Biden meets Republicans on virus aid, but no quick deal
President Joe Biden meets Republican lawmakers to discuss a coronavirus relief package, in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Feb. 1, 2021, in Washington. From left, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, Vice President Kamala Harris, Biden, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. AdRepublicans are tapping into bipartisan urgency to improve the nation's vaccine distribution and vastly expand virus testing with $160 billion in aid. Psaki said earlier Monday there is “obviously a big gap” between the $1.9 trillion package Biden has proposed and the $618 billion counteroffer. Biden himself has been on the phone to some of the Republicans, the official said.
Biden facing growing pressure over secretary of defense pick
WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden is facing escalating pressure from competing factions within his own party as he finalizes his choice for secretary of defense. And facing massive governing challenges once he takes office on Jan. 20, Biden can perhaps least afford to lose the backing of the Democratic Party’s fiery progressive base. Nearly 100 House Democrats belong to the Progressive Caucus, which may wield significant influence over Biden's policy agenda as Democrats cling to their narrowest House majority in a century. Flournoy, meanwhile, had been seen as the leading candidate for defense secretary under a Democratic president since Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 campaign. Biden has promised both to fight for big, bold policy changes and to compromise with Republicans.
Biden facing growing pressure over secretary of defense pick
WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden is facing escalating pressure from competing factions within his own party as he finalizes his choice for secretary of defense. And facing massive governing challenges once he takes office on Jan. 20, Biden can perhaps least afford to lose the backing of the Democratic Party’s fiery progressive base. Nearly 100 House Democrats belong to the Progressive Caucus, which may wield significant influence over Biden's policy agenda as Democrats cling to their narrowest House majority in a century. Flournoy, meanwhile, had been seen as the leading candidate for defense secretary under a Democratic president since Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 campaign. Biden has promised both to fight for big, bold policy changes and to compromise with Republicans.
Unveiling economic team, Biden pledges, 'Help is on the way'
He picked liberal advisers who have long prioritized the nation’s workers and government efforts to address economic inequality. Biden repeatedly evoked his work as vice president when the Obama administration oversaw the economic recovery following the 2008 financial crisis, noting that many of those on his newly formed economic team worked closely with him then. “We might have to ask Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote a musical about the first secretary of the treasury, Hamilton, to write another musical about the female secretary of the treasury,” Biden joked. The president-elect also selected Wally Adeyemo to be Yellen’s deputy, which would make him the first Black deputy treasury secretary. As he has in recent weeks, Biden repeated calls for Congress to pass immediate pandemic relief funding even before he takes office.
Biden names liberal econ team as pandemic threatens workers
– With unemployment still high and the pandemic threatening yet another economic slump, President-elect Joe Biden is assembling a team of liberal advisers who have long focused on the nation’s workers and government efforts to address economic inequality. Biden also selected Wally Adeyemo to be Yellen’s deputy, which would make him the first Black deputy treasury secretary. “They’re fairly conventional liberal economists and experts.”Still, the Biden administration’s ambitious goals will face solid opposition from Republicans in Congress. She first made her mark in the Clinton orbit, and served as policy director for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential race. Bernstein has also worked as a social worker and was an economist at the Economic Policy Institute, a labor-supported think tank.
Biden names liberal econ team as pandemic threatens workers
Biden also selected Wally Adeyemo to be Yellen’s deputy, which would make him the first Black deputy treasury secretary. Rouse, Tanden and Adeyemo will all require Senate confirmation, and Tanden in particular is already drawing heavy Republican criticism. “They’re fairly conventional liberal economists and experts.”Still, the Biden administration’s ambitious goals will face solid opposition from Republicans in Congress. She first made her mark in the Clinton orbit, and served as policy director for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential race. Bernstein has also worked as a social worker and was an economist at the Economic Policy Institute, a labor-supported think tank.
'So much work to do': How Biden is planning for transition
"No decisions, from personnel to policy, will be made until after the election,” Biden transition spokesman Cameron French said Wednesday. Those roles include leaders of the treasury and health and human services departments and the director of the National Economic Council. One person familiar with the transition planning said Buttigieg could also be an ambassador to the United Nations. If Biden wins, it's unclear how closely Trump administration officials would work with the incoming team. “Is it going to mean the Biden campaign’s not going to be able to conduct the transition?
Deadline looms, but COVID relief deal may be far off
She said the two sides would take stock on Tuesday, which she has staked out as the deadline if a deal is to be reached before the election. Pelosi is angling for the best deal she can get — maybe that’s now, maybe it’s later. And if history is any guide, prospects for a deal in the lame-duck session after the election could be dim. But the Senate GOP bill has failed once before, and Trump himself says it's too puny. For months she has been promising a COVID relief package of more than $2 trillion stuffed with Obama-era stimulus ideas.
Ex-Fed Chair Yellen advises Biden on virus economic fallout
Former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen was among a team of advisers who briefed Joe Biden on Thursday about the economic fallout from the coronavirus. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and his newly chosen running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, participated in the briefing from separate, socially distanced tables at a hotel in Wilmington, Delaware. Word of Yellen's advising Biden is also significant because Biden's campaign had previously been guarded about who was providing it economic expertise. The group was also joined by the Biden campaign's senior policy advisor, Jake Sullivan. ___Associated Press Economic Writer Martin Crutsinger in New York contributed to this report.
US jobs surge: Trump sees sunshine, Biden 'no victory yet'
As Republicans and Democrats fought to spin Thursday's jobs numbers to their advantage, both sides face tremendous political risks in navigating a delicate and defining issue heading into the presidential campaign's final months. Todays announcement proves that our economy is roaring back, Trump exulted to reporters at the White House after the June numbers were released. Jared Bernstein, a Biden economic adviser, encouraged Congress to adopt a new round of fiscal stimulus for unemployed Americans immediately. Biden has released his own plan to combat coronavirus, which calls for a massive surge in testing and required face masks for all people in public. Trump, however, focused on the best of the news, declaring that it would die with a Biden victory in November.
US jobs surge: Trump sees sunshine, Biden 'no victory yet'
As Republicans and Democrats fought to spin Thursday's jobs numbers to their advantage, both sides face tremendous political risks in navigating a delicate and defining issue heading into the presidential campaign's final months. Todays announcement proves that our economy is roaring back, Trump exulted to reporters at the White House after the June numbers were released. Jared Bernstein, a Biden economic adviser, encouraged Congress to adopt a new round of fiscal stimulus for unemployed Americans immediately. Biden has released his own plan to combat coronavirus, which calls for a massive surge in testing and required face masks for all people in public. Trump, however, focused on the best of the new news, declaring that it would die with a Biden victory in November.
Biden to focus on economic plans, inequality in weeks ahead
To have true justice in America, we need economic justice, Biden said this week in Philadelphia. The former vice president says the plans to be unveiled later this month will focus on housing, education and access to capital. Biden, who ran a centrist campaign to win the primary, was moving to the left on some economic issues before the virus hit. But as Biden and other alumni of the Obama administration can attest, grand ambitions sometimes meet more challenging realities. Austan Goolsbee, Obamas chief economic adviser during the 2008 campaign who later served on the Council of Economic Advisers, noted there was a similar concern during those years that simply reacting to the economic crisis could take the focus off progressive priorities.
White House punts economic update as election draws near
Paul Winfree, a former Trump White House director of budget policy, doubted that the holdup on the economic update was on Trump's radar. Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, noted that the law requires the White House to update its budget forecast. In 2017, the Trump administration criticized the Obama administration for rosy expectations of growth during the Great Recession more than a decade ago. An updated forecast in the mid-session review could make the Trump White House a similar target for criticism. This is a White House that is in denial about the trajectory of the economy.___Associated Press writers Alexandra Jaffe and Emily Swanson in Washington contributed to this report.