Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday

Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday

Feb 3, 2017 - Politics & Policy

The takeaways from Spicer's Friday briefing

Alayna Treene, Shane Savitsky

Evan Vucci / AP

Financial regulatory executive orders: The president is about to sign two executive orders that set the table for a revamped regulatory system that "mitigates risk and encourages growth."
Dodd-Frank: "Dodd-Frank is a disaster ... It did not address the causes of the financial crisis." In addition to executive orders, Spicer said that the administration plans to work with Congress to potentially repeal some or all of the law.
Foreign policy roundup: Iran: Trump doesn't like to "telegraph his actions" and refuses to explicitly rule out military action.Cuba: The Trump administration is "committed to human rights" and is "reviewing" policy, but nothing has been explicitly discussed with the Cuban government.Israel: "At the end of the day, the goal is peace." Pressed on settlements, Spicer said that new construction or expansion of settlements "is not going to be helpful going forward."
Opioid and heroin crisis: The administration not only believes it is a "health crisis," but a "border crisis" as well.
"I'll get back to you on...": "The 100,000 visas revoked" under the travel ban; changes to the current anti-extremist "Countering Violent Extremists" program; Trump's tweet on professional anarchists; further arming Ukraine

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Russell Contreras

40 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Biden signs racial equity executive orders

Joe Biden prays at Grace Lutheran Church in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on September 3, 2020, in the aftermath of the police shooting of Jacob Blake. PHOTO: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed executive orders on housing and ending the Justice Department's use of private prisons as part of what the White House is calling his “racial equity agenda.”

The big picture: Biden needs the support of Congress to push through police reform or new voting rights legislation. The executive orders serve as his down payment to immediately address systemic racism while he focuses on the pandemic.

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49 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Senate confirms Antony Blinken as secretary of state

Antony Blinken. Photo: Alex Edelman/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

The Senate voted 78-22 on Tuesday to confirm Antony Blinken as secretary of state.

Why it matters: Blinken, a longtime adviser to President Biden, will lead the administration's diplomatic efforts to re-engage with the world after four years of former President Trump's "America first" policy.

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Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, author of China

2 hours ago - World

Former Google CEO and others call for U.S.-China tech "bifurcation"

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

A new set of proposals by a group of influential D.C. insiders and tech industry practitioners calling for a degree of "bifurcation" in the U.S. and Chinese tech sectors is circulating in the Biden administration. Axios has obtained a copy.

Why it matters: The idea of "decoupling" certain sectors of the U.S. and Chinese economies felt radical three years ago, when Trump's trade war brought the term into common parlance. But now the strategy has growing bipartisan and even industry support.

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