Coronavirus: The Hill and the Headlines, January 7 2021

In Washington:

• The House and Senate early Thursday morning affirmed President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.  The joint session to count electoral votes was delayed hours by a violent insurrection at the Capitol after President Trump’s Wednesday morning rally calling the election results fraudulent and urging rally-goers to march to the building.  Lawmakers completed the constitutionally required process that marks the final step in certifying the transition of power before Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20.  

• President Donald Trump publicly acknowledged early Thursday in a statement that he would leave office on Jan. 20, pledging an orderly transfer of power.

• Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), and soon-to-be Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Thursday that administration officials or lawmakers should act immediately to remove President Trump from office. Pelosi said Vice President Pence should invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump immediately and if he doesn’t, the House will begin proceedings to impeach him for a second time.  

• Lawmakers, including Republican Rep. Adam Kingzinger (R-IL), echoed the Democratic leadership's call to remove the President. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Schumer's No. 2, told reporters on Thursday that he thought Trump's actions warranted impeachment. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), the No. 3 Senate Democrat, urged 25th Amendment removal in a statement early Thursday. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) unveiled articles of impeachment with numerous co-sponsors.  While only one Republican is calling for the president’s removal, several of the President’s allies have begun condemning the President's actions and distancing themselves from him.  

• Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao will resign in protest after a violent mob overran the Capitol after being incited by President Trump. 

• Today, Speaker Pelosi called for U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund to resign after an apparent lack of preparedness the law enforcement agency had in dealing with Wednesday’s violent mob.  By this afternoon, Sund’s resignation was announced and will be effective Jan. 16, according to a Capitol Police official.

In Washington:

• U.S. Sen. Rick Scott is calling for a Congressional investigation into reports of improper vaccine distribution after a Washington Post investigation found a Florida assisted-living company may have been doling out scarce vaccines to board members and affluent friends who made generous donations to the West Palm Beach facility.

• There are concerns that the unmasked insurgents at the Capitol have created a possible super-spreader event where Capitol Police officers and members may be at risk. Representative Jake LaTurner (R-KS), who was in the House chamber for hours on Wednesday, announced that he has tested positive for COVID-19. At least a dozen of the 400 or so lawmakers and staff members who sheltered in one committee room refused to wear masks or wore them below their chins, said one representative.

• The Treasury Department has launched a $25 billion rental assistance program with funds from the $900 billion coronavirus relief package enacted last week, the department announced Thursday. State, territorial, tribal, and local governments covering more than 200,000 people are now eligible to apply for aid to help struggling Americans cover rent. Congress and President Trump have extended a preexisting CDC nationwide eviction ban through January.

• In an interview with NPR, Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health refused to place any specific blame for the slow COVID-19 vaccine rollout, instead pinning the slow pace on the rollout’s complexity and scale and the holiday period. Fauci also threw cold water on national lockdown proposals, citing “COVID-19 fatigue” among Americans. Fauci did not cite studies or poll numbers to that effect. Fauci talked up regional and targeted lockdown proposals as an alternative.

In the News:

• The U.S. set another record for the most coronavirus deaths in a day on Wednesday, with 3,865, according to Johns Hopkins University. Over 132,000 Americans are in the hospital with COVID-19, also a record, according to the COVID Tracking Project. The country is averaging more than 200,000 new cases every day. More than 361,000 Americans have died from the virus, according to Johns Hopkins.

• A COVID-19 vaccine developed by a Chinese company is effective, Brazilian officials said Thursday, announcing results of a large clinical trial. Brazil’s Butantan Institute found it was 78 percent effective at preventing illness. The vaccine prevented all workers from developing mild or severe illness from COVID-19. Brazil and Indonesia will roll out the vaccine, developed by Beijing-based Sinovac, this month.

• Japan's prime minister declared a state of emergency for the region surrounding Tokyo on Thursday as the country experiences its highest levels of new COVID-19 cases so far.  A new measure requires early bar and restaurant closures and orders residents to stay home. According to The New York Times, the country reported more than 7,000 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday.

• Amazon is now selling COVID-19 tests for customers to use at home. The DxTerity COVID-19 Saliva at-Home Collection Kit detects the presence of the virus but does not confirm immunity or detect antibodies. A single testing kit is listed for $110, and a 10-pack bundle is available for $1,000.

• The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid fell slightly to 787,000, evidence of a job market stumbling in the face of the viral pandemic and the damage it has inflicted on the economy for nearly 10 months.

Authored by Ivan Zapien