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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Sam Levin in Los Angeles (now) and Joan E Greve in Washington (earlier)

Senate Republicans block commission to investigate deadly Capitol attack – as it happened

The bill would have formed a bipartisan commission to study the Capitol insurrection of 6 January – but the effort is now dead.
The bill would have formed a bipartisan commission to study the Capitol insurrection of 6 January – but the effort is now dead. Photograph: Samuel Corum/Getty Images

Summary

That’s all for today, thanks for following along and have a nice three-day weekend. Here are some key links from the day:

Updated

A gunman who killed nine of his co-workers at a rail yard in San Jose, California, had stockpiled weapons and ammunition at his home, including 12 guns and 22,000 rounds of ammunition, authorities said on Friday.

Investigators found the cache of weapons at the home of Samuel James Cassidy, the Santa Clara county sheriff’s office said in a news release. They also turned up multiple cans of gasoline and suspected molotov cocktails. Authorities have said that Cassidy set his house on fire using a timer or slow-burn device to coincide with his attack.

The guns he used to open fire on his co-workers appear to be legal, officials said. They have not said how he obtained them.

The nine victims in the worst mass shooting in the region have been identified as: Paul Delacruz Megia, 42; Taptejdeep Singh, 36; Adrian Balleza, 29; Jose Dejesus Hernandez III, 35; Timothy Michael Romo, 49; Michael Joseph Rudometkin, 40; Abdolvahab Alaghmandan, 63, Lars Kepler Lane, 63; and Alex Ward Fritch, 49.

The US Post Office announced today that it is increasing the price of a first-class postage stamp – from 55 cents to 58 cents – in an effort to offset declining revenues, Reuters reports.

Mail volume has decreased 28% in the last ten years, USPS said in a statement. The rates for international letters and postcards will also increase later this summer.

The postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, is working to erase $160bn in projected liabilities over the next decade. More details on the changes here:

Joe Biden’s proposed 2022 budget removes a ban on federal funding for most abortions that has been included in government spending bills for decades, Reuters reports.

The budget, released today, omits any mention of the Hyde amendment, which was first passed in 1976, and has been included in spending bills since.

That change, however, is not likely to get through the Senate:

The longstanding amendment restricts abortion coverage for recipients of Medicare, Medicaid, federal employees, service members and Washington DC residents. It could still be added to a later spending bill. Advocates celebrated:

The move comes at a time when the anti-abortion movement in the US is emboldened and looking forward to a supreme court case directly challenging the laws underpinning the right to abortion in the US. More here from the Guardian’s health reporter, Jessica Glenza:

The Biden administration is working to “dramatically reshape” the way asylum seekers are processed, in an effort to prevent a growing backlog of immigration court cases, BuzzFeed News reported, citing government documents.

The changes could cut the waiting period by years for some applicants, according to reporter Hamed Aleaziz. The new policy, which is not finalized yet, would give asylum officers the power to decide cases instead of immigration judges in certain instances.

The Trump administration overhauled the asylum process in significant ways, creating more obstacles for migrants seeking protection in the US. From the draft Biden policy cited in the report:

If there is any area of agreement on immigration, it is that the system for dealing with asylum claims at the border is ‘overwhelmed’ and in desperate need of repair. A system that takes years to get to a result is not a working system. It is unfair to those who need protection, and it encourages abuse by those undeserving of protection and the smugglers who exploit dysfunction for profit. The aim of this rule is to begin urgently replacing a broken system with a more efficient one, adjudicating asylum claims expeditiously without [compromising] fairness.”

The CDC has released new guidelines for children’s summer camps, saying unvaccinated kids generally do not have to wear masks outside, except for activities that involve sustained close contact:

“Camp programs should encourage people who are not fully vaccinated and those who might need extra precautions to wear a mask consistently and correctly,” the CDC said, explaining:

  • Indoors. Mask use indoors is strongly encouraged for people who are not fully vaccinated including children. No child under the age of 2 should wear a mask.
  • Outdoors. In general, people do not need to wear masks when outdoors. However, particularly in areas of substantial to high transmission, people who are not fully vaccinated are encouraged to wear a mask in crowded outdoor settings or during activities that involve sustained close contact with other people who are not fully vaccinated.

More info here:

A federal judge is appointing a “special master” to protect attorney-client privilege during a review of materials seized from Rudy Giuliani and another attorney who has represented Donald Trump, the AP reports:

The judge rejected efforts by Giuliani and lawyer Victoria Toensing to force prosecutors to divulge more about why they seized electronic devices on 28 April. Prosecutors made the unusual request for the appointment of a lawyer or “special master” to protect attorney-client privilege the day after the raids, citing the need to make it clear that materials were reviewed appropriately.

Prosecutors are examining Giuliani’s interactions with Ukrainian figures and whether he violated a law governing lobbying on behalf of foreign countries or entities.

Prosecutors later revealed that the FBI had successfully downloaded 11 devices belonging to Giuliani and returned them to him.

My colleague Abené Clayton spent time in San Jose yesterday where families were mourning the sudden losses of their loved ones in the Bay Area’s worst mass shooting.

The shooting unfolded on Wednesday when a 57-year-old employee of the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) walked into a facility and opened fire, killing nine of his co-workers.

John Costa, the president of the union that the slain rail workers belonged to, offered words to remember the victims: Paul Delacruz Megia, 42; Taptejdeep Singh, 36; Adrian Balleza, 29; Jose Dejesus Hernandez III, 35; Timothy Michael Romo, 49; Michael Joseph Rudometkin, 40; Abdolvahab Alaghmandan, 63, Lars Kepler Lane, 63; and Alex Ward Fritch, 49.

“I want to send a message that we have to honor our brothers today and not forget what happened here,” Costa said.

Updated

Family of Capitol officer who died after attack: 'all talk and no action'

Hi all - Sam Levin in Los Angeles here, continuing our live coverage for the rest of the day.

The mother of Brian Sicknick, the Capitol police officer who died after the 6 January insurrection, has spoken out about Senate Republicans blocking the creation of a special commission to study the attack.

“I don’t understand it. They are elected for us, the people, and they don’t care about that,” Gladys Sicknick told CNN after meeting with GOP senators on Thursday. “They care about money, I guess, their pocketbooks. So they’ll be in front of the cameras when they feel like it. They just don’t care, and it’s not right.”

Her son was sprayed with a chemical during the insurrection, collapsed and later suffered a stroke.

“I think you know it’s all talk and no action. Clearly, they’re not backing the blue,” Sandra Garza, the late officer’s girlfriend, told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “It’s just unbelievable to me that they could do nothing about this.”

Republicans killed the effort to set up a 9/11-style inquiry into the attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob despite broad popular support for such an investigation and pleas from the family of a Capitol police officer who collapsed and died after the siege and other officers who battled the rioters.

Today so far

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

Here’s where the day stands so far:

  • Senate Republicans blocked the bill to form a bipartisan commission to study the Capitol insurrection. The final vote on whether to start debate on the commission bill was 54-35, with six Republicans joining 48 Democrats in supporting the motion to advance the proposal. Democrats needed 60 votes to take up the bill because Republicans invoked the first official Senate filibuster of Joe Biden’s presidency to defeat the legislation.
  • Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer condemned Republicans for preventing the commission bill from moving forward. “Shame on the Republican party for trying to sweep the horrors of that day under the rug because they’re afraid of Donald Trump,” Schumer said in a floor speech shortly after the vote concluded.
  • Biden released his $6tn budget proposal, calling for massive investments in infrastructure, education and climate action. A president’s budget proposal is largely considered a political document that outlines the White House’s legislative priorities. However, if Biden’s budget were adopted, it would increase US government spending to the highest levels since the second world war.
  • Biden spoke to US troops to thank them for their service ahead of the Memorial Day holiday. Speaking at the military base in Hampton, Virginia, the president expressed appreciation for the sacrifices made by service members and their families. “Simply stated, you are the backbone of the country,” Biden said.
  • Kamala Harris became the first woman to deliver a commencement address at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. The vice-president told the Naval Academy graduates, “The American people are depending on you: the best, the bravest, the most brilliant.”

Sam will have more coming up, so stay tuned.

Updated

The question now is not so much whether the Republican party can be saved any time in the foreseeable future. It is what Joe Biden and the Democrats should do when faced with a party determined to subvert democracy through any means necessary, including violence.

On Friday Republicans in the Senate torpedoed an effort to create a bipartisan commission to investigate the deadly insurrection by Donald Trump’s supporters at the US Capitol on 6 January, deploying the procedural move known as the filibuster to stop it even being debated.

Fearful perhaps of what such a commission might uncover about their own role as co-conspirators, most brushed aside personal pleas by Gladys Sicknick, the mother of a police officer who was that day sprayed with a chemical, collapsed and later had a stroke and died.

“A country that cannot even agree to investigate an assault on its Capitol is in big trouble, indeed,” observed Susan Glasser in the New Yorker magazine.

Biden condemns rise in 'despicable' anti-Semitic attacks

Joe Biden has released a statement condemning the recent rise in anti-Semitic attacks across the country.

“These attacks are despicable, unconscionable, un-American, and they must stop,” the president said. “I will not allow our fellow Americans to be intimidated or attacked because of who they are or the faith they practice.

“We cannot allow the toxic combination of hatred, dangerous lies, and conspiracy theories to put our fellow Americans at risk.”

Biden noted that attorney general Merrick Garland has pledged to deploy all tools available to the justice department to combat hate crimes.

“We must all stand together to silence these terrible and terrifying echoes of the worst chapters in world history, and pledge to give hate no safe harbor,” the president said.

“Let us all take up that work and create a nation that stands for, and stands up for, the dignity and safety of all of our people.”

According to the Anti-Defamation League, reports of anti-Semitic hate incidents increased by 75% during the two weeks of military conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Over those two weeks, 222 hate incidents were reported, compared to 127 for the two-week period before that.

“Many of these incidents appear to have been perpetrated by individuals scapegoating American Jews for the actions of the Israeli government,” the ADL said.

Meanwhile, congressional Republicans criticized Joe Biden’s $6 trillion as a wasteful spending spree that would do little to improve Americans’ lives.

“President Biden’s proposal would drown American families in debt, deficits, and inflation,” Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement.

McConnell noted that Senate Republicans laid out a counteroffer to the president’s infrastructure plan yesterday, calling for investing an additional $257 billion above baseline infrastructure spending over the next eight years. (Biden has called for spending $1.7 trillion above the baseline level on infrastructure.)

“If Washington Democrats can move beyond the socialist daydreams and the go-it-alone partisanship, we could get a lot of important work done for our country,” McConnell said.

House speaker Nancy Pelosi praised Joe Biden’s newly announced budget as “an unequivocal declaration of the value that Democrats place on America’s workers and middle class families”.

“The Biden budget makes historic investments in the American workforce and economy. It does so by seizing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create millions of good-paying Americans jobs, supercharge America’s global competitiveness and power growth for generations to come,” the Democratic speaker said in a statement.

“Congressional Democrats look forward to working with the Biden-Harris Administration to enact this visionary budget, which will pave the path to opportunity and prosperity for our nation.”

The release of Biden’s budget comes as the White House continues to negotiate with Senate Republicans over an infrastructure bill, with the hope that the final proposal can attract bipartisan support in Congress.

Harris becomes first woman to deliver Naval Academy commencement address

Kamala Harris delivered the commencement address this morning at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

The speech made the vice-president the first woman to address the academy’s graduating class since its founding in 1845.

Harris expressed confidence that the Naval Academy graduates are prepared to meet any challenge they may face in a rapidly changing world.

“The American people are depending on you: the best, the bravest, the most brilliant,” the vice-president said. “Class of 2021, you are prepared for all of this. You are prepared for any threat. And you are prepared for this new era.”

Biden proposes $6tn budget to boost infrastructure, education and climate

The Guardian’s Dominic Rushe has the latest on Biden’s $6tn budget proposal Friday:

Biden’s budget would fund a dramatic overhaul of US infrastructure, and dedicate extensive funds to education and climate action—which would put government spending at its “highest sustained levels since the second world war,” Rushe explains.

Importantly, Rushe points out, Biden’s first budget is “largely a political document.” While this proposal makes clear Biden’s hopes for revitalizing the US in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Republicans are already chaffing against its scale.

Indeed, no Republicans voted in favor of Biden’s $1.9tn Covid stimulus bill. Biden has also been forced to limit his infrastructure bill to $1.7tn, down from his originally proposed $2.2tn initiative. So, the chances of getting GOP support for such a budget are slim.

Biden’s two-part initiative to revitalize the US economy is rooted in ramping up its flagging infrastructure and broadening its social safety net. These initiatives would cause the US to have yearly deficits of more than $1.3tn over the next 10 years, with debt increasing to 117% of the value of economic output before 2031.

Biden’s plan would be funded, in part, by increasing taxes on corporations and the extremely wealthy. He supports increasing corporate taxes to 28%, up from 21%. All Republicans oppose this tax increase plan, as do some Democrats.

Updated

Joe Manchin has slammed GOP senators who blocked the creation of a bipartisan commission to study the deadly Capitol insurrection on 6 January.

“Choosing to put politics and political elections above the health of our Democracy is unconscionable, and the betrayal of the oath we each take is something they will have to live with,” Manchin, a Democrat senator from West Virginia, has said.

“This was our chance to have a bipartisan commission that would allow for an impartial investigation into the events of that horrific day, so that we are better able to prevent another attack on our nation,” Manchin also says.

Manchin tells viewers that Democratic leadership in the house and Senate accepted Republicans’ proposed changes “because a commission of this nature must be bipartisan to be successful.”

He recognizes the “six brave Republicans” who favored establishing the commission, while pointing out that four more were needed to advance this legislation.

Manchin, in his address, has also issued a broad apology about the commission’s failure to progress.

“You deserve better, and I am sorry that my Republican colleagues and friends, let political fear prevent them from doing what they know in their hearts to be right.”

Updated

Today so far

Joe Biden’s remarks to troops at Joint Base Langley-Eustis have now concluded. Here’s where the day stands so far:

  • Senate Republicans blocked consideration of the bill to form a bipartisan commission to study the Capitol insurrection. The final vote on whether to start debate on the commission bill was 54-35, with six Republicans joining 48 Democrats in supporting the motion to advance the proposal. Democrats needed 60 votes to take up the bill because Republicans invoked the first official Senate filibuster of the Biden era to defeat the legislation.
  • Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer condemned Republicans for preventing the commission bill from moving forward. “Shame on the Republican party for trying to sweep the horrors of that day under the rug because they’re afraid of Donald Trump,” Schumer said in a floor speech shortly after the vote concluded.
  • Biden spoke to US troops to thank them for their service ahead of the Memorial Day holiday. Speaking at the military base in Hampton, Virginia, the president expressed appreciation for the sacrifices made by service members and their families. “Simply stated, you are the backbone of the country,” Biden said.

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

Biden speaks to troops before Memorial Day: 'You are the backbone of the country'

Joe Biden delivered remarks to US troops at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Hampton, Virginia, ahead of Memorial Day weekend.

The president began his speech with an emotional retelling of how his son, Beau, decided to join the military. Beau Biden died of brain cancer in 2015.

Biden said the sacrifices that his son made to join the military reminded him of the sacrifices that service members and their families make every day.

“Simply stated, you are the backbone of the country,” Biden said.

Jill Biden spoke at Joint Base Langley-Eustis before Joe Biden delivered his own remarks to US troops ahead of the Memorial Day holiday.

The first lady, who has made supporting military families a primary focus of her work, expressed appreciation for the sacrifices of service members and their loved ones.

“Our military is a community bound together by love,” the first lady said. “It’s time that our nation matches that devotion.”

The stage is set at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Hampton, Virginia, where Joe Biden will soon speak to US troops to thank them for their service ahead of Memorial Day weekend.

Biden celebrates progress in US fight against coronavirus in Virginia

As the Senate voted on the January 6 commission bill, Joe Biden delivered remarks on the country’s fight against coronavirus in Alexandria, Virginia.

Appearing alongside Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, the president celebrated the significant progress that the state has made to limit the spread of coronavirus since he took office in January.

Virginia has received more than $247 million in federal funding for community vaccination sites, and more than 1,000 pharmacies across the state have participated in the federal vaccination program.

As more Virginians have gotten vaccinated, case numbers have consistently fallen in the state, with deaths and hospitalizations having decreased substantially since January.

Although this progress is encouraging, Biden emphasized the importance of getting even more Virginians vaccinated in order to get the virus under control by July 4.

“If we succeed, we can celebrate our independence from the virus together on the Fourth of July, as we celebrate our independence as a nation,” Biden said. “And the future is only going to get brighter.”

The president and the first lady will also soon deliver remarks in Hampton, Virginia, to kick off the start of Memorial Day weekend, so stay tuned.

The Guardian’s Sam Levine reports on the upcoming Senate vote on Democrats’ election reform bill:

The senate will vote in about a month on sweeping legislation that would dramatically expand access to the ballot box, Chuck Schumer, the senate majority leader, said Friday.

The announcement came immediately after senate Republicans blocked the creation of a bipartisan commission to probe the 6 January attack on the US capitol. Republicans used the filibuster, a procedural tactic that prevents legislation from moving ahead in the senate unless it has 60 votes.

The comments from Schumer are significant because there is some handwringing over how exactly Democrats plan to get over the filibuster when it comes to passing the sweeping voting rights bill.

Those conversations have become more urgent in recent weeks as Republicans have moved aggressively in state legislatures across the country to impose new restrictions. Schumer said the senate would vote on the bill during the last week of the senate’s June work period.

A key senator in the vote will be Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, who continues to back the filibuster, even as it harms his own party. Manchin has also said he wants bipartisan buy-in for the bill. After the Friday filibuster blocking the 6 January commission, Manchin tweaked Republicans for not supporting the panel.

Pelosi: 'Republican Senators surrendered to the January 6th mob assault'

House speaker Nancy Pelosi sharply criticized Senate Republicans for blocking consideration of the January 6 commission bill.

“Mitch McConnell asked Senate Republicans to do him a ‘personal favor’ and vote against the January 6th Commission,” the Democratic speaker said in a new statement.

“In doing so, Mitch McConnell asked them to be complicit in his undermining of the truth of January 6th. In bowing to McConnell’s personal favor request, Republican Senators surrendered to the January 6th mob assault.”

Pelosi argued the vote on the commission bill brought “shame” to the Senate and would make the country less safe. She indicated that House committees, which are under Democratic leadership, would continue to investigate the attack.

“Honoring our responsibility to the Congress in which we serve and the Country which we love, Democrats will proceed to find the truth,” Pelosi said.

Congresswoman Liz Cheney commended the six Republican senators who voted in favor of taking up the January 6 commission bill.

“Thank you to Senators Cassidy, Collins, Murkowski, Portman, Sasse, and Romney for voting for truth and defense of our constitution,” the Republican congresswoman said on Twitter. “History will remember those who put country ahead of politics.”

Cheney was ousted as House Republican conference chair earlier this month over her criticism of Donald Trump’s lies about the presidential election, which sparked the Capitol attack.

Last week, Cheney voted with 34 other House Republicans and every House Democrat in support of the commission bill.

Progressives are already pointing to the Republican blockade of the January 6 commission bill as evidence for why Senate Democrats should eliminate the filibuster.

Senator Elizabeth Warren said on Twitter, “If Senate Republicans can block an independent commission investigating a deadly armed attack on the Capitol because it might hurt their poll numbers with insurrectionists, then something is badly wrong with the Senate. We must get rid of the filibuster to protect our democracy.”

At least two Senate Democrats -- Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema -- have indicated they are still against eliminating the filibuster.

Although Manchin expressed severe disappointment about today’s vote, he previously indicated he would not be willing to end the filibuster to make the commission happen.

A spokesperson for Republican Senator Pat Toomey told HuffPost that he was not in Washington for the commission bill vote today because of a family obligation.

However, the spokesperson said, Toomey would have voted in favor of starting debate on the bill.

The Pennsylvania senator also voted to convict Donald Trump for incitement of insurrection shortly after the Capitol attack, and he had expressed openness to the commission proposal.

Toomey’s “aye” vote would have made seven Republicans in support of advancing the bill, but that is still short of 10 Republican votes necessary to overcome the filibuster.

'Shame on the Republican Party,' Schumer says after January 6 commission bill fails

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer condemned his Republican colleagues for blocking consideration of the bill to form a bipartisan commission to study the Capitol insurrection.

“Shame on the Republican Party for trying to sweep the horrors of that day under the rug because they’re afraid of Donald Trump,” Schumer said in a floor speech moments ago.

This marked Senate Republicans’ first official use of the filibuster to defeat a bill, and Schumer said he hoped this was not the beginning of a trend of Republicans blocking “reasonable, common-sense legislation”.

Because Republicans invoked the filibuster, Democrats needed 60 votes to take up the commission bill, and they only got 54 by the time the vote was gaveled out.

Updated

The six Senate Republicans who voted with Democrats in favor of taking up the January 6 commission bill were Susan Collins, Mitt Romney, Bill Cassidy, Lisa Murkowski, Ben Sasse and Rob Portman.

Two Republican senators who voted earlier this year to convict Donald Trump for incitement of insurrection, Pat Toomey and Richard Burr, were not present for the vote.

Senate Republicans block January 6 commission bill

Republicans have successfully blocked the Senate from taking up the bill to form a bipartisan commission to study the Capitol insurrection.

The final vote was 54-35, with six Republicans joining 48 Democrats in supporting the motion to advance the bill. Eleven senators did not participate in the vote.

Democrats needed 10 of their Republican colleagues to join them in order to break the filibuster and take up the commission bill, but they fell short of that.

The January 6 commission is dead -- for now, at least.

Senator Joe Manchin told reporters that he was “very disappointed” about the likely defeat of the January 6 commission bill.

“Politics has trumped - literally and figuratively - the good of the country,” the Democratic senator said, according to a Wall Street Journal reporter.

Republicans will likely be able to defeat the commission bill because of the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a Senate filibuster.

But Manchin has continued to defend the filibuster, saying he is unwilling to eliminate it, even if it means the commission will not happen.

Rob Portman of Ohio has become the sixth Republican senator to vote in favor of taking up the January 6 commission bill.

Portman voted to acquit Donald Trump in his impeachment trial earlier this year, but the senator acknowledged the former president had “encouraged the mob” to attack the Capitol on January 6.

Democrats need four more Republicans to join them in order to overcome a filibuster of the commission bill.

Two more Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Ben Sasse of Nebraska, have voted in favor of taking up the January 6 commission bill.

That makes five Republicans total who have voted with Democrats so far, but it remains unlikely that five more Republicans will join them.

Because of the Republican filibuster, 60 votes are needed just to start the Senate debate over the January 6 commission bill.

Only three Republicans -- Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine and Mitt Romney of Massachusetts -- have voted in favor of advancing the bill so far.

It seems very unlikely that seven more Republicans will join Democrats in voting to take up the bill, so the proposal will almost certainly be defeated.

Before the vote began, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer pleaded with his colleagues to support the January 6 commission bill.

“This commission is desperately needed,” the Democratic leader said. “If our Republican friends vote against this, I would ask them: what are you afraid of? The truth?”

Schumer argued Donald Trump’s lies about widespread fraud in the presidential election had “eroded” American democracy and the commission was necessary to rebut those lies.

“This is not a Democratic or Republican obligation. This is an American obligation,” Schumer said.

Senate now voting on January 6 commission bill

The Senate is now holding a procedural vote on the bill to create a bipartisan commission to study the Capitol insurrection.

The bill is not likely to advance, as only a handful of Republicans have indicated they will support the proposal and Democrats need 60 votes to break a filibuster.

Senate to hold procedural vote on January 6 commission bill in the next hour

The Senate has reached an agreement to delay final consideration of the Endless Frontier Act until after the Memorial Day holiday.

