Parnell, who was running to replace retiring Senator Pat Toomey, had been considered the frontrunner in the Republican Senate primary after receiving Trump’s endorsement.

Joe and Jill Biden are now en route to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where they will have an (early) Thanksgiving celebration with US troops and their families.

Biden did not stop to take any questions from reporters as he left the White House to start the short trip to North Carolina.

.⁦@POTUS⁩ and ⁦@FLOTUS⁩ depart White House.

It must be the holiday season: Jill Biden was at the White House today to oversee the delivery of the first family’s Christmas tree.

It’s magnificent actually,” Biden told reporters as the tree arrived at the White House.

First lady Jill Biden receives this year's White House Christmas tree as it is delivered, gives small branch to her grandchild.

The first lady cut off a small branch of the tree and offered it to one of her grandchildren, Hunter Biden’s son Beau, who was at the White House for the occasion.

According to the White House, the 18 ft Fraser fir was grown in North Carolina by Rusty and Beau Estes, who are three-time winners of the National Christmas Tree Association’s 2021 grand championship.

Today, a United Nations human rights expert said that electoral laws in some parts of the US have deprived millions of citizens, namely from minority groups, of having the equal right to vote, reported Reuters.

special rapporteur on minority issues, speaking on the final day of a two-week visit to the United States, decried a Texas law that he said resulted in “gerrymandering” and dilution of voting rights of minorities in favour of white Americans.

The Guardian’s Sam Levine also wrote about key voting rights legislation being blocked by Republicans in the Senate and if Democrats could address legislative obstacles:.

No, it’s not deja vu: Senate Republicans once again used the filibuster on Wednesday to stymie Democratic efforts to pass a significant voting rights bill.

But Democrats and other voting rights advocates hope that this time is different.

Instead, they hoped to use the vote as a final chance to show the West Virginia senator Joe Manchin and Arizona senator Kyrsten Sinema, two of the staunchest filibuster defenders, that there is no hope of passing a voting rights bill while the filibuster remains in place.

Vermont’s only member of the US House, Democratic representative Peter Welch, announced today that he will run for the US Senate.

“I’m running for the United States Senate to work for you, for Vermont, for our country, and for our imperiled democracy,” said Welch in an announcement video shared to Twitter.

Are we going to fight for reproductive rights and racial justice.

Welch, who was elected to Congress in 2007, said that he promises to use his experience in the House to work across the aisle and get progressive policies like the Green New Deal passed.

Leahy’s retirement and Welch’s senate run would create the first open seats in Vermont’s congressional delegation since 2006 when Sanders became a senator and Welch took his seat in the House.

The money, which includes funds from the American Rescue Plan and other sources, will support more than 22,700 providers, marking the largest number of providers enrolled in these programs in history, according to the White House

In other news, more than 90% of federal workers have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine by today’s deadline set by Joe Biden, the Associated Press reports

Previously in September, Biden announced that more than 3.5mn federal workers were required to get their Covid vaccine with no alternative testing option unless employees could get approved for medical or religious exemption

The current success of the federal worker vaccine mandate could be a sign of progress for the Biden administration’s efforts to encourage Covid-19 vaccinations despite previous pushback

Jerome Powell pledged that, if confirmed by the Senate, he would use his second term as Federal Reserve chair to drive down unemployment and confront inflation

Dr Lael Brainard, who has been nominated by Joe Biden to serve as Fed vice-chair, similarly pledged to tackle inflation if confirmed by the Senate

“I’m committed to putting working Americans at the center of my work at the Federal Reserve,” Brainard said

Joe Biden pushed back against progressive criticism of his decision to renominate Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve board of governors

“Some will no doubt question why I’m renominating Jay when he was the choice of a Republican predecessor,” Biden said

Joe Biden used his speech on his nominations for the Federal Reserve board of governors to tout the country’s economic progress since he took office

“America is the only major economy — the only one in the world — where the economy is bigger today, and families have more money in their pockets today, than before the pandemic hit,” Biden said

Joe Biden has now started his speech on his nominations for the Federal Reserve board of governors, which the White House announced this morning

“While we don’t have all the facts and details yet, we know this morning that five families in Waukesha are facing fresh grief,” Biden said

Joe and Jill Biden will spend some time with US service members this evening to mark Thanksgiving, which the country will celebrate on Thursday

Before flying to Fort Bragg, the president will deliver a speech on the his newly announced nominations for the Federal Reserve board of governors

Jerome Powell, who has been renominated as board chair, and Lael Brainard, who has been nominated as vice-chair, will also speak at the White House event

Progressive senator Elizabeth Warren confirmed she will oppose the renomination of Jerome Powell to serve another term as chair of the Federal Reserve board of governors

“It’s no secret I oppose Chair Jerome Powell’s renomination, and I will vote against him,” the Massachusetts Democrat said in a statement

Warren noted she will support the nomination of Dr Lael Brainard as vice-chair, adding that Powell’s “failures on regulation, climate, and ethics make the still-vacant position of Vice Chair of Supervision critically important”

My statement on the Federal Reserve nominations: pic.twitter.com/W8FgAJdj2e

Although she will not have a vote in Jerome Powell’s Senate confirmation battle, House speaker Nancy Pelosi praised Joe Biden’s decision to renominate the Federal Reserve board chair for another term

“Chairman Powell has brought steady leadership and sound judgment to the Federal Reserve’s mission of promoting maximum employment, stable prices and a sound financial system, especially during a time of unprecedented crisis,” Pelosi said in a statement

It would require 15 days of early voting, implement automatic and same-day registration and allow anyone to cast a mail-in ballot if they want to

The measure is one of two major pieces of voting rights legislation stalled in the senate

The second is the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore a key provision of the Voting Rights Act that require places with a history of voting discrimination to get election changes approved by the federal government before they go into effect