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US

Schumer says House will deliver Trump impeachment article to Senate on Monday

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Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) displays a signed an article of impeachment against President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol on January 13, 2021 in Washington, DC.

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The House will deliver the impeachment article against former President Donald Trump to the Senate on Monday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Friday.

The action will start the process for the second trial the ex-president has faced for charges of high crimes and misdemeanors. While Trump has already left the White House, the Senate can vote to bar him from holding office again if it chooses to convict him.

The House earlier this month charged Trump with inciting an insurrection against the government by inflaming a mob that overran the Capitol on Jan. 6. The riot, which disrupted Congress’ count of President Joe Biden’s electoral win, left five dead, including a Capitol police officer.

The Senate will need 67 votes to convict Trump. If all 50 Democrats support conviction, they will need 17 Republicans to join them.

Speaking after Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., expressed concerns that Trump would not have enough time to mount a defense. He had asked the House to send the article on Thursday to ensure “a full and fair process.”

Trump has hired South Carolina attorney Butch Bowers to defend him during the trial. The nine impeachment managers who will make the House’s case are Democratic Reps. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, Diana DeGette of Colorado, David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Joaquin Castro of Texas, Eric Swalwell and Ted Lieu of California, Stacey Plaskett, the delegate for the U.S. Virgin Islands, Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania and Joe Neguse of Colorado.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who would not say Thursday when her chamber would transmit the article to the Senate, argued the managers would not need to prepare as much evidence for the second trial as they did for the first last year.

“This year, the whole world bore witness to the president’s incitement, to the execution of his call to action, and the violence that was used,” the California Democrat told reporters Thursday.

Schumer said he has spoken to McConnell about “the timing and duration of the trial,” but did not give any details about how long it will last. The Democratic leader aims to balance impeachment with confirmation of Biden’s Cabinet members and passage of a coronavirus relief bill.

“The Senate must and will do all three,” he said Friday.

The first trial Trump faced last year for charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress lasted about three weeks. The Republican-held Senate acquitted him.

Schumer downplayed GOP concerns that Democrats would rush through the trial after a rushed process in the House, which impeached Trump only a week after the insurrection.

“It will be a full trial. It will be a fair trial,” he said.

McConnell has not indicated whether he will vote to convict Trump. On Tuesday, he said the rioters “were provoked by the president and other powerful people.”

Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania both called on Trump to resign while he still held office. Neither has said how they plan to vote on conviction.

Murkowski said in a statement earlier this month that the House responded to the Capitol attack “swiftly, and I believe, appropriately, with impeachment.”

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World

Covid vaccine: Experts say Biden’s strategy could benefit from good timing

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“They’re going to take advantage of the learning curve,” said Vijay Samant, a former Merck executive who oversaw the production of three successful vaccines during his tenure. Samant said vaccine manufacturers have had months to work out supply bottlenecks and that manufacturing was always projected to speed up in the coming months — a boon for the Biden administration.

“They may get a lot of credit because all of a sudden vaccine doses are going to become available and it’s, ‘Oh, well, we did it,’ ” Samant said. “Let me tell you, that’s how it works. They’re on the right end of the curve.”

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, sounded similarly optimistic Thursday, predicting that vaccine supply will rapidly increase in February and March. The governor was fresh off a call with Pfizer, during which the company “reiterated their plan to significantly ramp up production in February,” said the governor’s spokesman Max Reiss. Much of that ramp-up is taking place even before the Biden administration makes any moves under the Defense Production Act.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, appeared to agree with the assessment Thursday.

In an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Biden’s chief medical adviser expressed confidence in the President’s once seemingly far-reaching goal to vaccinate 100 million people in his first 100 days.

“I feel fairly confident that that’s going to be not only that but maybe even better,” Fauci said, adding that he had looked at the contractual agreements that had been made. “The amount that will be coming in, we will be able to meet that goal.”

Still, questions remain about where US vaccine supply currently stands. The new administration has touted robust federal plans to launch huge vaccination sites and deploy mobile units to hard-hit communities, at the same time some states are canceling appointments at existing vaccination sites, citing a lack of vaccine supply.

Biden’s team has said it’s flying somewhat blind when it comes to the supply of vaccine and how it has been allocated across the country. A source close to the transition told CNN that the Biden team had been denied access to critical resources it needed to accurately gauge the supply and prepare to take over the rollout before Biden took office.

