Biden news: Tanden drops out over Twitter row, as president says vaccines for all adults by May
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Your support makes all the difference.Joe Biden says the US will have enough vaccines for all adults in the country by the end of may after invoking the Defence Production Act to accelerate manufacturing of the newly-approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The president said that all teachers should be vaccinated by the end of March in an effort to get students back in school as a "national imperative".
Meanwhile, governors of Texas and Mississippi announced that mask mandates would end and businesses could begin to fully reopen.
Late in the day, the White House announced the withdrawal of Neera Tanden as its nomination to lead the Office of Management and Budget after it became increasingly clear she didn’t have support from the Senate.
FBI director Christopher Wray earlier told a Senate judiciary committee hearing that the attack at the Capitol on 6 January was considered by the FBI as “domestic terrorism”.
As Wray was being questioned on security threats at home, US intelligence concluded Russia was behind the poisoning of Alexey Navalny, with sanctions to be imposed against multiple senior government officials.
As several Democrats called on New York governor Andrew Cuomo to resign, the White House defended silence from Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as it emerged the third accuser worked for the Biden-Harris administration.
“I’m speaking on their behalf, that’s how they feel, they both feel this is a situation where all of the women coming forward should be treated with dignity and respect and have their voices heard, and that’s a representation of their points of view,” spokesperson Jen Psaki.
Cuomo has authorised attorney general Letitia James to carry out an investigation into the allegations.
After Biden gave a speech marking Read Across America day that excluded Dr Seuss, the White House said it was important for children of all backgrounds see themselves in the books that they read.
While the president released a joint statement with his “equal” partner, Mexico’s president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, signalling their future cooperation, the White House said no commitment has been made to share vaccines with Mexico as Biden's priority is vaccinating America first.
- Donald and Melania Trump ‘both got Covid shot before leaving the White House’
- CDC ‘deeply concerned’ as Covid cases and deaths and increase
- Biden calls Mexican president an ‘equal’ partner amid surge in border crossings
- People who know Trump personally think they know why Republicans really can’t let him go
Five key takeaways from FBI director grilling at Capitol riot hearing
FBI director Christopher Wray, who was tapped to lead the bureau by Donald Trump in 2017, faced nearly four hours of questions from senators about the backgrounds of the Capitol rioters, the rise of domestic white supremacist extremism in the US, and ongoing transparency issues stemming from the previous administration.
The Independent’s Griffin Connolly has his five key takeaways.
- Capitol rioters included dozens of white supremacists and far-right militants
- The riot wasn’t a left-wing false flag operation
- Threat of domestic extremism on the same level as ISIS
- Both parties have longstanding gripes over bureau transparency
- Wray was mum about probe into death of US Capitol Police officer
Wray also fielded questions from GOP lawmakers about anti-government and far-left extremism in 2020 in cities such as Portland and Chicago.
Five key takeaways from FBI director’s grilling at Capitol riot hearing
Domestic extremism on par with ISIS as threat to US national security, FBI director says
White House to withdraw nomination of Neera Tanden for OMB, reports
Quoting people familiar with the matter The Washington Post reports that the Biden administration will withdraw its nomination for the Office of Management and Budget.
The White House had been working to get at least one Republican to cross the aisle after senator Joe Manchin announced he would oppose Tanden’s nomination.
Story to follow.
Joe Biden and Neera Tanden release statement on OMB withdrawal
Biden says: “I have accepted Neera Tanden’s request to withdraw her name from nomination... and I look forward to having her serve in a role in my administration.”
In her request to withdraw, Tanden wrote: “Unfortunately, it now seems clear that there is no path forward to gain confirmation, and I do not want continued consideration of my nomination to be a distraction from your other priorities.”
Read both full statements below from Independent contributor Andrew Feinberg.
White House withdrawing Neera Tanden’s nomination as OMB Director
The White House is withdrawing Neera Tanden’s nomination as the director of the Office of Management and Budget.
Ms Tanden had received opposition from Democrats and Republicans over past comments she made on her Twitter account.
The president confirmed that he had accepted Ms Tanden’s request to have her nomination withdrawn for the role on Tuesday evening.
The Independent’s Graeme Massie is following the developing story as it unfolds.
White House withdrawing Neera Tanden’s nomination as OMB Director
The White House is withdrawing Neera Tanden’s nomination as the director of the Office of Management and Budget.
5,000 troops remain in DC amid QAnon frenzy Trump will be inaugurated... tomorrow?
That’s because followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory believe that on 4 March, which was once the inauguration date of US presidents.
Donald Trump, as the theory goes, will become president again.
The Independent’s Nathan Place has the latest on the sprawling, ever-evolving conspiracy theory that began on the right-wing website 4chan in 2017.
5,000 guards remain in DC amid QAnon frenzy that Trump will be inaugurated this week
QAnon followers believe that on 4 March, which was once the inauguration date of US presidents, Donald Trump will become president again
Pro-Trump channel awkwardly shuts down conspiracy theories to follow YouTube guidelines
The Right Side Broadcasting Network, which prides itself on its live-streaming of Donald Trump’s rallies, once gave its guests free rein to spout paranoid theories about politics. Now, due to YouTube’s recent crackdown on misinformation, the channel increasingly cuts them off.
“We do have to be super careful,” RSBN’s Liz Willis recently told Mike Lindell, the Trump-supporting MyPillow CEO, just as he veered toward conspiracy-mongering about coronavirus vaccines. “I hate to do it, you know I love you, but due to YouTube’s guidelines, we will get our whole platform shut down if you talk about vaccines.”
Nathan Place has the story.
Pro-Trump channel awkwardly shuts down conspiracy theories to follow YouTube guidelines
Anchors on RSBN have been playing conspiracy whack-a-mole, swatting down paranoid comments to which they themselves seem sympathetic.
What happened to George Floyd, whose killer goes on trial next week
Jury selection begins next Monday (8 March), and a federal civil rights investigation that languished during the Trump administration is kicking back into gear.
The trial is one of the biggest civil rights cases in a generation. Josh Marcus has the breakdown on what you need to know ahead of these major developments:
What happened to George Floyd, whose killer goes on trial next week
The trial is one of the biggest civil rights cases in a generation
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