As Russia continued its separatist war in east Ukraine, and massed troops along the border, Biden paused military aid to Ukraine.
The United States negotiated with Iran for both to reenter the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Simultaneously, Biden promised the Israeli President that Iran would not acquire nuclear weapons.
Ever since Bush began the War on Terror, the President of the United States has used Congress' 2001 and 2002 Authorization(s) of Military Force to bomb perceived foes, usurping the duty of the legislative branch. Biden struck against Iranian forces in Iraq and Syria. Iranian backed militias responded with rockets of their own. Regarding the illegal bombing of foreign countries, Biden doesn't differ significantly from Bush, Obama, or Trump.
Staffing:
Biden nominated Carlos Del Toro, a former employee of the Department of Defense, and current CEO of SBG Technology Solutions. Biden also hired Neil MacBride. He sued the Treasury Department for Exxon in 2017. Finally, Biden nominated Cindy McCain as a minor representative to the United Nations, corruptly rewarding a politician who supported him during the 2020 election. It highlights his political naivety. He thinks this demonstrates bipartisan consensus, but it shows he doesn't recognize the current state of the Republican party.Department of Justice:
Under Trump, the American public learned that the DOJ has been, and still is, easily bent to ensure injustice. Further details continue to leak, such as the Department's seizure of Democratic data during the Russia investigation. With new norms established, Biden's DOJ will continue to defend anti-LGBTQ discrimination by religious schools. It also placed itself between Trump and his accuser, E. Jean Carroll.As Republican controlled state legislatures passed expansive laws to intimidate voters, the DOJ prepared to fight back, sort of. But the Republican controlled Supreme Court scrapped the Voting Rights Act.
Infrastructure, Climate, and Manchin:
With the Senate split fifty-fifty, the Democrats' agenda was already tenuous. Since 2008, Mitch McConnell has opposed nearly every bill put forward by Democrats, regardless of its liberal or conservative leaning. With at least two Democrats determined to save the filibuster, (abandoning their duty to solve problems), Schumer planned votes on bills he can't pass.
One vote is on Biden's infrastructure bill. The White House, and a group of centrist Senators, agreed to spend $1.2 trillion over eight years. Only $559 billion is new spending, with the rest cannibalized from previous deals. It doesn't include any Democratic priorities; no childcare, no climate change, and no high tech infrastructure. Biden defended the deal as progressives insisted, No Climate, No Deal.
Democrats hope to pass a second bill simultaneously with the bipartisan bill. The cost of the Democratic infrastructure plan ranges between three to six trillion dollars. Schumer and Pelosi pledged to only pass the bipartisan bill if Democratic priorities pass through reconciliation. The bipartisan deal leaves out critical climate aspects, necessary to prevent catastrophic climate change. If Democrats don't pass a serious climate bill before the midterms, there will not be a climate bill until 2028. By then it will be too late. The signs are ominous, the science clear.
But Republicans deny the danger, and Democrats don't express urgency. Only a handful of Democratic Senators are invested in limiting climate change to 1.5°C. Another third are interested in the issue, only so far as Democratic voters care. The final third have no interest in confronting the crisis. Progressives are furious at centrist Dems, but Democratic leadership still employed a conciliatory approach to Senator Joe Manchin. There has been no public condemnation of Manchin by party leaders. There has been no public restriction of funds, no arm twisting. And if there has been any privately, it has failed. Pelosi plans to convince Manchin and Co. by demonstrating that nothing will pass until Democrats abolish the filibuster.
Manchin is too smart for that. He opposed the For The People Act, a Democratic voting rights bill. Terrified, Democrats allowed Manchin to write a watered down bill, which they praised. He earned accolades for overcoming his own intransigence. It still garnered zero Republican votes. Manchin refused to scrap the filibuster to pass his bill. But reporters couldn't criticize this decision; they had heaped praise on him days earlier.
Biden remained quiet during the infighting. Progressives criticized him for failing to put his party in order on a key issue. Remember, "I am the Democratic Party right now"? During the primary and just this month, centrist pundits declared, only Biden can convince Manchin to change. The President is running out of time.
The Supreme Court:
The 2022 Midterms threaten Democratic priorities. Democrats may hold their fifty seats, but the chance of them losing them is high. Too many Democratic politicians are acting as if they will never lose again. It's possible Democrats lose the 2022 Midterms, and the 2024 Presidential Election. If Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer refuses to resign with adequate time before the Midterms, Biden will place zero justices on the Supreme Court. The inaction of the Democratic party is so pathetic, traumatizing, that Sonia Sotomayer should resign. She's already 67. If Democrats lose the Senate (in 2022) and Presidency (in 2024) they may not hold the pair for at least another seven years.If you think the Republican Supreme Court isn't inflicting serious long term damage on the country, wait until they block climate or voting rights legislation.
The Coronavirus:
The United States reached 300 million coronavirus shots. 55% of the population is fully vaccinated. Cases sunk to a daily low of 11,000. But vaccination rates are sluggish as the Delta variant spreads across the United States.Other:
Biden made Juneteenth a national holiday.Kamala Harris told migrants risking danger to seek a new life in the land of opportunity, “Do not come. Do not come.”
Recent:
Hades: Inside the Administrative Chamber's Permanent Record
Relevant:
The Presidential Events: May 2021
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