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DRIVING THE DAY
Here’s a little something to brighten (or perhaps darken) your Monday morning. Check out MICHAEL FLYNN botching the Pledge of Allegiance at a “Bikers for Trump” rally at the HonkyTonk Saloon in Ladson, S.C., on Sunday. He was in the Palmetto State to vouch for QAnon/election conspiracist LIN WOOD, who’s mounting a bid for state GOP chair. The video … The Post and Courier write-up of the event … ICYMI: Marc Caputo on Wood’s bid for the early-state chairmanship
CHOOSE YOUR NEWS — Over the weekend, WaPo published a story that the Biden White House is serious about negotiating with Republicans on infrastructure and genuinely open to compromise. Today, our Anita Kumar, after speaking with a half-dozen current and former Biden advisers and lawmakers, writes that President JOE BIDEN “may be willing to give up the reputation, cultivated over decades, as a dealmaking lawmaker if he can be a transformative president who pushes through a once-in-a-generation investment in infrastructure and social programs.”
It’s possible both are true: that the White House will make a concerted effort to strike a bipartisan deal, even if it means making concessions on the $2.3 trillion package — and cut bait quickly if it doesn’t happen.
FWIW: HARRY REID thinks Democrats should just get on with it.
MORE HEADLINES BELOW: Biden eyes two finalists for ambassador to Israel, with an announcement expected this week … Women (over 55) get New York Gov. ANDREW CUOMO’S back … CAITLYN JENNER takes a controversial stand.
DECODING THE LATEST MCCARTHY-CHENEY DRAMA — If you want a snapshot of how Trumpified the House Republican Conference is almost six months after the president was booted from the White House, look no further than this quote in The Hill over the weekend: “If a prerequisite for leading our conference is continuing to lie to our voters, then Liz is not the best fit,” Rep. ANTHONY GONZALEZ (R-Ohio) told the publication. “Liz isn’t going to lie to people.”
Process that for a minute. A House Republican — granted, one who voted for impeachment — suggesting that his colleagues may not want Rep. LIZ CHENEY (R-Wyo.) in leadership because she won’t lie! (Insert brain-exploding emoji here.)
IS LIZ OUT OF A LEADERSHIP JOB? Honestly, we don’t know yet. But what is clear right now is that there is a coordinated effort by KEVIN MCCARTHY to box her out. The Republican leader is signaling that if anyone wants to try to force another vote to oust her from the post, he’s not planning to defend her anymore. McCarthy has been refusing to appear with Cheney at press conferences for months and, according to our sources, recently declined to give her a moderating role at the GOP retreat in Orlando, even as he allowed others in leadership to head up panels.
It’s also notable that one of McCarthy’s new besties in Congress, Republican Study Committee Chair JIM BANKS (R-Ind.), who has conference chair ambitions of his own, went on record over the weekend criticizing her.
SO WHAT’S MCCARTHY’S BEEF? The leader has suggested that Cheney’s jabs at DONALD TRUMP are a distraction and accused her of not focusing on policy. That’s ironic because policy seems to be what Cheney talks about most. It’s only when reporters ask her about Trump that she says what she always has: that the party should move on from him. Also, McCarthy has done plenty on his own to stoke the controversy, including dodging questions about whether she should be in leadership and openly tagging her as selfish.
There’s also this question: If Republicans want to focus on retaking the House, is it smart politics to basically invite an intra-party blow-up — one that reminds swing voters that the party increasingly won’t tolerate anyone who doesn’t pledge allegiance to Trump? That’s what Cheney types would ask.
ONE UNSPOKEN DYNAMIC FOR YOUR RADAR: Several of the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump have been advised that if they keep their heads down, leaders like McCarthy will be more likely to help them with fundraising and campaigning. That probably explains why most of them have gone quiet in recent weeks. Cheney, as the No. 3 House Republican, can’t do that. Nor does it appear she wants to.
IF CHENEY GOES, WHO WOULD REPLACE HER? Like we said and have written previously in this space, Banks wants the job someday. He’s been using his RSC position to build a shadow messaging operation, countering Cheney’s job as conference chair. But Banks is also a white man when there are two before him already. And some Republicans would no doubt want a woman to step forward.
