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.
Big Apple workers who deliver for food apps like Doordash and Grubhub will now receive a number of legal protections provided through a package of new regulations that have started going into effect. These updated rules include more control over their deliveries, pay and tip transparency, a higher minimum pay rate, and access to restaurant bathrooms during the workday. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander joined Cheddar to elaborate on the regulations and how the platform holders reacted. "I have to say it's a mixed bag," he said. "Grubhub actually welcomed the legislation and said they recognize they need to do better by their deliveristas, but DoorDash, unfortunately, has actually been pushing back against the legislation."
Thomas Hoenig, Former CEO of Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and currently Distinguished Senior Fellow with the Mercatus Center, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says the Fed's decision was no surprise, but believes the Fed is behind the curve on raising rates.
Legal cannabis businesses are having a hard time surviving in California with the high cost of doing business and a still-thriving illicit market. In response, nonprofit Supernova Women, founded by women of color, is advocating on behalf of Black and brown shareholders in the cannabis industry. Amber Senter, co-founder, executive director, and chairman of the organization, spoke with Cheddar News about calling for changes in the Golden State's taxation system for legal marijuana. "We're really leaning on the legislators now to support the industry and make sure that this industry, in particular craft cannabis, can survive," said Senter.
After being among the hardest-hit industries by the pandemic, restaurants are still having a hard time staying afloat, with owners claiming that business is worse now due to closures from staff shortages and customer decline than it was three months ago. Mike Whatley, vice president of state affairs and grassroots advocacy for the National Restaurant Association, spoke to Cheddar News about how the sector is reaching out to lawmakers for help. "Working with Senators Wicker, Sinema, and a whole host of bipartisan leaders, we're trying to get the Restaurant Revitalization Fund replenished," Whatley said.
Communities of color are disproportionately affected by climate change and continuously feel the impacts. Mark Magaña, founding president and CEO of Green Latinos joined All Hands to discuss.
The memoir, "COMPROMISED: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Trump", tells a familiar story from a bit of a different source: Peter Strzok himself, former FBI Counterintelligence Agents and Agency Veteran who spent most of his very long career investigating some of the most controversial inquiries, most notably in recent American history. Those inquiries were Hillary Clinton's email to even Trump Russia investigations. Former FBI Agent and Author of "Compromised" Peter Strzok, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
President Biden's first year did not come to the close that he had hoped after last night's Senate vote blocked the voting rights bill, a priority that Biden has promoted since his inauguration. Joining us to discuss the voting rights bill, and many others passing through congress is congresswoman Lori Trahan, representing Massachusett's 3rd district.
