‘Capitalism without competition is exploitation,’ says Biden as he signs order – live

Joe Biden answered a quick question on his way into the wings at the White House after signing an executive order aimed at boosting competition in the US economy, the query being about ransomware attacks.

Biden just had another phone call with Russian president Vladimir Putin, during which he pushed him to take action to stop non-government criminal enterprises operating from Russian territory from hacking into and paralyzing US government and corporate entities – anything from local government computer systems to utility pipelines.

Asked what was said to Putin on the phone call, Biden’s off the cuff remarks began like this: “I made it very clear to him that the United States expects when a ransomware operation is coming from their soil even though it’s not, not, sponsored by the state, that we expect them to act if we give them enough information to act on who that is.”

Then he pledged there would be consequences, but once again without going into details in public.

Joe Biden is making a speech at the White House decrying business monopolies and “an era of giant corporations” gaining “more and more power” in the US in the last 40 years.

The US president declared himself “a proud capitalist” but said: “Capitalism without competition is not capitalism, it’s exploitation.”

He is now signing an executive order which he says is “bringing fair competition back to the economy.”

The goals of the order are “to lower prices, to increase wages and to take another critical step toward an economy that works for everybody,” he said.

Biden added: “The heart of American capitalism is a simple idea: open and fair competition.”

He described fair competition as being at the heart of “why capitalism has been the world’s greatest force of prosperity and growth.”

That’s it from me today. My Guardian colleagues will take over the blog for the rest of the day.

Here’s where the day stands so far:

• Joe Biden pressed Russian President Vladimir Putin to take action against hackers in his state, after the recent spate of ransomware attacks originating from Russia. In a call between the two leaders today, Biden “underscored the need for Russia to take action to disrupt ransomware groups operating in Russia and emphasized that he is committed to continued engagement on the broader threat posed by ransomware,” according to a White House readout of the conversation.
• Biden will soon sign an executive order aimed at promoting competition in the US economy. The order includes “72 initiatives by more than a dozen federal agencies to promptly tackle some of the most pressing competition problems across our economy,” the White House said in a fact-sheet about the order. The president is also encouraging the justice department and the Federal Trade Commission to vigorously enforce anti-trust laws and challenge prior bad mergers when appropriate.
• Vaccinated students and teachers do not need to wear masks in the classroom, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in its updated guidance for schools. However, the CDC continues to recommend physical distancing between desks, and unvaccinated students (including those not yet eligible to get their shot) are still encouraged to wear masks indoors.
• The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency announced a new policy to avoid detaining pregnant women, reversing the Trump administration’s practice of allowing pregnant women to be held in ICE facilities. That Trump era practice resulted in thousands of additional pregnant and nursing women being detained by ICE.

The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.

Jen Psaki was asked for her response to the Republican governor of South Carolina, Henry McMaster, trying to prohibit door-to-door vaccination outreach efforts in his state.

Joe Biden announced earlier this week that his administration was taking steps to convince more Americans to get vaccinated against coronavirus, including targeted outreach efforts in areas with lower rates of vaccination.

That announcement sparked outrage among some Republican lawmakers, even though those outreach efforts have been ongoing for months.

In response to McMaster’s comments, Psaki emphasized the importance of getting more Americans vaccinated and urged local and state leaders to take that work seriously.

“The failure to provide accurate public health information, including the efficacy of vaccines and the accessibility of them to people across the country, including South Carolina, is literally killing people,” Psaki said. “So maybe they should consider that.”

The daily White House press briefing has now concluded, and Joe Biden will soon sign an executive order aimed at boosting economic competition in the US.

Jen Psaki also provided an update on US assistance to Haiti, in the wake of the assassination of the country’s president, Jovenel Moïse.

The White House press secretary said the US remains in “close consultation” with Haitian officials and international partners to support the Haitian people.

Psaki announced senior FBI and DHS officials will soon be sent to Port-au-Prince to “assess the situation and how we may be able to assist”.

The press secretary also noted that the US will send coronavirus vaccines to Haiti as early as next week.

Jen Psaki said the call today between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin lasted about an hour, as the two leaders discussed recent ransomware attacks.

Reporters repeatedly asked the White House press secretary about what Putin said in response to Biden’s demands that he take action against hackers in Russia.

But Psaki replied that she would not read out any of Putin’s comments, saying she would leave that matter to the Kremlin.

Speaking at her daily press briefing, Jen Psaki described the call between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin as an example of “leader-to-leader diplomacy”.

The press secretary added that the US and Russia are involved in “ongoing diplomatic engagement” to address the threat of cyber attacks.

Psaki dodged a question about whether Putin offered any assurances that he would crack down on hackers in his country, saying, “That’s not an appropriate role for the United States to convey.”

Joe Biden’s call with Russian President Vladimir Putin came one week after affiliates of the Russian hacker group REvil took responsibility for the Kaseya ransomware attack.

The Guardian’s Kari Paul reports:

Hackers last week infiltrated a Florida-based information technology firm and deployed a ransomware attack, seizing troves of data and demanding $70m in payment for its return.

The hack of the Kaseya firm, which is already being called ‘the biggest ransomware attack on record’, has affected hundreds of businesses globally, including supermarkets in Sweden and schools in New Zealand.

In the aftermath of the attack, cybersecurity teams are scrambling to regain control of the stolen data while the Biden administration is mulling potential diplomatic responses.

Joe Biden spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin today about the recent spate of ransomware attacks carried out by hackers based in Russia.

In a readout of the call, the White House said Biden commended the work that US and Russian officials have done in the weeks since the two leaders met in Geneva.

“President Biden also spoke with President Putin about the ongoing ransomware attacks by criminals based in Russia that have impacted the United States and other countries around the world,” the White House said.

“President Biden underscored the need for Russia to take action to disrupt ransomware groups operating in Russia and emphasized that he is committed to continued engagement on the broader threat posed by ransomware.

“President Biden reiterated that the United States will take any necessary action to defend its people and its critical infrastructure in the face of this continuing challenge.”

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris met yesterday with Black leaders of major civil rights groups to discuss voting rights and policing reform.

“The group discussed the wave of anti-voter legislation that has recently passed or is pending in state legislatures across the country and the path forward to protect the right to vote,” the White House said in a readout of the meeting.

“The President and Vice President reiterated that they will continue to push for Congress to pass critical legislation that protects the right to vote and combats subversion of the election process, while continuing to utilize all existing authorities in an all-of-government effort to ensure full voter participation and elections that reflect the will of the people.”

Democrats’ voting rights bills remain stalled in the Senate because of Republican opposition, and unless the filibuster is eliminated, the party has few options to advance the proposals.

Joe Biden will deliver a speech next week in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the importance of strengthening voting rights.

“On Tuesday, July 13, the President will travel to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to deliver remarks on actions to protect the sacred, constitutional right to vote,” the White House said in a statement.

The announcement of the trip comes as Republican legislators have introduced hundreds of bills in dozens of states to restrict access to the ballot box.

House Democrats have passed two bills aimed at bolstering voting rights, the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, but both bills have stalled in the Senate because of Republican opposition.

Kamala Harris emphasized the importance of voting rights in a speech yesterday at Howard University, where she announced the Democratic National Committee is investing $25 million in efforts to protect the right to vote.

“Regardless of who you are, where you live, what party you belong to, your vote matters,” the vice-president said. “Your vote is your power. And so I say, don’t let anybody ever take your power from you.”

Follow all of our voting rights coverage here.

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has officially announced its new policy to avoid detaining pregnant, nursing and post-partum women in its facilities.

“ICE is committed to safeguarding the integrity of our immigration system and preserving the health and safety of pregnant, postpartum and nursing individuals,” the acting ICE director, Tae D. Johnson, said in a statement.

“Given the unique needs of this population, we will not detain individuals known to be pregnant, postpartum or nursing unless release is prohibited by law or exceptional circumstances exist.”

The new policy reverses a Trump administration directive that resulted in thousands of additional pregnant and post-partum women being held in ICE facilities.

The announcement marks Joe Biden’s latest effort to take a more humane approach to immigration than his predecessor did, but Republicans argue that the president’s approach has encouraged more migrants to attempt to enter the US.

Another potential problem for schools: the CDC recommends that schools promote vaccinations for eligible students but not require them.

That will result in classrooms where some students are fully vaccinated and others aren’t, complicating policies on mask usage.

On top of that, coronavirus vaccines are only available to students over the age of 12, so many elementary school students are not yet eligible to get their shot.

“It would be a very weird dynamic, socially, to have some kids wearing masks and some not. And tracking that? Teachers shouldn’t need to be keeping track of which kids should have masks on,” Elizabeth Stuart, a John Hopkins University public health professor, told the AP.