Buttigieg to quarantine after security agent gets COVID-19
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said late Monday he was feeling fine with no symptoms and that the agent had no signs of COVID-19 other than testing positive for the virus.
Federal Government
Articles
Here’s the latest on the plan for pandemic stimulus checks
There’s conflicting debate about the effectiveness of the direct payments. Most economists support giving more relief to Americans who are struggling to put food on the table or keep their small business from closing.
Minimum wage hike to $15 by 2025 would result in 1.4M unemployed, CBO says
The report comes as senior Democrats debate whether to include raising the federal minimum wage in a budget resolution that is largely designed to help the sputtering economic recovery.
Editorial: Young shows leadership in debate about next relief plan
At a time when the country—and many of our leaders—appear to be incredibly divided, we appreciate the effort by Sen. Todd Young and his GOP colleagues to craft a COVID-19 relief proposal they could take to the president.
Biden, House Democrats put $1.9T relief plan on fast track
The Senate early Friday approved a measure that would let Democrats muscle the relief plan through the chamber without Republican support. Vice President Kamala Harris was in the chair to cast the tie-breaking vote, her first.
Latest bill would bar NCAA limits on athlete image rights
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-New York) introduced a bill Thursday that would guarantee college athletes the right to earn money from endorsements and sponsorship deals while barring the NCAA, schools and conferences from imposing restrictions.
House moves toward passage of budget, unlocking partisan path for Biden relief bill
House Democrats moved toward passage Wednesday of legislation setting the stage for party-line approval of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill, heeding Biden’s calls for swift action.
Biden, Yellen pan GOP virus aid proposal as too small, urge action
While no compromise was reached during the lengthy session, President Biden’s first with lawmakers at the White House, talks are privately underway on various alternatives.
Senate confirms Buttigieg as transportation secretary
Praised by President Joe Biden as bringing a “new voice” to the administration, Pete Buttigieg takes over a Transportation Department with 55,000 employees and a budget of tens of billions dollars.
Biden meets with Republicans on virus aid, but rejects compromise
President Joe Biden told Republican senators during a two-hour meeting he’s unwilling to settle on an insufficient coronavirus aid package after they pitched their slimmed down $618 billion proposal that’s a fraction of the $1.9 trillion he is seeking.
Biden to meet with Senate Republicans offering pandemic relief counterproposal
President Joe Biden intends to meet on Monday with 10 GOP senators who are calling on him to make a smaller, bipartisan deal instead of forging ahead with a party-line vote on his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan.
Democrats to ‘act big’ on $1.9T aid package; GOP wants plan split
Despite President Biden’s calls for unity, Democrats said the stubbornly high unemployment numbers and battered U.S. economy leave them unwilling to waste time courting Republican support that might not materialize.
Biden signs orders aimed at eliminating nation’s reliance on fossil fuels
President Joe Biden has set a goal of eliminating pollution from fossil fuels in the power sector by 2035 and from the U.S. economy overall by 2050, speeding growth of solar and wind energy and lessening the country’s dependence on oil and gas.
GOP largely votes against holding Trump impeachment trial
The support of 45 Republicans for declaring the trial invalid indicates that there are long odds for Donald Trump’s conviction, which would require the support of all Democrats and 17 Republicans, or two-thirds of the Senate.
Biden set to put moratorium on oil drilling on public lands
Oil and gas extracted from public lands and waters account for about a quarter of annual U.S. production.
Yellen wins Senate approval as treasury secretary
The Senate on Monday approved President Joe Biden’s nomination of Janet Yellen to be the nation’s 78th treasury secretary, making her the first woman to hold the job in the department’s 232-year history.
Trump impeachment goes to Senate, testing his sway over GOP
Mounting Republican opposition to the proceedings indicates that many GOP senators will eventually vote to acquit Trump. Democrats would need the support of 17 Republicans—a high bar—to convict him.
Democrats moving quickly on $1.9T economic relief bill
Democrats are making plans to use a budgetary tool known as reconciliation, which would allow the package to pass with a simple majority vote in the Senate, instead of the 60 votes normally required for major legislation.
Supreme Court ends suits alleging Trump illegally profited from biz interests
It means that there is no definitive answer after years of legal wrangling over the Constitution’s emoluments clauses, which prohibit presidents and others from accepting gifts or payments from foreign governments without congressional approval.
Russian hack of U.S. agencies exposed supply chain weaknesses
U.S. officials and cybersecurity experts have sounded the alarm for years about a problem that has caused havoc, including billions of dollars in financial losses, while also defying easy solutions from the government and private sector.