OnPolitics: Census. Congress. COVID.

Posted by Anonymous on April 28, 2021

Tuesday, April 27

FILE - This March 19, 2020, file photo, shows an envelope containing a 2020 census letter mailed to a U.S. resident. On Wednesday, March 24, 2021, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by the state of Ohio that tried to get the U.S. Census Bureau to provide data used for drawing congressional and legislative districts ahead of its planned release. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Will Democrats can hold on to their narrow advantage in the House in the 2022 midterm elections?

Great news for people who hate wearing masks. The CDC says fully vaccinated Americans don't need to wear a mask outside, except in crowded settings. So, who is to credit for the USA making strides in progressing past COVID?

It's Mabinty with what everyone in Washington is talking about today.

Plus, the Census Bureau's latest population apportionments could affect the 2022 midterm elections and whether Democrats can hold onto control of the House.

Who gets credit for the COVID vaccine rollout?

President Joe Biden shattered his goal of administering 200 million COVID-19 vaccine shots in his first 100 days in office. Should he get the credit though? Or does that belong to former President Donald Trump?

Health experts say the kudos belongs to both administrations: Trump for aggressively developing a vaccine and Biden for rolling it out.

While Trump made a high-stakes gamble that led to record-breaking vaccine development before Inauguration Day, the Biden administration formalized a national strategy that helped the nation's patchwork of health systems execute a vaccination rate of more than 3 million shots a day.

How the Census impacts Congress

Yesterday, the Census Bureau released its first round of data from the survey taken last year.

The results:

•	Gaining: Texas will gain two more congressional seats. Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina and Oregon each gained one seat.
•	Losing: California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia each lost one congressional seat.

The U.S. House of Representatives has 435 seats, based on population. Every decade, as population shifts, the allotment of seats for each state may change based on updated data collected by the Census Bureau.

New congressional districts would take effect for the 2022 election. That puts added pressure on Democrats, who control the house by the slim margin of 218-212, with five seats vacant. The size of the House has not changed since 1913.

We took a deeper look at how this may come into play when voters go to the booth next year to elect their House members.

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