Governor Kay Ivey urges Alabama school systems to return for in-person learning
Governor Kay Ivey is urging school systems to return to in-person instruction even as some schools as recently as yesterday have returned to online learning. According to the Centers for Disease Control, “Pediatric COVID-19 hospitalization data from 14 states from early March to late July 2020 found the cumulative rate of COVID-19–associated hospitalization among children was over 20 times lower compared to adults”. However, the risk for teachers, administrators, and other staff will mirror that of other adults in the community if they contract covid-19, therefore caution should still be used. Al.com reported several schools have converted to virtual and in-person classrooms – or a hybrid of the two – as the Christmas holiday and the new year approaches. Kay Ivey stated, “Due to COVID-19, 2020 has been an extremely challenging year for everyone, especially for our parents, teachers, and students. I’m extremely grateful for the flexibility everyone has shown as they have adapted to virtual instruction. However, virtual and remote instruction are stop-gap measures to prevent our students from regressing academically during the pandemic. These practices cannot — and should not — become a permanent part of instructional delivery system in 2021. As we are learning more about COVID-19, we are seeing more and more clear evidence pointing out that our students are safe in the classroom with strong health protocols in place. “There are nearly 9,800 fewer students enrolled statewide in this academic year and a five percent reduction in students on the kindergarten level. This will not only result in a critical learning loss for our students today but will also likely lead to an equally negative impact on the readiness of our workforce in years to come. Additionally, it could have an equally important economic loss that affects the critical funding for our classrooms and teacher units. “As we begin the holiday season and contemplate a return to normalcy in 2021, I strongly urge our education leadership on both the state and local levels to return to in-person instruction as soon as possible. My Administration will work with Dr. Mackey, all of our local superintendents, and the Legislature to ensure that our kids are back in the classroom in 2021. Our employers, our families, our communities, Alabama’s taxpayers, and most importantly, our students, deserve nothing less,” Gov. Ivey concluded. Alabama currently has an online dashboard to track covid cases in schools. Other surrounding states, including many counties in Florida, have had schools reopened to students since August. While covid cases have been present, the number of cases hasn’t been as high as previously anticipated.
Joe Biden chooses an all-female senior White House press team
President-elect Joe Biden will have an all-female senior communications team at his White House, reflecting his stated desire to build out a diverse White House team as well as what’s expected to be a return to a more traditional press operation. Biden campaign communications director Kate Bedingfield will serve as Biden’s White House communications director. Jen Psaki, a longtime Democratic spokeswoman, will be his press secretary. In a different area of the White House operation, Biden plans to name Neera Tanden, the president and CEO of the liberal think tank Center for American Progress, as director of the Office of Management and Budget, according to a person familiar with the transition process granted anonymity to speak freely about internal deliberations. Four of the seven top communications roles at the White House will be filled by women of color, and it’s the first time the entire senior White House communications team will be entirely female. President Donald Trump upended the ways in which his administration communicated with the press. In contrast with administrations past, Trump’s communications team held few press briefings, and those that did occur were often combative affairs riddled with inaccuracies and falsehoods. Trump himself sometimes served as his own press secretary, taking questions from the media, and he often bypassed the White House press corps entirely by dialing into his favorite Fox News shows. In a statement announcing the White House communications team, Biden said: “Communicating directly and truthfully to the American people is one of the most important duties of a President, and this team will be entrusted with the tremendous responsibility of connecting the American people to the White House.” He added: “These qualified, experienced communicators bring diverse perspectives to their work and a shared commitment to building this country back better.” Bedingfield, Psaki and Tanden are all veterans of the Obama administration. Bedingfield served as communications director for Biden while he was vice president; Psaki was a White House communications director and a spokesperson at the State Department; and Tanden served as a senior adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and helped craft the Affordable Care Act. Others joining the White House communications staff are: — Karine