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Tuesday 19 July 2022

Biden’s realism approach runs head-on into liberal pressure

That development prompt- sue, Biden had one clear, the boundaries of execu-
ed calls from Democratic consistent message: that tive power.
senators for Biden to uni- he could not do this on his But some advocates don’t
laterally declare a climate own, shifting attention to want to hear from Biden
emergency. In a state- the other end of Pennsylva- about what he can’t do.
ment Friday while in Jed- nia Avenue. Renee Bracey Sherman,
dah, Saudi Arabia, Biden “The only way we can se- founder and executive
pledged to take “strong ex- cure a woman’s right to director of the group We
ecutive action to meet this choose and the balance Testify, which advocates
moment” on climate. But in that existed is for Congress for women who have had
recent weeks, that gap be- to restore the protections abortions, said the admin-
tween “yes, we can” and of Roe v. Wade as federal istration should proceed
“no, we can’t” has been law,” Biden said shortly af- with a public health emer-
most glaring on abortion. ter the court struck down gency even if it’s eventu-
Since the Supreme Court Roe. “No executive action ally blocked by the courts.
President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting with congressional last month overturned the from the president can do “It tells those people who
leaders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, landmark Roe v. Wade rul- that.” need abortions that the
May 12, 2021. From left, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy ing from 1973 with its con- Shortly after declaring that president is trying to help
of Calif., Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., Vice stitutional protections for the filibuster — a Senate them, and that the thing
President Kamala, Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif.,
and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y. Biden, abortion, the White House rule that requires 60 votes that’s stopping him is the
who served for 36 years in the Senate, is an institutionalist to has come under consid- for most legislation to ad- court, not himself, or his own
his core and has tried to operate under the constraints of those erable pressure to try to vance — should not apply projections on what could
institutions — unlike his predecessor who repeatedly pushed the maintain access to abor- for abortion and privacy possibly happen,” she said,
boundaries of executive power. tion in conservative states measures, Biden acknowl- later adding: “The fact that
Associated Press that are set to outlaw the edged during a meeting he’s an institutionalist and
procedure. with Democratic governors cannot look around and
Continued from Front us — the leaders — to do For instance, advocates that his newfound posi- see the institutions around
something.” have implored Biden to tion would not make a dif- him are crumbling is the
Although candidate Biden Biden’s cautionary ap- look into establishing abor- ference, at least not right problem.”
sold himself as the person proach could be to protect tion clinics on federal away. Democratic lawmakers
who best knew the ways himself if the White House lands. They have asked “The filibuster should not have also continued to
of Washington, he none- falls short — like Demo- the administration to help stand in the way of us being prod senior administration
theless is hamstrung by the crats did in negotiating a transport women seeking able to do that,” Biden said officials behind the scenes.
same obstacles that have party-line spending pack- abortions to a state that of writing the protections of In a virtual meeting this past
bedeviled his predeces- age centered on the so- offers the procedure. And Roe into federal law. “But week, Chu urged Xavier
sors. cial safety net and climate Democratic lawmakers are right now, we don’t have Becerra, the health and
“I think that if you hesitate provisions. That sweeping pressing the White House the votes in the Senate to human services secretary,
from important actions like effort had been steadily to declare a public health change the filibuster.” to have the administra-
this just because of a legal thwarted due to resistance emergency. Biden, who served for 36 tion enact a public health
challenge, then you would from two moderate Demo- Without rejecting the ideas years in the Senate, is an in- emergency. Proponents of
do nothing,” said Rep. crats, one of them West completely, White House stitutionalist to his core and the idea say it would un-
Judy Chu, D-Calif., who Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, aides have expressed skep- has tried to operate under lock certain powers and re-
has been pressing for more who on Thursday scuttled ticism about such requests. the constraints of those in- sources to not only expand
administrative actions on for the time being a scaled- And even as he signed an stitutions — unlike his pred- access to abortion but to
abortion. “People all across back effort that focused on executive order last week ecessor, Donald Trump, protect doctors who pro-
the country are expecting climate and taxes. to begin addressing the is- who repeatedly pushed vide them.q

Yellen calls out China trade practices in

South Korea visit

By FATIMA HUSSEIN prepared for delivery Mon- China's vice premier at the
Associated Press day, according to excerpts start of the month.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Trea- provided by the Treasury Yellen has been a critic of
sury Secretary Janet Yel- Department. China's economic relation-
len said the U.S. and South She is set to make the ship with Russia — urging
Korea should deepen their speech at an LG Corp. fac- the Asian superpower to
trade ties to avoid working tory in South Korea. LG in use its "special relationship
with countries that use their April announced plans to with Russia" to persuade
market positions to unfair build a $1.4 billion battery Russia to end its invasion of
advantage — calling out plant in Queen Creek, Ari- Ukraine.
China by name. zona. China "has directed sig- U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks during a news
"We cannot allow coun- Yellen represented the U.S. nificant resources to seek conference in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia on Thursday, July 14,
2022.
tries like China to use their at the Group of 20 finance a dominant position in the Associated Press
market position in key raw minister meetings on Indo- manufacturing of certain
materials, technologies, nesia's resort island of Bali advanced technologies, she said in her prepared Yellen calls on countries to
or products to disrupt our and made stops in Tokyo, including semiconductors speech. engage in "friend-shoring,"
economy or exercise un- Japan and Seoul, South while employing a range Citing "the unfair Chinese as a means to lower eco-
wanted geopolitical lever- Korea. She avoided visiting of unfair trade practices practices that damage our nomic risks for participating
age," Yellen says in remarks China, but held a call with to achieve this position," national security interests," economies.q