05 April 2021
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) forewarned in a radio interview Monday that he will not support a hike in the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% as proposed in President Biden's infrastructure bill, adding that there are "six or seven other Democrats that feel very strongly about this.”
Why it matters: The tax hike is Biden's pitch on how to pay for the $2 trillion price tag on his American Jobs Plan. But pushback from moderate Manchin could scupper the bill, as a 50-50 split in the upper chamber has made each Democratic vote a must-have.
- Manchin said he thinks the corporate tax rate should have "never been below [25%]" and that he would be comfortable with that number.
Between the lines: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said last week that he will fight against Biden's plan, signaling that there will be no Republican support for the measure.
- And with the filibuster still in place, Democrats will also likely still need to pass the measure through a budget reconciliation process in order to avoid the need for 10 Republican votes, even if the entire Democratic caucus supports it.
What he's saying: "As the bill exists today, it needs to be changed ... Bottom line is that's what legislation is all about. This bill will not be in the same form you've seen it introduced..." Manchin said, adding that Biden's proposal might be broken up into three separate bills.
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.