Axios AM: Mike's Big 6 — Welcome, 2021! — 👀 What our experts are watching — Trump foiled

1 big thing: McConnell slaps back Trump — repeatedly | Friday, January 01, 2021

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Facebook   Axios AM By Mike Allen ·Jan 01, 2021 🎉 Welcome to 2021! Today's Smart Brevity™ count: 1,166 words ... 4½ minutes. ⚡ Situational awareness: Four days before his tight runoff, Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) is quarantining after being in close contact with an unidentified campaign staffer who tested positive. Perdue tested negative, and tweeted that he plans "a whole lot of virtual campaigning!" (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)     1 big thing: McConnell slaps back Trump — repeatedly Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell departs the Capitol on Dec. 11. Photo: Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images   It took four years and an election defeat. But someone with real power inside the Republican Party is standing up to — and swatting back — President Trump: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Why it matters: This is a preview of the power struggle that will define the Republican Party in 2021. You saw this with McConnell acknowledging Joe Biden as President-elect. You saw this with McConnell blocking Trump's push to raise stimulus checks to $2,000, which would have split Senate Republicans. And you're seeing it now with his effort to curtail futile resistance by the GOP to congressional certification of Biden's victory. Until now, McConnell's strategy was buffeted by the chaos Trump created. Now, the Senate leader — whose autobiography is called "The Long Game" — is finally able to set the party's course. "McConnell is trying to reclaim the role he had in 2009 — leader of the opposition to a new Democratic president," said a Republican operative familiar with the leader's thinking. What he's thinking: Depending on the outcome of Tuesday's Georgia runoffs, McConnell will have to find a way to protect — or regain — a Senate majority, in the face of Trump and his operatives promoting candidates who could win primaries but might well lose. During Trump's presidency, Axios' Margaret Talev points out, McConnell gained from an alliance that yielded 200+ lifetime judgeships — including three Supreme Court justices. As ex-president, Trump carries more liability.  The bottom line: Beginning 19 days from now, McConnell is the most powerful Republican in the land.     2. What we're watching Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios   What the Axios experts are watching this year: Politics: Leaving aside foreign policy unknowns, the success of the Biden presidency depends on his ability to achieve compromise with his old colleagues in the Senate. Yes, he knows the rhythms and the rules, but he's only served with about a third of current senators. He may be speaking a language that has fundamentally changed. —Hans Nichols Business: We're watching to see if the real economy and capital markets will narrow their wild divergence. Maybe that means stocks pull back a bit, or maybe vaccines spark this millennium's version of the Roaring '20s (which came just after the 1918 Pandemic). —Dan Primack Tech: A flurry of antitrust lawsuits ended 2020. Will we see action against Apple and/or Amazon? —Ina Fried Media: We'll be on the lookout for whether new commercial investments can start to rebuild the local news ecosystem in a more sustainable way. —Sara Fischer Health care: The Biden administration has promised a dramatically different approach to the pandemic, but baked-in political attitudes may hamper Biden's attempts to bring the virus under control. —Caitlin Owens Energy: Demand and prices are recovering but still hobbled by COVID-19. Investor confidence in the long-term outlook is low. Pressure to act faster on climate is high. And in the U.S., Biden's team will begin work on new regulations and restrictions. —Ben Geman Racial justice: Communities across the country have formed "racial healing" committees to help deal with fallen racist monuments, tensions with police and people of color, and damage from protests. The ideas could change conditions for communities of color, but a lack of action could create tension as young demonstrators call for drastic transformation. —Russell Contreras Science: We'll be watching to see if the world's almost singular focus on the pandemic in 2020 sets back science in other fields. We'll also be tracking what scientific research and development the Biden administration prioritizes, and how it pursues international collaboration in science amidst geopolitical tensions. —Alison Snyder 📱 Go deeper: We have a newsletter on each of these topics. See a menu here.     3. What we're watching II The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. Photo: Christoph Soeder/dpa via AP World: I'll be watching the fate of the Iran deal, the end of the road for Angela Merkel after 15 years in power in Germany, the battle to define the future of Ethiopia, and Benjamin Netanyahu's fight for political and legal survival in Israel. But the challenge that will define 2021 is distributing vaccines not just to wealthy countries, but to people all over the world. —Dave Lawler China: The big story is the Biden administration's China policy. The Trump administration broke with decades of U.S. policy , rejecting engagement and embracing a more directly confrontational approach. This approach, while criticized, has broad bipartisan support. —Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian Future: 2020 saw an acceleration in automation and startling new breakthroughs in AI and biotechnology, driven in part by the need to respond to the pandemic. I'll be watching to see whether 2021 becomes the year that the economic value of those advances is realized. —Bryan Walsh Future of work: This year will be the test of whether the transformational changes we saw in work and the workplace will stick. I'll be watching which companies call their vaccinated employees back to the office, and which ones embrace remote work for the long haul. —Erica Pandey Cities: Those outstretched palms across the nation are mayors seeking federal money for everything from bare necessities — like paying teachers, cops and firefighters — to wave-of-the-future stuff like smart technology for broadband connections and traffic grids. —Jennifer A. Kingson Transportation: Global travel could begin to see a comeback later in 2021 as people get vaccinated and international borders reopen. But the longer the coronavirus rages, more airlines and related travel industries could tumble into bankruptcy — or go out of business. —Joann Muller Space: The Biden administration will have a major influence on NASA as the space agency pushes to send people back to the Moon. —Miriam Kramer Sports: When will we see full stadiums again? The end of summer, as Anthony Fauci suggested? Sooner? Later? —Kendall Baker 👀 Share this story. ... Sign up for a newsletter on any of these topics.     A message from Facebook It's time to update internet regulations     The internet has changed a lot in 25 years. But the last time comprehensive internet regulations were passed was in 1996. We want updated internet regulations to set clear guidelines for addressing today's toughest challenges. Learn More     4. Pics du jour: A new year in time of virus Photo: Corey Sipkin/AFP via Getty Images The ball drops in a mostly empty Times Square. Via CNN A 2020 celebrity welcomes '21. Photo: Yang Tao/VCG via Getty Images In Xiangyang, China, primary-school students stand in formation during a New Year's Eve celebration. Photo: Jeff Neira via Getty Images Ryan Seacrest interviews President-elect Biden and Dr. Jill Biden on "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" on ABC.     5. Data du jour: Storms get stronger Data: NOAA. Graphic: Reuters With climate change, hurricanes overall are moving more slowly, meaning they can linger for longer over land, causing more damage. —Reuters 🌀 Go deeper: "Wild weather, warming planet ... In 2020, the fingerprints of climate change appeared around the world."     6. 1 fun thing: Art show on your phone Ulisse and Diomede, the fraudulent counselors, in a drawing by Federico Zuccari for Dante's "Divine Comedy." Photo: Roberto Palermo/Uffizi Gallery via AP The Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, today posted rare drawings of Dante's "Divine Comedy," one of the great works of world literature, to mark the 700th anniversary of the Italian poet's death in 1321, AP reports. The fragile drawings by Renaissance artist Federico Zuccari have only been displayed twice before, and then only a selection — in Florence in 1865 to mark the 600th anniversary of Dante's birth, and for a Dante exhibit in Italy in 1993. Explore the galleries: Hell (32 images) ... Purgatory (51 images) ... Heaven (13 images).     A message from Facebook Internet regulations need an update     It's been 25 years since lawmakers passed comprehensive internet regulations. But a lot has changed since 1996. We want updated regulations to set clear guidelines for protecting people's privacy, enabling safe and easy data portability between platforms and more. Learn More   📬 Thanks for starting your year with us. (Been waiting to say that!) Please invite your friends to sign up for Axios AM/PM.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Suite 1300, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. Change your preferences or unsubscribe here.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox. And make sure you subscribe to Mike's afternoon wrap up, Axios PM.   Follow Axios on social media: