MNI POLITICAL RISK ANALYSIS – US Daily Brief 14-01-22

Executive Summary:

• 12:30 ET 17:30 GMT: President Joe Biden to speak on the bipartisan infrastructure law.
• The Senate has rejected Senator Ted’s Cruz’s (R-TX) bill to sanction the Russian gas pipeline Nordstream 2 by a 55-44 margin. Rejection of the bill is a moderate success for President Joe Biden who is struggling to unify his party around key issues.
• ·The Senate is out until Tuesday but Senate Majority Leader Schumer has restated his intention for a Senate vote on rules changes. Schumer’s strategy is unclear as Senator’s Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) are no closer to agreeing to bypass the filibuster. In fact, Sinema spoke categorically on the floor yesterday that she would not bypass the filibuster, despite supporting the voter rights bill.·
• The US will be monitoring deepening ties between Iran and China. A closer relationship between the two countries may undermine ongoing negotiations to reincorporate Iran into the nuclear treaty scrapped by the Trump administration.
• The Omicron surge in Covid-19 hospitalisation is continuing to affect health care provision across the country. Nineteen states are operating at less than 15% remaining capacity in their intensive care units.

MNI POLITICAL RISK ANALYSIS – US Daily Brief 14-01-22 .pdf