Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., sits and waits before being inoculated with a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine shot by Dr. Brian Monahan, attending physician Congress of the United States in Washington, Friday, Dec. 18, 2020. (Anna Moneymaker/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
By Mary Clare Jalonick
The legislative branch of government is rapidly moving to receive the coronavirus vaccine, with both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell getting the shot on Friday and the top Capitol doctor urging all members of Congress to join them.
Both Pelosi and McConnell tweeted photos of themselves receiving the vaccine from the Capitol physician, Dr. Brian P. Monahan. Monahan informed lawmakers Thursday evening that they are all eligible for the shots under government continuity guidelines and asked members of the House and Senate to make appointments with his office to be vaccinated.
The leaders' vaccinations came hours after Vice President Mike Pence received it on live television and called it a “medical miracle." The public displays from all three come as top U.S. health officials are trying to convince regular Americans who may be skeptical of the vaccinations to get them and allow the country to rebound from the pandemic.
“Today, with confidence in science & at the direction of the Office of the Attending Physician, I received the COVID-19 vaccine,” Pelosi tweeted. “As the vaccine is being distributed, we must all continue mask wearing, social distancing & other science-based steps to save lives & crush the virus.”
The speaker said in October that she does not like getting shots and even had a hard time getting her ears pierced.
“They have to talk me into the flu shot under great duress each year," she said. "But if it serves as a model to other people, yes, I would take the vaccine if it is approved by regular order.”
McConnell tweeted that he had “just received the safe, effective COVID vaccine following continuity-of-government protocols. Vaccines are how we beat this virus.”
On Thursday, McConnell said that as a survivor of childhood polio, “I know both the fear of a disease and the extraordinary promise of hope that vaccines bring.”
It is unclear whether all 535 members of the House and Senate will choose to get the vaccine. Only about half of Americans say they are willing to get it, according to a survey this month by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, despite a rigorous federal review process and health officials' insistence that it is safe.
Several other members of Congress have expressed an eagerness to receive the vaccine, especially as an example to some of their constituents who may be wary. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy said Friday that he would also be getting the shot.
Two senators, Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Steve Daines, R-Mont., have been participating in the vaccine trials. But lawmakers are also reluctant to be first to be vaccinated so they’re not seen as jumping the line.
Pelosi is third in the line of succession for the presidency, after President Donald Trump and Pence. Trump, who was hospitalized with COVID-19 in October, has yet to indicate when or if he will receive the shot.
Monahan, the Capitol physician, said that his office will follow a process to identify “continuity-essential staff members” in Congress after members have been vaccinated. He said his office would continue with appointments “until the small vaccine supply is exhausted.”
___
AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
Inflation remains hot as the January PPI has increased by 1 percent, twice what analysts had been expecting with a jump of 9.7 over the year. Beth Ann Bovino, the U.S. chief economist, for S&P Global Ratings, joined Cheddar News to discuss the rapid pace of inflation alongside higher wages, predicting the Federal Reserve will act quickly and forcefully this year. "They haven't changed their forecast, yet, that's gonna come out soon. But we expect that a March rate hike is basically pretty much baked in the cake," she said. "We think six rate hikes in total for 2022."
For black history month, Cheddar is highlighting black business leaders who are driving the need for representation forward. On February 10, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce hosted an event called 'Developing the Black-Owned Business Ecosystem.' The virtual event was organized under the lobbying group's two initiatives -- the Equality of Opportunity Initiative, and the Coalition to Back Black Businesses. The event highlighted the developments needed to develop more black-owned businesses in the U.S. Dr. Anthony Wilbon, Dean of the School of Business at Howard University, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss his experience as a speaker at the event.
A newly declassified letter by senators Ron Wyden and Martin Heinrich claimed the CIA. has been conducting a Secret Surveillance Program which has been collecting a bulk of data from American citizens. The letter which was written in April of 2021 urges the CIA to come clean about the kind of data it collects and how many Americans have been impacted. According to these two senators, the program did not have the safeguards of congressional oversight.
Art Hogan, Chief Market Strategist at National Securities, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says investors are taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to the situation between Russia and the Ukraine and elaborates on the impact higher oil prices stemming from the conflict would have on the market.
Last week, Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee, wrote a a letter airing concerns that the CIA is collecting the data of American citizens without their consent. The lawmakers fear that the program might be exploiting private data. Morgan Wright, the chief security advisor at cybersecurity firm SentinelOne, joined Cheddar News to discuss the ramifications of the letter. "We don't have all the dots in one place to connect them," said Wright, cautioning against jumping to conclusions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that diplomacy is still possible, while U.S. officials warn that an attack on Ukraine is imminent. Cheddar News speaks with James Astill, Washington bureau chief of The Economist on the latest developments in Eastern Europe.
As the number of Russian troops rose to 130,000 along its Ukrainian border, hopes for a diplomatic solution remain among world leaders. Jason McMann, head of geopolitical risk analysis at Morning Consult, joined Cheddar News to break down the fluid situation. "We saw signs pointing towards an increase in tensions between Ukraine and Russia, whereas today we're seeing some signs that the Russian government may be willing to continue down a path of diplomatic negotiations to try and find some sort of non-military solution," he said.
Nancy Pelosi and House Democratic leaders are now planning to amend the stop trading on congressional knowledge act, otherwise known as the 'Stock' Act. This 2012 law governs how members disclose the purchase or sale of stocks and amending it would close a loophole, eliminating the trading of individual stocks by members of congress. Pelosi has consistently opposed a ban on stock trading by lawmakers and congressional staff...so what's changed? Kedric Payne, Vice President of Campaign Legal Center, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
In a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed for a controversial new version of the Alabama congressional map to remain in place. The lower court had previously ordered that the state must redraw that congressional map because it violates the Voting Rights Act by diluting the political power of Black voters. Redistricting expert Yurij Rudensky joins Cheddar News to weigh in.
