Bad strategy? How the Republican attack on voting rights could backfire As the coronavirus wreaked havoc around the world, lawmakers in the US were faced with a monumental task: carrying out a presidential election in the middle of a once-in-century pandemic. Concerned about the possibility of virus spread at polling places, Democrats pushed the federal government to approve more funding for states to expand absentee and early-voting options. But Donald Trump was against the idea for a single reason: he thought it would make it harder for Republicans to win. Trump said in a Fox News interview in March of last year that, if early and absentee voting options were expanded as Democrats wanted, “you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again.” Other Republicans have echoed Trump’s argument in recent months, as the party has pushed hundreds of bills to restrict voting access in dozens of states. But voting experts now say the restrictions being approved in Republican-led states may not help the party’s chances in future elections, and in some cases, the laws may even prevent their own supporters from going to the polls. Put simply, in seeking to suppress the vote, Republicans may be shooting themselves in the foot. Republican legislators across the country have taken aggressive action to restrict access to the ballot box this year, as Trump has continued to spread the “big lie” that there was widespread fraud in the presidential election. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, at least 389 bills with restrictive voting provisions have been introduced in 48 states this year, and 22 of those bills have already been enacted. The Republican bills take particular aim at mail-in voting, after Joe Biden’s supporters used the voting method at disproportionately high rates in the 2020 election. However, it is unclear whether restricting mail-in voting will aid Republicans in future elections. A recent study conducted by a team at the Public Policy Institute of California found that, while making mail-in voting easier did increase overall turnout, it did not necessarily result in better electoral outcomes for Democrats. In fact, many models indicated that easy access to mail-in voting resulted in slightly better outcomes for Republican candidates. Here’s a throwback: Alexander Vindman, the lieutenant colonel and national security aide who served as a key witness in Donald Trump’s impeachment case, clarified to senator Marco Rubio what that case was all about... The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ plan that could end up denying communion to public figures, including Joe Biden – the first Catholic US president – will face a major roadblock ahead. The “teaching document” that the bishops are developing, that some hope will rebuke Catholic supporters of abortion rights, would ultimately have to be approved by the Vatican, which is unlikely to affirm a pointed or divisive action. The bishops voted 168-55 to develop a report on the meaning of Eucharist – and the final report, which would be completed sometime this Fall. While conservative members of the church have been pushing for a strong stance against abortion, and those who support abortion rights, some bishops are hoping the final report will avoid alienating American Catholics, the majority of whom support abortion rights. Catholics for Choice, a group that advocates for reproductive freedom, condemned attempts “to use the Eucharist – the Body of Christ and the central unifying ritual of our church – as a weapon of punishment”. The group’s president Jamie L. Manson said: “We are profoundly saddened that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has chosen to continue its unholy crusade against President Biden and other pro-choice Catholics, despite the objections of many of their own members, the Vatican, and the overwhelming majority of the people in the pews.” Across the US, 11 mayors pledged to pay some reparations for slavery to Black residents in their cities – though details of how much would be paid, and to whom, remain unclear. From the AP: This group of mayors, dubbed Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity (MORE), is led by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock. Their stated goal is for these reparations programs to “serve as high-profile demonstrations for how the country can more quickly move from conversation to action on reparations for Black Americans,” according to the group’s website. “Let me be clear: Cities will never have the funds to pay for reparations on our own,” Garcetti said during a news conference on Friday to announce the group. “When we have the laboratories of cities show that there is much more to embrace than to fear, we know that we can inspire national action as well.” The other mayors are Jorge Elorza of Providence, Rhode Island; Steve Adler of Austin, Texas; Steve Schewel of Durham, North Carolina: Esther Manheimer of Asheville, North Carolina: Quinton Lucas of Kansas City; Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento, California; Melvin Carter of St. Paul, Minnesota; and Keisha Currin of Tullahassee, Oklahoma. Tullahassee — a small town of fewer than 200 people in northeast Oklahoma — is the oldest of the surviving all-Black towns in the states that were founded after the U.S. abolished slavery. Earlier this month, California launched the first-in-the-nation task force to study and recommend reparations for African Americans: Poll: Americans are resuming pre-pandemic activities Many Americans are resuming pre-pandemic activities, even as they worry that restrictions were lifted too quickly, according to a poll from the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research 34% of those polled said restrictions in their area were lifted too quickly, and 27% said they weren’t