President Biden Feels the Pressure (BTN #29)
Biden Tracking Newsletter #29: Day 1028 (11/13) through Day 1034 (11/19)
President Biden also met with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week
This is the twenty-ninth edition of the Biden Tracking newsletter. It was a very quiet week for President Biden. Most of the news this week involves the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, where the United States has reportedly brokered a five-day pause in exchange for the release of hostages. Also this week, news on the Biden Administration limiting environmental reviews to speed up renewable energy and news on the Biden Administration using a Trump-era defense for its own impeachment inquiry. It is Monday, November 20th, 2023, day 1035 of the Biden Presidency.
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One piece of housekeeping: There will not be a newsletter next Monday. I don’t expect much news to come out during the week of Thanksgiving.
Saturday, November 18th (Day 1033)
President Biden, in an op-ed in the Washington Post on Saturday (here), said that the United States is prepared to issue “visa bans against extremists attacking civilians in the West Bank.” If implemented, the move would be the most significant punitive measure the Biden administration has taken toward Israel. Biden also advocated for a two-state solution to the conflict, which he wrote “is the only way to ensure the long-term security of both the Israeli and Palestinian people.” In a hypothetical Palestinian state, President Biden would support the Palestinian Authority to take over governance.
U.S. close to deal with Israel and Hamas to pause conflict
On Saturday the Washington Post reported that Israel and Hamas were close to agreeing to a U.S.-brokered deal that would pause the war in Gaza for five days in exchange for the freeing of dozens of women and children held hostage by Hamas. The stop in fighting is intended to allow a significant increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance, including fuel, to enter Gaza through Egypt. The outline of a deal was put together during weeks of talks in Doha, Qatar, among Israel, the United States, and Hamas, indirectly represented by Qatari mediators. Under pressure, the Biden administration is finally supporting a temporary pause in the fighting, though they continue to be against a full ceasefire. The death toll in Gaza is now reportedly more than 11,000.
Friday, November 17th (Day 1032)
On Friday the Department of Education opened an investigation into seven schools after receiving complaints about alleged incidents of antisemitism and Islamophobia. The schools being investigated include one K-12 school, the Maize Unified School District in Kansas, and six colleges: Lafayette College, Cornell University, Columbia University, Wellesley College, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, and the University of Pennsylvania. At the conclusion of the investigations, the Department of Education will make recommendations to the schools. The schools risk losing federal funding if they don’t comply. The investigations were launched under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which says universities and K-12 schools have a responsibility to provide all students with an environment free from discrimination. The investigations include five antisemitism cases and two Islamophobia cases.
White House says impeachment inquiry lacks legitimacy
On Friday Richard Sauber, special counsel to the President, wrote in a letter to House Oversight Chairman James Comer and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan that the Impeachment inquiry into the President lacks legitimacy because it was started without an authorization vote by the House. The Trump administration made a similar argument against House Democrats in 2019 when Democrats did not hold a House vote on their impeachment inquiry right away. Sauber also described the Impeachment inquiry as “congressional harassment”.
Thursday, November 16th (Day 1031)
Biden Administration proposes limiting environmental reviews to speed up renewables
The Biden administration has proposed limiting environmental reviews surrounding power lines, large-scale batteries, and solar farms. The proposal would make upgrades to more, longer power lines eligible for for lower-level environmental reviews and would also allow for larger solar energy projects to qualify for simpler reviews. The Energy Department’s proposal would also simplify the environmental review process for energy storage projects such as batteries that enable energy produced by renewables such as wind or solar to be deployed at any time instead of only when it is sunny or windy. Though this sounds like a mostly good thing, power lines can also be used to carry electricity created by burning fossil fuels. The proposal seems to be a compromise between Republicans, who want projects across the board to be sped up, and Democrats, who are looking to push more renewable energy.
Other News: