Thread: President Joe Biden

• Biden and Germany's Scholz huddle on Ukraine war at White House

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Western allies would support Ukraine for "as long as it takes" as he visited the White House on Friday for a private meeting with President Biden.

The two leaders huddled as the war enters a difficult next phase, with fresh concerns about softening political resolve behind maintaining billions of dollars in military assistance for Kyiv.

"This is a very, very important year because of the dangerous threat to peace that comes from Russia invading Ukraine," Scholz said.

Both leaders said they would continue working "in lockstep," and Mr. Biden thanked Scholz for helping to "maintain the pressure" on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

China wasn't mentioned during their brief public remarks in the Oval Office, although the meeting comes as both countries have become increasingly vocal about concerns that Beijing may step off the sidelines and supply weapons to Russia. Such a step could dramatically change the war's trajectory by allowing Moscow to replenish its depleted stockpiles.

China is Germany's top trading partner, and European nations have generally been more cautious than the United States in taking a hard line with Beijing. However, there are signs that may be shifting as global rivalries grow more tense.

In a speech to the German parliament on Thursday, Scholz called on China to "use your influence in Moscow to press for the withdrawal of Russian troops, and do not supply weapons to the aggressor Russia."

The U.S. and Germany have worked closely together to supply Ukraine with military and humanitarian assistance. But there has also been friction over issues such as providing tanks, and Washington has occasionally grown frustrated with Berlin's hesitance.

Maintaining a steady flow of weapons to Kyiv will be critical in the war's second year, especially with both sides planning spring offensives.

"We're proud of the collective efforts that we've taken together," John Kirby, a White House national security spokesman, said Thursday.

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• US announces new $400 million Ukraine security aid package

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• Biden will back Ukraine for ‘as long as it takes,’ Yellen says in Kyiv

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen made an unannounced trip to Kyiv on Monday to emphasize the Biden administration’s continued support for Ukraine as the country prepares for Russia’s highly-anticipated spring offensive.

“I bring to Kyiv a clear message from President Biden and the American people: We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” Yellen said during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Yellen said she particularly hoped to highlight the White House’s “close partnership in providing economic and budgetary support” for Ukraine.

“As you have said, our support is not ‘charity,’” Yellen told Zelenskyy. “It’s an ‘investment in global security and democracy.’”

Yellen’s trip comes a week after President Joe Biden made his own surprise visit to Kyiv, a show of support that marked the one-year anniversary of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

On Friday, the U.S. announced a new $10 billion aid package to Ukraine to support energy and budget costs, as well as $2 billion in security assistance. The U.S. has so far provided Ukraine with close to $50 billion aid, Yellen said Monday in Kyiv.

“Just as your life is a part of the history of Ukraine – I believe that Ukraine is a central part of the history of the free world. And you are writing our history right now,” Yellen said. “As you do, I hope you know this: America stands with you in this fight for freedom. And we will be by your side to help you rebuild.”

Biden awards Medal of Honor to Vietnam vet among first Black Special Forces officers

President Biden on Friday awarded the nation’s highest award for military valor to a Vietnam veteran known for saving the lives of multiple soldiers and who was among the first Black Special Forces officers in the U.S. military.

During a ceremony at the White House, Biden presented the Medal of Honor to Col. Paris D. Davis, 63, whom the commander in chief praised as “a true hero of our nation.”

“Paris helped write the history of our nation,” Biden said, calling the war hero “everything this medal means” and “everything our generation aspires to be.”

“You are everything our nation is at our best: brave and big hearted, determined and devoted, selfless and steadfast,” the president added.

Biden then wrapped the Medal of Honor around the neck of Davis and shook hands with the smiling Green Beret.

Davis, of Cleveland, enlisted as an Army reserve armor officer in 1959 and graduated from both Airborne and Ranger schools in 1960.

He was then selected for an Airborne special forces group and served first in Korea before two deployments to Vietnam in 1962 and 1965.

During his second deployment to Vietnam, Davis was promoted to captain as a detachment commander with the 5th Special Forces Group.

He is best known for his heroism during a 19-hour battle in Vietnam. In June 1965, Davis led a team of South Vietnamese and four Green Berets to attack a North Vietcong base in the province of Bong Son.

After his team captured two enemy soldiers, he learned there was a larger force operating in the area and led his soldiers into battle at dawn.

Despite being wounded at least twice, Davis fought against enemy combatants, including in hand-to-hand combat, and managed to destroy several gun emplacements, capture enemy soldiers and prevent the capture of his own troops.

Davis then noticed two American soldiers were wounded, and he braved enemy fire to save both soldiers and bring them to cover — one at a time. He then called a helicopter evacuation to bring them back to base safely.

For his actions, Davis earned the Silver Star, the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart. Davis also saved the life of a soldier who was stuck in a burning fuel truck and won the Soldier’s Medal.

Davis is one of only four service members in the history of the U.S. military to receive both the Medal of Honor and the Soldier’s Medal.

During his remarks, Biden noted that Davis served during a time of segregation in America and never received the Medal of Honor despite being nominated. Davis told CBS News in 2021 race was a factor in the lost paperwork for his Medal of Honor nomination.

And yet, Biden said Davis “never lost faith” in his country.

“He never stopped believing in the founding vision of our nation,” Biden said. “The vision Paris fought to defend fifty years ago — this vision for a more perfect union.”

Biopsy found Biden’s skin lesion was a common skin cancer, White House doctor says

The White House on Friday confirmed President Joe Biden’s skin lesion that was removed during his physical last month was basal cell carcinoma — a very common and treatable skin cancer. All cancerous tissue was removed and no further treatment is required, his doctor said.

In a memo on Friday, the president’s doctor noted that basal cell lesions “do not tend to ‘spread’ or metastasize,” as other serious skin cancers do. During Biden’s physical last month, the area of the skin on his chest was removed via electrodesiccation and curettage, a common skin cancer treatment that involves scraping and removing the skin with a sharp instrument and a high-frequency electric current. The doctor sent the lesion for a biopsy on Feb. 16.

“The site of the biopsy has healed nicely and the President will continue dermatologic surveillance as part of his ongoing comprehensive health care,” Kevin O’Connor, the president’s physician, wrote Friday.

Basal cell carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. Approximately 3.6 million cases of this skin cancer are diagnosed in the U.S. each year. First lady Jill Biden also had three lesions removed in January, and one was determined to be a basal cell carcinoma above her right eye.

The biopsy results come about three weeks after Biden went to Walter Reed Medical Center for his second annual physical since taking office. His health report described an 80-year-old president who is “healthy,” “vigorous” and “fit to successfully execute the duties” of his office.

• Biden chides GOP for ‘trying to hide the truth’ about Black history in marking Bloody Sunday

President Biden on Sunday called out Republicans for efforts to limit teaching parts of Black history as he marked the 58th anniversary of Bloody Sunday.

“History matters,” Biden said at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. “The truth matters, notwithstanding what the other team is trying to hide. They’re trying to hide the truth.”

Biden highlighted the importance of teaching African American studies, which comes amid a growing debate over Republicans pushing to prevent the teaching of certain subject matters such as African American studies in schools.

“No matter how hard some people try, we can’t just choose to learn what we want to know but not what we should know. We should learn everything, the good, the bad, the truth of who we are as a nation. And everyone should know the truth of Selma,” Biden said.

Republicans have in recent years ratcheted up their attacks on “critical race theory,” and earlier this year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), a likely 2024 presidential candidate, moved to block a new Advanced Placement (AP) course for high school students on African American studies.

“We know where we’ve been and we know more importantly where we have to go, forward, together,” Biden said on Sunday. “So let’s pray, let’s not rest, let’s keep marching, let’s keep the faith.”

“Together we’re saying loud and clearly that in America hate and extremism will not prevail, although they are roaring their ugly head in significance now,” Biden added. “Silence is complicity and I promise you, my administration will not remain silent.”

Bloody Sunday, when 600 civil rights marchers and white police officers violently clashed on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965 amid the Civil Rights movement, had served as a catalyst for the passage of the Voting Rights Act.

To mark the anniversary, Biden then walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge along with Alabama Rep. Terri Sewell (D) and Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge, among others. He evoked the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), who was beaten by police on the bridge while leading the march from Selma to Montgomery.

Biden on Sunday renewed calls for Congress to pass the voting rights bill named after Lewis, which would update the 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA). He also called for Congress to pass an assault weapons ban and the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which would ban chokeholds and no-knock warrants, end qualified immunity, and prohibit racial and religious profiling by law enforcement officers.

Biden commemorates "Bloody Sunday" in Selma by pushing voting rights reform

Biden sticks it to Republicans with his budget proposal

Biden proposes $6.8 trillion budget to make rich pay "fair share"

President Biden is detailing his plans to increase taxes on the wealthiest Americans and corporations in his Fiscal Year 2024 budget to help fund $6.8 trillion in spending next year.

Why it matters: Biden's plan, which has little chance of being enacted by Congress, amounts to the clearest distillation of his political priorities as he prepares to mount a re-election campaign by running against congressional Republicans.

• "My 2024 Budget is a blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America in a fiscally responsible way that leaves no one behind," Biden said.
• The message to the wealthiest Americans was clear: "You have to begin to pay your fair share," Shalanda Young, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, told reporters. "We are happy to have that debate."

By the numbers: Biden is proposing $885 billion in overall defense spending, both to help fund the war against Russia in Ukraine and bolster the Pentagon’s procurement budget.

• For domestic programs, a traditional top priority for Democrats, he's asking for even more, proposing some $1 trillion for so-called non-defense discretionary spending.
• To achieve his spending priorities, which include shoring up Medicare and protecting Social Security, Biden relies on deficit spending and envisions a shortfall of $1.8 trillion next year.

The big picture: Biden has sought to frame his budget as a serious effort to rein in deficits, claiming that he will reduce overall deficit spending by $3 trillion dollars over the next decade.

• He hopes to achieve that goal with a new billionaire tax, forcing them to pay at least 25% on all of their income, including appreciated assets, in taxes.
• He also wants to quadruple the tax on corporate stock buybacks and raise the overall corporate rate from 21% to 28%.
• For Americans with unearned income above $400,000, the Medicare tax rate would jump from 3.8% to 5%, which Biden says will extend the program's solvency by 25 years.
• As in prior budget proposals, he wants to increase the top tax rate to 39.6% from 37%, reversing a Trump-era tax bill.

Between the lines: Mandatory spending — for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other programs — still constitutes the bulk of the federal budget and Biden is proposing more than $4.2 trillion in spending next year.

• Interest on the national debt will cost $789 billion next year for a total of $10 trillion over the next decade.
• For the Department of Homeland Security, the Budget requests $60.4 billion for next year, including $865 million for United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
• For the Department of Veterans Affairs, Biden is requesting $137.9 billion in spending, a modest $3 billion increase over the 2023 enacted level.

The bottom line: Biden's budget is a mixture of overall spending plans as well as individual spending priorities to score political points.

• He plans to hammer Republicans to cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for all Americans, according to administration officials.

Inflation going in right direction, Joe Biden says after jobs data

• February's jobs report is a crowd-pleaser

The February jobs report had something for everyone: encouraging developments for American workers and the Federal Reserve's inflation-fighting efforts.

Why it matters: Economists and data-watchers hoped the latest payrolls report would clear up the big question of the moment: Will more hot data force the Fed to tighten more aggressively?

• The report doesn't settle the question one way or the other. Some details point to a job market still bursting at the seams, alongside others that suggest inflationary pressures are diminishing.

Details: January's fiery-hot jobs report showed that employers have an insatiable appetite for more staff. That's still the case — a welcome development for job-seekers.

• Last month, employers continued to add staff at a rapid rate, with 311,000 overall positions. And revisions did not dramatically alter the picture for January or December.

Meanwhile, a surge of workers (roughly 270,000) re-entered the labor force last month, helping push up the unemployment rate slightly to 3.6%.

• Notably, the labor force participation rate for prime-age workers (those between 25 and 54) is back at its pre-pandemic level of 83.1%.
• That more workers are returning to the job market is good news, because it could help bring the labor market back into balance in a less painful manner. Employer demand for workers does not have to come down as much if more workers are available to meet said demand.

Between the lines: Wages are especially crucial for the inflation outlook, and there the news looks favorable. Average hourly earnings were up only 0.2% last month.

• Over the last three months, they've risen at a 3.6% annual rate, down from 4.9% in the final months of last year. Slower wage growth should diminish price pressures.

What they're saying: "If you have a labor market that is showing less tightness on the labor force participation front, that will tend — all else equal — to put downward pressure on wage growth," Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon, tells Axios.

The bottom line: More job reports like the one in February could mean a more gradual labor market cooling that would be less painful for American workers.

• Attention now turns to next week's Consumer Price Index report, which may hold more clues about inflationary pressures and could be the deciding factor on whether the Fed hikes by a quarter-point or half-point in 12 days.

• Biden says ‘our banking system is safe’ amid Silicon Valley Bank fallout

President Biden on Monday expressed confidence that the U.S. banking system is safe and Americans can access their deposits after regulators closed two banks in recent days.

“The bottom line is this: Americans can rest assured that our banking system is safe. Your deposits are safe. Let me also assure you, we will not stop at this. We’ll do whatever is needed,” Biden said in remarks before departing for California.

The president sought to reassure the public and financial markets that his administration had the situation under control after regulators late last week took control of Silicon Valley Bank, which catered to the startup and venture capital-funded tech world. Regulators in New York on Sunday closed Signature Bank of New York amid growing uncertainty about the stability of the banking system.

The president said the government would pursue a “full accounting” of how Silicon Valley Bank collapsed and why, adding that lawmakers must act to prevent it from happening again.

The Treasury Department on Sunday announced it would backstop all deposits at those banks, not just up to $250,000 as insured by federal law.

A Treasury Department official told reporters the move was necessary to stabilize the banking system and protect workers who could be directly affected by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

“Because of the action our regulators have already taken, every American should feel confident their deposits will be there when they need them,” Biden said Monday.

Biden stressed the efforts to backstop all deposits would not be covered by taxpayers, but would instead be funded by fees that banks pay into a Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. fund. He also said managers of the shuttered banks would be fired and held accountable.

Biden on Monday also said he would ask Congress to strengthen rules regulating the banking system after some provisions were rolled back during the Trump administration.

Then-President Trump in 2018 signed a measure that exempted certain small and regional banks from regulations passed under Dodd-Frank in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. The 2018 bill passed when both chambers of Congress were controlled by Republicans.

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During the Obama-Biden administration, we put in place tough requirements on banks like Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, including the Dodd-Frank law to make sure that the crisis we saw in 2008 would not happen again. Unfortunately, the last administration rolled back some of these requirements.

Biden, U.K. reveal plan to arm Australia with nuclear-powered subs

The White House on Monday unveiled details of a joint agreement with the U.K. and Australia to supply the latter nation with nuclear-powered submarines.

Why it matters: It's the first concrete step taken by the trilateral strategic partnership, known as AUKUS, that was announced in 2021 and seeks to counter China's influence across the Asia-Pacific region.

Zoom in: In a joint statement Monday, the three countries said the plan uses a phased approach that begins this year, with Australian military and civilian personnel embedding with the U.S and Royal Navy "to accelerate" training.

• Then, starting in the early 2030s, the U.S. will sell Australia up to five Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarines, pending Congressional approval.
• The agreement also calls for Australia and the U.K. to build a new class of nuclear-powered submarines based off a British design and technology from all three countries.

What they're saying: "Our plan elevates all three nations’ industrial capacity to produce and sustain interoperable nuclear-powered submarines for decades to come, expands our individual and collective undersea presence in the Indo-Pacific, and contributes to global security and stability," the countries said in the statement.

• "Our nations are committed to further trilateral collaboration that will strengthen our joint capabilities, enhance our information and technology sharing, and integrate our industrial bases and supply chains while strengthening the security regimes of each nation," per the statement.
• This is the first time the U.S. is sharing nuclear technology for submarines in 65 years, per the New York Times.

Zoom out: China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning criticized the U.S., U.K., and Australia at a press briefing last Thursday, saying their cooperation "constitutes serious nuclear proliferation risks," exacerbated the arms race, and undermined stability in the Asia-Pacific region.

• Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last month praised the nuclear submarines being provided by the AUKUS pact as the “biggest leap in our defense capability in our history,” Bloomberg reported.
• Earlier Monday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that the U.K. would boost defense spending by about $6 billion, some of which would go towards funding "the next phase of the AUKUS submarine programme."

'It's just common sense': President Biden signs new executive action expanding gun background checks

President Joe Biden took executive action Tuesday that seeks to increase the number of background checks conducted during gun sales as the White House reverts to unilateral ways to tackle gun control amid bleak prospects in Congress.

The order stops short of requiring universal background checks, which the president has asked Congress to pass through legislation. His action instead directs Attorney General Merrick Garland to clarify what it means to be "engaged in the business" of selling firearms.

Federal law requires that individuals in the business of selling guns be federally licensed and therefore check the backgrounds of buyers. Under the order, Garland will use his discretion to ensure gun sellers "willfully violating the law" and those unaware of background requirements become compliant.

"We remember and mourn today, but I'm here with you today to act," Biden said at a Boys & Girls Club in Monterey Park, California, where he grieved with family members of 11 people killed in a mass shooting there in January. "It's just common sense to check whether someone is a felon, a domestic abuser before they buy a gun."

Biden faces increasing pressure to address gun violence following a series of mass shootings this year, but his proposals to reinstate a ban on assault weapons and require universal background checks lack the votes in the Republican-controlled House.

What else does Biden's order do on gun safety?

• "As close ... as possible": Biden's gun order moves the United States "as close to universal background checks as possible without additional legislation," the White House said.
• Implementation: Federal agencies responsible for carrying out the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act – a landmark gun law passed by Congress last year – must detail how they're implementing it within 30 to 60 days. A key piece of the legislation expands background checks on gun buyers 21 and younger to include their mental health and juvenile justice records.
• "Red flag" laws: The order promotes the use of extreme-risk protection – a move meant to complement the 19 states that have "red flag" laws that allow a court to order the removal of a person's firearms if they're considered dangerous.
• Promoting safety: The order directs Biden's cabinet to do everything it can to promote the safe storage of firearms.

Biden says his administration is focused on lowering prescription drug costs

President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced fines on drugmakers for raising prices on some drugs faster than inflation for people on Medicare, a move that will lower people's coinsurance payments.

In a speech in Las Vegas, Biden said the move will "change the way drugs are priced.”

“It’s not just your health,” Biden said. “It’s about your dignity, it’s about your security. That’s why my administration is focused intensely on getting more people affordable healthcare, by lowering prescription drug costs and giving families just a little bit — as my dad would say — a little bit of breathing room.”

Ahead of Biden’s remarks, administration officials previewed the actions that the president and his health care team have taken to lower drug costs in a call with reporters Tuesday night.

The Inflation Reduction Act, which the president signed into law last year, includes prescription drug provisions that penalize pharmaceutical companies for raising prices for certain drugs faster than the rate of inflation for Medicare beneficiaries, the officials noted.

“I have no problems with a company making reasonable profits, but my Lord, not on the backs of working families and seniors. It’s about fairness, fairness and decency,” Biden said.

Starting next month, some Medicare beneficiaries will see lower out-of-pocket prices for 27 prescription drugs whose prices rose faster than inflation in the last quarter of 2022, the Department of Health and Human Services announced. Companies that violated the provision of the law will be required to pay Medicare a rebate to cover the difference in pricing.

Health Secretary Xavier Becerra said the list of drugs subject to rebates will be updated every quarter. Becerra also noted that the Inflation Reduction Act capped the price of insulin at $35 and “negotiates a fair price for more prescription drugs.”

“That’s going to be good news for Americans,” Becerra said on the call with reporters. “It will make certain generic drugs available for Medicare beneficiaries for a $2 copay, brings peace of mind to millions of Americans.”

Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, noted that the law has begun helping Medicare beneficiaries by saving money through three free recommended vaccines and caps on insulin costs. She said the new requirement for drug companies to pay rebates to Medicare for increasing drug prices faster than inflation went into effect in October.

Brooks-LaSure said her agency will send invoices to drug companies for the rebates in 2025, but Medicare will begin deducting out-of-pocket costs for beneficiaries in April.

Health and Human Services will also release initial guidance on its drug price negotiation process, according to a White House release.

“America spends more on prescription drugs than any advanced nation on Earth,” Biden said. “You name the drug you take, and I can take you to France and get it a hell of a lot cheaper.”

Biden’s remarks Wednesday came a week after the president outlined his budget proposals to boost Medicare funding, in which he will seek to raise a tax on the wealthy and expand the program’s ability to negotiate lower prescription drug prices.

“Medicare is more than a government program. It’s the rock-solid guarantee that Americans have counted on to be there for them when they retire,” Biden wrote in a New York Times op-ed ahead of the release of his budget proposals.

Biden wrote that his proposal will build on drug pricing reforms in the Inflation Reduction Act, strengthening Medicare’s “newly established negotiation power” by allowing it “to negotiate prices for more drugs and bringing drugs into negotiation sooner after they launch.”

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Irish prime minister tells Biden he’ll ‘roll out the red carpet’ for visit

President Biden on Friday hosted Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar for St. Patrick’s Day at the White House, a holiday celebration close to the president’s heart that is expected to precede his own visit to Ireland.

“It’s good to have you back in the Oval Office, Taoiseach,” Biden said during a meeting with the Irish leader. “It’s a big day in my grandparents’ household, our household, big day here. And I know a bigger day at home.”

Biden, who often references his Irish heritage and frequently quotes Irish poet William Butler Yeats, hosted Varadkar for a bilateral meeting at the White House. The two will attend a luncheon on Capitol Hill with lawmakers to mark St. Patrick’s Day, followed by a celebration back at the White House for staffers and guests.

The president is expected to visit Ireland in the coming weeks to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, which ended the Northern Ireland conflict. The anniversary will fall next month.

The White House has not officially confirmed Biden’s travel, but Varadkar said he was “looking forward” to the president’s visit.

“I promise you that we’re going to roll out the red carpet and it’s going to be a visit like no other. Everyone’s excited about it already,” Varadkar said. “We’re going to have great crowds who would love to see you, and look forward to talking about some of the details a bit later.”

Biden and Varadkar both spoke about their shared commitment to Ukraine in its war against Russia and the two signaled they would also discuss the Windsor Framework, aimed at allowing goods to flow freely to Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom.

The framework, agreed to last month between British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, was finalized in Windsor near London and ends a dispute that has loomed since the U.K. voted in 2016 to leave the European Union.

Northern Ireland, which is part of the U.K., shares a border with Ireland, which is a member of the European Union. The U.K.’s exit from the EU sparked renewed concerns about the possibility of a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, upsetting the Good Friday Agreement, which has maintained peace for more than two decades.

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Biden to visit Belfast for Good Friday Agreement anniversary

U.S. President Joe Biden has accepted a formal invitation from Rishi Sunak to visit Northern Ireland to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement next month.

The U.K. prime minister extended the invite as the two leaders met for talks as part of the AUKUS submarine program at the Point Loma naval base in San Diego, California.

Sunak told the president: “I look forward to our conversations and also, importantly, to invite you to Northern Ireland, which hopefully you will be able to do, and so we can commemorate the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

“I know it’s something very special and personal to you. We would love to have you over.”

Biden replied: “Twenty-five years? It seems like yesterday.”

Biden: International Criminal Court ‘justified’ in issuing arrest warrant for Putin

President Biden on Friday said the International Criminal Court (ICC) is “justified” in issuing an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over allegations of war crimes.

“Well, I think it’s justified,” Biden told reporters before leaving the White House for Delaware. “But the question is, it’s not recognized internationally by us, either. But I think it makes a very strong point.”

Asked whether Putin should be tried for war crimes, Biden did not directly answer, but said the Russian leader has “clearly committed war crimes.”

The ICC earlier Friday issued an arrest warrant for Putin and another Russian official. The warrant is believed to be one of the first charges against Putin for war crimes in Ukraine, part of a global effort to hold the Russian president and the Russian Federation accountable for atrocities beginning with the full-scale February 2022 invasion.

The warrant targets Putin over alleged war crimes, and it cites him and Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, commissioner for children’s rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation, for the forced deportation of Ukrainian children from Russian-occupied territory to Russia.

The Kremlin blasted the allegations, noting it does not cooperate with the ICC.

“We consider the very posing of the question outrageous and unacceptable. Russia, like a number of states, does not recognize the jurisdiction of this court and, accordingly, any decisions of this kind are null and void for the Russian Federation from the point of view of law,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov tweeted Friday.

The United States is no longer a party to the ICC and does not recognize its authority.

Vice President Harris last month told an international security conference that the U.S. had formally determined Russia had committed crimes against humanity, arguing Russian soldiers had conducted widespread attacks against Ukrainian civilians that included murder, torture and rape.

Putin is expected to meet next week with Chinese President Xi Jinping. U.S. officials have warned that China may be considering providing support to Russia for its war effort in Ukraine.

Asked about his expectations for the meeting between Xi and Putin, Biden said “we’ll see when that meeting takes place.”

• Biden ramps up pressure on TikTok with latest demand

President Biden’s administration is ramping up pressure against the popular video sharing app TikTok, threatening to ban the app if the Chinese-based ByteDance doesn’t sell its stake.

The demand, confirmed by TikTok late Wednesday, marks the latest escalation in U.S. governmental pressure on the company. It has been facing increasing criticism from both sides of the aisle that it is a potential security risk because of its ties to China.

TikTok’s CEO Shou Zi Chew, who is scheduled to testify before a House panel next week, said divesting wouldn’t solve any security concerns and the company has doubled down on its ongoing plans to monitor and separately store U.S.-user data instead.

“Divestment doesn’t solve the problem: a change in ownership would not impose any new restrictions on data flows or access,” Chew said in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal.

Chew declined to comment whether ByteDance would be open to selling the app to an American company.

Related

• TikTok now has 150 million active users in the U.S., CEO to tell Congress

When TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies before Congress on Thursday, he plans to unveil new internal data that suggests the popular video-sharing app is far more enmeshed in Americans' daily lives than anyone realizes.

TikTok currently says about 100 million people in the U.S. are regular users of the app. But when Chew testifies before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, he will say that number has now reached 150 million, according to a senior Democratic strategist advising TikTok.

That 50% jump in the number of monthly active users in the U.S. suggests the app has become even more entrenched in the U.S. over the nearly three years that Washington — under two presidential administrations — has grappled with how to rein it in.

Lawmakers from both parties, and the White House, argue that TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, poses a threat to national security because Beijing could use it to influence U.S. public opinion or gain access to Americans’ data for nefarious purposes, such as spying.

In December, President Joe Biden signed a spending bill that banned TikTok from U.S. government devices. The Justice Department and the FBI are currently investigating TikTok and ByteDance, including allegations that company employees spied on journalists.

Chew’s testimony comes as efforts in Washington to potentially ban TikTok in the U.S. have reached a fever pitch. Biden now supports a bipartisan bill that could do just that, and his administration recently told TikTok that either its Chinese owners sell their stakes in the company or the app could face a U.S. ban.

His first appearance before Congress will mark TikTok’s most high-profile showdown with lawmakers to date — and the app plans to lean on users, deemed “creators,” to counter efforts to ban it as well as criticism that it’s a national security threat.

Biden issues first veto of his presidency

President Biden on Monday vetoed a bill that would have repealed a Department of Labor rule allowing retirement fund managers to consider environment, social and governance (ESG) principles in their investment decisions.

Why it matters: It was Biden's first use of the veto since becoming president, though several more may be on the way with Congress on track to pass other pieces of legislation the White House opposes.

• The House has scheduled a veto override vote on the legislation on Thursday.

Between the lines: Two vulnerable Senate Democrats up for re-election in 2024 — Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) — broke with the White House earlier this month and joined Republicans in passing a House bill that would strike down the Labor Department's rule.

• In order for the bill to become law, both chambers of Congress must pass it again with at least two-thirds of each body voting in favor.

What they're saying: Biden said on Monday he vetoed the legislation because "it would put at risk retirement savings of individuals across the country."

• "They couldn't take into consideration investments that would be impacted by climate, impacted by overpaying executives. And that's' why I decided to veto it. It makes sense to veto it," he added.
• "The President vetoed the bill because it jeopardizes the hard-earned life savings of cops, firefighters, teachers, and other workers – all in service of an extreme, MAGA Republican ideology," White House spokesperson Robyn Patterson said in a statement on Monday.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy claimed on Monday that Biden, by vetoing the bill, "sided with woke Wall Street over workers."

• "Now—despite a bipartisan vote to block his ESG agenda—it’s clear Biden wants Wall Street to use your retirement savings to fund his far-left political causes," McCarthy said.

The big picture: The Labor Department rule doesn't require fiduciaries for private companies to do anything, but it does permit them to include ESG considerations in investment decisions.

• Supporters of the ESG framework say it allows investors to support companies that are attempting to manage risks related to environmental, social, and governance criteria, such as the financial and economic risk posed by climate change.
• Anti-ESG sentiment runs hot throughout the Republican Party in general, Axios' Hans Nichols reports. Conservative groups have derided it as "woke capitalism" and have set out to dismantle it.

_________

President Biden - I just vetoed my first bill.

This bill would risk your retirement savings by making it illegal to consider risk factors MAGA House Republicans don't like.

Your plan manager should be able to protect your hard-earned savings — whether Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene likes it or not. https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1637860509432045591

________

Extra

‘Ted Lasso’ cast joins White House briefing to discuss mental health

Actor Jason Sudeikis and the cast of “Ted Lasso” joined the White House daily press briefing on Monday ahead of a meeting with President Biden to discuss efforts to address mental health.

Sudeikis — who plays the title character on the Apple TV+ show, which has included multiple episodes touching on mental health — called on Americans to not be afraid to ask for help.

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcar...mental-health/

Spirit Mountain: Biden declares largest national monument of his presidency in Nevada

President Joe Biden on Tuesday officially designated a new national monument in Southern Nevada while speaking at a conservation event at the Interior Department.

At more than 506,000 acres, the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument is one of the largest tracts of land to come under federal protection so far during Biden’s presidency, preserving Nevada’s Spirit Mountain and the desert around it.

“It’s a place of reverence, a place of spirituality, a place of healing,” Biden said Tuesday. “It will now be recognized for the significance it holds and be preserved forever.”

Biden’s proclamation is a major victory for the surrounding Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, which has been advocating for the monument’s creation for around three decades.

“Avi Kwa Ame is the point of Mojave creation; it’s a very important and integral part of our history and belief system,” Ashley Hemmers, the tribal administrator for Fort Mojave, told CNN. “For us, that mountain is a living landscape; it’s like a person. If something were to happen to it, it would be like losing a loved one.”

During an emotional speech Tuesday, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland highlighted Interior’s work to honor and uplift tribal nations and their knowledge of the land.

“We’re incorporating Indigenous knowledge and honoring tribes for their role in stewarding our lands and waters since time immemorial,” Haaland said, tearing up during her speech.

“I was thinking about how the federal government tried to erase Indigenous people in so many ways; taking their lands, taking their children, taking their lives and taking away bison that were so central to many tribal nations,” she added, talking about a recent order she signed to restore American bison. “The bison are still here here, and Indigenous people are still here.”

Biden also designated the Castner Range National Monument in Fort Bliss in West Texas, which was a training site for the Army during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

“It’s a place of incredible beauty,” Biden said of Castner Range, describing the Mexican poppies that grow there as “transforming desert hills into a sea of yellows and oranges.”

