A Common Enemy…Maybe Not
“I want to speak about our need to come together against a common enemy — SARS-CoV-2 and the Delta variant,” stated Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at Thursday’s White House COVID-19 briefing. The Delta variant, which now represents over 83% of sequenced COVID-19 cases in the United States, spreads with incredible efficiency and is “one of the most infectious respiratory viruses we know of and that I have seen in my 20-year career,” according to Walensky. New COVID-19 cases are up over 46% from the previous seven days per the CDC. Hospitalizations are up over 32%, deaths are up over 9%, and vaccinations are down over 35%. The CDC director pleaded with unvaccinated Americans to get vaccinated and to take the Delta variant seriously, stating that the “virus has no incentive to let up, and it remains in search of the next vulnerable person to infect.” Speaking to both the vaccinated and unvaccinated, Walensky proclaimed that we “are not out of the woods yet” and declared that the country is once again at a “pivotal moment” in the pandemic. “We need to come together as one nation, unified in our resolve to protect the health of ourselves, our children, our community, our country, and our future with the tools we have available,” declared Walensky.
Are SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) and the Delta variant really the American people’s “common enemy?” Is the nation unifying to beat this pandemic? It sure does not seem so when less than half of the people in this country are fully vaccinated. COVID-19 and the Delta variant should be the common enemy, but a good portion of the country is not treating it as such. Too many Americans are kicking science in the face and turning their backs on their family, neighbors, friends, and country by refusing to get vaccinated. Walensky is right, America is at a pivotal moment with the pandemic. However, do you have confidence that the unvaccinated are going to do the right thing? I wish I could say I did, but I do not.
Quick Facts
The fireworks have started even before the first meeting of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol has taken place. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., announced his five selections to the select committee early this week. Two days later, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., rejected two of McCarthy’s picks, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., citing the impact they might have on the “integrity of the investigation.” McCarthy in turn responded by accusing the speaker of an “egregious abuse of power” and said that unless Pelosi seats all of his picks for the select committee, the “Republicans will not be party to their sham process and will instead pursue our own investigation of the facts.” So where do things stand today? The select committee is scheduled to hold its first hearing on Tuesday, and, since eight members constitutes a quorum, the committee can proceed to investigate the January 6 attack with the members selected by Pelosi and without any of McCarthy’s picks.
Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., who was removed from her position as the third highest-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives by the Republican Conference in May, accused House Minority Leader McCarthy of attempting to prevent “the American people from understanding what happened” on January 6. Cheney also said that anyone in the line of succession to the presidency, like the speaker of the House, must show a “commitment to the Constitution and a commitment to the rule of law,” and she said McCarthy has not done that.
Mark Zandi, Moody’s Analytics’ chief economist, issued an analysis this week which concludes that the United States has “underinvested in both physical and human infrastructure” and has been slow to respond to the threats posed by climate change, resulting in “mounting economic consequences.” The analysis states that “Greater investments in public infrastructure and social programs will lift productivity and labor force growth,” and the focus on climate change will help “forestall its increasingly corrosive economic effects.” Zandi analyzed the bipartisan infrastructure deal and the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package. The analysis concludes that “failing to pass legislation would certainly diminish the economy’s prospects.” After the Senate failed this week to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to the bipartisan infrastructure bill, this analysis is certainly welcome news to the White House.
Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., once again went after Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, accusing him of all sorts of things at a congressional hearing this week. But this time, Fauci pushed back. “Senator Paul, you don’t know what you’re talking about…and I want to say that officially,” responded Fauci to one of Paul’s statement. Check out one of the exchanges between Paul and Fauci.
The House Freedom Caucus sent a letter to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy asking him to bring a privileged motion to the House floor to “vacate the chair and end Nancy Pelosi’s authoritarian reign as Speaker of the House.” The Caucus accused Pelosi of “destroying” the House of Representatives and said that her refusal to seat two members chosen by McCarthy for the January 6 select committee is “intolerable.” Even if McCarthy offers this motion, the House Democrats will have enough votes to table it.
President Joe Biden participated in a CNN town hall on Thursday. COVID-19 was a big topic of the night. Biden declared that “We have a pandemic for those who haven’t gotten a vaccination.” Biden, however, did overstate it when he said that vaccinated individuals are not going to be hospitalized or die. That simply is not accurate. The full transcript of the town hall can be found here.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sent a letter to Congress this week warning that the Department of the Treasury will have to take “extraordinary measures” if the debt limit is not increased or suspended by August 2.
President Biden met with His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan earlier this week. Biden affirmed the United States’ “unwavering” support for the King’s leadership as well as support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Biden also spoke with President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan and reaffirmed that the United States would continue to provide development and humanitarian aid for the Afghan people. President Biden will meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine at the White House on August 30.
The Biden-Harris administration announced new measures to support the Cuban people as many demand freedom from Cuba’s authoritarian regime. The Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on one Cuban individual as well as a Cuban entity, and the administration is working with the private sector to find ways to ensure access to the Internet for the Cuban people, among other actions.
Global cases: 193,639,328
Global deaths: 4,151,435
U.S. cases: 34,427,939
U.S. deaths: 610,834