Presented by The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing
A man carries a mask as he walks along Roosevelt Avenue in New York City. | Spencer Platt/Getty Images
AFTERSHOCKS — Within three years of the first government-mandated shutdowns, polling suggested that Covid-19 and its aftermath had become one of the least important issues to Americans. By the time the 2024 election rolled around, it barely registered at all in surveys.
But looking back at the past year in politics and policy — as well as culture — it seems clear that this was once again a year shaped and created by Covid. The latest example? Vermont’s recently re-elected Gov. Phil Scott was forced to cancel public appearances this week after testing positive for the virus.
The culture we live in, our politics, our politicians, the way we think about our economic circumstances, and even our families are still reckoning with the aftershocks every day.
Few people still think about fomites, R-naughts or vaccine trials anymore. Rather, It is the spirit of the pandemic and its response that has seeped into our lives and reordered them.
Take a trip to the grocery store. Ask yourself, if you see that paper towels are in short supply as you roll your cart down the aisle, do you wonder about shortages more than you used to? Do you wonder about supply chain resilience? That March 2020 spirit begins to move back in, even if the shortage is simply a store issue. (Or maybe they are still understaffed, as they have been for a couple years? The grocery store basically becomes a choose-your-own-adventure of Covid themes.)
The pandemic experience spawned an entire cohort of voters for whom opposition to vaccine mandates and government lockdowns is central to their political identities. While the country clearly says it doesn’t want to think about Covid anymore, the federal government plans to continue probing its after-effects. Many who decried Biden-era pandemic policy on everything from the operation of schools to vaccines and business restrictions will now occupy top governmental seats in the second Trump administration.
Even our biggest recent cultural moments are indelibly marked by the stamp of Covid — an expression of the desire to memory-hole Covid with mass events that run counter to an era of masking and social distancing.
The Olympics this summer were one such blockbuster event — in television ratings and cultural attention — in direct contrast to the previous two editions, which were each unofficially Covid-themed oddities. In the world of concerts, fans clearly wanted to return to arenas and stadiums; five of the 10 highest-grossing concert tours of all time took place at least partially in 2024 (headlined, of course, by Taylor Swift.)
Need further confirmation? Take the Billboard Hot 100 list’s now co-longest running song, Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song,” which begins: “My baby want a Birkin , she’s been tellin’ me all night long, Gasoline and groceries, the list goes on and on, This 9 to 5 ain’t workin’, why the hell do I work so hard?”
Yes, for 19 weeks, a song that began with complaints about the high cost of groceries was the No. 1 song in the country. That pandemic-related inflation — the biggest issue for Americans in the 2024 election — was the result of economic conditions created directly by the Covid outbreak and the efforts of governments around the world to pull themselves out of a recession spiral.
Politics, culture and economy aside, there are smaller signs of Covid’s lingering influence. When I moved to a new DC apartment this year, I was greeted by a lovely ornament outside my door: the floor’s hand sanitizer station. But upon attempting to use it, it appeared empty. And it has sat, empty, for months right there. America may be done thinking about the pandemic, but its scars won’t stop reminding us.
A message from The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing:
Big Pharma’s patent abuse drives up drug prices and blocks competition – costing patients and the U.S. health care system billions. Patent thickets protect profits, not innovation, and extend monopolies on blockbuster drugs while millions of Americans struggle to afford their medications. This year, the Senate unanimously passed Cornyn-Blumenthal, a bipartisan solution to curb these anti-competitive tactics. Time is running out – Congress must pass Cornyn-Blumenthal and deliver relief to patients before it’s too late. Learn more.
What'd I Miss?
— Connolly wins vote to be top Oversight Democrat: Rep. Gerry Connolly cemented his victory as the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee , besting Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a closed-door caucus vote this morning, according to two people in the room for the vote. On Monday, Connolly (D-Va.) won the recommendation of the powerful Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, which oversees committee assignments. The caucus has generally followed the steering panel’s picks. Connolly, a veteran investigator, had launched his bid after current Oversight ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) launched a bid to become the top Judiciary Committee Democrat.
— Kamala Harris urges supporters to ‘stay in the fight’: Vice President Kamala Harris today sought to rally Americans demoralized by her electoral loss , urging them to “stay in the fight” ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office. “In moments like this, the true test of our character is how resilient and persistent we are to pursue the future that we all can see,” she said in a speech to young voters in Maryland, in which she did not mention Trump by name. “Do we throw up our hands, or do we roll up our sleeves?” The appearance represented Harris’ first major public remarks since she conceded the November election.
TRUMP TEMPER TANTRUM!
— Trump sues Iowa pollster over survey that showed Harris ahead: President-elect Donald Trump is suing retired Iowa pollster J. Ann Selzer over her pre-election survey that showed Vice President Kamala Harris leading in the state, calling it “brazen election interference.” The shock poll, which drew national attention given Selzer’s record of success in Iowa, proved incorrect: Trump won the state by more than 13 points. But that has not stopped the president-elect from claiming the poll was intended to manipulate the results of the election.
Billions in spending. Critical foreign aid. Immigration reform. The final weeks of 2024 could bring major policy changes. Inside Congress provides daily insights into how Congressional leaders are navigating these high-stakes issues. Subscribe today .
THE NEXT ADMINISTRATION
CHINA IS LEADING THE WORLD WITH CHEAP CLEAN ENERGY & THEY'RE PROSPERING - YOU CAN THANK TRUMP, REPUBLICANS & DIRTY ENERGY!
