Thursday
Dec012022
December 2, 2022
Afternoon Update:
Katie Glueck of the New York Times: "Over objections from some Democratic leaders, the Democratic National Committee on Friday moved one step closer to enacting President Biden's vision for drastically overhauling the party's 2024 presidential primary process, as a key committee voted to recommend sweeping changes to the calendar. At a daylong gathering of the D.N.C.'s Rules and Bylaws Committee in a Washington hotel ballroom, members voted to recommend supporting a 2024 Democratic presidential primary calendar that would begin in South Carolina on Feb. 3, followed by New Hampshire and Nevada on Feb. 6, Georgia on Feb. 13 and then Michigan on Feb. 27. That plan reflected a framework Mr. Biden delivered to the committee on Thursday that emphasized racial and geographic diversity. Representatives from Iowa and New Hampshire voted against the proposal."
Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump knew about a 15-year tax fraud carried out by longtime executives at his namesake company, a prosecutor argued Friday, saying the illegal activity ended when the company cleaned up its business practices around the time Trump entered the White House.... 'This whole narrative that Donald Trump was blissfully ignorant was just not real,' Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass said during his summation. He asked jurors, who are likely to begin deliberations in the case on Monday, to dismiss the idea that executives who committed crimes had simply gone 'rogue.'... In a Truth Social post earlier this week, Trump appeared to refute any suggestion he knew what [Trump CFO Allen] Weisselberg and [comptroller Jeffrey] McConney had done, writing that there 'was no gain for "Trump"' and that 'we had know knowledge of it.'" MB: The royal we had know knowledge. Nitwit.
New York. Jeffery Mays, et al., of the New York Times: Ibrahim Khan, "the longtime chief of staff to Letitia James, the New York attorney general, has resigned amid an investigation into at least two separate sexual harassment allegations, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.... Mr. Khan, who has been one of Ms. James's closest political advisers for nearly a decade, was accused of inappropriate touching and unwanted kissing by at least one woman.... One of the women who filed a complaint was told on Friday that her allegation of inappropriate touching and unwanted kissing had been substantiated."
Zolan Kanno-Youngs & Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "President Biden signed legislation on Friday to impose a labor agreement between rail companies and workers who had been locked in a bitter dispute, averting a strike that could have upended the economy just before the holiday season. 'Without freight rail, many U.S. industries would literally shut down,' Mr. Biden said before signing the bill, adding that many communities would not have received crucial resources during the strike. 'Thanks to the bill Congress passed and what I'm about to sign, we spared the country that catastrophe.' Mr. Biden had called on Congress earlier this week to intervene in the stalemate and avoid the work stoppage that could have cost the economy $2 billion a day. It was a significant move for Mr. Biden, a staunch union backer who has previously argued against congressional intervention in railway labor disputes, arguing that it unfairly interferes with union bargaining efforts." ~~~
Elizabeth Williamson of the New York Times: "The Infowars fabulist Alex Jones filed for Chapter 11 personal bankruptcy on Friday, citing nearly $1.5 billion in damages juries awarded this year to the families of Sandy Hook shooting victims, who won a series of defamation cases against Mr. Jones after he lied for years about the school shooting. The filing in the Southern District of Texas in Houston comes atop the bankruptcy filing by Free Speech Systems, Infowars' parent company, in late July. The new filing could further delay payment of the verdicts for the families, who would need to seek payment through the bankruptcy courts alongside other creditors. But it could also force a greater degree of scrutiny on the finances of Mr. Jones's empire." The Texas Tribune's report is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: "Fabulist"? Okay Then. ~~~
~~~ Fascist Fabulist & Seditionist Leader Endorses Violent Insurrectionists. John Wagner of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump expressed solidarity with the mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, sending a video of support to a fundraising event Thursday night hosted by a group called the Patriot Freedom Project that is supporting families of those being prosecuted by the government. 'People have been treated unconstitutionally, in my opinion, and very, very unfairly, and we're going to get to the bottom of it,' he said in the video.'... 'It's the weaponization of the Department of Justice, and we can't let this happen in our country.'... Trump repeatedly has made clear that he stands with the mob that stormed the Capitol to stop Congress from counting the electoral votes for Joe Biden's win in the 2020 presidential election."
