Axios Sneak Peek: Scoop - White House convening NSC to talk Iran ... Ivanka's reemergence plan

1 big thing: Scoop - White House convening NSC to talk Iran | Thursday, February 04, 2021

Open in app View in browser   Presented By American Edge Project   Axios Sneak Peek By Alayna Treene, Hans Nichols and Kadia Goba ·Feb 04, 2021 ⚡ Situational Awareness: Eleven Republicans joined all the House Democrats in voting tonight to remove Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) from her committees. Greene's office later announced she will be holding a news conference at 11 am tomorrow outside the Capitol. ✍️ Write less, say more. If you like Axios' trademark SmartBrevity™ style, check out our new business communications tool, Axios HQ. Register here and learn more at 12:30 pm ET Tuesday. Today's newsletter — edited by Glen Johnson — is 616 words, a 2-minute read.     1 big thing: Scoop - White House convening NSC to talk Iran President Biden speaks at the State Department on Thursday. Photo: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images   In a sign of the urgency President Biden feels about Iran, the White House is convening a National Security Council principals committee meeting tomorrow focused on the country's nuclear program, people familiar with the matter tell Axios' Hans Nichols and Barak Ravid. Why it matters: The Biden administration is still refining its strategy about how to resurrect the 2015 deal that President Trump backed out of in 2018, but it wants to work with allies to slow Iran's effort to enrich uranium and prevent an arms races in the Middle East. Principals committee meetings — held in the Situation Room and attended by the secretaries of Defense and State and other key national security players — are designed to discuss policy at the highest level before presenting recommendations to the president. They are preceded by a meeting of the deputies from all the national security agencies. On Wednesday, deputy national security adviser Jon Finer led one such session focused on the Middle East. One of the main action items Friday is whether to push toward returning to the nuclear deal before the June presidential elections in Iran or wait until after the elections, a source familiar with the issue said. Go deeper.     2. Late "dark money" flooded key Senate races Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios   Significant chunks of money spent on key 2020 Senate races — including Kelly Loeffler's in Georgia — came from nonprofits and companies with little online footprint and no trace of their own financial benefactors, Axios' Lachlan Markey reports based on new disclosure filings. Why it matters: The 2020 cycle was the most expensive in the nation's history, by far, and an unprecedented amount of spending came from groups that don't disclose their donors. The Biden administration is under pressure to step up enforcement against such groups, and these new financials will only increase that. What's new: Federal Election Commission filings submitted Thursday show that two obscure corporate donors gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to a group trying to reelect Loeffler, the former appointed Republican senator. A company called Custom Management Services Inc. donated $160,000 to Georgia United Victory, a super PAC that backed Loeffler. The company's address is a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, law firm; Axios could find no other trace of its existence. Go deeper.     3. First look: Taxes, entitlements test future of GOP Data: YouGov; Note: ±3.5% margin of error; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios A major new survey of 2020 Trump voters shows how divided they were over Social Security, Medicare, trade and tax cuts for the rich — while culture, religion and patriotism and the U.S.-Mexico border were unifying issues, Axios' Margaret Talev writes. Driving the news: The YouGov survey of 1,000 voters, conducted last month and reviewed by Axios, informs a Friday forum about the future of the GOP hosted by the American Enterprise Institute and Ethics and Public Policy Center. It captures the thinking of this potent slice of the base, not just post-election but post-Jan. 6. "The challenge for Republicans after Trump is how to build on the conservative populist alliance, not to discard the populist part," said EPPC senior fellow Henry Olsen, who directed the study. Between the lines: There's real division inside the Trump coalition about the future of the GOP. 66% said they're more supporters of Trump than of the Republican Party. Go deeper.     A message from American Edge Project Celebrating Black History Month     Did you know? Black businesses account for more than $138 billion in revenue each year. And America's tech innovation is driving minority entrepreneurship during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more from Harry C. Alford, President & CEO of The National Black Chamber of Commerce.     4. Ivanka's pardon push part of her reemergence plan Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images   Ivanka Trump used her status to help obtain over 140 pardons and commutations for victims of injustice as well as her father's cronies, and she's now plotting her political reemergence by highlighting the virtues of some of the clemency grants, Axios' Alayna Treene reports. Why it matters: While President Trump's eldest daughter dismisses talk she is weighing a campaign against Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), criminal justice reform is a popular, bipartisan issue to associate with as she plots her future endeavors. "It would not be surprising if it's among the causes she champions in her next chapter," a source close to Ivanka told Axios. Behind the scenes: President Trump made headlines during his final days in office by issuing a raft of pardons and commutations. Less known is the role his eldest daughter played, especially in relation to nonpolitical actions. Ivanka worked closely with a series of non-governmental organizations like #cut50, who brought specific nonpolitical cases to her attention. Go deeper.     5. Pic du jour Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images   Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and a group of House and Senate progressives speak about refiled legislation to cancel up to $50,000 in federal student loan debt.     A message from American Edge Project Celebrating Black History Month     Did you know? Black businesses account for more than $138 billion in revenue each year. And America's tech innovation is driving minority entrepreneurship during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more from Harry C. Alford, President & CEO of The National Black Chamber of Commerce.   🙏 Thank you for reading tonight's Sneak. We'll be back just before kickoff on Super Sunday. 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