While the report from the Energy Department stops short of recommending the U.S. cap exports, as environmentalists had demanded, it recommended that regulators take a much stricter line in determining whether the United States’ soaring gas permits are benefiting or imperiling the national interest.
That advice could give opponents of the growing trade a new tool to challenge any new liquefied natural gas plants that the energy industry seeks to build on President-elect Donald Trump’s watch. And it could hand Trump’s critics new legal tools to file challenges that frustrate his wishes.
BROOKS AT HHS — President-elect Donald Trump has tapped John Brooks to lead his HHS landing team , three people familiar with the selection granted anonymity to discuss government transition efforts told POLITICO.
The elevation of Brooks, a former senior Medicare official during Trump’s first term who went on to advise former HHS Secretary Alex Azar on drug pricing policy, lends policy heft to a Trump health team that has faced scrutiny over its top nominees’ lack of government experience.
McKenna, a private pilot who heads a small Washington advisory and investment firm, would be the latest of Trump’s picks to take on a top job at the Pentagon without significant experience inside the building.
McKenna served in the White House Liaison’s office at the Agriculture Department during the George W. Bush administration before jumping into the private sector, according to a biography on his firm’s website.
A message from The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing:
AROUND THE WORLD
A view of the blast scene, which killed leading Russian military officer Igor Kirillov and his assistant outside a residential building in Moscow today. | Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images
Lieutenant-General Igor Kirillov, commander of the nuclear, biological and chemical forces of the Russian army, died in a blast as he was heading out of a residential block in Moscow, the Russian Investigative Committee said in a statement.
An explosive device was hidden in an electric scooter parked nearby. Kirillov’s aide also died in the attack, the investigative committee said, announcing a criminal investigation. Video footage obtained by POLITICO corroborates that version of events.
Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) claimed responsibility for Kirillov’s murder, a Ukrainian law enforcement official told POLITICO after being granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive topic. excerpt: A few hours before the attack, the SBU charged Kirillov in absentia for ordering the massive use of banned chemical weapons against the Ukrainian army on the eastern and southern fronts of the battlefield.
“Since the beginning of the full-scale war, following Kirillov’s orders, the Russian army used different types of banned chemical munitions against Ukraine more than 4,800 times,” the SBU said in a statement Monday.
More than 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been sent to hospitals with varying degrees of chemical poisoning since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.
“Russians use ammunition with poisonous substances in the form of discharges from FPV drones,” the SBU added, claiming the Kremlin's troops utilize chemical weapons to force Ukrainian soldiers to come out of their trenches and face direct fire.
The United Kingdom sanctioned Kirillov for the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine in October. Besides using banned munitions, Kirillov also regularly spread disinformation about the U.S. and Ukraine preparing to use contaminated battle mosquitos against adversaries.
“Since the begin
A few hours be
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Nightly Number
MAGA GOP AGAIN JEOPARDIZE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN!
Over $100 billion
The amount of emergency aid for disaster relief in the bipartisan deal that will push the government funding deadline to March 14, according to House Republicans briefed on the plan.
Speaker Mike Johnson said text of the bill could be released Tuesday, and he is not promising to allow lawmakers a full 72 hours to review the measure ahead of passage, according to two people who attended the closed-door meeting.
If the House passes the package toward the end of the week, it will land in the Senate just ahead of the Friday night government shutdown deadline. On that side of the Capitol, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said negotiations are still ongoing.
Johnson: Bipartisan funding bill includes disaster relief
"Obviously we’re getting closer to the Dec. 20 deadline, so time is of the essence for Republicans to reach an agreement with us that we can act on quickly," he said Tuesday morning.
While a brief funding lapse is still possible, an agreement to fast-track final passage in the Senate is likely since lawmakers are eager to leave town for the holidays.
The inclusion of a policy that would approve increased ethanol sales is a major win for Republicans in corn states, and a large group of GOP senators strongly backed the move, helping Midwest Republicans in the House push the measure into the package. But many House conservatives, who had urged Johnson to forgo the policy and overwhelmingly oppose ethanol subsidies, are livid about its inclusion.
RADAR SWEEP
GREEN SKIING — As the world grapples with climate change, ski resorts countries are investing in a green alternative — dry slope skiing. A ski resort that opened in Denmark in 2019 now has a 400m-long ski piste made with a synthetic surface that imitates snow, drawing tens of thousands of visitors. And dry slopes elsewhere around the world are growing in popularity, with over 1,000 in 50 countries — including one in Lynchburg, Virginia. Skiing purists still prefer fresh powder that dry slopes can’t accommodate. But as there’s less snow the world over and weather patterns become less predictable, alternatives are once again in vogue, after a short-lived brush with popularity in the UK in the 1970s. For the BBC, Wendy Helfenbaum explores how artificial ski slopes are making a comeback thanks to climate change.
Parting Image
On this date in 1979: President Jimmy Carter offers a toast to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher during a State dinner in honor of Thatcher at the White House. | Dennis Cook/AP
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A message from The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing:
Big Pharma’s patent abuse drives up drug prices and blocks competition – costing patients and the U.S. health care system billions. Patent thickets protect profits, not innovation, and extend monopolies on blockbuster drugs while millions of Americans struggle to afford their medications. This year, the Senate unanimously passed Cornyn-Blumenthal, a bipartisan solution to curb these anti-competitive tactics. Time is running out – Congress must pass Cornyn-Blumenthal and deliver relief to patients before it’s too late. Learn more.
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