- President to meet Shelley Moore Capito to try to bridge divide
- Biden and aides say time is running out to strike bipartisan deal
- Trump’s ex-counsel to be quizzed on Russia investigation
2.41pm BST
The jobs report numbers out today were overall positive. My colleague Dominic Rushe has more:
The US added 559,000 jobs in May as the coronavirus pandemic receded, shaking off fears of a substantial slowdown in hiring after April’s disappointing monthly report.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday that the unemployment rate had fallen to 5.8% from 6.1% in April, still significantly higher than the 3.8% unemployment rate recorded in February 2020 before Covid 19 hit the US but less than half its 14.8% peak in April last year.
Related: US adds 559,000 jobs in May as fears of hiring slowdown fade
2.27pm BST
Former congressman Allen West, the ex-Florida member of Congress-turned chairman of the Texas Republican Party, is stepping down from his post.
He had been leading the Texas Republican Party for less than a year, a short tenure for a chairman to abruptly end.
Texas Republican Party chairman and ex-Florida congressman Allen West is resigning, per the party’s vice chair –> https://t.co/M5EPchGxnc
He did announce his resignation but it is not effective at 5pm today. He will stay at the helm until early July. https://t.co/rBKiMWhOK0
TX GOP release: “Lt. Col. Allen West will take this opportunity to prayerfully reflect on a new chapter in his already distinguished career.”https://t.co/NyEhmBzBMJ pic.twitter.com/VKASpK8o9k
2.15pm BST
Good morning readers, Daniel Strauss here. Let’s get started.
Joe Biden continues to find a deal with Republicans and conservative members of the Democratic party elusive on the primary legislative initiative his administration is focusing on.
President Biden is expected to speak to top Republican negotiator Sen. Capito about infrastructure this afternoon, I’m told.
In an interview with CNN on Thursday, Manchin said bipartisan infrastructure talks should continue even as pressure builds for Democrats to move ahead without Republicans, and he dismissed calls to create a special carveout from the Senate’s filibuster rules to pass a voting overhaul bill along straight party lines, a key priority for Democrats that faces stiff opposition from GOP lawmakers.
Manchin heads into a pivotal time for Congress where a number of key policy issues are on a razor’s edge in the Senate, giving the swing Democrat enormous sway over the future of the Biden agenda. At the centerpiece of that agenda is the infrastructure package that Biden and Republicans are furiously negotiating in a last-ditch attempt to cut a compromise, though they remain far apart.