US executive branch text over image of White HouseThis report provides a snapshot of the US Executive Branch priorities via daily schedules and the prior day’s press releases.

POTUS’ Schedule*

8:00 a.m. EDT – The President and The Vice President deliver remarks and The President participates in the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate Session 1: Raising Our Climate Ambition | East Room

10:00 a.m. EDT – The President receives the President’s Daily Brief | Oval Office

10:30 a.m. EDT – The President participates in the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate Session 2: Investing in Climate Solutions | East Room

12:00 p.m. EDT – The President has lunch with The Vice President | Private Dining Room

3:45 p.m. EDT – The President has lunch with The Vice President receive a COVID-19 briefing | Oval Office

VPOTUS’ Schedule*

8:00 a.m. EDT – the Vice President will deliver remarks at the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate opening session in the East Room

10:00 a.m. EDT – the Vice President will convene a roundtable of foundation leaders on the Northern Triangle

12:00 p.m. EDT – the Vice President will have lunch with the President in the Private Dining Room

3:45 p.m. EDT – the President and THE VICE PRESIDENT will receive a briefing from members of their COVID-19 Response Team | Oval Office

White House Press Briefing Schedule*

1:30 p.m. EDT – Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, and National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy | James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

*The US President (POTUS) and Vice President’s (VPOTUS) daily schedules are subject to change, as is the White House press briefing schedule.

Recap of Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Note: Bold hyperlinks spotlight COVID-19, the American Jobs Plan, and reopening developments.

The White House

  • Fact Sheet: President Biden Sets 2030 Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Target Aimed at Creating Good-Paying Union Jobs and Securing U.S. Leadership on Clean Energy Technologies | April 22, 2021
  • Readout of President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Call with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada
  • Remarks by President Biden on the COVID-19 Response and the State of Vaccinations
  • Fact Sheet: President Biden to Call on All Employers to Provide Paid Time Off for Employees to Get Vaccinated After Meeting Goal of 200 Million Shots in the First 100 Days
  • Readout of the Third National Climate Task Force Meeting
  • Statement from Press Secretary Jen Psaki (re: the Endless Frontier Act)
  • Fact Sheet: The American Jobs Plan Will Support Women’s Employment
  • Transcript: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, April 21, 2021
  • Nominations: President Biden Announces Key Administration Nominations for National Security
  • Disaster Declaration: President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves Tennessee Disaster Declaration

Department of Defense (DOD)

  • Statement by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on the President’s Nomination of Dr. Ely Ratner as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs
  • Press Release: DOD’s Military OneSource Provides Access to Military Funeral Honors Directory
  • Article: Commander Says Africa Is Too Important for Americans to Ignore
  • Article: Official Says Women’s Contributions Are Vital to DOD, Allies and Partners
  • Publication: COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Installation Status Update, April 21, 2021
  • Article: Defense Leaders Provide COVID-19 Vaccination Update
  • Contracts for April 21, 2021

Department of State

Climate Summit Live Stream Link:  www.state.gov/climatesummit

  • Daily Schedule | Thursday, April 22
  • April 21: Readout | Secretary Blinken’s Roundtable with CARICOM Foreign Ministers
  • April 21: Statement | Imposing Sanctions on Two Burmese State-Owned Enterprises
  • April 21: Transcript | Briefing with Senior State Department Official On Recent U.S. Engagement in Vienna Regarding the JCPOA
  • April 21: Statement | Additional Civilian Assistance to Afghanistan
  • April 21: Transcript | Department Press Briefing

US Mission to the United Nations (UN)

  • Media Advisory: Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield to Lead a Discussion on Climate Security at Leaders Summit on Climate
  • Remarks at a UN Security Council Briefing on Colombia
  • Remarks by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield at the UN General Assembly Debate on the International, Impartial, and Independent Mechanism for Syria
  • Readout of a Meeting Between Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield and UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini

Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI)

  • Statement from DNI Haines on the President’s Intent to Nominate Dr. Stacey Dixon as PDDNI

Department of the Treasury

  • Remarks by Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen to the Institute of International Finance
  • Sanctions: Treasury Sanctions Key Timber and Pearl Enterprises in Burma
  • Readout: Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo’s Roundtable Discussion with Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association Board of Directors
  • Press Release: American Rescue Plan Tax Credits Available to Small Employers to Provide Paid Leave to Employees Receiving COVID-19 Vaccines

Department of Justice

  • Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) | Daily Press Releases
  • Speech: Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Delivers Remarks at Announcement of Pattern or Practice Investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department
  • Press Release: Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Announces Investigation of the City of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the Minneapolis Police Department
  • Readout of Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco’s First Day
  • Press Release: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor and Puerto Rico Supreme Court Chief Justice Maite Oronoz Address Latin American Judges at Justice Department’s Judicial Studies Institute
  • Press Release: Manager of Hospice and Home Health Companies Sentenced to Prison for Role in $150 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme
  • Press Release: Pharmacy Owner Pleads Guilty to $6.5 million Health Care Fraud Schemes
  • Press Release: Mathematics Professor and University Researcher Indicted for Grant Fraud
  • Press Release: New York Fisherman and Fish Dealer Charged with Conspiracy, Fraud, and Obstruction
  • Press Release: California Man Charged with COVID-Relief Fraud Scheme
  • Press Release: Colorado Businessman Indicted for Employment Tax Fraud
  • Press Release: Georgia Correctional Officer Pleads Guilty to Civil Rights Offense for Assaulting Inmate

