Share and Follow
Good morning, US politics blog readers.
Joe Biden is finalizing his state of the union address after a weekend spent working on the remarks at Camp David. It will be his first address to a divided Congress and comes amid sharp criticism from Republicans over the week-long wait to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon. Military officials determined that downing the balloon over land from such high altitude could pose unnecessary risk to the people and property below and advised that shooting it over water was safer.
The Biden administration has said that the suspected surveillance balloon entered the US on three occasions while Donald Trump was president, though officials have not provided more details on how or when those incidents were discovered. According to Politico, the intelligence community has offered to brief Trump administration officials on the newly discovered intelligence, which they have said they were not aware of during their time in charge.
Meanwhile, we have a spate of new “State of the Union” polls, each containing a fair bit of pessimism about the direction of the country and confidence in Biden and his party.
Here’s what else we can expect today:
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre will brief reporters with National Economic Council Director Brian Deese at 2.15pm ET.
Vice-president Kamala Harris will host a meeting focused on the root causes of migration from the Northern Triangle at 2pm ET.
The House has votes scheduled later this evening, while the Senate is out. It should be noted that despite the fervor of the new House Republican majority to launch its attacks on Biden, Congress generally is off to an unusually slow start this year.
The state of the union is sour, at least according to a handful of new polls released on the eve of the president’s annual address to Congress.
Though Democrats defied expectations – and history – with their performance in the November midterms, Americans are largely unhappy with the president or his party. Facing weak job approval ratings, Biden receives little credit for his legislative accomplishments, massive federal investments aimed at rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure, boosting the domestic semiconductor industry and lowering healthcare costs for seniors and veterans.
Discontent is particularly high on the economy, despite signs the outlook is brightening. Inflation is easing, the unemployment rate is at its lowest in decades and job growth remains strong.
Yet more than two-thirds of Americans express just some ore no confidence in Biden to make the right decisions for the country’s future, according to a new ABC News/Washington Post survey.
It also found that more than four in 10 Americans believe they are worse off financially since Biden took office, a polling high going back nearly four decades.
Meanwhile, the country remains wary of Biden’s desire to seek a second term, even among his own party. Just 37% of Democrats say they hope he stands for re-election, down from 52% in the weeks before the November midterm elections, a new poll from the The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found.
Biden has stated publicly that he intends to run, and his team is laying the groundwork for a second campaign, but the 80-year-old president has yet to formally announce his decision, expected sometime in the Spring.
Read Related Also: It’s Harry and Meta-n: Duke and Duchess of Sussex plan to venture into metaverse virtual world
Asked previously about the lack of enthusiasm, especially among his own voters, surrounding a possible re-election bid, Biden retorted: “Watch me.”
Biden has offered his condolences after the catastrophic 7.8 magnitude earthquake and its powerful aftershock left more than 1,700 people dead in Turkey and Syria.
I am deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation caused by the earthquake in Turkiye and Syria. I have directed my team to continue to closely monitor the situation in coordination with Turkiye and provide any and all needed assistance.
— President Biden (@POTUS) February 6, 2023
In a statement, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the US was “profoundly concerned” by the devastating reports of mass causalities.
We stand ready to provide any and all needed assistance. President Biden has directed USAID and other federal government partners to assess U.S. response options to help those most affected. We will continue to closely monitor the situation in coordination with the Government of Turkiye.”
For more on the destructive quake, follow our live blog.
Good morning, US politics blog readers.
Joe Biden is finalizing his state of the union address after a weekend spent working on the remarks at Camp David. It will be his first address to a divided Congress and comes amid sharp criticism from Republicans over the week-long wait to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon. Military officials determined that downing the balloon over land from such high altitude could pose unnecessary risk to the people and property below and advised that shooting it over water was safer.
The Biden administration has said that the suspected surveillance balloon entered the US on three occasions while Donald Trump was president, though officials have not provided more details on how or when those incidents were discovered. According to Politico, the intelligence community has offered to brief Trump administration officials on the newly discovered intelligence, which they have said they were not aware of during their time in charge.
Meanwhile, we have a spate of new “State of the Union” polls, each containing a fair bit of pessimism about the direction of the country and confidence in Biden and his party.
Here’s what else we can expect today:
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre will brief reporters with National Economic Council Director Brian Deese at 2.15pm ET.
Vice-president Kamala Harris will host a meeting focused on the root causes of migration from the Northern Triangle at 2pm ET.
The House has votes scheduled later this evening, while the Senate is out. It should be noted that despite the fervor of the new House Republican majority to launch its attacks on Biden, Congress generally is off to an unusually slow start this year.
