Biden to focus on Covid-19, infrastructure, climate and cybersecurity at Cabinet meeting
By Kate Sullivan President Joe Biden is holding his second full Cabinet meeting on Tuesday to mark six months in office, and is expected to focus the discussion on Covid-19, infrastructure, climate and cybersecurity, a White House official tells CNN. Tuesday will be the first time Biden’s full Cabinet convenes in the Cabinet Room at the White House. The President’s first full in-person Cabinet meeting took place earlier this year in the East Room due to social distancing constraints due to the coronavirus pandemic. The meeting comes as the White House grapples with a recent surge in Covid-19 cases, which
Harris tests negative for Covid-19 following meeting with Texas Democrats who tested positive
By Jasmine Wright Vice President Kamala Harris tested negative for Covid-19 following a meeting with Texas state House Democrats, several of whom later tested positive, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday. An official in the vice president’s office said that Harris’ testing occurred before her “routine doctor’s appointment” at Walter Reed Hospital, not because of the meeting with Texas legislators. Asked whether there was a safety concern related to Harris’ time spent around President Joe Biden, Psaki told reporters at Monday’s press briefing that the vice president was tested and “there was no detection of Covid-19.” “We take
Fight for voting rights intensifies as the nation marks one year since civil rights icon John Lewis’ death
By Nicquel Terry Ellis The fight for voting rights intensified this week with a Black woman lawmaker being arrested while protesting, Texas House Democrats fleeing the state to block Republicans from passing voter restrictions, and Black civil rights leaders blasting President Joe Biden for falling short of their demand to discuss ending the filibuster in his speech. On Friday, 20 Black women organizers met with Vice President Kamala Harris to discuss their concerns about the nationwide assault on voting rights and the urgent need for support from the White House. The leaders of several Black civil rights groups met with
What’s in the restrictive voting bills being pushed by Texas GOP lawmakers?
By Paul LeBlanc Texas Democrats’ dramatic trip to Washington, DC, this week stemmed from uniform opposition to two voting bills being pushed by state GOP lawmakers: Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 3. Even as some controversial provisions in earlier legislation have been dropped, either bill would still bring a raft of new voting restrictions to the Lone Star State. Here’s what you need to know: What’s in Senate Bill 1? Partisan poll watcher protection. Partisan poll watchers would enjoy broad new protection and access in Texas. This includes being “entitled to sit or stand near enough to
Congress is up against the clock on key Biden priorities. Here’s what to watch.
By Paul LeBlanc Congress has just two weeks to ramp up negotiations on a number of key Biden administration agenda items before the end of the current work period threatens to halt any meaningful progress. Legislation addressing the infrastructure, voting rights and police reform will all be top of mind on Capitol Hill this week — though infighting in both parties could imperil, or even unravel, progress on all fronts. House lawmakers specifically will have a chance to cement a significant bipartisan breakthrough on legislation establishing an independent panel to investigate the US Capitol insurrection. Here’s what to watch:
Biden gives an angry cry for action on voting rights but stops short of calling for filibuster reform
By Kevin Liptak, Paul LeBlanc and Kate Sullivan President Joe Biden issued a dire and angry warning Tuesday that the very underpinnings of American democracy were under threat, calling an ongoing assault on voting rights the gravest challenge to American democracy since the Civil War. But he stopped short of embracing changes to Senate procedure that might open the door to new laws protecting those rights, a step activists have said is essential as they urge the President to say and do more on an issue he’s said is the most important of his presidency. The President’s speech in Philadelphia,
Biden looks to avoid immigration headache with complicated decision on opening borders
By Priscilla Alvarez The Biden administration faces the possibility of another immigration headache, as it weighs whether to more widely reopen US borders in the near future — just days from the current travel restrictions expiring. An increase in migrants crossing the US-Mexico border became a political liability earlier this year, overwhelming border facilities and making headlines for poor conditions. Now White House working groups are evaluating whether to extend the 30-day restrictions on nonessential travel, which have been in place since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The latest restrictions, announced in June, will remain in effect until July 21. The
‘Angry and affected’: Young voters in Texas protest restrictive new voting laws
By Rachel Janfaza Young voters and voting rights activists in Texas are protesting potential restrictive new voting laws in the state. Topping their list of concerns, activists say, is a proposal that would stop expansive practices such as drive-through voting and 24-hour voting, which advocates say made it easier for young voters and voters of color to cast their ballot in 2020. “Innovations from election offices provided new opportunity for young voters in 2020,” said Charlie Bonner, the 25-year-old spokesperson for MOVE Texas, a youth voter engagement organization. “We see bans on 24-hour and drive-through voting, which we know were disproportionately
Texas House Democrats leave state to block Republicans from passing voting restrictions
By Eric Bradner, Dianne Gallagher and Paul LeBlanc Texas state House Democrats left the state Monday in an effort to block Republicans from passing a restrictive new voting law in the remaining 27 days of the special legislative session called by Gov. Greg Abbott. Two chartered planes carrying the majority of the Democrats who left Texas for Washington, DC, landed at Dulles International Airport on Monday evening, a source familiar told CNN. They have largely kept their planning secret because they can be legally compelled to return to the state Capitol and believed law enforcement could be sent to track them
Biden to make ‘moral case’ for voting rights in major speech Tuesday
By Paul LeBlanc President Joe Biden will make “the moral case” for voting rights in a highly anticipated speech on Tuesday centered around protecting ballot access in the face of “authoritarian and anti-American” restrictions, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday. Biden will use his remarks in Philadelphia “to make the case to the American people about how this is a fundamental right,” Psaki said. The address from Biden comes in the aftermath of former President Donald Trump’s “Big Lie” that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and as Republican-controlled legislatures have pressed ahead with new state laws imposing limits on voting.