Here’s the latest for Wednesday December 23rd: Trump suggests he might not sign COVID relief bill; Trump pardons 15 people; Surgeon General observes vaccine rollout in Chicago; California Gov. names Senate replacement for Kamala Harris.
AP
This week, USA TODAY Politics focuses on the run-up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration and the effort in Congress to get through a fresh round of COVID-19 economic relief.
Dates to watch:
Jan. 6: Congress will count and certify the electoral results in a joint session.
Jan. 20: Inauguration of Biden, who will take the oath of office.
Be sure to refresh this page often to get the latest information on the transition.
President-elect Joe Biden introduced Wednesday his nominee to lead the Education Department, Miguel Cardona, as someone trusted with the experience to reopen schools safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Biden said he will ask Congress to provide funding for more testing, safety equipment such as ventilation, and funding for teachers as part of his goal to reopen most schools within his first 100 days in office.
Biden said Cardona, the Connecticut education commissioner, assured that every student could engage in remote learning through steps such as providing 140,000 laptops. Cardona later secured funding for masks, Plexiglas and testing to reopen schools safely, Biden said.
“That’s the vision, resolve and initiative that are all going to help us contain this pandemic and reopen the schools safely,” Biden said.
Cardona, whose grandparents moved from Puerto Rico, was born in public housing and grew up to attend public schools, teach in them and become an administrator in his local district.
“That is the power of America,” Cardona said. “I, being bilingual and bicultural, am as American as apple pie and rice and beans. For me, education was the great equalizer.”
Cardona warned of challenges ahead, including difficult opportunities for people of color or with lower incomes. But he said while education is sometimes known as a flor pálida, or wilted rose, the country has no higher duty than to build better paths through education for the next generation.
“We must be the master gardeners who cultivate it,” Cardona said.
— Bart Jansen
Pelosi calls for Christmas Eve vote to raise COVID stimulus payments to $2,000
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is pushing for a Christmas Eve vote on a proposal raising the amount of direct payments included in the just-passed COVID stimulus bill from $600 to $2,000 putting pressure on Republicans to follow President Donald Trump’s demand that Congress increase the amount.
In a letter to fellow House Democrats Wednesday morning, Pelosi, D-Calif., said the House will try to pass an amendment to the bill under a procedure known as “Unanimous Consent” during its pro forma session when most members are out of town. But such a move requires the agreement of GOP House Leader Kevin McCarthy under House rules and the California Republican hasn’t indicated what he’ll do yet.
“If the President truly wants to join us in $2,000 payments, he should call upon Leader McCarthy to agree to our Unanimous Consent request,” she wrote in her “dear colleague” letter.
There was no immediate response from McCarthy’s office. If it passes the House, it would be sent to the Republican-led Senate for approval.
Pelosi and other Democrats had been pushing for the $2,000 payments but Republicans led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., had shot the idea down during negotiations. The $600 amount per individual (or $2,400 for a family of four) that Congress finally settled on had been proposed by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.
But only a day after Congress overwhelmingly passed the $900 billion relief bill, Trump called the deal a “disgrace” in a tweeted video and urged congressional leaders to make changes to the bill, including increasing direct payments for Americans.
Progressive Democratic Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., already have drafted language for a proposal to raise the amount.
“Me and @AOC have the amendment ready,” Tlaib tweeted with a photo of the provision’s language. “Send the bill back, and we will put in the $2,000 we’ve been fighting for that your party has been blocking.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also voiced approval for raising the value of direct stimulus payments to Americans, noting “We spent months trying to secure $2,000 checks but Republicans blocked it. Trump needs to sign the bill to help people and keep the government open and we’re glad to pass more aid Americans need.”
— Ledyard King
HHS Secretary Azar: COVID-19 vaccine ‘for every American who wants it by June 2021’
Pfizer already has a contract to supply the government with 100 million doses of the vaccine by summer 2021. The government also has the option to acquire up to an additional 400 million doses.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement that the latest deal can give people confidence “that we will have enough supply to vaccinate every American who wants it by June 2021.”
Operation Warp Speed is on track to have about 40 million doses of vaccine by the end of this month, of which about 20 million would be allocated for first vaccinations. Distribution of those doses would span into the first week of January.
— Associated Press
Bye, Barr: Last day of tumultuous tenure as attorney general
Attorney General William Barr departs the Justice Department Wednesday after a tenure serving as one of Trump’s most aggressive defenders before breaking with the president’s increasingly desperate efforts to overturn the November election.
“Over the past two years, the dedicated men and women of this Department…have risen to meet historic challenges and upheld our vital mission to enforce the rule of law,” the attorney general said in a statement. “I have been continually inspired by your professionalism and outstanding work. As I did almost 30 years ago, I leave this Office with deep respect for you, and I will always be grateful for your devoted service to the Nation we love.”
Barr, serving his second stint as attorney general, emerged as a steadfast advocate for Trump even in the face of the damning findings outlined in the Russia investigation, while intervening in the prosecutions of the president allies.
Yet in a vivid display of Trump’s brand of transactional relationships, the president earlier this year turned on his attorney general when Barr indicated that a much-anticipated review of the Russia inquiry would not be completed until after the election. Trump had hoped the review would boost his campaign.
2020 election: Barr sees ‘no basis’ to investigate alleged voter fraud
Outgoing Attorney General William Barr says that he won’t appoint a special counsel to look into President Trump’s claims of election fraud.
Staff Video, USA TODAY
Barr’s comment in an interview with the Associated Press represented an especially public retreat from Trump’s repeated and unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud and the campaign to overturn the president’s election loss to President-elect Joe Biden.
Before leaving, however, Barr poked the president again, saying Monday that there was no reason to appoint special counsels to take over an ongoing tax investigation involving Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, or to pursue unfounded claims of election fraud. Trump has privately pushed for both appointments.
At the same time, Barr said Russia was to blame for the massive cyberattack that has penetrated at least a half-dozen federal agencies, even as Trump has pointed the finger at China and sought to downplay the seriousness of the breach.
As Barr exits, Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen fills the post as acting attorney general.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.
Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.
A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”
Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.
“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.
In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”
“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”
Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.
Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.
Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.
“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.
“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.
“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.
“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”
“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.
Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.
She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.
Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.
Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.
The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.
Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.
“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.
“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”
The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.
In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.
“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”
In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.
“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”
Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.
Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.
“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”
In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.
In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.
“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”
Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.
“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”
The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.
“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.
“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
