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Trump Continues to Sabotage Biden Transition, McConnell Blocks Relief as a Worsening Pandemic Endangers American Lives and Livelihoods

By November 17, 2020No Comments

US Continues to Shatter Hospitalization Records, Averages 150,000 New Infections a Day

Dr. Fauci Warns of Dangers of Stalled Transition

Millions at Risk as McConnell Blocks Relief Package

Donald Trump seems intent on setting President-Elect Biden up for a disastrous entry into office. Trump is allowing the coronavirus crisis to spiral out of control, and blocking Biden from making life-saving preparations to curb the pandemic and distribute a vaccine.

Senate Majority Leader McConnell, meanwhile, is refusing to act on coronavirus relief as rising cases, hospitalizations, and deaths extend the current economic crisis (in which millions continue to collect unemployment benefits, risk losing their homes, and have slipped into poverty) and force states to renew restrictions. 

Coronavirus Is Spreading Like Wildfire as the United States Faces the Worst of the Pandemic 

Cases Are Soaring At Unprecedented Rates

  • On November 16, At Least 10 States Reported A Record Number Of New Infections. “At least 10 states logged record numbers of newly reported infections for Monday, including Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, Connecticut and Vermont, according to Johns Hopkins data, and numerous others have hit records in the past few days.” [Wall Street Journal, 11/17/20]
  • The US Is Averaging More Than 150,000 New Cases A Day, An 81 Percent Increase From Average New Infections Two Weeks Ago. “The country logged more than 135,100 new cases on Sunday, the most cases reported on a Sunday since the pandemic began, raising the new seven-day average to more than 150,000 new cases a day, an 81 percent increase from two weeks ago.” [New York Times, Accessed 11/16/20]
  • 76 Percent Of American Counties Saw Coronavirus Cases Peak At Some Point This Fall, While 97 Percent Of Midwestern Counties Peaked This Fall. “While some parts of the country endured high rates of coronavirus infection in the spring and summer, most of the country is experiencing the worst of it right now. By the numbers: Most American counties — 58% of them — have seen the peak of their coronavirus infections this month, and 76% of counties have peaked at some point in the fall… Using a 7-day average of cases to smooth out daily variances in reporting, 97% of Midwestern counties cases peaked this Fall. 22% of the Northeast peaked in the spring, led by the New York City metro area. Western and Southern states had the largest shares of counties peak during the summer.” [Axios, 11/17/20]
  • The United States Average New Infection Count Jumped 37 Percent, The Fastest Increase In The US Since March. “The nation’s average new-case count for the past seven days has jumped 37%, according to Johns Hopkins University data, the fastest at any point in the U.S. since late March. Pennsylvania has seen a 14% jump in total cases, while Ohio’s have surged 19%, Washington state’s climbed 11% and Illinois’s are up 18%. Michigan’s cases have increased 20%, the most since April.” [Bloomberg, 11/16/20]

Hospitalizations Are Surging To Dangerous New Highs

  • 73,014 People In The United States Are Currently Hospitalized With COVID-19, The Most At Any Point Since The Beginning Of The Pandemic. “The number of coronavirus-related hospitalizations as of Monday also jumped, to 73,014, according to the Covid Tracking Project. That number has stayed above 61,000 for the past week, hitting a record every day but one. Before Nov. 10, the U.S. hadn’t reported more than 60,000 hospitalizations in a day since the start of the pandemic.” [Wall Street Journal, 11/17/20]
  • More Americans Are Being Treated For COVID-19 In Intensive Care Units Than At Any Point Since The Beginning Of The Pandemic. “The number of people with Covid-19 in intensive care units increased from a day earlier to 14,313, according to Covid Tracking’s data, a number not seen since late April, when the U.S. was seeing its first surge of cases.” [Wall Street Journal, 11/17/20]

Deaths Are Climbing

  • On November 15, The United States’ Average Daily Deaths Reached 1,156 — Its Highest Average Daily Death Toll Since May. “The seven-day average of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. hit 1,156 on Sunday. The figure marked the largest average daily death count since May 25 when 1,158 were reported, according to Worldometer. The country’s COVID-19 death toll has reached 246,224 total as of Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University. The average daily death count rose on a sharper incline from late October, after declining from early August.” [Newsweek, 11/16/20]

But Donald Trump Is Preventing the Incoming Biden Administration From Protecting American Lives

    • CNN: “Trump’s Refusal To Coordinate With President-Elect Joe Biden… Is Bringing A Staggering Possibility Into Clearer View: That An Outgoing Us Commander In Chief Is Actively Working To Sabotage His Successor.” “President Donald Trump’s refusal to coordinate with President-elect Joe Biden on the critical Covid-19 vaccine is bringing a staggering possibility into clearer view: that an outgoing US commander in chief is actively working to sabotage his successor. Trump’s denial of his election defeat, his lies about nonexistent mass coordinated voter fraud and his strangling of the rituals of transferring power between administrations are not just democracy-damaging aberrations. Given the current national emergency, they threaten to cause practical fallout that could damage Biden’s incoming White House not just in a political sense. There are increasing concerns that Trump’s obstruction will slow and complicate the delivery of the vaccine that brings the tantalizing prospect of a return to normal life amid stunning news from trials showing doses are effective in stopping more than 90% of coronavirus infections.” [CNN, 11/17/20]
  • President Trump Is Attacking Anyone Who Tries To Step Into His Leadership Vacuum As The Pandemic Spreads Uncontrolled. “It’s not just on the vaccine where Trump is threatening the success of the next administration. Attacks by the President and aides on governors stepping into his leadership vacuum as the pandemic rips across all 50 states mean the situation Biden will inherit will be worse than it needed to be. The victims of this neglect will be thousands of Americans whom health experts expect to die or get sick in the absence of a coordinated national response to the winter spike in infections and workers caught up in new restrictions imposed on business by local leaders trying to get the virus under control — as well as the millions of schoolchildren who are already falling behind while classrooms remain shuttered.”  [CNN, 11/17/20]
  • President-Elect Joe Biden: “If We Have To Wait Until Jan. 20 To Start That Planning [For A Vaccine], It Puts Us Behind… More People May Die If We Don’t Coordinate.” “President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Monday sharpened his criticism of President Trump’s refusal to cooperate in an orderly transition…The new criticism came as the White House national security adviser all but conceded that Mr. Biden would be inaugurated and acknowledged the importance of a smooth federal handoff. ‘The vaccine is important. But it’s of no use until you’re vaccinated,’ Mr. Biden said, pledging to work with Republicans to defeat the virus and spur an economic revival when he takes office. But he said the logistics of distributing vaccines to hundreds of millions of Americans were a vast challenge. ‘It’s a huge, huge, huge undertaking,’ he said. ‘If we have to wait until Jan. 20 to start that planning, it puts us behind,’ Mr. Biden said. ‘More people may die if we don’t coordinate.’” [New York Times, 11/16/20]
    • Dr. Anthony Fauci On Trump Blocking Transition: “It’s Something That We’re Concerned About.” “Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, on Monday said he’s ‘concerned’ about the stalled transition process between President Trump and President-elect Joe Biden. ‘Obviously it’s something that we’re concerned about,’ he said in an appearance on NBC’s ‘Today,’ pointing to the need for a ‘smooth process’ for approving and distributing a COVID-19 vaccine. ‘We want a smooth process for that,’ he said. ‘And the way you do that is by essentially having the two groups speak to each other and exchange information.’” [The Hill, 11/16/20]
  • The Lack Of Transition Is Preventing The Biden Administration From Taking Stock Of Supplies Of PPE. “The lack of transition talks is not only hampering preparations for a vaccine. It is also preventing Biden’s administration-in-waiting from gaining up-to-the-minute information on stockpiles of essential protective equipment for health workers, including gloves and masks… A Guardian/Kaiser Health News investigation, Lost on the Frontline, has identified at least 1,375 health workers who have died in the US from Covid-19.”  [The Guardian, 11/15/20]
  • Trump Former US National Security Adviser John Bolton: “Given The Coronavirus Pandemic… We Need A Transition And We Should Proceed With It As Quickly As We Can.” “Bolton told ABC’s This Week that by making it as difficult as possible for the incoming administration, Trump was acting ‘ultimately to the country’s disadvantage, certainly in the national security space and I think given the coronavirus pandemic and the effective distribution of the vaccine. We need a transition and we should  [The Guardian, 11/15/20]

As the Pandemic Worsens and Benefits Are Set To Expire, Relief From Mitch McConnell Is No Where in Sight

  • A Number Of Programs For Struggling Americans Are Set To Expire At The End Of The Year Without The Passage Of A New Relief Package. “A number of crucial provisions expire at the end of this year, which is 44 days from now: The Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, which gives 13 weeks of extra UI to those who have run out of options, ends… The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance — used by gig workers — runs out… The eviction moratorium ends… State and local funding stops flowing… Rebate checks end, as does student loan forbearance… Small business debt relief ends… Charitable deduction limits expire… The exclusion of employer payments of student loans stops… The refundable tax credit] for required paid sick leave runs out… The credit for family and sick leave for self-employed individuals ends… The payment delay for employer payroll taxes ends… Changes on net operating losses end. This is on top of the 33 tax provisions that end at the close of the year… A huge safety net for Americans is going to be yanked away at the end of 2020, and Congress isn’t preparing much of anything to keep people from plummeting.” [Politico Playbook, 11/17/20]
    • President-Elect Joe Biden Advocated For Congress To Pass A COVID-19 Relief Package Like The HEROES Act. “‘Right now Congress should come together and pass a COVID relief package like the HEROES Act that the House passed six months ago,’ Biden said at a press conference on Monday. ‘Once we shut down the virus and deliver economic meat to workers and businesses, then we can start to build back better than before.’ Two versions of the HEROES Act have passed the House. The most recent $2.2 trillion version of the bill was passed in October and an earlier $3.4 trillion version was passed in May. Both were held up in the Republican-controlled Senate.” [Yahoo News, 11/16/20]
  • Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Have Not Heard From Mitch McConnell About Relief Negotiations In Two Weeks. “On [November 16], Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have not heard from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in about two weeks since the Kentucky Republican said he would take the lead for the GOP in the next round of talks. Democrats have pushed for a package that costs at least $2.2 trillion, while Republicans want a roughly $500 billion bill. ‘If Leader McConnell and our Republican colleagues want to sit down and negotiate a bipartisan solution, with a bipartisan process, Democrats are ready and willing and able to do so,’ said Schumer, D-N.Y.” [CNBC, 11/17/20]
  • McConnell Is Using The “Pace Of Economic Recovery” To Justify A Narrow Relief Bill, But New Restrictions To Slow A Worsening Pandemic Will Threaten Workers. “McConnell has insisted in recent days that the pace of economic recovery means Congress needs only to pass a targeted, narrow plan to get the country through the next few months. On Tuesday, he said Republicans ‘want to pass more coronavirus relief’ but blamed Democrats for blocking bills the GOP tried to pass in recent weeks. State and local governments have started to reinstate shutdowns to slow infections. Even so, some policymakers have not moved as quickly as public health officials would like as they try to balance concerns about businesses failing and workers falling into poverty in the absence of federal help.” [CNBC, 11/17/20]