4 signs of where infrastructure stands on Capitol Hill
CNN
The White House and congressional Democrats face a crowded slate of pressing issues and competing priorities this week as they try to push forward with efforts to negotiate and secure passage of President Joe Biden's infrastructure package.
That dynamic was on display amid a flurry of developments Tuesday that diverted attention in a variety of directions. The White House worked to offer reassurances after major news that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration were recommending that the United States pause the use of Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine over six reported US cases of a "rare and severe" type of blood clot. Later in the day, Biden's decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan by September 11 prompted a split reaction among both congressional Republicans and Democrats. The vaccination announcement in particular highlighted one of the many challenges that Democrats will have to navigate as they work to advance the President's legislative agenda on Capitol Hill: As they juggle an already jam-packed schedule, they must also contend with unexpected events. Here's where things stand as of Wednesday morning:The US began pulling military equipment and additional personnel out of Niger on Friday after waiting months for the ruling military junta to approve US military flights into the country, two sources familiar with the matter said Saturday, ahead of a September 15 withdrawal deadline agreed to by the two countries.
The judge who oversaw Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial in New York on Friday informed the former president’s defense team and prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorney’s office that a comment was posted on the New York State Unified Court Systems’ public Facebook page last week by a poster who claimed to be a cousin of a juror, saying that Trump would be convicted.