Presented by Facebook Welcome to The Hill’s Morning Report. Today is Thursday! We get you up to speed on the most important developments in politics and policy, plus trends to watch. Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver are the co-creators. Readers can find us on Twitter @asimendinger and @alweaver22. Please recommend the Morning Report to friends and let us know what you think. CLICK HERE to subscribe! Total U.S. coronavirus deaths reported each morning this week: Monday, 513,091; Tuesday, 514,657; Wednesday, 516,608; Thursday, 518,453. Senate Democrats on Wednesday took a scalpel to President Biden Joe Biden The West needs a more collaborative approach to Taiwan Abbott's medical advisers were not all consulted before he lifted Texas mask mandate House approves George Floyd Justice in Policing Act MORE ’s $1.9 trillion relief bill hoping to surgically ensure enough support from centrists this week to clear the measure, already passed by the House. Biden and Senate allies say they’re willing to be less generous with the bill’s income cutoffs for proposed $1,400 federal direct payments to higher-income individuals and families ( The Hill and The New York Times ). The Hill : Senate Democrats cut deals to gain votes for COVID-19 relief measure. The Senate is moving with the pace of a cooling saucer and hopes for a final vote later this week ( Reuters ), while the House on Wednesday suddenly accelerated its floor schedule to approve sweeping voting and police reform bills and canceled plans for votes today amid new security threats involving the Capitol ( The Hill ). Law enforcement and intelligence officials warned that extremists threaten to attack the Capitol today based on a convoluted and false belief that former President Trump Donald Trump House passes voting rights and elections reform bill DEA places agent seen outside Capitol during riot on leave Georgia Gov. ...
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Team Biden surprises with positive vaccine news
President Biden Joe Biden The West needs a more collaborative approach to Taiwan Abbott's medical advisers were not all consulted before he lifted Texas mask mandate House approves George Floyd Justice in Policing Act MORE dramatically changed expectations on the supply of vaccines and the trajectory of the country’s comeback from the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday in announcing there will be enough coronavirus vaccines for all American adults by the end of May. On Wednesday, government officials described a process that seemed to surprise them for how swiftly it came together. The previous target for producing that much vaccine had been July. They said it wasn’t a decision that was taken lightly but said it was guided by facts and fast-moving events. ADVERTISEMENT “We are not in a habit of overpromising, and therefore even as of several weeks ago, before such time as the approval of Johnson & Johnson, the president was talking about moving up the date until the end of July,” White House senior adviser on COVID-19 response Andy Slavitt told reporters in response to a question from The Hill. “This is truly a story where there are no bad guys, there’s only good actors here. Everybody got together and found ways to bring forward the timeline so we can get Americans fully vaccinated and into a very different place and a very different part of the pandemic,” Slavitt said. The breakthrough came after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency use authorization for Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, marking the third approved coronavirus vaccine in the U.S. Vaccine manufacturer Merck, a competitor of Johnson & Johnson, then agreed to help manufacture the newly approved vaccine to double its U.S. capacity, a move brokered by the Biden White House. When Biden took over on Jan. 20, Johnson & Johnson was running behind and the administration didn’t think there would be enough of the vaccine ...
Democrats snipe on policy, GOP brawls over Trump
Newly empowered Democrats are split over a $15 minimum wage hike, the president’s war powers and other policy issues, while distracted by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Andrew Cuomo Democratic NY legislator: Sexual harassment allegations show 'clear pattern of Cuomo's abuse of power' Lawyer for former Cuomo aide blasts 'falsehoods' at briefing As Trump steps back in the spotlight, will Cuomo exit stage left? MORE ’s (D) harassment scandal, which worsens by the day. Republicans are having a full-blown existential crisis as former President Trump Donald Trump House passes voting rights and elections reform bill DEA places agent seen outside Capitol during riot on leave Georgia Gov. Kemp says he'd 'absolutely' back Trump as 2024 nominee MORE and his allies look to banish GOP lawmakers who rebuked him after a pro-Trump mob attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6. Two months into the 117th Congress, leaders in both parties are fighting to iron out internal divisions within their own ranks. But the breadth and scale of their difficulties occupy different universes. While the Democrats are sniping over specific provisions of their policy agenda, Republicans are battling to prevent a full-scale civil war from cleaving the party for years to come. ADVERTISEMENT Republicans “are struggling with craziness. They are struggling with insurrectionists,” Congressional Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal Pramila Jayapal Democrats snipe on policy, GOP brawls over Trump House Democrats' ambitious agenda set to run into Senate blockade Progressives push White House to overturn wage ruling MORE (D-Wash.) told The Hill on Tuesday. “And we are struggling with how to get aid to the maximum number of people and lift people up across the country.” The disparate intraparty clashes are a consequence of an extraordinary few months that saw Trump lose the election, refuse to acknowledge defeat, encourage thousands ...
