That’s it for me tonight. Thank you for reading along. To recap, here’s some of what we covered this afternoon:
White House press secretary Jen Psaki tried to address criticisms over the Biden Administration’s decision, for now, not to increase refugee caps above levels set by Trump.
A new poll shows that most New Yorkers disapprove of their scandal-ridden governor, Andrew Cuomo, but a narrow majority doesn’t think he should resign.
Roughly 80% of countries are now on the State Department’s travel advisory list, as Covid cases continue to spike around the world.
Contributions from a Pac started by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are being returned by moderate Democrats.
Democrats return contributions from Ocasio-Cortez PAC
The Republican Party has successfully pressured moderate Democratic lawmakers to return funds raised by a political action committee former by US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Reuters reports.
As part of a congressional campaign, the GOP launched a website today highlighting how more than two dozen Democrats — some in conservative-leaning districts — accepted thousands of dollars in donations from fundraising efforts tied to Ocasio-Cortez, and called on them to give the money back.
Ocasio-Cortez has contributed to more than 30 candidates in key seats, according to a spokeswoman, hoping to help Democrats maintain their majority.
“The Congresswoman is proud to stand for guaranteed healthcare, housing, and education for all people in the United States and will continue to do so regardless of how hysterical it makes the members of the Republican Caucus,” the spokeswoman told Reuters.
Even before the website launched, 4 Democratic representatives had reportedly returned the funds, in an attempt to get distance from the liberal lawmaker.
From Reuters:
Ocasio-Cortez set up her PAC, called The Courage to Change, after refusing to pay dues to the House Democrats’ campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
One of the lawmakers who gave back the PAC’s cash, Representative Elissa Slotkin, said in a campaign finance report it was ‘unsolicited’.
The report from another Democrat, Representative Ron Kind, showed $5,000 to The Courage to Change had been refunded on March 31. The campaign of freshman Representative Carolyn Bourdeaux also returned the money.
The “climate clock” — an anxiety-inducing countdown posted by climate activists in New York’s Union Square got an optimistic update today, with the new addition showing the world’s renewable energy usage, now at 12%.
“If we just have the deadline, that’s really focused on doomsday, and it can make people feel hopeless. People need to be reminded there’s so much they can do in terms of taking action,” Alexandria Villasenor, a leader in the youth climate movement told Reuters.
The clock, which began counting down last September, measures the time remaining to reduce emissions before climate change’s worst effects become permanent, according to creators.
The new addition was unveiled as part of week-long series of events organized to put pressure on President Biden and other world leaders, who will be meeting virtually for a climate summit at the end of the week.
From Reuters:
Masked and outdoors, speakers shared stories of how their own communities had been hurt by climate-induced disasters.
‘We’re saying, get fossil fuel money out of your meetings, out of your politics. We’re saying, keep fossil fuels in the ground,’ said Thanu Yakupitiyage of 350.org, one of the event organizers. ‘We’re saying, ‘listen to frontline communities and the communities hit worst by the climate crisis’.
Behind the podium, the deadline clock counted down with six years, 256 days remaining, then flashed a message: ‘We are in a climate emergency but we have a window of hope if we #ActInTime’.
The State Department will update its travel advisories, officials announced today, to discourage Americans from traveling to roughly 80% of countries around the world, CNN reports.
“This does not imply a reassessment of the current health situation in a given country, but rather reflects an adjustment in the State Department’s Travel Advisory system to rely more on CDC’s existing epidemiological assessments,” the department said in statement issued to the press.
The guidance, now more in line with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, comes as Covid cases around the world rise rapidly, largely driven by a surge in India and spikes in new variants of the virus:
As travelers face ongoing risks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of State will begin updating its Travel Advisories this week to better reflect the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) science-based Travel Health Notices that outline current issues affecting travelers’ health,” the State Department said. “Our Advisories also take into account logistical factors, including in-country testing availability and current travel restrictions for U.S. citizens”.
Here’s more on Senator Joe Manchin’s support for the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act), a sweeping labor reform bill that passed the House in March.
Manchin – who represents Republican stronghold West Virginia – is considered one of the most conservative Democrats in the senate. But, speaking at a virtual event at the National Press Club today, he announced that he’d sign on as co-sponsor for the bill.
“This legislation will level the playing field,” Manchin said. “I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to move this bill through a legislative process.”
Thank you to @Sen_JoeManchin for becoming a co-sponsor of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act.
In West Virginia and all across this country, there's a growing movement to expand workers' rights for the first time in nearly a century.
The bill, which would provide protections for workers attempting to organize, and allow unions to collect dues from non-members, passed 225-206 last month, with 5 Republicans voting in favor. It’s considered the biggest legislative priority for the labor movement, and has support from the White House.
“Nearly 60 million Americans would join a union if they get a chance, but too many employers and states prevent them from doing so through anti-union attacks,” President Biden said in a statement after it passed last month. “They know that without unions, they can run the table on workers – union and non-union alike.”