Thanks for reading Playbook, whose authors can assure you we know the Pledge of Allegiance by heart. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri.
BIDEN’S MONDAY — The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 8 a.m. He and first lady JILL BIDEN will leave the White House at 8:40 a.m. for Newport News, Va., arriving at 9:45 a.m. They’ll visit Yorktown Elementary School at 10:30 a.m. and depart Newport News at 11:35 a.m., arriving in Chesapeake, Va., at 11:55 a.m. They’ll visit an HVAC workshop at Tidewater Community College at 1:05 p.m. and deliver remarks at the school at 1:30 p.m. Then they’ll leave from Chesapeake at 2:30 p.m., stopping in Norfolk before reaching the White House at 4 p.m.
— VP KAMALA HARRIS will ceremonially swear in BILL NELSON as NASA administrator at 9:50 a.m. and SAMANTHA POWER as USAID administrator at 1:30 p.m. in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
THE WEEK AHEAD — Biden will speak Tuesday about the pandemic response and vaccination campaign. On Wednesday, he’ll speak about the American Rescue Plan implementation. He’ll hit the road again Thursday, heading to Lake Charles, La., and New Orleans to talk water infrastructure and jobs, including a tour of the Carrollton Water Plant. On Friday, Biden will speak about the economy and go to Camp David for the weekend.
THE SENATE and THE HOUSE are out all week.
PLAYBOOK READS
THE WHITE HOUSE
LEDE OF THE DAY — “How the A.T.F., Key to Biden’s Gun Plan, Became an N.R.A. ‘Whipping Boy,’” by NYT’s Glenn Thrush, Danny Hakim and Mike McIntire: “If there was one moment that summed up the current state of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, it was when the floor at the agency’s gun-tracing center caved in a couple of years ago under the weight of paper.
“The accident was not entirely accidental.
“The gun lobby, led by the National Rifle Association, has for years systematically blocked plans to modernize the agency’s paper-based weapons-tracing system with a searchable database. As a result, records of gun sales going back decades are stored in boxes stacked seven high, waiting to be processed, against every wall.
‘We had a lady pushing a cart, and the floor just gave way,’ recalled TYSON J. ARNOLD, who runs the tracing center, tapping the new, steel-braced deck with his shoe.
“Now the long-suffering A.T.F. (somehow the ‘explosives’ never made it into the abbreviation) is at the center of President Biden’s plans to push back at what he has called ‘the international embarrassment’ of gun violence in America.”
CHALLENGES LOOM OVER NEXT IRAN DEAL — “Biden faces GOP handcuffs and Dem skeptics on Iran Deal 2.0,” by Andrew Desiderio: “While Biden administration officials are holding indirect talks with the Iranians in Vienna, Republicans are discussing strategies to make it harder for Biden to reenter the nuclear agreement, most likely by using legislative tools tied to the sanctions Trump put in place. Many in the GOP are determined to smother any Biden-led comeback for the Iran deal — especially absent a more comprehensive pact that addresses Iran’s support for terrorism and other malign actions.
“And the White House’s growing set of challenges in shaping any Iran Deal 2.0 go beyond the GOP: Democrats want the president to resist the urge to seek a broader set of concessions from Tehran, saying it will sink U.S. chances of reentering the agreement.”
CONGRESS
DEPT. OF PROBABLY NOT HAPPENING — “Senate Democrats agonize over voting rights strategy,” by Burgess Everett and Marianne LeVine: “Senate Democrats made a major commitment to muscle through Speaker NANCY PELOSI’S ethics and voting reform bill. Yet many say they have no idea how to pass it and wonder what exactly the end game is for a signature Democratic priority.
“Democrats are preparing to kick off a sensitive internal debate over the issue this month as the Senate Rules Committee takes up the sprawling House package. But no Republicans support it, Sen. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.) hasn’t signed on and at least a half-dozen Democrats have issues with the bill, according to senators and aides. That’s not to mention the constraints of the filibuster in a 50-50 Senate.
“What’s at stake is not only the party’s promise on a key issue, but also potentially the future Democratic majorities. Many in the party privately worry that frontline Democrats, like Warnock or House Democrats vulnerable to redistricting, could lose their seats if Congress doesn’t send a federal election and ethics bill to Biden’s desk by this summer.”
