
The town hall comes as Democrats’ voting rights bills remain stalled in the Senate because of widespread Republican opposition.
Barack Obama spoke about the significance of Juneteenth as part of an ABC News special, which is scheduled to air tonight.
Good Morning America’s Michael Strahan asked Obama how Americans can regain some of the hope that his candidacy and presidency sparked for so many.
"A lot of people feel like they've lost hope," @michaelstrahan says to @BarackObama. "How can people get that hope back?"
— ABC News (@ABC) June 18, 2021
Hear former Pres. Obama's answer—and tune into "Juneteenth: Together We Triumph," TONIGHT at 9|8c and tomorrow on @Hulu.#SoulofaNation pic.twitter.com/N8HEACRATr
“You get hope back from, for me at least, taking the long view and recognizing that resilience, determination, the ability to deal with setbacks and disappointments and keep going, that those are qualities that can carry us forward,” Obama said.
“And no one has exhibited that more historically in this country than African Americans.”
The Hill has an excellent story about the 40-year fight to make Juneteenth a federal holiday:
The march from unofficial holiday to a formal day off for most federal employees started in Texas, more than a century after Union Gen. Gordon Granger issued an 1865 order freeing the remaining 250,000 or so Black people who were still enslaved in the state, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
It took until 1979 for Texas to formally recognize the holiday, after legislators approved a measure introduced by state Rep. Al Edwards (D), a veteran civil rights activist who marched with Martin Luther King Jr. Edwards introduced the bill in the first of his thirteen terms in office. ...
Every president since former President Clinton’s administration has taken the opportunity to issue statements or remarks honoring the holiday. And for the last dozen years, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), who represents the same Houston area that Edwards represented in the Texas legislature, has introduced a measure in Congress to make the day the nation’s [12th] official holiday.
Other states slowly followed Texas’s lead: Florida adopted a Juneteenth holiday in 1991, Oklahoma in 1994 and Minnesota in 1996. Thirty-one states adopted the holiday between 2000 and 2009, and another 13 did so in the decade that followed.
Now that Joe Biden has signed the bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, all states are expected to recognize the day that commemorates the end of slavery in America.
Biden releases proclamation recognizing Juneteenth, 'a day of profound weight and power'
Joe Biden has released a proclamation in recognition of Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in America.
The president signed a law yesterday officially making Juneteenth a federal holiday, after the House and the Senate passed the legislation earlier this week.
Juneteenth is officially a federal holiday.
— President Biden (@POTUS) June 17, 2021
“In its celebration of freedom, Juneteenth is a day that should be recognized by all Americans. And that is why I am proud to have consecrated Juneteenth as our newest national holiday,” Biden said in his proclamation.
“Juneteenth is a day of profound weight and power. A day in which we remember the moral stain and terrible toll of slavery on our country –- what I’ve long called America’s original sin. A long legacy of systemic racism, inequality, and inhumanity.
“But it is a day that also reminds us of our incredible capacity to heal, hope, and emerge from our darkest moments with purpose and resolve.”
Looking ahead to future anti-racism efforts, Biden added, “On Juneteenth, we recommit ourselves to the work of equity, equality, and justice. ... There is still more work to do.”
Juneteenth is celebrated on June 19, but many offices are observing it today because the 19th falls on a Saturday this year. Federal workers have today off as well.
Christopher Staudinger reports for the Louisiana Illuminator and Floodlight, a nonprofit that partners with the Guardian:
One morning in September, word of layoffs began to spread quickly through Marathon Petroleum’s refinery in the small industrial community of Garyville, Louisiana.
Seven months into the pandemic, workers at the oil refining plant thought they would be spared the fate of their colleagues at other facilities, who had already been jettisoned into a daunting job market.
“Through the morning, we were seeing people get the phone call and not come back,” said one maintenance engineer, who lost his job after nearly a decade at the facility. “Everybody was on pins and needles waiting for the call.”
Last year, Marathon laid off 1,920 workers across the US despite taking $2.1bn in federal tax benefits meant to cushion the pandemic’s blow to the economy, according to a report from BailoutWatch.
The worker interviewed for this story, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of difficulty finding a job, is still unemployed. He and his wife had plans to start a family, which are now on hold. And he is competing with more than 18,000 oil, gas and manufacturing workers in Louisiana who lost jobs last year.
“I’m a born and raised Louisianan. So I’m very much trying to stay in the area,” he said.
Updated
Significant hurdles remain for Manchin compromise on voting rights bill
Greetings from Washington, live blog readers.
Most of the city’s attention was focused on the supreme court yesterday, as the justices dismissed a Republican challenge to the Affordable Care Act. However, there were also some significant developments on Capitol Hill.
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell signaled he would not support the compromise proposed by Democratic senator Joe Manchin on voting rights. Manchin’s proposal incorporates some Republican ideas to help attract bipartisan support, and voting rights leaders like Stacey Abrams have signaled they can get behind the bill.
But it’s seeming very unlikely that any Republicans will back Manchin’s bill after McConnell released a statement denouncing the proposal yesterday.
Democrats can change the packaging, but their plan for a power-grab of America’s electoral system is still rotten to the core. My full statement: https://t.co/HLRuDSZ3lS
— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) June 17, 2021
“Senate Democrats seem to have reached a so-called ‘compromise’ election takeover among themselves. In reality, the plan endorsed by Stacey Abrams is no compromise,” McConnell said.
Comparing the compromise to the For the People Act, Democrats’ original election reform bill, McConnell said, “And it still retains S. 1’s rotten core: an assault on the fundamental idea that states, not the federal government, should decide how to run their own elections.”
It seems possible for Manchin’s proposal to attract the support of all 50 Democratic senators, but unless he can get 10 Republicans to join them, McConnell will be able to successfully filibuster the legislation.
So the question becomes: is Manchin willing to alter or end the Senate filibuster for voting rights? His recent comments indicate he probably wouldn’t, but time will tell.
The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
