Health Sec Sajid Javid, asked whether there will be more restrictions before Christmas, says: "We're assessing the situation, it's very fast moving, there's a lot we still don't know about omicron, there's gaps in the data."
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) December 19, 2021
Which is a way of saying….
#Marr
I didn’t get into politics to restrict people’s lives, but the sheer speed and uncertainty of Omicron means it is right to buy some time.
— Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) December 19, 2021
I’ve made the case today for why the British people & government are taking a responsible & proportionate response:https://t.co/4GinUsFATx pic.twitter.com/JSM3b8LWma
What's the point of a circuit breaker lockdown when Omicron infections double every 2 days?
— Plague Spotting (@PlagueSpotting) December 19, 2021
The moment you lift the lockdown it's going to explode, immediately, so it just seems a bit pointlesshttps://t.co/ousWea5mnl
Sajid Javid doing his best to explain the government’s strategy to defeat Omicron. But forgetting one important point. They’ve lost authority. Public now listening to Whitty alone and deciding among themselves. The govt are failing to lead, the very job they’re elected to do.
— Adil Ray OBE (@adilray) December 19, 2021
"Ruin Christmas and we'll oust you, Tory MPs warn Boris: PM is told an attempt to bring in new festive crackdown could cost him his job"
— Edwin Hayward 🦄 🗡 (@uk_domain_names) December 19, 2021
Grieving relatives will be able to comfort each other with the knowledge Boris Johnson kept his position a bit longer. https://t.co/1pMhbXaqta
The Premier League fixtures from December 28-30 could be postponed https://t.co/SwhEdowAHz
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) December 19, 2021
Plans are already in place for what seems like the inevitablehttps://t.co/nxhFjWfKuU
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) December 19, 2021
May 2020.
— David Schneider (@davidschneider) December 19, 2021
The guidance:
“Social mixing between households limited to 2 people outdoors at least 2 metres apart.
In workplaces, in-person meetings only if absolutely necessary”
Boris Johnson: pic.twitter.com/VZm0t4fE5F
Evidence yet @metpoliceuk ? Certainly yet more evidence Johnson LIED to the Commons AGAIN (resignation offence) when he said rules were followed at all times in Downing Street. https://t.co/IjTAEqT8lr
— ALASTAIR CAMPBELL (@campbellclaret) December 19, 2021
BREAKING: Foreign Secretary Liz Truss becomes lead negotiator with EU on Northern Ireland Protocol, following departure of Lord Frost.
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) December 19, 2021
Downing St confirms she will take over Brexit brief with immediate effect.
On balance my initial take is that it's better to give the Brexit brief to Liz Truss than a swivel eyed ideologue like IDS. A deeply shallow person: her first impulse will be to frame any agreement in terms of a photo opportunity rather than to pursue an ideological obsession.
— Steve Peers (@StevePeers) December 19, 2021
Liz Truss says she is "pleased" to be taking over as the minister responsible for Brexit.
— Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov) December 19, 2021
Here she is in 2016 talking about why it would be a disaster. pic.twitter.com/QQgOVBAZQp
I take note of the appointment of @trussliz as co-chair of the 🇪🇺🇬🇧 Joint Committee and Partnership Council. My team and I will continue to cooperate with the UK in the same constructive spirit on all important tasks ahead, including the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.
— Maroš Šefčovič🇪🇺 (@MarosSefcovic) December 19, 2021
Boris Johnson lied about the Irish Sea border, then spent hundreds of millions to disguise its existence. But that can't go on forever. At any point a PM can push NI economically further away from GB, with political & financial implications. https://t.co/hmOFQuIWcr
— Sam McBride (@SJAMcBride) December 19, 2021
Is Liz Truss a serious contender to replace Boris Johnson as Prime Minister? If so 'god' help us!
— Steve Jones (@CerdynJones) December 19, 2021
pic.twitter.com/e29l02iydM
***
Same in the US….
Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious-disease specialist, warned Sunday that the U.S. is likely to see record numbers of coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths as the omicron variant spreads rapidly.
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 19, 2021
https://t.co/VNekKUhk6a
The rapidly-spreading omicron variant may soon leave U.S. doctors without two of the standard treatments they’ve used to fight COVID-19. Regeneron and Eli Lilly warn that their antibody drugs are far less potent against omicron. https://t.co/T2Q9Hx69xY
— The Associated Press (@AP) December 19, 2021
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Sunday a decision will be made by Christmas on whether to hold the annual New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square as in previous years before the pandemic.https://t.co/42esUKMyBZ
— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) December 19, 2021
In South Africa, we’re thankfully seeing a striking decoupling between new Covid cases and ICU admissions and deaths. Whether #Omicron is inherently less virulent, whether this hopeful finding is result of baseline immunity in infected, or a combination of both, is still unclear. pic.twitter.com/xtmCSdpCNc
— Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) December 19, 2021
Israel health ministry recommends putting US on "red" travel restrictions list due to COVID surge https://t.co/EMQIQ7ay24 pic.twitter.com/1RqIPNIHl5
— The Hill (@thehill) December 19, 2021
Meanwhile, it’s politics as usual…
#BREAKING: Manchin says he will not vote for Build Back Better: "This is a no" https://t.co/5zZtFPIbdL pic.twitter.com/Brljs18Siv
— The Hill (@thehill) December 19, 2021
Manchin is Manchin. But what kind of healthy democracy is structured in a way that can allow one man elected by 290,000 voters in one of the least populous states to thwart the agenda of his party and the President who was elected with 81 million votes. We need structural change.
— Sherrilyn Ifill (@Sifill_LDF) December 19, 2021
A lot to process on the Manchin news but, from a substantive standpoint, it's just objectively devastating for the planet. The last best chance at climate change legislation is gone
— Sam Stein (@samstein) December 19, 2021
Don’t forget: this isn’t just about Joe Manchin. It’s about the dark money and billionaires and coal interests behind him, which keep winning at ours and the planet’s expense. Manchin is a living breathing reminder that America is often more oligarchic than it is democratic.
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) December 19, 2021
Smart voters will appreciate that the response to this is not to reject the Democratic Party at the polls, it’s to elect more Democrats so that Manchin is no longer relevant. https://t.co/P7RJhrVuQN
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) December 19, 2021
OK, so I wrote this before today's Manchin debacle, but the BBB collapse now makes it even more urgent Biden changes his mind on a major student debt cancellation. Here's the Hail Mary passes the foundering party can do to save itself. My new column https://t.co/ZvdQ8cTI8h
— Will Bunch (@Will_Bunch) December 19, 2021
Jan. 6 committee member Adam Kinzinger says on ABC’s This Week they have more incriminating messages involving the Trump White House: “There are more texts out there that we haven’t released.”
— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) December 19, 2021
Donald Trump's Newly Issued "Statement" Suggests that he Knows & Fears that Justice is Coming for Him. #JusticeMatters https://t.co/RS1DKfvPmW via @YouTube
— Glenn Kirschner (@glennkirschner2) December 19, 2021
Trump’s latest rant against “DA’s, AG’s and Dem Law Enforcement” strongly suggests he’s just been told the Manhattan DA and NY AG plan to prosecute him — he’s gotten target letters.
— Tristan Snell (@TristanSnell) December 18, 2021
The FBI may have come knocking also.
The more they close in on him, the more he’ll lash out.
The Overnight Note 