Senate debates as Republicans try to derail Covid’s $ 1.9 trillion aid project – live | United States News

The White House briefing has been completed. Here’s the day so far:

• The U.S. economy created 379,000 jobs last month, according to the latest report from the labor department. The unemployment rate fell slightly to 6.2%.
• The Senate initiated its “favorable vote” on the coronavirus relief bill. Senator Bernie Sanders has already submitted a proposal to add a federal minimum wage of $ 15 to the aid package, but that measure appears to have failed.
• Chuck Schumer promised that the Senate would remain in session until the aid project against the coronavirus was approved. “The Senate is going to get a lot of votes. But we will approve and finish this project, no matter how long it takes, ”said the Democratic majority leader this morning. “The American people are counting on us and our nation depends on it.”

The blog will have more news soon, stay tuned.

Press Secretary of the White House Jen Psaki rejected the notion that Joe Biden he was “snubbing” lawmakers by delaying his first speech at a joint session of Congress.

“There is no contempt going on here,” said Psaki. “We are in the middle of a global pandemic.”

Psaki added that Biden intended to address Congress soon and is in consultation with Congressional leaders to determine a date for this speech.

The White House previously indicated that Biden wants to wait to address Congress until he signs the coronavirus relief bill.

Press Secretary of the White House Jen Psaki was asked whether Joe Biden would soon speak to the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Psaki said the two leaders would speak “at some point”, but she did not give a clear idea of ​​when this could happen.

Press Secretary of the White House Jen Psaki said Joe Biden “Is not involved in conversations or negotiations about lowering the minimum wage limit”.

Psaki reiterated that Biden strongly supports Bernie Sanders’ proposed raising the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour, but she said the president is currently focused on passing the coronavirus relief bill.

Psaki’s comments come at a time when the Senate appears to have rejected Sanders’ amendment to add a minimum wage clause to the aid package.

Press Secretary of the White House Jen Psaki was asked whether Joe Biden was concerned because it appears that his coronavirus relief bill will not attract bipartisan support in Congress.

“Bipartisanship is not determined by a single postal code in Washington, DC,” replied Psaki.

The press secretary noted that the polls showed that a large majority of the American people support the aid package and argued that these polls better reflect bipartisan support for the project.

Press Secretary of the White House Jen Psaki was asked about the Detroit Mayor’s rejection of a Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine shipment because of its lower efficacy rate compared to the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.

“Our team is in contact with the mayor. There was a little misunderstanding, ”said Psaki.

Echoing public health experts, the press secretary once again encouraged Americans to receive any of the three approved coronavirus vaccines that are made available to them.

Press Secretary of the White House Jen Psaki said a group of senior officials will soon travel to the US-Mexico border to provide Joe Biden with a briefing on the influx of unaccompanied migrant children at the border.

Citing security issues, Psaki did not provide details about which officers were going or where specifically along the border they were going.

When a reporter noticed that Donald Trump criticized Biden’s immigration agenda, Psaki replied, “We did not follow our advice or advice from ex-President Trump on immigration policy.”

Press Secretary of the White House Jen Psaki was once again asked about Joe BidenSenate views on Senate obstruction.

“His vision and position have not changed,” said Psaki.

Biden had already opposed the idea of ​​dismantling the obstruction, although he left himself some room for maneuver if Republicans attempt to obstruct their entire agenda, which the progressives said was a virtual certainty.

From now on, Democrats has no vote to remove the obstruction because at least two moderate Democratic senators, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, said they are against the idea.

Jen Psaki said Joe Biden he will hold his first full press conference as president “before the end of the month”.

Biden received some criticism for not having given a solo press conference yet, as many reporters noted that Barack Obama and Donald Trump they had already held press conferences to this point in their presidencies.

Psaki defended the timing of the press conference, saying that Biden has focused on responding to the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting economic consequence.

The press secretary also noted that Biden often answers questions from reporters after his events, but the president usually answers only one or two questions before he leaves.

Joe Biden will travel to Baltimore on Wednesday to meet with CEOs of Johnson & Johnson and Merck, press secretary Jen Psaki just announced.

The trip comes days after the president announced that Merck would begin producing the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine.

Biden said he would invoke the Defense Production Act to help Merck’s facilities obtain the resources needed to start producing the vaccine.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki is holding her daily briefing, and she started the event by commenting on the latest job report.

“While it shows some progress, it also shows the long road ahead,” said Psaki.

The press secretary noted that the U.S. economy still has about 9.5 million fewer jobs than it did in February 2020, before the coronavirus pandemic began.

The work report will be discussed when Joe Biden receives an economic briefing from the Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen later today, Psaki said.

Richard Luscombe reports to the Guardian:

A former adviser to Andrew Cuomo who accused the New York governor of sexual harassment said she believed he was a “textbook abuser” who knew she was a survivor of sexual violence and still made inadequate strides.

Charlotte Bennett, 25, a former executive assistant and health policy consultant for Cuomo, told CBS Evening News on Thursday that Cuomo was trying to make a proposal for her to have sex during an “uncomfortable” meeting in his office last spring, and that she felt that “I had to get out of this room as soon as possible”.

She said it was one of several incidents in which the 63-year-old governor, who also faces similar charges from two other women, acted inappropriately.

“He’s a textbook abuser,” said Bennett, when asked how she would describe Cuomo. “He allows his temper and his anger to rule the office, but he was very sweet to me for a year in the hope that maybe one day, when he came to me, I would think we were friends or that it was appropriate or that it was OK. ”