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Total U.S. coronavirus deaths each morning this week: Monday, 735,941; Tuesday, 737,321; Wednesday, 738,883; Thursday, 741,235; Friday, 743,362.
President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda was dealt a significant blow as House Democrats departed Washington last night without a deal on the mammoth social spending proposal or a vote on a bipartisan infrastructure measure, leaving tough questions for next week.
Biden on Thursday delivered an in-person plea to Democrats before departing on his five-day excursion to Rome and Glasgow, Scotland, framing the upcoming days on Capitol Hill as a make-or-break stretch for his presidency while embracing a slimmer, $1.75 trillion outline of policy priorities.
“No one got everything they wanted, including me, but that’s what compromise is, that’s consensus, and that’s what I ran on. I’ve long said compromise and consensus are the only way to get big things done in a democracy, important things done for the country,” Biden said during remarks at the White House (The Hill).
The Associated Press: Biden arrives in Rome as domestic agenda still unfulfilled.
Niall Stanage: The Memo: Democrats stall out on brink of victory.
Politico: Biden tries, stumbles, selling his domestic agenda into existence.
The White House had urged the House to pass the infrastructure measure before next week’s gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey — contests Democrats have said their party cannot afford to lose.
Pelosi reportedly advised her caucus not to “embarrass” the president by failing to pass the infrastructure blueprint, known as BIF, as Biden flew to Italy. Nevertheless, there was no vote on the roads and bridges bill or the newly unveiled reconciliation package.
Progressives have steadfastly refused to support the infrastructure legislation without a simultaneous vote on a reconciliation package they favor, a posture that did not change on Thursday. Liberals in the House are wary that centrist Democrats Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) favor $1 trillion for roads and bridges more than new investments in social policies for middle-class families and new taxes on big corporations and the uber-wealthy.
“We are committed to staying here until we get this Build Back Better Act done, get the legislative text,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told reporters after meeting with her members. “We understand that it’s 90 percent written; that 10 percent should just hopefully be very quick,” she added, referring to the rest of the budget package (The Hill).
The Hill: Progressives win again: Infrastructure vote nixed on Thursday.
The Hill: What’s in and what’s out of the Biden framework.
Pelosi responded hours later as the House Rules Committee released 1,684 pages of legislative text, representing the portions of the massive reconciliation bill that have already been agreed to.
“As you know by now, the House will postpone the vote on the BIF,” Pelosi said in a letter to the House Democratic Caucus on Thursday night. “The good news is that most Members who were not prepared for a yes vote today have expressed their commitment to support the BIF.”
Democratic leaders opted not to take chances with more delays: the lower chamber passed another short-term extension of highway funding until Dec. 3. House members then fled Washington for the weekend.
Progressives made their position clear about what it will take to pass Biden’s revised framework. All eyes remain on Manchin and Sinema. The pair of moderate influencers sidestepped whether they support the president’s Thursday bid for a deal, although Manchin, who weeks ago insisted he could support $1.5 trillion but never $3.5 trillion, suggested he favors Biden’s new $1.75 trillion total (The Hill). The West Virginia senator later issued two vague tweets about shared efforts.
Sinema and Jayapal huddled on Thursday but there was no sign the Arizona Democrat offered assurances. Jayapal’s stance appeared unchanged and she said only that she and the senator shared a “really good conversation” (Politico).
Alexander Bolton, The Hill: Manchin, Sinema put stamp on party, to progressive chagrin.
The Wall Street Journal: U.S. in talks to pay hundreds of millions to families separated at border.
Politico: Sinema reaches prescription drug negotiation deal with Biden.
Axios: GOP burned by BIF.
More in Congress … The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating whether Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) violated federal insider trading laws by selling more than $1.6 million in stocks after receiving classified briefings about the COVID-19 pandemic before the market crashed last year. The SEC’s move came in a court filing last week, saying that it is probing whether Burr “sold stocks on the basis of material nonpublic information” (The Hill).
Why Facebook supports updated internet regulations
Jack is one of 40,000 people working on safety and security issues at Facebook.
Hear more from Jack on why Facebook supports updating regulations on the internet’s most pressing challenges, including reforming Section 230 to set clear guidelines for all large tech companies.
LEADING THE DAY
ADMINISTRATION: Biden’s arrival formalities with Pope Francis in Rome will not be broadcast live by the Vatican today. As a Roman Catholic, Biden’s support for abortion rights is a sore point with the church and with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, but he and the pope share a convivial rapport and have met several times before. During a private audience with the pontiff to include the first lady (happening as this newsletter lands in inboxes), the president is expected to discuss the pandemic, climate change and global poverty (The Associated Press).
