It’s Monday.
For June, 28th, 2021, President has already received his daily brief. This afternoon he will host the outgoing President of Israel, Reuven Rivlin.
Reuters reported on Sunday, that the two Presidents are expected to discuss
“U.S. efforts to re-enter the Iran nuclear deal and Israel’s formation of a new government.”
The meeting between President Biden and President Rivlin comes just weeks after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was replaced by Naftali Bennett. A meeting between Prime Minister Bennett and President Biden is still being worked out.
A source explained to Reuters that; Biden is expected to tell Rivlin that the United States and Israel share the same objective, that Iran not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon, and that Biden would stress U.S. support for Israel’s right to defend itself. President Rivlin’s term expires on July, 7th, 2021, with “Jewish Agency Chairman Isaac Herzog taking over as Israeli president.”
On Sunday the Department of Defense released a statement that said at the direction of President Biden:
U.S. military forces earlier this evening conducted defensive precision airstrikes against facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups in the Iraq-Syria border region. The targets were selected because these facilities are utilized by Iran-backed militias that are engaged in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks against U.S. personnel and facilities in Iraq. Specifically, the U.S. strikes targeted operational and weapons storage facilities at two locations in Syria and one location in Iraq, both of which lie close to the border between those countries. Several Iran-backed militia groups, including Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH) and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS), used these facilities.
As demonstrated by this evening’s strikes, President Biden has been clear that he will act to protect U.S. personnel. Given the ongoing series of attacks by Iran-backed groups targeting U.S. interests in Iraq, the President directed further military action to disrupt and deter such attacks. We are in Iraq at the invitation of the Government of Iraq for the sole purpose of assisting the Iraqi Security Forces in their efforts to defeat ISIS. The United States took necessary, appropriate, and deliberate action designed to limit the risk of escalation – but also to send a clear and unambiguous deterrent message.
As a matter of international law, the United States acted pursuant to its right of self-defense. The strikes were both necessary to address the threat and appropriately limited in scope. As a matter of domestic law, the President took this action pursuant to his Article II authority to protect U.S. personnel in Iraq.”
Department of Defense. 06/27/2021.
He has tweeted so far two time for Monday, they will be shared later in the article.
When Friday’s Open Thread was posted, President Biden had tweeted 8 times and retweeted 0 times. He added 2 more tweets giving him a Friday total of 10 tweets and no retweets.
Saturday he tweeted 8 times and had 0 retweets.
Sunday he tweeted 1 time and had 0 retweets.
We gonna do something a bit different today…I’m sorry?
Pride Month tweets from Friday and Saturday.
The live stream includes the bill signing ceremony explained below, plus his remarks following the remarks of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and 16 year-old Ashton Mota. The stream is 1 hour and 3 minutes long. It opens with the signing ceremony, pauses at the 12 minute and 10 second mark. It resumes at the 29 minute and 19 second mark. President Biden begins his address at the 43 minute and 51 second mark. His full remarks can be found here.
President Biden (56:06): So far this year, hundreds of anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in state legislatures. More than a dozen of them have already passed — more than a dozen of them. These are some of the ugliest, most un-American laws I’ve seen, and I’ve been here awhile. Many of them target transgender children, seeking to prevent them from receiving the appropriate medical care; for using the bathroom at high schools while they’re — the one where they’ll be most safe; even preventing them from joining sports teams with their classmates. Let’s be clear: This is nothing more than bullying disguised as legislation.
As mentioned in the linked Open Thread from Friday, President Biden signed a law that allows for the Pulse Nightclub to become a memorial site for the 49 victims of a mass shooting that took place 5 years ago. This bill doesn’t allow for federal funds to be used in construction of the memorial nor does it make the Memorial part of the National Park system.
