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Congress must protect vulnerable chronic kidney patients

Even as COVID-19 cases have dropped from previous highs, new variants and subvariants of COVID-19 still have the potential to threaten high-risk individuals. In particular, we must remain focused on protecting Americans who remain most vulnerable to COVID-19, including those living with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

America’s kidney patient population, or roughly 15% of all U.S. adults, continue to be in greater jeopardy than the general population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) data show that a whopping 61% of Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized with COVID-19 have been diagnosed with CKD. Patients receiving maintenance dialysis are even more vulnerable. According to one study, the odds of COVID-19 infection for these patients was 17 times higher for those in congregate treatment settings. The same study found that “among maintenance dialysis patients with COVID-19, mortality is high, exceeding 20 percent.”

The reality is that kidney patients are susceptible to the deadly coronavirus due to 1) their compromised immune system and the existence of other comorbidities, such as heart disease, and 2) because many of the sickest patients are forced to congregate in outpatient care settings to receive treatment for their disease. While many immunocompromised kidney patients are afraid to leave their homes for non-essential reasons, sometimes, the requirements of treating a chronic disease leave them with few options.

This threat of viral transmission among kidney patients visiting hospitals, outpatient care settings, dialysis facilities, and infusion centers continues to be a fundamental concern—especially when there are safe, effective ways for some CKD patients to be treated at home.

This anxiety is especially real for dialysis patients, as well as those living with iron deficiency anemia (IDA). This common and costly condition that can cause severe health issues, including cardiovascular complications and increased mortality. Although IDA is typically treated with intravenous (IV) iron infusions, the nature of the current health crisis creates additional risk for patients who must visit infusion centers for treatment. Given the highly infectious nature of the omicron variant, kidney patients, including many of our constituents, are worried.

Congress must immediately take steps to ensure immunocompromised patients have access to effective treatments that can be taken safely at home. That’s why we are proud to have introduced the bipartisan Renal Anemia Innovation Support and Expansion (RAISE) Act (H.R.2934). This legislation represents a much-needed regulatory update to the Medicare program that will allow thousands of high-risk CKD patients to safely treat their IDA in the home setting by taking an alternative FDA-approved oral therapy — thus avoiding unnecessary contact with others while reducing strain on our already embattled health care system.

As COVID-19 enters an endemic phase, it is critical Congress pass commonsense legislation that gives vulnerable kidney patients the option to treat renal anemia at home. The RAISE Act is a solution that is supported by doctors, safe for patients, and good for America’s overburdened health care system. We urge our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join us in supporting this necessary piece of legislation.

Tom O’Halleran is the U.S. Representative for Arizona’s 1st District and Larry Bucshon, M.D. is the U.S. Representative for Indiana’s 8th District.

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Austin pushes Air Force grads to 'safeguard' US values in commencement remarks

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Wednesday pressed graduating students at the Air Force Academy to act honorably following the school’s 2020 cheating scandal and recent vaccine refusals.

“We’re here to defend America’s security and win America’s wars. But we’re also here to safeguard America’s values,” Austin said during the commencement address in Colorado Springs, Colo. 

“It means that you will never lie, cheat, or steal. It means that you treat everyone with dignity and respect and it means a lifelong passion for our core values of democracy, liberty and the rule of law.” 

His remarks come after the Air Force Academy last month revealed that 22 students were expelled or resigned and hundreds more were put on probation after a major cheating scandal took place while the school engaged in remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Austin’s comments also follow a school announcement earlier this week that three cadets would graduate but not be commissioned after they refused the COVID-19 vaccine — a requirement to serve in the military unless an individual obtains a medical or religious exemption. 

“Graduating from this academy is hard enough without a global pandemic,” Austin said. “And graduating after years of being clouded by COVID shows serious courage and character, and I know it’s been a time of challenge and loss for many of you. … What counts is how you respond to hard times.” 

The Pentagon chief’s keynote follows Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley’s speech on Saturday at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Austin’s speech also comes ahead of President Biden’s anticipated remarks at the Naval Academy, set for Friday.  

In his speech, Milley told graduating cadets they will bear the responsibility to make sure America is ready for a more unstable world. 

“The world you are being commissioned into has the potential for significant international conflict between great powers. And that potential is increasing, not decreasing,” Milley said. 

In his address on Wednesday, Austin referenced the same upheavals in the world. 

“Our times change, our world changes, but our ideals never waver. And in just four years you’ve seen more change than many see in a lifetime,” Austin said, noting Russia’s attack on Ukraine and the end of the Afghanistan War.  

“As President Biden has said, the United States leads not just by the example of our power but by the power of our example,” Austin said. “So lieutenants, I want you to think about the example that you will set — by your conduct, by your courage, and by your devotion to the Constitution.” 

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Equilibrium/Sustainability — Elephant waste polluting forests with plastic

Elephants’ eating habits are posing problems for forests in India, with the giant mammals unwittingly spreading plastic particles in the country’s greenest areas.

After ravaging village dumps at the edges of their forest habitats, the Asian elephants “quickly gobble up garbage,” including plastic packaging and utensils, The New York Times reported. 

But that “guilty pleasure for fast food” ends up returning home with them, according to the Times. 

“When they defecate, the plastic comes out of the dung and gets deposited in the forest,” Gitanjali Katlam, an ecological researcher in India, told the newspaper. 

Katlam and her colleagues have found plastic in all the dung near village dumps and in the forest adjacent to the northern Indian town of Kotdwar, according to the Times.

Plastic made up 85 percent of the waste found in elephant dung from Kotdwar — with the bulk of that waste coming from food containers, cutlery, plastic bags and food packaging, the outlet reported.

Not only is that plastic polluting the forests, but it also can also be consumed by other animals once it ends up in their habitats, according to the Times. 

“It has a cascading effect,” Katlam said. 

Welcome to Equilibrium, a newsletter that tracks the growing global battle over the future of sustainability. We’re Saul Elbein and Sharon Udasin. Send us tips and feedback. A friend forward this newsletter to you? Subscribe here.

Today we’ll take an exclusive look at a new federal plan to decarbonize government labs, and dive into a groundbreaking lawsuit against manufacturers of so-called “forever chemicals.”

DOE investing $38M in decarbonizing lab

The U.S. Department of Energy will be investing $38 million in decarbonizing four of the agency’s 17 national laboratories, the agency announced on Wednesday.  

That’s part of the Biden administration’s broader goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. 

Net Zero Labs: The pilot initiative, called the Net Zero Labs, aims to establish a foundation for addressing “hard-to-decarbonize industries” and is expected to provide a replicable model for other Energy Department facilities, a statement from the agency said.  

Additional funding will likely be available on a competitive basis to all 17 national laboratories next year, according to the Energy Department.  

Cutting carbon across sectors: “Transitioning to a net-zero future will require slashing carbon pollution across all industries — from shipping to manufacturing to construction, and even the operation of our national laboratories,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement ahead of her visit to one of the four pilot labs, in Golden, Colo.  

Each of the four labs reflects different geographies and climates and will be conducting site-specific research aimed at scaling up decarbonization solutions nationwide, according to the Energy Department.  

Complex energy users: The National Labs are among the federal government’s most complex energy users and have demand requirements that far exceed those of a standard facility, the agency statement stressed.  

Moving hydrogen: The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado — where Granholm was visiting on Wednesday — will specifically be working to lower the cost and increase the scale of technologies to store, move and use hydrogen across multiple energy sectors, the agency said.  

“With Colorado communities on the front lines of increasingly severe natural disasters, we understand the urgent need to reduce the harmful pollution that drives the climate crisis,” Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) said in a statement.  

Nuclear research: Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls will be conducting advanced nuclear research to integrate micro reactors and small modular reactions into microgrids.

Carbon removal: The National Energy Technology Laboratory — which has hubs in Pittsburgh; Morgantown, W.Va.; and Albany, Ore. — will be developing carbon removal technologies and incentivizing carbon-free electricity production in their respective regions, according to the Energy Department.  

Algorithms, software: Lastly, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, in Richland, Wash., is innovating new algorithms and software platforms to optimize control and operation of energy assets.  

To read the full story, please click here. 

Massachusetts launches ‘forever chemicals’ lawsuit 

Massachusetts is suing more than a dozen manufacturers over the production and marketing of firefighting foam containing toxic “forever chemicals,” state Attorney General Maura Healey (D) announced on Wednesday. 

Healey filed the complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina as part of an expansive nationwide procedure — called multidistrict litigation — that includes hundreds of cases against producers of the fire suppressant, known as aqueous film form foam (AFFF). 

The ‘forever’ firefighting foam: AFFF, first launched by the company 3M in partnership with the U.S. military, contains perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — commonly called “forever chemicals” — that are notorious for their ability to accumulate over time in the body and in the environment. 

Holding manufacturers responsible: “Today we’re holding accountable the 13 makers of PFAS who are producing, marketing and selling firefighting foam containing these dangerous chemicals,” Healey said at a Wednesday morning press conference.  

“We’re also holding accountable two companies who shielded assets that should be available to remedy the damages caused from this contamination,” she added. 

Target companies include: 3M, DuPont and Tyco Fire Products are among the companies named in the lawsuit. Others include AGC Chemical Americas, Archroma U.S., Arkema, Buckeye Fire Equipment, Chemguard, Clarinet Corporation, Dynax Corporation, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Kidde-Fenwal, National Foam, The Chemours Company and and Corteva. 

What’s in the complaint? The attorney general’s complaint alleges that manufacturers repeatedly violated state and federal laws protecting drinking water and deceived consumers by marketing, manufacturing and selling PFAS-containing firefighting foam despite the dangers posed by these substances. 

 Read more.

‘Business as usual’ after Texas GOP energy face-off

Conservative Republican Wayne Christian won Tuesday’s Texas Republican primary for a seat on the state’s top oil regulator, defeating dark horse oil and gas attorney Sarah Stogner, The Texas Tribune reported. 

“I look forward to continue fighting for cheap, plentiful, reliable energy, as we stand up to the Biden’s radical liberal agenda,” Christian tweeted Tuesday night. 

Victor Flatt, who studies energy regulation at the University of Houston, told Equilibrium that “Christian’s victory means business as usual for the railroad commission.”

Dark-horse: Stogner had challenged Christian — who once suggested his climate adaptation plan was to “turn the damn air conditioner up” — in an unconventional, social-media fueled campaign for greater regulation of the oil and methane industry.

Despite her loss, Stogner’s 35 percent of the vote suggests roughly 1 in 3 state Republican primary voters were persuaded by her message of greater state controls over groundwater contamination and leakage from fossil fuel wells. 

“The results show there is a sizable part of the Republican base who are unhappy with how the state is regulating the oil and gas industry and want to see tougher standards in place to protect our water from pollution and to fix the electric grid,” argued Luke Metzger of nonprofit Environment Texas.

Digging deeper: Despite its name, the Texas Railroad Commission is one of the world’s most powerful climate and environmental regulatory bodies. 

That’s due to the commission’s role overseeing the state’s fossil fuel output — in particular the enormous Permian Basin oil and gas fields, one of the nation’s leading sources of methane pollution, according to a study by the Environmental Defense Fund.

“Not many citizens still understand its functions. Depending on democratic turnout, I suppose Christian might lose in November, but my impression is that the railroad commission is still sailing under the radar for most voters,” Flatt said. 

Stogner agrees: “It’s a marathon not a sprint,” she tweeted, promising to campaign at the Texas GOP convention to “get the name changed.”

Worth noting: Ken Paxton, Texas’ attorney general who has opposed much of President Biden’s climate agenda, also won his primary over George P. Bush on Tuesday.

The incumbent was one of the state attorneys general to sue the Biden administration over its internal social cost of carbon metric, as The Hill reported in February. 

Flatt said he would expect Paxton to keep up his legal battle against the EPA and other Biden administration priorities if reelected in the fall, which is expected.

Abandoned croplands could curb climate change

Hundreds of millions of acres of croplands around the world are being abandoned — offering an opportunity for widespread ecological restoration that could help mitigate climate change.   

Some of these croplands regenerate into natural habitats — boosting biodiversity and absorbing carbon from the atmosphere, researchers explained in a new study in Science Advances.  

Intervention required: But such a shift is unlikely to occur on a meaningful scale without intervention from lawmakers, the authors found.  

