| | | | | |  | | By Eugene Daniels, Rachael Bade, Tara Palmeri and Ryan Lizza | Presented by |  | | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | — Republicans counter (low-ball?) President JOE BIDEN'S Covid relief package: Will he play ball with them to get a bipartisan deal? — Democrats face a major test of unity on reconciliation. — The MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE problem comes to a head this week for House Republicans. All that and more below, but first a look from Eugene at an overlooked rhetorical shift by the Biden administration that can help explain a lot of what's to come the next four years … It's the buzzword of the early Biden administration, popping up in nearly every policy proposal, executive order and speech by the president and his top officials so far. They're all talking about "equity" — not to be confused with "equality," the umbrella term that past administrations, including BARACK OBAMA'S, used to describe efforts to address racial and economic disparities. So what's this all about? The idea, in a nutshell, is this: "Equality" means every person is treated the same. They get the same resources from the government and same access to services no matter what. "Equity" is an attempt to account for differences in need among people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Or, as KAMALA HARRIS put it two days before the election: "Equality suggests, 'Oh, everyone should get the same amount.' The problem with that, not everybody's starting out from the same place." The distinction is more than a matter of semantics; it is critical to understand how the Biden agenda is taking shape and where it's heading in the months and years to come. Already, "equity" is an organizing principle of every policy prescription Biden has put forward so far, from housing to climate change. Today, I wrote about another example in a story for POLITICO. | | A message from the American Beverage Association: At America's beverage companies our plastic bottles are made to be remade. We're carefully designing them to be 100% recyclable, including the caps—so every bottle can become a new one. That means less plastic waste in our environment. Please help us get Every Bottle Back. EveryBottleBack.org | | | Black and brown people who are disproportionately affected by the coronavirus are also least likely to get vaccinated. There are lots of reasons why, but access to the internet to sign up for shots — and access to pharmacies and hospitals to receive the shots — is a big one. Simply giving all people access to vaccination isn't enough, Biden officials say: It will likely require deploying mobile units to certain Black and brown neighborhoods, among other targeted actions, to get the job done. Conservatives have taken notice of Biden's embrace of "equity" and are criticizing it as affirmative action by a different name. "In push for woke 'equity,' Biden abandons equality," read the headline of a New York Post editorial over the weekend. "The 'equity' approach assumes that any outcome that doesn't meet inane racial quotas is the result of bias [and] in fact, systematically racist," the newspaper opined. Sen. TOM COTTON (R-Ark.) asked HUD Secretary-designate MARCIA FUDGE about the difference during her confirmation hearing Thursday, seemingly trying to get her to acknowledge that equity means "treating people differently based on their race." Fudge's response: "You know, if you say to me that, 'I'm going to give you $5' and you're going to give my friend $5 — my $5 is not going to necessarily go as far, because my friend already has a mother and father who are wealthy." Shortly after, Cotton sent out an email blast highlighting that exchange, signaling this could soon become ammunition in Washington's partisan warfare. | | | | A message from the American Beverage Association:   Every Bottle Back is one way we're driving solutions together. Starting another 100 years with a new look, American Beverage will continue with our shared leadership. Ameribev.org | | | Expect the debate to shape how some white Americans in the middle and on the right think about the Biden-Harris presidency. The left has recently embraced the shift to equity, and Black and brown people have been there for decades. Will Biden try to sell it to the public? It doesn't look like it. So far, at least, administration officials are saying "equity" a lot, proposing policies they think reflect it — and hoping that it clicks. BIDEN'S MONDAY — The president and VP will receive the President's Daily Brief at 10 a.m. They'll meet with Republican senators to discuss Covid relief at 5 p.m. in the Oval Office. — The White House Covid-19 response team and public health officials will brief at 11 a.m. Press secretary JEN PSAKI will brief at 12:30 p.m. | 
| | | PLAYBOOK READS | | | | | | TRACK FIRST 100 DAYS OF THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION: The Biden administration hit the ground running with a series of executive orders his first week in office and continues to outline priorities on key issues. What's coming down the pike? Find out in Transition Playbook, our scoop-filled newsletter tracking the policies, people and emerging power centers of the first 100 days of the new administration. Subscribe today. | | | | | | 
PHOTO OF THE DAY: Snow day at the Capitol: A mom and son bulid a snowman just outside Congress on Sunday. | Joshua Roberts/Getty Images | SNOWSTORM TO WALLOP THE EAST COAST (BUT NOT D.C.) — "Blockbuster snowstorm to strike New York, Philadelphia," WaPo WHITE HOUSE HOW SERIOUS IS BIDEN ABOUT BIPARTISANSHIP? We're about to find out. Today, 10 Senate Republicans will make a counteroffer to Biden's $1.9 trillion pandemic relief plan and meet with the president to discuss their idea. It's expected to total about $600 billion, less than a third of Biden's proposal. But will the president actually entertain it, and counter the counter? It's pretty clear that Democratic leadership thinks the idea is a joke and is ready to move ahead with reconciliation. But there's more ambiguity — and perhaps internal division — among White House officials about how to handle the GOP offer. Some Biden advisers are starting to argue that Biden can pass the bipartisan test without Republican votes. You read that right. "Even with narrow majorities in Congress, [Biden] has the opportunity to build broad bipartisan support for his program — not necessarily in Congress but with the American people," ANITA DUNN told John Harwood in a piece for CNN over the weekend. But we've also heard from administration officials lately who do want to cut a deal. The question on everyone's mind seems to be: Will Biden endure the wrath of the left — and possibly even his own leadership — to go for a less ambitious package? So far the answer looks like no. And some moderate Republicans are privately expressing disappointment that Biden hasn't done more to hold Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER and Speaker NANCY PELOSI back from plowing ahead with reconciliation. One of them told us Sunday afternoon that Biden says "all this great stuff about unity, but it's like that old Wendy's commercial: 'Where's the beef?'" Still, it's noteworthy that Biden has offered to meet with these 10 Senate Republicans before he's huddled with congressional Democratic rank and file on this matter. And Biden's invitation comes as even some senior Democrats argue the GOP offer is far too low to be taken seriously at this point considering Democrats control all the levels of power in Washington. IMPEACHMENT II (FEB. 8) — "Trump Names Two Members of Impeachment Defense Team," NYT: Maggie Haberman has the, um, colorful details on Trump's new legal duo: "David Schoen, a Georgia-based lawyer who represented the longtime Trump adviser Roger J. Stone Jr., and Bruce Castor, a former district attorney in Pennsylvania, were announced … Mr. Castor is famous for declining to prosecute the disgraced entertainer Bill Cosby while he was the district attorney in Montgomery County, Pa., in 2005. He also served briefly as Pennsylvania's acting attorney general. "Mr. Schoen has represented a wide range of clients, from mobsters to political figures to Mr. Stone. In an interview with The Atlanta Jewish Times in September, Mr. Schoen said of his casework, 'I represented all sorts of reputed mobster figures: alleged head of Russian mafia in this country, Israeli mafia and two Italian bosses, as well a guy the government claimed was the biggest mafioso in the world.'" ON CAPITOL HILL KEVIN MCCARTHY'S CALENDAR: "House Republicans brace for party clash over Cheney and Greene," by Melanie Zanona: "What the GOP decides to do about [Liz] Cheney and [Marjorie Taylor] Greene will offer significant clues about the direction of the party in the post-Trump era. Some Republicans are warning that punishing Cheney while letting Greene go untouched — and thereby aligning the party even more closely to Trump — could be a major black eye for the party heading into 2022." — RELATED: "GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger, Who Voted to Impeach Trump, Starting Anti-Trump PAC," The Daily Beast UP THIS WEEK: A MAJOR FIRST TEST OF DEMOCRATIC UNITY — Congressional Democrats' move to pass a budget in both chambers this week presents a major first test for the Biden White House on whether it can keep its various factions together. Progressives want a more robust coronavirus bill. Moderates want a slimmer, bipartisan one. And Pelosi and Schumer will have to find a sweet spot if they want to unlock reconciliation, the key to passing the Biden agenda. In the House, Pelosi can afford to lose only four Democrats if all Republicans vote against the budget. In the Senate, Schumer can't lose a single one of his members. Sources we've spoken to expect both leaders could lean on Biden to make calls in the whipping effort if needed. Watch for both sides of the party to test their leverage. If moderates want a vote on something, this is where they might band together to get it in order to support the budget. Same goes with progressives. TRYING TO UNDERSTAND GAMESTOP: "When Ted Cruz and A.O.C. Agree: Yes, the Politics of GameStop Are Confusing," NYT: "From the populist right to the socialist left, the rush by both parties to side with young traders disrupting the markets reflects the broad recognition of the impulses driving American politics." | | | | A message from the American Beverage Association:   Our plastic bottles are made to be remade. Help us get Every Bottle Back. EveryBottleBack.org | | | JAN. 6 FALLOUT THE FIRST DRAFT OF HISTORY — "77 Days: Trump's Campaign to Subvert the Election," NYT with a nearly 10,000-word story written by seven reporters: "Across those 77 days, the forces of disorder were summoned and directed by the departing president, who wielded the power derived from his near-infallible status among the party faithful in one final norm-defying act of a reality-denying presidency. Throughout, he was enabled by influential Republicans motivated by ambition, fear or a misplaced belief that he would not go too far. "In the Senate, he got early room to maneuver from the majority leader, Mitch McConnell. As he sought the president's help in Georgia runoffs that could cost him his own grip on power, Mr. McConnell heeded misplaced assurances from White House aides like Jared Kushner that Mr. Trump would eventually accede to reality, people close to the senator told The Times. … As Mr. Trump's official election campaign wound down, a new, highly organized campaign stepped into the breach to turn his demagogic fury into a movement of its own." — Rep. JACKIE SPEIER (D-Calif.) wants Biden and the Defense Department to start screening the social media accounts of service members and other individuals with sensitive roles for any white supremacist or extremist ties. In a letter sent Friday to Biden, Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN and DNI AVRIL HAINES, Speier calls on Biden to issue an executive order "identifying white supremacy and violent extremism as a critical threat that must be considered as part of the security clearance" process and direct all relevant agencies to update the background investigation process to include a review of social media. Speier also urges Austin to direct the military services to establish review standards for the social media activity of recruits as part of the accessions process, including guidance to help recruiters identify extremist groups and activities. "While I believe strongly that the actions recommended in this letter have been justified for quite some time, the appalling events at the Capitol this month — and the central role of social media in their planning and organization — offer a new sense of urgency," Speier writes. The letter (h/t Laura Barrón-López) POLITICS CORNER MTG WATCH — "'She is weighing us down': Georgia GOP cringes at Marjorie Taylor Greene spectacle," by Marc Caputo: "This is what a nightmare scenario looks like. With the party reeling in the wake of its 2020 unraveling — when it lost too many centrist voters — state Republicans now worry Greene will emerge as the face of the GOP, tainting the entire ticket with a stamp of conspiracy theory and extremism in the run-up to the 2022 midterms. … "Georgia Republicans expect Greene will face a primary challenge, and some hope she could somehow be drawn into a tougher seat during redistricting. But they acknowledge she's popular in her district. Greene's primary opponent in 2020, John Cowan, is considering running against her again." AMERICA AND THE WORLD — "U.S. warns Myanmar's military it'll be punished for coup," by Nahal Toosi: "The crisis in Myanmar, also known as Burma, is unfolding just days after President Joe Biden took office, and in some ways it challenges the very heart of Biden's foreign policy vision. The new president has promised to stand up for democracy and human rights around the world, including against communist-led China. "A Myanmar military coup would derail significant progress the Asian country has made toward democracy in recent years. The country's armed forces have also been accused of genocide and other atrocities against minority groups. At the same time, one reason the United States has encouraged democracy in Myanmar is to draw it out of the orbit of China, its neighbor to the northeast. According to reports from the region, the Myanmar military has taken into custody several top civilian leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi." — "Kremlin meets Russian protesters with fiercest crackdown in years," CNN: "Protesters throughout the country had gathered for the second weekend in a row to support jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who has been held by Russian authorities since mid-January. More than 5,000 people were detained in at least 85 cities as of late Sunday, according to the independent monitoring group OVD-Info -- a record since 2011. In Moscow, the capital, more than 1,600 people were arrested, including Navalny's wife Yulia, though she was later released." IMMIGRATION FILES THE LONG ARM OF STEPHEN MILLER — "Can Immigration Recover from Trump?" The New Yorker: "Trump transformed immigration through hundreds of quiet measures. Can they be uncovered and reversed?" — "Separated at the border, reunited, then separated again: For migrant families, another trauma," WaPo: "Two and a half years after Trump ordered an end to family separations, immigration attorneys and advocates are growing increasingly concerned about re-separations. The policy of taking children from their parents at the border provoked global outrage, but far less attention has been paid to those families — or their legal cases — afterward. "Parents and children emerged from the zero-tolerance policy with separate immigration cases — often with pending removal orders and no attorneys. In hundreds of those cases, parents have been ordered deported while their children's asylum or visa applications were being processed." MEDIAWATCH "Survey Says: Never Tweet" — NYT's Ben Smith weighs in on a top-of-mind worry for many newsroom managers: reporters who tweet. "[T]he deeper questions are about what it means for journalists to be, and seem, fair. There's an argument raging about whether news organizations, and their reporters, ought to keep their opinions to themselves to avoid being seen as biased. Many top editors still seem to believe that the less said on social media, the better. The other side, as Wesley Lowery of CBS recently argued , is that readers should be asked to trust in 'an objective process' of journalism that separates both reporters' views and readers' biases from judgment about their published work." | | | | TUNE IN TO NEW EPISODE OF GLOBAL TRANSLATIONS: Our Global Translations podcast, presented by Citi, examines the long-term costs of the short-term thinking that drives many political and business decisions. The world has long been beset by big problems that defy political boundaries, and these issues have exploded over the past year amid a global pandemic. This podcast helps to identify and understand the impediments to smart policymaking. Subscribe for Season Two, available now. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | SPOTTED in Palm Beach: Gary Cohn in a sweater at the Colony Hotel pool bar talking about the Robinhood trading app. … Tiffany Trump at Sant Ambroeus with security detail. LIFE OF THE PARDONED … NBC's @noahpransky: "Convicted Congressman Duncan Hunter, sentenced to jail for misusing donors' dollars on personal expenses, just filed his latest @FEC report. He reported spending $179 from his campaign fund in Nov. on a @CLEAR membership, so he can speed through airports faster." FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Former Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) will be executive director of the Aspen Institute Congressional Program. He most recently was a senior policy adviser at DLA Piper. The announcement — DHS is announcing several new senior staff members: Karen Olick as COS, Jeff Rezmovic as deputy COS, Isabella Ulloa as counselor to the secretary, Pritesh Gandhi as chief medical officer and John Cohen as coordinator for counterterrorism and assistant secretary for counterterrorism and threat prevention. — Nick Hornedo is now digital manager at the Department of Transportation. He most recently was digital director for House Ways and Means, and is a Pete Buttigieg campaign alum. TRANSITIONS — Alex Siciliano is now VP of comms at the Petrizzo Group. He previously was deputy chief of staff for Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.). … Bettina Weiss will be the first executive director of Elect Democratic Women, the political arm of the House Democratic Women's Caucus. She previously was campaign manager for Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.). … … Rhyan Lake is now press secretary for Jennifer McClellan's Virginia gubernatorial campaign. She previously was deputy press secretary for Sen. Jon Ossoff's campaign. … Christina Ferzli is now head of public affairs for the Americas at WeWork. She previously was head of global corporate affairs for Ocean Spray, and is a Michelle Obama alum. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Sadie Weiner, comms director for North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, and Zach Wineburg, founder/CEO of Ally Strategies and an Obama, Google and Precision Strategies alum, welcomed Drew Miriam Wineburg on Tuesday. Pic … Another pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) … former Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) … Marc Elias of Perkins Coie … Tara McGowan, founder and CEO of Acronym … Michael Kives of K5 Global … Fred Barnes … ABC's Jordyn Phelps and Ali Dukakis … Luke Peterson, deputy assistant secretary of State, is 4-0 … Jake Siewert, of Goldman Sachs … David Barnhart, founding partner at Locust Street Group … Meaghan Burdick … Kayla Primes, legislative assistant for Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) … Business Roundtable's Matt Moon … Chase Adams, senior policy and information director at the American Sheep Industry Association Got a document to share? A birthday coming up? Are you one of the Senate Republicans meeting with Biden today? Drop us a line at playbook@politico.com or individually: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Mike Zapler and producers Allie Bice, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross. | | A message from the American Beverage Association: America's leading beverage companies, The Coca-Cola Company, Keurig Dr Pepper and PepsiCo, are working together to reduce our industry's plastic footprint through our new Every Bottle Back initiative. We're investing in efforts to get our bottles back so we can remake them into new bottles and use less new plastic.
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c. Raising awareness – we're placing a voluntary, uniform message on packaging that shows consumers our bottles should be recycled so they can be remade.
Our 100% recyclable plastic bottles are made to be remade. Please help us get Every Bottle Back. Every Bottle Back. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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