“The cooperation or lack of cooperation funds from the Trump administration has been an impediment,” White House Covid-19 coordinator Jeff Zients told reporters. “So we don’t have the visibility that we would hope to have into supply and allocations.”

To be sure, there’s still not nearly enough vaccine available — in the US or worldwide — and the US has stumbled at getting shots into arms quickly. But the Biden administration also appears to be trying to manage expectations, playing up the shambles the Trump administration left behind while figuring out what concrete steps it can take to improve vaccine manufacturing and distribution.

The Biden administration has not clearly articulated what it’s doing to immediately improve vaccine supply, except to task agencies with looking for opportunities to use the Defense Production Act.

Biden “absolutely remains committed to invoking the Defense Production Act in order to get the supply and the materials needed to get the vaccine out to Americans across the country and remains committed to his goal of getting 100 million shots in the arms of Americans in the first 100 days,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday.

The White House did not address how they would be communicating or working with states, but in a statement to CNN spokesman Kevin Munoz reiterated that they would be “listening to the unique needs of states and tailoring the federal government’s resources and guidance accordingly to ensure we are getting vaccines in the arms of Americans as quickly and safely as possible.”

White House officials said they have asked the Department of Health and Human Services to look for all potential sources of a type of syringe that can help extract more doses of the Pfizer vaccine from each vial. On Thursday, Biden said he would sign an executive order to use the Defense Production Act to direct federal agencies and private industries to “accelerate the making of everything that’s needed to protect, test, and vaccinate and the care of our people.”

A former administration official told CNN that the Trump administration had already implemented the Defense Production Act to assist each of the six vaccine manufacturers, as well as on needle and syringe contracts.

“We’ll be working paying close and careful attention to all of the components of the supply chain to ensure manufacturing keeps up with what we need,” Tim Manning, the White House Covid supply coordinator, told reporters. “The Defense Production Act is a powerful tool — powerful set of tools — and there are many ways we can use it to help ensure that there are adequate and growing supplies of vaccine.”

Samant, the vaccine expert, said the administration would be better off focusing on the availability of raw materials like lipids rather than specialized syringes.

“It’s like the most ridiculous thing to chase after,” Samant said of ramping up syringe production, adding that such a move might, at best, improve vaccine supply by 5%.

For the Biden team, it’s critical to understand how much supply is on hand and how much could realistically be available in the coming months. States have said they need clear and consistent guidance on vaccine supply so they can continue to streamline their vaccination programs.

“We will work to provide projections on supply. We hear over and over from governors and local leaders that they just don’t know what supply is coming and can’t plan. We will absolutely across the next few days to get our arms around what’s going on, make sure that we are communicating with states and localities, so they can prepare, effectively,” Zients added.

According to one health official involved in the vaccine distribution process, hospitals receiving the Moderna vaccine complained of being completely in the dark on when they were receiving it and how much they were getting and, in some cases, were sent scrambling when they received surprise shipments. Moderna declined to comment.

All these problems are now landing squarely in the lap of the new administration.

Some state officials said they’re already concerned about what the administration’s plan will be to allocate vaccines and communicate with states.

Under the previous administration, then-Vice President Mike Pence and members of the Covid task force held regular calls with the nation’s governors during most of the pandemic. While some governors found the calls largely useless, they could at least rely on the briefings as an opportunity to hear from high-ranking medical experts and ask questions of the administration.

A day after Biden took office, state officials told CNN there is still a lot of confusion as to how states will be working and communicating with the Biden administration as the pandemic continues to surge and vaccine distribution is woefully behind.

According to one Republican state official, the National Governors Association has reached out to some of its governors about working with the Biden administration on Covid. However, not all governors are members of the organization and it remains unclear how the administration plans to work with those outside the association.

A Democratic state official said they, too, had not had any regular communication with the new administration.

Dr. Bechara Choucair, the White House vaccinations coordinator, has been in touch with some governors but had not laid out how the administration would tackle vaccine allocations.

Biden said Thursday that each state would be assigned a liaison with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

But in a news briefing Thursday, Psaki couldn’t offer any more specifics on how the Biden administration will improve communications with states.

The new Covid team, she said, “will be engaging with governors, Democrats and Republicans, mayors, local elected officials, to gain a better understanding of what’s happening on the ground.”

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Business

Eurozone Flash PMIs January 2020: Business activity shrinks again

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A man over 75 years receives a coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine shot in Strasbourg, France.

Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

LONDON — Business activity in the euro zone fell to a two-month low in January, preliminary data showed on Friday, on the back of stricter coronavirus-related lockdowns.

