Tipsheet: McConnell returns as Senate 'grim reaper'

View in your browser     McConnell returns as Senate 'grim reaper' By Alexander Bolton   The Senate’s self-proclaimed “grim reaper” has returned. Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) is keeping his Republican conference largely unified, and it’s creating major obstacles to President Biden’s legislative agenda. McConnell has maintained the loyalty of his fellow GOP senators despite repeated attacks by former President Trump, who has called on Senate Republicans to oust him as their leader. Read the full story here     Trump, midterms fuel GOP's effort to quash Jan. 6 commission By Jordain Carney   Former President Trump and the 2022 midterm elections are looming large over the GOP effort to quash an investigation into the Jan. 6 attack. Read the full story here     Senate GOP blocks legislation on Jan. 6 commission By Alexander Bolton   Senate Republicans on Friday blocked legislation to form a commission to probe the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Read the full story here     Senate meltdown reveals deepening partisan divide By Alexander Bolton   An unexpected Senate meltdown this week is prompting Democrats to re-evaluate what they can realistically accomplish this year in Congress. Read the full story here       Senate passes resolution urging probe into COVID-19 origins By Tal Axelrod   The Senate on Friday passed a resolution calling for a probe into the origins of COVID-19 amid renewed attention over a theory that the virus came from a lab in China. Read the full story here     Biden releases $6T budget that foresees decade of trillion-dollar deficits By Niv Elis   President Biden on Friday proposed a budget that would entrench deficits in excess of $1 trillion for the next decade, pushing the nation’s debt burden to record highs. Read the full story here     Progressives rebuff criticism of Biden's budget By Niv Elis   Progressives on Friday pushed back on criticism of President Biden's budget plan, which would see trillion-dollar deficits for a decade and increase the debt burden past its highest level on record. Read the full story here     Biden leaves Hyde Amendment out of budget By Tal Axelrod   President Biden’s sprawling $6 trillion budget unveiled Friday does not include the controversial Hyde Amendment, delivering on a campaign promise to try to scrap the ban on federal funding for abortions. Read the full story here     CDC relaxes COVID-19 guidelines for summer camps By Justine Coleman   The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) loosened its COVID-19 guidelines for summer camps Friday, saying that vaccinated staffers and adolescents do not need to wear masks. Read the full story here     '1619 Project' creator Hannah-Jones weighs discrimination suit over tenure denial By John Kruzel   Nikole Hannah-Jones, the Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of the 1619 Project, alerted the University of North Carolina (UNC) this week that she may soon file a discrimination lawsuit over its decision to deny her tenure. Read the full story here     R.I.P. Big Oil? Why this week was monumental for climate action By Carolyn Kissane   OPINION | Will Wednesday, May 25, 2021, be remembered as the death knell for big oil? Some say yes, calling it oil’s tobacco’s moment and the tipping point for forcing hydrocarbon companies towards climate action. It represents the most significant one-day shift in focus — and a win for shareholder activism and climate justice. Read the full story here     How long will Trump remain immune? By James D. Zirin   OPINION | The mobster John Gotti was known as the “Teflon Don” because he was acquitted so many times of racketeering charges. No one could touch him, until they did. He spent the rest of his life in jail. Read the full story here     New York Times: A Big Climate Problem With Few Easy Solutions: Planes By Niraj Chokshi and Clifford Krauss   The worst of the pandemic may be over for airlines, but the industry faces another looming crisis: an accounting over its contribution to climate change. Read the full story here     NBC: The White House promised a memo on Biden's authority to cancel student debt. Where is it? By Lauren Egan   WASHINGTON — At the beginning of April, White House chief of staff Ron Klain gave proponents of student debt cancellation a glimmer of hope when he announced President Joe Biden had asked the Education Department to prepare a memo examining his legal authority to wipe out debt through executive action. Read the full story here     Associated Press: WH legislative team pursues ‘politics is personal’ strategy By Alexandra Jaffe and Jeff Boak   The calls can come late in the day, over the weekend, really any time a question pops into the mind of a legislator or aide. The meetings may dispense pleasantries from Team Biden — or get testy. The topic can be one arcane fact or a deep dive into the nuances of policy. Read the full story here     CNN: Judge Amy Berman Jackson strikes again By Katelyn Polantz   Trial-level federal Judge Amy Berman Jackson has handled some of the most politically significant court cases of the Trump era and its aftermath and become one of the most incisive voices on the corruption and political spin of the era. Read the full story here     The Washington Post: What a proven coronavirus lab leak theory would mean By Aaron Blake   The mainstream media is engaged in some very warranted soul-searching when it comes to the possibility that the coronavirus leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China, rather than occurring naturally. Reporters often wrote about the theory dismissively, citing scientists who backed that up. There is still no real proof the theory is true, but scientists now regard it as increasingly plausible, as The Post’s Glenn Kessler detailed this week. And the Biden administration says it’s redoubling efforts to get to the truth. Read the full story here         Did a friend forward you this email? 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