Hate Tweets Soar. Sheera Frenkel & Kate Conger of the New York Times: "Before Elon Musk bought Twitter, slurs against Black Americans showed up on the social media service an average of 1,282 times a day. After the billionaire became Twitter's owner, they jumped to 3,876 times a day. Slurs against gay men appeared on Twitter 2,506 times a day on average before Mr. Musk took over. Afterward, their use rose to 3,964 times a day. And antisemitic posts referring to Jews or Judaism soared more than 61 percent in the two weeks after Mr. Musk acquired the site. These findings -- from the Center for Countering Digital Hate, the Anti-Defamation League and other groups that study online platforms -- provide the most comprehensive picture to date of how conversations on Twitter have changed since Mr. Musk completed his $44 billion deal for the company in late October. While the numbers are relatively small, researchers said the increases were atypically high."
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Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "The first official state dinner of Mr. Biden's presidency marked the latest step in the return of post-pandemic normalcy, as celebrities joined politicians, business leaders and big donors to honor America's oldest ally at the White House.... The Macrons were treated to caviar; an American cheese course, including Oregon-based Rogue River Blue, the winner of the 2019-20 World Cheese Awards; and butter-poached Maine lobster. The crustaceans proved somewhat contentious. On Monday, Whole Foods said it planned to stop buying lobster from the state, citing concerns from environmental groups that say endangered North Atlantic right whales have become entangled in fishing gear.... While squashes for the meal were picked from the White House garden, the plates were rented. (The official White House china is not permitted to leave the building to prevent it from getting damaged.)...
"Before arriving, Mr. Biden gave Mr. Macron a custom vinyl record collection of great American musicians and an archival facsimile print of Thomas Edison's 1877 patent of the American phonograph. Mr. Macron gave Mr. Biden and a vinyl and original soundtrack to 'Un Homme et une Femme,' a film the Bidens saw on their first date." CNN's story is here. ~~~
The guest list for the state dinner, via the New York Times, here. ~~~
Kevin Freking & Josh Funk of the AP: "The Senate moved quickly Thursday to avert a rail strike that the Biden administration and business leaders warned would have had devastating consequences for the nation's economy. The Senate passed a bill to bind rail companies and workers to a proposed settlement that was reached between the rail companies and union leaders in September. That settlement had been rejected by some of the 12 unions involved, creating the possibility of a strike beginning Dec. 9. The Senate vote was 80-15. It came one day after the House voted to impose the agreement. The measure now goes to President Joe Biden's desk for his signature." The New York Times story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court agreed on Thursday to decide whether the Biden administration had overstepped its authority with its plan to wipe out billions of dollars in student debt. The justices put the case on an unusually fast track, saying they would hear arguments in February. In the meantime, though, they left in place an injunction blocking the program. The court's brief order gave no reasons and did not note any dissents." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
The law is clear. We cannot write a rule that allows any subject of a search warrant to block government investigations after the execution of the warrant. Nor can we write a rule that allows only former presidents to do so. -- Three-Judge Panel, 11th Circuit Appeals Court ~~~
~~~ So Much Losing. Alan Feuer & Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "A federal appeals court on Thursday removed a major obstacle to the criminal investigation into ... Donald J. Trump's hoarding of sensitive government documents, ending an outside review of thousands of records the F.B.I. seized from his home and freeing the Justice Department to use them in its inquiry. In a unanimous but unsigned 21-page ruling, a three-member panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta shut down a lawsuit brought by Mr. Trump that has hindered the inquiry into whether he illegally kept national security records at his Mar-a-Lago residence and also obstructed the government's repeated efforts to retrieve them. The appeals court was sharply critical of the decision in September by Judge Aileen M. Cannon, a Trump appointee, to intervene in the case. It said that Judge Cannon never had legitimate jurisdiction to order the review or bar investigators from using the files, and that there was no justification for treating Mr. Trump differently than any other target of a search warrant.... All three of the judges on the panel that ruled on Thursday were appointees of Republican presidents -- and two of them, Andrew L. Brasher and Britt Grant, had been placed on the bench by Mr. Trump himself." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) CNN's report is here.