Together, the two monuments will protect close to 514,000 acres of new public lands. In addition, Biden is directing Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to consider protecting all US waters around the Pacific Remote Islands as part of a new national marine sanctuary.

Biden made the announcement at a summit for tribal leaders and elected officials that was hosted by the White House and Interior Department.

As they met, climate and youth activists demonstrated outside the Interior Department’s headquarters to protest the recently approved Willow oil drilling project in Alaska. The Biden administration approved the controversial Willow Project last week. The drilling project, which is slated for the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, galvanized a surge of online activism against it in recent months. Environmental advocates have filed two lawsuits in federal court to stop the project.

Biden-Harris Administration Celebrates the Affordable Care Act’s 13th Anniversary and Highlights Record-Breaking Coverage

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration celebrated the 13th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by highlighting record-breaking enrollment numbers during the 2023 Marketplace Open Enrollment Period and lower health care costs because of President Biden’s American Rescue Plan (ARP) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Since 2014, when HealthCare.gov was launched, enrollment has doubled from 8 million to more than 16 million. Nearly 16.4 million consumers selected or were automatically re-enrolled in health insurance coverage through HealthCare.gov Marketplaces and State-based Marketplaces (SBMs) during the 2023 open enrollment. Enrollment has increased year-over-year, with 1.8 million more consumers signing up for coverage during the 2023 open enrollment compared to the 2022 open enrollment, a 13% increase, and nearly 4.4 million more consumers signing up compared to the 2021 open enrollment, a 36% increase.

“As we celebrate the anniversary of the Affordable Care Act today, we have even more evidence that this law has lived up to its name, providing a way for Americans to access quality, affordable health coverage,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “Thanks to President Biden’s leadership, more than 16 million Americans have health insurance through the Affordable Care Act Marketplaces – an all-time high. We will keep doing everything we can to ensure more people have the peace of mind that comes with high-quality health care.”

“The Biden-Harris Administration has consistently taken steps to fulfill President Biden’s promise to make it easier for Americans to find and enroll in affordable, quality coverage,” said Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. “We have continued to build on the success of the Affordable Care Act by investing in improvements to the health care system. We continue to see that these investments are paying off through record-breaking enrollment overall and a notable increase in Hispanic/Latino enrollment.”

National estimates show that, on average, consumers receiving advanced premium tax credits (APTC) continue to save over $800 in premiums per year thanks to the expanded subsidies made available through the ARP and continued by the IRA. Nationwide, 4.6 million more consumers are receiving financial assistance in 2023, compared to 2021, representing 90% of all 2023 plan selections – meaning, 90% of people selecting plans are receiving help to pay for premiums. And thanks to these laws passed by the Biden-Harris Administration, 1.4 million middle income consumers (those with household incomes over 400% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), or about $54,000 for an individual), who were previously ineligible for assistance, were able to access financial help during the 2023 open enrollment. As a result of the continued expanded subsidies, the average monthly premium after APTC for enrollees fell by 21%.

This year, individuals benefited from a highly competitive Marketplace. Ninety-two percent of HealthCare.gov enrollees had access to plans from three or more insurance companies. Also, new standardized plan options, called Easy Pricing plans, were available in 2023 through HealthCare.gov, which helped consumers compare and select plans.

Open Enrollment outreach included tailored investments to reach audiences that experience lower access to health care. For example, CMS partnered with cultural marketing experts to connect more people to resources including African Americans, Spanish and English-speaking Latinos, and Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in multiple languages. Among consumers who reported their race or ethnicity, 21% identified as Hispanic/Latino in the 2023 Open Enrollment Period, compared to 19% in the 2022 Open Enrollment Period, and 9% identified as Black in the 2023 Open Enrollment Period.

The Administration invested $98.9 million in Navigator grant funding for the 2023 Open Enrollment Period to help reduce health disparities by ensuring robust Navigator services. More than 1,500 Navigators were available to assist consumers with applying for and enrolling in Marketplace coverage for the 2023 plan year in line with the Administration’s goal to expand access to health insurance for America’s families.

More information on applications and plan selections, including state-level premium savings from the ACA and ARP/IRA, are available in the 2023 Open Enrollment Report and a suite of accompanying public use files (PUFs). An additional PUF is available for HealthCare.gov plan selections, including deductibles, Health Savings Account eligibility, and standardized plan option selection rates. The PUFs can be found at: 2023 Marketplace Open Enrollment Period Public Use Files | CMS.

To view the 2023 Open Enrollment Report, visit: https://www.cms.gov/files/document/h...port-final.pdf.

Today, HHS also released a report from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) that shows more than 40 million people are currently enrolled in Marketplace or Medicaid expansion coverage related to provisions of the ACA -- the highest total on record.

Key points from today’s ASPE report include the following:

Much more in the article

____________

Just for fun.

House fails to override Biden’s first veto

The Republican-led House on Thursday failed to override President Biden’s first veto, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed to revive a resolution targeting an administration rule related to ESG investing, which is investing that takes environmental and social factors into account.

falling short of the two-thirds majority

Correction

falling waaaaay short of the two-thirds majority

Biden reaffirms strong U.S.-Canada ties in Canadian Parliament speech

President Joe Biden on Friday reaffirmed the strong relationship between the U.S. and Canada, saying in an address to the Canadian Parliament that the two countries "have built a partnership that is an incredible advantage to both our nations."

"No two nations on earth are bound by such close ties friendship, family, commerce and culture. Our labor unions cross borders, so do our sports leagues, baseball, basketball, hockey," Biden said in Ottawa during his first visit to Canada as president.

Biden listed many of the areas of cooperation between the U.S. and Canada, including bolstering Ukraine's defenses against military attacks from Russia.

After his speech, Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a new agreement on migrants and asylum-seekers. Trudeau has said he wants help from the Biden administration to stem the flow of migrants into his country from the U.S. who are claiming asylum.

The new policy would apply to people caught within 14 days of crossing the U.S.-Canada border without citizenship in either country. Canada also committed to taking in an additional 15,000 migrants next year from the Western Hemisphere on a humanitarian basis.

Illegal crossings into the U.S. from Canada have climbed to historically high levels, although they are still a fraction of the crossings into the U.S. from Mexico.

In their joint statement, Biden and Trudeau also described how they would approach issues regarding China, instability in Haiti and NORAD.

"We disagree in degree on things occasionally," Biden said in brief remarks ahead of one of his meetings with Trudeau. "But there’s no fundamental difference in the democratic values."

Trudeau touted his country's relationship with the U.S., saying Canada has "no greater friend and ally than the United States."

