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Ivana Trump’s death ruled an accident from blunt impact injuries
The New York City medical examiner’s office confirmed to The Hill on Friday that Ivana Trump, former President Trump’s first wife, died in an accident from blunt impact injuries to her torso.
The announcement comes a day after the former president announced on his social media platform Truth Social that his ex-wife died at her home in New York City.
The medical examiner’s office told The Hill that it would not comment further on the investigation beyond revealing the cause and manner of death.
NBC reported that a New York City official said Ivana Trump was found on her apartment’s spiral staircase when authorities arrived at her home.
Ivana and the former president married in 1977 and had three children — Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump.
They had a contentious divorce in the 1990s, but their relationship improved over the years. Eventually, Ivana Trump advised her ex-husband him during his presidential run in 2016.
The former president, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump were scheduled to testify Friday in New York Attorney general Letitia James’ (D) investigation into the Trump Organization’s finances, but the depositions were temporarily delayed in light of Ivana Trump’s death.
The attorney general’s office said they will be rescheduled as soon as possible.
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Energy & Environment — Manchin throws wrench into climate deal
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has thrown a wrench into Democrats’ hopes of passing a sweeping climate bill before they potentially lose seats in the November midterms.
We’re examining what happened, and the fallout.
This is Overnight Energy & Environment, your source for the latest news focused on energy, the environment and beyond. For The Hill, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk. Subscribe here.
Manchin backs away from climate bill
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is saying that he’s currently not backing climate legislation, but may be open to it depending on the future of inflation.
- Late Thursday, a Democrat briefed on the conversation said that Manchin told his fellow Democrats that he would “unequivocally” not back climate spending in a reconciliation package and was at this stage only willing to negotiate on lowering prescription drug prices.
- On Friday, Manchin called radio host told West Virginia radio host Hoppy Kercheval that he would soon be willing to get a deal on drug prices done, but wouldn’t be willing to pursue climate spending on that timeline.
Manchin said that without additional inflation data, it’s “not prudent” to legislate climate and tax changes right now.
However, Manchin appeared to say he may have interest in climate legislation eventually, just not at the current moment.
“I said, ‘Chuck, can we just wait until the inflation figures come out in July?’” he said, referring to Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.). “I want climate. I want an energy policy.”
In response to Manchin’s comments, President Biden called for the passage of a health care bill and said he would take on climate through “strong executive action.”
Read more from The Hill:
Dems call for Biden to go ‘beast mode’
Senate Democrats are calling on President Biden to go hard on climate regulation following Manchin’s decision to pull the plug on climate and tax-hike talks.
WHITEHOUSE: “With legislative climate options now closed, it’s now time for executive Beast Mode,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) tweeted Thursday night.
In a lengthy thread, Whitehouse listed policies he’d like to see, including requiring technology to capture greenhouse gasses from all major emitters, strong emissions controls for cars and a carbon border tariff.
SCHATZ: “The legislative branch should keep pushing for climate action, but it is long past time for executive to move with pace and enthusiasm. Existing law gives the executive multiple tools to act with the urgency, determination, and purpose that is equal to this planetary emergency,” tweeted Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii).
CARPER: Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Tom Carper (D-Del.), meanwhile, called for “bold climate action” from the executive, while also hinting Democrats will still try to work out a legislative deal.
“We must strengthen our resolve and find a path forward, including robust action now with the tools we already have as we work to provide more,” he wrote.
CHAIRING IS CARING
Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) said Friday he is questioning why Manchin is the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee after Manchin’s refusal became public.
“We have an opportunity to address the climate crisis right now. Senator Manchin’s refusal to act is infuriating,” Heinrich wrote on Twitter. “It makes me question why he’s Chair of ENR,” he added.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) backed Heinrich’s statement shortly after it was posted, tweeting: “Courage. Thank you for saying this Sen. @MartinHeinrich.”
RESEARCHERS: NO DEAL WOULD MEAN A WARMER PLANET
Researchers and activists warned that moving ahead without climate legislation risks consigning the entire world to a warmer future.
Princeton professor Jesse Jenkins, who has modeled the potential emissions cuts of the legislation under consideration, told The Hill that based on what had been reported thus far, a climate deal would have probably cut emissions between 800 million and 1 billion metric tons in 2030.
- That’s the equivalent of taking between 172 million and 215 million cars off the roads for a year.
- “We’re losing two thirds to three-quarters of the progress we were hoping to make by 2030,” he said.
Robbie Orvis, senior director of energy policy design at the think tank Energy Innovation: Policy and Technology, also said the emerging bill could have cut emissions as much as by 1 billion tons.
- “The probability of being able to hit the 2030 target is much lower now, so I think that implies that there will be more emissions, certainly, and that translates to higher warming,” Orivs said, referring to President Biden’s goal of cutting emissions in half by the end of the decade.
- “Every amount that we continue to increase the global temperature brings more extreme storm events,” he said, adding that without action “we’re going to continue to worsen the impacts of climate change, and it’s going to contribute to worsening extreme weather events and…ultimately human suffering and death.”
Some on Friday argued that the rest of the world may be less inclined to take bold action without the U.S.
- “The U.S. is THE largest historical all-time emitter, and for that reason occupies a special role. We can’t expect other countries to act meaningfully if we fail to,” said climatologist Michael Mann in an email to The Hill.
- Jenkins added that not passing the bill is also expected to stifle technological innovation, hampering the global transition to clean energy.
Read more of what they had to say here.
White House tamps down expectations on gas prices
The White House on Friday tamped down expectations that President Biden’s meetings with Saudi leaders will lead to an announcement about a bump in oil production that could lower prices.
- Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that the administration expects any concrete decision on increasing production to be made by OPEC and OPEC+, of which Saudi Arabia is the de facto leader, in the coming weeks.
- “We will discuss the issue here and we are hopeful that we will see additional actions by OPEC+ in the coming weeks,” Sullivan told reporters.
Don’t hold your breath: “I don’t think you should expect a particular announcement here bilaterally, because we believe any further action taken to ensure that there is sufficient energy to protect the health of the global economy will be done in the context of OPEC+,” Sullivan added.
The group of oil-producing nations agreed in early June to increase oil production as the global energy market felt disruptions from Russia’s war in Ukraine.
High gas prices in the U.S., which have started to decline, were widely viewed as a strong motivation for Biden’s decision to travel to Saudi Arabia. The White House has also sold the trip as part of an effort to reassert U.S. leadership in the Middle East.
Leading up to the trip, experts said that the Saudis were unlikely to immediately commit to an increase in oil production, though they noted the countries could agree to greater cooperation on energy security.
Read more from The Hill’s Morgan Chalfant.
MEASURING CRYPTO GIANTS’ ELECTRICAL STOCK
A handful of leading cryptocurrency miners have the electrical capacity equivalent to nearly every residence in Houston, according to data released by Democratic members of Congress on Friday.
- In a letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan, members led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) noted that leading cryptominers have developed more than 1,045 megawatts in mining capacity as of February.
- Companies that responded to the members’ inquiries included Riot Blockchain, Bit Digital, Bitdeer, Stronghold, Marathon and Greenidge.
Following a crackdown on cryptomining by the Chinese government, mining operations have increasingly moved onshore in the U.S., according to the members.
The U.S. share of global mining for Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, increased from 4 percent in August 2019 to nearly 38 percent in January.
The data divulged in the investigation also indicates the two biggest cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin and Ethereum, consume electricity at an annual rate exceeding that of the entire United Kingdom, which created nearly 80 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions last year.
The power demands associated with mining also affect local customers, they wrote, citing a recent finding that mining added about $79 million to annual electric bills in upstate New York.
Read more about the letter here.
ON TAP NEXT WEEK
The Senate Energy Committee will hold a hearing next Tuesday to examine federal regulatory authorities governing the development of interstate hydrogen pipelines, storage, import and export facilities.
WHAT WE’RE READING
- A hypothetical weather forecast for 2050 is coming true next week (CNN)
- ‘Change is possible’: meet the Gen-Zers who embrace climate optimism (The Guardian)
- ERCOT CEO says he did not expect it to be as hot as it is (KHOU)
- House Passes Crew Mandate Called ‘Gut Punch’ to Offshore Wind (Bloomberg)
🦀 Lighter click: It happens
That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill’s Energy & Environment page for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you next week!
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House to vote on bill protecting access to contraceptives
The House will vote next week on a bill aimed at protecting access to contraceptives, a direct response to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas saying the court should reconsider the landmark decision in Griswold v. Connecticut.
Thomas — considered by some to be the most conservative justice on the court — wrote a concurring opinion to last month’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade that said the bench should “reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents,” listing Griswold, which safeguards a married couple’s right to use contraception, among other cases.
He argued that the Due Process Clause in the Constitution does not protect substantive rights, infuriating Democrats across the country.
In a statement on Friday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) targeted Thomas’ opinion and said the lower chamber will take action to defend Americans’ access to contraceptives.
“In his concurring opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson, Justice Clarence Thomas made it very clear that the extremist ruling that ended Roe v. Wade could be used to overturn other precedents, and he specifically referenced the case that recognized Americans’ constitutional right to access contraception,” Hoyer said.
“The House will not sit back and allow extremist Republicans and their judicial appointees to limit Americans’ access to contraception, which is why I will bring H.R. 8373, the Right to Contraception Act, to the House Floor next week,” he added.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Kathy Manning (D-N.C.), allows people to obtain and use contraceptives, and protects healthcare providers’ ability to provide contraceptives and relevant information to patients.
The measure seeks to protect all contraceptives approved by the Food and Drug administration, including oral and emergency contraceptives, intrauterine devices and condoms.
It also authorizes the attorney general to take civil action against any state or official that implements a measure in violation of the law, and allows individuals to initiate civil action against any people or entities who enforces a restriction to the measure.
The Rules Committee is scheduled to take up the bill on Monday.
Hoyer announced the vote right before the House approved a pair of bills aimed at protecting access to abortion, exactly three months after the court overturned Roe.
The bills seek to codify the right to abortion on the federal level and protect women who travel to undergo the medical procedure because their state bans it.
The measures now head to the Senate, where they are likely to face headwinds because of Republican opposition.
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Breyer named professor at Harvard Law
Former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer has been appointed to be a professor at Harvard Law School, the school announced in a release on Friday.
Breyer graduated from Harvard Law School in 1964 and taught there for more than a decade, from 1967 to 1980. His professorship was previously held by former Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter before he was appointed to the court.
Breyer said in the release that he is pleased to return to Harvard to teach, write and encourage future generations who are interested in law.
“Among other things, I will likely try to explain why I believe it important that the next generations of those associated with the law engage in work, and take approaches to law, that help the great American constitutional experiment work effectively for the American people,” he said.
Breyer, who is 83 years old, served on the Supreme Court for almost 30 years after being appointed by President Bill Clinton. He retired from the court last month and was succeeded by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to serve on the court.
Harvard Law School Dean John Manning said in the release that Breyer is a “historic jurist and world-class legal scholar” with a history serving as a faculty member.
“His brilliance, experience, collegiality, openness, and intellectual inquisitiveness will deeply enrich our community and advance our mission of teaching, scholarship, and service,” he said.
Breyer has written extensively on many subjects including administrative and regulatory policy, comparative constitutional law and constitutional interpretation, the school noted. He has also written more than half a dozen books and dozens of law review publications.
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The Air Force must adapt and transform now to keep pace with strategic competitors
Across its trailblazing 75-year history, the U.S. Air Force’s place as the world’s most capable and most respected source of airpower is well-established. The U.S. Air Force is undeniably proud of that history. Nevertheless, it is a fact that today the Air Force must accelerate change or lose. Current and emerging threats demand nothing less than a transformation that will integrate emerging technologies into new operational concepts, new organizations, and new families of systems designed to ensure the Air Force continues its proud history.
Consistent with the National Defense Strategy and as directed by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, significant steps forward are being taken to begin that transformation in the president’s fiscal year 2023 budget. The Air Force must not only change but accelerate change in order to meet pacing challenges today and defeat those certain to arrive in the future. Such a transformation can be uncomfortable — it demands pushing through technical and cultural boundaries while letting go of familiar systems and concepts. For Airmen, for Congress, and for the nation the Air Force serves, understanding why change is a must and what is beginning to change in this budget is critical. Active support of all the key stakeholders the Air Force depends upon is required to move confidently from the past to the future Air Force needed to win against a peer competitor.
The threats the U.S. and its allies and partners face today are changing dramatically, at unprecedented speed and with a strategic focus on denying the United States the ability to project power in defense of its interests, allies, and values. Indeed, the very character of war and therefore of deterrence itself is changing, driven by strategic competitors; especially the nation’s most pacing challenge, China, but also Russia, which remains an acute threat.
Notably, the Air Force’s investment approach significantly increases research and development. Programs like the Next Generation Air Dominance family of systems, the Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, and the Advanced Battle Management System are on the path to the future. There is also research and development funding to proceed with the acquisition of the Wedgetail surveillance aircraft to replace the venerable but increasingly unsupportable and out of date AWACS system. In other areas, we are speeding the acquisition of systems with specific mission capabilities needed in relatively small numbers, like the F-15E/X, so that resources will be available for development and then procurement of more modern systems.
There is only one path to the future Air Force the nation must have; aggressively moving forward to acquire the capabilities needed to accomplish the missions expected of the Air Force, while simultaneously letting go of legacy capabilities that have served the nation well for decades but will not do so in the future, or even in some cases the present. The Air Force’s approach to this challenge can be found threaded throughout the Air Force’s $194 billion budget request for the 2023 fiscal year. To be sure, balancing competing needs and recognizing difficult trade-offs is tough. This year’s budget proposal and policy decisions position the Air Force to meet current mission needs while also placing the service on the path to the future. However, as modernization efforts become better defined and accelerate, there will be more hard choices to come.
For the last several months the Air Force has been working to define the systems and investments needed to meet several power projection “operational imperatives” that cover the range of capabilities necessary to ensure the Air Force continues its 75 year legacy as a critical element of the Joint Force and the nation’s defense. Some of the results of that work are already reflected in this year’s budget request, but there is more to come. An element of the solution to those imperatives will be teaming crewed aircraft with un-crewed aircraft in a way that cost effectively expands choices in combat while presenting unacceptable choices to and instilling uncertainty among adversaries. The Air Force assesses that the relevant technology has advanced to the point where funding and fielding of meaningful un-crewed combat military capability can move forward. That journey has already begun.
The FY23 budget continues the effort to finance these and other investments in the future in part by divesting legacy aircraft. Some have raised concerns that the Air Force plan to modernize and invest funds in newer weapon systems at the expense of legacy aircraft will create a capability gap. Unfortunately, the capability gap already exists, and retaining older generation aircraft does nothing to close or avoid it. The gap is between today’s Air Force and the Air Force the nation needs to remain competitive against China and Russia. Continuing to expend money and manpower on legacy aircraft that are ill-suited or incapable of providing the war-winning capabilities required to tackle technological advances and future threats risks degrading America’s ability to deter, and if necessary, win in a future fight.
