OnPolitics: Key Senate Democrats reach compromise on energy, drug prices, taxes

Ella Lee and Chelsey Cox, USA TODAY
·3 min read

Hi there, OnPolitics readers!

With 100 days until midterms, Americans are anxious about the future and unhappy with their options.

By 5 to 1, those polled in a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll say the country isn’t headed in the right direction. It’s a sentiment shared among the majority of every demographic group – across party lines, region, race and age.

"Everything seems to be in flux," said James English, 60, a Republican-leaning independent from Sugar Valley, Texas, who was called in the survey.

"I wouldn't necessarily say the country is burning down, but it's definitely going backwards," said Cherish Derrickson, 23, a Democratic law student from Lexington, Kentucky, in a follow-up interview.

The mood is more dire than in 2018, when USA TODAY/Suffolk polled voters ahead of the first midterms of Donald Trump’s presidency. Americans said then that, by 55%-34%, the nation had gotten off track.

The survey of 1,000 registered voters, taken Friday through Monday by landline or cell phone, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

It's Ella and Chelsey with today's top stories out of Washington.

Manchin, Schumer reach deal on energy, drug prices, taxes

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., have reached a breakthrough in negotiations on a wide-ranging proposal that they say would lower prescription drug costs, decrease carbon emissions and chip away at the federal deficit.

The agreement, which is projected to cut the deficit by some $300 billion over the next decade, will allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices and investments in clean energy transmission, in line with Biden’s climate action goals.

Support from Manchin, who has repeatedly opposed large government spending bills and energy proposals that cut back the fossil fuel industry, was key to moving forward on the proposal.

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Jan. 6 rioter pleads guilty to assaulting late Capitol Police officer

One of two men charged with assaulting late Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick during the Jan. 6 insurrection pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors Wednesday.

George Tanios, 40, of Morgantown, W.Va., faces up to six months in jail and a $20,000 fine under federal guidelines for entering restricted grounds and disorderly conduct. He will be sentenced on Dec. 6 by U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan.

Tanios was initially charged with felonies including assaulting police and conspiring to injure police.

Julian Khater, Tanios’ co-defendant, is currently in plea negotiations. He is in talks to potentially plead guilty to two counts of assaulting a federal law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Gilead Light.

Khater is charged with allegedly spraying Sicknick with Frontiersman bear spray, according to Hogan.

Khater’s attorney, Chad Siegel, said his client will make a decision by Aug. 24. Khater’s trial is scheduled for Oct. 5 on felony charges.

Sicknick died the day after the insurrection from multiple strokes. His death was attributed to natural causes.

Is water wet?: And is a hotdog considered a sandwich? Turns out there are scientific explanations behind these and other common brain teasers. -- Ella and Chelsey

Goodbye, OnPolitics readers: Today marks my last edition as writer for our incomparable newsletter. It has been my pleasure to provide you with the best of our politics coverage over the past year, but Amy and Ella will not miss a beat. -- Chelsey

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: OnPolitics: Manchin, Schumer reach deal on energy, drug costs, taxes