A presidency tested

A tragic attack in Afghanistan makes it the worst week of Biden's presidency [View this email online]( [NPR]( [President Biden] Drew Angerer/Getty Images The Big Picture: A Presidency Tested It was the worst week of the seven-month-old Biden presidency. The U.S. was hoping to get out of Afghanistan, with every American citizen and every Afghan who served as a U.S. ally, without American casualties. Instead, [a suicide bomber at the Kabul airport]( killed at least 13 U.S. service members, injured 18 others, and killed and wounded scores of Afghans. It seems almost certain now that there will be some Americans and Afghans who helped the U.S. in its almost-20-year involvement in the country left behind under Taliban rule. It’s been a nightmare scenario that’s played out for Biden, who pledged to get out of Afghanistan in an orderly and responsible way. The chaos has given Republican opponents a new line of political attack, while Biden’s plate of troubles is [already pretty full](. The Biden White House has proved adept when things are on its timeline. When it comes to legislation, even with only slim majorities in both chambers of Congress, the administration has been highly organized. But beginning with the surge of the delta variant of the coronavirus and now with the withdrawal from Afghanistan, Biden has taken a hit politically. Biden’s approval ratings [have fallen across the board.]( For Biden — someone who talks often of his values instilled by his parents that you get up when you’re knocked down — the question is, how does he respond? After all, it’s the unplanned crises, the unforeseen circumstances, that test the real mettle of a president. — Domenico Montanaro, NPR senior political editor/correspondent --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images ICYMI: Top Stories Jan 6. Capitol riot probe expands to Trump: A House select committee has issued the most widespread list of demands since the siege, directing letters to eight federal entities and targeting communications by former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence. [Read more about the sweeping records request](. SCOTUS blocks eviction moratorium: In a late-night, unsigned decision, [the Supreme Court blocked the Biden administration’s order extending the federal moratorium on evictions]( during the ongoing surge of coronavirus cases. The court’s conservative majority said the CDC exceeded its authority and that Congress must authorize such an extension. Trump-aligned lawyers sanctioned: Nine attorneys aligned with Trump who filed a baseless lawsuit seeking to overturn Michigan's 2020 election results [will have to pay financial penalties and face other punishments for their legal effort](. David Fink, a lawyer for the city of Detroit, said after the ruling: "In 43 years of practice, I have never seen a group of attorneys sanctioned so severely, but I've also never seen a group of attorneys who deserved to be sanctioned as much as these lawyers deserved it.” Vaccine news: This week, [Pfizer’s vaccine became the first COVID-19 vaccine to receive full FDA approval]( replacing the emergency use authorization that was granted by the FDA in December. But a vaccine has yet to be approved for kids ages 5-11, and Dr. Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, [told NPR this week]( that approval likely won’t come before the end of 2021. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s post-Cuomo vision: The state’s first female governor started work on Tuesday. The next day [she described for NPR’s Morning Edition]( what she plans to do in her new role, including repairing the state’s credibility, especially after a scandal earlier this year over how many people died of COVID-19 in nursing homes. — Heidi Glenn, NPR digital editor, and Brandon Carter, NPR Politics social media producer --------------------------------------------------------------- Kaz Fantone for NPR Going Deeper Voting rights primer: The Texas House this week [passed new voting restrictions]( while the U.S. House [approved a bill]( to strengthen the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The landmark law has been weakened by Supreme Court rulings over the last 10 years, and the most recent decision prompted national marches, including [one set for Saturday]( in Washington, D.C. [Read about how the 1965 law came to be and how it’s changed](. Democrats and voter ID: For years, Democrats haven’t shied away from describing voter ID laws as racist and disenfranchising. But after much struggle to passing voting rights reform at the federal level — and as polls find a majority of Americans think people should have to show a photo ID to vote — [Democrats appear to be softening their stance](. — Heidi Glenn, NPR digital editor, and Brandon Carter, NPR Politics social media producer --------------------------------------------------------------- Wali Sabawoon/AP Photos: After The Kabul Attack On Thursday, a suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan killed dozens of Afghan civilians and at least 13 U.S. service members. The attack took place outside Kabul’s airport, where thousands of Afghans have been gathering in an attempt to flee the country during U.S. evacuation efforts. [Here’s a look at some of the scenes after the deadly attack](. — Brandon Carter, NPR Politics social media producer [Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Stream your local NPR station. 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