The Associated Press: G-20 leaders in Rome to tackle energy prices, other economic woes.
The Washington Post: In Glasgow next week, 30,000 people will gather for a climate summit. What could go wrong?
> The Justice Department approved a settlement of $88 million based on a faulty gun background check and payable to families of victims in the 2015 Charleston, S.C., church massacre. The survivors and family members first alleged in 2016 that the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Checks System (NICS) failed to prevent the sale of a gun to Dylann Storm Roof, who killed nine people but wasn’t allowed to have a firearm under federal law. The government settled with 14 plaintiffs (The Hill).
IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES
CORONAVIRUS: Breakthrough COVID-19 infections among the fully vaccinated have been more common than initially recognized during the delta surge, but vaccinations have prevented fatalities when compared with infections and deaths among the unvaccinated in the United States, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (The New York Times). Fully vaccinated seniors are most at risk of serious illness from breakthrough infections, presumably because their immune responses are not as robust, which is a consideration behind the government’s recent booster recommendations.
The federal data show that all three vaccine versions administered in the United States substantially reduced rates of disease and deaths. But among those vaccinated, Johnson & Johnson recipients had slightly higher rates of breakthrough cases and related deaths. And Pfizer-BioNTech recipients had slightly higher rates than those who got Moderna.
In Maryland, the number of people coming down with COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated against the coronavirus is on the rise. Overall, 30.3 percent of cases over the past month are breakthrough cases compared to just 5.9 percent in May. The explanation is that vaccine effectiveness wanes over time, especially for those with underlying health conditions. Recommendation from Gov. Larry Hogan (R): get booster doses as soon as possible (WTOP).
The Biden administration ordered 50 million more COVID-19 vaccine doses for children, according to manufacturers Pfizer and BioNTech (The Hill). Children 12 and older are authorized to be vaccinated now, and children ages 5 to 11 are expected to soon see the federal green light to receive pediatric doses of COVID-19 vaccine beginning in early November.
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POLITICS: Former President Trump is coming to Virginia — kind of.
Trump will hold a tele-rally for Glenn Youngkin, the state’s GOP gubernatorial nominee, on Monday, a source close to the 45th president confirmed to The Hill. The source added that more details on the rally will be released on Monday or sooner.
The development comes after Trump teased a possible visit to Virginia on Wednesday, setting off alarm bells in GOP circles and short-lived celebrations by Democratic politicos who have been pining for something to energize supporters ahead of Tuesday’s election (The Hill).
“He’s not coming. And in fact, we’re campaigning as Virginians in Virginia with Virginians,” Youngkin told reporters on Thursday. “And we’ve got another four days left on our bus tour and then we’ve gotta fly around and then we’ve gotta vote” (CNN).
Fox News poll: Youngkin pulls ahead of Terry McAuliffe, 53-45, among Virginia likely voters.
Trump’s decision to semi-wade into the race comes amid record-breaking early vote totals in the state. As The Hill’s Reid Wilson writes, nearly three-quarters of a million Virginians have cast ballots ahead of the race, which is expected to be extremely tight.
However, the early vote has not given any indication what direction the contest will go as voters in the state do not register by party, making it impossible to know whether more Democrats or more Republicans are showing up to cast their ballots.
> Grabbed, charged: In Albany, N.Y., former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) was charged Thursday in a criminal complaint with groping a female aide’s breast in 2020 inside the Executive Mansion “for the purposes of degrading and gratifying his sexual desires.” The misdemeanor complaint is based on the account of one of the dozen or so women whose accusations of sexual harassment led to the governor’s resignation in August. Cuomo continues to fight the allegations, saying through his lawyer that he “never assaulted anyone” (The New York Times and The Hill). The complaint, which was first reported by New York Focus, was made public not by the sheriff’s office, but by the Albany City Court, where it was filed, initially leading to a flurry of confusion over its origin.
The Morning Report is created by journalists Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver. We want to hear from you! Email: asimendinger@digital-release.thehill.com and aweaver@digital-release.thehill.com. We invite you to share The Hill’s reporting and newsletters, and encourage others to SUBSCRIBE!
OPINION
Get real Democrats, and pass Biden’s plan, by Eugene Robinson, columnist, The Washington Post. https://wapo.st/3Ep7rZ3
A jerry-rigged budget “framework,” by The Wall Street Journal editorial board. https://on.wsj.com/3pRcM7x
Why Facebook supports updated internet regulations
Jack is one of 40,000 people working on safety and security issues at Facebook.
Hear more from Jack on why Facebook supports updating regulations on the internet’s most pressing challenges, including reforming Section 230 to set clear guidelines for all large tech companies.
WHERE AND WHEN
The House convenes Monday at noon.
The Senate meets Monday at 3 p.m. to resume consideration of the nomination of Jonathan Davidson to be deputy under secretary of the Treasury.
The president in Rome will receive the President’s Daily Brief. He and the first lady will have an audience at noon local time with Pope Francis. Biden will hold a bilateral meeting with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, secretary of state, at 12:55 p.m. local time. He will meet President Sergio Mattarella of Italy at 1:55 p.m. local time, and another with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi at 3:15 p.m. local time. Biden will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron at 4:15 p.m., ahead of the Group of 20 summit.
The first lady today in Rome will host Brigitte Macron, wife of the French president, for a bilateral engagement in the afternoon.
Vice President Harris will speak at a Democratic National Committee grassroots virtual event at 2:30 p.m. An hour later, she will fly to Norfolk, Va., and stump for gubernatorial candidate McAuliffe during a 6 p.m. voter mobilization event. Harris will fly back to Washington this evening.
Economic indicator: The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reports at 8:30 a.m. on consumer spending in September.
Hill.TV’s “Rising” program features news and interviews at http://digital-release.thehill.com/hilltv or on YouTube at 10:30 a.m. ET at Rising on YouTube.
ELSEWHERE
➔ TRANSCENDENT NAME? Facebook, seeking to change the conversation if not its reputational travails, is now Meta. On Thursday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the platform he created as a college student has a new corporate parent with a new name. The company is keeping the blue Facebook app, but Meta is the new identity for the corporate umbrella that also owns Instagram, WhatsApp and the Messenger app. Zuckerberg says the rebranding is a nod to “metaverse,” a term for a potential “next frontier” internet (NBC News).
➔ FALSEHOODS FLAGGED: Fox News personality Tucker Carlson is under fire for promoting misinformation about the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, attracting stinging criticism from a GOP lawmaker as well as a Fox colleague. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), a member of the select House committee investigating events tied to the insurrection, rebutted some Carlson claims, and Geraldo Rivera, a Fox host, voiced objections. Carlson on Wednesday announced plans for a controversial three-part “documentary” that will in part promote debunked conspiracy theories and myths, including a baseless suggestion that the attack on the Capitol was a “false flag” operation manufactured to vilify the political right. The series, “Patriot Purge,” is set to air on Fox Nation in November (The New York Times).
➔ ORANGE CRUSH: A teensy tiny crack in his carefully nurtured, car-sized pumpkin became nature’s revenge on Mike Schmit’s otherwise spectacular chance of winning a $19,719 prize in the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-off this year. The Wisconsin cheese plant worker and his 2,520-pound specimen (barred from entry because of the blemish), were outdone by a somewhat less rotund 2,191 pounder grown by Jeff Uhlmeyer of Olympia, Wash. Under the heading of “learn something new every day,” take note: Great Pumpkin Commonwealth rules disqualify any pumpkins with breaches into their cavities because such openings could allow cheaters to slip weights inside (The Washington Post).
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! Get started on the weekend with Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who celebrated the holiday on Thursday by costuming as football manager Ted Lasso. Famously, Jason Sudeikis, who brings Lasso to comic life on Apple TV+, spoofed Romney on “Saturday Night Live” for years.
THE CLOSER
And finally … Bravo to Morning Report Quiz winners this week!
Here’s who recalled, Googled or guessed the answers to questions about October events in American history: Robert Acker, John E. Sheeley, Stewart Baker, Amanda Fisher, Tom Oshe, Michel Romage, Tom Chabot, Tim Aiken, Candi Cee, Daniel Bachhuber, Mary Anne McEnery, Patrick Kavanagh, Tom Wingfield, Margo Lomax, Terry Pflaumer, John Donato, Lori Benso, James Hay, David E. Letostak, Leon Burzynski, Sandy Walters, Luther Berg, Steve James and John van Santen.
They knew that Oct. 28, 1929, became known as Black Monday when Wall Street panic became unstoppable.
On Oct. 28, 1919, Congress overrode a presidential veto to approve the Volstead Act, otherwise known as the law behind Prohibition. The act was intended to fulfill the 18th Amendment; make it illegal to produce, sell and transport intoxicating beverages; and help law enforcement battle organized crime. Dozens of readers came so close by selecting one of the options (and we salute you!), but the correct answer was “all of the above.”
On Oct. 28, 1962, Nikita Khrushchev announced the Soviet Union would dismantle its missile base in Cuba. Crisis averted.
On Oct. 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty received a presidential dedication and the first U.S. ticker-tape parade.
