Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Capitol Riot's Toll Grows On Health Of National Guard
Politico: Lawmakers Demand Answers On Covid Outbreak, Guard Deployments
Frustrated lawmakers on Wednesday demanded a better accounting of the scope of a Covid outbreak among the National Guard members deployed to the Capitol, and answers on why thousands of troops are being forced to remain on duty in Washington, D.C., through March for an unspecified threat. “That is a really dense force packed into just a few blocks — that’s more than we have in Iraq and Afghanistan combined,” said Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.). “If there is not a very clear threat and a very clear mission then send them home.” (Seligman and Desiderio, 1/27)
Politico: Second Police Officer Died By Suicide Following Capitol Attack
A second police officer who responded to the violent insurrection that rocked the Capitol Building on Jan. 6 has died by suicide, according to testimony obtained by POLITICO. Acting Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee told House appropriators during a closed-door session on Tuesday that Jeffrey Smith, a D.C. Police officer, and Capitol Police Officer Howard Liebengood both “took their own lives in the aftermath of that battle.” (Emma and Ferris, 1/27)
In other news from Capitol Hill —
The Hill: House Democrat Says The COVID-19 Vaccination Distribution Is 'Not An Issue That Should Be Tainted With Politics'
The U.S. needs strong leadership to educate Americans about the coronavirus vaccine and get it distributed, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) said on Wednesday. Speaking at The Hill’s “The Challenge of Our Time: The COVID-19 Vaccine” event, Johnson told moderator Steve Clemons that the past administration’s distribution of and discussion about the COVID-19 vaccine was “disjointed and had an appearance of being very partisan.” (Oakes, 1/27)
Politico: Leahy’s Hospitalization Shows Dems’ Majority Hangs By Thread
Here’s how fragile Democrats’ Senate majority is: The brief Tuesday hospitalization of Senate pro tem Patrick Leahy prompted nearly everyone in the Capitol to research Vermont’s Senate vacancy laws, just in case. Leahy (D-Vt.), who has served in the Senate since 1975, returned to work on Wednesday seemingly unscathed. The most senior Democratic senator said he was given a “clean bill of health” after being briefly hospitalized on Tuesday evening after suffering muscle spasms. The 80-year-old Democrat also indicated he's cleared to perform his normal duties. (Everett, 1/27)
KHN: 4 Vital Health Issues — Not Tied To Covid — That Congress Addressed In Massive Spending Bill
Late last month, before President Joe Biden took office and proposed his pandemic relief plan, Congress passed a nearly 5,600-page legislative package that provided some pandemic relief along with its more general allocations to fund the government in 2021.While the $900 billion that lawmakers included for urgent pandemic relief got most of the attention, some even bigger changes for health care were buried in the other parts of that huge legislative package. (Huetteman, 1/28)
