The Big Picture: The Road Ahead |
President Biden is charging ahead with his next big agenda item — a $2 trillion infrastructure plan. But the proposal goes far beyond what’s typically considered built infrastructure, and addresses major climate initiatives as well, like incentivizing the transition from gas-fueled automobiles to electric. And it is likely to hit a brick wall of opposition with congressional Republicans. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky called the plan a “Trojan horse” of liberal priorities after Biden announced it this week. But that didn’t seem to bother the president much. When discussing the proposal — and a strong jobs report — on Friday, Biden struck a confident pose. If Republicans oppose the package en masse, despite measures in it that the White House believes are popular with the American public, then Biden said, “I think Republican voters are going to have a lot to say.” That confidence comes from the popularity of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill that he signed into law despite getting no Republican support — and a jobs report that showed an enormous 916,000 gain. But there are lots of jobs that will take a lot longer to come back. Think of restaurants and dry cleaners, for example, that have closed permanently. The economy does seem on the upswing, but former Obama economic adviser Jason Furman noted in a list of worries that the last 5 million lost jobs to come back “will be harder” and that the trend is “not enough.” Even more economic — and structural — help may very well be needed, he noted, and with little cooperation in Washington, there is only so much partisan legislation can do to fix the problems, which will only spark even more debate among Democrats about doing away with the Senate filibuster. |
— Domenico Montanaro, NPR’s senior political editor/correspondent |
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Capitol police attack: A U.S. Capitol Police officer died on Friday after being wounded in an apparent vehicle attack at a barricade around the Capitol complex. Police say the suspect rammed his car into the officers and then got out and lunged at them with a knife. At least one officer fired at the suspect, who also died, officials said. Biden and the pandemic: A new NPR/Marist poll out this week finds two-thirds of Americans approve of the job President Biden is doing with the pandemic -- including almost a third of Republicans. The poll also showed an uptick in the number of Americans who say they’ll get a COVID-19 vaccine. Biden’s overall approval rating was up to 52%, but on the issue of immigration, just 34% of Americans give him high marks. New judicial nominees: President Biden announced his first batch of judicial nominations this week with a list of 10 judges that puts particular emphasis on diversity. In all, nine of the nominees are women, and nine are people of color. Most have diverse legal experience as well, as defense and prosecution lawyers, and in both criminal and civil practice. Among the nominees was Ketanji Brown Jackson, a federal district court judge who could be a top contender for a seat on the Supreme Court if there is a vacancy in the Biden years. Funding violence prevention: Tucked inside of President Biden’s sweeping $2 trillion jobs and infrastructure plan is a $5 billion proposal to support community-based violence prevention programs. Gun violence prevention advocates are heralding the proposed funding, saying it would be a historic investment in urban communities. The announcement was also a welcome shift for many gun violence prevention advocates, who in the wake of last month’s mass shootings in Boulder, Colo., and greater Atlanta say they were dumbfounded to hear Biden call infrastructure — not reforming the nation's gun laws — his administration's next priority. WHO report controversy: A new report from the World Health Organization this week was meant to help give clarity on the origins of the pandemic. Instead, the report has given new life to a hypothesis that the virus escaped from a biological research lab in Wuhan, China. The Biden administration joined 13 other governments to criticize the WHO report and call for more openness from China, prompting concern from some experts that a hard-charging focus on hypothetical lab accidents might further bog down U.S.-China relations. Gaetz investigation: Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz confirmed reports that he is being investigated by the Department of Justice for sexual misconduct. Gaetz, 38, has denied the allegations, calling them “as searing as they are false.” The New York Times broke the story, reporting that the DOJ was investigating Gaetz over whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old and paid for her to travel with him, possibly violating federal sex-trafficking laws. |
— Jason Breslow, NPR editor |
Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images |
Asylum process overhaul: An enormous backlog of asylum cases is causing the Biden administration to consider restructuring the way the government handles asylum. Currently there are over a million cases on hold which will take years to process, leaving thousands of asylum seekers stranded. "Green New Deal" echoes: Progressive Democrats called Biden’s new infrastructure plan both disappointing and exciting. Although they were excited by the administration's decision to adopt some of the framework of the Green New Deal, they contend that the plan doesn’t go far enough. Changing suburbs: The suburbs, which had been a longtime Republican stronghold, shifted further left with former President Donald Trump on the ballot. The question going into 2022 is whether suburban voters move at all back into the GOP tent, with Trump no longer on the ballot. |
— Claire Oby, NPR Politics intern |
College campuses have relied heavily on cleaning staff to keep their day-to-day functions going during the pandemic. These custodians have had to risk their health and safety in order to maintain clean, virus-free spaces for others. NPR's education team reported on their experiences during the pandemic. |
— Claire Oby, NPR Politics intern |
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