Manchin criticizes Republican opposition to 6 January commission: ‘There’s no excuse’ – as it happened

Caitlyn Jenner criticized for confusing comma usage in ‘cancel culture’ tweet

Earlier this month, my colleague Andrew Gumbel reported that Caitlyn Jenner’s attempt to mobilize her fame to become the next governor of California was falling flat.

Today, the former Olympian and Kardashian step-parent tweeted about “cancel culture” in such a convoluted way that many of the Twitter reactions have simply focused on her comma usage.

Focus on the filibuster as GOP prepares to block commission on 6 January

Senate Republicans are poised to block the creation of a special commission to study the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, dashing hopes for a bipartisan panel amid a GOP push to put the violent insurrection by Donald Trump’s supporters behind them, the Associated Press reports.

Broad Republican opposition was expected in what would be the first successful Senate filibuster of the Biden presidency.

The Republican opposition to the bipartisan panel has revived Democratic pressure to do away with the filibuster, a time-honored Senate tradition that requires a vote by 60 of the 100 senators to cut off debate and advance a bill. With the Senate evenly split 50-50, Democrats need support of 10 Republicans to move to the commission bill, sparking fresh debate over whether the time has come to change the rules and lower the threshold to 51 votes to take up legislation.

Many Democrats are warning that if Republicans are willing to use the filibuster to stop an arguably popular measure, it shows the limits of trying to broker compromises, particularly on bills related to election reforms or other aspects of the Democrats’ agenda.

For now, though, Democrats don’t have the votes to change the rule. West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, both moderate Democrats, have said they want to preserve the filibuster. Manchin said earlier today that there is “no excuse” for Republicans to vote against the commission, but that he is “not ready to destroy our government” by doing away with the procedural tactic.

Others, including historian Kevin Kruse, disagreed.

‘Vax for the Win:’ California launches coronavirus vaccine lottery

California will give away $116.5 million to help encourage state residents to get the coronavirus vaccine, SFGate reports, mirroring a similar lottery program launched in Ohio.

“We’re pulling out all the stops to get everyone vaccinated by June 15,” the California governor’s account tweeted.

Clyburn: House committees must investigate Capitol attack if GOP blocks commission

Speaking on CNN ahead of an expected vote on the creation of a bipartisan commission to investigate the 6 January attack, Jim Clyburn is already calling for Democratic action if Senate Republicans block the bill.

The NRA’s annual meeting is back and scheduled for this September

This is Lois Beckett, picking up our live politics coverage from Los Angeles.

The National Rifle Association’s annual meeting for members is back this fall, after being cancelled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, the gun rights group announced today.

The event, which in the past has attracted tens of thousands of gun aficionados, is scheduled for early September in Houston, Texas. It comes as the group continues to face major legal challenges.

There has been a pause in the Senate votes on amendments to the Endless Frontier Act, and Democratic Senator Ben Cardin is now delivering a floor speech denouncing anti-Semitism.

It appears that Senate leaders are trying to work out a deal to speed through the remaining votes on the bill, but they haven’t reached an agreement yet.

Once the amendment votes are completed, the Senate will move on to its procedural vote on the 6 January commission bill, but the exact timing on that is still unclear. It may be a long night for the Senate.

The Senate has been holding a series of votes on amendments to a science and technology research bill. Once those votes wrap up, the upper chamber will move on to a procedural vote on the 6 January commission bill.

Senate Republican leaders have indicated they believe they have the votes to defeat the commission bill, which passed the House with some Republican support last week.

Alexandra Villarreal reports for the Guardian:

Natalie Jackson, a prominent Florida attorney whose clients include Trayvon Martin’s family, is running to replace Representative Val Demings in Congress next year.

Just days into her campaign for the Orlando-based House seat, Jackson has already garnered endorsements from two powerful civil rights champions: attorney Benjamin Crump and Philonise Floyd, George Floyd’s brother.

In recent years, Jackson has collaborated with Crump on some of the nation’s most high-profile police violence cases, representing the families of Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others, according to Florida Politics.

“What we saw with George Floyd, we saw his family get justice in court. But that five minutes of justice didn’t address the entire criminal justice system, nor did it address the economic inequality in Orange county,” Jackson said.

“We need to bring about that type of change. So I feel I can be best suited in the legislature to do that.”