News Roundup: Florida Legislature to Hold Special Session on Countering Vaccine Mandates

BY JACK CROWE

November 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.

Florida Legislature to Hold Special Session on Countering Vaccine Mandates

Florida lawmakers will meet for a special legislative session Monday at Governor Ron DeSantis's urging as part of an effort to combat vaccine mandates in the state.

The state legislature, controlled by Republicans, will deliberate on four bills over the course of a week that are designed to punish private entities and municipalities that mandate vaccination as a condition of employment.

"No cop, no firefighter, no nurse, nobody should be losing their job because of these jabs," DeSantis said in a media release. "We're going to be striking a blow for freedom."

Psaki Defends Harris in Response to Report of 'Dysfunction' in VP's Office

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki touted Vice President Kamala Harris' accomplishments on Sunday in response to her plummeting approval rating and a CNN report on the chaos unfolding in the vice president's office.

"For anyone who needs to hear it. @VP is not only a vital partner to @POTUS but a bold leader who has taken on key, important challenges facing the country—from voting rights to addressing root causes of migration to expanding broadband," Psaki tweeted.

Psaki's statement appeared to be a retort to CNN article published Sunday in which insiders said "exasperation and dysfunction" are common themes in the vice president's office. Harris reportedly feels constrained in her job and is perceived to be in an idle position politically after being saddled with the intractable border crisis as her primary policy assignment.

Catholic Bishops Set to Vote on Communion Guidelines That Could Exclude Biden

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is set to vote this week on draft guidelines clarifying the meaning of Communion that could prohibit Catholics who express support for abortion — such as President Joe Biden and House speaker Nancy Pelosi — from receiving the Eucharist.

The bishops will vote on the document when they meet for a conference in Baltimore this week. A committee wrote the document in the wake of the bishops' June conference, where they discussed whether to take a position on the eligibility of prominent Catholics whose actions run afoul of church teaching to receive Communion.

Wisconsin Governor Orders National Guard to Kenosha ahead of Rittenhouse Verdict

Wisconsin governor Tony Evers has called up the National Guard ahead of an impending verdict in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse.

About 500 guardsmen will be deployed to a staging area outside the city of Kenosha to assist local law-enforcement officers if needed. Closing arguments in Rittenhouse's trial are scheduled for Monday, after which the jury will begin deliberations. It is unclear when a verdict will be reached.

"We continue to be in close contact with our partners at the local level to ensure the state provides support and resources to help keep the Kenosha community and greater area safe," Evers said in a statement Friday. "The Kenosha community has been strong, resilient, and has come together through incredibly difficult times these past two years, and that healing is still ongoing."

Appeals Court Blasts Biden Vaccine Mandate: 'One-Size-Fits-All Sledgehammer'

In a Friday-evening decision, a federal appeals court affirmed its stay of the Biden administration's vaccine requirement for private businesses, blasting the sweeping nature of the mandate.

In the opinion, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals judges Kurt D. Engelhardt, Edith H. Jones, and Stuart Kyle Duncan excoriated President Biden's order as a broad overstepping of constitutional power. While the government claims the mandate derives its authority from a 1970s occupational-health-and-safety statute, the court argued that it "grossly exceeds OSHA's statutory authority."

Kristi Noem Announces Reelection Campaign for South Dakota Governor

Republican Governor Kristi Noem, who captured the GOP limelight for her laissez-faire management of the pandemic in South Dakota, has announced that she will be seeking reelection in 2022.

Noem made the announcement on Friday night in a Youtube video release.

"Three years ago, I asked you to trust me in our state as your governor. I have worked every day since to make our state safer, stronger, and healthier for our kids and our grandkids. It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve you," she said. "Together we're setting an example for the nation."

Cruz Suggests Cheney Should Run in the Democratic Primary in 2024

Senator Ted Cruz (R., Texas) blasted Representative Liz Cheney (R., Wyo.) on Saturday, suggesting that if she launches a bid for president in 2024, it should be as a Democrat.

Cruz's comment came in response to a tweet by CNN's The Lead, which featured a video of a panel discussing the possibility of Cheney running in the next presidential cycle.

"Is there a lane for Liz Cheney in New Hampshire in 2024?" the CNN tweet asked.

"Yes. It's called the Democratic primary," Cruz replied.

Cheney shot back in a tweet of her own: "I know you're posturing for the secessionist vote, Ted. But my party, the Republican party, saved the Union. You swore an oath to the Constitution. Act like it."

Biden Economic Adviser Defends Comments Downplaying Inflation

National Economic Council director Brian Deese said on Sunday that he and President Biden were not wrong months ago when they downplayed inflation as a short-term issue caused by the pandemic.

When Deese appeared on CNN's State of the Union, host Jake Tapper pressed him on comments he and the president made in June minimizing the severity of rising inflation in the U.S.

At the time, Biden said that "the overwhelming consensus is it's going to pop up a little bit and then go back down, no one's talking about this great, great deal."

Deese said months ago that, "to the degree that people are focused on inflationary pressures in the short term, that really is not the issue."

Tapper asked Deese if he and Biden were wrong and inflation is not a "short-term 'pop up a little bit and then go back down' issue," especially after Biden finally acknowledged this week that inflation is "worrisome." A Labor Department report released last week showing that inflation had reached a 31-year high.

"No, I don't think so, Jake," Deese replied. "I think what we have said consistently is that the pandemic and the economy are interlinked and certainly we saw just as the Delta variant posed real health challenges to the economy it also had economic impacts."

Yellen: U.S. Must Keep Making Progress against COVID-19 to Control Inflation

Treasury secretary Janet Yellen blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for the record inflation increase the U.S. is seeing and said the country must continue to "make progress" against the pandemic to get inflation under control.

CBS's Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan asked Yellen in a pre-taped interview aired on Sunday if she is confident the price of consumer goods will return to normal levels by next November.

The Treasury secretary replied that it "really depends on the pandemic."

"The pandemic has been calling the shots for the economy and for inflation. And if we want to get inflation down, I think continuing to make progress against the pandemic is the most important thing we can do. I think it's — it's — it's important to realize that the cause of this inflation is the pandemic," Yellen said.