Jean Pierre, who was Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ chief of staff, will serve as a principal deputy press secretary for the president-elect. She’s another Obama administration alum, having served as a regional political director for the White House office of political affairs. — Pili Tobar, who was communications director for coalitions on Biden’s campaign, will be his deputy White House communications director. She most recently was deputy director for America’s Voice, an immigration reform advocacy group, and was a press staffer for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Three Biden campaign senior advisers are being appointed to top communications roles: — Ashley Etienne, a former communications director for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, will serve as Harris’ communications director. — Symone Sanders, another senior adviser on the Biden campaign, will be Harris’ senior adviser and chief spokesperson. — Elizabeth Alexander, who served as the former vice president’s press secretary and his communications director while he was a U.S. senator from Delaware, will serve as Jill Biden’s communications director. After his campaign went virtual due to the coronavirus pandemic, Biden faced some of his own criticism for not being accessible to reporters. But near the end of the campaign, he answered questions from the press more frequently, and his transition team has held weekly briefings since he was elected president. The choice of a number of Obama administration veterans — many with deep relationships with the Washington press corps — also suggests a return to a more congenial relationship with the press. As head of the OMB, Tanden would be responsible for preparing Biden’s budget submission and would command several hundred budget analysts, economists and policy advisers with deep knowledge of the inner workings of the government. Her choice may mollify progressives, who have been putting pressure on Biden to show his commitment to progressive priorities with his early staff appointments. She was chosen over more moderate voices with roots in the party’s anti-deficit wing such as Bruce Reed, who was staff director of President Barack Obama’s 2010 deficit commission, which proposed a set of politically painful recommendations that were never acted upon. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Political fight brewing over Joe Biden’s White House budget chief nominee
President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Office of Management and Budget is quickly emerging as a political battle that could disrupt his efforts to swiftly fill out his administration. Some Republicans are expressing doubt that Neera Tanden could be confirmed by the Senate after she spent years attacking GOP lawmakers on social media — and many panned the choice. Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton claimed Tanden’s rhetoric was “Filled with hate & guided by the woke left.” Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn said Tanden’s “combative and insulting comments” about Republican senators created “certainly a problematic path.” He called her “maybe (Biden’s) worst nominee so far” and “radioactive.” Potential Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., was less hostile, telling reporters, “Let’s see what happens.” Moderate Susan Collins, R-Maine, a target of Tanden’s, said, “I do not know her or much about her, but I’ve heard she’s a very prolific user of Twitter.” Such sentiment is notable considering the GOP’s general reluctance to criticize President Donald Trump’s broadsides on Twitter. But like all of Biden’s nominees, Tanden has little margin for error as she faces confirmation in a closely divided Senate. That could be especially daunting for Tanden, the former adviser to Hillary Clinton and the president of the center-left Center for American Progress, given her history of political combat. Biden’s transition team released a litany of praise for Tanden from figures including Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. Other Democrats also rushed to defend Tanden’s nomination. Former Obama aide Valerie Jarrett said Tanden “grew up on welfare and lived in public housing. She experienced first hand the importance of our social programs. Her extraordinary career has been devoted to improving opportunities for working families. She is an excellent choice to lead OMB.” “Neera Tanden is smart, experienced, and qualified for the position of OMB Director,” added Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, a member of the party’s progressive wing. “The American people decisively voted for change – Mitch McConnell shouldn’t block us from having a functioning government that gets to work for the people we serve.” On the Senate floor, Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said it’s impossible to take Republicans’ criticism of Tanden seriously. “Honestly, the hypocrisy is astounding. If Republicans are concerned about criticism on Twitter, their complaints are better directed at President Trump,” Schumer said. At OMB, Tanden would be responsible for preparing Biden’s budget submission and would command several hundred budget analysts, economists, and policy advisers with deep knowledge of the inner workings of the government. If Democrats should win runoff elections for Georgia’s two GOP-held Senate seats, Tanden’s job would become hugely important because the party would gain a slim majority in the chamber. That would allow them to pass special budget legislation that could roll back Trump’s tax cuts, boost the Affordable Care Act, and pursue other spending goals. OMB would have a central role in such legislation. Top Democrats, Biden included, supported anti-deficit packages earlier in their careers, but the party has since changed. Biden was a force behind the establishment of the Obama deficit commission, which was created to win votes of Democratic moderates to pass an increase in the government’s borrowing cap and was chaired by former Clinton White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles. Tanden shares a commonly held view among Democratic lawmakers that Republicans usually profess concerns about deficits only when Democrats are in power, pointing to tax cut packages passed in the opening year of Trump’s administration and former President George W. Bush’s 2001 tax cut. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Donald Trump headed to Georgia as turnout driver, but also a threat
Some establishment Republicans are sounding alarms that President Donald Trump’s conspiratorial denials of his own defeat could threaten the party’s ability to win a Senate majority and counter President-elect Joe Biden’s administration. The concerns come ahead of Trump’s planned Saturday visit to Georgia to campaign alongside Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, who face strong Democratic challengers in Jan. 5 runoffs that will determine which party controls the Senate at the outset of Biden’s presidency. Republicans acknowledge Trump as the GOP’s biggest turnout driver, including in Georgia, where Biden won by fewer than 13,000 votes out of about 5 million cast. That means every bit of enthusiasm from one of Trump’s signature rallies could matter. But some Republicans worry Trump will use the platform to amplify his baseless allegations of widespread voter fraud — arguments roundly rejected in state and federal courts across the country. That could make it harder for Perdue and Loeffler to keep a clear focus on the stakes in January and could even discourage Republicans from voting. “The president has basically taken hostage this race,” said Brendan Buck, once a top adviser to former House Speaker Paul Ryan. Especially fraught are Trump’s continued attacks on Georgia’s Republican state officials and the state’s election system, potentially taking away from his public praise of Loeffler and Perdue. “Trump’s comments are damaging the Republican brand,” argued Republican donor Dan Eberhart, who added that the president is “acting in bad sportsmanship and bad faith” instead of emphasizing Republicans’ need to maintain Senate control. The GOP needs one more seat for a majority. Democrats need Jon Ossoff to defeat Perdue and Raphael Warnock to defeat Loeffler to force a 50-50 Senate, positioning Vice President-elect Kamala Harris as the tie-breaking majority vote. Trump on Monday blasted Gov. Brian Kemp as “hapless” for not intervening to “overrule” Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s certification of Biden’s win. A day earlier, Trump told Fox News he was “ashamed” he’d endorsed Kemp in his 2018 GOP primary for governor. Kemp’s office noted in response that state law gives Kemp no authority to overturn election results, despite Trump’s contention that Kemp could “easily” invoke “emergency powers.” Meanwhile, Raffensperger, a Trump supporter like Kemp, has accused the president of throwing him “under the bus” for doing his job. Perdue and Loeffler have attempted to stay above the fray. They’ve long aligned themselves with Trump and even echoed some of his general criticisms of the fall elections, jointly demanding Raffensperger’s resignation. But the crux of their runoff argument — that Republicans must prevent Democrats from controlling Capitol Hill and the White House — is itself a tacit admission that Biden, not Trump, will be inaugurated Jan. 20. And at one recent campaign stop, Perdue heard from vocal Trump supporters who demanded that he do more to help Trump somehow claim Georgia’s 16 electoral votes. Republicans see three potential negative outcomes to Trump fanning the flames. Some GOP voters could be dissuaded from voting again if they accept Trump’s claims that the system is hopelessly corrupted. Among Republicans more loyal to Trump than to the party, some could skip the runoff altogether out of anger at a party establishment the president continues to assail. Lastly, at the other end of the GOP spectrum are the moderate Republicans who already crossed over to help Biden win Georgia and could be further alienated if the runoff becomes another referendum on Trump. Josh Holmes, a top adviser to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, said Republicans “haven’t seen any evidence of lack of enthusiasm in the Senate races.” But none of those potential bad effects would have to be