Biden convenes bipartisan meeting on cancer research
President Biden Joe Biden The West needs a more collaborative approach to Taiwan Abbott's medical advisers were not all consulted before he lifted Texas mask mandate House approves George Floyd Justice in Policing Act MORE on Wednesday met with a bipartisan group of lawmakers to discuss investments in cancer research and treatment, a personal cause for the 46th president that he has vowed to make a priority of his administration. "We can make significant strides in fighting cancer and Alzheimer's and other diseases if we take a slightly different approach. And what I want to talk to them about today is how we go about taking advantage of the work they’ve done to get us where we are today," Biden said at the top of the White House meeting. "Because I think we’re on the cusp of some real breakthroughs across the board on cancer. And that’s what we’re going to talk about. And probably to all of you, like all of us, cancer is personal for almost everybody," he continued. "It’s probably the one word that’s the most frightening word in the English language to people. When you hear that c-word, cancer. It is just devastating." ADVERTISEMENT Biden has long supported cancer research efforts, and has spoken at length about the personal toll the disease has taken on his family. His son, Beau Biden, died of brain cancer in 2015 at the age of 46. Biden oversaw the Cancer Moonshot during the Obama administration, and the Biden Cancer Initiative launched in 2017 as a vehicle to bring together researchers and share data. The initiative suspended operations after Biden announced his White House bid in 2019. Attendees at Wednesday's meeting included Vice President Harris and lawmakers in both parties who were part of efforts to pass the 21st Century Cures Act during the Obama administration. The legislation authorized billions of dollars in funding for the National Institutes of Health to conduct research on cancer and other diseases. Sens. ...
Greg Abbott: Joe Biden ‘Recklessly’ Freeing Coronavirus-Positive Illegal Aliens into Texas
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says President Joe Biden is “recklessly releasing” illegal aliens into the state of Texas after they have tested positive for the Chinese coronavirus. A report by NBC News this week confirmed that Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is releasing border crossers into the U.S. interior who then are testing positive for the coronavirus. Even after border crossers test positive, they are not required to quarantine. Abbott, in a statement on Wednesday evening, wrote that the Biden administration “must immediately end” the Catch and Release policy. “The Biden Administration is recklessly releasing hundreds of illegal immigrants who have COVID into Texas communities,” Abbott wrote in a post. “The Biden Admin. must IMMEDIATELY end this callous act that exposes Texans & Americans to COVID.” The Biden Administration is recklessly releasing hundreds of illegal immigrants who have COVID into Texas communities. The Biden Admin. must IMMEDIATELY end this callous act that exposes Texans & Americans to COVID. — Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) March 3, 2021 In Brownsville, Texas, DHS is sending border crossers into the community where local health officials then must test them. Regardless of a negative or positive test result, the border crossers are allowed to continue traveling into the U.S. interior — many heading to Maryland, New Jersey, and North Carolina. Since Brownsville officials started testing released border crossers, about 6.3 percent or nearly 110 have tested positive for the coronavirus and are sent on their way. Similarly, Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) called Biden’s Catch and Release policy an “anti-America First and anti-science” iniative. “Illegal aliens with COVID-19 are being caught and then released into the United States,” Brooks wrote in a post. “This is anti-America First and anti-Science. Socialist Dems have built a wall around the Capitol to protect themselves, but won’t protect you!” Illegal ...