PADILLA PROVING PROGRESSIVISM — “With 2022 election already looming, Alex Padilla burnishes progressive credentials,” by L.A. Times’ Jennifer Haberkon: “Simmering beneath the surface of virtually everything [Sen. ALEX] PADILLA does these days is perhaps the greatest urgency of all: just three months into a job he was appointed to by Gov. Gavin Newsom, California’s first Latino senator has only 18 months to convince voters that he should keep it.
“One of his first challenges is to introduce himself to the millions of Californians who are his constituents and will eventually determine whether he gets his own full term. A second is to quiet the skepticism among some California progressives that he isn’t liberal enough — or assertive enough — for the job. … His strategy: Be everywhere and display unapologetic progressivism.”
AMERICA AND THE WORLD
COVETED GIG — “Israel ambassador likely to be named this week, with shortlist narrowed to two,” The Forward: “TOM NIDES, a former official in the Clinton and Obama administrations; and ROBERT WEXLER, a former congressman from Florida, are both on the short list for one of the high-profile diplomatic posts of the administration, sources close to the White House said.”
MILLEY’S WARNING — “U.S. general: Afghan forces could face ‘bad possible outcomes,’” AP: “Gen. MARK MILLEY described the Afghan military and police as ‘reasonably well equipped, reasonably well trained, reasonably well led.’ He cited Afghan troops’ years of experience against a resilient insurgency, but he declined to say they are fully ready to stand up to the Taliban without direct international backing during a potential Taliban offensive.”
HILLARY’S WARNING — “Clinton warns of potential ‘huge consequences’ from Afghanistan withdrawal,” N.Y. Post: “HILLARY CLINTON on Sunday warned that the US could face ‘huge consequences’ from President Biden’s decision to pull all US troops out of Afghanistan. The former secretary of state was asked on CNN what she thought of Biden’s move to withdraw troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.
“‘It’s one thing to pull out troops that have been supporting security in Afghanistan, supporting the Afghan military, leaving it pretty much to fend for itself, but we can’t afford to walk away from the consequences of that decision,’ she said. While acknowledging that the decision was a ‘difficult’ one, Clinton noted the potential for ‘two huge consequences’ — a Taliban-controlled Afghan government and subsequent ‘huge refugee outflow.’ There could be ‘a largely Taliban-run government at some point in the not-too-distant future’ in Afghanistan, said Clinton, the 2016 Democratic candidate for president.”
BEYOND THE BELTWAY
CUOMO’S SUPPORT GROUP — “Andrew Cuomo’s Loudest Supporters: ‘Women for Governor Cuomo,’” WSJ: “Some of the women have urged followers in the private group to call state officials, respond to Mr. Cuomo’s accusers and rivals on Twitter, attend rallies and contribute thousands of dollars for pro-Cuomo advertising. Those include banners flown over New York beaches and a billboard ad on a highway in Albany. Others have attacked on social media the former Cuomo aides who have accused him of sexual harassment.
“Some members said in the group that they were flooding an official hotline that was set up for tipsters by lawyers working for the state Assembly impeachment committee and leaving positive messages about the governor. … While the women press on different fronts, many of them have talked, planned and relayed their activities in the Facebook group that started after Mr. Cuomo began facing calls for his resignation earlier this year.”
DESANTIS TARGETS TWITTER, FACEBOOK — “Florida bill would fine social media platforms for banning politicians — with exemption for Disney,” The Verge: “Florida is on the verge of passing legislation that would fine social media companies like Twitter and Facebook that ‘knowingly de-platform’ political candidates. The bill was first proposed in February by Gov. RON DESANTIS, a supporter of former President Trump, although Florida Republicans insist the bill has nothing to do with the former president, a famous denizen of social media who was banned earlier this year by major platforms.”
JENNER’S STAND — “‘It just isn’t fair’: Caitlyn Jenner opposes transgender girls participating in women’s sports,” CBS: “Jenner, who has filed paperwork to run for governor in California as a Republican, said it was a ‘question of fairness’ in an interview with TMZ on Saturday. ‘That’s why I oppose biological boys who are trans competing in girls’ sports in school,’ Jenner said. ‘It just isn’t fair. And we have to protect girls’ sports in our schools.’