To sustain an enduring advantage, contribute to integrated deterrence, and assure victory for the Joint Force, the United States and the Department of the Air Force must adapt and transform now. History shows that America’s Airmen and the nation are up to the task. By working together and with the support of the Congress and the American people, the Air Force will accelerate change, modernize for the future, and continue to provide the U.S. and its allies with the unparalleled airpower advantage our nation expects. Change is hard; losing is unacceptable.
Mr. Kendall is secretary of the Air Force. Gen. Brown is chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force.
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Health Care — Biden tells Senate to move on health bill
Tiger Woods missed the cut at the British Open, but received a thunderous ovation from the crowd at his final hole — possibly his final time playing competitively at the iconic St. Andrews course.
Today we’ll look at President Biden’s call for senators to pass a health care-only reconciliation bill after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) once again dashed Democrats’ hopes of including tax and climate provisions.
Welcome to Overnight Health Care, where we’re following the latest moves on policy and news affecting your health. For The Hill, we’re Peter Sullivan, Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi. Subscribe here.
Biden to Senate: Pass health bill; I’ll tackle climate
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) dealt some big blows to President Biden’s agenda, but it looks like health care is the area that might actually still happen.
Biden on Friday told senators to move forward with a slimmed-down, health care-only reconciliation package before their August recess after Manchin struck a blow to his agenda over its tax and climate provisions, which Biden said he will address through executive action.
“After decades of fierce opposition from powerful special interests, Democrats have come together, beaten back the pharmaceutical industry and are prepared to give Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices and to prevent an increase in health insurance premiums for millions of families with coverage under the Affordable Care Act,” Biden said in a statement.
The emerging package: Manchin told Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Thursday that if Democrats move the budget reconciliation bill before August, he will only support two provisions:
- Lower prescription drug prices (by allowing Medicare to negotiate on a subset of drugs)
- A two-year extension of expiring enhanced health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act
Manchin said he’d reject the climate spending and tax hikes on the wealthy in the package, only supporting a narrow budget reconciliation package before Labor Day.
“Action on climate change and clean energy remains more urgent than ever,” said Biden. “So let me be clear: if the Senate will not move to tackle the climate crisis and strengthen our domestic clean energy industry, I will take strong executive action to meet this moment.”
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House passes bills to protect abortion access
The House on Friday passed two bills aimed at protecting access to abortion, marking the chamber’s first legislative attempts at safeguarding the procedure after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last month.
The first bill — the Women’s Health Protection Act — passed in a 219-210 vote, clearing the House for a second time in the past year. The lower chamber previously approved the measure in September, but it was twice blocked in the Senate.
Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar was the only Democrat to vote against the bill, which all Republicans present opposed as well. He also opposed the measure when it was brought up for a vote in September.
The legislation seeks to ensure that people have access to abortion nationwide by codifying the right to the medical procedure into federal law.
Not going far in the Senate: The measure, however, will likely face headwinds in the Senate. Republicans and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) blocked the bill in the upper chamber in February and May when it was brought up for consideration.
- The House passed the second bill — titled the Ensuring Access to Abortion Act — in a 223-205 vote. Three GOP lawmakers supported the measure: Reps. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.) and Fred Upton (Mich.). Cuellar also voted in favor of the measure.
- The legislation protects women who travel to another state to receive an abortion if their home state prohibits the medical procedure. And in states where abortion is lawful, the bill seeks to make it illegal for facilities to limit access to the medical procedure for individuals who arrived from out of state.
EMPLOYER: INDIANA DOCTOR DIDN’T VIOLATE PRIVACY LAWS
The employer for the Indiana doctor who provided abortion services to a 10-year-old rape victim pushed back against accusations that she had violated privacy laws, saying it had found no evidence of this after conducting its own investigation.
Indiana OB-GYN Caitlin Bernard made national news earlier this month after she spoke with The Indianapolis Star about providing abortion services to a 10-year-old Ohio girl who had been denied an abortion after she was raped because her pregnancy had passed the six-week mark by a few days.
Indiana’s Attorney General Todd Rokita (R) said this week that he would be looking into Bernard’s licensure and whether she had violated Indiana’s abortion reporting laws. Rokita claimed that Bernard had a history of failing to report abortions.
In a statement, Indiana University Health, Bernard’s employer, said it had conducted its own review into the matter which it added is done “routinely.”
“Pursuant to its policy, IU Health conducted an investigation with the full cooperation of Dr. Bernard and other IU Health team members. IU Health’s investigation found Dr. Bernard in compliance with privacy laws,” said IU Health.
CDC STUDY: METEORIC RISE IN NUMBER OF AMERICANS INJECTING DRUGS
A recently released study by the Coalition for Applied Modeling for Prevention (CAMP) and funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) highlights the colossal rise in injection drug use (IDU) in the U.S. in recent years.
- CAMP’s study estimates that in the last decade, IDU has gone up exponentially.
- The most recent data, from 2018, estimated that approximately 4 million Americans injected drugs. This is a fivefold increase from the last approximation, in 2011.
What the numbers say: The burden of fatal and nonfatal overdoses among those who inject drugs has also gone up sharply, according to CAMP’s research. Injection-related overdose deaths tripled from 2007 to 2018. Data also shows that there are about 40 nonfatal overdoses for every fatal overdose of IDU.
“Our estimate of the number of people who inject drugs in the U.S. indicates that services need to be substantially expanded — this includes services to meet harm-reduction needs and efforts to reduce escalating rates of overdose mortality, as well as services to address the spread of infectious diseases,” said Heather Bradley, a lead author of a study that CAMP cited in its findings.
House OKs bill to temporarily suspend baby formula tariffs
The House passed a bill on Friday to temporarily suspend tariffs on baby formula imports, a move that some are hoping will help parents and families as they continue to struggle with formula shortages.
The legislation, titled the Formula Act, passed in a 421-2 vote, with Republican Reps. Rick Allen (Ga.) and Louie Gohmert (Texas) opposing the measure. All Democrats present supported the measure. Six Republicans and one Democrat did not vote.
The bill calls for suspending tariffs on imports of baby formula through the end of December by amending the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The office of Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), the sponsor of the legislation, said the measure will decrease the cost of baby formula brought into the U.S.
Parents and families in the U.S. have been struggling with a shortage of baby formula for months. The closure of an Abbott Nutrition manufacturing plant was partially responsible for the scarcity. It shuttered operations after four infants who consumed its formula had a rare bacterial infection and were hospitalized.
The factory, however, quietly resumed production earlier this month.
WHAT WE’RE READING
- The omicron subvariant dominating U.S. COVID-19 cases is more vaccine-resistant (NPR)
- Sharp drop in childhood vaccinations threatens millions of lives (The New York Times)
- UnitedHealthcare to offer $0 insulin, Epi-Pens, but only for some members (Stat)
STATE BY STATE
- California’s public health tax is dead for the year (Kaiser Health News)
- Texas hospitals fearing abortion law delay pregnant women’s care, medical association says (The Dallas Morning News)
- Illinois expands health care coverage for immigrants 42 and up (KHQA)
OP-EDS IN THE HILL
That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill’s Health Care page for the latest news and coverage. See you next week.
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On The Money — Manchin shuts down climate, tax measures
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has reversed course again on Democrats’ efforts to fight climate change and raise taxes on the wealthy. We’ll also look at the retail sales recovery, Biden’s challenge with messaging inflation and the push to pass a pared-down semiconductor bill.
But first, see how lawmakers voted on Friday’s abortion rights bill.
Welcome to On The Money, your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line. For The Hill, we’re Sylvan Lane, Aris Folley and Karl Evers-Hillstrom. Someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.
Manchin strikes blow to Biden’s agenda
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) told Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) “unequivocally” on Thursday that he will only support a narrow budget reconciliation package before Labor Day if it does not include new spending to fight climate change or taxes on wealthy individuals or corporations, according to a Democrat briefed on the talks.
Manchin has informed Schumer that if Democrats move the reconciliation bill in August, he will only support a provision to lower prescription drug prices and a two-year extension of expiring health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, according to the source.
- Manchin appears to be backing away from a commitment he made privately to Schumer last week to close a tax loophole on wealthy individuals and couples who earn more than $400,000 and $500,000 annually in pass-through income.
- The West Virginia Democrat said Friday that the reversal came after he saw this week’s brutal inflation report.
- Manchin also slammed the brakes on a proposal to adopt a 15 percent corporate minimum tax.
“I said, ‘Chuck, until we see the July inflation figures, until we see the July Federal Reserve rates, interest rates, then let’s wait until that comes out so we know that we were going down the path that won’t be inflammatory to add more to inflation.’ Inflation is absolutely killing many, many people,” Manchin told West Virginia radio host Hoppy Kercheval Friday morning.
Alexander Bolton has the details here.
Read more: Biden to Senate: Pass health bill and I’ll tackle climate through executive action
RING ME UP
Retail sales rose 1 percent in June after May dip
Retail sales picked back up in June after falling in May in the face of rapid price increases, according to data released Friday by the Census Bureau.
- U.S. retailers, restaurants and bars made $680.6 billion in sales last month, up 1 percent from a May total of $673.9 billion. Retail sales figures are adjusted for seasonal shifts in consumer spending, but not inflation.
- Retail sales beat economists’ expectations for June after falling 0.1 percent in May.
- While inflation has remained high and rising for more than a year, consumers have powered through price hikes and their own deepening concern about the future of the economy to keep spending more money.
Spending on retail and food services is up 8.4 percent, the Census Bureau said, over the past 12 months as consumer prices rose 9.1 percent in the same time, according to Labor Department data. But consumer spending habits have shifted notably as households adjust to rising prices.
“Today’s retail sales numbers reveal how consumers are continuing to absorb higher prices in non-discretionary categories like gas, and deferring purchases in categories like appliances,” said Claire Tassin, retail and commerce analyst at Morning Consult, in a Friday analysis.
Sylvan has more here.
NOT HELPFUL
Why Biden’s inflation message is out of touch with Americans
President Biden’s message downplaying the latest inflation numbers is out-of-touch, according to experts who warn that his remarks make the administration appear unrelatable to most Americans.
