Today, President Biden is visiting Boston to deliver an address on his goal of cutting the U.S. death rate from cancer in half over the next quarter-century. The speech falls on the 60th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s “Moonshot” speech, in which he outlined his goal to land a man on the moon. The White House is not being subtle about drawing parallels between the two initiatives: Biden will deliver his “Cancer Moonshot” speech from the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston.
Post Politics Now: Biden visiting Boston to deliver ‘Cancer Moonshot’ speech
Biden’s trip, which also includes an event focused on infrastructure, is part of a busy week for the president that will conclude Saturday with travel to the United Kingdom ahead of the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. In Washington, the House reconvenes this week for the first time this month. The Senate returned last week.
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The latest: China competition spurs Biden’s push for domestic biotech subsidies
President Biden signed an executive order Monday intended to boost the domestic biotechnology industry, which encompasses everything from pharmaceutical manufacturing to plastics to innovative fuels.
The Post’s Christopher Rowland reports that, speaking on a background call, administration officials said the executive order is partly a reaction to competition from China, which they said has a robust development program in biotechnology. Per our colleague:
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Noted: Jean-Pierre voices continued solidarity with Ukraine amid setbacks for Russia
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre voiced continued solidarity Monday with Ukraine after a weekend of sharp battlefield setbacks for Russia, but deflected questions about fears that the losses could prompt Russia to use nuclear weapons.
“It’s clear they are fighting hard to defend their country and take back territory,” Jean-Pierre told said of Ukrainian forces when asked about reports of Russian soldiers on the run in some parts of Ukraine that they seized early in the conflict.
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On our radar: What to watch for as Twitter whistleblower testifies to Congress
56 min ago
On our radar: As U.S. rail strike looms, White House aides scramble to avert crisis
White House officials are holding emergency meetings in a desperate scramble to avert a national railroad strike that is days away from shutting down much of the country’s transportation infrastructure, according to three people familiar with the matter.
The Post’s Tyler Pager, Lauren Kaori Gurley and Jeff Stein report that Transportation Department aides have started preparing for a potential shutdown and have warned other parts of the administration that a strike could seriously damage the U.S. economy and hurt Democrats in the upcoming November midterm elections, two of the people said. Per our colleagues:
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This just in: Trump’s lawyers suggest seized documents may not be classified
Lawyers for former president Donald Trump filed court papers Monday arguing against any pause in a judge’s order for a special master to review documents seized at Mar-a-Lago last month, suggesting that some of the documents in question may not be classified and that Trump may have the right to keep them in his possession.
The Post’s Devlin Barrett and Perry Stein have details:
On our radar: Massachusetts GOP governor among those joining Biden for infrastructure event
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) will be among those joining President Biden on Monday at his first event in Boston — one highlighting federal spending on Logan International Airport — according to a guest list released by the White House.
The event is designed to highlight $50 million in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, signed by Biden last year, that is being used to overhaul the airport’s Terminal E. The funding is going toward expansion of terminal capacity and is creating 5,900 jobs, the White House said.
Analysis: The House is back, but vote on police funding package unlikely
The House comes back into town Tuesday after six weeks away (except for a one-day return in August to pass Democrats’ climate, health-care and deficit reduction bill). Members are scheduled to be in session for only 11 days spread over three weeks ahead of Election Day on Nov. 8.
Still, their workload is relatively light, and if they can get everything done, House aides suggested they could shorten their work session by a week, The Post’s Leigh Ann Caldwell and Theodoric Meyer write in The Early 202. Per our colleagues:
Take a look: In Arizona, Senate Democrats target Masters on Social Security
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While ads from Democrats highlighting the abortion issue are getting a lot of attention, a new spot in Arizona from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee shows that Social Security remains a weapon of choice, particularly in states with large elderly populations. The 30-second DSCC ad seizes on Republican Senate nominee Blake Masters’s musings about privatizing Social Security and features a voter named Julie. She asks: “How could he do that? We paid into Social Security with every single paycheck. We rely on Social Security to pay our bills.”
Masters faces Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) in November. The DSCC said the new ad is part of a $33 million expenditure, much of it seeking to protect four Democrats in states with competitive Senate races. Besides Arizona, they include Nevada, Georgia and New Hampshire.
The latest: Biden could do more to ensure staff diversity, study says
President Biden has sought to live up to his campaign promise of an administration that reflects America’s diversity with a slew of historic appointments: the first Black vice president, a Cabinet more diverse than his predecessors’, the first Black woman on the Supreme Court.
But a new analysis of Biden’s senior aides from an independent think tank concludes that the president has not done enough to ensure there is sufficient Black representation in key White House jobs that are less visible to the public, but whose holders often have an outsize influence on policy, The Post’s Cleve R. Wootson Jr. and David Nakamura write. Per our colleagues:
2 hrs ago
Analysis: Some Republicans are backing away from the strictest abortion bans
On Capitol Hill and in state legislatures, some Republican lawmakers are backing off aggressive efforts to advance certain hard-line antiabortion measures.
Writing in The Health 202, The Post’s Rachel Roubein notes that efforts to pursue a strict nationwide abortion ban have quietly fizzled in Congress. Per Rachel:
On our radar: Busy week ahead for Biden, with celebrations ahead of a solemn event
President Biden has a week packed with events ahead of a planned departure Saturday to Britain for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
Following Monday’s trip to Boston — with events on infrastructure and cutting cancer deaths — Biden plans Tuesday to hold a White House celebration of the Inflation Reduction Act, a sprawling bill to lower prescription drug costs, address global warming, raise taxes on some billion-dollar corporations and reduce the federal deficit.
Analysis: Campaign cybersecurity might be the weakest link in the midterms
An official at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said last week that election security is “light-years ahead” of where it was in 2016. But there’s one area lagging behind as the 2022 midterm vote approaches: the cybersecurity of political candidates’ campaigns.
Writing in The Cybersecurity 202, The Post’s Tim Starks notes that in the aftermath of Russia’s election interference in the 2016 cycle, Congress delivered hundreds of millions of dollars to state and local governments to spend on things like replacing less secure voting machines and giving cybersecurity training to election officials. Per Tim:
Analysis: Prominent Republicans push GOP senators to support same-sex marriage bill
This is a critical week for the same-sex marriage bill as Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) continue to work to win over enough GOP senators.
Writing in The Early 202, The Post’s Leigh Ann Caldwell and Theodoric Meyer say that they’re getting help from some prominent Republicans, including GOP Senate candidates — an indication of the politics of the issue in some states. Per our colleagues:
Earlier
The latest: Biden announces director of new agency eyeing cancer cures
President Biden on Monday announced Renee Wegrzyn as the first director of a new agency that has been tasked with studying treatments and potential cures for cancers, along with other diseases, including Alzheimer’s and diabetes.
The announcement of Wegrzyn as director of the newly created Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health preceded Biden’s planned travel Monday to Boston. He is scheduled to deliver a speech there at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum on the goal he has set of cutting U.S. cancer deaths by 50 percent over the next 25 years.
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Source: WP