That’s because much of this temporarily-restored land ends up being recultivated, according to the study.   

A potential missed opportunity: “Unless countries and policymakers develop better regulations and incentives to allow these lands to recover, this chance to restore ecosystems will not be fully realized,” lead author Christopher Crawford, a Ph.D. candidate at Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs, said in a statement.  

“It will remain a missed opportunity to fight climate change and biodiversity loss,” he added.  

Tracking abandonment: Crawford and his colleagues explored where in the world croplands were being regenerated — and how long they stayed that way — by using land-cover maps developed from satellite imagery that spanned from 1987 to 2017.  

As they tracked annual abandonment on 11 sites across four continents, the scientists said they were disappointed to find that a considerable amount of the land was ultimately recultivated.  

Former Soviet Union particularly problematic: Huge swaths of land there were abandoned following the geopolitical turmoil that ensued after the bloc’s collapse — experienced the highest levels of recultivation, according to the researchers.  

China left room for hope: In certain provinces of China, land was left abandoned for longer time periods — likely due to the central government’s “Grain for Green Program,” which incentivizes the regrowth of forests on abandoned croplands, the authors noted.  

“Without incentives for restoration, cropland abandonment rarely lasts long enough to yield benefits for biodiversity or carbon sequestration,” Crawford said.  

To read the full story, please click here.

World Wednesday

Record bribery fine for mining company, millionaires beg for taxation and a rare pro-environment gesture from Brazil’s right-wing president. 

DOJ fines mining company $1.1 billion for bribery  

• Massive mining company Glencore will owe the United States U.S. government a whopping $1.1 billion in fines for bribing the Brazilian government for preferential access and below-market prices for crude oil, the Financial Times reported. 

‘Tax us now,’ millionaires beg at Davos  

• Over 150 millionaires, including heiress Abigail Disney and actor Mark Ruffalo, called on the government and business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland to “tax us, the rich, and tax us now,” CNBC reported. 

Brazil to hike penalties for timber-laundering 

• Brazilians who illegally log the Amazon and sell the lumber into legal supply chains will face fines of up to $10,000 — 50-times the previous limit — under a law signed Tuesday by longtime critic of such environmental fines, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Reuters reported.

Finally, see how air pollution may raise the risk of death from stroke. 

That’s all for today. Please visit The Hill’s Sustainability section online for the web version of this newsletter and more stories. We’ll see you tomorrow.

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Obama marks anniversary of George Floyd murder under shadow of Texas shooting

Former President Obama recognized the second anniversary of George Floyd’s murder on Wednesday, reiterating calls for cities to review their police use-of-force policies.

Obama’s statement comes as the nation also reacts to Tuesday’s mass shooting at an Uvalde, Texas, elementary school that left 19 children and two teachers dead.

“As we grieve the children of Uvalde today, we should take time to recognize that two years have passed since the murder of George Floyd under the knee of a police officer. His killing stays with us all to this day, especially those who loved him,” Obama tweeted.

Floyd’s murder by now-former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in 2020 set off a nationwide movement for social equality and policing reform.

“In the aftermath of his murder, a new generation of activists rose up to channel their anguish into organized action, launching a movement to raise awareness of systemic racism and the need for criminal justice and police reform,” Obama added.

“Inspired by these young leaders, @MBK_Alliance launched a Reimagining Policing Pledge for mayors and cities ready to take action,” Obama said.

The My Brother’s Keeper Alliance was started by Obama in 2014 following the death of Trayvon Martin — a Black teen who had just left a convenience store and was shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer in 2012. Martin’s death helped spark the Black Lives Matter movement.

The alliance’s Reimagining Police Pledge calls on mayors and local officials to review their police use-of-force policies and seek feedback from their communities.

President Biden on Wednesday signed a long-awaited executive order establishing a nationwide database of officers fired for misconduct in lieu of bipartisan policing legislation the president had hoped to sign by this time last year. Civil rights leaders have long urged Biden to sign an executive order while cautioning the burden is on Congress to enact permanent changes.

“It’s a measure of what we can do together to heal the very soul of this nation,” Biden said at a signing ceremony.

