Sen. Jeff MerkleyJeff MerkleyOVERNIGHT ENERGY: Graham, Sullivan signal possible support for Haaland confirmation | Agency says Biden leasing pause won’t impact 2021 energy production | Senate panel unanimously advances Biden pick for deputy Energy chief Lawmakers aim to incentivize weatherizing power lines Senate Democrat on detained migrant children: ‘It’s approaching a crisis’ MORE (D-Ore.) on Thursday said the surge in migrant children being held at the U.S.-Mexico border is “approaching a crisis” that could be exacerbated by further waves of families from Latin American countries. 

The remarks came in response to new federal data obtained by The Washington Post Wednesday that found a record number of nearly 3,500 migrant teenagers and children are currently being detained in adult detention centers following a surge in migrants in February. 

When asked by CNN’s Alisyn Camerota if it is “fair to call what we’re seeing today at the border a crisis,” Merkley argued that while it could get to that point, a large number of the children being detained were “stranded, some for months, some for years, by the Trump administration in Mexico under completely intolerable circumstances.” 

ADVERTISEMENT

“Now that the border is not closed, they’re knocking on our door, and you had a set of policies that were determined to treat children very poorly so you didn’t have essentially the systems in place under the Trump administration, and the Biden administration is creating those systems and they’re doing it with a completely different vision,” the senator added. 

After Camerota suggested that the more open border policies being pursued by the Biden administration could be seen as an “invitation” for more migrants to come to the border, Merkley pushed back on the assertion. 

“I wouldn’t call it an invitation because the Biden administration has been saying the message, ‘do not send, do not come north,’ and they’ve been talking to governments throughout the region on their strategies,” the senator added, referring to continued remarks from the White House that now is “not the time” to migrate into the U.S. amid the pandemic. 

Merkley, however, said the Biden administration is committed to ensuring migrant children “spend the minimum amount of time in these Border Patrol stations where the circumstances are totally inappropriate for children.” 

ADVERTISEMENT

President Biden throughout his campaign and in his first months in office has committed to shifting away from the more stringent policies put in place by the Trump administration, including the widely condemned zero-tolerance policy of separating families at the border and repeatedly turning back migrants throughout the pandemic without offering the opportunity to claim asylum. 

White House press secretary Jen PsakiJen PsakiWhite House faces challenge overcoming GOP vaccine hesitancy Bill would block Biden from delisting Cuba as state sponsor of terrorism The Hill’s 12:30 Report – Presented by Johns Hopkins University – Biden sets optimistic tone for summer MORE on Tuesday said the Biden administration is looking at new facilities to house unaccompanied children, enabling officials to move thousands of children out of temporary Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilities and into housing managed by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). 

Psaki said children moved to HHS housing would have access to education, health care and legal services.

“We don’t want them to be in the CBP facilities,” she said. “We want them to be in shelters as quickly as possible and ultimately in families and homes where their applications can be processed.”

The Pentagon is facing heat after it extended the deployment of National Guardsmen at the U.S. Capitol for another two months.

Lawmakers have amplified their calls to prove the validity of the Guard’s mission — which earlier this week was extended through most of May — as the Defense Department has struggled to relay the reasoning for the deployment’s months-long continuation.

Likely to add to the scrutiny is the Pentagon’s new estimate that the National Guard’s deployment at the U.S. Capitol is expected to cost $521 million through May.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Guard’s additional two months will cost $111 million while the initial three months of the mission, from January to March, will cost an estimated $410 million, the National Guard Bureau said in a statement to The Hill on Friday.

Lawmakers from both parties in the House and Senate now want answers as to why the continued security is needed.

Top Senate Republicans on Friday demanded U.S. Capitol Police give justification for “intrusive” fencing and “burdensome” deployment of Guard troops at the Capitol, which they described as “disproportionate to the available intelligence.”

“Our National Guard troops, who serve with great honor and distinction, are not law enforcement officers, and we will not abide the continued militarization of Capitol complex security,” the senators wrote in a letter to U.S. Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman.

Leaders of the House Armed Services Committee from both parties on Thursday said they were “deeply troubled” by the continued heavy military presence in the Beltway, calling instead for a drawdown.

“We cannot ignore the financial costs associated with this prolonged deployment, nor can we turn a blind eye to the effects it will soon have on the National Guard’s overall readiness,” Chairman Adam SmithDavid (Adam) Adam SmithPentagon takes heat for extending Guard’s time at Capitol National Guard mission at Capitol expected to cost 1 million Overnight Defense: Tucker Carlson comments cause military rage | Capitol guard duty questioned | Vet who served in Marine One unit charged in insurrection MORE (D-Wash.) and ranking member Rep. Mike RogersMichael (Mike) Dennis RogersPentagon takes heat for extending Guard’s time at Capitol National Guard mission at Capitol expected to cost 1 million Overnight Defense: Tucker Carlson comments cause military rage | Capitol guard duty questioned | Vet who served in Marine One unit charged in insurrection MORE (R-Ala.) said in a joint statement Thursday.

ADVERTISEMENT

Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellPentagon takes heat for extending Guard’s time at Capitol Fundraising spat points to Trump-GOP fissures Top GOP senators: Capitol Police failing to justify beefed-up security MORE (Ky.), also weighed in Wednesday, calling the increased security “overdone” and an overreaction.

“I’m extremely uncomfortable with the fact that my constituents can’t come to the Capitol. With all this razor wire around the complex it reminds me of my last visit to Kabul,” McConnell told reporters.

The Pentagon earlier this week approved a request from Capitol Police to extend the presence of nearly 2,300 guardsmen at the Capitol through May 23. That number is still roughly half of the 5,100 now stationed at the Capitol, with their deployment initially expected to end this Friday.

The deployment is down from a high of 26,000 following the Jan. 6 attack on the nation’s capital by supporters of former President TrumpDonald TrumpPentagon takes heat for extending Guard’s time at Capitol Fundraising spat points to Trump-GOP fissures Trump rally organizer claims Alex Jones threatened to throw her off stage: report MORE looking to prevent Congress from certifying President BidenJoe BidenPentagon takes heat for extending Guard’s time at Capitol Booker to try to make child tax credit expansion permanent Sullivan says tariffs will not take center stage in talks with China MORE’s victory in the November election.

The guardsmen were originally only meant to bulk up security for Biden’s inauguration, but the deployment was extended afterward over continued security concerns.

“I don’t think anybody wants to see this become an enduring mission,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters on Thursday, adding that “there is a legitimate need” for the Guard due to “some capability gaps and capacity shortages right now that the Capitol Police are experiencing.”

Kirby would not say, however, what threats were relayed from the Capitol Police when they asked for the extended mission.

Likewise, answers aren’t coming from the Capitol Police, who have yet to detail what dangers warranted the added two months.

Capitol Police last month suggested that extremists may be planning another attack on the building when President Biden delivers a joint address later this spring, something for which he has not yet set a date.

“I haven’t been satisfied with any explanation Congress has received at numerous briefings that all these personnel, resources and barbed wire are needed,” Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Jim InhofeJames (Jim) Mountain InhofeOvernight Defense: Top GOP senators demand answers on extended Guard deployment, Capitol fencing | Guard costs estimated at 1M | House panel to take up 2002 war authorization repeal Top GOP senators: Capitol Police failing to justify beefed-up security National Guard mission at Capitol expected to cost 1 million MORE (R-Okla.), complained in a statement last week.

Lawmakers and Washington, D.C., residents alike have chafed at the guardsmen prominently walking the halls of Congress and standing guard around security fencing across Capitol Hill.

The Capitol has also had to close off or restrict numerous hearing rooms, parking lots and other areas to allow Guard operations.

ADVERTISEMENT

In addition to the high cost and ominous presence, the deployment has also faced a host of other problems, including the death of a National Guard member after a medical emergency, defense officials said Thursday.

Earlier this month, lawmakers in both parties expressed concern after roughly 50 guardsmen were sickened from undercooked food.

And in January, lawmakers were outraged after some guardsmen were forced to rest in a parking garage instead of inside the Capitol complex. After photos of them camped in the garage circulated online the troops were quickly moved back inside.

“As the U.S. Capitol Police continues to build its personnel capacity, there is no doubt that some level of support from the National Guard should remain in the National Capital Region to respond to credible threats against the Capitol,” Smith and Rogers wrote Thursday. “However, the present security posture is not warranted at this time. … It’s time for us to review what level of security is required, so [troops] can return home to their families and communities.”  

Concerns over the ever-stretching deployment have also come from current and former defense officials.

In a memo to senior Pentagon officials last month, National Guard Bureau chief Gen. Daniel Hokanson said Guard officials were having difficulty finding enough volunteers to continue the mission.

ADVERTISEMENT

And leaders from the National Guard Association of the United States on Friday released a statement saying it was “increasingly difficult to convince Guard soldiers and airmen that their continued presence at the Capitol is warranted,” after a year of unprecedented demand on the Guard thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and several natural disasters.

“National Guard soldiers and airmen here in Washington need to return home to their families, civilian employers and regular military obligations,” NGAUS Chairman Maj. Gen. Michael McGuire and retired Brig. Gen. J. Roy Robinson, NGAUS president, said in the release. 

 

A top Republican congressman is demanding answers on the Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccination plans after reports of delayed and canceled appointments for U.S. service members and families overseas.

“Our men and women serving their country — especially those who are serving abroad, away from their family and friends and, in many instances unable to come home for almost a year — should be a priority for the Department of Defense,” Rep. Michael McCaulMichael Thomas McCaulOvernight Defense: Top GOP senators demand answers on extended Guard deployment, Capitol fencing | Guard costs estimated at 1M | House panel to take up 2002 war authorization repeal Biden’s supply chain decoupling moves can rein in China and the climate Republican demands answers after canceled troop vaccination reports MORE (R-Texas), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote in a letter Thursday to Gen. Gustave Perna, who is overseeing the federal vaccination effort.

“Especially when reports show a significant number of U.S. troops are hesitant to take the vaccine, it’s incredibly disappointing to hear those who desperately want the vaccine are having a hard time receiving it,” McCaul added.

ADVERTISEMENT

McCaul’s letter comes after the military’s Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany posted on its Facebook page this week it may have to cancel some vaccination appointments next week because it was not expecting to receive more doses for the “next several weeks.”

“We understand that many of you are frustrated by the COVID-19 vaccination process. Unfortunately, recent shipment delays, lack of vaccines and confusion about the process have contributed to this frustration,” the post said.

A later update to the post added that “our leadership team is working hard to find a way to prevent us from having to cancel second-dose appointments, as previously announced.”

In his letter, McCaul also said his office has “heard reports of troops having their vaccination appointments cancelled at military hospitals within the United States as well.”

McCaul asked for information on how many service members overseas and in the United States have been vaccinated, what the strategy is to vaccinate family members of troops stationed overseas, what places besides Landstuhl are experiencing disruptions in vaccine deliveries and what plans are being put in place to ensure appointments are not canceled going forward.

ADVERTISEMENT

U.S. military commanders elsewhere in the world have also expressed concern about their vaccine supplies.

At a House Armed Services Committee hearing this week, Gen. Robert Abrams, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, said his command recently received 9,700 “unforecasted” doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is a single-dose shot, which he said “will go a long way towards being able to give the immunizations to our beneficiaries.”

Still, he expressed concern about being able to vaccinate military family members and retirees under his purview.

“I am concerned about the continued availability,” Abrams said. “We’ve got a great push right now, but we’ve got some concerns going forward to ensure that our family members and others have the access to the vaccine commensurate with their stateside counterparts.”

Meanwhile, a February video posted online this week from Air Force Lt. Col. Daniel Hatcher, who commands the 378th Expeditionary Medical Squadron at Prince Sultan Air Base, noted a “concerning rise” in COVID-19 cases in the region and that he expects “more availability of the vaccine” over “the next few months.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Asked Wednesday about Hatcher’s video, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said that since the video was made “additional vaccines have been sent to Central Command to help them flesh out their vaccine distribution program.”

Originally, Kirby said, deployed troops were not in the first tier of vaccinations out of concern they would get side effects from the second dose, but they have been put back into the priority group.

Serious side effects from the vaccines are rare, but some people may experience flu-like symptoms for a few days after being vaccinated, particularly after the second dose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The vaccines have proven themselves very safe and effective so there’s an increasing demand and we’re meeting that demand — we’re trying to meet that demand,” Kirby said. “But we’re certainly mindful of the need to continue to get them to forward-deployed forces, and you’ll see that change.”

The Biden administration will offer temporary status to people from Myanmar living in the U.S., its latest move responding to the February coup in the country.

“Due to the military coup and security forces’ brutal violence against civilians, the people of Burma are suffering a complex and deteriorating humanitarian crisis in many parts of the country,” Department of Homeland Secretary (DHS) Alejandro MayorkasAlejandro MayorkasDHS grants temporary legal status to Myanmar citizens in US Mayorkas torpedoes Biden administration’s stance on asylum seekers Biden rescinds Trump’s ‘public charge’ rule MORE said in a release, using an alternate name for the country.

“After a thorough review of this dire situation, I have designated Burma for Temporary Protected Status so that Burmese nationals and habitual residents may remain temporarily in the United States,” he added. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is offered to those who have left amid unrest or disasters in their country.

DHS cited “continuing violence, pervasive arbitrary detentions, the use of lethal violence against peaceful protesters, and intimidation of the people of Burma” as factors in extending the status to people of Myanmar who arrived in the U.S. by March 11.

The designation allows people from Myanmar to remain in the U.S. for 18 months, and the government estimates about 1,600 people may be eligible to apply.

The decision to provide a safe haven for people from Myanmar in the U.S. follows growing international alarm at increasing and deadly violence in the country following the military coup that took place Feb. 1. 

The country’s military dissolved the democratically elected government, imposed internet blackouts, arrested political officials and have shot and have reportedly killed at least 40 unarmed civilians in protests that have taken place in opposition to the coup.  

The Biden administration imposed sanctions on nearly a dozen officials it associates with the coup and three entities associated with the military. 

ADVERTISEMENT

The United Nations Security Council issued a joint statement on Thursday condemning the violence against peaceful protesters and stressed the need to uphold democratic institutions and processes.

“The Security Council reaffirms its support for the people of Myanmar and its strong commitment to the sovereignty, political independence, territorial integrity and unity of Myanmar,” the statement read. 

The move follows the Biden administration’s recent decision to also offer TPS status to some 300,000 Venezuelans living in the U.S.

“The suffering and the ongoing turmoil the Venezuelan people have endured is well documented,” a senior official said when the decision was announced Monday.

“This designation is due to the extraordinary and temporary conditions in Venezuela that prevent the nationals there, if you are here, from returning safely,” the official added.

The Biden administration is also under pressure to re-designate the same status to Haitians living in the U.S.

“Haiti’s protracted political crisis exacerbates the severe and prolonged humanitarian needs sparked by the 2010 earthquake. While the Government of Haiti has been able to receive limited numbers of Haitian nationals removed from the United States, it lacks the capacity to provide the needed reception and care for tens of thousands of returnees,” Sens. Bob MenendezRobert (Bob) MenendezDemocratic senators urge Biden to take executive action on ghost guns Biden holds off punishing Saudi crown prince, despite US intel Senate confirms Thomas-Greenfield as UN ambassador MORE (D-N.J.) and Marco RubioMarco Antonio RubioOvernight Defense: Top GOP senators demand answers on extended Guard deployment, Capitol fencing | Guard costs estimated at 1M | House panel to take up 2002 war authorization repeal On The Money: Biden celebrates relief bill with Democratic leaders | Democrats debate fast-track for infrastructure package Hillicon Valley: Google slams Microsoft for ‘naked corporate opportunism’ | Sanders invites Bezos to testify at inequality hearing | AFL-CIO hits Rubio over union endorsement MORE (R-Fla.) wrote in a Friday letter to Mayorkas.

Laura Kelly contributed.

The FBI on Tuesday released new footage of a suspect linked to the pipe bombs left at the Republican National Committee (RNC) and Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters ahead of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

The newly released video appears to show the suspect walking with a backpack on a sidewalk and to areas outside the DNC and RNC where authorities later found the bombs. The footage shows four scenes spanning between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 5, when officials believe the bombs were planted.

The FBI said it is hoping the video will help someone recognize the person’s “gait, body language, or mannerisms” to help identify them.

ADVERTISEMENT

The suspect, who is wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and a mask, is first shown along South Capitol Street, where he briefly sets down a bag as a man passes who is walking a dog. 

About 12 minutes later, video shows the individual sitting down on a bench and placing a bag in front of him outside the DNC. The suspect’s body is hunched over toward the bag before they get up and walk away.

