President Joe Biden this week left the country for his first trip abroad, and quickly made news, pushing for a worldwide global tax on corporations. Vice President Kamala Harris also hit the road, making her own headlines when she twice got snippy with reporters when asked about her handling of the border crisis.
Back on Capitol Hill, Rep. Ilhan Omar compared the United States and Israel to an Islamic terrorist organization. Only 12 Democrats condemned Omar, which is less than 6% of the total number of Democrats in the House of Representatives. A group of Jewish Democratic lawmakers slammed the Minnesota Democrat, but far-left Democratic lawmakers and political groups fired back.
Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci remained in the crosshair of Republicans, with some senators saying the top U.S. immunologist should be fired after months of "politicized statements" and "outright" lies. Another group of senators demanded Fauci explain prior comments that they suggested may contradict sworn testimony he gave to Congress. For his part, Fauci ripped his critics, saying attacks on him are "attacks on science." Here's your latest installment of Washington Wire.
1. Biden Pushes Global Tax
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President Joe Biden met Friday with Group of 7 finance leaders, pushing for a global minimum tax on corporations of 15%. The tax would apply to a country’s overseas profits in an attempt to keep the world’s largest companies from being able to dodge taxes by offshoring their finances.
“This U.S. priority is a critical step towards ending the decades-long race to the bottom that pushes nations to compete over who can offer the lowest tax rate to large corporations at the expense of protecting workers, investing in infrastructure, and growing the middle class,” the White House said in a press release.
Under the tax, known as GMT, if a company pays a tax rate lower than the proposed minimum by using offshore accounts, the company would have to pay the difference to the country in which it is headquartered. “The policy would also potentially affect some major companies by requiring that they pay taxes in the countries where their good and services are sold, and not just where they are physically present,” Fox News reported.
Biden has offered support for a plan to increase the U.S. corporate tax rate to 28% from 21%, along with a slew of other tax increases. A study released last September said such a move would raise taxes by $3.4 trillion on Americans and corporations over the next decade.
2. Harris Gets In Hot Water
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Vice President Kamala Harris became visibly frustrated during an interview with Central American media outlets on Thursday after they pressed her on when she plans to visit the U.S.-Mexico border to see Biden’s border crisis firsthand.
The interaction, which came during an interview with Univision anchor Ilia Calderón, followed a rocky week for Harris as she repeatedly struggled during her trip throughout Central America.
“I’ve said I’m going to the border,” Harris told the anchor. “And I --”
“When are you going to the border, Vice President?” Calderón responded.
“I’m not finished,” Harris fired back. “I’ve said I’m going to the border.”
Harris also struggled to respond to NBC’s Lester Holt when asked the same question a day later.
3. Omar Goes There
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Far-left Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) demonized the United States and Israel on Monday, claiming the two democracies commit “unthinkable atrocities” just like Islamic terrorist organizations.
“We must have the same level of accountability and justice for all victims of crimes against humanity,” Omar wrote on Twitter. “We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban.”
Hamas is a designated terrorist organization while the Taliban is an extremist organization.
Omar included a video of her questioning Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a committee hearing where she demanded to know where Palestinians could get “justice” over wrongs they claimed to have suffered.
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4. Only 12 Democrats Condemn Omar
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House Democrats released a statement on Wednesday night condemning Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-NY) for comparing the United States and Israel to an Islamic terrorist organization. Only 12 Democrats condemned Omar, which is less than 6% of the total number of Democrats in the House of Representatives.
“Equating the United States and Israel to Hamas and the Taliban is as offensive as it is misguided,” they wrote. “Ignoring the differences between democracies governed by the rule of law and contemptible organizations that engage in terrorism at best discredits one’s intended argument and at worst reflects deep-seated prejudice.”
In response, a group of Progressive Democrats responded by defending Omar, and pushing back against the 12 Democrats who’d spoken out.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) wrote on Twitter: “Pretty sick & tired of the constant vilification, intentional mischaracterization, and public targeting of @IlhanMN coming from our caucus. They have no concept for the danger they put her in by skipping private conversations & leaping to fueling targeted news cycles around her.”
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) wrote on Twitter: “Freedom of speech doesn’t exist for Muslim women in Congress. The benefit of the doubt doesn’t exist for Muslim women in Congress. House Democratic leadership should be ashamed of its relentless, exclusive tone policing of Congresswomen of color.”
Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) wrote on Twitter: “Stop attacking @IlhanMN. Stop attacking us. I’m not surprised when Republicans attack Black women for standing up for human rights. But when it’s Democrats, it’s especially hurtful. We’re your colleagues. Talk to us directly. Enough with the anti-Blackness and Islamophobia.”
5. Fauci Stays In The Crosshairs
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A trio of GOP senators this week called for Dr. Anthony Fauci to step down as a top health official in the Biden administration or be fired.
Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Tom Cotton (R-AR) all told Fox News in separate statements that Fauci’s resignation is needed to restore the trust of the American people in the federal government’s health guidance.
“Fauci needs to step down,” Blackburn said. “And the Biden Administration should ask him to step away from his post.”
Rubio said: “For 16 months we have seen Dr. Fauci withhold information, dismiss plausible explanations of COVID’s origin, and outright lie to Congress.”
“He is supposed to be a fact-based public health official, not a pundit distorting the truth to conform with his personal judgment,” he added. “If President Biden is committed to science and finding the truth about COVID, he needs to fire Fauci.”
6. Republicans Demand Answers
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Top Republicans on the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees are demanding that Fauci explain prior comments that the lawmakers suggest may contradict sworn testimony that he gave to Congress.
The issue in question centers around whether U.S. taxpayer money was sent to fund gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), the Chinese lab that officials believe may have been where the coronavirus originated from.
In a letter obtained by the Daily Caller, Oversight Committee Ranking Member James Comer and Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jim Jordan wrote to Fauci about remarks that he made in 2012 and 2014.
7. Fauci Says He Is 'Science'
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In a searing interview with MSNBC’s Chuck Todd on Wednesday, Fauci tore into his public critics, claiming that criticizing him is “attacking science.”
Fauci assailed his critics on a range of issues, defending his mask-wearing guidance, his involvement with social media, and allegations that he approved grants to a research lab in Wuhan, China, that is now being investigated for its involvement in the origins of COVID-19.
“Lately everything I say gets taken out of context — not by you, but by others,” Fauci told Todd. His critics’ claims, he added, are “painfully ridiculous” — so ridiculous he has no interest in refuting them.
“People want to fire me or put me in jail for what I’ve done — namely, follow the science,” he said. “It’s preposterous, Chuck. Totally preposterous.”
Fauci then appeared to claim that attacks on his statements are attacks on “science” itself.
“A lot of what you’re seeing as attacks on me, quite frankly, are attacks on science, because all of the things that I have spoken about, consistently from the very beginning, have been fundamentally based on science,” Fauci told Todd.
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