At the other bilateral meeting, Biden sat at a long table with key members of his administration — including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, national security adviser Jake Sullivan, and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm — across from their Canadian counterparts.

In the evening, Biden and the first lady will attend a gala dinner hosted by Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau.

Calling for closer Canada-U.S. ties, Biden says ''our destinies are intertwined and they're inseparable''

Dinner with the Bidens: What’s cooking as U.S. president visits Canada

^I'll look at those, thanks.

It was a zoo in Ottawa these last few days. Considering I live/work near the airport, the roads were all cordoned off and police presence everywhere yesterday.
Glad the plane landed okay, the weather was horrendous. lol.

Biden EPA launches landmark push to curb ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water

The Biden administration is proposing the first-ever federal drinking water limits for toxic chemicals used to make nonstick materials like Teflon, stain-resistant carpeting and military firefighting foam, which are estimated to be contaminating 200 million Americans’ drinking water.

It’s an aggressive move that represents what health experts and community activists say is a long-overdue effort to begin reining in the widespread contamination from PFAS “forever” chemicals, which are linked with cancer, reproductive problems and a wide array of other health ailments. If finalized, the regulation would spark the first major upgrade to the safety of the nation’s drinking water in three decades.

The class of some 12,000 different PFAS substances are characterized by a strong chemical bond that makes them invaluable as nonstick agents, but also causes them to persist and accumulate in the environment — and people’s bodies. Studies have found the substances in virtually every American’s blood, and EPA estimates that its proposal to limit six of them in drinking water would save tens of thousands of lives and significantly reduce serious illnesses.

But, the agency acknowledges that the $772 million annual cost would, at least initially, be borne by American households through higher water charges.

“It’s time,” Radhika Fox, EPA’s top water official, said in an interview. “The American people want this. They want their drinking water to be safe.”

The regulatory proposal unveiled by EPA Tuesday would require utilities to cleanse their drinking water supplies of any detectable levels of the two most notorious chemicals in the class, known as PFOS and PFOA, which were used for decades in water repellent Scotchguard and Teflon, as well as firefighting foam, before being phased out of production in 2002 and 2015, respectively.

EPA’s new proposal also includes a surprise provision aimed at limiting the chemicals that the industry shifted to using after the PFOA and PFOS phase-out, which chemical companies argued were safer, but that federal scientists have concluded pose severe dangers of their own.

EPA had previously only singled out PFOA and PFOS as warranting federal regulation. But in the three years since the Trump administration first made that determination, evidence has mounted of those other chemicals’ prevalence and harms, and several states have enacted their own limits.

Because of structural differences in their chemistry, ridding water supplies of these newer substances can require different treatment approaches. Drinking water experts feared that if EPA didn’t address them under this proposal, water utilities could invest in upgrades that failed to deal with the whole PFAS problem. But the administration’s choice to regulate the chemicals in an accelerated and novel fashion could risk putting the regulation on legally shaky ground.

The proposed regulation would require communities to monitor water supplies for four of these chemicals – known as GenX, PFBS, PFHxS and PFNA – and then plug those results into a “hazard index” calculation. That calculation is aimed at dealing with the fact that different types of PFAS are often present in water at the same time, and scientists have found that those mixtures can be even more dangerous than just the sum of their parts.

Using that hazard index, utilities would see whether dangerous combined levels of the chemicals are present, which would require them to treat their water to reduce levels of those chemicals or switch to alternate sources.

Environmental groups and public health advocates heralded the proposal as a major step towards dealing with the sprawling contamination problem Tuesday. And the move was also backed by a top Republican on Capitol Hill whose state has been burdened by PFAS pollution.

“After years of urging three consecutive administrations of different parties to do so, I’m pleased a safe drinking water standard has finally been issued for PFOA and PFOS,” West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said in a statement.

Chemical manufacturers, whose past and current products are targeted by the proposal, have come out in opposition. The industry group American Chemistry Council said in a statement it has “serious concerns with the underlying science” used to develop the proposal.

None of the proposal’s requirements would come cheaply to drinking water utilities or their customers, and groups representing water managers are already raising concerns. EPA estimates that it would cost $772 million per year to upgrade water treatment plants and cover the ongoing monitoring and treatment costs to comply with the rule. That’s less than the $1.2 billion the agency estimates will be saved by removing the chemicals, primarily in the form of reduced healthcare costs and premature deaths. But it represents real pocketbook pain, particularly for customers already struggling to pay their water bills.

The drinking water utility serving the city of Wilmington, N.C., where Regan unveiled the proposal Tuesday, spent $43 million on upgrades to its water treatment facilities to filter out PFAS that a chemical manufacturing plant had poured into the Cape Fear River. The plant’s managers estimate it will cost up to $5 million more annually to operate the system, adding an average of $5 per month to customers’ bills.

In a statement, the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies suggested EPA is low-balling its cost calculations, arguing that if just 16 drinking water utilities had to install upgrades similar to Wilmington’s, the cost would exceed the agency’s cost estimate.

“AMWA is concerned about the overall cost drinking water utilities will incur to comply with this proposed rulemaking,” the group’s CEO, Tom Dobbins, said in a statement.

In the near term, some new federal funds available through the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law could help offset this cost, including $5 billion for small and disadvantaged communities.

“We recognize that’s not enough for every single water utility in the country, but it’s a shot in the arm,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said as he announced the proposal.

Canada pledges Great Lakes funding after Trudeau-Biden talks

Canada has pledged a significant increase in spending to improve water quality in the Great Lakes following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, whose administration also has boosted funding for the shared waters.

Following their discussion Friday in Ottawa, Trudeau said his government would spend $420 million — about $306 million in U.S. dollars — over the next decade on the lakes, still suffering from 20th century industrial pollution and newer challenges such as climate change, PFAS chemicals and microplastics.

The announcement came weeks after U.S. Congress members prodded Biden to seek more support for the lakes from Canada, which critics have accused of doing too little.

“The Great Lakes are a source of drinking water for 40 million people, and this shared resource needs to be protected,” Trudeau said. “This is why Canada will make a major new investment … to continue safeguarding the Great Lakes for generations to come.”

The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River are the world’s largest surface freshwater system, providing drinking water for some 40 million people and supporting a regional economy in eight U.S. states and two Canadian provinces.

Trudeau’s father, then-Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, signed an agreement with President Richard M. Nixon in 1972 to restore and protect the lakes. It has been updated several times since.