“Jenner took to Twitter later on Saturday to reiterate her stance, saying she was ‘clear about where I stand.’” The TMZ video
POLITICS ROUNDUP
BATTLEGROUND TEXAS? NOT SO MUCH — “For Democrats, Another Bad Election Night in Texas,” NYT: “Democrats hoping for some encouraging signs in Texas did not find any on Saturday in a special election to fill a vacant congressional seat. Instead, they found themselves locked out of a runoff that will now see two Republicans battle for the seat in northern Texas. … Democrats who needed a strong turnout to be competitive did not get one. They were hoping for signs of weakness in the Republican brand because of the state’s disastrous response to the brutal winter storm in February or any signs of weariness with Mr. Trump, but they did not see that, either.”
AND THIS — “In South Texas, Hispanic Republicans Try to Cement the Party’s Gains,” NYT: “Hispanic Republicans, especially women, have become something of political rock stars in South Texas after voters in the Rio Grande Valley shocked leaders in both parties in November by swinging sharply toward the G.O.P. Here in McAllen, one of the region’s largest cities, Mr. Trump received nearly double the number of votes he did four years earlier; in the Rio Grande Valley over all, President Biden won by just 15 percentage points, a steep slide from Clinton’s 39-point margin in 2016.
“That conservative surge — and the liberal decline — has buoyed the Republican Party’s hopes about its ability to draw Hispanic voters into what has long been an overwhelmingly white political coalition and to challenge Democrats in heavily Latino regions across the country. Now party officials, including [GREG] ABBOTT, the governor, have flocked to the Rio Grande Valley in a kind of pilgrimage, eager to meet the people who helped Republicans rapidly gain ground in a longtime Democratic stronghold.”
LOYALTY, LOYALTY, LOYALTY — “For Republicans, fealty to Trump’s election falsehood becomes defining loyalty test,” WaPo: “Local officials, too, are facing censure and threats — in states from Iowa to Michigan to Missouri — for publicly accepting the election results. … The issue also could reverberate through the 2022 midterms and the 2024 election, with Trump already slamming Republicans who did not resist the election results. For Republicans, fealty to the falsehood could pull the party further to the right during the primaries, providing challenges during the general election when wooing more moderate voters is crucial. And for Democrats, the continued existence of the claim threatens to undermine Biden’s agenda.”
This is an actual quote from a Trump backer quoted in the story: “I speak for many people in that Trump has never actually been wrong, and so we’ve learned to trust when he says something, that he’s not just going to spew something out there that’s wrong and not verified.”
CINDY SPEAKS — “Cindy McCain calls Arizona GOP election audit ‘ludicrous,’” by Myah Ward
MEDIAWATCH
END OF AN ERA — “Verizon Near Deal to Sell Yahoo and AOL,” NYT
ANDREW YANG, MEDIA JUGGERNAUT — Ben Smith’s NYT latest: “This time, the media is taking him seriously — and indeed, is trying, with mixed results, to avoid some of what journalists see as the mistakes in covering Donald Trump. … [T]he local media is wrestling with how to avoid allowing coverage of one candidate to eclipse the rest of the field, even if Mr. Yang is ‘not in the same ideological universe as Donald Trump,’ said JERE HESTER, the editor in chief of the nonprofit news organization The City. …
“And while the coverage of Mr. Yang has been mixed, there is no question he is dominating, getting about twice as much written coverage as his nearest rival, according to the magazine City Limits, and regularly leading broadcast news outlets.”
PLAYBOOKERS
WHAT WE’RE LISTENING TO THIS MORNING: NYT’s KARA SWISHER interviewing Transportation Secretary PETE BUTTIGIEG.
SPOTTED: John McCarthy, Olivia Nuzzi, Hilary Rosen, Liz Johnson and Tammy Haddad (belatedly) celebrating Kaitlan Collins’ 29th birthday Saturday at Cafe Milano. Pic (h/t and photo credit: Ryan)
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Former Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) and Cissy Jackson are joining Arent Fox’s government relations and government enforcement and white collar groups as counsel. Jackson previously was counsel and national security adviser for Jones.