The order also requires federal law enforcement agencies to update their use-of-force policies. The Justice Department this week also issued a memo requiring officers to intervene if another is using excessive force.

“The message is clear. Enough. Just enough,” Biden said.

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House sergeant-at-arms says lawmakers should not carry firearms in Capitol Complex

House Sergeant-at-Arms William Walker revealed on Wednesday that he does not believe lawmakers should be permitted to carry firearms on the Capitol Complex — a departure from current policy, which allows members of Congress to bring D.C.-licensed firearms into Capitol buildings.

The revelation came in a letter Walker sent to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) that responded to a message the Maryland Democrat sent to the top security official calling for a ban on the use of firearms in the Capitol.

Walker said firearms should only be carried in the Capitol by U.S. Capitol Police, U.S. Secret Service and security officials protecting foreign individuals.

“It is my view that the Capitol Complex should be a place where no one carries a firearm unless they are actively engaged in law enforcement or the protection work done by, among others, myself, the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP), the U.S. Secret Service, and the protective details of visiting foreign officials,” Walker wrote in the letter.

The note comes one day after an 18-year-old gunman opened fire at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 children and two adults. The massacre has reignited the gun control debate on Capitol Hill, with lawmakers conducting behind-the-scenes discussions regarding firearm regulations in the U.S.

Walker, in his letter to Hoyer, recognized that his determination will not be popular among some individuals, but emphasized that “the law is clear.”

“Regrettably, my position on this matter is not shared by all stakeholders. However, in my opinion, the law is clear, and the regulation is unambiguous,” he wrote.

“In closing, I would like to iterate my support for efforts to make the Capitol Grounds safer for all by further limiting the number of people who carry firearms here. I stand ready to work with you as you consider how to make the Capitol Complex a safer space for all,” he later added.

According to a 1967 law, civilians are prohibited from bringing guns on Capitol grounds, but lawmakers are permitted to keep firearms in their offices and transport them on Capitol grounds as long as they are unloaded and securely wrapped.

The decision regarding banning lawmakers from carrying firearms in the Capitol altogether, however, is up to the Capitol Police Board, which is comprised of the House sergeant-of-arms, the Senate sergeant-at-arms and the Architect of the Capitol, according to CNN, which first reported on Walker’s letter.

Hoyer in a statement said he was “glad” to receive Walker’s letter, the contents of which “made it unambiguously clear that dangerous, loaded firearms should have no place in the Capitol complex other than in the hands of trained and authorized law enforcement personnel.”

“I was glad to receive his letter and read his determined statement that the Capitol complex and grounds ought to be seen as a gun-free zone and clarifying that Members may not carry personal firearms outside their offices unless unloaded and fully secured for transport,” he wrote.

“I hope that Sergeant Walker’s letter provides Members with certainty about firearm policies so that no one is under the impression that loaded firearms can be carried around the complex or brought into committee rooms or other spaces,” he added.

A number of lawmakers have publicly discussed carrying firearms on Capitol Hill.

Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) have both acknowledged being armed during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Cawthorn told Smoky Mountain News the day after the riot, “Fortunately, I was armed, so we would have been able to protect ourselves.”

It is not clear, however, if he had the firearm on him while on the House floor, which is not permitted.

Kinzinger revealed in an interview with Rolling Stone last year that he was “hunkered down” in his office for six hours during the attack “with my gun out, prepared to defend against my own party” when the rioters were moving through the building.

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) was stopped when trying to walk on the House floor last January because she set off the metal detectors at the entrance to the chamber, according to CNN. After the incident, the freshman congresswoman wrote on Twitter that she is “legally permitted to carry my firearm in Washington, D.C. and within the Capitol complex.”

Walker responded to Hoyer after the Democratic leader sent three letters regarding firearms in the Capitol, dated Dec. 14, 2021, Jan. 19 and April 28. The most recent message asked for his view on how Capitol security can be enhanced, and if the complex should be “made a fully gun-free zone.”

Walker on Wednesday told Hoyer that he is looking at additional ways to safeguard the Capitol.

