Monday, Nov. 15

• President Joe Biden unveiled a plan directing the Department of the Interior to begin a process preventing new oil and gas drilling on federal lands within a 10-mile radius of the Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico, one the largest Native American sites in the United States.
• Steve Bannon, longtime ally and former advisor to former President Donald Trump, turned himself in to the FBI and appeared before a judge to face criminal contempt charges for refusing to cooperate with a House committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.
• The Treasury Department sanctioned nine Nicaraguan officials and the Public Ministry of Nicaragua, citing the cause as the “sham national elections orchestrated by President Daniel Ortega” and his Vice President Rosario Murillo on Nov. 7. “The Ortega regime is using laws and institutions to detain members of the political opposition and deprive Nicaraguans from the right to vote,” said Office of Foreign Assets Control Director Andrea M. Gacki.

· Biden signed into law a $1.2 trillion infrastructure investment plan — a significantly stripped-down version of the one originally brought forward but a rare case of bipartisan legislative breakthrough in Congress. “My message to the American people is, America is moving again,” Biden said.

· Alex Saab, a businessman whom the U.S. accuses of laundering millions of dollars on behalf of the Venezuelan government, pleaded not guilty in federal court.

· Biden met virtually with Chinese President Xi Jinping for three and a half hours in an effort to said create better communication between China and the U.S. while their relationship devolves over issues including Taiwan, Hong Kong and China’s treatment of Muslim Uighurs in its far western region of Xinjiang.

Tuesday, Nov. 16

• The U.S. and China announced an agreement to ease restrictions on foreign journalists operating in the two countries. China allowed the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and the New York Times to send journalists back to China after a diplomatic confrontation during the Trump administration prompted China to expel many American journalists. Meanwhile the U.S. will provide yearlong renewable visas for Chinese journalists as opposed to the previous 90-day limited visas.

Wednesday, Nov. 17

· The Taliban called on members of Congress to release Afghan financial assets frozen after the militant Islamist group took over the country in August. Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said in an open letter that the biggest challenge facing Afghanistan was financial insecurity and that “the roots of this concern lead back to the freezing of assets of our people by the American government.”

· In his first trip to sub-Saharan Africa, Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that the worsening conflict in Ethiopia risks “peace and stability” in the surrounding regions of Africa. He made these remarks at a civil society round table after he met with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and held the second-ever official U.S.-Kenya strategic dialogue with Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs Raychelle Omamo.

· The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released figures showing that more than 100,000 people died from drug overdoses in the U.S. during the 12-month period ending April 2021, an uptick of nearly 30% from the previous year. It further said that deaths from synthetic opiods like fentanyl have helped drive this increase.

· The Department of Homeland Security released an advisory warning that hackers linked to the Iranian government have been targeting a “broad range of victims” inside the U.S. using ransomware. Advisories were also sent out in Australia and the United Kingdom, where similar cyberattacks have occurred.

· The House, in a 223 to 207 vote, largely along party lines, voted to formally censure Republican Rep. Paul Gosar for tweeting an animated video that portrayed him killing progressive Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez. The vote also stripped Gosar of two congressional committee assignments.

Thursday, Nov. 18

· Biden revived the so-called “Three Amigos” summit between the U.S., Canada and Mexico after Trump put an end to the meetings in 2016. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador met in person with Biden at the White House to discuss economic integration, immigration and the pandemic. Although tensions over trade and immigration remained unresolved, the leaders agreed to cut methane emissions in their oil-and-gas sectors by 60% to 75% by 2030, boost COVID-19 vaccine donations and ban the importation of goods made by forced labor.

· The Biden administration asked some of the world’s largest oil-consuming nations like China, India and Japan to release their stockpiles of crude oil in a coordinated effort to lower global energy prices.

· The State Department removed Nigeria from a list of “countries of particular concern” regarding religious freedom while applying the designation to 10 other countries including Myanmar, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

· Biden urged state and local governments to help coordinate the distribution of the billions allocated from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, a COVID-19 recovery package, meant to alleviate the cost of home heating during the cold winter months.

· The Treasury Department sanctioned six Iranian nationals and the Iranian cyber company Emennet Pasargad for “attempting to influence” last year’s U.S. presidential elections between August and November 2020, when they “executed an online operation to intimidate and influence American voters, and to undermine voter confidence and sow discord.”

Friday, Nov. 19

• Vice President Kamala Harris became the first woman to hold presidential power as Biden underwent his first presidential physical. Harris’ office said she spent the 85-minute span in office watching live television coverage of the House passing Biden’s social spending bill. Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the president’s physician, declared Biden a “healthy, vigorous, 78 year old” who was fit to carry out his duties.
• The House passed Biden’s nearly $2.2 trillion “Build Back Better” bill on a 220-213 margin, with just one Democrat voting against the bill. If passed by the Senate, the bill could provide funding for universal pre-K, Medicare expansion, renewable energy credits, affordable housing, a year of expanded child tax credits and healthcare subsidies. The legislation also provides $555 billion for programs intended to curb fossil fuel emissions.
• Federal officials revealed that while over 28,000 Afghans have applied for temporary admission into the U.S. for humanitarian reasons since shortly before the Taliban recaptured Afghanistan, only about 100 applications have been approved.

· The CDC expanded eligibility for COVID-19 booster shots to all adults in the U.S.

· Biden nominated two new members to the Postal Service’s board of governors: Daniel Tangherlini, a former administrator of the General Services Administration, and Derek Kan, a Republican business executive and former deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Saturday, Nov. 20

· At a summit in Bahrain for public and private leaders to discuss Middle Eastern security issues, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pledged to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. “[W]e remain committed to a diplomatic outcome of the nuclear issue,” Austin said. “But if Iran isn’t willing to engage seriously, then we will look at all of the options necessary to keep the United States secure.”

Sunday, Nov. 21

• No news to report.