Sunday shows – Biden domestic agenda, Texas abortion law dominate
by The Hill staff
A top aide to President Biden said on Sunday that officials are moving “full steam ahead” on a $3.5 trillion spending package, despite comments from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) that he can’t support the initiative.
Multiple guests on the morning political talk shows also discussed a new law that went into effect last week restricting abortion in Texas.
White House senior adviser Cedric Richmond said on Sunday that President Biden’s administration will push ahead with its pursuit of a proposed $3.5 trillion spending package despite recent hesitations voiced by a key moderate Democrat in the Senate.
“Senator Manchin is a valued partner. We’re going to continue to work with him,” Richmond said during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week” when asked about a warning from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) that he would not support the package.
“But we’re also going to continue to push our agenda. And part of this … is just the sausage-making process at the end. It just happens. And this is happening in public view,” Richmond added. “But it’s not abnormal for this to happen in the legislative process. And we’re still full steam ahead on trying to get our legislation passed.”
White House chief of staff Ron Klain said on Sunday that the Biden administration is going to find ways to protect the constitutional rights of women in Texas after the Supreme Court declined to block an abortion law that went into effect in the state last week.
Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) on Sunday said there will be “deadly consequences” from the abortion bill that went into effect in her home state last week, which bans abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancies.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said on Sunday that while he is personally opposed to abortion, he dislikes a component of a recently enacted Texas law that allows private citizens to “tattle” on each other to enforce the legislation.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said on Sunday that the Senate should eliminate the filibuster in order to protect women’s abortion rights after the Supreme Court last week declined to block a Texas law that bans abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said on Sunday that six airplanes carrying American citizens and Afghan allies are sitting at an airport in Afghanistan trying to depart, but that the Taliban is “holding them hostage for demands.”
Rep. Michael McCaul (Texas), the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, said on Sunday that the situation in Afghanistan is “worse” than before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks because the Taliban is “fully armed” with U.S. weaponry.
Anthony Fauci on Sunday said the Pfizer-BioNTech shot will likely be the only approved COVID-19 vaccine booster by Sept. 20, the date the Biden administration previously recommended for beginning to administer booster shots for all fully-vaccinated individuals.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said on Sunday that his administration is getting “mixed messagings” from the Biden White House when it comes to COVID-19 booster shots.
Dr. Ashish Jha, a physician and the director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, said on Sunday that the U.S. and world is “going to see more variants” as the coronavirus spreads.
Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), said on Sunday that impacts from climate change are “the crisis of our generation,” after Hurricane Ida slammed southern Louisiana and its remnants killed several people in the northeast amid historic flooding.