The upper chamber will now shift focus to a procedural vote on the bill to form a bipartisan commission to study the Capitol insurrection, as well as votes on two of Joe Biden’s nominees.

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said moments ago that the commission bill vote will occur sometime in the next hour.

Republicans are expected to defeat the bill, as Democrats will need 60 votes to overcome a filibuster of the proposal.

The Senate vote on the January 6 commission bill may actually happen sooner rather than later, with a potential deal between Democrats and Republicans in the works.

According to multiple reports, Republicans are discussing the possibility of delaying final passage of the Endless Frontier Act until after Memorial Day weekend.

If Democrats agree to that, then the Senate will vote on the commission bill and two of Joe Biden’s nominations before leaving for the holiday weekend.

However, it’s still unclear if Democrats will be on board, as they wanted to wrap up the Endless Frontier Act before going into recess. Stay tuned.

Russian SolarWinds hackers launch email attack on government agencies

Guardian staff and agencies report:

The state-backed Russian cyber spies behind the SolarWinds hacking campaign launched a targeted phishing assault on US and foreign government agencies and thinktanks this week using an email marketing account of the US Agency for International Development (USAid), Microsoft has said.

The effort targeted about 3,000 email accounts at more than 150 different organisations, at least a quarter of them involved in international development, humanitarian and human rights work, the Microsoft vice-president Tom Burt wrote in a blog post late on Thursday.

It did not say what portion of the attempts may have led to successful intrusions. The cybersecurity firm Volexity, which also tracked the campaign but has less visibility into email systems than Microsoft, said in a post that relatively low detection rates of the phishing emails suggested the attacker was “likely having some success in breaching targets”.

Microsoft identified the group carrying out the attacks as Nobelium, originating from Russia and the same actor behind the attacks on SolarWinds customers in 2020.

Burt said the campaign appeared to be a continuation of efforts by the Russian hackers to “target government agencies involved in foreign policy as part of intelligence-gathering efforts”. He said the targets spanned at least 24 countries.

Another issue as the Senate prepares to vote on the January 6 commission bill: about 10 senators have already left town for Memorial Day weekend, according to Fox News reporter Chad Pergram.

Even though the Senate may not be at full attendance today, the number of senators required to break the expected Republican filibuster of the commission bill will not change.

So even if only 90 senators are present to vote on the bill later today, 60 votes will still be required to advance the legislation past the filibuster.

Republicans are expected to defeat the bill because Democrats need 10 of their colleagues from across the aisle to vote with them to break a filibuster, and that seems extremely unlikely to happen.

Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell said he hopes the vote on the January 6 commission bill will happen today, but he did not definitively say whether he thought that would happen.

According to CNN, reporters asked McConnell as he entered the Senate how long today’s session will take. “You’ll have to ask the folks who feel compelled to speak,” McConnell replied.

Asked if the votes on the Endless Frontier Act and the January 6 commission bill will wrap up today, the Republican leader said, “I hope so, but we will see how it goes.”

The Senate had expected to give final approval to the Endless Frontier Act yesterday, but some late-night disagreements pushed that to today. Senator Jon Ossoff did not gavel out the Senate until almost 3 am this morning, and the chamber returned from recess about six hours later.

Jill Biden will join Joe Biden when he travels to Europe next month, the White House has just announced.

The White House said the first lady will accompany her husband as he attends the G-7 summit in Cornwall from June 11 to 13.

“This will be the first overseas travel by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden,” the White House said. “This trip will highlight the President’s commitment to restoring our alliances, showing that democracies can deliver, and working in close cooperation with our allies and multilateral partners.”

CNN reported earlier this week that Biden will meet with Queen Elisabeth II during his trip to the UK, but the White House has not yet confirmed that plan.

Kamala Harris is making some history this morning: the vice-president will become the first woman to deliver the commencement address at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

The New York Times reports:

The vice president’s speech is expected to focus on some of the Biden administration’s most urgent challenges, like the coronavirus pandemic, climate change and a host of increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity threats.

