Biden unveils $2trn infrastructure plan
President Joe Biden is facing an uphill battle from Republicans in his bid to push his administration’s ambitious $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan forward.
Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, however, his energy secretary said Mr Biden will be willing to propel his spending plan forward, with or without GOP support.
“As he has said, he was sent to the presidency to do a job for America. And if the vast majority of Americans, Democrats and Republicans, across the country support spending on our country and not allowing us to lose the race globally, then he’s going to do that,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said.
Meanwhile, questions have risen around former President Donald Trump’s delay in establishing a presidential library, as is customary for former US leaders.
Politics experts say that is likely because Mr Trump believes he is not yet done being US president, with Anthony Clark, an expert on the history of presidential libraries, telling Bloomberg: “Once he says, ‘I am going to be raising money for my library,’ he’s given up even the pretense of trying to run again.”
Since Franklin D Roosevelt, all presidents have sought to establish a presidential library to archive their records and preserve their legacies.
US shuts down once-secret Guantanamo Bay bay unit
The US has shut down a once-secret unit at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre, the country’s military confirmed on Sunday.
Camp 7, which had fallen into a state of disrepair, was officially shuttered, with prisoners held at the site being moved to another facility on the US base in Cuba.
Miami-based Southern Command, which is tasked with overseeing the detention centre, did not say how many prisoners had to be moved, according to The Associated Press.
Previously, however, officials had said there were around 14 men held at the unit, with 40 prisoners being held at Guantanamo in total, according to AP.
Southern Command said the transfer of prisoners was conducted “safely and without incident”. The unit did not say when exactly the transfer took place, however.
Previously, the military had long refused to acknowledge the location of Camp 7, with journalists being blocked from seeing inside the facility.
The unit opened in December 2006 for prisoners who were previously held in what are often referred to as “black sites,” where brutal interrogation techniques
Chantal Da Silva5 April 2021 11:11
Trump biographer says ex-president is in a ‘Fat Elvis’ period
Donald Trump’s biographer has suggested that the former president is facing a “Fat Elvis” period in his career after the ex-leader posted a “needy” Easter message hitting out at “Radical Left CRAZIES” on Sunday.
Speaking on CNN on Sunday, Michael D’Antonio, who wrote Mr Trump’s biography Never Enough, offered a brutal analysis of the president’s so-called Easter message, asserting: “This would be – this would be his Fat Elvis period”.
“You know, the president – President Trump used to think of himself as an Elvis-type of character. And sadly we are in that era for him,” he said.
Stuti Mishra has more on Mr D’Antonio’s analysis:
Chantal Da Silva5 April 2021 10:29
Trump’s delay on presidential library could signal future presidency ambitions, expert says
Former President Donald Trump’s delay in establishing a presidential library could be a sign that his White House ambitions are not yet over, experts have said.
“Once he says, ‘I am going to be raising money for my library,’ he’s given up even the pretense of trying to run again,” Anthony Clark, a politics expert who has written about the history of presidential libraries, told Bloomberg.
Since Franklin D. Roosevelt, all presidents have sought to establish a presidential library to archive their records and to preserve their legacies.
Mr Trump has yet to pursue the initiative, however, which could mean that he believes his time as US leader is not yet over, with the former president still technically able to run again in future elections.
Clark said there could be other reasons, however, with the expert noting how expensive and complicated the libraries are to build and noting that Mr Trump did not start raising funds and planning for the endeavor before leaving office, as other presidents have.
However, Paul Musgrave, a former special assistant to the director at the Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, told Bloomberg Mr Trump would likely have little trouble raising funds, whether for a library or a comeback campaign.
“Donald Trump proved in 2020 that he had no problems raising money, and he now has four years, if he wants to, to just dangle that prospect of a return to power in front of potential donors,” Mr Musgrave said.
Chantal Da Silva5 April 2021 10:25
Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan faces GOP hurdle
President Joe Biden’s ambitious $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan faces an uphill battle, from Republicans, who have vowed to fight the measure.
Just as Republicans refused to provide support for Mr Biden’s $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill, it appears they also plan to make Democrats take full responsibility for the infrastructure spending package and its associated corporate tax hikes.
Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, however, Mr Biden’s energy secretary said she believed the president would be willing to push his spending plan forward, with or without GOP support.
“As he has said, he was sent to the presidency to do a job for America. And if the vast majority of Americans, Democrats and Republicans, across the country support spending on our country and not allowing us to lose the race globally, then he’s going to do that,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell made clear where he stands on the matter last week, when he vowed to fight Mr Biden’s agenda “every step of the way”.
Chantal Da Silva5 April 2021 10:14
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live blog following the latest in US politics as President Joe Biden seeks to push forward his ambitious infrastructure spending plan in the face of GOP opposition.
Chantal Da Silva5 April 2021 10:06