Biden strikes infrastructure deal with bipartisan group of senators
24 June 2021
President Biden announced Thursday that he had agreed to an infrastructure deal with a bipartisan group of ten senators.
Why it matters: The agreement on the size and scope of an infrastructure package is a major achievement for Biden, who has long been a proponent of bipartisanship. But the compromise still faces serious hurdles in the House and Senate.
- Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has not yet signed off the deal, and progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders have threatened to revolt if the compromise doesn't go far enough on their key priorities.
- Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that the House would not take up a bipartisan infrastructure bill if the Senate did not also pass a budget reconciliation package with Democrats' other priorities.
What they're saying: "We made serious compromises on both ends. ... Republicans and this group did not want to go along with many of my family plan issues, the child care tax credits — the human infrastructure that I talk about," Biden said after a meeting at the White House.
- "We'll see what happens in the reconciliation bill and the budget process, if we get some compromise there. And if we can't, see if I can attract all the Democrats to a position. But they're going to move on a dual track," he added.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said after Biden's remarks:"This is roads and bridges but also lots of other kind of infrastructure, including broad system and the water system and rail system. It's all good for the economy. More efficiency in the economy, more economic growth."
This story is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.