“Regarding security enhancements to the Capitol Complex we are working on a host of initiatives. Among them, the Sergeant at Arms Emergency Management Division has partnered with the USCP on a variety of emergency drills including responding to an Active Shooter. Informational materials are being developed and will be distributed to appropriate House staff,” he wrote.

The sergeant-at-arms also said “There is room to expand our use of technology,” writing that the divisions within his office “are evaluating novel technologies which are respectful of the privacy concerns of Members and staff and are more appropriately suited for use on the Capitol complex.”

“Newer magnetometers and other scanning and security equipment now available, can further enhance our safety posture,” he added.

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North Carolina education bill would bar LGBTQ+ curriculum through third grade

North Carolina lawmakers have revived a bill initially intended to foster “academic transparency” by requiring public K-12 schools to make information about instructional materials available to the public. An updated version of the legislation introduced Tuesday in the state Senate would establish a “Parents’ Bill of Rights” and prevent primary school teachers from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity with their students.

Originally introduced in the North Carolina House of Representatives in April of last year, House Bill 755 was designed to “inform the public about instructional materials” that are used in the state’s public school classrooms, according to an initial draft of the measure. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Hugh Blackwell (R), had stalled in a Senate committee last May.

Under the new measure, the contents of the original legislation would be replaced entirely with a set of new provisions to create a Parents’ Bill of Rights that requires public schools to disclose to parents any information related to the education, health and privacy of their child, including a choice to use a different name or pronoun, according to text of the bill released Tuesday evening.

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The legislation would also require schools to provide “age-appropriate instruction on certain topics” and lessons about sexual orientation and gender identity would “not be permitted in the curriculum” for kindergarten through third grade students, similar to what has become known as Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, which bans primary school teachers from engaging in classroom instruction related to either topic.

At a news conference on Tuesday, North Carolina Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger (R) said the legislation differed from the Florida law and was not intended to ban discussions about sexual orientation or gender identity that come up naturally in school.

“There’s no attempt to squelch folks from talking about things,” Berger said, local news station WRAL-TV reported. “There is a specific prohibition on it being part of a curriculum in kindergarten through third grade.”

Berger added that parents had been more present and more vocal at school board meetings since the beginning of the pandemic, when classrooms shifted to remote learning and parents were able to get a better understanding of what their children are being taught.

“This is an issue that parents all across the state have been concerned about,” he said. “They are worried about things that they have seen.”

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Biden signs executive order on police reform

President Biden on Wednesday signed an executive order intended to increase accountability in policing and improve public trust, citing it as a sign of slow but steady progress two years to the day that George Floyd was murdered in Minnesota.

At an event attended by the Floyd family and the family of Breonna Taylor, who was killed by police in Kentucky, Biden spoke of the order as a tangible result in response to nationwide protests in the summer of 2020 against police brutality and racial injustice.

“It’s a measure of what we can do together to heal the very soul of this nation,” Biden said. “To address profound fear and trauma, exhaustion that particularly Black Americans have experienced for generations, and to channel that private pain and public outrage into a rare mark of progress for years to come.”

The executive order signed Wednesday establishes a national database of officers who have been fired for misconduct and requires federal agencies to update their policies on use of force. 

The database of disciplinary records will apply to federal officers and state and local jurisdictions that partner with the federal government on joint task forces. It will cover more than 100,000 officers in total, senior administration officials said. 

The order will ban federal officers from using chokeholds unless deadly force is authorized, and it will restrict the transfer and purchase of military equipment by local police departments. 

The measure will also limit the circumstances under which federal law enforcement can use no-knock warrants, and it will stipulate that certain federal grants for state and local police departments will be contingent on having proper accreditations in place. 

The executive order has been in the works for months as the White House consulted with policing groups, civil rights organizations and lawyers like Ben Crump, who represented the Floyd family after George Floyd was killed by police officer Derek Chauvin. Chauvin was convicted last year of murder.

Biden said Wednesday he hadn’t signed the executive order earlier in his presidency because he did not want to undercut negotiations in Congress to pass police reform legislation.

The House last year passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which would overhaul qualified immunity and outlaw no-knock warrants and chokeholds at the federal level, but negotiations in the closely divided Senate broke down and have shown little signs of restarting.

Still, Biden said he and Vice President Harris would continue to push for permanent legislation that would also apply reforms to the state level.

