“WASHINGTON — Democrats prepared legislation Wednesday to avert a government shutdown this week, but they were desperately trying to salvage President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda as conservative-leaning holdouts dug in against an ambitious $3.5 trillion social safety net and climate bill that carries many of the party’s top priorities.
Congressional leaders moved to address the most immediate threat, working to complete a bill to prevent a government funding lapse at midnight Thursday. Yet after days of intensive negotiations to bridge bitter differences in their party over Biden’s two biggest legislative priorities, the president and top Democrats appeared as far as ever from an agreement on their marquee social policy package, which the White House calls the Build Back Better plan.
That, in turn, was imperiling a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that was scheduled for a House vote Thursday.
The fate of the two measures could define the success of Biden’s presidency, and the intense negotiations surrounding them have posed a test of his skills as a deal maker, which he highlighted as a calling card during his campaign for the White House. But after days of personal meetings with lawmakers in the Oval Office and phone calls to key players, Biden remained far short of a deal.
Dramatizing the challenge, Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, a leading holdout on the social policy bill, issued a lengthy and strongly worded statement Wednesday evening reiterating his opposition to the proposal as currently constituted, saying it amounted to ‘fiscal insanity.’
‘While I am hopeful that common ground can be found that would result in another historic investment in our nation, I cannot — and will not — support trillions in spending or an all-or-nothing approach that ignores the brutal fiscal reality our nation faces,’ Manchin wrote, denouncing an approach that he said would ‘vengefully tax for the sake of wishful spending.’
The statement was the polar opposite of what Biden and top Democrats had hoped to extract from Manchin and other centrist critics of the bill by week’s end — a firm public commitment to eventually vote for the social policy measure, in order to placate liberals who want to ensure its enactment.
Instead, it further enraged progressives who were already promising to oppose the infrastructure bill until Congress acted on the larger social policy plan, which Democrats plan to push through using a fast-track process known as budget reconciliation to shield it from a filibuster. They have been pressing to push off the infrastructure vote until after votes on the reconciliation bill — or, at the very least, after the centrist holdouts provided a firm sense of what they would accept in that package.
‘I assume he’s saying that the president is insane, because this is the president’s agenda,’ Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said of Manchin. ‘Look, this is why we’re not voting for that bipartisan bill until we get agreement on the reconciliation bill. It’s clear we’ve got a ways to go.’
‘I tell you, after that statement, we probably have even more people willing to vote ‘no’ on the bipartisan bill,’ she added.
The impasse left unclear the fate of the infrastructure measure. While a handful of centrist Republicans plan to support it, GOP leaders are urging their members to oppose it, leaving Democrats who hold a slim majority short of votes to pass the bill if progressives revolt.” Read more at Boston Globe
“For more than a decade, Britney Spears bristled behind closed doors at the court-approved control her father, James P. Spears, held over her life and fortune.
Now, for the first time since 2008, Ms. Spears, 39, will be without her father’s oversight, a Los Angeles judge has ruled, as the singer moves toward terminating her conservatorship altogether.
At a hearing on Wednesday, Judge Brenda Penny granted a petition by Ms. Spears’s lawyer, suspending Mr. Spears, 69, from his position as overseer of his daughter’s $60 million estate — a move Ms. Spears was pleading for, her lawyer said.
‘This man does not belong in her life, your honor, for another day,’ Mathew S. Rosengart, who took over as the singer’s lawyer in July, argued in court. ‘Please hear the plea of my client.’ He said that it would be a ‘disaster’ for Mr. Spears to remain in her life.
Lawyers for Mr. Spears said that the conservatorship should be ended instead, calling his record as conservator “impeccable.” But after hearing from both sides, the judge agreed that suspending Mr. Spears was in his daughter’s best interest. ‘The current situation is not tenable,’ Judge Penny said.
She named a California accountant, John Zabel, as the temporary conservator of the singer’s finances, as Mr. Rosengart had requested.
The major decision in Los Angeles Superior Court — which was greeted with cheers from Ms. Spears’s supporters outside — capped a whirlwind summer in the 13-year conservatorship, after the singer broke her public silence at a hearing in June, calling the arrangement abusive and exploitative, and bringing even more attention to the unusual and closely watched case.
‘I am traumatized,’ Ms. Spears said in court at the time, asking for those overseeing the conservatorship to be investigated and jailed, and singling out her father as ‘the one who approved all of it.’
The conservatorship was established in 2008, after Mr. Spears sought control over his pop-star daughter’s life and business, citing her mental health struggles and substance abuse.” Read more at New York Times
“WASHINGTON — The House select committee investigating the Capitol attack issued 11 more subpoenas on Wednesday, targeting allies of President Donald J. Trump who were involved in the planning and organizing of the ‘Stop the Steal’ rally that fueled the mob violence on Jan. 6.
The subpoenas indicated that the committee was trying to delve deeper into their investigation of the rally, when thousands came to the Capitol as Mr. Trump tried to pressure Congress and his own vice president, Mike Pence, to overturn the election results. The pro-Trump group Women for America First organized the gathering at the Ellipse on Jan. 6, when an agitated audience listened as Mr. Trump made clear that he was furious with Mr. Pence for resisting his plan to undermine the election and that he wanted the crowd to go to the Capitol immediately afterward in protest.
It was there that they heard Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani call for ‘trial by combat’ against Democrats to win the election.
The panel sent subpoenas to Amy Kremer, the chairwoman of Women for America First, which helped plan the rally near the White House on Jan. 6; Caroline Wren, a Trump fund-raiser, who was listed as a ‘V.I.P. adviser’ for the event; Cindy Chafian, another organizer; Hannah Salem Stone, who managed logistics; and Justin Caporale, a former top aide to Melania Trump, the first lady, who was listed as a ‘project manager’ for the rally.
The committee also sent subpoenas to Katrina Pierson, Mr. Trump’s former national campaign spokeswoman; Kylie Jane Kremer, the daughter of Amy Kremer and the director of Women for America First; Lyndon Brentnall, the owner of a Florida-based security company who was the ‘on-site supervisor’ for the rally; Maggie Mulvaney, a niece of the former top Trump aide Mick Mulvaney, who is listed on the permit for the event; Megan Powers, an operations manager; and Tim Unes, whose company was listed as the stage manager for the gathering.” Read more at New York Times
“In a classified Senate briefing, Joint Chiefs Chair Mark Milley directly blamed the State Department for a botched evacuation from Afghanistan.
The general said officials ‘waited too long’ to order the operation out of Kabul's airport, two sources with direct knowledge of the briefing told Axios' Zachary Basu, Jonathan Swan and Alayna Treene.
Why it matters: Those private remarks were far more blunt than Milley's public testimony.
How it works: The State Department is responsible for triggering what's called a noncombatant evacuation operation (NEO), which is carried out by the military.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin testified publicly that he ordered preparations for a potential NEO weeks after President Biden's April announcement that the U.S. would withdraw.
The State Department didn't order the mission until the day before Kabul fell.
The other side: A third source, defending Milley, said the general ‘wasn't blaming anybody per se, but was speaking from a purely military perspective. The quicker we moved out noncombatants, the safer they would be.’ Keep reading. [Axios]
“WASHINGTON—President Biden’s immigration agenda suffered a fresh setback Wednesday when the arbiter of Senate rules said that Democrats’ alternative plan for providing a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants in the country illegally couldn’t be included in a $3.5 trillion budget plan moving through Congress.
Democrats had been hoping to use the wide-ranging climate and social-policy package, which they can pass with a simple majority of votes, to enact major immigration changes without Republican votes.
Their initial plan to make about eight million immigrants in the country illegally, including the young immigrants known as Dreamers, eligible for green cards was struck down by Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough earlier this month. Ms. MacDonough informed Democrats Wednesday that their latest effort also wouldn’t be allowed under Senate rules.
To qualify for inclusion in legislation advanced through the process, known as budget reconciliation, any change must have a significant impact on the federal budget that is more than incidental to the policy change being sought. The earlier ruling from Ms. McDonough’s office stated: ‘Changing the law to clear the way to [lawful permanent resident] status is a tremendous and enduring policy change that dwarfs its budgetary impact.’
Following the parliamentarian’s ruling, Democrats pledged to present alternatives they hoped might clear the parliamentarian’s bar.
On Tuesday, they presented to her office a plan to change an existing law known as the Registry, which allows immigrants present in the U.S. before a certain date to apply for a green card no matter how they entered, according to people familiar with the matter. That date is currently set at Jan. 1, 1972. Democrats proposed moving it to 2010.
In a meeting Wednesday, Ms. McDonough indicated she was inclined to rule against the proposal, and the formal ruling came soon after.
In the ruling sent to Senate leadership and seen by The Wall Street Journal, the parliamentarian wrote, ‘The number of beneficiaries and score of this amendment…are largely the same as those of the earlier proposal which does not dramatically shift the balance of policy vs. score.’
The ruling added: ‘The change in status to [lawful permanent resident] remains a life-long change in circumstances, the value of which vastly outweighs its budgetary impact.’
Democrats have tried repeatedly to find a legislative solution to address the status of Dreamers, who were brought to the U.S. as children and have lived in the country illegally.
Some Republicans also support finding a way to grant them legal status, while others are opposed.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“WASHINGTON – Suicide among U.S. troops increased 15% in 2020 from the previous year, a troubling trend that has defied Pentagon initiatives to prevent service members from taking their own lives.
In 2020, 580 troops died by suicide compared with 504 in 2019, according to figures confirmed Wednesday night for USA TODAY by congressional and Defense Department sources. The sources were not authorized to speak publicly about the figures, which the Pentagon plans to release on Thursday.
In 2018, there were 543 suicide deaths among troops. It's not clear why there was a decrease in 2019 followed by a jump in 2020, according to the Defense Department official.
Most of the troops who have died by suicide are young enlisted men, the congressional aide said. The Army has seen a spike in suicide among its soldiers in Alaska, including six suspected suicides in the first five months of 2021. The Army has spent more than $200 million in recent years to improve the quality of life and prevent suicide on its bases in Alaska.” Read more at USA Today
“AT&T reached a labor agreement to require vaccines for tens of thousands of employees.” Read more at New York Times
“YouTube is banning prominent anti-vaxxers and will take down videos that claim such vaccines are dangerous, Axios' Margaret Harding McGill reports.” Read more at Axios
Anti-vax protesters outside the San Diego Unified School District office on Tuesday. Photo: Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images
“A group that represents 90,000 elected school-board members is asking President Biden, the FBI and the Secret Service to protect members facing threats over COVID and critical race theory, Axios' Stef Kight reports.
Why it matters: School boards are suddenly dealing with surges in recall efforts and even physical altercations.
In a letter detailing 20+ examples of violence, harassment and intimidation, the National School Boards Association says the ‘heinous actions’ are ‘a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes.’
NSBA is asking the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to block threatening letters and cyberbullying.
And it's asking the departments of Justice and Homeland Security to take action ‘against these crimes and acts of violence.’
Read the letter ... Share this story. [Axios]
“Klete Keller, a three-time U.S. Olympian in swimming, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a felony charge related to his role in storming the Capitol on Jan. 6 with the intention of stopping the certification of the Electoral College vote.
Keller was indicted on seven charges, but as part of a bargain with prosecutors he pleaded guilty in United States District Court in Washington to one felony count of obstructing an official proceeding before Congress. As part of the agreement, Keller promised to help law enforcement with any continuing investigation into the attack on the Capitol.
More than 600 people have been arrested in relation to the events of Jan. 6, but Keller was one of the most recognizable, because of his 6-foot-6 frame and the fact that he was wearing an Olympic team jacket with ‘USA’ printed across the back.