The region is grappling with growing Covid-19 infection rates and tighter restrictions as new strains of the virus spread, causing further economic pain.

Markit’s flash composite PMI for the euro zone, which looks at activity across both manufacturing and services, dropped to 47.5 January, versus 49.1 in December. A reading below 50 represents a contraction in activity.

Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit, said a double-dip recession for the euro zone was looking “increasingly inevitable.”

“Tighter Covid-19 restrictions took a further toll on businesses in January,” he said in a statement.

“Output fell at an increased rate, led by worsening conditions in the service sector and a weakening of manufacturing growth to the lowest seen so far in the sector’s seven-month recovery.”

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde acknowledged on Thursday that the pandemic still posed “serious risks” to the euro zone economy.

In addition to the new Covid variants, there are also concerns over a slow vaccination roll-out across the European Union.

“In this environment ample monetary stimulus remains essential,” Lagarde said. The ECB decided at a meeting on Thursday to keep interest rates and its wider stimulus programs unchanged for now, having boosted its support in December.

The ECB expects the euro zone’s GDP (gross domestic product) to expand by 3.9% in 2021, and 2.1% in 2022. This is after a contraction of 7.3% last year. However, these forecasts are dependent on the evolution of the pandemic.

France hires more

Earlier, France’s business activity data also came in at a two-month low, reflecting the imposition of stricter curfews across the country. The country’s composite PMI for January was 47, making a contraction.

However, French businesses hired more employees in January — the first increase in job figures in almost a year.

“The fact that firms have returned to recruitment activity points to some confidence in an economic recovery in the second half of this year,” Eliot Kerr, economist at IHS Markit said, in a statement.

In Germany, business activity managed to grow slightly in January, with the flash composite output index coming in at 50.8. However, the reading represented a seven-month low for Europe’s economic engine.

Phil Smith, associate director at IHS Markit, highlighted a slower momentum in manufacturing activity in the country, and a continued hit to the services sector during January.

“All in all, the German economy has made a slow start to the year, and the extension of the current containment measures until at least mid-February means this looks like being the picture for several more weeks to come,” he said.

The German government decided some days ago to extend the national lockdown until Feb. 14.

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US

Capitol Police investigating after congressman discovered carrying a gun when attempting to go on the House floor

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Rep. Andy Harris, of Maryland, set off a metal detector outside the House floor on Thursday and an officer soon discovered it was because he was carrying a concealed gun on his side, a Capitol official told CNN. The officer sent Harris away, prompting him to ask fellow Republican Rep. John Katko, of New York, to hold his weapon.

According to a press pool report, Katko refused to hold the gun for Harris, saying that he did not have a license. Harris then left the area and returned moments later, walking onto the House floor without setting off the magnetometer.

The Capitol official confirmed to CNN that Harris did not enter the House floor with a weapon. Harris’ office did not immediately return a request for comment.

The Capitol Police officer who saw the gun informed his superiors and the department is investigating the matter, a Capitol Police source familiar with the matter told CNN.

Firearms are banned from Congress except for members, who are granted certain exemptions under a 1967 regulation from the Capitol Police Board, a source confirmed to CNN. Members of Congress are able to carry firearms in the halls of Congress and on Capitol grounds as long as they have Washington licenses and they carry ammunition separately, the source added. Under no circumstances are lawmakers allowed to bring firearms onto the House floor.

Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, of New York, told CNN’s Chris Cuomo on Thursday night that “I think a very considerable amount, a lot of members” of the House “still don’t yet feel safe around other members of Congress,” slamming Harris for the incident.

“The moment you bring a gun onto the House floor in violation of rules, you put everyone around you in danger. It is irresponsible, it is reckless, but beyond that it is the violation of rules,” she said.

“You are openly disobeying the rules that we have established as a community, which means that you cannot be trusted to be held accountable to what we’ve decided as a community. And so I don’t really care what they say their intentions are, I care what the impact of their actions are, and the impact is to put all 435 members of Congress in danger.”

Ocasio-Cortez asserted that Harris “tried to hand off his gun to another member who didn’t have a license, and any responsible gun owner knows that you don’t just hand off your gun to another individual, you have to clear it, et cetera.”

“That just goes to show, it doesn’t matter what your intention is if you are irresponsible, if you are trying to break rules, if you’re trying to sneak a firearm onto the floor of the House,” she added. “I don’t care if you accidentally set it off, I don’t care if you intentionally set it off, I don’t care if you don’t set it off at all, you are endangering the lives of members of Congress. And it is absolutely outrageous that we even have to have this conversation.”

