Biden to discuss FDA’s expected approval of Pfizer vaccine for young teens – live | US news

Some House Republicans are already floating names for potential replacements if Liz Cheney is ousted as conference chairwoman.

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, a New York Republican who became a fierce defender of Donald Trump during his first impeachment inquiry, is among those being named, according to Punchbowl News.

House minority leader Kevin McCarthy appeared open to the idea of ousting Liz Cheney from Republican leadership over her continued criticism of Donald Trump for peddling the “big lie” that there was widespread fraud in the presidential election.

While speaking to Fox News this morning, McCarthy was asked about some House Republicans’ efforts to push Cheney out of her role as Republican conference chairwoman.

“I have heard from members concerned about her ability to carry out the job as conference chair, to carry out the message,” McCarthy said. “We all need to be working as one if we’re able to win the majority.”

McCarthy insisted the opposition to Cheney was not related to her vote in support of impeaching Trump after the January 6 insurrection. McCarthy resisted calls to oust Cheney after the impeachment vote, but he now seems to be softening on that.

McCarthy’s comments come amid Cheney’s latest dust-up with the former Republican president. Trump put a statement yesterday morning saying, “The Fraudulent Presidential Election of 2020 will be, from this day forth, known as THE BIG LIE!”

Of course, the “big lie” has come to refer to Trump’s baseless claims of widespread fraud in the election, and Cheney pointed that out in a tweet sent shortly after the statement was released.

“The 2020 presidential election was not stolen,” Cheney said on Twitter. “Anyone who claims it was is spreading THE BIG LIE, turning their back on the rule of law, and poisoning our democratic system.”

Greetings from Washington, live blog readers.

Joe Biden will deliver remarks on the coronavirus pandemic and the US vaccination strategy at the White House later this afternoon.

The president will likely address the news that the Food and Drug Administration is expected to soon authorize administering Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine to those between the ages of 12 and 15.

The AP has more details:

The announcement is set to come a month after the company found that its shot, which is already authorized for those age 16 and older, also provided protection for the younger group.

The federal official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to preview the FDA’s action, said the agency was expected to expand its emergency use authorization for Pfizer’s two-dose vaccine by early next week, and perhaps even sooner. The person familiar with the process, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters, confirmed the timeline and added that it is expected that the FDA will approve Pfizer’s use by even younger children sometime this fall.
The FDA action will be followed by a meeting of a federal vaccine advisory committee to discuss whether to recommend the shot for 12- to 15-year-olds. Shots could begin after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention adopts the committee’s recommendation. Those steps could be completed in a matter of days.

According to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker, the US has already administered 246,780,203 vaccine doses, and 44.4% of Americans have received at least one shot.

The blog will have more details on Biden’s speech coming up, so stay tuned.