Suga Steps Down, Biden's Rapid Appointment of Judges, and More

Plus what to know about the new Thrifty Food Plan and podcast episodes on U.S. education challenges in the pandemic era.

View in browser September 4, 2021   Editor's note: The Brookings Brief will be taking a short break for the Labor Day holiday in the United States. The next edition will be in your inbox on Tuesday, September 7.  Suga steps down: Japanese politics in the pandemic era   COVID-19 has seen the dispatch of two Japanese administrations in short order and caused no small amount of political chaos in the country. Mireya Solís explains what went wrong for Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and asks key questions about what will likely be a tumultuous few months for Japan's citizens.    Read more Biden is appointing judges faster than Trump, and most everyone else—for now   Joe Biden has pursued an aggressive judicial nomination agenda so far, moving quickly to fill seats that meet the least amount of resistance. Russell Wheeler writes about the president's progress so far, how it compares with his recent predecessors, and looming challenges to filling vacancies.   Read more The new Thrifty Food Plan re-evaluates a 50-plus-year-old design   "For too long SNAP has been shackled to an outdated model of how families live and eat." Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced changes to the Thrifty Food Plan which will result in increases in Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits of about 20-25% from pre-pandemic levels. Kristin Butcher discusses these changes and how children from low-income families will benefit.   Read more America goes back to school Managing the return of students. The new school year has started, but the recent surge in COVID-19 cases is presenting challenges for a safe return. On The Current podcast, Jon Valant discusses how school districts and states are handling mask requirements, the role of national politics in local education decisions, and more.    A conversation on early childhood education. After well over a year of the COVID-19 pandemic, where does early childhood education (ECE) stand? Recently, the Brown Center on Education Policy hosted a webinar to examine what's ahead for the ECE sector. Watch the event or listen on the Brookings Cafeteria podcast.    To get more on U.S. education policy in your inbox, subscribe to the Brown Center newsletter. Help support Brookings with a donation   Brookings is committed to making its high-quality, independent policy research free to the public. Please consider making a contribution today to our Annual Fund to support our experts' work. The conclusions and recommendations of any Brookings publication are solely those of its author(s), and do not reflect the views of the Institution, its management, or its other scholars. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Brookings Institution campus in Washington, D.C. is currently closed and all events are virtual only. For more information on the Institution's response, read our full guidance here. The Brookings Institution, 1775 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036 Unsubscribe Manage your newsletter preferences | Receive the Brookings Brief less often