Long Game: Pelosi keeps Speaker’s gavel; nearly one-quarter of Senate Republicans back Trump’s baseless claims; 1st Trump override
The 117th Congress was sworn in on Sunday, with Democrats holding the slimmest majority of either party in twenty years, beginning the session with a 222-211 margin. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) won reelection as the House Speaker, with the vote taking place in small groups of lawmakers as a precaution against the virus. Meanwhile, on the Senate side, attention turned to a group of nearly a dozen Republicans-- representing nearly one-quarter of GOP Senators-- who said that they would attempt to undermine the will of the voters when the Electoral College ballots are counted this week. Led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), the group vows to reject electors from certain states unless an emergency 10-day audit of election results is launched. Separately, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO)-- who, like Cruz, is mentioned as a possible contender for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination-- announced that he would join as many as 140 House Republicans in objecting to the certification of the election results. These efforts, which are certain to fail, fly in the face of pleas by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) who has discouraged GOP members from rejecting November’s election results.
The Senate rang in 2021 by voting on New Year’s Day to override President Trump’s veto of the defense authorization bill-- the first override of the Trump presidency. The House had approved the $740 billion bill, which provides pay raises to members of the military, by a 322 to 87 margin earlier in the week. Trump had voiced two main objections to the bill: first, that it directed the Pentagon to remove the names of Confederate leaders from U.S. military bases; and second, that it did not include language to repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which provides protections for social media companies.
Washington Watch is published weekly when Congress is in session. Published monthly during extended recess or adjournment.
Spotlight on Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico coronavirus statistics for January 4
According to the Puerto Rico Health Department, 135,742 people are believed to have been infected with COVID-19, an increase of 7,038 since December 28. This points to a noticeable decrease in the rate of new cases, as the increase between December 21 and December 28 was 9,532. The death toll is currently 1,555 with 99 of those having occurred during the last week. Comparatively, 74 people died from the virus between December 21 and December 28.
December was the deadliest month for COVID in Puerto Rico, with a recorded 352 deaths. The Island passed the 1,500-death mark on December 31. Puerto Rico reached the 100,000-case mark on Sunday, December 6. It is currently impossible to know the effects the holidays are having on new cases.
Beginning on November 7, the Health Department changed the way it recorded cases, splitting them between confirmed cases (as determined by molecular diagnostic testing), probable cases (as determined by antigen testing) and suspicious cases (as determined by serological, non-diagnostic testing). Viewed through that prism, Puerto Rico has had 73,811 confirmed cases, 4,893 probable cases, and 57,038 suspicious cases, since the virus arrived on the Island.
There are currently 421 people hospitalized due to COVID, a decrease of 26 since last week.
While distribution of the COVID vaccine to healthcare workers continues, the process has been far from smooth. The National Guard had originally indicated that it would set up a system for taking appointments. However, so far, vaccinations have largely taken place on a first-come, first-served basis, causing regional centers to be swamped by long lines. While the National Guard hopes to have eleven regional distribution centers up and running by mid-January, by the end of the year it had opened only two, in San Juan and Caguas. The University of Puerto Rico’s Medical Sciences Precinct and Walgreens, have also begun distributing the vaccine.
Pedro Pierluisi sworn in as Puerto Rico’s 12th elected governor
In a ceremony that took place largely without incident, Pedro Pierluisi was sworn in as Puerto Rico’s latest governor on Saturday, January 2. The event mostly adhered to social distancing protocols up until the end, when the nearly 400 attendees congregated on the platform.
Not long after becoming governor, Pierluisi issued six executive orders. The first, OE 2021-01, calls on the Puerto Rico Health Department to design and execute strategies for mass COVID-19 testing and vaccine distribution. The second, OE 2021-02, calls on Puerto Rico’s law enforcement agencies to establish agreements with federal agencies in order to combat corruption. OE 2021-03 declares a state of fiscal emergency and orders all government agencies to implement cost-control measures.
Additionally, the new Pierluisi Administration has signed an agreement providing people with mixed incomes—i.e., people whose income is derived from a combination of a salary and self-employment—an additional $100 per week in unemployment benefits. This new benefit is expected to apply to some 60,000 people.
Teachers’ Association raises objections regarding new attendance-recording system
A new attendance-recording system for educators in Puerto Rico, is now under fire from teachers who claim that the new Policy for Attendance and Punctuality has resulted in improper discounts to paychecks. According to the Fiscal Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico (FOMB), the previous system had resulted in $84.2 million in excessive payments. Teachers’ Association president, Víctor Bonilla Sánchez, has called on the Board to stop implementation of the new policy. Among the complaints about the new system are its inability to respond to large volumes of users, causing it to fail to process attempts to register worked hours as well as the fact that the system does not acknowledge teachers working non-standard work hours. Critics had raised concerns about the new platform prior to its implementation in November.
Proposed solutions to coastal erosion in San Juan and Rincón raise concerns
Preliminary proposals by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to deal with coastal erosion in San Juan and Rincón have raised concerns among environmentalists and educators. The proposal by USACE would combat erosion via “beach nourishment”—adding sand to beaches—creating breakwaters, and installing stone revetments; it is this last proposal that has been subject to the heaviest criticism, including claims that enacting this plan would effectively destroy Puerto Rico’s beaches.
“Access to beaches would be eliminated, and with it, the recreational and economic alternatives Rincón greatly depends on,” said Ruperto Chaparro, director of the University of Puerto Rico’s Sea Grant Program. “Everything would be lost because there wouldn’t be sand. A beach without sand is not a beach.”
View From The White House
During an extraordinary hour-long phone call, Trump pressured Georgia’s secretary of state to “find 11,780 votes” to overturn the results of the election in that state.
Due to COVID-19, the Biden Inauguration won’t get a traditional inaugural parade down Pennsylvania Avenue after he takes the oath of office, but he will get a presidential escort to the White House. Instead of a parade, the inaugural committee will be hosting a televised “virtual parade across America” on Inauguration Day.
Trump signed a proclamation Thursday extending for three months a ban on new green cards issued abroad and restrictions on certain work visas, including H1-B visas used primarily by technology workers, H-2B visas for nonagricultural seasonal workers, and J-1 visas for cultural exchanges.
In a reversal of a previous decision, acting secretary of Defense, Christopher Miller, ordered the aircraft carrier Nimitz to remain in the Middle East amid growing tensions with Iran.
The Trump administration is reportedly preparing to name Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, a designation currently reserved for three countries: North Korea, Syria and Iran.
Connecticut’s education commissioner, Miguel Cardona, whose parents were born in Puerto Rico and who spoke only Spanish when he first entered school, was named by President-elect Biden to become the next Secretary of Education.
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