President Biden (42:29): I am proud to lead the most pro-LGBTQ equality administration in U.S. history. And even on the very — my very first day in office, the first executive order I signed was to change the whole of the federal government to commit to work aggressively to root out discrimination against LBT- — LGBTQ+ people and their families. That was the first executive order. I ordered our agencies — every agency — to rapidly implement the Supreme Court’s ruling in Bostock, which affirmed that civil rights protections on the basis of sex apply to sexual orientation and gender identity. And as a result of that executive order, the Department of Housing and Urban Affairs [Development] announced that it would be — take steps to protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination in housing, and ensured critical protections for transgender Americans experiencing homelessness. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced it would work to combat discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in credit and lending. The Department of Health and Human Services announced it would protect against discrimination in healthcare services. And just last week, the Department of Education made clear that Title IX protections apply to sexual orientation and gender identity — and prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ students in our nation’s schools.
Infrastructure Week tweets from Saturday and Monday.
The bipartisan infrastructure framework would be good for the economy and good for our people.
— President Biden (@POTUS) June 26, 2021
We need both this and the American Families Plan — it was always my hope to reach a bipartisan deal on infrastructure while seeking to pass my Families Plan through reconciliation.
Read my full statement: https://t.co/ibCJdD8y2Y
— President Biden (@POTUS) June 26, 2021
As everyone is aware, on Thursday, President Biden and a group of bipartisan lawmakers reached an infrastructure framework. During his press conference regarding the deal he said: If they don’t come, I’m not signing. Real simple.
He was saying that if this bipartisan bill and his American Families Plan bill don’t come to his desk “in tandem” he would sign neither.
On Saturday he walked those comments back.
On Thursday, I reached a historic agreement with a bipartisan group of Senators on a $1.2 trillion plan to transform our physical infrastructure. The plan would make the largest investment in infrastructure in history, the biggest investment in rail since the creation of Amtrak, and the largest investment in transit ever. It would fix roads and bridges, make critical investments in our clean energy future, and help this country compete with China and other economic rivals. It would replace lead water pipes in our schools and houses, and connect every American to high-speed internet. It would create millions of high-paying jobs that could not be outsourced.
In the days since, the primary focus in Washington has not been about the Plan’s scope, scale or provisions—but rather, how it relates to other legislation before Congress: my American Families Plan. The American Families Plan—which would make historic investments in education, health care, child care, and tax cuts for families, coupled with other investments in care for our seniors, housing, and clean energy—has broad support with the American people, but not among Republicans in Congress.
I have been clear from the start that it was my hope that the infrastructure plan could be one that Democrats and Republicans would work on together, while I would seek to pass my Families Plan and other provisions through the process known as reconciliation. There has been no doubt or ambiguity about my intention to proceed this way.
At a press conference after announcing the bipartisan agreement, I indicated that I would refuse to sign the infrastructure bill if it was sent to me without my Families Plan and other priorities, including clean energy. That statement understandably upset some Republicans, who do not see the two plans as linked; they are hoping to defeat my Families Plan—and do not want their support for the infrastructure plan to be seen as aiding passage of the Families Plan. My comments also created the impression that I was issuing a veto threat on the very plan I had just agreed to, which was certainly not my intent.
So to be clear: our bipartisan agreement does not preclude Republicans from attempting to defeat my Families Plan; likewise, they should have no objections to my devoted efforts to pass that Families Plan and other proposals in tandem. We will let the American people—and the Congress—decide.
The bottom line is this: I gave my word to support the Infrastructure Plan, and that’s what I intend to do. I intend to pursue the passage of that plan, which Democrats and Republicans agreed to on Thursday, with vigor. It would be good for the economy, good for our country, good for our people. I fully stand behind it without reservation or hesitation.
Some other Democrats have said they might oppose the Infrastructure Plan because it omits items they think are important: that is a mistake, in my view. Some Republicans now say that they might oppose the infrastructure plan because I am also trying to pass the American Families Plan: that is also a mistake, in my view. I intend to work hard to get both of them passed, because our country needs both—and I ran a winning campaign for President that promised to deliver on both. No one should be surprised that that is precisely what I am doing.
I will ask Leader Schumer to schedule both the infrastructure plan and the reconciliation bill for action in the Senate. I expect both to go to the House, where I will work with Speaker Pelosi on the path forward after Senate action. Ultimately, I am confident that Congress will get both to my desk, so I can sign each bill promptly.
White House.gov. 06/26/2021.
Okay, so he sort of walked it back, at least the threat part. As a reminder: these are two separate bills. The American Families plan is what is being worked out through reconciliation. While the American Jobs Plan, the infrastructure plan has now got a bipartisan framework.
Coronavirus vaccine tweets from Saturday and Sunday.
As he does most Saturday morning’s his first tweet was to share a conversation from his “on the line,” weekly conversation series. The video is 2 minutes and 54 seconds long. It features a conversation between the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy and Natalie Quillian the Deputy Coordinator for the Coronavirus Response team. I won’t be providing a transcript.
It’s time to be like Nike, and just do it, if you haven’t already been vaccinated.
Two random subjected tweets from Saturday.
The White House published the following readout of the meeting.
President Biden met with President Ashraf Ghani and High Council for National Reconciliation Chairman Abdullah Abdullah of Afghanistan. President Biden emphasized enduring United States support for the Afghan people, including Afghan women, girls, and minorities, through civilian, development, and humanitarian aid, as well as the continued provision of security assistance to support Afghan National Defense and Security Forces. President Biden expressed his concern about the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in Afghanistan, and noted additional emergency U.S. assistance, including three million doses of vaccines, to help the Afghan government respond to the pandemic. President Biden, President Ghani, and Chairman Abdullah concurred on the need for unity among Afghan leaders in support of peace and stability, and President Biden reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to fully support intra-Afghan negotiations. The U.S. and Afghan leaders firmly agreed that although U.S. troops are leaving Afghanistan, the strong bilateral partnership will continue.
White House.gov. 06/25/2021.
Starting July 15th, 2021, those with children under 17 and who filed taxes in either 2019 or 2020, or received a stimulus check, will start to receive a monthly check. These checks are part of a tax credit generally received in one lump sum during tax season.
The IRS says:
You can opt out of receiving half the value of the child tax credit monthly through December. The other half of the child tax credit will be applied when you file taxes for 2021.
He shared with one tweet his thoughts on the tragic building collapse in Surfside, Florida.
As many are aware, a 12 story building collapsed in Surfside, Florida. This morning Officials in Miami-Dade provided an update. The mayor of Miami-Dade said that a tenth body has been found as day 5 of the search and rescue effort continues. She said 135 people have now been accounted for. The total of unaccounted people is 151. She also reminded everyone that the numbers of missing and accounted for people is very fluid.
The White House posted a statement from President Biden regarding his call with FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell.
I spoke this afternoon with FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell to hear firsthand about her visit today to Surfside, FL and the scene of the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers residential building. What I heard from Administrator Criswell was excruciating: she reiterated that words can’t describe the scene on the ground and she gave me an update on meetings she had with state and local officials to ensure they have everything they need.
I am grateful for the heroic first responders, search and rescue teams, and all FEMA, state, county, local, and volunteer personnel who are working around the clock to try to save lives and for those who are dedicated to helping survivors with many needs, including temporary housing. We will continue to coordinate closely with officials on the ground throughout this terrible ordeal and my administration is ready to provide any support or assistance that is needed.
This is an unimaginably difficult time for the families enduring this tragedy. For those who are waiting in anguish for word of their loved ones as search and rescue efforts continue in the aftermath of this catastrophic incident, the pain of the uncertainty is an added, heartbreaking burden. My heart goes out to every single person suffering during this awful moment.
White House.gov. 06/27/2021.
Officials in today’s briefing also announced there will be a full investigation into how and why the building collapsed.
The White House daily press briefing has already started.
This is an Open Thread.
