15:52
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo goes into quarantine after coming into contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19. The state department said Pompeo has tested negative but is being monitored by medical professionals. The department has not identified who the infected person is for privacy reasons.
The White House has collapsed because it was uninhibited in planning a holiday season full of parties in the midst of the pandemic. The White House has plans for at least 25 indoor parties in December and is ignoring warnings to limit indoor gatherings where the virus is most likely to spread. The State Department yesterday held a party attended by dozens of diplomats, although only a small fraction of the 900 invited attendees showed up. Pompeo and his wife, Susan, did not appear, although the secretary was scheduled to speak at the event.
John Kruzel
(@johnkruzel)NEW: State Dept says to quarantine Pompeo after contact with Covid positive person (Pompeo tested negative). The news comes the day after he hosted an indoor holiday party in State. Of the more than 900 invited guests, only 70 reportedly were RSVP and even fewer showed up amid public health outrage pic.twitter.com/6rOH27DgbX
15:25
US Senator Elizabeth Warren is writing a book that will be “a passionate plea for political transformation,” highlighting six key experiences in her life that shaped her policy positions.
In a statement, Warren said the book is “deeply personal: I bring the pieces of who I am into the fight for real change, and I passionately believe we are in a moment where extraordinary change is possible.” The title refers to a phrase uttered about Warren by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: “Nonetheless, she persisted,” when she rebuked the Senator for making “a lengthy speech” on the Senate floor in 2017.
The book is scheduled for release April 20.
Carlos Lozada
(@CarlosLozadaWP)Political book news:
The fact is, you don’t have to worry.@SenWarren“Will write about six experiences and perspectives that have impacted her life and advocacy in ‘Persist,’ a new book that will also be a passionate plea for political transformation.”
From April 20 through@MetropolitanBksThe fact is, you don’t have to worry.@HenryHolt pic.twitter.com/yKZo0Rpgwa
3:08 PM
Two former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) staff members, both appointed by Trump, went out with allegations that the White House was constantly intervening with CDC guidelines, in an effort to soften public health guidelines and updates on Covid-19 for which the agency published the public.
Kyle McGowan, a former CDC chief of staff, and his deputy, Amanda Campbell, both 34, spoke to the New York Times in a poignant interview published this morning. McGowan described the White House’s influence on the CDC as “a hand that grabs something, and it slowly closes, closes, closes, closes until you realize he’s in full control of everything at the CDC in the middle of summer.”
They described how documents from the bureau passed through multiple political appointees across Washington, many who lacked any public health expertise. The guidelines would be edited by Russell Vought, White House budget director, former senior adviser Kellyanne Conway, and even Ivanka Trump.
“Every time the science clashed with the coverage, the coverage won,” McGowan said.
14:43
Just as the two top Democratic leaders in Congress are wrapping up negotiations on coronavirus incentives with Republicans, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told the Intercept that she believes it is time for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to leave.
The US representative from New York said the leadership has not “really taken care of a next generation of leadership.” The power of both parties is concentrated in leadership. “An individual member has a lot less power than it did 30, 40, 50 years ago,” she said.
Pelosi’s role as speaker will be voted on in January. She will likely keep her seat, but Ocasio-Cortez’s comments hint at a continuing disaffection among Democratic Party progressives against the established, moderate leadership.
Ocasio-Cortez said she would not run for House Speaker herself, citing her lack of experience. “The house is extremely complex and I am not ready for it,” she said. ‘It can’t be me. I know I couldn’t do the job. ”
While the rep thinks it is time for Schumer and Pelosi to leave, she noted that there is no plan to replace them and “when you create that vacuum, there are so many nefarious forces at play to add that vacuum to anything. worse to fill, ”she says. said.
14:17
This morning more will be released about the stimulus package for the corona virus. Multiple reports confirm that the package will likely be around $ 900 billion and may include another round of stimulus checks.
The checks will likely be less than the $ 1,200 sent to Americans in April, Politico reports. It doesn’t appear to include funding for state and local governments, as Democrats pushed for, or Mitch McConnell’s “liability shield” for companies to protect them from Covid-related lawsuits.
Politico’s Jake Sherman went on to say Twitter that the package is almost ready for shipment and that negotiations can be concluded this morning, presumably if everything goes perfectly.
The bill may receive backlash from progressive Democrats. Congressional Progressive Caucus Chairman Pramila Jayapal said in a statement that the caucus is “united” in the position that “every package should include immediate survival checks and enhanced unemployment assistance.”
US Representative Rashida Talib, vice-chair of the caucus, tweeted this morning that she will not vote in favor of a bill that does not include checks or unemployment insurance.
Rashida Tlaib
(@RashidaTlaib)No survival checks + unemployment assistance = no vote for me.
My district has not chosen me to bow to those who don’t think we should take care of our people during a crisis. This should never have been this difficult or controversial. It’s our responsibility, and it’s their money. https://t.co/oYgkBkAc0G
Updated
13:52
Good morning, this is Lauren Aratani.
Top Congressional leaders will continue discussions on the highly anticipated second coronavirus stimulus package. After months of negotiations – punctuated by the confirmation of a new Supreme Court judge and the presidential election – the top Democratic and Republican leaders announced yesterday that they are finally on track to agree on a new bill.
The Republicans have been looking for a stimulus package with a much lower price tag than what the Democrats want for months. The two sides appear to have found common ground in a $ 908 billion emergency package – more than $ 1 trillion less than the first stimulus package.
Democrats expressed frustration at the low price of the bill. During Good Morning America, Kamala Harris, the vice-president-elect, said: “I don’t understand the hesitation. The people are suffering. ”
“The moratoria on evictions and foreclosure sales are about to end. The extensions people need for benefits are very real. And the people here in Washington DC should stop living in a bubble, ”she continued.
But congressional leaders seem relieved that the talks are at least headed somewhere. Senate leader Mitch McConnell said yesterday that the two sides are “making significant progress”.
“I am optimistic that we will be able to make an appointment soon,” McConnell told reporters yesterday. “We’re not leaving here without a Covid package.”
House speaker Nancy Pelosi said leaders will resume talks early today and “we will be on track to get the job done.”
Here’s what else is happening:
- At a rally in Atlanta yesterday, Joe Biden spurned Georgia Republican senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler for starring in Donald Trump’s story of election fraud. Biden said the two “fully embraced and invalidated nearly 5 million Georgia votes.” The early vote in Georgia started this week as all eyes are on the two races that will determine which party will control the United States Senate.
- The US saw 198,357 new Covid-19 cases and 3,019 deaths yesterday, according to Johns Hopkins University, yet skepticism about public health measures such as mask mandates continues to permeate communities in the country. A Republican mayor in Kansas has resigned from her role after being vehemently opposed to supporting a mask mandate.
Stay tuned for more live updates.
Updated