After Donald Trump’s second acquittal by the U.S. Senate, bipartisan support appears to be growing for an independent, September 11th style commission into the deadly insurrection that occurred on January 6th. Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, is accredited for being the first lawmaker to suggest this scale of investigation. According to the Associated Press, an independent commission such as this would require legislation to create, however both parties have expressed their support to further the investigation and would take the steps required to do so in order to hold Trump accountable for the event.

The head GOP supporters for a 9/11 commission is Louisiana Senator, Bill Cassidy, who voted to convict Trump, and shockingly, South Carolina Senator, Lindsey Graham, who voted to acquit Trump and is known for being one of Trump’s closest allies. The Democratic side has received support for this notion from House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, Delaware Senator Chris Coons, and House Impeachment Manager from Pennsylvania Madeleine Dean, as well as many others.

Furthermore, Tom Kean, former Republican governor of New Jersey, and Lee Hamilton, the former Democratic House member of Indiana, who both headed the commission following the September 11 attacks, sent a letter to President Joe Biden, as well as members of congress asking to completely investigate the, “shocking and tragic assault to ensure that the American people learn the truth of what happened that day.” The New York Post has also revealed that Nancy Pelosi, Democratic House Speaker, asked Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore to immediately review the riot.

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China has suffered another blow to national transparency recently as the the World Health Organization claims they were not given appropriate patient data during a recent visit to Wuhan. The team claims that they were given only summaries of patient data and not the more extensive raw data they would not to get a more accurate picture of the virus. Raw data is standard practice for a pandemic search and a refusal to provide it indicates a refusal. On what grounds? That is not confirmed, but it does leave the research team with less to go on as they attempt to work with China.

China has also in recent times attempted to cast doubt on the fact that the virus originated in Wuhan at all, sometimes pointing to unfounded theories about imported food or foreign travelers. As we near a year since the initial panic and recovery in Wuhan, it is dismaying to see how little we have achieved in this region and with this virus.

Neera Tanden’s postings got herself in trouble during her committee hearing to be OMB Director. The Office of Management and Budget oversees the implementation of the President’s vision across the Executive Branch. OMB carries out its mission through four main functions across executive departments and agencies. The OMB Director is understood to not be a partisan in particular due to acquisition of relationships on both ends of the aisle for effectiveness in office. The aggressiveness behind Tanden’s public statements have been argued to add upon the incivility and division that currently plagues our nation. Her public attacks towards specific senators such as Ted Cruz, Susan Collins, and Mitch McConnell also brings about speculation whether it would bring about difficulty in working with them. 

As a response to these concerns in the hearing Tanden stated, “I recognize the concern, I deeply regret and apologize for my language and some of my past language. I recognize this role is a bipartisan role and I know I have to earn the trust of senators across the board. I will work very aggressively to meet that concern”. The comments Tanden has stated against Senators include calling Susan Collins “the worst”, Tom Cotton as a “Fraud”, inaccurately stating that “Vampires have more heart than Ted Cruz”, and how Mitch McConnell is “Voldemort”. Tanden would be the first woman of color to lead the budget office, as Biden strives to create the most diverse Cabinet in history. She would also play a large role in crafting administration budget proposals and in overseeing federal regulations. During the hearing, Tanden pushed for the president’s $1.9 trillion economic relief package.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an order to halt evictions back in 2020, with their latest order extending “the residential eviction ban until at least March 31, 2021.” This is meant to protect individuals and families who are often unable to pay rent currently, especially as unemployment is still high. It also aims at preventing new COVID-19 infections, as moving into shared living spaces or simply relocating is a higher-risk activity. However, this order has not proved helpful for all tenants.

Several criticisms arise from the CDC order. Renters are often unaware of the details about it, do not know how to act on it, and usually do not have an attorney (while about 90% of landlords do) Some landlords are completely dismissing the CDC’s order, and these landlords’ fines for ignoring the order are often not enforced. Furthermore, many critics say that there are too many regulations and loopholes– if a renter makes one wrong move, it could pave a one-way path to eviction. In this way, many people are frustrated still by what they say is a power imbalance.

The CDC is meant to protect tenants who have tried their best to obtain government assistance, have a substantial loss of income, are trying their best to pay what they can, and would be forced into homelessness or a shared living setting if they are evicted. These stipulations also aim to protect landlords, by ensuring that each renter is doing their best to pay what they can. For full information on the CDC’s order, visit here.

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Within his first weeks of office, President Joe Biden has sent Congress a hefty immigration reform bill outlining a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants, expanding DACA applications, and reviewing Migrant Protection Protocols, which send immigrants back to Mexico while awaiting their case review. Trying to undo his predecessor’s immigration policy, Biden is facing the “paper wall” of immigration, an immense backlog within the courts.

On January 1, there were 1.3 million cases pending in immigration courts, with about 360,000 of those cases being asylum seeking. This is a doubled number since Trump took office in 2017, where 542,411 cases were pending. The backlog includes people from over 200 countries. California is seeing the biggest backlog with 187,000 waiting cases, and Texas is second with 162,000 cases. Vice President Kamala Harris has voiced her support for hiring more immigration lawyers to speed up the process, with the average wait time for a hearing being 4.8 years.

COVID-19 is also throwing a wrench into Biden’s immigration plan as in person interviews have become minimized to accommodate social distancing guidelines. In person interviews, conducted to screen for fraud and security threats, usually consist of many diplomats sitting side by side in small offices enclosed by bulletproof glass. Chris Richardson, an immigration lawyer, stated, “the consular section is a poorly ventilated space where the coronavirus could easily spread.” This contributes to the large backup and delayed wait time, leaving Biden uncertain of what steps to take next.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding immigration laws, please contact CIMA Law Group.

Ms. Sinema, who was elected in 2018, and Mr. Kelly, who won last year, both ran for office on bipartisan approaches to government.

Arizona currently has two moderate democrat senators, following a recent tradition of senators from Arizona who cross political party lines and who embrace the middle on many subjects, but with a Biden administration, being a moderate can be challenging. Attempting to find common ground with fellow democrats and voters can often be difficult, and hot button topics like minimum wage increases and US-Mexico border policies especially. Kelly who will be up for reelection next year and so has a particularly harder line to walk as he attempts to navigate both Washington and Phoenix. With such a narrow lead, a vote against democratic policies from either senator could severely impact their roles in Washington, and so it is assumed that pressure from the other democrats will be high to prove party loyalty.