Biden faces uncertain outlook for quick confirmation of Cabinet nominees as some Republicans urge caution
President-elect Joe Biden has been moving swiftly to fill out much of his Cabinet. Whether the Senate will do the same is another question.
Biden faces the tricky task of navigating a narrowly divided Senate with competing factions within his own party, calls by conservative senators to bring the nomination process to a slow grind all with the added complication of the hotly contested Georgia runoff races making it impossible for the Senate to formally organize until the outcome is clear.
Moreover, some Republican senators have little interest in beginning the confirmation process in January with President Donald Trump refusing to concede the race, meaning Biden could have a difficult time getting some nominees confirmed on his first day on the job, as has been customary for his predecessors.
Biden Cabinet: Uncertain outlook for quick confirmation of nominees as some Republicans urge caution
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Funding boosts and hiring pushes are coming for many federal agencies.
Senior Correspondent
After significant delay and months of negotiation, Congress has passed agreements on a twin set of packages to fund the government and provide coronavirus relief.
The measures will have far-reaching impacts on federal agencies, setting line-by-line funding for every office in government for fiscal 2021. Nearly all federal agencies will see a funding boost in the $1.4 trillion omnibus as a result of a two-year budget agreement President Trump signed in 2019. Lawmakers included some notable provisions for federal operations in the $900 billion COVID-19 relief package as well. They did not include all of the requests made by federal employee advocates, but civil servants will see a small pay bump next year as a result of the deal (read our full coverage of the pay
VA Plans Poop Pilots to Detect COVID-19 Outbreaks at Nursing Homes Vladimir Mulder/Shutterstock.com
email December 21, 2020
The Veterans Affairs Department will test wastewater for early indications of infection among residents, who can then be quarantined to limit the spread to others.
As the U.S. continues to post record numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths daily, the Veterans Affairs Department is piloting a wastewater testing program aimed at safeguarding one of the most vulnerable populations the agency serves.
Last week, the agency announced a sole source contract to CDM Smith to collect samples of wastewater poop and other human sewage from eight VA Community Living Center nursing homes. As a place for elderly, disabled and infirmed veterans, residents at the centers are at a higher risk of contracting and dying from COVID-19.
There’s never been a woman elected Mayor of New York City and four of the candidates attempting to change that fact through next year’s election met for a forum Tuesday night hosted by Amplify Her, an organization dedicated to electing more women to office in New York City.
Former New York City Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, nonprofit executive Dianne Morales, former city Veterans Affairs Commissioner Loree Sutton, and Maya Wiley, a civil rights attorney and former counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio, participated in the forum. All four are Democrats and all are first-time candidates for any elected office.
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