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After years of encouraging Democrats and voters to take a meritocratic approach when evaluating candidates for office, Republicans are coming under fire for insisting that ousted House GOP Conference Chair Liz Cheney must be replaced by another woman.
Before the Wyoming congresswoman was booted from her leadership post in a vote on Wednesday, House Republicans had sent out clear signals that her successor would need to be a woman. Male members who had reportedly been interested in the role, such as Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Banks of Indiana, were quickly dismissed as the names of three women Reps. Elise Stefanik of New York, Ann Wagner of Missouri and Jackie Walorksi of Indiana were circulated inside the conference.
May 11, 2021
M. K. BHADRAKUMAR
India’s Ministry of External Affairs has welcomed the statement of the US government of 5th May announcing their support for a relaxation in the norms of the agreement on TRIPS, to ensure quick and affordable access to vaccines and medicines for developing countries. Delhi is “hopeful that with a consensus based approach, the waiver can be approved quickly at the WTO.” But is the optimism warranted?
The US statement itself is cautiously worded and is non-committal. It only says, “We will actively participate in text-based negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) needed to make that happen. Those negotiations will take time given the consensus-based nature of the institution and the complexity of the issues involved.”
Battle lines are forming over President Biden
The pharmaceutical industry and congressional Republicans blasted Biden’s announcement on Wednesday, saying it undermines incentives for American innovation and will not actually solve the complex problem of getting more doses to lower-income countries.
But Democrats and progressive groups lauded the move, which they had been pressuring Biden to make for weeks, and expressed hope that it is a sign of further action to lower drug prices and take on the pharmaceutical industry.
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“Let’s do insulin next,” tweeted Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
“It’s a pandemic, it’s an extraordinary situation, but it’s a big ‘no’ to the pharmaceutical industry, without question,” said Peter Maybarduk, director of access to medicines at the progressive group Public Citizen. “It means that the Biden administration has said ‘no’ to pharma and could say no on other occasions.”
Embattled House GOP Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney appears ready to fight to hang on to her leadership post, even though she could be replaced as the No. 3 Republican as early as next week.
Top Republicans Steve Scalise and Kevin McCarthy are working to clear the field for New York Representative Elise Stefanik to replace GOP Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney.