Tag: President Biden

Biden says he got what he wanted from Putin summit

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President Biden on Wednesday framed his three-hour sit-down with Russian President Vladimir Putin as a foreign policy win, even as tensions on cyberattacks and human rights loom over the future of the relationship between the two leaders.

White House officials sought to keep expectations low and tightly controlled the optics of the meeting, opting for a solo press conference with Biden instead of a joint one with him standing next to Putin.

The president would not divulge his planned message to Putin when asked at the preceding Group of Seven (G-7) and NATO summits, and officials repeatedly said they hoped for a “predictable and stable” relationship with Moscow, even as experts noted Putin thrives on sowing disorder. Continue reading.

Biden to nominate Tom Nides as ambassador to Israel; Ken Salazar, ‘Sully’ Sullenberger also get posts

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President Biden announced his first slate of political ambassadors Tuesday, selecting longtime Washington hands for key foreign postings.

Biden will nominate Thomas R. Nides, a former State Department official, to serve as the ambassador to Israel; Julie Smith, a former Biden national security adviser, as the ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; and Ken Salazar, the former secretary of the interior and senator from Colorado, as the ambassador to Mexico.

The Washington Post previously reported that the three were expected to be chosen for those spots. Continue reading.

Biden, E.U. end 17-year Airbus-Boeing trade dispute, seek to calm relations after Trump

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BRUSSELS — President Biden and European Union leaders reached a deal Tuesday to put to rest a 17-year-old trade dispute about subsidies for aircraft manufacturers, officials said, a significant step in calming trade relations after the fury of the Trump years.

A five-year truce, which was announced at a meeting Tuesday in Brussels between Biden and the top leaders of E.U. institutions, was the latest effort in a transatlantic reconciliation tour that the new president started last week at the Group of Seven summit in Britain.

At each stop, including at NATO on Monday, Biden has tried to mend ties that were damaged under President Donald Trump, who often drew close to traditional American adversaries and targeted longtime allies with vitriol. Continue reading.

White House issues new rules on ‘Buy American’ waivers

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The Biden administration on Friday issued guidance to federal agencies that aims to streamline the implementation of the president’s “Made in America” executive order.

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) sent a memo to federal agencies and department heads outlining how the administration will seek to reduce waivers and increase transparency so the federal government outsources its manufacturing needs less often. The guidance was obtained exclusively by The Hill ahead of its release.

“It requires agencies to examine current Made in America practices and develop plans to improve them. These efforts will work together to promote economic security, national security, and good-paying union jobs here at home,” Celeste Drake, director of the Made in America Office within OMB, said in a release outlining the guidance. Continue reading.

Biden, Boris Johnson agree to a revitalized Atlantic Charter in first meeting

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President Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday agreed to a revitalized Atlantic Charter in their first face-to-face meeting, a day ahead of the Group of Seven summit. The document, which updates an agreement signed in 1941, seeks to build on common principles to address new challenges, including climate change and cyberattacks.

Biden, visiting England on his first overseas trip as president, later described the U.S. decision to donate 500 million doses of coronavirus vaccine to other nations as “a monumental commitment by the American people.” He said other G-7 nations would also be announcing vaccine commitments. View the post and updates here.

Global approval of the United States has rebounded under Biden, survey finds

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President Biden has promised the world that “America is back.”

As he takes his first trip abroad as president, a Pew Research Center global surveyreleased Thursday shows that many in advanced economies believe it.

Trust in the U.S. president fell to historic lows in most countries surveyed during Donald Trump’s presidency, according to Pew.

Under Biden, it has soared. In the 12 countries surveyed both this year and last, a median of 75 percent of respondents expressed confidence in Biden to “do the right thing regarding world affairs,” Pew found, compared with 17 percent for Trump last year. Sixty-two percent of respondents now have a favorable view of the United States vs. 34 percent at the end of Trump’s presidency. Continue reading.

Biden pushes protection for more streams and wetlands, targeting a major Trump rollback

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The change could have broad implications for farming, real estate development and other activities, the latest salvo in a decades-long battle

The Biden administration is set to toss out President Donald Trump’s efforts to scale back the number of streams, marshes and other wetlands that fall under federal protection, kicking off a legal and regulatory scuffle over the fate of wetlands and waterways around the country, from the arid West to the swampy South.

Michael Regan, head of the Environmental Protection Agency, said his team determined that the Trump administration’s rollback is “leading to significant environmental degradation.” The EPA and Army Corps of Engineers will craft a new set of protections for waterways that provide habitats for wildlife and safe drinking water for millions of Americans, according to a joint statement.

With the announcement, the Biden administration is wading into a decades-long battle over how far federal officials can go to stop contaminants from entering small streams and other wetlands. Continue reading.

Biden revokes, replaces Trump executive orders on Chinese-owned apps

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President Biden signed an executive order Wednesday on ensuring the security of American user data in regard to foreign-owned apps such as TikTok, revoking and replacing three Trump-era executive orders to impose a more structured “criteria-based decision framework” for potential bans.

Driving the news: It’s the latest in a series of China-related steps Biden is taking ahead of his first overseas trip to Europe, where curtailing Beijing’s abuses will be a top agenda item in meetings with G7 and NATO leaders.

Details: The EO replaces three previous Trump-era EOs and directs the Department of Commerce to “instead evaluate foreign adversary connected software applications” under new rules. Continue reading.

Biden ends infrastructure talks with key Republican

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President Biden on Tuesday cut off prolonged infrastructure negotiations with a GOP group led by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and will instead move forward on discussions with a bipartisan group of senators.

The White House announced Biden’s move after the president and Capito spoke Tuesday afternoon. The two remained far apart on a deal during that discussion despite weeks of talks. The White House as a result is shifting to talks with a bipartisan group that is crafting its own proposal, an administration official confirmed.

Members of the bipartisan group include Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and other Senate moderates, such as Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). The senators are aiming to release a proposal by the end of the week.  Continue reading.

As Job Growth Doubles, Republicans Insist Biden ‘Failed’

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House Republicans spent Friday morning attacking President Joe Biden over the latest jobs numbers, suggesting the figures, which were slightly lower than predicted, constituted a failure.

The U.S. economy in fact added 559,000 jobs in May — more than double the number added the month before. The improving employment data comes as new unemployment claims have dropped to new pandemic lows in recent weeks, in the wake of Biden’s American Rescue Plan and a successful COVID-19 vaccination drive.

Though the new job totals were slightly below the economists’ predictions of around 650,000 new jobs, the unemployment rate dropped to 5.8 percent — better than those same economists’ 5.9 percent expectation. Continue reading.