- Annual inflation hit 9.1 percent in June, the highest rate of price growth since November 1981, despite recent interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. Consumer prices rose 1.3 percent last month alone, driving up the costs Americans face to get groceries and fill up their gas tanks.
- Biden acknowledged in a statement after the report’s release that inflation remained “unacceptably high” but then downplayed the significance of the new data, calling it “out-of-date” because it does not reflect the decline in gas prices not captured in the June report.
Experts warned that Biden’s message may prove ineffective to most of the public.
“Biden’s response to the inflation report this morning might have been a little tone deaf,” said Derek Tang, co-founder of Monetary Policy Analytics, in a Wednesday interview.
“Telling them this release is out of date because it doesn’t have the latest data is not really going to be well received as a message,” he continued.
Sylvan and The Hill’s Alex Gangitano have more here.
CHIPS ARE DOWN
Biden officials pitch pared-down China competition bill to House
Top Biden administration officials pressed House lawmakers on Thursday to move quickly on legislation designed to boost domestic production of semiconductors, warning of both the national security and economic harm that could come with inaction.
In a closed-door briefing in the Capitol Visitors Center with House lawmakers of both parties, administration officials — Commerce Secretary Gina Raimonda, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines and Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks — urged Congress to step on the gas.
- The House and Senate have both passed much larger legislative packages designed to improve U.S. competitiveness with China. But the bills — known as “America COMPETES” in the House and “USICA” in the Senate — have been stalled for weeks in tough conference negotiations between the chambers with no resolution in sight.
- If the early response was any gauge, their pitch was highly successful. “Across the board everyone wants to get something done,” said Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.). “My walkaway was — at least in that room — everyone was on the same page.”
The Hill’s Mike Lillis has more here.
Good to Know
While Americans await the Biden administration’s decision on federal student loan forgiveness, the Education Department is encouraging millions to consider applying for a forgiveness program that’s already in place.
On Thursday, Education Department Secretary Miguel Cardona said the Federal Student Aid office was sending emails to roughly 22 million of the 45.3 million borrowers in the U.S., urging them to see if they’re eligible for loan relief under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
Here’s what else we have our eye on:
- Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen criticized Moscow during a meeting that included a top Russian minister and other officials from the Group of 20 (G-20) nations on Friday, asserting that Russian officials shared “responsibility for the innocent lives lost” in “Russia’s brutal and unjust war,” according to a Treasury official.
That’s it for today. Thanks for reading and check out The Hill’s Finance page for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you next week.
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Equilibrium/Sustainability — Retired coal plants go renewable
Obsolete coal plants across the country are getting a welcome revival: A second life as solar farms and other renewable energy ventures.
Because these former fossil fuel hubs are wired into the electricity grid, they provide a valuable opportunity for clean energy projects seeking to avoid regulatory hassles, The New York Times reported.
Repurposing these grid connections — which would be both costly and time-consuming to build from scratch — could potentially speed up the country’s transition to renewable energy, according to the Times.
At least nine coal-burning plants in Illinois alone are set to become solar farms and battery storage sites in the next three years, the newspaper reported. Meanwhile, in Massachusetts and New Jersey, two defunct coal plants along the coast are being rewired to connect offshore wind turbines.
Other such projects are on the horizon in Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, North Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota and Maryland, according to the Times.
“It’s really shifting a very negative resource into one that is more positive for the community,” Jeff Bishop, whose company Key Capture Energy is repurposing a Maryland coal plant for battery storage, told the newspaper.
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Welcome to Equilibrium, a newsletter that tracks the growing global battle over the future of sustainability. Send tips and feedback: Sharon Udasin. Subscribe here.
Today we’ll examine Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) announcement that he won’t be backing new climate spending. Then we’ll travel to the South Pacific, where island nations have declared a climate emergency, and look at record-breaking June heat.
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Manchin won’t back new climate spending
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has announced he will not support climate spending as part of a broader reconciliation package, likely jeopardizing any major climate bill prior to this year’s midterms, our colleague Zack Budryk reported for The Hill.
What happened? Manchin told Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) “unequivocally” on Thursday that he would only back a reconciliation package before Labor Day if it does not include climate spending or taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations, our colleague Alexander Bolton reported.
The declaration that he will not support a bill with these provisions comes after he had previously indicated his openness to related proposals throughout negotiations with Schumer, Bolton explained.
Why the change? Manchin told West Virginia radio host Hoppy Kercheval on Friday that he didn’t want to move forward with such a bill after he saw a Bureau of Labor Statistics report indicating prices had risen 9.1 percent over the previous year.
So what happens now? Senate Democrats seem to have two choices:
- They can advance a slimmed-down reconciliation bill — which would lower the costs of up to 20 prescription drugs and prevent a spike in Affordable Care Act-funded health care premiums before the midterms, Bolton reported.
- Or they can continue negotiating with Manchin over proposals to combat climate change.
A tough choice: “Manchin’s new opposition leaves Democrats in a difficult political bind: They must decide between pressing him after months of false starts or accepting what would still be significant changes to the law lowering health care costs,” The Washington Post reported.
