Today’s edition of quick hits:
* The next step is writing the bill: “The House gave final approval Friday to a budget blueprint that will allow a dozen committees to start writing a massive coronavirus relief package next week. The tally was 219-209, following early morning Senate adoption on a 51-50 vote after Vice President Kamala Harris broke a tie.”
* Why didn’t the previous administration do this? “Biden administration officials said they will deploy 1,000 active duty troops to assist with Covid-19 vaccinations later this month and use the Defense Production Act to increase supplies of vaccine, tests and protective equipment.”
* The more officials focus on this threat, the better: “The Senate Intelligence Committee will examine the influence of Russia and other foreign powers on antigovernment extremist groups like the ones that helped mobilize the deadly attack on the Capitol last month, the panel’s new chairman said in an interview this week.”
* New York: “When Donald Trump lost the legal shield of the presidency last month, some pundits speculated federal prosecutors might revive an investigation that implicated him in possible campaign finance crimes during his 2016 run for office. But several people involved in the case say the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan has made no move to restart the hush-money probe that once dogged Trump’s presidency and sent his former attorney, Michael Cohen, to prison.” * Good idea: NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is offering the league’s 30 stadiums as COVID-19 vaccination sites as the offseason approaches following Sunday’s Super Bowl. Have a safe weekend.
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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