Biden says ‘economic plan is working’, despite disappointing April jobs report – as it happened

Gabrielle Canon and Joan E Greve

from on 2021-05-11 00:09 (#5HNKX)

1.09am BST

That's it for me tonight. Here's what we covered this afternoon:

12.34am BST

With Covid cases dropping, the US State Department lowered its travel ratings for the United Kingdom and Israel, after advising Americans not to travel there only last month.

Reuters reports that the UK is now rated Level 3: Reconsider Travel" and Israel is Level 2 - Exercise Increased Caution". In April, the State Department increased roughly 120 countries to the highest level of caution.

Britain allows American visits but requires a 10-day quarantine upon arrival and two COVID-19 tests.

On Friday, Britain said it would allow international travel to resume from May 17 after months of banning most trips abroad, but nearly all major destinations were left off its list of countries open for quarantine-free holidays, including the United States".

11.48pm BST

Gasoline prices could soon see a spike, according to Reuters, which reported a 6-cent jump for a gallon of fuel over the last week.

The American Automobile Association (AAA) said the current average price of $2.967 for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is just 3 cents shy of hitting the highest national average since 2014.

The Southeast should feel the squeeze first. Areas including Mississippi, Tennessee and the East Coast from Georgia into Delaware are likely to feel pain at the pump with prices rising 3 to 7 cents this week, said AAA spokeswoman Jeanette McGee.

Parts of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee rely on the line for fuel, and some suffered acute localized shortages and spikes in prices at the pump during previous shutdowns.

11.14pm BST

Pediatricians are expressing concerns that children may fall behind on other important vaccinations in the wake of the Covid crisis, according to CNN.

Now that the FDA has extended emergency authorization of the Pfizer Covid vaccine to adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15, some doctors are hoping parents will prioritize getting their kids up to date on all shots.

Routine immunizations fell off a cliff" at pediatrician Dr. Christoph Diasio's practice in Southern Pines, North Carolina, as the pandemic took hold in the US. Diasio told CNN visits for checkups have gone back up at many pediatric practices in recent weeks, but things aren't necessarily back to normal.

The problem is that because we're behind, you have to go to 130% of normal," Diasio said, adding that his office needs to spread people out physically and budget more time for each visit to maintain pandemic precautions. Those are good, solid public health measures to prevent contagion at the doctor's office, but they also have the net effect of making it very difficult to catch up on some of these things".

10.38pm BST

The largest US union has filed the first labor complaint against Mexico since the passage of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Reuters reports.

The AFL-CIO, a federation of 56 labor unions representing roughly 12.5 million people internationally, filed its petition against an auto parts plant in Matamoros, a city in Mexico near the Texas border. The union claims workers there were denied representation, a violation of the USMCA.

This is precedent-setting," said Cathy Feingold, director of the international department of the AFL-CIO, which lobbied for better worker-rights provisions in the USMCA. It's going to be a test for this new system."

The AFL-CIO will send its petition to the U.S. Office of Trade and Labor Affairs, which has 30 days to review the claim and determine whether to bring the case to the Mexican government for further review.

10.20pm BST

The US Food and Drug Administration announced today that it will expand emergency use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid Vaccine to children between the ages of 12 and 15.

Today's action allows for a younger population to be protected from COVID-19, bringing us closer to returning to a sense of normalcy and to ending the pandemic" said Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, in a statement issued with the announcement, calling the move a significant step in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic".

9.56pm BST

I'm Gabrielle Canon, here to take you through the news for the rest of the afternoon.

Alabama will soon cease advancing all added Covid-unemployment benefits, including the federally funded $300 boost, Governor Kay Ivey said today, citing concerns over worker shortages, the Associated Press reports.

In the statement, the governor's office listed Alabama's unemployment rate ("3.8%, the lowest in the Southeast and significantly lower than the national unemployment rate.")

It has become clear to me that we cannot have a full economic recovery until we get the thousands of available jobs in our state filled. pic.twitter.com/PHGU27c9Mj

9.30pm BST

That's it from me today. My west coast colleague, Gabrielle Canon, will take over the blog for the next few hours.

Here's where the day stands so far:

9.15pm BST

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, who will likely replace Liz Cheney as House Republican conference chair, deflected a question from the Washington Examiner about whether she believes Joe Biden legitimately won the presidential election. (He did.)

President Biden is president and the focus is on defeating his radical agenda, which I believe we will do in 2024. And we're going to win the midterms in 2022," Stefanik told the Examiner in an interview today.

8.51pm BST

Republican Senator Mitt Romney warned that ousting Liz Cheney as conference chair would be detrimental to the party's midterm prospects.

Expelling Liz Cheney from leadership won't gain the GOP one additional voter, but it will cost us quite a few," Romney said on Twitter.

Expelling Liz Cheney from leadership won't gain the GOP one additional voter, but it will cost us quite a few.

8.32pm BST

In his letter about the Wednesday vote to remove Liz Cheney as conference chair, House minority leader Kevin McCarthy argued Republicans need to be entirely focused on taking back Congress.

Unfortunately, each day spent relitigating the past is one day less we have to seize the future," McCarthy said. This is no time to take our eye off the ball."

8.14pm BST

House minority leader Kevin McCarthy has sent a letter to members instructing them to anticipate a vote on removing Liz Cheney as conference chair on Wednesday, per Punchbowl News.

The Wyoming congresswoman is expected to be removed from her post and replaced with Elise Stefanik, given the number of Republicans who have voiced support for ousting Cheney.

BREAKING: @GOPLeader has sent a letter about recalling @Liz_Cheney.

"Having heard from so many of you in recent days, it's clear that we need to make a change. As such, you should anticipate a vote on recalling the Conference Chair this Wednesday." pic.twitter.com/P0Euyl2wM3

7.52pm BST

Good news for Joe Biden - an Associated Press poll published before his remarks on the US economy just now put his approval rating at a healthy 63% overall, and 71% when it comes to how he is handling the coronavirus pandemic.

Even 47% of Republicans in the poll said they approved of the president's work to pull the country out of the Covid-19 crisis. Fifty-four percent of respondents said the US was on the right track.

7.27pm BST

This piece is very Politico, which means that even if it's about Iowa it's really very about DC, and within that Capitol Hill. Nonetheless, it's a long look at a long-serving senator, Chuck Grassley, whose decision on whether or not to retire could have serious ramifications for the balance of power in the Senate.

7.07pm BST

Taking a couple questions from reporters after his prepared remarks, Joe Biden definitively said he will soon be meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

I'm going to be meeting with President Putin," Biden told reporters. He did not give a location or date for the meeting, but the White House previously indicated he would try to meet with Putin when he travels to Europe next month.

7.03pm BST

Joe Biden addressed Republican criticism that the expanded unemployment benefits included in his coronavirus relief package had discouraged Americans from returning to work.

The president said his administration has not seen evidence that the expanded benefits are having a major impact on US jobs numbers.

President Biden: We're going to make it clear that anyone collecting unemployment who is offered a suitable job must take the job or lose their unemployment benefits." pic.twitter.com/Djn7ifdYBO

6.56pm BST

Joe Biden voiced confidence in the actions that his administration has taken to strengthen the US economy, despite the disappointing jobs report released on Friday.

We are moving in the right direction. Let's be clear - our economic plan is working," the president said. I never said and no serious analyst ever suggested that climbing out of the deep hole would be simple, easy, immediate or perfectly studied."

6.50pm BST

Joe Biden has now started delivering his remarks on the US economy, which come as the president pushes Congress to pass his infrastructure plan.

Before launching into his comments about the economy, the president offered an update on the government's response to the ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline.

6.33pm BST

Jen Psaki said Joe Biden is still looking to sign a policing bill into law by May 25, which is the one-year anniversary of George Floyd's death.

However, it remains very unclear whether that timeline is feasible, given that the bipartisan group working on the bill has not yet reached a final compromise.

6.20pm BST

A reporter pressed Jen Psaki on disagreements between Democrats and Republicans about how to pay for an infrastructure bill.

The CNN reporter noted that Joe Biden has said he is unwilling to increase taxes on non-wealthy Americans, eliminating user fees as an option, and Republicans like Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell remain adamantly opposed to rolling back the tax cuts approved by Donald Trump.

6.09pm BST

Anne Neuberger, deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technologies, said the US is looking at potential ties between Russian nation-state actors and Darkside, which is responsible for the ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline.

The senior national security official also dodged questions about whether Colonial had paid any of the ransom demanded by Darkside.

"That is a private sector decision": White House officials say they have not offered advice to Colonial Pipeline on whether to pay ransom to hackers who shut down a vital U.S. pipeline https://t.co/5QoCH046As pic.twitter.com/mAnhcfLiQ8

5.52pm BST

The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, is now holding her daily briefing with reporters.

Psaki was joined in the briefing room by Dr Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, homeland security adviser and deputy national security adviser, and Anne Neuberger, deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technologies.

5.38pm BST

Joe Biden will reportedly meet with two important Democratic senators to discuss his infrastructure plan this week, as the president urges Congress to pass his $2.3 trillion proposal.

CNN reports:

Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Tom Carper of Delaware, two committee chairmen central to the infrastructure legislative process, will meet separately with Biden at the White House, according to a White House official, to discuss the issue.

