President Biden declared it “Infrastructure Week” after a milestone victory in the passing of his $1 trillion infrastructure bill on Saturday. The House gave final approval of the bill Friday night that would be the largest investment into an infrastructure project by the government in over a decade.
The infrastructure bill was originally introduced by the president as a $3 trillion project that includes things such as an increase in the country’s light rail system and projects that helped fight climate change, both of which have been cut out in order to get House republicans on board with the bill.
The funeral for former secretary of state, Colin L. Powell was Friday at Washington National Cathedral. In a ceremony usually reserved for higher ups such as presidents, Powell’s funeral united many across Washington including President Biden and former Presidents Obama and Bush. Powell was the son of Jamaican immigrants and was born in Harlem. Powell eventually made history as the first member of the military to serve as its top officer. Powell was also a huge fan of the Swedish group ABBA, a fact that could be seen at his funeral when the United States Army Brass Quintet played the song “Dancing Queen.” Powell was beloved by many in Washington and will be missed.
The Justice Department is suing the state of Texas over voting restrictions. A major voting law passed by Texas republicans is said to violate the Voting Rights Act by placing a limit over what assistance poll workers can provide to voters. The Justice Department says that the law is specifically targeting voters who do not speak English and voters with disabilities. The law targets absentee ballots as well. This is the latest case of a state’s republicans trying to add voter restrictions. Earlier this year Georgia republicans attempted to pass a law targeting the state’s Black voters.
After Tuesday’s election victories, the Republican Party is wondering whether former President Donald Trump should remain the face of the party. While many in the party still praise the former president, there are some who wonder whether his claims that the election was stolen have caused support for the party to decrease and is jeopardizing the party’s success. This party’s divide on whether they should continue using Trump as the face of the party has been prevalent since the election, but increased dramatically after the riot on the Capitol on Jan. 6, with many saying that it is time to leave the 2020 election behind them and accept the results. This has caused a rift in the party between those who continue to say that the election was rigged, despite there being no evidence of the claim.