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CLIMATE ON THE BACK BURNER
While Democrats had once assumed they had a historic chance “to radically transform the country” by reducing pollution and incentivizing cleaner practices, this opportunity seems to be crumbling, according to the Post.
Instead, Manchin’s decision could lead to a situation that The Guardian described as “imperiling national and international climate goals and further escalating deadly wildfires, droughts, floods and heatwaves around the world.”
- With rare majorities in Congress, Democrats had hoped to secure investments necessary for fulfilling President Biden’s goal of decreasing carbon emissions to half of their 2005 levels by 2030, the Post reported.
- These goals became increasingly urgent when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted a spike in gas prices, according to the Post.
Failure even with concessions: Recognizing that Manchin represents coal-heavy West Virginia, Democrats recently indicated that they were prepared to make significant concessions and scaling back their approach, the Post reported.
Shocking Democrats who thought they had neared a resolution, these efforts soon fell apart, according to the Post.
Democratic defeat: “I’m not going to sugarcoat my disappointment here, especially since nearly all issues in the climate and energy space had been resolved,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told the Post.
Leadership called into question: Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) said he’s questioning why Manchin chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, when the latter refused to support the climate spending measures.
“We have an opportunity to address the climate crisis right now. Senator Manchin’s refusal to act is infuriating,” Heinrich wrote on Twitter.
Pacific island leaders declare climate emergency
Leaders of Pacific island nations declared a climate emergency on Friday, urging members to turn “pledges and commitments into action,” The Associated Press reported.
The leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum, who held a summit in Fiji this week, consider climate change their biggest security risk, according to the AP.
Refusing to settle: “We simply cannot settle for anything less than the survival of every Pacific Island country,” Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said at the summit, as reported by The Guardian.
A call to global emitters: “Most urgently, it requires that we end our fossil fuel addiction, including coal,” added Bainimarama, who chaired the summit.
“That is our ask of Australia,” he continued. “That is our ask of New Zealand, the USA, India, the European Union, China and every other high-emitting country.”
Applauding Australia: The leaders “welcomed and fully supported” the new Australian leadership’s commitment to the forum’s climate change priorities, according to the AP.
- Australia — one of 17 members of the forum — recently committed to decreasing greenhouse gas emissions by 43 percent below 2005 levels by the end of the decade.
- The previous government had agreed to reductions of only 26-28 percent.
US not invited to Fiji summit: The forum’s dialogue partners — the U.S., China, Britain and France — were not invited to the Fiji summit this week, the AP reported.
Nonetheless, Fiji’s prime minister invited Vice President Harris to deliver a virtual address, during which she proposed boosting U.S. diplomatic engagement and financial aid, the AP reported.
- China weighs in: In response to Harris’s address, a Chinese official in Beijing — whose influence is growing in the region — welcomed the additional support.
- But the official warned that such efforts should not occur to stave off China, according to the AP.
June was among hottest on record: reports
Last month was one of the warmest Junes in history, according to dual reports released by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The NOAA report found that this June was the sixth hottest in 143 years, with the year 2022 as a whole likewise ranking sixth warmest, our colleague Chloe Folmar reported for The Hill.
NASA’s findings? Those were slightly different.
NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) Surface Temperature Analysis concluded that June 2022 and June 2020 tied for the hottest Junes since the late 19th century.
Different numbers, same story: “Even though we’re ranking slightly different, we’re still saying the same story here,” NOAA report lead author Ahira Sánchez-Lugo, a scientist at the administration’s National Centers for Environmental Information, told The Washington Post.
A series of hot Junes: While June 2022 may have been among the hottest, the NOAA report said the month marked the 46th consecutive June with temperatures above the 20th-century average, Folmar reported.
- Antarctica had its lowest June ice coverage on record in June 2022, per the NOAA report.
- Global sea ice coverage neared its record low, second only to that of June 2019.
Some areas hit worse than others: Parts of Europe and Asia experienced particularly dramatic warming last month, Sánchez-Lugo told the Post.
A 24-hour phenomenon: Although summer heat is typically associated with long, sunny daytime hours, Sánchez-Lugo said that nighttime temperatures are also on the rise, according to the Post.
No time to cool down: “During nighttime, we’re supposed to be able to cool off. Not only us, but animals, crops, everything,” she told the Post.
“When that doesn’t happen, then that’s when we get heat exhaustion, or heat disease, because the nighttimes are not cooling as they used to,” Sánchez-Lugo added.
Follow-up Friday
In which we revisit issues we’ve explored this week.
Yellen calls upon major economies to address food insecurity crisis
- Earlier this week, we looked at how federal food assistance programs could reduce both food insecurity and child abuse. On Friday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged Group of 20 major economies to take immediate action to address an ongoing global food insecurity crisis made worse by Russia’s war in Ukraine, Reuters reported.
Oil companies join UN-backed group to curb emissions
- We explored a new report deeming ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Hilcorp and Occidental Petroleum the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases in the U.S. oil and gas sector. ConocoPhillips, along with U.S. oil companies Pioneer Natural Resources Co. and Devon Energy Corp., have joined the Oil & Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 — a United Nations-backed group working to curb emissions, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Bioluminescence season begins in eastern Florida
- On Thirsty Thursday, we covered a variety of water topics — from Kourtney Kardashian’s overuse, to Gatwick’s water outage, to drought in the Northeast. Florida’s East Coast also has water news: Bioluminescence season, in which blue-glowing algae light up inland lagoons, has officially begun, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
Please visit The Hill’s Sustainability section online for the web version of this newsletter and more stories. We’ll see you next week.
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Manchin’s decision provokes fury over potential for warmer world
Sen. Joe Manchin’s decision to move ahead with a reconciliation deal that doesn’t involve climate change risks consigning the entire world to a warmer future, scientists, Democrats and advocates said Friday in reacting to the news.
Democratic senators for about a year have been negotiating with Manchin to try to get him on board with investments that would dramatically reduce U.S. contribution to climate change.
But on Friday, Manchin said he’s not interested in immediately moving forward with a deal that includes those investments.
Manchin told West Virginia radio host Hoppy Kercheval that the latest inflation data means it’s “not prudent” to make the investments in climate change — or raise taxes on the wealthy.
Manchin, relaying a discussion he’d had telling Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) oif his decision, suggested he might be able to agree to a deal at a later date.
“I said, ‘Chuck, can we just wait until the inflation figures come out in July?’” he said. “I want climate. I want an energy policy.”
But those comments rang hollow with climate activists, who noted he has made similar remarks in the past.
“Joe Manchin is waving the fate of human survival over our heads like a bone to hungry dogs and it’s really quite frightening,” John Paul Mejia, a national spokesperson for Sunrise Movement, told The Hill.
Evergreen Action Executive Director Jamal Raad said in a statement that Manchin should not be considered a good-faith negotiator.
“Senator Manchin has lost all credibility and can no longer be trusted to prioritize the well-being of Americans and the planet over his own profiteering and political grandstanding,” Raad said.
Democrats, activists and scientists reacting to the news worried the inability of Congress to take meaningful reaction would consign the U.S. to more heatwaves, floods, droughts and intense storms.
With Republicans seemingly poised to win back the House majority this fall, Manchin’s decision felt like a death blow to the hopes of taking action on climate with Democrats in the White House and in charge of both chambers of Congress.
“Every ton matters,” said Dan Lashof, the U.S.director of the World Resources Institute, referring to tons of carbon emissions.
“Whether or not this bill gets done has a material impact on total emissions from the U.S. and that affects the magnitude of climate change that we will face,” he said.
Those who have studied the climate-saving potential of the Democrats’ climate bill agree that not passing it would likely lead to more emissions and a warmer planet.
Princeton professor Jesse Jenkins, who has modeled the potential emissions cuts of the legislation under consideration, told The Hill that based on what had been reported thus far, a climate deal would have probably cut emissions between 800 million and 1 billion metric tons in 2030. That’s the equivalent of taking between 172 million and 215 million cars off the roads for a year.
“We’re losing two thirds to three-quarters of the progress we were hoping to make by 2030,” he said.
Robbie Orvis, senior director of energy policy design at the think tank Energy Innovation: Policy and Technology, also said the emerging bill could have cut emissions as much as by 1 billion tons.
“The probability of being able to hit the 2030 target is much lower now, so I think that implies that there will be more emissions, certainly, and that translates to higher warming,” Orivs said, referring to President Biden’s goal of cutting emissions in half by the end of the decade.
“Every amount that we continue to increase the global temperature brings more extreme storm events,” he said, adding that without action “we’re going to continue to worsen the impacts of climate change, and it’s going to contribute to worsening extreme weather events and…ultimately human suffering and death.”
Biden pledged “strong executive action” on climate change in reaction to Manchin’s move.
But observers say it will be very difficult to reach the same goals without legislative action.
“Sure there’s probably a way to get there if you assume a whole bunch of things go right and are defensible in court, but it certainly makes it much, much harder,” Orvis said.
Some on Friday argued that the rest of the world may be less inclined to take bold action without the U.S.
“The U.S. is THE largest historical all-time emitter, and for that reason occupies a special role. We can’t expect other countries to act meaningfully if we fail to,” said climatologist Michael Mann in an email to The Hill.
Jenkins added that not passing the bill is also expected to stifle technological innovation, hampering the global transition to clean energy.
David Victor, a professor at the University of California, San Diego took a slightly different view, arguing that a major climate deal has been unlikely since the get-go and that at least now the public can move ahead with some clarity.
“I think what you’re going to see is a lot more action in the states [and] a lot more action…sector-by-sector,” Victor said.
Most activists reacted in fury to the latest setback, castigating the West Virginia Democrat as potentially signing a death warrant for meaningful climate action against the backdrop of a generationally conservative court, the likely loss of a Democratic majority in Congress and the possible loss of the White House in 2025.
Raad said the inflation report was a convenient excuse that elided Manchin’s history of backing out of talks.
“Joe Manchin has pretended to be supportive of certain investments for over a year now, and it turns out that that was bulls–t,” he told The Hill. “That will now be his lasting legacy–a person that tried to put his own profits and sense of his political standing over the planet.”
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