Judge Merrick B. Garland will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday to begin his confirmation process to become the attorney general.
While Judge Garland is expected to garner broad dual support to run the Justice Department, he will face difficult questions from Democrats and Republicans about how he will handle the myriad political issues the department now faces. star: a federal investigation into tax fraud on President Biden’s son, a special council’s investigation into the origins of the Russian investigation, and the January 6 attack on the Capitol closer to the inner circle of former President Donald J Trump has started.
He will also have to cheer up the department’s civil rights department, as America is undergoing a painful and destabilizing deal with systemic racism, of which the country has not seen for more than half a century. The Trump administration has worked to restrict civil rights protection for transgender people and minorities. It also ruled out policies aimed at combating systemic racism, sexism, homophobia and other implicit prejudices, which Trump said did not exist.
In the opening statement that Judge Garland, 68, intends to deliver before the committee, he promised both to combat the emerging domestic terror threat that was clear on January 6 and to address systemic inequality.
“The mission remains urgent because we do not yet have equal justice,” Judge Garland is expected to say.
He is also expected to claim that he will not allow politics to lead the department’s criminal investigation into Mr. Biden’s son, Hunter, influenced whether the investigation or Obama-era officials erred in their decision to investigate Trump’s 2016 campaign.
But Judge Garland will be asked if his Department of Justice new investigations into Mr. Trump, his former administration officials and his inner circle will open. Some of the officials have been accused by government watchdogs of misconduct and lying to investigators. It is unclear whether Mr. Trump or his associates will investigate any connection to the Capitol attack. Mr. Trump has been acquitted of inciting the uprising by the Senate in his indictment.
Republicans could try to force Judge Garland to commit to politically charged investigations into Democrats, including New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, who misrepresents the number of coronavirus-related deaths in traffic jams, or to a special council to appoint Mr. Biden’s son. The Department of Justice has asked David C. Weiss, the U.S. Attorney in Delaware, to continue overseeing the Hunter Biden investigation.
Last month, Judge Garland said he would ensure that “there is no one government for Democrats and another for Republicans, one for friends and the other for enemies.”
Advocates for civil rights, police unions, Democrats and Republicans have voiced their support for Judge Garland’s nomination. A dual group of more than 150 former Justice Department officials, including Democrats like Eric H. Holder Jr. and Loretta Lynch, and Republicans like Alberto Gonzales, Michael B. Mukasey and Ken Starr, the independent lawyer in the Whitewater investigation, have a letter that also supports him.
In order to send more federal aid to the smallest and most vulnerable businesses, the Biden government is changing the rules of the Paycheck Protection Program, which increases the amount that sole proprietorships are eligible for a 14-day freeze on loans to businesses with To employ 20 or more employees. .
The freezing point will take effect on Wednesday, the Small Business Administration planned to announce on Monday. President Biden is also expected to speak shortly after noon Monday to make an announcement about small businesses.
In December’s economic relief package, Congress allocated $ 284 billion to restart the aid program. Banks and other financiers, who make loans made by the government, have paid out $ 134 billion to 1.8 million businesses since the loans resumed last month. The money is meant to be forgiven if recipients follow the rules of the program.
Companies with up to 500 employees are generally eligible for the loans, although second withdrawal loans – available to those whose sales have fallen by at least a quarter by 25 percent or more since the start of the coronavirus pandemic – are limited to companies with 300 or fewer employees. According to administration officials, the 14-day moratorium is intended to draw borrowers’ attention to the smallest businesses, which spoke to reporters during a newsletter on Sunday on condition that they not be named.
Most small businesses are solo businesses that only employ the owner. For such companies, including sole proprietorships and independent contractors, a big rule of thumb was getting aid money, a program rule that based their loan size on the annual profit they reported on their taxes. As a result, unprofitable businesses were not eligible for assistance, and thousands of applicants left small loans – some up to $ 1.
