🧵 Starting the day Joe Biden took office, photographer @StephenVoss roamed the halls & streets of D.C. to capture the strangeness of life in D.C. at the dawn of a new presidential era.
Here’s what the first 100 days of Biden’s Washington looked like 👉 politi.co/2ShPsBe
Days into Biden’s presidency, the focus in Washington was still on Donald Trump, whom the House had voted to impeach for inciting the Capitol insurrection.
Trump became the first U.S. president to be impeached twice.
While Biden confronted the nation’s Covid crisis from the White House, the pandemic continued to make its mark on the capital, with D.C. cases peaking in mid-January
As the one-month anniversary of the Capitol insurrection approached, Congress remained heavily fortified, and Capitol Police officers mourned some of their own
By Day 18 of Biden’s presidency, Congress found its attention split. While the Senate considered Biden’s Cabinet nominations, it also started Trump’s second impeachment trial.
By mid-February, Washington started to move on. As the city began to reopen, small signs of normalcy appeared, even if the pall of the pandemic hadn’t lifted yet.
By the 50th day of Biden’s presidency, lawmakers were debating his Covid-relief stimulus plan as the city grappled with its own divisions
Spring brought a measure of renewal in Washington. D.C. residents rallied for representation in Congress, the Nationals took the field and cherry blossoms bloomed as vaccinations started en masse.
As Biden approached his 100th day in office, D.C. continued to grapple with loss. But as the verdict was announced in George Floyd’s murder — guilty — many residents finally felt some relief.
On Day 99 Biden delivered his first presidential address to a joint session of Congress. The audience was scaled down to about 200 people, including Sens. Ted Cruz and Joe Manchin, as a Covid precaution.
“America’s adversaries see the Jan. 6 insurrection as “proof that the sun is setting on American democracy,” Biden said in his speech.
“We have to prove them wrong,” he urged, giving, perhaps, a preview of what’s to come. politi.co/2ShPsBe
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
🧵 The 117th Congress is the most diverse ever, not only racially and ethnically, it also has more women & members of the LGBTQ community.
We sat down with 5 of the newest members from both sides of the aisle to get a better look at how they tick. politi.co/3nqNYQv
1️⃣ @ByronDonalds is one of only two Black Republicans in the House. He made headlines by running on controversial ideas like speaking out against Covid-19 safety measures and contesting the 2020 election. politi.co/3xAji3X
2️⃣ @NikemaWilliams' election win was marked by history. She became the first woman to represent Georgia’s 5th district, taking over the seat of her mentor, the late civil rights icon John Lewis. politi.co/3nMOnx7
As a result of Census Bureau population figures released Monday, if every state voted the same way in 2024 that they did in 2020, Biden would win 3 fewer Electoral College votes than he did in November, while the Republican nominee would win 3 more. politico.com/news/2021/04/2…
The Census shift is only a marginal one — it would only affect the closest of elections.
But that doesn’t mean the new state numbers won’t alter the landscape in 2024 and 2028. Here’s why 👇politi.co/3xnH7vM
In 2020, Biden beat Trump by 74 Electoral College votes. A net gain of 6 votes for Trump wouldn’t have mattered.
But in a close race — like in 2000, where 5 electoral votes separated George W. Bush and Al Gore — the re-balancing could tip the scales. politi.co/3xnH7vM
Former Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted today of murder for the May 2020 killing of George Floyd, the 46-year-old Black man whose neck Chauvin pinned down with his knee on the pavement of a south Minneapolis intersection for more than nine minutes. politi.co/3aJa2kv
The jury found Chauvin guilty of all three charges: second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. politi.co/3aJa2kv
President Biden and Vice President Harris spoke to Floyd’s family by phone.
“Nothing is gonna make it all better, but at least now there’s some justice,” Biden said.
Harris described the family as “real leaders at this moment where we needed you.” politi.co/3aJa2kv
Nancy Pelosi came to Maxine Waters’ defense on Monday, after GOP lawmakers said Waters' remarks in Minnesota stoked violence politico.com/news/2021/04/1…
Ahead of closing arguments in the trial of Derek Chauvin, Waters told demonstrators in Brooklyn Center, Minn. “to get more confrontational.”
“Maxine talked about confrontation in the manner of the civil rights movement,” Pelosi said. politi.co/32vzWmZ
Waters told The Grio today that her remarks were about “confronting the justice system, confronting the policing that’s going on,” through legislation and “speaking up.” politi.co/32vzWmZ