What A Day - Staffing Season

Episode Date: December 16, 2020

Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg was announced as Biden’s nominee for transportation secretary yesterday, and former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm is expected to be picked to lead the Energy Department. We discuss those picks, plus other recent Biden nominees, like Marcia Fudge, Tom Vilsack, and Denis McDonough. The Dolly Parton-backed Moderna vaccine has been reviewed by the FDA and found to have an efficacy rate of 94.1 percent. Zooming out, a New York Times report said it may take until 2024 for less affluent countries to fully immunize their population, since rich countries have bought up all the supply. And in headlines: Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for kidnapping 300 boys in Nigeria last Friday, European countries announce antitrust proposals for tech companies, and Prince Harry and Meghan are podcasters now.

It's Wednesday, December 16th. I'm Akilah Hughes. And I'm Gideon Resnick, and this is What A Day, where we respect the Postal Service for holding itself together with duct tape at this point. Yeah, there's like 50 billion packages being sent across America right now, and if you're delivering them, you're a god. Seriously, please be safe. We love you. We do love you. You're the best. On today's show, another vaccine gets closer to approval in the U.S. than some headlines. But first, the latest. And we'll start with the Biden cabinet. Every day or so, we keep learning more about how President-elect Joe Biden's administration is taking shape. And yesterday, we got a few more

pieces of the puzzle. First up, Biden's team announced former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg to lead the Department of Transportation. A lot of people thought this was a somewhat odd choice, given his experience. And it marks the first time that Biden has chosen a former opponent in the presidential primary to join his administration. Well, you know, after Kamala Buttigieg would also be the first Senate confirmed LGBTQ cabinet secretary. That's right. And he beat out other potential options people had heard about for this role that we had talked about, including L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, both of whom faced a lot of protests

when their names were brought up because of their records on policing and other issues. They were non-starters for many, many people. So now, brass tacks, if Buttigieg gets this role, he'd be overseeing a department of about 55,000 employees, which the Washington Post noted is about half the size of South Bend, to put in perspective.

And as the name suggests, the department funds highways, transit systems, regulates the trucking industry, and oversees aircraft safety, among other things. So we can likely expect that one top priority is going to be dealing with the economic impact of COVID-19 on major public transportation across the country. It has been a true catastrophe there. And then also broader infrastructure projects that take into account cutting carbon emissions and implementing clean energy options. Of course, a lot of these things are going to be contingent on Congress and the makeup of Congress at the end of the runoffs. But Buttigieg would have direct authority over things like reaching a new deal with automakers on emission standards.

Yeah, and Buttigieg, as we said, was an opponent of Biden's. He definitely got into it with the other primary candidates too, like Senator Amy Klobuchar, especially when it came to his level of experience. I remember her saying mayor with the hard R. So let's talk about his experience for this role. Yes, I definitely think that if she could have gotten away with murder, she would have taken that chance. The slightly funny thing here is that the rap on him during the primary was that he didn't have enough experience to be president. And I think that's sort of the same line of thinking people are going through right now. And, you know, that line of attack came during the primary from none other than Biden in the prehistoric times of February 2020, when his campaign launched an ad snarkily comparing Buttigieg's efforts to revitalize sidewalks to Biden working on the Recovery Act. But that old history aside,

as recently as yesterday, local BLM groups in South Bend were reportedly criticizing Buttigieg's prior housing and policing policies, that's according to NPR. And then one of the more high profile incidents during his presidential campaign had to do with a white police officer in South Bend shooting and killing a black resident. He could also face questions about a smart street initiative he presided over in South Bend, which turned some one-way streets into two ways, and the tragic traffic death of an 11-year-old boy at an intersection in 2017. So that and his whole history as mayor will likely be scrutinized during the confirmation process, and we'll see what more he has to say. Yeah. We also saw reports yesterday that former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm

is expected to be picked to lead the Energy Department. She's a proponent of renewable energy and worked with the Obama administration on the auto bailout. So let's talk through the rest of the recent picks and what's left to come. Well, some of the more recent announcements include Congresswoman Marcia Fudge as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, former Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack back at Agriculture, and Dennis McDonough at Veterans Affairs. Some of the big ones remaining that we haven't heard yet are Education, DOJ, and Labor. And so through all of this, we've seen a lot of different forms of responses to the announcements. But one of the obvious things that ties many of these people together is that a lot of them had previously

served in the Obama administration. Sometimes it feels like just shuffling the deck when you see the announcements. The other through line that has started to emerge in all of this is how potentially difficult it could be for Biden to keep the Democratic Party united and on the same page with goals when you don't have Trump around. That's playing out in practice through these cabinet picks in a number of ways. For instance, there has been some excitement at the prospect of Congresswoman Deb Haaland possibly being named to the interior, which would make her the first Native American to hold the title. But privately also, there's lobbying from congressional leaders to not further narrow the Democratic House majority. Right now, that margin is just four seats above majority. Right. Well, there are also some questions about why black people always get stuck doing the housing and urban development job. That's a question that a lot of people have on their minds.

Last month, Congresswoman Fudge even lamented to Politico that, quote, we're going to have to stop looking at only certain agencies as those that people like me fit in. It's always we want to put the black person in labor or HUD, literally saying exactly what you're saying. And, you know, that was a point at which she and others had wanted to see her at agriculture before she inevitably got selected for, well, HUD. So Fudge was hoping to put more of a focus on the anti-poverty and hunger programs that the Ag Department runs, like food stamps, in addition to what we typically might think of the department working on, like programs for farmers. But has since said she's happy to be at HUD. You know, we'll see. And again, on this theme of who gets placed where,

there was even some pushback about McDonough, a former chief of staff for Obama, being selected for the VA, as some veterans had wanted to see a veteran selected there. So it's going to be difficult to put this all together and satisfy all the groups involved, but we'll keep track of it as the story progresses. In other exciting news, we may very well have another vaccine approved

in the U.S. later this week. So Akilah, what is the latest there? It is exciting news, we may very well have another vaccine approved in the U.S. later this week. So, Akilah, what is the latest there? It is exciting news. OK, so the Moderna vaccine, a.k.a. the Dolly Parton vaccine, has been reviewed by the FDA and they found it to be highly effective and it will likely be authorized for use in the U.S. as soon as Friday. And this is good news because it means that there will be more vaccine supply for the United States since Trump didn't order enough because he's really not good at his job.

And also, some experts are saying the Moderna vax is better suited to more rural areas because it doesn't have to be kept as stone cold as the Pfizer one. The review found that the vaccine had an efficacy rate of 94.1 percent in a trial of 30,000 people and only had mild side effects like fever, headache and fatigue. You 30,000 people. It only had mild side effects like fever, headache, and fatigue, you know, nothing dangerous. There's also some data to suggest it's more effective at preventing severe cases than Pfizer, but again, this is just early data. So if the emergency use authorization is put into effect, some 6 million doses, or enough for 3 million people, will be shipped out by next week.

It's a Christmas-slash-science miracle. It is indeed. It's better than toys or coal for that matter. While this is all good news, there's definitely concern over vaccine access in less affluent countries than ours. Yeah, for sure. So according to the New York Times, it may take until 2024 for those nations to be able to fully immunize their populations, which is obviously deeply unfair, but also it makes everyone else less safe. The expectation is that by this time next year, many countries around the world will only get to about 20% of their population. And a big part of this is the

richer countries buying up the supply and creating this access gap. Yeah, it is a global pandemic after all. And circling back to the US, Dr. Fauci has some recommendations for who should get the vaccine first. Yeah. So the Fauci recommended that the president and vice president elect should be vaccinated as soon as possible for security reasons. And Biden says when he does it, he will do it publicly and with notice so we can all see if he grows a tail. He will not be growing a tail. That was a joke. Dr. Fauci also says Trump and Pence should be vaccinated for the same reasons. But I personally disagree since, you know, the coronavirus is a hoax that will be gone by Easter or summer or the day after the election.

If you couldn't tell, that was sarcasm. But suffice it to say, I'm salty because someone who hasn't done anything to help stop the spread of the virus once again is getting grandfathered into relief. There will be a lot more vaccine updates in the coming days and weeks and months and honestly, probably years, but that's the latest for now. It's Wednesday, WOD Squad, and for today's Temp Check, we're talking about a potential white Christmas. There's a huge winter storm moving through the northeast right now, which is expected to result in blizzard-like conditions and one to two feet of snow over the next couple of days. If you're in the mid-Atlantic, you might be looking at snow, ice, and rain.

We're sorry about that. Just brew that chamomile tea and try to stay indoors. Giddy, you're in New York right now, where the National Weather Service is predicting up to 18 inches of snow. Are you excited? And what do you hope to do out there? I am thrilled, but I won't believe it till I see it because I feel like New York gets a lot of these close calls and it's always like, oh, the storm moved at the last second. Now it's all rain. It's just 18 inches of rain which would suck um but if it is in fact you know a crazy blizzard what would i do it's a weird question because it's covid so i don't know

if like park policy is going to be like everyone get on the sled and go down the hill or if i'm going to have to be you know naturally farther away from people or honestly if it's going to be like uh like you can walk because the sidewalks will be cleared a lot of a lot of questions for how this is all gonna interact but i'm excited but what is your go-to snow activity let's say like even non-covid withstanding i mean i'm definitely kind of a for the gram person when it comes to weather so the truth is i just go outside and take some pictures and be like it's snowing and I'm out in it. See? Like me, like me, please like me.

But, you know, if I'm not just begging for attention from the internet, you know, I used to like going to Central Park and just like watching people sled. I'm not a person who wants to get wet pants. I don't have those like waterproof pants. I've never owned them. I don't really want to own them. I think that they're weird. And so I like to just sort of watch people. And then once my pants get wet enough at the bottoms from the snow and I'm mad enough, I'll kind of trudge over to like a Mexican restaurant and eat lunch and then be like, that was great. But it's COVID. So I don't know what that version is now. It's like I stand really far away. I watch two people going out on a sled and then I walk home with wetter pants. Yeah, I think that you get the picture of them going down and then you just like, you know, make the loop back.

Yeah, exactly. Like, yeah, get a boomerang of some people going down on a sled and write some fun text, maybe put a song up and then that's it. That was enough. Yeah, people knew I was alive that day. Yeah. But the thing is, like in a year like this, that's going to feel the same amount as actually going down the hill on the sled. It's going to be like, oh, I did a shit ton of stuff today. Yeah, exactly. You don't see anything new.

I definitely left my house. That's one huge thing. I don't usually do more than that. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's great. I think it's a great plan. Right.

Well, just like that, we've checked our temps. Stay safe. Stay warm if it's cold where you are. Stay cool if you're in Los Angeles like me. And we'll be back after some ads. Let's wrap up with some headlines. Headlines. years after the militant Islamic terrorist group abducted more than 270 girls from another town in the country. And that mass kidnapping drew international attention with former First Lady Michelle Obama's hashtag bring back our girls. Dozens of those girls have been freed since through government negotiations, but over 100 are still believed to be in captivity.

This latest attack marks an expansion for Boko Haram further into northwestern Nigeria, rather than their usual area of operation in the northeast, and calls into question whether Nigeria will see a resurgence of attacks five years after declaring the group, quote, technically defeated. The victims of this latest kidnapping risk being forced into Boko Haram's army and to carry out violent orders against their will. According to local officials in Nigeria, contact with the abductors has been made, and a new hashtag, bring back our boys, has now emerged online. That's so sad. European nations continue to be tough on tech. Officials in both the European Union and the United Kingdom announced proposals yesterday that aim to limit the power of tech companies and require them to delete harmful content. The EU's version is split into two

bills. The first one would hold social media sites responsible for illegal user-generated content, while the second one would cut down on anti-competitive behavior from companies like Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook. There are a few ways the law could do this, but one highlight, companies would no longer be allowed to self-preference or unfairly promote their own services or products. This means you'd be able to delete Apple Maps off your iPhone, which is a tiny little thing that I honestly think would make my whole life perfect. First Apple Maps, then you too. See you later. Off the phone. Mitch McConnell has had a busy month stopping everyone from getting money, but he finally had a chance to see the election results yesterday.

He congratulated Joe Biden on his win and later had a private phone call with Senate Republicans where he advised them not to challenge the results in January when Congress will ratify the electoral college vote. Acknowledging reality sets Mitch up in opposition to the White House, where there's still a very big cork board with yarn and pictures of voting machines from Venezuela. At a White House press briefing yesterday, Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany described the Electoral College's vote as,

quote, just one step in the constitutional process and said litigation. It's the step and said litigation against the Biden win was ongoing. Again, when all this is over, Trump will definitely have lost. But now 20 conservative lawyers will be able to buy motorboats. So win, win, I guess. Also, after some delay, three world leaders have congratulated Biden on his win. They are Mexico's Manuel Lopez Obrador, Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro, and Russia's Vladimir Putin. Keep an eye out for Putin's inauguration gift for Biden, which might be a little pen and a note that says this is not a microphone. Well, you'll soon be able to buy meal prep kits with a royal promo code, as Prince Harry and Meghan have signed

an exclusive multi-year podcast deal with Spotify through their new production company, Archwell Audio. Their ad announcing the deal starts with some classic Is This Thing On banter, which we'll preview here. Should we start? No? Ladies first? No, say it, because I think it sounds really nice with your accent. Well, actual audio.

I mean... Really? Shall we? Yeah, let's do it. Hi guys, I'm Harry. And I'm Megan. I'm a little hot and bothered for that. I like that. Whatever they have to talk about, I'm listening. Well, from one podcast to another, the chemistry here

is undeniable, and the Vulture spotlight is as good as written. Harry and Meghan aimed to release their first content this month with a holiday special that features inspirational stories. Always good to start light and save the graphic true crime podcast for later. Harry and Meghan aren't strangers to the entertainment business, having signed a huge Netflix deal this summer, not to mention Meghan's background as an actress. We wish them the best in Hollywood and want to remind them that success doesn't come overnight. And like Lady Gaga said, there can be 100 people in a room and you only need one of them to believe in you. And you guys got two right here. Right here. Well, those are the headlines. One last thing before we go, Pod Save the World has a big episode out today. Tommy and Ben are joined by President Barack Obama, a little-known politician from Illinois.

They talk about the state of foreign policy right now and what's ahead, plus a look back at their White House days. Make sure to give it a listen and subscribe to Pod Save the World if you haven't already, wherever you get your podcasts. That's all for today. If you liked the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, take Gaga's words to heart, and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading and not just cork boards in the White House like me,

what a day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at crooked.com slash subscribe. I'm Akilah Hughes. I'm Gideon Resnick. And throw that pen away, Mr. President-elect. You don't need that. You know it's actually a microphone. You don't need that. You know it's actually a microphone.

You got plenty of pens. There's tons of people working for you. They can get you different pens. Don't worry about that one. What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. It's recorded and mixed by Charlotte Landis. Sonia Tun is our assistant producer. Our head writer is John Milstein, and our executive producers are Katie Long, Akilah Hughes, and me.

Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka.