News Editor’s Roundup: White House Considers Ending COVID-Inspired Migrant Family Expulsions

BY JACK CROWE

June 21, 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.

White House Considers Ending COVID-Inspired Migrant Family Expulsions

The Biden administration is considering ending the use of Title 42, a Trump-era public health order that has allowed U.S. border officials to quickly expel migrant families to Mexico, as soon as next month, according to a new report.

Title 42 has been used to quickly turn back tens of thousands of migrant family members at the border. According to Axios, the White House is eyeing ending the use of the policy as early as July 31.

While the rule was initially put in place during the pandemic to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the report notes that top CDC officials and physicians who serve as consultants for the Department of Homeland Security have opposed using the public health order to expel migrants.

Republicans Get to Work Planning for 2022 and Beyond

Kissimmee, Fla. — Top Republicans gathering here this week at the Faith & Freedom Coalition's annual conference called for the party's base to mobilize ahead of the 2022 elections, and to fight every day against the Biden administration's radical left-wing agenda.

They railed against critical-race theory. They touted their pro-life and gun-rights bona fides. They vowed to continue standing with Israel. And they warned about new forms of Marxism worming their way into American institutions.

The "Road to Majority" conference, attended by more than 2,000 conservative and pro-family advocates, provides an opportunity for GOP leaders to begin energizing the party's grassroots activists in the lead-up to next year's all-important midterm elections. It's also an opportunity for Republican strategists to begin planning ways to reach new voters, and for elected officials to road test new messages and talking points.

Illinois Governor Signs Bill to Make Official Titles Gender-Neutral

Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker (D.) signed a bill this week to change the titles for elected officials in the state from "alderman" and "congressman" to "alderperson" and "congressperson" to be more gender-inclusive.

"We see a lot of 'hes' and 'hims'" in state statute, said the bill's co-sponsor, State Representative Maurice West (D).

"And now we have, you know, not just women in office, but we have people who may not identify with any gender," he added. "We want to make sure that our voting and our election cycle process is inclusive for everyone."

Ted Cruz: 'The Stage Is Set for an Incredible Conservative Revival'

Kissimmee, Fla. — When Ted Cruz looks forward to 2022 and 2024, he can't help but glance back to the past.

The midterm elections in 2022 are lining up to look a lot like the those in 1994 and 2010, years when Republicans won massive victories after Democratic presidents overreached, he said.

And to the Texas senator, the upcoming 2024 presidential election bears a striking resemblance to the "Reagan Revolution" of 1980 that saw a conservative realignment of American politics.

"It took Jimmy Carter to give us Ronald Reagan," Cruz said. "And I think Joe Biden is Jimmy Carter 2.0, and is setting the stage for an incredible conservative revival."

And who, exactly, would play the role of Reagan in this Back to the Future–like script?

"That will be for the voters to decide," said Cruz, a politician not known for being unambitious.

Tucker Carlson Brushes Off 2024 Presidential Run Speculation: 'Come On!'

Though Fox News host Tucker Carlson has been rumored to be a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2024, he said recently that he is not planning to run.

"Oh, God, come on!" Carlson said on the Ruthless podcast when asked about the rumors. "That seems like a fun job!"

The top-rated host in cable news laughed before adding, "No! No!"

He added that though he has known and spoken to every president for roughly 30 years that he "can't think of anyone whose life was improved."

"I guess if I was the last person on earth who could do it," he added. "But that seems pretty unlikely that I would be that guy — you know what I mean?"

"I'm a talk show host; I enjoy it," he concluded.

A Grad Student Tried to Correct a Misleading COVID Narrative. Rebekah Jones Tried to Ruin His Career for It

Jon Taylor's desire to help Floridians understand a pandemic that was remaking their lives nearly cost him his career.

