Month: February 2021

With everything happening, and the focus on fixing things, it has been easy to forget just how much bigger the GOP is than simply Trump. The current crisis in Texas really brings home just how wide that abdication from good governance goes, and it’s an unpleasant but important reminder. I’ve included some ways to help in the roundup this week, in case you want to be a better human being than Ted Cruz.

Standard standing reminders still apply: I am no journalist, though I play one in your inbox or browser, so I’m mostly summarizing the news within my area of expertise. NNR summaries often contain some detailed analysis that’s outside my expertise–I’m a lawyer, not a power grid!–but all offroad adventures are marked with an asterisk. And, of course, for the things that are within my lane, I’m offering context that shouldn’t be considered legal advice. Okay, I think that’s about it for the disclaimers.  Onward to the news!     

Cleanup In Aisle 45

Even after the impeachment acquittal, we still saw some Election Rejection news–we’ll likely keep seeing it weekly as investigations into the Capitol assault continue. Here’s what I have for you:

• Impeachment Aftermath. After the impeachment process created a very clear account of January 6, the House chair of Homeland Security and the NAACP immediately brought a civil suit against Trump for his role in the insurrection. It’s not yet clear whether these materials will also be used to criminally charge Trump, but it’s certainly a strong possibility, especially because the Department of Justice appears to be investigating Roger Stone’s involvement. Additionally, President Biden has signaled that he would be open to creating a commission to investigate as Nancy Pelosi wants to do, and today Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland signaled that investigating the insurrection would be a high priority for him–but more on that last part below.

• Investigation of Capitol Police. Speaking of investigation, news also broke this week that 29 members of the Capitol Police force are being investigated for their role on the ground during the insurrection. Additionally, six officers have already been suspended on the basis of those investigations. This is, of course, in addition to the individuals with military and FBI ties who are already being investigated for their role.

We also saw a bit of movement on the Biden Rebuilding fronts.  Here’s what has happened in the past week: 

• Dismantling the Deportation Machine (cont). President Biden continued momentum on immigration reform this week, issuing new guidance for ICE officers that requires them to prioritize people already convicted of dangerous felonies. Members of Congress petitioned the President to halt deportation to Cameroon entirely, as those deportations are inherently unsafe. Biden also sponsored an immigration bill in Congress that facilitates family-based immigration and creates new pathways to citizenship. It is worth noting that many advocates–including myself–think that these proposed changes fall short of fully protecting immigrant health during the pandemic, but the bill is hopefully the beginning of a much longer conversation.

• Confirmation Tango (Again). We also had more confirmation news this week, and with the easy confirmations over, we’re starting to move onto some interesting ground. Today marked the beginning of Merrick Garland’s confirmation hearing, though this time for Attorney General rather than a Supreme Court vacancy. In his first day, Garland indicated he would prioritize prosecuting white supremacy and protecting American democracy. Meanwhile, Biden’s pick for budget chief, Neera Tanden, has now been opposed by both Democrat-lite Joe Manchin and slightly-more-bipartisan-than-average Republicans Susan Collins and Mitt Romney due to her history of tweeting things about Republicans.

• Policy Resets to Celebrate. We have a few more resets to celebrate this week which seem worth noting here–the biggest one is that the United States has officially rejoined the Paris agreement after Trump dragged us out last year. But we also officially reopened ACA enrollment this week, bringing the marketplace into alignment with President Biden’s executive order last month.

Your New Normal:

• Other Congressional Updates. Democrats revealed the full bill text of their proposed stimulus bill on Friday, which does include a provision increasing the minimum wage to $15 despite Biden’s private comments that it won’t pass.  Meanwhile, President Biden also announced plans today for a more tailored PPP program which will actually prioritize small businesses, which the previous incarnation was notorious for not doing.  And House Democrats introduced a bill which would prohibit LGBT discrimination as an amendment to existing civil rights laws.

