- Trump appointee arrested in connection with Capitol riot (Politico) – Frederico Klein worked for a time in the State Department’s Office of Brazilian and Southern Cone Affairs before being transferred to the office that handles Freedom of Information Act requests.
- State Department aide appointed by Trump stormed the Capitol, beat police with a riot shield, FBI says (Washington Post) – Federal agents arrested Federico G. Klein, 42, a former State Department aide, on multiple felony charges related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. He is the first member of the previous administration arrested in relation to the insurrection.
- A guide to what you can expect to get from the $1.9 trillion Senate stimulus (CNN) – Senators narrowed the eligibility for stimulus checks and removed a provision to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.
- Opinion: Why Democrats may look back on the $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill with regret (CNN) – Because this is the first major legislative initiative of Biden’s presidency, the Democrats’ unwillingness to compromise may have poisoned the well when it comes to future bipartisan action.
- Cuomo Aides Rewrote Nursing Home Report to Hide Higher Death Toll (New York Times) – The “intervention” in June was the earliest action yet known in an effort by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo that concealed how many nursing home residents died in the pandemic.
- Capitol Police Call For Extension Of National Guard Help (NPR) – U.S. Capitol Police requested a 60-day extension for a portion of the National Guard troops currently in Washington, D.C., Thursday as the threat of a possible attack from militia groups looms over the city.
- Texas family detention centers expected to transform into rapid-processing hubs (Texas Tribune) – The Ellis-Island-style hubs that will screen migrant parents and children with a goal of releasing them into the United States within 72 hours.
- Biden limits eligibility for stimulus payments under pressure from moderate Senate Democrats (Washington Post) – Change comes as Senate prepares to move forward on Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief bill.
- Biden celebrates House passing HR 1, Dems’ campaign bill, vows work to ‘refine and advance’ legislation (Fox News) – Biden called the right to vote “sacred and fundamental,” adding that it is “the right from which all of our other rights as Americans spring.”
- Senate votes to open debate on Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill (Washington Post) – Democrats move forward without GOP support after flurry of 11th-hour negotiations.
- ‘I…really struggled through this one’: A Republican senator chose history over oil and gas (Washington Post) – Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted to confirm Rep. Deb Haaland’s nomination as the first Native American interior secretary.
- What is this new voting rights act about? (Deseret News) – The new law would add new requirements that would weaken restrictive voter ID laws, create an automatic voter registration program, and expand early and mail-in voting, among other things.
- Texas is ‘open 100%,’ but has it really crossed the pandemic finish line? (Deseret News) – The real answer doesn’t make for a good campaign slogan. It isn’t a politician’s dream. It won’t make the agitators happy right now, and no, it can’t be legislated.