Taylor, a 37-year-old Ph.D. candidate at the Florida Atlantic University College of Business, waded into the world of COVID data analysis last spring after being informed that he had been in contact with someone who tested positive for the virus. When he looked at the data for himself, what he found disturbed him: The way the Florida Department of Health was presenting the pandemic death toll was confusing members of the media who lacked a background in data analysis.

Nikki Fried Claims Ron DeSantis's 'National Platform' Is Her 'Greatest Weakness'

Democratic Florida gubernatorial candidate Nikki Fried said Friday that her "greatest weakness" in the race is her opponent's access to a national audience.

When Fried lamented Florida governor Ron DeSantis's (R.) national platform during an appearance on CNN on Friday, anchor Poppy Harlow was quick to point out that Fried was lodging that complaint on a national platform.

"You know, I think my greatest weakness is the fact that right now Ron is on a platform on the national stage and so he's getting a lot of national PR, but the greatest — but we are going to take that and turn it into a positive," Fried said.

"You just had about seven or eight minutes on a national platform, CNN," Harlow responded.

Biden Admin Moves to Offer Gender-Transition Surgery through VA Health Care: Report

Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough is taking steps toward making gender transition surgery available to veterans through Veterans Affairs health-care coverage, according to a new report.

A VA department spokesperson reportedly told CNN that McDonough plans to announce the move at a Pride event at the Orlando Vet Center in Florida on Saturday.

"We are taking the first necessary steps to expand VA's care to include gender confirmation surgery — thus allowing transgender vets to go through the full gender confirmation process with VA by their side," McDonough is expected to say.

The VA Health Benefits package currently covers mental-health services and sex-change hormones, but does not cover gender-transition surgery.

Texas Governor Vetoes Funding for State Legislature after Dem Walkout on Voting Bill

Texas governor Greg Abbott (R.) vetoed funding for members of the state legislature on Friday, making good on his threat do so after state Democrats blocked a Republican-backed bill on election procedures.

"Texans don't run from a legislative fight, and they don't walk away from unfinished business," Abbott said in a statement following his veto. "Funding should not be provided for those who quit their job early, leaving their state with unfinished business and exposing taxpayers to higher costs for an additional legislative session."

House Democratic Caucus chair Chris Turner criticized Abbott's veto as an "abuse of power."

"Texas has a governor, not a dictator," Turner said. "The tyrannical veto of the legislative branch is the latest indication that [Abbott] is simply out of control."

Biden Adviser on COVID-Origin Probe: U.S. Won't Issue Threats to China 'at This Point'

White House National-Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the U.S. would not immediately issue "threats" to China regarding an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, in an interview on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday.

Host Dana Bash asked Sullivan whether the U.S. would "take action to increase the pressure" on China if that country continues to bar access to investigators. Bash noted that "we still don't know whether the coronavirus developed naturally or came from a lab in Wuhan."

Sullivan said the Biden administration is working on the issue on "two tracks," first by working on an intelligence-community assessment of the origins of the pandemic, and the second through an international investigation led by the World Health Organization.

"President Biden has rallied democratic partners to say there must be access to China, to be able to get the data necessary to understand what happened here," Sullivan said. "We are not at this point going to issue threats or ultimatums. What we're going to do is continue to rally support in the international community. And if it turns out that China refuses to live up to its international obligations, we will have to consider our responses at that point."

GOP Senators Skeptical of Manchin Voting-Bill Compromise

Two Republican senators expressed skepticism on Sunday toward Senator Joe Manchin's (D., W.Va.) compromise outline for Democrats' voting legislation.

Senators Ron Portman (R., Ohio) and Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) said that Manchin's revised "For the People Act" still represents a transfer of power from the states to the federal government.

"Unfortunately, what he does is what the larger bill . . . does, which is it takes the election system in this country and federalize it, so it's a federal takeover of our election system," Portman told host Chuck Todd on NBC's Meet the Press. "In this case, what he's saying to the state of Ohio or your state of Florida [is] 'We're gonna decide how redistricting is done. We're gonna take it away from the democracy, in effect''"