Whose Senate is it anyway?

Post Reports

The Washington Post

Daily News, Politics, News

4.4 • 5.1K Ratings

🗓️ 25 January 2021

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A standoff in the Senate. How essential workers are faring almost a year into the coronavirus pandemic. And, why vaccine rollout has been so slow in France.

When President Biden took office last week, he promised sweeping, bipartisan legislation to solve the pandemic, fix the economy and overhaul immigration. Just days later, the Senate ground to a halt, its members unable to agree on rules for how the evenly divided body should operate. Reporter Mike DeBonis unpacks the standstill.

At the start of the pandemic, grocery workers were lauded by their companies and customers for their essential work. Some leveraged that support into hazard pay. Some successfully pushed for mask enforcement in their stores. Almost a year later, they’re still on the front lines every day – but appreciation for their sacrifice has waned. Photographer May-Ying Lam reports on the plight of these essential workers.

France has had a particularly slow vaccine rollout, especially compared with its European neighbors like Germany. Foreign affairs reporter Rick Noack explains the delays facing one of the world’s most vaccine-skeptical countries.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	From the newsroom of the Washington Post, this is Post Reports.
0:16.0	I'm Martín Powers.
0:20.3	It's Monday, January 25th.
0:23.5	Today, the State of the Senate, the Plight of Essential Workers, and why so many people
0:29.9	in France are hesitant to get vaccinated.
0:37.1	So on the night of January 5th, in the morning of January 6th, Democrats were really riding
0:42.9	high.
0:45.6	They had just won these two Senate run-offs in Georgia, handing them a 50-50 Senate,
0:52.9	which, with the type-breaking vote of Vice President and Harris, gave them the ability to
0:57.6	set the agenda in the Senate, take it out of the hands of Mitch McConnell, and really
1:02.3	give President Biden a leg up as he moved to make good on his governing agenda.
1:09.0	That is Mike DeBonus.
1:10.2	He covers Congress for the Post.
1:12.0	However, here we are three weeks later, and it's become increasingly clear that it was
1:18.2	only a partial victory if that, and we're still at the same type of partisan loggerheads
1:24.9	in the Senate.
1:26.5	In their first week back in control, Senate Democrats have been focusing on things that
1:30.4	they can get done with a simple majority, like confirming Biden's cabinet nominations.
1:36.0	And if you confirm me, I assure you that the Pentagon under my leadership will respect
1:40.8	your oversight responsibilities, and we will be transparent with you.
1:45.6	I look forward to leading the intelligence community on behalf of the American people,
1:50.6	to safeguarding their interests, advancing their security and their prosperity, and to defending
	...

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