| Biden is reopening the Affordable Care Act exchanges; the US has put a freeze on arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Tonight's Sentences was written by Gabby Birenbaum. | | | | | | | Biden is opening up Obamacare enrollment again | | | | | | - President Biden signed an executive order Thursday reopening federal health insurance exchanges through the Affordable Care Act, creating a three-month window for people to enroll in federally subsidized insurance. [Vox / Dylan Scott]
- The executive order is targeting people who are eligible for the ACA, potentially after having lost their insurance, but were not aware of their options. The administration is coupling the announcement with an ad campaign. [Vox]
- The exchanges will be open on Healthcare.gov from February 15 to May 15. Typically, the sign-up period is late in the year, unless someone can prove a major life change. Losing your job qualifies, but the administration is assuming many people who lost their jobs last year were unaware of the opportunity to sign up. [The Washington Post / Amy Goldstein]
- In a contentious Democratic primary dominated by debates over health care, Biden campaigned on his promise to strengthen the ACA. Thursday's executive order represents his first step in that direction. [CNN / Tami Luhby]
- Former President Trump undermined the ACA by declining to reopen exchanges despite the requests of Democrats and health experts, and by reducing funding for advertising the program. Uninsured rates rose under Trump for the first time in years, even before the pandemic. [The Hill / Jessie Hellmann]
- Biden is also directing the federal government to reexamine any policies that could undermine the ACA or Medicaid. He also revoked the global gag rule that restricts US aid to international organizations that provide abortion services. [ABC News / Molly Nagle]
- For more policy analysis, don't miss our Weeds newsletter. Every Friday we break down the biggest policy stories of the Biden administration. Sign up here.
| | | Biden reexamines US relationship with Saudi Arabia | | - Former President Trump approved billions of dollars' worth of weapons sales to Saudi Arabia in his time in office. President Biden is putting a freeze on those sales, signalling a new sense of scrutiny will be applied to the US-Saudi relationship. [The Wall Street Journal / Warren P. Strobel]
- Biden has criticized Saudi Arabia over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the fueling of a war in Yemen and a resulting humanitarian crisis. He has ordered the State Department to review Saudi policy, including the 11th hour Trump administration designation of Yemen's Houthi rebels as terrorists, precluding aid to the region. [ABC News / Conor Finnegan]
- Biden has also paused weapons sales to the United Arab Emirates. Bipartisan groups of lawmakers and human rights advocates had decried the US arms sales to both countries as dangerous. [Al Jazeera]
- Secretary of State Tony Blinken said the freezes were part of the standard policy review of a new administration. But Democrats are pushing Biden to make them permanent. [The New York Times / Michael Crowley]
- During the campaign, Biden called Saudi Arabia a "pariah" and said his State Department would treat them as such. His initial move is a stark departure from Trump, who pursued a cozy relationship with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. [CNBC / Natasha Turak]
| | | | | | | Two people in South Carolina have contracted a worrisome variant of the coronavirus discovered in South Africa — the first cases in the US. | | | | | | | "I am happy to work with Republicans on this issue where there's common ground, but you almost had me murdered 3 weeks ago so you can sit this one out." | | | | | | | | | | |
Vox's Sean Illing talks to Yale professor and author Jason Stanley about why American democracy provides such fertile soil for fascism, how Donald Trump demonstrated how easy it was for our country to flirt with a fascist future and what we can do about it. [Spotify / Sean Illing] | | | | | | | | |  | This email was sent to edwardlorilla1986.paxforex@blogger.com. Manage your email preferences, or unsubscribe to stop receiving all emails from Vox. If you value Vox's unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring contribution. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036.
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