WASHINGTON– After terrorists pirated airliners, slammed them into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon and killed almost 3,000 Americans, Congress created an independent bipartisan 9/11 Commission to definitively answer what happened—- and how to avoid it from ever taking place once again.
Our concern this morning: Is Congress going to create a 9/11- like commission to study what failed with the United States’ handling of the coronavirus– after more than 300,000 and counting deaths, a disintegration in rely on our government and accusations of political interference and manipulation?
The latest advancement here: A pair of CDC political appointees told the New York City Times about how the Trump administration applied ever-increasing influence over the company’s message and information.
That comes after a whistleblower declared that CDC director Robert Redfield directed personnel to erase an e-mail from a Trump political appointee that looked for changes to scientific reports, in addition to after the CDC and FDA bungled the United States’ initial coronavirus testing strategy.
And we found out the other day that a former Trump appointee promoted for herd immunity to respond to the coronavirus: “We want them contaminated.”
All of this hasn’t been lost on the American people. New numbers from Gallup show that simply 31 percent of Americans offer the CDC excellent marks on interacting a clear strategy to handle Covid– an even poorer level of self-confidence than the 33 percent who say the exact same of President Trump.
These discoveries verify what we thought the whole time: That a Trump administration, with a vested interest in playing down the pandemic, interfered with federal government entities that are expected to be devoid of political meddling.
But there’s undoubtedly more– and not all will be revealed by investigative journalists and whistleblowers without a concerted effort to examine utilizing the full power of an official commission.
So why aren’t we hearing more about an examination of what went wrong?
We can visualize, say, a Jeb Bush and a Jeh Johnson leading a bipartisan commission to check out the failures of this period– and how we can be prepared to keep the next health crisis freer of political disturbance.
Tweet of the day
VP Pence will publicly receive a Covid-19 vaccine on Friday, while President-elect Biden is anticipated to get the vaccine as quickly as next week. https://t.co/cqKKOSKkfC
— Breaking News (@BreakingNews) December 17, 2020
Data Download: The numbers you need to know today
17,038,284: The variety of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States, per the most recent information from NBC News and health authorities. (That’s 244,878 more than yesterday early morning.)
308,143: The variety of deaths in the United States from the infection so far. (That’s 3,460 more than yesterday morning.)
22453 million: The variety of coronavirus tests that have actually been administered in the United States so far, according to scientists at The COVID Tracking Task.
113,090: The variety of people presently hospitalized with coronavirus
10,000: The variety of eviction actions submitted by big business property managers in five states considering that September.
$600: How much specific direct payments may be as part of a Covid relief deal still being hashed out in Congress.
69 percent: The share of undocumented immigrant employees whose tasks are important to the Covid-19 battle, per a brand-new research study.
19: The variety of days until the Jan. 5 Senate runoffs.
34: The number of days up until Inauguration Day.
Hack and disregard
Speaking of government failures, make sure to check out the op-ed by former Trump homeland security advisor Tom Bossert, who composes that the Russian cyberattack into our federal government is potentially more widespread and bothersome than you can think of.
” The Russians have actually had access to a significant number of essential and delicate networks for six to nine months. The Russian S.V.R. will certainly have used its access to even more exploit and acquire administrative control over the networks it thought about concern targets. For those targets, the hackers will have long ago moved past their entry point, covered their tracks and acquired what experts call “persistent access,” suggesting the ability to infiltrate and control networks in a way that is hard to discover or remove.”
This cyberattack occurred on Trump’s watch– and best before a brand-new administration will take control of the federal government.
And the president of the United States isn’t saying or doing anything about it.
Diana Taylor for SBA administrator?
President-elect Joe Biden still hasn’t announced his choices for several of his Cabinet positions. He may be getting closer to selecting someone to lead the Small Service Administration. NBC’s Geoff Bennett and Stephanie Ruhle report that Biden is considering New York financing executive Diana Taylor for a crucial role in the administration. Taylor is apparently under consideration to lead the SBA, the Export-Import Bank or the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).
Taylor also simply occurs to be the long time partner of Michael Bloomberg.
For what it deserves, President Trump chose his very first SBA chief, Linda McMahon, 30 days after Election Day2016 You can read more about how Biden and Trump’s Cabinet timelines compare here
Filled Cabinet positions
State: Tony Blinken (announced)
Treasury: Janet Yellen (revealed)
Defense: Ret. Gen. Lloyd Austin (announced)
Homeland Security: Alejandro Mayorkas (revealed)
HHS: Xavier Becerra (announced)
Agriculture: Tom Vilsack (announced)
Transport: Pete Buttigieg (announced)
Energy: Jennifer Granholm (validated)
HUD: Marcia Fudge (announced)
Veterans Affairs: Denis McDonough (announced)
UN Ambassador: Linda Thomas-Greenfield (announced)
Director of National Intelligence: Avril Haines (announced)
OMB Director: Neera Tanden (revealed)
U.S. Trade Representative: Katherine Tai (announced)
Unfilled Cabinet positions
Chief Law Officer: Doug Jones, Sally Yates, Merrick Garland
Interior: Deborah Haaland
Commerce: TBD
Labor: Andy Levin, Bernie Sanders, Marty Walsh
Education: Lily Eskelsen Garcia, Randi Weingarten. Sonja Santelises, Linda Beloved Hammond
CIA: Michael Morell
EPA: TBD
SBA: Diana Taylor
Other leading Biden staffers
Chief of Staff: Ron Klain (announced)
National Security Advisor: Jake Sullivan (revealed)
Climate Envoy: John Kerry (announced)
Domestic Policy Council Director: Susan Rice (announced)
National Economic Council Director: Brian Deese (announced)
Cosmetic Surgeon General: Dr. Vivek Murthy (revealed)
Director of the Centers for Illness Control and Avoidance: Dr. Rochelle Walensky (revealed)
Covid-19 Czar: Jeff Zients (announced)
White House Communications Director: Kate Bedingfield (revealed)
White House Press Secretary: Jen Psaki (revealed)
VP Communications Director: Ashley Etienne (revealed)
VP Chief Spokesperson: Symone Sanders (revealed)
Georgia Overflow View by Ben Kamisar
Today’s Overflow Watch highlights some special visitors aiming to improve the GOP in Georgia.
Today, Vice President Mike Pence touches down in the Peach state for rallies in Columbus and Macon, 2 county seats in the state. It’s not the VP’s very first time in the state, he existed rallying in Augusta last week, and had been there in weeks prior as he charts his own post-White House future.
It’s likewise worth noting that Donald Trump Jr. will be in the state campaigning over the weekend.
The Lid: Love govs
Don’t miss out on the pod from yesterday, when we took a look at how governors continue to get high marks for communicating their coronavirus management strategies.
ICYMI: What else is occurring worldwide
French president Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for coronavirus.
Who will be Biden’s education secretary?
Biden’s team is looking at broadening access to ACA marketplaces, the Washington Post composes.
Here’s how anti-vaccination disinformation is spreading.
The New York Times looks at Trump’s imprint on the judiciary.
Politico notes that the Never Trump motion is finding out what’s next in a Biden presidency.
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