GMDC: Biden To Press Importance Of Voting Rights Again

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*All this and more ahead!

Good Morning DC! 

The Australian PM called for a press conference and all the media of the world was shocked to find out that Scott Morisson only wanted a media spotlight on himself, declining to comment on Djokovic’s situation minutes before the Australian Open draw was about to start. 

In the eyes of the Australian Open, Djokovic is playing at the tournament. In the eyes of the Australian government, it’s all about tension-building and political spectacle. Some are afraid that they can now decide to deport him in the middle of the tournament that starts on Monday. 

What do you think about that?

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TODAY AT THE WHITE HOUSE

Yesterday, after paying his respects to the late Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, who was lying in state, Biden spent roughly 20 minutes behind closed doors with the Reid family. When he exited the Mansfield Room on the Senate side of the Capitol, he spent a good amount of time talking to a large group of Senate pages. Senator Cory Booker had pulled him aside, drawing his attention to the group that had been lingering outside of the room for what seemed like an hour.

Laugher rang out as the President spoke animatedly to the group of young people. At one point, Senator Tom Carper joined. The President and two Senators kneeled down in front of the pages for a “class” style photo, snapped by White House official photographers. 

This Thursday morning, Biden will give a speech about his approach to the pandemic. 

In the afternoon, the President will meet with the Senate Democratic Caucus to discuss the urgent need to pass legislation to protect the constitutional right to vote and the integrity of our elections. 

Senate Republican Mitch McConnell denounced Biden’s speech on voting rights that he gave in Atlanta, Georgia, as “incoherent” and “profoundly unpresidential.” McConnell said that he’s known Biden for a long time, but he “did not recognize the man at the podium.”

McConnell cited Biden’s speech as an example to why the filibuster must be preserved and not overturned. “You could not invent a better advertisement for the legislative filibuster than what we’ve just seen; a president abandoning rational persuasion for pure, pure, demagoguery,” Mr. McConnell said.

When asked if he had any response to Mitch McConnell’s comments, Biden took a moment, before replying, “I like Mitch McConnell. He’s a friend.” After, he entered McConnell’s office, where he greeted outer-office staff for a few minutes. 

DIGITAL ASSETS

In the face of the US inflation getting to 7%, Bitcoin is on the recovery path, rising to its highest price this week. 

Bank of America came out with a report that predicts a bright future for Solana.

“Solana could become the Visa of the digital asset ecosystem,” Alkesh Shah, Bank of America global crypto and digital asset strategist said in a research memo.

Shah sees Ethereum as a blockchain for “high-value transactions and identity, storage and supply chain use cases.” 

Rep. Tom Emmer introduced a bill yesterday that aims to prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) directly to individuals. “Not only would this CBDC model centralize Americans’ financial information, leaving it vulnerable to attack, but it could also be used as a surveillance tool that Americans should never tolerate from their own government,” Emmer said.

“Requiring users to open up an account at the Fed to access a US CBDC would put the Fed on an insidious path, akin to China’s digital authoritarianism,” Emmer continued. 

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

House Foreign Affairs Committee Lead Republican Michael McCaul and 109 House Republicans sent a letter to Secretary Blinken asking him to pull out of “the fruitless Vienna talks” to re-enter the JCPOA. 

“Iran’s growing nuclear provocations, while stalling progress in negotiations, are the epitome of bad faith. The United States and our partners must increase pressure on Iran to stop its dangerous nuclear advancements,” the lawmakers said in a letter. “The most effective way to do so is to strongly enforce our existing sanctions and urge our partners to take similar steps. If Iran is not prepared to negotiate as things stand, we need to build our leverage to compel them to negotiate a better, stricter deal with no sunsets.” 

Following the talks between NATO and Russia on the situation in Ukraine, House Foreign Affairs Committee Lead Republican Michael McCaul (R-TX), House Armed Services Committee Lead Republican Mike Rogers (R-AL), Senate Armed Services Committee Lead Republican Jim Inhofe (R-OK), and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Lead Republican Jim Risch (R-ID) issued a call to president Biden to increase “deterrence” towards Russia. “We urge you, Mr. President, to steel your resolve and back our allies and partners in Eastern Europe before Russia invades, not after,” they said.

And that’s a wrap for this Thursday morning January 13, 2022. Good Morning DC will be here tomorrow to give you the latest first. 

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