Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Vaccine news: “The Biden administration is purchasing an additional 200 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, a move that could provide enough doses for nearly every American to get fully inoculated by the end of the summer, a senior administration official said Tuesday.”
* Arrests: “The FBI’s investigation of the deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol this month has identified more than 400 suspects, according to the figures disclosed Tuesday by the Justice Department.”
* On a related note, the closer one looks at this story, the worse it appears: “A 35-year-old California man who claimed to be a U.S. Air Force captain and retired sheriff sergeant was arrested in his home state early Tuesday for allegedly sending threatening text messages to family members of a New York City-based U.S. congressman and the relative of a journalist, federal prosecutors said.”
* The right policy: “The Justice Department on Tuesday rescinded a Trump-era memo that established a ‘zero tolerance’ enforcement policy for migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, which resulted in thousands of family separations.”
* This warrants greater scrutiny: “The commander of the D.C. National Guard said the Pentagon restricted his authority ahead of the riot at the U.S. Capitol, requiring higher-level sign-off to respond that cost time as the events that day spiraled out of control.”
* I imagine this was quite a change of pace for Putin, after the last four years: “President Joe Biden spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, the first phone call between the two since Biden took office last week, the White House confirmed.”
* His confirmation vote was 78-22: “The Senate confirmed Antony Blinken as President Joe Biden’s secretary of state on Tuesday with overwhelming bipartisan support. A foreign affairs veteran with a family history of public service, Blinken will be the 71st top U.S. diplomat and senior-most Cabinet member, serving as the chief representative of United States around the globe.” * Her confirmation vote was 84-15: “Former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen was confirmed as treasury secretary Monday…. Yellen steps into the role with some advantages: She is well known and well respected among lawmakers of both parties, and she has experience with enormous economic challenges.” * The consequences of elections: “In his first days in office, President Biden has devoted more attention to issues of racial equity than any new president since Lyndon B. Johnson, a focus that has cheered civil rights activists and drawn early criticism from conservatives.” See you tomorrow.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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