Bidens ‘horrified’ by Vermont shooting, White House says
At her briefing today, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Joe and Jill Biden were “horrified” by the shootings of three Palestinian students in Vermont:
.@PressSec: “The president and first lady were horrified to learn about the three college students of Palestinian descent, two of whom are American citizens, who were shot Saturday in Burlington, Vermont…There is absolutely no place for violence or hate in America…” pic.twitter.com/CkSWHxZyhN
— CSPAN (@cspan) November 27, 2023
Key events
Closing summary
Joe and Jill Biden as well as Vermont’s congressional delegation condemned the weekend shooting of three Palestinian students in the northeastern state’s most-populous city Burlington, while police announced an arrest was made in the case yesterday. It was an otherwise quiet day in Washington DC, but it won’t stay that way for long. The House will perhaps as soon as Wednesday vote on kicking admitted fabulist George Santos out of the chamber after a damning report from its ethics panel, while the Senate is gearing up to consider Biden’s request for more than $100b to fund border security and military assistance to Ukraine and Israel.
Here’s what else happened today:
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Mike Johnson, the Republican House speaker, reportedly said he discussed “options” with Santos ahead of the expected expulsion vote.
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A rift is emerging among Democrats over Biden’s request for military assistance to Israel in the wake of Hamas’s 7 October terrorist attack.
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Merrick Garland said federal authorities are looking into whether the Vermont shooting was a hate crime.
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Donald Trump is making it very clear that a priority of his second presidential term will be retaliating against his enemies.
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The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee said they believe the three students were targeted in Vermont because of their ethnicity.
Biden says ‘no place for violence or hate in America’ after Vermont shooting
In a new statement, Joe Biden condemned the shooting of three Palestinian students, two of whom were US citizens, in Vermont this weekend, saying the White House would support the investigation into the attack:
Jill and I were horrified to learn that three college students of Palestinian descent, two of whom are American citizens, were shot Saturday in Burlington, Vermont. They were simply spending Thanksgiving gathered with family and loved ones.
We join Americans across the country in praying for their full recovery, and we send our deepest condolences to their families. While we are waiting for more facts, we know this: there is absolutely no place for violence or hate in America. Period. No person should worry about being shot at while going about their daily lives. And far too many Americans know a family member injured or killed as a result of gun violence. We cannot and we will not accept that.
Earlier today, I spoke to Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger to offer my support. We are grateful to the Burlington Police Department – as well as the FBI, ATF, and other law enforcement partners – for their swift work identifying and arresting a suspect. Our Administration will provide any additional federal resources needed to assist in the investigation.
Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said that members of both political parties discussed government funding over the Thanksgiving break ahead of a January deadline to avoid a shutdown.
From Politico’s Burgess Everett:
Schumer says that over the Thanksgiving recess, Republicans and Democrats in both the House and Senate discussed the upcoming January deadline for the first tranche of expiring government funding
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) November 27, 2023
Here’s more background on Biden’s use of the the Defense Production Act, from the Guardian’s Edward Helmore.
…The Defense Production Act of 1950, which was passed to streamline production during the Korean war, was last used in early 2021 during the coronavirus pandemic to accelerate and expand the availability of ventilators and personal protective equipment.
The supply chain council is set to address issues ranging from improved data sharing between government agencies, supplying renewable energy resources and freight logistics…
Monday’s announcement arrived as the US economy appears to be doing well on paper. But the White House has acknowledged that improving economic picture is not shared by consumers, and the administration has explicitly tied the economy to the president by calling it Bidenomics.
A recent Economist/YouGov poll found that only 39% of voters approve of Biden’s handling of jobs and the economy. And a separate Reuters/Ipsos poll puts the economy as the most important issue to Americans for the past two years.
Even as the pace of inflation has slowed, consumers are shouldering an economic burden they had not experienced in years. Prices have risen as much in the past three years as they had in the previous decade, according to a report by Bloomberg, and it now costs almost $120 to buy the same goods and services a family could afford with $100 before the pandemic.
Read the full article here.
Biden is currently speaking in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building about strengthening US supply chains and his Bidenomics policy, as the burden of high inflation costs remain a priority for many US voters.
During today’s event, Biden announced that he would be evoking the Defense Production Act to boost production of “essential medicine”.
The 1950s law will allow Biden to strength the domestic manufacturing of medicines that is seen as crucial for national security, improving US supply chains that the Biden administration believes will address the higher price of goods and services.
Biden also flagged falling inflation rates and that wages for families were increasing as wins for the US economy under his Bidenomics plan.
Biden added that “costs went down” in time for the Thanksgiving holiday.
“As a share of earnings, dinner was the fourth cheapest ever on record. I want you all to know that,” Biden said, referring to the cost to produce the Thanksgiving feast.
From the Guardian’s David Smith:
Joe Biden: “Costs went down” this Thanksgiving. “As a share of earnings, dinner was the fourth cheapest ever on record. I want you all to know that.” pic.twitter.com/R9WMg7Yi1N
— David Smith (@SmithInAmerica) November 27, 2023
Biden: “Wages for working families have gone up while inflation has come down 65%.”
