Political Wire

Abbott Asks Other States to Help Texas on Covid

August 10, 2021 at 3:10 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Associated Press: “Gov. Greg Abbott appealed for out-of-state help to fight the third wave of COVID-19 in Texas while two more of the state’s largest school districts announced mask mandates in defiance of the governor.”

“Abbott’s request Monday came as a county-owned hospital in Houston raised tents to accommodate their COVID-19 overflow.”

“The Republican governor has directed the Texas Department of State Health Services to use staffing agencies to find additional medical staff from beyond the state’s borders as the delta wave began to overwhelm its present staffing resources.”

Senate Advances $3.5 Trillion Reconciliation Plan

August 10, 2021 at 12:40 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Less than an hour after passing a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, the Senate advanced consideration of a $3.5 trillion budget plan on a 50-49 vote.

For members: Get Ready for an Insane Couple of Months

Cuomo Resigns

August 10, 2021 at 12:12 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) resigned after the state attorney general said he violated sexual harassment laws, the New York Times reports.

Cuomo called for a “seamless” transition as Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) takes over.

It’s a remarkable turn of events for a governor who was hailed a national leader just a year ago during the coronavirus pandemic.

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Trump Blasts McConnell Over Infrastructure Bill

August 10, 2021 at 12:02 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former President Trump slammed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as “overrated” due to his support of the bipartisan infrastructure package, The Hill reports.

Said Trump: “Nobody will ever understand why Mitch McConnell allowed this non-infrastructure bill to be passed. He has given up all of his leverage for the big whopper of a bill that will follow.”

He added: “I have quietly said for years that Mitch McConnell is the most overrated man in politics—now I don’t have to be quiet anymore.”

Senate Passes Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan

August 10, 2021 at 11:46 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The Senate passed a roughly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal, a significant win for President Biden and the first step on his top legislative priority.

Washington Post: “The 69-30 vote follows weeks of turbulent private talks and fierce public debates that sometimes teetered on collapse, as the White House labored alongside Democrats and Republicans to achieve the sort of deal that had eluded them for years.”

New York Times: “The measure now faces a potentially rocky and time-consuming path in the House, where the speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and the nearly 100-member Progressive Caucus, have said they will not vote on it unless and until the Senate passes a separate, even more ambitious $3.5 trillion social policy bill this fall.”

Axios: “But the large margin of votes for the bill — 19 Senate Republicans voted in favor, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell — could make it harder for House progressives to dismiss outright.”

Herschel Walker’s Wife May Have Voted Illegally

August 10, 2021 at 10:50 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Potential Republican U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker and his wife live in Texas, but she voted in Georgia’s election for president last fall.”

“State law determines residency based on where a voter’s ‘habitation is fixed,’ and those who move to another state with the intention of making it their residence lose their eligibility to vote in Georgia.”

Marjorie Taylor Greene Nears Permanent Twitter Ban

August 10, 2021 at 10:49 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Vice News: “Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Twitter account has been suspended for a week for posting COVID-19 misinformation, and the Georgia congresswoman is just one more violation away from a permanent ban.”

Democrats’ Two-Bill Plan Looks Like a Winner

August 10, 2021 at 10:11 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Jonathan Bernstein: “Of course, given the tiny margins Democrats hold in both chambers, it wouldn’t take a large faction to derail things. One stubborn senator, or fewer than half a dozen representatives, will do.”

“Still, there are no obvious dealbreaker provisions so far, it seems like Democrats in both chambers want to make this work and the two-bill plan provides incentives for everyone to stay on board. And while the size of the bill may make some moderate liberals nervous, it also means that there are a lot of Democrats with something they really want in one bill or the other.”

Most Republicans Not Worried About Delta Variant

August 10, 2021 at 10:10 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Civiqs poll finds that only 14% of Republicans surveyed are very worried or somewhat worried about the Delta Covid-19 variant.

Meanwhile, 49% of independents and 87% of Democrats are worried.

Workers Quitting at Historic Rate

August 10, 2021 at 9:45 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Quits as a percentage of total separations — which includes layoffs, firings and retirements — reached 69.3% in June. This measure, also known as the “take this job and shove it” indicator is at an all-time high, Axios reports.

All U.S. Population Growth Coming from Minorities

August 10, 2021 at 9:44 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “For the first time in the history of the country’s census taking, the number of White people in the United States is widely expected to show a decline when the first racial breakdowns from the 2020 Census are reported this week.”

“For five years now, the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual updates of the 2010 Census have estimated that the nation’s White population is shrinking, and all population growth has been from people of color.”

Said demographer William Frey: “Twenty years ago if you told people this was going to be the case, they wouldn’t have believed you. The country is changing dramatically.”

SALT Fight Headed for Reconciliation Showdown

August 10, 2021 at 9:18 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Bloomberg: “The budget blueprint for that package, released by Senate Democrats on Monday, explicitly provided for making the SALT deduction more generous.”

“They argue it prompts wealthier people to move to low-tax places like Florida and Texas, which hurts their state’s ability to fund robust social services, an issue that should be a concern to both moderates and progressives.”

“Liberals counter that the deduction aids higher-income taxpayers, and shouldn’t be a priority given greater need to enhance federal support for lower-income families in the social-spending focused bill. It would cost hundreds of billions of dollars to restore the write-off to pre-Trump levels, with more than half of those benefits flowing to households earning at least $1 million.”

Biden Will Release Select 9/11 Classified Documents

August 10, 2021 at 9:16 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “The Biden administration, under pressure from families of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, said on Monday that it intended to disclose some long-classified documents that the families think could detail connections between the government of Saudi Arabia and the hijackers who carried out the attacks.”

Dominion Sues Newsmax and OANN

August 10, 2021 at 9:05 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“One of the largest voting-machine compa-nies in the U.S. on Tuesday sued two conservative media net-works and a businessman it said had defamed it by spreading accusations that it rigged the 2020 election for President Biden,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Dominion Voting Systems filed suits against Newsmax Media Inc. and Herring Networks Inc.’s One America News Network. Dominion also sued Patrick Byrne, the former chief executive of Overstock.com Inc., an online seller of furniture and other goods.”

Bush Administration Hid Attack on Dick Cheney

August 10, 2021 at 8:01 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The Bush administration hid the truth about an attack targeting Vice President Dick Cheney, amid fears it was losing the war, the Washington Post reports.

After Pelosi

August 10, 2021 at 7:14 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The Atlantic says that Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to retire in the “not-so-distant future” and many are looking to Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) as the next speaker of the House.

House Progressives May Ransom Infrastructure Bill

August 10, 2021 at 7:11 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Jonathan Chait: “It’s not unusual for progressive Democrats to threaten to withhold their votes in an effort to win concessions. They make these threats all the time, and almost always have to go along in the end with whatever deal the moderates have signed onto. But this time, progressives have real leverage.”

“The progressive goal shouldn’t be to sink the infrastructure bill or even to alter it, but to pressure moderate Democrats to support the reconciliation bill. The House progressives have been demanding a vote on the reconciliation bill before passing the infrastructure bill, but the sequence itself is probably not the important thing. What matters is getting private assurances on the contours of a deal from the moderates before the left supplies the votes to pass the infrastructure bill.”

Senators Get Antsy for Recess

August 10, 2021 at 7:07 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Playbook: “It’s about time. After months of haggling, the chamber is expected to pass the BIF today at 11 a.m., then move fairly quickly to consider Democrats’ $3.5 trillion budget resolution. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer indicated late Monday night that he thought both sides would agree to forgo the 50 allowable hours of debate. That would allow the chamber to start their vote-a-rama today and get out of town ASAP.”

“But it’s the Senate, y’all. And all it takes is one senator to slow things down.”

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