Voting rights clash erupts as Schumer, McConnell face off in Senate
Senate leaders Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer in January. Credit: Pool via AP / Kevin Dietsch
'Shame, shame, shame'
The latest eruption over the democratic process resounded in the Senate Wednesday with opposing sermons from Chuck Schumer and the man he succeeded as majority leader, Mitch McConnell. If nothing else, it showed the partisan fires of former President Donald Trump's impeachments still blazing two months into the administration of President Joe Biden.
The For the People Act, on which the Senate Rules and Administration Committee held a hearing Wednesday, is a major voting rights and ethics bill that Democrats hail and Republicans denounce. It's similar to the House-approved measure, which aims to boost voter participation by expanding early balloting, reducing identification requirements, allowing same-day registration and mandating automatic registration for federal elections.
The legislation also would limit states' purging of voter rolls and allow former felons to vote, as well as require independent redistricting and more transparency in campaign finance.
Schumer (D-N.Y.) made a rare appearance before the panel. Scolding Republican efforts to do the opposite by imposing new voting restrictions in several states, he said: "This is one of the most despicable things I've seen in all my years.
"Shame, shame shame," he chided. "I would like to ask my Republican colleagues: Why are you so afraid of democracy? Why — instead of trying to win voters over that you lost in the last election — are you trying to prevent them from voting?"
McConnell (R-Ky.) replied: "Talk about shame. If anybody ought to be feeling any shame around here, it’s turning the [Federal Election Commission] into a partisan prosecutor. The majority controlled by the president’s party to harass and intimidate the other side — that’s what you ought to be ashamed about." False claims of widespread voter fraud that once supported the GOP position have lost all credibility amid Trump's theatrics over losing the election.
Lacking the 60 votes needed for the legislation's approval, Senate Democrats have discussed such tactical options as changing filibuster rules or breaking the measure into smaller parts. For now, the strategy seems to be forcing GOP lawmakers to record their opposition to the voting rights bill, which is believed to be widely popular.
Border becomes Harris' hassle
Biden on Wednesday assigned Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the administration's efforts to ease the migration surge putting new pressure on the U.S. southern border. Part of her task involves working with Central American nations from which many migrants, including unaccompanied minors, are fleeing and arriving via Mexico.
Biden in public remarks spoke of saddling Harris with a "tough job" for which she's equipped. "Needless to say, the work will not be easy," Harris said. "But it is important work." Factors driving the exodus are reported to include the coronavirus pandemic and severe storms.
EPA chief targets climate denial
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan vowed to help restore scientific integrity by updating policies, reports or data that may have been subjected to denial and manipulation under Trump.
"When politics drives science rather than science informing policy, we are more likely to make policy choices that sacrifice the health of the most vulnerable among us," Regan wrote to staff in a memo reported by NBC News. He said "manipulating, suppressing or otherwise impeding science has real world consequences for human health and the environment."
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg moved meanwhile to delete key deregulatory actions by the Trump administration.
They let the dogs in
First dogs Champ and Major Biden were back in Washington early Wednesday after spending part of the month in Delaware, where Major underwent remedial training after causing a "minor injury" at the White House.
A spokesman for first lady Jill Biden confirmed the dogs' return but did not specify when it happened. One of the family's two German shepherds could be seen in an Executive Residence photo posted by a Reuters reporter.
Crisis by the numbers
Each day, it seems, a new statistic fills out another part of the pandemic-economic picture.
For one, the Treasury Department announced Wednesday it has given out 127 million economic relief payments totaling $325 billion so far under the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief and stimulus package. For another, officials in more than 40 states have said they'll meet Biden's goal of making every adult eligible for a vaccine by May 1.
Meanwhile, the U.S. total of coronavirus-related deaths comes to more than 545,000.
More coronavirus news
See a roundup of the latest regional pandemic developments on Long Island and beyond by Newsday's Bart Jones and Lisa L. Colangelo. For a full list of Newsday's coronavirus stories, click here.
What else is happening:
- Dr. Rachel Levine became the first openly transgender official ever confirmed by the Senate. Approved Wednesday in a 52-48 vote, she will be the assistant secretary for health.
- Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said her department has "thorny questions" to resolve before it can guide states on a provision in the coronavirus relief package that bars them from using federal aid to subsidize tax cuts.
- Lawyer Sidney Powell's bizarre defense could harm her chances of winning dismissal of a defamation suit against her and perhaps hasten her disbarment. Powell had peddled fictional voter-fraud scenarios on behalf of Trump.
- Biden faces a morass of potentially thorny questions Thursday in his first solo news conference since taking office.
- Trump has talked with relatively obscure app vendors as he considers partnering with an existing platform to create his own social media network, Axios reports.
- Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) is seen by some Washington insiders as Biden's "shadow secretary of state." He recently flew to Ethiopia to address atrocities there, according to Politico.
Dan Janison is a member of the Newsday editorial board.
'I'm going to try to avoid it' A trip to the emergency room in a Long Island hospital now averages nearly 4 hours, data shows. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.