sweeping to tilt the runoffs if they end up as close as the presidential contest in Georgia. “We’ll see how it plays out. It changes day by day and week by week. But so far, so good,” Holmes said. In Georgia, any Republican concerns are more circumspect. Brian Robinson, a former adviser to Kemp’s Republican predecessor as governor, said Trump should “drive a strong, forward-looking message” about what’s at stake for a Republican base that “is fervently devoted to him.” “The best thing he can do for the party,” Robinson said, “is to talk about the importance of having a Republican Senate majority to project his policy legacy and to make sure the Democrats can’t reverse a lot of what he has put in place that Republicans support.” Asked what Trump should avoid, Robinson circled back to what he believes the president should say. Former U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, a Trump ally, downplayed the potential for GOP splintering, framing an “inner-family squabble” as a sideshow to the “incredible” consequences that define the runoffs. “Followers of Trump will follow Trump, but they’re not blind to the huge stakes. And neither is he,” Kingston said. “He knows to keep his legacy. He’s got to get these people reelected.” Trump, Kingston argued, is “keeping the base interested,” a necessary component of any successful runoff campaign since second rounds of elections often see a drop-off in voter participation. Robinson added that Democrats face their own challenge in replicating record turnout for Biden. “What’s the best motivator? Fear,” he said. Before November, Democrats dreaded a second Trump term more than Republicans feared Trump losing, Robinson reasoned. “Republicans have reason to be scared now,” he said, because of the prospect that Democrats could control both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. “That could make a difference in turnout” beyond anything Trump says, Robinson concluded. For their part, the senators continue their public embrace of all things Trump ahead of the visit. “I couldn’t be more excited to welcome” the president “back to Georgia,” Loeffler wrote on Twitter after Trump confirmed his plans. Perdue’s campaign quickly retweeted the comment, which Loeffler punctuated with a reminder that the runoffs are “an all-hands-on-deck moment.” It’s not clear, though, if all Republicans will be on hand at all. Kemp, the governor who appointed Loeffler upon Sen. Johnny Isakson’s retirement last year, has on previous Trump visits
‘Out of control’: Alabama hits record virus hospitalizations
Alabama on Monday reached a new high for the number of people in state hospitals with COVID-19, a record that comes before an expected spike in cases in the weeks following Thanksgiving gatherings. Alabama Department of Public Health numbers indicated that 1,717 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in the state, the highest number reported since the coronavirus pandemic began. The previous high was a little over 1,600 in mid-summer. “The spread is out of control. That is probably the least inflammatory way I can describe it,” said Dr. Don Williamson, the former state health officer who now heads the Alabama Hospital Association. “I try not to engage hyperbole, but I’m truly worried,” he added. Williamson said the state is seeing more COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and patients in intensive care units than in July, which previously had been considered the peak of the pandemic. “The problem is none of this is due to Thanksgiving,” Williamson noted. He said it will take several more days to start seeing the impact of Thanksgiving gatherings on cases and hospitalizations. Williamson has said a significant concern for hospitals is the number of nurses and other medical employees who are out because they have gotten COVID-19 or have been exposed to the virus. State health officials had urged people to skip large Thanksgiving gatherings. Dr. Scott Harris, head of the state health department, also confirmed the hospitalization numbers were a record. “It is too soon to see any surge yet from Thanksgiving activities,” Harris said. Alabama has reported more than 249,000 confirmed and probable virus cases and at least 3,578 confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths, according to the health department. The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Alabama has risen over the past two weeks from 2,019 new cases per day on Nov. 15 to 2,103 new cases per day on Sunday, according to the COVID Tracking Project. On Monday, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey participated in the White House coronavirus task force’s call led by Vice President Mike Pence, her office said. The call focused on efforts to develop and distribute a vaccine. “As we all know, the vaccine development process is ongoing, but based off of these continued discussions, Gov. Ivey is hopeful that the vaccine will begin circulating later this month,” spokeswoman Gina Maiola said. Maiola said the Republican governor “reminds Alabamians to stay vigilant as we near the beginning phases of the vaccine distribution.” Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
