Biden news: President’s border czar resigns as White House asks private investors to stem migrant surge
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The White House announced its border coordinator, who was leading the Biden administration’s attempts at halting the surge of migrants, would step down at the end of the month. The announcement on late Friday came just hours after border czar Robert Jacobson outlined the president’s plans to approach US companies to invest in Mexico and Central America to reduce migration.
Joe Biden, meanwhile, announced a $1.5trn budget proposal for 2022, with a 16 per cent increase in domestic spending. The White House outlined the proposal in its “discretionary request”, which is separate from Biden’s latest $2trn spending bill, and the $1.9trn coronavirus aid bill recently passed by the Senate.
The president also ordered a 180-day study of the Supreme Court that includes the possibility of adding more justices. Increasing the number of justices, colloquially known as “packing the court”, could reverse the current conservative majority into a progressive majority, or, depending on the results of future elections, create a supermajority for one side or the other.
Newly reported emails between Trump administration officials show them bragging about persuading or pressuring the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to alter its releases on Covid-19 transmission and deaths among younger Americans.
As he continues to promote his new memoir detailing his story of grief, addiction and recovery, Hunter Biden used an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel’s show last night to take a sideways shot at the Trump family, mocking Donald Trump Jr for accusing him of nepotism – an accusation he mocked as “wildly comical” given the source.
As he writes in his book: “Do you think if any of the Trump children ever tried to get a job outside of their father’s business that his name wouldn’t figure into the calculation? My response has always been to work harder so that my accomplishments stand on their own.”
Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, has begun a lawsuit against the Biden administration to overturn a no-sailing directive that is depriving his state’s cruise industry of billions of dollars. Mr DeSantis, who has long been a critic of lockdowns and social distancing restrictions, said at a press conference yesterday that “we don’t believe the federal government has the right to mothball a major industry for over a year based on very little evidence and very little data”.
Read more:
- Hunter Biden mocks ‘wildly comical’ Don Jr in Kimmel interview
- Video shows Donald and Melania Trump meeting man accused in Matt Gaetz trafficking scandal
- Emails reveal how Trump officials celebrated getting CDC to change official language on Covid risks
- Q unmasked: Did the QAnon conspiracy founder start life as a shy kid from Washington?
Alabama Amazon rejection of unionization is the ‘workers choice’, says White House
Following today’s failed union vote among Amazon’s Alabama workers, press secretary Jen Psaki said it’s Joe Biden’s position that it’s broadly the “workers choice” on whether to unionize.
“We know it's very difficult for workers to make the choice to form a union,” Psaki said.
She said the president would wait on a full analysis of the results before making a specific comment on the Alabama vote.
White House doesn’t get drawn into Scotus retirement push
Asked for the president’s position on calls for Justice Stephen Breyer to retire, Jen Psaki said the president believes they have the ability to make their own decision.
“He believes that’s a decision Justice Breyer will make when he decides it’s time to no longer serve on the Supreme Court,” she said.
Progressive groups have called on Justice Breyer to retire so that Biden can appoint a Black female in his place.
Biden open to hearing conservative opposition to court-packing
Press secretary Jen Psaki said it was important for Joe Biden that the commission looking into packing the Supreme Court made up of both conservative and progressive voices in giving their recommendations.
Asked why Joe Biden said in 1983 that “court-packing was a bone head idea when FDR tried it”, but was now open to considering it, Psaki said the panel would look at both the “pros and cons” of that issue.
“The makeup of this commission, which was vital for the president, is there are progressives on the court there are conservatives on the court, people will present different opinions and different points of view, and then they’ll have a report at the end of 180 days,” she said.
White House to investigate claims of abuse at child migrant centre
Press Secretary Jen Psaki said they currently have “no basis” for shutting down the child migrant centre that Texas Governor Greg Abbot says after the state received complaints of abuse and lack of resources.
“His claims will be looked into and investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services, currently we have no basis for his call to shut down the San Antonio Freeman Coliseum as an intake site, but we of course take these allegations seriously and they will be investigated,” she said.
BREAKING: Trump pays tribute to Prince Philip calling his death ‘irreplaceable loss’
Donald Trump has paid tribute to Prince Philip following his death. Mr Trump said in a statement that the death of the Duke of Edinburgh is an “irreplaceable loss for Great Britain, and for all who hold dear our civilization”.
Mr Trump added: “Prince Philip defined British dignity and grace. He personified the quiet reserve, stern fortitude, and unbending integrity of the United Kingdom.”
Gustaf Kilander reports.
Trump pays tribute to Prince Philip calling his death a loss for ‘all who hold our civilization dear’
Trump says Prince Philip ‘defined British dignity and grace’ and personified ‘quiet reserve, stern fortitude, and unbending integrity’
White House not involved in vetting content of Hunter Biden book
Asked what extent the president was involved in vetting the content of the explosive Hunter Biden tome, Jen Psaki said there was no connection to the White House.
“We were not, it was a book he wrote himself, the president and first lady put out a statement, making clear, in February I should say when the book was announced,” she said.
“They’re ‘deeply supportive of their son sharing his account about his painful experiences with addiction’, which is exactly what the book does and they’re hopeful that it can help millions of people who have struggled with the same challenges.”
Thee, the men of Matt Gaetz’s office resign as ‘we, the women’ stand by their boss
In a rather curious gender divide at the office of Matt Gaetz, the second male staffer has resigned in the wake of a reported investigation of the Florida congressman.
Dan Murphy, the legislative director, follows communications director Luke Ball out the door in the weeks since The New York Times first reported of the investigation into Gaetz.
Neither, it may have been noticed, are women.
That’s because “we, the women” of the Gaetz office, supposedly all eight of them, put out a statement in full support of their boss, and completely rejected the allegations as false.
"We have staffed his meetings. We have planned his events. We have travelled with him. And we have tracked his schedule," the statement said.
"On every occasion, he has treated each and every one of us with respect. Thus, we uniformly reject these allegations as false," they added.
James Crump has the story on the latest resignation from thee, the men.
Second Matt Gaetz staffer quits as pressure mounts on Republican congressman
Luke Ball also quit as congressman’s communications director last week
White House says China's moves around Taiwan 'potentially destabilizing'
The White House on Friday said it was keeping a close watch on increased Chinese military activities in the Taiwan Strait, and called Beijing’s recent actions potentially destabilizing.
“We have ... clearly - publicly, privately - expressed our concerns, our growing concerns, about China’s aggression toward Taiwan,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.
“We’ve seen a concerning increase in PRC military activity in the Taiwan Strait, which we believe is potentially destabilizing,” she said, when asked if Washington was concerned about a possible Chinese invasion.
Chinese-claimed Taiwan has complained over the last few months of repeated missions by China’s air force near the island, concentrated in the southwestern part its air defence zone near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands. - Reuters
Officer restraints killed George Floyd, forensic pathologist tells court
Police killed George Floyd when they handcuffed him on the ground and kneeled on his neck for more than nine minutes, cutting off his oxygen supply, according to a pathologist who testified in the Derek Chauvin trial on Friday.
Dr Lindsey Thomas, a Minnesota-based pathologist, the third expert in the trial so far to reach that conclusion, said: “His chest is sort of compressed in this position in such a way that he can’t adequately expand and get enough oxygen in.”
As police continued kneeling on Mr Floyd, Dr Thomas says air eventually stopped getting to his brain and he had an involuntary bodily twitch from a lack of oxygen, known as an anoxic reaction.
Josh Marcus reports from the trial of Derek Chauvin.
Officer restraints killed George Floyd, forensic pathologist tells court
Dr Lindsey Thomas, a Minnesota-based pathologist, is the third medical expert to testify to this cause of death
BREAKING: Pfizer asks FDA for approval to give Covid vaccine to children ages 12 to 15
Pfizer has requested the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to clear its Covid-19 vaccine to be used in children ages 12 to 15.
The request, if approved, would amend the company's initial emergency use authorisation from the FDA, which allowed for the Covid-19 vaccine to be used in those ages 16 years and older.
The Independent’s Danielle Zoellner is following the breaking news.
Pfizer asks FDA for approval to give Covid vaccine to children ages 12 to 15
Pfizer has requested the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to clear its Covid-19 vaccine to be used in children ages 12 to 15.
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