“On this day we’re showing the America we know,” Biden said. “We’re a great nation because the vast majority of us are good people.”

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The student loan cycle isn’t what most Americans want

As tuition costs have soared, public opinion on paying for college has changed.

The familiar list of college expenses have led, semester by semester, to America’s current $1.7 trillion-dollar student loan debt. Tuition and other costs will soon enough create a similar burden for today’s students.

Not everyone wants to keep this cycle spinning.

In their book “Who Should Pay,” sociologist Brian Powell of Indiana University and co-author Natasha Quadline, on the sociology faculty at UCLA, investigated where public opinion now stands about how colleges and universities are funded.

They found most people favor a change.

See more in the video above.

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Campaign Report — Trump’s rough night

Welcome to The Hill’s Campaign Report, tracking all things related to the 2022 midterm elections. You can expect this newsletter in your inbox each week leading up to November’s election. 

Email us tips and feedback: Max Greenwood (mgreenwood@thehill.com), Julia Manchester (jmanchester@thehill.com), Tal Axelrod (taxelrod@thehill.com), Caroline Vakil (cvakil@thehill.com) and Monique Beals (mbeals@thehill.com).  

Trump candidates — and 2020 claims — lose big

Former President Trump had his roughest night of the midterm cycle so far Tuesday, when his chosen candidates in marquee primary races in Georgia — a state he fixated on after his 2020 loss there — fell far short against their opponents. 

In multiple contests, incumbents who had resisted Trump’s efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election held double-digit leads over candidates who built campaigns around the former president’s false claims. 

The biggest loss for Trump was in the state’s gubernatorial GOP primary, in which Gov. Brian Kemp bested former Sen. David Perdue, in whom Trump had invested significantly, by more than 50 points. 

Perdue centered much of his campaign around Trump’s unfounded claims that voter fraud cost him victory in Georgia in 2020 and that Kemp could have reversed the election results. Kemp, meanwhile, did not directly take on the former president and instead focused on pushing a slate of conservative policies while in office, including stringent abortion restrictions, loosening gun laws and more, all while pointing out Perdue’s loss in a 2021 Senate runoff. 

Beyond his endorsement, Trump funneled more than $3 million to pro-Perdue groups through his leadership PAC, appeared at a rally for Perdue and held a fundraiser for him at Mar-a-Lago, recorded robocalls and more.  

However, it ultimately became clear that it wasn’t enough, with polls late in the race showing Kemp surpassing the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff. Perdue acknowledged late in the race that he might not win, but said “I guaran-damn-tee you we’re not down 30 points.” 

Perdue ultimately lost by over 50 points, and Kemp easily cleared the runoff bar by getting almost 74 percent of the vote. 

Lower on the ballot, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) fended off a spirited primary challenge by Rep. Jody Hice (R), who also had Trump’s support. 
 

Raffensperger famously rebuffed Trump’s request for him to “find” the votes needed to reverse President Biden’s victory in Georgia in 2020 and became a target of the former president’s ire. While he won by a narrower margin, he still beat Hice by nearly 20 points and garnered over 52 percent of the vote, avoiding a runoff. 

Trump critics basked in the losses, with former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) praising Kemp and Georgia voters. 

“I am so proud of and happy for my friend—and just as importantly for the Georgia GOP and the people of Georgia. They were not going to kick out a great Governor or be willing participants in the DJT Vendetta Tour,” Christie tweeted, using the former president’s initials.

To be sure, Trump did have some wins Tuesday night, including in Georgia. 

Herschel Walker, the former football star and Trump’s chosen pick in the Senate GOP primary, skated to the Republican nomination. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump’s former White House press secretary, won the Arkansas gubernatorial GOP primary with ease. 
 

Trump undoubtedly remains the GOP’s de facto leader, and polls continually show that should he run for president again in 2024, he’d likely outrun his competition by hefty margins. But Tuesday night’s results in Georgia showed that voters take more into account when entering the voting booth than who Trump prefers in any given race, particularly if his chosen candidates are running against incumbents with sterling conservative credentials.  

The waiting game in Pennsylvania heads to court 

Pennsylvania’s Senate GOP primary is descending into chaos – and litigation – over a week after the race. 

