Biden news: President says women ‘thrive’ in military as female generals held back under Trump promoted

Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live blog following the latest in US politics as former President Donald Trump returns to New York City, while his successor President Joe Biden’s Covid-19 relief package is set to sail through the House.

Former President Donald Trump appears to have returned to New York City in his first visit to the Big Apple since his departure from the White House back in January.

In a photo published by The New York Post, Mr Trump can be seen waving from the back of a vehicle enroute to Trump Tower.

Video published online also appears to show the same vehicle driving down the streets of Manhattan as a lone supporter shouts “Welcome back to New York Mr Trump!”

It is unclear how long the former president will remain in the city.

NYPD officers were pictured outside Trump Tower in New York City on Sunday night ahead of former President Donald Trump’s return to the city.

In photos published by Getty, a number of NYPD officers and police vehicles can be seen outside the building, with local media reporting that the police force will be providing additional security during Mr Trump’s visit.

The former president appeared to arrive in NYC on Sunday evening, with photos showing Mr Trump waving from from the backseat of a vehicle.

It is unclear how many officers have been assigned to providing security.

President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill is expected to be signed into action this week.

The bill is expected to get final approval from the House on Tuesday before being sent to the US leader himself for a signature.

Democrats are seeking to get the bill on the president’s desk before March 14, when unemployment aid programs are set to expire.

The plan received Senate approve in a 50-49 vote along party lines, with some Republicans pushing back against the hefty spending package.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is facing growing calls to resign after fresh sexual misconduct allegations were lodged against him over the weekend.

Mr Cuomo’s former press aide Karen Hinton told The Washington Post that she had been made to endure a “very long, too long, too tight, too intimate” hug from the governor while in a dimly lit hotel room back in December 2000.

She said Mr Cuomo embraced her and then pulled her back towards him when she tried to move away.

Ana Liss, a former policy and operations aide to the governor, accused Mr Cuomo of calling her a “sweetheart” and asking inappropriate questions about her love life.

Mr Cuomo has so far remained defiant, denying the allegations against him and refusing to step down.

Top New York Democrats, however, have come forward to demand his resignation, with state Senate majority leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins asserting that the state does not need the “daily distraction”.

“We need to govern without daily distraction,” she said in a statement. “For the good of the state, Governor Cuomo must resign.”

Assembly speaker Carl Heastie supported the call, asserting that Mr Cuomo needs to “seriously consider whether he can effectively meet the needs of the people of New York”.

Read more on the allegations against Mr Cuomo here:

Susan Rice, the Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, is reportedly burning sage in her new office, which was previously occupied by controversial figure Stephen Miller.

Mr Miller served as the architect of much of former President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration agenda, including helping drive the former US leader’s widely condemned “zero tolerance” family separation policy.

Sage has long been used by Indigenous peoples to cleanse spaces from negativity and to promote healing. And according to The New York Times, it is now being put to use by Ms Rice.

Graig Graziosi has more here:

Democratic West Virginia Sen Joe Manchin has said that he will not end his support for the filibuster, the rule forcing most legislation to gain bipartisan support to move forward.

“I’m not going to change my mind on the filibuster,” Mr Manchin said during an interview with “Meet the Press.”

“It takes listening to the minority to make sure the majority is getting it right,” he asserted.

However, the moderate Democrat did also suggest during an interview with Fox News Sunday that he would be open to making the talking filibuster more “painful” to use.

“The filibuster should be painful, it really should be painful and we’ve made it more comfortable over the years,” he said. “Maybe it has to be more painful.”

His comments come as progressives continue to pressure Senate Democrats to abolish the filibuster, something Mr Manchin has pushed back against. “I’m willing to look at any way we can, but I’m not willing to take away the involvement of the minority,” he said.

An executive order signed by President Joe Biden on Sunday aimed at expanding voting access will help fight “election misinformation”, Democratic California Sen Dianne Feinstein has said.

Sharing a statement on the EO, which was signed on the 56th anniversary of 1965’s “Bloody Sunday,” which saw state troopers and police attack civil rights demonstrators as they marched against racial injustice at the voting booths, Ms Feinstein said: “This order is needed not only because it’s incumbent on the government to protect the people’s ability to take part in democracy, but also because election misinformation continues to be spread by those who seek to undermine our free and fair elections.”

In her full statement, the senator said she wanted to “applaud President Biden’s executive order directing federal agencies to ensure Americans have better access to voting information so they can more fully participate in the electoral process.”

“On the 56th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when John Lewis and others marched across the Edmund Pettis Bridge to be met by attack dogs and state troopers, we’re reminded the fight for equality continues. As part of that fight, we must ensure all Americans have free and fair access to voting.

“Today, I hope all of us remember the sacrifices made before, during and after Bloody Sunday. There is much more work to be done,” she said.

President Joe Biden is set to order a review of changes his predecessor President Donald Trump’s administration made to rules on how colleges should handle sexual assault allegations today.

The president is expected to sign an executive order directing the US Education Department to review all of its existing guidance and “policies for consistency with the administration’s policy to guarantee education free from sexual violence,” according to a White House fact sheet provided to Reuters on Sunday.

The review will look at the Trump administration’s reversal of Obama-era guidance on how schools should work to prevent sexual assault and harassment on campuses.

Trump‘s Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos, had argued that the guidelines led to students being falsely charged and treated unfairly.

The president is also expected to formally establish a White House Gender Policy Council, the press agency has reported.

The development comes as the world marks International Women’s Day.

President Joe Biden is expected to mark International Women’s Day with the establishment of a Gender Policy Council within the White House.

The council is expected to be established through an executive order that will be signed alongside a separate order demanding a review into Trump-era changes to guidance on preventing sexual assault and harassment at US colleges.

The council is part of “a government-wide focus on uplifting the rights of women and girls in the United States and around the world,” a White House fact sheet on the matter says, according to Reuters, which has reviewed the document.

Jennifer Klein of Time’s Up, is expected to cochair the council, along with Julissa Reynoso, a lawyer who previously served as a diplomat and deputy assistant secretary of state under the Obama administration.