Face to Face: Biden & Putin
The Biden-Putin Summit
“I did what I came to do” is how President Joe Biden described his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two leaders met on Wednesday in Geneva, Switzerland for their first in-person meeting since Biden became president. Putin depicted the meeting as “constructive” and called Biden an experienced, “balanced and professional man.” In a solo press conference after the meeting, the Russian president refused to use Russian opposition leader Aleksey Navalny’s name and referred to him as “this man” who broke the law by leaving Russia. When asked about human rights at his press conference, Putin responded by bringing up the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, gun violence in American, and the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. He then said that everything that happens in Russia and the United States is the “responsibility of the leaders.”
President Biden, in his press conference, stated that he wants America’s relationship with Russia to be “stable and predictable,” and that his agenda is not against Russia but rather for the American people. He characterized the meeting as “good” and “positive.” Biden said he spoke to Putin about defending democratic values and called standing up for human rights and fundamental freedoms “part of the DNA” of the United States. He raised concerns about the imprisonment of Aleksey Navalny as well as imprisoned American citizens Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed. Biden told Putin that they needed “some basic rules of the road” that they could all abide by, and that when there are areas of mutual interest to the two countries, they should cooperate. However, Biden made it clear that the United States would “respond to actions that impair our vital interests or those of our allies,” and that the consequences would be “devastating” for Russia. Biden gave Putin a list of critical infrastructure that should be “off limits” to cyber attacks and asserted that the United States has “significant cyber capability” if this infrastructure were to be attacked. President Biden also reiterated America’s “unwavering commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.” Biden stated that he was not confident that Putin would change his behavior, and that within six months to a year they will find out whether “we actually have a strategic dialogue that matters.”
Biden-Harris Administration
COVID-19
The Delta COVID-19 variant that was first identified in India, which is more easily transmissible and may cause more severe illness, is gaining a bigger foothold in the United States. It has been classified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a “variant of concern,” and it now represents around 10% of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. It is the dominant strain of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom and will likely become dominant in the United States in the coming months according to Dr. Rochelle Walensky, head of the CDC. Jeff Zients, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator, on Thursday characterized the Delta variant as a “threat” and “more dangerous” than other variants, and he urged everyone to get vaccinated now. When asked yesterday whether the Delta variant could force the country back into lockdown, President Biden responded that he did not think so since so many people have been vaccinated, but he did stress that the variant could cause “more people to die in areas where people have not been vaccinated.”
The clock is ticking on President Biden’s goal of having 70% of American adults receive at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by July 4. Currently, just over 65% of individuals age 18 and over have had at least one vaccine dose. Over 148 million Americans are fully vaccinated, and 15 states and the District of Columbia have reached the president’s goal of 70%. While it is good news that new cases have declined 95% since January, unless a lot more Americans get vaccinated, we could see a reversal in this trend due to the very formidable Delta variant.
Countering Domestic Terrorism
Calling domestic terrorism a “stain on the soul of America,” President Biden announced the release of the National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism. The strategy includes several actions to counter domestic terrorism, including enhancing domestic terrorism analysis and improving information sharing at all levels from federal to state to local jurisdictions, strengthening prevention resources, increasing support to state and local law enforcement, and addressing contributors that are responsible for the terrorism. “In a true democracy, violence cannot be an acceptable mode of seeking political or social change,” according to the White House statement.
Executive Actions
President Biden announced his intent to nominate nine individuals to serve as ambassadors: Thomas Nides, State of Israel; C.B. “Sully” Sullenberger, III, Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization; Julie Chung, Democratic Socialist Republic of Sir Lanka; Sharon Cromer, Republic of The Gambia; Troy Fitrell, Republic of Guinea; Marc Ostfield, Republic of Paraguay; Ken Salazar, United Mexican States; Julianne Smith, Council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; and Dr. Cynthia Telles, Republic of Costa Rica.
The president also announced seven judicial nominees: Myrna Pérez, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; Sarah Merriam, Sarala Vidya Nagala and Omar Williams, U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut; Jia Cobb, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia; Tovah Calderon, District of Columbia Court of Appeals; Kenia Lopez, Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
U.S. Congress
Senate
For the People Act
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., filed cloture on the motion to proceed to consideration of the sweeping election reform bill, S. 2093, the “For the People Act of 2021.” This sets up a vote on the motion to proceed on Tuesday. The bill is co-sponsored by all Senate Democrats, except Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., as well as the two Independent senators who caucus with the Democrats. Manchin is opposed to the legislation in its current form and has floated a proposal to revise the bill that includes establishing new voter ID requirements, making Election Day a public holiday, and banning gerrymandering, among other provisions. Manchin’s proposal received a negative response from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who said the so-called Democratic compromise “still subverts the First Amendment to supercharge cancel culture and the left’s name-and-shame campaign model.” Even if the bill is amended to satisfy Manchin, Schumer needs 60 votes to proceed, and those votes simply are not there. Congressional Democratic leaders would like to draw a contrast between themselves and Republicans on voting rights and having Manchin on board would show a united Democratic Party on the issue.
Infrastructure
A bipartisan $1.2 trillion/eight year framework, which could be the basis for a compromise infrastructure bill, is gaining support. It is now backed by 21 senators, 11 Republicans, nine Democrats, and one Independent. In a joint statement, the senators stated that they support the bipartisan framework, which provides for infrastructure investment without raising taxes. The senators stated that they “look forward to working with our Republican and Democratic colleagues to develop legislation based on this framework to address America’s critical infrastructure challenges.” The framework drew criticism from several senators, including Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, who both said that if climate provisions are not included in the infrastructure package, then “no climate, no deal.” While the bipartisan negotiations are ongoing, Majority Leader Schumer is also continuing on a second track authorizing the drafting of a budget resolution, the first step in the reconciliation process. Schumer wants to keep open the option of moving an infrastructure bill, which could include other Democratic priority issues, through reconciliation. By using the reconciliation process only 50 votes plus the vice president’s vote as president of the Senate would be needed rather than the 60 necessary to overcome a filibuster. When asked about the bipartisan infrastructure framework before heading back to Washington from Geneva, President Biden said that he had not yet seen the proposal, but that his chief of staff thinks there may be a “means by which to get this done.”
Confirmations: Highlights
The Senate confirmed several of President Biden’s nominees this week, including Lydia Griggsby to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Maryland, Tommy Beaudreau to be the deputy secretary of the Department of the Interior, Richard Spinrad to be the undersecretary for oceans and atmosphere at the Department of Commerce, Chris Inglis to be the national cyber director, John Tien to be deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Lina Khan to be a Federal Trade Commissioner, and Radhika Fox to be an assistant administrator at the Environmental Protection Agency,
House of Representatives
The House passed several bills this week, including a bill to award four congressional gold medals to the United States Capitol Police and those who protected the Capitol on January 6, 2021, by a vote of 406-21. All of the no votes were cast by Republican House members. The House also passed a bill to repeal the authorization for use of military force against Iraq resolution that has been in effect since 2002 by a vote of 268-161. Senate Majority Leader Schumer supports repealing the war authorization and plans to bring the bill to the Senate floor later this year.
Next week, the House is expected to vote on S.J. Res. 14, which would overturn an Environmental Protection Agency rule promulgated under the previous administration regarding methane emissions. The resolution has already passed in the Senate. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has announced that she plans to bring H.R. 3684, the “INVEST in America Act” to the floor for consideration the week of June 28. This is a $547 billion surface transportation reauthorization bill that directs investments in bridges, roads, transit, and rail.
Rep. Clyburn, D-S.C., the House majority whip, announced that the Committee on Appropriations will finish marking up all 12 annual appropriations bills by the end of the week of July 12, and that the House would consider the bills during the last two weeks of July. Passing all of the appropriations bills prior to the August recess is an ambitious schedule. We will see whether the House can actually keep to this timetable.
Quick Facts
Congress overwhelming passed the “Juneteenth National Independence Day Act,” and it was signed into law on Thursday by President Biden. The Act makes June 19 a federal holiday to recognize the date in 1865 when the last of the slaves in America were freed in Galveston, Texas, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. The president said that signing this bill “will go down for me as one of the greatest honors I will have had as president.” This is the first new federal holiday since the creation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The bill passed unanimously in the Senate. Fourteen House Republicans voted against making Juneteenth a federal holiday.
The Affordable Care Act, commonly called Obamacare, is safe…for now. In a 7-2 ruling on Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the plaintiffs in the case before the Court did not have standing to challenge the constitutionality of the Act. The plaintiffs were over a dozen Republican-led states and two individuals. President Biden issued a statement calling the Supreme Court’s decision a “major victory,” particularly for the 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions who were in “immediate danger of losing their health care.”
According to a Monmouth University poll, President Biden has a job approval rating of 48% with 43% disapproving of his performance. In January and April of this year, Biden’s approval rating was at 54%. The poll found continued support for Biden’s two infrastructure proposals. Congress did not fare well in the poll with only 21% of those polled saying they approve of the job Congress is doing and 65% saying they disapprove.
The Business Roundtable, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the National Association of Manufacturers issued a statement urging Congress and the administration to continue infrastructure negotiations and agree on a bipartisan bill.
Vice President Kamala Harris hosted a bipartisan group of women senators for dinner, carrying on the tradition of Democrat and Republican women senators getting together in a nod to bipartisanship.
Global Cases: 177,764,675
Global Deaths: 3,849,865
United States Cases: 33,516,213
United States Deaths: 601,571