The metal detectors were installed last week in the wake of the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, which left five dead, including a Capitol Police officer. While lawmakers from both parties have been annoyed by the long lines the detectors have created during votes, Republicans in particular have complained vociferously and, in some cases, ignored them.

The metal detectors were installed after multiple House Democrats told CNN they were worried about some of their Republican colleagues and after multiple conversations about the need for every member of Congress and their guests to start going through metal detectors, CNN previously reported.

Since the detectors were installed, there have been very few votes on the House floor, so members are still getting used to the new measures.

Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, who filmed a campaign advertisement vowing to carry her handgun around Capitol Hill prior to arriving in Washington, was also involved in a standoff with Capitol Police at the newly installed metal detectors when trying to get on the floor January 12.

On that same night, GOP Reps. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma and Steve Womack of Arkansas yelled at Capitol Police when they were forced to go through the detectors. Womack shouted, “I was physically restrained,” and Mullin said, “It’s my constitutional right” to walk through and “they cannot stop me.”

Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Biggs, an Arizona Republican, told reporters on January 12, as he passed through the metal detectors to get to the House floor, “This is crap right here. You can put that down. This is the stupidest thing.”

Even some Democrats have been unhappy with the extra security because it has led to longer lines and members being forced to be within 6 feet of one another.

“I’m more likely to die of Covid because I got it from a colleague than I am to die because a colleague shoots me,” Rep. Filemon Vela, a Texas Democrat, told CNN last week.

After the initial criticism from lawmakers, and reports that some refused to stop for Capitol Police after setting off the magnetometers, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi proposed a new rule on January 13, imposing stiff fines on members who refused to follow the new security measures: $5,000 for the first offense and $10,000 for the second offense. The new rule has not been passed yet and will be considered when floor votes resume in the House in February.

CNN’s Caroline Kelly contributed to this report.

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US

Washington Post: DOJ watchdog investigating Atlanta US attorney’s resignation

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The paper, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that the probe by Inspector General Michael Horowitz appears nascent, noting that investigators had not spoken to Pak and the bounds of the investigation remain unclear.

A spokesperson for the inspector general’s office declined to comment when reached by CNN. Pak declined to comment to the Post.

Pak, a Trump appointee who had served in the office since 2017, left his job abruptly on January 4 as the US attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, which includes Atlanta and Fulton County, citing “unforeseen circumstances” in a memo to staff. Pak’s departure followed fallout over a phone call the previous weekend in which Trump had pressured Republican Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” votes to overturn the election in the state, which he lost to President Joe Biden.
In audio of the phone call obtained by CNN and first reported by the Post, Trump is also heard making baseless claims about the state’s election and at one point, when questioning the audit of ballots, he tells Raffensperger, “You have your never-Trumper US attorney there,” without mentioning a name. The comment appears to reference Pak.

Trump, in turn, ordered a US attorney from southern Georgia to take over the Atlanta office, in an unusual move. The Justice Department said the Southern District of Georgia’s US attorney, Bobby Christine, who is also a Trump appointee and has been in the job since 2017, would take over as acting head in Atlanta, handling both roles. The Atlanta office’s top assistant US attorney, Kurt Erskine, normally would have taken on the acting US attorney role but was passed over.

Two people familiar with the matter told the Post in Thursday’s story that a call from a senior Justice Department official in Washington had indicated to Pak that he should resign. Trump was angry at what he viewed as the department’s insufficient pursuit of his baseless allegations about Georgia’s election and the nation overall, people familiar with the matter told the paper at the time.

As CNN has previously reported, there have been no credible allegations of any issues with voting that would have impacted the election, as affirmed by dozens of judges, governors, election officials, the Electoral College, the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the US Supreme Court.

The law firm Alston & Bird announced Thursday that Pak was returning to the firm in February as a partner in its Litigation & Trial Practice Group in Atlanta. Pak was formerly a litigation associate at Alston & Bird and began his private practice career there in 2000, according to a news release from the firm.
In the statement from the Justice Department announcing his resignation early this month, Pak said he was grateful to Trump for the opportunity to serve and thanked former Attorneys General William Barr and Jeff Sessions.

“It has been the greatest honor of my professional career to have been able to serve my fellow citizens as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia,” he said. “I have done my best to be thoughtful and consistent, and to provide justice for my fellow citizens in a fair, effective and efficient manner.”