The President is having individual meetings today with Senators Carper and Manchin concerning the American Jobs Plan and the ongoing talks in Congress about the urgent need to invest in our infrastructure,' the official said.

5.25pm BST

Adam Kinzinger said he had considered having a vote of no-confidence against House minority leader Kevin McCarthy after the January 6 insurrection.

I don't consider him to be speaking on behalf of the Republican party anymore," Kinzinger told a Bloomberg reporter.

.@RepKinzinger: "I actually thought the person that should have their leadership challenged was Kevin McCarthy after January 6 because that's why this all happened."

"...I was considering, you know, having a vote of no-confidence against Kevin."https://t.co/E2OMmLkIzQ pic.twitter.com/PoCZIt3oN5

5.08pm BST

The FBI has confirmed that the Darkside ransomware was responsible for the disruption of the Colonial Pipeline this weekend.

The FBI confirms that the Darkside ransomware is responsible for the compromise of the Colonial Pipeline networks. We continue to work with the company and our government partners on the investigation," the bureau said in a statement.

FBI Statement on Compromise of Colonial Pipeline Networks https://t.co/XxHgezpref pic.twitter.com/McrRFOil64

Cybersecurity experts who have tracked DarkSide said it appeared to be composed of veteran cybercriminals.

They're very new but they're very organised,' Lior Div, chief executive of a Boston-based security firm, Cybereason, told Reuters. It looks like someone who's been there, done that.' ...

4.41pm BST

Lafayette Square, which is directly in front of the White House, has now reopened for the first time in nearly a year.

A reporter for AFP shared a photo of the newly reopened square on Twitter:

Lafayette Square is open! pic.twitter.com/piCIUxvcg4

4.15pm BST

Leading Republicans took to the political talkshow circuit on Sunday to express support or opposition to Liz Cheney.

Critically, Kevin McCarthy, the House minority leader who has in the past stood up for Cheney, made their break-up official when he told Fox News that he was endorsing Cheney's rival Elise Stefanik for the number three post.

4.00pm BST

Donald Trump once again urged House Republicans to replace Liz Cheney with Elise Stefanik as conference chair.

The House GOP has a massive opportunity to upgrade this week from warmonger Liz Cheney to gifted communicator Elise Stefanik," the former president said in a new statement.

3.44pm BST

Ron DeSantis was exultant. The way Florida did it I think inspires confidence; I think that's how elections should be run," the state governor told reporters last November. Rather than us be at the centre of a Bush v Gore in 2020, we're now being looked at as the state that did it right."

This boast of a smoothly run election just six months ago makes DeSantis's actions last week all the more curious. The governor suddenly found it necessary to impose sweeping reforms that limit mail-in voting and ballot drop boxes - and signed the new law live on the Fox News network on Thursday with no other media allowed.

3.29pm BST

Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger said he warned House minority leader Kevin McCarthy about potential violence on January 6, but McCarthy dismissed his concerns.

A few days before Jan 6, our GOP members had a conference call," Kinzinger said on Twitter. I told Kevin that his words and our party's actions would lead to violence on January 6th. Kevin dismissively responded with ok Adam, operator next question.' And we got violence."

A few days before Jan 6, our GOP members had a conference call. I told Kevin that his words and our party's actions would lead to violence on January 6th. Kevin dismissively responded with ok Adam, operator next question." And we got violence.

3.05pm BST

As rumors swirl that Fox News's primetime show host might run to be Republican nominee in 2024, the Guardian's Jonathan Freedland speaks to former GOP communications director Tara Setmayer about the danger this would pose to American democracy for our Politics Weekly podcast.

2.47pm BST

Some good news to start the week: the US recorded just 21,392 new cases of coronavirus yesterday, marking the country's lowest daily caseload since June 15, 2020, according to data compiled by johns Hopkins University.

2.30pm BST

The Biden administration announced this morning that the US will provide protections against discrimination in health care based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

The department of health and human services explained the policy shift by citing the supreme court's decision in Bostock v Clayton County, which was issued last year. In the case, the court ruled that firing someone because of their sexual orientation or gender identity violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

2.13pm BST

In case you missed it: House minority leader Kevin McCarthy officially backed Elise Stefanik's bid to replace Liz Cheney as conference chair.

What we're talking about is a position in leadership. As conference chair, you have one of the most critical jobs as a messenger going forward," McCarthy told Maria Bartiromo yesterday.

2.01pm BST

Greetings from Washington, live blog readers.

Joe Biden will deliver remarks on the US economy this afternoon, as the president continues to push Congress to pass his infrastructure plan.

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