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House passes $7.9 billion Harvey aid package

A pile of debris outside a business damaged by floodwaters in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in Spring, Texas, September 5, 2017 (AP)

The House overwhelmingly passed a $7.9 billion funding package to aid Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts Wednesday, per CNN.

  • The bill is now off to the Senate, where lawmakers are expected to attach a measure to raise the debt ceiling. They will then vote on the package and send it back to the House for a final vote, which is expected by the end of the week.
  • The bulk of funding, $7.4 billion, will go to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Disaster Relief Fund, which FEMA has said is rapidly running out of resources.
  • The other $450 million will go to the Small Business Administration's disaster loan program.

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Axios
Updated 55 mins ago - Politics & Policy

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Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

  1. Health: Pandemic fatigue quantified — The pandemic could be worsening childhood obesity.
  2. Vaccine: Moderna says vaccine appears to protect against new COVID-19 variants — Cities launch efforts to vaccinate the homeless.
  3. Politics: Deborah Birx went "on the road" for local COVID efforts to avoid White House censorship — Sanders says Democrats will push coronavirus relief package through with simple majority.
  4. Business: Budweiser skips Super Bowl ads in favor of vaccine education campaign.
  5. World: Mexican President López Obrador tests positive for coronavirus.
  6. 🎧 Podcast: Google's chief health officer Karen DeSalvo on vaccinating America.
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Lachlan Markay
1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Trump political team disavows "Patriot Party" groups

Marine One carries President Trump away from the White House on Inauguration Day. Photo: Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Donald Trump's still-active presidential campaign committee officially disavowed political groups affiliated with the nascent "Patriot Party" on Monday.

Why it matters: Trump briefly floated the possibility of creating a new political party to compete with the GOP — with him at the helm. But others have formed their own "Patriot Party" entities during the past week, and Trump's team wants to make clear it has nothing to do with them.

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Orion Rummler
3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

DOJ watchdog to probe whether officials sought to alter election results

Donald and Melania Trump exit Air Force One in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Jan. 20. Photo: Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images

The Justice Department's inspector general will investigate whether any current or former DOJ officials "engaged in an improper attempt to have DOJ seek to alter the outcome" of the 2020 election, the agency announced Monday.

Driving the news: The investigation comes in the wake of a New York Times report that alleged Jeffrey Clark, the head of DOJ's civil division, had plotted with President Trump to oust acting Attorney General Jeffery Rosen in a scheme to overturn the election results in Georgia.

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