CNN’s Katelyn Polantz, Evan Perez, Chandelis Duster and Kelly Mena contributed to this report.

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World

World leaders cheer US return to climate fight under Biden

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BERLIN (AP) — World leaders breathed an audible sigh of relief that the United States under President Joe Biden is rejoining the global effort to curb climate change, a cause that his predecessor had shunned over the past four years.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron were among those welcoming Biden’s decision to rejoin the the Paris climate accord, reversing a key Trump policy in the first hours of his presidency Wednesday.

“Rejoining the Paris Agreement is hugely positive news,” tweeted Johnson, whose country is hosting this year’s U.N. climate summit.

Macron said that with Biden, “we will be stronger to face the challenges of our time. Stronger to build our future. Stronger to protect our planet.”

The Paris accord, forged in the French capital in 2015, commits countries to put forward plans for reducing their emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, which is released from burning fossil fuels.

As president, Donald Trump questioned the scientific warnings about man-made global warming, at times accusing other countries of using the Paris accord as a club to hurt Washington. The U.S. formally left the pact in November.

“The United States departure from it has definitely diminished our capacities to change things, concretely to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions,” said Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.

“Now we are dealing with an administration that is conscious of what is at stake and that is very committed to use the voice of the United States, a voice that is very powerful on the international level,” she said.

Biden put the fight against climate change at the center of his presidential campaign and on Wednesday immediately launched a series of climate-friendly efforts to bring Washington back in step with the rest of the world on the issue.

“A cry for survival comes from the planet itself,” Biden said in his inaugural address. “A cry that can’t be any more desperate or any more clear now.”

Experts say any international efforts to keep global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit), ideally 1.5C (2.7F), as agreed in the Paris accord would struggle without the contribution of U.S., which is the world’s second biggest carbon emitter.

Scientists say time is running out to reach that goal because the world has already warmed 1.2 C (2.2 F) since pre-industrial times.

Of particular importance is deforestation in the vast Amazon rainforest. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has faced criticism from global leaders, including Biden before his election victory, and non-profit organizations for rising deforestation.

Bolsonaro has been dismissive of international efforts to steer Brazil’s management of the huge rainforest, saying its resources must be harnessed to support growth and economic development. Still, he sent a letter to Biden on Wednesday urging that the two countries continue their “partnership in favor of sustainable development and protection of the environment, especially of the Amazon.”

“I stress that Brazil has shown its commitment with the Paris Accord after the introduction of its new national goals,” Bolsonaro added in the letter, which he published on his social media channels.

Italy said the U.S. return to the Paris accord would help other countries reach their own climate commitments. “Italy looks forward to working with the U.S. to build a sustainable planet and ensure a better future for the next generations,” Premier Giuseppe Conte tweeted.

The Vatican, too, was clearly pleased given the decision aligns with Pope Francis’ environmental agenda and belief in multilateral diplomacy. In a front-page editorial in Wednesday’s L’Osservatore Romano, Vatican deputy editorial director Alessandro Gisotti noted that Biden’s decision to rejoin Paris “converges with Pope Francis’ commitment in favor of the custody of our common home.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was more muted in her reaction, noting on Thursday that her government would “probably have a more similar opinion” with Biden on issues such as the Paris climate accord, migration and the World Health Organization.

Youth activists who have been at the forefront of demanding leaders take the threat of global warming seriously said they now want to see concrete action from Washington.

“Many countries signed the Paris Agreement and they are still part of the Paris Agreement, but they make very free interpretations of what that implies,” said Juan Aguilera, one of the organizers of the Fridays for Future movement in Spain. “In many cases, signing it has become a show, because at the end of the day the concrete measures that are being taken, at least in the short term, are not satisfactory.”

Biden has appointed a large team to tackle climate change both on the domestic and international front. Former Secretary of State John Kerry, named as the president’s special climate envoy, on Thursday took part in a virtual event with Italian industry at which he touted the ‘green economy’ as an engine for jobs and said the U.S. planned to make up for time lost over the past four years.

Organizers of a meeting Monday on adapting to climate change said they hoped Kerry would take part, too, and Biden himself has talked about inviting world leaders to a summit on the issue within his first 100 days in office.

Over the coming months the U.S. allies and rivals will closely watch to see by how much the administration offers to cut its emissions in the coming decade. A firm number is expected to be announced before the U.N. climate summit taking place in Glasgow, Scotland, in November.

Veterans of such gatherings noted the formidable diplomatic clout that the U.S. has managed to bring to them in the past.

Farhana Yamin, a British lawyer who served as adviser to the Marshall Islands in the Paris negotiations, said she left the climate talks in 2018 feeling “disillusioned” not only by the U.S. withdrawal but also by how other countries, including her own, were failing to live up to the agreed goals.

“I wish there were more progress here in the UK,” she said, adding she hoped that the change in the White House would mean others would increase their ambition on climate, too. “The U.S. always has massive influence on its allies.”

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Associated Press writer Karl Ritter and Nicole Winfield in Rome, Oleg Cetinic in Paris, Aritz Parra in Madrid and David Biller in Rio de Janeiro contributed to this report.

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Follow AP’s climate coverage at https://www.apnews.com/Climate

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US

Winston Churchill bust and the White House

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Overheated, confusing and laden in the end with blatant racism, the case of the White House bust of Winston Churchill still persists.

An Oval Office redesign brought in new busts instead: Latino civil rights leader Cesar Chavez, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Robert F. Kennedy, Rosa Parks and Eleanor Roosevelt.

In another era, the same decision caused outcry. American conservatives and even some British politicians declared it a major snub.

Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, said it was because President Barack Obama “probably grew up hearing that the British were a bunch of imperialists who persecuted his grandfather.”

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, claimed the decoration decision “foreshadowed everything that was to come the next six years.”

Boris Johnson, who was then mayor of London and is now prime minister, went furthest. He blamed the swap on the “part-Kenyan President’s ancestral dislike of the British empire.”

The attacks were blatantly racist and also misleading. Obama officials were infuriated.

There are actually two identical Churchill busts, both by the British modernist sculptor Sir Jacob Epstein. One has been in the White House collection since Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration. Another was lent by Prime Minister Tony Blair to the George W. Bush White House when the other one was being restored.

The one from Blair sat on display in the Oval Office until Bush departed. It was returned to the British government.

Under Obama, the White House-owned version was not displayed in the Oval Office; instead, Obama kept it outside the Treaty Room in the Residence, where he walked past it when he wanted to watch basketball on the weekends and evenings. He chose to put it there so he would see it during his personal time. He had a bust of King in the office.

He addressed the situation during his final year in office.

“I love the guy,” he said during a visit to London, adding later: “There are only so many tables where you can put busts. Otherwise, it starts looking a little cluttered.”

When Trump arrived, he returned Churchill to the Oval Office, much to the (proclaimed) pleasure of the Brits. Then-Prime Minister Theresa May, who was Trump’s first foreign visitor to the Oval Office, came armed with the UK version of the bust to present to Trump. Officials said the Trump team had requested it.

“We were very pleased that you accepted it back,” May told him.

Now, the bust is gone again. But Johnson, who is now Prime Minister and is hoping to cement strong ties with the new administration, does not appear to have the same reaction.

“The Oval Office is the President’s private office, and it’s up to the President to decorate it as he wishes,” a Downing Street spokesman said on Thursday. “We’re in no doubt about the importance President Biden places on the UK-US relationship, and the Prime Minister looks forward to having that close relationship with him.”

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US

Border wall: Defense Department slams brakes on project as it reviews Biden order

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The Army Corps of Engineers, which provides direction and oversight of border projects, “will take the appropriate actions in accordance with the (executive order),” said Raini Brunson, a spokesperson for the agency.

Activity may still continue at sites over the next few days to make sure they stay safe, an administration official told CNN.

Biden took an immediate shot at one of his predecessor’s key legacies Wednesday evening when he signed a proclamation calling for border wall construction to come to an end.

“It shall be the policy of my Administration that no more American taxpayer dollars be diverted to construct a border wall,” Biden’s proclamation reads.

Over the last four years, billions of dollars had been put aside for additional barriers on the US-Mexico border, prompting a slew of lawsuits and pushback from environmentalists and Democratic lawmakers. Days from the end of his term, former President Donald Trump paid the wall a visit, citing it as an accomplishment of his administration.

The majority of the roughly 455 miles constructed during Trump’s presidency replaced old, dilapidated barriers with a new enhanced wall system, a marked difference from the fencing previously constructed in some regions. Forty-nine miles have gone up where no barriers previously existed, according to the latest figures from US Customs and Border Protection.

“(Wednesday’s) proclamation will likely result in what’s called a suspension of work on the border wall,” said Travis Sharp, a research fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. “During the suspension of work, the contractor must keep track of any additional expenses caused by the delay, so that the government can potentially reimburse those expenses later.”

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