Later today, the Senate is scheduled to vote on two more Biden Cabinet nominations. The Senate is set to vote on the nominations of Pete Buttigieg for Transportation Secretary and Alejandro Mayorkas for Secretary of Homeland Security.
News and updates
What We’re Reading this Week (January 25th-29th, 2021)
Below is a selection of articles the Federal Relations team read this week.
Raising the minimum wage?: Democrats may attempt to use the annual budget reconciliation to increase the federal minimum wage to $15/hour by 2025. Read here.
Power Sharing Agreement: Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) have reached a power-sharing agreement in the 50-50 split Senate following a feud over ending the filibuster. The filibuster will remain intact. Read more.
Impeachment Trial: Articles of impeachment passed in the House have been transmitted to the Senate. After Republicans tried to halt the trial on constitutionality grounds, the Senate will move ahead following a 55-45 vote. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) will oversee the trial, rather than SCOTUS Chief Justice Roberts. 60 votes are needed to convict the former President, which seems unlikely to happen. Analysis here.
Judge Strikes Down Deportation Moratorium: U.S. District Judge Drew B. Tipton of the Southern District of Texas struck down President Biden’s 100 day moratorium on deportations, finding that the Administration failed to consider options more narrow in scope and time, and failed to provide concrete justification. The moratorium will be halted for 14 days as the court continues to review the case. Story here.
US and Russia Extend Arms Treaty: Russian parliament voted to extend the New START Treaty for another five years. The treaty does not require Congressional approval in the US, and limits American and Russian nuclear arsenals. Read more.
Conspiracy Theories: The White House declined to comment after freshman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) was accused of supporting several conspiracy theories and making threats towards Democratic leadership preceding her run for Congress. Read more.
FBI Lawyer Gets Probation: A former attorney for the FBI narrowly avoided jailtime after doctoring an email which was instrumental in the FBI receiving approval to surveil a former Trump campaign aide during the Russia investigation. Full story.
Biden Signs Executive Orders to Tackle Climate Crisis
President Biden signed several Executive Orders related to climate resiliency and sustainable infrastructure. The Executive Orders aim to:
- Center the Climate Crisis in US Foreign Policy and National Security Considerations;
- Take a “Whole-of-Government” approach to the Climate Crisis and Create an Office of Domestic Climate Policy;
- Leverage Federal Buying Power;
- Rebuild Infrastructure to catalyze the creation of jobs in construction, manufacturing, engineering and the skilled-trades;
- Advance Conservation, Agriculture, and Reforestation;
- Revitalize Energy Communities;
- Secure Environmental Justice and Economic Opportunity.
The President also signed a memorandum on scientific integrity and evidence-based policymaking, which will re-establish the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).
A full fact-sheet is available here.
Further Executive Actions Related to Race and Equity
On January 26th, President Biden undertook four executive actions related to diversity, race, and equity, spanning several issue areas. The President:
- Instructed the Department of Justice to not renew contracts with privately-owned prisons. This does not apply to other agencies such as DHS. Full Executive Order here.
- Instructed the Department of Housing and Urban Development to reassess changes made under the prior administration which made it harder for plaintiffs to prove unintentional discrimination in housing policies, and that HUD should implement the Fair Housing Act’s requirements in a way that prevents practices with an unjustified discriminatory effect. Memorandum here.
- Reaffirmed tribal sovereignty and directed agencies to submit plans to comply with Executive Order 13175 (November 6, 2000), requiring agencies to engage in regular, meaningful, and robust consultation with Tribal officials in the development of Federal policies that have Tribal implications. Memorandum here.
- Condemned racism and xenophobia towards Asian Americans, and required that agencies do not use xenophobic language with regards to COVID-19, and directed the Attorney General to expand anti-Asian hate crime reporting. Memorandum here.
Blinken Confirmed as Secretary of State
Earlier today, the Senate confirmed Antony Blinken as Secretary of State by a vote of 78 to 22. Read more about Blinken and the confirmation process here.