ADVERTISEMENT

The final two clips show the suspect in an alley near the RNC and walking in front of the Capitol Hill Club at 8:14 p.m.

Steven D’Antuono, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Washington field office, called on the public to help identify the individual in a statement. The bureau is offering $100,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who placed the pipe bombs. 

“We still believe there is someone out there who has information they may not have realized was significant until now,” D’Antuono said. “We know it can be a difficult decision to report information about family or friends — but this is about protecting human life.”

“These pipe bombs were viable devices that could have been detonated, resulting in injury or death,” D’Antuono added. “We need the public’s help to identify the individual responsible for placing these pipe bombs, to ensure they will not harm themselves or anyone else.”

Authorities uncovered the pipe bombs on Jan. 6, 90 minutes before a crowd of former President TrumpDonald TrumpManhattan prosecutors intensifying probe into Trump’s New York estate: report GOP leaders reiterate commitment to working with Trump amid back-and-forth Top Republicans seek to tamp down concerns over Trump’s funding demands MORE’s supporters stormed the Capitol building, resulting in several deaths. The discovery of the pipe bombs pulled some law enforcement away from the Capitol.

The Justice Department has charged more than 300 people in connection with the Capitol riot.

A teenager charged in connection to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot has been ordered released from jail after contracting COVID-19.

During a court hearing on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss granted 18-year-old Bruno Joseph Cua pretrial release, an attorney for Cua told The Hill. 

Cua was granted bond, and will be released into his mother’s custody on March 16. 

ADVERTISEMENT

The move comes a day after the court was notified of Cua’s COVID-19 diagnosis.

Cua’s attorney William Zapf wrote that his client tested positive “after spending several days in an open room with a couple dozen other inmates.” 

Zapf also said that Cua was assaulted and threatened by another inmate over the weekend.

“We understand that the inmate struck Mr. Cua in the face with his open hand, injuring his nose, over the use of the phone, and then threatened him regarding the incident,” Zapf wrote.

According to a local NBC affiliate in Atlanta, he is currently being held at a jail in Oklahoma.

 

ADVERTISEMENT

Federal prosecutors had argued against Cua’s release on Monday, saying in a court filing that he “poses a significant danger to the community.”

“His social media posts … show clearly the radicalized mind of a young man fixated on stopping the normal functioning of democracy by violent means,” prosecutors wrote.

“The defendant assaulted a police officer attempting to protect the seat of the legislative branch of the federal government, and stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to stop the peaceful transfer of power,” they added.

Authorities arrested Cua in February and he is currently facing 12 charges in connection to the riot.

His lawyers called for his release last month, casting him as an “impressionable 18-year-old kid who was in the middle of finishing his online coursework to graduate from high school when he was arrested.”

Sen. Marco RubioMarco Antonio RubioOvernight Defense: Top GOP senators demand answers on extended Guard deployment, Capitol fencing | Guard costs estimated at 1M | House panel to take up 2002 war authorization repeal On The Money: Biden celebrates relief bill with Democratic leaders | Democrats debate fast-track for infrastructure package Hillicon Valley: Google slams Microsoft for ‘naked corporate opportunism’ | Sanders invites Bezos to testify at inequality hearing | AFL-CIO hits Rubio over union endorsement MORE (R-Fla.) on Friday threw his support behind the Amazon workers in Alabama who are fighting to unionize, because he said the company “has decided to wage culture war against working-class values”

“The Silicon Valley titan uses anticompetitive strategies to crush small businesses, bans conservative books and blocks traditional charities from participating in its AmazonSmile program. Not surprisingly, it has also bowed to China’s censorship demands,” he wrote in a USA Today op-ed.

He is the first prominent Republican to come out in support of the unionization efforts, though he framed his backing as a move to keep in check a company that is “headquartered in America, but it considers itself a citizen of the world.”

ADVERTISEMENT

“Here’s my standard: When the conflict is between working Americans and a company whose leadership has decided to wage culture war against working-class values, the choice is easy — I support the workers. And that’s why I stand with those at Amazon’s Bessemer warehouse today,” Rubio wrote.

The senator sharply criticized the tech giant, which had a banner year in growth during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“For decades, companies like Amazon have been allies of the left in the culture war, but when their bottom line is threatened they turn to conservatives to save them. Republicans have rightly understood the dangers posed by the unchecked influence of labor unions. Adversarial relations between labor and management are wrong. They are wrong for both workers and our nation’s economic competitiveness,” he wrote.

“But the days of conservatives being taken for granted by the business community are over,” the Florida Republican added.

“Uniquely malicious corporate behavior like Amazon’s justifies a more adversarial approach to labor relations. It is no fault of Amazon’s workers if they feel the only option available to protect themselves against bad faith is to form a union. Today it might be workplace conditions, but tomorrow it might be a requirement that the workers embrace management’s latest ‘woke’ human resources fad,” Rubio said.

ADVERTISEMENT

President BidenJoe BidenPentagon takes heat for extending Guard’s time at Capitol Booker to try to make child tax credit expansion permanent Sullivan says tariffs will not take center stage in talks with China MORE last month came out in solidarity with the Amazon workers. About 6,000 workers in the Alabama facility began voting in early February about whether to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union.

Union President Stuart Appelbaum thanked Rubio for his support, CNBC reported.

“Senator Rubio’s support demonstrates that the best way for working people to achieve dignity and respect in the workplace is through unionization,” Applebaum said. “This should not be a partisan issue.”

The Pentagon on Monday said that no moves are being made to remove any company from food service operations after National Guard troops assigned to protect the U.S. Capitol got sick from eating tainted meals served to them last week.

About 50 National Guard troops have been treated for gastrointestinal complaints — six as outpatients at military treatment facilities and the others at an aid station set up at the Capitol, Defense Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

But after food vendor facilities were inspected multiple times, “with no substantial issues having been recorded,” Kirby said he is not aware of any changing contracts due to the illnesses.

ADVERTISEMENT

National Guard Bureau Chief Gen. Daniel Hokanson and leaders “are taking very seriously the need to make sure that the troops have safe and nutritious food,” Kirby said. “There’s routine inspections, [Hokanson] himself goes down there multiple times a week to eat with the National Guardsmen, to eat what they’re eating. They’re constantly looking at the food quality and making sure that it’s up to par.”

Members of Congress last week called for changes to food service operations for guardsmen at the Capitol after it was discovered that 74 meals for Michigan National Guard troops were thrown out earlier this month after metal shavings were found. Other undercooked meals made some guardsmen sick. 

Democrats and Republicans in the Michigan congressional delegation wrote a letter to Hokanson last week calling for either the current food service contract to be voided and replaced with a new provider or that guardsmen receive a per diem to buy their own food. 

Kirby, however, said National Guard leaders are closely monitoring the situation and “working with the contractors to address concerns.”

He added that Defense officials also visit the contractors’ place of business to do spot checks on meals for cooking temperature and overall quality.

The food issues arise as the Capitol Police have requested the National Guard to extend its deployment of troops at the Capitol for another two months due to ongoing security concerns. As many as 26,000 service members were deployed following the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, with 5,100 originally scheduled to remain until March 12.

Nirav Shah, the director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, knows he is lucky.

Shah is the public face of the state’s coronavirus response and has observed the vitriol directed at many of his public health colleagues across the country, including armed protesters and threats to their families.

But that backlash has not happened in Maine.

ADVERTISEMENT

Shah told The Hill he believes one of the key reasons is that Maine has the oldest population in the U.S., with an average age of 45.1, compared with 38.5 for the rest of the country.

He added the other reason is that Mainers believe in science. When he asked them to stay home, people listened.

“They understand the implications of not taking these measures. The import of unchecked pandemics in Maine is very visible to everyone. It’s on everyone’s mind,” Shah said in a recent interview.

He is sympathetic and said he has spoken with public health director colleagues, who have been subjected to protests, “just to help them out. But suffice it to say I’m thankful that Mainers have not responded to good public health advice with violence.”

While the U.S. pandemic response has been highly politicized, Shah, who recently became president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), noted that public health and politics have always been intertwined.

“There’s always passion around [public health], and where there is passion there is politics, so that is, I don’t think, a new phenomenon. I think it has become more pointed and pronounced with respect to COVID … because of how omnipresent COVID is,” he said.

