December 17 political news briefs

Here are today’s political news briefs.

Senate Majority Leader McConnell (R-Ky) said today that he believes there is a Covid-19 relief deal is close, but more work is needed over the weekend to complete it. The package would include $600 in one-time direct payments, provide $300 a week in federal unemployment insurance payments, $300 billion for the small business loan program, and money for vaccine distribution and testing, and a few other things. House Speaker Pelosi (D-Calif) said they are making progress.

The Labor Department said 885,000 Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week. ABC News said it is the highest weekly total since September, which means that the U.S. economy is dwindling again as a result of spikes in Covid-19 cases.

Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen plan to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine tomorrow with the Surgeon General Jerome Adams.

ABC News reported that the director of the White House security office, Crede Bailey, was in an ICU unit for three months and had a part of his right leg amputated after he became infected with Covid-19 several months ago. Bailey is now staying at a full-time rehabilitation facility and people close to him have set up a GoFundMe to help with his medical bills. The fundraiser said although he has health insurance, the bills are astronomical. So far people have donated over $70,000.

News reports said President-elect Joe Biden has selected Michael Regan to head the Environmental Protection Agency. He is currently the head of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be the first Black man to lead the EPA. Lisa Jackson is the first black person to lead the EPA during the Obama administration.

News reports also said Biden has picked Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM) to become the interior secretary. If confirmed, she would be the first Native American person to lead the agency. The Interior Department oversees natural resources and tribal lands. The Washington Post said tribal and progressive leaders have lobbied hard for Biden to put an indigenous leader in this position.

Russian President Putin denied that his government was behind the poisoning of Alexei Navalny, who is a political rival. Navalany became gravely ill when he was on a plane in August and tests showed that he was exposed to a nerve agent called Novichok, which was created during the Soviet Union era. Several news reports this week said agents within Russia’s FSB intelligence agency were following Navalny for years and poisoned him. Putin said if they wanted to kill Navalny, they would have been successful.

That is all the political news briefs for today.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mcconnell-covid-19-relief-deal-payments-individuals-businesses/story?id=74780339

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/us-jobless-claims-rise-885000-amid-resurgence-virus-74778000?cid=clicksource_4380645_2_heads_hero_live_headlines_hed

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/12/17/us/joe-biden-trump

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/white-house-security-director-part-leg-amputated-falling/story?id=74757679&cid=clicksource_4380645_2_heads_hero_live_headlines_hed

https://www.gofundme.com/f/crede-amp-family

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/biden-selects-michael-regan-north-carolina-environmental-chief-head-epa-n1251598

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/12/17/deb-haaland-interior-secretary-biden/

https://apnews.com/article/vladimir-putin-alexei-navalny-poisoning-325535308e61b232343514fb2cdfe3a5