Biden Adviser: Americans Need COVID Relief; Ten GOP Senators Propose Compromise Plan

BY JACK CROWE

February 01, 2021

Good morning and welcome to the News Editor's Roundup, a weekly newsletter that will ensure you're up to date on the developments in politics, business, and culture that will shape the week's news cycle — as well as those that might escape mainstream attention.

Biden Adviser: Americans Need COVID Relief, 'Couldn't Care Less' About Filibuster, Procedural Concerns

Jared Bernstein, a member of President Biden's Council of Economic Advisers, claimed Sunday that Americans "really couldn't care less" about what process lawmakers use to pass another round of COVID-19 relief legislation, as long as it is passed.

"Look, the American people really couldn't care less about budget process, whether it's regular order, bipartisanship, whether it's filibuster, whether it's reconciliation," Bernstein told Fox News Sunday.

People "need relief and they need it now," he added.

Ten GOP Senators Propose COVID-19 Compromise Plan, Will Meet with Biden

Ten Republican senators on Sunday proposed their own framework for a COVID-19 relief package and are expected to meet with Joe Biden on Monday to get his input on the legislation.

The framework aims to create a smaller, more targeted $600 billion relief bill in comparison to Biden's sweeping $1.9 trillion proposal.

The new proposal includes $160 billion for vaccine development and distribution, testing and tracing, and treatment and supplies, including the production and deployment of personal protective equipment. It includes an additional $4 billion to support behavioral health and substance abuse services and another round of direct payments for "families who need assistance the most."

Adam Kinzinger Starts PAC to Resist 'Trump-First' GOP

Representative Adam Kinzinger (R., Il.) launched a new PAC on Sunday aimed at loosening former President Trump's hold on the Republican party.

"Someone needs to tell the truth…the Republican Party has lost its way," Kinzinger says in a six-minute video for the PAC, called Country First. Calling the January 6 riot at the Capitol "the sort of thing that happens in a failed nation, or a banana republic," Kinzinger urged Republicans to reject "the politics of personality, and cast aside the conspiracy theories and the rage."

Trump Parts With Impeachment Defense Lawyers Less Than Two Weeks before Trial

All five of former president Donald Trump's impeachment lawyers have left his legal team less than two weeks before his second impeachment trial is set to begin, according to reports.

CDC Issues Sweeping Public-Transportation Mask Mandate

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a sweeping order Friday evening requiring travelers to wear face masks on most forms of public transportation in an effort to slow the rising number of coronavirus cases across the country.

Travelers and commuters will be required to don a face mask on all airplanes, ships, trains, subways, buses, taxis, and ride-shares. Masks must also be worn while waiting, boarding, traveling, and disembarking at airports, bus or ferry terminals, train and subway stations, and seaports. The order applies to "all passengers on public conveyances" traveling to or within the U.S.

Push for Permanent Fencing at Capitol Meets Opposition

A push by law enforcement for permanent fencing around the U.S. Capitol following the violence on January 6 has been met with opposition from lawmakers and the public, with critics arguing that fencing off "The People's House" would send the wrong message to voters and the world.

Acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman on Thursday proposed installing permanent fencing around the Capitol building, which was fenced off following the deadly riot earlier this month by Trump supporters, who pushed past the Capitol Police and marauded through the halls of Congress.

Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser quickly shot down the idea, saying the city will "not accept extra troops or permanent fencing as a long-term fixture in DC."

Washington Threatens Wall Street with Action after GameStop Trading Restrictions

Washington is considering launching congressional hearings into Wall Street following a scramble of social-media-driven trading activity this week that caused GameStop and several other formerly obscure stocks to spike.

House Financial Services Committee chair Maxine Waters and incoming Senate Banking Committee chair Sherrod Brown, both Democrats, said their committees will each hold hearings to scrutinize the situation.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said Friday that it is reviewing moves made by brokerages that may "disadvantage investors or otherwise unduly inhibit their ability to trade certain securities."

Republican Jewish Coalition Rebukes Rep. Taylor Greene's 'Indefensible' Jewish Space Laser Theory

The Republican Jewish Coalition on Friday once again denounced Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R., Ga.), calling her newly surfaced anti-Semitic conspiracy theory comments "indefensible and unacceptable."

#JewishSpaceLasers began trending on Twitter on Thursday after Media Matters unearthed a 2018 Facebook post in which Greene made unfounded claims about the cause of California's wildfires. She alleged that the Rothschilds, a wealthy Jewish banking family that is frequently the subject of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, may have used a laser beam from space to spark a forest fire in order to profit from it.

"We rightly opposed Marjorie Taylor Greene in her primary election for Congress and proudly supported her GOP opponent, Dr. John Cowan," RJC director Matt Brooks said, according to the Times of Israel.