Xavier Becerra, President Biden’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, testifies during his confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., February 23, 2021. (Leigh Vogel/Reuters) Senate Democrats have voted to confirm California attorney general Xavier Becerra to head the Department of Health and Human Services, a sure sign that Joe Biden intends to govern not

Students sit at distanced desks during an in-person hybrid learning day at the Mount Vernon Community School in Alexandria, Va., March 2, 2021. (Tom Brenner/Reuters) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday announced new guidance for physical distancing requirements between children in schools, allowing for just 3 feet of space between students instead

(claffra/Getty Images) While there are certainly inflationary risks on the horizon, it would be a mistake for the Fed to act prematurely. Considered an indicator of investor confidence, the ten-year Treasury bond yield has risen rapidly by about 0.7 percent since the beginning of the year. Many experts credit the rise to expectations for substantially

J.D. Vance on Face the Nation in 2017. (Face the Nation/Screengrab via YouTube) Yesterday, the Bulwark ran a column from Mona Charen denouncing J. D. Vance, the author of Hillbilly Elegy and a possible Senate candidate in Ohio. His faults: having moved from anti-Trump in 2016 to pro-Trump since then, and having tweeted, “Someone should

House Majority Whip James Clyburn, (D-SC) speaks during a hearing in Washington, D.C., September 23, 2020. (Stefani Reynolds/Pool via Reuters) Politico‘s piece headlined, “How Biden’s resistance to filibuster reform began to crack,” portrays a soul-searching Joe Biden, forced to entertain the idea of destroying the filibuster because of an emergency brought on by Republican intransigence:

Then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks as Attorney General William Barr listens during a joint briefing about an executive order from President Donald Trump on the International Criminal Court at the State Department in Washington, D.C., June 11, 2020. (Yuri Gripas/Pool via Reuters) As the White House contends with a growing crisis on the southern

Per the New York Post: Sen. Chuck Schumer personally pleaded with JetBlue’s boss not to shrink the budget airline’s Big Apple workforce as it weighs shipping jobs to Florida, The Post has learned. The senior New York senator said he made his case on a phone call with JetBlue Chief Executive Robin Hayes Wednesday evening

An EMT worker prepares a Pfizer coronavirus vaccine at a mobile vaccination drive in Vernon, Los Angeles, Calif., March 17, 2021. (Lucy Nicholson/Reuters) Innumeracy may not be quite as dangerous as the SARS-Cov-2 virus, but it’s not that far away. Today, we’re taking a deep dive into the health risks of the COVID-19 vaccine. Oh,

President Joe Biden delivers remarks as he commemorates the 50 millionth coronavirus vaccination at the White House, February 25, 2021. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters) President Biden signed a $1.9 trillion spending bill, which is being described as both “COVID relief” and “stimulus” legislation. It isn’t really either one: Much of it has little to do with COVID,

President Joe Biden speaks prior to signing the “American Rescue Plan,” a package of economic relief measures to respond to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, at the White House, March 11, 2021. (Tom Brenner/Reuters) Did Joe Biden mislead the country about his tax plans during his campaign for president? Unless Jen Psaki misspoke this

Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives pose for a photograph holding LBGT+ and Transgender Pride flags on the steps of the U.S. Capitol ahead of a vote on the Equality Act on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C, February 25, 2021. (Tom Brenner/Reuters) It does. NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE O n Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas holds a press briefing at the White House, March 1, 2021. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday criticized a question by Representative Kat Cammack (R., Fla.) regarding the southern border crisis as “extraordinarily disrespectful.” During a House Committee on Homeland Security hearing on

Old Campus at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, November 28, 2012. (Michelle McLoughlin/Reuters) To choose to be a face of conservatism on campus is to take on one of the most exhausting and rewarding responsibilities possible for a college student. God and Man at Yale, William F. Buckley Jr.’s celebrated “lover’s quarrel with his

Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks during a visit to a coronavirus vaccination site in Old Westbury, N.Y., March 15, 2021. (Mark Lennihan/Reuters) New York governor Andrew Cuomo should resign if an independent investigation confirms allegations of sexual harassment, President Biden said in a Tuesday interview on ABC. “If the investigation confirms the claims of the women,

President Joe Biden speaks as Vice President Kamala Harris listens during a visit to the State Department in Washington, D.C., February 4, 2021. (Tom Brenner/Reuters) President Joe Biden appeared open to reforming the Senate legislative filibuster in an interview with ABC News Tuesday night, just hours after White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that

(Pixabay) The Fairfax County Public Schools — which I’ve beaten up in this space from time to time for ruining my eldest child’s kindergarten year — can’t seem to catch a break. Now they’re getting sued for anti-Asian discrimination over the way they’re trying to racially balance the admissions process at the Thomas Jefferson High

Then-President Donald Trump departs on travel to West Point, N.Y., from the South Lawn at the White House, December 12, 2020. (Cheriss May/Reuters) Former president Trump recommended that skeptical Americans take the COVID-19 vaccine during a Tuesday night interview, answering growing calls from Democrats who have said his endorsement will help to convince his reticent

President Joe Biden disembarks from Air Force One as he arrives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 16, 2021. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) President Joe Biden will hold his first solo news conference on March 25 after receiving criticism for having gone roughly two months in office without doing so, the White House announced Tuesday. Biden’s first press conference

Euthanasia is always in the news these days, alas. Portugal’s Parliament legalized lethal injection euthanasia recently. But the country’s president sent it to the Constitutional Court for review. The Court turned thumbs down. From the AP story: Portugal’s Constitutional Court on Monday blocked a law passed by parliament introducing euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide for terminally

Senator Ben Cardin (D., Md.) speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., May 7, 2019. (Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters) Senator Ben Cardin (D., Md.) was caught on hot mic on Monday saying that Democrats would likely aim to pass a massive infrastructure bill via budget reconciliation rules. Cardin made his remarks to Transportation Secretary

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaks to reporters after the weekly Republican caucus policy luncheon on Capitol Hill, January 26, 2021. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters) Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) criticized President Biden’s goal that would see Americans able to hold small outdoor gatherings for Independence Day, in a Monday speech on the Senate

Doris, 6, an asylum seeking unaccompanied minor from Honduras, awaits transport with others after crossing the Rio Grande River on a raft into the United States from Mexico in Penitas, Texas, March 12, 2021. (Adrees Latif/Reuters) In July 2019, during the last surge of unaccompanied minors at the U.S.-Mexico border, House Democrats held a hearing

Rep. Deb Haaland (D., N.M.) speaks during a Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing on her nomination to be Interior Secretary on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., February 23, 2021. (Graeme Jennings/Reuters) The Senate voted 51–40 to confirm Representative Deb Haaland (D., N.M.) as Secretary of the Interior on Monday evening. Nine senators

A man walks through Georgetown University’s campus, Washington, D.C., April 3, 2020. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) Cancellation has become so frequent that there’s a tendency to note the latest example perfunctorily and move on, hoping you’re not the next victim. Last week’s termination of Professor Sandra Sellers of Georgetown Law School bears more than a perfunctory mention.

(diane39/Getty Images) A North Carolina school district has issued an apology after an “unacceptable” assignment instructed fourth-grade students to write tweets and hashtags that people living in the state might have written if Twitter existed during the Civil War, resulting in a wall display of pro-slavery hashtags in the classroom. “It should be deeply disturbing

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks to reporters with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) during a news conference on Democrats’ demand for an extension of eviction protections in the next coronavirus aid bill on Capitol Hill, July 22, 2020. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters) Warren is selling the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act of 2021 as a crackdown on the

Xavier Becerra, President Joe Biden’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, speaks during his confirmation hearing at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., February 23, 2021. (Sarah Silbiger/Reuters Pool) This is the story of how the would-be HHS secretary helped ruin my reputation over a tweet. One tweet changed my life. Last October,

Migrants from Central America walk across the Paso del Norte international border bridge to continue their asylum request in the U.S., in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, February 26, 2021. (Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters) The Biden administration ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency to prepare to house child migrants amid an influx of unaccompanied minors entering the U.S.

Governor Andrew Cuomo (D., N.Y.) speaks at a vaccination site in New York, March 8, 2021. (Seth Wenig/Reuters) If impeached, he’d lose his political powers. That might force his resignation. NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE E mbattled New York governor Andrew Cuomo insists he will never resign, and observers believe that he’s shameless enough to try to

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks during a daily briefing in New York City, July 13, 2020. (Mike Segar/Reuters) The head of New York’s vaccine-distribution effort called county officials to assess their loyalty to Governor Andrew Cuomo amid burgeoning scandals, The Washington Post reported on Sunday. Longtime Cuomo adviser Larry Schwartz, who is leading New