According to his plea, Keller spent about an hour in the Capitol building on Jan. 6. He yelled expletives about Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker, and Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader; took photographs and video; and ‘jerked his elbow’ to avoid law enforcement officers who were trying to remove him from the building, according to the plea. He later destroyed the phone and a memory card he had with him, according to the plea, and threw away the jacket that had made him so recognizable.” Read more at New York Times
“Corey Lewandowski will no longer oversee a Trump-aligned super PAC after a donor accused him of sexually harassing her.” Read more at New York Times
“The N.C.A.A. will allow its women’s college basketball tournament to use the phrase ‘March Madness,’ previously restricted to the men’s tournament.” Read more at New York Times
“Lobbyists are working to undermine key aspects of Democrats’ $3.5 trillion spending package.
Drug makers, oil and gas firms, tobacco companies and other U.S. industries are complicating President Biden’s efforts to move along his domestic agenda as intraparty divisions threaten its path in a narrowly divided Congress. Business groups are hoping to gut measures that would help pay for the bill by raising billions of dollars from their industries. Some Democrats are closely allied with a number of targeted industries. Energy lobbyists, for example, are seeking help from Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas and other Democrats from oil-producing states. The American Petroleum Institute, a trade group, is fighting tax changes that would cost oil conglomerates billions of dollars by eliminating deductions for tax paid overseas. A coalition that includes AT&T, Home Depot and CVS is running ads in Arizona, New Hampshire and Virginia, pressing centrist Democrats not to raise corporate tax rate. In addition, the CEOs of some major companies that have publicly backed the package’s clean energy standard, such as Apple, belong to a group that is fighting tax measures to help fund it.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“LONDON — Sarah Everard was walking home after visiting a friend in her south London neighborhood when a police officer stopped her. He waved her toward his car, pulled out his police identification card, and swiftly handcuffed her.
It was the middle of a national coronavirus lockdown in March, and the police were charged with enforcing restrictions on movement. The young woman, according to a video of the encounter, did not argue. She got in the car and the officer drove off.
Seven days later, her charred remains were found stuffed in green trash bags in the woods some 60 miles away.
The crime horrified Britain. For any woman who has looked over her shoulder walking home alone, it struck a raw nerve. And even before it was revealed that the killer was a police officer, it raised profound questions about how authorities handle incidents of violence against women and galvanized a national movement demanding better protections.
But the harrowing details of the abduction, rape, and murder of Everard, 33, were only laid out publicly for the first time on Wednesday during the sentencing hearing for the officer, Wayne Couzens. Couzens, who worked for the Metropolitan Police, pleaded guilty to her killing earlier this year.” Read more at Boston Globe
“Fumio Kishida will become the next prime minister of Japan. A former foreign minister who has called for Japan’s missile defenses to be beefed up, Kishida was elected leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Wednesday, assuring his ascent to succeed Yoshihide Suga, who is stepping down after roughly a year.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Ten days into a volcanic eruption on the Spanish island of La Palma, a pyramidlike structure formed on Wednesday just off its coast as lava started pouring into the ocean.
The local authorities called on residents on Wednesday morning to keep their windows shut because a mix of toxic gases and small particles may be released when molten lava comes into contact with cold water. Scientists have also been warning that the chemical reactions between lava and water could cause powerful underwater explosions.
The lava entering the water should be treated as “a very dangerous moment,” said Ángel Víctor Torres, the regional leader of the Canary Islands, an island grouping off northwestern Africa that includes La Palma.” Read more at New York Times
“The US has deported Aleksei Burkov, a Russian hacker who was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2020 for allegedly defrauding Americans to the tune of millions, even as Moscow seems unlikely to crack down on the activities of other cybercriminals.” [Axios] Read more at CNN / Sean Lyngaas
“Tunisia’s new prime minister. Tunisian President Kais Saied appointed Najla Bouden Romdhan as prime minister on Wednesday, making her the first woman in the Arab world to hold such a position. Romdhan is unlikely to have the same power as her predecessors, however, after Saied announced last week that would effectively act as head of government.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Lives Lived: George Malkemus helped turn ‘Manolos’ into a global shoe brand. That they became a leitmotif on “Sex and the City” didn’t hurt. He died at 67.” Read more at New York Times