Celebrity surgeon Mehmet Oz and former hedge fund manager Dave McCormick are running neck-and-neck, separated by fewer than 1,000 votes, in a race heading to a recount.  

And neither side is backing down.  

McCormick’s campaign is suing to have election officials count ballots that were mailed in without a written date on the envelope but were received on or before Election Day. Oz, with the help of the state GOP and Republican National Committee, is arguing for the ballots to be rejected. 

The litigation floodgates were opened on Friday when a circuit court ruled that mail-in ballots without a date but received by Election Day had to be counted in a 2021 judgeship election, a decision McCormick cited in his complaint. 

McCormick is currently outperforming Oz in mail-in ballots, and the result of the lawsuit could significantly sway the Senate primary given how narrow the margin is between the two candidates. 

But on top of that, the court battle is opening up a broader divide within the GOP over mail-in voting and “election integrity.”  

The state Republican Party said in a statement earlier this week that “we absolutely object to the counting of undated mail-in ballots” and called upon “everyone to respect, uphold and follow the clear law on this issue.” 

On the other hand, the conservative National Review ran an op-ed saying “the ballots should be counted,” noting that “each vote is time-stamped when the state election officials receive it by mail.” 

The ultimate nominee will face Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D), who is currently recovering from a stroke, in the November general election. 

On Wednesday, Pennsylvania acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman officially announced a recount in the race. 

O’ROURKE CONFRONTS ABBOTT ABOUT GUNS

Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke confronted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) at a press conference in Uvalde on Wednesday following an elementary school shooting that left 21 people, including 19 children, dead.

Abbott had been providing information on mental health in the wake of the shooting when O’Rourke rushed up to the podium.

“You are doing nothing,” O’Rourke said, only feet away from Abbott. “You said this was not predictable, this was totally predictable, and you choose not to do anything.”

Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin could be heard yelling, “sir, you are out of line. Please leave this auditorium.”

O’Rourke, who built much of his brand around gun control, was escorted from the auditorium.

DEMOCRATS SPOTLIGHT CUELLAR’S NRA RATING AMID TIGHT RUNOFF 

In the wake of a Texas elementary school shooting that left 19 children and two adults dead, some Democrats spotlighting Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas)’s previous “A” rating from the National Rifle Association (NRA) and speaking against Democratic leaders who supported him. 

Cuellar is in the midst of a runoff with progressive attorney Jessica Cisneros, a race that has not been called and in which the two are separated by fewer than 200 votes. 
 

“On the day of a mass shooting and weeks after news of Roe, Democratic Party leadership rallied for a pro-NRA, anti-choice incumbent under investigation in a close primary. Robocalls, fundraisers, all of it,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) tweeted late Tuesday. “Accountability isn’t partisan. This was an utter failure of leadership.” 

“Progressive Jessica Cisneros in an extremely close Congressional race in Texas tonight against Henry Cuellar,” former 2020 presidential hopeful Marianne Williamson tweeted. “Pelosi, Clyburn and Hoyer all vigorously supported Cuellar, who’s the only House Democrat with an A rating from the NRA.” 

 
Though the election has not yet been called, Cuellar issued a statement early Wednesday claiming victory over challenger Jessica Cisneros.  

AD WATCH

Hours after Georgia GOP Senate hopeful Herschel Walker and Georgia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams won their respective primaries on Tuesday, groups like Republican Governors Association (RGA) and Georgia’s Democratic Party released their own messaging against the candidates. 

The Democratic Party of Georgia released a montage of broadcast clips and headlines slamming Walker’s criticism of big businesses using PPP loans when his own business interests had also used them, claims about his academic credentials and past comments questioning evolution, among others.  

Meanwhile, the RGA is airing a 30-second spot in Atlanta asserting that “typical Stacey Abrams – she believes only she knows what’s best” and bashing her for a photo she took at an elementary school in which she appeared maskless among masked children.  

The six-figure ad buy is the group’s first one they’ve launched for the general election in the state. More on the RGA’s latest ad here.  

That’s it for today. Thanks for reading and check out The Hill’s Campaign page for the latest news and coverage. See you next week. 

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