In addition to toxic residues in harbors and river mouths, the lakes are ravaged by invasive species such as quagga mussels, loss of nearshore fish and wildlife habitat, and farm and urban runoff that fuels harmful algae blooms.

The U.S. Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, started by President Barack Obama in 2010, has pumped some $4 billion into projects aimed at fixing those problems, with annual spending averaging between $300 million to 400 million.

Congress has authorized $425 million for fiscal year 2024. An additional $1 billion from Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law will be devoted largely to completing work on longstanding industrial site cleanups.

Canada, meanwhile, had committed just $33 million in U.S. dollars to cleanup efforts between 2017 and 2022.

In a March 8 letter, nine U.S. House members urged Biden to “emphasize the importance of our binational institutions and investments for the Great Lakes from the Canadian government” during his visit.

Trudeau’s pledge Friday drew praise from those who had pushed for a bigger Canadian contribution.

“This increased funding commitment to help preserve and strengthen the Great Lakes is a welcomed announcement from our neighbors in Canada,” said Rep. Bill Huizenga, a Michigan Republican.

Rep. Brian Higgins, a New York Democrat, said the lakes “are a resource both nations share, and it is incumbent on us all to invest in its health and future.”

A University of Michigan analysis has found that each $1 spent under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative generated $3.35 across the region and more in some areas.

Canada’s promised increase is “a significant step towards ensuring the longterm health and sustainability of our freshwater resources,” said Gino Moretti, Mayor of Saint-Anicet in Quebec and Vice-Chair of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, which represents waterfront cities in the region.

Sleepy Joe's at it again.

President Joe Biden committed a major gaffe in his speech at an event to commemorate Women's History Month, forcing the White House to issue a correction.
Biden, who attended the event with his wife, First Lady Jill Biden, and Vice President Kamala Harris earlier this week, made the gaffe while touting his administration's work in the Violence Against Women Act.
"You know but this builds on other steps you've taken and we've taken, like the most significant gun safety law in 30 years to help keep guns out of the hands of domestic political advisors," the president said.

The White House later corrected his speech in the transcript, crossing out the last part and replacing it with "convicted domestic abusers."

Biden Commits Major Gaffe During Speech, White House Had To Correct Him [Watch]

Biden renews push to ban assault weapons in wake of Nashville shooting

President Joe Biden on Monday revived his push for a federal assault weapons ban in the aftermath of a deadly elementary school shooting.

“I call on Congress again to pass my assault weapon ban. It’s about time we begin to make some progress, but there’s more to learn,” Biden said at a Small Business Administration Women’s Business Summit.

The event in the East Room of the White House began lightheartedly as Biden opened his address by discussing his favorite ice cream flavor and talking to kids in the audience.

“I came down because I heard there was chocolate chip ice cream,” Biden said. His speech quickly shifted to calling on Congress to ban assault weapons in the wake of the shooting.

Three adults and three children were confirmed dead following a mass shooting Monday morning at The Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville.

Nashville police respond to fatal school shooting

The 28-year-old female suspect, who has not been identified, was killed in an altercation with police. The woman had at least two semi-automatic rifles and a handgun, police said.

Biden called the shooting “heartbreaking” and a “family’s worst nightmare.”

“We have to do more to stop gun violence; it’s ripping our communities apart — ripping the soul of this nation,” Biden said. “And we have to do more to protect our schools, so they aren’t turned into prisons.”

Biden has focused on reinstating the assault weapons ban that he helped pass in 1994 as senator, but which lapsed in 2004. The president doesn’t appear to have the votes for an assault weapons ban in Congress.

“How many more children have to be murdered before Republicans in Congress will step up and act to pass the assault weapons ban,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday.

At an event in Washington on Monday, first lady Jill Biden also spoke about the shooting.

“I am truly without words. Our children deserve better. We stand, all of us, we stand with Nashville in prayer,” Jill Biden said.

Biden: GOP policies would surrender tech economy to China

President Joe Biden said Tuesday that Republicans’ ideas for cutting the budget could undermine U.S. manufacturing and help China dominate the world economy.

Speaking at a semiconductor maker in North Carolina to highlight his own policies, Biden is trying to shape public sentiment as he faces off with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., about whether the federal government should raise its legal borrowing capacity.

McCarthy sent a letter Tuesday saying that talks should start about possible spending cuts in return for the debt limit increase. Biden has said Republicans need to put forth their own budget plan before negotiations start. Without an agreement, the federal government could default on its financial obligations.

The president tried to ratchet up pressure on Tuesday by saying that the GOP demands on the budget would only empower China, the country’s key geopolitical rival. Being tough on China has been a core part of the identity of former President Donald Trump, who is seeking to return to the White House in 2024, and his Make America Great Again movement. The Democratic president said their objections to his policies would instead strengthen China.

“It would mean ceding the future of innovation and technology to China,” Biden told the crowd. “I’ve got news for you and for MAGA Republicans in Congress: not on my watch. We’re not going to let them undo all the progress we made.”

Biden’s trip to Wolfspeed follows the Durham-based company announcing plans last September to build a $5 billion manufacturing facility in Chatham County that is expected to create 1,800 new jobs. Biden had won passage last July of a $280 billion legislative package known as the CHIPS Act, which was intended to boost the U.S. semiconductor industry and scientific research.

It’s nothing new for the Biden administration to highlight the CHIPS Act, the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill, the $1 trillion infrastructure legislation and a roughly $375 billion climate bill — major legislation that the Democratic administration steered into law before Democrats lost control of the House.

But now, just weeks after Biden unveiled his own budget — it includes $2.6 trillion in new spending — his administration is looking for chances to lean into its battle with Republicans over spending priorities and who has better ideas to steward the U.S. economy in the years to come. Republicans have rejected Biden’s budget but have yet to unveil their own counteroffer to the Democrats’ blueprint, which is built around tax increases on the wealthy and a vision statement of sorts for Biden’s yet-to-be-declared campaign for reelection in 2024.

His trip is part of a larger effort to draw attention to his policies, which have been overshadowed by high inflation.

Besides Biden’s visit to Wolfspeed, Vice President Kamala Harris, first lady Jill Biden and other senior administration officials will fan out to 20 states over the next three weeks to highlight the impact of Biden’s economic agenda, according to the White House.

Biden has said he intends to run for a second term but has yet to formally launch his reelection campaign.

His effort to highlight legislative victories could also give him an opportunity to present voters with images of an administration focused on governing as Trump braces for a possible indictment.

Updates on President Biden visit to NC Research Triangle Park