— Parker Poling will lead Rep. Ashley Hinson’s (R-Iowa) “Kitchen Cabinet” in D.C. She previously was executive director of the NRCC.
— WHITE HOUSE ARRIVAL LOUNGE: Rio Hart is now special assistant to the domestic policy adviser. He most recently was director of research for the Obama Foundation.
— Kaitlin Fahey, Paul Kohnstamm and Leah Israel, all longtime aides to Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), are launching Magnify Strategies and will be working with Duckworth’s reelect and “other statewide political campaigns, national political coalitions and organizations, trade associations and companies with Illinois ties.” Fahey previously was chief of staff for Duckworth, Kohnstamm was administrative director, and Israel was a senior adviser and longtime chief fundraiser.
— JC Sandberg will join the American Clean Power Association as chief advocacy officer. He most recently has led global government affairs and policy at GE Renewable Energy.
— Mia Ives-Rublee is joining the Center for American Progress as director of the Disability Justice Initiative. She’s a longtime advocate and expert who worked on several Democratic campaigns in the 2020 cycle.
— Kindred Motes has launched a social impact and comms consultancy practice, where he’ll oversee initiatives for clients including USAID, the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation and I-MAK. He previously was senior officer for comms and strategic engagement at the Wallace Global Fund.
TRANSITIONS — Steven Smith is now a senior director at the Herald Group. He previously was national press secretary for the House Republican Conference. … Stefan Smith has joined the ACLU as its first deputy chief digital engagement officer. He previously was online engagement director for Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaign and senior adviser for Jay-Z and Van Jones’ Reform Alliance. …
… Charli Huddleston is now comms director for Eric Schmitt’s Missouri Senate campaign. She most recently was comms director for Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), and is a Trump campaign and House Oversight alum. … David Fonseca is joining Facebook’s public policy external affairs team. He most recently was deputy director of government affairs at the American Center for Law & Justice, and is a Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush alum.
ENGAGED — Graph Massara, POLITICO night editor, and Saoirse O’Neill, an agricultural ecologist, shared their engagement over the weekend. The couple met as undergrads at the University of California, Berkeley, and have moved from the Bay Area to D.C., and back, over their six years together. They now live on a small fruit farm in California’s wine country.
WEEKEND WEDDINGS — Alexandra DeSanctis, a staff writer at National Review, and Nicholas Marr, who works at the Federalist Society, got married Saturday at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Notre Dame’s campus. They met at Notre Dame.
— Bob Salera, founder of Landslide LLC and an NRCC and NRSC alum, and Jennie Allison, program manager at the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness, got married Saturday night in Old Town. SPOTTED: NRCC staff/alums Camille Gallo, Lauren Hutchinson, Jon Reedy, Matt Wall, Katie Martin, Daniel Chiasson and Chris Pack. Pic
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sens. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) … NBC/MSNBC’s Willie Geist … White House national climate adviser Gina McCarthy … Caroline Critchfield Hunter of Stand Together (5-0) … Ben Ginsberg … Scott Kamins of Kamins Consulting … Harris Media’s Vince Harris … former Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) (6-0) … POLITICO’s Matt Friedman, Anna Stubbs, David Nicks and Julia Busby … Chip Rogers of the American Hotel and Lodging Association … SKDKnickerbocker’s Stephen Krupin … Holly Turner … Greg Clugston … Linda Kenyon … Vic Goetz of Rep. Brad Schneider’s (D-Ill.) office (3-0) … Katie Farrar … Irene Rosenfeld … Mikhail Prokhorov … Rob Astorino … Booz Allen Hamilton’s Stephen Labaton … Andy Miga … Brendan McPhillips … Democratic strategist Max Burns … Seth Flaxman of Democracy Works … Chris Bodenner … Andrew Nagorski … The App Association’s Chelsea Thomas … Susan Steinmetz … Ella Yates … Julia Convertini … Lindsey Kolb … Caitlin Peruccio … Sam Azzarelli of Firehouse Strategies … GPS Impact’s Roy Temple … Tim Mulvey … Alliance Group’s Rob Jones … Stephanie Logan … Paul Kangas … Steele Burrow … Jason Killian Meath … Cliff Maloney … American Forest and Paper Association’s Michael Blume
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