MONDAY 2/6/23
(Strong new jobs numbers certainly will be a key subject in President Biden's State of the Union address Tuesday. Scroll down to read about last month's job growth numbers and 3.4% unemployment rate.)
President Biden gives his State of the Union address Tuesday, February 7 at 9 p.m. Eastern time. Look for the president to tout last week’s surprise jobs numbers, and the big spending programs Republicans want to diminish in exchange for raising the debt ceiling.
Biden has been touring East Coast cities in recent weeks to promote bridge and tunnel rehab projects that will be funded by last year’s bipartisan infrastructure bill.
China’s Spy Balloon … certainly will come up. U.S. military shot it down at 2:39 Eastern time off the coast of South Carolina, immediately drawing the ire of China despite Beijing describing it as a “civilian” balloon that went off course. Meanwhile, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), already considered a potential presidential candidate for 2024 had criticized the White House for failing to drop the balloon from the sky the moment it entered U.S. airspace.
The Politics: Biden is expected to announce his run for a second term soon. Much of Tuesday’s SOTU will be about his agenda, and his campaign arguments.
White House Links: The Biden administration offers this handy link on how to watch the annual State of the Union address Tuesday: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/blog/2023/02/04/how-to-watch-president-bidens-2023-state-of-the-union-address/
--TL
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SAT-SUN 2/4-5/23
New Early DNC Primary Schedule -- The Democratic National Committee has knocked the Iowa caucus out of the pole position for its 2024 early primary schedule, The Hill reports. DNC committee members moved South Carolina, the state that saved Joe Biden’s candidacy in 2020, to the lead for next year, at its winter meeting in Philadelphia.
The early schedule, per Ballotpedia:
February 3, 2024: South Carolina
February 6: New Hampshire and Nevada
February 13: Georgia
February 27: Michigan
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FRIDAY 2/3/23
Huge Job Gains in January – The U.S. economy added 517,000 jobs in January, the Labor Department reports Friday, and the unemployment rate slid slightly to 3.4%, lowest since 1969. Despite a wave of high-profile layoffs at tech companies, there was widespread job growth across many industries, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics says, though it highlights the usual suspects; Leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, and health care. There were also job gains in government, the BLS notes, reflecting workers returning from a strike.
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Spy Balloon Over Montana – Beijing is looking into reports of a Chinese spy balloon spotted over U.S. airspace, including three nuclear silo fields at Malstrom Air Force Base in Montana, NPR reports. Spokesperson Mao Ning said she has no information on whether U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit China next week, as planned. Blinken would be the highest-ranking Biden administration official to visit the country.
The U.S. has not shot down the Chinese surveillance balloon, which is flying well above commercial airspace, for fears of the potential danger of falling debris.
The report comes a day after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin signed an agreement in Manila to open four additional U.S. military bases in The Philippines in support of America’s allies in the region.
This Just In: Beijing has “expressed regret” for the Chinese surveillance balloon spotted flying over the U.S. (The New York Times) and says it’s for “civilian research” and drifted off-course. Meanwhile: Blinken has postponed his trip to China in light of the balloon, The Washington Post reports.
--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa