Here’s how U.S. infrastructure compares to the rest of the world
The White House has framed investments in infrastructure as a matter of ensuring the nation’s global competitiveness, highlighting in its $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan how the nation’s economy is the world’s largest — and yet its infrastructure ranks No. 13.
“We’re in competition with China and other countries to win the 21st century,” Biden said. “We’re at a great inflection point in history.”
How does America’s infrastructure compare to that of other countries?
The Bidens’ younger dog is back at the White House after additional training, and a cat is ‘waiting in the wings’
Major, the first couple’s younger German shepherd, who was involved in a couple of biting incidents, has returned to the White House, and a cat is now “waiting in the wings,” first lady Jill Biden said in an interview broadcast Friday.
“He is such a sweet, lovable dog,” Jill Biden said of Major, one of two dogs the Bidens brought with them to the White House, during an appearance on NBC’s “Today” show.
“I’ll take you to meet him,” Jill Biden said to interviewer Craig Melvin. “He’s probably outside now.”
Nearly three weeks ago, the White House said that Major had been sent to a Washington-area trainer to “help him adjust to life in the White House” following biting incidents involving a Secret Service agent and a member of the National Park Service.
Part of the training involved interacting with cats, Jill Biden said in the Friday interview.
“They took him into a shelter with cats ... and he did fine,” she said.
A family cat is now “waiting in the wings,” Jill Biden said.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said last month that a cat was on the way but that she could not offer a timetable on the pet’s arrival.
“We know that the cat will break the Internet, but I don’t have any update on its status,” Psaki said at a news briefing.
Analysis: Biden’s big-spending agenda, brought to you by the Trump era
Biden on Wednesday laid out his latest proposal for a massive increase in government spending, pushing the $1.8 trillion American Families Plan. The proposal brings the price tag of his three biggest initiatives so far to about $6 trillion — what would be the biggest expansion in government spending in decades, if not since President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal.
They have themselves to blame, in large measure.
Biden defends plan to ‘invest’ ahead of trip to Philadelphia to tout proposed rail spending
Biden defended his plan for major government investments in infrastructure during an interview broadcast Friday morning, hours before he was scheduled to head to Philadelphia to help celebrate Amtrak’s 50th anniversary and tout proposals to invest $80 billion in rail service.
During a segment of NBC’s “Today” show, Biden was pressed on Republican criticisms that he wants to spend too much on infrastructure and education, among other priorities he outlined in Wednesday’s address to Congress, at a time when the economy is still recovering.
“That’s the reason why it’s recovering, because we’re investing,” Biden said, citing the $1.9 coronavirus relief package passed by Congress last month that included direct stimulus checks to most Americans. “If we don’t invest in this country, we’re going to fall behind even further.”
Biden was asked if his latest plans — which together call for roughly another $4 trillion in spending — represent a return to “big government.”
“I don’t have any inordinate faith in government, but there are certain things only the government can do,” he said, suggesting that the private sector was not going to spend sufficiently on highways, ports, airports and bridges. “These are the things that only government can really do.”
Analysis: Momentum is growing for changing the way the military handles sexual assault
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) is admitting to a rare thing in politics. She’s changed her mind on a key issue regarding the way the military justice system handles sexual assault – and it might lead to bipartisan agreement that will facilitate a radical shift in military law.
The lone Senate Republican who is a female combat veteran introduced bipartisan legislation on Thursday with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) to remove prosecutorial decisions involving sexual assault cases in the military from the chain of command, and into the hands of independent military prosecutors.
Ernst appeared alongside an unlikely bipartisan smattering of lawmakers yesterday to roll out the bill, including Gillibrand, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn). As of last night, the bill already has 46 co-sponsors, and Ernst believes that will grow to 60 by next week.
All K-12 schools ‘probably’ should be open by fall; ‘tough call’ on whether to require military vaccinations, Biden says
Biden said in an interview broadcast Friday that all K-12 schools should “probably” be open for in-person learning in the fall and that it will be a “tough call” to decide whether to require military personnel to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Biden’s comments came during a wide-ranging interview on NBC’s “Today” show in which he also blamed his administration’s handling of a surge of migrants at the southern border in part on the Trump administration and issued a stern warning for parents in Central America not to send their children on the treacherous journey to the United States.
Asked by NBC’s Craig Melvin if all K-12 schools in the country should be open for in-person, five-days-a-week instruction in the fall, Biden said, “Based on science and the CDC, they should probably all be open.”
He added that there’s “not overwhelming evidence there’s much of a transmission” among children of that age.
Biden was less definitive when asked by Melvin about whether he would require military personnel to be vaccinated.
“I don’t know. I’m going to leave that to the military,” Biden said at first, before adding: “I’m not saying I won’t.”
“I think it’s going to be a tough call as to whether or not they should be required to have to get it in the military because you’re in such close proximity with other military personnel,” Biden said.
During the interview, Biden also continued to resist labeling the situation at the border as “a crisis” and argued that his administration is doing a better job now coping with the influx of migrants, particularly unaccompanied children.
He said the failure of the Trump administration “to have a real transition” was partly to blame, saying, “They didn’t plan for the overflow.”
Biden also warned parents not to send their children to the border.
“Do not send your kids, period,” Biden said. “They’re in jeopardy making that thousand-mile trek.”
Harris heading to Ohio to discuss plans to boost spending on public transit
Vice President Harris plans to travel to Ohio for a roundtable discussion Friday on Biden’s plans to significantly boost spending on public transit.
Her visit to Cincinnati is part of a concerted effort by the White House to promote Biden’s spending plans outlined in his address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday.
While Harris is in Ohio, her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, has a series of events planned in North Carolina to promote Biden’s infrastructure plans.
He will be joined at points by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) and Democratic members of the North Carolina congressional delegation.
Biden to tout infrastructure plans at Amtrak anniversary celebration in Philadelphia
Biden plans to travel to Philadelphia on Friday to join Amtrak in celebrating its 50th anniversary and promote his sweeping $2 trillion infrastructure package, which would spend $80 billion on improving rail service throughout the country.
Biden is scheduled to appear at the William H. Gray III 30th Street Station in Philadelphia as part of what the White House is dubbing the “Getting America Back on Track Tour” in the wake of his address Wednesday to a joint session of Congress. In his speech, Biden detailed an array of spending plans that he and other senior administration officials are now touting in appearances around the United States.
According to a White House fact sheet, “President Biden is calling on Congress to invest $80 billion to address Amtrak’s repair backlog; modernize the high-traffic Northeast Corridor; improve existing corridors and connect new city pairs; and enhance grant and loan programs that support passenger and freight rail safety, efficiency, and electrification.”
Biden is no stranger to Amtrak service. As a senator from Delaware, he famously commuted daily to Washington, garnering the nickname “Amtrak Joe.”
Following his speech in Delaware, Biden is scheduled to return home to Wilmington, Del., where he plans to spend the weekend.
Fact Checker: Why are Republicans touting parts of Biden’s covid relief plan?
Not a single Republican lawmaker voted for the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, Biden’s coronavirus relief package that doled out $1,400 checks for many Americans and provided aid to state and local governments, restaurants and businesses. The bill passed with only narrow majorities, each party stuck in its own corner.
Biden’s bill came just weeks after Congress had passed a coronavirus relief package under President Donald Trump, so many Republicans argued it was too much, too soon. Of course, one cannot discount the idea that a change in presidents might have also had something to do with their votes.
Nevertheless, Republicans have been touting elements of the bill on Twitter and in news releases. Any big bill is going to have elements in it that might have, in other circumstances, won the support of lawmakers. Moreover, it might be worth letting constituents know about the potential largesse available from the federal government.
Biden says America not racist but history of slavery, Jim Crow laws must be addressed
Biden said Thursday that he does not think America is a racist country but that African Americans are “so far behind the eight ball” in opportunities because of the country’s history that includes slavery and Jim Crow-era laws.
His comments came during an interview with NBC’s “Today” show, portions of which aired Thursday night ahead of the full broadcast on Friday morning. Biden was asked by NBC’s Craig Melvin whether he agreed with Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who said in response to Biden’s address to Congress on Wednesday that “America is not a racist country.”
“No, I don’t think the American people are racist,” Biden said. “But I think after 400 years, African Americans have been left in a position where they’re so far behind the eight ball in terms of education, health, in terms of opportunity.”
“I don’t think America’s racist, but I think the overhang from all of the Jim Crow [laws], and before that slavery, have had a cost, and we have to deal with it,” Biden added, referring to laws passed by state legislature to enforce racial segregation in the South that was enforced through the mid-1960s in some cases.
During the official GOP response to Biden on Wednesday, Scott, the only Black Republican member of the Senate, suggested that liberals are using race as a political weapon, defining all White people as oppressors and seeking to use the language of civil rights to rig elections.
“Hear me clearly: America is not a racist country,” Scott said. “It’s backwards to fight discrimination with different types of discrimination. And it’s wrong to try to use our painful past to dishonestly shut down debates in the present.”
Florida legislature approves measure that curbs mail voting and use of drop boxes
Florida’s legislature on Thursday night became the latest to approve far-reaching legislation imposing new rules on voting and new penalties for those who do not follow them, passing a measure that critics said would make it harder for millions of voters to cast ballots in the Sunshine State.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who named voting security one of his top legislative priorities this year, said late Thursday on Fox News that he “of course” would sign the bill.
Like similar bills Republicans are pushing in dozens of state legislatures across the country, the Florida measure adds hurdles to voting by mail, restricts the use of drop boxes and prohibits any actions that could influence those standing in line to vote, which voting rights advocates said is likely to discourage nonpartisan groups from offering food or water to voters as they wait in the hot Florida sun.
Analysis: American politics is getting more European
Biden is trying to turn the page on four decades of American economic orthodoxy.
“My fellow Americans, trickle-down economics has never worked,” he declared Wednesday, during a speech marking his first 100 days in office, in which he championed bills for trillions of dollars in government spending. “It’s time to grow the economy from the bottom and middle out.”
Biden is presiding over a generational transition in economic thinking. It’s a shift that may also shake up the country’s political coordinates: Democrats are more aggressively seeking to build the kind of social democracy that exists in many European countries, where access to health care and education is more equitable and the safety net far deeper.
FBI warned Giuliani, key Trump ally in Senate of Russian disinformation campaign targeting Biden
The FBI warned Rudolph W. Giuliani in late 2019 that he was the target of a Russian influence operation aimed at circulating falsehoods intended to damage Biden politically ahead of last year’s election, according to people familiar with the matter.
The warning was part of an extensive effort by the bureau to alert members of Congress and at least one conservative media outlet, One America News, that they faced a risk of being used to further Russia’s attempt to influence the election’s outcome, said several current and former U.S. officials. All spoke on the condition of anonymity because the matter remains highly sensitive.
Giuliani received the FBI’s warning while deeply involved with President Donald Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign and related attempts in Ukraine to surface unflattering or incriminating information about the Biden family.
Sen. Tim Scott’s comments on race ignite a fiery debate
Republicans rallied Thursday behind comments on race made by Sen. Tim Scott as part of his response to Biden’s address to Congress, embracing what they hoped was an effective message in the ongoing debate over the role of racism in America that has sometimes left them struggling to articulate a clear position.
Scott, delivering the official GOP response Wednesday, suggested that liberals are using race as a political weapon, defining all White people as oppressors and seeking to use the language of civil rights to rig elections.
“Hear me clearly: America is not a racist country,” Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, said in the televised GOP rebuttal to Biden’s speech. “It’s backwards to fight discrimination with different types of discrimination. And it’s wrong to try to use our painful past to dishonestly shut down debates in the present.”
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