Senate Republicans block commission to investigate deadly Capitol attack – live
Republicans #Republicans
7.45pm EDT 19:45
A gunman who killed nine of his co-workers at a rail yard in San Jose, California, had stockpiled weapons and ammunition at his home, including 12 guns and 22,000 rounds of ammunition, authorities said on Friday.
Investigators found the cache of weapons at the home of Samuel James Cassidy, the Santa Clara county sheriff’s office said in a news release. They also turned up multiple cans of gasoline and suspected molotov cocktails. Authorities have said that Cassidy set his house on fire using a timer or slow-burn device to coincide with his attack.
The guns he used to open fire on his co-workers appear to be legal, officials said. They have not said how he obtained them.
The nine victims in the worst mass shooting in the region have been identified as: Paul Delacruz Megia, 42; Taptejdeep Singh, 36; Adrian Balleza, 29; Jose Dejesus Hernandez III, 35; Timothy Michael Romo, 49; Michael Joseph Rudometkin, 40; Abdolvahab Alaghmandan, 63, Lars Kepler Lane, 63; and Alex Ward Fritch, 49.
7.32pm EDT 19:32
The US Post Office announced today that it is increasing the price of a first-class postage stamp – from 55 cents to 58 cents – in an effort to offset declining revenues, Reuters reports.
Mail volume has decreased 28% in the last ten years, USPS said in a statement. The rates for international letters and postcards will also increase later this summer.
The postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, is working to erase $160bn in projected liabilities over the next decade. More details on the changes here:
7.09pm EDT 19:09
Joe Biden’s proposed 2022 budget removes a ban on federal funding for most abortions that has been included in government spending bills for decades, Reuters reports.
The budget, released today, omits any mention of the Hyde amendment, which was first passed in 1976, and has been included in spending bills since.
That change, however, is not likely to get through the Senate:
The longstanding amendment restricts abortion coverage for recipients of Medicare, Medicaid, federal employees, service members and Washington DC residents. It could still be added to a later spending bill. Advocates celebrated:
The move comes at a time when the anti-abortion movement in the US is emboldened and looking forward to a supreme court case directly challenging the laws underpinning the right to abortion in the US. More here from the Guardian’s health reporter, Jessica Glenza:
6.23pm EDT 18:23
The Biden administration is working to “dramatically reshape” the way asylum seekers are processed, in an effort to prevent a growing backlog of immigration court cases, BuzzFeed News reported, citing government documents.
The changes could cut the waiting period by years for some applicants, according to reporter Hamed Aleaziz. The new policy, which is not finalized yet, would give asylum officers the power to decide cases instead of immigration judges in certain instances.
The Trump administration overhauled the asylum process in significant ways, creating more obstacles for migrants seeking protection in the US. From the draft Biden policy cited in the report:
If there is any area of agreement on immigration, it is that the system for dealing with asylum claims at the border is ‘overwhelmed’ and in desperate need of repair. A system that takes years to get to a result is not a working system. It is unfair to those who need protection, and it encourages abuse by those undeserving of protection and the smugglers who exploit dysfunction for profit. The aim of this rule is to begin urgently replacing a broken system with a more efficient one, adjudicating asylum claims expeditiously without [compromising] fairness.”
5.52pm EDT 17:52
The CDC has released new guidelines for children’s summer camps, saying unvaccinated kids generally do not have to wear masks outside, except for activities that involve sustained close contact:
“Camp programs should encourage people who are not fully vaccinated and those who might need extra precautions to wear a mask consistently and correctly,” the CDC said, explaining:
More info here:
5.33pm EDT 17:33
A federal judge is appointing a “special master” to protect attorney-client privilege during a review of materials seized from Rudy Giuliani and another attorney who has represented Donald Trump, the AP reports:
The judge rejected efforts by Giuliani and lawyer Victoria Toensing to force prosecutors to divulge more about why they seized electronic devices on 28 April. Prosecutors made the unusual request for the appointment of a lawyer or “special master” to protect attorney-client privilege the day after the raids, citing the need to make it clear that materials were reviewed appropriately.
Prosecutors are examining Giuliani’s interactions with Ukrainian figures and whether he violated a law governing lobbying on behalf of foreign countries or entities.
