Democrats Hold January 6 Anniversary Event

It’s Friday, January 7th, and this is your Morning Wire. Listen to the full podcast:

1) Democrats Hold January 6 Anniversary Event

The Topline: Yesterday, on the one year anniversary of the Capitol riot, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris delivered scathing addresses, railing against former President Donald Trump and calling on Democrats to pass election reform. 

Quote Of The Day: “Dates that occupy not only a place on our calendars, but a place in our collective memory. December 7th, 1941. September 11th, 2001. And January 6th, 2021.”

– Vice President Kamala Harris

Greg Nash-Pool/Pool/Getty Images

Biden’s Speech

President Biden delivered a speech as part of a larger ceremony honoring Capitol police officers and remembering the riot. He began by calling the event an attack on democracy, comparing the rioters to Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. He also compared the day to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, saying in the same way America banded together against fascism after that attack, they must do the same now. 

After praising the Republicans who still “want to be the party, the party of Lincoln, Eisenhower, Reagan, the Bushes,” he criticized President Trump, accusing him of lying about the results of the election to fuel outrage, and saying he didn’t do enough to prevent the riot as it was unfolding. 

President Biden told reporters he didn’t call out President Trump by name because he wanted to avoid “a contemporary political battle.”

Vice President Kamala Harris

Vice President Harris spoke before Biden and delivered a similar message, comparing the riot to Pearl Harbor and the attacks of September 11th. 

While President Biden alluded to the need to pass the Democrats’ election reform bill, Vice President Harris was much more direct, and closed her speech with a call to action. 

Throughout the day, Democrats painted the riot as an unprecedented attack on democracy and said the response should be the passage of their election bill.

Election Bill 

Currently, each state decides its own voting laws, but the Democrats’ proposed bill would essentially override statewide election laws and federalize the process. It would allow for same-day voter registration, require states to offer at least two weeks of early voting, allow anyone to vote by mail for any reason, and restore the right of felons to vote. It would also loosen voter identification requirements and allow people to vote without an ID. 

In its current form, the bill seems unlikely to pass, as Republicans have universally opposed it, calling the measure unconstitutional and federal overreach. 

Republican Response

Many Republican leaders said the Capitol riot was undeniably wrong and that violence should be condemned, but that Democrats and the media had exaggerated it’s impact. Many pointed out how comparing the riot to an event such as Pearl Harbor, which killed thousands of people, would not bring people together. 

They also pointed out that while Democrats routinely implied the riot was deadly, the only person killed was a rioter trying to enter a barricaded door in the Capitol. 

Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) said January 6th was like Christmas day for Democrats and the media before taking aim at those comparing the attacks to 9/11 and Pearl Harbor.

Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg/Contributor via Getty Images

2) Federal Vaccine Mandate Goes To Supreme Court

The Topline: The Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments today over two federal vaccine mandates – the mandate for healthcare workers and the OSHA mandate for private employers – which would impact around 85 million Americans.

OSHA Mandate

OSHA’s mandate would require businesses with over 100 employees to require their employees to show proof of vaccination, or otherwise be tested weekly and wear masks in the workplace. 

The Daily Wire was the first private business in the country to oppose the mandate in court. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals stayed the Mandate, and the 6th Circuit lifted that stay. Now it’s before the Supreme Court, with dozens of private parties and most of the states asking the Court to reinstate a stay.

The Court set an expedited schedule, with oral argument taking place today. Although there were dozens of parties, the court limited the argument time to one hour and chose two representative petitioners to argue. Those were a coalition of 28 states including Ohio, Florida, Texas, and Tennessee, and a coalition of businesses, the National Federation of Independent Business. 

What Could Happen

The mandate is slated to go into effect on January 10th, and OSHA will start enforcing it in earnest on February 9th. The Court likely set oral arguments for today so it could make a ruling before Monday. If there’s going to be another stay, Americans can expect it to happen today or over the weekend.

There are many constitutional and statutory reasons the Court could grant a stay. The petitioners will argue that this mandate is

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