- Senate confirms Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to lead Labor Department (Politico) – He will be tasked with implementing the Biden administration’s agenda at the department, which includes stricter workplace safety enforcement.
- Speedy House vs. slower Senate: Dems struggle to balance on Biden agenda (Politico) – Senate Democrats welcome the House’s progress but are not interested in taking cues from their counterparts on the filibuster’s future.
- With Marijuana Departures, the White House Wages Its Own Culture War (New York Times) – The tradition of treating past cannabis use as a terminable offense leaves the Biden administration out of step with public opinion.
- White House aides prep $3 trillion jobs package for Biden (CNN) – The proposal, which Biden’s top advisers have been deliberating over for weeks, would be segmented into two separate parts — one focused on infrastructure and clean energy, and a second focused on what’s being termed the “care economy” with a focus zeroed in on key domestic economic issues.
- Biden dispatches top officials to Mexico, Central America as border crisis grows (NBC News) – Separately, a bipartisan pair of border-state senators sent a letter urging the White House to act swiftly to address the influx of migrants.
- U.S. Joins EU In Sanctions Against China Over Treatment Of Uyghur Muslims (NPR) -The EU and U.S., along with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada released a joint statement saying, “We will continue to stand together to shine a spotlight on China’s human rights violations. We stand united and call for justice for those suffering in Xinjiang.”
- Trump: Ending the filibuster would be ‘catastrophic’ for Republican Party (The Hill) – Trump has been critical of GOP leadership since his 2020 election loss, painting McConnell as “weak” and saying the party should seek new leadership more supportive of his policies.
- A second House Democrat objects to overturning Iowa congressional election GOP won by six votes (Fox News) – “This election result was certified by the State of Iowa and Rep. Miller-Meeks was sworn in nearly three months ago,” said Rep. Chris Pappas of New Hampshire. “As I said when Republicans challenged the Electoral College votes on January 6th, the election is over and it’s time to move on.”
- Rep. Tom Reed has apologized over sexual misconduct allegations. Here’s what happened (Deseret News) – Republican New York Rep. Tom Reed has issued an apology and declared he won’t be running for office in 2022 due to new allegations against him of sexual misconduct.
- Analysis: More Republicans than Democrats are quitting Congress, and their retirements are shaping the party (Deseret News) -The establishment wing is clearly moving out. You’re starting to see a lot more Trump-friendly Republicans take over the Republican conference as he’s remade the Republican Party to a significant degree.”
- Is the future of social media partisan? Trump says he’s starting his own ‘platform’ (Deseret News) – Trump advisor Jason Miller said it would be “the hottest ticket in social media, it’s going to completely redefine the game.”