ADVERTISEMENT

During his daily media briefings to give the latest pandemic updates, Shah seeks to stay above the fray. He tries not to comment on political matters but says he doesn’t shy away from straight talk about the reality on the ground.

He doesn’t get bogged down in scientific jargon and recognizes that every statistic also has a human impact.

“If there’s bad things going on, I want people to hear about it from me first. So, building that trust that I am not providing a biased view, or a view that only behooves the administration, that’s really, really critical,” Shah said.

Shah also isn’t shy about the fact that his advice and guidance are constantly changing.

“I’ve tried to be really flexible throughout the pandemic. That requires me sometimes publicly to say, ‘Yep, I’m changing my mind on something. What I thought yesterday is not what happens today.’ That’s OK,” he said. “That is that is the nature of doing policy in a pandemic. Policies will change, facts will change. You should expect that, but I have an obligation to you to let you know that.”

Shah’s trust-building methods have worked so well that he’s gained celebrity status in the state. The slogan “In Shah We Trust” is printed on T-shirts, bumper stickers and mugs, and there are more than 35,000 members in the Fans of Dr. Nirav Shah group on Facebook, which sports the motto: “Keep Calm and Listen to Dr. Shah.”

Shah’s face also graces the wrappers of chocolate “Shah Bars” made by local company Wilbur’s of Maine.

Shah, 43, has medical and law degrees from the University of Chicago, and after medical school, he worked as a health care attorney in Chicago before becoming public health director of Illinois in 2015 under former Gov. Bruce Rauner (R).

Shah arrived in Maine in May 2019 after Rauner lost a reelection bid, and his first order of business was to rebuild the state’s public health agency after it had been decimated by budget cuts ordered by former Gov. Paul LePage (R).

He said he spent about eight months slowly “beefing up programs that had been left for nothing by the previous administration.” He filled long-vacant positions, including public health nurses and laboratory staff.

Shah said he was “lucky” that he had time before the pandemic hit, and his team was well-positioned to respond. 

Still, he said the COVID-19 crisis has required the agency to be creative in terms of staffing across different departments, because “there is no world in which any state health department has all the staff they need … to deal with a pandemic before they have a pandemic.”

ADVERTISEMENT

As the new president of ASTHO, an organization that represents and advocates for public health officials and their agencies, Shah said the budget issues he faced when he first got to Maine are unfortunately common in state health departments. His most immediate priority at ASTHO is to make sure states are appropriately funded for a successful vaccine rollout.

States had pleaded with the Trump administration for more funding to aid in the coronavirus vaccine rollout, but they were repeatedly rebuffed because officials at the time did not believe states needed the money.

Congress eventually allocated $4.5 billion for state vaccine efforts in the December COVID-19 relief bill, but the money has only recently started to flow.

Shah said he considers those funds a “down payment” with more needed going forward.

President BidenJoe BidenCNN: Bidens’ dogs removed from the White House Federal judge rules ‘QAnon shaman’ too dangerous to be released from jail Pelosi says Capitol riot was one of the most difficult moments of her career MORE is pushing for an additional $350 billion for states as part of his $1.9 trillion stimulus package.

Longer term, Shah said he wants to make sure state health departments have enough staff to do their jobs, and he is “encouraged” that the Biden administration is talking about adding 100,000 more people to the public health workforce.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Public health has been systematically underfunded in the decades leading up to this pandemic,” Shah said. “This is sad to say, [but] it’s an opportunity to remind people of the need to have strong public health. And what can happen when it’s systematically underfunded.”

Maine has been one of the rare highlights of the U.S. COVID-19 response, with about 46,000 cases, 706 deaths and 1,571 hospitalizations at press time. Last month, the seven-day average positivity rate dropped below 2 percent for the first time since before Thanksgiving, and it has stayed down.

Twenty percent of Maine’s population has received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine.

Shah said the numbers are encouraging, but he wants to make sure they continue trending downward.

“I don’t do victory laps,” Shah said. “We are still in this. I am proud of my team. I’m proud of Maine people for believing in science, believing in good public health recommendations, but we’re still in this. And then, especially with variants on the horizon, I think we’re in the eye of the storm right now.”

Conditions were ideal for a quick pace on the 75km long race course in the Stockholm archipelago but no one had expected the course records in each category men, mixed and women to be crushed with such incredible times.

Advertisement