Still, it’s a long shot. While Manchin’s move will bolster optimism for the bill, he didn’t share details on how he would convince his colleagues to join him in supporting the measure. The Senate, though narrowly under Democratic control is sharply divided and it’s unlikely to gain enough support to get past a GOP filibuster.
From Reuters:
Even with Manchin’s support the bill does not yet have all 50 Democrats in the 100-member Senate, the level at which Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said it would get a vote. Democratic Senators Mark Warner, Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly still have not supported the bill.
And a Senate rule that requires most legislation to win 60 votes for passage instead of only a simple majority, could stand in its way”.
A new poll out today shows that, while a narrow majority of New Yorkers view scandal-ridden governor Andrew Cuomo unfavorably, they don’t want him to resign.
Just over half of the 801 voters surveyed by Siena College Research Institute last week said he shouldn’t step down, even after dozens of officials serving at both the federal and state level have called for him to give up his seat.
Still, roughly 57% said they wouldn’t plan to vote for him if he runs again.
Cuomo has been accused of sexual harassment and misconduct by 5 current and former aides, allegations he has vehemently denied. The NY governor is also being investigated by federal prosecutors for policies to protect nursing homes from lawsuits during the Covid crisis, and the New York State attorney general is examining how Cuomo used state resources on a book, for which he received a seven-figure advance. Cuomo and has come under additional criticism for allegedly giving his inner circle preferential treatment when Covid tests were scarce.
Cheif medical examiner: Officer Sicknick died of natural causes
Capital Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died in the hospital the day after defending the US Capitol from an attack by a pro-Trump mob, died of natural causes, the District’s chief medical examiner ruled today.
Officer Sicknick suffered injuries during the attempted insurrection, but died from a stroke. Medical examiner Francisco J. Diaz, in an interview with The Washington Post, said there was no evidence that his death was caused by injuries or an allergic reaction to chemical irritants, but noted that “all that transpired played a role in his condition.”
Sicknick, who was 42, collapsed in his office after the riot and died the following day. Autopsies show he suffered two strokes at the base of his brain steam due to a blood clot.
From the Washington Post:
The ruling, released Monday, likely will make it difficult for prosecutors to pursue homicide charges in the officer’s death. Two men are accused of assaulting Sicknick by spraying a powerful chemical irritant at him during the siege”.
In response to the D.C. Medical Examiner's finding that Ofc. Sicknick died of natural causes following two strokes -- which occurred after he confronted rioters at the Capitol on 1/6 -- @CapitolPolice says "This does not change the fact Officer Sicknick died in the line of duty." pic.twitter.com/mCTtVC1IPu
The US Capitol Police Department has accepted the findings, but issued a statement Monday saying that Officer Sicknick still died in the line of duty.
“The Department continues to mourn the loss of our beloved colleague,” the USCP wrote in press release. “The attack on our officers, including Brian, was an attack on our democracy.”
Earlier today, White House press secretary Jen Psaki addressed criticisms over the Biden Administration’s decision to uphold the level of refugees allowed into the US, set by Trump.
Completely and utterly unacceptable. Biden promised to welcome immigrants, and people voted for him based on that promise.
Upholding the xenophobic and racist policies of the Trump admin, incl the historically low + plummeted refugee cap, is flat out wrong.
“The challenge is not the cap,” Psaki told reporters on Monday, explaining that the Administration will make a new determination on the number, within the next month. “The challenge is the ability to process.”
The move marked a shift from Biden, who promised to raise the number by 110,000 for the 2022 fiscal year. Last week, in a surprising about-face, the White House instead left the cap at 15,000, the same number set by the previous Administration, which had lowered it from 85,000.
Still, the news drew immediate criticism and within hours, the White House promised to announce a final, increased number by May 15.
‘The admission of up to 15,000 refugees remains justified by humanitarian concerns and is otherwise in the national interest,’ Mr. Biden wrote in an executive memorandum released Friday. Ms. Psaki said on Monday that the order also said that the cap could be increased in the future”.
Gabrielle Canon here, signing on from the west coast to take you through the rest of Monday afternoon’s news.
As the the jury begins deliberations in Derek Chauvin’s trial for the murder of George Floyd, president Biden is privately planning how best to respond, the Associated Press reports.
The Administration is considering whether the new president should address to the nation and could possibly deploy specially trained community facilitators from the Justice Department.
“Our objective is to ensure there is space for peaceful protest,” press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Monday, explaining that there have been a range of preparations laid out for how the White House will respond. “Of course we’ll let the jury deliberate and we’ll wait for the verdict to come out before we say more about our engagements,” Psaki said.
Pres. Biden is expected to deliver a statement once the jury renders a verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial, per multiple officials.
No matter the outcome, I'm told it will acknowledge the grief and outrage sparked by George Floyd’s killing and other unarmed Black men by police.
The plans for possible presidential remarks are still fluid, with the timing, venue and nature of the remarks still being considered, in part depending on the timing of the verdict, according to two White House aides who were not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
The White House has been warily watching the trial proceed in Minneapolis — and then another shooting of a Black man by a white police officer last week — and are preparing for the possibility of unrest if a guilty verdict is not reached in the trial. Biden may also speak after a guilty verdict, the White House aides said”.
For breaking news updates on the trial, you can follow along here:
That’s it for me. I’m passing the blog over to my colleagues on the West Coast. To review:
Surrogates for Joe Biden are mounting a pro-vaccine push.
Congressman Steve Stivers of Ohio is not running for Senate or reelection, he announced today.
Kimberly Guilfoyle has joined former Missouri governor Eric Greitens’ Senate campaign as national campaign chairman.
Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia signed on as a co-sponsor to the PRO Act, aimed at overhauling workers’ rights and empowering them in disputes, he announced today.
After the mob attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, Apple and other big tech companies moved quickly to sever ties with Parler, which had given some people involved in the attack a forum for discussing their plans. Amazon.com Inc. AMZN -0.81% suspended Parler from its web-hosting services. Alphabet Inc., GOOG 0.20% like Apple, also removed Parler from its app store.
In response to criticism that it served as a staging ground for the Capitol attack, Parler has said that it referred dozens of examples of violent content to the FBI in the weeks before the mob gathered in Washington.
Evelyn Douek, a Harvard Law School lecturer who studies content moderation, said that tech platforms, including Apple, need to provide clearer guidelines as to what content is acceptable.
“If Apple wants to get into the game of playing gatekeeper on the basis of content, it should be a lot more transparent about its requirements,” Ms. Douek said.
Mike Lindell (a.k.a. the MyPillow guy) kicked his feud with Dominion Voting System Inc. up a notch on Monday, according to Bloomberg News:
MyPillow sued Monday in federal court in Minnesota, where the company is based, doubling down on Lindell’s discredited claims of fraud against Dominion, saying “the adverse impact of electronic voting systems on the 2020 election was significant.”
“Dominion’s purpose is to silence debate; to eliminate any challenge to the 2020 presidential election; and to cancel and destroy anyone who speaks out against Dominion’s work on behalf of the government in administering the election,” MyPillow said in its complaint.
Dominion sued Lindell and MyPillow in February in federal court in Washington, seeking $1.3 billion in damages. It claimed the pillow company boosted sales by as much as 40% by echoing former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the election was rigged against him.
“This is a meritless retaliatory lawsuit, filed by MyPillow to try to distract from the harm it caused to Dominion,” Dominion lawyer Stephen Shackelford said in a statement.
Lindell is one of the closest allies to former president Donald Trump who has continued to loudly trumpet the debunked conspiracy theory that Dominion’s voting machines were used to secretly switch votes from Trump to Joe Biden.
Dominion has already sued Lindell over his claims:
Dominion sued Lindell and MyPillow in February in federal court in Washington, seeking $1.3 billion in damages. It claimed the pillow company boosted sales by as much as 40% by echoing former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the election was rigged against him.
CNN has an extensive deep dive into the acrimonious breakup between the business community and the Republican Party. Even before the 6 January Capitol riots, which provoked a batch of major U.S. companies to either withhold donations to all federal lawmakers or ones who fought certifying the election results, there was a fraying between the longtime Republican-business community alliance.
There’s no better example than the disunion between the GOP and the Chamber of Commerce. Per CNN:
For the Chamber, the dustup was another sobering reminder that their longtime ally, the Republican Party, is growing more populist by the year -- and many of its members now view the business groups with suspicion. For years there was cooperation between the party and the Chamber, blocking the Democratic policy agenda and electing Republicans during the Obama years. (The US Chamber is a lobbying organization funded by its members, from large corporations like 3M and Microsoft to small businesses. It is distinct from state and local chambers, some of which are members of the national Chamber).
But the fruitful partnership has been upended by shifts in both the political platform of the GOP and the more progressive social priorities for corporate America. As some Republicans embrace populism and economic paternalism typified by former President Donald Trump, groups like the Chamber are finding their member companies are less eager to follow the GOP’s trajectory.
For that, many Republicans privately argue that the one-time powerful lobby has lost its focus and can no longer be trusted as a pillar of the GOP coalition. The Chamber, meanwhile, insists its purpose -- advocacy for its members and for free enterprise -- hasn’t changed, even if the Republican Party has.
There’s more:
The flashpoint between the Republican Party and the business community over voting rights is only the latest example of a growing rift since the heyday of the Barack Obama era, when the US Chamber helped sink progressive legislation to boost unions and tackle climate change, pushed back against the passage of the Affordable Care Act, and aided the party’s takeover of the Senate in 2014.The Chamber has seen its clout on Capitol Hill tested even under Republican administrations, including in the second term of George W. Bush, when the President failed to quell his rightward flank in failing to pass a major bill granting legal status and a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants. But the election of Trump shook the symbiotic relationship. While the Chamber vigorously supported the Republicans’ top legislative priority -- the 2017 tax overhaul bill that lowered the corporate tax rate -- the lobby group saw its influence wane and ultimately decided to reach back out to Democrats.