lifted quickly enough Americans were increasingly seeing family, shopping for non-essential items, and going to bars and restaurants in June, compared to May Only 7% of unvaccinated people said they would definitely get a coronavirus vaccine, and 15% say they probably would. Read more about the poll, based on interviews with 1,125 American adults, here. In hunt for Covid’s origin, new studies point away from lab leak theory Laura Spinney reports: The coronavirus pandemic has raised so many questions as it has continued its inexorable spread across the planet, but perhaps the first of them remains the most contentious: where did Sars-CoV-2 come from? In recent weeks there has been renewed focus on whether it could have escaped from a Chinese laboratory. However, new findings strengthen the case for a natural origin, in what has become a heavily politicised debate. The resurgence of the lab leak theory – promulgated early last year by Donald Trump and his supporters, before being dismissed – has been fuelled by the publication of emails in which Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, Dr Anthony Fauci, discussed it, and dissatisfaction with the World Health Organization’s initial efforts to investigate the pandemic’s origins. Most scientists favour the theory that the virus spilled over from an animal to a human in nature. “The best scientific evidence points to this,” said the Wellcome Trust’s director, Jeremy Farrar, on 4 June. But if there is less evidence to support the lab leak theory, others say, it’s because nobody has searched for it. There’s a pattern where the children and relatives of top Biden aides have been securing jobs in the administration, the Washington Post reports. From the Post’s Sean Sullivan and Michael Scherer: Barely a week into office, President Biden made a promise that signaled a sharp break from his predecessor: No member of his family would be involved in government. But that vow did not extend to his senior staff and their relatives. In the first few months of Biden’s presidency, at least five children of his top aides have secured coveted jobs in the new administration. They include two sons and a daughter of the White House counselor, the daughter of a deputy White House chief of staff and the daughter of the director of presidential personnel. Beyond children, other relatives of top Biden aides also have secured high-level administration jobs or nominations. They include the wife of White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain and the sister of White House press secretary Jen Psaki. President Biden and first lady Jill Biden make their way to board Marine One on the Ellipse of the White House on June 9. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post) Federal law generally prohibits government officials from hiring close relatives or encouraging their hiring, and there is no evidence that any of Biden’s aides have played a role in securing the jobs for their children or other relatives. Today so far That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Maanvi Singh, will take over the blog for the next few hours. Here’s where the day stands so far: Joe Biden warned that coronavirus “remains a serious and deadly threat” for unvaccinated Americans. In a speech celebrating 300 million vaccine doses being administered since he took office in January, the president pleaded with unvaccinated Americans to get their shots as quickly as possible. “Deaths and hospitalizations are drastically down in places where people are getting vaccinated,” Biden said. “But unfortunately, cases and hospitalizations are not going down in many places in the lower vaccination rate states. They’re actually going up in some places.” Mike Pence was heckled as a “traitor” as he addressed a religious conservative conference in Orlando. The former vice-president received a standing ovation as he took the stage, but a small group of attendees, who were quickly escorted out, shouted insults at Pence as he started speaking. Pence has received criticism from Donald Trump and some of his most ardent supporters for not attempting to overturn the results of the presidential election. Kamala Harris visited Atlanta, Georgia, as part of the Biden administration’s nationwide tour to encourage more Americans to get vaccinated. Visiting a pop-up vaccination site at Ebenezer Baptist Church this afternoon, the vice-president thanked those present for getting their shots. “What you are doing truly is about leadership. These vaccines are safe and effective. It will save your life and lives of people that you love,” Harris said. Republicans pushed back against Joe Manchin’s compromise proposal on a voting rights bill, which the Democratic senator laid out in a memo to colleagues this week. Manchin’s bill would include Republican demands like requiring voter ID and allowing controversial purges of voter rolls, but Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell said the proposal was still “an assault on the fundamental idea that states, not the federal government, should decide how to run their own elections”. Biden released a proclamation recognizing Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in America. Biden signed a bill yesterday to make Juneteenth, which falls on June 19, a federal holiday. “Juneteenth is a day of profound weight and power,” Biden said in his proclamation. “On Juneteenth, we recommit ourselves to the work of equity, equality, and justice.” Maanvi will have more coming up, so stay tuned. Democratic congressman Ted Lieu accused the US Conference of Catholic Bishops of hypocrisy for taking steps toward rebuking Catholic politicians who receive Communion and support abortion rights. “Dear @USCCB: I’m Catholic and you are hypocrites,” Lieu said on Twitter. Referring to Donald Trump’s attorney general, Lieu added, “You did not tell Bill Barr, a Catholic, not to take communion when he expanded killing human beings with the death penalty. You are being nakedly partisan and you should be ashamed. Another reason you are losing membership.” Lieu also joined dozens of other Catholic Democrats in Congress in signing on to a “statement of principles” urging the USCCB not to continue with their efforts. “We believe the separation of church and state allows for our faith to inform our public duties and best serve our constituents,” the statement says. “The Sacrament of Holy Communion is central to the life of practicing Catholics, and the weaponization of the Eucharist to Democratic lawmakers for their support of a woman’s safe and legal access to abortion is contradictory.” Joe Biden has arrived in his home state of Delaware, where he will be spending the weekend. The president did not take any questions from reporters as he boarded and later exited Marine One. Jill Biden will travel to Jackson, Mississippi, and Nashville, Tennessee, on Tuesday to visit coronavirus vaccination sites and encourage more Americans to get vaccinated. The first lady, the vice-president and the second gentleman have recently been participating in a nationwide tour to areas with lower vaccination rates to encourage people to get their shots. Speaking at the historically Black Clark Atlanta University in Georgia today, Kamala Harris urged Americans to reject misinformation about the vaccines and protect themselves against the virus. “Let’s recognize that we have power in every moment of crisis, including this one,” Harris said. Mike Pence, the former US vice-president, has been heckled as a “traitor” for his refusal to overturn last year’s election result during a speech to a gathering of religious conservatives. Pence, who is widely seen as laying the groundwork for a White House run in 2024, had entered an auditorium in Orlando, Florida to a standing ovation on Friday. But a small group began shouted abuse including “traitor!” as he began a 28-minute speech. The dissenters were quickly escorted out by police. Earlier, in a corridor outside the ballroom, an attendee named Rick Hurley, wearing a red “Make America great again” cap, also vented his frustration over Pence’s role in certifying Donald Trump’s defeat on 6 January amid false claims of voter fraud. “We need to start fighting!” Hurley shouted at anyone who would listen. “We need to stop being so damned nice. What the hell’s going on? Why is Pence coming today? Donald Trump has his pen in his back still.” Before being taken aside by police, he also remarked: “I’m ready to fight. I’m going to boo him off stage. I’ll take the bullet. I’ll walk to the front of the stage and look him in the eye and and say, ‘What are you doing here?’ In an interview, Hurley said he had been at the US Capitol on 6 January. “I want to know why Pence is here today.” he said. “He stabbed Donald Trump in the back and took the coins like Judas.” Dozens of Catholic Democrats in Congress signed on to a letter denouncing the efforts to rebuke lawmakers who receive Communion and support abortion rights. “We believe the separation of church and state allows for our faith to inform our public duties and best serve our constituents,” the letter says. “The Sacrament of Holy Communion is central to the life of practicing Catholics, and the weaponization of the Eucharist to Democratic lawmakers for their support of a woman’s safe and legal access to abortion is contradictory.” The lawmakers who signed the letter -- including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Joaquin Castro and Ted Lieu -- also made a point to list some of the Republican policies that they say contradict Catholic teachings. “No elected officials have been threatened with being denied the Eucharist as they support and have supported policies contrary to the Church teachings, including supporting the death penalty, separating migrant children from their parents, denying asylum to those seeking safety in the United States, limiting assistance for the hungry and food insecure, and denying rights and dignity to immigrants,” the letter says. The lawmakers encouraged the US Conference of Catholic Bishops to not continue with its efforts, saying, “We solemnly urge you to not move forward and deny this most holy of all sacraments, the source and the summit of the whole work of the gospel over one issue.” "I don’t think that’s going to happen," Biden says of efforts to block him from receiving Communion Joe Biden took a couple questions from reporters after concluding his prepared remarks on his administration’s coronavirus vaccination efforts. One reporter asked the president for his response to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops taking steps toward rebuking Catholic politicians, such as Biden, who receive Communion and support abortion rights. “That’s a private matter, and I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Biden replied. The AP has more details on the USCCB’s decision: U.S. Catholic bishops overwhelmingly approved the drafting of a ‘teaching document’ that many of them hope will rebuke Catholic politicians, including [Biden], for receiving Communion despite their support for abortion rights. The result of the vote — 168 in favor and 55 against — was announced Friday near the end of a three-day meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops that was held virtually. The bishops had cast their votes privately on Thursday after nearly three hours of impassioned debate. Supporters of the measure said a strong rebuke of Biden was needed because of his recent actions protecting and expanding abortion access, while opponents warned that such action would portray the bishops as a partisan force during a time of bitter political divisions across the country.