- President Joe Biden will hold a press conference at 4 p.m. in the East Room.
- The event comes a day before the first anniversary of Biden’s inauguration as president.
President Joe Biden will meet the press on Wednesday afternoon, on the eve of marking one year in the White House.
It was a year that saw inflation soar; Drop in COVID-19, then increase with delta variant, then increase again with omicron; the passage of landmark infrastructure investment legislation and the blocking or failure of other legislative priorities.
And it comes in a month that has seen White House efforts to contain the spread of the record-breaking omicron variant with the free shipment of COVID-19 tests to households and masks to community places where Americans can recover. three free N95s, as well as the deployment of the National Guard to assist hospitals in six states.
The press conference, set for 4 p.m. in the East Room of the White House, is his ninth such event, according to an Associated Press tally.
Following:Five things to expect from Biden’s press conference on Wednesday: Inflation, COVID-19, voting rights and more
How to order free test kits from the government
While COVIDTests.gov was scheduled to begin accepting orders on Wednesday, an “Order Free Home Tests” button was added Tuesday, which takes users to usps.com/covidtests to order four free home tests.
USA TODAY tested the site and received a message that “COVID-19 tests will begin shipping in late January.” The Postal Service will send only one set of four free home coronavirus tests to valid residential addresses, the site said.
More information:Home COVID testing website launches early. How to order free test kits from the government
—Kelly Tyko and Maureen Groppe
What is Obstruction?
One of the topics President Biden will almost certainly be asked about on Wednesday is filibuster – but what exactly is it?
The filibuster is a controversial Senate rule that can advance or block key legislation.
Once a murky procedure, it has increasingly been used to block majority coalition priorities, including on race and civil rights issues.
When senators have been most intransigent, majority parties have created filibuster exceptions for key areas of legislation, including for executive and judicial appointments.
Learn more here:What is Obstruction? A look at the consequent quirkiness of the Senate and the debate over its future
— Matte Brown
Biden appoints a Muslim woman to the federal bench, a first in US history
President Joe Biden on Wednesday nominated a Muslim woman to a federal judgeship for the first time in U.S. history as part of his administration’s efforts to reshape the federal justice system with diversity.
Nusrat Jahan Choudhury, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, is Biden’s nominee for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. If confirmed by the Senate, Choudhury would become the first Muslim woman to serve as a federal judge and the first Bangladeshi American.
The latest round of eight nominations — the 13th since Biden took office a year ago — brings Biden’s total judicial nominees to 83 and continues his administration’s efforts to seat more women and judges of color. on the federal bench.
Get the whole story:Biden appoints a Muslim woman to the federal bench, a first in US history as he diversifies the justice system
-Joey Garrison
The Biden administration will ship 400 million N95 masks across the United States for free starting this week
The same day President Joe Biden prepares to speak to the press, the White House announced that his administration will begin shipping 400 million free non-surgical N95 face masks to distribution sites nationwide this week to help combat the growing variant of omicron COVID-19. .
Americans will be able to pick up their masks at one of “tens of thousands” of pharmacies, thousands of community centers and other locations across the country starting late next week, the White House said.
The move comes as rising omicron COVID-19 cases have overwhelmed hospitals across the country, leading to growing criticism of Biden’s ability to contain the pandemic. Recent polls have found that more Americans disapprove of the president’s handling of the pandemic than they approve of him, undermining a unique strength in Biden.
The White House expects the program to be fully operational by early February.
Read the full story here:The Biden administration will ship 400 million N95 masks across the United States for free starting this week
-Joey Garrison
Biden ends his first year at the lowest of the polls
President Joe Biden’s press conference comes as his approval rating has been declining for months amid concerns over his handling of the economy and the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Quinnipiac University poll last week found just 33% of Americans approved of Biden’s job performance — his lowest rating so far of his presidency — while 53% disapproved.
The findings prompted White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jen O’Malley Dillon to release an internal memo calling the poll an “outlier.” She noted that Biden’s approval rating remains significantly higher, 43%, in the FiveThirtyEight poll average and questioned the Quinnipiac poll’s methodology.
Although the poll found less than 40% of Americans approve of Biden’s handling of the economy and the coronavirus, the White House is touting those areas as Biden completes his first year in office.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki previewed a pair of charts at Tuesday’s press conference that highlighted 6.4 million jobs created since taking office. Biden, 74% of Americans fully vaccinated and a drop in unemployment from 6.4% to 3.9%, among other measures.
–Joey Garrison