‘The global pandemic has launched us into a new era. It has forever impacted our world,’ Ms. Harris is expected to say, according to prepared remarks shared with The New York Times. ‘If we weren’t clear before, we know now: Our world is interconnected. Our world is interdependent. Our world is fragile.’

The vice president’s speech at the Naval Academy, in Annapolis, Md., will be her first to focus on the military, and it comes as the Biden administration is accelerating its withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, well ahead of the deadline President Biden set in April: Sept. 11.

According to a press pool report, Harris stopped at the gravesite of John McCain before her speech to pay her respects to the late senator and lay some flowers on his headstone.

Arizona ‘refurbishes’ its gas chamber to prepare for executions, documents reveal

The state of Arizona is preparing to kill death row inmates using hydrogen cyanide, the same lethal gas that was deployed at Auschwitz.

Documents obtained by the Guardian reveal that Arizona’s department of corrections has spent more than $2,000 in procuring the ingredients to make cyanide gas. The department bought a solid brick of potassium cyanide in December for $1,530.

It also purchased sodium hydroxide pellets and sulfuric acid which are intended to be used to generate the deadly gas. The gas chamber itself, built in 1949 and disused for 22 years, has been dusted off and, according to the department, “refurbished”.

Over the past few months the Republican-controlled state has moved aggressively to restart its deeply flawed execution system. The death penalty has been in abeyance in Arizona for seven years following the gruesomely botched lethal injection of Joseph Wood in 2014.

Last month, the Guardian revealed that Arizona spent a jaw-dropping $1.5m on a batch of pentobarbital in October, a sedative which it now hopes to use as its main lethal injection method.

The Senate is now back in session to wrap up votes on the Endless Frontier Act before holding a vote on the January 6 commission bill.

The upper chamber stood in recess for a little over six hours. Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia gaveled out the Senate at 2:52 am this morning, per a C-SPAN producer.

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said in a floor speech moments ago that he expects the chamber to pass the Endless Frontier Act later today.

“We have every intention of sticking it out until the job is done, and that’s what we’re going to do,” Schumer said.

At least 70% of people charged in the Capitol riot have been released as they wait for trial, according to a Guardian analysis.

That high pretrial release rate stands in stark contrast with the usual detention rates in the federal system, where only 25% of defendants nationwide are typically released before their trial.

Eric Munchel, known as “Zip Tie Guy”, who was allegedly photographed wearing tactical gear and carrying wrist restraints in the Senate chamber, was released in late March, along with his mother, after an appeals court questioned whether he posed any danger outside the specific context of 6 January.

Richard Barnett, the Arkansas man photographed with his foot on Nancy Pelosi’s desk, was released in late April, nearly two months after screaming during a court hearing that “it’s not fair” that he was still in custody when “everybody else who did things much worse are already home”.

Multiple alleged members of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, two groups facing the most serious conspiracy charges related to their alleged plans for violence, have been released before trial, though some prominent leaders in these groups remain in custody.

The disparity in pretrial detention rates highlights what legal experts said was a broader development in the 6 January cases: the likelihood that a substantial swathe of the alleged rioters may not serve any prison time at all, even if they are convicted or plead guilty.

Senate Republicans expected to defeat January 6 commission bill

Greetings from Washington, live blog readers.

The Senate is expected to vote later today on whether to advance the bill to form a bipartisan commission to study the Capitol insurrection – for real this time.

The Senate was originally planning to hold a procedural vote on the commission bill yesterday, but some late-night disagreements over the Endless Frontier Act pushed the vote to today.

Now the vote is expected to take place later this morning or possibly early this afternoon, according to CNN.

Senate Republican leaders seem confident that they have the votes to defeat the bill, which they worry could jeopardize their hopes of taking back Congress in next year’s midterm elections.

Senator Lisa Murkowski, one of the few Republicans who is expected to support the commission bill, sharply criticized that logic yesterday.

“To be making a decision for the short-term political gain at the expense of understanding and acknowledging what was in front of us on January 6, I think we need to look at that critically. Is that really what this is about, one election cycle after another?” Murkowski told reporters.

The blog will have more details on the vote as it unfolds, so stay tuned.

Updated

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