— David Smith (@SmithInAmerica) November 27, 2023
Biden: “I’m proud to announce I’ll be invoking the Defense Production Act to boost production of essential medicines.”
— David Smith (@SmithInAmerica) November 27, 2023
House speaker Johnson says he discussed ‘options’ with George Santos ahead of possible expulsion vote – report
In an appearance in Florida, Republican House speaker Mike Johnson said he had talked to George Santos about “his options” as the chamber gears up to vote on an effort to expel the New York congressman for his lies and ethics breaches, Politico reports:
.@SpeakerJohnson on possible expulsion vote on Santos this week from Sarasota:
“It remains to be seen. I’ve spoken to Congressman Santos at some length over the holiday and talked to him about his options, but we’ll have to see. It’s not yet determined.”
— Anthony Adragna (@AnthonyAdragna) November 27, 2023
The vote on the expulsion resolution proposed by ethics committee chair Michael Guest is expected to come as soon as Wednesday, but Johnson’s comment is an sign that he may be looking for another solution to Santos’s ethical lapses that does not involve voting him out of the chamber.
Joe Biden is due to right about now hold an event at the White House on his administration’s actions to strengthen supply chains.
That event is late in starting, perhaps due to the fact that he was on the phone with Miro Weinberger, the mayor of Burlington, Vermont, where three Palestinian students were shot over the weekend. Here’s what Weinberger had to say about the call:
“I just had an extended phone call with President Biden. It was my honor to thank [him] for his leadership in caring for our community and for the victims of this terrible crime.”
— Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger after suspect arraigned in shooting of 3 Palestinian students pic.twitter.com/pCEMj2iQvx
— The Recount (@therecount) November 27, 2023
The police have not yet said if they consider the shooting of three Palestinian students in Vermont as a hate crime, but advocacy group the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee said they believe it was:
This morning, ADC was contacted about the shooting, after reviewing the information, we have reason to believe that the shooting was motivated by the three vitims being Arab.
The three victims were wearing a Kuffiyeh and speaking Arabic. A man shouted and harassed the victims, pic.twitter.com/b8yoDvK8Nv
— ADC National (@adc) November 26, 2023
ADC National Executive Director @aayoub said, “We are praying for a full recovery of the victims, and will support the families in any way that is needed. Given the information collected and provided, it is clear that the hate was a motivating factor in this shooting”
— ADC National (@adc) November 26, 2023
“We call on law enforcement to investigate it as such. The surge in anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian sentiment we are experiencing is unprecedented, and this is another example of that hate turning violent.” – Abed Ayoub
— ADC National (@adc) November 26, 2023
The day so far
Joe and Jill Biden as well as Vermont’s congressional delegation have condemned the weekend shooting of three Palestinian students in the northeastern state’s most-populous city Burlington, while police announced an arrest was made in the case yesterday. It’s an otherwise quiet day in Washington DC, but it won’t stay that way for long. The House will perhaps as soon as Wednesday vote on kicking admitted fabulist George Santos out of the chamber after a damning report from its ethics panel, while the Senate is gearing up to consider Biden’s request for more than $100b to fund border security and military assistance to Ukraine and Israel.
Here’s what else has happened today:
-
A rift is emerging among Democrats over Biden’s request for military assistance to Israel in the wake of Hamas’s 7 October terrorist attack.
-
Merrick Garland said federal authorities are looking into whether the Vermont shooting was a hate crime.
-
Donald Trump is making it very clear that a priority of his second presidential term will be retaliating against his enemies.
Also attending today’s White House press briefing was John Kirby, the spokesman for the National Security Council.
He offered details of the agreement reached for Hamas to release more of the hostages taken in the 7 October terrorist attack:
John Kirby: “In order to extend the pause, Hamas has committed to releasing another 20 women and children over the next two days. We would, of course, hope to see the pause extended further and that will depend upon Hamas continuing to release hostages.” pic.twitter.com/E7GQ4Saonv
— CSPAN (@cspan) November 27, 2023
Follow our live blog for the latest on the conflict between Israel and Hamas:
Bidens ‘horrified’ by Vermont shooting, White House says
At her briefing today, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Joe and Jill Biden were “horrified” by the shootings of three Palestinian students in Vermont:
.@PressSec: “The president and first lady were horrified to learn about the three college students of Palestinian descent, two of whom are American citizens, who were shot Saturday in Burlington, Vermont…There is absolutely no place for violence or hate in America…” pic.twitter.com/CkSWHxZyhN
— CSPAN (@cspan) November 27, 2023
Here’s footage of the arraignment of Jason Eaton, the suspect in the shooting of three Palestinian students in Vermont:
Jason Eaton, the suspect charged in the shooting of three Palestinian college students in Vermont, appears in court.
Eaton has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder in the second degree. pic.twitter.com/ClarPQ0JXM
— The Recount (@therecount) November 27, 2023