Prosecutors later revealed that the FBI had successfully downloaded 11 devices belonging to Giuliani and returned them to him.
5.25pm EDT 17:25
My colleague Abené Clayton spent time in San Jose yesterday where families were mourning the sudden losses of their loved ones in the Bay Area’s worst mass shooting.
The shooting unfolded on Wednesday when a 57-year-old employee of the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) walked into a facility and opened fire, killing nine of his co-workers.
John Costa, the president of the union that the slain rail workers belonged to, offered words to remember the victims: Paul Delacruz Megia, 42; Taptejdeep Singh, 36; Adrian Balleza, 29; Jose Dejesus Hernandez III, 35; Timothy Michael Romo, 49; Michael Joseph Rudometkin, 40; Abdolvahab Alaghmandan, 63, Lars Kepler Lane, 63; and Alex Ward Fritch, 49.
“I want to send a message that we have to honor our brothers today and not forget what happened here,” Costa said.
Updated at 5.31pm EDT
5.14pm EDT 17:14
Family of Capitol officer who died after attack: ‘all talk and no action’
Hi all – Sam Levin in Los Angeles here, continuing our live coverage for the rest of the day.
The mother of Brian Sicknick, the Capitol police officer who died after the 6 January insurrection, has spoken out about Senate Republicans blocking the creation of a special commission to study the attack.
“I don’t understand it. They are elected for us, the people, and they don’t care about that,” Gladys Sicknick told CNN after meeting with GOP senators on Thursday. “They care about money, I guess, their pocketbooks. So they’ll be in front of the cameras when they feel like it. They just don’t care, and it’s not right.”
Her son was sprayed with a chemical during the insurrection, collapsed and later suffered a stroke.
“I think you know it’s all talk and no action. Clearly, they’re not backing the blue,” Sandra Garza, the late officer’s girlfriend, told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “It’s just unbelievable to me that they could do nothing about this.”
Republicans killed the effort to set up a 9/11-style inquiry into the attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob despite broad popular support for such an investigation and pleas from the family of a Capitol police officer who collapsed and died after the siege and other officers who battled the rioters.
5.00pm EDT 17:00
Today so far
That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Sam Levin, will take over the blog for the next few hours.
Here’s where the day stands so far:
Sam will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
Updated at 5.22pm EDT
4.42pm EDT 16:42
The question now is not so much whether the Republican party can be saved any time in the foreseeable future. It is what Joe Biden and the Democrats should do when faced with a party determined to subvert democracy through any means necessary, including violence.
On Friday Republicans in the Senate torpedoed an effort to create a bipartisan commission to investigate the deadly insurrection by Donald Trump’s supporters at the US Capitol on 6 January, deploying the procedural move known as the filibuster to stop it even being debated.
Fearful perhaps of what such a commission might uncover about their own role as co-conspirators, most brushed aside personal pleas by Gladys Sicknick, the mother of a police officer who was that day sprayed with a chemical, collapsed and later had a stroke and died.
“A country that cannot even agree to investigate an assault on its Capitol is in big trouble, indeed,” observed Susan Glasser in the New Yorker magazine.
4.21pm EDT 16:21
Biden condemns rise in ‘despicable’ anti-Semitic attacks
Joe Biden has released a statement condemning the recent rise in anti-Semitic attacks across the country.
“These attacks are despicable, unconscionable, un-American, and they must stop,” the president said. “I will not allow our fellow Americans to be intimidated or attacked because of who they are or the faith they practice.
“We cannot allow the toxic combination of hatred, dangerous lies, and conspiracy theories to put our fellow Americans at risk.”
Biden noted that attorney general Merrick Garland has pledged to deploy all tools available to the justice department to combat hate crimes.
“We must all stand together to silence these terrible and terrifying echoes of the worst chapters in world history, and pledge to give hate no safe harbor,” the president said.
“Let us all take up that work and create a nation that stands for, and stands up for, the dignity and safety of all of our people.”
According to the Anti-Defamation League, reports of anti-Semitic hate incidents increased by 75% during the two weeks of military conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Over those two weeks, 222 hate incidents were reported, compared to 127 for the two-week period before that.
“Many of these incidents appear to have been perpetrated by individuals scapegoating American Jews for the actions of the Israeli government,” the ADL said.
4.03pm EDT 16:03
Meanwhile, congressional Republicans criticized Joe Biden’s $6 trillion as a wasteful spending spree that would do little to improve Americans’ lives.
“President Biden’s proposal would drown American families in debt, deficits, and inflation,” Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement.
McConnell noted that Senate Republicans laid out a counteroffer to the president’s infrastructure plan yesterday, calling for investing an additional $257 billion above baseline infrastructure spending over the next eight years. (Biden has called for spending $1.7 trillion above the baseline level on infrastructure.)
“If Washington Democrats can move beyond the socialist daydreams and the go-it-alone partisanship, we could get a lot of important work done for our country,” McConnell said.
3.46pm EDT 15:46
House speaker Nancy Pelosi praised Joe Biden’s newly announced budget as “an unequivocal declaration of the value that Democrats place on America’s workers and middle class families”.
“The Biden budget makes historic investments in the American workforce and economy. It does so by seizing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create millions of good-paying Americans jobs, supercharge America’s global competitiveness and power growth for generations to come,” the Democratic speaker said in a statement.
“Congressional Democrats look forward to working with the Biden-Harris Administration to enact this visionary budget, which will pave the path to opportunity and prosperity for our nation.”
The release of Biden’s budget comes as the White House continues to negotiate with Senate Republicans over an infrastructure bill, with the hope that the final proposal can attract bipartisan support in Congress.
3.25pm EDT 15:25
Harris becomes first woman to deliver Naval Academy commencement address
Kamala Harris delivered the commencement address this morning at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
The speech made the vice-president the first woman to address the academy’s graduating class since its founding in 1845.
Harris expressed confidence that the Naval Academy graduates are prepared to meet any challenge they may face in a rapidly changing world.
“The American people are depending on you: the best, the bravest, the most brilliant,” the vice-president said. “Class of 2021, you are prepared for all of this. You are prepared for any threat. And you are prepared for this new era.”
3.11pm EDT 15:11
Biden proposes $6tn budget to boost infrastructure, education and climate
The Guardian’s Dominic Rushe has the latest on Biden’s $6tn budget proposal Friday:
Biden’s budget would fund a dramatic overhaul of US infrastructure, and dedicate extensive funds to education and climate action—which would put government spending at its “highest sustained levels since the second world war,” Rushe explains.
Importantly, Rushe points out, Biden’s first budget is “largely a political document.” While this proposal makes clear Biden’s hopes for revitalizing the US in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Republicans are already chaffing against its scale.
Indeed, no Republicans voted in favor of Biden’s $1.9tn Covid stimulus bill. Biden has also been forced to limit his infrastructure bill to $1.7tn, down from his originally proposed $2.2tn initiative. So, the chances of getting GOP support for such a budget are slim.
Biden’s two-part initiative to revitalize the US economy is rooted in ramping up its flagging infrastructure and broadening its social safety net. These initiatives would cause the US to have yearly deficits of more than $1.3tn over the next 10 years, with debt increasing to 117% of the value of economic output before 2031.
Biden’s plan would be funded, in part, by increasing taxes on corporations and the extremely wealthy. He supports increasing corporate taxes to 28%, up from 21%. All Republicans oppose this tax increase plan, as do some Democrats.
Updated at 3.30pm EDT
2.49pm EDT 14:49
Joe Manchin has slammed GOP senators who blocked the creation of a bipartisan commission to study the deadly Capitol insurrection on 6 January.
“Choosing to put politics and political elections above the health of our Democracy is unconscionable, and the betrayal of the oath we each take is something they will have to live with,” Manchin, a Democrat senator from West Virginia, has said.
“This was our chance to have a bipartisan commission that would allow for an impartial investigation into the events of that horrific day, so that we are better able to prevent another attack on our nation,” Manchin also says.
Manchin tells viewers that Democratic leadership in the house and Senate accepted Republicans’ proposed changes “because a commission of this nature must be bipartisan to be successful.”
He recognizes the “six brave Republicans” who favored establishing the commission, while pointing out that four more were needed to advance this legislation.
Manchin, in his address, has also issued a broad apology about the commission’s failure to progress.
“You deserve better, and I am sorry that my Republican colleagues and friends, let political fear prevent them from doing what they know in their hearts to be right.”
Updated at 3.31pm EDT