Tag: President Biden

#EndorseThis: Trevor Noah Exposes The Hypocrisy Of Fox News

Unlike most Americans, the honchos at Fox News are unhappy. They’ve spent the first days of Joe Biden’s presidency complaining — a lot. While the right-wing media mammoth isn’t handling Trump’s exit well, they’re devoting extra attention to the so-called “national left-wing media” and the “gushing” coverage of the Biden administration. 

We can debate the coverage of Biden thus far, but what’s not debatable is how eagerly Fox News licked Trump ‘s boots from day one.

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah noticed this blatant hypocrisy and wasn’t afraid to call them on their bullshit. Watch and you will collapse in laughter watching this scorching “then” and “now” comparison. Continue reading.

Biden has first call with Putin as president

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President Biden spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, the first call between the two leaders since Biden was elected president, and pressed the Russian leader on the SolarWinds hack and the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that the call took place Tuesday afternoon and Biden intended to communicate his administration’s desire to seek a full five-year extension of the New START nuclear arms treaty with Russia. Biden also planned to raise concerns about ongoing Russian aggression, she said.

The White House later issued a formal readout of the call stating Biden and Putin agreed “to have their teams work urgently” to complete the five-year extension of New START by the Feb. 5 deadline. Continue reading.

Biden signs orders on racial equity, and civil rights groups press for more

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President Biden signed four executive actions Tuesday aimed at increasing racial equity across the nation, a move the administration said was a big early step in his efforts to dismantle systemic racism, though civil rights groups made it clear they will press for more-sweeping change in the months ahead.

The measures seek to strengthen anti-discrimination housing policies that were weakened under President Donald Trump, halt new Justice Department contracts with private prisons, increase the sovereignty of Native American tribes and combat violence and xenophobia against Asian Americans and Pacific islanders, weeks after the departure of a president who blamed the Chinese for the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden said the actions were part of an effort to infuse a focus on equity into everything the federal government does. Continue reading.

Biden poised to halt new fossil fuel leasing on federal land and water Wednesday

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The planned moratorium would pause oil and gas auctions as officials review the nation’s leasing system

President Biden is poised to impose a moratorium on new federal oil and gas leasing Wednesday, according to three people briefed on the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plan was still being finalized. The move will deliver on one of Biden’s boldest climate campaign pledges but will encounter stiff resistance from the fossil fuel industry.

The White House has prepared documents that would pause new oil and gas auctions on federal land and water as the new administration reviews the program, these people said. The moratorium would not affect existing leases, meaning drilling would continue on public land in the West as well as in the Gulf of Mexico.

The memo remains a draft subject to final approval, said one person close to the White House who spoke on the condition of anonymity because it had not been formally announced. Administration officials had considered imposing a moratorium on new federal coal leasing as well, but one of the people briefed on the plan said officials are leaning against that option. Continue reading.

Biden to reopen ACA insurance marketplaces as pandemic has cost millions of Americans their coverage

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President Biden is scheduled to take executive actions as early as Thursday to reopen federal marketplaces selling Affordable Care Act health plans and to lower recent barriers to joining Medicaid.

The orders will be Biden’s first steps since taking office to help Americans gain health insurance, a prominent campaign goal that has assumed escalating significance as the pandemic has dramatized the need for affordable health care — and deprived millions of Americans coverage as they have lost jobs in the economic fallout.

Under one order, HealthCare.gov, the online insurance marketplace for Americans who cannot get affordable coverage through their jobs, will swiftly reopen for at least a few months, according to several individuals inside and outside the administration familiar with the plans. Ordinarily, signing up for such coverage is tightly restricted outside a six-week period late each year. Continue reading.

Biden to sign executive order reforming ‘Buy American’ rules

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President Biden plans to sign an executive order on Monday aimed at strengthening “Buy American” rules with the goal of increasing the federal government’s procurement of American-made goods.

The order would set in motion several changes to the implementation of the laws requiring federal government agencies to procure materials and products domestically.

According to administration officials, the order Biden plans to sign Monday would create a new senior role at the White House Office of Management and Budget to oversee the implementation of the new rules. It would create a central review of waivers for Buy American requirements with the aim of reducing the number of unnecessary waivers, which allow agencies to purchase goods overseas. It would also call for a website where waiver requests can be publicly viewed. Continue reading.

Conservatives are accidentally telling on themselves with their new complaint about Biden

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President Joe Biden’s inaugural speech won praise from many observers, who appreciated his calls for unity and his unflinching but still optimistic assessment of the problems the country faces and the path forward. But many Republicans and conservatives lashed out against Biden in the days that followed, picking up on what others might have assumed were innocuous passages and using them as a source of outrage.

The talking points quickly became quite common on the right, revealing disturbing trends in right-wing thought.

On Fox News, Guest Dan Henninger said of Biden’s speech: Continue reading.

Meet the man tasked with fixing America’s bungled COVID vaccine rollout

President Joe Biden has appointed former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner David Kessler to take on one of the least enviable yet most important roles of his upcoming administration: overseeing the rollout of COVID vaccines.

Kessler is a longtime FDA vet, physician, and lawyer who oversaw the critical agency from 1990 to 1997. But he has his work cut out for him as the push for widespread COVID vaccination brushes up against logistical uncertainty and an unruly rollout that has already frustrated multiple state leaders and public health officials.

Why Kessler for this highly specialized role, technically dubbed the chief science officer for COVID response? A breadth of experience across the medical industry and regulatory agencies. As a former FDA commissioner and medical school dean, Kessler understands the intricacies of how health systems work with the federal government and has a finger on the pulse of public health messaging. Continue reading.

Biden signs order requiring masks on planes, buses, trains and at airports

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NOTE: This article is provided free to read by The Washington Post.

President Biden signed an order Thursday mandating masks in airports and on many planes, trains, ships and intercity buses. His action comes on the heels of a Wednesday order — his first as president — requiring masks on federal property.

Together, the two orders come as close to a national mask mandate as his federal powers may allow, leaving it to states and municipalities to require residents to wear masks at a local level.

Biden’s choice of masks as a leading item on his agenda illustrates a possible early win in tackling the virus and the challenges he faces in trying to turn around the nation’s response to the coronavirusand reduce its devastating death toll. It’s also a break from the Trump administration’s handling of the issue. Continue reading.

Biden to keep Wray as FBI director

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President Biden plans to keep FBI Director Christopher Wray in his position, allowing him to continue serving out his 10-year term.

Wray was nominated by then-President Trump to helm the FBI in June 2017, after Trump abruptly fired James Comey from the position as the bureau was investigating his campaign’s communications with Russia.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki did not directly answer when asked at a briefing Wednesday evening whether Biden had confidence in Wray, saying she had not spoken with Biden about Wray specifically “in recent days.” Continue reading.