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/ Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

  • Press Release: Vehicle Stop Yields 66 Pounds of Meth (California)
  • Press Release: Vehicle Stop Leads to Cocaine Seizure Worth Nearly $275K (California)
  • Press Release: Bi-National Rescue Effort by Border Patrol Agents, Grupo Beta Save Father and Son (California)
  • Press Release: Border Patrol Agents Thwart Deadly Narcotics Smuggling Attempt Through Checkpoint (California)
  • Press Release: CBP Announces Opening of Temporary Processing Facility in Yuma, Arizona
  • Press Release: CBP Field Operations at Pharr International Bridge Seizes over $4 Million in Methamphetamine (Texas)
  • Press Release: Laredo Sector Border Patrol rescues Unaccompanied Child in the Rio Grande River with the Assistance of U.S. Soldiers (Texas)
  • Press Release: New Jersey Man Arrested after Philadelphia CBP finds Pill Cache in his Baggage (Pennsylvania)
  • Press Release: Philadelphia CBP Seizes Russian Odometer Manipulating Devices (Pennsylvania)
  • Press Release: CBP in San Juan Finds an Additional $300K in Undeclared Currency Concealed in a Sink destined for Dominican Republic on the Ferry (Puerto Rico)

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

  • Press Release: FEMA Provides $1.2 Million to Southeastern Electric Cooperative (South Dakota)
  • Press Release: FEMA Provides an Additional $57.9 Million to Colorado For COVID-19 Response
  • Press Release: FEMA Ensures Equitable Access to Free COVID-19 Vaccine with Temporary Vaccination Site (Virginia)

Department of Commerce

  • Blog: Commerce This Week | April 21

US International Trade Commission (USITC)

  • Press Release: Mattresses from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Serbia, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam Injure U.S. Industry, Says USITC

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

  • Press Release: FTC Releases Final Agenda for Dark Patterns Workshop on April 29
  • Press Release: FTC, Illinois AG Send More than $4M to Consumers Affected by Stark Law Phantom Debt Scheme

Department of Agriculture (USDA)

  • Press Release: White House Launches Drought Relief Working Group to Address Urgency of Western Water Crisis
  • Fact Sheet: Update on USDA Activities to Contain the COVID-19 Pandemic
  • Press Release: USDA Expands and Renews Conservation Reserve Program in Effort to Boost Enrollment and Address Climate Change
  • Press Release: USDA Seeks Comments on Food System Supply Chains in Response to President Biden’s Executive Order to Support Resilient, Diverse, Secure Supply Chains
  • Press Release: USDA Invests $21.7M in Research Innovations to Improve Soil Health and Climate Smart Agriculture and Forestry

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)

Department of Interior (DOI)

  • Press Release: White House Launches Drought Relief Working Group to Address Urgency of Western Water Crisis
  • Press Release: Secretary Haaland Announces Nearly $80 Million in Funding for Wetland Conservation Projects and National Wildlife Refuges
  • Statement from Secretary Haaland on the Path Ahead for Racial Equity

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

  • Link:  Other Daily EPA Press Releases
  • Press Release: Settlement Will Result in Improved Stormwater Controls at Newport Naval Station

Department of Transportation (DOT)

  • Press Release: USDOT Appoints Chief Science Officer for the First Time in Over 40 Years; Take Steps to Restore Scientific Integrity
  • Press Release: U.S. Department of Transportation Announces More Than $10 Million Funding Opportunity for Transit Planning to Address Climate Change and Equity in Communities Nationwide
  • Press Release: Air Travel Consumer Report | February 2021 Numbers

Department of Labor

  • Press Release: U.S. Department of Labor awards more than $146M to support workforce agencies’ efforts to return unemployed to workforce more quickly
  • Press Release: Cincinnati pastor sentenced after collecting his deceased father’s pension, Social Security payments fraudulently for more than four years
  • Press Release: Excavation company agrees to increase employee training on dangerous trenching hazards prior to 2021 construction season

Department of Education

  • Press Release: U.S. Education Department Releases State Plan Template for the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund
  • Press Release: USDA Issues Pandemic Flexibilities for Schools and Day Care Facilities through June 2022 to Support Safe Reopening and Healthy, Nutritious Meals

Health & Human Services (HHS)

  • Press Release: HHS Announces the Largest Ever Funding Allocation for Navigators and Releases Final Numbers for 2021 Marketplace Open Enrollment

Food & Drug Administration (FDA)

  • Press Release: FDA Continues Important Steps to Ensure Quality, Safety and Effectiveness of Authorized COVID-19 Vaccines

US Government (USG) COVID-19 Webpages

Non-USG COVID Webpages

Johns Hopkins University & Medicine