The Bad:

• State of the COVID-19.  As has become the norm, there were a lot of COVID ups and downs this week. Our country officially crossed the threshold of 500,000 deaths, a number representing more American losses than both World Wars and the Vietnam War combined and more than a fifth of all deaths worldwide.  We also saw confirmation that the South African variant can re-infect people who had previously been infected with a different variant, and that Pfizer and Moderna have reduced effectiveness against it. Between this and the UK variant, which has been confirmed to be deadlier than the early strains, experts are very concerned about spread in the United States.  Yet infection numbers are still dropping nationally, and a study in Israel suggests vaccination can drive infection rates down dramatically.  In other vaccination news, the AstraZeneca vaccine was approved for distribution, but may be suspended in some places because it is less effective against the South African variant.  Additionally, vaccination efforts have been slowed in some places due to storms caused by the polar vortex, which I’ll talk more about momentarily.

• Crisis in Texas. As an unprecedented winter storm swept through the middle of the country this week, physical and political conditions in Texas created cascading failures the state’s unique power grid. On Monday, millions of homes lost power and heat throughout the state, and over 14,000 households across Texas are still without power as I type this a full week later.  As power was being fixed, millions of homes went under boil water notice as pipes began having issues as well–and several of those homes still had no power with which to boil their water.  Compounding things further, heat prices skyrocketed at the same time, resulting in some Texans receiving heating bills as high as $17,000.  At this point, over fifty people have died, due to the extreme conditions, fires, or carbon monoxide poisoning.  President Biden declared a state of emergency earlier in the week, mobilizing FEMA and sending emergency generators as well.  Mutual aid has been providing a lot of support in the short-term, and several politicians and public figures are fundraising to help; both of those links can connect you to ways to support folks on the ground.  Note, however, that this group of mobilized politicians does not include current Senator Ted Cruz, who instead fled to Cancun and threw his daughters and his dog under the bus on his way there, or former governor and U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, who suggested that the crisis was a necessary sacrifice for Republican ideals.

The Good:

• Recent Court Resilience. We saw some interesting and promising court news this week. On the national stage, the Supreme Court declined to shield Trump’s tax returns from state subpoena, clearing the way for Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr to prosecute him for financial fraud. They also declined to hear a case challenging Pennsylvania’s election results. It’s interesting to note, by the way, that the three justices appointed by Trump all signed onto these decisions–the only person to dissent in either case was Clarence Thomas. And in other happy state law news this week, Virginia officially became the first Southern state to ban the death penalty.

So that’s what I have for this week, and it was more specific than normal but still more than enough. In the interest of engaged readership, however, you still deserve dessert links! I hope you enjoy Gritty snowboarding in Lake Tahoe along with our unquestionably better government.  I’ll be back next week with more restructured and improved news, and I hope you will be back as well–but in the meantime, feel free to ping the National News Roundup ask box, which is there for your constructive comments.  Send me questions! Send me feedback! Send me more animal videos!

Well, the full second impeachment proceeding of Donald Trump occurred over the past week, and it was a front-row seat to just how busted our government still currently is.  There’s a lot to unpack, and we need to be talking about next steps from here as well.

Standard standing reminders still apply: I am no journalist, though I play one in your inbox or browser, so I’m mostly summarizing the news within my area of expertise. NNR summaries often contain some detailed analysis that’s outside my expertise–I’m a lawyer, not an impeachment trial!–but all offroad adventures are marked with an asterisk. And, of course, for the things that are within my lane, I’m offering context that shouldn’t be considered legal advice. Okay, I think that’s about it for the disclaimers.  Onward to the news!     

Cleanup in Aisle 45:

Needless to say, there was a lot of Election Rejection news this week, as most eyes were focused on impeachment. Here’s what I have for you:

• Constitutional Gatekeeping. Day one set the tone of the week with an entire day’s debate about whether the whole thing was constitutional. The impeachment managers showed an opening video that neatly outlined the events of January 6 alongside clear documentation of why constitutionality is not a quality legal defense. Trump’s lawyers, in contrast, uh, did not do that. One mistakenly called himself the prosecution of the impeachment and then praised the managers’ opening, and the other’s argument hinged on “cancel culture” and the Civil War. Eventually, the Senate decided that impeachment could continue by 56-44 vote, and at least one Republican who voted to proceed outright said it was due to the truly abysmal performance of Trump’s legal team. (News outlets reported that Trump was not happy, but thankfully we were all spared another tweet screed on account of he’s banned from Twitter for life.)

• The Impeachment Managers’ Arguments. On Wednesday, the impeachment managers’ case arguments kicked off with truly stunning riot footage, much of which had not been publicly available before it became part of impeachment proceedings.  Essentially, the arguments focused on three stages of Trump’s behavior to show responsibility for the events of January 6:  Trump’s tweets in the months leading up to January 6, which openly invited violence on that specific date; Trump’s inciting speech during early afternoon of January 6, which explicitly directed followers to the capitol and told them “to fight like hell”; and his inaction during the later afternoon of the same day.  His behavior throughout these three stages, the managers suggested, makeTrump singularly responsible for the insurrection attempt. They then concluded on Thursday by noting the horrifying standard of Presidential misconduct created if Trump is not convicted, observing that an acquittal damages democracy and another insurrection attempt could happen if he runs and loses in 2024, especially as he shows no remorse for this one.

• Trump’s Attorney’s Arguments. In contrast, Trump’s lawyers took a hot minute on Friday to reprise a truly impressive array of nonsense defenses from their 78-page brief–claiming that Trump’s incitement is free speech (it isn’t), that he was denied due process (he wasn’t), and that it was “constitutional cancel culture” to impeach Trump (what does that even mean).  Of perhaps more note than the arguments themselves was the fact that three GOP Senators apparently helped the defense team craft them–or at least, the two groups had a private meeting on the eve of the arguments.

• Confusing Saturday Backtrack. Against this backdrop, Saturday was a confusing and disappointing day. Based on potential testimony from a Republican lawmaker–one of several eyewitnesses who could potentially have testified–the Senate voted to call witnesses by a 55-45 vote. But later that day, the impeachment managers made the baffling decision to skip witness testimony even though it had been cleared by the Senate. Ultimately, the Senate voted 57-43 in favor of Trump’s guilt, which was not enough votes to reach a constitutional conviction. It’s worth noting that this was nonetheless the most bipartisan impeachment vote in history, because these numbers include seven Republican senators as well as all 50 Democrats–Sens. Susan Collins (ME), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Mitt Romney (UT), Ben Sasse (NE), Richard Burr (NC), Bill Cassidy (LA) and Patrick J. Toomey (PA) all voted to convict. Adding to the chaos, Mitch McConnell gave an elaborate speech about how incredibly guilty Trump was right after voting to acquit him, saying that the trial was unconstitutional once Trump had stepped down even though McConnell was the one who delayed the trial.

• Impeachment Aftermath. Some consequences of the acquittal–such as Trump yelling about witch hunts–were pretty predictable. But even though conviction was a long shot, the past week raises a lot of questions. At a time when Republicans were already divided, what does it mean that almost a quarter of GOP senators have broken with leadership? What does it mean that three-quarters didn’t? News also broke this week that Georgia is criminally investigating Trump because of his election interference, and the impeachment process created a very clear account of January 6. Will that account be used to criminally charge Trump for his role in the insurrection? What will it mean for the Senate and for Biden’s rebuilding efforts that Democrats backed down from calling witnesses? All of these things bear careful consideration and will likely require advocacy from us; we need to stay engaged over the next few weeks.

We also saw a bit of movement on the Biden Rebuilding fronts.  Here’s what has happened in the past week:  

• Dismantling the Deportation Machine (cont). We did see a bit more movement on this front in the past week, as President Biden officially rescinded the emergency order that authorized building a wall at the U.S. southern border. It’s a continuation of earlier efforts to halt construction, and though it’s certainly not comprehensive on its own, it’s another piece of rebuilding a responsible and humanitarian immigration policy.

Your New Normal:

• Other Congressional Updates.  Though Congress is now on a recess as I type this, we did see some movement worth noting throughout the week.  Bernie Sanders signaled that he’s trying to preserve the $15 minimum wage provision in the stimulus bill, and House Democrats have been working to finalize a version of said bill.  Meanwhile, Democrats are urging President Biden to replace the USPS board of governors, or at least get rid of malicious disaster man Louis DeJoy.  And several lawmakers introduced a bill to address Black maternal health, which is an issue gaining increasing attention as racial health inequities take central stage due to the pandemic. 

The Bad:

• State of the COVID-19.  COVID was a mixed bag for another week.  Several states had embarrassing management moments, as Governor Cuomo’s aide admitted that New York hid nursing home data and Massachusetts landed in the news for accidentally incentivizing elder-bribing for vaccine access.  Meanwhile, new research suggests that the virus may mutate more in patients with autoimmune deficiencies, suggesting that vaccination for these individuals should be a high priority.  The World Health Organization concluded that it was unlikely COVID came from a lab leak in Wuhan, which hopefully will help decrease attacks on Asian-Americans that have been spiking in recent weeks.  The CDC has issued new guidance for safety protocols during schools’ reopen processes, as debates about how much to reopen schools rage on.  And a new CDC study suggests that masks can be made more effective by creating a closer seal, either by wearing a cloth mask over a surgical mask or by improving a cloth mask’s fit.

The Good:

• Vaccination and Transmission News. Just like last week, case, death, and hospitalization rates have all been going down at the national level as well as worldwide. That said, testing rates are also going down, so the drop may be more modest than it looks, and we also need another week to see if Superbowl Sunday created any superspreader events. But even if these gains are modest, President Biden has indicated that he has secured more vaccination doses and the country has enough to vaccinate 300 million people by July.

So that’s what I have for this week, and it was more specific than normal but still more than enough. In the interest of engaged readership, however, you still deserve dessert links! I hope you enjoy this cranky owl along with our unquestionably better government.  I’ll be back next week with more restructured and improved news, and I hope you will be back as well–but in the meantime, feel free to ping the National News Roundup ask box, which is there for your constructive comments.  Send me questions! Send me feedback! Send me your favorite TikTok videos!

Well, the impeachment trial starts in the Senate tomorrow, and if the defense brief is any indication, this should be quite a circus. We’ve been through this rodeo once before, and though it should have a bit less pomp and circumstance this time I’m sure it will be no less ridiculous. Let’s get ready to ruuuumble!

Standard standing reminders still apply: I am no journalist, though I play one in your inbox or browser, so I’m mostly summarizing the news within my area of expertise. NNR summaries often contain some detailed analysis that’s outside my expertise–I’m a lawyer, not an impeachment trial!–but all offroad adventures are marked with an asterisk. And, of course, for the things that are within my lane, I’m offering context that shouldn’t be considered legal advice. Okay, I think that’s about it for the disclaimers.  Onward to the news!

Cleanup In Aisle 45

It’s gonna be a real banner week for Election Rejection news, since the Senate impeachment trial starts tomorrow. Here’s what I have for you:

• Insurrection Attempt Updates.  There was a bit more news about insurrection charges this week. With the latest set of arrests, we’re now up to 198 people charged, and the charges remain very varied. The FBI is also alleging in its documents that the Proud Boys were trying to retaliate against police because they were angry about response to an earlier stabbing incident. It’s still an open question whether anyone will be charged with murder.

• MTG Tapped Out. When I sent out the NNR last week, House Democrats were planning to bring the issue to the House floor if the GOP minority leader doesn’t remove QAnon Lady Marjorie Taylor Greene from several committees. As the week dragged on, despite significant pressure on the issue and some choice words from Mitch McConnell, House minority leader Kevin McCarthy proved unwilling to censure her. So as was foretold by prophecy, the House put it to a vote. Greene ended up removed from her committee appointments by a 230-199 vote, with 11 fellow Republicans voting to remove her.

• Impeachment Update. Needless to say, the biggest story of the bunch is the impeachment trial that starts tomorrow and likely will be over by Friday. Leading into the week, the House asked Trump to testify, and for a hot moment it looked like he might actually do it, but eventually his attorneys made it clear that this wasn’t going to happen. Speaking of his lawyers, they also raised a truly impressive array of nonsense defenses in their 78-page brief–everything from claiming incitement is free speech (spoiler: it isn’t) to claiming the Senate doesn’t have constitutional authority to hold a trial (spoiler: it does). In contrast, the impeachment managers are arguing that Trump’s speeches were singularly responsible for the insurrection attempt. Meanwhile, in a striking and unusual open letter, over 370 Congressional aides described the attack on their workplace that led to the impeachment charges and asked Senators to convict Trump so that he could never hold office again.

We also saw significant movement on the Biden Rebuilding fronts.  Here’s what has happened in the past week:  

• Confirmation Tango (Reprise). We saw a few more noteworthy confirmations this week. Notably, Alejandro Mayorkas was confirmed as the first-ever Latino Secretary of Homeland Security, and it will be interesting to see what he has planned for immigration policy. Meanwhile, Mayo Pete Buttigieg was confirmed as the first openly-gay Secretary of Transportation, and though I’m still not clear on how leading South Bend made him qualified for this, he’ll probably still be better than Elaine Chao. Buttigieg and Mayorkas join Antony Blinken, who was confirmed as Secretary of State the previous week.

• Dismantling the Deportation Machine. I mentioned last week that I want to pay particular attention to how we’re mopping up in the aftermath of the Zero Tolerance policy, and we’ve had further updates on that. President Biden passed several more immigration executive orders on the topic last week, including one that created the anticipated task force to address family separation and two others that order studies of immigration processes. He’s expected to continue to make further changes to enforcement this week such as returning to priority enforcement, and we’re also rejoining the UN Human Rights Council. However, ICE deportations are continuing despite Biden’s order to stop them, and a few outlets noted that ICE contract agreements made by Trump may limit how much Biden can do in the short-term.

Your New Normal: 

• Congressional Updates.   After a week of back-and-forth about the proposed stimulus bill, we have some clarity about the path forward from here.  Now that the Senate rules standoff has ended, we fast-tracked to a stimulus vote by using budget reconciliation to move the bill forward without GOP cooperation.  The House’s version moved forward on Wednesday at President Biden’s urging, and the Senate advanced its own bill early Friday morning.  There continues to be disagreement about who exactly should get stimulus payments and what amount it should be, so we may not see a final bill in the next few days. Meanwhile, the House voted to create fines for members who refuse to undergo security measures when they enter the complex, and within four days two Republicans had been fined.

The Bad:

• State of the COVID-19.  COVID news has some silver linings this week, which I will talk more about below, but there were some low points as well. Testing is apparently declining, which is baffling experts, and the Supreme Court removed restrictions on indoor, in-person worship that were put in place due to severe outbreaks in California.  Experts are also concerned that the Super Bowl may create superspreader events, particularly in the hosting city of Tampa, which is particularly dispiriting when transmission rates had finally been going down nationally.  The first U.S. Congressperson has died of COVID infection.  And finally, the FDA is expected to release guidance on how to deal with new variants.  The move is particularly timely, as the U.K variant is spreading rapidly in the U.S. and South Africa just halted use of one of its vaccines because it did not work on the new local variant.

The Good:

• Vaccination and Transmission News.  Not all of this week’s COVID news is bad, and some of it is pretty promising.  As I mentioned above, case, death, and hospitalization rates have been going down at the national level.  Early studies suggest the Oxford/AstraZenca vaccine is about 67% effective, which is about on par with the Johnson and Johnson findings–and incidentally, Johnson and Johnson is now seeking FDA approval, which means we might soon have a single-dose vaccine.  In the meantime, Moderna is working with the Biden administration to increase vaccine access at pharmacies. Additionally, a new study suggests that recovered COVID patients are likely protected for at least six months after infection.

So that’s what I have for this week, and I’m sure the rodeo will have more clowns by the time we meet again. In the interest of engaged readership, however, you still deserve dessert links! I hope you enjoy these windows into other places along with our unquestionably better government.  I’ll be back next week with more restructured and improved news, and I hope you will be back as well–but in the meantime, feel free to ping the National News Roundup ask box, which is there for your constructive comments.  Send me questions! Send me feedback! Send me assurances that you didn’t have Superbowl guests!