Sara Murray, et al., of CNN: "A federal judge has ordered former top Trump White House lawyers to provide additional grand jury testimony, rejecting ... Donald Trump's privilege claims in the Justice Department's criminal investigation of his effort to overturn the 2020 election, people briefed on the matter said. Pat Cipollone, the Trump White House counsel, and his deputy, Patrick Philbin, appeared in September before the grand jury in Washington, DC, as part of the Justice Department probe, which is now being overseen by newly appointed special counsel Jack Smith. Cipollone and Philbin declined to answer some questions at that time, citing Trump's claims of executive and attorney-client privilege."
John Yoon of the New York Times: "Elon Musk, Twitter's chief executive, said late Thursday that Kanye West would be suspended from Twitter after the rapper and fashion designer tweeted an image of a swastika inside the Star of David. Mr. Musk said the post violated the social media outlet's rule against the incitement of violence. The tweet was deleted shortly before Mr. West's account became no longer accessible. His page was soon replaced with a label: 'Account suspended.'" The Guardian's story is here.
What Are Trump's Friends Saying Today? Anthony Adragna of Politico: “A virulently antisemitic Thursday interview with Ye by right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is sparking new GOP condemnation of the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, nine days after Ye brought a white supremacist to dine with Donald Trump. Ye appeared on Jones' 'InfoWars' show with Nick Fuentes, his guest during the Trump dinner -- a known racist and antisemite -- and made a host of antisemitic comments with his face covered by a black mask, repeating the lie that the Holocaust did not happen and praising Adolf Hitler. The Republican Jewish Coalition slammed the Ye-Fuentes appearance with Jones ... as a 'horrific cesspool of dangerous, bigoted Jew hatred.'" MB: Ah, so far, not much "GOP condemnation." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The Washington Post's story is here. MB: Still not seeing much "GOP condemnation."~~~
~~~ Peter Baker of the New York Times: "The conviction of the leader of the far-right Oath Keepers militia this week placed a president at the spiritual heart of a seditious conspiracy to illegitimately keep power in a way that is unparalleled in American history.... The unanswered question remains what, if any, responsibility Mr. Trump had for the conspiracy, an issue to be addressed by Jack Smith, the newly appointed special counsel investigating the former president for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and the events that led to it. But if nothing else, the trial made clear that this was more than a peaceful protest that simply got out of hand. It also underscored how much the former president has aligned himself with forces that used to be outside the mainstream of American politics.... His use of music sounding like a QAnon theme song at recent rallies and his dinner last week with Kanye West ... and Nick Fuentes ... illustrated Mr. Trump's increasing embrace of extremist elements."
Yeah But. Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "The Internal Revenue Service's inspector general said in a report on Thursday that highly invasive audits of two of ... Donald J. Trump's chief enemies -- the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey and his deputy, Andrew G. McCabe -- happened after their tax returns were randomly selected for inclusion in the initial pools from which the agency drew to carry out the examinations. But the 19-page report said there appeared to be some deviations from the I.R.S.'s rigorous rules for random selection when the agency winnowed down the initial pools to make the final selections of the returns that would be audited. That created a risk, the report said, that someone could have had the chance to have a return from the larger pool chosen for the smaller group that would be audited. As a result, the report said, the inspector general, known as the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, or TIGTA, would continue to look into what happened.
Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "... allegations against ... several ... firms are laid out in a sprawling, roughly 120-page report released Thursday by the House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis, a congressional watchdog tasked to oversee roughly $5 trillion in federal pandemic aid. The 18-month probe -- spanning more than 83,000 pages of documents ... -- contends there was rampant abuse among a set of companies known as fintechs, which jeopardized federal efforts to rescue the economy and siphoned off public funds for possible private gain. Some of the companies involved had never before managed federal aid, the report found. At the height of the pandemic, they failed to hire the right staff to thwart fraud. They amassed major profits from fees generated from the loans -- large and small, genuine and problematic -- that they processed and reviewed. And they repeatedly escaped scrutiny from the Small Business Administration, putting billions of dollars at risk, the probe found. The trouble began under the Trump administration, after Congress first authorized the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) in 2020." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Eric Adelson & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "A Florida tax collector who has been cooperating with the Justice Department in its sex trafficking investigation into Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, was sentenced on Thursday by a federal judge to 11 years in prison. The tax collector, Joel Greenberg, had faced up to nearly three decades in prison for a litany of crimes he had committed, including trafficking a 17-year-old girl, stalking a political rival and stealing $400,000 in taxpayer money to buy cryptocurrencies and sports memorabilia. But in the hope of receiving a lesser sentence, he had cooperated with the government in a series of investigations, including into Mr. Gaetz." The AP story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
2024 Presidential Election. Michael Scherer & Tyler Pager of the Washington Post: "President Biden has asked leaders of the Democratic National Committee to mak South Carolina the nation's first primary state, followed by New Hampshire and Nevada a week later, and hold subsequent weekly primaries in Georgia and Michigan, according to Democrats briefed on the plans. The tectonic decision to remake his party's presidential nominating calendar for 2024 came as a shock to party officials and state leaders who had been lobbying hard in recent weeks to gain a place in the early calendar, which historically attracts millions of dollars in candidate spending and attention.... The proposal is likely to win approval from the Democratic officials.... Biden's move is meant to signal his party's commitment to elevating more variety -- demographic, geographic and economic -- in the early nominating process. Iowa, a largely White state that historically held the nation's first Democratic caucus and experienced embarrassing problems tabulating results in 2020, would have no early role in the Biden plan." Politico's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Alex Seitz-Wald, et al., of NBC News: President Biden "has set off a frenzied scramble among competing early states that are apoplectic over the proposal [to re-order early primary states].... The plan drew howls from New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley, who first told NBC News that his state would be the first primary contest no matter what. The Democratic National Committee 'did not give New Hampshire the first-in-the-nation primary,' Buckley said. 'It is not theirs to take away. We will be holding our primary first.'... Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., called the White House plan 'short-sighted' and vowed Thursday to stay the course on the state's tradition of holding a first-in-the-nation primary, citing a state statute dictating that New Hampshire must hold its primary seven days before any other state.... Final ratification will not take place until the next meeting of the full DNC early next year...."
Beyond the Beltway
Arizona. Charles Homans & Alexandra Berzon of the New York Times: "An Arizona county whose Republican supervisors had refused to certify last month's election results relented on Thursday under court order, ending an unusual standoff that had threatened to delay the formal end of the election in the closely watched battleground state. In a hastily arranged meeting, the board of supervisors in Cochise County voted 2 to 0 to approve the final canvass of votes in the largely rural county in the southeast corner of the state. The move came hours after Judge Casey F. McGinley of Pima County Superior Court ordered members of the board of supervisors to take action by the end of the day."
Georgia Senate Race. Maya King & Lisa Lerer of the New York Times: "... former President Barack Obama visited Georgia for the second time in just over a month to campaign with Senator Raphael Warnock, the Democratic incumbent facing Herschel Walker, the Republican former football star. Hours before the evening rally, Mr. Walker's campaign was the focus of attention after a woman who had been in a long-term relationship with Mr. Walker said that he had attacked her in a rage in 2005 after she caught him with another woman.... The discordant split screen on the campaign trail on Thursday illustrated the stark differences between the imagery of the two campaigns in a race that polls show remains within the margin of error." ~~~
Way Beyond
Ukraine, et al.
The New York Times' live updates of developments Friday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates for Friday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here. ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live briefings for Friday are here: "In Washington, President Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed their support for Ukraine on Thursday during Macron's state visit. Biden said he had no plans to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin but would be prepared to meet if Moscow indicated a willingness to end the invasion. Macron has faced criticism for holding one-on-one conversations with Putin without preconditions and insisting that diplomacy should continue.... Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for 'spiritual independence' in Ukraine as he lambasted churches with Russian links. He said in his nightly address he met with national security and defense officials regarding the 'connections of certain religious circles in Ukraine with the aggressor state.' A draft law is also being prepared, he added, to make it 'impossible for religious organizations affiliated with centers of influence in the Russian Federation to operate in Ukraine.'"
Dan Lamothe & Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post: "Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other top Pentagon officials are weighing a major expansion in training for the Ukrainian military, a move that could significantly enhance its ability to evict Russian forces from occupied areas.... The plan, under discussion for weeks, according to senior U.S. defense officials, would build on the billions of dollars in weaponry and other aid Washington has provided Ukraine by showing its military how to wage a more sophisticated campaign against the struggling Russian army. It would see Ukrainian combat units with hundreds, or possibly even thousands of troops, training together in Grafenwoehr, Germany, where the U.S. military has instructed Ukrainian forces in smaller numbers for years. Austin is keen to boost Ukraine's ability to maneuver on the battlefield with a more modern style of warfare that relies less on launching thousands of rounds of artillery per day at Russian troops in what has become a grinding, bloody war of attrition."
News Lede
CNBC: "Job growth was much better than expected in November despite the Federal Reserve's aggressive efforts to slow the labor market and tackle inflation. Nonfarm payrolls increased 263,000 for the month while the unemployment rate was 3.7%, the Labor Department reported Friday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for an increase of 200,000 on the payrolls number and 3.7% for the jobless rate. The monthly gain was a slight decrease from October's upwardly revised 284,000."
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Reader Comments (12)
Isn't it odd that when gas prices skyrocketed, it was Biden's fault?
And now that gas prices are coming down why aren't these same
parties blaming Biden?
The reason there was a rail strike is that the unions requested some
paid sick leave for the workers. I think it was like 7 days a year, I
could be wrong. They'll probably end up with none if Republicans
get their way (is somebody being paid off?).
Someone should check on how many paid sick days railroad
management receives each year.
@Forrest Morris: It's quite possible management doesn't get any designated sick days, either. That's because they don't need them. When you have a union job, or a non-union "grunt" job, the company regulates and keeps track of your time off-work for sickness or personal business. This usually isn't true of management; people with management jobs can be "trusted" to take time off at their own discretion. So if you're a secretary and your child suddenly becomes ill at school, well, good luck taking care of that. You could lose your job for taking time off to pick the child up & take him to the doctor. Meanwhile, your boss is likely to breeze by your desk & say in passing, "I'm off to the dental hygienist for a cleaning, Maude. See you tomorrow."
And as long as you stay at your desk while your child is languishing in the nurse's office with a fever, you'll be sure to get a shiny white smile from the boss in the morning. Oh, they know how to keep you in your place, Maude.
https://rollcall.com/2022/12/01/senate-clears-rail-labor-agreement-rejects-sick-leave/
The Senate scuttled the 7 day sick leave provision. IMO, very possibly a political mistake...
Forrest,
The request was for 7 days. I feel bad for the railroad workers. They are the victims of bad timing (and slimy management). Foxbots are now gleefully ripping Biden for being anti-union (as if any R would support a union worker). Biden, as a senator, was very supportive of unions, but as president, he has different responsibilities. Four out of the twelve railroad unions didn’t agree with the deal brokered some months ago, which is their right.
They had some serious leverage because of an economy still not fully recovered from Trumpist stewardship, but Biden was apparently convinced that the parties involved would be unable to settle their disagreements (management: work til you drop, labor: a few days off when we’re sick) by the December deadline for a strike, and halting rail transportation just before Christmas could have been a killer.
So much of politics is the art of compromise, making the best deal for all concerned. Not everyone gets everything they want. Everyone gets something, no one gets everything. That’s a pretty good indication of a reasonable outcome.
And this is why the traitors suck at politics and have no capacity for governing responsibly. They don’t compromise. They want what they want and if anyone else gets the tiniest consideration, it’s an outrageous commie attack on their freeeeedoms! This is the way selfish, not very well behaved children act. Except in this case, the children have guns and they aren’t afraid to wave them around and threaten violence if they don’t get their way.
You remember how Reagan handled a union problem?
Republicans have always been suspicious of workers; they might turn out to be commies and demand shit the rich owners would rather they not have.
Like a day off to get a brief respite from backbreaking work.
Like Corporate shill Gorsuch always sez: Get back to work, you slobs! Die for your masters!
Reports about how the 11th circuit judges have smacked down Fatty’s scheme to screw with the DoJ investigation into his purloining (purloinment?) of top secret files adequately convey this blow to Trump’s idea of absolute immunity, but let’s not forget…
That special master bullshit plot was executed way back in September. We’re a few weeks off from Christmas now. So in a very real way, Trump got at least part of what he wanted, a combination of delay, breathing room, and more non-stop publicity.
It looks like he’s in a lot of potential trouble, legally speaking, what with the stolen docs, the insurrection, the Georgia bullshit, and his company on the verge of a verdict next week as to just how much of a criminal enterprise it really is.
But the important word there is potential. Trump might not have actual immunity, but he’s always seemed to have a kind of temporary-permanent, rolling immunity, and he’s a master at delay, deceive, misdirect, sabotage.
It’s not at all clear that he will either be indicted or convicted of anything. And even if he is, there’ll be years of appeals and shouts of victimization and politicized “attacks” on his wonderfulness.
And loads of money to be scooped up from connected grifts.
@Ken - The Senate did NOT scuttle the 7-day sick leave provision. Republicans in the Senate did. All of the Dems (except DINO Manchin) voted for it. As did 6 Repubs (including Ted Cruz !), but it couldn't get enough Repub votes to overcome the usual pretend filibuster that kills all good legislation. Don't fall into the "both sides" trap and blame the generic Senate. Put the blame where it squarely belongs.
@RockyGirl is exactly right.
Moreover, this could end up to be gold for Democrats in future campaigns. Biden & Democrats will push for a reasonable number of days of paid sick leave for all workers in all industries, union or not. Whether they get it in this new Congress or not, Congressional Republicans have handed Democrats an issue that millions of workers, including those who already have jobs with decent sick leave, can easily understand & appreciate.
Is it fair to railroad union workers now? No. (Although at least they won't be freezing their asses off on picket lines on Christmas Eve.) But in the long run, they may get at least some of what they want, not only for themselves, but for other American workers, too.
Your friend, Polly Anna.
@RockyGirl
Thanks for the correction.
Should have said scuttled by Senate Republicans...
@Ken - I figured that what you meant, but we need to be precise in our language (maybe that's just the lawyer in me), especially since our feckless press will simply repeat the canard that "the Senate" doesn't care about sick leave for railroad workers, which leaves room for "progressive" grifters to blame the failure on Biden for "abandoning" and "betraying" workers and in general for not being Bernie (who, as they constantly tell us, would have brought us a workers' paradise if we had only listened in 2016).
A related non-trivial issue, with respect to RR sick leave, is short-staffing of operational (i.e. unionized) jobs. As did the airlines for years whittling down crew number requirements, for decades RRs have worked hard to reduce what they call "featherbedding". They are unwilling to pay for the personnel slack necessary to operate safely and reliably, so they create work rules that make the remaining employees available to work all the time, with minimal slack. When an employee DOES have the right to sick leave, it becomes the focus of management's concern about "cheating" -- employees who claim sick leave can generally be challenged only after the fact, and when employees' hours start to show SL bunching up on Fridays and Mondays, employers feel like employees are taking advantage. Often deep studies of such phenomena demonstrate that women (mostly) will take such SL to meet caregiver responsibilities. RR and airline crew don't really have primarily M-F 9-5 workweeks, though, so when they taker SL it appears more random, and harder for managers to plan against. Since the plane gotta fly and the train gotta roll, such SL requires schedulers to draft someone off their normal downtime -- and often at a premium. So, these industries find SL to be a productivity problem.
Which they could solve by adding more crew to the payroll. But they don't. And here you are.
As suggested above, the Democrats should make a lot of hay out of this and other QWL (quality of work life) issues now and forever, and make it clear which party supports workers. I have quoted my Aunt Maggie here several times over the years: "If it weren't for the Democrats we'd all be eating dirt."
As long as the 60 vote rule is in effect in the Senate, outside of reconciliation maneuvers it will most often continue to be the place where good legislation goes to die.
And now we can look forward to a House where it's likely that other than the promised investigative and impeachment circuses, only bad legislation will emerge.
More entertainment, tho'.
@Ken Winkes Yep, more entertainment for the next two years and we get to hear all the P&M about how Biden isn't doing anything for the American people!