Obama jokingly calls Biden ‘vice president’ on return to White House
In a barnstorming speech to North America’s Building Trades Unions conference, President Joe Biden touted new sanctions against Russia and, without naming him, mocked Rep Matt Gaetz over his cross-examination of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
The president received standing ovations for his remarks on the economy, jobs, and unions, also taking a jab at Amazon’s stance on workplace organising, and his predecessor over taxes (he also went unnamed). Mr Biden rounded out his speech by announcing a $20bn investment in public transit — the largest in US history.
Earlier, Republicans and conservative commentators were condemned for circulating misleadingly edited clips that purport to show the president being humiliatingly ignored in favour of Barack Obama at a White House event yesterday.
Mr Obama was making his first public speech at the executive mansion since he left office — a celebration of the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare. Mr Biden announced changes to the healthcare programme that could see as many as 200,000 uninsured Americans become eligible for coverage.
Asked about advice for Democrats worried about the midterm elections this year, Mr Obama says that they have a story to tell, they “just got to tell it”.
Hunter Biden increasingly in Republicans’ sights as midterms loom
Joe Biden’s son Hunter has long been the focus of accusations that he used his name and connection to his father to secure lucrative business deals, as well as allegations of tax impropriety around his work with foreign companies.
And as federal investigations into his affairs garner increasing attention, Republicans in the House of Representatives are making clear that if they win back the majority in November – as is widely expected – the younger Mr Biden will immediately find himself under investigation by Congress as well.
“The House Oversight Committee is going to be all over Hunter Biden,” said Congressman James Comer in an interview with Politico. “We’re going to focus on Hunter Biden not for political reasons, but because we feel he’s a national security threat.”
John Bowden has the story.
Andrew Naughtie7 April 2022 11:36
What if the Senate can’t pass a Covid relief bill?
The White House has been hard on Congress to pass a new bill allocating billions of dollars to help with the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, but as things stand, the Senate – which will shortly go into recess – is fighting over the administration’s plan to repeal a Trump-era measure to control immigration at the southern border.
If the package does not pass, numerous programmes could be at stake – among them the purchase of Covid therapeutics, vaccine and booster shots, and the White House has warned that without new money to invest, uninsured people could be left struggling to access tests.
Eric Garcia has this analysis.
Andrew Naughtie7 April 2022 10:46
The White House struggles with TikTok
A TikTok account set up to improve Joe Biden’s profile with younger voters has got off to a slow start, with only 118 fans following @buildingbacktogether on the platform despite the glaring name recognition advantage.
Here’s the account’s first video, a montage of legislative achievements inexplicably soundtracked by ABBA’s 1979 hit “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)”.
Andrew Naughtie7 April 2022 10:27
Ketanji Brown Jackson nears confirmation
Today will see the full Senate vote to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, making her the first Black woman to sit on the highest bench in the US. She is expected to be confirmed with the support of just three Republicans: Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney, all of whom have been roundly condemned by right-wing media for backing her.
Indeed, much of the rest of the party has spent the confirmation process accusing her…