NEW COVID PLAN, SAME COVID PROBLEMS — Joe Biden’s presidency hinges on doing everything he can to beat back the pandemic. But faced with rising cases, falling approval ratings and a dug-in GOP opposition, Biden may be running out of fresh options for defeating Covid-19. In its new nine-point plan, the White House pledged a redoubling of federal vaccination efforts, expanded testing and a series of public education campaigns — all initiatives that could strengthen the nation’s defenses around the margins. What it lacks, though, are the kinds of drastic measures that health experts say are critical to ending the pandemic — and that would also prompt the biggest political blowback, Adam and POLITICO’s Jonathan Lemire report. The Biden administration has shied away from mandating vaccines for domestic travel, stricter public health measures or enforced quarantines. The mandates it’s tried to put in place are frozen in the courts. And in the hardest-hit parts of the country, GOP governors have thwarted the government’s best efforts at imposing basic protections. That hostile environment has shrunk the White House’s Covid-19 toolkit, even as it faces perhaps the most urgent threat since the summer Delta wave. Health officials have already found several Omicron cases in the U.S., and it could be at least a week until there’s a definitive verdict on the variant’s severity. Biden, in the meantime, is preaching unity, pitching his new plan for winter partly on the promise that it won’t include new mandates. “This is a moment we can put the divisiveness behind us, I hope,” he said Thursday. Still, few in the administration expect this new plan to drive a dramatic increase in the vaccination rate. Officials instead have turned their attention of late to shoring up the ranks of the already vaccinated — urging people to get boosters and vaccinate their kids in hopes of at least battling Covid-19 to a stalemate for another season. CONGRESS AVERTS A SHUTDOWN — The Senate late Thursday approved a bipartisan deal to keep the government open through mid-February, after negotiators struck a deal on a vaccine-related amendment vote in exchange for GOP support, POLITICO’s Caitlin Emma, Jennifer Scholtes and Sarah Ferris report. The path to the 69-28 vote hinged on demands from a group of conservatives for consideration of an amendment defunding Biden’s vaccination requirements for large businesses. The faction, led by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), had floated shuttering the government altogether if funding for the new vaccine rules was kept in place. But they ultimately settled for an amendment stripping money for the requirements, which failed on the floor by a 48-50 margin. The bipartisan funding deal came together after days of dysfunction within the Capitol, as lawmakers in both the House and Senate sought an agreement they could speed to Biden’s desk. The House eventually passed its measure Thursday morning, teeing up final negotiations on the Senate side. The process represents a preview of far more contentious funding fights to come. Congress still needs to agree on a full-year spending measure that could for the first time include Biden’s priorities. They also need to deal with potential cuts to Medicare and other aid programs set to take effect next year. FIVE OMICRON CASES IN NY — The number of confirmed Omicron cases in the U.S. is multiplying as more states detect the new variant, including five infections found in New York on Thursday, POLITICO’s Shannon Young reports. Gov. Kathy Hochul said at least one infected person had recently traveled from South Africa and told New Yorkers they should assume the variant is already spreading at the community level. Officials across the country have stressed that Omicron’s rise was expected once it began cropping up around the world. It will still be several days before scientists can determine whether Omicron is more contagious or virulent than previous Covid-19 strains. “This is not March 2020,” Hochul said. “People should not panic that this is going to be a repeat of what happened before.” Hawaii, Minnesota and Colorado also identified Omicron cases on Thursday. | 
