⚖️ Axios PM: Biden plan endangered

Plus: Tray table gourmet | Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Amazon   Axios PM By Mike Allen · Feb 28, 2023 Good Tuesday afternoon. Today's PM — edited by Kate Nocera — is 530 words, a 2-min. read. Thanks to Sheryl Miller for the copy edit. ⚡️ Situational awareness: President Biden today said he will nominate Julie Su, a former civil rights attorney and current No. 2 at the Labor Department, as secretary of Labor. If confirmed, Su, 54, will be this administration's first Cabinet-level secretary of Asian heritage.     1 big thing: Debt relief endangered A demonstrator in favor of canceling student debt stands outside the Supreme Court today while oral arguments took place. Photo: Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images President Biden's plan to cancel billions of dollars of student loan debt appears in jeopardy. During oral arguments today in two cases challenging the plan, the Supreme Court's conservative majority appeared skeptical that he has the legal authority to offer the far-reaching debt relief, Axios' Erin Doherty reports. Chief Justice John Roberts and other conservative justices invoked the "major questions doctrine," which holds that the executive branch needs explicit congressional approval to act on the biggest issues. The court has used that doctrine lately to strike down several Democratic priorities, including environmental regulations and COVID vaccine mandates. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued that the plan was legal under the HEROES Act of 2003, which allows the education secretary to "waive or modify" student financial assistance programs when there's a national emergency. Both former President Trump and Biden have used the statute to pause student loan payments since the outset of the COVID pandemic. Since Biden announced the plan last August, 26 million people applied for student loan debt relief. More than 16 million of those borrowers' applications were fully approved. The program has been on hold since November, after a Texas judge struck it down. Go deeper.     2. Paternity leave expands — just not in U.S. Data: World Policy Analysis Center. Chart: Alice Feng/Axios More than 120 countries provide some sort of guaranteed paid parental leave for fathers — up from 46 countries in the 1990s, according to a report from the World Policy Analysis Center. The U.S. isn't one of them. Though support is growing for paternity leave, there's still a stigma attached to men who take time off to care for their children. Yet studies find that leave provides numerous benefits for the economy, for fathers and for their partners, Axios Markets co-author Emily Peck writes. The U.S. is also one of just seven countries in the world that does not guarantee paid maternity leave. The other countries are the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea and Tonga. Go deeper.     A message from Amazon "I'm on my way to getting my bachelor's degree"     Amazon offers prepaid tuition for hourly employees, helping associates like Billy earn their degrees without worrying about the cost. Key numbers: Nearly 1 million Amazon employees and delivery partners are eligible for prepaid tuition, including the cost of classes, books and fees. Read more.     3. 📷 Photo gallery: Local Black heroes For Black History Month, Axios journalists from around the country identified local heroes who made a mark in their cities and beyond. Photo: Robin Marchant/Getty Images for Town & Country Above: Chicago's Jahmal Cole is the founder and CEO of My Block, My Hood, My City, which helps youth from divested neighborhoods find educational opportunities. Photo: Edna Griffin papers, Iowa Women's Archives, University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City, Iowa Above: Des Moines' Edna Griffin is known as the "Rosa Parks of Iowa." Griffin's 1948 legal battle against Katz Drug Store in Des Moines became a landmark case before the Iowa Supreme Court and foreshadowed the civil rights movement. More photos.     4. 🍽 Airplane food is ... good? Impossible rendang croquette cake, a dish created by Molly Brandt. Photo: Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post via Getty Images Airline catering companies are upping their tray table game and introducing more sophisticated meals that feature plant-based and fermented foods, The Washington Post reports. Whipped blue cheese with bacon-date relish. Photo: Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post via Getty Images A recent tasting at Dulles showcased "duck rillettes paired with ratatouille pickles, a whipped blue cheese dip topped with a bacon-date relish and a roasted heirloom cauliflower steak with turmeric-tahini sauce." Go deeper.     A message from Amazon How this part-time associate finished her degree and earned a promotion     Sisi started as a part-time associate at Amazon. With the help of Career Choice, she finished her degree and is now working in Amazon HR. Even better: Now Sisi helps her colleagues learn about the wide range of benefits Amazon offers, including prepaid tuition and free skills training. Learn more.   Are you a fan of this email format? Your essential communications — to staff, clients and other stakeholders — can have the same style. Axios HQ, a powerful platform, will help you do it.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. 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