News Editor’s Roundup: 4,000+ Migrant Children Held By CBP ahead of GOP Border Visit; Biden Declines to Call for Cuomo’s Resignation

BY JACK CROWE

March 15, 2021

Good morning and welcome to the News Editor's Roundup, a weekly newsletter that will ensure you're up to date on the developments in politics, business, and culture that will shape the week's news cycle — as well as those that might escape mainstream attention.

More Than 4,000 Migrant Children Held By CBP ahead of GOP Border Visit

The number of unaccompanied migrant children in Customs and Border Protection custody soared this week, with more than 4,200 children in short-term holding facilities as Republican lawmakers are set to visit the border on Monday to address the unfolding crisis.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and a dozen of his members will be in El Paso, Texas to press President Biden over the crisis at the border, which has led to children being detained in jail-like stations unfit to house minors for days, according to CBS News.

Biden Declines to Call for Cuomo's Resignation, Will Await Investigation Outcome

President Joe Biden on Sunday declined to call for the resignation of Andrew Cuomo, even as the New York Governor is embroiled in scandals over his alleged harassment of women and his mishandling of nursing homes during the coronavirus pandemic.

"I think the investigation is under way and we should see what it brings us," Biden told reporters in response to a question over whether Cuomo should step down.

N.Y. Senators Schumer, Gillibrand Call On Cuomo to Resign

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y) and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.) on Friday called for New York governor Andrew Cuomo's resignation amid concurrent scandals involving the governor's mishandling of COVID patients in nursing homes during the pandemic and his subsequent coverup of the mishandling, as well as seven sexual-harassment allegations that have been made against him.

"Confronting and overcoming the COVID crisis requires sure and steady leadership," a joint statement from the senators said.

"We commend the brave actions of the individuals who have come forward with serious allegations of abuse and misconduct," the statement adds. "Due to the multiple, credible sexual harassment and misconduct allegations, it is clear that Governor Cuomo has lost the confidence of his governing partners and the people of New York. Governor Cuomo should resign."

Judge Allows Austin Mask Mandate to Remain in Place amid Texas AG Suit

A mask mandate in the city of Austin and Travis County will remain in place for at least two weeks after a judge on Friday delayed action on Texas attorney general Ken Paxton's request to immediately end it.

The ruling by Judge Lora Livingston allows the mandate to remain in place as restrictions are lifted in the rest of the state, according to KXAN.

"People have been wearing masks for a year. I don't know that two more weeks is going to matter one way or the other," Livingston said during a Friday hearing, according to the Austin-American Statesman.

Texas Dem Blasts Biden Delegation's Border Visit: 'They Didn't Talk to Anybody'

Representative Henry Cuellar (D., Texas) on Friday blasted the Biden administration's handling of the U.S.–Mexico border crisis, calling out a delegation from the White House for failing to speak to anyone when they visited the border this week.

"Any president should come down [and] really spend time with border communities," Cuellar told Fox News. "You know, the president sent a delegation and a bunch of folks from the White House. They didn't talk to anybody, not even members of Congress down here."

Police, Rioters Clash in West Coast Cities on Anniversary of Breonna Taylor's Death

Police clashed with rioters in Seattle and Los Angeles on Saturday night during demonstrations marking the one-year anniversary of the death of Breonna Taylor, an African-American resident of Louisville, Ky., in a police shooting.

Seattle police said 13 people were arrested on Saturday. Footage of the riots shows people smashing in windows and jumping on the hood of a police car.

Bill Cassidy Says Biden Policies 'Entirely' to Blame for Migrant Influx at Southern Border

Senator Bill Cassidy (R., La.) said on Sunday that President Biden's policies are "entirely" to blame for the influx of migrants crossing the U.S.–Mexico border over the past several weeks.

"Empirically, it's entirely," Cassidy said when asked by Fox News Sunday's Chris Wallace how much responsibility Biden bears for the crisis. "You can't help but notice that the administration changes and there is a surge," Cassidy added.

Biden Orders FEMA to Prepare to House Child Migrants

The Biden administration ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency to prepare to house child migrants amid an influx of unaccompanied minors entering the U.S. via the southern border.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas ordered FEMA to shelter migrant children over the next 90 days, in response to a backlog of children currently being held in Border Patrol facilities.

"I am incredibly proud of the agents of the Border Patrol, who have been working around the clock in difficult circumstances to take care of children temporarily in our care. Yet, as I have said many times, a Border Patrol facility is no place for a child," Mayorkas said in a statement.

Biden Marks Selma Anniversary with Executive Order to Expand Voting Access

President Biden on Sunday signed an executive order aimed at increasing voter access as congressional Democrats push for the passage of H.R. 1, a sweeping voting-rights package.

Biden's order was announced during a recorded address on the 56th commemoration of "Bloody Sunday," when state troopers in Selma, Alabama beat some 600 civil rights activists in 1965 as they tried to march for voting rights.

"Every eligible voter should be able to vote and have it counted," Biden said during a speech to Sunday's Martin and Coretta King Unity Breakfast before signing the order. "If you have the best ideas, you have nothing to hide. Let the people vote."