News Editor’s Roundup: Moderate Dems Signal Resistance to Biden Tax Increases; Ship Blocking Suez Canal Partially Freed

BY JACK CROWE

March 29, 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.

Moderate Dems Signal Resistance to Biden Tax Increases

Several moderate House Democrats are pushing back on the Biden administration's plan to raise taxes in order to finance a $3 trillion infrastructure initiative, Axios reported on Monday.

The opposition from House Democrats comes in addition to potential resistance from Senators Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D., Ariz.). With a slim 219-212 majority, House Democrats could run into difficulties if divisions emerge.

Representatives Josh Gottheimer (D., N.J.) and Tom Suozzi (D., N.Y.) said they would not vote for any tax increase unless it expands the State and Local Tax deduction that was capped at $10,000 under the Trump administration.

Ship Blocking Suez Canal Partially Freed

The cargo ship blocking the Suez Canal for almost a week has been partially freed, the Suez Canal Authority announced on Monday.

The agency said the Ever Given, the container ship stretching about a quarter of a mile long, was 80 percent refloated as of Monday. Egyptian president Abdel Fatah al-Sissi hailed the operation's progress, even declaring the crisis over.

"Egyptians have succeeded today in ending the crisis of the stranded ship in the Suez Canal," al-Sissi said in a statement.

San Francisco School Board Member Stripped of Position over Anti-Asian Tweets

The vice president of the San Francisco school board was stripped of her title and committee assignments Thursday in response to a 2016 tweet thread that many community leaders deemed racist and anti-Asian.

In the tweets, board member Allison Collins referred to Asians as "house n****r[s]," and accused Asians of using "white supremacist thinking," praising "Tiger Moms," and disparaging "Black/Brown 'culture.'"

During a special meeting Thursday, five of the board's seven members voted for a resolution of no confidence in Collins's leadership, according to the school district. But Collins, who was elected in 2018, did not resign from her position as some community leaders had called for.

Georgia Elections Officials Compare Dem 'Voter Suppression' Claims to Trump's Fraud Allegations

Top Georgia elections officials said Democrats' claims that the state's new voting law amounts to "voter suppression" are comparable to former President Trump's allegations that systemic voter fraud cost him victory in the state.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his chief operating officer, Gabriel Sterling, both pushed back on claims that the new election law would prevent large numbers of Georgia residents from voting. In a statement on Friday, President Biden characterized the law as "Jim Crow in the 21st century," claiming that the legislation would suppress voter turnout among African Americans.

Sharon Osbourne Leaves The Talk amid Fallout from Piers Morgan Defense

CBS announced on Friday that Sharon Osbourne, a co-host of CBS's The Talk, would leave the program in the wake of her defense of British television host Piers Morgan's comments on Meghan Markle.

Osbourne backed Morgan on Twitter earlier this month, after Morgan resigned from his position as an anchor for ITV news. Morgan had disputed Markle's claim that members of the British royal household discouraged her from receiving mental-health treatment, after she told them she had suicidal thoughts.

Cuomo Aides Subpoenaed in Sexual-Harassment Probe

The New York State attorney general's office has subpoenaed a number of aides to Governor Andrew Cuomo as part of its investigation into sexual-harassment allegations against him, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

One of the subpoenaed aides is Secretary to the Governor Melissa DeRosa, a top Cuomo ally who was heavily involved in the state's response to the coronavirus pandemic, people familiar with the matter told the Journal. (DeRosa admitted to state lawmakers in February that the Cuomo administration misrepresented the number of coronavirus victims in state nursing homes.)

Biden Official Asked GOP Senators to Delete Photos of Border Facilities, Senator Says

Senator Mike Braun (R., Ind.) on Saturday said a Biden official asked a group of Republican senators who visited the southern border to delete photos they had taken of the overcrowded conditions at a migrant processing and holding center they toured one day earlier in Donna, Texas.

"There was one of Biden's representatives. I felt sorry for the lady because she actually talked to me about deleting a picture, but by the time she got to me, all those other pictures were taken, and that shows you the hypocrisy," Braun told the Washington Examiner.

"None of us would have gone down there if we were going to be muzzled," Braun said, adding that Border Patrol instructed them not to take photos, though "they were telling us that because they had to."

Trump Says He'll Probably Visit Border 'over the Next Couple of Weeks'

Former President Trump said Saturday that he will likely visit the southern border "over the next couple of weeks" to get a firsthand look at the worsening border crisis created by a surge of migrants entering the U.S.

Trump said during an interview on Fox News' Justice with Judge Jeanine that "a lot of people" want him to visit the border.

"The Border Patrol and all of the people of ICE, they want me to go," Trump said, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "I really feel I sort of owe it to them, they're great people."

Psaki: Biden Admin 'Absolutely Committed' to Allowing Reporters into Border Facilities

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Sunday that reporters would soon be granted access to Border Patrol facilities sheltering unaccompanied minors.

In recent weeks, as the number of unaccompanied minors in Border Protection and Health and Human Services custody has swelled to more than 18,000, some children have been held in the processing centers for as long as ten days.

Psaki said that the Biden administration was "absolutely committed" to allowing reporters and cameras into the facilities.

"We want to provide access into the Border Patrol facilities," Psaki said. "We are mindful that we are in the middle of the pandemic, we want to keep the kids safe, we want to keep the staff safe."