The new formula, which according to the officials of the small business administration will be announced soon, will rather focus on gross income. This calculation, which is done before many expenses are deducted, allows for unprofitable businesses for loans.
The agency is also changing several other program rules to be eligible. Those with recent offenses not linked to fraud can now apply, as can those who are guilty of federal student loan credits or not. The agency also updated its guidelines to explain that business owners who are not citizens of the United States but legal residents are eligible for loans.
Senator Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, announced Monday that she will not support the nomination of Neera Tanden as head of the Office of Management and Budget, jeopardizing the prospects for confirmation in an evenly divided Senate.
The margins for confirmation now just seem insurmountable to me. Teeth, as Ms Collins is the second senator in four days to announce her opposition. Since Sen. Joe Manchin III, a West Virginia Democrat, has already announced his intention to vote against former Hillary Clinton adviser, President Biden needs the rest of the Democratic caucus to support her nomination and at least one Republican around her. to endorse.
In a statement released early Monday morning and first obtained by Politico, Ms. Collins said she believes Ms. Teeth “does not have the experience or the temperament to lead this critical agency.”
One of the many Republicans that Ms. Teeth regularly targeted on social media, me. Collins noted that “her actions in the past have shown exactly the kind of hostility that President Biden has promised to overcome.” And the decision of me. Teeth to delete more than a thousand tweets before her confirmation hearings, she said, “expressed concern about her commitment to transparency.”
Nadat mnr. Manchin on Friday announced his intention to vote against her confirmation, Mr. Biden said he plans to continue with the nomination. Following the statement of Ms. Collins, the White House has indicated it plans to continue the confirmation process.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday that Biden would continue to support Ms Tanden’s nomination.
“Neera Tanden is a competent policy expert who will be an excellent budget director. We look forward to the committee’s votes this week and to continuing to bring her confirmation through both parties,” Psaki said in a statement. .
Neera Tanden = competent policy expert, would be the first Asian American woman to lead OMB, has already had a great deal of experience as a child benefiting from a number of federal programs, and she looks forward to the committee’s vote this week and continue to push for her confirmation
– Jen Psaki (@PressSec) 22 February 2021
On January 6, at 1:09 p.m., minutes after protesters burst through the barricades around the U.S. Capitol and began using the steel debris to attack the officers who were waiting, Capitol Police Chief made a desperate call done to backup. It took almost two hours before officials approved the deployment of the National Guard.
New details about what happened during those 115 minutes on that dark, violent day – revealed in interviews and documents – tell a story of how chaotic decision-making among political and military leaders burned precious time when the riots at the Capitol got out of control affected.
Interruptions in communication, inactivity, and confusion over who had the power to request the National Guard delayed the deployment of hundreds of troops that could possibly suppress the violence that raged for hours.
This period is expected to be a focal point of a congressional hearing on Tuesday, when lawmakers Steven A. Sund, the then Capitol police chief, and other current and former officials will be questioned in public for the first time about the security failures that contributed to it. . the violence on that day.
“Capitol security leaders need to address the decision not to approve the National Guard request, failures in community service collaboration and information sharing, and how the threat information they had before January 6 made their security decisions before that day. informed, “said Senator Maggie Hassan, a New Hampshire Democrat.
Some U.S. officials said that by the time the urgent request came to the Pentagon on the afternoon of January 6, it was long overdue for National Guard troops to deploy quickly enough to prevent Capitol storms. But law enforcement officials pointed out that every lost minute during a disappointment that lasted for hours was critical.
Chief Sund did not hear again for 61 minutes after asking the national guard for help. And even then, there was a catch: although Capitol security officials approved his request, the Pentagon had the final say. During a tense phone call that began 18 minutes later, a top general said he did not like the “visual” nature of the army guarding the Capitol, and that he would recommend that the army secretary refuse the request.
The approval of the Pentagon finally took place at 3:04 p.m. The first deployment of the National Guard troops arrived at the Capitol two and a half hours later.