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Clock running on Biden bid for bipartisanship: The Note
There are small deals to cut, but perhaps not all that much time to cut them.
• 7 min read
New vaccine efficacy concerns raised as new COVID-19 variants found in the US
Highly contagious U.K. variant now found in 26 states, and Minnesota has reported the first known case of Brazil variant, plus, more on President Biden s race to fix the vaccine shortage.Doug Mills/Pool/Getty Images
The long national civics lesson is getting some new chapters.
Next up is budget reconciliation, which matters as a means to pass things with a relatively small number of members of the minority party in the Senate. It s not President Joe Biden s first choice, for a range of obvious and somewhat less apparent reasons, many of which he articulated directly just one week ago in his inaugural address.
By NIKKI WENTLING | STARS AND STRIPES Published: January 27, 2021
Stars and Stripes is making stories on the coronavirus pandemic available free of charge. See other free reports here. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter here. Please support our journalism with a subscription. WASHINGTON Denis McDonough, President Joe Biden’s pick for secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, listed one of his top priorities Wednesday as “getting our veterans through this pandemic.” The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee was set to question McDonough on Wednesday afternoon during a confirmation hearing. After the hearing, McDonough’s nomination will be sent to the Senate floor for a vote.
By NIKKI WENTLING | STARS AND STRIPES Published: January 26, 2021 WASHINGTON – Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., will take the helm of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee on Wednesday when the committee meets for the first time in the new congressional session. Tester has been part of the committee since he was elected to the Senate in 2007. He’s served as the ranking Democrat since 2017. Now that Democrats have taken control of the Senate, Tester will take the gavel Wednesday from Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., who will become the committee’s ranking Republican. Tester said in a statement Tuesday that he was committed to continuing the bipartisan relationship he and Moran have built as leaders of the committee during the past year. The committee is responsible for overseeing the Department of Veterans Affairs and reviewing legislation concerning veterans.
Bidenâs Cabinet: Where Do Their Confirmations Stand? By Rachel Tillman Nationwide UPDATED 10:55 AM ET Feb. 11, 2021 PUBLISHED 2:15 PM ET Jan. 22, 2021 PUBLISHED 2:15 PM EST Jan. 22, 2021
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President Joe Biden wasted no time during his first few days in office, signing a slew of executive orders and calling on Congress to confirm his Cabinet nominees as quickly as possible.
What You Need To Know
President Joe Biden has asked the Senate to confirm his Cabinet and Cabinet-level nominees as quickly as possible
Biden s Cabinet will feature historic firsts, including Pete Buttigieg (Transportation), the first openly gay person confirmed by the Senate to a Cabinet post, Lloyd Austin (Defense), the first Black leader of the Pentagon, and Avril Haines (DNI) and Janet Yellen (Treasury), the first