The US has a Delta variant problem. Here's how Biden might confront it.

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Sunday 07.25.21

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by Paul LeBlanc and Zachary B. Wolf

Mask mandate debate returns. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Sunday defended his decision to approve a statewide ban on face mask mandates earlier this year, citing a low coronavirus case rate at the time -- a rate that is now rapidly rising. (More on the rising Covid-19 cases nationwide in a minute.)

New Capitol Police chief acknowledges ongoing threat. In his first day on the job, Tom Manger -- the new chief of the US Capitol Police -- said that he would be "a fool to not be concerned" about the threat of more attacks on the Capitol, especially given chatter on extremists' forums about possible action in August.

"The safety and security of the US Capitol, the Congress, that legislative process, those are top priorities," Manger told CNN.

Water and transportation funding hold up infrastructure talks. GOP Sen. Pat Toomey on Sunday warned against treating federal funding as "Monopoly money" as negotiations on how to pay for a bipartisan infrastructure bill ramp up ahead of a critical week.

Primary proving ground. A congressional primary in Ohio is revealing the generational and ideological fissures in the Democratic Party that have been largely hidden in the early months of Biden's presidency -- but could burst into full view as the midterm elections approach.

Biden's approval rating holds steady. Right now, the President's average approval rating rests at around 53%. Over the course of his first six months in office, Biden's approval rating has never risen above 55% or fallen below 51% in an average of polls.

: January 6 speed read

Republican joins House select committee. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Sunday she has appointed GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger to the House select committee to investigate the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

"Let me be clear, I'm a Republican dedicated to conservative values, but I swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution—and while this is not the position I expected to be in or sought out, when duty calls, I will always answer," Kinzinger said in a statement.

All eyes on Tuesday. The committee's first hearing is scheduled for July 27 and will feature testimony of law enforcement officers who responded to the insurrection.

Logistical details of the hearing are still coming together, but investigators want to play videos of the deadly attack and body-worn camera footage from some of the police officers, according to a source familiar with the planning, in an effort to paint a vivid, first-hand account of the assault that day.

Retaliation accusation. David Buckley, the newly named staff director for the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack, was found to be retaliating against a whistleblower during his time as the CIA inspector general, according to a report by the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security.

: 'We're going in the wrong direction'

That's what Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday when asked about flailing vaccination rates and the dangerous Delta variant.

The problem is becoming increasingly obvious. Every state in the US reported more Covid-19 cases in the week ending Friday than the week prior, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. And thirty states have yet to fully vaccinate at least half of their residents, per data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As a result, the Biden administration is debating a series of steps that underscore the gravity of our predicament:

Boosters. A senior administration health official said the government is "actively exploring" how to provide extra vaccine shots to vulnerable populations, who officials now increasingly expect will require boosters, as they await the US Food and Drug Administration's full approval of the three vaccines currently authorized for emergency use.

Masks. White House aides said they did not believe any new recommendations were imminent but acknowledged they have previously received little warning when the CDC updates its guidelines. According to sources familiar with internal discussions, the health agency is reconsidering its stance on mask orders.

Vaccine requirements. Biden himself is facing pressure to back vaccine requirements among certain groups of people or in particular places, a step his team has so far been reluctant to get behind even as other leaders, including in Europe, have seen their countries' vaccination rates rise after making such a move.

Read more here.

: Speaking of vaccines...

You're less likely to be vaccinated if Fox News is your main news source.

According to a combined sample of two recent surveys from Axios/Ipsos:

62% of adults who use Fox News as their main news source have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
The Ipsos poll found that 70% of all adults had at least one vaccine dose in their polling.
The people who get their news from CNN or MSNBC, for example, had a vaccination rate of 83% in the same polling.

As CNN's Harry Enten writes, it's not clear whether Fox News is causing people to want the vaccine less or whether its viewers are predisposed to want it less.

But Americans, regardless of where they get their news or who they vote for, are in this fight against the pandemic together. The more people vaccinated, the better chance we have at saving lives.

: What are we doing here?

We're trying to connect the dots at a time of political, cultural and economic upheaval.