Today, President Biden used his sweeping clemency powers for the first time, announcing three pardons and the commutations of 75 sentences of nonviolent drug offenders. The announcements signal a far more targeted use of his authority than employed by former president Donald Trump, who granted pardons to political allies and celebrities who ran afoul of the law, among others. Biden’s actions follow calls by criminal justice advocates to grant leniency in a system that often disproportionately affects people of color.
Meanwhile, Vice President Harris has tested positive for the coronavirus, the White House said Tuesday. Harris tested positive on both rapid and PCR tests but has exhibited no symptoms, a spokeswoman said. Harris is not considered a close contact to Biden or first lady Jill Biden because of their respective recent travel schedules, the spokeswoman added.
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Mike DeBonis: What Manchin sees as key — Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), perhaps the key player in the future of the Biden economic agenda, left a half-hour meeting with Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday declaring that any Democratic economic legislation moving on Capitol Hill this year would have to be...
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