Biden s $1.9 trillion relief plan reflects seismic shifts in U.S. politics
Jeff Stein, The Washington Post
March 7, 2021
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President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden walk to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on Feb. 26.Washington Post photo by Demetrius Freeman
WASHINGTON - A new Democratic administration facing down a massive economic crisis pushes a $800 billion stimulus package. A bloc of centrist Democrats balk at the price-tag, and Republicans are thrown into a frenzy warning about the impact to the federal deficit.
A little more than a decade later, another new Democratic administration takes office facing a different economic crisis. This time, it proposes spending an additional $1.9 trillion in spending, even though the federal deficit last year was $3.1 trillion - much larger than during the last crisis. Centrist Democrats unify behind passing the measure, and the GOP rejects it but in a more muted fashion.
Capitol riot investigation will be Garland s first priority as attorney general, he tells senators
Matt Zapotosky, Ann E. Marimow and Devlin Barrett, The Washington Post
Feb. 22, 2021
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WASHINGTON - Attorney general nominee Merrick Garland said Monday that, if confirmed, his first order of business will be the sprawling investigation into the U.S. Capitol riot, as he more broadly vowed to stamp out the rising threat of domestic terrorism and restore public faith in the Justice Department.
Testifying at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Garland drew parallels to past domestic terrorism threats, including the Ku Klux Klan and the prosecution he led of Timothy McVeigh in the bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995 - one of the deadliest such attacks in U.S. history.
Republicans worry that big tent will mean big problems in 2022 elections
Michael Scherer and Josh Dawsey, The Washington Post
Feb. 4, 2021
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., leaves after speaking on the House floor on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021.Washington Post photo by Demetrius Freeman
WASHINGTON - House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has pinned his hopes for reclaiming the majority in 2022 on never having to choose between the contradictory factions in his own party, no matter how deep the divisions appear.
He defended Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., after she voted to impeach President Donald Trump but also said he was unhappy with her after an outcry from Trump supporters. He said Trump bears responsibility for his slow response to the attack on the U.S. Capitol, but then, in voting against impeachment, said the president did not provoke the violence.
Antony Blinken, longtime foreign policy aide to Biden, confirmed as secretary of state
Karen DeYoung, The Washington Post
Jan. 26, 2021
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Antony Blinken was introduced as the secretary of state cabinet nominee on Nov. 24.Washington Post photo by Demetrius Freeman
WASHINGTON - Antony Blinken, a longtime foreign policy aide to President Joe Biden who has pledged to rebuild American alliances and reinvigorate a State Department beset by low morale, was confirmed by the Senate as secretary of state on Tuesday.
The final vote of 78-22, while an overwhelming win, included nearly half of Senate Republicans voting against Blinken, the most of any of Biden s four confirmed Cabinet picks so far.
Senate races to prepare national security team for confirmation, but some votes uncertain
Karoun Demirjian, The Washington Post
Jan. 18, 2021
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Alejandro Mayorkas speaks during President-elect Joe Biden s introduction of his Cabinet nominees in November 2020.Washington Post photo by Demetrius Freeman
WASHINGTON - Senators plan to plow through a battery of hearings Tuesday for President-elect Joe Biden s national security Cabinet nominees, but the last-minute rush means that most - if not all - will not be confirmed by the end of Inauguration Day.
The crammed schedule - for director of national intelligence nominee Avril Haines, secretary of homeland security nominee Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of state nominee Antony Blinken, treasury secretary nominee Janet Yellen and defense secretary nominee Lloyd Austin - is the result of compound delays caused by everything from the Senate runoff in Georgia to paperwork disputes and partisan gridlock. Fallout from the