Category: Joe Biden

Trump gutted Obama-era housing discrimination rules. Biden’s bringing them back.

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HUD submits rules to address systemic racism and housing discrimination

Housing Secretary Marcia L. Fudge moved this week to reinstate fair housing regulations that had been gutted under President Donald Trump, in one of the most tangible steps that the Biden administration has taken thus far to address systemic racism.

The effort comes less than three months after President Biden signed executive orders aimed at increasing racial equity across the nation, including directing the Department of Housing and Urban Development to examine and reverse actions taken by the Trump administration that undermined fair housing principles.

The Biden administration plans to reinstate a 2013 rule that codified a decades-old legal standard known as “disparate impact” as well as a 2015 rule requiring communities to identify and dismantle barriers to racial integration or risk losing federal funds, according to notices posted Tuesday by the Office of Management and Budget signaling the rules have been accepted for review. Continue reading.

In a Bipartisan Meeting, Biden Makes the Case for His Infrastructure Plan

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The president met with lawmakers from both parties in an effort to show some flexibility on the size of his $2 trillion proposal and how to pay for it.

WASHINGTON — Facing opposition from Republicans and some centrist Democrats to parts of his $2 trillion infrastructure proposal, President Biden on Monday convened a bipartisan group of lawmakers at the White House, hoping to make progress toward a deal that can pass a bitterly divided Congress.

Sitting in the Oval Office with the group, Mr. Biden said he was “prepared to negotiate as to the extent of the infrastructure project, as well as how we pay for it.”

The meeting was an effort by the White House to show that it was willing to at least consider proposals to scale back or reshape the package and listen to alternatives to its own plan to pay for it by raising taxes on corporations. Continue reading.

Kristen Clarke faced abuse for taking on Trump. Now she’s poised to lead Justice Department’s civil rights team.

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President Donald Trump was waging his baseless assault on the presidential election results last fall when Kristen Clarke, head of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, opened her inbox to a stream of vicious threats over her efforts to fight back and protect the rights of voters.

Openly misogynistic, littered with racial epithets, the messages were of the variety that seeks to debase and intimidate prominent minority women. “May you be found guilty by military tribunal and executed by hanging,” one email read.

Clarke, who is Black, posted it on Twitter. Continue reading.

American Jobs Plan: The Need for Action in Minnesota

American Jobs Plan


For decades, infrastructure in Minnesota has suffered from a systemic lack of investment. The need for action is clear:

Minnesota’s infrastructure received a C grade on its Infrastructure Report Card. The American Jobs Plan will make a historic investment in our nation’s infrastructure.

  • ROADS AND BRIDGES: In Minnesota there are 661 bridges and over 4,986 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 8.6% in Minnesota and on average, each driver pays $543 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The American Jobs Plan will devote more than $600 billion to transform our nations’ transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $115 billion repairing roads and bridges.
Continue reading “American Jobs Plan: The Need for Action in Minnesota”

Biden picks Tucson police chief to run U.S. Customs and Border Protection

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President Biden is preparing to nominate Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus to be commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, selecting a critic of the Trump administration’s immigration policies to run the country’s largest federal law enforcement agency as it contends with the biggest increase in migrants arriving at the southwest border in two decades.

Magnus has led the Tucson police department since 2016 and has prominently associated himself with the movement favored by the progressive wing of the Democratic Party that emphasizes a less-aggressive, community-based policing model.

Magnus opposed efforts to make Tucson a “sanctuary city,” but he generally eschewed cooperation with federal immigration authorities, placing him at odds with the Border Patrol union — and many of the agents and officials who will potentially be under his command. Continue reading.

Biden Republicans? Some in GOP open to president’s agenda

RALEIGH, N.C. — Jay Copan doesn’t hide his disregard for the modern Republican Party.

A solid Republican voter for the past four decades, the 69-year-old quickly regretted casting his 2016 ballot for Donald Trump. When Trump was up for reelection last year, Copan appeared on roadside billboards across North Carolina, urging other Republicans to back Democratic rival Joe Biden.

Nearly three months into the new administration, Copan considers himself a “Biden Republican,” relieved by the new president’s calmer leadership style and coronavirus vaccine distribution efforts. Copan is the type of voter Biden is counting on as he pushes an agenda that’s almost universally opposed by Republicans in Washington. Continue reading.

White House races clock to beat GOP attacks

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President Biden is facing a ticking clock as he seeks to shepherd a massive infrastructure bill through Congress that is his next big legislative priority.

The complicated set of policy proposals funded in part by hiking the corporate tax rate and closing other loopholes divides Democrats and is likely to have unified GOP opposition.

It’s being offered as Biden rides a wave of momentum following the successful passage of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill, and the quick rollout of vaccinations that has helped keep his approval ratings high. Continue reading.

Democrats see political winner in tax fight

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As President Biden races ahead with a mammoth plan to bolster the nation’s infrastructure, Democrats are gambling they’ll get a political boost from an accompanying proposal: the tax hikes designed to defray the massive costs.

Biden on Wednesday outlined a slate of tax reforms aimed at raising $2.5 trillion — much of it from large corporations — to underwrite the new infrastructure spending. The proposal was quickly roasted by Republicans, who have long portrayed Democrats as the party of higher taxes and are now warning that Biden’s plan would hurt small businesses and kill American jobs.

Yet national polls have consistently revealed that tax hikes on corporations and other wealthy taxpayers enjoy strong support among a broad array of voters, including independents. And some Democrats are practically drooling at the prospect of bringing that debate to the national stage to highlight the GOP’s resistance to a popular concept. Continue reading.

Biden announces commission to study expanding the Supreme Court

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President Biden will sign an executive order Friday that creates a bipartisan commission to study a number of Supreme Court reforms, including expanding the number of seats on the court, the White House said.

Why it matters: The six-month commission, promised by Biden throughout the 2020 election, will provide an analysis of the principal arguments surrounding the divisive subject. Progressives are pushing for more seats after former President Trump appointed three justices to the court.

Context: Biden has not said definitively whether he supports adding seats to the court, though his congressional allies — including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer — have advocated for additional seats as a response to Republicans quickly filling former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat during an election year. Continue reading.

Biden $1.5T budget proposes major hike in social programs

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President Biden on Friday proposed a $1.5 trillion annual budget for fiscal 2022, $118 billion higher than the regular 2020 appropriations, featuring a significant 16 percent boost in nondefense spending.

The $769 billion nondefense budget, which covers government departments such as Transportation, Health and Human Services, Justice and Education, is a $105.7 billion increase from the current level.

Administration officials, who say that the government has underinvested in domestic spending for years, noted that it would be roughly in line with the 30-year nondefense average of 3.3 percent of gross domestic product. Continue reading.